News Archive for 03/10/31

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Users have difficulty with Creative Suite

10/31, 3:10pm

Users have difficulty with Creative Suite

A MacNN reader provided the following report: "Adobe's new Creative Suite seems to be having difficulty installing on certain configurations of Macs, possibly in relation to Panther (unconfirmed). I have had no trouble installing on my Dual 867 MDD, but my new Al Powerbook won't get much beyond the bouncing icon of the installer before dying out. Others are having similar problems."

Aspyr bundles MOHAA, Spearhead

10/31, 3:00pm

Aspyr bundles MOHAA, Spearhead

Aspyr is now shipping a new combo pack -- "Medal of Honor Allied Assault Deluxe Edition" -- which includes "Medal of Honor Allied Assault" as well as its expansion pack, "Medal of Honor Allied Assault Spearhead." It costs $60.

PBG4 owners complain about screen spots

10/31, 3:00pm

PBG4 owners complain about screen spots

c|net confirms that hundreds of owners of Apple's new 15-inch PowerBook G4 are complaining about an apparent design fault that causes white spots to show up on the notebook computer's liquid crystal display. MacNN Forums users have discussed the issue in past weeks, as have users of Apple's technical support forums. Apple said on Friday that it is looking into the problem. More than 650 individuals have signed an online petition demanding that the company address the issue.

Tech: MS eyes Google; U.K. anti-piracy; ...

10/31, 2:55pm

Tech: MS eyes Google; U.K. anti-piracy; ...

Evening tech news: Microsoft, seeking a foothold in the Internet search business, approached Google within the last two months to discuss a partnership or even a merger; a copyright law designed to curb the unauthorized exchange of music, film and software on the Net takes effect in Britain, reigniting the debate over the proper way to tackle digital piracy; an IBM team is researching handheld designs that incorporate a folding hinged screen, providing a viewing area nearly as large as a desktop monitor's.

Tip: Panther Mail offers manual image loading

10/31, 2:45pm

Tip: Panther Mail offers manual image loading

MacNN reader "Bill" points out that the new version of Apple's "Mail" application, included with Mac OS X 10.3 "Panther," includes a new feature that enables users to manually load images in emails. "The Newest Version of Mail now does not display those vulgar disgusting sex images that flood my Junk Mail folder unless I ask it to load the images by pushing the 'load images' button." This feature is not documented by Apple in its Panther promotional material, but many sensitive users plagued by junk mail may find it useful. It is also useful to prevent the automatic loading of image-rich spam, thus decreasing navigation lag.

Alias offers new Bonus Tools Booster Pack

10/31, 2:40pm

Alias offers new Bonus Tools Booster Pack

Alias Systems announced today that Maya 5 users who desire extended functionality can now download the free Bonus Tools Booster Pack. Developed to enhance the Maya software, the Bonus Tools Booster pack contains more than 100 mini-features in the form of plug-ins, scripts and UI enhancements. The updates in the Bonus Tools Booster pack provide artists and programmers with improved Trax workflow with clip trimming and easier access to characters and weight curves; enhanced polygonal texture mapping; the ability to delete construction history while maintaining the skinning of the model; and a total of 10 procedural shaders.

cyan eProof PDF available for free

10/31, 2:30pm

cyan eProof PDF available for free

After the success of previous limited-time campaign, cyan is offering its eProof PDF online proofing solution for free again to registrants within the next 30 days. cyan is providing this offer again to "help more Mac and PC users avoid communication hassles and delays in proofing process and establish online proofing as the mainstream proofing solution." It is expected that users who obtained eProof PDF for free will see further benefits from purchasing the enhanced proofing features of eProof RapidImageView and therefore upgrade their free eProof PDF server.

Bodelin offers new software for ProScope

10/31, 9:40am

Bodelin offers new software for ProScope

Bodelin Distribution, makers of The ProScope USB digital microscope, have teamed up with Lenox Softworks to create optional ProScope software that makes more scientific use of video, stills and time lapse images captured by the ProScope. LX-ProScope will measure objects captured in video or stills, allow on-screen annotation, add graphics and labels in still and video, offers a project-oriented approach, supports simple video editing and much more. A 14-day demo is available. It is available for $130.

Apps: Konfabulator, JAlbum, Ulysses fix...

10/31, 9:35am

Apps: Konfabulator, JAlbum, Ulysses fix...

Carracho Communications has released an update to its client/server community server solution: Carracho 1.0b9 offers file sharing, chat, message board, and other functions. The new version includes extended encryption support. A new preview of the Cocoa-based client is also available. [Client, Server, Cocoa]
ProjectLocker is a service for software that seeks to eliminate the administrative burden of maintaining project infrastructure. It offers both source control (via secure CVS system) and Web-based bug tracking as well as tools for project managers, including sophisticated querying and reporting. Pricing is $20 per month per user.
Konfabulator 1.5.2, an update to the JavaScript runtime engine for Mac OS X that runs files called Widgets (alarm clocks, calculators, AirPort signal strength, fetch stock quotes, etc.). This version fixes issues with Panther and uses the official Weather Channel XML feed. There are over 400 user-contributed Widgets. [4.6MB]
JAlbum 4.0 is a free Java-based utility that will create a Web gallery. It offers slideshows, scaling, new window, hierarchy folder generation, flexible HTML themes, and other options. It supports jpeg, gif and png image files and popular movie formats like .avi, .mpg and .wmv files. [2.7MB]
A new small application corrects a problem with Ulysses running under Mac OS X 10.3 Panther. Ulysses is a €100 Mac OS X text editor aimed directly at creative writers. With its innovative "tabbed" single-window interface, featuring integrated notepads, a documents browser, advanced search/filter capabilities and multi-document previews, etc. [59KB]
Mitz Pettel today released the freeware Hebrew Spelling Service for Mac OS X, which adds a Hebrew dictionary to Mac OS X's built-in spell checker. Once installed, the Hebrew dictionary can be selected and used in any application that has a standard Spelling submenu in its Edit menu, such as TextEdit, Mail or Mellel. [448KB]
Finder Window Manager 1.6 is a $10 application for managing Mac OS X Finder windows, allowing you to create Window Sets to remember the size, placement, and several view options for open windows. It supports Mac OS X 10.3 Panther, options to hide the new Finder window toolbars when stacking or tiling windows, the ability to turn off tool tips, and other enhancements. [752KB]

New car audio integration system for iPods

10/31, 9:20am

New car audio integration system for iPods

Dension Audio Systems is advertising a new iPod-based audio integration system for cars: "ice>Link:iPod is the ultimate car kit for your Apple iPod. iPod audio is routed through your head unit's CD changer port and keypresses including FF & RW are passed from your head unit (and steering wheel controls in suitably-equipped vehicles) to your iPod resulting in safe control of your iPod while driving." It is available with an optional cradle manufactured by Brodit (for classic and 3rd generation iPods: "We recomend Brodit's range of ProClip damage free mounting brackets which are available for a wide range of vehicles and mounting locations.") Pricing was not available.

Free laser engraving on iPods through Nov 5

10/31, 1:55am

Free laser engraving on iPods through Nov 5

The Apple Store is offering Free iPod Custom Laser Engraving on all iPod models ordered through the Apple Store, according to a new promotion: "Customers must purchase qualifying Apple products, from October 22, 2003, through November 5, 2003, or while supplies last from the Apple Store online. Savings will be included in the purchase price...iPod personalization must take place at the time of the original order."

dvGarage releases dvMatte Pro 1.5 for FCP

10/31, 1:45am

dvGarage releases dvMatte Pro 1.5 for FCP

dvGarage has released dvMatte Pro 1.5 for Final Cut Pro 4, a plugin designed to "key," or remove blue and greenscreen backgrounds from digital footage, dvMatte Pro is specifically engineered to handle the artifacts created by video cameras, including artifacts are present in Beta, HD and DV video footage. It uses a 3-pass keying method to achieve clean key--even from DV footage that was once thought unusable for professional keying, according to the press release. dvMatte Pro has been available for Adobe After Effects (AE); however, dvMatte Pro 1.5 for FCP adds many new features, such as Color Matching, Edge Blending and Light Wrap. A $50 discount on the $200 plugin is available through November 11th. The AE version will later this year.

PowerLogix debuts 1.4GHz G4 upgrade for Cube

10/31, 1:40am

PowerLogix debuts 1.4GHz G4 upgrade for Cube

PowerLogix today announced the PowerForce G4 1.4GHz upgrade card for the PowerMac G4 Cube: "Running at a speed of 1.4 GHz, this new CPU card has twice the L2 cache (512K) of the previous 7455-based cards (256K) for additional performance. In addition, the new 7457 draws an incredible 40% less peak power than the previous chip for cool and reliable, high-performance operation. The card includes 2MB of L3 cache." The $600 upgrade will start shipping in 1-2 weeks.

LaCie, Apple: dataloss with Panther, FW 800

10/31, 1:35am

LaCie, Apple: dataloss with Panther, FW 800

LaCie today noted serious problems when using FireWire 800 drives and Mac OS X 10.3 Panther: "With the retail release of Mac OS X Version 10.3 Panther, LaCie has learned that a compatibility issue exists with FireWire 800 drives and Apple’s new operating system release. We believe this problem affects all manufacturers of FireWire 800 drives." LaCie recommends that users not use external FireWire 800 drives unless specific instructions are followed, noting that dataloss could occur. MacNN readers note Apple has confirmed the FireWire 800 dataloss issue under Panther and is working on a solution to the problem that affects "all drives Oxford 922 bridge chip-set with firmware version 1.02 that can result in the loss of data stored on the disk drive." Both WiebeTech and OWC have also offered firmware updaters.

Apple releases AirPort 3.2 with WPA support

10/31, 1:25am

Apple releases AirPort 3.2 with WPA support

Apple's AirPort 3.2 software is available via the software update. It provides provides support for the Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA) specification for the AirPort Extreme base station and AirPort Extreme client. Also included in this release is v5.2 of the AirPort Extreme base station firmware. Apple's description also reads "Instructions for updating the base station firmware can also be found in AirPort Help. The AirPort Extreme base station and AirPort Extreme client are Wi-Fi Certified for 802.11b and 802.11g interoperability."

iRecordNow: iSight as a camcorder

10/31, 12:35am

iRecordNow: iSight as a camcorder

Boinx Software has released iRecordNow ($15), a new utility that allows users to use Apple's iSight Web camera to record video. "The goal of Boinx iRecordNow is to turn your iSight into a digital camcorder that is as easy to use as a real world camcorder," says Florian Albrecht, Software Designer at Boinx Software. The format of the clips and the compression can be determined by choosing one of several predefined settings. The movie clips can then be imported into iMovie or Final Cut Pro for postproduction.