News Archive for 03/07/28

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Some users experience (another) .Mac outage

07/28, 10:00pm

Some users experience (another) .Mac outage

Several MacNN readers note limited access and/or no access to Apple's .Mac services, which appears to be isolated to problems with a single ISP, Adelphia.net: "Customers using Adelphia as their ISP are currently unable to access the mac.com domain. This will affect access to all .Mac services. Adelphia technical support, and our own .Mac engineers, are aware of the issue and are working together to resolve the matter. We will post additional information here as soon as it is available, and we regret any inconvenience," according to an Apple support posting.

Aladdin HASP Security tools for developers

07/28, 9:50pm

Aladdin HASP Security tools for developers

Aladdin Knowledge Systems today announced the availability of new Envelope and Remote Update System (RUS) tools for Mac software developers implementing HASP, its USB key-based cross-platform software security and license management solution. The HASP Envelope Tool offers automatic implementation of anti-debugging and anti-hacking measures, file encryption, and flexible licensing. HASP RUS for Mac provides 24/7 license updates, software upgrades and add-ons via phone, fax, email, or the Internet. HASP's RUS API also allows developers to easily incorporate remote license updating routines into their software.

Exensis debuts Pro Photo Raw Image Filter

07/28, 9:45pm

Exensis debuts Pro Photo Raw Image Filter

Extensis today released Pro Photo Raw Image Filter for Portfolio 6.1.2. The new filter -- a free upgrade to its Digital Asset Management (DAM) solution -- allows photographers to preview, sort, and archive camera-native images without having to first convert them into another format. It is available as part of the free Portfolio 6.1.2 update for Mac OS X.

G5 'not yet in production' at IBM

07/28, 5:45pm

G5 'not yet in production' at IBM

Infoworld reports that the PowerPC "G5" 970 is not yet in production at IBM's new state-of-the-art $2.5 billion 140,000 square-foot chip-fabrication facility in Fishkill, N.Y: "Our tour guide confided that the PowerPC 970 chip (Apple’s G5) is not yet in production in Fishkill, but it takes no time at all to get a new chip into the line."

Xfrog 4 for OS X integrates with Cinema 4D

07/28, 5:40pm

Xfrog 4 for OS X integrates with Cinema 4D

Greenworks Organic-software has released Xfrog 4, its "completely" rewritten organic modeling system for Maxon's Cinema 4D. Xfrog 4's animation capabilities have been updated to offer more life-like motion as well as enables users to leverage the animation tools within Cinema 4D to animate Xfrog models. Additionally, all parameters in Xfrog can be animated and combined with the Objects in Cinema 4D. The 3D graphics program for organic modeling and animation is available in English, German, and Japanese. Pricing is $300 with upgrades starting at $100. It runs on Mac OS X.

Photo FX: Photoshop plug-in collection

07/28, 5:25pm

Photo FX: Photoshop plug-in collection

Panopticum Photo FX 2.0 is a large collection of effects for Adobe Photoshop. It contains Alha Strip 1.1, a unique set of procedures for cutting the images on alpha channel; Lens Pro 3.0, 2 sets of powerful tools, which allow to create quickly and easily images of lenses, crystals, glass surfaces and glass texts of various shape; Digitalizer 1.0, where an image may be represented by a matrix, the elements of which will form the shape of initial image; and Engraver 1.0, used for cutting through images with thin lines that will form a geometric pattern. The suite costs $160.

Apps: seeCard, DockFun, Finance, Saft, Adium

07/28, 3:00pm

Apps: seeCard, DockFun, Finance, Saft, Adium

seeCard Rendezvous 1.0 shares and synchronizes Mac OS X address books using Apple's Rendezvous protocol, introduced with Mac OS X 10.2. No configuration is required -- simply start seeCard, enter personal data or import from address book and enable sharing. [Download - 293KB]
DockFun 4.0.4 is a $20 utility for OS X that enables users to have an infinite number of Dock configurations. It features auto-launch, hot keys, hide/show specific Docks, organization of contents by dragging, and more. Recent changes include improved code and memory management, and compilation with GGC 3.3 and Xcode. [Download - 815KB]
Yenco.com has released Finance 4.5.5, an update to the checking, savings, and credit card account management program. This update fixes a few bugs in the $20 shareware application. [Download - 766KB]
Saft is a simple add-on for Apple's Safari Web browser than enables a full-screen viewing mode. Saft is available for free download, but the developer accepts donations from users who find the utillity useful. [Download - 114KB]
Adium 2.0a is the next major release of Adium, the popular Mac OS X AIM client. It features multiple simultaneous connections, server-side contact lists, buddy typing notifications, full message formatting, re-arrangable message tabs and customizable toolbars. Adium 2.0 is currently in the alpha development stage, and is not intended for full-time use, nor should reliability be expected. [Download - 1.6MB]
Veta FTP is a File Transfer Protocol client application for Macintosh OS X and Nokia 3650 phones. It allows the GET and PUT (download and upload) operations between Macs and Nokia 3650 via Bluetooth. It is available for free. [Download - 452KB]
Sendmail Enabler 1.1.1 is an application which allows you to turn on and use Mac OS X's built-in mail server. Version 1.1.1 fixes a user-interface bug and introduces a much-requested feature: the ability to tighten the security of the mail server to deny spammers an Open Relay. [Download - 817KB]
SlashDock 2.3.5 is a simple Mac OS X application that fetches and updates headlines from the latest postings on Slashdot- and RSS-compatible sites. Version 2.3.5 adds several new pre-configured sites; fixes a problem with eBay parsing caused by wrong character encoding; changes the default eBay URL to the 'My eBay' page; and enhances the AppleScript implementation. [Download - 235KB]

OpenGL: Java integration, new spec, v1.5...

07/28, 2:55pm

OpenGL: Java integration, new spec, v1.5...

OpenGL news at Siggraph 2003: SGI and Sun today announced an agreement to develop Java bindings to OpenGL for use by any Java application. The OpenGL ES 1.0 and EGL 1.0 specifications are now available for free download for any third party to implement in products with no licensing restrictions or royalties, allowing developers to use a common 2D/3D graphics API in applications. Finally, OpenGL 1.5 will be released on OpenGL.org in the next few days and will include the OpenGL Shading Language.

Helios releases Helios Xtar system utility

07/28, 2:50pm

Helios releases Helios Xtar system utility

Helios Software has released Helios Xtar for Mac OS X, a free system utility that can be used to clone a Mac OS X system disk, and backup and restore disks, files and folders, all with full HFS support: "The HELIOS GNU-based Xtar saves each HFS file as two files in the standard tar container format to preserve all special attributes and additional information. During a restore with 'Xtar' on an HFS volume, the resource and finder information are restored into valid HFS files containing all information and the volume is bootable after being restored."

Best Buy to carry Macs, Macintosh software

07/28, 2:45pm

Best Buy to carry Macs, Macintosh software

Best Buy will begin carrying Macs within a few weeks, according to Digital Bloc: "In an announcement made in tonight's nightly meeting, the 529 Best Buy store chain will begin carrying Macintosh computers within a few weeks. This was confirmed by the existance of a box of Mac software in the warehouse. The contents of this box, while scarce, contained many several game titles such as The Sims, Unreal Tournament 2003, and Zoo Tycoon...the shipping date for most of the Apple product will be instore 8/3/03. Also, Some units will be shipped via Fed-Ex tomorrow."

ALAP announces Imposer Pro for InDesign

07/28, 2:25pm

ALAP announces Imposer Pro for InDesign

ALAP today announced the upcoming availability of Imposer Pro for Adobe InDesign software. Imposer Pro provides an imposition solution for Adobe InDesign, featuring imposed page configurations from 2-up printer spreads to 8-up printer flats as well as multi-page signatures and multiple sheets. Imposer Pro supports tiling which allows any size flat to be output to any size output device. Additionally, Imposer Pro adds support for split web, sheetwise and multiple unit printing while maintaining the familiar and common interface of InDesign. It is expected to ship on August 1 for Mac OS 9/X. It will be $400 with upgrades priced at $200.

Microsoft Office v.X to get Exchange support

07/28, 2:20pm

Microsoft Office v.X to get Exchange support

Microsoft is expected to release an update to Office v.X for Mac OS X later this summer with Exchange support for OS X users in corporate environments, according to Microsoft Watch. "The update, Version 10.1.4 of Office X, will add Exchange client functions to Office's e-mail and PIM component, Entourage. It will also incorporate bug fixes to Word, Excel and PowerPoint. Microsoft provided the update to beta testers in July.... Users will be able to synchronize Entourage contacts and calendar events with Exchange servers, choosing to synch all of their items or only items in a specific category."

G4 Cube maintains strong following

07/28, 1:55pm

G4 Cube maintains strong following

Apple's distinctive Power Mac G4 Cube has achieved "exalted status in death," according to Wired News writer Leander Kahney. "Though discontinued three years ago, Apple's Power Mac G4 Cube commands a strong -- almost fanatical -- following," says Mr. Kahney, referring to the premium prices on eBay, thriving trade in aftermarket upgrades, and dedicated owners. Many owners are "going to extreme lengths" to keep their much-loved machines current, including installing water-cooled dual-1GHz processors.

Can any MP3 player beat the iPod?

07/28, 1:45pm

Can any MP3 player beat the iPod?

With its compact size, slick design and big storage capacity, the San Francisco Chronicle asks, "can any MP3 player beat the iPod?" The review looks at the Creative Nomad Jukebox 3, E-Digital Odyssey 1000, Creative Nomad Jukebox Zen, and IRiver iFP-195T. Though bulkier than the iPod, these devices do provide the same performance and storage capacity, but don't cost as much. They also lack the seamless syncing and simple operation provided by the iPod.

Apple: Panther simply a tweaked 32-bit OS

07/28, 12:25pm

Apple: Panther simply a tweaked 32-bit OS

Apple has confirmed a Register report that Mac OS X 10.3 Panther will not be a fully 64-bit operating system: Apple VP Greg Joswiak this week "admitted that Panther will be a 32-bit operating system tweaked to support 64-bit addressing....That's the same technique implemented in Mac OS X 10.2.7, the version of the Apple operating system that will ship with the first 64-bit Power Mac G5s. Mac OS X 10.2.7, codenamed 'Smeagol', is a 32-bit OS, but certain libraries and other elements have been recoded to allow it to make use of the 64-bit addressing provided by the G5's 64-bit IBM PowerPC 970 processor."

GPSNavX offers GPS, charting functions

07/28, 12:20pm

GPSNavX offers GPS, charting functions

GPSNavX is a new GPS and charting application that offers real-time display of position on full color charts: "Just plug your GPS into your Macintosh and watch as your boat moves along in real-time, plotting a track behind the boat and logging your historic position on a digital chart." It includes realtime display of current position, speed over ground), course over ground, bearing to Waypoint, distance to Waypoint, and cross track error as well as zoom functions, custom waypoint information, and distance and bearing anywhere on the chart including great circle routing. The $50 application runs on Mac OS X 10.2.

Granted Software releases ReVision

07/28, 12:10pm

Granted Software releases ReVision

Granted Software today released ReVision 1.0, a ReWire-enabled QuickTime player that enhances soundtrack composition with Propellerhead Reason and Ableton Live on Mac OS X. ReWire is a technology for transferring audio data between software applications. ReVision provides full transport control compatibility including play, stop, fast forward, rewind and frame advance for accurate positioning of music. Registration for a single-user license is $30.

SharePoints helps manage OS X file sharing

07/28, 12:10pm

SharePoints helps manage OS X file sharing

SharePoints 3.2 is a "donationware" preference pane that makes it easy to add and delete share points much like the old Finder: "In Mac OS X, by default, you are limited to sharing only what is in your public folder in your home directory. This program makes it easy to share any folder. In addition SharePoints also brings back users and groups management to Mac OS X as well as easy configuration of AppleFileServer (AFS) and Samba (SMB) Server properties." It requires Mac OS X 10.2.

Pangea releases "space cowboy" game for Mac

07/28, 11:55am

Pangea releases "space cowboy" game for Mac

Pangea Software today announced the release of Billy Frontier, its latest Mac-only video game. Billy Frontier ($15) is an arcade-style action game where the user plays a space cowboy named Billy Frontier. The game has four different modes: Duels, Shootouts, Stampedes, and Target Practice. "It'’s the kind of game you pick up when you need a break and just want to blast stuff," said Brian Greenstone, President of Pangea.

New mobile barcode scanner kit available

07/28, 11:55am

New mobile barcode scanner kit available

Intelli Innovations today announced IntelliScanner Mobile for Mac OS 9 and Mac OS X. Designed for retail, inventory, book cataloging, and document tracking, the new portable USB barcode scanner collects scanned barcode values in its internal memory, then docks with the user's Mac to download the stored barcode data.It stores up to 500 barcodes; has support for multiple barcode formats/symbologies; NS offers a "tethered" mode for barcode scanning into many different Mac applications. Bundled with inventory management software and label generation software, it will begin shipping on August 13th for $500.

Alias ships Maya Personal Learning Edition 5

07/28, 11:45am

Alias ships Maya Personal Learning Edition 5

Alias Systems today released Maya Personal Learning Edition 5, a fully functioning version of Maya Complete software for non-commercial use. Maya Personal Learning Edition, first launched in February 2002, has more than 1 million registered users. It features a new hardware rendering option for dramatically faster speed, a unified rendering workflow, animation enhancements to constraints, forward/inverse kinematics and ghosting, Maya Paint Effect to polygon conversion , and an improved polygon reduction method.

Upcoming MaMUGs presentations scheduled

07/28, 11:40am

Upcoming MaMUGs presentations scheduled

The Mid-Atlantic Macintosh User Groups (MaMUGs) announced today two new scheduled presentations: "Fun Videos Beyond iMovie," a look at "fun and easy" video tools, apps and media for the Mac, and "OS X Software You Really Want," which looks at commercial products, shareware, and freeware -- what's good and what sets them apart. MaMUGs continually works with developers to offer demonstrations, presentations and information to user groups free of charge.

School district deploys 700 flat-panel iMacs

07/28, 8:55am

School district deploys 700 flat-panel iMacs

The Yuma school district in Arizona is completing deployment of 700 new flat-panel iMacs in project worth about $1 million, according to The Yuma Sun: "the district was able to come up with the funds for the much-needed project by using 'soft capital' funds to make the lease agreement with Apple. The district was able to make a great deal with Apple for the lease agreement. 'We ended up saving about $200,000 on the deal and the beauty of the lease is that we can just turn the computers in for new ones when the lease is up."

Macromedia ships Contribute 2 for Mac OS X

07/28, 8:45am

Macromedia ships Contribute 2 for Mac OS X

Macromedia today began shipping Contribute 2, its solution for users to update and manage content on existing websites. Macromedia Contribute 2, announced earlier this month, now works on Mac OS X and connects to websites faster and more securely. Macromedia Contribute 2 contains a host of new features, including high performance site connections with support for SFTP, new Macromedia FlashPaper web document technology, (Windows-only) and drag-and-drop integration with PayPal to easily add commerce hooks to websites as well as integration with .Mac. It is available immediately for $100 for both Mac OS X and Windows.

Apps: DeltaGraph, VoiceBox, WebSTAR...

07/28, 8:15am

Apps: DeltaGraph, VoiceBox, WebSTAR...

Red Rock Software's DeltaGraph 5.02 extends compatibility to the Mac OS 9 platform, adds the ability to now import data directly from Microsoft Excel v.X and enables network site licensing. DeltaGraph includes over 80 2D and 3D chart and graph types with over 200 styles. [10MB]
Realmac Software has released Voice Box 1.4, a free maintenance release to its $20 speech application that offers the ability to output the system's 'text to speech' into an audio file (aiff); the ability to speak words as you type; and speak the content of any automatically downloaded XML feed. [551KB]
iConquer 2.2 updates $13 game of world conquest for Mac OS X. This new version features enhanced network options, new maps, and more flexible artificial intelligence, including new maps of the US and the Solar System. Version 2.2 also improves downloading of map plug-ins. [7.8MB]
MediaWrapper 3 preview automatically lists and labels disk contents supports many external media formats. The new version supports text coloring, multiple fonts and sizes and more control over the disk layouts. Registration requires a donation of any amount. [Classic, OSX]
Doug's AppleScripts for iTunes now offers Now Playing in iChat AV, which displays the currently playing track info in iChat AV status message; Gimme An iTMS Search String, which generates an iTunes Music Store search URL based on selected or playing track and send to clipboard or iTMS; and OLGA Tabulature Search allows you to search the OLGA guitar tabulature archives for iTunes tracks.
PDFViewer 1.2 is described as a "barebones PDF viewer. The update adds a new Brazilian/Portuguese localization. It is available for free for Mac OS X only. [177KB]
4D WebSTAR V v5.3.1 is an update to its Internet server suite adding Norton AntiVirus email filtering support and spam filtering to 4D WebMail Pro as well as a new 4D Dynamic Data Indexer (4D DDI) that adds SOAP-based Web Services client support to the 4D WebSTAR Search crawler. It also includes CGI, FTP and other enhancements. Pricing starts at $400. [not yet available]
Paul Peters has released Franklin 1.7, a Mac OS X version of his freeware that generates 3D contour graphs of equipotential surfaces and point charges: "It is one of the few programs that treats equipotential surfaces as truly 3 dimensional instead of 2 dimensional closed curves." [232KB]
Audio Postcard can "easily create and send digital postcards over the Internet complete with embedded audio messages and customized titling and borders. Works in conjunction with your iPhoto library or any other digital graphics source." The $20 application runs on Mac OS X only. [1.5MB]

Apple details PowerSchool University 2003

07/28, 8:00am

Apple details PowerSchool University 2003

Apple's feature on PowerSchool University 2003 (PMU), which took place last week in Salt Lake City (Utah) drew a crowd of over 250 system administrators, counselors, office staff, and school/district administrators--over half of which were returning participants. PowerSchool has its PowerSchool User Group as well as a PowerGrade user group, a component of Apple's web-based student information system, according to the report.

Apple Store Burlingame photos, notes

07/28, 7:50am

Apple Store Burlingame photos, notes

MacNN reader Devin Allen sent us some grand opening photos of the Apple Store Burlingame, which took place this past weekend: "There were about 12 people that stayed overnight at the Burlingame store, I was the earliest person to come, about 7:30 AM on Friday and Thomas Logan, #2, came at about 8:10 AM. This store was slightly different from the others, because of the fact that that the construction wasn't nearly as as far down the line as others a day before the opening."

Samsung i500 offers Mac OS X support

07/28, 7:45am

Samsung i500 offers Mac OS X support

MacNN reader Greg Smith writes: "The new Samsung i500 released by SprintPCS (PDA/phone combo) will sync with a Macintosh (OS X) running Palm's desktop. I have yet to try it on OS 9, but it does indeed work on OS X. Neither Sprint nor Samsung advertise support for the Macintosh."

EtherPeek 4.2 improves packet capture

07/28, 7:30am

EtherPeek 4.2 improves packet capture

WildPackets today released an update to the Mac OS X version ofts EtherPeek 4.2 network traffic and protocol analyzer. The new version of EtherPeek for Mac offers improved capture performance, enhanced Packet Decoders, expanded support of Mac plug-ins, and more. EtherPeek for Mac is $700 and includes 12 months of maintenance. Current maintenance owners receive the new version 4.2 upgrade for free; Mac OS X 10.2.4 (or later) is required.

New 1GB RAM module for PowerBook G4

07/28, 7:25am

New 1GB RAM module for PowerBook G4

Trans Intl. has announced availability of a 1GB DDR333 memory module for the Powerbook G4 (1 GHz 17 inch model). Trans Intl.'s 1GB memory modules double the system's main memory 2GB Gigabytes (GB) of available RAM. This makes the Powebook equal in memory capacity to the latest desktop Power Macintosh G4s. Trans Intl. says its new memory modules conform to Apple's stringent electrical and mechanical design guide lines, operating at a clock rate of 166MHz and transmits data at 333Mbps. The $700 module is available now.

Apps: macstl, Vokator, mlMac, iTrip...

07/28, 1:45am

Apps: macstl, Vokator, mlMac, iTrip...

Pixelglow Software has released macstl 0.1.1, a minor update to its C++ source library for AltiVec template programming. The update provides fixes for compiling with gcc 3.3. The "open-source" library requires registration after 30-days of use. [Download - 72KB]
Native Instruments is now offering a free demo version of Vokator for Mac, its vocoder and synthesizer that "defines a new standard for transparency, detail, and smoothness." Vokator regularly retails for $300. [Download - site currently unavailable]
mlMac is a GUI (graphical user interface) for mldonkey, a multi-platform multi-network peer-to-peer client. It features a simple setup, and easy access to the Fasttrack (Kazaa) network, among others. The current version is not compatible with developer test versions of the upcoming Mac OS X 10.3 [Download - 314KB]
Griffin Technology today announced the release of iTrip Station Finder, a small free application that assists iTrip owners in finding clear frequencies in over 200 cities and towns in the United States. The iTrip FM Transmitter ($35) allows iPod owners to play their iPod's music in their cars or over their stereo through the FM radio. [Download - 576KB]
Acquisition 0.964 is a gnutella client that supports modern gnutella features such as Ultrapeers, swarm (multi-source) downloads, download resumption, and distributed network discovery. Acquisition also features a single-window user interface with a drawer that summarizes current searches, network activity, and transfers. Registration is $15. [Download - 1.7MB]
REALmaker X is a workgroup information management tool that allows you to quickly create solutions adapted to your business needs. With a simple interface, REALmaker X can be useful to anyone who needs to track and manage people, projects, and information. [Download - form]