News Archive for 05/09/12

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iPodResQ offers Nano repair services

09/12, 6:40pm

iPodResQ Nano

iPodResQ announced today it will support and repair the iPod nano in both 2GB or 4GB configurations. The new services are available immediately and are added to the company's extensive line of iPod repairs, offering 24-hour turnaround and nationwide coverage. The flat-rate nano LCD replacement is $100. This includes a custom iBox sent to the customer’s location in the continental U.S. via overnight courier to pickup the nano for overnight delivery back to the iPodResQ service center. Other repairs offer similar shipping arrangements, however prices vary according to type. "We have our pricing in place, our parts in stock, and we are ready for the demand of out-of-warranty repairs."

SmartSound announces Indie film music pack

09/12, 4:40pm

SmartSound music pack

SmartSound today announced its new Indie film music pack and film studio contest, offering filmmakers 25 individual, royalty-free music tracks and the Sonicfire Pro software with training CD. The film music pack provides the creative flexibility and control to get a powerful, professional-quality music score for a relatively small cost. Additionally, one lucky contestant will win a "SmartSound Indie Film Studio" with more than $11,000 worth of products and critical tools for film making. The new Indie film music pack costs $500, and the included training CD has 90 minutes of step-by-step instruction on creating soundtracks with Sonicfire Pro.

TuneTech offers iPod backup and music repair options

09/12, 4:00pm

TuneTech

Prosoft Engineering today released TuneTech, its comprehensive software utility geared toward iPod users. TuneTech repairs lost or damaged music, corrupted data structures, creates an exact copy of iPod contents, permanently deletes unwanted files, and optimizes the file layout of music. Other features include undelete, to recover accidentally deleted music, and duplicate, to make an exact copy of one iPod to another. TuneTech requires Mac OS X 10.3 or later and is available for $60.

AppleScript Pro sessions coming to Chicago

09/12, 3:00pm

AppleScript Pro Sessions

AppleScript Pro Sessions is coming to the US for the first time, and will feature author Matt Neuburg, who will be leading a session on AppleScript Studio and Automator. Matt Neuburg is the acclaimed author of REALbasic: The Definitive Guide by O'Reilly press, and contributes works for TidBITS as well. Expanded coverage of scripting InDesign, Photoshop, QuarkXPress, Illustrator, and Acrobat is included. The five-day event is to be held at the Indian Lakes Resort in Chicago, Illinois from October 31st to November 4th. Those who register through September 15th will receive the early bird special prices of $1300 for any three days -- $1500 for any four days -- or $1600 for all five days. Registration afterwards costs $1700, $2000, and $2200 respectively.

Adobe boosts XML integration with FrameMaker 7.2

09/12, 1:55pm

Adobe FrameMaker 7.2

Adobe today announced Adobe FrameMaker 7.2, the latest update to its authoring and publishing software that bridges the gap between simple word processing and XML (Extensible Markup Language). FrameMaker, a tool for creating complex documents such as lengthy technical manuals and catalogs, can output directly to multiple channels including print, PDF, HTML and XML. Migrating from unstructured to structured documents is easier, and new structured templates provide an instant starting point for documents. Version 7.2 also adds XML Schema to the range of standards it supports. Adobe FrameMaker 7.2 for Windows ($800) and Sun Solaris ($1,330) is expected to be available this month in English, French, and German. No Mac OS X release date was mentioned.

Apps: Image Tricks, MiNews, Find A Word, pearLyrics

09/12, 1:50pm

Image Tricks, MiNews

Image Tricks 1.1 (free) is a free image editing application utilizing Mac OS X 10.4 Core Image filters to edit and apply various effects and filters to images. Image Tricks boasts roughly 40 Core Image effects and filters, while offering about 30 unique masks applicable to images. New features include "LinkBack technology", rotation of images by 90 degrees, numerous bugfixes, and more. [Download - 23.8MB]
MiNews 0.90 (free) updates the RSS-ready news reading application to include a new graphical user interface, a new menu item to alter the feed URL, and some minor enhancements. MiNews incorporates drag-and-drop support for RSS feeds as well as an "at-a-glance" import interface of OPML (Outline Processor Markup Language). [Download - 2.5MB]
Find A Word 1.0 (free) is an addictive word game with five turns, each consisting of three vowels and five consonants which are used to spell out as many words as possible within the designated time limit. Find A Word uses a built-in 80,000 word dictionary which can be modified, and sound can be enabled or disabled at will. [Download - 1.7MB]
pearLyrics 0.5 (free) looks up song lyrics on the web as songs play in iTunes, and performs searches for lyrics without playing the song in iTunes. Available as both a Dashboard Widget and a standalone application, pearLyrics 0.5 adds the option to automatically copy found lyrics into the iTunes library, and looks in the iTunes library for song lyrics if iTunes is running. Special character handling in search strings is improved, and numerous enhancements specific to the Widget have been implemented. [Download - 197KB]
simpleDays 3.3.1 ($15) is a personal information manager with options that go beyond the standard PIM set. Features include setting reminders, maintaining a "to do" list, tracking contact information, a personal journal, a day planner, a fully featured note pad, an internet address manager, and more. The update provides numerous bugfixes and enhancements, such as an "all day" option to the reminder editor window. [Download - 2.7MB]

Radical Breeze to debut DiscBlaze 6.0

09/12, 1:15pm

DiscBlaze 6.0 unveiled

Radical Breeze Software today unveiled version 6.0 of its CD and DVD burning application, DiscBlaze. Completely rewritten in Cocoa and designed to take advantage of Mac OS X 10.4, DiscBlaze boasts drag-and-drop support between disc layouts, as well as a variety of aesthetic and functional enhancements. DiscBlaze 6.0 requires Mac OS X 10.4, will be available in October for $30, and is free for existing users who purchased DiscBlaze after June 1st. From now until DiscBlaze 6.0 ships, DiscBlaze 5.1 is available for purchase for $20 and includes a free upgrade once the new version becomes available. Discounts for larger volume and educational purchases are also available.

Iogear offers Bluetooth Stereo Kit

09/12, 1:10pm

Bluetooth Stereo Kit

IOGEAR today introduced its Bluetooth Stereo Kit, which includes Bluetooth Stereo Headphones and a Bluetooth Audio Adapter for devices such as Apple's iPod. The headset also enables users to place and receive calls from any Bluetooth equipped cell phone. The Bluetooth Stereo Headphones include integrated buttons on the earpiece that control volume and enable start, stop, pause and music track selection modes. The headphones have a built-in rechargeable battery that delivers six hours of continuous use. The company says that users can listen to music, or talk on the phone up to 66 feet away from the selected device. The headphones are designed to be worn behind the neck and fold up to fit in a bag or briefcase. It is available now for $180.

Briefly: SiliconValley discussion; Intro to Tiger

09/12, 12:30pm

SiliconValley discussion

In brief: SiliconValley.com has launched a week-long discussion online about Apple's Intel-based future, with guests Andy Hertzfeld, Mark Gonzales (a member of the original Star Trek project), Leander Kahney and others will discuss Apple's products, strategies and goals.... ScottWorld is now offering a full-day training seminar on Mac OS X ($150) for beginners and experienced beginners in the Los Angeles region.... Big Nerd Ranch is offering Network Security Bootcamp ($3500) from November 7-11..... O'Reilly's "Commercial Photoshop Retouching: In the Studio" ($50) provides a collection of real-world advice on practical commercial applications.... Alias launched two new books in the Learning Maya 7 series: The Modeling and Animation Handbook, available now, and The Special Effects Handbook.... The internet-based "instant online conversion" service has new support for Office 2003 XML and other formats.... Apple has cut the performance of Kanye West from the QuickTime stream of its special event in San Francisco.

LaCie offers 4-bay SATA RAID, Gigabit Ethernet Disk

09/12, 12:05pm

LaCie debuts products

LaCie today announced two new storage products: The Biggest S1S is a four-bay RAID solution, offering speeds of up to 80MB/s (using RAID 0). The company says the driver-less, SATA-based RAID storage unit is designed for protecting large files and databases, audio/video editing, animation, and digital imaging. The storage device offers hot-swappable drives and fans, support for RAID 0-5 (including hot spare), automatic online rebuilding in RAID 5, event notification through an audible alarm, and an LCD panel for status display. It is available in both 1TB ($1,700) and 2TB ($3,200) configurations. LaCie also launched a new Ethernet Disk with Gigabit Ethernet, an upgraded version of its simplified network storage solution. Powered by Windows XP embedded, the network storage unit offers users/groups configurations, access via SMB/AFP/HTTP/FTP, scheduled backups, four USB 2.0 ports for expanding capacity, a firewall application, and a slender, rack-mountable case. It is available now in 500GB ($650), 1TB ($1000) and 2TB ($2300) capacities.

Ars offers iPod nano 'stress test and autopsy'

09/12, 11:55am

Nano stress test, autopsy

The 2GB iPod nano displayed amazing resilience to abuse during a stress test by Ars Technica: after throwing the device from a speeding vehicle at up to 50 Mph and running it over twice failed to stop the music from playing (despite its malfunctioning screen), according to the report. Ars finally manages to stop the music by throwing the Nano straight up into the air, roughly 40 feet, and letting it smash onto the concrete. The autopsy reveals "amazing engineering" and the usage of Toshiba flash memory chips rather than Samsung memory. Apple has also apparently moved away from Synaptics for click wheel manufacturing: the click wheel inside the 2GB Nano dissected appears to be designed from scratch, according to the report.

FileWave 2.5, Asset Trustee 7.5 announced

09/12, 11:40am

FileWave at Apple Expo

FileWave has announced new, version 2.5 of its flagship software change management suite FileWave, and version 7.5 of its asset inventory solution Asset Trustee at Apple Expo 2005. The company said that both applications will include automated installation of the FileWave Client on new Mac OS X systems on the network as well as a connection to Asset Trustee. This new connection can be used to create new client groups in FileWave, based on certain Asset Trustee data such as computer type, OS, or amout of RAM installed. Asset Trustee 7.5 also allows the entry of purchased licenses and the comparison between installed and purchased licenses. Version 7.5 also features software metering, which provides a proper count of software usage.

Thursby announces revamped DAVE 6

09/12, 11:40am

Thursby DAVE 6

Thursby Software on Monday announced the release of DAVE 6, its solution for cross-platform file and print sharing. DAVE works via TCP/IP -- instead of AppleTalk -- with no additional hardware or software. It provides SMB signing and Distributed File Systems (Dfs) support, both for increased security. DAVE is "truly bidirectional," allowing a Macintosh to browse Microsoft networks and mount volumes, as well as share folders or drives for others to access. DAVE also lets users pick which folders or drives they want to share, allowing them to prevent access to the Home folder, for example. DAVE 6 is compatible with Mac OS X 10.4, Tiger. DAVE will run on any recent version of Windows, with NetBIOS and TCP/IP configured. Pricing starts at $120 for a single seat.

FlightCheck v5.7 supports Adobe CS2, more

09/12, 11:25am

FlightCheck v5.7 released

Markzware today announced FlightCheck v5.7, an update to both the Professional and Designer versions of the cross-platform applications. FlightCheck v5.7 offers several features, including compatibility upgrades for Mac OS X Tiger and QuarkXPress v6.5. The company has included over 22 customer suggestions, including full preflight support for Adobe CS 2 components, including InDesign v4, PhotoShop v9 (including .PSB file types), and Illustrator v12 as well as PDF v1.6, and more comprehensive support for EPS files. The Professional version is $500. Updates from v5.6 are free, while an upgrade is $200. FlightCheck Designer 5.7 is $200.

Aspyr ships Zoo Tycoon Complete Collection

09/12, 11:05am

Aspyr ships ZTCC

Aspyr Media today announced that is now shipping Zoo Tycoon Complete Collection for the Mac. Zoo Tycoon Complete Collection contains the original Zoo Tycoon game, along with the Dinosaur Digs and Marine Mania expansion packs. "In Zoo Tycoon, you'll be challenged to build the most healthy and vibrant zoo possible from over 200 animals, exhibits, and zoo materials..... In Zoo Tycoon: Marine Mania, you'll make a huge splash by adding killer whales, manta rays, and other exciting marine animals to your existing zoo [as well as] 20 prehistoric beasts, 100 building materials, and 6 challenging scenarios." The title requires Mac OS X 10.2.8 and is available now for $50.

Lexmark 4x6 inkjet photo printer includes CD burner

09/12, 10:50am

Lexmark inkjet with burner

Lexmark today introduced the Lexmark P450 4x6-inch inkjet photo printer, featuring "the industry's first-ever" built-in CD photo burner. The company says that users can easily transfer images from their camera cards to CDs using the built-in CD burner and print photo-quality prints--using the Lexmark 4x6 inch photo printing kit--for as little as 29 cents. "The Lexmark P450 brings more photo processing functions to the home. People can now save and organize their digital photos on CD, print from a cell phone, view their photos on a television and much more." The stand-alone Lexmark P450 offers optional Bluetooth technology for direct printing; viewing/editing using the 2.4-inch color LCD screen; edit tools (crop, rotate, color fix and red-eye removal) as well as photo effects (sepia and antique gray); and direct printing from digital cameras via its PictBridge port; however, Lexmark says the printer is not compatible with direct printing from PCs or Macs. The standalone inkjet printer will ship in October for $200.

TIME offers "The Nano story", interviews Jobs, Ive

09/12, 10:45am

Story of iPod nano

A report in TIME describes the tale of how the iPod nano came to fruition--from its first roots to its debut at Apple's special music event in San Francisco on September 7th. Declaring the device "the absurdly tiny, unbearably sexy successor to the iPod Mini," TIME interviews Steve Jobs of Apple Computer to fill in the gaps about how Apple contrived the Nano. Jonathan Ive, head of Apple's industrial-design department points out all of the things that nobody will ever notice, but that he sacrificed months of his life to achieve certain iPod nano design elements, such as the laser etching of the logo on the back and the click wheel surface being slightly rougher than the rest of the front. Commenting on the challenges to make the Nano reality, Steve Jobs states that "this is probably one of the most aggressive volume ramps in the history of consumer electronics."

Realmac to debut RapidWeaver 3.2 at Apple Expo

09/12, 10:35am

RapidWeaver at Apple Expo

Realmac Software today announced will demo at Apple Expo (Stand 54) the next version of its popular, easy-to-use web building software, RapidWeaver 3.2. The next-generation web design application can easily create professional-looking web sites in minutes--without any knowledge of complex code. Version 3.2 has a slew of new, powerful features, including a built-in media inspector allowing users to re-size, flip and rotate photos. Users now also have access to a new theme variation system allowing simply, easy customization. The system now allows users to to apply different themes and variations to each page in their site. The company also said it would offer 20 percent discount coupons. The current version, RapidWeaver 3.1.2, is available now for $35.

iPod It v2.5 adds RSS support to iPod utility

09/12, 10:30am

ZappTek iPod It v2.5

ZappTek today released iPod It v2.5 a free update to the iPod utility for syncing information from your Mac to any iPod. Version 2.5 adds support for RSS feed, revamps iCal support to provide greater control over your calendars (including things like not transferring completed To Do items), improves Mail processing and a number of other enhancements. iPod It supports transferring information from Entourage, Stickies, Mail, Address Book and iCal. In addition, users can even download weather forecasts, news and RSS feeds directly to their iPod. It is available as $15 shareware and requires Mac OS X 10.2 or later.

Digital Voodoo debuts SD|Spark video card for FCP

09/12, 8:50am

SD|Spark for FCP

Australia-based Digital Voodoo today announced its SD|Spark video card, its video capture card designed for Final Cut Pro. The SD|Spark is a multipurpose SD SDI/Analog QuickTime video card that caters to both the boutique and studio video professional with a unique number of SD SDI and analog video and audio I/O connections and options, including 10-/12-bit SD SDI I/O, 12-bit analog component, composite, S-video I/O, a built in A/D and D/A converter, DV, DVC Pro, DVC Pro 50, Photo JPEG I/O, 2 channels of balanced XLR and unbalanced RCA analog audio, embedded audio I/O and 8 channels of SP/DIF audio I/O for monitoring 5.1 surround sound from inexpensive consumer digital audio devices. The SD|Spark also supports Final Cut Pro HD's RT Extreme architecture, enabling seamless realtime playback of effects such as 3 way color correction, additive dissolves and cross dissolves eliminating the need to render.

Briefly: Nano FireWire; Nano cases; Samsung flash

09/12, 8:40am

iPod nano accessories

In brief: Apple's new iPod nano doesn't support FireWire connections for syncing songs, although it uses the same dock connector as previous generation iPods.... SkinIt.com today launched removable, adhesive backed vinyl skins for the iPod nano.... Tunewear today announced Tunewallet nano, a business card-sized case for Apple's iPod nano digital music players.... Samsung, which supplies memory for the new iPod nano, will produce 16GB memory units by the end of next year.... The Fast Icon Studio has released a new iPod nano icon set for use with Mac OS X, Windows XP and Linux.... Circuit City is offering a a limited number of special edition Green Day flip cases (pictured at right) for 4th generation iPods....

Fast Icon Studio releases iPod nano collection

09/12, 8:40am

iPod nano collection

The Fast Icon Studio has released a new icon set for use with Mac OS X, Windows XP and Linux. The "iPod nano" collection offers eight freeware icons. As the name implies, this icon collection was inspired by Apple's new ultra-compact digital music player. Recently, Fast Icon Studio released "Toon System", with 31 freeware icons designed in cartoon style. The company also released "Fast Emoticons," a new set of seven Aqua-style icons for use with instant messenger software.

Samsung to offer 16GB memory in 2006

09/12, 8:30am

16GB Samsung memory

Samsung, which supplies memory for the new iPod nano, will produce 16GB memory units by the end of next year. The company reportedly controls 60 percent of the world's NAND flash memory market. Compared to rivals, Samsung feels it is "six months to one year ahead." The firm has doubled NAND flash memory capacity yearly since introducing a 256-megabit device in 1999, Samsung said. Apple plans to buy as much as 40 percent of Samsung's flash memory output in the second half of this year for its new 4-gigabyte version of the iPod nano.

SanDisk could offer 2GB cards for ROKR

09/12, 8:15am

2GB cards for ROKR

SanDisk is reportedly supplying the removable memory for the Motorola ROKR phone. The microSD card was jointly developed by SanDisk and Motorola, TransFlash. SanDisk calls the technology: "The world's smallest flash memory card form factor." The iTunes-based handset currently ships with a 512MB microSD card, which holds 100 songs. According to Macworld UK, Motorola could begin offering 2GB of storage in 2006. The company expects to have 1GB microSD cards in limited quantities by late 2005 and 2GB cards in 2006. "This suggests ways future iTunes phones can ffer new and higher capacities, and also hints that ROKR owners may be able to carry multiple music collections on their memory cards for different moods."

Green Day case for iPods available at Circuit City

09/12, 8:05am

Green Day case for iPods

Pacific Design today announced a limited edition, 4th Generation iPod Flip Case designed specifically for fans of Green Day. Available at Circuit City, the ultra-slim Greed Pay iPod carry case fits any fourth-generation iPod. The special edition case is available at Circuit City--both at stores nationwide and from the retailer's website in the iPod accessory category. The case is olive green, black and red Green Day graphic, mimicking their album, according to the release. The $40 package, valued at nearly $60 by the companies, includes fan club stickers, a two free song downloads card, and an in-store coupon for Green Day music. The companies said that 5,000 promotional packages have been designed exclusively for Circuit City.

Tunewear offers new wallet case for iPod nano

09/12, 7:55am

Tunewallet nano debuts

Tunewear today announced Tunewallet nano, a business card-sized case for Apple's iPod nano digital music players. Due in October 2005, the Tunewallet nano is made from ultra-high quality genuine leather and features a flip-cover for protection against dirt and scratches. It also includes a card slot inside the flip-cover to fit credit cards, business cards and more. "Best of all, TUNEWALLET nano is small enough and protective enough that you can simply throw it in your bag or pocket and enjoy your music wherever you go without having to worry about your iPod nano getting scratched."

Interoute deploys QuickTime 7 for content delivery

09/12, 7:55am

Interoute deploys QT 7

Voice and data carrier Interoute today announced full support for Apple's QuickTime 7, including a global deployment of the QuickTime Streaming Server to enable the distribution of stunning, and highly scalable, digital content via the web and mobile networks. "We are delighted to offer QuickTime 7 to our customers," said James Kinsella, Interoute's Executive Chairman. Interoute offers Europe's largests fiber optic network. "The overall quality of the new H.264/AVC Video in QuickTime 7 is tremendous and made this a very easy choice. We see a huge opportunity with QuickTime 7 providing the foundation for us to deliver standards-based MPEG-4 and 3G content to our customers."

SkinIt.com offers vinyl skins for iPod nano

09/12, 7:40am

iPod nano skins

SkinIt.com today launched a new line of iPod accessories for Apple's recently announced iPod nano: the removable, adhesive backed vinyl skins are manufactured with high quality materials and are precision cut to insure a perfect device fit. Consumers can choose one of over a thousand different designs or upload their own photo or artwork to be transformed into an Apple iPod nano skin. "Once again Apple redefines the meaning of cool with the launch of the iPod nano," said Mike Stemple, Co-Founder of SkinIt, Inc. "With a SkinIt skin on the nano it becomes even cooler." They are available for $10 each, which includes free shipping worldwide. Custom designs are an additional $5.

Transceiver for laptops extends wireless signals

09/12, 7:35am

Wireless transceiver

QuickerTek today introduced a new wireless device for Mac laptop owners that allows them to receive wireless internet signals over one mile. The new 500mW/27dBm transceiver requires no extra software or extra steps: "This small Transceiver is not much larger than a antenna, clips onto the PowerBook or iBook case and is easy to travel with and easy to pop on and use, where ever mobile Mac users go. It connects to the 'Book through the AirPort card, already installed on the Mac - just like an antenna. It's ideal when trying to get a full-speed connection at large public areas such as airports, college dorms, expansive offices, hotels, outdooor commons, and can't seem to connect at any tolerably fast speed." The device includes power converter when working near a power outlet, and can also be powered from a FireWire port on the computer. It is available for $200 and supports the 12-inch/14-inch iBooks, 15-inch aluminum/titanium PowerBooks, and 17-inch PowerBooks.