Mac Product Watch

If you wondered what helped that 500-MHz G4 beat a 1GHz Pentium III in Photoshop tests, it's this: Adobe Systems Inc. has released its Photoshop 5.5 AltiVec Plug-in update. The update fixes problems with running Photoshop 5.5 on Mac OS 8.6 or Mac OS 9 on multiprocessor systems and with certain filters.

ADS Technologies is into FireWire in a big way, shipping the Pyro 1394 Six Port Repeater, a six-port repeater to extend and expand a Mac's FireWire capability, and Pyro 1394 Memory Readers for Compact Flash ($99), Smart Media ($129) and Sony Memory Stick (price TBA).

The SAS Institute has released JMP 4.0, the latest version of the company's statistical software package. It features a new interface, better journaling and customization and support for more graphics formats. Also, JMP 4.0 includes AppleScript support.

Brother's P-Touch electronic labeling systems now includes the PT-9200DX, which produces laminated labels with printing over one inch at a resolution of 260-dots per inch (dpi).

Markzware has released updates to three of its professional pre-press products. FlightCheck 3.85, which scans DTP files for problems, gains support for Adobe's FrameMaker 6 and Macromedia's FreeHand 9; detection for certain gradients and patterns; and more. The FlightCheck Collect 3.85 preflighting tool gets Mac OS 9 and Quark 4.1 fixes. MarkzToolz III 8.0, which helps recover corrupted or damaged Quark files, has also been updated for compatibility.

Angelo Scicolone's has let loose his free PrefsOverload 1.0 tool for managing your Preferences file.

One must be absolutely modern: Harmon/Kardon's SoundSticks is a three-piece, totally transparent speaker system, including the jellyfish-like iSub, for use with USB-equipped Macs. The set is available for $199 in limited quantities at the Apple Store.

Main Event Software has released Scripter Personal Edition and Scripter 2.5. The former is a simplified and less-expensive version of the latter, which is a professional-level AppleScript development environment. While Scripter goes for $250, the Personal Edition lists at $90.

WebEx has announced that it will release a Mac client for its Web-based meeting software. Previously, Mac users were relegated to a limited-functionality Java client. No final release date was available.

IBM Corp. (ibm) has released Via Voice for Macintosh, Enhanced Edition. This revised version of the plain-Jane Via Voice adds setup assistants, an improved user interface and more. It requires Mac OS 9 and USB connectivity. It costs $149.

XLR8 has announced MACh Fire PCI, a $99 PCI card that adds FireWire connectivity to older Macs. It comes bundled with VideoShop 4.5.

And yet more games: Id Software has revealed that the Quake III: Team Arena mission pack for the popular first-person shooter will ship for the Mac.

Mimio Software has announced that it will bring its Mimio whiteboard collaboration product to the Mac. Mimio includes hardware to capture real-time drawing on any whiteboard and transform the data there into an electronic form that can be shared. Scheduled to ship in September, Mimio will carry a street price of $599.

New Millennium Communications has released SecureFM, a FileMaker Pro plug-in for preventing unauthorized alteration of entries in a FileMaker database. A five-user license is $100; other volumes are available.

As you may have already heard, Apple Computer Inc. has introduced iMovie 2.0, a new version of the company's consumer-level video editing application. In addition to an "Aquafied" user interface, iMovie 2.0 gains improved audio editing capabilities, more title and transition controls, and a new collection of special effects. It requires a FireWire-enabled Mac and a camcorder. Purchasers of most new Macs will find the application preinstalled; owners of older Macs can purchase iMovie 2.0 for $49 from the online Apple (aapl) store beginning in August.

ATI Technologies (atytf) has officially announced its Radeon 3-D accelerator card. Featuring a 128-bit graphics engine and 32MB of Double Data Rate (DDR) memory, the just-released PC version of the Radeon has benchmarked well against current market leaders. AGP and PCI versions will start shipping in September for $279. Both will include S-video and composite output.

QPS Inc.'s Que! Note 12x4x32 is a compact SCSI CD-ReWritable drive targeted at PowerBook owners. Currently available for $499, the Que! Note comes bundled with Adaptec Inc.'s Toast.

Logitech is showing off its new mice, apparently undaunted by Apple's newly redesigned mouse. Among Logitech's new offerings are the Cordless MouseMan Wheel and Cordless Wheel Mouse, the optical MouseMan Wheel, and USB-based mice.

In news for small-office/home-office (SOHO) Mac users, MYOB U.S. Inc. has announced its MYOB AccountEdge, a small-business management application. The company has also committed to a Mac OS X version of AccountEdge. It's planned for a fall release. Pricing has not yet been set.

Connectix Corp. has debuted its CopyAgent software for automatic backups, offering improved copy speeds over a network. It's available for $39.

Canon Computer Systems Inc. has introduced four USB-based color flatbed scanners for the SOHO market. The CanoScan N1220U, available in August, boasts a resolution of 1,200-by-2,400 dots per inch (dpi), 42-bit color and Canon's Z-Lid Expansion Top. The CanoScan D660U features 600-by-1,200-dpi resolution, 42-bit color and a built-in 35mm-film adapter. It's set to ship in September. The CanoScan N650U and N656U, both available in August, support 600-by-1,200-dpi resolution at 42-bit color. No pricing has been set.

The USBXchange from Adaptec is an $80 USB-to-SCSI adapter, allowing owners of recent Macs to connect their machines to legacy SCSI devices.

SPSS Inc. has announced SPSS 10.0, the first Mac release of the statistical software since 1995. Ported from and compatible with the Windows version, SPSS 10.0 is expected to ship in September for $999, with an academic price of $499.

For music mavens: Steinberg North America Inc. has rolled out its Cubase VST 5.0 line. The audio applications gain a new interface, 32-bit recording and optimizations for the G4's Velocity Engine.

Mo' music -- MusicMatch Inc. showed off MusicMatch Jukebox 1.0, which the company claims is the first free all-in-one jukebox software for the Mac that allows unlimited MP3 recording, as well as playing.

Sophisticated Circuits Inc. has announced Kick-off!, its first USB-based server availability product. The $179 device joins the company's line of PowerKey products.

Productivity killer par excellence, Diablo II is shipping. Blizzard Entertainment's real-time action game has been hotly anticipated in both the PC and Mac worlds; in a rare occurrence, the Mac faithful have had to wait only a month after the PC version shipped. In addition, Diablo II includes free online gaming through Blizzard's battle.net. Kudos all around!

Dantz Development Corp. has announced Version 4.3 of its Retrospect Backup line of archiving software, which includes Retrospect Express, Retrospect Desktop and Retrospect Workgroup. All flavors share Mac OS 9's ability to create files larger than 2GB, which opens the door to using hard drives as backup targets. They also each gain support for USB and FireWire CD-R, CD-RW and tape drives. In addition, the company claims to have improved file transfer speeds for all its products. All products are currently available for purchase and updates in electronic form from Dantz's Web site. Boxed versions of Retrospect Desktop and Retrospect Workgroup are in the distribution channel, while boxed copies of Retrospect Express are expected to ship by the end of August. Retrospect Express will cost $49; upgrades will be $10 electronically and $20 in stores. Retrospect Desktop and Retrospect Workgroup will clock in at $149 and $299, respectively; upgrades will cost $60 and $80, respectively.

Creative Technology Ltd. is shipping its Nomad II MG portable MP3 player with both Mac and PC compatibility. The $400 device includes USB connectivity, an FM tuner, voice recording, upgradable firmware and 64MB of on-board flash memory, plus a Smart Media slot.

Hewlett-Packard Co. (hwp) has announced the HP OfficeJet G series of all-in-one printer, scanner, fax and copier devices. All offer USB connectivity, network capability and a document management application. Print speeds are up to 12 pages per minute (ppm) in black and white and 10 ppm for color. The flatbed scanning component features a resolution of 600-by-3,600 dpi. The line includes the HP OfficeJet G55 for $499 and the HP OfficeJet G85 for $799.

Fuji Photo Film USA Inc.'s (fujiy) Fujifilm FinePix 40i compact digital camera adds MP3 digital music and up to 80 seconds of continuous AVI video with sound to its mundane photo-taking abilities. If photos are indeed what you're after, the relevant info would be an ISO sensitivity equivalent of 200, built-in flash, five exposure modes, a USB port and Smart Media support.

Micromat has announced TechTool Pro 3, a major revision to the company's repair utility. Version 3 adds a new interface, speed improvements, support for more hard drive standards and virus protection. It should be available after late July for $100, with a $50 upgrade for owners of previous versions.

Former NeXT developer Stone Design has released two new applications for the yet-unreleased Mac OS X, Create for X and PhotoToWeb 1.0. The former is a comprehensive drawing, layout and publish-to-Web application. It offers speed improvements, an editable file format, a "100% Quartz" display model and other features. Normally $695, Create for X is currently available for $249. PhotoToWeb 1.0 is a $99 utility for processing, managing and arraying albums of digital photos.

Omni Software has released OmniWeb 4.0 beta 4, the latest developmental build of its Web browser for the latest developmental build of Mac OS X, Developers Preview 4. Beta 4 includes early Flash support, new features for bookmarking, bug fixes and more. Currently, a single-machine license is free.

Chaotic Software Ltd. has been on the move, finishing MacArmyKnife 2.0 and updating MP3 Rage 2.6. The former, a $20 multifunction utility, gains a date and file renamer, an ADB device LED state checker, DNS lookup and more. The latter gets a volume adjuster, improved Napster support and bug fixes. It costs $25.

Eric Pousse's RealCADD 1.10 adds four new tools and an improved DXF translator to the $59 vector-based computer-assisted drawing (CAD) application.

Daydreamer from Quandir Software automates periodic downloads of Web pictures -- just select the URL and set the interval. It's $10 shareware.

One of the hidden strengths of the G4 processor is its capability to support up to 2MB of backside cache. However, chips so arrayed proved to be very expensive and thus haven't been seen in Apple's products. The German company Met@box AG has announced its 2MB-equipped joeCARD G4 upgrade cards. Initially aimed at the publishing and video markets, these cards are currently shipping in PCI configurations at 400MHz to 500MHz, with ZIF-socket models to follow in August. Prices start at $789.

Epson America Inc. has announced the large-format Expression 1640XL scanner, a professional-level flatbed scanner with FireWire connectivity. It features up to 1,600-by-3,200-dpi resolution, 42-bit color depth and a Dmax of 3.6. A Special Edition and a Graphic Art model are available at $2,499 and $2,699, respectively, along with an optional transparency unit for $499.

If you dig FireWire but don't need all those features, check out Umax Technologies Inc.'s Astra 6400 and 6450 scanners. These flatbeds provide 600-by-1,200-dpi resolution and 42-bit color. Prices are $249 for the 6400 and $299 for the 6450.

Uni Software Plus has released Voodoo Server 1.2, an update to its control server for Mac developers using Metrowerks CodeWarrior. The new version adds compression and encryption to its file transfer system, fixes bugs and more.

Version 3.0.6 of St. Clair Software's Default Folder utility fixes a potentially serious crashing bug.

System Support Products Inc. has released Mail Forward 1.0, a $12 shareware utility that automatically forwards e-mail from up to 20 Hotmail or POP accounts to your home e-mailbox.