Got to see: Live Demo of SketchUp 4.0!

In Montreal:

Monday
Aug 9, 2004
7:00 pm – 9:00 pm



Crowne Plaza Hotel
505 Sherbrooke St. East
Montreal, PQ


Come join us to see the new features of SketchUp 4.0

Please RSVP david.gall@sketchup.com

Rogue Amoeba Releases Audio Hijack Pro 2.0 - The Best Just Got Better!

Rogue Amoeba Software burst onto the Mac OS X
scene with the release of their first product, the audio recording/
enhancing utility Audio Hijack. In 2003, they unveiled the next
generation Audio Hijack Pro, which garned a 2003 Mac OS X Innovators
Award from O'Reilly and widespread critical and consumer acclaim. Now in
2004 they're poised to revolutionize the Mac software world once again by
unveiling Audio Hijack Pro 2, replete with over 35 new features.

Audio Hijack Pro will drastically change the way you use audio on your
computer by giving you the freedom to listen to audio when you want and
how you want. Record and enhance any audio with Audio Hijack Pro - it's
the cornerstone of your digital audio experience.

Audio Hijack Pro has always been a great way to record internet streams,
import records and cassettes, or grab DVD audio, and now it's even better
than ever. With Audio Hijack Pro 2, users can now record to AAC and Apple
Lossless (ALAC), in addition to the original MP3 and AIFF formats. With
the new Recording Bin, recordings can be previewed, post-processed and
even burned to CD. Improved timers can be set to run once or recur, and
even wake the computer and launch Audio Hijack Pro automatically. Read on
for selected key features:

Key New Features In Audio Hijack Pro 2:

Elegant New User Interface
Now records to AAC and Apple Lossless (ALAC) formats
Recording Bin for Organization and Previewing
Built-in CD Burning
Split on Silence/Remove Silence
One-shot and Recurring Timers
Automatic Timers to wake your computer (10.3-only) and launch Audio Hijack Pro
Integrated Audio Input Recording
ID3 Tagging
Parallel Effects Processing
Over 35 major new features in total!

Audio Hijack Pro 2 is immediately available for download and purchase.
Users are encouraged to take it for a free test drive, then purchase it
for just $32. Registered users of Audio Hijack Pro 1.x may upgrade to
version 2 for just $10. Head over to the Audio Hijack Pro page for more
information, or just download Audio Hijack Pro now!

The 9/11 Commission's Final Report is now available at Audible.

To purchase your copy go to:

http://www.audible.com/emails/911finalreport/

Produced exclusively by our audio production team, the unabridged report
presents a thorough analysis of the events of September 11, 2001, and
identifies key areas where the United States government failed to heed
its own intelligence about the imminence and severity of the attacks.
Also included are the Commission's recommendations for safeguarding America
against future attacks.

Sony-BMG merger approved

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has unconditionally approved the merger of Sony Music with Bertelsmann's BMG to create Sony BMG.

FTC commissioner Mozelle Thompson told The Hollywood Reporter: "While I concur with the commission's approval of the merger, my decision was a difficult one, in part because I am particularly concerned about the impact of media mergers on the prices and quantity of media, as well as the diversity of content, available to consumers. The history of facilitating practices in the music industry, coupled with the elimination of Sony and BMG as independent competitors, causes me concern."

The move will bring the number of big record companies down from five to four and make Sony BMG the second-largest music company in the world, behind Universal Music Group. The combined company is expected to save $300 million-$360 million a year.

A Sony Music representative said: "Now, with regulatory approvals behind us, we look forward to establishing a dynamic new company that will be deeply dedicated to serving the needs of its artists, while at the same time enriching the lives of music lovers around the world."

A BMG spokesman said: "We now look forward to creating a global recorded music company comprising many of the world's most successful artists as well as a vast catalogue of recordings."

Far East satellite TV 'QuickTime-bound'

A major Japanese satellite broadcaster may adopt the Apple QuickTime-friendly H.264 format when it launches commercial broadcasts in mid-October.
Mobile Broadcasting said it is "considering changing the video codec for its digital satellite broadcasting service for mobile devices from MPEG-4 to H.264/MPEG-4 AVC," according to Asia Online.

The company said it began researching such a shift six months ago, "because H.264 has higher coding efficiency and can produce more benefits. H.264 may enable an increase of the number of video channels as well as improved image quality," the report says, though no final decision has yet been made.

In June, Apple announced that the DVD Forum had ratified H.264 to be included in the next-generation High Definition (HD) DVD format.

Apple's senior vice president of worldwide product marketing Phil Schiller then said: "Apple is firmly behind H.264 because it delivers superb-quality digital video and is based on open standards that no single company controls."

Apple also revealed that H.264 support will be added to QuickTime "next year".

Mac.com members get MyDoom.O

An email currently circulating to Mac.com customers is a symptom of the virulent MyDoom.O worm that attacked major search engines on Monday.
Internet security company Sophos' Graham Cluley explained: "This mailing is not aiming directly at Mac.com owners, but is generated by the prevalent MyDoom.O worm.
"The message aims to lure PC users into running the attached file, which infects the machine."

MacFixIt reports the dangerous message reads: "Dear user of mac.com. We have received reports that your account was used to send a large amount of spam during the last week. Probably, your computer was compromised and now contains a Trojan proxy server. We recommend you to follow our instruction in order to keep your computer safe. Sincerely yours, The Mac.com team."
Cluley said: "The MyDoom.O worm only runs on Windows machines, not Macs. It's an irritation for Mac users to get the mail, but it can't do them any harm", he said, adding "It's another reason to feel smug about having a Mac."

However, Mac.com subscribers who access their email using a PC or webmail on a PC should ensure they do not accidentally run the Windows-affecting file.



Sophos recently published its list of top ten viruses, none of which affect Macs.

New iPod 'has secrets'

According to a MacWorld report there is more to the new generation iPod than Apple is letting on.
Time Magazine states: "You should know that internally the new iPod is a ground-up reconstruction, and its really compelling applications – the ones that very well might get the goat of anyone unable or unwilling to upgrade – are still secret. All that Apple is saying is that there's more to this than what's being publicized."

Apple's fourth-generation iPod is this week's Time Gadget of the Week. The magazine describes iPod as "a strangely magical thing" and compares it to devices such as TiVos and Game Boys, "whose use rapidly leads to dependence, and each generation promises something new and exciting".

It calls the latest generation a "modest hop forward and a complete overhaul".

Apple seeds Mac OS X 10.3.5 build 7M28

Apple today seeded developers with the third external build of of Mac OS X 10.3.5, which carries build number 7M28 and weighs in at approximately 41.5 MB.

Once again, Apple asked developers to focus their testing to areas that include Audio/Sound, Bluetooth, Firewire, Graphics, OpenGL, Mail, Safari, and Networking. No specific issues were listed in developer notes distributed to Apple Developer Connection (ADC) members.

A complete list of key enhancements that will be included with the system update were published in our original report.

Apple last seeded Mac OS X 10.3.5 build 7M20 about two weeks, but has provided little commentary on the system's progress. Traditionally, Apple retains a running list of known issues, which accompany each seeding.

Sources have reported that the company's forthcoming dual 2.5 GHz liquid cooled Power Mac G5 computers will require a build of Mac OS X 10.3.5, and were seen running early builds of the system at Apple's developer conference this past June.

Mac OS X 10.3.5 is also said to include support for Apple's forthcoming iMac G5 system, expected in early September.

Updated Version Offers Easy-to-Use, Cost-effective Anti-virus Protection From McAfee

McAfee, Inc. (NYSE:MFE), the leading provider of intrusion prevention solutions, today announced the availability of McAfee(R) Virex(R) 7.5 for Macintosh(R), offering small to large businesses enhanced anti-virus protection for their Macintosh OS X platform and Macintosh Power PC. With McAfee Virex, corporate users can implement real-time prevention of Mac, PC and UNIX viruses, worms, Trojans and other malicious code threats.

McAfee Virex utilizes the award-winning McAfee scan engine for complete, proactive anti-virus protection for Macintosh systems, stopping every type of virus and malicious code threat, including hidden threats buried in ZIP and other compressed file types. McAfee Virex 7.5 builds on earlier McAfee versions developed for the Macintosh, incorporating enhanced security features, including real time "on access" scanning, automatic eUpdate functionality, scheduling options for On Demand scans and updating and the latest McAfee anti-virus scan engine. In addition, McAfee Virex employs generic detection, which involves using a single virus definition to detect and clean many variants of the same virus family. This is especially useful today, when a successful threat can be followed by a host of variants.

"While Macintosh's are immune to infections from Windows worms like Bagle, Netsky and MyDoom, which exploit security flaws in Windows operating systems and software applications, they are not immune to PC and UNIX threats that can spread to Macintosh systems on the network via email or network sharing," said John Bedrick, group product marketing manager for systems security at McAfee. "With McAfee Virex, Macintosh users can implement proactive virus protection to keep them secure in heterogeneous work environments."

McAfee Virex uses Apple's Mac OS X user-interface, offering a familiar screen for convenient on-demand scanning. Easy one-click updating ensures virus protection is always current with the latest updates for full compliance and protection against today's advanced threats. McAfee Virex is also extremely reliable and accurate, performing scans without false alarms, which can cost money and undermine confidence in a company's anti-virus defenses.

McAfee Virex is available immediately through McAfee and its channel partners. For more information please visit http://www.mcafee.com

Apple readying "Motion" graphics application for release

Apple Computer, Inc. is close to releasing its "Motion" real-time motion graphics application, which was previewed at April's National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) conference, sources said.

The Motion 1.0 project is said to be in late beta, and should begin shipping by the end of the summer.

Sources privy to prerelease builds of Motion 1.0 say a bare-bones install of the application requires less than 300 MB of space, in addition to an XSKey USB dongle (not expected in shipping versions).

CANADIAN ANIMATORS PRESENCE STRONGER THAN EVER AT THE 2004 OTTAWA INTERNATIONAL ANIMATION FESTIVAL

The Ottawa International Animation Festival (OIAF) today announced an exciting array of films and videos that will be included in the 2004 official competition. The Canadian presence is stronger than ever this year. 25 works by Canadian animators have been selected to compete in the festival and 27 more will be presented in the non-competitive "Best of the Rest" showcase. The OIAF takes place September 22-26 in Ottawa.

The response to the OIAF's call for entries was incredible this year. The festival received a record 1978 submissions from 61 countries around the world. The response from the Canadian animation industry was also strong with the OIAF receiving 354 Canadian entries, 19 of which were collaboration projects with other countries.

Selecting the films and videos to compete in the official competition is a challenging task. Only 111 of total 1978 submissions were chosen to compete in the official competition, 25 of these Canadian. "Ottawa is the toughest animation festival to get a film shown in. We receive more entries than any other animation festival in the world, but have very consciously limited our competition space," said Chris Robinson, OIAF Artistic Director. "There is no perfect selection method or unflinching criteria used when you are dealing with this amount of films. The programme is highly subjective, but I think it gives audiences an outstanding overview of the contemporary animation world."

The Canadian animation industry has always been celebrated for its high quality independent short films. However, this year, alongside the usual assortment of outstanding short films (notably, Chris Landreth's Ryan), the OIAF is presenting an array of innovative and acclaimed Canadian feature films (Cinegroupe's Pinnochio 3000), TV series (Nelvana's Jacob Two Two), music videos (Monkmus), and New Media works (Mr. Man by Steve Whitehouse).

Along with the other selected films and videos, Canadian works will compete in four main competitions: feature film, new media, commissioned films and independent short films. The competition is composed of a variety of animated short films, TV commercials, music videos, internet series and much more.

The OIAF is the only festival in the world that presents such a wide variety of commercial and non-commercial work side by side. During the festival, all of the films are programmed into six competition screenings that are a mixture of commercials, abstract films, music videos, television shows and independent narrative films. The jury will view each competition screening with the audience. The animation festival will have two international juries, one will judge the feature and new media competitions and the other will judge the independent and commissioned competitions. Prizes will be awarded for each competition and individual competition category.

The Ottawa International Animation Festival is the largest festival of its kind in North America and one of the most respected animation festivals in the world. Bringing art and industry together, the festival attracts production executives, artists, students and animation fans from across Canada and around the world. The 2004 OIAF will be held September 22-26 in Ottawa. For further information regarding the festival, please visit our website at http://www.awn.com/ottawa

Allume To Carry On Aladdin Software With New Branding Campaign

Aladdin Systems, Inc., an IMSI company (OTC BB:IMSI) today announced that it changed its name to Allume Systems, Inc. ("Allume"). The name change was a condition of Aladdin Systems' settlement of a trademark lawsuit with Aladdin Knowledge Systems. Allume is dedicated to its mission to deliver everyday solutions that are easy to use and technically advanced. The entire Aladdin Systems' product line, including StuffIt(r), SpamCatcher(tm), Spring Cleaning(r), and Internet Cleanup(tm), will be rebranded under the Allume Systems name over the coming year. The new Web address is www.allume.com. Customers who enter www.aladdinsys.com  will be redirected to the allume.com site over the next several years.


As a leader in the software industry over the last 14 years, Allume expects to continue lighting the way for its customers. Allume signifies a new beginning and opportunity to grow," said Jonathan Kahn, President of Allume Systems. "It reflects the bright future we see and our continued dedication to serving our customers and providing them with the best software products and services they have come to expect."


In April of this year, Aladdin Systems became a wholly owned subsidiary of IMSI, inc. and started this second chapter in its history. Today's announcement is part of this change. Building on 14 years of success, Allume expects to expand and accelerate its software offerings over the next six months and seek new opportunities of growth.


The company agreed to change its name as part of settling its trademark suit with Aladdin Knowledge Systems. The transition to Allume will be completed over the course of a year. This should should have minimal impact on customers and partners because of notification and URL redirection. Allume will send out regular communication with its customers, vendors, and partners, notifiying them of any changes and of new products. Customers can join the Allume notification list at: http://www.allume.com/company/contact/maillist.html.


Allume Systems, Inc: Everyday Solutions(tm)

Founded in 1988, Allume Systems, Inc, an IMSI company (OTC BB: IMSI), develops and publishes award-winning software solutions for Windows, Macintosh, Linux, and Solaris, including the StuffIt X technology, which integrates compression with security and safety options to meet the requirements of today's business and digital lifestyle. Allume enables people and businesses to communicate and manage their ideas and information. Allume's software offers a range of solutions, empowering users in the areas of information access, removal, recovery, security, and Internet distribution.

Registration Open for the 2004 O'Reilly Mac OS X Conference

Apple manages to pack a wallop of technology into its
sleek machines. Bluetooth, digital music, mobile computing, digital
video, AirPort Extreme--and so much more--make up the digital lifestyle
that is transforming business, academic, and home environments.
Registration has just opened for the third annual O'Reilly Mac OS X
Conference, happening October 25-28 in Santa Clara, CA, where Mac
developers, sys admins, digital musicians, and users can master the
must-have tools and goodies that Apple and other companies are churning
out in the wake of Mac OS X's success.

"Along with the engineers in Cupertino, independent developers are
contributing to the thriving Mac OS X culture by bringing new ideas to our
desktop every day," observes Derrick Story, conference program chair.
"We're excited that many of these innovators are able to speak at this
year's event." Conference participants include Stewart Copeland, the
former drummer for the Police who now creates award-winning film and
television scores using Mac OS X technology; New York Times columnist
David Pogue; Andy Ihnatko of the Chicago Sun-Times; Karelia Sofware's Dan
Wood; Brent Simmons of Ranchero Software; Michael Bartosh of 4AM Media;
and authors Dori Smith, Gordon Meyer, and Ted Landau.

The conference offers practical sessions dealing with:
- Getting up to speed on Unix
- Working the Mac into both sides of the firewall
- Networking, security, and workflow
- Quartz Extreme, Cocoa, Java, and Xcode
- Scripting with AppleScript
- Perl, Python, Ruby, and PHP

Two new tracks have been added to inspire users to view their skills and
creativity in a new light:
- In the Digital Audio track, musicians and tech gurus will learn to fine
tune Macs for peak performance, design workflows to manage huge amounts of
content, work with professional applications, understand how to get new
music in front of audiences, and pick up insider business tips
- The Insanely Great Mac Track focuses on both the cool and useful: mobile
computing, home automation, creative networking, and digital media

From overviews of cutting edge projects to hands-on advice for day-to-day
care and feeding, the O'Reilly Mac OS X Conference is where developers,
programmers, sys admins in organizations large and small, Mac users in
high performance environments, and techno artists can learn from people
creating the future of the Mac. As Derrick Story sums up, "This is the
conference that brings together what you need to know with what you want
to experience."

Additional Resources:

For complete conference details, visit:
http://conferences.oreilly.com/macosxcon/

Apple strikes cell phone music deal

Apple Computer and Motorola announced a deal on Monday that will let customers of the iTunes digital music transfer their music onto the mobile handset maker's next generation of MP3-enabled phones.

Under the agreement, Apple will create a new version of its iTunes software for cellular phones, which will be the default jukebox on Motorola's new line of products, slated to hit the market in the first half of next year. The companies did not provide any financial details on the arrangement.

Iomega To Exit Small-Form-Factor Storage

Iomega Corp. this week said it plans to wind down its DCT small-form-factor storage operation, failing to find enough customers to keep the operation afloat.

Doom 3 Specs Revealed

The Houston Chronicle has the skinny on how much computing power will be needed to run id Software's Doom 3. Since its introduction in 1993, Doom has a history of pushing hardware to its limits and the 3rd release of Doom is no exception. According to CEO Todd Hollenshead, the newly minted Doom will require at least a 1.5 GHz Intel Pentium 4 processor or AMD Athlon 1500, 384 MB of RAM, 2 GB of free hard drive space and either an nVidia GeForce 3 or ATI Radeon 8500 (or better). No word on the Mac version yet...

On Line PDF: Mac Troubleshooting PDF Book Released

" Fix a troubled Mac v1.4.0", a Macintosh troubleshooting PDF book has been released. The emphasis on this book is fixing, troubleshooting and resolving problems through knowledge. The book is written for advanced Mac users (not newbies) and aimed at creative studio and production environments and for anyone that is looking after a few Macs.
Expect a full review of this promissing product soon here at the Digital Dispatch.

App. of the Week: Extensis Portfolio 7 - Digital Asset Mangement

Digital Asset Management use to be a pain. Digital photography alone demands a powerful asset management tool, and while iPhoto is a good choice for many, most professionals and prosumers need something more. You bet!
The perfect tool for the job is without a doubt Extensis Portfolio 7.
This is a major up grade. enriched , faster and more stable, the offering from Extensis show maturity.
If you do have a need for Digital Asset Management (and we know you do) Extensis Portfolio 7 is the all in one solution.

Highly recommanded
We give it a 4.5 out of 5
Making it our Application of the week

go see for yourself at : www.extensis.com

Apple Introduces the New iPod

Fourth Generation iPod Features Apple’s Click Wheel & 12 Hour Battery Life

Apple® today introduced the new iPod®, the fourth generation of the world’s number one portable digital music player, featuring Apple’s patent pending Click Wheel, which combines the smooth and continuous scrolling of a touch-sensitive wheel with five push buttons for superior one handed navigation. The new iPod also features up to 12 hours battery life and Shuffle Songs, a new command in the main menu which gives users instant access to one of the most exciting new ways to listen to their music library. All iPods work effortlessly with Apple’s iTunes®, providing music fans with the best digital jukebox on either a Mac® or Windows computer and access to the iTunes Music Store, the number one digital music service in the world. The new iPod is available immediately in a 20GB model for $299 and a 40GB model for $399.

iPod features Apple’s patent pending Auto-Sync technology that automatically downloads an entire digital music library onto iPod and keeps it up-to-date whenever it is plugged into a Mac or Windows computer using FireWire® or USB. Users can transfer two songs per second from their Mac or Windows computer and can now conveniently charge iPod with either the included FireWire or USB cable.*


* Rechargeable batteries have a limited number of charge cycles and may eventually need to be replaced. Battery life and number of charge cycles vary by use and settings. See www.apple.com/batteries for more information.

U2's Bono: We'll release album on iTunes if leaked

Last week, U2 had their recently completed new CD, which is planned to be released in November, stolen during a photo shoot in France. Fearing that the new album will show up on peer-to-peer file sharing services for free, U2's lead singer Bono has come up with a solution. "If it is on the internet this week, we will release it immediately as a legal download on iTunes, and get hard copies into the shops by the end of the month," he said. "It would be a real pity. It would screw up years of work and months of planning, not to mention f***ing up our holidays. But once it's out, it's out."

Apple to change Rendezvous name in settlement

According to eWeek, Apple plans to rename its Rendezvous technology to OpenTalk as part of a trademark settlement with TIBCO Software

Photoshop Classic Effects book released by Scott Kelby

Best-selling author Scott Kelby has just released his latest Photoshop tutorial book, Photoshop Classic Effects. Inspired by a column in Photoshop User magazine, the official publication of NAPP (National Association of Photoshop Professionals), Kelby assembles the ultimate collection of tried-and-true special effect.

Apple signs three major European indie labels to iTunes

Apple was criticized when the iTunes Music Store first launched in the UK, France and Germany in June because of the absence of independent music. That changed on Wednesday when Apple said that it has signed licensing agreements with three major European independent music labels; the agreement adds tens of thousands of additional tracks from leading independent artists to the service's UK, French and German stores.

'pPod' offers iPod guide to London toilets

London-based design company Nykris on Thursday announced the release of pPod, an interactive audio service for iPod users that combines text, spoken word audio and music to deliver a guide to London's public bathrooms. The tongue-in-cheek guide offers entertaining reviews and music accompaniments including "Cosmic Winds" and Handel's "Water Music." pPod can be downloaded for free from Nykris' Web site; the 7MB installation works only on third-generation or higher iPods.

Aspyr ships Adrenaline Sports Pack

Aspyr Media Inc. this week shipped the Adrenaline Sports Pack, a collection of previously released extreme sports titles the company has licensed for publication from Activision. The US$19.95 collection includes Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4, Kelly Slater's Pro Surfer and Wakeboarding Unleashed Featuring Shawn Murray. All three games have been available separately, but Aspyr is now bundling them together for a low price.

Microsoft: Virtual PC 7 coming this October

Microsoft Corp. on Thursday indicated that Virtual PC for Mac Version 7 will likely be released in October, though the schedule is entirely dependent on Microsoft's efforts to ship a new service pack for its Windows XP operating system. This is the first clarification the company has provided about Virtual PC 7's release schedule since confirming in May that its release would be delayed. Virtual PC enables Mac users to run various versions of Windows software applications and operating systems by emulating the characteristics of an actual hardware PC on their Macintosh. Previously sold by Connectix Corp., Virtual PC was acquired by Microsoft in February, 2003.

Interbrand: Apple brand value jumps 24 percent on iPod

Apple may be one of the most recognizable brands in the world, but what's that brand's actual value? Market brand consultancy Interbrand and business publication BusinessWeek have posted their fourth annual listing of 100 Best Global Brands, listed by dollar value. Apple is the biggest mover on this year's chart, up 24 percent in brand value. The consultancy attributes Apple's showing to strong sales of the iPod and high brand loyalty

RealNetworks' Harmony promises iPod compatibility

RealNetworks Inc. on Monday introduced Harmony technology, which it says is the first digital rights management (DRM) translation service to allow users who buy music from the RealPlayer Music Store to play the music on other personal music devices, including the iPod.