MakeMusic has announed the release of Finale NotePad 2009 and has introduced Finale Reader. Finale NotePad costs $9.95; Finale Reader is free.
Finale NotePad is music notation software; it lets you enter notes using your mouse or a MIDI keyboard. NotePad can open MIDI files, as well as any file created using the full Final software. It features a “Setup Wizard” to create orchestrations of up to eight staves, and can create guitar and bass tablature.
Features new to the 2009 release include a new Expression Tool and the ability to import and export MusicXML files.
Finale Reader lets you open and view any Finale file or MusicXML file, play the file with more than 128 built-in sounds, and print sheet music.
System requirements call for a G4 or better (including Intel), Mac OS X 10.4 or later, 800 x 600 resolution, 256MB RAM, 107MB hard disk space.