To reduce the database size and server load, all articles from 2004 or earlier are archived here.

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iPod Battery Replacement and more from MacResQ

Harmony H688 Internet Powered Universal Remote Control - Built for OS X
Normally $229.99, take $15 off with Q-Pon code "ISLAND"

iPodResQ Self-Service Battery Replacement Kit for 3rd Generation iPods with Dock
Normally $44.99, take $15 off with Q-Pon code "POOL"

iPodResQ Self-Service Battery Replacement Kit for 1st & 2nd Generation iPods with a FireWire Port
Normally $44.99, take $5 off with Q-Pon code "BEACH2"

CoolMax Gemini 2.5" Portable Aluminum FireWire Hard Drive Enclosure
Normally $32.99, take $3 off with Q-Pon code "CMAX"

PowerMac G3/266 DT 64/4gb/24xCD/AV
Normally $119.99, take $20 off with Q-Pon code "266AV2"

PowerBookResQ "SuperDrive" DVD-R/CD-RW Burner Self Service Upgrade for G4 PowerBooks with Combo Drive
Normaly $269.99, take $70 off with Q-Pon code "NEWLOW"

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Apple releases iTunes 4.5

Apple has released a major update to iTunes with many new features.

What's new in v4.5:

• Free Downloads / Single of the Week
  
• iMix - Publish Your Playlist
  
• Music Videos Page (watch and buy song easily)
  
• Movie Trailers - Now in iTunes (link to soundtrack purchase)
  
• Radio Charts (what's popular on stations across the country)
  
• Party Shuffle (new dynamic playlist)
  
• CD Cover Printing
  
• Wish List (mark a song, buy it later)
  
• Import Windows Media (WMA) Files
  
• Lossless AAC Encoder
  
• Links to Music Store from your library
  

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Apple releases iPod 2.2 firmware update

iPod Update 2004-04-28 supports all models of iPod and iPod mini introduced before April 28, 2004. This update is required to take advantage of new features in iTunes 4.5 and the iTunes Music Store.

Changes for iPod without a Dock connector

• Compatibility with iTunes 4.5 and the iTunes Music Store
  
• Improved playback performance
  

• Compatibility with iTunes 4.5 and the iTunes Music Store
  
• Improved playback performance
  
• Support for the Apple Lossless Encoder, to enable compressed music encoding at high quality
  

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Biferno plugins for BBEdit now available

Tabasoft (www.tabasoft.it/biferno) announces
the availability of BBiferno, a plug-in for BBEdit
(the popular macos, classic and X, html and text
editor, http://www.barebones.com/products/bbedit/index.shtml)
that facilitates the process of writing code and editing of Biferno source files.

BBiferno is only for MacOS (X and classic) users.

BBiferno is free and can be found, together with documentation, at:

http://www.tabasoft.it/biferno/bbiferno/

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Colourfull Creations releases Simple Weather 1.74 update

Colourfull Creations releases Simple Weather 1.74 update for Macintosh OS X and Macintosh OS 9. Simple Weather puts the weather on your desktop for fast and easy reference. Simple Weather has an easy to set up and easy to understand interface that “just gives you the facts” that you will need to keep you informed throughout the day and week. For more information and to download go to:http://www.colourfull.com

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ADHOC Featured Speakers Announced!

The organizers of ADHOC (the conference formerly known as MacHack) are
pleased to announce that after an exhaustive search, they've found not one
but two featured speakers for this year's Macintosh developer's conference.

One of the featured speakers is Jordan Hubbard, Apple's manager of the
Darwin (UNIX-based) core of Macintosh OS X. He's famous for co-founding
the FreeBSD project and being an active contributor to the Open Source
community. His career focus pretty well mirrors the range of ADHOC,
cutting edge technology that can be used and expanded on by all.

The official keynote speaker will be David Pogue, an author who gets
around. Not only is he the New York Times Technology Columnist and tech
expert for CBS News, but he is also responsible for a diverse series of
how-to books (over 3 million sold!) including the well-read "Missing
Manuals" series. He's also an accomplished music composer and longtime
Macintosh aficionado.

While ADHOC encourages experienced and accomplished Macintosh developers to
lead technology sessions in their expertise, beginning Macintosh
programmers and students of all ages are also encouraged to attend, there's
sessions geared to every level. Attendance to this conference is limited
to 400, and there are discounts off the Conference fee for registering
early (deadline is May 30th, 2004) and for leading a session (ADHOC is a
conference by developers and for developers). The early registration
deadline is fast approaching for this extremely worthwhile conference, so
ask your manager and/or take off time if necessary, get your name on the
list of confirmed attendees today! Check out the ADHOC website at
http://www.adhocconference.com for more information and to register
securely.

CONFERENCE REGISTRATION INFORMATION

For attendees, discounted registration is available for early action. Full
attendees can register for $500 online (before 05/30/04), a savings of $50
off the regular registration rate. Students can register at a discounted rate
which includes access to the entire conference as well as a special meal
package.

Total attendance is limited to 400. Student attendance is limited to 50.
More details are available on the conference Web site.

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AirPort Update 3.4.1

Apple has released an AirPort 3.4.1 software update. No information about what's new in 3.4.1, but I suspect it addresses the signal strength problems. In any case, I recommend waiting a few days before installing it if you're not running 3.4.

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Infinisys Releases Update for Change My image Macintosh

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE



Infinisys Releases Update for Change My image Macintosh

TAIHAKU-KU, Sendai, Japan, April 22, 2004 - Infinisys, Ltd.

(http://en.infinisys.co.jp) today released an update to "Change My image" for Macintosh (http://en.infinisys.co.jp/product/cmimage), hairstyle and hair color simulation program. Price for the download version is $10-00. A fully functional demonstration version can be downloaded free of charge.



The update (version 1.0.5) fixes a bug that caused the program to crash when exporting the simulated graphic image in different formats on computers using Macintosh OS 10.3. Updates are available free of charge to registered users.



Change My image has an extremely easy to use interface with real-time online help, and comes with over 100 hairstyles for both men and women. Hair color simulations can be applied in millions of colors to the selected hair styles.



"Infinisys will continue to strive to offer updates as soon as possible to our users when problems occur with new system versions," said Dennis Heazle, president of Infinisys.



ABOUT INFINISYS

Infinisys, Ltd. is a Japanese company with over ten years' experience in developing and localizing Macintosh and Windows software for the Japanese market. The company's future plans include releasing English versions of many of its products.





CONTACT:

Dennis Heazle

Infinisys Ltd.

Tel: +81-22-216-4038

Fax: +81-22-224-6725

dennis@infinisys.co.jp

http://en.infinisys.co.jp

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Win $1000 with your GarageBand song!

MusicOnTheMac.com is proud to announce its GarageBand Composition Contest.  With the launch of Apple's GarageBand, the anytime, anywhere, recording studio, a whole new genre of musician is emerging.  We here at MusicOnTheMac.com want your music to be heard, so as an incentive for you to upload your leading edge material; we're having a contest that will pay $1000 to the best original user submitted GarageBand composition between now and July 31st 2004.

To be eligible, you must have created the composition using GarageBand, (you will need to stuff (using Stuffit) your ".band" file and upload it to the site for verification), you also need to export the composition to an MP3 file and upload it to the site so that MusicOnTheMac visitors as well as judges can listen to your creation.  A panel of MusicOnTheMac.com editors will determine the winner.  Winners will be chosen based on overall use of GarageBand, general appeal of the music, and whatever sounds good at the time.  Any genre of music is eligible.  In the future, we may hold contests for specific genres, but right now, we're just anxious to get more people using GarageBand, and sharing their music with the MusicOnTheMac.com community.



The best of the user submissions will also be eligible to be played 24x7 on a soon to be launched Internet Radio Station that will only play GarageBand compositions.



MusicOnTheMac.com is a leading on-line community for musicians who use Macs.  While GarageBand is a big part of our audience, forums for Soundtrack, Logic, Reason, and many other products exist.  Up to date news, and reviews are also available.  For more information, please visit http://www.musiconthemac.com, or you can send an e-mail to info@musiconthemac.com.

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Airport 3.4 Problems

Apple's new Airport Extreme 3.4 update has very definite problems with loss of signal strength and dropping connections. If you haven't installed it, don't do it. If you've already installed it, xlr8yourmac has an article that tells how to revert to 3.3.1.

In my own experience, iStumbler reported a signal strength of 60 when my powerbook is in the same room with my access point (a Netgear WGR614) and 37 on the opposite side of my home when running Airport 3.4. After reverting to 3.3.1, the signal strength is 70 in the same room and 48 on the opposite side of my home (about 100-110 ft). I also found that 3.4 often failed to obtain an IP address via DHCP.

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iStumbler Release 84

iStumbler is a free, open source tool for finding wireless networks and devices with your AirPort equipped Macintosh. iStumbler combines a compact user interface with a real time graph of signal strength and complete debugging information such as network type, name and mac address. Real-time visual feedback of signal strength and encryption allows you to quickly find open networks, perform site surveys or just have a look at your wireless neighborhood.

Release 84 completely remakes iStumbler into an extensible, high performance and indispensable wireless scanning utility. Plugins provide unprecedented flexibility, aggressively multi-threading improves performance and iStumber now monitors the network you've joined as well as nearby networks providing twice as much information as previous version.





Download iStumbler 84 (98K) for Mac OS 10.3 (Panther)





Download the iStumbler Plugin SDK (1.4M) for Plugin Developers.





Download the iStumbler 84 Source Code (3.5M) for iStumbler Developers.



Release 84 Requires Mac OS 10.3.

All versions require Mac OS 10.1 or better and an AirPort or AirPort Extreme Card.

Plugin SDK and Source require Developer Tools.

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Pyramid Design add text encoding and more to FTP Suite for REALbasic

Pyramid Design has updated FTP Suite, an FTP solution for REALbasic applications, to version 3.2, adding:

• support for text encoding,


• Realbasic 4.5 (it features the return of classes for REALbasic 4.5 that can use the older Socket class instead of the CoreSocket class introduced in REALbasic 5.0) and,


• additional recursive FTP commands (DeleteDir, PutDir and GetDir).

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Keynote Supplemental: Focus Elements

"Focus Elements" is a collection of supplemental images that can be used with ANY theme or presentation. 134 individual transparent or translucent graphic panels that will separate content and bring focus, in a beautiful and subtle way. Plus 745 aqua-type labels (zero to nine, A to Z, in three sizes and six colors). These panels allow you to apply a relief to areas of your slide background. Each is built with extra resolution so they can be scaled up, rotated and positioned wherever you want. They come in light and dark translucent, clear, bevel up and down, versions for both light and dark backgrounds. Focus Elements is available for download for $14.95 at Keynote Theme Park

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macCompanion announces the macCMusic Macintosh® Glory, Laud, and Honor Contest

The Macintosh Professional Network (MPN), publisher of macCompanion announces the macCMusic Macintosh® Glory, Laud, and Honor Contest.

The contest runs until May 30th and features several prizes.



Please visit http://www.maccompanion.com/macccontest.html for more iunformation or click the "Read More" link.

Press Release:



The Macintosh Professional Network (MPN), publisher of macCompanion announces the macCMusic Macintosh® Glory, Laud, and Honor Contest.



We are interested in drumming up interest in macCompanion and more for the Macintosh, so we have composed the macCMusic Macintosh® Glory, Laud, and Honor contest.



We know that there HAS to be Mac® aficionados who love their computers SO MUCH that they would write a love-song about it, right? We know we love ours!



How to participate:



Simply create a 4-stanza reproducible score that would a love song about the Mac. We ask that any entrants please include a score and file that can become playable with iTunes®. We need both the words and the music, and we will accept paper & pencil scanned images of the sheet music, as well as compositions done with Apple's GarageBand.



Entries should be emailed as attachments to contest@maccompanion.com.

Please include your shipping address. No Post Office boxes will be

considered. (Compression technology still doesn't let us stick a large

box into a smaller Post Office box.)



The Contest will run until May 30th 2004.



We ask that the music and lyrics be made available on our site for

others to enjoy, once we've sent out the prizes (and of course, you can

always turn it into a platinum single!).



A full list of the rules can be found at http://www.maccompanion.com/macccontest.html



We have some great, valuable prizes to award!



First Prize: A 250 GB OneTouch™ hard drive from Maxtor.

http://maxtor.com/en/products/external/onetouch/index.htm



Second Prize: A 1-year Lynda.com annual subscription to online training.

http://movielibrary.lynda.com/html/index.asp



Third Prize: Two training DVDs from Magnet Media, Inc: Inside Mac OS X:

Panther and Inside Editing with Final Cut Pro 4.

http://digitalmediatraining.com/products/panther/panther_main.html



http://digitalmediatraining.com/products/fcp/fcp_main.html



Fourth Prize: The book "Apple Confidential 2.0" by No Starch Press is

worth $20 USD.



http://www.nostarch.com/



Please come and participate! This is going to be a lot of fun and will get your creative juices flowing!



--

macCompanion is an online magazine dedicated to producing first-hand reviews about various Macintosh related products such as books, hardware, and shareware/software. macCompanion also features columns and articles discussing life as a Mac user, and thoughts on recent computer and technology related news.



macCompanion is the main communications tool of The Macintosh Professional Network (MPN). MPN, LLC is a Washington state-based business, and is staffed by both Mac home users and professionals alike, located throughout the United States and elsewhere around the world.



More information can be found at:



http://www.maccompanion.com/

http://www.maccompanion.com/aboutus.html

http://www.maccompanion.com/maccfaq.html

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Review of Universal Boxing Manager

Recently released sports management simulation game, "Universal Boxing Manager" is the only existing game for the Mac of its kind. Read the first review of Universal Boxing Manager here.

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Get Linspire OS free

Linspire, formerly known as Lindows, is giving away its desktop Linux operating system for the first time as a way to publicize its name change.

To get a free copy, go to their order page, which will show a $49.95 price and enter a coupon code (hint: the previous name of the OS). When you enter the coupon code, the price will be discounted $49.95. You must have BitTorrent to download the CD image.

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iBook vs. PowerBook

Today Apple introduced new iBook G4 & PowerBook models. Here's my attempt to dispell any confusion between the two lines.

The toughest choice may be between the top of the line iBook and the low end PowerBook. Let's see how they compare.

iBook 14" Display 1.2 GHz G4 Airport Extreme standard, optional Bluetooth VGA, S-video and composite video 256MB DDR SDRAM expandable to up to 1.25GB ATI Mobility Radeon 9200 graphics with 32MB of dedicated DDR memory 133 MHz system bus $1,499

PowerBook 12" Display 1.33 GHz G4 Airport Extreme and Bluetooth standard DVI, VGA, S-video and composite video 256MB of 333 MHz DDR SDRAM expandable up to 2GB NVIDIA GeForce FX Go5200 graphics with 64MB of dedicated video memory 167 MHz system bus $1,599

For a difference of $100, the PowerBook gives you a faster processor & system bus, internal Bluetooth (a $50 option on the iBook), DVI output, twice as much video memory, and more RAM capacity. For cost-conscious users, the iBook may be a better deal while people who want the best performance will buy the PowerBook.

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Apple Introduces New PowerBook G4 Line

Apple® today announced a new line of PowerBook® G4 notebooks with faster PowerPC G4 processors running at up to 1.5 GHz; faster graphics performance; and a 4x SuperDrive™ (DVD-R/CD-RW) for burning professional-quality DVDs—all housed in the industry-leading aluminum enclosures that have defined the latest generation of PowerBooks. All new PowerBook G4s come standard with AirPort® Extreme* 54 Mbps 802.11g pre-installed for wireless networking right out of the box.

“Apple’s PowerBook G4 notebooks continue to lead the industry with an unrivaled mix of performance and portability,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing. “No other notebook packs so much performance and so many cutting-edge features, including large widescreen displays, high-speed wireless networking, advanced connectivity and industry leading graphics, into such a thin and light design.”

Both the 15-inch and 17-inch PowerBook G4 now offer up to a 1.5 GHz PowerPC G4 processor and phenomenal graphics performance with the ATI Mobility Radeon 9700 graphics processor. For customers who want the highest graphics performance, the 1.5 GHz 15-inch model and 17-inch PowerBook can now be custom configured with up to 128MB of graphics memory. The new 12-inch PowerBook G4 features a 1.33 GHz PowerPC processor, NVIDIA GeForce FX Go5200 graphics with 64MB of dedicated video memory and a larger 60GB Ultra ATA hard drive.

Offering the latest in wireless communications, every new PowerBook G4 notebook comes with built-in AirPort Extreme wireless networking and an internal Bluetooth module for wireless connectivity to a range of peripherals such as cell phones, PDAs, printers and headsets, as well as the Apple Wireless Keyboard and Apple Wireless Mouse.

All new PowerBook G4 notebooks include iLife® ‘04, Apple’s award-winning suite of digital lifestyle applications including iTunes® for managing digital music, iPhoto™ for organizing and sharing digital photos, iMovie® for digital movie-making, iDVD™ for creating and burning Hollywood-style DVDs and GarageBand™, a revolutionary new music application that turns a Mac into a professional-quality musical instrument and recording studio. -more- Every new PowerBook G4 comes with Apple’s latest operating system, Mac OS® X version 10.3 “Panther,” pre-installed. Customers can take advantage of FileVault, which uses the latest security standards and 128-bit encryption technology to ensure that data in the home directory is kept secure; Exposé™, a revolutionary new way to instantly view all open windows; Instant On, which wakes the PowerBook from sleep in just one second; and Automatic Networking, which automatically switches the network connections between Ethernet, 802.11 and modem. With enhanced Windows compatibility, files, printers and network services can easily be shared with Windows users.

Pricing & Availability

The new 12- and 15-inch PowerBook G4 models are available immediately, and the new 17-inch PowerBook G4 is expected to be available in early May through The Apple Store® (www.apple.com), at Apple’s retail stores and Apple Authorized Resellers.

The 1.33 GHz, 12-inch PowerBook G4, for a suggested retail price of $1,599 (US), includes:

• a Combo (DVD-ROM/CD-RW) optical drive;
  
• 256MB of 333 MHz DDR SDRAM;
  
• AirPort Extreme wireless networking and internal Bluetooth;
  
• DVI, VGA, S-video and composite video support;
  
• two USB 2.0 ports and FireWire® 400; and
  
• a 60GB Ultra ATA/100 hard drive.
  

• a 4x SuperDrive (DVD-R/CD-RW) optical drive;
  
• 256MB of 333 MHz DDR SDRAM;
  
• AirPort Extreme wireless networking and internal Bluetooth;
  
• DVI, VGA, S-video and composite video support;
  
• two USB 2.0 ports and Firewire 400; and
  
• a 60GB Ultra ATA/100 hard drive.
  

• a Combo (DVD-ROM/CD-RW) optical drive;
  
• 256MB of 333 MHz DDR SDRAM;
  
• AirPort Extreme wireless networking and internal Bluetooth;
  
• DVI, VGA, S-video and composite video support;
  
• Gigabit Ethernet (10/100/1000BASE-T);
  
• two USB 2.0 ports, FireWire 400 and 800; and
  
• a 60GB Ultra ATA/100 hard drive.
  

• a 4x SuperDrive (DVD-R/CD-RW) optical drive;
  
• 512MB of 333 MHz DDR SDRAM;
  
• AirPort Extreme wireless networking and internal Bluetooth;
  
• DVI, VGA, S-video and composite video support;
  
• Gigabit Ethernet (10/100/1000BASE-T);
  
• two USB 2.0 ports, FireWire 400 and 800;
  
• a Backlit keyboard with ambient light sensor; and
  
• a 80GB Ultra ATA/100 hard drive.
  

• a 4x SuperDrive (DVD-R/CD-RW) optical drive;
  
• 512MB of 333 MHz DDR SDRAM;
  
• AirPort Extreme wireless networking and internal Bluetooth;
  
• DVI, VGA, S-video and composite video support;
  
• Gigabit Ethernet (10/100/1000BASE-T);
  
• two USB 2.0 ports, FireWire 400 and 800;
  
• a Backlit keyboard with ambient light sensor; and
  
• a 80GB Ultra ATA/100 hard drive.
  

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Apple updates iBook G4

Apple® today updated its popular iBook® G4 lineup for consumers and education customers with PowerPC G4 processors running at up to 1.2 GHz and an optional DVD-burning SuperDrive™. The new iBook G4 lineup includes support for advanced wireless connectivity with AirPort® Extreme* 54 Mbps 802.11g wireless networking and Bluetooth, and a slot-load Combo drive for burning CDs and watching DVDs. The new iBook G4 can now hold up to twice as much fast DDR memory for even greater performance.

“The iBook G4 was built from the ground up for consumers and students living their digital life on the go,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing. “The new iBook G4 is an incredible value with faster G4 processors, twice the memory expansion and iLife ‘04, Apple’s award-winning suite of applications for creating and managing digital photos, music and movies.”

The new 12- and 14-inch iBooks offer a perfect mix of portability, performance and affordability, with faster PowerPC G4 processors and up to six hours of battery life for all-day mobile use in the classroom or on the road. Providing best-in-class graphics capabilities, each iBook G4 offers ATI Mobility Radeon 9200 graphics with 32MB of dedicated DDR memory and AGP 4X support for gaming and watching DVDs. The iBook G4, with a sleek polycarbonate plastic enclosure weighing as little as 4.9 pounds, is made even more durable with slot-load optical drives.

The iBook lineup offers the latest in wireless connectivity with every model supporting optional AirPort Extreme 54 Mbps 802.11g wireless networking, an advanced feature that comes built-in on the 1.2 GHz 14-inch configuration. Customers can also choose to include an internal Bluetooth module for wirelessly connecting peripherals such as the Apple Wireless Keyboard and Apple Wireless Mouse. All iBook G4 models also offer a full complement of I/O ports, including FireWire 400, USB 2.0 and a built-in 56K v.92 modem and Ethernet (10/100BASE-T) that enable connectivity to today’s popular peripherals.

Every new iBook G4 includes iLife ‘04, Apple’s award-winning suite of digital lifestyle applications including iTunes for managing digital music, iPhoto for organizing and sharing digital photos, iMovie for digital movie making, iDVD for creating and burning Hollywood-style DVDs and GarageBand, a revolutionary new music application that turns a Mac into a professional-quality musical instrument and recording studio.

The iBook G4 comes with Apple’s latest operating system pre-installed. Mac OS X version 10.3 “Panther” delivers more than 150 breakthrough features including iChat AV, an easy to use desktop video conferencing solution; FileVault, which uses the latest security standards and 128-bit encryption technology to ensure that data in the home directory is kept secure; Exposé™, a revolutionary new way to instantly view all open windows; Instant On, which wakes the iBook from sleep in just one second; and Automatic Networking, which automatically switches the network connections between Ethernet, 802.11 and modem. With enhanced Windows compatibility, files, printers and network services can easily be shared with Windows users. iBook G4 also comes with a collection of productivity and entertainment titles including AppleWorks, Quicken 2004 for Mac, WorldBook Encyclopedia 2004 Edition and Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 4.

Pricing & Availability

The new iBook lineup is immediately available through The Apple Store® (www.apple.com), Apple’s retail stores and Apple Authorized Resellers in three standard configurations.

The 1.0 GHz PowerPC G4 iBook, weighing just 4.9 pounds, has a suggested retail price of $1,099 (US) and includes:

• a crisp 12.1-inch (diagonal) active-matrix TFT display;
  
• 256MB DDR SDRAM expandable to up to 1.25GB maximum memory;
  
• a 30GB Ultra ATA hard drive;
  
• two USB 2.0 ports, FireWire 400;
  
• VGA video out, S-video and composite video out support;
  
• Ethernet (10/100BASE-T); and
  
• a slot-load Combo (DVD-ROM/CD-RW) drive.
  

• a crisp 14.1-inch (diagonal) active-matrix TFT display;
  
• 256MB DDR SDRAM expandable to up to 1.25GB maximum memory;
  
• a 40GB Ultra ATA hard drive;
  
• two USB 2.0 ports, FireWire 400;
  
• VGA video out, S-video and composite video out support;
  
• Ethernet (10/100BASE-T); and
  
• a slot-load Combo (DVD-ROM/CD-RW) drive.
  

• a brilliant 14.1-inch (diagonal) active-matrix TFT display;
  
• 256MB DDR SDRAM expandable to up to 1.25GB maximum memory;
  
• a 60GB Ultra ATA hard drive;
  
• AirPort Extreme wireless networking;
  
• two USB 2.0 ports, FireWire 400;
  
• VGA video out, S-video and composite video out support;
  
• Ethernet (10/100BASE-T); and
  
• a slot-load Combo (DVD-ROM/CD-RW) drive.
  

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Java Date Picker v2.3.1 Released

Stand By Soft, Ltd. just released Java Date Picker 2.3.1, a suite of
Microsoft like Swing components capable of powerful date selection
operations.

The dates available for selection can be
restricted according to a specified pattern. Users can also do single
or multiple date selection. So far, the available components are a one
month calendar and an editable date picker.
The components can
be internationalized, have support for mouse and keyboard and they can
be used with any look and feel (Metal, Motif, Windows, Aqua and custom
ones).

This new version fixes a few bugs, the most important ones being focus related.

• All components get the focus correctly.


• Look and feel is changed correctly for the table cell editor.

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Apple announcements at NAB conference

Apple announced several new products at the National Assocation of Broadcasters (NAB) conference, which kicked off today in Las Vegas.

Motion is a new real-time motion graphics application. New procedural animation technology — called behaviors — creates movement and simulations without keyframes. Simply drag and drop one of over 40 customizable behaviors onto type or graphics. Motion also supports After Effects plug-ins.

DVD Studio Pro 3 adds slick new transitions, superb HD to MPEG-2 encoding, Graphical View, support for all professional audio formats — including DTS — and integration with Final Cut Pro HD and Motion.

Final Cut Pro HD supports HD (High Definition) video with the simplicity of DV. Capture DVCPRO HD over FireWire, edit using camera-native footage and output over FireWire with no generational quality loss. RT Extreme, now for HD, can deliver multiple HD streams, effects, filters and transitions in real-time to an attached Apple Cinema Display.

Shake 3.5 adds new shape-based morphing and warping tools to the powerful digital effects software used in the production of every Oscar-winning film for Best Visual Effects over the past seven years, including this year's winner 'The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King.'

Xsan is a 64-bit cluster file system for Mac OS X that lets multiple computers concurrently access terabytes of storage on Xserve RAID over high-speed Fibre Channel. Now under development, Apple will ship Xsan later this fall for $999.

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MacResQ Readers Specials

• MacResQ Mini AC Adapter for PowerBook G4 & White iBook
  Regular price $59.99, take $10 off with Q-Pon Code "BACKIN"
  
  
• MacResQ Mini AC Adapter, PowerBook G3 (all), iBook (clamshell), 3400, 2400, 1400 and Duo Series
  Regular price $59.99, take $10 off with Q-Pon Code "G3MINI"
  
  
  
• Shure E2C Sound Isolating Earphones
  Regular price $99.99, take $18 off with Q-Pon Code "E2C18"
  
  
  
• Shure E3C Sound Isolating Earphones with Extended Frequency Response
  Regular price $179.99, take $18 off with Q-Pon Code "E3C18"
  
  
  
• Griffin ClearChoice iPod Connection Kit
  Regular price $14.99, take $5 off with Q-Pon Code "IPODCLEAR"
  
  
  
• iPodResQ 24-Hour Nationwide Battery Replacement Service for all iPods
  Regular price $79.00, take $10 off with Q-Pon Code "IPODBAT"
  
  
  
• PowerBookResQ DVD/CD-RW Combo Replacement Drive for G4 PowerBooks with a Combo Drive
  Regular price $179.99, take $20 off with Q-Pon Code "BURN20"
  
  
  
• PowerBookResQ DVD/CD-RW Combo Drive Self Service Upgrade for G4 PowerBooks with a DVD Drive
  Regular price $219.99, take $20 off with Q-Pon Code "CDRW20"
  

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Personal note: not dead yet

Despite Steve Jobs' statement, Mac OS 9 is NOT dead. The reason I haven't been posting too much lately is because I've been busy writing & debugging Mac OS 9 software. After my company released an OS X product, there were many requests for an OS 9 version, so that's what I'm now working on.

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Apple Reports Second Quarter Results: Earnings per Share Triples

Apple® today announced financial results for its fiscal 2004 second quarter ended March 27, 2004. For the quarter, the Company posted a net profit of $46 million, or $.12 per diluted share. These results compare to a net profit of $14 million, or $.04 per diluted share, in the year-ago quarter. Revenue for the quarter was $1.909 billion, up 29 percent from the year-ago quarter. Gross margin was 27.8 percent, down from 28.3 percent in the year-ago quarter. International sales accounted for 43 percent of the quarter’s revenue.

The quarter’s results include an after-tax restructuring charge of $7 million. Excluding this charge, the Company’s net profit for the quarter would have been $53 million, or $.14 per diluted share.

Apple shipped 749 thousand Macintosh® units and 807 thousand iPods during the quarter, representing a 5 percent increase in CPU units and a 909 percent increase in iPods over the year-ago quarter.

“Apple had a great quarter with 29 percent revenue growth and 200 percent earnings per share growth year-over-year,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “We experienced growth in most areas of our business—most dramatically in selling a record 807,000 iPods, up more than 900 percent over the prior year.”

“We are very pleased with our third straight quarter of double-digit revenue growth,” said Fred Anderson, Apple’s CFO. “More importantly our results demonstrate operating margin expansion. Our balance sheet remains very strong with about $4.6 billion in cash and no debt. Looking ahead to the third quarter of fiscal 2004, we expect our fourth consecutive quarter of year-over-year double-digit growth in both revenue and earnings, with revenue of about $1.925 billion. We expect GAAP earnings per diluted share of $.12 to $.13, including approximately $.02 per diluted share in restructuring charges.”

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iCompositions launches new features!

iCompositions is proud to announce the launch of two very important new features giving users special discounts on various products, more composition upload space, and GarageBand tutorials.

Introducing Super Star. One of the many predicaments of being a iComposer is having enough space to upload your compositions. iCompositions is proud to offer 250 MB of space for uploading as well as many other incredible values for only $24.99 for the first year:


Free Downloadable GarageBand Tutorials ($10.50 value)

50% off GarageBand Tutorial CDs ($15 value)

email address @icompositions.com with 25MB of storage space (priceless)



6 page Artist Website (Coming Soon)!

- Homepage/portal

- Music

- Bio

- and 3 Custom Pages



Complete Account Management (Coming Soon)

- Bulk Composition Editing and Management

- Artist Website editing

- Access to all discounts

- Assistance with copyrighting your song

- All Tutorials in easy to use and view interface so you can download or view over and over again



Discounts on Apple Hardware (up to $50 off)

40% off all Aladdin Software

20% off all PeachPit Press Books

Free passes to MacWorld Expo (Exhibit Hall Pass - $35 value!)



Super Star is available now to any registered user of iCompositions. Activation is instantaneous so you can enjoy the special offers of the upgrade as soon as you've signed up.



Introducing Tutorials. iCompositions is ecstatic over the announcement of their strategic partnership with MusicMakingTools.com, giving every iCompositions user 30% off tutorial CDs. Other sites will have the same tutorials but for the full price. In addition to that discount, iCompositions has been given exclusive distrobution rights to Downloadable tutorials. You can purchase any of the 7 beginner chapters for $1.50 each and watch them at any time through iCompositions' Advanced On-Demand Tutorial System.



iCompositions has already had more than 1500 composition uploads and 3000 comments on those uploads. The Auditorium is the premier venue for sharing GarageBand Compositions.

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New Mac OS X Icons “For Dog Lovers”

Phelios announced the premiere release of new Mac OS X desktop icons inspired by their game, Lua Lua, a set of 6 educational games for kids. While the game is for children, the free Mac OS X icons can be used by adults and kids alike for customizing their Mac desktops.

This freeware icon set called, “For Dog Lovers," is the first volume of a series from Lua Lua Icons to be released by Phelios. Included in the set are 6 icons of popular dog breeds:



1) Bostielu (Boston Terrier);

2) Chocolab (Chocolate Labrador);

3) Dogbully (English Bulldog);

4) Pugglywuggly (Pug);

5) Sharpeipei (Sharpei);

6) Toxicodog (Dalmation).



The download (316 kb) and examples of all 6 icons can be seen on the Phelios site here:



Mac OS X Icons



Download Icons directly.



For more information please go to Phelios Downloadable Games or email:contact@phelios.com

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Apple Announces a Faster, More Affordable eMac

Apple® today announced a faster, more affordable line of eMac™ desktop computers for home and schools, including faster PowerPC G4 processors running at up to 1.25 GHz, 333 MHz DDR memory, faster ATI Radeon graphics and USB 2.0 connectivity to peripherals. Offering even more power and performance, Apple’s most affordable SuperDrive™-equipped system is now available starting at just $999 (US).

The following two standard configurations are available, and you can also custom configure your eMac from the Apple Store.

The 17-inch flat CRT eMac, for a suggested retail price of $799 (US) includes:

• 1.25 GHz PowerPC G4 processor;
  
• 256MB of 333 MHz DDR SDRAM;
  
• a 32x Combo (DVD-ROM/CD-RW) optical drive;
  
• five USB ports (three USB 2.0) and two Firewire 400;
  
• ATI Radeon 9200 with 32MB video memory; and
  
• a 40GB Ultra ATA/100 hard drive.
  

• 1.25 GHz PowerPC G4 processor;
  
• 256MB of 333 MHz DDR SDRAM;
  
• an 8x SuperDrive (DVD-R/CD-RW) optical drive;
  
• five USB ports (three USB 2.0) and two Firewire 400;
  
• ATI Radeon 9200 with 32MB video memory; and
  
• an 80GB Ultra ATA/100 hard drive.
  

Other build to order options include a 160GB drive, internal Bluetooth module, and Airport Extreme card.

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Create your own instruments in GarageBand

If you're bored with GarageBand's built-in software instruments, don't fret - you can easily add your own.

GarageBand's software instruments are based on several generators, such as guitar, analog basic, piano, etc. Each generator has several standard variations, but you can also edit the parameters to make your own instruments.

After you create a software instrument track, double click it to bring up the edit window. Click "details" at the bottom of the window to show the customization controls.

Note that guitar is selected with the variation clean electric guitar. By clicking the edit button at the right, you can change the sound parameters to produce a very different sound.

You can also do the same for any of the effects, including amp simulation.

Experiment with the different generators & effects, and you'll probably come up with some great sounds.

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Apple reponds to Trojan Horse threat

Apple has responded to the Trojan Horse security advisory issued by Intego on Thursday. "We are aware of the potential issue identified by Intego and are working proactively to investigate it," Apple said in a statement. "While no operating system can be completely secure from all threats, Apple has an excellent track record of identifying and rapidly correcting potential vulnerabilities."

Intego has also posted a Q&A page, which includes some misinformation.

Intego's Q&A states:

First of all, Mac OS X runs two types of applications: Cocoa and Carbon. Cocoa applications are native OS X applications, and have an .app extension. Cocoa applications are, in fact, folders containing all the bits and pieces of a program—code, resources, graphics, etc. The .app extension tells Mac OS X that an application is going to run natively.

Carbon applications are different. Most Carbon programs can run under either Mac OS 9 or Mac OS X, and, for this reason, have no .app extension. The Mac OS knows they are executable programs because of two resources, carb and cfrg. The carb resource indicates that it is a Carbon application and the cfrg resource indicates the location of executable code in a file's data fork.

This trojan horse, which has never been discovered in the wild but is merely a proof of concept, involves a mismatch between the file type and the extention. In particular, a CFM application with the file type 'APPL' has the extension .MP3, which will cause it to appear as a MP3 file.

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Only hours left to pick the winner of the iCompositions 5th Best Song Contest

Help choose the winner of iCompositions' fifth contest for the Best GarageBand Song! Voting ends midnight tonight (EST). Only you can choose who will get 250MB of upload space (up from 50MB).

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Intego discovers first Mac OS X Trojan Horse: MP3Concept

Intego, the Macintosh security specialist, has just released updated virus definitions for Intego VirusBarrier to protect Mac users against the first Trojan horse that affects Mac OS X. This Trojan horse, MP3Concept (MP3Virus.Gen), exploits a weakness in Mac OS X where applications can appear to be other types of files.

The Trojan horse's code is encapsulated in the ID3 tag of an MP3 (digital music) file. This code is in reality a hidden application that can run on any Macintosh computer running Mac OS X.

Mac OS X displays the icon of the MP3 file, with an .mp3 extension, rather than showing the file as an application, leading users to believe that they can double-click the file to listen to it. But double clicking the file launches the hidden code, which can damage or delete files on computers running Mac OS X, then iTunes to play the music contained in the file, to make users think that it is really an MP3 file . While the first versions of this Trojan horse that Intego has isolated are benign, this technique opens the door to more serious risks.

This Trojan horse has the potential to do any of the following:

• Delete all of a user's personal files
  
• Send an e-mail message containing a copy of itself to other users
  
• Infect other MP3, JPEG, GIF or QuickTime files
  

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Mail Factory, a new Mac OS X tool

BeLight Software, author of famous Business Card Composer, has announced Mail Factory, a new Mac OS X tool to design and print envelopes, shipping and address labels.

The application allows the user to save time and money on preparing address labels for mailing pieces.



Mail Factory costs $29.95 and is scheduled for release in May, 2004:

http://www.belightsoft.com/mailfactory/

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Linux on iPod

Linux on iPod is a port of Linux to the iPod. Note that this is experimental software and the developers aren't responsible for any damage it may cause.

Linux on iPod supports all iPods except the mini. The current applications are a file browser & MP3 player. One of the ultimate goals of the project is to play Ogg files on the iPod. Currently it can only be built on a PC because it requres a compiler that can generate ARM code.

For more information, visit http://ipodlinux.sourceforge.net/.

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Colourfull Creations releases spellXbuilder for Macintosh OS X

Colourfull Creations releases spellXbuilder for Macintosh OS X 10.3 or higher.

spellXbuilder allows you to create custom spelling lists to test on at your own pace. spellXbuilder uses the built in voice capability of the Macintosh to test you on the spelling lists that you create. spellXbuilder is easy to use and a fun and stress free way to test at your own pace.

spellXbuilder is recommended for the very young and adults alike. For parents it is a completely stress free and fun environment for your child to be tested on their spelling lists. No more arguments about getting your child to study. Now that's stress free!

For adults it is an easy way to become a more proficient speller which can help you in the business world greatly. spellXbuilder will allow to you to study in private and at your own pace.

spellXbuilder is available for immediate release and is available for Macintosh OS X 10.3 or higher. For more information and to download go to: http://www.colourfull.com

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Basasoft has released BasaOne 1.0.4.

Update to the Web Application Development Environment.

BasaOne helps develop powerful websites and applications. With BasaOne you can easily write Web Applications with database access without having to bother about different programming languages, server platforms, databases, etc



You can download the application as well as the extensive BasaOne User Guide with nearly 100 pages. A step-by-step tutorial and the corresponding project file is also available.



To unlock BasaOne you can buy a license key at our online store or request a free 14 days trial key for this version.

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Apple Security Update 2004-04-05

Security Update 2004-04-05, now available via Software Update for 10.2 & 10.3, delivers a number of security enhancements and is recommended for all Macintosh users. This update includes the following components: CUPS Printing, libxml2, Mail, OpenSSL

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WinTranslator & MacTranslator Demo Editions

Generate Design Diagrams from Your Source Code in Minutes



Placitas, NM – April 5, 2004 - Excel Software is pleased to announce the immediate availability of Demo editions of its WinTranslator and MacTranslator reengineering tools. When used in conjunction with the WinA&D or MacA&D modeling tools, software developers can automatically generate live diagrams that represent the design of their source code.

WinTranslator for Windows and MacTranslator for Macintosh implement three types of reengineering:



* Class Models or CRC Cards from C++, Java, Delphi and Ada

* Structure Charts from C, Pascal, Basic and Fortran

* Data Models from SQL



The Product edition of WinTranslator can be used with the WinA&D, QuickUML or QuickCRC modeling tools. The WinTranslator Demo is only intended for use with a current Demo or Product edition of WinA&D. The same restriction and the approach described below also apply to the MacTranslator Demo running on Macintosh.



WinTranslator is a reengineering tool that extracts design information from source code files. It saves that information to text files that are imported into WinA&D. Unlike the WinTranslator product, the Demo edition encrypts these text files so that they are not human readable and can only be imported into WinA&D when running in a special Demo Mode. This approach allows evaluators to reengineer their own proprietary or classified projects and see the live results in WinA&D, but prevents saving or exporting the generated documents to disk.



Before importing files into WinA&D, the Developer must enable a special Demo Mode. The Demo Mode disables save, export and report generation features in WinA&D, but enables the import of encrypted files from the WinTranslator Demo. All other features are still available allowing the developer to view, navigate and explore the generated diagrams and dictionary information. The Demo edition introduces no file size or file count limitations, time restrictions or other constraints that would limit its use on large industrial-scale projects. After restarting WinA&D, the Demo Mode will no longer be enabled.



The WinTranslator and MacTranslator products are priced at $495 each for a Single User License or $50 for a Demo & Manual package. The Demo & Manual package includes a printed manual, PDF manual, step-by-step tutorial and free technical support. Contact Excel Software for site license and upgrade prices or visit www.excelsoftware.com for information and online ordering.



Excel Software

Ph: (505) 771-3719

Fax: (505) 771-3718

Web: http://www.excelsoftware.com

Email: info@excelsoftware.com

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Now You Can Sell Your Music On iTunes

(HOLLYWOOD) - Independent artists and labels will be glad to learn that they don’t have to be distributed by a major label to get a distribution contract with the iTunes Music Store, now revolutionizing music sales with millions of dollars in downloads.



But finding out how to do it was often a painful and time-consuming process - until now.



http://www.higgs.com/publications/itunes-guide.html

Higgs Communications announces A Guide To Selling Your Music In The iTunes Music Store by Simon Higgs. This is the definitive guide to placing independently released music in the iTunes Music Store - and getting paid for every song downloaded.



Written exclusively for start-up and established independent record labels, A Guide To Selling Your Music In The iTunes Music Store is the much-needed how-to iTunes manual for producers, engineers, artists, managers, and attorneys handling band and label affairs.



One of the year’s top music business stories is the iTunes Music Store phenomenon, which offers Windows and Macintosh users the industry’s largest online music catalog of over 500,000 songs, industry-leading personal use rights and uniform 99 cents-per-song pricing. The iTunes Music Store offers music from all five major music companies and over 300 independent music labels.





A Guide To Selling Your Music In The iTunes Music Store shows the way there to independent labels and bands. It covers the entire application and contracting process, from approaching Apple to encoding and submitting music to the iTunes Music Store. It explains what the seller must know and shows where the pitfalls are in the process.



The guide focuses on the following areas:

· The Application Process

· Sending The Contract Back To Apple

· Encoding Your Music Using iTunes Producer

· Bonus Section Explaining ISRC Codes



A Guide To Selling Your Music In The iTunes Music Store is available (hard copy only) directly from Higgs Communications, LLC, for $20.00 plus shipping/handling, at:



http://www.higgs.com/publications/itunes-guide.html



Higgs Communications provides consulting services to the entertainment and telecommunications industries, and government. Author Simon Higgs has over 11 years experience in online music distribution, including writing the first serious article in the music press about it for Keyboard magazine in 1993.



Press Contact: Simon Higgs

Higgs Communications, LLC

(818) 352-3208

2004@higgs.com



© 2004 Higgs Communications LLC. All rights reserved.

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Playfair strips DRM from iTunes Music

Playfair is a tool that converts protected AAC tracks purchased from iTunes Music Store to unprotected files.

When Apple opened the iTunes Music Store, they licensed a technology called "FairPlay" from a company called "Veridisc". FairPlay is a Digital Rights Management (DRM) system that limits a users rights on a digital media file that they've purchased and presumably downloaded. In the case of Apple's iTunes Music Store, when a user downloads an audio track from iTMS, it is a "Protected AAC Audio File". When used as intended, these files can only be played through the iTunes program itself. Furthermore, a particular computer must first be "authorized" to play the given file. FairPlay allows up to three computers and unlimited Apple iPods to be authorized to play the file. As DRM schemes go, FairPlay is only moderately offensive.

So what will playfair do for you? The playfair program is quite simple. It takes one of the iTMS Protected AAC Audio Files, decodes it using a key obtained from your iPod or Microsoft Windows system and then writes the new, decoded version to disk as a regular AAC Audio File. It then optionally copies the metadata tags that describe the song, including the cover art, to the new file.

The current version of playfair requres XCode and runs from the command line. For more information, visit the SourceForge project page.

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Great news for anyone interested in Digital Video Editing.

New York City, NY -- Reelhouse, the newest royalty-free footage and video FX producer, announced today the release of thousands of stock video, background and effects for Final Cut Pro users and DVD studio pro users . Built to save users time and money, the stock products are offered in network quality NTSC and PAL, but priced to be affordable by both professional editors and any emerging video enthusiasts. (almost half that of most stock products)

"Video is what's next for Mac users and designers, but it is still too expensive. We want to empower anyone even remotely interested in video to be able to quickly produce professional quality edits and designs and at a fraction of the cost." states Adam Roe, Reelhouse's President. "Ultimately, it's all about saving time, but these days it should be about saving money too." Reelhouse products were designed to easily be dropped directly into your Video or DVD timeline to enhance your own footage or alone for backgrounds, transitions, masks, and effects. As the clips are pre-rendered movies, not plugin effects, you save tons of heavy render time.



Just launched today in the Reelhouse collection is the Film leader FX Library. World's largest royalty-free film FX library. The 200 plus film leaders and FX were built from extremely rare 16 mm and 35 mm sources from all over the world and took nearly 6 years to collect. This month only, the FILM FX library is only $399 and available at http://reelhouse.com.



The Reelhouse team is offering free overnight shipping, free sample downloads.



For more information or to download full resolution free samples visit: http://www.reelhouse.com or contact:



Jason Rheves

Ph 703/481.8364

fx: 703/481.8089

email: news@reelhouse.com

URL: http://www.reelhouse.com

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Two NEW Keynote Themes from Keynote Gallery

If you need a theme with a religious look then Spirituality is perfect for
your presentation. This theme includes 38 masters and extras such as 5 custom
bullets, 6 custom chart fills plus 2 underlines. You can grab this theme for
only $9.95 US.

Evidence has a grey look but there's nothing dull about this
theme. It has uniquely-shaped cutouts, a total of 42 masters, 5 custom bullets,
6 custom chart fills plus 19 extras including some neat painterly backgrounds to add
punch to your presentation. Evidence is a bargain at $9.95 US.
Check out these themes and more at keynotegallery.com

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Reader Specials from MacResQ

• Norton Personal Firewall 3.0, Retail Box
  Normally $29.99, take $10 off with Q-Pon code "NSF"
  
• 
  Norton Internet Security 2.0, Retail Box
  Normally $29.99, take $8 off with Q-Pon code "NSI"
  
• 
  Norton SystemWorks 2.0 for Mac, Retail Box
  Normally $39.99, take $15 off with Q-Pon code "NSW15"
  
• 
  HP Scanjet 4400Cxi USB/Parallel Flatbed Scanner
  Normally $59.99, take $20 off with Q-Pon code "SC44"
  
• 
  FunTV Mobile Portable AC/DC VHS Video Player with 4-inch Flat Color Screen
  Normally $99.99, take $20 off with Q-Pon code "FUNTV2"
  
• 
  Griffin iCurve Laptop Stand
  Normally $34.99, take $7 off with Q-Pon code "ICV"
  

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Free Gimp once again available

The self-contained Gimp app for Mac OS X is once again available from http://gimp-app.sourceforge.net/. As reported previously, it had been pulled.

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Gmail off to a bad start for Mac users

I'm sure everyone has heard of Google's new gmail service. I decided to look at it, and was greeted by a screen saying that my browser is unsupported when using Safari.


Click for full size image

However, I found that it does work with Camino. I haven't signed up so I can't report how well it works.

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F-Script 1.2.6 for Mac OS X

F-Script is a lightweight object-oriented interactive and scripting
layer specifically designed for Cocoa, the native Mac OS X object
system.

F-Script version 1.2.6 brings major enhancements including a thread
safe runtime, a greatly improved graphical object browser, a new
collection inspector, generalized support for undo/redo, and many other
improvements. A detailed description of what is new in this version can
be found at http://www.fscript.org/releaseNotes/.

F-Script, whose previous version won an O'Reilly Mac OS X Innovators
Award, is an open-source environment designed to leverage the unique
capabilities of Mac OS X. Based on Smalltalk, it provides interactive
and scripting access to Cocoa objects through a powerful graphical
environment and an innovative high-level programming model. F-Script
allows interactive exploration, testing and use of Cocoa-based objects
and frameworks. It can be used stand-alone or embedded into other
applications thanks to a set of components which are extremely easy to
use. In addition, it can be dynamically injected into any Cocoa
application at run-time.

F-Script is released free of charge, as open source software. It can be
downloaded from http://www.fscript.org. The F-Script project is
sponsored by the European Smalltalk User Group (www.esug.org) and SQLI
(www.sqli.com).

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