News Archive for 03/04/01

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Independent Mac Shareware Dev. Group

04/01, 6:50pm

Independent Mac Shareware Dev. Group

A group of shareware developers is attempting to gauge developer interest in an organization tentatively called the Independent Macintosh Shareware Developers Group. Proprietor John Kinsella says would attempt to take some if the strain off of Apple's hard working developer relations group (ADC), and place that responsibility directly in the hands of the developers themselves. IMSDG would decide, as a group, the most important technical issues facing its membership, and then present those issues to Apple, most likely via ADC, "with a unified voice."

Twixtor 3.0: handles more complex sequences

04/01, 5:55pm

Twixtor 3.0: handles more complex sequences

RE:Vision Effects today released Twixtor 3.0, an update to its plug-in for a number of professional video editing suites that enables you to speed up or slow down image sequences. Version 3.0 adds significant new functionality by giving the user more options to guide Twixtor on problematic footage. Twixtor is compatible with Apple Final Cut Pro, Adobe Premier, Adobe After Effects, Discreet's combustion, and Pinnacle Systems' Commotion. Pricing begins at $330.

SimonSaysShop offers Mac OS X support

04/01, 5:55pm

SimonSaysShop offers Mac OS X support

SimonSaysShop, an online 'eBook' store, has launched an improved site, with a new look, new features, and Mac OS X support. To celebrate, the company is giving away a free Palm i705 handheld and is offering discounts of 10 percent, accessible using the 'palm10' promotional code. This savings is on top of prices already reduced by as much as 40 percent.

Lasso gets Fusebox support, reduced pricing

04/01, 5:35pm

Lasso gets Fusebox support, reduced pricing

Blue World today announced support for the Fusebox application framework and methodology. The Lasso edition of Fusebox makes it easy to migrate Fusebox- compliant solutions to and from other Web application servers which also support Fusebox, including ColdFusion, PHP, JSP and ASP. Fusebox consists of both a framework for developing Web applications as well as a development methodology of best practices, providing a common standard developing and managing Web projects.

Blue World also reduced pricing on all products in its Lasso product line, which reflects the same speciall promotional pricing offered through the end of last month. Prices have decreased by up to $200. The new purchase price for Lasso Studio 6, its application for building data-driven Web sites, is now $300; it is available in Dreamweaver MX or Adobe GoLive 6 editions. Lasso Professional 6, now $1000, allows users to instantly build and browse SQL databases within Lasso's intuitive graphical administration interface and then control specific security permissions for user and group access to databases and files via its built-in security system.

MacNN Services listing

04/01, 3:00pm

MacNN Services listing

We've linked to a variety of our services at the bottom of each page for easy access, including our XML feed, RSS feed (with article intros), Slim (a "lite" version of MacNN), Mobile (formatting for PDAs and other handhelds), Headlines (for a quick overview of stories), and Desktop Headlines (a popup window that refreshes automatically with the latest headlines). Webmasters can also contact us for a JavaScript Headline Feed for integration into other Websites. As always, we look forward to your suggestions for improvements and new services.

Asustek hoping for Apple OEM relationship

04/01, 2:50pm

Asustek hoping for Apple OEM relationship

Asustek Computer offered Elitegroup Computer Systems $28 million for a manufacturing plant, primarily used in the production of iBook laptops, according to EBN. Asustek is one of Taiwan's biggest ODMs makers of laptops and motherboards, according to the report. The article also notes that more than half of the factory's capacity has been allocated for Apple and the company is hoping to land orders from Apple, as it currently only has a few OEM customers, with Sony Corp. of Japan as the biggest one.

Apps: Troi URL Plug-in, iRoster, DNS Helper..

04/01, 2:15pm

Apps: Troi URL Plug-in, iRoster, DNS Helper..

Cocktail 1.3 is a freeware system utility for Mac OS X that offers easy access to system functions such as pre-binding functions, enable/disable journaling, set disk spindown, cron script execution, repair file/folder permissions, delete locked or unaccessible items, view log files, create symbolic links, change the duplex/speed of the network interface, remove cache files, force empty trash, and Finder/dock customization options. Version 1.3 adds French, Dutch, Spanish and Swedish localization as well as support for Safari, non-admin user authentication, and other bug fixes. [1.6MB]
Troi URL Plug-in 1.1 for FileMaker Pro 6 is a cross platform plug-in lets you post and retrieve information from the Internet and can also retrieves data from any HTTP URL using both the POST and GET commands. Version 1.1 adds support for cookies and has an updated the user guide and example files. New licenses are $60, while upgrades are free. [680KB]
iRoster 1.0b4 is a small and convenient tool for finding and connecting to Rendezvous-enabled services on your network such as web servers, Apple File Sharing (AFP) servers, and others. It provides easy access to Rendezvous services on your network from a menu accessible within its dock icon (or from the menubar). iRoster can also advertise other services on your computer that may not yet work with Rendezvous. Users can now attach customized AppleScript actions to Rendezvous services. [1.0MB]
DNS Helper 1.5 helps Mac OS X users configure the BIND domain name server. It will create zone, domain, db.cache, and named.conf files for your BIND server without the need to understand the formatting of those files and also can set the needed permissions and ownership on the files after they are created as well provides administrative options to start/stop/reload the BIND server, create a DNS server log, and other options. [766KB]
PineHill Products has released CreativePage 3.1.1, an update to its web page development application for Mac OS X. The update fixes numerous small bugs and fixes a problem with AppleScript support. CreativePage features syntax coloring, 30 (x)HTML assistants, auto save/backup functions, a built-in ftp client, and other advanced features. New licenses are $30. A demo is available. [1.8MB]

HD|Fury offers 10-bit SDI capture, playback

04/01, 1:15pm

HD|Fury offers 10-bit SDI capture, playback

Digital Voodoo today began shipping HD|Fury, its high-definition capture and playback card featuring a single HD SDI Input, one HD SDI Output and 8 channels of AES/EBU Digital Audio and simultaneous SD SDI downconversion. Digital Voodoo will be demonstrating HD|Fury at NAB 2003 (Booth SL-2431) in Las Vegas. The $12,000 PCI card features real-time, uncompressed 10-bit QuickTime playback without any video compression and can be selected to operate in 1080i and 1080 PsF television systems; it also functions as a second Mac monitor when not in use for real-time uncompressed playback and offers simultaneous SD SDI downconversion.

Wacom debuts CintiqPartner pen tablet

04/01, 12:30pm

Wacom debuts CintiqPartner pen tablet

Wacom today announced the CintiqPartner, a pen tablet designed to use the Grip Pen from a Cintiq interactive pen display to provide fast cursor control and easy desktop access in multiple-monitor configurations involving a Cintiq. Cintiq interactive pen displays allow users to work directly on the screen with the natural control of a pen, which can also be used on the CintiqPartner pen tablet to navigate on any traditional CRT or LCD monitor. It has an active area of 6" x 8" and the Pen controls the cursor in any application, offers 512 levels of pressure-sensitivity and provides pen-point precision whether used directly on the Cintiq screen or on the CintiqPartner tablet. The USB tablet is $200 with a $50 mail-in rebate offered until July 31st. Cintiq Interactive displays are available in 15" ($1900. XGA) and 18.1" ($3500, SXGA) LCD configurations.

Apps: Mail Courier, SerialMagic, HB Notebook

04/01, 11:10am

Apps: Mail Courier, SerialMagic, HB Notebook

Hog Bay Software has released Hog Bay Notebook 1.2, a $20 application designed to organize your ideas. It combines a clean, compact, aqua hierarchical note interface with powerful search technology that provides instant, ranked search results. This new version includes better history display and navigation, take note OS X service, highlighted search results, improved support for Asian languages, a one-click collapsible interface, and a floating window option. [788KB]
Mail Courier 1.0 for Mac OS X synchronizes email messages between Entourage v.X and Palm Mail: "by synchronizing your emails you will not only be able to take all your emails with you and read them, you can respond to them or create new messages that will get sent on your next synchronization." It requires Entourage for Mac OS X, Palm Desktop 4.0, and a Palm device with Palm Mail. A 15-day trial is available for $25. [1.0MB]
SerialMagic allows users to use serial data from devices such as bar code scanners into virtually any Mac software running under Mac OS X 10.2: "[It] provides powerful control of serial data allowing it to be used with programs that have no knowledge that SerialMagic is running on the same system. SerialMagic can work with virtually all web and browser technologies including, XML, SOAP, ASP, JavaScript, PHP, CGI, Python, Java, and .NET." It is $80.

Miglia ships MediaBank HS-R RAID solution

04/01, 11:00am

Miglia ships MediaBank HS-R RAID solution

Miglia today began shipping its hot-swap RAID 1 FireWire Solution, the MediaBank HS-R. The external hard drive case offers hardware-based RAID 1 support, and support for up to two desktop (3.5") hard drives. All mirroring, synchronization and backup functions are performed via the integrated hardware RAID controller. Drives can be swapped while the unit is running. The MediaBank HS-R ships in a case-only configuration for $480 with a two-year warranty, while build-to-order configurations are available through Miglia’s online store.

Sharp, Envision debut new 19-inch LCDs

04/01, 10:25am

Sharp, Envision debut new 19-inch LCDs

Sharp Systems has added a new 19-inch LCD monitor to its product line, line-up. The high-resolution 19-inch SXGA (1,280x1,024) monitor offer an extremely high contrast ratio of 700:1 and a high brightness of 300 nits. The Sharp LL-T19D1 is equipped with both analog and digital interfaces as well as dual analog RGB inputs, and a digital DVI-D input and is capable of accepting input from up to three different computers. The $800 height-adjustable LCD also provides 3 viewing modes to quickly adjust the contrast and power settings, including Office (power saving at 25W), Vivid (ultimate brightness), and Standard modes. It is available in black or ivory, equipped with a built-in AC power supply and compatible with VESA-standard free mount for wall or arm mounting.

Envision Monitors has also added a 19" ultra-thin LCD monitor that features DVI-D digital input and a 1280x1024 resolution. Other features of the Envision EN-9110 include one-touch display adjustments and plug and play functionality. The LCD can be used as a wall-mounted display, with a separate VESA compatible bracket/arm or as a desktop monitor. it is available now for $750 with a three-year parts and labor warranty.

More delays with MDD P4 G4 power supplies

04/01, 9:45am

More delays with MDD P4 G4 power supplies

Following on up yesterday's report, one reader provided additional details on MDD PowerMac G4 Power Supply shipments, noting delays of up to 6 weeks for all those who have not yet received their order.

Sonnet, C&G extend promotional offers

04/01, 9:35am

Sonnet, C&G extend promotional offers

Sonnet has extended is promotion for a free 32MB Piccolo USB Flash Drive with every Encore/ST purchase through the month of April. The original end date of March 31, 2003 has now been extended to April 30, 2003. Each customer purchasing an Encore/ST 800MHz, 1.0GHz, or 1.25GHz upgrade in the U.S, Canada, Japan, or Europe is eligible to receive a free Sonnet Piccolo 32MB USB Flash Drive.

Casady & Greene is also extending its special early-bird upgrade price of Spell Catcher X through April 4. Spell Catcher X, its all-in-one Mac OS X writing tool, is available at an early-bird upgrade price of $20 for registered users of earlier versions of Spell Catcher is extended to April 4, 2003. Beginning April 5, the upgrade price will be $30. The program features dictionaries featuring both US and international languages, instant thesaurus lookup, global writing support, writing statistics, and both interactive and batch-checking modes.

Apps: PGP, SwitchRes, Fork Server Helper...

04/01, 9:20am

Apps: PGP, SwitchRes, Fork Server Helper...

PGP Corporation has released PGP 8.0.2 for Mac OS X, a free update to all current licensed users of PGP 8.0. PGP Enterprise 8.0.2 for Mac OS X introduces PGP Admin for Mac OS X and schemas for PGP Admin policy distribution via Microsoft Active Directory, while all versions feature OpenPGP security improvements and a new UI for signature verification. Most users can download the freeware version to receive all of the enhanced funcationality (except PGP Admin). [5.6MB]
Mariner Software today released Mariner Write 3.1, an update to its streamlined word processing applicaiton. It introduces Microsoft Word translation capabilities as well as significant enhancements to the feature set with major improvements of headers and footers, footnotes, endnotes and table support. The $70 application offers OS X services support, mail merge functions, an automatic spell checker, auto save, and support for several formats. Version 3.1 is a free upgrade for v3.0 users, and $25 for others. [3.0MB]
Stephane Madrau's SwitchRes X.0.1 is a program that allows you to control the resolutions of all your displays. A "Control Panel" (Preferences pane) allows users to change their preferences, a Menu Extra displays the resolutions in the menu bar and a Contextual Menu Module offers easy access. The free update fixes a few startup bugs, correctly differentiates between to similar resolution settings, supports all display resolutions on a 17" iMac, prevents multiple launches of the background application, and fixes problems with the installer. [1.2MB]
Fork Server Helper is a system service that helps avoid problems with Macintosh resource forks when working in heterogeneous network environments. The tool can convert between different resource fork representations that are used by different file sharing standards and can be setup to modify permission settings of shared files, for example to create an unsafe "scratch area" on the file server for easy file exchange among a group. It is currently in beta and available only for Mac OS X. [206KB]
Conoa 1.6 is an update to the suite of After Effects plug-ins with support for other host applications, including Final Cut Pro, Combustion, and Avid (through Elastic Gasket). Version 1.6 features rendering changes that improve render speed and render quality. Conoa 3D ($300), Conoa Cube ($40) and Conoa Sphere ($40) have been updated to take advantage of these updates. They also feature reflection, refraction, transparency, bump mapping, reflection mapping and more. All Conoa plug-ins support Mac OS 9 and Mac OS X. Limited time special coupons are also available at its online store. [form]