Hot Stuff

Dual Licensing

QuarkXPress 6 users haven’t had too many kind things to say about the licensing policies for the desktop publishing application (as Macworld reported in “Activation Nation” [Mac Beat, June 2004]). But Quark has responded to some of the complaints—it’s altering its single-user license so QuarkXPress 6 users can install and activate the program on a second computer at no additional charge. (Existing Quark Mobile Licensing customers can request a coupon toward the purchase of Quark software or services.) That should produce a little goodwill for Quark; more important, it helps designers who use a desktop in the office and a laptop on the road produce a lot more work ( https://www.quark.com ).

A Closer Look: Maya Unlimited

Once you’ve developed for the Mac, you never go back. Just ask 3-D-animation specialist Alias, which is following its 2001 Mac debut of Maya Complete by releasing a Mac version of the more feature-rich Maya Unlimited. (Mac users accounted for 25 percent of Maya Complete’s sales, which probably had something to do with that.) The $6,999 Maya Unlimited is the second Alias product to hit the platform in 2004—SketchBook Pro, a $179 sketching and annotation program for pen-based tablets, is already wowing Mac graphics professionals ( www.alias.com ).

Pod2Go

Lately, Apple’s been stingy about adding PDA-like features to the iPod. Fortunately, third-party developers like Kevin Wojniak are up to the challenge. Wojniak’s free Pod2Go application makes downloading movie listings, RSS feeds, stock quotes, weather forecasts, horoscopes, and driving directions onto your iPod as easy as transferring a playlist ( www.kainjow.com/pod2go ).

i9900 Photo Printer

The photo-printing landscape just got more colorful, thanks to Canon’s latest offering, which handles borderless printing at up to 13 by 19 inches. The $500 i9900 adds red and green inks to the standard six-color ink set, and each ink is housed in an individual tank. A tiny droplet size—2 picoliters—lets the i9900 produce beautiful photographic prints that are free of grain, and the device prints fast, so you have plenty of time to appreciate the color of your images ( www.usa.canon.com ).

Word 2004’s Notebook Layout View

It’s not easy giving a new look to a program that’s been around for nearly as long as the Mac. But if you’ve used Microsoft Word 2004, you’ve likely noticed the new Notebook Layout view. The new view adds more than just a different look to Word—it also makes note-taking and outlining a snap. And its ability to embed audio in documents makes this feature worth keeping around until Word is celebrating its 40th anniversary alongside the Mac ( www.microsoft.com/mac ).

What’s Hot: A Quick Look at the World of Macs

1. Steve Jobs calls up the student who won Apple’s 100 millionth song contest. At the same time, the RIAA places a congratulatory phone call to the 100 millionth recipient of one of its cease and desist orders.

2. Apple introduces Click Wheel iPods. Crazed by the success of the iPod’s new interface, the company declares that all future Power Macs will be operated with Click Wheels, too.

3. Motorola and Apple will team up to make a cell phone that includes iTunes software. Soon, all of your friends’ terrible tastes in music will be just a phone call away (plus roaming charges where applicable).

4. The Worldwide Newton Association (WNA) names former Apple CEO John Sculley as its honorary president. Coincidentally, the WNA members were named honorary presidents of the Just Let It Go Already Society.