News Archive for 03/11/20

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Apps: CurrentVoice, FastTrack, Qtopia, VoiceNoteMenu

11/20, 11:00pm

CurrentVoice, FastTrack ...

CurrentVoice 1.5, an enhancement for SuperCard, returns information about the user's currently selected voice. New in this version are info fields that describe the returned results, translated information for Language and Gender, and other minor additions. [Download - 9KB]
AEC Software today released FastTrack Schedule 8.0.6, a new update to the company's premier project management application. Version 8.0.6 offers support for Mac OS X Panther (10.3) and improved data exchange with Microsoft Project through XML including extensive support when importing data into FastTrack Schedule. [Download - 9KB]
Trolltech has made available Qtopia Desktop 1.7, the latest version of the PIM companion software for Mac OS X. Syncing a Sharp Zaurus is now possible, according to the developer. [Download - 7.0MB]
VoiceNoteMenu 1.5 is an update to the $10 shareware application that allows users to quickly record voice notes from within the Mac OS X menu bar. This version adds a recording timer to the menu bar and offers keyboard shortcuts to start/stop recording. [Download - 832KB]
CloakIt ($10) lets users "cloak" (hide) any folder and its contents, to prevent people from viewing private and sensitive data. Version 2.0 offers a completely redesigned interface and "a couple of new features." [Download - 872KB]
wClock 3.0 displays the time and date in the menu-bar and provides convenient one-click access to a monthly calendar. Version 3.0 has a redesigned user-interface and now runs without a Dock icon. It is free, but donations are accepted. [Download - 158KB]
Digital Thought Software today announced the release of the fxStabilizer plug-in for iMovie. Created from sophisticated mathematical software, the fxStabilizer was developed to provide the home and professional user of iMovie with the ability to stabilize or smooth the shakiness associated with hand-held cameras. [Download - 510KB]
Project Timer Pro 1.0 is a time tracking application for graphic designers, lawyers and other professionals who have to monitor the time they spend on projects for various clients. This "Pro" edition is a major upgrade to the standard time management software from Script Software. [Download - 510KB]
Easy Card 2.0.3 allows users to create personalized cards with digital photos. It includes templates and fully pre-made cards. Version 2.0.3 primarily implements bug fixes. [Download - 1.7MB]

Tech: Intel sets 4GHz goal; tech job recovery...

11/20, 8:20pm

Intel aims for 4GHz

Evening tech news: Intel intends to break the 4-GHz barrier some time in 2004, according to the company; high-technology industries in the United States lost 540,000 jobs last year, but will likely lose half that amount this year, an industry group reported; handheld computer maker PalmOne said today business was picking up ahead of the key Christmas holiday season and that the integration of newly acquired rival Handspring was on track.

PROOF-it-ONLINE unveils new Version Control feature

11/20, 5:05pm

ApprovALL gains features

PROOF-it-ONLINE has introduced a new Version Control feature in the latest version of ApprovALL, its subscription-based online proofing and creative approval management solution for creative professionals. Version Control provides creative professionals and their clients with a simple, "clear and concise" method of ensuring accuracy throughout the creative review and approval process. Version Control provides access previous versions of a graphic file or proof in order to refer back as needed. Introductory pricing is $30 per month.

Reader: Sony emulates Apple with store placement

11/20, 4:55pm

Sony emulates Apple store

Sony has begun to open 'Sony Style' stores, which have a very similar look and feel to the Apple Store, according to a MacNN reader. They feature a large selection of Sony products, from computers and handhelds to digital cameras and accessories. In Orange County, California, Sony has recently opened a store in the main section of South Coast Plaza, next to the Gucci retail store. "Apple opened the Apple Store at South Coast Plaza about two years ago in a new extended section of the mall, named Crystal Court (located across a large parking lot and across a major through-street, the 2 buildings are connected by a large 'bridge' outdoor walkway about 2 stories in the air to go over the parking lot and street)."

LOUD to ship Spike audio recording system next month

11/20, 4:40pm

Spike Powered Recording

LOUD Technologies next month will begin shipping its $500 Spike Powered Recording system, which it says includes all of the hardware and software necessary to track, mix and record music on a Mac, including Mackie’s new XD-2 USB 24-bit Audio/MIDI interface as well as a copy of Tracktion audio recording and sequencing software: "Spike is about providing a turn-key, out-of-box recording solution that will allow even the most technically challenged musician to be tracking and editing their music in a matter of minutes rather than days."

eShox 3.6 adds "skins" for customizing web stores

11/20, 4:25pm

eShox 3.6 adds \"skins\"

The PHP/MySQL commerce solution, eShox 3.6, adds a new "Skins" feature for unlimited customization of store interface. It includes four pre-built skins and two customizable skin templates, and product info panels. Version 3.6 also adds Dreamweaver WebDAV support for editing store interface and product information, a new Finder-like file management system, and an intelligent setup assistant for the database. It also offers web-administration, realtime statistics, database exchange using flat files, shipping integration, payment processing, and internationalization. Pricing starts at $300.

Apps: WebSTAR, Webdesktop, Internet Cleanup....

11/20, 4:20pm

WebSTAR, Webdesktop

4D WebSTAR V v5.3.2 offers enhanced performance, important security updates, improvements to the Mail Server including improved support for Entourage clients and DNS Blacklists, and an updated Search Engine with support for PDF Metadata. [68MB]
The free WebDesktop 2.1 layers a web browser over your Mac OS X 10.2 desktop using Safari's WebKit rendering engine; it offers full interaction with the page, including scrolling, navigation, and form input. The display is now movable/resizable and it supports dual-monitors, drag & drop to dock icon, opening of local files, and manual refresh. [form]
Aladdin Systems has updated Internet Cleanup 1.1, its $30 internet utility for removing spyware, blocking popups, deleting your internet web/cache files, and securely deleting documents. This version includes new spyware definitions, and bug fixes for full Panther and Safari support. [form]
Default Folder X 1.9.2 provides a new script for accessing Default Folder X from the Finder's toolbar in Panther, sports significant performance improvements to its hierarchical menus, and corrects a number of compatibility problems. It is fully compatible with Panther. [3.8MB]
The $14 Painter's Picker 1.02, updated to work with BBEdit, adds the ability to choose related colors from within Mac OS X color picker. It adds controls for choosing saturation, hue angle, and brightness and provides the ability to choose colors in the CMYK color space. [701KB]
Pariahware today released Days Away 1.2.1, a Mac OS X application that periodically reminds the user of upcoming events by discreetly fading in to focus, pausing for you to read the events, and discreetly fading back out. The $10 shareware can remind users of due dates, birthdays, anniversaries, etc. [998KB]
FileMaker Database Calendar works on PCs or Macs and will work over a network or the Internet. The new version for FileMaker Pro 5/5.5/6 has a new look, is much faster and has greatly improved navigational features. A fully functional FileMaker Internet Calendar version available for $30, while a free version overs limited functionality. [189KB]

'Best of Show Awards' announced for MacExpo in Londo

11/20, 4:05pm

MacExpo \'Best of Show\'

Macworld UK today announced the winners of the "Best of Show Awards" for the most exciting new hardware and software products announced at MacExpo 2003 in London. The winners included Apple's 20-inch iMac, Adobe CS, Epson's Stylus Pro 4000, FileMaker Meetings & Tasks, Griffin's iShark (Tivo for AM/FM radio), HP's ScanJet 4600, Creo Tokens (file sharing for businesses), and Disney Interactive's Finding Nemo.

ViewRemote offers surveillance functions for Macs

11/20, 3:55pm

ViewRemote

ViewRemote Software has released ViewRemote for Mac, which it says is "the only" remote surveillance product for OS X. ViewRemote records all user activity, and allows it be viewed remotely from anywhere in the world via a web browser. It works by automatically recording everything that happens on a computer: keystrokes typed, applications used, and even periodic pictures of the screen: "When a user installs ViewRemote, he or she chooses a username and password; all data that ViewRemote records is then securely and automatically sent to that user account on the ViewRemote.com server, and can optionally be sent via e-mail." It requires Mac OS X 10.2 or later; a 5-day trial (requires account registration) of the $60 application is available.

iSkin launches iSkin eXo2 protective skins for iPods

11/20, 3:40pm

eXo2 skins for iPod

iSkin today announced the all-new iSkin eXo2 protective skins for Apple's iPod. Made from flexible high-grade silicone with "pores" to radiate heat and an anti-slip grip, the $30 eXo2 features a clean linear design with contoured surface accents, a removable stainless steel rotary belt clip, a safety hand strap, and an integrated FireWire port cover. It is available in four colors: Arctic (clear white frosted), Sonic (vibrant electric blue), Ebony (solid midnight black) and Carbon (dark grey). The company says that additional "skin tones" will be added to the line, including glow-in-the-dark colors.

MacSoft ships Age of Mythology for Mac OS X

11/20, 3:30pm

Age of Mythology for OS X

Destineer’s MacSoft today announced that it has begun shipping Microsoft Game Studios' best-selling real-time strategy game, Age of Mythology for Mac OS X: "[It] transports players to a time when heroes did battle with monsters of legend and the gods intervened in the affairs of mortal men. Players guide one of nine ancient civilizations to greatness by commanding all aspects of their empire, from establishing profitable trade routes and building new settlements to waging war and advancing through four distinct ages." MacSoft says the $50 game for Mac OS X 10.2.6 or later has been shipped to all retailers and other partners and should be on many store shelves as early as today. The English version is expected to be available to European customers by next week.

Ars posts CPU roundup, IBM POWER5 details

11/20, 1:25pm

Ars offers POWER5 details

Ars Technica has posted an overview three CPUs introduced at the recent Microprocessor Forum, including IBM's POWER5, Sun's UltraSparc IV, and Transmeta's Efficeon: "Of great interest to the Mac community was IBM's disclosure of more details on the upcoming POWER5. POWER5 is an evolutionary advance over POWER4....the big news is that POWER5 is an SMT (a.k.a. "hyperthreading") design, with each core capable of running two threads at once. This means that a single dual-core POWER5 chip will look like four logical processors to the OS."

Apple security fixes detailed, ST offers warning

11/20, 12:15pm

Jaguar gets security fixes

Security Tracker (ST) reports on 'sudo' security issue affecting both Mac OS X 10.3 Panther and Mac OS X 10.2 Jaguar. Meanwhile, we have a list of security fixes in Apple's Security Update 2003-11-19, which included long-awaited security updates for Mac OS X 10.2 Jaguar users (available previously only to Panther users).

TLA updates DragThing 5.01 with sound, video previews

11/20, 11:40am

DragThing 5.01

TLA Systems has released DragThing 5.0.1, the thirtieth release of its popular dock application for Mac OS. It corrects a problem that could cause drawers to vanish when dragged to the top right of the screen. Other new features including previews for video and sound files, highlighting of the frontmost window in the Window Dock, new layer sorting options, and more. DragThing 5.0.1 is a free upgrade for registered users of DragThing 5, $12 for existing registered users, and $30 to register for new users. It requires Mac OS X 10.2 or later.

Logic Platinum 6.3.2 improves Panther support

11/20, 11:25am

Logic Platinum 6.3.2

Apple's Emagic has released Logic Platinum 6.3.2, an update to the professional audio application. It adds support for Digidesign ProTools|HD Accel System and a new demo version of Space Designer, the high-end reverb plug-in for the Logic Series that features a real-time convolution process as well as improved Panther compatibility (better import and a new manual set for the recording the delay) and an VSM fix for G5 Power Macs. [25MB]

Tech: Kensington wins lawsuit, MPEG LA licensing...

11/20, 9:15am

Kesington lawsuit, MPEG LA

Early morning tech: Kensington says it was awarded $1.13 million in damages in a lawsuit against Kryptonite and its distributor, American Power Conversion Corporation (APC) over Kensington's patented computer security lock; MPEG LA, the licensing group representing MPEG-4 patent holders, have agreed on terms for joint licensing of the advanced H.264 video codec technology; and the "Poisoned" file-swapping software allows connections to the popular FastTrack system as well as several smaller networks, offering Mac owners direct access to the vast Kazaa network, which includes millions of people.

Trans Intl. offers 1GB memory modules for new iMacs

11/20, 9:05am

1GB RAM modules for iMacs

Trans Intl. today announced new 1GB DDR333 memory upgrade modules for the iMac. The new 1GB memory is available in two different modules for both the user and factory slots in the iMac G4 15-inch 1GHz ($220/$570), iMac G4 17-inch 1.25 GHz , iMac G4 20-inch 1.25GHz, allowing users to expand the system's main memory to 2GB. The company says that each of the two iMac memory expansion slot was previously limited to only 512MB and each slot requires a different size module. The upgrades are $220 for the factory-slot and $570 for user-slot.

Blackmagic reduces Decklink prices, offers upgrades

11/20, 8:50am

Decklink prices reduced

Blackmagic Design today reduced prices on its high resolution DeckLink video cards. DeckLink, the original SDI based uncompressed 10-bit SDI card with new RT Extreme support in Final Cut Pro has now been reduced to $700; DeckLink Pro (now $1000) offers SDI capture and playback with RT Extreme support as well as full analog component (YUV) monitoring, and genlock input; DeckLink SP (now $900) features high quality analog component (YUV) capture and playback with 2 channels of XLR balanced audio, and genlock input. The company also announced a any that any Kona SD or Kona HD owner can upgrade to DeckLink HD for $1000.

EI debuts CxC parallel programming software for G5

11/20, 8:35am

CxC Parallel Programming

Engineered Intelligence (EI) introduced its new parallel programming software offering at the Supercomputing 2003 conference. EI's CxC parallel programming software allows scientists and engineers to easily create programs for Apple's Power Mac G5, including the design and implementation of applications in high performance computing environments. "EI's software enables scientists and engineers to solve highly complex problems with an intuitive programming language that creates a virtual parallel computer. Now with the Power Mac G5 scientists can easily model and simulate larger and more complicated tasks on their personal computer -- with unsurpassed ability to prototype and test them." CxC for Mac OS X is immediately available, with prices starting at $200 per single user license.

Miraizon updates Cinematize 1.02 DVD extraction util

11/20, 5:00am

Cinematize extracts DVDs

Miraizon today released Cinematize 1.02, its DVD data extraction software that can handle complex DVDs. Version 1.02 includes several new features and bug fixes, including Panther compatibility, faster AC-3 audio decoding, more accurate calculation of hard disk space requirements, and resizable main window. Cinematize allows user to extract a segment off of any DVD and save it in a format compatible with industry standard movie and sound editing applications. It is now available as a packaged product for $60 (in addition to the downloadable product for $50). Upgrades to the packaged version are $9 for a limited time.

Bay Area school district purchases 200 eMacs

11/20, 4:10am

eMacs for Bay Area schools

A New Haven (CA) school district has been awarded a $900,000 federal grant over two years to purchase hundreds of new computers and other equipment, including over 200 eMacs intended to "improve the way technology is integrated into middle school and junior high school English and social studies curricula," according to The Argus. [location updated]

MacGIMP announces GIMP for Mac OS X 10.3 Panther

11/20, 3:55am

GIMP for Panther

MacGIMP says it has built GIMP 1.3.22, a pre-release of the next major GIMP update, and all its dependencies on Mac OS X 10.3 Panther: "Preliminary builds have been running on Mac OS X for nearly two weeks now and creation of a binary packaged installer for Mac users is in progress. A release is expected to be made available by the end of November. The hope is to roll out documentation for building it for those who enjoy the acquaintance of their compiler."