Apple posts Final Cut Pro 5 Updates

Apple today posted Final Cut Pro 5 Updates, which it says provides improved reliability; the updates are available for all Final Cut Pro 5 applications: Final Cut Pro 5, Cinema Tools 3, LiveType 2, Compressor 2. Apple also posted Final Cut Express HD v3.01, which delivers improved compatibility with Mac computers using a PCI Express graphics controller. Both updates are available via the Software Update or via the Web.

Mean Tangerine releases templates for Keynote

Mean Tangerine today released a series of templates for Keynote 2, designed to bring a unique style to presentations. Each Mean Tangerine template for Keynote comes with instructions for installation, additional color palates, textures for charts, and button graphics. Featured templates are Disco Carbon and Disco Snow, specifically designed for Keynote's "Dissolve" and "Cube" transitions; and Tulips Blue, Tulips Orange, and Tulips Red, specifically designed for Keynote's "Cube" transition. Disco "Carbon" and "Snow" templates can be purchased individually in sets of 22 for $15, or as a complete pack for $25. Tulips "Blue", "Orange", and "Red" templates can be purchased individually in sets of 20 for $15, or as a complete pack for $35.

Magic Stones fantasy RPG, card game released

Winter Wolves Software today released Magic Stones, a fantasy RPG and card game that brings you to the magic realm of Aravorn. "Based on Celtic mythology, you control a druid and his powerful creations as you battle to discover new artifacts, runes, and challenges, as well as compete in the annual druid tournament." Druids come from one of three backgrounds: noble druids excel in intelligence, wild druids in willpower, and country druids in wisdom. Each druid has one of the three specialties: Air, Earth, or Fire. "The levels are diverse and difficult, but as you gain experience and grow in power new foes and allies await your command." Magic Stones is available for $25.

app4mac updates xTime Project

app4mac today released version 3.3.1 of xTime Project, its project management application designed for Mac OS X. Features include diagrams to facilitate the effective communication between team members; full budget and cost management; import/export of existing Microsoft project documents (XML and PMX formats); and a multiple projects view with cross-project overview capability. The update includes new documentation, an optimized user interface, and fixes a small display bug in the Gantt view. xTime Project 3.3.1 requires Mac OS X 10.3 or later, and is available for $130.

Apps: Slide Show, shivering kittens, boingo caller

• Slide Show 7.0 ($30) is a slideshow and presentation tool for multimedia files, movies, sounds and images. Presentations can be manually or automatically controlled, personalized with colored backgrounds or patterns, use multiple soundtracks during a presentation, and display image/movie names. [Download - 4.8MB]


• shivering kittens 1.4 ($4) is a falling block puzzle game for Mac OS X, challenging you to rescue as many kittens as possible before the time runs out. With each rescue, your remaining time is extended by a few more seconds. Changes include projected shadows behind blocks; shaded blocks are projected where blocks will land when pressing the "fast drop" key, and more. [Download - 2.8MB]


• Bingo Caller 1.0.0 (free) provides everything needed to run a Bingo party. Features include a "called" display of all possible numbers, a pull-down menu to select the winning pattern, the winning pattern display, and a display of the last called number. [Download - 2.5MB]


• Typeset 3.0 ($20) is a font-viewing application with a minimalist user interface. Typeset offers live previews with customizable preview text, as well as configurable colors and sizes. Version 3.0 can preview fonts that aren't installed on the system, and supports drag-and-dropping of fonts to other applications. [Download - 743KB]


• FruitMenu 3.4.3 ($10) customizes the Apple Menu and contextual menus in Mac OS X. The update includes Smart Crash Reports 1.0.2, and offers several bug fixes improving the stability of FruitMenu when invoking the contextual menu on a ZIP archive and Safari. [Download - 1.9MB]

Apple/Lugz ad dispute: Theft or Coincidence

A new article in the New York Times recaps the latest developments in the dispute over the uniqueness of Apple's iPod/Eminem "Silhouette" ad. Apple and its advertising agency have been accused of copying a similar commercial for Lugz footwear commercial. In a statement late yesterday, its first since the debate began a week ago, TBWA/Chiat/Day said any resemblance between the commercials was "disappointing and surprising" as well as "regrettable." Larry Schwartz, executive vice president and principal at Lugz in New York, said in an interview, "We're very upset [...] The look and feel are awfully similar." Frank Ginsberg, whose company was involved in creating the Lugz ad said, "It's the same commercial. I don't get it."

Briefly: XBox 360 CPU; Adobe eSeminar; iMF

In brief: IBM revealed that the XBox 360 CPU features three customized PowerPC computing engines that can each handle two simultaneous tasks at clock speeds greater than 3 gigahertz.... Adobe Systems announced an Adobe InDesign CS2 software eSeminar series for creative and production professionals that will focus on improving workflow efficiency and will include step-by-step techniques and insider tips on using the new features in Adobe InDesign CS2.... Independence MovieFest (iMF), the first and only film festival to host all submitted movies online, is now accepting submissions from filmmakers around the globe.... Winter Wolves has released an updated version of its popular trivia game Quizland, adding more than 1000 new questions and two new languages: Italian and Spanish.... The Southern California MacFair 2005 has made arrangements with ease e-waste to provide attendees free disposal of old computer equipment including monitors, CPU, fax machines, printers, servers, phone systems, etc..... iPodNN noted that PodGear is set to debut four new iPod products at MacExpo and muffpod.com rolled out the mightymuff case (shown at right).

Eovia announces Carrara 5 with new interface

Eovia today introduced Carrara 5, an update to its complete 3D solution that offers a suite of modeling, animation and rendering tools. Offering a freshly updated user interface, Carrara 5 will enable users to create more freely and deliver high-caliber results under even the tightest deadlines. New features in version 5 include a new graph editor with direct access to the motions curves of objects as well as parameters of animations; enhancements to the vertex modeler; improvements to the rendering component (e.g., subsurface scattering, displacement mapping and ambient occlusion); the addition of volumetric clouds that realistically scatter the light of the atmosphere; a significantly improved particle engine; expanded import/export to suppor After Effects and RPF file formats; and more. Carrara 5 is due in December for $250 (upgrades start at $100), while the Pro version will be $550 (upgrades start at $170). Pre-orders through the company will be offered access to the beta version.

TestTrack Pro 7.5 tracks defects, manages workflow

Seapine Software today released TestTrack Pro 7.5, its defect tracking and issue management application. Version 7.5 features cross-platform user and administrator clients, full Unicode character support, and expanded workflow functionality. Electronic signatures can be required for specific events, and workflow events can be configured to allow single-user defect assignments, while defects can be transitioned into sub-workflows. Other enhancements include automatic software update notifications, expanded Oracle OCI support, additional file and graphics handling capabilities, and improved operation, performance, and usability. TestTrack Pro 7.5 is available for $300.

Apple execs excercise options to earn millions

Apple's execs are cashing in on the recent strength in Apple's stock. Apple's CFO Peter Oppenheimer exercised 750,000 options last week, grossing $32 million, according to TheStreet.com which reports in recent months, at least four other senior company executives have cashed in 100,000 or more options, including "Avadis Tevanian Jr., the company's chief software technology officer; Ronald Johnson, senior vice president in charge of Apple's retail operations; Bertrand Serlet, senior vice president of software engineering; and Nancy Heinen, the company's general counsel." The report says that Tevanian has sold the most stock and seen the biggest gains, cashing in 900,000 options since mid-August for about $36.5 million, while Johnson cashed in 750,000 shares in August for a $22.6 million, Serlat exercised 140,000 options over the past three months for about $5.1 million, and Heinen cashed in 125,000 options for $4.7 million.

Precision Recall integrates with Spotlight, Google...

Agent Software today released Precision Recall, its information search and retrieval application designed to improve the accuracy of research in Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger. Precision Recall collects, organizes, and publishes content from a variety of resource repositories including local files, email, and the Web. It features categorization technology, which creates an interactive topic view in a local repository that organizes results into relevant groups and dynamically creates virtual folders containing customizable content. In addition, results can be personalized, and logical organization eliminates disconnected searches as well as provides an accurate history/audit trail. Precision Recall integrates with existing desktop applications, and works with Google as well as Apple's Spotlight search technology. Pricing starts at $100.

Canon debuts PowerShot SD430 with wireless functions

Canon today introduced its wireless PowerShot SD430 Digital ELPH digital camera, which allows users to send photos to printers and/or their desktop without any cables. The 5.0 megapixel digital camera includes a Wireless Print Adapter that canto send photos wirelessly (802.11b WiFi) with "one-touch" to the company's PictBridge printers. It also features a 3x optical zoom lense, USB 2.0 connectivity and remote control functionality from a desktop PC. Along with its technical innovations, the new PowerShot SD430 Digital ELPH Wireless sports a snazzy new design with sharp edges, a soft sloping shape and a blinking blue light visible from the front or rear of the camera to indicate when wireless transmission is occurring. The camera kit includes Wireless Print Adapter, Compact Power Adapter, Battery Pack, Battery Charger, Interface Cable, AV Cable, Wrist Strap, and 16MB SD Memory Card. It will ship at the end of January 2006 for $500.

PC-Mac-Net FileShare 5.1 improves transfer speeds

Lava Software today released PC-Mac-Net FileShare 5.1, an update to its file sharing, workgroup collaboration, and remote data synchronization application. The update allows files and folders to be dragged between file lists to initiate transfers; adds contextual menus to both the local and remote file lists; improves internet transfer speeds; increases upload/download speeds, offers file/folder verification through MD5 signatures; an extensive range of additional file type icons have been added; and more. The upgrade is free, while PC-Mac-Net FileShare 5.1 is priced at $15 with the Pro version--featuring VPN support and encrypted file transfers--is priced at $25.

Briefly: new Apple Store, PDF solutions, iPod video

In Brief: Apple today announced that it will open its 27th store in California--Apple Store The Oaks--on Saturday, October 29th in Thousand Oaks.... Ars Technica has posted a tutorial on "Getting video onto your iPod", while iPodNN has noted several free and shareware video utilities over the past few days.... PDF Zone has published an article on Solutions for 3 Common PDF Problems.... One Apple's main iPod component suppliers in Asia launched its IPO, posting the biggest one-day rise for an initial offering in the market's history.... Wiebetech has issued a final call for entries for its G505 video contest and announced the judges for the 5-minute video editing contest.

Steve Jobs named among America's Best Leaders...

Steve Jobs has been recognized as one of America's top 25 leaders. The latest issue of US News & World Report, which focuses on the accomplished group selected by an independent committee of judges assembled by the Center for Public Leadership at Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government. The report says that Jobs has been a commercial innovator, cultural inspiration, and entrepreneurial icon for nearly 30 years: "He's an iconoclast who has enhanced our society's digital self-image...Jobs's passionate perfectionism, a contradictory blend of hot temper and cool temperament, is embedded in the soul of many new machines--iMacs, iBooks, iPods--and he has almost single-handedly altered the way we compute, play music, and view video."

Sony launches dual/double layer DVD burner for Macs

Sony today launched the new Mac-compatible DRX-810UL/T DVD burner. The external double and dual layer DVD drive, which will begin shipping next month with Roxio's Toast 6 Lite for Mac compatibility, will feature 8X burning for DVD+R Double Layer (DL) recording speed, enabling users to burn up to 8.5GB of video, data, music or images on compatible media in about fifteen minutes. The drive also supports 4X DVD-R DL, 16X DVD+-R, 8X DVD+RW, 6X DVD-RW, 48X CD-R and 32X CD-RW recording speeds. It also features a unique vertical design for easy placement and portability, and offers connectivity with both FireWire and hi-speed USB (USB 2.0) digital interfaces. The included Toast 6 Lite enables advanced authoring, copying and video features, and also includes the capability to create one-click copies of CDs, DVDs and disc images, as well as standard audio CDs. The Mac-compatible DRX-810UL/T model will be available next month for $180 (before a $30 mail-in rebate).

Apple sells 600M songs, claims 80 percent marketshare...

During the launch of Australian version of the iTunes Music Store, Apple said it had sold 600 million songs worldwide and claimed more than 80 percent marketshare in most of the 20 countries it serves; however it said that the company's biggest competitors in the online music industry remained the illegal peer-to-peer (P2P) file sharing services, rather than other legal music services from MSN, Yahoo, and RealNetworks. Apple earlier today launched iTunes for Australia during its "biggest ever" iTunes launch ever--complete with over one million songs and a large catalog of independent music; however, conspiciously absent were songs from major record label Sony BMG. iTunes vice-president Eddy Cue, who spoke at the launch, said that people now have an alternative to illegally downloading music and he believes they are willing to pay a "fair price," according to ZDNet Australia.

Redesigned Squeezebox features WMA support, more

Slim Devices today introduced its third generation Squeezebox network music player. The new Squeezebox, which is available in black or white and wireless or wired-only configurations, has been completely redesigned, featuring polished material against a crisp brushed metal fascia. The player includes support for 802.11g wireless, dual internal antennas, 24-bit Burr-Brown DAC, digital and analog jacks, and support for SqueezeNetwork, the new service that enables Slim Devices players to connect to Internet radio and RSS feeds without needing a computer. Along with the simultaneous release of SlimServer 6.2--the companion open-source software--Slim Devices also introduced hardware support for WMA radio and files on all operating systems, wake-on-LAN support, support for Unicode fonts (providing for Chinese, Japanese, and Hebrew text), and an extended radio directory to easily access the best Internet radio stations. The new players are available for $250 (wired) and $300 (wireless).

ColorWasher automatically enhances photos

The Plugin Site has announced ColorWasher 2.0, a plugin for correcting the colors, contrast, exposure and saturation of 8bit and 16bit photos. It works with various graphics applications, including Photoshop, Illustrator, Fireworks, Painter, Canvas, Photoline and GraphicConverter. ColorWasher features a wide range of automatic, semi-automatic and manual tools for correcting, enhancing and restoring photos. ColorWasher's "revolutionary algorithms" help improve "even the worst photo." ColorWasher's exposure correction features are superior to simple brightness and gamma correction methods used in known graphics applications and plugins. It also features built-in mechanisms for hiding image noise, camouflaging overexposed areas, boosting contrast, keeping saturation constant and fixing chopped histograms. ColorWasher sells for $50.

Apple's PowerSchool 5.0 adds LDAP support, more...

Apple's PowerSchool division today announced the release of PowerSchool 5.0, a web-based SIS offering for the K-12 market. PowerSchool 5.0 delivers data access and optimized performance capabilities to address a broad set of customer uses, while scaling easily to meet the needs of growing schools and districts of all sizes. The company says that PowerSchool is one of the fastest growing web-based SIS in the U.S. with more than 6,500 schools and 3,000,000 students using the system. PowerSchool offers a complete view of each student's performance data to guide decisions in the classroom, at the district office, and from home. PowerSchool 5 delivers performance and scalability improvements, LDAP support, new sophisticated reporting, and drag & drop custom reports.