Saturday, January 7, 2006

M-Audio Releases Podcast Factory for Mac
(November 11, 2005) Potential podcasters no longer have to worry about what they need to get started. M-Audio's hardware/software package the Podcast Factory gives you everything you need to record, edit and post a podcast from your Mac. It includes a dynamic microphone with a desktop stand that is well suited for voice recording and a compact 2x2 USB audio interface. This interface is USB bus-powered and includes an XLR audio input for the microphone and a separate 1/4" audio input with variable input levels. It also has stereo RCA audio outputs and a headphone jack.

The Podcast Factory's software requires OS 10.2.8 or higher and is designed for users of any level to record and edit speech, music, sound effects, etc. It also helps users post MP3s with RSS feeds to the web. With this system, you can record broadcast-quality audio at a fidelity up to 24-bit/48kHz with overdubs. The Podcast Factory lists for $180 and also includes a collection of music loops from a wide variety of genres that you can freely use in your podcasts. Go to www.m-audio.com for more information.

Source: M-Audio

Intuit Introduces QuickBooks Pro 2006 for Mac
(October 27, 2005) Intuit is now taking preorders for QuickBooks Pro 2006 for Mac, its updated financial record-keeping software for small businesses. The new version requires OS 10.3 or 10.4, and it includes a few key new features. Using OS 10.4's Tiger Sync, QuickBooks 2006 now syncs contacts with Address Book, although it will not delete contacts deleted in Address Book if that contact is tied to a QuickBooks transaction. The program also adds enhanced data sharing with QuickBooks for Windows users, and for the first time, it imports bank transactions downloaded from the Internet. Perhaps the biggest addition to QuickBooks 2006 is its payroll support. For $25 a month, users can subscribe to QuickBooks Payroll for Mac, an Internet-based payroll solution from PayCycle, Inc. It helps you generate paychecks, maintain payroll records and pay associated taxes. This service also includes phone customer support at no extra fee.

To preorder QuickBooks Pro 2006 for Mac and get more information, go to http://quickbooks.intuit.com. The program is supposed to begin shipping in late November.

Source: Intuit, Inc.

Apple Updates Two PowerBook Models
(October 19, 2005) Today Apple updated its 15" and 17" PowerBook G4s with upgraded displays, longer battery life and 8x SuperDrives that now burn dual-layer DVDs (the 12" PowerBook has not been updated and includes an 8x SuperDrive without dual-layer support). The two new models each feature displays with millions more pixels than before; the 15" PowerBook has 1,440x960 resolution (26 percent higher than before), and the 17" unit has 1,680x1,050 resolution (36 percent higher than before). In addition, each new laptop has 128MB of graphics memory and a DVI output that will run any Apple Cinema Display, including the 30" Cinema HD Display. Battery life has been extended to a maximum of 5.5 hours, an hour more than the previous PowerBooks. Rounding out the upgrades are built-in optical digital audio input and output, which means you can hook them up to 5.1 surround sound speaker systems. Optional configurations can give you a new 15" or 17" PowerBook with a 100GB internal hard drive running at 7,200rpm and up to 2GB of RAM. See www.apple.com/powerbook for more information.

• 12" PowerBook 1.5GHz G4 | 512MB RAM | 80GB Hard Drive | $1,500
• 15" PowerBook 1.67GHz G4 | 512MB RAM | 80GB Hard Drive | $2,000
• 17" PowerBook 1.67GHz G4 | 512MB RAM | 120GB Hard Drive | $2,500

Source: Apple Computer, Inc.

Apple Power Mac G5s Add Dual- and Quad-Core Processing
(October 19, 2005) Apple today announced its new Power Mac G5s with several enhancements, most notable of which are the new dual-core G5 processors. As a probable workaround for stalled G5 processor speeds, dual-core processors provide more power per processor. Two of the three new Power Macs include one dual-core G5, while the Power Mac Quad includes two dual-core G5s running at 2.5GHz each. In a series of processing tests using scientific and pro media applications such as Final Cut Pro and Adobe Photoshop, Apple reported that the new Power Mac Quad was 39 to 69 percent faster than the previous high-end Power Mac, which included dual 2.7GHz processors. However, the Power Mac Quad does cost $300 more than the previous model.

Every new Power Mac G5 supports Apple's 30" Cinema HD Display out of the box and includes three open PCI Express expansion slots and two Gigabit Ethernet ports. New expansion options allow you to upgrade the Power Mac's RAM from the standard 512MB to a maximum of 16GB or to upgrade the graphics processor to an Nvidia Quadro FX 4500, which Apple has called the "industry standard for workstation graphics." The following models are now on sale. Go to www.apple.com/powermac for more information.

• Dual-core 2.0GHz G5 | 128MB VRAM | 160GB Hard Drive | $2,000
• Dual-core 2.5GHz G5 | 256MB VRAM | 250GB Hard Drive | $2,500
• Quad-core 2.5GHz G5 | 256MB VRAM | 250GB Hard Drive | $3,000

Source: Apple Computer, Inc.

Apple Introduces Aperture Pro Photo Software
(October 19, 2005) Calling it like Final Cut Pro for professional photographers, Apple introduced its Aperture software today. One of the program's biggest attractions is its fast, advanced workflow for digital images in the RAW format. Apple wants working with RAW images in Aperture to be as easy as working with JPEGs has been. The software sorts images in stacks based on the time interval between exposures, and you can spread out images in a tile format across a full screen and multiple monitors to sort through them. With a magnifying tool, you can zoom in on portions of images without panning across large files. Aperture features non-destructive image processing and includes a suite of retouching/adjustment tools, so you can modify images without creating additional files or destroying the original file. Aperture supports Tiger's Automator actions for simplifying the workflow, and you can launch images directly into Adobe Photoshop. A variety of color managed printing, book publishing and web publishing options are also on hand. To preorder Aperture for $500 and get more information, go to www.apple.com/aperture. Aperture should be available in November.

Source: Apple Computer, Inc.

Two New Photo Inkjet Printers from Epson
(October 11, 2005) Epson America, (www.epson.com) today announced two new additions to their photo printer line, the EPSON Stylus Photo R220 and the EPSON Stylus Photo R340. Both printers offer borderless for prints up to 8.5"x11", built-in capability to print directly onto inkjet printable CDs or DVDs, and a 6 individual cartridge ink system for cost-efficient printing.

The Stylus Photo R220 (estimated street price, $99) requires OS X 10.2.x or later and plugs into your Mac through a USB port. Offering resolution of up to 5760 x 1440 dpi, 4"x6" borderless printing in roughly 57 seconds, 120 sheet paper capacity (20 sheets of premium glossy photo paper), the Stylus Photo R220 is a remarkable value.

The Stylus Photo R340 (estimated street price, $199) offers some additional features including a 2.4" color monitor for convenient photo viewing; built-in memory slots for CompactFlash I and II, MultimediaCard, xD-Picture Card, Sony Memory Stick and Memory Stick Pro and Duo, SmartMedia and Secure Digital memory formats; and PictBridge support making the R340 a valuable printer for any active digital photographer.

Source: Epson America

iTunes 6 Sells ABC Shows and Music Videos
(October 12, 2005) Only five weeks after announcing iTunes 5, today Apple announced iTunes 6, which is available now as a free download for Mac or PC at www.apple.com/itunes. The new version really only updates features to the iTunes Music Store. Most notably, it adds video download purchases for $1.99 each. The initial video content offering consists of more than 2,000 music videos, six short films from Pixar and five TV series from Walt Disney Company networks ABC and the Disney Channel. The television shows include "Desperate Housewives," "Lost," "Night Stalker," "That's So Raven" and "The Suite Life of Zack & Cody." Full seasons are available on a one episode per download basis and new shows will be available--commercial free--the day after they air on TV for the first time. All of the videos available on iTunes 6 are 320x240 resolution. You can watchthe videos on up to five authorized computers or the new iPods that play video, but they cannot be burned to CDs or DVDs.

iTunes 6 also adds customer reviews of music and the ability to give songs, albums or music videos as gifts to anyone with an email address. Finally, iTunes 6 includes a public beta of a "Just For You" section of the Music Store. This page offers music recommendations personalized for all users with Music Store accounts.

Source: Apple Computer, Inc.