News Archive for 03/04/14

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Fink Binary Distribution 0.5.2 posted

04/14, 11:30pm

Fink Binary Distribution 0.5.2 posted

The Fink Project community and contributors today announced the availability of the Fink Binary Distribution 0.5.2, an update to the UNIX software compatibility tool kit for Mac OS X. Version 0.5.2 adds binaries for KDE 3.1, Koffice 1.2.1, and Kdevelop 3.0a3, new documentation/manuals, and improved support for Apple's X Server.

Novell announces GroupWise client for Mac

04/14, 11:20pm

Novell announces GroupWise client for Mac

Novell today announced a GroupWise client for Macintosh, giving customers additional choices for "taking advantage of the most trusted and secure messaging platform in the industry." The Java-based GroupWise client is based on technology Novell acquired from N-iX, a division of Newcomp Computer Systems. It will be available to customers later this year. "The GroupWise client for Linux and Macintosh lets customers use GroupWise to increase collaboration security and reduce costs while deploying the desktop systems that make the most sense for their business," said Alan Nugent, Novell chief technology officer.

Zoom ships new ADSL modem w/ VEnet

04/14, 9:30pm

Zoom ships new ADSL modem w/ VEnet

Zoom Technologies announced today that its Zoom ADSL Modem (USB Model 5510A) is now shipping with VEnet firmware. VEnet allows the Model 5510A to be used with both Macintosh and Windows computers, and provides the stability of an Ethernet ADSL modem with the low-cost and convenience of a USB interface. VEnet executes all ADSL protocol functions on the modem’s processor, which eliminates the need to run complex modem drivers on the computer. This gives Zoom’s Model 5510A with VEnet three "major advantages": cross-platform functionality, better stability, no need for PPP dialer software.

New Adobe products: PS 8, Illy 11, InDesign 3

04/14, 8:50pm

New Adobe products: PS 8, Illy 11, InDesign 3

eWeek reports that major new versions of Adobe's software line will ship by the fourth quarter of this year, including Photoshop 8, ImageReady 8, Illustrator 11, and InDesign 3:

"Code-named Dark Matter and Taconite, respectively, the next installment of Adobe's image-editing duo will reportedly feature non-destructive filtering that resembles the adjustment layers in Adobe's After Effects video-effects package.

"Photoshop 8 will also include Layer Palette presets that will let users maintain multiple palette sets that they can invoke via a menu. Photoshop 8 will also let users select multiple layers, then execute a single change to all of them simultaneously."

Tech: Intel delay; engineer arrested; more...

04/14, 6:55pm

Tech: Intel delay; engineer arrested; more...

After discovering an anomaly in its latest 3.0GHz Pentium 4 processor, Intel has delayed shipping the new processor; Intel engineer Mike Hawash is in solitary confinement in a federal prison after being arrested at gunpoint in Intel's parking lot near Portland for reasons that remain "confidential;" Gateway today released its most expensive computer -- a $3500 "multimedia PC;" computer security experts are taking a “show me” attitude to Microsoft’s claims that its new operating system for servers is going to be its most secure.

Apps: SynXpert, FootTrack, QuickUML, ...

04/14, 6:05pm

Apps: SynXpert, FootTrack, QuickUML, ...

SynXpert 1.6 adds new features and increased stability to the $300 organization tool for Mac OS X. "SynXpert brings together diverse elements of a process improvement or workflow analysis project in a comprehensive, easy-to-use fashion. The process map in SynXpert is sophisticated representation of the process that understands how the elements of the process relate and impact each other." [Download - see download form]
T-Squared Software today released FootTrack, a $30 application built for Mac OS X that allows you to catalog and easily search your digital video tape footage. "FootTrack works equally well if you have the space to keep all your DV footage on your hard drive, or you want to compress it and keep all your tape footage close at hand," according to the developer, "a 60 minute tape of digital video takes up approximately 12.5GB of disk. When compressed in FootTrack it takes approximately 180MB." [Download - 356KB]
Excel Software today announced the availability of QuickUML Mac OS X, the first Mac OS X version of its suite of software engineering tools. QuickUML is an object-oriented design tool focused on "tight integration and ease-of-use" for a core set of UML models. It works with Excel Software's MacTranslator to generate class models from source code. The Single User License is priced at $500, which includes both a printed and PDF manual on CD.

izi4u has released izi-Event 1.4, an update to its powerful FileMaker Pro-based scheduling solution. "izi-Event helps you managing your events with sending invitations, managing participants, mailings, lists, invoices and all kinds of reports every company has to deal with it." Version 1.4 adds following functionality to the standard module: sell products together with the event participation (books and materials); bill the products together with the session or bill on a separate invoice; different VAT tariffs possible; improved interface handling and control; and bug fixes. [Download - 3.5MB]

FireWire Depot ships FireWire 800 drive case

04/14, 4:50pm

FireWire Depot ships FireWire 800 drive case

FireWire Depot announced availability of its first FireWire 800 peripheral, The IceCube FireWire800/USB2 combo enclosure for 3.5" hard drives. The drive can be used with legacy FireWire systems using specially designed adapter cables with a FireWire 800 9-pin connector; users can connect up to 63 devices on a single FW 800 bus as well as share a camera between two Macs with the new protocol. FireWire 800 devices can provide or consume up to 45W of power--"more than enough for high-performance disk drives." The IceCube 800 is now available for $185.

Apple to launch wireless display PC?

04/14, 3:25pm

Apple to launch wireless display PC?

The DigiTimes reports that Apple "plans to launch a wireless display for a desktop system, according to sources. The display is said to resemble a Tablet PC in appearance and include a detachable keyboard but not have a battery. Whether it has handwriting recognition or any screen input capability is unclear." The report indicates that Taiwan’s Quanta Computer will contract manufacture the product and that Quanta has already begun test production. The same article notes the upcoming release of a 19-inch flat-panel iMac as well.

Apps: Check Off, Fugu, FastScripts, OnSync

04/14, 3:00pm

Apps: Check Off, Fugu, FastScripts, OnSync

Ricci Adams today released version 2.0 of his Check Off shareware application ($5). The new version features a completely redesigned interface, adding the ability to group tasks into groups and subgroups. Version 2.0 also features task coloring - color your to-do items with up to 10 different customizable colors. [97KB]
FastScripts 1.0 is a $10 shareware utility for executing scripts under Mac OS X. It provides "all of Script Menu's major features, as well as improvements that dramatically improve the usefulness of a menu-based script utility. FastScripts' 'Smart Switching' feature allows users to conveniently execute AppleScript, Perl, and other shell scripts from any application without interrupting the workflow of that application with annoying context switches." [84KB]
OnSync 1.0.5 helps isers to sync contacts between a mobile phone and Mac OS X Address Book or Microsoft Entourage. It recognizes mobile phones connected to your Mac via a serial cable, USB (with the appropriate adapter), infrared and Bluetooth and copy contact info via drag & drop with full undo/redo capabilities. It supports mobile phones equipped with an internal GSM modem with future support planned for other phones. It is $10 and runs on Mac OS X only. [523KB]
Fire 0.32.d is an update to the free Instant Messaging Client for Mac OS X which supports all of the most popular Instant Messaging services, including AIM, ICQ, irc, Jabber, MSN, and Yahoo! Messenger. It updates the Spanish, French, and German localizations, adds localizations for Traditional Chinese and Simplified Chinese as well as fixes minor problems with MSN and Yahoo! services. [5.8MB]
iPhoto Diet 2.04 is a freeware AppleScript Studio application for use with Apple's iPhoto. It reduces the size of iPhoto image libraries by removing the backups of each photo made by iPhoto. Users can perform the deletion en masse, selectively, or strip only the icon thumbnails. [124KB]
Fugu 1.0 is a graphical front-end to the commandline SFTP (Secure File Transfer application): "SFTP is similar to FTP, but unlike FTP, the entire session is encrypted, meaning no passwords are sent in cleartext form, and is thus much less vulnerable to third-party interception. Fugu allows you to take advantage of SFTP's security without having to sacrifice the ease of use found in a GUI. Fugu also includes support for SCP file transfers, and the ability to create secure tunnels vi SSH." The freeware supports Keychain, drag & drop upload, directory histories, public key authentication, and Mac OS X only. [652KB]
Monkeybread today released 5 new freeware applications (along with the source code viewable for developer with the Monkeybreadsoftware Plugin). The utilities include Screen 640x480 for web designers; JPEG 2000 Dropper, a utility for converting any picture to JPEG 2000 using QuickTime (for Mac OS X with QuickTime 6); Fullscreen Movie Player, a free Full Screen Movie Player for QuickTime; Follow Mouse to show a colored tail on the mouse cursor; and Tree Size to see the size of folders and subfolders.

Webcast on Apple Remote Desktop scheduled

04/14, 1:00pm

Webcast on Apple Remote Desktop scheduled

Apple and the macosxlabs project will host a live webcast on Apple Remote Desktop with Apple's Nader Nafissi and Doug Willen of Swarthmore College on Tuesday, April 15th at 1 p.m. ET: "Apple Remote Desktop with real-time screen sharing is the ideal desktop management solution for education and business. Teachers can monitor students' computer screens, perform group demonstrations, and assist individual students. System administrators can configure remote systems, distribute software, provide online assistance and create reports on software and hardware configurations from anywhere on the network." [time updated]

MacSoft to release Dungeon Siege on April 25

04/14, 12:55pm

MacSoft to release Dungeon Siege on April 25

Destineer’s MacSoft today announced that Dungeon Siege for Macintosh has reached Gold Master status. The game is currently in production and will ship on April 25. Dungeon Siege, one of the top-selling PC games of 2002, is a "Fantasy Role-Playing game with an emphasis on combat and action. It is set in a gigantic, continuous, fully 3D world that truly extends in all directions. Players journey from secret underground lairs to towering mountains without ever stopping to watch a loading screen. Players can travel alone or assemble a party of up to eight cohorts." It includes multi-player action over the Internet and full support for the GameRanger game-matching service.

Harry Potter and Chamber of Secrets shipping

04/14, 12:40pm

Harry Potter and Chamber of Secrets shipping

Following our report last week, Aspyr Media today officially announced that it has begun shipping the Mac version of the video game based on Harry Potter and Chamber of Secrets, J.K. Rowling’s second book in the best-selling series and blockbuster movie sequel. The game will be available at retailers nationwide beginning April 16, 2003. Aspyr licensed Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets from Electronic Arts, and Macintosh conversion was done by Westlake Interactive: "Mac gamers will have a chance to attend a second term at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. In this new adventure, players learn second year spells, undertake new quests, make new friends and challenge new adversaries to confront the powers at the heart of the Chamber of Secrets." The $50 title runs on Mac OS 8.6/9/X.

Transpod II features cassette tape adapter

04/14, 12:35pm

Transpod II features cassette tape adapter

DLO is accepting orders for TransPod II, the newest version of its unique car solution that allows iPod owners to conveniently use and enjoy their iPods in their cars. The TransPod II allows users to simultaneously charge, mount, and listen to their iPods through their car stereos. It has the same "sleek" design of the original TransPod, but features a cassette tape adapter and auxiliary cord that plug directly into a user's car stereo instead of the FM transmitter found in the original TransPod. The original TransPod plays the iPod through a FM transmitter. It ships with two charger sticks and a dash mount option. It will start shipping on May 1st for $100.

Israel-made battery in Mac stirs feathers

04/14, 12:25pm

Israel-made battery in Mac stirs feathers

The Gulf Daily News reports that "steps were taken by a distributor for Apple to ensure that Israeli-made parts do not enter Bahrain after an Israeli-made battery was discovered by a customer in an old Apple Computer model. Apple Centre manager Asif Mohammed Irfan said the battery powers the calendar and clock of an old Apple G4 model but added that he didn't believe that it was sold in large numbers."

Apps: ProInventory, Audio Hijack, Appointment

04/14, 12:20pm

Apps: ProInventory, Audio Hijack, Appointment

Intelli Innovations today introduced ProInventory, its inventory software for collections, retail items, movies, libraries, and more. Users can quickly input, track, update, and maintain records of physical objects for personal or business purposes. It offers checkin/out status, tab-delimited import with custom field matching, integrated list search options, multiple database support, customizable export options, and pre-defined fields. It is available for $40 and runs on Mac OS 9/X. [829KB]
Pod Manager 1.4.2 is an update to the $8 shareware aimed at extracting music files stored in an iPod. This new version features improved detection of id3 tags, better performance, and some bug fixes. The multi-threaded application is available for Mac OS X only. [241KB]
Brian Dunning has released Weblet Shopping for Lasso and CDML. Weblets are petite collections of format files and databases to get you started building your own system. Weblet Shopping provides a full-featured, web-based shopping cart that can be used as a standalone solution or that can be merged with an existing solution. It takes connects a product database to a customizable web shopping cart. It is $90.
Synergy 0.97 is a lightweight iTunes control interface. It now includes the ability to automatically download and display the album cover of iTunes's currently playing song as well as purchase albums directly from Amazon.com. Users can control iTunes using Synergy's convenient menu bar control buttons, or with user-programmable hot keys. This includes the ability to skip songs, to rewind and fast-forward within songs, set song ratings, and change iTunes shuffle setting, repeat mode, and playback volume. It is $5. [479KB]
Rogue Amoeba has released an update to Audio Hijack Pro 1.1, its advanced audio grabbing and enriching . It now includes VBR and ABR MP3 encoding, a line-in recording option for recording the live input, split recording, an Activity Log window, 16-bit AIFF recording, AIFF mono recording, new file-naming variables, and a revamped GUI. The Mac OS X audio utility is $30. [2.4MB]
Rogue Amoeba also recently opened a "Freebies" section and released two freeware applications, LineIn and SoundSource. LineIn allows soft playthru from audio inputs, while SoundSource places a small menu in the menubar which allows the quick adjustment of the current audio devices. [LI, SS]
DW Data Concepts has released version 7 of Appointment 1.0, a powerful multi-user FileMaker Pro appointment scheduler. It has a new OS X Interface with themes optimized for 800 X 600 monitors, enhanced UI and procedures, better performance, and an improved customer "TO DO" items history. Appointment 1.0 is a flexible scheduling product that allows users to see who’s meeting with whom, or which resources are being used and avoids scheduling conflicts while maximizing staff productivity. It is $120 (site licenses are $175).

Apple to stream FY '03 Conference Call

04/14, 11:55am

Apple to stream FY '03 Conference Call

Apple's Fiscal Year '03 Second Quarter Conference call will take place Wednesday, April 16, 2003 at 5:00 p.m. (EDT) following the release of its financial results the same day (after the US financial markets close). Apple will provide live audio streaming of its FY 03 Second Quarter Results Conference Call via QuickTime 6. The live audio webcast will be accessible through Apple’s web site.

Apple announces iLife Educator Awards

04/14, 8:40am

Apple announces iLife Educator Awards

Apple today announced the Apple iLife Educator Awards to recognize the most innovative uses of iLife, its integrated suite of software for digital music, photography, moviemaking and DVD creation, in the classroom. The "Apple iLife Educator Awards" contest is open to all K-12 district or school level educators, or pre-service teachers and faculty or staff of accredited Colleges of Education located in the United States or Canada (excluding Quebec). Educators can submit curriculum-based projects and lesson plans for consideration beginning today through June 13, 2003. Interested educators can see examples of existing lesson plans, download an entry packet, view a complete listing of the official contest rules, prizes and eligibility requirements.

Apple releases Safari Beta 2 browser update

04/14, 8:40am

Apple releases Safari Beta 2 browser update

Apple today released Safari Beta 2, an updated beta version of its innovative web browser that delivers requested features including tabbed browsing and AutoFill forms. "Safari is now the browser of choice for millions of Mac users with more than two million downloads since its free public beta release on January 7, 2003.. The new AutoFill feature makes web form completion incredibly easy by using information from the Address Book or previous forms to automatically fill in name, street address, city, zip code, email and other information.

eShox 2.0 offers PHP, MySQL commerce solution

04/14, 8:05am

eShox 2.0 offers PHP, MySQL commerce solution

eShox 2.0 uses Apache and mySQL to offer a Mac OS X-based ecommerce solution with Web-based administration and reporting, real-time payment processing, a theme-based customzable interface, customer tracking/notification, and integration with most shipping companies for real-time quotes. Web administration allows the administrator to set preferences, update order status, modify customer information, track customer order totals, view product order statistics and print invoices and packing slips. It also offers support for multiple currencies, regional tax rates and product-specific tax rates. Version 2.0 adds support for HTML editing of store interface via Dreamweaver and support for multiple languages: French, Dutch, German and Italian. Pricing starts at $300.

MasterWriter 1.0: professional songwriters

04/14, 7:55am

MasterWriter 1.0: professional songwriters

MasterWriter today announced it is now shipping MasterWriter 1.0, its software for professional songwriters. Written entirely in 4D and compatible with Macintosh and Windows, its "is the first program to fully address the challenges and the needs involved in writing a song. MasterWriter combines a unique set of rhyming, phrasal and informational reference dictionaries, an advanced database for organizing work in progress and complete word processing functionality, plus a hard-disc recorder for melodies, a MIDI drum loop library and Songuard(tm), an online date-of-creation song registration service, all integrated in one program." It is available for $290.

KeynoteHQ releases Premium Theme Pack 4

04/14, 7:50am

KeynoteHQ releases Premium Theme Pack 4

KeynoteHQ has released Premium Theme Pack 4 for Apple's Keynote presentation software. The $10 theme pack includes three high resolution themes in both 800x600 and 1024x768 sizes. The themes (Blue-Black Gradient, Green Frame, and Garden of the Gods) include photograph "cut-out" masters slides, custom bullets, and other "objects" that can be used in presentations. Free themes are also available.

More info about Apple-Vivendi buyout talks

04/14, 1:40am

More info about Apple-Vivendi buyout talks

Following Friday's news of possible Apple-Vivendi buyout, several news organizations have posted follow-up stories with some interesting information about the talks and potential obstacles that a buy out may face:

[NY Times] "The idea of an investment grew out of talks over a new online music store.. which could deliver music to consumers for a small price in an effort to thwart piracy. The online store could be introduced soon. After months of wrangling, all five major music companies finally agreed this week to allow Apple to license their music for a fee for the venture, according to a music executive."

[NY Times] "The talks between Apple and Vivendi covered the concept of buying as much as a third of the music unit, according to people close to the discussions. But the talks appear to have been just exploratory discussions that did not go far...The notion of having Apple buy all of Universal Music was also discussed, but the likelihood of Apple's making that offer seemed remote to the people close to the discussions yesterday."

[LA Times] "In addition, most rivals agreed that Jobs' potential affiliation with Universal would not deter them from participating in his new online service. Indeed, all five of the major record corporations already promote their songs on AOL's homepage despite the fact that AOL is aligned with Warner Music Group."

[Reuters] "Talks between Vivendi Universal and Apple Computer on the sale of Universal Music Group have entered a crucial phase which will make or break a deal for the world's largest record company, a Paris-based industry source said....'The discussions are quite substantive and have included exchanges on price, but at this point it is far from sure that the talks will lead to a deal,' the source told Reuters. 'Apple is expected to take a decision before the end of April.'"

[NY Post] 'Microsoft has expressed interest in buying Vivendi's Universal Music Group, setting up a possible bidding war between the software maker and rival Apple Computer, according to sources familiar with the matter. Microsoft's interest is said to be at the level of 'poking around, kicking the tires,' but it has indeed had conversations with Vivendi executives about buying the music division, sources said."

WiebeTech debuts new Combo MicroGB+ drive

04/14, 1:15am

WiebeTech debuts new Combo MicroGB+ drive

WiebeTech today announced a Combo version of its MicroGB+, featuring both FireWire and USB2 ports. The compact, rugged case made of anodized aluminum easily fits into a pocket and has a single USB 2.0/1.1 and a single FireWire port. The MicroGB+ Combo includes the enclosure, drive, cables, AC adapter and a carrying case as well as a copy of MediaFour's Mac Drive 5 software, which allows Mac formatted drives to be read on Windows computers. It is avaialble in a case-only version for $130 and with either a 5,400 rpm drive (20GB, 40GB, 60GB) or a slower, standard 4,200 rpm mechanism (30GB, 40GB, 60GB, and 80GB). Prices reange from $230 to $460 with some models featuring as much as 16MB of cache.