-MARCH 2000-

Agfa Bundles Readiris with New SnapScan Scanners
MARCH 31—Agfa has unveiled two new scanners in its SnapScan line, the e50 and the e40, which are being bundled with Readiris Pro 4.21 for Mac. Readiris is an OCR package from Image Recognition Integrated Systems (IRIS). Readiris recognizes 47 languages in the Mac version covering character sets in Western European, Eastern European, Baltic, Cyrillic, Greek, Turkish, Chinese and Korean, among others.

New High-End Nikon To Ship with Geniune Fractals 2.0 LE
Nikon will release a new model in its line of Coolpix digital cameras in April. The new model, the Coolpix 990, offers a resolution of 2,048 x 1,536 (3.34 megapixels). It will come bundled with Altamira Genuine Fractals 2.0 limited-edition software. Genuine Fractals, which comes as a plugin for Photoshop, can save files in a format that allows for changes in the image size with little loss of image quality. Altamira claims that an 8" x 10" 200 DPI image can be resized to 20" x 27" with no loss of image quality.

Hitachi To Debut 37" Plasma Monitor at NAB
MARCH 30—Hitachi America Ltd. today said it would launch a new 37" plasma monitor at the NAB show in Las Vegas next month. Offering a resolution of 1,024 x 768 (fixed) and an aspect ratio of 4:3, the monitor is expected to sell for $17,450 when it goes on sale in June. A model similar to the XGA-, VGA- and SVGA-compatible CMP307 will be available in Japan in May, according to Hitachi.

Midiman Ships MidiSport Single-Port USB MIDI Interface
MARCH 30—Arcadia, Calif.-based Midiman has started shipping a new version of its USB MidiSport MIDI interface. The new model, the MidiSport 1x1, offers a single port in and a single port out, supporting 16 MIDI channels. The company says there is no configuration required for the MidiSport, and for additional ports, users just need to plug in another MidiSport.

Pinnacle Acquires Puffin Designs
MARCH 30—Pinnacle Systems Inc., Mountain View, Calif., has acquired Puffin Designs Inc., Sausalito, Calif., maker of CommotionDV and other DV tools. For about $13 million in stock and $2 million in assumed debt, Pinnacle gets all software and intellectual property rights once held by Puffin. Pinnacle manufactures a number of hardware systems for Mac and PC, including the Targa line of video capture and editing boards.

InDesign 1.5 Ships, New Pricing Plan Offered for Upgrade
MARCH 29—Adobe Systems Inc. has started shipping version 1.5 of InDesign and has announced a new upgrade pricingplan. All registered users of InDesign will be able to upgrade for $29.95. This applies as well to those who purchased Adobe's Design Collection, which included InDesign 1.0. Customers who purchased InDesign 1.0 at the full price on or after Jan. 1 will receive the upgrade at no cost. Those who purchased InDesign 1.0 at any price on or after Feb. 12 will also receive a free upgrade.

Adobe To Acquire Canoma from MetaCreations
MARCH 29—Adobe Systems Inc. says it will acquire Canoma, a 3D application, from MetaCreations, which had said it was divesting itself of all of its retail products. In addition, Adobe will add support for MetaCreations' Metastream technology in its products, including Photoshop, GoLive, Illustrator, LiveMotion, InDesign, Premiere and After Effects. Adobe says it will continue to make investments in the 3D market space and continue to develop 3D in its existing Web products over the course of the year.

ViewSonic Announces 22" Flat-Screen CRT with Dual Inputs
MARCH 29—ViewSonic Corp., Walnut, Calif., has announced a new monitor in its line of flat-screen CRTs. The new model, the PF815 PerfectFlat, offers a 22" screen (20.0" viewable) and a maximum resolution of 1,920 x 1,440 pixels at a refresh rate of 75 Hz. It also offers a variable aperture grille pitch of 0.25 mm to 0.27 mm and supports a video input bandwidth of 300 MHz.

Web Standards Project Urges Microsoft To Finish the Job in IE 5
MARCH 29 (Press Release)—The Web Standards Project (WaSP) today praised Microsoft's thorough implementation of HTML 4 and CSS 1 in the Macintosh version of Internet Explorer 5. However, the WaSP cautioned that no browser can be considered fully standards-compliant until it supports XML and the DOM, and the group urged Microsoft to take IE5/Mac to the next level.

MCE To Ship New PowerBook CD-RW Drives
MARCH 29—Irvine, Calif-based Mac Components Engineered has anounced two new CD-RW modules for the PowerBook media bay. The Xcaret Pro 2000 Media Bay CDRW is designed for the currently shipping 500 MHz and 400 MHz Apple PowerBook FireWire models, as well as the 400 MHz and 333 MHz "Bronze" PowerBook G3 Series. The Xcaret Pro Media Bay CDRW is designed for the PowerBook G3 Series prior to the Bronze models, including1998 (Wallstreet) which includes the 300 MHz, 292 MHz, 266 MHz, 250 MHz, and 233 MHz models.

Sapphire To Ship Painter Textures
MARCH 28—Sapphire Innovations will ship two sets of texture sets compatible with Painter 6, Painter Classic and Painter 3D. Called Tapestry, the collections include royalty-free patterns that can be used as basic pattern fills, textures, screens, selections, tiles, grain for brush strokes or a source in pattern effects.

Macromedia Offers Two New Flash Software Development Kits
MARCH 28—Macromedia Inc. today announced the availability of two new software development kits to help third-party developers add Flash playback and export functionality to their applications. The announcement was made at the Flashforward 2000 conference in San Francisco.

TEAMS 3.1 To Debut at NAB
MARCH 28—Artesia Technologies will update its TEAMS digital asset management software for he Mac to 3.1 at the NAB conference in April. TEAMS 3.1 will have enhanced metadata editing abilities (XML-based), improved complex document linkage and proxy creation and improved search, view and edit capabilities for digital assets. Overall, TEAMS 3.1 has been optimized to support a number of convergence-fueled applications—particularly streaming media, according to the company.

Yamaha Introduces New CD-R Packs
MARCH 28—Yamaha Corporation of America, Buena Park, Calif., has introduced two new packs of CD-R media. The discs are all certified for 12x recording. The new products include the CDR80M1210, a 10-pack, 80-minute, 700 MB CD-R disc package; and the CDR74M1250, a 50-pack, 74- minute, 650 MB CD-R disc package. The 10-pack CDR80M1210 will have an estimated street price of $19.95, and the 50-pack CDR74M1250 will be marketed at $69.95. Both packages will be available in mid-April.

Iomega Ships ZipCD for Mac
MARCH 28—Roy, Utah-based Iomega Corp. has started shipping its ZipCD CD-RW drive with Mac-compatible software. The drive has been available for PC since December. The drive offers 4x write, 4x rewrite and 6x read speeds. With ZipCD discs, users can record and re-record up to 1,000 times.

Samsung Releases High-End Flat Panels
MARCH 27—Samsung Electronics, San Jose, Calif., has introduced a new line of high-end flat-panel monitors that pull double duty as stand-alone televisions. The SyncMaster 150MP and 170MP flat-panel monitors can accept dual input from video and computer sources and display pictures in windows within windows. The SyncMaster 150MP has a pixel pitch of 0.297 mm and offers a maximum resolution of 1024 x 768.

Canon Ships New ColorPASS Print Controller
MARCH 27—Canon USA Inc., Lake Success, N.Y., has started shipping the new ColorPASS-Z90 print controller for the CLC 2400 and CLC 1000 color copiers and printers. The controller was developed for Canon by EFI and includes a dual Pentium III 500 MHz system with 18.2 GB of hard disk space, 512 MB SDRAM, CD-ROM and Zip drive. The ColorPASS-Z90 features NetWise 2.0, which performs automatic TCP/IP configuration, IPX Auto Frame Type and other features; Fiery Driver for real-time, two-way communication to a suite of printer drivers; and Fiery Link software for remote printer management capabilities.

H.P. Unveils New Mac InkJet
MARCH 27—Palo Alto, Calif.-based Hewlett-Packard Co. has unveiled a new DeskJet printer—the first one geared specifically for the Mac. The DeskJet 935c is similar to the 932c in terms of features, but the new model adds a grayish-white casing with silver accents to complement the looks of the new Macs. The 935c offers 2,400 x 1,200 DPI printing on photo paper and uses color layering and 5 picoliter drops to print 29 ink drops per dot.

HTML Improvements in Canvas 7 Free Update
MARCH 24—Miami, Fla.-based Deneba Software has released the first update to Canvas 7 since November. The update is being offered as a free download to registered users of Canvas 7 via the company's Web site. Canvas 7.0.1 includes an enhanced HTML export tool, which supports older browsers and offers two options for formatting output: HTML 4 with table layout and HTML 4 with cascading style sheets (CSS/2) layout.

Coda Releases Allegro 2000 Music Publishing and Notation System
MARCH 23—Minneapolis-based Coda Music technology today released Allegro 2000, a mid-range notation package. The software draws heavily on the company's high-end Finale 2000 music publishing system and entry-level PrintMusic! 2000 notation software. The company says most of Finale's MIDI features are included in Allegro, including recording of MIDI data; a MIDI Graphic Editing window for tweaking performance aspects; a transcription engine for turning Standard MIDI Files into notation; and HyperScribe, a real-time note entry system where notes are entered by playing a MIDI keyboard while the user controls the tempo.

Ricoh Beefs Up Features in Aficio Imaging Systems
MARCH 23—Ricoh Corp., West Caldwell, N.J., says it's beefed up its Aficio line of imaging systems with network scanning capabilities. The option allows for image capture and distribution over a network with 600 DPI copying speeds of 22 PPM on the Aficio 220 and 27 PPM on the Aficio 270.

Beta Shockwave Player Required for Director 8 (See Note Below for Update)
MARCH 22—[Editor's note: This story is kept here for archival purposes. You can download the full-release Shockwave Player now by clicking here.] The boxed version of Director 8 Shockwave Studio from Macromedia has started shipping. Mac users will notice immediately that their current versions of the Shockwave player (7.0.3) won't play their content. So Macromedia has included a link to the latest version 8 beta player on the Director 8 installation CD.

XLR8 Drops Prices on G4 Upgrade Cards
MARCH 22—Atlanta-based XLR8 is revamping its line of G4 and G3 accelerator cards with new models and price drops on older ones. The company's also shipping a new four-port USB hub, called IceView, for $54.95. It includes a secondary power supply. The company will continue to sell its unpowered model as well.

Viking To Ship Flash Reader, Larger-Capacity Type II Cards
MARCH 21—Viking Components, Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif., will ship a new USB flash reader next month that can transfer images from a variety of media used in digital cameras at 1.5 MB per second. The IntelliFlash USB Memory Reader supports any USB-capable Macintosh running Mac OS 8.6 or higher.

NEC Launches Color Laser Internet Printer Series
MARCH 21—NEC Technologies Inc., San Jose, Calif., kicked off a new line of color laser printers today that are designed to handle print requests that come through the Internet. The SuperScript 4650 Internet printer series, which includes the 4650, 4650N and 4650NX, can operate with or without a driver, allowing users to utilize the Internet to print from anywhere. The new SuperScript 4650 Internet printer series will replace the SuperScript 4200, 4200N, 4400, 4400N and 4600N color laser printers in NEC's printer lineup.

Adobe Clarifies InDesign Upgrade
MARCH 21—Adobe Systems Inc. has formally clarified its position on InDesign upgrades by posting its policy in the customer service section of its Web site. After numerous customer complaints about having to pay for an upgrade to version 1.5, the company made several changes to its upgrade plans.

Apple Releases Fix for FireWire PowerBooks, iBooks
MARCH 20—Apple says it's identified a glitch in iBooks and new FireWire PowerBooks that can prevent the machines from coming out of sleep mode properly and has posted a fix to the problem on its Web site. Apple says the bug is rarely encountered, but it involves the "Preserve memory contents on sleep" option in the Energy Saver Control Panel. After installing the new Sleep Memory Extension 1.0, this option will no longer be available.

Hitachi Improves Mobile LCD Projector
MARCH 20—Hitachi America Ltd., Brisbane, Calif., says it's added improvements to its portable LCD projector, the CP-S840W, bringing its output to 900 ANSI lumens. The unit weighs in a 10 lbs and sells for $7,495. It includes built-in speakers, manual zoom, a wireless remote with built-in laser pointer, two data inputs and a universal power supply.

Sony To Release Speedier Spressa CD-RW Drives in April
MARCH 20—Sony Electronics, San Jose, Calif., is expanding its line of Spressa CD-RW drives with the introduction next month of four new models, including one that supports FireWire. Each one offers 10x maximum recording speed, which amounts to a 650 MB burn in about seven minutes. Sony says it will continue to offer its 4x Spressa models at reduced prices.

New iBiz Flat Panels Offer Speakers, TV Tuner for Less Than $1,000
iBiz Technology Corp., Phoenix, has introduced two new high-contrast, TFT flat-panel monitors. Available with 13.3" and 15.1" viewable screens, the monitors include built-in speakers and an optional television tuner. The 15.1" model with the tuner sell for less than $1,000. The tuner allows the user to watch full-screen television or video from a variety of antenna or video sources, including composite and S-video.

Hewlett-Packard Announces 11 New CD-RWs
MARCH 20—Hewlett-Packard Co., Palo Alto, Calif., will release 11 new CD-RW drives in April ranging in price from $199 to $399. The new models include H.P.'s highest-performance drives, the 9300i and 9310i, which offer recording speeds of 10x, write speeds of 4x and read speeds of 32x. At $299, the new drives match the speed and price of the new Sony CD-RW drives also announced today and also due out in April. However, the high-end models come only in internal IDE configurations.

ConnectCom Ships ‘Two in One’ SCSI Board
MARCH 16—ConnectCom Solutions Inc., San Jose, Calif., has begun shipping an AdvanSys "Two in One" SCSI board. The company says the board is compatible with Macs and PCs and supports both Ultra2 and legacy SCSI devices by using two chips on a single board. This Ultra2 SCSI board allocates one channel to Ultra2-type SCSI devices using low voltage differential (LVD) I/O interfaces, while the other channel is dedicated for legacy interface technologies.

IBM 75 GB Drive Due by April
MARCH 16—IBM will release several new additions to its Deskstar GXP and GV hard disk lines, including a 75 GB mid-range ATA drive and a low-end 40 GB model. The Deskstar 75GXP should be available in quantity by April and is already shipping to select computer manufacturers. It, along with all the other new GXP models, spins at 7,200 RPM and boasts an 8.5 MS average seek time and 444 Mbps maximum media data rate, with burst transfers up to 100 MB per second.

Canon To Ship ZR10 FireWire Camcorder
MARCH 15—Canon USA Inc., Lake Success, N.Y., has announced its newest digital video camcorder targeted at the consumer market. The ZR10, which includes FireWire/IEEE 1394, is expected to begin shipping in April. The new models comes equipped with a 10x optical and 200x digital zoom, image stabilization and a 2.5" LCD view screen and a color viewfinder.

Monaco Updates Color Profiling System
MARCH 15—Monaco Systems has released MonacoProfiler 3.0. The program can create up to six channels in its output profiles, allowing it to create accurate profiles for Pantone's Hexachrome and other hi-fi ink sets. It also offers control over black generation, allowing users to determine the exact relationship between GCR (Gray Component Removal) and UCR (Under Color Removal), as well as how much black is used in each.

Umax Bundles Photoshop 5.5 with High-End Scanners
MARCH 14—Umax Technologies Inc. has begun shipping Adobe Photoshop 5.5 with its high-end scanners. Bundled systems include the PowerLook 2100XL, the FireWire PowerLook 1100, the PowerLook 3000 and PowerLook III. The PowerLook 2100XL is the only one of these scanners not currently available. It should ship by the end of the month, according to Umax. It offers 800 x 1600 DPI hardware-based resolution and can scan images up to 12" by 17". The PowerLook 2100XL will be available at an estimated street price of $1,499 to $2,699, depending on software bundle and transparency adapter.

Real Networks Updates RealPlayer for Mac
MARCH 13—Real Networks, Seattle, has released an update to its RealPlayer multi-media viewer for the Macintosh. The company says the software offers improved performance and better access to the Real.com Message Service, which enables users to be notified in RealPlayer 7 when entertainment or breaking news content is available.

Adobe To Ship New Versions of InDesign, FrameMaker
MARCH 13—Adobe Systems Inc., San Jose, Calif., says it expects to ship a new version of InDesign next month. The company says InDesign 1.5 will add 70 new features, including text on a path, built-in trapping, eyedropper tool, printer and PDF export styles and PDF scripting. The new version is expected to sell for $699. Users of InDesign 1.0 wil be able to upgrade for $99. Volume pricing will be available.

Digital Origin Upgrades EditDV to 2.0
MARCH 13—Digital Origin, Mountain View, Calif., will begin shipping version 2.0 of its EditDV desktop video editing system within the next 60 days. The new version will add support for third-party plugins; direct export to Web streaming formats; slip, slide and ripple editing from the timeline; improved camera compatibility; and a new track keyer for improved luma keying.

Imation To Add Support for Canon with Proofing Tool
MARCH 13—Imation Corp., Oakdale, Minn., will offer its Matchprint inkjet system as an upgrade to the Canon BJC-8500 in June. The system helps improve output on inkjet printers for proofing in graphics and prepress environments. The Imation Matchprint Inkjet System includes Imation Matchprint Color RIP Software and Imation Matchprint Inkjet Commercial or Design Base media. Pricing will also be announced in the second quarter. The system is currently available for the Hewlett-Packard DesignJet ColorPro GA printer.

Mitsubishi Ships Low-Cost, Flat-face 17" CRT Monitor
MARCH 13—Mitsubishi Electronics America, Cypress, Calif., has begun shipping a new flat-faced, 17" (16" viewable) CRT monitor for the consumer market. The Diamond Plus 73, priced at $289, is designed to move consumers away from 15" monitors and toward larger screens. The company claims that the monitor offers the "flattest, sharpest and brightest monitor available in the industry." It uses a calculated polynomial curve to the internal screen surface and aperture grille that "pre-distorts" the image, compensating optically for the concave effect, and a redesigned S-NX DBF electron gun for reduced spot size and screen focus uniformity.

Epson Reduces Price on PhotoPC 650
MARCH 13—Long Beach, Calif.-based Epson America Inc. has reduced the price of its 1.09 megapixel PhotoPC 650 digital camera to $299. The camera supports USB and serial transfers on Macs and PCs. The Mac serial port supports older, pre-G3 Macintosh models that did not come equipped with USB ports and comes with a TWAIN plug-in module for image aquisition.

Hewlett-Packard Ships PhotoSmart C500 Digital Camera
MARCH 13—Palo Alto, Calif.-based Hewlett-Packard Co. says it has begun shipping the PhotoSmart C500 digital camera, which it unveiled last August. The camera, which supports captures up to 2 megapixels, can bypass a computer and print directly to a JetSend-enabled printer. H.P. says this is the first time it's used this technology in a digital camera.

Noteheads Offers Preview Release of Igor 1.0 Light Mac-Only Notation Software
MARCH 13—Swedish software developer Noteheads is offering a free download of its new music notation software, Igor 1.0 Preview Release. The program, released Friday, is a scaled-down version of Igor 2.0 Engraver, a $595 application. Pricing has not yet been determined for Igor 1.0 Lite when it goes into full release.

MOTU Ships Enhanced Audio Hard Disk Recording System
MARCH 10—Mark of the Unicorn Inc. (MOTU), Cambridge, Mass., has started shipping an enhanced version of its 2408 hard disk recording system. The new 2408mkII, which replaces the old 2408, adds 24-bit converters and balanced +4/-10 0.25" (TSR) connectors. The new model will still be able to handle unbalanced input signals via software or user-configurable jumpers for its eight analog inputs. These inputs can add 10 decibels of gain to accommodate -10 dB signals typically produced by synthesizers and drum machines.

Belkin To Expand USB Product Line
MARCH 10—Belkin Components, Compton, Calif., says it will expand its USB line with at least seven new products over the next year. These new modules will complement the BusStation (pictured), a modular system that allows users to create custom, multifunction hubs. An Apple Desktop Bus (ADB) adapter will be released April 1, along with a PS/2 adapter.

TripleD Releases Anvil Steamroller for Electric Image
MARCH 9—TripleDTools Inc. has released Anvil Steamroller, a texture plugin for the Electric Image 3D Animation System from Play Inc. Anvil Steamroller was released in conjunction with Digital Motion Studios. The software includes several template settings, including transformation, projection and image. These allow the user to control alignment, position, rotation, projection type, scaling, radius, wrap settings and band angle.

Macromedia Director 8 Shockwave Studio Available for Download
MARCH 9—Macromedia has made good on its promise to deliver its Director 8 Shockwave Studio this month. The new version, announced last month, is now available in full and upgrade versions from Macromedia's online store. A boxed version will be available later this month. Macromedia has also released a beta version of the latest Shockwave Player today, which is available for download at http://www.macromedia.com/shockwave/download/alternates/. The full release version is expected March 27.

Epson Reduces Prices on Color Stylus Line
MARCH 9—Epson has started offering rebates on several of its inkjet printers, including the Stylus Color 860, 760, 740, 740i and 660 models. The Stylus Color 860, now priced at $149 after a $50 mail-in rebate, offers nine PPM black printing and seven PPM for photo-realistic color printing at 1440 DPI. Its ink droplets are four picoliters, compared with the 740 and 740i, which use six picoliter droplets.

Swift 3D To Bring 3D to Macromedia Flash
MARCH 9—Electric Rain Inc. says it wil release a Mac and Windows version of Swift 3D, a 3D vector tool for Macromedia Flash. The Windows version will be released March 27 at the Flashforward 2000 conference in San Francisco, with a Mac version to follow soon after. According to Electric Rain, Swift 3D will allow users to create or import 3D images and animations and export them in the Flash .swf format.

Boris To Ship Boris FX 5.0 March 31 for Mac & PC
MARCH 8—Boris FX will ship the latest release of its flagship Boris FX compositing and effects plug-in application March 31, the company announced today. Boris FX 5.0, which integrates into non-linear editing systems, will include new features like 3D text, Effects Library browser and keyframe enhancements.

ATI To Describe New 3D Technologies
MARCH 8—ATI Technologies today announced they would deliver the details on their forthcoming 3D architecture later this week at the Game Developers Conference in San Jose, Calif. The company previewed the new technology, saying it wpould deliver a tenfold performance increase over current systems.

Apple Blocks iMac Knockoffs
MARCH 8—Apple says it's finalized its cases against Daewoo and eMachines by securing a worldwide injunction against the two companies that prevents them from manufacturing, distributing, selling or promoting their iMac lookalikes. The computers affected are the Daewoo E-Power and the eMachines eOne. Both bore a striking resemblance to the iMac and were even supposed to be marketed with a five-color scheme like the iMac. A U.S. Federal Court in San Jose also granted an injunction against Future PowerÕs distribution or sale of the E-Power computer.

Digital Media Online Partners with Primedia's IndustryClick
MARCH 8—Digital Media Online Inc., the parent company of Creative Mac, has received a significant investment from Primedia, a major B to B and consumer publisher. As part of the deal, DMO will license content from several of Primedia's Intertec publications, including Millimeter, Mix, Video Systems, Broadcast Engineering, World Broadcast Engineering, BE Radio and Sound and Video Contractor. Read the full press release here!

Twain, Digimarc Release New Version of Mac Standard, Offer Free Download
MARCH 8—Digimarc and the TWAIN Working Group (a not for profit group dedicated to developing standards for image acquisition) said yesterday they've updated the TWAIN standard on the Mac OS. The new interface offers users increased flexibility for capturing images on the Macintosh from sources like digital cameras and scanners. The two groups have been working together to update the standard for the last year.

Medea To Bundle Boris FX 4 with VideoRaid Subsystems
MARCH 7—Boris FX will ship its flagship Boris FX 4.0 compositing and effects plug-in application free of charge to people who purchase certain VideoRaid subsystems from Medea Corp. Boris FX offers a number of transforms, blurs, distortions, noise, particles and keyers, as well as a pixel chooser and color correction. It also offers a multi-layered time-line, unlimited keyframes and Preview to RAM playback.

Umax To Ship PowerLook 2100XL Scanners by Thursday
MARCH 7—UMAX Technologies Inc. has announced the PowerLook 2100XL, a high-resolution scanner designed for the professional market. The scanner offers large-size scanning (up to 12" x 17") at hardware resolutions of 800 x 1,600 DPI. It uses moving mirrors to project an image onto a single, stationary CCD element. Umax says this technology minimizes signal noise to produce more consistent consistent scans and reduces power consumption and scan times.

PlateMaker 3 Widens CTP to 340 mm
MARCH 6—Xante Corp., Mobile, Ala., has introduced a wider plate option for its PlateMaker 3 computer to plate solution. The new option allows for plates up to 340 mm wide, up 10 mm from its previous maximum. The new option is designed for users of the Heidelberg Printmaster QM 46.

Adobe Launches Public Beta of LiveMotion
MARCH 6—Adobe Systems Inc., San Jose, Calif., has released LiveMotion as a public beta available for download from http://www.adobe.com. LiveMotion is a tool for creating vector-based interactive graphics and Web animations. LiveMotion can export to GIF, JPEG, PNG, Photoshop and Flash formats.

Sony To Ship New Profesional, Consumer Digital Cameras
MARCH 6—Sony Electronics has released a new slate of digital camcorders, including high-end and consumer models. On the high-end side, the company introduced the DCR-VX2000 Digital Video Handycam camcorder, a three-chip CCD camera for professional users.
Kodak Sets Eyes on Wireless R.F. by 4Q 2001
MARCH 6—According to a report from Bloomberg, Eastman Kodak Co. is planning to release wireles digital cameras by the end of 2001. The devices will use radio frequencies rather than infrared to allow for greater range, flexibility and uninterupted transmissions, the company says.

YARC Releases Version 1.5 of Its Six-Color RIP
MARCH 6—YARC Systems Corp., Camarillo, Calif., has released version 1.5 of its PostScript Level 3 RIP, which is geared toward six-color inkjet printers. The software, which implements ICC capabilities to be compatible with Apple's ColorSync, is specifically designed for printers that use cyan, magenta, yellow, black, light cyan and light magenta (CMYKcm). It also includes support for CMYK, orange and green (CMYKOG) printers.

LIPSinc Sets 2Q Release for Mimic 1.0/Mac
MARCH 3—LIPSinc, Cary, N.C., says it expects to ship a Macintosh version of Mimic 1.0 by the end of the second quarter. Mimic, currently in beta and expected to ship for Windows April 4, is an application that works with MetaCreations' Poser 3 and 4 (3D modeling software) that automates the synching of sounds with facial movement in Poser.

Sonic To Release Streaming DVD Upgrade to DVD Authoring Software
MARCH 3—Sonic Solutions will upgrade its DVD authoring tools to support its new Streaming DVD technology, which allows users to create content geared toward Web distribution using the DVD-Video format.

Destiny Releases MPE Player
MARCH 3—Destiny Media Technologies Ltd. today unveiled an Internet music distribution package it hopes will appeal to record labels. Destiny says its new format, MPE, will prevent piracy by linking downloaded MP3s and WMFFs to the machine to which the music was downloaded. The company says a "key" uses encryption to "lock" downloaded files to a user's specific computer or other hardware device.
Eizo Ships 18.1" Flat Panels
MARCH 3—Eizo Nanao Technologies, Cypress, Calif., has begun shipping two new flat panel monitors—the FlexScan L661 and L680—geared toward the high-end graphics market. Both monitors offer an 18.1" viewable area and come in black or beige. L680 sports a 170 degree horizontal and vertical viewing angle, while the L661 has a 140 degree viewing angle.

Boris To Launch Pro Version of Graffiti
MARCH 2—Boris FX will be launching its new titling application, Graffiti 1.0, at the NAB show in Las Vegas in April. The company has given us an exclusive preview of what you can expect the package to offer.

Toshiba Launches CD-RW/DVD-ROM Combo
MARCH 1—Toshiba America Electronic Components has launched the first combination DC-RW/DVD-ROM drive, which it's now selling directly to consumers and through traditional distributors. The drive can read and write 650 MB CDs and read DVDs up to a capacity of 17 GB (double-sided, double-layered).

Apple Releases WebObjects 4.5
MARCH 1—Apple has released version 4.5 of its WebObjects, an application server designed for deploying network applications. The new version, priced anywhere from $1,499 to $50,000, depending on usage, includes a new interface for the WebObjects Builder and built-in application profiling, which Apple says can increase application performance by 50 percent.

Tuesday, February 06, 2001 13:06:33