News Archive for 02/06/17

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FontAgent X v10.1.1: font management

06/17, 9:10pm

FontAgent X v10.1.1: font management

Insider Software has released FontAgent X v10.1.1, an update to its $90 Cocoa application that provides font management and repair functions. The new version offers improved import and handling of "fonts contained in the Fonts folder of systems upgraded from Mac OS 9, and the importing of large font libraries. In addition, the new release simplifies installation by adding the ability to install FontAgent X without requiring Administrator privileges on Mac OS X systems." An OS X demo optimizes and activates up to 250 fonts.

Tech News: Lasso Summit 2002 in Bellevue, WA

06/17, 7:55pm

Tech News: Lasso Summit 2002 in Bellevue, WA

VH Publications and MightyData today announced Lasso Summit 2002, slated for October 14-15, at the Meydenbauer Center in Bellevue, Washington. The focus of the two-day event is Blue World Communications's Lasso Web development environment -- a direct competitor of PHP, an established database-driven language. Registration for the conference is $600 through August 17; beginning August 18, registration is $700.

Lasso Weblet Charts available for free

06/17, 7:00pm

Lasso Weblet Charts available for free

Brian Dunning has announced that Weblet Charts for Lasso and CDML are now available free of charge. Weblets are small collections of format files and databases to get developers started on the design of their own database-driven systems. Weblet Charts provides a sample database and five chart format files to demonstrate several "innovative and easy" methods for the addition of charts to Web sites.

Urchin 4 provides extensive hit tracking

06/17, 6:25pm

Urchin 4 provides extensive hit tracking

Urchin Software -- formerly Quantified Systems -- today announced the immediate availability of Urchin 4, an advanced "Web analytics" suite. The package employs a one-hundred percent Web-based administration system for the tracking of Web site traffic. "Without sacrificing our well-known performance advantages, we have created the industry's most usable web traffic reporting software."

SparkME: advanced audio editing for consumer

06/17, 6:15pm

SparkME: advanced audio editing for consumer

TC|Works' SparkME (v2.5) is a Mac OS X version of the company's Spark audio editor. SparkME includes many professionally-oriented features, such as high-speed editing with unlimited undo actions, sample-accurate waveform display and VST plug-in support. All major audio file formats are supported under SparkME -- ranging from AIFF to WAV and SDII, in addition to all major formats supported by QuickTime.

Opium OPI 4.1 offers PDF support

06/17, 5:50pm

Opium OPI 4.1 offers PDF support

Opium OPI v4.1 is a significant update to the print and font server software for AppleTalk. Opium OPI can manage many printers on a network with a strong 200-to-500-percent speed advantage over a standard AppleTalk network, while maintaining "superb reliability," according to the developer. In addition to measurable performance boosts, version 4.1 includes "InstantSampling" technology and PDF support.

Beach Head 2002 ships for Macintosh

06/17, 5:35pm

Beach Head 2002 ships for Macintosh

MacSoft today began shipping the latest installment of the Beach Head action series: Beach Head 2002, as noted by Inside Mac Games. "The game sports a number of new features over its predecessor, such as new modes of enemy attacks, dynamic lighting, and network play." Beach Head 2002 is available for purchase from the Apple Store for $20.

Ten Thumbs Typing Tutor now for Mac OS X

06/17, 5:20pm

Ten Thumbs Typing Tutor now for Mac OS X

Ten Thumbs Typing Tutor v2.3 adds Mac OS X support to the touch-typing training application from Runtime Revolution. Ten Thumbs Typing Tutor teaches the essential skill of touch-typing to those seeking to improve overall home and office computer proficiency. 'Ten Thumbs' includes fill QWERTY and Dvorak tuition with U.S and British keyboard support. A single-user upgrade to version 2.3 is $9. Version 2.2 remains the latest release for Classic Mac OS systems.

HorizonLive releases scalable Webcast aid

06/17, 5:05pm

HorizonLive releases scalable Webcast aid

Educational software maker HorizonLive Thursday introduced version 2.6 of its Web-based thin-client platform for the support of live collaboration, 'e-learning,' Web conferencing and interactive Webcasts. The latest version of the system boasts significantly reduced training costs, requires no custom plug-ins or add-ons, is highly scalable and accommodates PC, Mac and Unix operating systems.

TimePalette 5.0.6 optimized with new compiler

06/17, 4:45pm

TimePalette 5.0.6 optimized with new compiler

Time Palette displays the current local time for any city worldwide, and offers advanced features for mapping related information. The $30 application can render, in real-time, photorealistic maps of the world with correct sun-shading. Additionally, Time Palette calculates a wealth of time, geographic, astronomical and weather data and statistics. Version 5.0.6, released today, is built with an updated compiler and better optimizations.[Update, Demo]

Extensis releases Suitcase Server for OS X

06/17, 4:00pm

Extensis releases Suitcase Server for OS X

Extensis today announced the release of Suitcase Server for OS X. The update is available free to all registered owners of Suitcase Server 8, 9, and 10 via electronic download. Suitcase and Suitcase Server 10.1 offers users the ability to view fonts in all OS X font directories, and activate or de-activate fonts in Cocoa, Carbon and Classic applications as well as share fonts across workgroups, perform automatic synchronization for fonts, graphics and other files, and create workgroup-specific font sets. Suitcase Server 10.1 is available for $1000, which includes 5 free copies of Suitcase 10.1.

Sage Form Tool: Acrobat plugin due in July

06/17, 3:55pm

Sage Form Tool: Acrobat plugin due in July

PDF Sages has announced Sage Form Tool, a plug-in for Adobe Acrobat 5.0 that delivers new and improved functionality, and greatly increased productivity, to those authoring and editing Acrobat Forms, offering "one-click access to every property that a field possesses (including some that even Acrobat keeps hidden!). The user can alter any field attribute interactively (with live preview), without any data loss." It also offers Custom JavaScript, which can be used to add or modify the plug-in's features, including menu commands. It is currently in development and due to ship to customers in early July for both Classic and OS X.

MacSQL 2.2.3: database management tool

06/17, 3:10pm

MacSQL 2.2.3: database management tool

Runtime Labs has released MacSQL 2.2.3, a free update to the solution for database management. The fully AppleScriptable application provides "web authors, publishers, and developers with a simple, graphical way to interact with SQL databases...This maintenance release offers a dramatic reduction in connection time, along with numerous bug fixes and performance enhancements." Both standard ($250) and lite ($100) versions are available as well as a 10-day limited demo.

Valentina 1.9.5 adds new SQL commands

06/17, 3:00pm

Valentina 1.9.5 adds new SQL commands

Paradigma Software has released Valentina 1.9.5, an update to its database engine that adds several new SQL -based features, including SELECT DISTINCT, which allows duplicate records to be removed from result produced from a query; OUTER JOINs; GROUP BY clause; and several aggregate functions. (A standalone Valentina application (VAPP) allows rapid creation and set up of Valentina databases on Mac OS Classic and Mac OS X systems.)

Bare Bones offers AppleScript book bundle

06/17, 2:35pm

Bare Bones offers AppleScript book bundle

Bare Bones is offering a free copy of AppleScript in a Nutshell with the purchase of its HTML/text editor BBEdit ($100) and Mailsmith email client ($90). The book is described as the "essential desktop reference that puts the full power of this user-friendly scripting language into every AppleScript user's hands." The limited-time offer ends July 12, 2002.

MoonMenu 2.0 brings OS X support

06/17, 1:15pm

MoonMenu 2.0 brings OS X support

MoonMenu 2.0 adds OS X compatibility along with rise and set times for the Sun, Twilight, and Moon to the shareware ($12) application that renders a small picture of the moon in its current phase in the menubar and optionally cna calculate lunar data for any given date.

Apple open-sources private JavaScriptCore API

06/17, 1:10pm

Apple open-sources private JavaScriptCore API

Apple has announced the open-source release of the new JavaScriptCore framework, based on the kjs JavaScript engine from KDE. JavaScriptCore is a private API which may be used by future OS X applications such as Sherlock, and is "provided as Open Source as part of [Apple's] partnership with the KDE community. JavaScriptCore will be used by Sherlock in an upcoming O/S release, and possibly by other Apple software in the future. Apple chose kjs as the basis of its JavaScript technology for its simple and efficient code."

MS offers no Hebrew support in IE, Office

06/17, 1:05pm

MS offers no Hebrew support in IE, Office

Microsoft's refusal to provide Hebrew support in its Mac Internet Explorer browser or Office suite has prompted a complaint to Israel's antitrust department, according to The Register. The article notes that Microsoft has refused despite an offer by the CEO of Apple's Israeli representative Yeda "to underwrite the localization work, pay 1million shekels, and assure a pre-order of 2,000 copies from Apple France - but Microsoft Israel declined."

Kinoma intros Palm OS-based video player

06/17, 12:55pm

Kinoma intros Palm OS-based video player

Kinoma today introduced Kinoma Player, a free digital media player for Palm OS-based handhelds, and Kinoma Producer, a tool for encoding audio, video, and still images. Kinoma Player provides full screen, full motion video playback with synchronized sound on nearly all Palm OS-based handhelds using Cinepak Mobile video technology. The $30 Kinoma Producer encoding tool, available for Classic and OS X, converts video, audio, and still images into the Kinoma movie format for playback using Kinoma Player and supports QuickTime, MPEG-1, AVI, MP3, AIFF, WAVE, Macromedia Flash, animated GIF, JPEG, and BMP. A free demo of Kinoma Producer is available online.

WiebeTech adds 160GB DesktopGB model

06/17, 12:45pm

WiebeTech adds 160GB DesktopGB model

WiebeTech has added a new 160GB preconfigured model of its FireWire DesktopGB. The $400 drive features the Oxford 911 FireWire interface with transfer rates in excess of 30 MB/second. It is also available in capacities of 60GB, 80GB, 120GB and a user configurable case-only model. The 160GB version is shipped with dual daisy chainable FireWire ports only and does not include a USB 2.0 port, which is standard in other configurations.

Diablotin 1.2.2 manages OS X Library folders

06/17, 12:20pm

Diablotin 1.2.2 manages OS X Library folders

Diablotin 1.2.2 is a freeware Preference pane which allows you to manage items which have been added to Mac OS X in the Library folders. It has a few bug fixes and adds a Japanese localization.

Lanier launches new color laser printer

06/17, 11:20am

Lanier launches new color laser printer

Lanier today launched the AP206 Color Laser Printer, a desktop printer that offers prints speeds of 6 ppm in color or 24 ppm in black-and-white, 1200 x 600 dpi resolution, a 250-sheet paper tray, and options for a 500-sheet letter-size tray, a 250-sheet legal-size tray, a duplexing unit, and a network interface card.It is available immediately, although pricing is not available.

LaCie SilverKeeper 1.01: freeware backup app

06/17, 11:05am

LaCie SilverKeeper 1.01: freeware backup app

SilverKeeper 1.01 for OS X is an update to the freeware application (registration required) from LaCie that automates Backups to external storage devices such as hard disks optical disks, and other removable storage devices that have IDE, ATAPI, SCSI, USB, or Firewire interfaces. It, however, does not track file permissions and can only backup files for which the user has correct permissions. Version 1.01 adds a "Never Remove Files" option to Backup Set definition, has improved date/time checking, and fixes several bugs.

MAKI Enterprise updates email tools

06/17, 11:05am

MAKI Enterprise updates email tools

MAKI Enterprise has updated several of its email products. The small, efficient email client Magellan 3.3 ($50) adds new history and bookmark features like as browser, an improved SPAM mail dictionary, support for Live scroll and wheel mouse, and support for color label in the mail list. Magellan Pro 1.4 ($80), an advanced email client, offers automated mail functions such as automaic mail forwarding depending on content as well as other advanced features. MailGoGoGo 2.0.3 ($30), a companion utility designed to delete the spam before downloading using contextual analysis, improves worm, spam, and adult dictionaries as well as offers improved speed when filtering/deleting email.

Emailchemy 1.0 converts email files

06/17, 10:45am

Emailchemy 1.0 converts email files

The $20 email conversion utility for OS X, Emailchemy 1.0, extracts data from the proprietary file formats used by email clients and converts them to standard, portable formats for use with most email applications. It supports import from Eudora, Netscape, PowerTalk, Claris Emailer 1.x, Outlook Express 4/5/6, and any UNIX-style (RFC-822) mailbox as well as output to FC-822 mailboxes ("mbox" or "UNIX-style"), folders of individual RFC-822 email files (plain text), comma-separated value files, or Apple’s Mail.app format.

uControl 1.06 remaps keyboard control key

06/17, 10:40am

uControl 1.06 remaps keyboard control key

uControl 1.06 "maps your control key to it's rightfully intended place on your laptops keyboard; the place thats currently occupied by the oft-unused caps lock key. No more finger acrobatics are required for using control-intensive Unix applications."

digitunnel 1.0: final version of VPN client

06/17, 10:35am

digitunnel 1.0: final version of VPN client

Gracion Software has released digitunnel 1.0, a final version of its VPN client that is compatible with Windows 2000 servers and supports PPTP (Point-to-Point Tunneling Protocol). It supports MSCHAP and MSCHAPv2 authentication, and 40-, 56-, and 128-bit-key MPPE encryption as well as Classic applications. A single-user license is $88 with a $10 discount for education users. Other license options are available for 5-, 10-, 50-, and 100-users

jsTool 1.0: new JavaScript authoring tool

06/17, 10:25am

jsTool 1.0: new JavaScript authoring tool

rnSoft's jsTool 1.0, a new drag and drop tool for developing JavaScript, provides a "list of objects and a clear hierarchy-based on the elements of the document object model that works across browsers. Grab an object in that list and drop it on your code and the JavaScript reference to that object is created." it also offers autocompletion of commands as you are typing, popup menus of properties, double-click object renaming, integrated help and other functions. It is $60 with a $10 discount for education customers. [Classic, OSX]

Jobs to deliver MWNY opening keynote

06/17, 10:20am

Jobs to deliver MWNY opening keynote

IDG World Expo today announced that Steve Jobs will kick off Macworld Expo in New York with the opening keynote presentation on Wednesday, July 17, 2002 at 9:00 am. Macworld Conference & Expo will be held at New York's Jacob K. Javits Convention Center from July 15-19, 2002.

Apple announces PowerSchool 3.0 at NECC

06/17, 10:20am

Apple announces PowerSchool 3.0 at NECC

Apple today announced PowerSchool SIS 3.0 as well as new resources for teachers and students including the Apple Digital Campus Curriculum and the Apple Learning Interchange.

Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.2 for OSX

06/17, 10:10am

Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.2 for OSX

Microsoft today announced Internet Explorer 5.2 for OS X, the latest update to the the popular browser. The update includes a number of enhancements, including Quartz text smoothing, which provides smooth display of text. [available as of 12:05 pm ET] Note: the download resets your default home page as well as your cookie preferences.

Java-based productivity suite on CD

06/17, 8:00am

Java-based productivity suite on CD

ThinkFree Office, an office productivity software suite, is now available on CD-ROM through retailers and resellers worldwide. The OS X appilcation features a Java-based word processor, spreadsheet and presentation graphics programs including ThinkFree Write, ThinkFree Calc and ThinkFree Show. The $50 software, which reads and writes Microsoft Office file formats, includes a printed User Guide as well as a one-year subscription to ThinkFree's CyberdrivePlus services, which includes a secure Internet file storage system, upgrades for a full year, and unlimited email customer support.

Movie Maestro creates soundtracks in 3-steps

06/17, 7:50am

Movie Maestro creates soundtracks in 3-steps

SmartSound's Movie Maestro is a 3-step soundtrack creation product for the consumer and education markets. It allows anyone to "easily create movie-quality soundtracks and includes a professionally recorded music library with themes especially suited for home videos." The $50 software, integrated with iMovie and iPhoto, includes 26 music tracks. The six add-on Movie Music CDs are priced at $30 each and include the following themes: Family, Vacation, Sports, Sentimental, Blockbuster and Cutting Edge. A demo is available.

chartConstructor creates Gantt, PERT Charts

06/17, 7:40am

chartConstructor creates Gantt, PERT Charts

headshack has released chartConstructor 1.0.2, an update to the shareware application used to build Gantt and PERT Charts that brings the ability to view Gantt charts in week, month or year views. The $30 application is aimed at small-to-medium sized business which produce charts to aid in project management.

EIMS 3.13 fix bugs in mail server for Classic

06/17, 7:40am

EIMS 3.13 fix bugs in mail server for Classic

The popular email server EIMS 3.1.3 is the latest version of Eudora Internet Mail Server. It fixes connection issues with some hosts, corrrects a TCP listener deafness issue under heavy load, and other bugs. The application is available in both standard ($400) and Light ($200) versions are available. EIMS Light only supports a single domain and has no IMAP or directory server, no AppleEvent/AppleScript support, and no Incoming Mail folder. [Std, Light]

Tech: Wi-Fi networks, copy-protected CDs

06/17, 1:15am

Tech: Wi-Fi networks, copy-protected CDs

Early morning tech news: Toshiba is expected to introduce a self-installable Wi-Fi kit ($200) that will allow business to instantly offer wireless (paid) Internet access; The five major record companies have been hit with a class-action lawsuit charging that new copy-protected CDs are defective and should either be barred from sale or carry warning labels; and Microsoft accidentally sent the virulent Nimda worm to South Korean developers when it distributed Korean-language versions of Visual Studio .Net that carried the virus.

Apple support explains slow OS X startup

06/17, 12:55am

Apple support explains slow OS X startup

Apple has posted a Knowledge Base article that highlights some factors that affect startup time. Many Mac OS X users report a delayed startup process while the OS is "Initializing network" or "Configuring network time." The report offers some considerations -- including domain name system (DNS) server address configurations -- for users experiencing this behavior.

Evergreen intros USB 1.1/2.0 'pocket' drive

06/17, 12:55am

Evergreen intros USB 1.1/2.0 'pocket' drive

Evergreen Technologies today announced the Pocket HotDrive -- the latest addition to its fireLINE family of high speed products. The HotDrive USB 2.0 external hard disk drive delivers 40GB of storage space to any laptop or desktop Mac equipped with USB. The device works with both USB 1.1 and 2.0, the latter standard is not currently available on Macintosh computers from Apple. Evergreen has removed the FireWire port from its drives. The 40GB drive sells for $260; customers can purchase a standalone case and bridge for $60.

MacHack announces "Defunct Company Day"

06/17, 12:25am

MacHack announces "Defunct Company Day"

MacHack is calling upon attendees of the annual conference of Macintosh software developers to support its declaration of June 20th as "Defunct Company Day." Those attending MacHack next week in Dearborn, Michigan, are asked to wear t-shirts or bring promotional items form a defunct business or popular interest product no longer available, for a chance to win a prize.

Health Tracker 2.0.3 follows fitness, more

06/17, 12:15am

Health Tracker 2.0.3 follows fitness, more

Black Cat Systems' Health Tracker v2.0.3 helps diet and weight-conscious Mac users track weight loss/gain with simple graphs generated by the program. Since the second version of the $10 shareware application, Health Tracker has offered the ability to track other health-related measurements such as blood glucose levels. The latest version fixes several bugs that could cause an application crash upon program launch. [Classic, Carbon]