Briefly: Info-Mac back, 4D for Leopard

In brief: Info-Mac is coming back from the void, 4th Dimensions is officially Leopard-certified, a new hack allows the drum kit from "Rock Band" to be used with GarageBand, Iconfactory has a new set of stock icons, and a Time Machine eBook has made its debut ... The venerable but until-now defunct Info-Mac online Macintosh discussion community is making its triumphant return. Writes Richard Lawson for LowEndMac "Many Mac users have fond memories of Info-Mac. The archive contained nearly every essential piece of shareware and freeware for the Mac, and the digest kept thousands informed with tips and strategies on making the most of your Mac experience. At one point the archive was mirrored to over 100 sites." Dan Palka will oversee the launch, and he describes its new functions: "Users will be able to upload a wide range of files, and they can be up to 50 MB in size. The entire site itself is very clean, elegant, and loads fast. Info-Mac will also be publishing "approved" articles that are separate from the bustling forums"

4th Dimension 2004.7 Leopard-certified

4D Inc has announced the release of 4th Dimension 2004.7 -- an integrated software platform that simplifies the process of developing and deploying business applications -- which includes full 4D 2004 product line support for Mac OS X Leopard, as well as a number of bug fixes. Licensed 4D 2004 users can download this free update for Windows and Mac, along with a complete list of bug fixes, from the 4D web site.

Hack allows "Rock Band" drums to be used with GarageBand

Bill Pendry has posted a process for using the drum set included with Rock Band for the PlayStation 3 with Apple's GarageBand instead. He writes: "I was trying to hook my PS3 Rock Band drum kit up to my Mac, with the goal of using it as a MIDI controller for GarageBand. [...] I ended up choosing kick, snare, two toms and one cymbal, since the other cymbal I wanted was in a inactive area of the keyboard. I re-mapped the keys in GPC, switched back to GB and gave it a try. Success! Samples were triggered correctly, the fast key repeat rate didn’t cause any problems, and latency was basically nil."

Iconfactory Updates the Plateau Family of Stock Icons

Stockicons.com has released the latest collections in the Plateau family of royalty-free stock icons. Two add-on collections are now available as both classic bitmaps and scalable vector PDF files "Designed around a palette filled with bright and dynamic hues, Plateau is both fun and playful. The family's bold lines and chunky shapes bring a sense of visual excitement and uniqueness to any project. Plateau Database covers such concepts such as tables, scripts, records, administration and security." The collection is priced at $180.

Tiem Machine eBook debuts

"Take Control of Easy Backups in Leopard" is a new eBook that helps Leopard users set up, manage, and restore backups using a simple plan that includes archiving, a bootable duplicate, and offsite backups. It offers thorough, step-by-step instructions for Time Machine, along with details that aren't in Apple's documentation, and it covers alternatives for cases where Time Machine isn't the right solution. The book is available for $10 as a Web-based preview.