Mariner Software launches Writerspub.com
Mariner Software, developers and publishers of professional and
personal software, has launched Writerspub.com, a web site designed
for writers of all types -- from novelists, screenwriters, short
story writers, to technical and casual writers -- to publicly share
and critique their work and the work of others.
Totally free, Writerspub.com is designed as an environment for the
writer to engage with one another. Those who are new to writing are
especially encouraged to participate, as it will allow them to
interconnect with both amateur and professional writers. With a
Writerspub.com account one can can upload a story or other written
work, create groups and write reviews. To encourage involvement,
Writerspub.com has a point-based reward system. The concept is simple
-- the more the writer reviews others work, posts comments, etc., the
more points are earned. After earning enough points, the writer will
be able to post his or her own stories for review.
There's also a Writers Forum...
SecureMac.com releases free iServices Trojan Removal Tool 1.1
Since SecureMac released its iWorkServices Trojan Removal Tool last
week, a new related trojan has been detected in the wild. As a
result, SecureMac has updated the tool, and renamed it iServices
Trojan Removal Tool. The tool is still free to download and use, and
now detects and removes the new variant distributed with pirated
versions of Adobe (ADBE) Photoshop CS 4 for Apple (AAPL) Mac OS X.
Pirated copies of Photoshop CS 4 are reported by Intego
(http://www.intego.com/news/ism0902.asp) to contain malware. On Jan.
16, a copy of Photoshop CS 4 containing the trojan variant was seeded
to a number of peer-2-peer networks. This trojan has been labeled
OSX.Trojan.iServices.B and is the second variant discovered in the
wild -- variant A was found earlier this month in pirated copies of
iWork 09.
Like its predecessor, variant B obtains root privileges, and notifies
the remote host of the infected computer's location on the Internet.
It is recommended users avoid downloading pirated...
Zevrix Solutions releases Instant Backup for on-line, local...
Zevrix Solutions has released Instant Backup 1.0, a solution to back
up selected files and folders on-line and locally. Instant Backup is
designed to back up the most important and sensitive active projects.
However, it's not a replacement for the complete backup systems, such
as Time Machine. It's for times such as when you prefer to have a
password protected copy of the project on an FTP site, in addition to
all your regular local backups. Or when you wish to back up more than
hourly.
Instant Backup allows you to specify various backup locations. You
can choose between an FTP or local disk backup location. Instant
Backup will create a compressed disk image (.dmg) for each file or
folder you drop on its icon. The disk image can be encrypted and
password protected.
You can choose to transfer all items to a default backup location
automatically, or to show the list of backup locations to choose
from. The number of previous backups to keep can also be specified.
Instant Backup 1.0 can...
Akvis Artwork 2.0 adds Comics painting style
Akvis has released Akvis Artwork 2.0, an update of the special effect
tool that applies different painting techniques to common digital
pictures. Available in Mac and PC versions stand-alone or as a
plug-in for Adobe Photoshop, it's designed to make digital photos
look as if they were real oil paintings.
Version 2.0 converts photos into oil paintings and presents a new
painting style -- Comics. Creating an oil portrait or a comic strip
from the last party is just a few clicks away. AKVIS offers a
temporary discount to the Business License that allows using the
software for commercial purposes.
ArtWork allows creating an oil portrait, a landscape painting or a
still life picture in a fully automatic or assisted mode. You can use
the software to create paintings out of pictures taken with any kind
of digital cameras, including digital SLRs and compacts. ArtWork
applies sophisticated image transformation algorithms to produce
realistic results coming very close to hand-painted works,...
Native Instruments introduces Acoustic Refractions
Native Instruments has introduced US$79 Acoustic Refractions
(http://www.native-instruments.com/acousticrefractions.info), a new
Kore SoundPack that combines organic and synthetic qualities. Based
on unusual acoustic sample material and brought to life through sound
programming, this new library for Kore 2 and the free Kore Player
provides charismatic, highly original instruments for any musical
project that benefits from weird and wonderful tones and textures,
according to the folks at Native Instruments.
Acoustic Refractions was created in collaboration with prolific sound
design artist Jeremiah Savage, who recorded an assortment of unusual
acoustic samples from "everyday objects" as the starting point. The
sonic raw material at the heart of this Kore SoundPack comes from
items such as light bulbs, blocks of ice, washing machines, spray
cans, shredded paper, water, glass and stones, and even the Golden
Gate Bridge. This source material is processed through the Kontakt
sample engine...
Mark/Space releases Fliq Tasks for iPhone, iPod touch
Mark/Space, a provider of award-winning synchronization and
productivity software, has released Fliq Tasks
(http://www.markspace.com/products/fliq/index.html) for the iPhone
and iPod touch. It's an application that lets users create, edit,
categorize, prioritize, sort, search and share their tasks and to do
lists on the Apple devices.
Fliq Tasks makes it possible to do more with tasks and to do items,
such as sharing them over a Wi-Fi network with other iPhone and iPod
touch users, and with Mac and PC Windows users, too. It's available
for free at the Apple App Store.
According the folks at Mark/Space, with Fliq Tasks there's no need to
hassle with difficult software and network configurations for
creating, updating and sharing tasks and checklists with co-workers,
classmates friends and family. Fliq Tasks is the latest release in
the line of Fliq networking and productivity applications.
MINI Liquid Assets released for iPhone, iPod touch
MINI Financial Services has launched MINI Liquid Assets, a game for
the iPhone and iPod touch. It's available for free at the Apple App
Store.
Here's how the game is described: "MINI Liquid Assets is a fun,
interactive game modeled after the traditional encased water jet
games we all played as children, infused with the MINI brand and
intuitive controls that take full advantage of the advanced
capabilities of the iPhone and iPod touch user interface.
"Manipulating the face buttons on either side of the screen, players
use streams of water -- fully accompanied by bubble sound effects and
music -- to avoid obstacles and guide their precious coins into the
safety and comfort of their beloved MINIs. Whether avoiding sharks
in the fish tank-themed level "Don't Feed the MINI" or aliens in the
Area 51-themed level 'Restricted,' MINI Liquid Assets offers
easy-to-pick-up gaming with three difficulty settings: Easy, Medium
and OMG."
The game features the full model line of MINI vehicles...
Divine Fiat releases the Keynote Air Theme Set
Divine Fiat (http://www.divinefiat.com) has released Keynote Air,
their latest theme set for Apple's Keynote presentation software.
Keynote Air consists of two themes, Lightly Serious and Seriously
Light.
Each theme features four slides of extras. Resizable media
placeholders predefined in the 1:1, 3:1 and 16:9 aspect ratios along
with custom shadow elements that allow you to create your own master
slide layouts. A video tutorial is also included which shows you how
to achieve several of the effects seen in the sample presentation.
The individual themes can be purchased for US$26 each. The Keynote
Air Theme Set can be purchased for $46.80.
EastWest releases Chris Hein Horns Vol. 2.
EastWest (http://www.soundsonline.com), the exclusive US distributor
of Best Service products, has released latest collection by leading
producer Chris Hein, Chris Hein Horns Vol. 2 -- Section Horns. The
new library looks to expand on the previous solo collections and
offers 10 section combinations in addition to 17 solo instruments.
With more than 34,000 samples of alto saxophone, tenor saxophone,
baritone saxophone, trumpet, tenor trombone, and bass trombone, the
instruments of Vol. 2 are equipped with the right size of clarity to
produce brass sections for a small funk group or a complete band,
according to the folks at EastWest. The interface allows for all
instruments to be combined into small or large sections.
Chris Hein Horns Vol. 2 features different legato and play mode
features to allow for realistic note transitions. The collection
offers key-vibrato, hotkeys and the new key-switch concept. In
addition to the regular effect selection, Hein along with Sonic-Lab,
the...
iLife '09 Shipping January 27
Apple today announced that iLife '09 will be available tomorrow,
January 27, and features major upgrades to iPhoto, iMovie and
GarageBand, with breakthrough new ways to organize and manage photos,
create movies and learn to play music. iLife '09 is included with
every new Mac and is available as a $79 upgrade for existing users
through the Apple Store (www.apple.com), Apple's retail stores and
Apple Authorized Resellers.
iPhoto '09 builds on the ability to automatically organize photos
into Events by adding Faces and Places as innovative new ways to
easily organize and manage your photos using face detection, face
recognition and GPS geo-tagging technologies.
iMovie '09 expands on the revolutionary super fast movie creation
introduced in iMovie '08 by adding the depth users want through
powerful easy-to-use new features such as the incredible new
Precision Editor, video stabilization, advanced drag and drop, and
animated travel maps.
GarageBand '09 introduces a whole new way to help...
Happy 25th Birthday Mac
The team from MacTech Magazine ... the second oldest publication for the
Mac ... would like to wish Mac a happy 25th birthday.
Few things can sum up Macs 25 years best than to see both the Mac's
introduction at Flint Center, or the famous Ridley Scott commercial, both
of which are shown at:
(http://apple20.blogs.fortune.cnn.com/2009/01/24/25th-anniversary-video-s...)
Happy Birthday Mac.
Markzware releases InDesign to QuarkXPress (ID2Q v4)
Markzware (http://www.markzware.com), the leading developer of
preflighting, data extraction and conversion software, today released
an upgrade to its highly recommended InDesign-to-QuarkXPress
conversion tool. ID2Q v4 (http://www.markzware.com/id2q/) is created
to provide a quick, easy, and affordable method for migrating Adobe
InDesign content into a new QuarkXPress document. This new version
will convert Adobe InDesign documents up to Adobe CS 4 to QuarkXPress
7 or 8.
ID2Q reduces the barriers of entry to move data between formats.
Intricate details of the content within an InDesign document are
instantly re-created in QuarkXPress. The ID2Q document conversion
technology saves countless hours of scanning, re-keying and
formatting. This product converts and transforms files created with
InDesign on either the Microsoft Windows or Mac OS X, into a new
QuarkXPress file. This new file can then be opened on either platform
which achieves a goal of allowing interoperability between the...
Adobe releases InDesign CS4 Server
Adobe has announced the immediate availability of
Adobe InDesign CS4 Server, a scalable engine that
offers the ability to automate the design, layout
and typographical capabilities of Adobe InDesign
CS4. With InDesign CS4 Server, developers and
system integrators can create automated
publishing solutions for a variety of markets
including enterprise, finance, graphic design,
government, newspaper, pharmaceutical, print and
retail.
New features and functionality in InDesign Server CS4 include:
° InDesign Markup Language (IDML), performance
monitoring tools and dynamic content creation;
° Integration with new Adobe technologies,
including Adobe Flex 3 and Adobe AIR, which
enable developers to create online and offline
rich Internet applications.
"Beyond the core creative design, printing, and
publishing markets, Adobe InDesign CS4 Server is
well-suited for new markets like enterprise
segments," says Karen Lelieveld, marketing and
sales manager at Sabern. "Sabern has a proven
track...
Default Folder X updated to Version 4.1.1
St. Clair Software (http://www.stclairsoft.com) has released Default
Folder X 4.1.1. This release improves the compatibility and stability
of our award-winning utility for enhancing Open and Save dialogs.
Default Folder X 4.1.1 is a free update that improves compatibility
with Firefox and Hazel. It also resolves problems that users have
reported recently, including Default Folder X quitting unexpectedly
when you restart or shut down your Mac, repeated error messages in
the Console, and delays when logging in.
Default Folder X 4.1.1 is a free update for existing users who
purchased a license or upgrade on or after June 1, 2007. The upgrade
is $14.95 for users who bought their copies before that date. Default
Folder X costs $34.95 for a new license. Installers are available
now in English and German and will be released shortly in Japanese,
French, and Danish.
Chronos releases Winter Artwork Kit
Chronos has released a free Winter Artwork Kit (an US$15 value) for
use with its SOHO Labels 4 product. This collection of searchable
artwork is designed for creating custom winter-time labels,
envelopes, cards, letters, and more.
The kit features 20 images that can be searched by title, tag, and
color information. The kit includes a border, embellishments,
background papers, word art, a frame, tags, and more. The Winter
Artwork Kit can be downloaded at the Chronos Web site
(http://www.chronosnet.com). The kit requires SOHO Labels version 4.
SecureMac releases iWorkServices Trojan Removal Tool
SecureMac has released iWorkServices Trojan Removal Tool, a free
utility created to remove the iWorkServices Trojan from infected Macs
running OS X.
This tool is in response to a new trojan horse in the wild that
comes bundled with pirated copies of Apple's iWork 09. Intego
recommends "users [do not] download iWork 09 installers from sites
offering pirated software (As of 6 am EST, at least 20,000 people
ha[d] downloaded this installer)."
When infected copies of the iWork 09 installer are run, they install
a hidden trojan program called iWorkServices with full access rights
to the target computer. Once the trojan is installed, it will
attempt to connect to a remote server and provide the server with
the infected computer's network location. It then listens for
further instructions from the remote server, which may include
instructions to download additional components.
Users who feel they might be infected can use SecureMac's free
removal tool to remove the trojan horse. The...
MetaSAN compatibility announced for Enhance iSCSI &...
Enhance Technology (http://www.enhance-tech.com), which makes and
implements hybrid input/output technology in the storage subsystems,
has announced MetaSAN compatibiity with its iSCSI and Fibre SAN
arrays.
With Tiger Technology's metaSAN metaSAN, users can manage accesses to
their shared storage the same way they normally would for any other
local drive. Using metaSAN, video and film editors, digital artists,
healthcare specialists, and corporate users can simultaneously access
a common pool of data files such as video clips, databases, or
medical archives as easily and transparently as if the content was
stored on their local drive.
Both the UltraStor RS8/RS16 iSCSI & Fibre Series were fully tested
with metaSAN SAN Management Software and the results were impressive
revealing the improved performance with SAN. MetaSAN 3.2 includes
support for Mac OS X and Windows Server 2008.
MaBaSoft releases Currency Assistant 3.0 for Mac OS X
MaBaSoft has released version 3.0 of Currency Assistant for Mac OS X
(formerly known as Euro Assistant Pro). The new version of the
conversion calculator
(http://www.mabasoft.net/products/currencyAssistant.html) has been
completely rewritten as a Universal Cocoa application, sports a fully
revised interface and introduces several new features.
Currency Assistant lets you convert between 174 world currencies (all
major circulating currencies plus the 16 Eurozone legacy currencies)
and automatically updates exchange rates over the Internet using the
rates published by the European Central Bank, the Bank of Canada, the
International Monetary Fund, and the Bank of Italy.
With Currency Assistant you can create multiple converters and manage
currencies, import and convert series of amounts, calculate
andconvert the result of expressions, and quickly log, save, export,
andprint your conversions.
Currency Assistant is Universal Binary and runs in English,
German,French, Dutch, and Italian. It...
OpenEdit DAM gets update
OpenEdit has updated its open source digital
asset management solution, OpenEdit DAM, to
version 5.2014. OpenEdit DAM can be downloaded at
http://www.openeditdam.com/dam/download/index.html.
Version 5.2014 offers improvements and new
features to the already fully functioning
OpenEdit Digital Asset Management. Also, the
Product Details page has been completely upgraded
since the last release and now includes:
° Related Products -- Metadata associated with an
original asset is now attached to the related
version. When editing the original asset, you now
have the option of updating all of the related
assets as well. All related products can now be
viewed from the product details page.
° Product versioning -- when uploading an updated
asset OpenEdit will track all previous versions
of the image.
° Improved media previews -- OpenEdit has updated
the video and audio embedded previews to better
support more browsers and file types.
° Improved security -- the update closes a
vulnerability...
Seagate reported potential firmware issue in limited number of
Seagate has isolated a potential firmware issue in limited number of
Barracuda 7200.11 hard drives and related SATA drives based on this
product platform, manufactured through December 2008. In some unique
circumstances, the data on the hard drives may become inaccessible to
the user when the host system is powered on.
Seagate has issued this statement: "While we believe that the vast
majority of customers will not experience any disruption related to
this issue, as part of our commitment to customer satisfaction,
Seagate is offering a free firmware upgrade to proactively address
those with potentially affected products. This new firmware upgrade
corrects compatibility issues that occurred with the firmware
download provided on our support web site on Jan. 16. We regret any
inconvenience that the firmware issues have caused our customers."
To determine whether your product is affected, visit the Seagate
Support web site at
http://seagate.custkb.com/seagate/crm/selfservice/news.jsp?...
Intego reports new Trojan horse
Intego (http://www.intego.com) says it's discovered a new Trojan
horse, OSX.Trojan.iServices.A, which copies of Apple's iWork 09 found
on BitTorrent trackers and other sites containing links to pirated
software. The version of iWork 09, Apple's productivity suite, are
complete and functional, but the installer contains an additional
package called iWorkServices.pkg.
When installing iWork 09, the iWorkServices package is installed. The
installer for the Trojan horse is launched as soon as a user begins
the installation of iWork, following the installer's request of an
administrator password (in older versions of Mac OS X, 10.5.1 or
earlier, there will be no password request). This software is
installed as a startup item (in
/System/Library/StartupItems/iWorkServices, a location reserved
normally for Apple startup items), where it has read-write-execute
permissions for root.
Intego says the malicious software connects to a remote server over
the Internet; this means that a malicious...
Zevrix Solutions releases InPreflight 2.6.3 for Adobe InDesign
Zevrix Solutions (http://www.zevrix.com) has released InPreflight
2.6.3, a maintenance update to its quality control, packaging
automation and reporting solution for Adobe InDesign. InPreflight
quickly gathers extensive information about document fonts, colors
and links and lets users instantly locate potential problems
according to preflight presets. InPreflight is also a powerful
packaging automation solution which allows users to preflight and
package multiple documents.
Among other abilities, InPreflight can collect all files into one
folder, eliminating the need to collect the same links multiple times
for each design. This is especially useful when collecting multiple
InDesign files that share the same linked images. The savings can
result in gigabytes of saved space and hours of production time.
The new maintenance update addresses issues that came to light
following the release of version 2.6. It restores the ability to
include external files and folders which are not related...
TextExpander updates Internet Productivity snippets with support
SmileOnMyMac has released an update for the Internet Productivity
snippet group in TextExpander, its customizable typing shortcut tool
for Mac OS X. With TextExpander, users can define abbreviations for
frequently-used text strings and images, also known as snippets.
When an abbreviation is typed, it expands automatically to the full
snippet. The Internet Productivity snippet group offers predefined
snippets that work with the URL shortening services via AppleScript
to automatically shorten URLs copied to the Clipbard. A snippet for
the shortening service is.gd has been added in this update, joining
TinyURL, tr.im, and bit.ly snippets.
Each of the Internet Productivity snippets, which use AppleScript,
has its own assigned abbreviation, e.g. /tinyurl, /bitly. The user
copies the long URL to the Clipboard, and then types the
corresponding abbreviation for the desired URL shortener. The
shortened link is automatically inserted.
All the Internet Productivity snippets have been updated to...
An Event Apart launches new web site
An Event Apart, the educational two-day conference for people who
make web sites, has launched a newly designed and developed web site
(http://aneventapart.com) to communicate 2009 speakers and locations.
The site sports a redesign created by Jeffrey Zeldman and coded by
Eric Meyer. It features the speakers, locale, pricing, and content
for all four An Event Apart (AEA) 2009 conferences. The new site
answers the need in 2009 to provide plenty of information about An
Event Apart, as decisions about conference-going are being made in a
financially and psychologically constricted environment, says says
Jeffrey Zeldman, co-founder of An Event Apart.
The main ingredient in the look of the new site was to paint an
event-focused picture, he adds. The site features access to each of
the four cities in which An Event Apart takes place this year,
allowing users to focus on each city's speaker list and registration
information. 2009 events will be held in Seattle, Boston, Chicago,
and San...
Mireth Technology adds support for DOE compliant erasing to
Mireth Technology has released version 5.8.4 of ShredIt X
(http://www.mireth.com/shredit.html), its file shredder and hard
drive cleaner software for Mac OS X. Version 5.8.4 adds support for
DOE standard compliance. With the addition of the Department of
Energy standard, ShredIt X now provides support for the four most
prominent security standards - Department of Defense 5220 standard,
NSA standard, DoE standard and Gutmann standard.
ShredIt is privacy software for Mac OS X that erases data so it can't
be recovered. It can be used to erase files, folders, disk free
space, previously deleted files, hard drives, external drives,
network drives and CD-RWs. ShredIt comes with a wide range of
features, including built in safety features along with advanced
shredding features such as, government standards compliance and a
configurable overwrite pattern.
ShredIt X is available for immediate download, or on CD-ROM, starting
at $24.95. Registered users of previous versions of ShredIt X can...
Registration open for spring WebObjects Development Course
Ubermind will be holding its Spring WebObjects Development Course
(http://www.ubermind.com/training/webobjects.php) from March 23-27.
This five-day course offers an intensive look into designing,
building, and deploying web applications using Apple's WebObjects
technology.
The course promises "real-world training in creating and deploying
enterprise WebObjects applications." The goal is to "enable students
to write a fully-functional WebObjects application."
To participate you'll need 3-5 months of Java programming and
familiarity with databases and HTML. The course cost is US$2,495.
Bluelounge releases Sanctuary in new dark wood color
Bluelounge (http://www.bluelounge.com) has released The Sanctuary, an
integrated chagring station, in a new dark wood color. In addition to
charging electronic devices, Bluelounge's warm design provides a
haven for credit cards, wallets, money clips, loose change, keys and
other personal items.
The new Dark Wood Sanctuary features an exclusive PU leather inner
tray and retails for $149.95 US Dollars. It is available immediately
at the Bluelounge web site.
With The Sanctuary, users can now charge their cell phone, iPod, PDA
and headset simultaneously in one location. It contains a universal
cell-phone charger compatible with over 1,500 electronic devices from
over 35 brands and hundreds more via a USB port.
The Sanctuary is made from injection molded ABS, which is then coated
for a high-end gloss finish. The inner tray is finished with flocking
in black and tan (reversible) and the base is manufactured with a
flat injection molded rubber plate.
Extensis presents 'Digital Asset Management Forum for Higher
Extensis, a division of Celartem, has announced
its "Digital Asset Management Forum for Higher
Education" event to be held at Harvard University
on Thursday, Feb. 19. This is a one-day
conference hosted by Radcliffe Institute for
Advanced Study, Harvard University and Extensis
focusing on digital asset management strategies
and solutions.
At this event attendees will:
° Learn how Yale University creates catalogs
using images, PDFs, audio and video files for
student review and course work.
° See how Yale improves student visual literacy
and enhances teaching through digital asset
catalogs.
° Hear DAM best practices for higher education using Portfolio Server 8.5.
° Participate in roundtable and workflow
discussions while networking with your peers. The
Digital Asset Management Forum for Higher
Education is presented by Extensis and will
feature Pamela Patterson of Yale University
presenting "Utilizing Image Catalogs for Student
Review and Course Work." Lunch will be provided
for...
Elgato, Hauppauge enable HDTV recording for the Mac
Elgato (http://www.elgato.com) and Hauppauge Digital have teamed up
to bring high definition TV recording using H.264 to the Mac. Using
the Hauppauge HD PVR USB 2.0 personal video recorder and the latest
version (3.1) of Elgato's EyeTV 3 software, users can watch and
record HDTV from a cable or satellite set top box and create TV and
movie libraries on their Mac using high definition H.264 encoding.
HD PVR is the world's first consumer device for recording video from
high definition cable TV and satellite set top boxes in resolutions
up to 1080i. HD PVR compresses the recordings using high definition
H.264 in real-time. It offers component video (YCrCb) inputs and
records video at data rates from 1Mbit/second to 13.5Mbit/second.
Audio is recorded using AAC or Dolby Digital from optical SPDIF.
Audio and component video can be looped through so users can record
and watch HD at the same time.
EyeTV turns Macs into both a TV and a Digital Video Recorder (DVR).
Users can watch, record,...
Craft Animations extends Craft Director Tools to Cinema 4D
Craft Animations (http://www.craftanimations.com)
has announced versions of its Craft Director
Tools. Created to introduce users of Maxon's
Cinema 4D software. Craft's newest FreeWare
additions to Craft Director Tools include:
° Craft Camera Tools, which provide users with
real-time camera control for immediate cinematic
results.
° Craft Vehicles, which allow artists to create
simulations for in-motion vehicles.
° Craft Accessories, which add the finishing
touches to action-packed productions by
simulating and animating props such as missiles,
trailers, cog wheels and other moving parts.
° Craft Freeware, which offers a free-to-use
extended toolbox for Craft Director Tools
allowing real-time recording, interaction and
depth orientation.
Craft Director Tools for Cinema 4D are available
now and are individually priced between US129 and
$1,199. Mac and Windows versions of Craft
Director Tools are compatible with Cinema 4D R10,
R10.5 and R11. Craft Director Tools are also
available for...
Font management comes to Canto Cumulus
Canto partner Moksa, has announced Typetrax, software that links
Canto Cumulus (http://www.canto.com) with Insider Software's
FontAgent Pro for users of Adobe's InDesign and Illustrator. Typetrax
enables Cumulus-based creative groups to see and manage the fonts
used in their InDesign and Illustrator documents, right from within
Cumulus.
TypeTrax adds the missing link to digital design projects. Fully
integrated with Canto Cumulus, a leader in digital asset management,
TypeTrax allows a user to simply drag a document into Canto Cumulus
and TypeTrax automatically detects and displays the project's font
resources in WYSIWYG mode.
TypeTrax also provides full access to font metadata with just a few
clicks. In addition, native fonts and associated font data can be
viewed from within Cumulus. When a user checks out an InDesign
document, Cumulus and TypeTrax automatically preflight it to ensure
inclusion of the fonts, images and all associated resources files
that are needed to properly...
Midway to release five new games for iPhone, iPod touch later
Midway (http://www.midway.com) has announced that five games from the
TouchMaster series will soon be available for download from the Apple
App Store for play on the iPhone and iPod touch. TouchMaster
favorites Prismatix, Dice King, Combo 11, Carpet and Spellwinder are
expected to be available by the end of this month for US$0.99 each --
or in a TouchMaster Volume 1 bundle of all five for $3.99.
The titles will be fully localized in English, French, Italian,
German and Spanish. Here's how teh games are described:
"Spellwinder: This is a word search game with a twist. Only adjacent
letters can be used to create a word. Make words in any direction
without using the same letter twice.
"Dice King: This dice swapping puzzle is super addicting! Swap two
adjacent dice to form matching combinations of three or more dice.
Attempt to form the listed combinations displayed on the top portion
of the screen and watch your score rise.
"Prismatix: Prismatix is an easy to play hexagonal matching game...
Mellel for Mac OS X adds QuickLook support, Spread View, more
Redlex has released version 2.6 of Mellel
(http://www.mellel.com/), its word processor. The
company describes it as a "major update."
"With Mac OS X 10.5 Apple introduced a wonderful
new feature called QuickLook, which allow you to
peep into documents without opening them," says
Eyal Redler, RedleX's CTO. "The default for word
processor documents, however, was only so-so: the
document was not divided into pages, elements
like footnotes were missing or misplaced, images
were not placed correctly or, in short, it did
not look like a PDF. We wanted our QuickLook
previews to look like a PDF."
A Mellel document viewed with QuickView look
exactly like they would look in Mellel or in
print, he adds. In addition, to save time waiting
for the full preview, you can set in the
preferences the number of pages you wish to
preview.
Another new feature in Mellel 2.6 is the new
"Spread View." Mellel now support viewing
documents in single page view, two page view,
four page view and 'spread' (facing...
Gefen updates HDMI 1.3 splitter
Gefen (http://www.gefen.com) has released the HDMI 1.3 splitter. For
home theaters using both a mounted flat panel and drop down screen,
or any multiple display application, the Gefen 1:2 Splitter for HDMI
v1.3 offers ay method of viewing the same HD source on two displays
or a display/projector combination.
The unit supplies one HDMI input that supports all versions of the
HDMI interface. Two HDMI outputs connect direct to the two displays
or projectors for delivery of high definition video with deep color
and support for DTS Master Audio and Dolby TrueHD.
Resolutions up to 1080p full HD with HDCP compliance may be viewed on
both displays simultaneously, and the Gefen splitter works with all
of today's Blu-ray players, gaming systems and set-top boxes using
the HDMI format. For optimal performance, both displays should be set
to the same high definition resolutions.
To distribute both audio and video to more than two displays, Gefen's
1:2 Splitter for HDMI v1.3 can be cascaded to...
Weyland Training offers Advanced Final Cut Pro class
Weyland Training International (http://www.weynand.com) is offering
an Advanced Final Cut Pro class this coming weekend (Jan. 23-25). It
will be taught by Michael Wohl, author of the "Apple Pro Training
Series: Final Cut Pro -- Beyond The Basics" and "Color" books.
If you sign up by Jan. 21, you can save US$50. Call 818-995-1719 to register.
The two day Color class (Jan. 31 and Feb. 1) will introduce
participants to the new color grading program from Apple. The course
will start with the basics of color balancing and correction, and
move on to the fine points of secondary grading, including scene
matching, creating advanced color effects and "looks," including skin
tones, adjusting the composition and framing of a shot, and much more.
The three-day course Advanced Final Cut Pro Class (Level 300)
provides professional techniques for cutting dialogue scenes, action
scenes, multi-camera projects, scene by scene color correction, and
more. The class also covers Soundtrack Pro, audio...
iSobre announces new laptop sleeves, iPhone cases
The Spanish company iSobre (http://www.isobre.com), has unveiled new
sleeves for MacBooks and iPhones. The company has not only
re-designed the Manila Mac case, but has also expanded its line to
include six laptop sleeves and five iPhone cases.
The new iSobre collection is designed to fit all Apple notebooks (the
MacBook Air, MacBook and 15-inch MacBook Pro) in three different
styles: Vintage (the original iSobre sleeve made out of cowhide);
Urban (a new white leather sleeve) with three different finishes
(blue, fuchsia and green) ; and Minimal (which is black leather with
green nubuck leather inside), adding extra security and padding. At
the same time, iSobre launches a set of iPhone cases in the same
styles as the sleeves (Vintage, Urban and Minimal).
"This time around iSobre has made a very Mac like packaging for all
its products to not only serve their on-line store but for different
points of sale all around the world," Alex Ulloa of iSobre
says."Clients who wish to buy directly...
TechRestore launches Matte Finish screen upgrade for 15-inch
TechRestore has begun offering the only Matte Finish screen
replacement service for 15-inch MacBook Pro "unibody" systems. The
new service offers an option for owners of the new 15-inch MacBook
Pros, that, for personal or professional reasons, don't wish to use
the high-gloss, shiny screen and glass that's factory installed.
The Overnight MacBook Pro 15-inch Unibody Matte Finish Screen
Replacement Service has a 24-hour turnaround time and flat-rate
pricing of US$199 that includes installation of a new replacement LCD
screen, free return shipping and a one-year warranty on parts and
labor.
Unlike simple anti-glare covers, which can distort images and skew
colors, the TechRestore upgrade involves removing the glossy, glass
screen cover and replacing the glossy LCD with a matte-finish screen
that has the exact same specifications as the original, says
TechRestore President Shannon Jean.
"We install a custom black bezel around the edge of the screen that
matches the finish of the MacBook...
Freeverse releases SlotZ Racer for iPhone, iPod touch
Freeverse has released SlotZ Racer
(http://freeverse.com/games/game/?id=6543), a slot car racing game
for the iPhone and iPod touch. It's available at the Apple App Store
at a special introductory price of US$0.99. After three days the
price goes up to $2.99.
Here's how the game is described: "Developed by Strange Flavour, the
creators of Flick Fishing, SlotZ Racer puts the thrill of realistic
3D slot cars in the palm of your hand. Relive those great childhood
memories of building tracks, burning rubber, and racing with your
friends and family!
"SlotZ Racer lets players race against the computer or friends; a
unique control system allows up to four people to race on a single
iPhone! Compete for laps or against the clock in Time Trials, drive
an endurance race, (with simulated days and nights), or play a 'Quick
Race' to jump straight into the action. SlotZ Racer features an
intuitive track editor to give the player the ultimate freedom to
design their very own courses, and offers a...
Native Instruments announces Maschine groove production studio
Native Instruments has announced Maschine
(http://www.native-instruments.com/Maschine.info), a next-generation
groove production studio for beat creation and arrangement. It will
be available in March at a suggested retail price of US$699.
The system combines a software sequencer and sampler with an
integrated performance controller. Maschine is built on a combination
of groove box and drum machine workflows. It brings together step
sequencing and real-time polyphonic recording in a pattern-based
arrangement.
There are 16 pressure-sensitive drum pads that illuminate to
visualize sequence patterns and other crucial information. Eight
rotary encoders, a concise layout of dedicated buttons and dual
high-resolution displays give immediate access to all functions of
Maschine without touching the computer mouse or keyboard. By design,
all features are quickly accessible "on the surface" rather than
hidden away in hierarchical sub menus.
The Maschine hardware also doubles as an universal...
Developers: there's a new project for writing Cocoa apps
Developers, take note: there's a new project for writing Cocoa
applications in the Basic programming language similar to VB: KBasic
(http://www.kbasic.com/). It's described as a full featured language,
which supports the best modern programming techniques known with
objects, events and lots of documentation.
KBasic is based on Qt 4.4 and the upcomming Qt 4.5, which directly
supports Cocoa. This means KBasic becomes Cocoa-based on Mac
platforms (leaving Carbon). Cocoa is Apple's modern framework on the
Mac.
KBasic's source codes are provided for Visual Studio C++ 2008,
KDevelop and Xcode. Qt itself is open source and available from
Nokia. You may use the KBasic's source codes under the terms of the
GNU Public License as published by the Free Software Foundation
(version 3).
NAMM: Quantum Leap, Play updated by EastWest
EastWest (http://www.soundsonline.com) has announced an update for
its Quantum Leap SD virtual software instrument at this week's
National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM) show. The company has
also introduced Play 2.0, an update of software that programs the
EastWest virtual instrument collections.
Quantum Leap SD2 offers a combination of new percussion sounds and a
collection of the "best of sounds" from the SD1 package, according to
producer Nick Phoenix. The update delivers 2.5GB of percussive sounds
featuring a variety of strike and brush solos and ensemble recordings.
New solo instruments include the mridangam, a two-headed Indian drum
capable of dozens of tones like tablas, but with a different harmonic
structure, played by a lifetime mridangam master. Following in the
tradition of the brushed percussion from SD2, 10 new sampled drums
played with a variety of brushed techniques enhance this sonic
pallet, Phoenix says. The Indian stringed percussion instrument, the
Khamak,...
Eighth annual FCPUG SuperMeet saw record attendance
The Final Cut Pro Users Group says a standing room only crowd
attended the recent 8th Annual Macworld FCPUG SuperMeet held at the
Mission Bay Conference Center in San Francisco on Jan.7. The next
SuperMeet will be held Tuesday, April 21, in Las Vegas alongside the
giant NAB trade show. The organizers are already lining up the venue
and sponsors with the expectation to draw record attendance.
"Historically, every SuperMeet we hold sells out, but this one was a
complete sell out with a lot of folks standing in the aisles. We
estimate almost 700 people attended." says Michael Horton, head of
the Los Angeles Final Cut Pro User Group and co-planner of the event.
Regarding the next SuperMeet, he adds that there's "no fear" that
despite the economy and the "doom and gloom" that permeates
throughout all discussions. For more info go here:
http://www.lafcpug.org/
Wolfram Research releases Mathematica Player Pro 7
Wolfram Research (http://www.wolframresearch.com) has released
Mathematica Player Pro 7, an update of the professional platform for
delivering interactive applications built with the new Mathematica 7
technology. It's a free download.
With the recently released Mathematica 7, Wolfram Research added over
500 new functions and integrated parallel computing into its standard
product. The new Player Pro 7 comes with the same built-in technology
to parallelize computations over multiple cores. It also supports
other application areas introduced in Mathematica 7, including image
processing and on-demand curated data, while retaining all the
features of the original Mathematica Player Pro 6 released with
Mathematica 6.
Player Pro 7 gives access to Mathematica 7 and 6 compatible
applications, allowing full interaction with Mathematica's
capabilities -- executing multicore computations at runtime,
performing adaptive visualization, controlling dynamic interface
elements, connecting to real-...
RiffWorks T4 bundled with select Dean Markley strings
Sonoma Wire Works says RiffWorks T4 guitar recording software
(http://www.sonomawireworks.com/T4 ), plus four RiffWorks
InstantDrummer Sessions, are now included in specially marked
packages of Dean Markley string packs.
Musicians can use RiffWorks to record ideas and complete songs with
drums and effects. RiffWorks InstantDrummer provides access to
full-kit drum recordings with a range of intensities and adjustable
variation. Four bonus drum sessions by top drum content providers are
also included. RiffWorks T4 integrates free online collaboration with
musicians worldwide and song posting to the RiffWorld.com community.
RiffWorks Standard costs US$129. It's compatible with Mac OS X and Windows.
Quantum Leap Silk is new Mac compatible virtual instrument
EastWest/Quantum Leap (http://www.soundsonline.com/home.php) has
released Silk, a Mac compatible virtual software instrument that
features a collection of historic and unique string and woodwind
instruments from China, Persia and India. However, there's no info on
pricing at the web site.
All instruments featured in Sillk are multi-sampled and contain
extensive articulations, interval sampling (where appropriate), round
robin (alternate samples) and phrases. Some of the instruments
featured in SILK include:
China: erhu, zhonghu, gaohu, pipa, guzheng, yangqin, sheng, suona
low, suona high, dizi low, dizi hi, xiao and bawu.
Persia: electric cello, kemenche, nay, duduk, tar, qanun and 30 piece
string section.
India: dilruba, sarod, tanpura and bansuri.
MacVector releases MacVector 10.5
MacVector Inc. (http://www.macvector.com) has released MacVector
10.5, their third major release since forming in January 2007.
MacVector is a desktop sequence analysis application running on the
Mac.
This release sees the introduction of a new Align To Reference tool
allowing alignment of cDNAs to genomic sequences to aid in the
identification of splice sites and introns. This version also builds
on the new interface first introduced in MacVector 10, with
customizable toolbars, a new multi-pane Preferences pane and pop-up
menu paths on window title bars.
File reading has been simplified and enhanced to allow easier
importing of sequences into any function inside MacVector. The
Assembler module has been updated too, with easier editing of reads
and contigs, and a new view to enable printing of contigs, says
MacVector's president, Dr. Kevin Kendall. Assembler is a desktop
sequence assembly add on for MacVector.
You'll have to contact MacVector Inc. for pricing.
JDiff X Rev.1.0 is now available
Artman21 of Japan (http://www.artman21.com) has released a document
comparison plug-in JDiff X Rev.1.0, a plugin for their Jedit X text
editor Jedit X. The plug-in costs US$16.
Jedit X also has been updated to Rev.2.10. Both English and Japanese
versions are available.
Chapter 1 of Puzzle Quest trilogy available for iPhone, iPod...
TransGaming has released Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the
Warlords, Chapter 1: The Battle of Gruulkar at the Apple App Store
for USD$9.99. Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords is a title
that has been customized for the iPhone and iPod touch and will be
released as three dynamic chapters in an episodic manner with a
downward pricing model here: www.gametreelive.com/puzzlequest/ .
Here's how the game is described: "The trilogy gives consumers the
choice of an instant-action play option or over twenty hours of
immersive game play in each chapter based on an epic
storyline. Delivering over eighty hours of total game play through
the trilogy, Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords redefines what a
mobile game should deliver. This award-winning game is a must-have
for casual and hard-core gaming enthusiasts.
"Delivering the ultimate iPhone and iPod Touch gaming experience with
the highest quality and most engaging gameplay was the primary focus
in the customization of the Puzzle Quest:...
Jobs Sends Letter to Employees, Takes Medical Leave
Apple posted this on their web site earlier today.
Apple CEO Steve Jobs today sent the following email to all Apple employees:
"Team,
I am sure all of you saw my letter last week sharing something very
personal with the Apple community. Unfortunately, the curiosity over my
personal health continues to be a distraction not only for me and my
family, but everyone else at Apple as well. In addition, during the past
week I have learned that my health-related issues are more complex than I
originally thought.
In order to take myself out of the limelight and focus on my health, and to
allow everyone at Apple to focus on delivering extraordinary products, I
have decided to take a medical leave of absence until the end of June.
I have asked Tim Cook to be responsible for Apple's day to day operations,
and I know he and the rest of the executive management team will do a great
job. As CEO, I plan to remain involved in major strategic decisions while I
am out. Our board of directors fully...
Education, school media is the focus for new ActionBacks
Suite Imagery has completed and released two volumes of royalty free
animations with school video production being the target market. In
today's schools, there's a lot more focus on video for school
announcements, student projects and school cable and web productions.
With the guidance and input from key educational professionals and
professors, Suite Imagery has produced 2 new volumes of stock
animations with the needs of schools in mind. Academic Motion 1 & 2
contain 40 new animations and titles involving subject matters such
as: Drills, Sports, Academic Subjects and Special Events.
Each new volume can be downloaded for US$49.95 from
http://www.ActionBacks.com, shipped out on DVD, or as part of a
larger animation bundle on portable hard drives. ActionBacks can be
previewed online by category at ActionBacks.com.
