News Archive for 03/04/28

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Apps: Ritmo, iStopMotion, Acquisition ...

04/28, 9:00pm

Apps: Ritmo, iStopMotion, Acquisition ...

Manyetas has released Ritmo, a drum sample AudioUnit plug-in for Mac OS X. This release includes a number of bug fixes and changes since the most recent public beta version; for example: fixed crashes caused by auditioning in the file browser, improved automation support for the sliders, and compiled with latest AudioUnit SDK from Apple. [Download - 948KB]
Version 0.7 of iStopMotion is now available. The update adds time lapse -- the most requested feature -- to the stop-motion animation software. "With this, iStopMotion can now be used for visualizing things like growing plants using a DV camera," says the developer. [Download - 352KB]
Acquisition 0.9 is an update to the popular $15 'P2P' (peer-to-peer) application for Mac OS X. "It features a new central interface feature, the artist/album/type browser that sorts query results based on their meta information." [Download - 1.6MB]
AutoCal 1.0 is a simple utility that enables you to put your iCal calendars automatically to a FTP server. It can also send publish notifications to your contacts. It is priced at €15. [Download see form]
Car Lease is an easy-to-use vehicle lease calculator that uses the money factor method to calculate monthly lease payments. Its 'multiple document' feature lets you compare different leases side-by-side. Options that reduce or increase lease cost can be enabled or disabled with a mouse click -- the effect they have on lease cost is instantly visible. [Download - 1.5MB]
AquaGrep 1.1 for Mac OS X fixes a number of bugs, features minor interface tweaks and pushes the number of free trial runs up to 100 from 10. AquaGrep is a $10 Mac OS X front-end to the Unix grep text search utility. [Download - 131KB]

Fortune examines music service, iPods

04/28, 6:00pm

Fortune examines music service, iPods

Fortune takes a look at Apple's new music service with a series of articles published this afternoon. "The iTunes Music Store will initially offer 200,000 tunes, paying the record companies an average of 65 cents for each track it sells." Fortune also notes that "anybody who tries to upload iTunes Music Store songs onto KaZaA will be shocked [...] Even if you burn the AAC songs onto a CD that a conventional CD player can read and then re-rip them back into standard MP3 files, the sound quality is awful." Finally, the report states that "Apple makes almost as much operating profit on each iPod it sells as it does on each iMac, even though the iPod costs a fraction as much to manufacture."

Confusion surrounds MCE PBG4 upgrade

04/28, 5:15pm

Confusion surrounds MCE PBG4 upgrade

Philip Good let us know about some confusion surrounding the specifications of MCE's 2x DVD-R, 1x DVD-RW, 16x CD-R upgrade for the PowerBook G4 (titanium models). Apparently, MCE has advertised the availability of a drive with DVD-RW, but the unit currently being sold by retailers does not include DVD-RW functionality, and is instead limited to DVD- and CD-R.

FireWire Depot, SubRosaSoft to merge

04/28, 5:00pm

FireWire Depot, SubRosaSoft to merge

FireWire Depot and SubRosaSoft have agreed to a strategic alliance that will eventually result in the merging the two companies in order to combine each organization's resources, expertise and products. "The two companies intend to merge their resources and skills in order to build more dynamic R&D techniques," according to a joint announcement. As a first step, SubRosaSoft applications are available for purchase from FireWire Depot.

iView Multimedia Pro version updated

04/28, 4:35pm

iView Multimedia Pro version updated

MacNN reader Dennis Dimick offered more details on the iView Media 1.2, which was noted earlier today: "What also should be noted is that iView Media 1.2 is both a Mac and Windows program. Previously, iView was a mac-only app. But more importantly, they also released an update to iView Media Pro (now at 1.5.7) which now allows it to read and show larger than thumbnail previews of CRW files from the new Canon cameras like the G3 and EOS D10. Where before you could view only thumbnails from the G3 now you can see larger previews. I have D10 CRW files but not at this computer so cannot test D10 CRW. The G3 previews now work. This is potentially a significant update, as Adobe's Camera RAW plug-in for Photoshop still does NOT support EOS D10 files. Other apps that offer support of Canon EOS D10 CRW files for preview (other than iView Media Pro 1.5.7 now) are Photo Mechanic 3.2.3 and QPict 5.2.5." [iVM, iVMP]

Apps: XDarwin, iRoster, SRMigrate, PostgreSQL

04/28, 4:30pm

Apps: XDarwin, iRoster, SRMigrate, PostgreSQL

XDarwin 4.3, an implementation of the X11 window server system for Darwin operating system, is now available. XDarwin allows you to run unix software locally and interact with programs locate on servers remotely across the network. It includes hardware acceleration (GeForce GPUs and newer Radeon cards), international localization, updated 3D graphics libraries, support for multiple monitors, Mac OS X font support, and other improvements. The CD is $70.
Mammoth PostgreSQL 7.3.2 from Command Prompt, Inc. is a robust, reliable, SQL-compatible Object Relational Database Management System (ORDBMS) designed to give small to medium size businesses the power, performance, and open-standard support they desire. It provides a commercially-supported and optimized PostgreSQL distribution with added support for SSL and compression. Pricing starts at $150.
iRoster 1.0b6 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). Version 1.0b6 adds support for iTunes 4. [1.0MB]
Schema Research has released SRMigrate 1.1 supporting database migrations to Sybase ASE. Source databases can be Oracle, IBM DB2 and Microsoft SQL Server. SRMigrate converts a database and copies it to Sybase ASE, including tables, columns, indexes, views and data. SRMigrate also copies triggers and stored procedures and more when migrating from Microsoft SQL Server to Sybase ASE. Pricing starts at $975.

Apple launches Dream on promo

04/28, 4:20pm

Apple launches Dream on promo

Apple has launched its Dream on promotion, offering $500 back on the purchase of any Mac and Macromedia Studio MX by July 31st. Macromedia Sudio MX includes Dreamweaver MX, Flash MX, Fireworks MX, and Freehand MX. The offer is good on same-time purchases only and is not valid for Apple’s Education Institution, Education Individual, or Campus Reseller purchase programs.

Apple releases QuickTime 6.2 on Web

04/28, 4:10pm

Apple releases QuickTime 6.2 on Web

Apple today released QuickTime 6.2, an update to its multimedia software for Mac OS X. It is available via a standalone software update (not yet available via the Software Update Control Panel). It adds Foundation support for iTunes 4 and an enhanced AAC audio encoder for QuickTime Pro users.

Apple intros lighter, thinner iPods

04/28, 2:45pm

Apple intros lighter, thinner iPods

Apple today introduced its third generation iPods, which hold up to 7,500 songs in an enclosure that is lighter and thinner than two CDs. The new ultra-portable iPods feature completely solid-state "no moving parts" navigation wheel and buttons; an elegant new dock with audio out for fast and easy connection to your computer or stereo; an "On-The-Go: playlist so users can build a playlist right on their iPod; a customizable main menu so users can promote the features they use most often to their top level menu; and Apple’s unique, patent pending Auto-Sync for automatically syncing your computer’s music library with iPod. The new iPods are available in three models: a 10GB model for just $300, a 15GB model for $400 and a 30GB model for $500. The new iPod will also support high-speed syncing via USB 2.0 with Windows PCs starting in June via a free software download. A separate USB 2.0 cable will be available in June for $20. They will be available on May 2nd.

MacSoft ships Dungeon Siege for Macintosh

04/28, 1:55pm

MacSoft ships Dungeon Siege for Macintosh

Destineer's MacSoft today announced that it is shipping Dungeon Siege for Macintosh and says the game will be showing up on store shelves as early as today. Dungeon Siege, one of the top-selling PC games of 2002, was created by Gas Powered Games and published for the Windows platform by Microsoft Corp. The Macintosh version is published by Destineer's Macintosh label, MacSoft, and converted for the Macintosh by Westlake Interactive. Dungeon Siege 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. It supports multiplayer game play and support for the GameRanger game-matching service. The $50 title is for Mac OS X only.

New iPods, music service, and iTunes 4

04/28, 1:20pm

New iPods, music service, and iTunes 4

Apple today introduced The iTunes Music Store as part of its new online music service as well as iTunes 4, and the new iPod. We have complete details of today's special event in our full coverage. [iTunes 4]

Apple also released the iPod Software 1.3 updater, which adds iTunes 4 support including AAC playback (Mac-only), audio and user interface improvements, and other enhancements. One reader notes: "The 1.3 firmware update lacks most of the cool features found on new iPod. No alarm clock, no notes reader, no new games, no on-the-go playlist, and no multiple beep sounds. Just AAC support (very nice to have), sleep timer (off, 15, 30, 60, 90, 120 minutes), backlight option on the main menu, and supposedly longer battery life." [Classic, OSX]

Product announcement webcast

04/28, 12:15pm

Product announcement webcast

A live video stream for Apple's 1:00 p.m EDT product announcement/media event is now online. A satellite broadcast will also be available.

Update: Several readers report that the above Web stream is no longer functional. Additionally, international readers now report that Apple is beginning to close its online Web stores. The U.S. Apple Store remains online.

Apps: iView Media, Znippetizer, REALbasic...

04/28, 11:30am

Apps: iView Media, Znippetizer, REALbasic...

REAL Software has released REALbasic 5.1 for Macintosh, a free update to its cross-platform development tools. Version 5.1 features dramatic improvements in slash compile times for large application as well as numerous other enhancements. It is a free update; pricing starts at $100. [Classic, OSX]
iView Multimedia today released iView Media, a consumer version of its iView MediaPro, which allows users to manage, share and protect their digital media collection, including photos, graphics, video and music clips. It offers search, organization, sorting, and sharing functions as well as the ability to generate Web photo galleries and backup features. The $30 software runs on both Mac OS 9 and Mac OS X. [site not updated]
MailTemplate 1.1 is an OS X utility for creating e-mail messages with templates. It adds support for quoted message content in reply emails, new special objects for current date/time, and other enhancements. The $10 application requires requires Mac OS 10.2 and works with Apple's Mail.app. [373KB]
Norbert Doerner's CDFinder 4.1 is an update to his powerful disk cataloging tool. The new version can catalogue folders as well as whole volumes, imports "Catalogue" catalog files, reads TAR file contents, and can display Finder icons for all local available files. CDFinder is now also available in Dutch. [1.2MB]
Znippetizer-X 1.5 is a small tool, to help quickly sort, organize and categorize things. It features a small global floating window, where users can drag any text to be stored in a database and grouped. It fixes several bugs under Mac OS X 10.2, an improved UI, a new manual, more drag & drop support, and a hierarchical. It is $15. [site not updated]
Rhon Fitzwater today released LogOutScreenSaver, a screen saver module application that Logs user out after a defined period of inactivity and can also execute a logout script: " Its perfect for businesses or institutions that have a lab/cluster of Mac OS X computers. LogOutScreenSaver is easy to install and requires no maintenence." The $150 application is available as a demo by request only. Custom versions are also available free of charge.
Glass Bead Software has released SnapMail 4, an update to its in-house messaging system for OS X. This release is a complete rewrite from the ground up that offers TCP/IP networking, support for Apple's Rendezvous, one-click "SnapBack" replies, and while-you-type spell checking. The secure messaging and file transfer/compression software runs on Mac OS 8/9/X. Pricing starts at under $30 per user.

Apps: PianistEnvy, TennisAce, Isadora...

04/28, 8:15am

Apps: PianistEnvy, TennisAce, Isadora...

Safari Bookmark Exporter 1.01 is a freeware utility designed to export Safari bookmarks. It supports OmniWeb, Camino/Chimera, Mozilla, Netscape, and Internet Explorer. Version 1.0.1 offers better support for Camino, preserves special/Unicode characters, and transfers toolbar/menu bookmarks properly. [153KB]
e-on software today offered Bryce 5 users a limited-time special competitive upgrade offer to Vue d'Esprit 4, its natural scenery animation and rendering tool. A special price of $100 is available through May 12-- a 50% savings of the regular price and a savings of $70 over the regular competitive upgrade price of $170.
Isadora 0.9.9b11 is a graphic programming environment that provides interactive control over digital media, with special emphasis on the real-time manipulation of digital video. It adds support sound output to multi-channel sound output devices, communication with other networked copies of Isadora, and the ability to capture live input (video and/or audio) to disk. [6.5MB]
Melonsoft has released PianistEnvy 1.1, an update to its instrument keyboard application. The new release improves on PianistEnvy's usability with a new Rollovers feature, which allows the piano keys to be played with a quick drag of the mouse. PianistEnvy ($5) allows anyone with a Mac and QuickTime to instantly use 120+ instruments built-into Apple's QuickTime software. [Classic, OSX]
TennisAce 1.2 lets you track your performance against any number of players: "View head-to-head statistics, track court fees and prize money, or print fun awards for your partners. Shortcuts and customizable defaults make data entry as easy as clicking a mouse." A single user license costs $25. [Classic, OSX]
BeLight Software today announced it would ship its Business Card Composer application in the middle of May. The Mac OS X application guides users through the card creation process and ships with over 500 various images and backgrounds, around 100 ready business card designs. It features a built-in automatic background generator as well as special effects, text, masking, and other gradient/fill tools.

Keynote HQ releases Premium Theme Pack 5

04/28, 8:00am

Keynote HQ releases Premium Theme Pack 5

Keynote HQ has released Premium Theme Pack 5: The Planets for Keynote: "Imagine that your presentation begins with a darkened screen, where the Earth slowly rises into view." It includes two sample presentations using Keynote's "builds" to animate the planets on each slide. The $10 theme pack also includes both 800x600 and 1024x768 sizes. In addition to the nine planets, the theme includes Earth's Moon that builds to different phases on a presentation slide. The Planets also include custom bullets and a slide master for each planet, two slide masters for the Earth, two custom photo "cut-out" slides, and a graphics library. A bonus theme, "Soft Metal" is also included with Theme Pack 5.

Brother debuts new line of 5-in-1 MFC

04/28, 7:55am

Brother debuts new line of 5-in-1 MFC

Brother today announced a new line of 5-in-1 flatbed laser Multi-Function Center (MFC) models. The new models MFC-8420 ($550), MFC-8820D ($650) and MFC-8820DN ($800), offer plain-paper faxing, laser printing, digital copying, color scanning (600x2400 dpi) and PC faxing. The new series features faster print speeds (up to 17ppm), increased memory and a new 5-line back-lit LCD display. In addition, the MFC-8820D and MFC-8820DN add duplex printing and a 50-sheet multipurpose tray. The top-of-the-line MFC-8820DN also includes built-in networking. All three models include high-speed USB 2.0 and parallel interfaces and each is covered by a one-year limited express exchange warranty from Brother. They are expected to begin shipping in May 2003 with Presto! Page Manager software.

Reader posts AirPort Extreme photos, details

04/28, 2:20am

Reader posts AirPort Extreme photos, details

MacNN reader Constantin von Wentzel has posted photos and details of his AirPort Extreme Dissection, offering users a glimpse of inside of the new 802.11g wireless networking hub.

Apps: QuickTime, F10 Launch Studio, Kairos...

04/28, 2:20am

Apps: QuickTime, F10 Launch Studio, Kairos...

Apple has posted QuickTime 6.03 player for Mac OS 8.6/9, which allows text files larger than 32 KB to be imported and improves playback of movies under Classic in Mac OS X. [10.2MB]
Chronos has released F10 Launch Studio 1.2, a launch management suite for Mac OS X, offering a fast and efficient way to launch applications and documents. Version 1.2 brings a Chameleon Filter with adaptive logic, a new list mode, more sorting options, more keyboard shortcuts, and other features. It is $30. [3.6MB]
Lightsoft's Kairos 2.0 is a weather graphing and monitoring application for Mac OS X. Kairos records the weather conditions for up to three locations and graphs the data and can be programmed with an unlimited number of custom alerts that can send out emails and run scripts when triggered. It is a free upgrade to the $20 application. [2.6MB]
Daemon Creations has released DC Portfolio v1.5, which adds the ability to export stored file listings to a web-ready HTML file for printing and posting to the internet. The $35 application can be used to catalog and search any removable storage device or folder. It can also now open files in their native application and users can isert descriptions and keywords. [1.9MB]
ALAP released an updated version of its $100 custom registration marks XTension for QuarkXPress, MarkIt 1.8.4. It allows users to create custom registration styles that can be used in place of QuarkXPress's default. Users can position press marks such as trim lines, registration targets, and color/grayscale bars simply by dragging them into a proxy of the active document as well as custom items.
Imposer 2.5.2 is an update to ALAP's imposition utility QuarkXPress: "Imposer will not rearrange or shuffle pages in a document- rather reordering is handled in the print stream yielding not only more quickly but more reliable results. Imposer will give you full control over creep, bleed, and crossover traps." It is $200; upgrades are $80.
Blue World is now shipping Lasso Reporter 6, a new OS X-only tool for quickly creating robust reports from data contained within MySQL databases. Lasso Reporter is a LassoApp which can be freely used on servers running Lasso Professional 6, Blue World's Web application server for creative professionals. Lasso Reporter builds custom reports, and allows multiple users to create both private and shared reports. It is free for Lasso Professional 6 and Lasso Studio 6 users. [58KB]