Apple updates refurb MacBooks, iPods

Apple has reduced its refurbished low end notebook deals to its White 1.83GHz MacBook with 512MB of memory, a 60GB hard drive, and a Combo drive for $949; its White 2.0GHz MacBook with 512MB of memory, a 60GB hard drive, and a SuperDrive for $1,099; and its Black 2.0GHz MacBook with 512MB of memory, an 80GB hard drive, and a SuperDrive for $1,299. The company's supply of refurbished 4GB iPod minis has also shrunk, consisting of just Silver, Blue, and Green models for $99 each. Apple's refurbished 6GB iPod mini is only available in Silver or Blue for $129 each. The Canada Apple Store is offering its refurbished 15-inch 1.67GHz G4 PowerBook (512MB of memory, 80GB hard drive) for $1,549, as well as 17-inch 1.67GHz PowerBooks with 512MB of memory and a 100GB or 120GB hard drive for $2,219 or $2,299, respectively.

Forums: MacBook Core 2 Duo, AppleCare

Forums roundup: Members are discussing the rumored release of MacBook updates featuring Core 2 Duo with a possible release date in November..... Others users discuss odd iSight problems occurring with iMac Core 2 Duos alongside reports of similar problems with Apple's lower end MacBooks.... Another user looks to members for advice when comparing two possible purchases: one a Black MacBook with a 24-inch iMac, the other a MacBook Pro with a 30-inch Cinema Display.... A disgruntled member shares his experience with a faulty iMac Core 2 Duo and his attempts to get AppleCare to replace it.... Meanwhile, another looks for help figuring out the erratic CPU overuse of his 15-inch PowerBook G4.

MacBU updates Office 2004, Messenger

Microsoft's Mac Business Unit (MacBU) today released updates to Office 2004 as well as Messenger for Mac, bringing enhanced security and stability. Macworld reports that The 11.3.0 update for Office 2004 for Mac contains fixes for vulnerabilities that could allow an attacker to overwrite the contents of a vulnerable Mac's memory with malicious code. The Messenger 6.0.1 update fixes a sign-in issue. The updates are freely available via download from Microsoft's Mac business site. Microsoft earlier today also confirmed a previous report claiming that it doesn't expect to ship Mac Office 2007 until the second half of 2007, saying that the next version of its flagship office suite will bring an enhanced look and feel to match Mac OS X's interface evolution, as well as native support for Intel-based Macs as a Universal Binary.

Studios may join iTunes after holidays...

Major Hollywood studios have been reluctant to follow Disney in offering full-length feature films via Apple's iTunes Music Store, but will likely serve up such movies within the next six months following the holiday shopping season. Such hesitation likely stems from fears of retaliation by major DVD retailers such as Wal-Mart and Target, both of which recently warned key Hollywood players about offering movies at lower prices than DVDs sold at brick-and-mortar outlets. Piper Jaffray senior analyst Gene Munster believes that copy protection may be contributing studio fears, as well as their desire to obtain a more flexible pricing model over Apple's standard pricing. "A couple of the studios indicated that they expect to have content on iTunes within six months, but it may require some tweaks to Apple's pricing guidelines to get them there," Munster said. "We would not expect additional studios to sign on with iTunes before the holidays, however, as most studios recognize that this change could disrupt their holiday business at retailers."

Album Cover Finder 5.0 released

Amphonic Designs today Album Cover Finder 5.0, adding a new search engine for finding artwork, artist, and album information-based on song titles. The update ensures that artist and album names are no longer needed to produce accurate search results, and each song title search returns up to four albums matching the artist as well as the song title. Every album comes with the artist name, album name, track listing, record label, and release date to ensure positive results. Users select the correct album allowing Album Cover Finder to add the artist, album, and artwork to the matching music files. The application is available for $9, and requires Mac OS X.

Bodelin launches ProScope HR

Bodelin Technologies has begun shipping its ProScope HR, a new high-resolution version of its ProScope hand-held microscope. The new device offers a 1.3 mega-pixel image and new included software for Mac as well as Windows to captures stills, video, and time-lapse imagery with a single click. Users can load the free software that comes bundled with the ProScope HR, negating the need to deal with a separate driver. Users can adjust resolution from 320x240 to 640x480 for live presentations, or 1280x1024 to capture high-resolution stills. The new microscope works with previous ProScope lenses, enabling current customers to simply upgrade to a new base. Bodelin also introduced a 400x lens to accompany the launch of its ProScope HR. The ProScope HR Base Unit is available for $240 without a lens, or with a 50x lens for $350. The new 400x lens is priced at $250.

World of Where comes to Intel Macs

Acqualia today released World of Where 3.7, an update to the geography learning software that adds native compatibility for Intel-based Macs as a Universal Binary, as well as the Cantons of Switzerland. World of Where is designed to teach the countries, cities, flags and physical features of the world. Users can quiz themselves with a built-in test, offering a map cleared of all location identities. Skipping a country or capital city whilst testing will reveal the country's position, highlighted in clear red. The software features fully integrated testing on North America, Central America, South America, the Caribbean, Europe, Africa, the Middle East, Asia, Oceana, and the Solar System. Tests also cover the United States, Australia, Canada, France, Italy, Spain, Germany, Norway, China, and Switzerland. World of Where is available for $12, and requires Mac OS X 10.2 or later.

PDFpen 3.0 expands image editing...

SmileOnMyMac has released PDFpen 3.0, the latest revision of its PDF editing tool for Mac users. The update enables users to modify original text using automatically generated text blocks. PDFpen 3.0 also features new image editing capabilities allowing users to move, resize, copy, and delete from the original PDF document. Other enhancements include increased speed and multiple column selection. The company also released PDFpenPro 3.0, adding all of the previously mentioned features as well as the ability to create fillable PDF forms and embed links. PDFpen is priced at $50, while PDFpenPro is available for $100. Upgrades from earlier versions of either application are available for $25, and are free to users who purchased their license after July 1st, 2006. Both versions require Mac OS X 10.2.5 or later.

Overflow 2.0 adds categories

Stunt Software today released Overflow 2.0, an update to the launcher utility for Mac OS X that introduces categories as well as full keyboard control. Overflow is an application designed to quickly launch applications, open documents, or access folders while keeping the size of the dock at a minimum. Users can bind a hotkey to bring up the main window, and can use the application entirely without the mouse. Overflow 2.0 enables users to open documents by dragging them onto stored applications or by moving items into folders stored in Overflow, and a new dock menu provides access to all items stored in Overflow. The interface is resizable and fully customizable, enabling users to create separate categories for dock items. The application is available for $15 to new users, and the update is free for existing license holders. Overflow 2.0 requires Mac OS X 10.3.9 or later, and runs natively on Intel-based Macs as a Universal Binary.

Red Giant updates video plug-ins

Red Giant Software today released free updates to its Magic Bullet Editors and Knoll Light Factory plug-ins for Final Cut Pro and Avid AVX software. Both plug-ins are compatible with PowerPC as well as Intel-based Macs, providing compatibility for Avid Xpress Pro 5.5 and Media Composer 2 customers using Mac OS X. The Avid updates are only for PowerPC-based systems, however, and a new update it scheduled when Avid releases new versions that offer compatibility with Intel-based Macs, according to Red Giant. Magic Bullet Editors is designed to provide video professionals with simple tools to transform the soap-opera look of video to the softer, more "organic" look of film. Knoll Light Factory digitally simulates light effects called flares -- which simulate reflections from a very bright light source as seen in a camera lens. Magic Bullet Editors 2.0 is available for $350, while Knoll Light Factory is available for $400.

Foxconn to produce Core 2 Duo MacBooks?

Foxconn Electronics -- the company responsible for manufacturing many of Apple's iPod digital media players in China -- has reportedly received MacBook orders from Apple, and will begin shipping the new laptops to the U.S. by the end of this year. Credit Lyonnais Securities Asia analyst Vincent Chen said in a report last week that Apple is expected to cut orders for MacBook production from Asustek Computer by as much as one-third in 2007 as compared to the amount it received this year, according to DigiTimes.com. The report fails to specify whether the Chinese manufacturer will roll out the consumer model 13-inch MacBook or the professional MacBook Pro, but industry watchers agree that Apple will roll out updated versions of both laptop models in time for the holiday shopping season.

Briefly: reviews; new Apple patents

In brief: MacNN has reviewed FileBrowse ($25) from R Green Blue, offering users a new way to browse the contents of folders and files.... MacNN has also reviewed Lexar's Professional 2GB 133X SD Card ($150, shown at right), a memory card designed for digital cameras offering increased speed and greater storage capacity.... The U.S. Patent & Trademark Office today published Apple's newly granted patents which include a "Method and apparatus rendering user accounts portable" and a "Cursor control device having an integral top member".... Apple has posted three new commercials as part of its "Get a Mac" ad campaign featuring "Counselor," "Better Results," and "Self Pity".... Despite Microsoft's hopes to ship Windows Vista to manufacturing customers by its scheduled October 25th date, the near final release is "not there yet," with users experiencing performance as well as visual problems coupled with a lack of SoundMAX integrated audio drivers.... Samsung has begun shipping its YP-T9 flash-based digital audio player in the U.S., but without Bluetooth functionality.

Creative Manager Pro 8.37 coming soon...

Creative Manager today announced that it will soon release Creative Manager Pro 8.37, updating its ad agency software and project management groupware for design firms. The upcoming released includes specific enhancements requested by large agency clients, such as the ability to automatically mass email AR invoices to customers with an option for the client to pay via credit card directly from the invoice, eliminating the need to hand mail invoices. Improvements to the Transaction Preference function enable users to sync vendor invoices from Strata and SmartPlus as "approved" or "not approved." Additionally, new upgrades offer logic to determine the outstanding open amount on a vendor invoice being applied to pre-billed orders when importing form Strata or SmartPlus. As always, the update is free for existing Creative Project Manager and Creative Manager Pro users, requiring no installation or conversion (system requirements were unavailable).

iMage USB Webcam for Mac now available

Ecamm Network and Pico Instruments Tuesday announced the new iMage USB Webcam for Mac. The lightweight, portable webcam delivers high-quality video to any popular Mac video application, including iChat AV, Yahoo! Messenger, Skype and Photo Booth. Employing USB video standards, the iMage webcam requires no device drivers to be installed prior to use with Mac OS X or Windows XP. Ecamm includes special iMage Plugin software to provide complete iChat compatibility. iMage requires no special fittings or attachments to be mounted above a notebook screen, sit on a desktop, attach magnetically or mount on a standard camera tripod, according to the company. The iMage USB Webcam is $60; for a limited time, Ecamm is including its Conference Recorder for iChat and Call Recorder for Skype software and is offering free shipping within the United States.

Google goes public with Mac commitment...

Google has gone public with its commitment to the Mac platform. The company today launched a new Google Mac Blog that outlines its continued support of the Mac platform. The internet giant, which yesterday acquired You Tube for $1.65 billion and continues to strike video content deals, said that it strongly supports the Mac platform with a variety of products and services as a part of its mission to "organize the world's information and make it universally accessible and useful." The first blog posting notes that the company currently offers a variety of Dashboard widgets for checking Gmail, posting to a blog, and checking user's search history as well as two ways to upload photos from your Mac to Picasa Web Albums. In addition, the blog points to the Google Notifier tool that alerts users to new Gmail messages and upcoming Google Calendar events--something available only to Mac users.

Dartware ships InterMapper 4.5

Dartware has released InterMapper 4.5, an update to its network monitoring and alerting software that helps network managers proactively maintain uptime, plan network expansion, troubleshoot problems, and document elements and connections. In addition to maps and charts, version 4.5 can track network performance status with a new List/Icon/Notifier view, color-based status badges, new device Info and network info windows, and a map slideshow. In addition, the release adds several new probes to its set of nearly 100 SNMP and server probes, including one for LDAP and LDAP-SSL, DNS, host resources (disk usage, etc.), the Subversion code system, and more wireless devices. InterMapper 4.5 also supports syslog, XML import, CSV export, enhanced trap processing, autosave, and more polling behaviors. Pricing starts at $500 for 25 devices, while RemoteAccess is an additional $300 and the Wireless Probe Pack is $175.

Apple offers PBS content on iTunes...

PBS today announced the launch of PBS content on the iTunes Store, offering documentary specials and episodes from popular PBS primetime and children's programming. The rebranded iTunes Store (previously iTunes Music Store) ships about one million video per week, according to the latest release. PBS Episodes will be priced from $1.99 each and immediately available for the following shows. The company said the lineup will include primetime shows such as Anitiques Roadshow; Nova; Now; and Scientific American Frontiers as well as PBS Kids and PBS Kids Go! shows such as: Arthur; Cyberchase; and Fetch!

Next Mac Office due in late 2007...

Microsoft doesn't expect to ship the next version of its flagship suite Office for the Mac until the second of half of 2007, confirming a report from last month. Code-named Office 12, the next version of its flagship office suite will bring an enhanced look and feel to match Mac OS X's interface evolution, and enhanced features as well as Universal Binary support for native performance on Intel-based Macs; however, Reuters reports that the company does not expect to ship the much-anticipated Universal update until eight months after the release of its Windows counterpart. Microsoft currently expects to ship the next version of Office 2007 for Windows in January, which could mean that Mac users would wait about three and half years since the last major update. Office 2004 for Mac was released in January of 2004.