News Archive for 04/07/15

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Jobs home tear-down dispute

07/15, 11:20pm

Jobs home dispute

As first reported a month ago, Apple CEO Steve Jobs is at the center of a dispute over his plan to tear down the 1926 Daniel C. Jackling estate, which he has owned for some time. Preservationists have deemed the house historic. The New York Times has published a story on the dispute: "In what could become America's highest-profile tear-down, Mr. Jobs, the Apple and Pixar chief executive, is seeking this town's permission to hit the delete button on the 1926 Daniel C. Jackling estate, a moldering manse designed by George Washington Smith, the architect who created the look of Montecito and Santa Barbara in the 1920's."

Free Pro-level 3D Modeling & Animation App for Mac

07/15, 9:15pm

Free Pro-level 3D Modeling

Developer Karl Berg has provided information on his upcoming 3D modeling and animation application for Mac OS X. Karl plans to distribute his application for free when it is complete. "The lack of good game development tools has been discussed at iDevGames several times in the past and I finally figured I'd sit down and do something about it a few months ago. I'm targeting low to mid level polygonal models that can be animated and exported in a variety of formats.", said Karl. The application has been under development for two-years during as part of Karl's university work.

Optipix 3.0 adds Interactive Interpolation

07/15, 7:30pm

Optipix 3.0 released

Optipix 3.0 ($150) is a suite of Photoshop plug-ins for Mac OS X and Classic. The Optipix package works on both 8 and 16 bit images and includes tools for automatically improving contrast, removing blur, image averaging, blending bracketed exposures, enlarging images,and color-safe sharpening. Version 3.0 of Optipix adds several new tools to the package. Interactive Interpolation is "the most sophisticated tool now available for enlarging digital images," allowing users to adjust how your interpolation is performed in an interactive preview.

Marware offers WiFi Spy network detector

07/15, 4:35pm

WiFi Spy detector

Marware today released its WiFi Spy, a $30 keychain-sized 802.11b/g wireless network detector. As you press the button, the WiFi Spy scans for a WiFi signal and shows the signal strength in the four bar lighted display. Since the WiFi Spy is directional, you can track down the source of the wireless signal to insure a good connection. It can fit on a keychain or attach to the zipper of a laptop bag. It is helpful for travelers, making looking for network hotspots in airports and other locations a easier.

Apps: Get-A-Matic, EasyFrame, HighDesign, WinSwitch..

07/15, 3:00pm

Get-A-Matic, EasyFrame...

Get-A-Matic 1.1 is a $10 Internet download manager that allows users to queue up a list of files to download using a simple, straight-forward interface. New in version 1.1 is a connection timeout setting, transfer timeout setting, low speed timeout setting, and redirect link following. [Download - 492KB]
EasyFrame 1.1 is a simple utility for quickly creating basic frames around images. "Once you are happy with what you see, you can simply drag the result directly to Mail or other applications." Version 1.1 adds a Send-To menu. [Download - 4.0MB]
HighDesign is a easy-to-use 2D CAD and illustration package for Mac OS X, with pricing starting at $150. Version 1.3 adds rulers, customizable keyboard shortcuts, and a new rectangle. [Download - 5.5MB]
WinSwitch 1.3 offers fast user switching without wasting valuable space in the Menu Bar. Version 1.3 adds a user defaults setting for users who prefer to have their picture 16x16, a Japanese localization, optimizations for speed, and improved readability. [Download - 300KB]
ChronoSync 2.0.7 ($30) is an update to the automated synchronization and backup application for Mac OS X. This update contains new features and bug fixes. [Download - 1.5MB]
FormMate 1.1.1 enables users to fill out forms in PDF files directly on the computer. Version 1.1.1 of the $25 utility fixes a minor problem in "Startup at login" in preferences. [Download - 2.5MB]

O'Reilly releases 'Mac OS X Panther Hacks'

07/15, 1:10pm

Mac OS X Panther Hacks

O'Reilly has released "Mac OS X Panther Hacks," a $30 book with a collection of "tips, tricks, and tools gleaned from the real-world experience of Unix experts and die-hard Macintosh users who know how to customize and modify their hardware and software to meet their exacting needs and desires." The book provides direct, hands-on solutions arranged by category: graphical user interface (GUI); scripting; web, chat, and mail; multimedia; gadgets and hardware; networking and network applications; servers; files and backup; and system administration.

Apps: Interarchy, Menu Calendar, InData/InCatalog

07/15, 11:00am

Apps: Interarchy, Menu Cal

• Interarchy 7.2 ($40) adds many new features to the FTP client, including a new bookmark bar on all listing windows, a contextual menu in Safari, and an auto upload feature.
  
  
• Menu Calendar 2.0.0 (basic version free, $15 for enhanced) has been released in final form. The application adds a small pop-down calendar to the menu bar and can now display events from iCal, keep a birthday calendar in iCal, features a new preferences panel, and more.
  
  
• InData 3.1 ($400) and InCatalog 3.2 ($800, $1,200 for Pro version) are two InDesign CS plug-ins from Em Software that perform automated document building and linking tasks, respectively. The new versions fix compatibility issues, add full Unicode support in input, and are free for customers who purchased either plug-in after June 1, 2003.

Apple rises sharply on earnings report

07/15, 9:55am

AAPL rises after earnings

Shares of Apple opened up nearly $3 from yesterday's close following Apple's third quarter earnings report yesterday. In heavy early morning trading, shares have risen nearly $4 at times, or about 13 percent, recovering their losses from the previous three weeks.

Briefly: Servoy discount, MacReporter.net, dotPhoto

07/15, 8:00am

Briefly: Servoy, dotPhoto

Servoy is offering $500 off Servoy Developer (now $150) and membership to the Servoy Alliance Network (now $240 for the first year); MacReporter.net has improved the functionality of its bilingual Mac syndication site and added a search engine; and dotPhoto has added the ability for consumers to print mini-posters of their photos in sizes from up to 24"x36" for the introductory price of $10 to $18.

IOGEAR showcases Combo ION drives, Bluetooth products

07/15, 2:10am

IOGEAR drives, mice

At Macworld Boston, IOGEAR is exhibiting its new external hard drives, including its 1.8-inch USB 2.0/FireWire ION Drive and 3.5-inch Combo ION Drive as well as its new extended range of Bluetooth products, including the Wireless Bluetooth Mini Mouse and the Wireless Bluetooth Headset. IOGEAR says the Combo ION Drives are "the smallest hard drives" available on the market and offer up to 40GB of storage. The drive, due later this summer, features Tri-Select backup technology, allowing multiple types of backup settings to be designed for computers. Once the Tri-Select button has been set up, it will automatically backup a single file or an entire directory as programmed.

Apple posts $61M profit, announces G5-based iMac

07/15, 1:15am

Apple profit, G5 iMac

Apple yesterday posted a profit of $61 million on revenue of $1.966 billion, which was up nearly 30 percent from the year ago quarter. Apple tripled its quarterly (profit) earnings from the year-ago quarter and slightly surpassed analyst expectations. During the third quarter financial conference call, Apple revealed that the new iMac will feature a G5 processor and said its delay (as well as constraints on the new Power Mac G5) were due to IBM's inability to deliver sufficient quantities of the G5. Apple sold nearly an equal number of Macs and iPods, but touted a 19% improvement in Mac-based revenues based on strong growth in Europe, its retail segment, and higher education market sales as well as record PowerBook and iBook shipments. Apple said that there was a 162% increase in its music-based revenues, and that it was experiencing "staggering" demand in the US and "unprecendented" preorders worldwide for the iPod mini. (See our Conference call highlights for full details.)