Bullet Candy 1.5 updates arcade shooter

Charlie's Games and Macgamestore.com have announced the release of Bullet Candy 1.5, a major update to the fast-paced arcade shooter for Mac OS X that adds game pad support and much more. "Viewed from a top-down perspective, Bullet Candy allows for a true 360-degree shoot-em-up experience. With all of your enemies in view at all times it's easy to see and, more importantly, shoot them into tiny little pieces," according to the developer. Version 1.5 adds support for digital game pads, splits the main screen into two sections: Arcade and Extend, makes changes to the bonus menu, adjusts the difficulty with some levels, and fixes a bug in which levels with lots of generators and green homing bullets would crash if you get the laser shot. The game requires a 1GHz G4-based Mac or later is available as $20 digital download.

Briefly: review; iLifeStuff; Brokenpod

In brief: MacNN has reviewed Window Seat by Julieanne Kost ($40), a book offering a different approach to the photographic process.... Nexus today announced that it will highlight Inspector in a new session during the FileMaker Developer Conference this year.... iLifeStuff has released three new iWeb templates entitled Chocolate, Redmodern, and Juice featuring numerous page layouts.... Inventive has announced that it has won the Apple Design Award for "Best Mac OS X Dashboard Widget" at Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference.... Brokenpod.com is offering free shipping on iPods shipped (up to $10) to the company.

Cloverleaf unveils iSN console for Mac

Cloverleaf Communications today unveiled its Intelligent Storage Networking (iSN) management console for Mac OS X Tiger, and announced that it has completed interoperability testing with Apple Xserve RAID. "Our compatibility with Mac OS X and Xserve and Xserve RAID enables Cloverleaf to expand into important new markets such as rich media where our unique capabilities can enable data centers to simplify management, eliminate downtime, and cut storage costs," said Richard Bauer, president of Cloverleaf. "The iSN will ultimately deliver to Apple's customers' real operational efficiency, technology benefits and business value, allowing them to run their businesses smarter, faster, and more cost effectively." The iSN's CMS for Apple Xserve RAID and Mac OS X is slated for shipment at the end of August.

An in-depth look at Mac OS X Leopard...

Apple announced ten Mac OS X Leopard features earlier this week during the company's keynote address that kicked off the World Wide Developers Conference in San Francisco. While several of Leopard's "big secrets" are still under wraps to prevent Microsoft from "starting its photocopiers" too early, the company did promise 64-bit processing, new core technologies, an enhanced version of iChat and Mail, and more. Mac OS X Leopard is slated for shipment in the spring of 2007, just after Microsoft's scheduled launch of its Windows Vista operating system. [images]

Apple issues Mac Pro security update...

Apple has released a security update for its new professional Mac Pro systems, which debuted on August 7th at the World Wide Developers Conference in San Francisco. Security Update 2006-004 for Mac Pro includes all of the fixes featured in a previous security update released on August 1st, along with two vulnerability fixes relating to ImageIO and OpenSSH. The fixes for those issues were not fully tested in time for the manufacturing of the Mac Pro, according to Apple, and are provided via the new security update. "This update is a proper subset of the full Security Update 2006-004 released on August 1st. Existing systems that have already applied Security Update 2006-004 (August 1st release) do not need to install this update." Fixes pertain only to systems running Mac OS X 10.4.7 Build 8K1079 or Mac OS X Server 10.4.7 Build 8K1079.

Briefly: Mac Pro dev note; iPod Levis

In brief: Apple has posted an "Introduction to Mac Pro Developer Note" offering a technical description of the Mac Pro including internal design, input-output features, and expansion capabilities.... A photo has surfaced of Levi's RedWire DLX jeans, pants specifically designed for Apple's iPod.... The MacXprts Network has announced a discount offer on all of its products for individuals working for any state's Democratic Party Coordinated Campaign or for any Democratic nominee for the US House or US Senate.... REAL Software has begun shipping new Chinese language versions of REALbasic Release 3.... One user has launched an iWeb site as a guide to teaching GCSE ICT (CCEA Syllabus) using Mac systems.... Macgamestore.com has announced a new distribution partnership with Virtual Programming to offer boxed and digital download titles.

Apple execs seek counsel for probe

Apple executives are seeking legal counsel in the face of a backdating probe which the company launched in late June. Apple has hired George Riley, a partner with O'Melveny & Myers, to represent the company in connection with the government investigation, which launched in mid-July. Meanwhile the company's long-time general counsel Nancy Heinen, who left the company in May of 2006, has hired East Bay defense lawyers Cristina Arguedas and Miles Ehrlich to represent her before the government, according to The Recorder. The probe has already produced investor lawsuits charging Apple executives and directors with manipulating the option grant dates of specific stock options to maximize personal profits.

Apple Design Awards 2006 winners...

Apple has announced the winners of its Apple Design Awards 2006, recognizing technical excellence and outstanding achievement on Mac OS X. Winning developers receive prizes, and their winnings are showcased at WWDC 2006, Macworld 2007, and the Apple website. This year's winners include TextMate 1.5.2 as the best Developer Tool; modo 201 as the best use of graphics; iClip lite 2.0 as the best Dashboard Widget; Build Real Estate Catalog/Ultimate Productivity Action Pack 1.0 as the best Automator Workflow; iSale 3.1 as the best user experience; The Sims 2 1.0 Rev E as the best game; EnzymeX 3.1 as the best scientific computing solution; and Lineform 1.1 as the best student product.

Open-source Darwin? Not yet...

Apple is stonewalling open-source developers despite the company's recent release of much of the Mac OS X Tiger kernel source code, according to Proclus, administrator of the GNU-Darwin Distribution. "In order to have a free and open source (FOSS) [operating] system, two things are necessary. First, all the necessary source code must be obtainable by anyone, and second the system must obviously be bootable in order to use it," Proclus told MacNN. "Darwin OS is not bootable without the AppleACPIPlatform driver, which is closed source [and proprietary] at this time."

Strata offers free demo of Strata 3D...

Strata has released a free demo of Strata 3D CX 5, its 3D design application featuring the ability to render layers as well as Strata Live 3D content. The software allows users to render 3D layered Photoshop files to separate every component of the image. Strata 3D CX 5 features an improved SDS Modeler, as well as a completely revamped geometry deforming Skeleton System. Users can script with the Lua Scripting language, while a History palette offers support for fully quad-based polygon objects boasting improved Boolean operations, stacking, docking, and other palette management options. The full version of Strata 3D CX 5 is priced at $700, requiring Mac OS X 10.3 or later.

Age of Empires III for Mac unveiled...

MacSoft today unveiled Age of Empires III for Mac, a Universal Binary version of the real-time strategy game. "'Age of Empires III' picks up where 'Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings' left off, as players become one of eight European powers exploring, colonizing, and conquering the New World. Featuring amazing 3D graphics, remarkable Ageia PhysX technology, and an innovative Home City feature that lets players 'level-up' their evolving home city to strengthen their economy, technology, and military, 'Age of Empires III' for Macintosh sets many new standards for real-time strategy games." Players command rifled infantry to scatter soldiers and blast buildings with cannon fire, directing cavalry through plains while navigating naval fleets to hold strategic waterways. The title is scheduled to ship in late September (pricing was unavailable).

Quark offers QuarkXPress 7 30-day demo

Quark today announced a free 30-day evaluation of QuarkXPress 7 for Mac and Windows users. The demo enables designers and publishers to explore the features of QuarkXPress 7 as fully functioning software, which runs natively on Intel-based Macs as a Universal Binary. QuarkXPress 7 is the latest version of the design and publishing software designed to transform creative communications by enabling customers to achieve design, production, and collaboration goals. The upgrade combines more design features with job-driven production capabilities in a collaborative environment in an effort to deliver faster creative development and print production. QuarkXPress 7 is available for $750, with upgrades priced at $250 for existing license holders.

Clunk Clink offers online Mac backup

Clunk Click has launched an online data backup service for Mac OS X users to provide a simple, safe, and affordable means to protect data. OnLine Pro automatically backs up data to secure offsite data centers over the internet every day, according to Clunk Clink. "Mac users have been frustrated by the lack of choice in protecting their data," said Paul Roberts, managing director of Clunk Clink. "We now offer a secure service that will simplify the backup process, giving mirrored offsite backup and storage without the need for additional hardware or backup media. This presents a huge advantage for Mac users over current methods." OnLine Pro backup pricing was unavailable.

FairCom brings apps to Intel Macs

FairCom has announced Universal Binary support across its product range for Mac OS X 10.4 at WWDC, including its complete line of database technology. The company has converted c-tree Plus database SDK, c-treeSQL Server technology, and c-tree ISAM Server technology. "Using Apple's superb developer tools the effort required to create Universal versions of our products was much less than we originally anticipated," said Randal Hoff, FairCom's director of business development. "For example, the team was able to complete the c-tree port in under a week so start to finish, from receipt of the hardware to the completion of all of our QA processes, was less than a month end to end. That's impressive."

Apple keynote a slight disappointment...

Two more analysts agree that Apple's announcements during the company's keynote speech at the WWDC brought no big surprises, resulting in slight disappointment. "We believe the product announcements were in line to slightly less impactful versus market expectations," wrote Richard Farmer, a research analyst with Merrill Lynch in a research note obtained by MacNN. "New high end desktops with Intel processors were widely expected." American Technology Research senior analyst Shaw Wu agreed: "We believe there may be slight investor disappointment that Leopard will not ship until spring 2007 and that Apple did not make more announcements like speedbumps to Core 2 Duo processors on existing Intel Macs." Wu noted, however, that Apple's decision to delay Leopard's release may well be related to Microsoft's attempts to clone Mac OS X for its new Vista operating system. Shaw Wu maintained a "buy" rating and a $75 price target on Apple shares.

Forums: Mac Pro, Top Secret, Core 2 Duo

Forums roundup: Members discuss what Apple is still guarding as the unknown "Top Secret" features of Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard..... One user who already ordered his 3GHz Mac Pro asks fellow users whether he made the right decision in purchasing the top end model.... Other users discuss the lack of other product announcements at WWDC regarding the Core 2 Duo laptop and desktop processor recently released by Intel.... With the Mac Pro shipping, users are looking for some answers to their questions before they order the new Macs; with one user specifically wondering how quiet the new system actually is.... Meanwhile, another user looks for buying advice comparing a Mac Mini with a Cinema display to a 20" 2.0GHz iMac..

Apple's Xcode 2.4 adds 64-bit support

Apple has released Xcode Tools 2.4, adding support for 64-bit Intel development along with the ability to create four-architecture Universal applications. Xcode Tools 2.4 supports development for Jaguar, Panther, and Tiger as well as the ability to produce Universal Binaries on Mac OS X 10.4 using Mac OS X SDK support. Xcode Tools 2.4 features selected fixes to the Xcode IDE, cctools, debugger, and compiler. The update also fixes bugs and enhances performance in several areas over Xcode 2.3, according to Apple. "Most notably, stepping behavior when debugging DWARF binaries has been made more precise, and Dedicated Network Builds (DNB) has received several usability fixes." Apple updated the 10.4u SDK (Software Development Kit) for development with Mac OS X 10.4.7, and updated CHUD to version 4.4.0.

Sportfolio Deluxe case for MacBook/Pro...

Marware has unveiled the Sportfolio Deluxe, a case for 13-inch MacBook and 15- or 17-inch MacBook Pro notebooks. The case is designed as a sleek and sporty enclosure to protect the laptop from damage on-the-go. The Sportfolio Deluxe features a "fully–functional" interior with pockets for a power adapter, an extra battery, and custom pockets for the Apple Remote as well as an iPod. An included padded shoulder strap allows users to carry the case either as a folio or in the traditional briefcase style. The new case also features headphone access, 'Orca skin' soft pockets, and a dual–lined zipper sealing. The Sportfolio Deluxe case is available for $80 (MacBook) or $90 (MacBook Pro).

Apple site reveals minor Leopard updates

Apple has updated XCode 3.0 and iCal features for Mac OS X Leopard, as well as the description of its new "Photo Booth" feature. A new sidebar item on the Leopard main page reads: "Photo Booth is the easy way to take fun self portraits. Just choose an effect, pick a backdrop, and mug for the camera." Apple quietly added the backdrop feature earlier this week following the company's keynote address by CEO Steve Jobs. Apple's website also confirmed plans for iChat-based screen sharing, Mail RSS, number of rows and column in spaces customization, Boolean logic in Spotlight searches, and support for multiple VoiceOver languages.

SMS game updated for new Intel Macs

Balooba has released a new version of its Sudden Motion Sensor-controlled tilt game, Bubblegym. This version adds support for new Macs with Sudden Motion Sensor technology including the new MacBook and MacBook Pro (in addition to the 12-, 15-, and 17- Powerbook G4s previously supported). The Bubblegym game itself is quite simple in that users must roll around the virtual marble to smash fruits before time runs out. According to the developer, this is the first game using the the laptop's Sudden Motion Sensor as a control device. The game requires Mac OS X 10.4.3 or later and will work with any Mac notebook equipped with the Apple Sudden Motion Sensor. [Download - 2.2MB]

Coraid offers ATA over Ethernet driver

Coraid today announced that 2-degree Frost Software has released an AoE driver for Mac OS X. This new AoE (ATA over Ethernet) driver enables a significant breakthrough in cost and scalability of storage for the Apple's Mac platform and have released a commercial version of AoE for that delivers virtually limitless storage for Mac OS X users. EtherDrive Storage products use the AoE (ATA-over-Ethernet) storage protocol, a simple alternative to iSCSI or Fibre Channel. AoE enables disks to be shared on the network creating a highly scalable storage system at the lowest possible price, according to the companies. "High capacity disks and low-cost networking means massively scalable storage networks are now economically feasible for many of today’s data hungry applications," the companies said in a press release. "EtherDrive Storage can scale one disk at a time to multi-PetaBytes of storage capacity, providing virtually limitless storage." The 2ºFrost AoE Driver for Mac OS X is available today for both Intel- and PowerPC-based systems as a Universal Binary; it is available for $160 for the Client edition and $320 for the Server edition as an introductory offer.

Apple offers A&E programming on iTunes

A&E Television Networks and Apple today announced that television programming from A&E Network, The Biography and History Channels is now available for purchase and download on the iTunes Music Store and that now over 200 shows are now available on iTunes. The new content features popular series such as "Criss Angel: Mindfreak," "Driving Force" and "Inked" from A&E Network, "The Revolution" and "Modern Marvels" from The History Channel, and selections from the Emmy Award-winning "Biography" (Notorious, Great Inventors and Explorers, and Great Leaders) series from The Biography Channel. "Teaming up with iTunes is a great opportunity for us to both reach our growing fan base and expand our reach to new viewers wherever they are," said Steve Ronson, senior vice president, Enterprises, A&E Television Network. "iTunes is the leader in TV show downloads, and we are very happy that A&E Television Network brands and programming will now be available to consumers on their iPod or computer."

GizMac's 25U server rack at WWDC

GizMac Accessories this week previewed its soon-to-be-released 25U XRackPro2 server rack with Apple’s new Xserve line at the Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC). GizMac’s 25U noise reduction server rack was chosen by Apple to house, display and silence the new Xserve product line that is being shown at the WWDC this week. Several clusters of the newest Apple Xserve servers were unveiled to the developer community through the use of the XRackPro 25U server rack from GizMac. The server rack is a unique solution for rackmount Apple Xserve servers and Xserve RAID storage, offering support for tape and disk backup, networking, battery backup and other rackmount systems as well as some vertically standing non-rackmount equipment. By reducing noise levels of Apple’s Xserve solutions, the 25U XRackPro2 rackmount enclosure allows Xserve servers and RAID systems to be placed in areas that require low noise. Pricing is $2,200.

MS offers Mac Office security fixes

Microsoft has released new security updates for its Mac Office products: Office 2004 for Mac 11.2.6 Update and Office v. X for Mac Security Update (2006-08-08) both fix product vulnerabilities in that an attacker can use to overwrite the contents of your computer's memory with malicious code. The update applies to Office v. X, Microsoft Word X for Mac, Microsoft Excel X for Mac, Microsoft PowerPoint X for Mac, Microsoft Entourage X for Mac as well as the current Office 2004 products, including the Standard Edition, Student and Teacher Edition, Professional Edition, Word 2004 for Mac, Excel 2004 for Mac, PowerPoint 2004 for Mac, and Entourage 2004 for Mac. Earlier this week, the company promised Universal versions of Office for Mac and Messenger, but said that it would discontinue Virtual PC and Visual Basic for Mac.

WeibeTech intros 4-bay SATA enclosure...

WiebeTech has added a new four-bay enclosure to its SilverSATA product line. The SilverSATA IV holds four 3.5-inch SATA drives, allowing up to 750GB per drive for a total of 3TB of total storage (unformatted). The drive trays feature removability, a dedicated connection to an eSATA host controller, and compatibility with other SilverSATA models. According to the company, the new enclosure--when using a software RAID utility--can be configured to achieve speeds of over 200MB/s with eSATA. The user-configurable four-bay unit is $450, or is sold pre-configured with four 250GB drives ($1000), four 500GB drives ($1800), or four 750GB drives ($3200). The enclosure requires eSATA connectivity--which WeibeTech sells PCI cards ($100) to provide most 'workstation' Macs with the required connectivity.

Apple launches summer of music in Japan

Apple has launched the “Summer of Music” in Japan with free music from iTunes Music Store, collectible iTunes Cards, and exclusive live performances at Apple Retail Stores. Music fans at Summer Sonic will receive collectible iTunes Cards with free music downloads on August 12 in Tokyo and on August 13 in Osaka. For the remainder of the summer, iTunes is offering free music or music videos and collectible iTunes Cards featuring free downloads from the hottest artists in Japan, including Ken Ishii, Simon Le Bon, Hifana, and the premiere of a new video from Beck. Apple’s seven Retail Stores in Japan are holding in-store performances with favorite local and international artists, including upcoming performances by PE’Z and She Wants Revenge. The Summer Sonic iTunes Cards give three free songs of the user’s choice from the iTunes Music Store, and also feature free downloads from Spank Rock, PE’Z, Amusement Park on Fire and Maximum The Hormone. “Eddy Cue, Apple’s vice president of iTunes. “We’re thrilled to launch the ‘Summer of Music’ in Japan with free music from iTunes, Japan's number one online music store, and exclusive Apple Retail Store performances."