News Archive for 02/05/06

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OmniWeb 4.1 beta 6 offers enhancements

05/06, 6:45pm

OmniWeb 4.1 beta 6 offers enhancements

OmniWeb v4.1b6 is the latest update to the popular Web browsing package for Mac OS X from the Omni Group. Beta 6 offers quicker URL following, better handling of tables and interface enhancements.

SmartDisk updates portable FireWire CD-RW

05/06, 6:40pm

SmartDisk updates portable FireWire CD-RW

SmartDisk today announced a 16x10x24x version of its portable FireWire CD-R/W. The bus-powered drive features buffer underrun prevention, a compact form factor, (approximately 5.6" x 7" x 1") and a front-loading/ejection CD tray as well as CD burning software. It is due in mid-May for $250.

MathWorks announces MATLAB for OS X

05/06, 6:05pm

MathWorks announces MATLAB for OS X

MathWorks today announced it would develop an OS X-compatible version of MATLAB, a leading technical computing application. Pricing and availability will be announced prior to the first commercial shipment of the next release of the MathWorks product line. The release of the company's full line of MATLAB and Simulink products for computation, programming and embedded systems design is expected later this year.

O'Reilly makes OS X announcements

05/06, 6:00pm

O'Reilly makes OS X announcements

O'Reilly & Associates has introduced several Mac OS X-oriented products, at the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference for 2002. The O'Reilly Mac OS X Conference --still in the initial planning stage-- calls for the submission of tutorial and session proposals for the O'Reilly first, taking place at in Santa Clara, CA this fall. Also announced today was the O'Reilly MacDevCenter for Mac OS X developers. The network provides a collection of tutorials and research information for programmers, technical administrators and project managers. Final announcements include the release of two new books --"Learning Unix for Mac OS X" and "Building Cocoa Applications"-- that offer comprehensive information for advanced OS X learning.

Thursby Software updates DAVE 3.1.1

05/06, 5:50pm

Thursby Software updates DAVE 3.1.1

Thursby Software Systems announced today the immediate availability of DAVE v3.1.1, a key update to the $150 file and print sharing software. This update adds outbound PostScript printer support for Mac OS X, bi-directional file sharing between platforms, large-file support (2GB+) and support for the sharing of inkjet and PostScript printers. Version 3.1.1 is a free update for customers currently running DAVE 3.1; those using version 2.5 of DAVE may purchase an upgrade on the Thursby Web site, for $89.95. [Carbon, OSX]

Readers: iTools mail servers unreachable

05/06, 5:45pm

Readers: iTools mail servers unreachable

Several MacNN Readers write to confirm that Apple's Mac.com services are unavailable and possibly down for maintenance. Although this is not indicative of major upgrades, the downtime appears to be a widespread issue.

Xproof : color previewing for digital media

05/06, 5:25pm

Xproof : color previewing for digital media

Xproof v1.0 is a $30 Mac OS 9/X application that offers color previewing to help digital designers visualize how colors will appear across platforms and standard settings. Color previewing enables designers to compare how Web graphics or on-screen documents will appear on Microsoft Windows compared to, for example, standard Macintosh gamma. [Classic, Carbon]

Gefen ships new DVI products, hubs

05/06, 5:10pm

Gefen ships new DVI products, hubs

Gefen today announced the DVI Hub, a new edition to its suite of DVI-ready products. The DVI Hub lets professional Mac users connect two digital flat panel monitors --or a combination of monitor and projector-- to one workstation. The $600 hub is capable of sending signals along high-quality cabling up to 150 feet (about 38 meters); used in conjunction with Gefen's DVI to ADC Conversion Box, many of Apple's digital displays can be extended for an additional 150 feet. Less expensive alternatives include the $400 DVI Repeater with a 50-foot range.

Omni Group ships memory management tool

05/06, 5:00pm

Omni Group ships memory management tool

The Omni Group today announced OmniObjectMeter v2.0, a tool tailored for Cocoa developers that provides an easy way to track and solve common memory management coding mistakes in Objective-C code. ObjectMeter’s aim is to lead to more-robust applications by reducing the time required to troubleshoot. Typically complex and time-consuming code reviews can be done “in minutes” with OmniObjectMeter. More information and a free trial download are available from Omni; ObjectMeter 2.0 retails for $149.00.

procreate to sponsor Canadian graphics assc.

05/06, 4:30pm

procreate to sponsor Canadian graphics assc.

procreate today unveiled plans for forthcoming sponsorship of the Society of Graphic Designers of Canada (GDC), the Canadian national association of professional graphic designers. The sponsorship was announced Friday at the GDC Annual General Meeting in Banff, Alberta ahead of PICA 2002, a design conference featuring speakers from both the design and advertising industries. "We're pleased to add procreate as our first-ever Sustaining Sponsor," said GDC president Cynthia Hoffos.

MindVision: Beta of Installer Vise 8.0b1

05/06, 3:20pm

MindVision: Beta of Installer Vise 8.0b1

MindVision today released a public beta of Installer VISE 8.0, a fully Carbonized version of its developer tool that runs on both OS X and Mac OS 9. It offers the ability to create OS X application bundles, updated Gestalts, and more integrated e-commerce options.

Apple previews new AOL messaging: iChat

05/06, 3:15pm

Apple previews new AOL messaging: iChat

Apple today also introduced iChat, a new AIM-compatible instant messaging client with an Aqua interface that will be integrated with Jaguar (the next version of OS X). It offers messaging between Mac.com members, AOL members and AOL Instant Messenger (AIM) users, allowing Mac users to use their existing Mac.com names with iChat. It offers integration with Mail to display the online status of recipient's email, integration with the system-wide Address Book, "dialogue bubbles" to display chats, and automatic discovery of users on local area networks.

Apple showcases Jaguar, new version of OS X

05/06, 3:10pm

Apple showcases Jaguar, new version of OS X

Apple this morning previewed the next major version of OS X, code-named Jaguar," to more than 2,500 Macintosh developers. Due out in "late summer 2002, it includes: iChat (Apple's new AIM-compatible instant messaging software that is integrated with the new Mail and Address Book applications); QuickTime 6 with MPEG-4; Rendezvous (Apple's ZeroConf implementation -- "bringing AppleTalk ease-of-use to IP networking"); a "completely" new Address Book (new system-wide database for managing contact information); an improved Finder (with spring-loaded folders and new instant searching); Sherlock 3 with greatly improved internet search features; Quartz Extreme (hardware accelerated Quartz graphics and compositing engine for supported graphics cards); new Unix updates (increased FreeBSD 4.4 compatibility, the new GCC 3 compiler, IPv6 and IPSec support, and CUPS printing); and Windows Support, for increased compatibility with Windows networks with SMB browsing and sharing as well as built-in PPTP VPN security.

OpenBase SQL 7.0.6 gets clustering, mirroring

05/06, 11:25am

OpenBase SQL 7.0.6 gets clustering, mirroring

OpenBase has released OpenBase SQL 7.0.6, which the company claims sustains one million transactions per hour with 10-million record datasets. The release also offers new database clustering and mirroring options to distribute transaction load between multiple servers and includes the second generation of OpenSQLGui, a powerful graphical query application that now includes the ability to edit rows of data and has a simple copy-and-paste of data to Microsoft Excel and other applications.

New desktop environment: Spring

05/06, 11:10am

New desktop environment: Spring

UserCreations today announced Spring, a desktop environment that "makes your Mac more human, less machine-like. With its support for unlimited kinds of natural objects and its reliance on open web and desktop standards..Instead of having to go to five different applications to communicate with the same person, with Spring, you simply control click on the person and choose among actions like Email, IM with, Visit Weblog, Check Work Calendar." It will be available as a fully functional, expiring demo in about two weeks. ¨[no pricing info available]

Pepper 4.03: maintenance update

05/06, 11:05am

Pepper 4.03: maintenance update

Pepper 4.03 is an update to the $35 shareware text editor from Martin Hekkelman. It offers a built-in ftp client, extensive language support through plugins, syntax coloring, oCdewarrior integration (check syntax/compile, find definition), and more. [link, version updated]

Post Office 3.5.3 adds listserv functions

05/06, 9:20am

Post Office 3.5.3 adds listserv functions

Tenon's multi-threaded mail/list server for Mac OS, Post.Office 3.5.3, now incorporates powerful list serving functions, supporting hundreds of lists and mailings to thousands of subscribers. It also includes IMAP, POP-before-SMTP, and SPAM filtering as well as Web-based administration. A starter package is available for $300, supporting 100 mailboxes and 10 lists, while a free version of Post.Office, limited to ten mailboxes and two mailing lists.

Gene Construction Kit 2.5 for OS X

05/06, 8:20am

Gene Construction Kit 2.5 for OS X

 SciQuest has released Gene Construction Kit 2.5, an update to the molecular biology software application developed by Textco, a company recently acquired by SciQuest. It offers unique DNA manipulation, cloning design, and illustration tools. It includes a new Deluxe Importer Module for integrated GenBank and EMBL searching and file retrieval over the Internet; a new customizable interface converts all GenBank and EMBL features 'one-to-one' to graphical GCK features; and OS X-compatibility.

osXigen 1.2.2: ftp client with new features

05/06, 8:15am

osXigen 1.2.2: ftp client with new features

JomoSoft's osXigen 1.2.2 adds server time zones, a new bookmarks editor, improved BBEdit integration, and other enhancements to the $25 shareware FTP client for OS X. A limited time $20 offer is available.

CopyPaste 1.3: clipboard enhancement updated

05/06, 8:10am

CopyPaste 1.3: clipboard enhancement updated

Script Software's popular clipboard enhancement utilty, CopyPaste 1.3, can now open/save RTF files, has sorting options for saved text, table-formating options, and other new features to the $20 shareware.

RapidDispatch 1.0 bteta: messaging services

05/06, 8:05am

RapidDispatch 1.0 bteta: messaging services

Jiiva's new RapidDispatch 1.0 Beta is a fast, reliable, and extendable messaging service. Its real-time data distribution is designed for synchronization and Publish & Subscribe architectures between applications using RapidMQ, a Message Oriented Middleware implementation designed for asynchronous communication over TCP/IP networks. It contains a message server, frameworks to be included in applications, and an administrative application that runs on Mac OS X as well as a specific implementation used for WebObjects 4.5.1 and 5.1. Pricing starts at $1000 for a 10-connection license.

Tool for developing 2D games: CSK 1.0b1

05/06, 7:55am

Tool for developing 2D games: CSK 1.0b1

Cocoa Sprite Kit 1.0b1 is a framework designed to make 2D graphics applications, featuring tools for transparency, scaling, rotation, and other graphics transformations, collision detection and graphics layering with a minimum of programming effort.

JEmpeg: Java port of Empeg/Rio Car app

05/06, 7:55am

JEmpeg: Java port of Empeg/Rio Car app

JEmpeg 2.0b11 is a Java port of the Empeg/Rio Car management software. One of its components, JEmplode (logo pictured above), allows Empeg/Rio Car owners to use a graphical interface on non-Windows machines to synchronize their players. An application-only version of JEmplode is available for OS X.

ContactsPlus adds International options

05/06, 7:50am

ContactsPlus adds International options

dSoft's ContactsPlus adds International date format and address support as well as other enhancements. It allows you to keep track of personal and business contacts and can create letters, fax cover sheets, emails, envelopes and track telephone calls as well as a password module for tracking passwords. Optional modules include Health, Innercom, Labels, Medical, Messages, Mileage, and Schedule w/Calendar. Plus Sync with your Palm. A trial version of the $40 application is available.

Freeware creates to-do screensaver

05/06, 7:45am

Freeware creates to-do screensaver

StartupList 1.0 by Dan Grover is a freeware utility that creates a start-up screen from a user's to-do list.

SNAX 1.2.8: file browser with many features

05/06, 7:35am

SNAX 1.2.8: file browser with many features

SNAX 1.2.8 is a file browser for Mac OS X which features an Aqua graphical user interface, and other Finder enhancements such as custom Font and text color and background color, the ability to view invisible files, spring loaded folders, flexible sorting options, and many other features.

Jobs scheduled to deliver opening keynote

05/06, 7:35am

Jobs scheduled to deliver opening keynote

Steve Jobs is scheduled to deliver the WWDC opening keynote address this morning at 10 am PT, where he is expected to preview "Jaguar", the forthcoming version of Mac OS X 10.2.

Desktop Carousel 1.0 changes desktop picture

05/06, 7:30am

Desktop Carousel 1.0 changes desktop picture

Beeline Software Express has released Desktop Carousel 1.0, a $10 shareware application that can change or update your desktop picture at specified intervals. It works with local files or with Web URLs.

PlayerPRO 5.9.3: soundtracker editor

05/06, 7:30am

PlayerPRO 5.9.3: soundtracker editor

PlayerPRO 5.9.3, the soundtracker editor for MacOS 9/X, fixes several bugs in the OS X version; bundles the OS X, commercial, and freeware versions in a single application package; offers better support for VST instruments under OS X GUI corrections under MacOS X; and supports PLST and more icons.