'Photoshop Classic Effects' book released
July 23 - 14:57 EDT   Best-selling author Scott Kelby has announced the release of his latest book, "Photoshop Classic Effects." Inspired by a column in Photoshop User magazine, Kelby assembles what he calls the ultimate collection of tried-and-true special effects in the US$35.99 book. "Great artists, photographers, and designers all over the world use these classic effects everyday in their work. It's not about the weird or wild stuff -- it's the stuff you can really use -- the stuff clients always ask for (and expect that you'll know)," said Scott Kelby, who is also editor-in-chief of Mac Design magazine.  [ Email this story ]

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Kyocera intros iPod mini-matching digital cameras
July 23 - 11:44 EDT   Kyocera has announced new versions of its Finecam SL400R digital camera in colors to match Apple's iPod mini music player line. Those of us in the U.S. shouldn't get too excited, however. The new models -- available in silver, gold, blue, pink and green -- will only be sold in Apple's Tokyo retail store and at the Japanese online Apple Store. The SL400R offers a 4.0 megapixel CCD, a 3x optical zoom lens, a 1.5-inch LCD, and weighs 4.4 ounces. The iPod mini colored cameras will cost around ¥44,000 (US$400).  [ Email this story ]

Apple not happy with Fuse silhouette ads
July 23 - 09:45 EDT   Apple is threatening to take legal action over new advertisements by upstart music channel Fuse that resemble the silhouette ads for the iPod, The New York Post reports. "Apple lawyers have been calling Fuse and threatening to sue unless the ads -- which went up in outdoor locations in New York City on Monday -- are taken down. Not only do the ads resemble Apple's iPod ads, but they also are quite risque: one depicts a man masturbating, while another shows a woman pole dancing. Apparently, Apple has received numerous calls from iPod users who have expressed outrage over the advertisements, a source said." BrandWeek has yet another Fuse ad showing two people and a "beer bong."  [ Email this story ]

Griffin offers new FireWire, audio cables
July 23 - 09:10 EDT   Griffin Technology today announced three new additions to its Clear Choice line of cables. Included in the new offerings is a 6-foot FireWire 400 connection cable (US$14.99), a 6-foot FireWire extension cable ($14.99) and a Ground Loop isolator cable ($19.99), which eliminates the low, audible hum called a ground loop that often occurs when two pieces of audio equipment are connected together but plugged into separate outlets.  [ Email this story ]

BeLight ships envelope, label design software
July 23 - 09:02 EDT   BeLight Software today announced the immediate availability of Mail Factory, is new tool to design and print envelopes, shipping and address labels. Mail Factory offers: integration with Address Book, Entourage, Eudora and more; printing POSTNET barcodes on labels and envelopes; support for DYMO LabelWriter printers; printings to any size envelopes (US, European, Japanese) and most popular labels (Avery, DYMO, APLI, AOne, Herma, etc.); dozens of ready-made designs and 500 clipart images; and the ability to use and edit custom images. Mail Factory costs US$29.95.  [ Email this story ]

iPod boosts Apple in brand value ranking
July 23 - 08:57 EDT   Thanks to the popularity of the iPod, Apple gained a "staggering" 24 percent in brand value to US$6.9 billion and rose seven places to No. 43 on Interbrand's ranking of the 100 top global brands by dollar value. The top ten in 2004 were: Coca Cola, Microsoft, IBM, GE, Intel, Disney, McDonald's, Nokia, Toyota, and Marlboro.  [ Email this story ]

Apple updates Hot Deals site
July 22 - 23:52 EDT   Apple has updated its Hot Deals Web site with the latest offerings from CDW|MacWarehouse and Inside Mac Games. You can find deals on the Canon ZR80 MiniDV Camcorder, the Samsung 710V 17" TFT LCD Monitor, the Edge DiskGo! USB flash drive and ink pen in one, James Bond 007: Nightfire, Battlefield 1942 Deluxe Edition, Delta Force: Black Hawk Down, and more.  [ Email this story ]

Tokyo Apple Store holding iPod mini event Saturday
July 22 - 17:07 EDT   Apple's large retail store in Tokyo's Ginza shopping district will be holding a special iPod mini launch event this Saturday, July 24. "Join us this Saturday at 10:00 a.m. and be the first to get the new iPod mini. The first 1,000 customers in line get a free commemorative t-shirt. Plus, listen to DJs spinning tunes on iPod, music demonstrations and free classes throughout the day."  [ Email this story ]

Apple to change Rendezvous name in settlement
July 22 - 16:50 EDT   According to eWeek, Apple plans to rename its Rendezvous technology to OpenTalk as part of a trademark settlement with TIBCO Software. A representative of TIBCO said that the suit had been "amicably resolved" but declined to comment further. In August 2003, TIBOC filed suit against Apple for trademark infringement of the company's Rendezvous marks. TIBCO claimed that it had been using the Rendezvous name since 1994, while Apple introduced its Rendezvous technology -- which enables automatic discovery of computers, devices, and services on IP networks -- in 2002. Apple filed a new trademark application July 8 with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for the OpenTalk name. The description includes the phrase "computer software for the automatic configuration of computer networks."  [ Email this story ]

Virtual PC 7 expected in October
July 22 - 13:45 EDT   The next version of Virtual PC has been pushed back until October. An e-mail sent to MacMinute by Microsoft notes that: "As you may know, Virtual PC 7 ships with Windows XP both in a box by itself as well as in the Office 2004 for Mac Professional Edition. We are waiting for the release of Windows XP SP2 in order to offer the most recent, most secure version of Windows XP to our Virtual PC for Mac customers. Windows XP SP2 release has moved to August, which has impacted our schedule. Based on this, we anticipate that Virtual PC 7 with Win XP Professional and Home will release to manufacturing in September and be on store shelves by early October. Virtual PC 7 with Windows 2000 and the Standalone and Upgrade versions will be available a few months after this debut. Should the Windows XP SP2 release date change the Virtual PC 7 availability date will change accordingly."  [ Email this story ]

U2's Bono: We'll release album on iTunes if leaked
July 22 - 12:43 EDT   Last week, U2 had their recently completed new CD, which is planned to be released in November, stolen during a photo shoot in France. Fearing that the new album will show up on peer-to-peer file sharing services for free, U2's lead singer Bono has come up with a solution. "If it is on the internet this week, we will release it immediately as a legal download on iTunes, and get hard copies into the shops by the end of the month," he said. "It would be a real pity. It would screw up years of work and months of planning, not to mention f***ing up our holidays. But once it's out, it's out."  [ Email this story ]

Icons to go from The Iconfactory

Apple 'blowing' opportunity in China
July 22 - 10:32 EDT   Apple is in danger of "blowing an opportunity to score big with millions of tech and status symbol crazy Chinese, Alex Salkever writes in his latest "Byte of the Apple" column for BusinessWeek Online. He says that "tens of thousands" of Chinese will drop $250-$500 for luxury shavers, from Phillips, Braun, and Panasonic and $250-$800 for a handset. You can "bet an equivalent or greater number would want to buy iPods," Salkever opines. But Apple doesn't seem to be working very hard to take advantage of the booming tech interest in the country, he says.  [ Email this story ]

Mossberg: AirPort Express 'falls far short'
July 22 - 10:31 EDT   In his latest column for The Wall Street Journal, Walt Mossberg says that Apple's AirPort Express works as promised, but the device "falls far short" of being an ideal solution for listening to computer-based music in a distant room. Mossberg complains that are too many limitations when streaming music. "You can send the music to only one location at a time, and you can't play it simultaneously through your computer and the remote speakers," he says. But the biggest problem with AirPort Express, Mossberg says, is the lack of a remote control. "That's just unacceptable in a device of this kind," he says. "Apple hints that it will be addressing this problem in a future version or via some kind of add-on product. But it's surprising and disappointing that a company renowned for ease of use shipped a music-streaming product without those crucial capabilities."  [ Email this story ]

Harris & Baseview, Adobe co-host seminars
July 22 - 10:12 EDT   Harris & Baseview and Adobe are co-sponsoring seminars in both Seattle and San Jose this month. The seminar will showcase Harris & Baseview's solutions and how they incorporate with InDesign and InCopy from Adobe. The sessions are free and open to the public on a first-come, first-serve basis. The first seminar will be held at Adobe Corporate Headquarters, 345 Park Ave., San Jose, July 26, from 10:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The second seminar will be held at Adobe's Seattle Office, 801 N. 34th St., July 28, 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. You can reserve your spot by calling Pam Weber at 321-242-5000 or e-mailing her at pam.weber@harrisbaseview.com.  [ Email this story ]

LAFCPUG top ten FCP feature request ballot now online
July 22 - 07:47 EDT   The Los Angeles Final Cut Pro User Group (LAFCPUG) is asking all FCP users to vote for their top ten favorite FCP feature requests. The online ballot is now available on the LAFCPUG Web site and consists of over 60 feature requests gathered from various FCP online forums and FCP User Groups. The idea is to trim the list down to a top ten. The last time the user group did this Apple included over two thirds of the requests in a future version of Final Cut Pro. Voting will be open until August 22, 2004.  [ Email this story ]

MacJams announces 500MB free song hosting; contest
July 22 - 07:39 EDT   MacJams.com today announced it's MacJamboree celebration. In connection with MacJamboree, MacJams is announcing that it is giving away 500MB of free storage space to each user for sharing of songs created with Apple's GarageBand software. In addition, MacJamboree includes a contest with 28 winners of US$1,000 in GarageBand-related prizes. MacJams.com offers Mac musicians and music fans the opportunity to share, listen to and comment on thousands of user-created songs, as well as discussion forums, artists profiles, music links, and a buyer's guide.  [ Email this story ]

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Inside Mac Radio posts Mac media special report
July 22 - 00:28 EDT   Inside Mac Radio has posted a special report from last week's Macworld Conference & Expo featuring several members of the Macintosh media. The report features Jason Snell, editor-in-chief of Macworld; Jim Dalrymple, editor of Macworld.com and MacCentral; Peter Cohen, editor of MacCentral; Dennis Sellers, editor of MacMinute; and Dave Hamilton, CEO of MacObserver.  [ Email this story ]

Macintosh Explorer adds tabbed file browsing
July 21 - 14:16 EDT   Rage Software has released Macintosh Explorer 4.1, an update to the US$15.95 integrated file browser and file management tool. The new version offers tabbed file browsing, which allows users to browse multiple folders simultaneously without the clutter of multiple windows. Version 4.1 also introduces a new file search field in every Explorer window that provides the ability to search your entire computer or selected folders for certain documents. Enhanced customization options including the new flavors feature that allows different color schemes to be applied to Macintosh Explorer, faster file browsing and quicker switching between file views has also been added.  [ Email this story ]

Digital music player market set to double this year
July 21 - 12:23 EDT   According to a new study, consumers will buy more than 10 million digital music players in 2004. Research firm Informa Media says that consumers worldwide will buy 10.8 million of the players in 2004 -- from cheaper flash-memory units to players with hard drive-based storage -- bringing the total installed base to 21.5 million units by the end of the year.  [ Email this story ]

Major indie music labels join European iTunes stores
July 21 - 12:03 EDT   Apple today announced that it has signed licensing agreements with three of the largest European independent music labels, Beggars Group, Sanctuary Records Group and V2, adding tens of thousands of additional tracks from leading artists to the iTunes Music Store in the UK, France and Germany. iTunes Music Store customers in Europe now have access to a large catalog of independent artists including Basement Jaxx, The Crystal Method, Interpol, The Libertines, Morrissey, the Pixies, Prodigy, Stereophonics, Paul Weller and The White Stripes. "We're thrilled to add three of Europe's largest indie labels to our iTunes Music Store in the UK, France and Germany," said Steve Jobs, Apple's CEO. "We welcome Beggars, Sanctuary and V2 to the iTunes family, and plan to add many more independent labels soon."  [ Email this story ]

Mailsmith gets server-side spam filtering, more
July 21 - 11:27 EDT   Bare Bones Software today announced the release of Mailsmith 2.1.2, the latest version of its powerful e-mail client. The free update brings support for server-side spam filtering, a new option to process incoming messages with any Unix tool during the download process, plus several new preferences and interface enhancements. Mailsmith 2.1.2 also adds a preference section for controlling its behavior at startup, a new preference for designating a folder to store extracted enclosures, property terms to the scripting dictionary for configuring mail accounts, and additional keyboard navigation options.  [ Email this story ]

Digital Lifestyle Expo kicks off Aug. 14
July 21 - 10:52 EDT   The Digital Lifestyle Expo is a new education and direct buying symposium series that aims to show the public how to harness the latest in digital technology. The event will kick off in Long Beach, Calif., Aug. 14-15, with shows following in New York City Sept. 25-26 and Atlanta Nov. 13-14. All 2004 Digital Lifestyle Expo events will feature two-day symposiums and workshops and will introduce people to video editing, audio production, digital photography, Web design and the migration to HDTV. Several presenters and instructors -- such as David Pogue and Andy Ihnatko -- will speak at the 2004 series. Featured companies and products currently include: Apple iLife, Final Cut Express, and Final Cut HD; Adobe Photoshop Elements, Photoshop and GoLive CS; Panasonic DV and 24p DV cameras; Nikon digital cameras; and much more.  [ Email this story ]

REAL Software rolls out OS X, Linux resources
July 21 - 10:48 EDT   REAL Software has made resources available to help Visual Basic developers migrate their applications to Mac OS X and Linux platforms. The resources include a new white paper, "Porting Visual Basic Applications Cross-Platform to Linux and Mac OS X, A Guide for Visual Basic Developers," and a conversion utility called VB Project Converter, which performs the mechanics of moving Visual Basic projects to the REALbasic development environment.  [ Email this story ]

Bitstream releases OpenType Pro Pack
July 21 - 10:44 EDT   Bitstream is releasing its first OpenType Pro Pack, Charter BT, which features six fonts: roman, italic, bold, bold italic, black and black italic. The fonts include characters originally developed for expert sets, such as ligatures, ornaments, old style figures, small caps and superiors. They support Western, Central European and Eastern European languages. OpenType fonts are a cross-platform font format. The same OpenType font can be installed on Mac OS X, Windows, Linux and Unix systems.  [ Email this story ]