News Archive for 04/08/20

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Apps: Select Edges, Pixadex, SoundLib, HomeProject

08/20, 6:00pm

Select Edges, Pixadex, ...

Select Edges is a new free plug-in for Photoshop designed to easily make a selection using one of five different edge finding algorithms. These selections can then be used to smooth or sharpen images, a powerful Photoshop technique. [Download - 440KB]
Pixadex 1.5.2 ($19) is the latest version of the popular icon organizational tool. This version corrects several important bugs and is a free upgrade for registered users. [Download - 1.25MB]
SoundLib 3.0 ($15) lets musicians and producers keep track of their sample and sound library. The FileMaker-based solution offers indexing by user-defined keywords, mass import of entire folders or disks, direct from disk preview of QuickTime compatible files, storage requirements for backup, and custom label printing for a variety of media types. [Classic, OSX]
HomeProject 2.0 ($60) updates the personal project management application designed for Mac OS X with a new engine, user interface, style editor actions/links, and more. KidsBrowser 2.0, a browser designed for children, adds a new assistant for setup, integrated CutX 1.1 ($22) technology for blockng X-rated sites, better performance, and more. [Download - HP, KB, CX]
OsiriX 1.4 (free) is a DICOM viewer application for Mac OS X that is specifically designed for image fusion, cardiac CT, multi-series MRI exams and 3D reconstructions. It now supports supports the Japanese Character Set (ISO_IR 13), iChat Broadcasting, multi-pages TIFFs and B&W 8-bits TIFFs, basic AppleScript command,s, new plugins (T2 ratio/fit curve, fill gaps, Normalize), and more. [20MB]
WindowsUpdater (donationware) offers a small floating palette that automatically forces the refresh of the Finder windows contents. It includes a popup menu that lets the user selects the frequence of the automatic refresh and also an option for manual refresh. [84KB]

Metrowerks releases CodeWarrior 9.3 update

08/20, 5:25pm

CodeWarrior 9.3 update

Metrowerks today released CodeWarrior 9.3 Update, which it says is a maintenance release of the CodeWarrior Development Studio for Mac OS tools. The 9.3 update includes bug fixes to the C/C++ compiler, IDE, Debugger, MSL, Windows Support, PowerPlant, and PowerPlant X. The release notes contain details for each of these changed components. Both full and update installers are available. The company notes that the web installer can be used to update your system without downloading the rebuilt libraries and save some download time: "However, if you elect to not install libraries, you must manually rebuild the MSL and runtime libraries on your machine after installing the update." [full, web]

Forums: G5 90nm; PowerBook problem; iMac G5; Adium...

08/20, 2:40pm

Forums: Adium, G5 90nm...

Topics of discussion on the MacNN forums today include: Apple's transition of all Power Mac G5 models to 90nm; one member's difficult time with Apple troubleshooting a PowerBook problem; speculation about the G5 iMac's video card offerings; advice for a new PC-to-Mac "switcher"; the latest version of the alternative AIM client, Adium, for Mac OS X; the latest Mac OS X themes and interface customizations.

Pandromeda offers MojoWorld Generator bargain

08/20, 1:35pm

MojoWorld bargain

MojoWorld 2.0 Generator is a solution creating and rendering complete 3D worlds. MojoWorld Generator features the HyperSpace Mixer system that lets users easily transform their planet with customized mountains, landscaping and sky. From any location in your world, you can quickly and easily generate a complete cubic QuickTime VR scene. For a limited time, MojoWorld Generator 2.0 can be purchased directly from the Pandromeda website for $110 and includes at no extra cost, MojoPack, a rich collection of 150 plants and trees, new complete worlds and third party plug-ins.

Livid to demo Union at SoHo store

08/20, 12:50pm

Livid at SoHo store

Livid Instruments will demonstrate its innovative video application Union at the Apple Store in New York City's SoHo district Tuesday, August 31st at 6:30 PM. Union is the world's first "video performance software instrument geared toward the emerging VJ market." It "provides the most comprehensive platform to easily create live visual productions for clubs, theater productions, fashion shows, corporate events, and live concert performances."

TidBITS publishes "Take Control of Buying a Mac"

08/20, 12:25pm

Book on Mac purchasing

TidBITS Electronic Publishing has published a new e-book by Macintosh expert Adam C. Engst called "Take Control of Buying a Mac." A unique feature of the book is a painstakingly compiled history of Macintosh releases, which Engst combines with a clear explanation of how Apple updates Macs within a model line to produce rules for determining "exactly when readers should buy for the fastest performance, the lowest price, or the longest useful life span." The book costs $5 and is available for download today.

Briefly: PB battery exchange, Playlist, FireWire 800

08/20, 12:05pm

PB G4 battery exchange

In Brief: Users who filled out Apple's PowerBook G4 Battery Exchange last night received delivery of their new batteries this morning via DHL...Datarealm Internet Services today announced the addition of Apple's G5 Xserve to its server product lineup as well as competitively priced add-on packages for server monitoring and managed hosting; September 4 is the next date of the London's digital music club, Playlist, where users are able to bring their own 15-minute playlist on their iPod..The Philippine Macintosh Users Group will be having a unique, fun and crazy night of make-up, dress-up and photography on Friday, August 27 at 7pm...The IT-Enquirer has an article about achieving 100MB/sec using FireWire 800 on a G5 Power Mac.

OD4Contact PIM adds Bluetooth phone support

08/20, 9:20am

OD4Contact 1.2

Objective Decision today released a major update to OD4Contact 1.2, its popular PIM and contact relation management software. Version 1.2 now supports many Bluetooth Mobile Phones through a new powerful dialing panel that automatically detects all calls, their duration and dates. It also adds unlimited number of categories and colors to sort and find contacts, groups and tasks quickly. Users can also attach an unlimited number of files to contacts (and tasks). The application also offers Rendezvous-based sharing, Bluthooth Phone management, linked tasks with reminders, an integrated map search tool, multi-country yellow page listings, advanced print functions, manual or automatic iPod synchronization, and realtime sync with Mac OS X's Address Book. It is available for $30.

Belkin ships 1M iPod accessories, donates to Duke

08/20, 9:10am

Belkin donates to Duke

Belkin yesterday announced shipment of its one-millionth iPod accessory. The company introduced its first accessory in April 2003 and its growing iPod line includes the TuneCast Mobile FM Transmitter, Backup Battery Pack, and Auto Kit as well as a Media Reader, a Voice Recorder, a Digital Camera Link, Universal Microphone Adapter, and TuneCast II Mobile FM Transmitter. The company says it will donate 1,650 Voice Recorders to Duke University's incoming freshmen to celebrate the milestone. As noted earlier this summer, Duke this week will distribute iPod MP3 players to freshmen as part of an initiative to encourage creative uses of technology in education and campus life. "We are pleased that we can support Duke's program to foster creativity in technology and education," continues Tong. "Students will be able to use our Voice Recorder for recording notes and discussions to their iPods."

Apps: iTaf, ZonicKRM, SafariNoTimeout, Grid...

08/20, 9:00am

iTaf, ZonicKRM, Grid...

iTaf 1.1 (free) is an iTunes alarm clock that allows users to schedule the launch of iTunes and the playback of music. It includes a weekly agenda to organize launch/alarm times using an Aqua interface. [2.1MB]
ZonicKRM 1.0 is a secure registration module developed for the Kagi Store. The ZonicKRM SDK allows developers to securely submit payments directly to Kagi from within their application, and allows users to instantly register their products while an application is running. It supports both Carbon or Cocoa applications, as well as both Xcode and CodeWarrior development environments. [4.5MB]
SafariNoTimeout 1.1 (free) is a haxie that allows you to change the connection request timeout in Safari to a different value (by default it sets it to 10 minutes). Unsanity notes that some database-driven report pages and others fail to load because of the default timeout value (30 seconds). [313KB]
xTime Project 2.5 (€100) updates the professional project management application designed for Mac OS X. It adds management of multiple projects through a single project window, HomeProject 2 import, XML/iCal export, a new style editor, FTP publishing, an improved user interface, G4/G5 optimizations, and several localizations (English/French/German).
Grid 2 ($75) provides quick visual access to media for creative professionals. Version 2 brings set saving, turntable scrubbing, audio processing, the ability to sync to a tempo, expanded MIDI control, improved performance, and a new interface. [Download - 1.6MB]
Illumination 1.0 can index and search through the contents of any disc, online or offline. Illumination can be purchased for $20 or as part of the RadicalBreeze "7 Pack" (which also contains DiscBlaze, Macabinet, DoThisNow, RadicalPhoto, RadicalSqueeze & Zephyr) for $35. [Download - 1.3MB]
iCuistot 1.0 ($50) is a complete recipe management software for Mac OS X, offering more than 150 different fields for each recipes, theme-based printing support, book/smart grouping support, an integrated nutritional database of more than 6,800 foods, and converter functions for Australian, American, Canadian, Imperial and metric units. It requires Mac OS X 10.3. [5.8MB]

Canon launches PowerShot, other digital cameras

08/20, 7:30am

New Canon digital cameras

Canon today launched several new cameras, including adding three new models to its PowerShot A-series digital camera line. Named after their AA-battery power source, the new PowerShot A400 ($180), A85 ($300) and A95 ($400) digital cameras offer exceptional combination of top-of-the-line features, functional design and high image quality at a value price point. Canon also launched its new S-Series digital camera: the 7.1-megapixel PowerShot S70 ($600), which offers a high-performance 28-100mm UA wide-angle 3.6x optical zoom lens and a compact, two-toned dark metallic and black body. Canon's new 7.1-megapixel PowerShot G6 ($700) digital camera features a new compact design, a 4x zoom, multiple EOS-based shooting modes, and other advanced features. Finaly, its new EOS 20D digital SLR (starting at $1500) offers an 8.2 megapixel sensor, continuous shooting of five frames-per-second, and more for news, wedding and portrait photographers.

Griffin ships GarageBand Microphone Cable

08/20, 6:40am

GarageBand Mic Cable

Griffin Technology has announced a new cable made exclusively for connecting a microphone directly to the Griffin iMic to record in GarageBand. The high-quality, magnetically shielded cable eliminates the need for additional adapters when plugging a high quality XLR-based microphone into the mini-jack preamp in the iMic. "Professional microphones for sound and music recording typically have a 3-pin XLR connector designed to work with most pro music gear. The Griffin iMic USB Audio Interface has a built in preamp, and is an effective and inexpensive way to connect a microphone to a computer and incorporates the computer standard stereo mini jack input." The new GarageBand Microphone Cable is available immediately for $25.