At January 2004’s Macworld Expo, as at all Macworld Expos, we roamed the show floor to seek out the most exciting recently introduced Mac products. Many of the award winners were beta versions or prototypes, so they’re not yet available to the public.
Bigger Disk, from LaCie Connects 1TB (terabyte) of storage to any computer via FireWire 800, FireWire 400, iLink/DV, Hi-Speed USB 2.0, or USB 1.1. That’s nearly two years of continuous music and as much as one month of nonstop MPEG-2 video (www.lacie.com).
BumperCar, from Freeverse Web browser for kids with a colorful, playful interface that lets them surf the Web without being exposed to inappropriate content (www.freeverse.com).
Crypto-Server X, from CryptoCard Password-security system that stores all of a user’s passwords on a “token” and generates a random master password (www.cryptocard.com).
EyeTV 200 and EyeHome, from Elgato Systems Captures MPEG-2s from analog sources such as VHS or from cable TV in real time. The EyeHome hooks up to your Ethernet network and brings your music, photos, and movies from the Mac to your TV (www.elgato.com).
G5Jam, from WiebeTech Ingenious design allows Power Mac G5 owners to increase their computers’ internal storage, from two to four Serial ATA drives (www.wiebetech.com).
GarageBand, from Apple Now anyone can make music with the help of tons of prerecorded loops, dozens of MIDI-controlled software instruments, and the ability to record live instruments (www .apple.com). (For more on GarageBand, see this issue’s cover story.)
Kid Pix Deluxe 3 for OS X, from Software MacKiev The beloved but recently neglected children’s creativity software is back — and Software MacKiev has significantly updated it, with iLife integration and smoother graphics (www.mackiev.com).
lens&light optimizer, from camdynamics Software makes use of lens and other camera information to correct optical imperfections in photographs. (www.camdynamics.de).
Nicecast, from Rogue Amoeba Provides simple broadcast and streaming of any audio in OS X. You can use it to set up an Internet radio station, or simply stream your iTunes library over the Internet (www.rogueamoeba.com).
PiXiMation, from Kaidan Creates QTVR object movies without requiring a special motorized turntable. Accepts video from FireWire-equipped digital video cameras and Web cams (www .kaidan.com).
Squeezebox, from Slim Devices Delivers wired or wireless streaming of most audio formats or MP3 Internet radio from your Mac to your home stereo (www.slimdevices.com).
SyncDek 5.0, from WorldSync Software that removes a long-standing obstacle for shared FileMaker databases — it allows offline users to use shared databases and synchronize changes with one another (www.syncdek.com).
Toast with Jam 6, from Roxio High-level audio tag team offers an improved interface, better cross-fading options, and tighter integration (www.roxio.com).
ToySight, from Freeverse Software that allows you to control game play via your body movements as detected by your FireWire Web cam (www.freeverse.com).
You Control, from You Software Devise menus you can place anywhere on your Mac, and call them up with hot keys. Eleven modules are included (www.yousoftware.com).