DAP offers Walk-Free Wireless headphones

Digital Age Product has introduced its new Walk-Free Wireless headphones, which transmit the audio up to 30 meters away at 2.4GHz using a pure, uncompressed digital audio signal for maximum sound quality, while the tapered headphone design includes an adjustable and comfortably padded set of earphones as well as a built-in volume control dial. The headset requires two "AA" batteries (included) and uses a compact, driverless USB-based wireless 2.4GHz transmitter with a blue LED signal status indicator and eight (8) built-in selectable channels to help accommodate other 2.4GHz devices that are being used in the same area. The company says its headset is up to 40-50 percent less than competing products; it is available immediately for $60.

Equilibrium ships DeBabelizer Pro 6 for Mac OS X...

Equilibrium today shipped DeBabelizer Pro 6 for Mac OS X and the new Equilibrium DeBabelizer Server for cross-platform server applications. Equilibrium's desktop and server-side imaging software leverages Mac OS X 10.4 "Tiger" to increase business productivity, accelerate time-to-market and reduce costs associated with digital media processing and multi-channel delivery, according to Equilibrium. Version 6 features integration with the new DeBabelizer Server, support for Tiger's Automator (with 50 prebundled Actions), the ability to create droplets for resuable workflows, anti-aliased text overlays, support for Adobe Photoshop CS layers, improved automation of repetitive tasks, hot folder monitoring and conditional workflow support, delivery to FTP sites or via email, remote batch processing management, and status completion updates via SMS or email.

Intaglio 2.4 offers ClarisDraw import, Tiger effects

Purgatory Design today released version 2.4 of Intaglio, an update to its traditional drawing and illustration software. Patterned after the original Macintosh drawing applications, Intaglio is intuitive to beginners and familiar to traditional Macintosh users. It builds on the 2D graphics, text, color, and scripting capabilities of Mac OS X to provide power and flexibility in an inexpensive drawing application. Intaglio takes advantage of AppleScript, Automator, Apple type services, ColorSync, CoreImage, Quartz, QuickDraw, Quicktime and Spotlight. Newly available features include CoreImage effects (for Tiger users), ClarisDraw file conversion, PDF conversion and more. Available for $90, Intaglio requires Mac OS X 10.2 for most of its features, or Tiger for full compatibility.

Apple patches 34 exploits with latest security update

Apple today released Security Update 2005-007 for both client/server versions of Mac OS X 10.3 Panther (client/server) and Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger (client/server). Apple says the update delivers a number of security enhancements and is recommended for all Macintosh users. It includes updated components for Apache 2 (Server version only), AppKit (2), BlueTooth, CoreFoundation, cups printing service, Directory Services, HIToolBox, Kerberos authentication, Apple's loginwindow, several Mac OS X Server components, Mail.app email client, MySQL (Server-only), OpenSSL sysetm security layer, ping/traceroute networking tools, QuartzComposerScreenSaver, Security, Interface, Safari web browser, SquirrelMail mail server (Server only), X11 windowing system, WebKit (Tiger-only), Weblog Server (Tiger Server only) and zlib compression library.

Dave Matthews Band addresses iTunes concerns

The Dave Matthews Band has posted a guide to copying the group's latest album to iTunes. Many fans reported difficulty with importing the copy-protected "Stand Up" CD to their iPods. While the instructions provided will work, "an easier and more acceptable solution requires cooperation from Apple," according to the band's official Web site. "To help speed this effort, we ask that you use the following link to contact Apple and ask them to provide a solution that would easily allow you to move content from protected CDs into iTunes or onto your iPod rather than having to go through the additional steps."

Apple vows to fight for iPod interface patent

Apple could be forced to pay Microsoft royalties for using the interface on its iPod, although Apple said it would continue to fight to have its iPod patented recognized. Following AppleInsider's breaking report last week, The Independent says that Apple could be required to pay "hundreds of millions of dollars" in royalties to Microsoft, whose previously filed patent on an iPod-like interface prevented Apple from receiving its own iPod interface patent; however, the United States uses a "First to Invent" method rather than a "First to File" method, making unlikely that Microsoft would be able to retain the rights to its patent." A spokeswoman said Apple would continue to try to get its patent recognised. The company could take the case to the patent office's appeals board. 'Apple invented and publicly released the iPod interface before the Microsoft patent application was filed,' it said in a statement." (WizBangBlog offers a detailed look at the "poor" media coverage following AppleInsider's initial report.)

Prosoft announces NetWare for Tiger

Prosoft Engineering today announced that the latest version of the NetWare for Mac OS X is now Tiger-compatible. "Prosoft is excited about continuing support for NetWare environments running Apple's newest Tiger operating system." Prosoft has been "hard at work" developing a new version of NetWare for Mac that adds this support, according to Gordon Bell, General Manager, Prosoft. Built completely from the ground up, the Mac OS X Native client allows any Mac to communicate on a Novell Network with Pure IP eliminating the need to propagate AppleTalk on the local area network. NetWare for Mac OS X is available for $150. A full 30-day demo is available for download.

Briefly: Adobe, Microsoft ISO; MSN Showtime Pilot

In Brief: The International Standards Organization (ISO) accepted, for review, Adobe and Microsoft's proposal to use the OpenType font file format for handling text and graphics within the MPEG-4 format.... MSN announced Friday it would stream the television pilot for Showtime's new series, "Barbershop" in QuickTime.... A MacNN reader has posted an article on the possibility of Apple's offering User Deserved Bandwidth Upgrades on DotMac, after the company recently added an high-bandwidth/larger storage upgrade option for its .Mac webservices. .... IBM developerWorks has posted a tutorial on how to make direct use of the Linux framebuffer for a Mac media player, describing how to make efficient, direct use of the framebuffer to display JPEG files and discusses the issues involved in deciding between direct framebuffer access and using the X server as a graphics driver.

SQLGrinder 2 offers database development tools

Advenio today announced SQLGrinder 2, an all-new version of its popular database development environment for Mac OS X. Available now as a public beta, the company says that SQLGrinder 2 has been completely rewritten from the ground up and features many new and improved features. Version 2 offers SQL code completion including keywords, table and column names; a SQL editor result set history, multiple SQL editor edit buffers, BLOB and CLOB display, client-side result set searching and sorting, a new schema browser and SQL library, and new table management tools. The $60 utility is available with a $10 discount during the public beta. Upgrades are $20.

formZ 5.5 updates solid, surface modeling solution

autodessys, Inc. has released formZ 5.5, an update to its general purpose solid and surface modeler. The software features an extensive set of 2D/3D form manipulating and sculpting capabilities. Version 5.5 utilizes the latest versions of the LightWorks and the ACIS libraries. It also features an update interface (a new scene palette, contextual menu, and direct view navigation); new modeling tools; and improved export/import with a new plugin for DXF/DWG along with support for the AutoCAD 2004/2006 files and layered import. In addition version 5.5 offers new surface styles, support for more predefined materials, and a new sketch style, called Lines And Strokes. formZ v5.5 w with RenderZone and RadioZity is $2,400.

Intel to deliver new Xeon CPUs earlier than expected

Intel today announced that it is accelerating the release of its dual-core, hyper-threaded Xeon and Xeon MP processors. The company says that development is ahead of schedule for the new processors, which will help improve server responsiveness, speed and multi-tasking by allowing software to manage information from up to four cores per processor. Codenamed "Paxville", the chips will provide more than 60 percent better performance over previous generations and will use the Intel E8500 chipset, which has been designed for dual-core performance and was introduced earlier this year. Both 64-bit Paxville and Paxville DP processors will utilize hyper-threading technology, allowing a single dual-core processor to run four threads simultaneously. Additionally, Intel has begun a broad evaluation program for thousands of dual-core platforms for software developers and enterprise customers. The announcement comes just days after Intel offered promises of details regarding the processors at the upcoming Next-Gen conference.

Popular Mechanics: Is the iMac G5 running hot?

An article in the September 2005 issue of Popular Mechanics asks, "Is the iMac G5 Running Hot?" The report shows V-Chip and Radial aluminum electrolytic capacitors failing due to excess heat on the motherboard. The thermal scan shown in the article suggests that excess heat is not necessarily the problem, but there may be a problem with the aluminum capacitors themselves. Passive Component Industry Magazine noted a similar faulty electrolyte problem in the November/December 2002 issue. At the same time, a press announcement from Intel also detailed failing aluminum capacitors.

High hopes for Apple through next year...

Piper Jaffray today announced that Apple is its large-cap sector pick through the rest of the calendar year, citing new product launches, continued market-share gain expectations for the Macintosh platform and conservative guidance from the company as factors. According to a report from Forbes, Piper Jaffray said likely product releases this year include a higher capacity iPod shuffle or another form of flash-based iPod altogether and a color screen iPod mini. "We would see any of these products as catalysts for holiday sales." Assuming Apple can grow its market share to three percent in 2006, it would add 14 cents to the 2006 earnings-per-share estimate, according to Piper Jaffray.

Apps: PSTextMerge, SmartWrap, Delicious Library

• PSTextMerge 3.2 ($20) is list data manipulation software which allows dynamic content of a web page to be easily separated from its static format, and each portion can be easily maintained in a source program suited to the data type. This version is the latest update adding several new template commands. The INCLUDE command includes the contents of another file, while IFNEWLIST and IFENDLIST ease the process of generating HTML list tags. [Download - 1.2MB]


• SmarWrap 2.5 ($18) is a major re-engineering of SmartWrap for $10, combining all modules into a single icon and featuring a new one-click plug-in installer which works well with localized text. SmarWrap analyzes text, detects paragraphs and lists within text and rewraps text naturally within the document or message. [Download - 2.9MB]


• Delicious Library 1.5.1 ($40) upgrades this application used to catalog or share home libraries of books, movies, music and video games. A free update, version 1.5.1 improves stability and reliability for users around the world and includes improved lookup, import, and export results. Owners of other commercial collection packages will receive an upgrade discount of $10 and can easily import existing collections into Delicious Library. [Download - 10.9MB]


• xSort 1.1 ($50) provides card sorting capability for Mac OS X. xSort provides easy definition of new card sorting problems, performance of several sessions with multiple participants and analysis of the results (using multiple criteria) with the ability to generate printable reports. Version 1.1 imports from and exports to XML documents, exports the distance table to CSV and more. [Download - 3.6MB]


• Constrictor 3.0 ($10) is a screen snapshot utility for Mac OS X 10.4 and later, providing a moveable and resizable frame which floats over all other windows allowing the capture of custom screenshots. Constrictor provides a variety of options for snapshot appearances, such as scaling, framing and feathering edges to blend into a background. [Download - 300KB]

Alias ships Maya 7 Complete, Unlimited

Alias today reported that Maya 7, the newest version of the advanced visual effects software, is now shipping. Featuring the MotionBuilder full-body IK technology, this newest version of Maya makes animating characters faster, easier and more accurate. The software also delivers new polygonal modeling and UV tools that round out Maya’s extensive modeling feature set. In addition, it gives artists illustration and specialized visual effects tools, including a new Toon Shader; advanced render layering technology; and faster, more seamless connections between Maya and other key production software. Maya Complete 7 is $2000, while Maya Unlimited 7 is $7000. Upgrades are $900 and $1250, respectively.

iTunes-Google deal rumor pushes AAPL to all-time high

A rumored iTunes-Google deal may have helped push Apple's stock to an all-time high last Friday. According to TheStreet.com, shares of Apple "set an all-time high on Friday following a disappointing report from Dell and amid rumors about a major new partnership. According to market chatter, Apple is set to announce a deal with Google calling for Google to offer Apple's iTunes music store through its own site. The rumored deal would pair the nation's leading online music store with its leading search engine." The report quotes an options strategist at Theflyonthewall.com as saying that that "there's 'speculation of an iTunes launch. Google is going to offer iTunes somehow on their platform."

Cobb County terminates contract with Apple

The Cobb County School Board has moved to terminate its contract with Apple, following an earlier Court order that halted the 63,000 iBook program for students based on funding concerns. The Board's decision, which also stops plans to provide Cobb's more that 7,100 teachers with the laptops, was "based on an investigation that found that the school system 'deceived' the public in choosing the company to supply it with thousands of laptops," according to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "Sunday's decision came after the board received the report from Kessler International, a company that specializeds in corpporate investigations." The report found that Apple got the contract even though it appears the company did not initially make the final cut of companies to be considered.

Constrictor 3.0: advance screenshot utility

Stick Software has released Constrictor 3.0, an update to the shareware utility for Mac OS X. Constrictor helps users take screenshots, using a positionable frame to grab "the right area every time." Snapshots can be scaled, framed and feathered as well as exported to five different file formats, copied to the clipboard, or e-mailed (via AppleScript). Version 3.0 fixes an incompatibility with Mac OS X 10.4, brings Spotlight support, configurable hot keys, improved copy to clipboard functions, and more. Constrictor 3.0 requires Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger and is available for $10.

BW: subscription iTunes not likely

Despite the potential to become big, Apple is not likely to add a music subscription service to iTunes. BusinessWeek reports that while Apple has briefed music industry executives about a subscription-style model for iTunes, the company will not likely launch such a service until one of its competitors begins to make inroads into its music empire. And that may not happen until the market sees a credible competitor to Apple's iPod: "Apple has the luxury of time. Until another portable music player arrives on the market and gives the iPod a run for its money, it's unlikely one of the music-subscription services will take off in a big way. After all, most people who want digital music prefer to access it via such a portable player. But the iPod, which is designed to work only with iTunes, won't work with the subscription services."