MacWEEK articles from December 1995

MacWEEK archives from December 1995

Camera prototype captures big picture. (Dicomed Inc developing new digital-camera add-on based on Dicomed Digital Camera) (Company Business and Marketing)
December 4, 1995... Digital photography has come full circle. A new digital panoramic camera, now in the early stages of development, can capture images at incredible sizes and resolutions. Based on a modified Dicomed Digital Camera, the prototype device uses a...

Premiere joins video board in editing bundle. (Data Translation Inc to introduce Media 100 qx digital video package)(includes related article on DT3155-PM frame-grabber PCI card)(Product Announcement)
December 4, 1995... Siliwood -- the marriage of Silicon Valley and Hollywood -- isn't just for big-time producers anymore. At Macworld Expo in January, Data Translation Inc. will debut a lower-cost version of its broadcast-quality digital video package. Media 100...

Java boils over to Mac, to drip down to desktop. (Sun Microsystems to ship Java interpreter for Macintosh to let HotJava browser work on Mac) (Company Business and Marketing)
December 4, 1995... Next month Mac users will get their first taste of Sun Microsystems Inc.'s Java, a programming language the company brewed that has greatly extended the capabilities of the Internet. Java's usefulness will also boil over from cyberspace to the...

PCI Performas on deck for Q2. (Apple developing PCs code-named Elixir, Chimera) (Product Development)
December 4, 1995... Apple's cheapest Macs will soon have features currently reserved for the company's mainstream and high-end systems when PCI comes to Performas next spring. Two CPUs on deck for the second quarter of 1996 will reportedly use 100- or 120-MHz...

Developer tools updated: industry giants make over C++. (Microsoft Visual C++ 4.0 Cross-Development Edition for Macintosh; Symantec C++ for Power Mac 8.0)(Product Announcement)
December 4, 1995... Giving a boost to developers of Mac software, two leading vendors of development tools -- Microsoft Corp. and Symantec Corp. -- recently introduced major updates to their programming environments. Microsoft last week released Visual C++ 4.0...

Christmas is carnage.(MacWeek Insider) (Industry Trend or Event)(Column)
December 4, 1995... Last winter, when I had a little too much free time on my hands, a friend lent me a game called Gadget from Synergy Inc. "This is one of the coolest new Mac games," Rob said. I regarded it with polite semi-interest -- the way I regard homemade...

Apple kit transcribes Chinese. (Apple's Chinese Dictation Kit)(Product Announcement)(Brief Article)
December 4, 1995... Chinese is widely recognized as a difficult language, and its complex, pictographic nature makes keyboard-based Chinese text input awkward at best. Apple is out to change all that with its new Chinese Dictation Kit, which automatically...

Tektronix printing tool works via Web browsers. (PhaserLink)(Product Announcement)(Brief Article)
December 4, 1995... Tektronix Inc. next year will bolster its printer-management software with PhaserLink, a World-Wide Web-savvy tool that can adjust printer settings. Slated for a first-quarter release, PhaserLink will let users check printer status and modify...

Apple printing software update. (Printing Update 1.1) (Product Support)(Brief Article)
December 4, 1995... Apple recently updated its printing software with 7.5.2 Printing Update 1.1, which fixes problems that may occur on Power Mac 7200, 7500, 8500 and 9500 machines. It includes a new SerialDMA Printing Fix and LaserWriter 8. Without the Update...

Apple America to reorganize: hierarchy follows 3 market segments. (Company Operations)(Brief Article)
December 4, 1995... In the aftermath of the recent reorganization that toppled Apple marketing head Dan Eilers, the company is set to announce another major change in how it markets and sells computers. MacWEEK has learned that later this month Apple will announce...

Dycam camera offers close look. (Dycam Model 10-C)(Product Announcement)(Brief Article)
December 4, 1995... Digital camera mavens have yet another device to add to their wish list -- Dycam Inc.'s Model 10-C color camera. The 10-C, available now for $999, features a 3X Power Zoom Lens with autofocus. It can capture pictures at up to 640-by-480-pixel...

Security utility mimics Copland. (ELS Inc Mac Manager)(Product Announcement)(Brief Article)
December 4, 1995... Users who can't wait for Copland can find solace in ELS Inc.'s recently released Mac Manager, a new security utility that offers some features and interface elements of the forthcoming Mac OS. The $79 software emulates many characteristics of...

Iomega zips up cartridge deal. (signs manufacturing agreement with floppy-disk supplier MegaMedia to produce Zip cartridges) (Company Business and Marketing)(Brief Article)
December 4, 1995... Iomega Corp. said it expects shortages of Zip media to abate in the first quarter of 1996 as the result of a manufacturing deal the company recently signed with a major supplier of floppy disks. Andy Grolnick, product manager for Zip drives,...

Panasonic readies color laser. (KX-P8475 printer; KX-P8000 combination printer scanner due in spring 1996)(Product Announcement)
December 4, 1995... Joining the ranks of color laser purveyors, Panasonic Communications & Systems Co. next year will release a color laser printer and multifunction scanner/printer. The $6,500 KX-P8475 is expected to ship in April and will provide print speeds...

New LA Sound quad-speed jukebox handles five CDs. (LA Sound International Inc's CDX-7405)(Product Announcement)(Brief Article)
December 4, 1995... LA Sound International Inc. next week will released a new pint-size quadruple-speed CD-ROM changer that will handle a fistful of discs. The $499 CDX-7405 will use a magazine that holds up to five discs and will offer an average disc swap speed...

Kensington clicks with input devices. (Kensington Microware Ltd's Turbo Mouse 5.0; Mouse in a Box)(Product Announcement)(Brief Article)
December 4, 1995... Kensington Microware Ltd. expects to be on the button with its introduction this week of a new low-cost mouse and a four-button trackball. Sporting a new tapered design, the $109.99 Turbo Mouse 5.0 is Kensington's latest entry in its ADB...

BTI uncrates PB battery charger. (Battery Technology Inc targets PowerBook 5300 and 190 series with MC-SC1950 external charger)(Product Announcement)(Brief Article)
December 4, 1995... Owners of new notebooks can get a charge as Battery Technology Inc. recently shipped an external battery charger for the PowerBook 5300 and 190 series. However, contrary to its summer announcement, the company said it will not manufacture an...

MicroTouch ships 10" touchscreen. (MicroTouch Systems VM-10)(Product Announcement)(Brief Article)
December 4, 1995... Bringing data literally to your fingertips, MicroTouch Systems Inc. recently introduced the SpaceSaver VM-10, a 10-inch CRT-based touchscreen monitor. Geared toward applications that require small displays, such as retail point-of-sale...

Avid steps up res limit: Media Composer system upgraded.(Avid Technology ships Version 6 of digital video-editing system)(Product Announcement)
December 4, 1995... Offering advances in image resolution and audio, Avid Technology Inc. last week shipped Version 6 of its Media Composer digital video-editing system. Based on four NuBus cards, Media Composer is a high-end nonlinear system; pricing starts at...

Design software melds bit-map, vector images. (Product Information)
December 4, 1995... Graphic artists working with both pixel and object-oriented graphics are old pros at the "application shuffle" between image-editing and drawing programs. Claiming a mandate from users, three major players in digital design software have...

Stock photos shoot into Web.(West Stock's Muse service for Web publishers) (Company Business and Marketing)(Brief Article)
December 4, 1995... As any grunge-rock fan knows, Seattle is a place where trends begin. Two Seattle stock-photograph agencies, West Stock Inc. and PhotoDisc Inc., are hoping to extend that pioneering spirit to the World-Wide Web by offering stock images on-line....

WaveConvert tool washes ashore: translates info in PC, Mac audio files.(KS Waves Ltd.)(Product Announcement)(Brief Article)
December 4, 1995... KS Waves Ltd. recently shipped a new audio-mastering utility called WaveConvert, adding to the company's palette of audio tools. Like a DeBabelizer for sound, the $300 WaveConvert can translate sample rates, bit depths, channels and file types...

Setting up pre-press in-house still costly. (publishing industry moving toward in-house work) (Industry Trend or Event)
December 4, 1995... A healthy return on your investment can make an in-house print system worth it. In pre-press publishing, the trend toward bringing more functions in-house is continuing. This applies to service bureaus and the companies that were formerly...

On-site video studio saves time, money. (desktop video production systems) (Industry Trend or Event)
December 4, 1995... Creating your own corporate videos brings you more control and flexibility. The days of spending thousands or even hundreds of thousands of dollars to produce corporate videos are long gone for many Macintosh users who have built desktop...

Falling cost helps CAD gain strength in field. (more architects using CAD software) (Industry Trend or Event)
December 4, 1995... Hardware prices make powerful CAD solutions affordable for architects. While choosing a good CAD solution can be confusing, users can find some consolation in the fact that the overall cost to implement CAD for engineers and architects is...

The Mac now presents multimedia for $20K. (declining costs of multimedia authoring systems) (Industry Trend or Event)
December 4, 1995... Putting together a multimedia system may not be as costly as you think. Making multimedia presentations on the Macintosh has gotten easier with the advent of Power Macintoshes, high-speed CD-ROM drives and desktop CD-ROM writers, and...

Security for Web server: StarNine tool kit creates digital ID for documents.(StarNine Technologies WebStar SSL Security Toolkit)(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
December 4, 1995... The Mac-based World-Wide Web servers got more secure last week with the introduction of StarNine Technologies Inc.'s WebStar SSL Security Toolkit. Available now, the tool kit includes an encryption-capable version of the company's Web server,...

U.S. Robotics offers modems. (Sportster 28 8 Faxmodem; Sportster Voice 28.8 Faxmodem; Sportster 28.8 PC Card with DataView)(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
December 4, 1995... U.S. Robotics Corp. showed three new modems at Comdex/Fall '95 in Las Vegas in November. Due this month, the $279 Sportster 28.8 Faxmodem will support data speeds up to 33.6 Kbps, despite its name. The $329 Sportster Voice 28.8 Faxmodem will...

Two Internet utilities help manage URLs. (OnBase Technology's DragNet WhollyMac's Web ShortCuts; universal resource locators)(Product Announcement)(Brief Article)
December 4, 1995... Bringing Mac-style ease of use to World-Wide Web access, two new Internet utilities hit the Web in November. OnBase Technology unveiled DragNet, an Internet address database manager, and Wholly Mac Software has released Web ShortCuts, a product...

OpenDoc parts coming together. (Apple ships developer's kit and IBM on schedule with OS/2 SDK) (Company Business and Marketing)
December 4, 1995... After months of waiting, the pieces of OpenDoc started to fall into place in November, with significant help from Apple and IBM Corp. Apple shipped the OpenDoc software developers kit for the Mac on Nov. 10. Less than a week later, at...

Linksys readies 100BASE T devices.(Linksys Group EtherFast 10 100)(Product Announcement)(Brief Article)
December 4, 1995... Joining the Fast Ethernet race, The Linksys Group Inc. debuted at November's Comdex/Fall '95 in Las Vegas a handful of 100BASE T devices. The company introduced the EtherFast dual-speed 10/100BASE T switch. The $1,999 device, due this month,...

OpenDoc: ready for inspection. (Technology Information)(Editorial)
December 4, 1995... For more than two years, we've been reporting on OpenDoc, the component-software architecture promoted by Apple, IBM Corp. and many other companies. We've printed speculation, specifications, plans and promises while Component Integration...

Biased or not, IDC study poses challenge for Apple. (International Data Corp)(The Second Decade) (Industry Trend or Event)(Column)
December 4, 1995... Just before Thanksgiving, Microsoft Corp. issued a press release trumpeting a new study showing that Windows 95 users are more productive than users of the Mac OS or OS/2. Conducted by International Data Corp., the Microsoft-commissioned study...

Letters.(Letter to the Editor)
December 4, 1995... Crabb's CEO mind meld Bless you! Don Crabb's article was great (MacWEEK, Nov. 13, Page 42). I immediately made a copy and routed it to our CEO to read. My note on it said, "This guy has more common sense than most." Now when I tell the CEO...

Newton update dots i's and crosses t's for PDAs.(The Mac Manager) (Product Information)(Column)
December 4, 1995... Good products have a knack for getting better. Especially computer products, where you can redesign or reprogram them to add features and improve performance while lowering their manufacturing costs. Apple's Newton MessagePad practically defines...

Full Throttle. (LucasArts Entertainment Co)(computer games) (Software Review)(Evaluation)
December 4, 1995... "When I think of Maureen," says Ben, the beefy, beleaguered leader of the Polecats, "I think of two things: asphalt and trouble." You'll find plenty of both in LucasArts Entertainment Co.'s Full Throttle, an animated, cinematic tour de force...

Total Distortion. (Pop Rocket Inc)(computer games) (Software Review)(Evaluation)
December 4, 1995... Total Distortion transports you to another dimension: the Distortion Dimension. Stranded here in your Personal Media Tower with limited food and money, you are a fledgling music video director who has risked everything to videotape this...

Doom II. (id Software Inc)(computer games) (Software Review)(Evaluation)
December 4, 1995... Doom is a first-person, ultraviolent luge that speaks to a man's essential need to blow away demons with a double-barreled shotgun. Think of it as Tetris for testosterone types. id Software Inc.'s Doom II, ported to the Macintosh by Lion...

Dark Forces. (LucasArts Entertainment Co)(computer games) (Software Review)(Evaluation)
December 4, 1995... Simply judging by its premise -- a Doom-like first-person shoot'em-up in the "Star Wars" universe -- LucasArts Entertainment Co.'s Dark Forces is destined to be popular, but the depth of story line, attention to detail and creative use of the...

Dust: A Tale of the Wired West. (CyberFlix Inc)(computer games) (Software Review)(Evaluation)
December 4, 1995... Diamondback, N.M. (1882) -- You've just arrived in town with only five bucks and the boots on your feet. But that's just the beginning of your problems. In the next five days you'll have to scour every inch of this town for clues to prepare you...

X-Wing. (LucasArts Entertainment Co's X-Wing Collector's CD-ROM for Macintosh)(computer games) (Software Review)(Evaluation)
December 4, 1995... Beta Test "This is Red Five, I'm goin' in..." Thus starts one of the most famous aerial battles in the history of film. Never mind that this particular battle takes place a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away. The heroics of a handful...

Descent. (MacPlay)(computer games) (Software Review)(Evaluation)
December 4, 1995... Macintosh action gamers have been twitching in anticipation of MacPlay's Descent for most of 1995. (At least, we think that's why they're twitching.) Developed by Parallax Software and released earlier this year on the Intel-standard PC side...

Marathon 2: Durandal. (Bungie Software Products)(computer games) (Software Review)(Evaluation)
December 4, 1995... Bungie Software Products Corp.'s Marathon has been the hottest Mac action game of the past year. Now for the good news: the just-released sequel, Marathon 2: Durandal is even better. Way better. The story picks up 17 years after the end of...

Buried in Time. (Sanctuary Woods Multimedia)(computer games) (Software Review)(Evaluation)
December 4, 1995... If you're a fan of Myst-like multimedia adventure games, you'll love Buried in Time from Sanctuary Woods Multimedia Inc. Picking up 10 years after the end of The Journeyman Project, this sequel again places you in the role of Gage Blackwood, a...

Quest for Fame. (Virtual Music Entertainment Inc)(computer games) (Software Review)(Evaluation)
December 4, 1995... Beta Test If you've ever caught a glimpse of yourself playing lead guitar for a supergroup (and that would include just about everyone I know), then your greatest challenge yet has arrived in Virtual Music Entertainment Inc.'s Quest For Fame....

The Residents' Bad Day on the Midway. (Inscape)(computer games) (Software Review)(Evaluation)
December 4, 1995... Imagine a carnival run by Pee-wee Herman and David Lynch, and you may get some idea what you're in for when you begin The Residents' Bad Day on the Midway. This is an exhilaratingly bizarre new CD-ROM from avant-garde musicians The Residents and...

Supreme Warrior. (Digital Pictures Inc)(computer games) (Software Review)(Evaluation)
December 4, 1995... "You lose because you refuse to learn!" said Shaolin master Kai Chi Tien, for the umpteenth time. My attractive guide and fight cheerleader dropped her eyes in disappointment, probably preparing herself to once again scrape me off the flagstones...

Loony Labyrinth. (StarPlay Productions)(computer games) (Software Review)(Evaluation)
December 4, 1995... Loony Labyrinth hearkens back to the glory days of the pinball machine. The coolest thing in this $39.95 game from StarPlay Productions Inc. is the pinball itself: The realism of the ball is amazing. It ricochets off bumpers and gains velocity...

Power Pete. (MacPlay)(computer games) (Software Review)(Evaluation)(Brief Article)
December 4, 1995... Power Pete is a $29.95 action-adventure game from MacPlay. Your mission is to rescue the Fuzzy Bunnies and bring them back to the Stuffed Animal Zoo in a toy store called Toy Mart. You play as Power Pete, "the best action figure money can...

Frankenstein. (MacPlay's Frankenstein: Through the Eyes of the Monster)(computer games) (Software Review)(Evaluation)(Brief Article)
December 4, 1995... Almost as campy as a Boris Karloff movie, Frankenstein: Through the Eyes of the Monster puts you in the role of the monster and Tim Curry in the role of the evil scientist. As the story begins, you're having a bad day. Accused of murdering...

The Incredible Machine 3. (Sierra On-Line Inc)(computer games) (Software Review)(Evaluation)(Brief Article)
December 4, 1995... This year, Sierra On-Line Inc. came out with Version 3.0 of its $34.95 puzzle game, The Incredible Machine. On each screen you're given a problem to solve. For instance, you could have a screen with four fireworks rockets on it, and the goal...

Widget Workshop. (Maxis)(children's educational software) (Software Review)(Evaluation)(Brief Article)
December 4, 1995... Widget Workshop from Maxis is similar to The Incredible Machine because you have to solve problems, but it's more like learning software than a game. It's based on learning science. It gives you parts like counters, calculators, generators,...

Warcraft: Orcs and Humans. (Blizzard Entertainment)(computer games) (Software Review)(Evaluation)(Brief Article)
December 4, 1995... Computer games have a finite shelf life and usually end up finding their way into the trash. Only a precious few classics endure the vagaries and purges of day-to-day Macintosh life. Warcraft: Orcs and Humans from Blizzard Entertainment is one...

PegLeg. (Changeling Inc)(computer games) (Software Review)(Evaluation)(Brief Article)
December 4, 1995... PegLeg is a fast-moving shoot'em-up game from Changeling Inc. You have to be quick with the mouse to survive. In this $49.95 game, you are a spaceship and you have to try to shoot everything on the screen (except things like question-mark boxes,...

If Monks Had Macs. (Voyager Co)(computer games) (Software Review)(Evaluation)(Brief Article)
December 4, 1995... While most games help us pass the time between one workaday task and the next, they can hardly be considered a vehicle for personal growth -- other than the exercise of hand-eye coordination. This does not hold true for the CD-ROM version of...

The Way Things Work. (DK Multimedia)(children's educational software) (Software Review)(Evaluation)(Brief Article)
December 4, 1995... After you've played The Way Things Work from DK Multimedia, you'll know a lot more about machines, technology and inventions than when you started. Just as the name says, the $79.95 program will show this through animations, pictures and sound....

Dr. Seuss's ABC. (Living Books)(educational package) (Software Review)(Evaluation)
December 4, 1995... Other than editing articles for MacWEEK, I can't think of anything I'd rather do than read Dr. Seuss books. And now that I have a 1 1/2-year-old daughter, I no longer have to look like a moron when I do it. With Dr. Seuss's ABC, Living Books...

Users are content: PCI takes the lead. (PCI Cards)(includes related article on work-arounds for NuBus cards) (Industry Trend or Event)
December 4, 1995... Arguably the most dramatic innovation in the newest batch of Power Macs, beginning with the 9500, is the replacement of NuBus with PCI slots. PCI cards should move data faster, be less expensive and provide a greater variety of functions. The PCI...

Coming clean: Apple has a new set of PCI updates.(MacInTouch) (Product Support)(Column)
December 4, 1995... Three months after shipping the Power Macintosh 7500 and its siblings, Apple finally delivered software that may make printing and serial communications work for real. The 7.5.2 Printing Update 1.1 incorporates a new LaserWriter driver (Version...

Mac prices trimmed. (Power Mac systems) (Product Information)(Brief Article)
December 4, 1995... In an effort to move older and slower-selling models, Apple last Friday cut prices up to 25 percent on some entry-level Macs. Among the systems being cut are two of Apple's new PCI systems: The Power Mac 7200/75 8/500 with quadruple-speed...

IBM to take over Taligent. (Taligent Inc) (Company Operations)(Brief Article)
December 4, 1995... Taligent Inc. will become a wholly owned subsidiary of IBM Corp., according to sources, who said an announcement will be made this week. The 3-year-old venture, which was funded by Apple, Armonk, N.Y.-based IBM and Palo Alto, Calif.-based...

StockWatch.(Illustration)
December 4, 1995... 11.30.95 Weekly % close change Apple 38.13 -1.29 MacWEEK Composite* 376.72 13.31 Software developers Adobe ...

Apple simplifies the system.(Mac the Knife)(Column)
December 4, 1995... Seeing the future, even when done with a high degree of accuracy, usually turns out to be a matter of perspective. Take, for example, Apple's crystal ball. A fine layer of dust has gathered there lately, what with the company's focus being so...

Apple ponders big Q1 layoffs. (Company Operations)
December 11, 1995... Dismayed by slim profits, Apple's board of directors last week mulled over plans to lay off up to 2,000 employees to bring operating costs in line with continuing low margins. MacWEEK has learned that the board, which met in New York on Dec. 6...

Startup to unleash fastest PPC chip yet. (Exponential Technology Inc) (Company Business and Marketing)
December 11, 1995... A start-up company partly funded by Apple is completing design of a new PowerPC-compatible chip -- a chip the company said will be the world's fastest microprocessor when it ships in early 1997. Exponential Technology Inc. said the...

Newer to put PowerPC 603e on PB 500s.(Newer Technology to offer upgrades for PowerBook 500 series notebooks) (Company Business and Marketing)
December 11, 1995... The promise to bring PowerBook 500s into the PowerPC generation will soon be fulfilled, but not just by Apple. Newer Technology Inc. in February will ship PowerBook 500 PowerPC upgrades, licensed from Apple, but faster and with more options than...

Power to raise clone curve: entry-level line to ride speedy 601.(Power Computing PowerCurve)(Product Announcement)
December 11, 1995... Power Computing Corp. reportedly will fill out the low end of its PCI lineup in January. According to sources, the Austin, Texas, company will unveil its PowerCurve line, entry-level versions of its PowerWave clone that can use both PCI and...

DayStar's Genesis MP 600: clone offers fast, rough trip.(Beta Test) (Hardware Review)(Evaluation)
December 11, 1995... When DayStar Digital Inc.'s 132-MHz Genesis MP began shipping in late October, the company was already at work on a version with four even faster PowerPC 604 chips. MacWEEK evaluated a preproduction Genesis MP 600, the company's 150-MHz model,...

PC virus fighters inoculate Mac with new apps. (McAfee Associates Inc ships VirusScan; S&S Software International Inc Dr. Solomon's Toolkit)(Product Announcement)(Brief Article)
December 11, 1995... In an effort to provide single-source solutions for mixed-platform environments, two major PC anti-virus software vendors have made forays onto the Mac desktop. McAfee Associates Inc. this month shipped VirusScan, which is based on the same...

A war of succession.(future of SCSI versus PCI bus)(MacWEEK Insider) (Industry Trend or Event)(Column)
December 11, 1995... I am a SCSI guy. I freely admit it. But I have a shameful secret to share: I love the PCI bus, too. What brought me to this? Years ago, in the dream time of the Mac, life was easy for storage reporters. Everything was SCSI, the original...

Microsoft shoots for Net: cross-platform browser, VRML.(Internet Explorer for Mac, Visual Basic Script, ActiveVRML) (Product Development)(Brief Article)
December 11, 1995... Microsoft Corp. last week unveiled its Internet strategy, which includes a cross-platform World-Wide Web browser, a proposed Virtual Reality Modeling Language standard, a scripting language and an alliance with Oracle Corp. > Microsoft...

HP leads effort to develop HTML printing standards.(Microsoft Corp, Netscape Communications Corp to work with HP on open standard for printing Web pages) (Technology Information)(Brief Article)
December 11, 1995... Users will soon gain more control over printing World-Wide Web documents. Hewlett-Packard Co. last week announced plans to work with Microsoft Corp. and Netscape Communications Corp. to develop open, nonproprietary printing standards for HTML....

Dantz, CharisMac drive over to CD-R. (Dantz Development Corp offers add-on to software; CharisMac Engineering to release Discribe 1.0 CD mastering software)(Product Announcement)(Brief Article)
December 11, 1995... A duo of storage-utility vendors recently expanded support for CD-Recordable drives. > Dantz Development Corp. last week released a CD-R add-on to its Retrospect 3.0 family of backup software. The $49 CD-R Driver Kit lets users write archives...

SoundEdit 16 adds batching. (Macromedia Inc introduces SoundEdit 16 2.0)(Product Announcement)(Brief Article)
December 11, 1995... Macromedia Inc. will mix a new version of SoundEdit 16 into its multimedia lineup this month. Version 2.0 of the $399 audio tool will add batch processing, compression improvements and support for third-party plug-ins. Batch processing will...

To our readers.
December 11, 1995... > Publishing schedule. MacWEEK will not publish Dec. 18 and 25 and Jan. 1. Look for Macworld Expo coverage in our Jan. 8 issue, along with our annual State of Mac Management report. Meanwhile, we'll keep you abreast of breaking news on CompuServe...

Intuit rewrites its books: QuickBooks apps put on new face.(QuickBooks 4.0, QuickBooks Pro 4.0)(Product Announcement)
December 11, 1995... In a revamp of its best-selling accounting software line, Intuit Inc. this week will unveil major upgrades to QuickBooks and QuickBooks Pro. QuickBooks 4.0 and QuickBooks Pro 4.0, street priced at $119 and $189, respectively, will feature a new...

Pathlight focuses on SSA for PCI Mac line. (Pathlight Technology) (Company Business and Marketing)(Brief Article)
December 11, 1995... Opening a speedy new avenue for Mac users looking to access and share storage, Pathlight Technology Inc. this month expects to release Mac versions of its Serial Storage Architecture PCI cards. The cross-platform cards will let PCI-based Mac...

FWB's ToolKit pays users in cache. (FWB Inc CD-ROM ToolKit 2.0)(Product Announcement)(Brief Article)
December 11, 1995... FWB Inc. last week released an update to its CD-ROM ToolKit driver software that lets users tweak playback performance. Version 2.0 of the $79 utility lets users edit and save cache settings for individual CD-ROM titles, which can improve their...

Apple touches up printer software, fixes bugs. (Product Support)(Brief Article)
December 11, 1995... Apple this month released updates to its printer software, including a fix for problems when running the Color LaserWriter 12/600 PS with some Microsoft Windows systems. The Windows 3.1 and Windows 95 drivers that initially shipped with the...

FWB uncrates new storage. (FWB Inc hammer*PE 2000; cuts price of hammer*CD-R)(Storage Beat)(Product Announcement)(Brief Article)
December 11, 1995... FWB Inc. of Menlo Park, Calif., recently added a new 2-Gbyte Fast SCSI-2 hard drive to its Personal Edition line. The $989 hammer*PE 2000 offers an average seek time of 8.5 milliseconds and provides sustained data transfer rates from 4.5 to 8...

Plasmon raises jukebox limits. (Plasmon Data Inc 694 Series)(Product Announcement)(Brief Article)
December 11, 1995... Plasmon Data Inc. of Milpitas, Calif., said it will release in January 694 Series jukeboxes that integrate the company's new 2.6-Gbyte, 5.25-inch magneto-optical drive. The models will hold either 20, 26, 52, 104, 156 or 258 cartridges and...

ProLine dishes out configuration kits. (ProLine Distribution INc introduces adapter kits for Mac storage devices) (Company Business and Marketing)(Brief Article)
December 11, 1995... ProLine Distribution Inc. of Greenbrae, Calif., this month offered new adapter kits for Mac storage devices. The new products include replacement bezels and bracket mounting kits that let users add a variety of removable-media drives to the Power...

Speedy hard drives. (Conner Peripherals Inc Filepro Performance line)(Storage Beat)(Product Announcement)(Brief Article)
December 11, 1995... Conner Peripherals Inc. of San Jose, Calif., said it will deliver new speedy Filepro Performance OEM hard drives next year. Using magneto-resistive heads and PRML (partial response maximum likelihood) data-channel technology, the drives will come...

CE gives Arrange PIM new Web capabilities. (CE Software WebArranger)(Product Announcement)(Brief Article)
December 11, 1995... CE Software Inc. recently gave a new moniker and Internet capabilities to one of the most powerful, customizable and expensive Mac personal information managers. WebArranger is based on Arrange 2.0.1, a PIM its developer, Common Knowledge...