News Archive for 03/06/10

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Foster High considers turning down free Macs

06/10, 11:10pm

Foster High considers turning down free Macs

Some teachers at Foster High School in Tukwila, Washington are expressing great disappointment that the school board could refuse to let them accept $43,000 worth of new Macintosh computers the school was recently awarded through a grant program. Earlier this year, teacher Jeff Heiman applied for a grant from a nonprofit organization offering 30 new Macintosh computers and six laser printers to a school in an economically challenged community. But according to the school technology plan created in 2000, Tukwila schools will move toward using only IBM-compatible computers, not Macs, for financial reasons.

Tech: MS employee rules; Half-Life 2...

06/10, 6:20pm

Tech: MS employee rules; Half-Life 2...

A shareware developer and former Microsoft worker is vowing to fight the software giant for the right to distribute his home-networking software; the U.S. government is warning financial institutions about a virus-like infection that has targeted computers at roughly 1,200 banks worldwide, trying to steal corporate passwords; "Half-Life 2," the sequel to one of the best-selling PC games of all time, won top honors in the "Game Critics Awards: Best of E3 2003," voted on by 35 judges from both mainstream and industry newspapers, magazines, and Web sites.

Quark releases QuarkXPress 6 for OS X

06/10, 5:15pm

Quark releases QuarkXPress 6 for OS X

Quark today announced that QuarkXPress 6 -- the much-awaited Mac OS X version of the company's layout software -- will ship next week to customers and retailers. The unveiling took place at Apple's Cupertino headquarters, with strong support from the computer maker. Apple's Web site also contains information on version 6.0. It carries a suggested retail price of over $1,000, but can be purchased from the online Apple store for $900.

FileMaker updates FM-to-Keynote tool

06/10, 1:00pm

FileMaker updates FM-to-Keynote tool

FileMaker has released an update to its free FileMaker to Keynote tool, which allows FileMaker customers to transform data contained within FileMaker Pro 6 databases into native presentations for Apple's Keynote presentation software. Leveraging the XML/XSLT support built within FileMaker Pro 6, FileMaker to Keynote tool 1.1 helps developers extract text, graphics, and chart data from FileMaker Pro 6 databases to build professional quality Keynote presentations.

Apps: Platypus, RandomExtra, WeatherMan...

06/10, 11:55am

Apps: Platypus, RandomExtra, WeatherMan...

Platypus 1.0 is a Mac OS X program for creating application wrappers around shell scripts, i.e. creating Mac OS X applications that execute a shell script they are bundled with. Thus scripts can be run transparently from the graphical window environment without running them manually from the command line. The freeware runs on Mac OS X. [183KB]
jon klein's Musik? is a "musical toy" for Mac OS X that generates live customized multi-track music in real-time using QuickTime MIDI instruments. The freeware is available for download via the Web. [81KB]
WeatherMan 1.8.2 ($10 shareware) displays detailed weather information for multiple user defined locations in the US and throughout the world. This free upgrade for registered users is a major re-write of the code to address stability and performance issues. Each city displays current conditions information, 24 hour weather historical data, extended forecasts, current weather alerts, several Nexrad radar displays, satellite images and solar and lunar data using beautiful full color icons. [Classic, OS]
RandomExtra 2.0 is a tool helps you manage your Screen Savers. It picks a module according to your configuration and uses it when screen saver starts. It adds sorting functions and other new features. It is freeware for Mac OS X. [70KB]
Gammawork is described as "a handy, powerful, easy-to-use monitor calibration tool [that] lets a user set a monitor’s colors to make certain they will correspond to those of another device, such as a printer. [It] allows a user to adjust up to four connected monitors, independently varying each of the three color channels (red, green, and blue) on each display." The freeware is available for Mac OS X. [140KB]

Readers notes exclusive at iTunes Music Store

06/10, 11:30am

Readers notes exclusive at iTunes Music Store

MacNN reader Gabriel Botnick writes: "The iTunes Music Store released the new Guster album, Keep It Together, today...two weeks before it is released in traditional music stores. It's the complete album for 9.99. Just thought people might like to know that there may be other albums out there like this one." Meanwhile, another reader notes that the soundtrack to Pixar's latest movie is not yet available: "Just saw Finding Nemo this weekend and according to the end credits, the soundtrack is available in stores. I find it odd, however, that it's not available in the iTunes Music Store. Given that Jobs runs both Apple and Pixar, you'd think new Pixar soundtracks would be available right away in the ITMS."

Photovista Panorama 3.0 gains OS X support

06/10, 11:30am

Photovista Panorama 3.0 gains OS X support

iseemedia Inc. today announced that it has released Photovista Panorama 3.0 for Mac OS X. Photovista Panorama let's users create spectacular 360-degree panoramic images that users can automatically print, email, and publish to any website. The new Photovista Panorama software provides a new interface and workflow, including support for Mac OS 9.1 and Mac OS X 10.2 as well as support for Image Capture Architecture (ICA), which enables users to acquire images from compatible devices. It also includes auto-crop and enhanced printing options, 2D vertical stitch and the ability to import a cylindrical QuickTime 4 VR movie. It is $80 for electronic delivery and $90 for box shipment. [updated link]

VVI ships technical reporting applications

06/10, 11:10am

VVI ships technical reporting applications

VVI has released two applications for technical reporting: the charting application Web Signal can be used to plot numeric values that change on the web. It can be used to extract numbers from a variety of web pages such as a Yahoo financial page or NOAA weather information and plot the numbers in realtime. VVI also released an Interface Builder graph palette, which enables scientists and engineers to quickly add charts to their own in-house applications. Charts can be transfered to the chart building application at the click of a button so engineers and scientists can change any chart attribute and modify it for publication quality formatting without the need to program the functionality into their own application.

Aladdin releases Internet Cleanup 1.0

06/10, 11:05am

Aladdin releases Internet Cleanup 1.0

Aladdin today announced Internet Cleanup 1.0, a new privacy tool that blocks pop-ups, banner Ads, and detects the presence of Spyware on the computer. Internet Cleanup removes cookies, history files and Internet clutter that can be traced and allows for the permanent deletion of any file or folder. It works with all the popular Mac browsers including Safari and Internet Explorer. The $30 tool runs on Mac OS 9/X.

Tenon discontinuing WebTen for Mac OS

06/10, 8:35am

Tenon discontinuing WebTen for Mac OS

Tenon announced it is discontinuing WebTen, its "point and click" version of Apache for Mac OS: "WebTen, the first and only Apache for Mac OS, was the easiest Apache in the world to set-up and administer. Further, Tenon's breakthrough technology made WebTen five times faster than the popular WebSTAR and even faster than Apache on Linux and Solaris." WebTen will be sold for $100 per copy for a very limited time.

Apps: Speed Download, Ext2 Filesystem...

06/10, 8:35am

Apps: Speed Download, Ext2 Filesystem...

YazSoft has released Speed Download 2, an evolution of the company's download manager. It features a redesigned Mac OS X interface, performance improvements of up to 75%, integrated rendezvous technology, integrated Remote technology., multiple URL download support, a live bandwidth monitor and regulator, a new folder/queue system, support for large files (> 2GB), and many other changes. A 15-day demo of the $20 shareware is available. No upgrade pricing is available. [845KB]
Brian Bergstrand's freeware Ext2 Filesystem 1.0a3 fixes several major bugs that caused directory and total file system corruption as well as several panics that were related to said corruptions. It also adds automount content hint for the CD partition type. The utility enables the use of Linux Ext2 formatted hard disks, floppies, CD-ROM's, etc from within Mac OS X, including support for reading, writing, formatting, etc. [634KB]
Defaults Manager 1.0b1, now in bea, is an editor for the User Defaults (Preferences) database on Mac OS X. It allows you to easily view, edit, and delete preferences that are stored in the User Defaults database. It can be used to view and change the preferences in almost any application: "As a developer, you can use it to make sure your preferences are being stored and changed correctly. As a user you can use it to unlock features that previously required the use of Terminal." It is $35 (or $25 using the coupon "KNDM100BETA" while it is in beta testing). [209KB]
NetOp 7.6 for Mac OS X is a Remote Control software which allows you to access your Mac desktop from a Windows- or Linux PC. This is achieved through a remote control session using TCP/IP (Internet) protocols. It offers control over your Mac display, keyboard, mouse and all actions as you would be in front of your Mac. The session is protected by a number of security settings. It also supports high-speed file transfer with a split screen, drag-and-drop functionality and a text chat. Pricing starts at $120.
Monkeybread Software has released IP in menubar v2.0, a utility to display the current IP in the menubar near the clock. Version 2.0 adds router support using a configuration file and menu commands for 'Quit' and updating the IP. It is freeware. [820KB]