Macworld magazine today announced its “Macworld Best of Show Awards.” The awards are given to the most exciting hardware and software products announced at Macworld Conference & Expo in San Francisco, Calif.
MacCentral.com news director Jim Dalrymple and Macworld lab director Kristina DeNike presented this year’s awards. Calling the new iMac revolutionary, Dalrymple added, “… it’s now clear that Macintosh developers strongly support Apple’s new operating system, Mac OS X. 2002 is starting out to be a great year for the Mac.”
DeNike is impressed at the number of new Mac product makers and companies that are returning to the fold after an absence. “CMS, Smart Technologies, e-on and Mind Avenue all won for the first Mac versions of their products,” said DeNike.
To be eligible, products either had to make their public debut at the show or generate excitement on the show floor. Editors judging the awards had to see the products in action, although some evaluations are based on prototypes and beta versions.
Winners of the Best of Show Awards include:
Apple’s revolutionary new iMac, featuring a flat panel display, G4, and optional SuperDrive (on the high-end model, which ships later this month). Apple iPhoto, the fourth major consumer application to emerge from Apple as part of its “digital hub” philosophy. Makes it simple to download, organize, print and share photos culled from digital cameras, and it’s free — only for OS X. LiveMotion 2.0, from
Adobe. The latest major revision to the company’s Web graphic and animation tool sports new features like JavaScript and Mac OS X compatibility.
Asanté’s FriendlyNet 5037 Accelerated Cable/DSL Router, which shares Internet connections and up to 100Mbps and incorporates its own hard drive. The ABS from
CMS,an automated backup system that archives a spittin’ image of your hard disk as soon as it’s plugged in. Six Degrees from
Creo, a project management tool that links e-mail, word processing documents and contact info.
e-on’s Vue d-Esprit 4, a 3D scenery application, and currently the only OS X app of its kind to support multiple processors and OpenGL previews. The 360 One from
Kaidan, which enables users to create a 360 degree QuickTime VR movie with 100 degrees of vertical field of view, all in a single shot.
MacSoft’s Sid Meier’s Civilization III, the newest turn-based strategy game to wear name of the series. Easier to learn, more challenging to master, and just plain better than its already legendary predecessor. The AXELedge from
Mind Avenue, a 3D creation app for Web authoring. NCSoft’s
Lineage: The Blood Pledge , a massively multiplayer online role-playing game that’s already huge in Korea. Developed exclusively for OS X, and available next month for a monthly subscription fee.
Roxio’s Toast with Jam, the latest CD audio recording software that sports OS X support, cross-fade tools and support for 24-bit audio. Ships with a full version of Peak LE.
QPS Que 007, a CD-RW/DVD-ROM combo drive that works via FireWire. The case also features a PCMCIA slot that works with camera media. SynchronEyes 2.0 from
Smart Technologies, a training and collaboration tool that lets an instructor view thumbnail images of what’s going on with up to 40 students’ screens, and take control to correct a problem. International Data Group (IDG) subsidiary Mac Publishing, LLC publishes Macworld magazine, and also publishes Macworld.com and MacCentral.com.