Briefly: Core 2 Duo-MacBook Pro update?

Briefly: MacBook Pro ship times on Monday slipped from 24 hours to 3 days at the Apple Store France (but not at the Apple Store US or other countries), lending a bit of evidence that Apple may finally release Core 2 Duo-based version of its laptop for professionals on Tuesday, October 24--slightly ahead of the rumored November launch, according to AppleInsider. ... MacNN has posted a review of Casio's Exilim EX-Z1000 digital camera (pictured at right).... Apple is warning users not to move, rename, or delete Backup 3 files, its free backup utility offered to .Mac users.... Apple notes that after installing the Mac OS X 10.4.8 update, some MacBook computers will have a new color profile that is more consistent with other MacBook and MacBook Pro computers but may appear to have a blue tint when compared to the previous profile.... iStrap.co.uk has recently launched three more colored iStraps--small velcro devices designed to fasten the Nike + iPod sensor to virtually any pair of running shoes--they are available in black, white, red and blue (as well as a multipack of all four) for GBP£2 (£6 for all four), including worldwide delivery.

Asia-Pacific Mac Union founded...

The Asia-Pacific Mac Union has announced its founding, which occurred at a meeting online hosted by BeiMac from Beijing. The union was founded by the BeiMac Union and MacZone.cn of mainland China, Headnix of Hong Kong, ApplePro of Taipei, and the Geraldton Macintosh User Group of Australia. Discussions by participants from Beijing, Shenzhen, Hong Kong and Australia held during the online meeting spoke of news and information exchange, annual meetings, a common newsletter, technical support, Union software, Union-wide design exchange, and the exchange of user group activity info as components of the new Union. David Feng, Director-General of the Union and President of the Beijing Macintosh User Group, hoped that the new Union would raise awareness for Apple in Asia-Pacific, making Asia-Pacific an important regional market.

INM Impressario 3 enhances printing

Integration New Media has released INM Impressario 3 for Adobe Director, an application designed for multimedia publishing in Director. INM Impressario 3 prints formatted text and images from any type of project without requiring programming skills, and allows for on-the-fly creation of PDFs. "By combining INM Impressario with INM VizionDB, multimedia authors can index, search, retrieve and display relevant information from a large number of PDFs to create searchable libraries such as educational reference, technical documentation and e-learning materials with precise schematics and symbols." The software behaves identically across all supported platforms, according to Integration New Media, and is a completely self-contained Xtra. INM Impressario 3 full for Adobe Director is available for $450, or $300 for the Light edition. The application requires Mac OS X 10.2.2 or later.

Briefly: MacNN review; $30k Apple logo

In brief: MacNN has reviewed the Huckleberry Mirror for iSight ($30, shown at right), a small mirror accessory that hangs on Apple's MacBook and MacBook Pro notebooks to reverse the direction of the built-in iSight.... One Microsoft employee has created a $30,000 Apple logo in his office in Redmond, WA with 64 Mac mini boxes taped to the wall in the shape of an Apple.... Apple is set to open its newest retail store in Chula Vista, CA on Friday, October 27th at 9:00 a.m. PDT.... Yahoo has cancelled its POP3 email service for Yahoo Webmail users, disallowing the use of external email clients such as Apple Mail and Eudora.... LG today debuted its L1900 fashion-oriented LCD with a glossy black finish that features a stand shaped as a partial eclipse, jar, or ring.... Reports are surfacing that Microsoft's Windows Vista operating system may have significant problems above and beyond typical first-release copies.

Mozilla.org releases Firefox 2.0 early

The final version of Mozilla Firefox 2.0 was slated for release on Tuesday, but appears to already be available for download via the company's servers (releases.mozilla.org). Firefox 2.0 Release Candidate 3 (RC3) -- which the Mozilla Foundation released last week -- did well among those users who downloaded and tested the software, according to the company. The final version of Firefox 2.0 was expected to be released on Tuesday, October 24th. Firefox 2.0 features built-in anti-phishing controls, built-in RSS and XML feed-viewing capabilities, and a new inline spell checker. Further Firefox 2.0 features include the ability to create bookmarks with "Live Titles" for websites that offer "microsummaries," a new Add-ons manager that simplifies management of extensions as well as themes, and support for JavaScript 1.7.

Altia releases PhotoProto for Photoshop

Altia has released PhotoProto, an Adobe Photoshop plug-in designed to automatically transform Photoshop artwork into working user interface prototypes. Artists can arrange and name layers in Photoshop artwork such that PhotoProto can determine their intent, after which the plug-in automatically turns the static images into a working interactive prototype. Users can push buttons, navigate screens, scroll through lists, and perform other interactive functions. The plug-in requires no scripting language or complex authoring environment knowledge, and the output is presentable engineers as well as programmers who can use it directly within the desired software. PhotoProto works with Mac OS X 10.4 or later as well as Microsoft Windows 2000/XP, and is priced at $500.

PowerMail 5.5 comes to Intel Macs...

CTM Development has released PowerMail 5.5, bringing native compatibility for Intel-based Macs to the anti-spam email software as a Universal Binary. PowerMail features enhanced filtering mechanisms which include a spam filter assistant and close integration of SpamSieve. The update includes the most recent Universal Binary version of SpamSieve, and Core searching includes the latest optimizations shared with FoxTrot 1.1 Personal Search. PowerMail 5.5 supports zip compression to replace the prior third-party solution, and can attach applications as well as other file packages to a message from the "add attachment" button or menu. The update is free for PowerMail 5 owners, e30 for PowerMail 3/4 owners or e45 with SpamSieve, and e50 for new users. PowerMail requires Mac OS X 10.3.9 or later.

Disco private beta released

DiscoApp.com today released a private beta of Disco, a utility designed to accomplish real burning tasks with minimal effort. The software features disc spanning, full multi-session support, and compatibility with multiple filesystems. Disco also offers one-to-one copies, VIDEO_TS burning capability, and motion sensor support. Disco features "Discography," a technology designed to track all burning sessions with support for searches to discover which disc specific files reside on. While burning discs the window displays 3D smoke to illustrate the burn process on supported systems. Users who pre-ordered Disco can obtain the free private beta, but the software is expected to ship in the first half of November for $15 (system requirements were unavailable).

Apple to showcase new iMac at Mac Expo

The Mac Expo 2006 event in London is set to begin on October 26th with new products and demonstrations, with MacNN UK contributor Dave Cryer reporting from the show. Apple is expected to show a strong presence at the event with a very large stand, offering UK users their first look at the new 24-inch iMac. UK-based Capital Radio said it will provide live podcasting of the event, and Nike intends to demonstrate its "Tune your run" feature along with hourly competitions and prizes. Companies registered to attend Mac Expo include Adobe, Canon, Filemaker, Griffin, Logitech, Pinnacle, and Quark, among others. Quark has promised to launch a new and innovative product at the event, but has so far remained tight-lipped about the announcement. Mac Expo is set to begin on Thursday, October 26th in the National Hall of Olympia, London and will run for three days. Registration is still open for £12 including VAT.

PDFKey Pro 3.0 locks PDF files

An avid Mac developer today released PDFKey Pro 3.0, a utility designed to unlock password-protected PDF documents. The latest revision adds the ability to lock PDF files by protecting them with passwords to control access and/or restrict usage permissions. The software removes editing and printing passwords by creating exact copies of PDF documents without the passwords, and removes viewing passwords if they are provided beforehand. The PDFKey Pro package includes batch processing tools for command line usage and Mac OS X Automator. PDFKey Pro is available for $20, and requires Mac OS X 10.3.9 or later.

Lexmark debuts color laser printers

Lexmark today unveiled its new Lexmark C530 color laser printer series, printing up to 22 pages per minute (ppm) in color and up to 24 pages per minute in black and white. The Lexmark C530dn and C532n offer the fastest rated color print speed, the best color price performance, and the fastest time to first color print from ready mode in their respective classes, according to the company. The Lexmark C530dn and Lexmark C532n are available for $500 each, while the Lexmark C532dn is priced at $700. The Lexmark C534n ($700), C534dn ($1,000) and C534dtn ($1,300) feature an extra-high yield 7,000 page color toner cartridge and a USB port that can print PDF as well as images directly from USB flash drives.

WiebeTech debuts v4 Combo Adapters

WiebeTech today introduced a series of v4 Combo Adapters to complement its new v4 ComboDock imager, completely redesigning the earlier series of adapters to make the new series sleeker and easier to use. Combo Adapters work with the WiebeTech ComboDock v4 or Forensic ComboDock, plugging into the IDE side of the device. Each adapter has a sled connector for attaching the required drive, and no driver software is needed for plug-and-play use on any recent operating system. Combo Adapters offer backup as well as forensic imaging software, and all data that transfers through a Combo Adapter is write-blocked when used with the Forensic ComboDock. A new shrouded IDE interface connector helps protect the IDE pins while connecting the adapter to the dock, which faces upward for better accessibility. Adapters share a smaller, more consistent size, and the SATA adapter is streamlined to 25 percent of its former size. Prices range from $50-750.

Small Tree ships GbE PCIe cards...

Small Tree Communications today began shipping its PEG4, PEG6, and PEG6SFP PCI Express Gigabit Ethernet (GbE) cards for Apple's G5 Power Mac, Mac Pro, and Intel-based Xserve systems. Small Tree boasts that all three cards offer the highest port density and extract the maximum network throughput from new high-end server motherboards. The cares are ideally suited for file servers that require high bandwidth connection to a Gigabit Ethernet switch using features such as Jumbo frames and 802.3ad link aggregation. The four-port copper PEG4 card, the six-port copper PEG6 card and the six-port copper or optical PEG6SFP card are available for $700, $810, and $1,000, respectively. Based on current Intel Gigabit Ethernet controllers, the PEG4, PEG6, and PEG6SFP come with native driver support for Mac OS X, Linux, and Windows.

Skype ships Skype for Mac 2.0 Gold...

Skype today announced a final version of its internet phone application for Mac users and a new Mac-compatible speaker phone system. Skype for Mac 2.0 Gold allows Mac users to make video and video calls over the internet--to both Mac and Windows users. Users can also call traditional mobile and land phones for reduced costs, according to the company. The free software supports group chats of up to 100 people. Users can also purchase optional services, such as a Skype phone number, voicemail, call-forwarding, and more. The software runs on Mac OS X 10.3.9 or later and requires a microphone. In support of today’s Mac announcement, Skype partner IPEVO has announced the release of the IPEVO Xing, a soon-to-be Skype Certified, Mac-compatible Speakerphone. It features 16kHz a sampling rate with high voice fidelity, echo-cancellation technology, built-in DSP for realtime interactive multiparty conversations, private input/output jacks, and more. The IPEVO Xing is available in the U.S. and internationally for $130.

Apple Europe sales grow 27 percent

Apple's European business was up 27 percent in the September quarter and its yearly sales was more than the combined total for 2002, 2003, and 2004. The Times reports that Apple Europe's sales of $4.1 billion (£2.2 billion) in the 12 months to the end of September was more than the combined total for its 2002, 2003 and 2004 financial years. "It's an indication of the exponential growth of this business," Pascal Cagni, the head of Apple Europe, told the publication. Last week, the company posted a profit of $546 million with record Mac sales, on surging laptop sales, a growing retail business, and "very, very strong" educational sales. As the company's iconic iPod turns five on Monday, its stock has been up almost nine-fold and its US marketshare has surged. The report notes that the company has tripled its European business in the past three years--in part due to the "halo" effect of the popular iPod. Cagni said sales of Macs were growing three or four times faster than the overall market and that the company is continuing to gain marketshare.

SnapWeb 4 adds file, Firefox support

Brain Tickling Software has released SnapWeb 4, an update to the internet snapshot and archiving utility that brings Universal Binary support for native performance on Intel-based Macs as well as a host of other improvements. SnapWeb creates complete screenshots of web pages for archiving purposes. Version 4 adds support for three new image formats (GIF, Photoshop file and TIFF) in addition to support for JPEG, PDF and PNG. It also now supports new text formats (including the ability to store Web pages as the original HTML), direct clipboard support, new support for fixed parameters when snapping photos, support for Firefox (as well as Safari), command-line support (Pro version only) and 12 new AppleScript commands for easier automation. Snapshot 4.0 runs on Mac OS X 10.4.3 or later; it is a free update to all purchases within the last three months and $9 for other registered users. The Standard version is $18, while the Professional version is $40.

Briefly: QT on Vista, Adobe/Apple tours

Briefly: A new email from Apple notes that it is actively soliciting feedback on the development of its QuickTime software for Windows Vista, Microsoft's next generation operating system expected to be released early next year.... Adobe has announced the five-city Adobe Creative Suite 2.3 Premium tour, a seminar series event that focuses on the new version of the design suite that now includes Adobe Acrobat 8 Professional software and Dreamweaver 8, the Web development tool.... Apple will be hosting a series of seminars for architects in early November at its Apple Stores across the country titled: Apple and Architecture: how does 'twice as fast' sound?"... Tricky Software has posted a promotional video for the game Armado, which is expected to go into private beta soon.... My Dream App, a Mac contest in search of the next "killer app," announced that Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, Apple evangelist Guy Kawasaki, and Microsoft Xbox and Zune creator J. Allard will be guest judges for the final round of its contest.