News Archive for 01/04/20

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Reader reports availability of QT 5.01

04/20, 9:40pm

Reader reports availability of QT 5.01

David Freeland reports on Apple's QT 5.01 update: "QuickTime 5.0.1 is out if you use a 4.x updater. The Peview 3 updater reports no new version." (QT 5 Preview 3 is still available at Apple's Website.) [unconfirmed]

Omni Group releases OmniDiskSweeper 1.0

04/20, 7:30pm

Omni Group releases OmniDiskSweeper 1.0

The Omni Group has released OmniDiskSweeper 1.0 final, the first of its products for Mac OS X that has come out of beta development. OmniDiskSweeper, a free Mac OS X utility for quickly finding and deleting large, useless files, highlights the biggest files on your hard drive and notes which files are used by the system so important files are not accidentally deleted.

BBEdit 6.1 adds OS X compatibility

04/20, 7:10pm

BBEdit 6.1 adds OS X compatibility

Bare Bones Software has released BBEdit 6.1, the first version of its HTML and text editor that runs natively on Mac OS X. BBEdit 6.1 takes advantage of several technologies in the new operating system, such as integration with the native Perl tools. In addition, the new version adds enhanced FTP support, optional display of "hard" line numbers in soft-wrapped documents, and support for Emacs-style key equivalents for basic editing commands. A full list of the more than 100 feature additions and bug fixes is available from the company's web site.

Apple's earnings: Beyond the profit

04/20, 7:00pm

Apple's earnings: Beyond the profit

We have published a feature that takes a closer look at the numbers behind Apple's second quarter profit.

Sorenson and Pinnacle form alliance

04/20, 7:00pm

Sorenson and Pinnacle form alliance

Sorenson Media and Pinnacle Systems have announced an alliance whereby Sorenson's digital video compression technology will be used to deliver QuickTime audio and video streaming capabilities for Pinnacle's StreamFactory product line.

Needham and Co. issues buy on Apple

04/20, 6:55pm

Needham and Co. issues buy on Apple

Charlie Wolf of Needham and Co. has issued a Buy on Apple shares. He believes "things will only get better with the official launch of the Mac OS X." More information is available in an ON24 streaming video report.

ADS introduces PYRO 1394 DVD-R/RW

04/20, 6:50pm

ADS introduces PYRO 1394 DVD-R/RW

Next week at NAB, ADS Technologies will unveil its new PYRO 1394 DVD-R/RW drive, which features the third-generation DVD recorder from Pioneer (the same mechanism used in Apple's SuperDrive). The FireWire device will be available in late June for just over $1,000.

El Gato releases iTunes CD-RW Helper

04/20, 6:25pm

El Gato releases iTunes CD-RW Helper

El Gato Software, the original creator of Toast and the company that created Toast 5 for Roxio, has released iTunes CD-RW Helper, freeware which lets owners of some CD-RWs currently unsupported by Apple's iTunes and Disc Burner to use the popular applications. iTunes CD-RW requires Roxio Toast 5.0.1 (Lite or Titanium), OS 9.1, Disc Burner 1.0.1 and iTunes 1.1.

Majesty: The Fantasy Kingdom Sim updated

04/20, 6:00pm

Majesty: The Fantasy Kingdom Sim updated

MacPlay has released Majesty: The Fantasy Kingdom Sim 1.01, an updater for its unique real-time strategy game for the Mac. The new version includes a number of bug fixes as well as a command line switch for quitting the Finder when running the game.

Tech: U.S. PC market shrinks

04/20, 5:45pm

Tech: U.S. PC market shrinks

Evening tech news: For the first time in seven years, the personal computer market has shrunk in the U.S. with a 3.5 percent contraction in the first quarter of 2001; more tech companies are taking steps to protect themselves against hostile takeovers, with many companies seeing slumping market valuations that are worth less than the company's assets; and South Korea is fast becoming the most wired country in the world, with more than 26,000 Internet cafes and a broadband market penetration of 57 percent, more than five times the penetration of broadband in the U.S.

Apple schedules May 1 Event

04/20, 5:40pm

Apple schedules May 1 Event

A special Apple Event with CEO Steve Jobs will be held May 1, according to c|net. The article speculates that the event may bring the announcement of new Macs or Apple's retail strategy.

Sony releases Mac Emarker driver

04/20, 5:20pm

Sony releases Mac Emarker driver

Zac Cohen pointed out that Sony has released the Mac driver for its $20 USB-based emarker device, which lets users record track songs played on the radio and download song information over the Internet on the PC at a later time.

OS X: MouseWorks 1.0b3, Wacom support plans

04/20, 5:00pm

OS X: MouseWorks 1.0b3, Wacom support plans

osx.macnn.com reports on Initio's Mac OS X support plans, a new version of Kensington MouseWorks for Mac OS X, Tenon's release of its X Windows environment for Mac OS X, and Wacom's plans for migrating to Apple's new operating system.

FirewireDirect.com unveils Spark II HD

04/20, 3:40pm

FirewireDirect.com unveils Spark II HD

FirewireDirect.com has replaced its flagship Spark Hard Drive with the new Spark II 2.5" Dual FireWire & USB External Hard Drive. The Spark II, which takes its power from the bus, features a "smaller, more stylish chassis" and the addition of a USB port. Available today, the drive is available in 10GB ($260) and 20GB ($330) capacities with a $120 Spark II Enclosure Kit also available.

New "College Bound" Mac promo offer

04/20, 3:10pm

New "College Bound" Mac promo offer

Apple is offering a new "College Bound" promotion that allows Mac purchasers to add 128 MB RAM, an Epson Stylus Color 777i printer (with USB cable), and a Rio 600 MP3 for $200. The bundle represents a savings of roughly 50 percent over purchasing the items individually from the Apple Store. The offer is eligible for educational customers and cannot be combined with Apple's free-printer promotion for iMac purchasers.

New Wacom driver 4.60-6 makes improvements

04/20, 2:35pm

New Wacom driver 4.60-6 makes improvements

Wacom has released a new driver version 4.60-6 for its line of Macintosh-compatible graphics tablets. The new driver adds the ability to send keystrokes with the Graphire Mouse fingerwheel and resolves some issues in the previous releases. The company has also outlined plans for supporting its products under Mac OS X.

Wacom outlines plans for OS X migration

04/20, 2:30pm

Wacom outlines plans for OS X migration

Wacom has announced that it plans to add Mac OS X support for its line of graphics tablets some time in June. Wacom recommends its users hold off on upgrading to Mac OS X until the update is released, as the devices do not function properly under OS X.

Outpost.com eliminates free shipping

04/20, 1:50pm

Outpost.com eliminates free shipping

After scaling back its free shipping offer twice in the past two months, Outpost.com has completely done away with the practice. All orders, regardless of weight or value, will now be charged shipping charges, starting at $4 for 2-day shipping and $6 for overnight shipping on a one-pound item. Shipping charges for a Power Mac G4, for example, now cost $28 for 2-day shipping and $40 for overnight.

Aspyr announces The Sims: House Party for Mac

04/20, 12:55pm

Aspyr announces The Sims: House Party for Mac

Aspyr Media has announced that it will bring expansion pack The Sims: House Party to the Mac. The best-selling life-simulation game's second expansion pack, which is expected to be released in July, includes over 100 new objects and focuses on Sims throwing parties in three different styles.  read more...

Fantasy RPG Avernum 2 1.0.2 balances end game

04/20, 12:25pm

Fantasy RPG Avernum 2 1.0.2 balances end game

Spiderweb Software has released Avernum 2 1.0.2, a new version of its fantasy role-playing game for the Mac that "fixes a variety of smaller bugs and dramatically improves the game balance near the end of the game."

BusinessWeek explores Dell, Jobs sparring

04/20, 12:10pm

BusinessWeek explores Dell, Jobs sparring

BusinessWeek Online's Charles Haddad explores the reasons for public sparring between Dell CEO Michael Dell and Apple CEO Steve Jobs. "The real heat comes from the fact that Apple and Dell are so dependent on each other -- and they can't stand it. They're like mischievous kids who've tied their shoelaces to one another and now can't get them undone."

Diablo II 1.06 optimizes network play

04/20, 11:55am

Diablo II 1.06 optimizes network play

Blizzard Entertainment has released Diablo II 1.06, a new version of its popular action/role-playing game for the Mac and PC. The new version, which can also be downloaded and applied by logging in to Battle.net, updates Battle.net's Terms of Service agreement, further optimizes client to server communication and fixes copy-protection for various CD, DVD and CD-R drives. Additionally, Battle.net will now scan characters for items that were duplicated using an exploit and remove them if a character is found to be carrying more than one.

Napster to screen files using acoustics

04/20, 11:40am

Napster to screen files using acoustics

Napster has signed a licensing deal for Relatable's new commercial release of its advanced acoustic fingerprinting technology, TRM, which analyzes the acoustical properties of a recording's waveform to identify it precisely, regardless of its audio format, bit rate or minor signal distortion. The technology is currently being refined by engineers at both Relatable and Napster and will be incorporated into the company's current file screening system and into Napster's new membership service.

Preliminary requirements for Mac Alice

04/20, 11:30am

Preliminary requirements for Mac Alice

Aspyr Media has announced preliminary system requirements for the Mac version of American McGee's Alice, a third-person 3D action-adventure game originally developed by Rogue Entertainment and Electronic Arts. The game currently requires a 400 MHz PowerPC G3 or better (500 MHz G3 recommended), 64 MB RAM (128 MB recommended), and Mac OS 8.6 or higher. The game will ship as a Carbonized application for native support under Mac OS X.

Tenon officially debuts Xtools 1.0

04/20, 9:30am

Tenon officially debuts Xtools 1.0

Tenon Intersystems today officially released Xtools 1.0, its $200 X Windows environment for Mac OS X. Xtools fully supports rootless X windows on the Aqua desktop, as well as a rooted full-screen X desktop.

Saphire Brushes Vol. 8 features 1000 brushes

04/20, 9:30am

Saphire Brushes Vol. 8 features 1000 brushes

Sapphire Innovations has released Sapphire Brushes Vol. 8 for Photoshop 6, a collection of 1000 brushes in a wide variety of styles in sizes, including many 200x200 brushes. The collection sells for £14.99.

Tesco sells out of discounted iMacs

04/20, 9:15am

Tesco sells out of discounted iMacs

UK discount store Tesco has sold out its controversial stock of 2,000 iMacs. The store sold the systems—previous generation iMac 350s— for £699, in the process angering Apple who claimed that the iMacs, which were being sold for significantly less than the suggested retail price, had been purchased on the grey market. Tesco says it would like to sell Macs again in the future.

Tech: Dell #1; Microsoft, Gateway report

04/20, 8:30am

Tech: Dell #1; Microsoft, Gateway report

Early morning tech news: Dell Computer has surpassed Compaq as the worldwide market leader, marking the first time in nearly seven years that the top spot has changed hands; Microsoft posted a third quarter profit of $2.45 billion, beating estimates; Gateway posted a first quarter loss of $503 million after taking a $533 million restructuring charges (excluding one-time charges, the company lost $6 million this quarter); and AT&T will take a $280 to $320 million hit this quarter due to the company's stake in struggling ISP Excite@home.

Open-source DVD/MPEG development for OS X

04/20, 5:10am

Open-source DVD/MPEG development for OS X

VideoLAN is an open-source DVD and MPEG development project by students from the ecole Centrale Paris whose "main goals are MPEG and DVD playing and broadcasting on the campus, but it also features a standalone multimedia player that can read DVDs and MPEG files. It will also eventually support streams from a satellite or from an MPEG2 compression card. VideoLAN is free software, and is released under the GNU General Public License." Early developmental builds are available for Mac OS X.

designobject ships in case laptop brief

04/20, 3:20am

designobject ships in case laptop brief

designobject has begun shipping its $90 "incase laptop brief" for the PowerBook G4.

Patch for Mail.app brings better SMTP access

04/20, 2:55am

Patch for Mail.app brings better SMTP access

Mail Fix is a free unofficial workaround to the bug in Apple's Mail.app email client that prevents it from sending mail using some SMTP servers (Telstra Bigpond Servers, and Novell 5.1 Servers).

X-Assist: Classic Mac OS feel for OS X

04/20, 2:35am

X-Assist: Classic Mac OS feel for OS X

X-Assist 0.2 brings several of elements of the Classic Mac OS to OS X, including a menu for application switching, the ability to list unlimited recent applications, a new optional heirarchical shortcuts submenu, an extensible plugin architecture for adding quick control strip-like modules, and OS 9-windowing.

Kensington MouseWorks 1.0b3: beta driver for

04/20, 2:30am

Kensington MouseWorks 1.0b3: beta driver for

Kensington's MouseWorks 1.0b3 for OS X fixes several bugs in its beta driver, including ADB device consistency, "sticky" modifier keys in Classic applications, menu compatibility with IE 5.1 preview, and window dragging issues in Carbon applications.

Qube 1.0: new tetris-like shareware game

04/20, 2:20am

Qube 1.0: new tetris-like shareware game

Catara Software's Qube 1.0 is a $20 shareware addictive action puzzle: "The object of Qube is to keep a well clear of "qubes" by arranging falling pieces to form solid rows. Some pieces contain qubes that are not solid. These partially solid qubes, 'partials,' must be combined with other partials to form solid qubes." The Carbonized game features 16-Bit color, stereo sounds, and special effects.

Roundup: Corel's OS X roll-out plans

04/20, 2:00am

Roundup: Corel's OS X roll-out plans

Yesterday we reported on Corel's OS X product roll-out plans. Other reports included Apple's 5 millionth iMac, a recap of Apple's financials, AAPL upgrades and downgrades, a review of Escape from Monkey Island, Team ASA's new NAS server, the completed sale of 3dfx, Pioneer's plans for NAB, and Dr. Bott's TiCase. Recent software updates include DiskTracker 2.1.1, Eudora 5.1, DragThing 4.0.1, My Secret 1.1, Download Deputy Turbo 4.5, and MacVCD X beta.

Initio posts beta SCSI drivers for OS X

04/20, 12:45am

Initio posts beta SCSI drivers for OS X

Initio has posted early beta firmware for its Revision F Miles SCSI adapters, which. Version 3.02b of the Miles (INI-9100UW-MAC) firmware for OS X, which must be flashed from OS 9, offers support for booting from hardrives only (support for other devices is forthcoming). Initio notes that OS X Support for Bluenote and MilesU2W is "still being developed and expected to be available very soon."