Apple updates refurbished items

Apple has updated its listing of refurbished Power Macs and Mac mini systems available at discounted prices, which ship for free with the customary one-year warranty. Refurbished Power Mac G5 systems include the Dual 2GHz model with 512MB of memory and a 160GB hard drive for $1,599; the Dual 2.3GHz model with 512MB of memory and a 250GB hard drive for $1,999; and the Quad 2.5GHz unit with 512MB of memory and a 250GB hard drive for $2,699. Refurbished Mac minis include the 1.5GHz Intel Core Solo with 512MB of memory and a 60GB hard drive for $479; the 1.66GHz Intel Core Duo with 512MB of memory and an 80GB hard drive for $649; and the 1.66GHz Intel Core Duo with 1GB of memory and a 100GB hard drive for $779. The Apple Canada store is also offering refurbished items, such as the 2.0GHz Black MacBook with 512MB of memory and an 80GB hard drive for $1,429; the 17-inch 1.67GHz G4 PowerBook with 512MB of memory and a 100GB hard drive for $2,219; and the 17-inch 1.67GHz G4 PowerBook with 512MB of memory and a 120GB hard drive for $2,299.

Apple: new retail store elements coming

Apple tody said it will introduce new design features at its retail stores later this month. Senior Apple Retail VP Ron Johnson also said that Apple is now the nation's fastest growing retailer, averaging one new store opening every nine days, according to the San Francisco Business Times. The company's retail executive made his comments at the ThinkEquity Partners' investment conference Wednesday in San Francisco. "It's an upgrade," Johnson, senior vice president of retail at Apple told those conference attendees. According to the report, the new design features will draw from Apple's new Fifth Avenue store, which is open 24-7 and earlier this week welcomed its one-millionth visitor -- in under four months since the grand-opening on May 19th. Pre-announcing the grand-opening of yet-announced stores, Johnson said that the new elements will be unveiled on September 23 at new retail stores in Providence, Rhode Island and Columbia, Maryland. In addition, the executive said that Apple expects to open 40 stores annually for the foreseeable future.

NI unveils Battery 3, Absynth 4...

In addition to Komplete 2006 and FM8, Native Instruments (NI) today unveiled Battery 3 and Absynth 4. Battery 3 is a significant revision to the company's drum and percussion sampler that adds time-stretching as well as advanced loop capabilities. The update includes an integrated wave editor and a library of more than 100 drum kits of all styles and genres. Battery 3 is based on a new sampling engine that offers a "Beat Mode" for improved loop handling, and features "articulations" that support authentic real-time flams, drags, and rolls. The customizable cell matrix holds up to 128 sounds per kit, and color coded cells offers users an enhanced overview. An enhanced wave editor also offers direct "surgical" access to any individual sample on-the-fly. Both titles are slated for shipment in October for $220 (Battery 3) and $340 (Absynth 4).

NI debuts Komplete 2006, FM8 synth...

Native Instruments today announced Komplete 4, a new version of its powerful software for professional musicians and producers around the world and also debuted FM8 (pictured at right), an update to its software sythesizer. In addition to FM8, Komplete 4 incorporates the latest Absynth 4 and Battery 3, which add significant creative capabilities over their predecessors and offer increased integration with Native Instruments' host system KORE and its KoreSound format. The new Komplete package also includes Akoustik Piano, its grand-piano emulation that gives musicians and producers access to a comprehensive range of world-class, performance-ready piano sounds. Komplete 4 will be available in October 2006 for $1500/€1300. An update for owners of Komplete 3 will be available for $340/€300. Owners of KORE or two qualifying products will be able to purchase an upgrade to Komplete 4 for $1150/€1000.

PDFClerk 2.0 manipulates PDF docs

SintraWorks today released SPDFClerk 2.0.1, billed as a personal assistant for PDF documents. It allows users to join multiple PDF documents together, rearrange the page order, delete individual pages, impose multiple pages onto a sheet of paper and rotate pages on imposed sheets, allowing users to easily create books, booklets and magazines as well as easily print manuals, reports, essays, articles, etc., in a convenient and economic way. It also support languages that read from right to left like Arabic, Chinese and Hebrew. Version 2.0.1 adds extended page and imposition control, addition of blank pages, the ability to change and print page labels, import graphics, overlay text boxes, multiple objects on a page, layers, scaling and rotation of page objects, faster saving, new preference and document settings, and more. PDFClerk 2.0.1 is a Universal Binary and costs €25 or $32. A 14-day demo is available and it requires Mac OS X 10.4 or later. [Download - 578KB] [updated]

Impostrip coming to Intel Macs

Ultimate Technographics today announced the upcoming release of Impostrip 8.3, its imposition software rewritten to run natively on Intel-based Macs as a Universal Binary. Tests show that the Universal application is 2 to 3 times faster, according to the company, and the updated version is scheduled for release next month at Graph Expo in Chicago. Impostrip includes both a client and a server application, supporting unlimited clients which are designed to minimize network activity. The software allows inexperienced employees to output imposed jobs for proofing or final output without using the client application, and incorporates a basic template for "hot folder automation." Impostrip 8.3 is a free upgrade for Impostrip 8.x users on the Ultimate Support Plan (system requirements were unavailable).

Wrappers ships fire retardant sleeves

Wrappers today launched a fire retardant corduroy sleeve for MacBooks, as well as a new ID tag designed for its MacBook and MacBook Pro laptop sleeves. Wrapper's corduroy sleeves use fire retardant, and come with a cord available in five autumn colors which include "Tobacco," "Taupe," "Ivory," Terracotta," and "Raven." A chestnut-colored microfiber lining also helps remove fingerprints, according to Wrappers. The new ID tags are embroidered with up to three custom initials to create a unique sleeve, and are color coordinated to match Wrappers' sleeves. ID tags are available for £3, while matching sleeves are priced at £15 each. Fire retardant corduroy sleeves are priced from £16 for Apple's MacBook and MacBook Pro 15 and 17-inch models.

Sony, iRiver take on Apple

iRiver's S10 portable player measures 1.65 x 1.18 x 0.43-inches, nearly rivaling Apple's new iPod shuffle in size even as Sony challenges Apple's MacBook with its own budget notebook. Apple's undeniable success and high margins have long caught the attention of its competitors, with numerous products surfacing which present a striking resemblance to Apple's own products. Sony's VAIO N series laptop -- available in black, white, and brown -- is a "chic" notebook designed to work well with interior home design. Other large electronics manufacturers appeared to follow Apple's lead in late July by establishing their own chains of branded retail stores and kiosks, the success of which remains questionable due to existing distributors and retailers.

Red Lightning ships DV Monitor...

Red Lightning has released DV Monitor, a production softwarwe tool for professional and amateur videographers to view live video on your Macs. The Universal Binary application replaces the need for a high end field monitor, offering more capability at a fraction of the cost, according to the company. DV Monitor displays your live video at full resolution, 1:1 pixel accuracy to allow quick, exact focusing. It provides both High and Low level zebras in camera--accurate YUV color space, separately or in combination, with user adjustable thresholds. Like a camera's zebra system, DV Monitor can indicate potential overexposures as well as underexposures on the viewing screen. It is available now $130 (through Nov. 1 and $150 thereafter) and requires Mac OS X 10.4 and a FireWire-based DV camera.

Apps: Call of Duty 2, GimmeSomeTune

• Call of Duty 2 v1.3 (free update) will fully update any previous version of Call of Duty 2 to version 1.3. The recommended patch fixes some multiplayer game and level issues, raises the gamestate from 16k to 128k and addresses the PunkBuster GUID issue where players were not being assigned PunkBuster GUID's of exactly 32 characters. Aspyr recommends that any user modifications that have been installed to the Call of Duty 2 directory be removed before installing this patch and says that these modifications are not supported by Activision and may not be compatible with some of the new features that are included. [Download - 43MB]


• GimmeSomeTune v2.5 (donationware) is an extension to iTunes consisting of six main features, including atranslucent floating window with info about the currently playing tune, configurable hotkeys, cover art fetching from the internet, customization, automatic start/stop when iTunes is running, iChat support (can specify the Current iTunes Track status message), and a lyrics window. Version 2.5 adds iTunes 7 compatibility, improves album coverart-fetching, and adds a new uninstaller. [Download - 486KB]


• Dot Comments 1.0b1 (beta) allows all .Mac users to the comment system in Apple's .Mac servce--not just iWeb users. "For the very first time ever, all .mac subscribers -- not just those that use iWeb -- can make use of Apple's weblog commenting service." Dot Comments uses a .Mac username and password, and the URL to the weblog entry for which you want to activate comments. Dot Comments also includes a general tutorial for setting up .Mac commenting with the weblog editor of your choice. It requires Mac OS X 10.2 or later. [Download - 104KB]


• CDRevolution 1.0 ($20) is an easy-to-use CD copying tool for both audio and data CDs. The software features a clean and intuitive drag-and-drop interface to make copying CDs very simple. Audio CDs are copied using lossless audio with the same between-track gap lengths as the original. Data CDs are copied byte-by-byte for 1:1 accuracy. In addition, CDRevoluton can save to a CD image for burning at a later date. It requires Mac OS X 10.4 or later and is a Universal Binary. [Download - 345KB]


• Remote Buddy Preview 7 ($13) is a beta system utility that allows users to fully control their Mac using their Apple Remote, keyboard, a number of Bluetooth enabled mobile phones and other remote controls supported by Remote Buddy. Preview 7 supports a configurable menu structure and a new virtual "Hotkey Remote that offers control via a keyboard or a Bluetooth enabled mobile capable of emulating a keyboard. It also adds support for Airfoil and virtual desktop software. The price will be raised to $25 after the beta period. It requires Mac OS X 10.4.6 or later. [Download - 2.1MB]

Altec unveils computer speaker systems...

Altec Lansing today unveiled its FX4021 and FX5051 (site not updated) computer speaker systems. Both systems feature an isobaric subwoofer design for bass, while two FX satellites -- each featuring two active drivers -- handle the mids and highs. Both speaker systems come with a wireless remote, and are wall-mountable. The FX5051 is the first 5.1 speaker system to provide USB plug-and-play connectivity, according to Altec Lansing, with 5.1 channels of audio for Windows systems only and two-way satellites each boasting a 40mm midrange driver and an 18mm tweeter. The company notes that true 5.1 USB surround sound is unavailable on Mac systems, and that Mac OS X users should set the subwoofer to the 2/4 channel mode for 6-speaker stereo sound. Both systems are slated for shipment in the fall of 2006.

3ware Sidecar SATA II RAID storage

Applied Micro Circuits Corporation (AMCC) has announced the availability of the 3ware Sidecar SATA II desktop storage solution, providing robust hardware RAID data protection for the Power Mac G5. The 3ware Sidecar offers up to three terabytes (TB) in capacity and RAID 5 write speeds of up to 150MB per second. AMCC's 3ware StorSwitch architecture integrates custom-designed firmware, hardware and management software optimized for high bandwidth applications. The company says the solution offers up to six times the speed of FireWire and USB 2.0: the sleek 4-bay, external SATA desktop enclosure includes a two-meter external SATA Multi-lane cable and a 3ware PCI Express to SATA II RAID controller and RAID management software. The 3ware Sidecar RAID controller provides onboard processors to deliver true hardware RAID. The AMCC 3ware Sidecar will begin shipping later this month for $1,300 (no drives).

Seapine expands developer offerings

Seapine Software has unveiled TestTrack TCM and Surround SCM5 to assist companies with application lifecycle management efforts. TestTrack TCM is a scalable cross-platform client/server allowing quality assurance teams to plan, execute, and manage any testing process. Surround SCM5 is a software configuration management solution that combines user-definable workflows, custom metadata, and in-application programmable triggers. TestTrack TCM is slated for shipment this fall, and Surround SCM5 is due to ship in mid-October (pricing and system requirements were unavailable).

Lexmark ships 4x6-inch photo printer...

Lexmark has introduced the Lexmark P350 4 x 6-inch photo printer designed to produce borderless photos that print in as little as 75 seconds with up to 4,800 x 1,200 dpi resolution. The new model is the first to feature Lexmark's new Evercolor II pigmented ink system designed for use with the company's new PerfectFinish Photo Paper -- a micro-porous photo paper that quickly absorbs the inks. Lexmark's Evercolor II inks and PerfectFinish Photo Paper provide photos that last up to 100 years in a frame and up to 200 years in an album, according to Lexmark. The printer can operate as a standalone unit to view, edit, print, save, organize, and share digital photos without a connection to a computer. The Lexmark P350 is available for $100.

Briefly: 5G iPod firmware update; hymn

In brief: Apple has released a new firmware update for its fifth-generation iPods that adds support for gapless playback, faster scrolling with an alphabetical indication of the current selection, adjustable screen brightness, and games downloaded from the iTunes Music Store.... The hymn project has updated QTFairUse6 for iTunes 7, enabling the software to strip away Digital Rights Management (DRM) from songs.... One MacNN reader notes that Apple has removed short Pixar films from its UK iTunes Music Store, leaving only music videos for UK iTunes customers.... iFixit today posted a complete series of iPod disassembly guides for free online, and announced an iPod parts store with more than 100 parts and upgrades.... Ars Technica has posted an in-depth look at six various DJ applications with a wide range of prices.... Sony is challenging Apple's budget laptop offering with its new Sony VAIO N-series, a "chic" notebook meant to work well with interior home design.

Apple's "Showtime:" good enough...

Apple's special event yesterday fell mostly in-line with investor expectations, solidifying rumors of movie offerings via its iTunes Music Store and new iPod nanos. The company's move into the living room with its unexpected iTV set-top box device caught the attention of four industry analysts, all of whom see the move as positive for Apple in its strategy to enter the home entertainment market. American Technology Research analyst Shaw Wu believes the Cupertino-based company made less apparent material progress in key areas of battery life with regard to its video iPod and iPod nano, as well as higher resolution video and user interface elements to strengthen its iPod + iTunes position.

Anandtech builds 8-core Mac Pro

Apple's Mac Pro desktop workstations are compatible with the forthcoming quad-core Clovertown Xeon processors from Intel, according to a new report from Anandtech. The publication used engineering samples of the next-genration quad-core Xeon chip to see if they could build a 8-core Mac Pro (currently the Mac Pro uses two dual-core Woodcrest Xeons for a total of four cores): "Without a doubt Apple will release a quad-core version of the Mac Pro, either by the end of this year or early next year, but are users who buy the Mac Pro today missing out? While we're still a couple of months away from being able to test a retail Clovertown CPU in the Mac Pro, we wanted to see if the current engineering samples of the chip would work.... We ran a handful of stability tests on the Mac Pro equipped with two Clovertowns and didn't encounter any crashes with the processors, so it would seem that Clovertown will work in the Mac Pro's motherboard. We can't say with 100% certainty that you will be able to upgrade to Clovertown when it comes out, but so far the results are looking good."

Sonnet debuts Volta iPod battery...

Sonnet today introduced Volta for the video iPod, which extends video playback time up to 16 hours or music or music playback to up to 80 hours. Sonnet's Volta contains a rechargeable 2100 mAh Lithium-polymer battery, which the company says is "good for hundred of uses." Featuring a slim and sleek design, Volta's case is made from rugged aluminum with a glossy black finish. The iPod simply docks to Volta, which clips to the back of the iPod (a spacer pad is included for the slimmer iPod model). The combined unit stands for easy viewing and features four LEDs on the front to indicate charging status and remaining charge level. As a complete booster battery solution, Volta includes a charging cable that can be used with any computer, AC adapter, or car charger with USB port. Additionally, it comes with a detachable belt clip for easy portability.

Parliant lowers price on PhoneHerald

Parliant is now shipping its Mac-based PhoneHerald Broadcast Dialer with Interactive Voice Response (IVR) at a lower price. PhoneHerald shares the reliable telephony architecture of Parliant's flagship PhoneValet Message Center: it offers the productivity edge and convenience of automatic dialing, personalized message delivery and response collection for businesses and institutions of any size. PhoneHerald autodialer is a combination of a USB phone adapter hardware and software which runs on Apple's Mac OS X. PhoneHerald can be used for automated messaging applications, such as medical appointment reminders and confirmation or medication reminders; uniform, automated school attendance notification system; etc. PhoneHerald offers broadcast dialing to groups of people from a PhoneHerald-enabled Mac, delivery of automated and personalized messages, and use of the world-class text-to-speech engine with male and female voices. It is now priced at $500 USD for the first phone line -- including unlimited calls. Additional lines cost $400.

WiebeTech's dual-bay SilverSATA storage

WiebeTech today announced two new dual-bay versions of its SilverSATA product line. SilverSATA II FH features dual-FireWire 800 ports, a single FireWire 400 port and a USB port. Using the Oxford 924 chipset, the company said it offers the fastest FireWire transfer speeds available. SilverSATA II FH can be configured as either a hardware RAID 0 or JBOD. The SilverSATA II SJ features two independent eSATA connections for adding two fast mountable drive volumes to the user's computer. Each unit holds two 3.5-inch SATA drives for up to 1.5TB of storage using two 750GB drives. The trays are removable and interchangeable with other SilverSATA models. The SilverSATA Series also includes single-bay, 2-bay and 5-bay units with single eSATA connections. In addition, a 4-bay unit is available with four dedicated connections to a SATA host controller. The SilverSATA II SJ with eSATA connections is $250 (case-only), $515 (2x250GB), $922 (2x500GB), and $1580 (2x750GB), while the SilverSATA II FH with FireWire interface is $300 (case-only), $565 (2x250GB), $970 (2x500GB), and $1630 (2x750GB).

CS Odessa offers Visio file conversion...

CS Odessa today announced the launch of ConceptDraw Visio File Converter Web service, which is designed to simplify document exchange between Visio and other diagramming software packages. The free service converts files from Visio binary file format VSD into Visio XML files which then have a VDX extension. Users can send drawings as an email attachment to a designated service address at CS Odessa and automatically received the converted file via email (attachment) in either ZIP or SIT format. The company said that the conversion process takes less than 15 minutes. Since Visio documents often are of a large size it is possible to send them for conversion in a ZIP or SIT archive format. The service also allows users to send several documents in one attachment.

Skype offers video calls for Mac users

Skype has released the beta version of its popular communications software, Skype for Mac 2.0 beta, which gives any Mac user with an Internet connection the ability to make free video calls to anyone else on Skype regardless of whether they use the Windows or Mac platform, delivering cross platform support to its international community of more than 113 million users. Mac users can now enjoy one-on-one video calls, viewed within the Skype window or on the full computer screen. Skype video for Mac also includes a small window for users to view how they appear to the person they are calling. In order to make video calls Skype for Mac OS X 2.0 requires a Mac with Mac OS X v10.3.9 Panther or newer and a G4/G5/Intel-based Mac running at a minimum of 800MHz. In addition to the release of Skype for Mac OS X 2.0, Skype announced today the release of Skype for Mac OS X 1.5 Gold, a final version of its audio calling solution for Mac users.

Micromat offers Universal updates...

Micromat today announced the release of updates for both TechTool Protege, its bootable FireWire flash drive that contains both TechTool Pro 4 and DiskStudio as well as DiskStudio, its disk partitioning utility). These updates provide Universal Binary support for both products for native operation on both Intel or PowerPC-based Macs. According to the company, all of the features that were previously available for PowerPC-based Macs will now be available for Intel-based Macs as well. "Unlike most application software, utilities require more than a simple re-compile of the program to support the Intel-based Macs. Because utilities work with the computer hardware at the lowest levels, it was necessary for Micromat to completely re-engineer the software from the ground up," the company said. Users must be running Mac OS X 10.4 (Tiger) to run the Universal Binary version.