News Archive for 01/10/10

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ShadowKiller 1.0 removes shadows from OS X

10/10, 5:00pm

ShadowKiller 1.0 removes shadows from OS X

Unsanity has posted its released its first OS X hack, ShadowKiller 1.0, a freeware tool that removes all shadows in OS X (including windows, menus, etc).

Motorola to cut 7,000 jobs

10/10, 2:10pm

Motorola to cut 7,000 jobs

Motorola plans to cut 7,000 jobs, and implement other measures to scale back spending. The company also announced that it would lose money in its fiscal fourth quarter, resulting in the first full-year operating loss in at least 45 years. Motorola's semiconductor unit, which produces PowerPC chips for Apple, said it would not see a recovery in sales until at least the first half of 2002.

More Apple Store retail popping up

10/10, 12:30pm

More Apple Store retail popping up

Apple has confirmed that its Apple store at The Shops of Saddle Creek (Germantown, TN) will open on Saturday, October 13, 2001. Meanwhile, another reader notes that a store in Westfarms Mall (Farmington, CT) in "the vicinity of J.Crew, Banana Republic and Restoration Hardware," is now "Coming Soon."

Dave for OS X due out in early November

10/10, 12:30pm

Dave for OS X due out in early November

Thursby's Dave for X, software for browsing networks and printer to connected printers, will be released as public beta in the next two weeks, with the final product shipping in the first couple of weeks of November, according to MacUser UK. The article notes that it includes the ability to "browse Windows networks as they can AppleTalk-based ones...[and] the ability to connect to inkjets connected to Windows machines, as well as laser printers."

New VRML client for OS X in development

10/10, 12:20pm

New VRML client for OS X in development

Brian Frank noticed a new VRML client for OS X, which is under development by Parallel Graphics. The Cortona VRML Client OS X uses hardware rendering scheme based on OpenGL, and is available as a free add-on for Internet Explorer, offering "navigation paradigms (such as walking or flying) that enable the user to move the viewer through a virtual world [and] a mechanism that allows the user to interact with a virtual world through a sensor in the scene." The company is currently looking for beta testers.

DVI-Switcher supports DVI, USB, audio

10/10, 12:15pm

DVI-Switcher supports DVI, USB, audio

Gefen's $500 ex-tend-it DVI-Switcher allows users to share a single DVI monitor among two computers. It switches DVI, USB & Audio between any combination of two computers with DVI port (PC or Mac) and can be used in conjunction with its ex-tend-it DVI to ADC Conversion Box for Apple ADC monitor compatibility.

New SVG Viewer 3.0rc1 posted by Adobe

10/10, 11:45am

New SVG Viewer 3.0rc1 posted by Adobe

Adobe has posted release candidates of its SVG Viewer 3.0, a plugin for viewing data-driven, interactive, and personalized SVG-based graphics on the Web. Version 3.0 includes support for more elements CSS properties, and DOM Support as well as a new OS X 10.1 native version, performance improvements, and compressed file support. It is available in several languages. [Classic, Carbon]

PageSpinner 3.1.1 gets IE QuickTime tags

10/10, 11:30am

PageSpinner 3.1.1 gets IE QuickTime tags

PageSpinner 3.1.1 has been released, adding the ability to generate Windows IE QuickTime tags to Optima Systems' HTML editor. Also, the included Database Publishing Kit has been updated with support for generating web pages with data from AppleWorks 6 databases.

BW: OS X not at "critical mass"

10/10, 10:20am

BW: OS X not at "critical mass"

BusinessWeek writer Charles Haddad says that Apple is putting a drain on its resources by supporting both Mac OS 9 and Mac OS X. "When, then, will OS X hit critical mass? My guess is in about 18 months." Haddad adds that Microsoft's Office v.X will help add momentum to the user shift.

Reuters article discusses Apple stores

10/10, 10:01am

Reuters article discusses Apple stores

A Reuters article describes the gathering of Mac users at Apple retail stores following the September 11th attacks. "... as the United States was trying to absorb the enormity of the previous day's deadly hijacking attacks on New York's tallest buildings and the Pentagon, Apple Computer Inc's new retail stores were jammed." The piece also describes Apple's stores as "boutiques," and interviews Apple VP Ron Johnson, who said the stores are "opening against the wind," because of current economic conditions.

Two new analog modems debut

10/10, 9:50am

Two new analog modems debut

SONICBlue has debuted two new analog modems - the Diamond SupraMax V.92 PCI and Diamond SupraSST V.92 PCI. The new modems incorporate ITU V.92 and V.44 technologies, allowing features such as Quick Connect, Modem-on-hold, PCM Upstream and V.44 data compression. The PCI modem will be priced at $39.95 while the USB version will be priced at $49.95.

VP3 plug-in still available for QT5

10/10, 9:45am

VP3 plug-in still available for QT5

On2 Technologies has announced that the plug-in for its VP3 codec will continue to be available via the component download feature in Apple's QuickTime 5.  The VP3.2 plug-in allows any QuickTime user to decode On2 encoded content.

IDG reacquires ownership of Mac Publishing

10/10, 9:25am

IDG reacquires ownership of Mac Publishing

IDG has reacquired the rights to Mac Publishing, LLC (the parent company of Macworld Magazine) previously a joint venture between IDG and Ziff Davis Media Inc. Ziff Davis also announced "the sale of its 50% stake" in Mac Publishing, but neither company disclosed the terms of the deal.

PopChar Pro 1.3.3 adds site license support

10/10, 9:20am

PopChar Pro 1.3.3 adds site license support

PopChar Pro 1.3.3 adds a new site license installer for managing multiple installations as well as Mac OS 9.2 compatibility and accelerated isplay of the PopChar Pro menu. It is a free upgrade to the $40 menu-based character selector that offers quick visual selection of any keyboard character.

Spell checkers for non-English languages

10/10, 9:15am

Spell checkers for non-English languages

ObjectFarmSpell 0.9.1b offers spell checking support for non-English languages including Spanish, Italian, German and French: "Based on the famous unix spell checker ispell this spell service allows you to check spelling within almost every Cocoa application."

EVI/IDL development frozen; no OS X version

10/10, 9:10am

EVI/IDL development frozen; no OS X version

Jesse Brown writes about the development freeze of Research Systems' EVI/IDL, a high-end image processing application, noting that the company had previously sold licenses and marketed development for an OS X compatible upgrade.

"Just received a disturbing letter from Research Systems, Inc business manager stating that after careful consideration they would be discontinuing development of ENVI for Macintosh operating systems including MacOSX beginning with ENVI 3.5. Support for current users will be frozen at ENVI version 3.4.

"ENVI/IDL is a very high end image processing application for manipulating satellite Earth Sensing data. We purchased a license (~$5000 + support) for our new G4 Mac with the explicit assurance that the next version (3.5) was in the process of being ported to MacOS X. Apparently they see demand for a Linux version and are willing to port to that platform but not OS X on a G4.

"I believe they are being very shortsighted as there is probably no better platform on which to display the power of this program than the G4 running OSX and taking advantage of Multiple Processors. (full letter available)

IBTS: Italian expo on Audio/Video products

10/10, 8:55am

IBTS: Italian expo on Audio/Video products

MacityNet/MacProf has posted photos of (and some commentary on) IBTS, a major Italian conference for professional Audio/Video users.

EasyView 1.0: iTunes visual plugin

10/10, 4:10am

EasyView 1.0: iTunes visual plugin

EasyView 1.0 is a freeware visual plugin for iTunes that allows you to view the track information for the current song and includes the ability to customize the font, size, and colors for the display.

Print Window 1.0 for printing fromFinder

10/10, 4:10am

Print Window 1.0 for printing fromFinder

SearchWare Solutions's freeware Print Window 1.0 offers printing of file listings directly from the Finder, including the ability to print in multiple columns, adjust icon sizes, and generate hierarchical listings.

OS 9 has continuing role in OS X adoption

10/10, 4:05am

OS 9 has continuing role in OS X adoption

Mac OS 9 has an an important, vital role in Apple's strategy, as adoption of may not reach critical mass until mainstream applications are available to drive mass adoption of OS X: "There's no real reason to switch until widely used programs such as Microsoft Office and Adobe Photoshop release OS X versions," according to Business Week.

Apple retail store in Chandler, AZ

10/10, 4:00am

Apple retail store in Chandler, AZ

Greg Askins notes a new Apple Web page for an upcoming retail store in Chandler Fashion Center in Chandler, Arizona.

Snak 4.7.2 fixes OS X bugs in IRC client

10/10, 4:00am

Snak 4.7.2 fixes OS X bugs in IRC client

Snak 4.7.2, Kent Sorensen's IRC client, a bug fix release that among other things corrects a few incompatibilities with OS X 10.1 and has other bug fixes.

Reader: no PB G4/500 not available down under

10/10, 3:55am

Reader: no PB G4/500 not available down under

Alex Dawson writes about availability of PowerBook Titanium G4/500, noting the possibility of an upcoming product transition:

"I have a friend who has been trying to buy a Titanium G4/500 powerbook thru the educational reseller on campus. He has been waiting for 2 weeks for his. He eventually got the reseller to call Apple. Apple Australia responded to the reseller saying that they weren't going to get any more of them into the country, said he would get a powerbook, but wouldn't elaborate further. Looks like something new is on the way..."

Toonboom Studio incompatible with OS X 10.1

10/10, 3:50am

Toonboom Studio incompatible with OS X 10.1

Jeff Melrose has confirmed problems running TBS' Toonboom animation package under OS X 10.1, while the company claims a fix for problem is due in Spring 2002: "It won't save files. I recieved a reply from their support saying their official position was that in order to save files/use ToonBoom studio you much downgrade the OS back to 10.0.4. Despite 10.1 being available to developers for several months, it REALLY bothers me that their site still says 10.0.1 or higher, which would include 10.1. Plus, there's no update due for 4-6 months apparently."

Tenon iTools 6.1b offers Aqua interface

10/10, 3:25am

Tenon iTools 6.1b offers Aqua interface

Tenon announced today a public beta of its new Apache Administration tools: iTools 6.1, which adds a new Aqua-based GUI for setting up and configure Apache directly on the desktop.