Thursday, November 24th	Last updated: 11:30 AM EST

Early Morning Edition

Apple offers 'Black Friday', MS Office promos
The Apple Store is expected launch its Black Friday Event on the Friday following Thanksgiving, offering special deals on select Apple merchandise. The "Feast beyond a Feast" will be a one-day only event in both Apple retail stores and online. Apple also launched an Apple Store Microsoft Promotion, offering up to 50 percent off on Microsoft. Users can save up to $250 via mail-in rebate on any qualifying version of Microsoft Office--including Standard ($200 rebate), Professional($250), and Student/Teacher ($50) versions--when purchased along with a new Mac. The offer expires on January 31, 2006 and is available at any authorized Apple reseller. [updated; first posted 11/21] [print | email] 

Wednesday, November 23rd	Last updated: 9:15 PM EST

Evening Edition

Briefly: MacNN review; Thanksgiving special
In brief: MacNN has reviewed Sophie's Cards v4 ($40), a FileMaker-based database of greeting card photos and text.... The G5 Drive Bracket Team today announced its Thanksgiving weekend special, offering its G5 Drive Bracket for $40.... Marware fifth-generation iPod products are now available through Dr. Bott resellers worldwide.... Adobe is hosting a breakfast event in Stockholm, Sweden, on November 24, focused on the company's Creative Suite and Cinema 4D.... The Sinbad Development Team today released Sinbad 1.1, its freeware web searching application featuring 23 modules for finding various types of information.... The fight for the itunes.co.uk domain is finally over as Ben Cohen has officially abandoned all further attempts to get the domain it once owned back from Apple..... Otter today began shipping the OtterBox for iPod nano, its waterproof case for the popular MP3 player. [updated] [print | email] 

EdgeBlur debuts three new notebook stands
EdgeBlur today announced three new models of surfACE laptop computer stands, designed to suspend the notebook at a comfortable working height. When used in an armchair, the surfACE completely supports the weight of the mobile computer on the armrests to relieve weight, pressure, and heat from the users legs. When used upside-down the surfACE performs the same functionality on sofas and beds, while two side boards offer surfaces for a mouse and other peripherals. SurfACE is a system of interchangeable parts that can be added and detached to create a custom configuration, and any brand of notebook computer with a width of 16 1/2-inches or less is compatible with pre-assembled models. The SurfACE 1.2 ($100), surfACE 1.3 ($120), surfACE 1.4 ($130), and surfACE 1.5 ($150, shown at right) are available with a lifetime guarantee for the original owner. SurfACE 1.5 features a new hardware connecter that fixes to a standard camera tripod to create a height-adjustable workstation. [print | email] 

Afternoon Edition

Apps: EarthDesk, SuperDuper, FTP Suite

• EarthDesk 3.1 ($20) is a free update to the dynamic desktop map application that makes use of a new display settings interface, updates the daylight saving time database, and fixes a rare bug that would cause EarthDesk to stop responding. [Download - 5.69MB]


• SuperDuper! 2.0 ($30) updates the disk copying utility for Mac OS X, adding the ability to easily schedule backups and providing additional imaging options. Version 2.0 allows more control over shutdown, offers better AppleScript support, and more. [Download - 2.3MB]


• FTP Suite 4.2 ($80) is a free upgrade to the software library allowing REALbasic applications to implement the FTP protocol. Version 4.2 adds two "Smart Commands": DirectCommand to send a command directly to an FTP server, and SITECommand to send a standard FTP SITE command to an FTP server. [Download - 811KB]


• Filegazer 1.1 ($20) allows fast navigation through a file system in order to cope with the increasing capacity of modern hard drives. New features include a shortcut menu for selecting the source for a browser menu, improved memory management, and a bugfix. [Download - 1.3MB]


• ScreenAction Studio 1.0 ($30) captures on-screen action while importing video clips, images, and sounds. Features include the ability to change cameras live during capture, record with date and time, widescreen/full-screen movie settings, and more. [Download - 6.5MB]


• EyeHome 1.7 (unknown) accesses digital content stored on Macintosh systems--photos, music, video, and movies--to be viewed on a TV and home entertainment system. Version 1.7 offers iTunes 6 and iPhoto 5 compatibility, as well as a bug fix affecting Mac OS X 10.4.3. [Download - 15.7MB]

In brief: The FastIcon has released a new icon set for desktop use, "iSimple," containing 12 freeware icons.... Marware today introduced its new line of cases for fifth-generation iPods (Sport Grip Backwinder shown at right, $20), designed to preserve the slim profile of the device while providing maximum protection.... A FAQ on TiVo's forthcoming support for the iPod notes that TivoToGo service is not yet available for the Mac, and iPod support is even further out.... Peachpit has released new books in the Apple Pro Training Series: DVD Studio Pro 4 ($50), Shake 4 ($55), and Optimizing Your Final Cut Pro System ($55).... Sid Meier's Civilization III system requirements have been set to Mac OS X 10.3.9 running on a PowerPC G4/G5 at 500Mhz or faster.

Morning Edition

SkipJam iMedia Center adds iPod support ...
SkipJam announced today support for the iPod, providing docking directly to the SkipJam iMedia Center. Using Firewire or USB 2.0, users can connect their iPods directly to any iMedia Center or to any iMedia enabled PC and immediately play music, photos and video throughout their home. The SkipJam iMedia support for the iPod also allows SkipJam users to record audio or video content directly onto the iPod Storage, creating a plug'n'go recording solution which records shows directly onto the iPod drives for portability. [C o n t i n u ed... | print | email] 

Early Morning Edition

Torque Game Engine 1.4 improves Mac support
GarageGames today released an update to its 3D gaming engine for developers: Torque Game Engine 1.4 offers more than 200 feature enhancements, including improved work flow, more tutorials, localization support and editor updates. Version 1.4 also features integrated Unicode font rendering, enhanced map2dif interiors, and better support for Mac OS X and Theora video codec. The company says that verison 1.4 represents the last free update. Full commercial usage on PC, Mac, and Linux platforms is $500, while its unique indie license is only $100 for developers making less than $250,000 annually. Both licenses are royalty-free, offer unlimited publishing, private forum access, and membership in the Torque Developer Network wiki. [print | email]