Steve Jobs first introduced Apple’s digital hub strategy at the 2001 Macworld Expo SF; the company has stayed true to course by producing a raft of applications aimed at making their computer the center of the user’s digital-media universe, debuting the handheld iPod, and launching the new iMac. Philip Michaels explains what the iMac means in the grand Apple scheme.
MacCentral had the opportunity to use one of the machines and sit down with Apple’s Vice President of Worldwide Product Marketing, Phil Schiller, to talk about the new iMac. “If you’re a new user getting into the marketplace, you have to look at the Mac and say, ‘Wow, if I care about photos, video or music, the Mac is such a better place to be than a PC,'” Schiller told MacCentral.
Product News Roundup
MWSF: Terra Soft debuts Black Lab 2 for YDL — Black Lab 2 for Yellow Dog Linus is now available. The software offers graphical node management, simple DHCP server config and automated DHCP startup and other admin perks.
MWSF: WiebeTech intros FireWire storage products — Storage product maker WiebeTech LLC today introduced new storage devices aimed at users of FireWire and USB-equipped Macs and PCs: DesktopGB, a dual FireWire and USB 2.0-equipped desktop hard drive; MicroGB,a pocket-sized portable model with FireWire and USB 2.0 interfaces; DriveDock, a small device that attaches to a standard 3.5 inch hard drive; and FireWire KeyChain.
MWSF: Go wireless with your older Mac thanks to Proxim — Networking products manufacturer Proxim, Inc. introduced Mac support for a USB-based device that enables older Macs not equipped with AirPort card slots to work wirelessly via 802.11b, the same networking protocol used by Apple’s AirPort products.
MWSF: Media 100i version 8 announced — Media 100,debuted Media 100 i Version 8 (V8). Media 100i is a combination of hardware and software that turns a Power Mac G4 into a streaming media production system. Available in a variety of configurations, the Media 100i system is offered specifically to provide interactive streaming content for Web site production
MWSF: Online role playing game Lineage coming to Mac — NCsoft Corp. today announced that Lineage will be coming to the Mac. The subscription-based, massively multiplayer online role-playing game is already available for the PC and sports more than 4 million subscribers and 330,000 concurrent users worldwide. NCsoft executive producer Richard Garriott — the legendary game designer “Lord British” of Ultima fame — is executive producer at NCsoft’s Austin, Texas office. “Companies that do not release Mac versions of their games these days are making a giant mistake. The Mac and its super-modern operating system, Mac OS X, provide the ultimate gaming experience and there’s a huge untapped market of gamers using this platform,” said Garriott.
MWSF: ATI unveils Radeon 7000, 8500 Mac cards — ATI Technologies, Inc. announced their newest graphics cards for the Macintosh — the Radeon 7000 Mac Edition and Radeon 8500 Mac Edition. One card offers dual display graphics capabilities for mainstream consumers while the other offers cutting edge performance for gamers and pro users.
MWSF: Microsoft announces Office v. X Test Drive — “We wanted to make it easy for customers to try the combined power of Office v. X and Mac OS X,” said Kevin Browne, General Manager Microsoft’s Macintosh Business Unit. To that end, the company is offering their suit of Office applications for previewing. The test drive includes Excel, Word, Entourage and PowerPoint and will remain active for 30 days from installation.
MWSF: Windows Media Player for Mac OS X released — Windows Media Player for Mac OS X is now available. It’s been Carbonized to run natively on Mac OS X and displays the operating system’s new Aqua interface. Windows Media Player for Mac OS X lets Mac users play back Windows Media Audio and Video content. It’s available in six languages worldwide.
MWSF: REALbasic 4 now available — REAL Software has announced the release of REALbasic 4, the latest major release to the software development tool for the Macintosh. The new software features a number of updates.
MWSF: TiPB, iBook slipcases showcased — Willow Design is showcasing four new slipcases for the Titanium PowerBook and iBook at this week’s Macworld Expo. All the slipcases feature thick half-inch padding, plastic panels to protect the notebook all around and zippered, front organizer and back magazine pocket.
MWSF: Kaidan makes lots of announcements — Kaidan and EyeSee360 — developer of immersive, interactive imaging technology– unveiled the 360 One, an optical system that captures a complete 360 degree panoramic image in a single camera shot; the system consists of a lightweight, proprietary optical system and the EyeSee360 PhotoWarp software. Kaidan has also announced an update and revision to their QuickPan professional line of panoramic tripod heads.
Mac OS X version of DeBabelizer Pro 5 finished — DeBabelizer Pro 5 for Mac OS X — professional software for automatically preparing images, animations, and digital video for delivery in a variety of media — is now available. Besides being Carbonized for the next generation operating system, DeBabelizer Pro 5 includes batch processing capabilities such as automated Web catalog publishing.
MWSF: MovieWorks Deluxe comes to Mac OS X — Interactive Solutions’ flagship multimedia product, MovieWorks Deluxe, is now available for Mac OS X and is being demoed this week. MovieWorks Deluxe (formerly MovieWorks Interactive) is a suite of applications that work together to create multimedia productions of any length of time. MovieWorks is the main application and provides text editing, special effects, a timeline interface for sequencing media; it also has buttons to automatically launch the Animator, Sound, Video and Paint applications for media creation and editing.
MWSF: FileMaker Mobile 2 Companion for Palm previewed — FileMaker Mobile 2 Companion is designed to work with Palm OS-based PDAs and runs on Mac OS X; it will be released some time in the first half of 2002.
MWSF: Laptop Screen Protector line debuts — Laptop Screen Protectors are made to fit across a laptop’s keyboard to prevent the keyboard and buttons on the base of the laptop from coming in contact with, and leaving skin oils or permanent marks and indentations on the laptop screen or LCD (liquid crystal display)