RadTech announces Ice Creme 2 iPod restoration system
August 9 - 22:47 EDT   RadTech today announced the availability of Ice Creme 2, a solution for restoring scuffed and damaged Acrylic and bright (plated) metal surfaces, which the company says is "especially adept" at restoring the Apple iPod and iPod shuffle. "Ice Creme enables most anyone to quickly and easily remove the scuffing, scratching and abrasion that tends to occur on highly polished acrylic panels, like those used in several consumer devices and popular computers. Products like Apple Computer’s popular iPod and iBook notebook computers, hand-held PDA’s and cell phones can all benefit from Ice Creme’s power and ease of use." Ice Creme is available in two versions -- Regular for Acrylic and minor metal damage, and Ice Creme M for Acrylic and severe metal damage. Ice Creme and Ice Creme M retails for US$20.95 and $25.95, respectively.  [ Email this story ]

Open source internet TV app coming out for Mac first
August 9 - 18:04 EDT   Participatory Culture Foundation let us know that is first beta version of DTV, its open-source Internet TV application, is now available. With DTV, users can watch videos from RSS feeds, subscribe to channels in the built-in Channel Guide, manage feeds, and watch videos in full screen. The Foundation says that it is like podcasting, but oriented around video instead of audio. In addition, they are running a contest with a US$1,000 prize for designing a mockup of the interface, and a $300 prize for the winning logo design submission.  [ Email this story ]

Apple UK: ' Pushing Broadcasting to the Limit'
August 9 - 15:20 EDT   Apple has posted an article to the Pro section of its UK Web site. "The UK coverage of the 2005 Tour de France was created for ITV by a London-based ‘dream team’ assembled specifically to take on the job — and the ‘dream workflow’ they employed was based around Apple’s Final Cut Pro and Xsan software," notes the story. "According to Molinare’s managing director, Mark Foligno, Apple’s open architecture allowed Molinare (a Soho-based broadcast facility) and VTV to run Final Cut Pro in a way that improved the workflow for undertaking the Tour De France daily highlights."  [ Email this story ]

BeLight Software releases Image Tricks for free
August 9 - 11:07 EDT   BeLight Software today announced the release of Image Tricks, a free image editor for Mac OS X Tiger. The utility allows users to apply the special effects earlier available only in advanced image editors without intense learning curve. Image Tricks is based on Apple Core Image filters and includes about 35 Image Units (blur, distortion, stylize filters, tile effects, and more). Image Tricks is also available as a plugin for the updated versions of BeLight Software programs. Update (2:18 p.m.): BeLight has now updated its applications to support the new plugin.  [ Email this story ]

LEGO Star Wars for Mac goes 'Gold'
August 9 - 11:04 EDT   Aspyr Media today announced that LEGO Star Wars for Macintosh has has gone "Gold Master" and is scheduled to be released Monday, August 22nd.. "For the first time ever, one of the world’s most successful film series meets one of the world’s favorite toys in an epic new video game. Play the whole story of Episode I: The Phantom Menace, Episode II: Attack of the Clones and Episode III: Revenge of the Sith – three movies in one game!" LEGO Star Wars for Mac is priced at US$29.99, and requires Mac OS X 10.3.7 or later.  [ Email this story ]

Nisus Writer Express 2.5b3 released
August 9 - 10:08 EDT   Nisus Software today release of Nisus Writer Express 2.5b3, the latest version of its award winning word processor for writers. Version 2.5b3 adds several new features, including: users can now insert hyperlinks using the menu Insert > Hyperlink, a new toolbar item that lets users change their language, and a number of bug fixes. Nisus Writer Express 2.5b3 requires Mac OS X 10.3 or later and is priced at US$59.95.  [ Email this story ]

2GHz PowerForce G4 7447A upgrade card announced
August 9 - 09:12 EDT   PowerLogix today announced the availability of its 2GHz Single Processor PowerForce G4 7447A processor upgrade card. The new card features the FreeScale PowerPC 7447A and includes 512K of on-board L2 cache. The card also features an on-board thermal sensor and real-time thermal monitoring. In addition, Dynamic Frequency Switching (DFS) is supported for significantly reduced power demand. It is available now from other World Computing (OWC) for US$399.  [ Email this story ]

Microsoft announces Messenger 5.0 for Mac
August 9 - 09:00 EDT   Microsoft today announced the release of Messenger for Mac 5.0, the latest version of the company's free instant messaging software for Mac OS X. The company says that this release will make secure, real-time communication and collaboration easier for corporate Mac customers and provide enhancements to meet the needs of home users. The features include: support for Live Communications Server 2005, enhanced messaging security, Public IM Connectivity and integration with the Global Address List, tabbed viewing to separate and provide access to corporate and personal contacts from one location, multiple file transfer and improved proxy support, an updated design that features a Mac OS-like brushed-metal look and feel, customizable display pictures and the ability to view animated and custom emoticons, and more. Microsoft Messenger for Mac 5.0 will be available sometime today from the company's Web site in English, Dutch, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Spanish and Swedish.  [ Email this story ]

Monotype adds fonts from three foundries to Fonts.com
August 9 - 08:12 EDT   Monotype Imaging today announced it has added three new font collections to Fonts.com from the GarageFonts, Panache Typography and Underware typeface foundries. In the past 60 days, Fonts.com has added more than 930 products from these and other sources. Pricing for the three new font collections start from US$29, $48, and $55, respectively.  [ Email this story ]

GraphicConverter X 5.7 released
August 9 - 07:45 EDT   Lemke Software today released GraphicConverter X 5.7, the latest version of its popular image editing application, as noted by MacUpdate. As usual, the new release offers far too many enhancements and changes to list here, but all are documented on the Web site. GraphicConverter is priced at US$30 and requires Mac OS X 10.1.3 or later.  [ Email this story ]

MacJams offers 'MIDI Keyboard Buyer's Guide for Mac Users'
August 9 - 07:39 EDT   MacJams.com has published a free "MIDI Keyboard Buyer's Guide for Mac Users," which is aimed at helping new Mac musicians select the best MIDI keyboard for their needs. The Guide explains what features to look for in a MIDI keyboard to be used with a Mac, and analyzes over a dozen recommended keyboards.  [ Email this story ]

DEVONthink... DEVONthink Pro. August 17, 2005

Canadian iPod owners to get tax refund
August 9 - 07:37 EDT   Late yesterday Apple Canada announced that iPod owners in Canada will be getting their money back for a tax the Canadian government levied on the music player, reports the CBC. On its Canadian site, Apple stated: "Apple is pleased that the Supreme Court of Canada let stand a lower court ruling that blank media levies on iPods are invalid, and will shortly announce a claims process so customers can request a refund for the levies they paid." The tariff was CAD$2 for non-removable memory capacity of up to one gigabyte, $15 for one to 10 GB, and $25 for more than 10 GB. Approximately $4 million was collected by the Canadian Private Copying Collective (CPCC) from sales of iPods and other digital music players since the tax went into effect in December 2003.  [ Email this story ]

Final Cut Pro 5 tutorial videos available
August 9 - 07:21 EDT   MacProVideo.com today announced Mastering Final Cut Pro 5, a video tutorial program that can be downloaded directly to the desktop. The program uses real-time screen captures and voice-over instructions that let viewers see and hear how video is edited. Mastering Final Cut Pro 5 is now available for Modular Download. Each Sunday during August, the company will release 1-1.5 hours of new Final Cut Pro 5 training videos -- five hours in total -- for US$39.50 (20% off the final release price).  [ Email this story ]

Sonnet upgrades eSATA controllers
August 9 - 07:15 EDT   Sonnet Technologies today announced the release of its upgraded Tempo-X eSATA line of high-performance Serial ATA (SATA) host controllers, now enhanced with added support for 3 Gigabit SATA II drives and Windows XP. The Tempo-X eSATA 4+4 features four internal and four external ports, while the Tempo-X eSATA 8 features eight external ports. These host controllers’ ports are independently capable of transferring data at up to 300MB/s, and can achieve much higher transfer rates when connected drives are grouped in a striped RAID array. The Tempo-X eSATA 4+4 is available now for US$199.95, and the Tempo-X eSATA 8 will be available in September for $299.95.  [ Email this story ]

Logitech releases two new portable speaker systems
August 9 - 07:07 EDT   Logitech today announced it has expanded its mobile music product offering with the introduction of two new speaker systems, one designed specifically for the iPod, and one for any MP3 player.. The Logitech mm50 portable speakers for iPod and the Logitech mm28 portable speakers "provide people with the high-quality sound ... and also solve key problems with portable speakers by offering extended battery life and extremely portable form factors," the company said. The mm50 includes a wireless remote control, allowing users to adjust the volume, track forward, track back, play and pause the music without touching the speaker system or the iPod. The Logitech mm50 and mm28 will be available in September in the for a suggested retail price of US$149.99 and $79.99, respectively.  [ Email this story ]

'The Unity Dashboard Widget Challenge' announced
August 8 - 18:46 EDT   OTEE, the makers of the next-generation game development application Unity, today announced "The Unity Dashboard Widget Challenge for Widgets" made with Unity. Dashboard Widget publishing allows users to deploy games made with Unity (the others being Mac, PC, and Web) and is a fun way to get started with Unity. The competition runs for 14 days from today and the deadline for submissions is August 22 2005. Prizes and further information are available from the Web site.  [ Email this story ]

Icons to go from The Iconfactory

Apple posts Second Life games feature, trailer
August 8 - 14:15 EDT   Apple has posted a new feature on Second Life to the games area of its Web site. "Second Life isn’t a game so much as it’s a tool for building anything you want: vehicles, avatars, clothes, buildings, funky sculptures. You can even build your own games and host them inside the world, pulling in other players to participate. You own everything you create in the game, including the land you purchase for your buildings, and can sell it for real world money. Welcome to your second life."  [ Email this story ]

August 6th Inside Mac Radio show posted
August 8 - 14:13 EDT   The August 6th broadcast of the Inside Mac Radio Show is now available as a podcast download. The show featured Tim O'Reilly, CEO of O'Reilly Media; Mark Gilbert, CEO of Gallery; Paul Kent of Mac Retreats; DPBuzz with Philip Hodgetts; Mighty Mouse review with Laura Burstein; Sam Levin with his Cool Mac Picks; and Mac news week in review with Ken Ray. Inside Mac can be heard live on Saturdays from 1:00 - 3:00 p.m. PT. You can listen to the broadcast on AM 1220 KNTS in the San Francisco Bay area or on the Web. An MP3 download for the show is made available each Monday, in the event you miss the live version.  [ Email this story ]

Waterfall Software releases iVideo 3.0
August 8 - 12:40 EDT   Waterfall Software today released iVideo 3.0, a free update to its advanced video organizer and player for Mac OS X. Version 3.0 offers major speed improvements, an updated user interface, seamless drag and drop to other applications, support for more file formats, and other enhancements and bug fixes. iVideo 3.0 requires Mac OS 10.2 or higher and is priced at US$19.95.  [ Email this story ]

Photoshop World advance registration deal set to expire
August 8 - 12:37 EDT   Photoshop World’s advance registration deadline, which offers US$100 off the cost of admission, expires on Friday, August 12th. The offer is extended to both NAPP (National Association of Photoshop Professionals) and non-NAPP members alike. The Photoshop World Conference & Expo takes place September 7-9 at the Hynes Convention Center in Boston, and is priced at $399, which takes into account the advance registration discount.  [ Email this story ]

SharedPlan Professional Edition 2.0 announced
August 8 - 12:19 EDT   SharedPlan Software today announced the availability of SharedPlan Professional Edition 2.0, with new RSS and iCal publishing capabilities for improved team collaboration. SharedPlan Professional 2.0 offers the ability to publish plans, tasks, status, and other information in either RSS or iCal format, providing efficient communication with team members. SharedPlan Professional 2.0 is priced at US$199.  [ Email this story ]

Apple updates Hot Deals site
August 8 - 11:35 EDT   Apple has updated its Hot Deal site with the latest offerings from O'Reilly. The company has exclusive discounts for many of it's most popular Mac titles, including Mac OS X: The Missing Manual, Tiger Edition, iPod and iTunes Hacks, Mac OS X Tiger Pocket Guide, iPod Shuffle Fan Book, Learning Unix for Mac OS X Tiger, and more.  [ Email this story ]

Aspyr announces SimCity 4 Deluxe for Mac
August 8 - 11:24 EDT   Aspyr Media today announced they will release SimCity 4 Deluxe, a bundle including SimCity 4 and the SimCity 4 Rush Hour expansion pack, in September. "Create the most massive region of cities ever, with a farming town, bedroom community, high-tech commercial center, and industrial backbone. Take complete control of your city's transportation system and solve U-Drive-It missions from fighting crime to tackling disasters. Watch your population skyrocket as you get your Sims on the go. Create the ultimate living, breathing megalopolis -- the most expansive compilation ever." Pricing was not announced.  [ Email this story ]

FID announces surround sound headphones
August 8 - 10:24 EDT   First International Digital (FID) today introduced its irock! 5.1 Theater Sound USB Headphones. The new headphones are PC and Mac compatible and feature six speakers, each in an individual sound chamber, which the company says "provide users with big-screen, virtual surround sound for portable home theater and PC gaming applications." The headphones require no sound card and no software drivers are required for Macintosh. irock! is priced at US$59.99 and comes with a carry bag.  [ Email this story ]