News and New Releases

Backup and disk duplication

Shirt Pocket Software's SuperDuper 1.5.4(73) offers disk duplication, creation of bootable copies, creation of restorable images compatible with ASR, Safety Clones, Smart Update, AppleScript support, on-the-fly permission verify, and flexible customization. This release enhances the software's ability to detect and correct for unusual permissions and ownership during a clone. SuperDuper is US $19.95 for Mac OS X 10.2.8 and up http://www.shirt-pocket.com/SuperDuper/SuperDuperDescription.html

All-purpose information organizer

StickyBrain 3.1 is an all-purpose information organizer that features import of Word, HTML, rich text and Stickies data; iPod synchronization; email and Address Book integration; live hyperlinks; note sorting and summarization; and calendars and to-do lists. This release adds two-way synchronization with memos on Palm OS handhelds, drag-and-drop of text clippings, contextual menu options for changing note attributes, creation of notes in specific folders without an open viewer window, and other changes. StickyBrain is US $39.99 for Mac OS X 10.3. http://chronosnet.com/Products/sb_product.html

Graphical interface to hidden settings

Cocktail 3.5 (Panther Edition) provides a graphical interface to various Unix functions and hidden settings in Mac OS X, including prebinding, journaling, cron jobs, permissions repair, network card settings, and more. The new version adds a built-in uninstaller, updated help, an option to save information from the Specifications window, faster startup, disk spindown settings for both Power Adapter and Battery Power, sleep settings for PowerBooks and iBooks, more cache cleaning options, new connection types for network optimization, and many other changes. Cocktail is US $14.95 for Mac OS X 10.3. (Cocktail 3.5 for Jaguar is scheduled for release in February 2005.) http://www.macosxcocktail.com/

Slideshow and presentation program

Apimac Slide Show 6.3 is a slideshow and presentation program for multimedia files, QuickTime movies, sounds, and images. Slideshows can run in manual or automatic mode and can be exported to standalone presentations for Mac OS X, Classic Mac OS, or Windows (Pro Edition only). The new version adds support for AAC audio files, tweaks the audio control for better performance, and fixes an issue saving standalone presentations. Apicmac Slide Show is US $24.95 (US $29.95 Pro Edition) for Mac OS X and Classic Mac OS. http://www.apimac.com/ss/index.html

Create movies in AVI format

XRay 4.0 (formerly DivXRay) generates high-quality Mac-, PC-, and DVD player-compatible MPEG4 movies in AVI format. It can import DVD movies, every QuickTime movie, every Xvid AVI movie, and every possible MPEG track, and it can export multiple movies simultaneously. Among other features, this version offers a new real-time player, project management, and DVD/CD burning. XRay is US $39 for Mac OS X 10.3 with a G4 or better. http://www.mh1.de/software/divxray4.html

Batch file renaming utility

FileWrangler 1.1 is a batch file renaming utility with user-definable folder recursion, use of a file's "enclosing folder" as part of the file name, natural language date input, and more. New features include file list export with optional tags, tool tips, automatic filename truncation to 31 characters, and speed improvements. FileWrangler is free (donations accepted) for Mac OS X. http://homepage.mac.com/christopherdrum

Create and print CD/DVD labels

Disclabel 2.2.1 creates and prints CD/DVD labels and related materials. It can use predesigned or custom templates, import track/item lists from iTunes, iPhoto, and iDVD, and more. The new version makes template downloading more accessible and adds four new holiday templates. Disclabel is US $29.95 for Mac OS X 10.2.5 and up. http://www.disclabel.com/

Vector-based drawing application

EazyDraw 1.7 is a vector-based drawing application for technical drawings, illustrations, icons, logos, and similar graphics. Among other new features, this release adds support for Claris Draw, MacDraw, and MacDraw II formats with conservation of all vector information including colors, gradients, patterns, groups, and layers. EazyDraw is US $95 for Mac OS X 10.2 and up. http://www.eazydraw.com/

Multiple Clipboards

CopyPaste+yType 2.5 updates the multiple clipboard software with a new typing component. yType adds typing acceleration, instantaneous spell checking, word prediction, keystroke logging, and inline equation solving in any application. CopyPaste+yType is US $30 for Mac OS X 10.3. http://www.scriptsoftware.com/copypaste/

FTP/SFTP client

Yummy FTP 1.0.5 is an FTP/SFTP client that offers Rendezvous and Keychain support, synchronization, remote editing, AppleScript support, FTP aliases, automatic failure recovery, queue-based transfers, accelerated transfers, and other features. This release adds full VMS support, the ability to set User and Group attributes via SFTP, improved Keychain support, drag-and-drop opening of URL files and bookmarks from Interarchy, Fetch, and Vicomsoft FTP, and numerous other changes. Yummy FTP is US $25 for Mac OS X 10.2 and up. http://www.yummysoftware.com/

Software for reading Sony Mavica CDs in Mac OS X

Read DVD! from Software Architects. For US $24.95 it's a good deal. But there is a problem with the software, you need to remove Apple's UDF support. The folder "udf.fs" is located in System/Library/Filesystems. No reboot is necessary; simply removing this folder and reinserting the Mavica CD or any other generic-brand minidisc used with the Mavica allowed Read DVD's extensions to be used instead, and the disc to successfully mount. http://www.softarch.com/
Shawn Hamachek

Unit Converter

|iUnit 3.1 converts between different units of distance, mass, volume, velocity, density, currency, and other types of measurements, with over 1500 units of measurements and 80 common constants. This release improves the interface and fixes some bugs. iUnit is US $19.99 for Mac OS X, Classic Mac OS, Linux, and Windows. http://www.blackcatsystems.com/software/iunit.html

Locate duplicate songs in iTunes

iTunes Dupes Barrier 1.1 can locate duplicate songs in your iTunes and iPod song databases using the song name, artist name, album, and file size as criteria. The new version can delete duplicates and synchronize deletions with iTunes. iTunes Dupes Barrier is US $10 for Mac OS X 10.3 with iTunes 4.0 or later. http://www.hyperbolicsoftware.com/

Mac Annoyances book

O'Reilly & Associates released Mac Annoyances by John Rizzo. The book provides solutions to scores of common problems faced by Mac owners, with hidden and previously undocumented tips, tricks, and workarounds designed to improve problem-solving. Mac Annoyances is US $24.95 [US $16.47 at Amazon]. A sample chapter, "iPod Annoyances" [ch06.pdf], is available for download in PDF format. http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/macannoy/ http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/macannoy/chapter/ch06.pdf

Convert MPEG video into DV video streams

DropDV 2.0 is a drag-and-drop application that converts MPEG video into DV video streams for editing in iMovie, Final Cut Pro, and other DV editors. It supports NTSC and PAL, retains the audio track, and uses YUV instead of converting to RGB. This release has been completely rewritten and includes faster processing, multi-processor support, audio-video synchronization, support for any MPEG file, a revised interface, and other changes. DropDV is US $39.99 for Mac OS X. http://www.dropdv.com/

QuicKeys update

Startly Technologies released QuicKeys X3, an update of its Mac OS X automation software. The update includes a new interface, new triggers (speech, time range, application event, mouse button, and device), Shortcut Subscriptions that allows groups of users to share shortcuts, more logic and variable elements, improved recording, and much more. QuicKeys X3 is US $99.95 for Mac OS X 10.3 http://www.quickeys.com/products/qkx.html

Create web photo albums and galleries

Web Photos Pro 1.0b15a creates web photo albums and galleries. It offers photo workspaces, thumbnails, resizing and compression of photos, customizable templates, smart uploading (which uploads changed files only), automatic creation of RSS and PhotoRSS feeds, the ability to connect to iPhoto and read all its albums, and other features. Web Photos Pro is currently US $29.95 (regularly US $39.95) for Mac OS X and Windows 2000/XP. http://www.webphotospro.com/