News Archive for 02/07/29

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CodeTek VirtualDesktop 1.2 adds features

07/29, 9:30pm

CodeTek VirtualDesktop 1.2 adds features

The CodeTek VirtualDesktop v1.2 application, which allows users to switch between desktops on the monitor as though it had separate monitors, is now available for Mac OS X. It provides a GUI interface that contains the desktops arranged in a grid. Each desktop on the pager is a unique environment where you can accomplish your work. Windows can be moved between desktops simply by dragging them between desktops on the pager. New features and bug fixes are included with the $20 shareware application.

Dock-It 1.2: create multiple docks and more

07/29, 9:20pm

Dock-It 1.2: create multiple docks and more

Dock-It v1.2 is a multifuncional launcher and Finder enhancer for Mac OS X. It allows users to create multiple docks, streamline Finder drag and drop as well as the copy and paste of text and URLs. The latest update fixes numerous bugs as well as adds some features. The price is $15.

Lasso Partner Alliance announced

07/29, 7:15pm

Lasso Partner Alliance announced

Blue World Communications today announced the launch of the Lasso Partner Alliance (LPA), a new service designed to offer numerous benefits for advanced users of Lasso products. Members of the LPA receive benefits, including LPA Talk, pre-release software, bug tracking, private web sites and more. Prices for membership range from $400 for an Associate and $1200 for a Corporate membership.

Stargazer's Delight 6.1 polishes app

07/29, 6:05pm

Stargazer's Delight 6.1 polishes app

Stargazer's Delight 6.1 for Mac OS 9/X is a modest update to Ruedi Schmid's astronomical "desktop planetarium" that delivers information on the moons of Jupiter; introduces a "live update" feature; fixes printing, rendering and interface bugs. Stargazer's Delight offers views of the sky for any date and from any location on Earth. Users can see all the stars up to 'magnitude 10' (over 260,000 stars), in addition to our Solar System (the Moon, the Sun etc.).

Adobe, Macromedia end litigation

07/29, 5:20pm

Adobe, Macromedia end litigation

Adobe Systems and Macromedia have reached a settlement agreement on all litigation between the two parties. Nearly three months ago, Adobe won a $2.8 million victory over archrival Macromedia. Shortly thereafter, Macromedia returned that favor with a successful counter-suit, claiming $4.8 million in damages. Prior to both cases, other legal quarrels between the two were in the media spotlight. Today's undisclosed agreement put an end to further action against Adobe, scheduled for 2003.

Deals: Fire-I Digital Cam, 120GB Hard Drive

07/29, 3:55pm

Deals: Fire-I Digital Cam, 120GB Hard Drive

Deals Roundup: Macs4all has three new deals; the Fire-I Digital Camera with Video Conference Software and Cable for $105, a 120GB 7200RPM Fantom Premier FireWire Hard Drive for $245, and the LaCia FireWire & USB CD-RW 40x12x48x with a free 10 pack of CDR's for $210.

Host Solutions adds Xserve co-location

07/29, 3:45pm

Host Solutions adds Xserve co-location

Host Solutions has expanded its shared hosting services to include co-location server hosting. Organizations can now co-locate an Apple Xserve server for $99/month. This includes 10GB of bandwidth; $3 per gigabyte of 10GB.

New FireWire DVD-R/CD-R drive from OWC

07/29, 2:45pm

New FireWire DVD-R/CD-R drive from OWC

OWC has introduced the Mercury Pro DVD-R/RW, CD-R/RW FireWire drive, the first external FireWire solution that allows authoring of DVDs using iDVD. The drive writes DVD-R discs at 2x, DVD-RW discs at 1x, and CD-R discs at 8x. The price is $400.

Detto, Aladdin partner to help users 'switch

07/29, 2:00pm

Detto, Aladdin partner to help users 'switch

In an effort to make the transition to the Macintosh platform easy for Windows users, Aladdin Systems and Detto Technologies today announced a partnership that will include Detto's recently-announced Move2Mac. Both companies contend that their products offer "efficient solution[s] for moving files safely and securely." Specific details of forthcoming joint solutions were not available.

Eleven FileMaker Pro plug-ins from Troi

07/29, 1:25pm

Eleven FileMaker Pro plug-ins from Troi

Troi Automatisering has announced eleven new Troi Plug-ins to run with FileMaker Pro 6, including Troi Activator Plug-in which triggers scripts on a different computer, even over the internet, Troi Grabber Plug-in, which adds video image grabbing functions and many more. All of the plug-ins work with FileMaker Pro 5 and later for both Mac OS 9 & X. The price is $89 for a single license.

iPod still ahead in the MP3 devices pack

07/29, 12:55pm

iPod still ahead in the MP3 devices pack

The iPod is "the class of the field" according to SFGate's review of MP3 music devices, including Sonicblue's $350 Rio Riot and Creative's $400, 20-GB Nomad 3. (Another article examines the iPod knockoff noted last week, which it says may prompt legal action by Apple.)

1989 MacUser letter "predicts" Rendezvous

07/29, 12:05pm

1989 MacUser letter "predicts" Rendezvous

A personal "blog diary" notes that Douglas Adams -- author of The Salmon of Doubt -- "predicted" Rendezvous, the new Apple-sponsored open standard for any TCP-speaking device to find another across any IP network, in a 1989 letter to MacUser Magazine. "I'll tell you all I want to do in order to get my portable to appear on the Desktop of my IIx... I just want to carry it into the same room. Bang. There it is. It's on the desktop."

Advisory: Amazon Jaguar deal

07/29, 11:20am

Advisory: Amazon Jaguar deal

Last week, MacNN reported that Mac OS X 10.2 was available from Amazon.com for $80 (after exclusive $50 mail-in rebate). However, Amazon's Mac OS X 10.2 product page includes an incorrect coupon for the deal -- an older Mac OS X 10.1 rebate. A newer printable coupon (linked last week by MacNN) includes Mac OS X 10.2.

PCWorld: Sick of Blue Screens? Get a Mac

07/29, 10:50am

PCWorld: Sick of Blue Screens? Get a Mac

PCWorld's Stephen Manes says that, despite somewhat irritating advertising on the part of Apple, the 'Switch' TV campaign is accurate and represents some PC users' "fantasies." The PC columnist calls the "Blue Screen of Death" -- publicized in one Apple Switch ad -- a "dirty little secret" of die-hard Windows fans. Manes also points out that many technologies used in today's PCs, such as the floppy drive -- now absent in new Macs -- were pioneered by Apple with earlier machines.

Readers: unpredictable .Mac downtime

07/29, 10:30am

Readers: unpredictable .Mac downtime

Several MacNN Readers report that Apple's .Mac service continues to be unreliable, with outages and downtime over the past week. Apple has not explained these outages, although some attribute the problems to upgrades following the iTools transition.

PlaySound Plug-in for FileMaker Pro Databases

07/29, 9:50am

PlaySound Plug-in for FileMaker Pro Databases

24U PlaySound Plug-in v1.1 allows FileMaker Pro (v4.0 - v6.0) databases to play custom sounds on both Windows and Macintosh computers. The new version offers an external function for asynchronous sound playback for developers who want to add longer sound effects and backround music. The price for one license is $10.

Tech: ZD Media bankruptcy; piracy bill, Palm

07/29, 9:30am

Tech: ZD Media bankruptcy; piracy bill, Palm

Morining tech news: Ziff Davis Media will reportedly file for bankruptcy this week, as the publisher scrambles to reorganize on low cash [NYT registration req'd]; U.S. Senator Joseph Biden [D] recently called for the passage of a new bill that would make it a federal felony to modify certain devices to play "pirated" copyrighted media; With its stock price nearing $1, Palm may ask shareholders to approve a reverse stock split that would increase the handheld maker's stock price.

Citrix posts preview of Citrix ICA Client

07/29, 9:25am

Citrix posts preview of Citrix ICA Client

Citrix has posted a Technology Preview of the Citrix ICA Client for Mac OS X, which allows users to connect to MetaFrame XP servers over any connection type and execute applications on a remote server.

Speaker Grille Collection for Power Mac G4s

07/29, 9:15am

Speaker Grille Collection for Power Mac G4s

Difusi has unveiled its Speaker Grille Collection for "Quicksilver" Power Mac G4s. The $23 package (with two gaskets) has "been designed as an aesthetic enhancement and to provide protection from wandering children's fingers, or other foreign objects inserted to the exposed speaker." It includes a self-adhesive neoprene gasket, to firmly hold the grille in place without glue and offers interchangeability between multiple designs.

Macomedia DevCon 2002 in October

07/29, 9:10am

Macomedia DevCon 2002 in October

Macromedia today announced the Macromedia Developer Conference 2002 for Macromedia designers and developers. It will feature more than 100 sessions designed to provide hands-on training and skills development. Developers can now register for the conference, being held October 27-30 at the Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin in Lake Buena Vista, Fla., and take advantage of an early registration fee of $900 per person ($150 discount).

Refection of Daylight rotates desktop photo

07/29, 8:00am

Refection of Daylight rotates desktop photo

Refection of Daylight is a freeware application that changes the background of your desktop according to the time: "So you'll have a sunny desktop at noon whereas in the evening your desktop will be full of the red sunrays of the sunset which will fade into a starry night."

SerialStorage 1.1.1 stores passwords securely

07/29, 8:00am

SerialStorage 1.1.1 stores passwords securely

ArcaneWare's SerialStorage 1.1.1 adds new menu commands, full keyboard support to the main database window; better security, improved error handling, and other enhancements to the $10 shareware for securely storing passwords. [Classic, OSX]

JPEGDeux 1.5: open-source slideshow app

07/29, 7:50am

JPEGDeux 1.5: open-source slideshow app

Peter Ammon's JPEGDeux 1.5 is the latest version of the open-source image slideshow viewer for Mac OS X. New features include moving or copying images to arbitrary folders, a new "pre-cache" feature for better speed, and the ability to rotate or flip images, a preview drawer.

Archer 2.2: free multimedia player

07/29, 7:50am

Archer 2.2: free multimedia player

Archer 2.2 is an update to the free multimedia slide show player for OS X, adding support for long filenames, improved window re-size options, and keyboard-based navigation. Archer supports multiple players running at the same time--each with its own set of images, speed setting, and size.

Black & Bleu 6.0: error code explanations

07/29, 7:40am

Black & Bleu 6.0: error code explanations

Bleu Rose has released Black & Bleu 6.0, an application that details over 7,000 different Macintosh OS error codes (as well as has suggestions for resolving the errors). In addition, over 500 Sad Mac error codes and all 30 PostScript error codes are included. The standard version is $30, while the Pro version, with export features, is $130. Upgrades are $20.

Wedge iMac Flat Panel case updated

07/29, 7:35am

Wedge iMac Flat Panel case updated

Willow Design has updated its Wedge iMac Flat Panel carry case to securely fit and carry the new 17" G4 iMac. The lightweight case (7.3lbs) features rigid protective external walls, and dividers throughout to separate and protect the Flat Panel and other components with specific compartments for the iMac, speakers, keyboard, two separate accessory compartments, and room for cables underneath the back of the iMac. It is $215.