News Archive for 01/05/10

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Apple cuts iServices consulting jobs

05/10, 11:15pm

Apple cuts iServices consulting jobs

Apple has cut a small number of jobs as part of a restructuring of its iServices consulting unit, while a company representative added that "the restructuring is not an indication that any broader cuts are looming."

CarbonLib 1.3.1 available via SUCP

05/10, 9:45pm

CarbonLib 1.3.1 available via SUCP

Several readers report that CarbonLib 1.3.1 is now available from the Software Update control panel, although it has yet to be posted to the Web.

Architosh: Apple to host BOA seminar

05/10, 8:00pm

Architosh: Apple to host BOA seminar

Architosh reports on an upcoming Apple-hosted seminar in Boston that will showcase BOA, a relatively new architectural 3D CAD program.

XPerlEdit 1.1 for Mac OS X released

05/10, 7:50pm

XPerlEdit 1.1 for Mac OS X released

Jim McKay's XPerlEdit 1.1, a $30 Perl editor for Mac OS X, now includes a customizeable auto-complete feature, tabs, and syntax checking for a file on a non-root partition.

TIME: iBook is all grown up

05/10, 7:25pm

TIME: iBook is all grown up

TIME Magazine calls Apple's new iBook "a titanium PowerBook that went through a compactor and got drenched in milky white plastic," referring to the laptop's design cues taken from the PowerBook G4. "[Steve] Jobs is pushing this as the best portable choice for education, but it looks suspiciously like the laptop for the rest of us too."

Final Draft - French launches at Cannes

05/10, 6:55pm

Final Draft - French launches at Cannes

Final Draft - French, the French version of the cross-platform, $250 word processor specifically designed for screenwriters, television writers, and playwrights, will be launched during the Cannes Film Festival & Market. This spring, Final Draft, Inc. opened an office in Paris, France providing sales and support of its products to the European market.

WebXPress 5.01: Quark on the Web

05/10, 6:50pm

WebXPress 5.01: Quark on the Web

GLUON's WebXPress 5.01 is a maintenance release of the $200 software for re-purposing QuarkXpress documents into Web pages.

Wired: Debating OS X security

05/10, 6:45pm

Wired: Debating OS X security

Wired's Michelle Delio discusses the issue of security in Mac OS X, openly debating whether the new operating system, which is built around the open-source, Unix-based Darwin core, is less or more prone to attack. "...the security benefits of open-source software will apply to Mac users only if Apple works closely with the open-source development groups, something that few corporations have been able to do successfully."

IBM pushing PowerPC to 2 GHz

05/10, 6:20pm

IBM pushing PowerPC to 2 GHz

IBM plans to introduce new PowerPC chips capable of 1 GHz late this year followed by chips capable of 2 GHz in late 2002, according to c|net. Meanwhile, Motorola plans to introduce Apolla, a chip that is also expected to reach speeds of 1 GHz, later this year. IBM's PowerPC roadmap revealed the high speed plans early last week.

Mint Audio 1.0pr3: Lightweight MP3 player

05/10, 4:20pm

Mint Audio 1.0pr3: Lightweight MP3 player

Mint Audio 1.0pr3 is a new version of Unsanity's lightweight MP3 and audio player for Classic and Mac OS X. Preview Release 3 adds an Alarm Clock, Audio CD AutoPlay, Intelligent Collapse, bug fixes, and more.

Password exploitation in Mac OS X

05/10, 3:35pm

Password exploitation in Mac OS X

Terry Simmons notes a minor security risk that can be found in the current (and previous) versions of Mac OS X.

Download Deupty 4.5.6 improves speed

05/10, 2:25pm

Download Deupty 4.5.6 improves speed

ilesa Software's Download Deputy Turbo 4.5.6, the $24 download manager and accelerator, provides an improved download engine that is approximately 15 percent faster.

New iBooks becoming widely available

05/10, 2:00pm

New iBooks becoming widely available

New CD-ROM iBooks are quickly appearing in the channel, according to several dealers, with distributor Ingram Micro also moving a limited number of DVD models. CD-RW and DVD/CD-RW iBooks are not expected for another couple weeks, with the wait being possibly longer for the combo drive.

REALbasic tutorial: text clippings

05/10, 1:50pm

REALbasic tutorial: text clippings

ResExcellence's Erick Tejkowski provides step-by-step instructions for building an application in REALbasic that handles text clippings.

Apple donates iBooks for teacher training

05/10, 1:45pm

Apple donates iBooks for teacher training

Teachers attending the National Math Trail Training Institute in New Orleans were able to use iBooks donated by Apple to create Web pages with photos and math problems. Prior to the event, less than 5 percent of the attendees had ever created a Web site.

Zones, Inc. consolidates; Mac Zone remains

05/10, 1:20pm

Zones, Inc. consolidates; Mac Zone remains

Multiple Zones, Inc. has changed its name to Zones, Inc. and Nasdaq ticker synbol to ZONS. "The change reflects the Company's single point of contact strategy and services led approach." Zones.com, PC Zone, and Zones Business Solutions, among others, have been consolidated into Zones, Inc. while Mac Zone will remain a separate sub-brand to serve its Mac customers.

MacSSH 2.1b6 adds multi-byte support, more

05/10, 12:55pm

MacSSH 2.1b6 adds multi-byte support, more

Jean-Pierre Stierlin's MacSSH 2.1b6, a modified version of BetterTelnet with SSH2 support, adds enhancements such as multi-byte support, ISO-2022-JP, EUC and Shift-JIS translations, as well as keychain password access from macros.

MacSolitaire 1.3 for Classic, OS X

05/10, 12:35pm

MacSolitaire 1.3 for Classic, OS X

MacSolitaire 1.3 is a free, open-source solitaire game for Classic and Mac OS X. The new version adds several new features, including three cards shown instead of one, a basic scoring system, multiple undo, and a preferences panel, as well as a few bug fixes. [516 KB -- Classic; 518 KB -- Carbon]

Macromedia delivers FreeHand 10 for OS X

05/10, 12:20pm

Macromedia delivers FreeHand 10 for OS X

Macromedia has announced that Macromedia FreeHand 10, the company's $400 ($130 upgrade) professional illustration solution that began shipping for Windows last week, is now available for Mac OS 8.6 through Mac OS X. FreeHand 10 features master pages, tight integration with Macromedia Flash 5, and the ability to publish to both print and the Web. Downloadable versions are available immediately, while boxed copies are expected to ship later this month. (Note: Mac OS X users will have to purchase the boxed copy of FreeHand 10 for Mac OS X until Macromedia upgrades their systems to handle Mac OS X software downloads.)

AutoCat 3.01 fixes bugs catalog utility

05/10, 10:45am

AutoCat 3.01 fixes bugs catalog utility

Kebawe's AutoCat 3.0.1, a $15 disk cataloger for OS X and Mac OS 9, fixes the #48 error (due to invisible "Icon" files), allocates more memory (Mac OS 9), and has an items counter now in international number format.

Hotline 1.8.5 available for OS X

05/10, 10:40am

Hotline 1.8.5 available for OS X

A MacNN reader notes the availability of a Carbonized, "bannerless" version of the extremely popular community-based software, Hotline 1.8.5 for OS X, which is available for purchase for $13.

breve 1.0 simulation environment

05/10, 10:20am

breve 1.0 simulation environment

Jon Klein has posted breve 1.0, which is described as a "3D simulation environment designed for simulation of decentralized systems and artificial life. [it] includes an interpreted object oriented language, an OpenGL display engine and collision detection, while work is in progress to incorporate features such as articulated body physical simulation and collision resolution with static and dynamic friction."

Fizzilla 0.9: Carbonized Mozilla browser

05/10, 10:20am

Fizzilla 0.9: Carbonized Mozilla browser

Fizzila 0.9, a Carbonized version of the open-source Mozilla browser project, is now available.

ViewSonic lowers 17" LCD to under $1,000

05/10, 10:00am

ViewSonic lowers 17" LCD to under $1,000

ViewSonic has lowered the price of its 17" LCD ViewPanel VE170 to $995, marking the first 17" LCD from a major manufacturer to fall below the $1,000 price point. The VE170 features a 1280x1024 native resolution, 200:1 contrast ratio, and a 160-degree viewing angle.

Canon introduces new Digital ELPH camera

05/10, 10:00am

Canon introduces new Digital ELPH camera

Canon today introduced the PowerShot S110 Digital ELPH camera. Similar to the S100, the S110 is an ultraportable 2.1 megapixel camera with a 2x optical zoom. It also features direct print capabilities with the Canon Card Photo Printer CP-10 and can capture 20-second video clips at resolutions up to 640x480. The camera will ship in June with an 8MB CompactFlash card for $599.

Apple Store corrects iBook specs

05/10, 9:00am

Apple Store corrects iBook specs

Following our news item two days ago regarding the mislabeling of two specs on the new iBook at the Apple Store, Apple has updated the site to reflect the correct information. The iBook ships with a 4,200 RPM hard drive (not 5,400 RPM) and the DVD/CD-RW combo drive writes CDs at 4x (not 8x).

Smell-O-Minits updated, information corrected

05/10, 8:30am

Smell-O-Minits updated, information corrected

Smell-O-Mints 1.1 fixes a handful of typos and other factual information with the application for viewing the periodic table of elements. A new "Find by name" feature has also been added. [Classic (827 KB), Carbon (905 KB)]

Escape from Monkey Island updated

05/10, 8:30am

Escape from Monkey Island updated

Escape From Monkey Island 1.1.1 fixes two bugs with the game's Jambalaya Beach level. (Our review of Escape from Monkey Island is also available.)

Apple products up for design award

05/10, 8:30am

Apple products up for design award

Three Apple products have been nominated for a British Design and Art Direction Silver award: the G4 Cube, Pro Speakers, and Pro Mouse. Last year, Apple won a D&AD award for its Cinema Display, as well as silver awards for its Power Mac G4 and iBook. [MWUK]

pro Fit 5.5.3: scientific analysis app revved

05/10, 1:45am

pro Fit 5.5.3: scientific analysis app revved

QuantumSoft has released pro Fit 5.5.3, a maintenance release to its scientific analysis and presentation tool. (Users of pro Fit 5.5 will are entitled to a free upgrade to the upcoming version 5.6, which will run natively under Carbon in Mac OS X. A beta version of pro Fit 5.6 was posted sometime ago.)

Omniweb to get better Flash, Java support

05/10, 1:45am

Omniweb to get better Flash, Java support

Following our report yesterday summarizing the state of OS X's most prominent web browsers, officials from the Omni Group say that the company is working hard on support for Flash compatibility for a 4.1 release of OmniWeb, and currently have a proprietary Flash plug-in under testing. The company also says it is working to enhance Java compatibility.

Palm shows off latest m500 handhelds

05/10, 1:40am

Palm shows off latest m500 handhelds

Palm will show off its latest range of handhelds, the Palm m500 series, which features a Secure Digital (SD) and MultiMediaCard expansion slot to add extra memory at the Cannes Film Festival. Meanwhile, pictures of the company's upcoming m700 are currently circulating on the Web. Palm also announced that Symbol (another manufacturer of handheld devices), has renewed its license to develop Palm-based devices.

Mac version of new streaming client due soon

05/10, 1:40am

Mac version of new streaming client due soon

At the Cannes Film Festival, NewGenFilms is showing off its new streaming technology that purportedly allows full-screen, DVD movies to be streamed over 300 Kbps Internet connections. The company says a Mac version of its media player is currently under development, and will be available "any day now."

Internet Explorer 5.1 due this summer

05/10, 1:35am

Internet Explorer 5.1 due this summer

Microsoft's Mac division PR Manager, Erik Ryan, has told MacNN that the company is still actively targeting a Summer release date for the final version of Internet Explorer 5.1. A preview version of the browser is currently pre-loaded on copies of Mac OS X. "We are indeed working hard on getting the final version done," said Ryan. A debut is expected at Macworld New York in July.

Lightwave 6.5b has many enhancements

05/10, 1:30am

Lightwave 6.5b has many enhancements

Newtek's free Lightwave 6.5b update to its 3D animation software offers speed and stability improvements, alert levels for error displays (beginner, intermediate, or Advanced Mode), support for OpenGL textures at 1024 x 1024 resolution, a new 'Shading Noise Reduction’ tool, "Volumetric Antialiasing" and other related enhancements as well as new Decimate (polygon reduction) and Vertex Paint plug-ins. [Classic 7.2MB, Carbon 6.3MB]

Roundup: Mac OS X 10.0.3, OS X browsers

05/10, 1:00am

Roundup: Mac OS X 10.0.3, OS X browsers

Yesterday Apple released Mac OS X 10.0.3 (Build 4P13), a minor maintenance update to the new operating system. Other reports included a comparison of the three primary OS X browsers, Max Payne and Stronghold coming to the Mac, the new iBook compared to its competitors, Samsung's new 32MB Mini Yepp digital audio player, a private beta seeding of Suitcase 10, and LaCie's new 180GB Ultra SCSI drive. Software releases included Mail Siphon 2.5, PhotoCat 3.4.1, CreativePage 2.6.1, Excite Messenger 2.0, and English-International versions of AppleWorks 6.1.2, iMovie 2.1 for OS X, and iMovie Plugin Pack for Mac OS X.