News Archive for 04/11/01

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Apple: 'Opener' not a virus; industry debates

11/01, 7:00pm

Apple: Opener not a virus

After a week of contemplation, Apple has announced that the 'Opener' malware program blighting OS X is not a virus - although the security community disagrees. According to ZDNet, Apple has denied that the malicious code dubbed 'Opener' is a worm, a Trojan, or a virus of any kind. Discovered a week ago, the Opener program (originally called Renepo) has the ability to disable the firewall in Mac OS X and steal user information.

iAuthorize processes credit card sales on Mac OS X

11/01, 5:50pm

iAuthorize for Mac OS X

Intelli Innovations, Inc. today unveiled iAuthorize, a new integrated credit card processing application for Mac OS that offers both a Internet-based credit card processing system and a database for transactions. The software provides Mac-based business owners with a cost-effective solution for accepting Visa, MasterCard, American Express, and Discover customer payments. iAuthorize 1.0 is available at the Intelli Innovations online store for (US)$599. An optional IntelliSwipe USB Credit Card Reader is sold separately.

Sonos delays Digital Music System until early '05

11/01, 5:45pm

Sonos DMS delay

Sonos today announced that it has delayed its Digital Music System until mid-January. According to the developer, "some fine tuning" needs to be done "in regards to system performance." As a result, the company will not have the product to market by the 2004 holiday season. The Digital Music System "allows users to listen to digital music throughout the home" and is "the first and only multi-zone digital music system with a wireless, full-color LCD screen controller that lets consumers play all their digital music, all over their home, while controlling it all from the palm of their hand." The system will cost $500.

QuarkXPress 6.5 update available for download

11/01, 5:00pm

QuarkXPress 6.5 available

QuarkXPress 6.5 is now available from Quark as a free download for license holders of version 6.1. It is the latest major update to the publishing software for Mac OS X, and was announced last month.

FID announces new Beamit FM adapters for iPod

11/01, 3:05pm

Beamit FM iPod adapters

First International Digital, Inc. on Monday introduced its newest series of Beamit wireless music adapters, the 440FM and 450FM, which are compatible with any MP3 player, including the iPod. Both adapters allows users to wirelessly broadcast music from portable audio devices to a car or home FM stereo. The adapters operate from a range of 10-30 feet and plug into a car's 12-volt cigarette lighter. The 440FM offers 12 channels of digital tuning for $30, while the 450FM retails for $40 and offers 100 channels. The 450FM can also be powered by a AAA battery. FID's irock Web site has not been updated to reflect the new products.

Apps: Popup Dock, Art Files, iEvents, theConcept...

11/01, 2:15pm

Popup Dock, Art Files...

Popup Dock 2.0 ($20) is a dock-like application which lets you place multiple dock-like panels anywhere on your screen. In addition to hiding docks by moving them off the edge of your screen, you can assign hot keys to automate the task. Popup Dock is available for the month of November as a fully operational demo. [Download - 786K]
Art Files 1.0.6 ($30) is a stand-alone collection utility that helps graphic designers and production artists "collect" Illustrator files for printers and other artists by gathering dependent fonts and images automatically. The new version resolves some issues with font scanning and collecting and is a free updated recommended for all users. [Download - 788KB]
iEvents 2.1.2 ($20) is a free update to registered users of iEvents 2, a powerful client-side tool for quickly creating custom calendar websites that can then be easily uploaded to any interent server or iDisk. The new version fixes a bug with the Open FTP menu item. [Classic - 829KB] [Mac OS X - 1.09MB]
theConcept 1.1 ($40) is a Mac OS X application that queries your favorite search engines, visits each search result and then analyzes the text from each linked page. When it's finished, theConcept presents you with the key words and phrases defining your search, along with an intuitive interface to explore each one. The new version fixes various bugs and adds indexed data display, updated PDF data mining engine, and XML export. [Download - 1.6MB]
MailTemplate and EntourageTemplate 1.4 ($10 each) are Mac OS X applications for creating e-mail messages with templates. The applications streamline the process of sending similar messages to different people. A 15 day trial of both applications is available for immediate download. [Download - MailTemplate 611KB] [Download - EntourageTemplate 588KB]
NewsTicker 2.15 ($5) is an easy to use RSS/RDF/ATOM news ticker with a sleek Cocoa interface, voice control and iPod syncing. The new version corrects several bugs and adds tooltips that display short story descriptions. [Download - 697KB]

Classic rock drum loops ship in Apple loops format

11/01, 12:25pm

Classic rock drum loops

SessionLoops announce today that Drum Foundations Volume One, featuring Simon Phillips, is now shipping in Apple Loops format. The (US)$50 package features world-class drummer Simon Phillips playing hundreds of grooves, all arranged by style and tempo into 34 drum sessions with tempos ranging from 63.5BPM to 182BPM. Each session contains multiple parts named Verse, Bridge, Chorus etc., making it easy to build a drum track by dragging and dropping the loops. All loops are professionally optimized for use in GarageBand, Sound Track, Logic Pro 7 and Final Cut Pro.

'The Incredibles' games now shipping for Mac

11/01, 12:10pm

The Incredibles game ships

Pixar and Disney Interactive today announced the release of two new videogames based on the upcoming Pixar Animation Studios film, "The Incredibles," which is set to hit theaters this friday. The game is now shipping for the Mac and PC, PlayStation 2, Xbox, GameCube, and Game Boy Advance. A second title, "The Incredibles: When Danger Calls," targets younger gamers and has also begun shipping. The Incredibles game "features intense superhero action and adventure combined with the unique graphical style and humor of the upcoming Pixar film presented by Disney. The game will allow players to relive the movie experience as each of the film's characters in visually stunning environments ranging from lush jungle islands to grand skyscraper-filled cities. The game spans more than 18 levels including bonuses and extra hidden features."

Aspyr announces C&C Generals Zero Hour for Mac

11/01, 11:30am

C&C Generals Zero Hour

Aspyr Media announced today that it has signed on to publish Command & Conquer Generals Zero Hour for Mac OS X. The title, licensed by Electronic Arts, is under development for the Mac by i5works and will require Command & Conquer Generals. The expansion pack will include a hi-tech arsenal featuring 30 new units, a Generals Challenge mode, new weather effects, 15 additional missions, and 25 new multiplayer maps. Aspyr says it will begin taking preorders for the game soon, which is expected to ship in February 2005.

Briefly: icon sets, Gmail fix, Apple market share...

11/01, 11:15am

icon sets, Gmail fix...

Iconbase has released a set of Angular Stock icons ($250), which includes 80 quality icons in Mac, Linux and Windows format taking its colors from the Mac OS color palette...Google has fixed a security flaw in its Gmail web-based e-mail service that allowed attackers to hijack users' e-mail accounts... Despite positive financial results, an increase in Mac unit sales, and the popularity to the iPod, Apple's worldwide market share has declined, according to Gartner...The IT-Enquirer has posted an article explaining how to upgrade MySQL to the current version on Mac OS X Server 10.3.x, and how to solve the problems one encounters doing so.

Testers sought for Intaglio ClarisDraw importer

11/01, 11:10am

Intaglio testers needed

PurgatoryDesign has posted a prerelease version of its upcoming Intaglio 2.1 drawing and illustration application for Mac OS X. The software adds the ability to import most ClarisDraw files. The company is asking that ClarisDraw users test the new version with ClarisDraw files and report their results.

Iogear introduces wireless Bluetooth Mini Mouse

11/01, 8:40am

Iogear intros Mini Mouse

Iogear today introduced its Bluetooth Mini Mouse, which lets you control your computer up to 66 feet from your notebook or desktop. The mouse works with any Bluetooth-enabled PC or Mac system that supports the HID profile, and features an on/off switch to conserve electricity for maximum battery life. The $70 Mini Mouse offers twice the accuracy of typical mouse movement through its 800 dpi resolution and comes with a USB charger to allow you to charge its AAA batteries through a laptop computer.

iTunes on Pocket PC 'possible'

11/01, 8:35am

iTunes on Pocket PC

Information Appliance Associates has devised an application that enables the automatic transfer of music from Apple iTunes to Pocket PCs and MS Smartphone handsets, Macworld UK is reporting. The $10 ppcTunes application lets Windows PC users copy their playlists to Windows Mobile based devices including the Pocket PC. The application includes a tool that halves the space music files take up on a Pocket PC and a built-in MP3-to-WMA converter. The software also sports a "Sync on Connect" feature that enables music files to be copied every time a device is connected.

iTunes 4.7 disables iPodDownload

11/01, 8:30am

iTunes stops iPodDownload

According to several readers and an article at Engadget, the recent iTunes 4.7 release disables iPodDownload, a plug-in to iTunes that allows users to transfer songs from any iPod to your iTunes library. Apple's DRM guidelines call for the iPod to be associated with only one iTunes music library at a time in order to prevent the player from easily transferring songs to any Mac. In September, Apple forced the developers of the iPodDownload to remove the free plug-in from its web site, citing the "unauthorized" use of Apple iTunes code in software.

Survey: Europeans turned off by do-it-all gadgets

11/01, 8:15am

European gadget survey

When it comes to digital gadgets, Europeans are not impressed by do-it-all devices that play songs and films, keep track of appointments and play video games, according to new survey results released this week. In a poll of 5,000 consumers from Britain, Germany, France, Sweden, Spain and Italy, Jupiter Research found that 27 percent of respondents expressed a preference for a gadget that plays music only while just five percent are interested in buying a device that plays both music and video.