News Archive for 05/04/26

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Knox: new FileVault-based security solution

04/26, 5:25pm

Knox security solution

MKC today announced the availability of Knox, a new data security solution for Mac OS X. Knox offers flexible management and an automatic backup system for encrypted file vaults. Knox, which is based on Apple’s FileVault technology, protects files with the U.S. Government’s new Advanced Encryption Standard (AES). “Knox changes the way Mac users store critical information ... It is now possible to save business-related files on one secure vault and personal files on another. Corporate information can be automatically backed up to a company file server while personal backups are kept on individual iPods.” Knox is priced at $30 per user, with volume licensing discounts available for installations of five or more users.

Apps: Impression, Mousepose, StickyBrain, QuicKeys...

04/26, 5:25pm

Impression, Mousepose

Impression 2.8 ($50) is a digital archiving utility for Mac OS X that automates data and asset archiving. It preserves all HFS+/Spotlight meta-data, features after-write file verification and offers bookmark-based management features. Version 2.8 brings 'Tiger' compatibility, cross-platform HFS+/ISO9660/Joliet disc burning, and other enhancements. A $20 discount is being offered through May 1st. [Download - 965KB]
Cocktail 3.6 Tiger Edition ($15) adds Mac OS X 10.4 compatibility. This version is built and optimized with the latest release of Apple Xcode. The general purpose utility offers a mix of maintenance tools and interface tweaks--all accessible via a comprehensive graphical interface and toolset, including system, disk, file, interface, network, scheduling maintenance, and other settings. [Panther, Tiger]
Boinx Mouseposé 1.2 (free) is a unique tool that dims the screen and puts a spotlight on the area around the mouse pointer, easily guiding the audiences attention or to quickly locate the mouse pointer. Version 1.2 allows users to switch off the Dock Icon, offers an optional menubar icon, enables a Hot Key to be assigned freely, and is compatible with Tiger. [Download - 416KB]
StickyBrain 3.4.1 ($40) is an important (free) Tiger-compatibility update to the third generation note manager (a future version will add Tiger-specific features including Spotlight support and a Dashboard widget). StickyBrain 3 sports a new interface with Safari-like tabs; syncs to the iPod and Palm handhelds; integrates with .Mac; and more. [Download - 24MB]
QuicKeys X3 v3.0.2 ($100) is an update to the automation software: "It takes the daily tasks that would normally require you five...six...twenty or more steps and turns them into simple one step shortcuts. Automate anything from launching programs, mounting servers, selecting menus, and running UNIX commands...." The free update includes several improvements and provides compatibility with Mac OS X 10.4, Tiger. [Download - 13MB]
RAW Developer 1.2.3 ($70) updates the RAW image conversion application for Mac OS X, bringing full compatibility with Mac OS X 10.4 "Tiger" and also adding support for as-shot white balance determination for the Nikon D2X and D2Hs cameras and as-shot white balance support for all Fuji cameras, including the S2 and S3 Pro. [Download - 973KB]

Graphite CAD app gets Spotlight plug-in

04/26, 4:50pm

CAD Spotlight plug-in

Ashlar-Vellum today announced the availability of a Spotlight plug-in for Graphite, the company's CAD suite for Mac OS X. This standalone plug-in for allows Tiger’s Spotlight feature to index Graphite files and extract metadata information from these files instantly. Spotlight is a sophisticated search feature added with Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger. "Graphite’s acclaimed Vellum interface combined with Tiger’s Spotlight, offers an unparalleled level of ease-of-use in the computer-aided design world." Ashlar-Vellum says it is the "first CAD company to implement Apple’s new Spotlight technology."

Forums: New Power Macs, Longhorn, Tiger...

04/26, 4:05pm

Forums roundup Apr 26

Topics on the MacNN forums today include: Accusations that Microsoft's Longhorn operating system copies Delicious Library, a third-party Mac OS X application.... Debate over the merit of AltiVec technology ("Velocity Engine") used in G4 and G5 processors.... Details of Apple's new Power Mac G5 models, as indicated from information posted on Amazon.com's website.... Debate over the durability of Power Book G4s and Apple's material choices.... Discussion of minor undocumented features in Mac OS X 10.4 "Tiger."

iPod shuffle "Flip Clip" provides lanyard alternative

04/26, 2:15pm

iPod shuffle \"Flip Clip\"

Digital Lifestyle Outfitters today announced the Flip Clip, a snap-on clip for the iPod shuffle. The Flip Clip secures the shuffle to a belt, shirt, bag or other piece of clothing with a spring loaded clasping system that points the shuffle controls and headphones right-side up. The Flip Clip offers customers an alternative to wearing the shuffle around their neck with a lanyard. The Flip Clip secures the shuffle by locking it into the USB cap at one end of the Flip Clip, while the frame protects the back of the shuffle from damage. It allows open access to the on/off slider switch on the back of the iPod shuffle as well as the controls on the front. The Flip Clip is available immediately at the Apple Store nationwide, as well as from other retailers, for $20.

QuickVoice 2.0 gains voice reminders, audio editor

04/26, 1:45pm

QuickVoice 2.0

nFinity has released QuickVoice 2.0, the next generation of its voice recording utility. New to QuickVoice are Voice Reminders, an Audio Editor, and a new interface design. QuickVoice continues to offer a Voice Recorder, Voice Email, and Audio Stickies software modules. QuickVoice 2.0 is available for immediate purchase and download for $25. nFinity is also pleased to offer an upgrade path to its existing customer base as well. For $13 exisiting license holders get QuickVoice 2.0 plus a bonus copy of nFinity’s popular Audio Postcard product (regularly $15).

New Belkin USB hub features iPod shuffle port

04/26, 12:30pm

Belkin USB hub

Belkin today announced its new Hi-Speed USB 2.0 4-Port Hub, which gives users easy access for quick connections of USB devices such as thumb drives, media readers, and the iPod shuffle. It features a compact white shell that complements the iPod shuffle and the Mac mini. The Hub features a top-loading USB port for easy access. The three additional ports are located on the back. The hub connects up to two devices without a power adapter. Users can charge an iPod shuffle using the top-loading port. The hub works with both Mac computers and PCs and comes packaged with a device cable. It will begin shipping in North America on June 3rd and will sell for $30.

Apple takes No. 1 spot on The 2005 Wired 40

04/26, 12:20pm

The 2005 Wired 40

Apple is No. 1 on Wired Magazine's list of 'masters of technology and innovation." The 2005 Wired 40, available in the May issue of the magazine and expected to be online on April 29, are the "global thinkers driven by strategic vision." Apple moved up from No. 3 on last year's list to No. 1 on this year's list. "As the world moves toward open standards, the last true believer in closed systems refuses to capitulate. Funny thing: No one is asking Apple to change. That's because the computermaker-turned-consumer electronics powerhouse has made a virtue of proprietary control, consistently delivering quality and flair. The company sold 8.2 million iPods in 2004, and iTunes accounted for 70 percent of legal music downloads, leading to exceptional revenue and profit in Q4. With such a foothold in music, can an assault on TV be far behind?"

Apple pulls Wiley books in response to Jobs biography

04/26, 11:55am

Apple Stores pull books

Tech publisher John Wiley & Sons said that Apple has removed all of its book titles from the shelves of Apple stores in apparent retaliation for the upcoming publication of a biography of Apple CEO Steve Jobs, according to the The Mercury News: "The books disappeared from Apple stores last week after a month of increasingly contentious discussions about publication of the book, 'iCon Steve Jobs: The Greatest Second Act in the History of Business,' said author Jeffrey S. Young. The book, co-written with William L. Simon, offers an unflinching account of the rise, fall and rebirth of one of Silicon Valley's most charismatic figures....Wiley books were not on the shelves of a Newport Beach Apple store Monday. Clerks at 11 other Apple stories said Wiley books were 'out of stock' or otherwise unavailable.

Apps: SMS Mac, MiNews, LCedit+, Alarm Clock...

04/26, 11:45am

SMS Mac, MiNews

SMS Mac 1.0 ($10) is a Short Message Service add-on for Address Book for sending text messages to mobile devices. Send SMS Tiger Widget 0.7 is the latest test version of the Dashboard tool that won second prize in Apple's Widget contest. [Download - 1.2MB]
MiNews 0.50 (free) is the latest version of the RSS news reader for Mac OS X. Changes in version 0.50 include bookmarking news items, OPML exporting, improved splitter handling, and reduce data logging. [Download - 834KB]
LCedit+ 3.3 is an advanced LanBox lighting editor, for multiple platforms. This new version adds, Tiger compatibility, updated tutorial and bug fixes, and the ability to see the light intensity of a fixture and the resulting color of RGB fixtures on the stage. [Download - 6.8MB]
Alarm Clock Pro 7.1 ($16) is a full multimedia alarm clock solution. Users can set alarms and reminders to perform various tasks like play iTunes alarms, run AppleScripts, play media files and much more! Changes include Mac OS X 10.4 compatibility and restoration of the wakefromsleep feature. [Download - 2.4MB]
PDFpen/Pro 2.1.1 ($50) updates the PDF-editing and form-filling utility with support for Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger. The utility features full-text search and selection, highlighting markup, the ability to reorder PDF pages, combine PDF documents, overlay text/images, and more. A $95 Pro version can create cross-platform fillable PDF forms. [PDFPen, PDFpenPro]
MenuCalendarClock for Entourage 2.0 (free) updates the MS Entourage-integrated menu calendar and clock application. The calendar drawer has been extended by a search field that instantly shows all forthcoming Entourage events and todo items. It can also copy the current date to the clipboard and is compatible with Mac OS 10.4 Tiger. A $25 registration fee is required to unlock the advanced features. [Download - 680KB]

Amazon.com lists new Power Mac G5 2.7GHz

04/26, 10:40am

Power Mac G5 2.7GHz

Amazon.com lists what appears to be a new Apple Power Mac G5 model. The online resellers lists the following configuration: Apple Power Mac G5 Desktop M9749LL/A (Dual 2.7 GHz PowerPC G5, 512 MB RAM, 250 GB Hard Drive, 16x Dual Layer SuperDrive). The Apple Store and Apple's Power Mac website have not been updated to reflect any changes to the line. "This item has not yet been released. You may order it now and we will ship it to you when it arrives," a notice on the site reads.

Briefly: MS copies Mac app?... RunRev conferences...

04/26, 9:35am

MS copies Mac app?

In brief: Delicious Monster Software says Microsoft has copied its Delicious Library with its Longhorn operating system (screenshots: i, ii, iii).... Almost a year to the day after filing patent infringement lawsuits against 31 companies, including Adobe and Apple, Forgent last week said it has filed suit against Microsoft for alleged infringement on the patent for JPEG file compression.... FireWire Depot is now selling Firmtek's new SATA products, including the SeriTek/1VE4, 1VEN2-1, and 1VEN2-2.... Runtime Revolution today announced the launch of fifteen free online conferences for Revolution Dreamcard, Studio and Enterprise starting on Saturday, April 30th.... Aspyr Media has announced they will be releasing four new maps for Battlefield 1942 this Friday.

Gefen KVM extenders add DVI, more

04/26, 8:55am

Gefen extenders

Gefen is offering two new KVM (keyboard, video, mouse) extenders that support digital video displays equipped with DVI and companion peripherals. Gefen’s new CAT5-1000 HD and CAT5-7000 HD use a sender and receiver methodology connected by cost-effective CAT-5 cables to link the computer to its remote peripherals. The CAT5-1000 HD supports the extension of one DVI display and USB up to 150 feet from the computer using just one CAT-5 cable. The CAT5-7000 HD supports the extension of two DVI displays, USB, PS/2, RS-232 and audio plus a microphone up to 150 feet using multiple CAT-5 cables. The CAT5-1000 HD ($800) is currently available for purchase. The CAT5-7000 HD ($1500) is available for pre-order.

Real's music portability to challenge iTunes, Napster

04/26, 8:45am

Real takes on Apple

RealNetworks today is expected to announced that users of its music subscription service Rhapsody will be able to transfer their music to portable devices. The New York Post says that the move that could threaten Apple's iTunes service: "Until now, the only subscription digital music service that allowed music to be played on portable devices was Napster's Napster to Go service. Such services could impact Apple's iTunes because they would offer cheaper access to a wide range of music that users can take with them on their portable devices. Rather than paying about $1 a track on iTunes to own the song, users of Rhapsody will essentially be able to rent everything available over the service for about $15 a month, a similar price to what users of Napster to Go pay." The new service will use Microsoft technology that essentially erases the music on portable devices if the user stops paying for a subscription, according to the report.

Photo-printing utilities updated for Mac OS X Tiger

04/26, 8:35am

Photo-printing utilities

Two developers today released updated iPhoto-companion utilities that help users print photos, bringing support for Mac OS X Tiger. Stunt Software's PhotoBooth 1.5 ($30) updates the digital photo printing software with the ability to print multiple photographs at once, including multiple images on the same page, and an improved interface for selecting images to print. PhotoBooth allows users to print full-size or cropped pictures directly from their iPhoto library. SmileOnMyMac has also updated photoprinto 1.2 ($30), its photo album and scrapbook design and printing utility that features designer templates, iPhoto integration, and a variety of visual effects. Version 1.2 brings export to HTML features for easily creating web pages and support for Spotlight and Core Image filters (under Mac OS X Tiger only). Demo of each are available online. [PhotoBooth, photoprint]

PodGear offers retractable audio link cable for iPod

04/26, 8:25am

PodGear AudioBuddy

PodGear today debuted AudioBuddy, a retractable audio link cable for the iPod. AudioBuddy enables iPod users tp share their music by connecting their iPod to almost any stereo with a line level input. The retractable dock connector to mini-jack cable, which has the same design as its popular SyncBuddy cousins (USB and FireWire), extends to over 70cm and retracts at the push of a button, giving iPod user's portability without having to worry about tangled cables. Audiobuddy includes a mini-jack to stereo phono adapter to ensure all input methods are available to the user. It is available for £15.