News Archive for 02/07/10

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FileMaker Pro 6.0v2 updater posted

07/10, 5:35pm

FileMaker Pro 6.0v2 updater posted

FileMaker Pro 6.0v2 is a maintenance update to yesterday's release of FileMaker 6 for Mac OS X. The 6.0v2 updater adds support for the importing of XML data via HTTP; fixes interface and operational bugs and offers enhanced Find and Replace functionality.

MCE debuts new 24x portable writer

07/10, 4:40pm

MCE debuts new 24x portable writer

MCE today unveiled the Lucid-24, a 24x10x24 portable FireWire CD-RW drive, billed as the first portable 24x CD-writer on the market. The Lucid-24 sports a stylish and "aggressive" plastic and aluminum enclosure that is less than an inch thick and occupies a small footprint. The Lucid-24 24x10x24 writes 'recordable' CDs at speeds of up to 24x (3600KB/Sec); re-writable discs at up to 10x (1500KB/Sec); and reads regular CD-ROMs at up to 24x. The Mac OS 9/X-compatible drive carries a price of $300.

Deals: CompactFlash; Formac; 40GB FW HDD

07/10, 4:10pm

Deals: CompactFlash; Formac; 40GB FW HDD

Deals roundup: Shop4tech offers the Zenergy 128MB CompactFlash card for $53 with free shipping; Formac announced today that purchasers of qualifying PowerBook G4 models can receive the Formac gallery 1740 DVI flat-panel display for as low as $800; Piranha Technology offers a 40GB 5400RPM FireWire hard drive kit for $100, in addition to a host of specials on other IDE products.

Tech: Wi-Fi crackdown, nVidia nForce chips...

07/10, 12:55pm

Tech: Wi-Fi crackdown, nVidia nForce chips...

Afternoon tech news: Broadband providers are cracking down on Wi-Fi networks, threatening to cut service to customers who set up the inexpensive wireless systems and allow others to freely tap into their Internet access; VoiceStream Wireless is in talks to merge with AT&T Wireless Services, a move that would create the second largest cellular phone company; and Graphics chip manufacturer Nvidia is expected to announce next week a new generation of nForce, its integrated product that combines graphics and chipset functions.

FMR reduces stake in Apple Computer

07/10, 12:40pm

FMR reduces stake in Apple Computer

FMR Corp., an investment adviser to mutual fund giant Fidelity, has halved its stake in Apple Computer to 4.99 percent. Reuters reports that FMR now holds 17.8 million shares compared to 36.4 million shares or 10.28 percent on April 10, as noted in a recent SEC filing.

Kensington StudioMouse has scroll sensor

07/10, 12:40pm

Kensington StudioMouse has scroll sensor

Kensington introduced today a high-end input device: the StudioMouse, which combines "uncommon industrial design with sophisticated functionality to create acustomizable, professional-grade tool that makes work on a Mac simpler, smarter, and much more stylish." It features a Scroll Sensor, which replaces the scroll wheel with a multi-function, touch-sensitive strip as well as optical technology and three customizable buttons (using the MouseWorks software). The company is accepting pre-orders for the $60 device, but has not announced a ship date.

SampleTank RTAS plug-in due in July

07/10, 12:35pm

SampleTank RTAS plug-in due in July

IK Multimedia today announced SampleTank RTAS plug-in for Digidesign Pro Tools systems will be shipping in July. Sampletank is an expandable, professional virtual sound module plug-in that offers access to thousands of high-quality multi-sampled sounds directly within Pro Tools LE or TDM and also offers many sonic expansion possibilities. It offers a powerful sample-based synthesis engine without any hardware limitations. It is available in three versions: SampleTank L for $280 (2CDs, 200 sounds, 1.1GB samples, AKAI S1000-3000 converter); SampleTank XL for $500 (4 CDs, 450 sounds, 2.5GB samples, AKAI S1000-3000); and SampleTank LE for $80-$250 depending on configuration.

Tri-BACKUP 3.10 supports administrator mode

07/10, 12:15pm

Tri-BACKUP 3.10 supports administrator mode

Tri-BACKUP 3.10 brings support for administrator privileges and lock/unlock functions for backup routines as wel as a bug fix when saving to multiple volumes. The $50 backup utility can als0 create complete and bootable Mac OS X backups and also perform multiple backup routines at scheduled intervals or times. Thirty-day trial versions of the English/French application are available online.

starQuiz 1.5 administers quizes in classroom

07/10, 12:15pm

starQuiz 1.5 administers quizes in classroom

cosmicsoft has released starQuiz 1.5, an update to its $25 utility for teachers that allows them to administer quizzes on the computer in the classroom. The new version features interface improvements, lab-based quiz administration, and a new true or false question type. starQuiz Reader and starQuiz NetClient, two utilities for use with starQuiz, have also been updated to version 1.5. It is available in a 30-day trial for OS X and Mac OS 9. [Classic, OS X]

Apple Knowledge Base article describes Dock

07/10, 9:20am

Apple Knowledge Base article describes Dock

Apple's Additional Features of the Dock summarizes the keyboard shortcuts that can be used with the dock.

Utilities for REALbasic developers

07/10, 9:15am

Utilities for REALbasic developers

Michael Herzog's PG_Tooltip offers a complete Tooltip-Engine for programmers. The 10 Euro package includes all Classes and Modules for using tooltips inside REALbasic projects and also contains a sample window with the basic functionality and IDE-Extras for REALbasic 4.x. Mike Murry has also released an updated REALdocbuilder 1.5b1, his utility for generating HTML documentation for REALbasic projects.

Fujifilm to offer Disk-On-Key storage device

07/10, 9:10am

Fujifilm to offer Disk-On-Key storage device

Fujifilm today announced that it will offer a branded version of the M-Systems' Disk-On-Key USB-based personal removable storage roduct. The driverless storage device will be in 8MB, 16MB, 32MB, 64MB, 128MB and 256MB capacities. The USB Drive storage device will be offered through the business and retail sales channels of the Computer Products Division of Fujifilm, beginning in July. (Pricing not available.)

CenDyne ships portable USB 2.0 40x CD burner

07/10, 9:05am

CenDyne ships portable USB 2.0 40x CD burner

CenDyne is now shipping its Arsion portable 40x12x40 USB 2.0 CD-RW drive. The 1.25 pound CD burner is $180 and includes CD-R media, USB 2.0 interface cable and power cable. (It is backward compatible with USB 1.1 as well as compatible with any of the recently introduced USB 2.0 interfaces for Macs.)

AEGIS network authentication for OS X

07/10, 9:00am

AEGIS network authentication for OS X

Meetinghouse Data Communications has added support for OS X to its AEGIS line of network authentication software. AEGIS is an end-to-end 802.1X security solution providing a secure, standards-based user authentication system for wired and wireless LANs in enterprise and public access networks. It offers both client and server software that suppors enhanced EAP-TTLS tunneling authentication and also "repairs the weaknesses in the 802.1X protocol allowing dynamic WEP key exchange while supporting legacy, non-EAP, authentication methods such as PAP, CHAP, MS-CHAP, and MS-CHAP V2 through the authentication tunnel." Beta versions of AEGIS Client for OS X (which only supports EAP-MD5 authentication) are available now, while the final release is expected in August for $50 per user.

Convert 2.0: unit conversion utility for OS X

07/10, 8:50am

Convert 2.0: unit conversion utility for OS X

Fifth Wave has released Convert 2.0, a Carbonized version of its data conversion tool that includes 45 different categories such as temperature, velocity, time, mass, currency, bartending, etc. Version 2.0 adds the Radix (base) conversion category, support for multiple conversion windows with "memory", and expanded localizations. The $15 utility is free to all users who registered in 2002.

f(x) v2.5: RPN scientific calculator

07/10, 8:45am

f(x) v2.5: RPN scientific calculator

mac:method has updated its $15 RPN scientific calculator for OS X: f(x) v2.5 is an advanced programmable scientific calculator that offers 20 built-in scientific functions, decimal, hexadecimal, and binary numeric input modes, and a persistent and virtually limitless stack. Version 2.5 brings improved copy & paste functions, expanded numerics, and an updated user interface. A 60-day trial is available.

c|net: 17" iMac, .Mac at MWNY; no PowerMacs

07/10, 8:30am

c|net: 17" iMac, .Mac at MWNY; no PowerMacs

Apple is expected to announce a 17" flat-panel iMac model next week at Macworld Exo, according to c|net. The article also speculates that Steve Jobs will announce "an August release date for Jaguar...But other sources said Jaguar development is so far ahead of schedule that, barring any last-minute glitches, Jobs may deliver surprise news on how soon the new OS will be ready." Other announcements include a for-fee services .Mac implementation to be included with Jaguar, and a new iTunes revision with MPEG-4 audio codec support. However, the article notes that new Power Macs are not expected until mid-August.

XtremeMac reduces price on iPod car charger

07/10, 8:25am

XtremeMac reduces price on iPod car charger

XtremeMac today reduced the price on its Premium iPod Car Charger by $5 to $20. The charger is made of high-impact Apple-white plastic and features a white retractable 10-foot coil cord: "The Premium iPod Car Charger also allows users to listen to their iPod even while it is charging - a feature not possible when using the Apple wall charger."

chartConstructor 1.03 for project management

07/10, 8:25am

chartConstructor 1.03 for project management

The Gantt and PERT chart creator, chartConstructor 1.03, adds milestone options, a new toolboar, an inspector panel, several display options based on project timelines, and the ability to store notes on individual tasks to the project management software. A 30-day trial of the $30 application is available online.

Willow Design updates Cinema Display case

07/10, 8:20am

Willow Design updates Cinema Display case

Willow Design has upgraded its Cinema Display case to fit the 23-inch Cinema HD display (while still snuggly fitting the 22-inch display with special spacers). The $260 case, which also now features an integral Titanium PowerBook compartment, offers protection with dual density foams, extra corrugated plastic reinforcement, hardboard bottoms and bi-direction plastic reinforcement for the display side outer wall as well as a heavy duty molded rubber curved briefcase handle, contoured shoulder carry strap and luggage feet riveted through the wood on the bottom which keep the case securely upright.

WiebeTech to offer new drives at MWNY

07/10, 8:15am

WiebeTech to offer new drives at MWNY

WiebeTech is expected to intrduce a trio of portable storage solutions at Macworld Expo next week, including a bus-powered, fanless desktop drive utilizing high-performancee 3.5 inch drives (UltraGB); a bus-powered FireWire DriveDock for 3.5 inch drives (Super DriveDock); and an ultra-portable, pocket drive available with either OXFW911-based FireWire or USB2 interfaces (NanoGB). NanoGB, less than 0.5 inches thick, will be available in capacities of up to 40GB, and will offer data transfer rates of up to 35MB/sec.

MoonMenu update yields better accuracy

07/10, 12:30am

MoonMenu update yields better accuracy

MoonMenu 2.0.2 adds a host of improvements to the Mac OS 9/X moon-phase menu bar add-on, including the correction of latitude/longitude glitches. MoonMenu works by displaying a small icon in the menu bar that can be clicked to reveal a textual description of the moon phase, illumination percentage, the moon's age in days, sun and moon rise/set times and upcoming quarter predictions. This update also includes an enhanced Aqua interface and compatibility with the developer preview of Mac OS X 10.2.

1st Kiosk to ship k-Builder for OS X

07/10, 12:20am

1st Kiosk to ship k-Builder for OS X

1st Kiosk announced informally today that it would deliver 'k-Builder' for Mac OS X in September. k-Builder will help develop Macintosh-based kiosk solutions -- which Mitch Krayton of 1st Kiosk indicates can be set-up for under $800. In a recent article, Mr. Krayton explains why the Macintosh platform is ideal for this purpose: "[the Mac] defies normal convention, but it works so well for me that I run my business on it."