discreet to ship combustion 4 in May

Discreet today announced combustion 4, the highly anticipated upgrade to its visual effects software.
The guys over at Hybrid can't wait!

Apple.com posts trailer for Doom 3

The game that has been giving PC gamers nightmares for months now is on its way to the Mac platform. Apple has posted a Quicktime trailer for your viewing pleasure. For some of us with slightly less powerful Macs, this trailer may be the most Doom we will see until we can pony up the bucks for a Mac that meets the sizable system requirements (see below). The game is expected out next month and can be pre-ordered from the Apple Store.

Aspyr takes Star Wars Battlefront pre-orders

Aspyr Media Inc. announced Thursday that a mini Web site is now live for their forthcoming Mac conversion of Star Wars Battlefront. Aspyr is now taking pre orders. Go for it; a superb game.

iTube is here to please

East Bay Technologies has released iTube 1.3, the latest version of its software that enables you to watch more than 1,500 channels of Internet-based TV programs, Webcams and music video channels. This upgrade features integration with QuickTime, resulting in the addition of over 100,000 QuickTime files to iTube's Internet Video Search function. It also includes the ability to switch into full-screen mode as well as several bug fixes. This is a free update for registered users; the full software is US$24. Mac OS X v10.2 and Safari are required. We will test the product shortly and do a feature report in a up comming issue of the Digital Dispatch.

Apple to split stock this month

Apple on Friday announced that its Board of Directors has approved a two-for-one split of its common stock. That will increase the number of common shares of Apple's stock from 900 million to 1.8 billion. Each shareholder of record at the close of business on February 18, 2005 will receive one additional share for each outstanding share they hold. Trading of Apple stock will begin on a split-adjusted basis on February 28, 2005, according to the statemen

Fun Site of The Week: WHAT DOG ARE YOU?

There's a dog inside all of us, waiting to be let out. This game is based on a computer called SUKA built in 1975 by Russian scientist Mikhail Volkonsky and now housed in the London Science Museum.


SUKA is powered by CATS (Canine Algorithmic Transfer System™) which is able to determine what kind of dog you are. Simply answer 10 questions, being as honest and accurate as possible and CATS will calculate which breed you resemble the most.
Help celebrate the launch of the British serie "Gone to the Dogs by doing the "Dog Test " at:

http://www.gone2thedogs.com/index.html

Apple Powers 'Grassroots' Supercomputer

The University of Illinois' Turing Cluster, made up of 640 Xserve G5 rack-mounted servers and put together "on a shoestring," could be one of the most powerful supercomputers in the world.

Japan FTC Thinks Intel Violated Antitrust Law

The Japanese unit of Intel, the world's biggest chip maker, declined comment on media reports that it would receive a warning from Japan's antitrust regulators about its business practices.

Teen sentenced for unleashing Blaster worm

Jeffrey Lee Parson, 19, was sentenced Friday to a year and a half of prison time for releasing a variant of the Blaster worm in 2003 that was used to attack more than 48,000 computers.

Google Goes Local with Beta Search

Google has taken live on its homepage a new service for locating local businesses, which scours millions of Web pages and crosschecks the results with the Yellow Pages data. Google Local was previously part of the company's Google Labs development sandbox, but has now been deemed ready for widespread use. Could this be the end of the "Yellow Pages"?

Microsoft Readies 13 Windows Fixes

As part of its monthly "Patch Tuesday" next week, Microsoft is preparing to issue 13 security fixes, which range in severity from moderate to critical. Nine of the updates pertain to flaws specifically to Windows, while the others cover SharePoint, Microsoft's .NET Framework, Office and Windows Media. 13 patches, in one week.......Let me laugh!
13 more reasons to love OSX!

RIAA Sues Deceased Grandmother

The recording industry's latest assault on file sharing has netted an unusual suspect: a deceased great-grandmother from West Virginia. In a lawsuit filed in January, the RIAA accused 83-year old Gertrude Walton of sharing over 700 pop, rock and rap songs under the alias "smittenedkitten." What the RIAA didn't know is that Walton had passed away in December...

Apple seeds new Mac OS X 10.3.8, Tiger builds

Apple provided developers Friday with Mac OS X 10.3.8 7U15, after seeding build 7U14 earlier this week and increasing the frequency of its build releases. Apple also seeded developers with build 8A369 of Mac OS X 10.4, Tiger.

O'Reilly innovate with new "Designer's Notebook' Series

How to get more aesthetically thrilling and more creative images is the goal of the new Designer Notebook Series.
Build around the work and expertise of famous french artists, these books are a how to "x-rays" of contempory creative scene. From Photo Retouching,illustrations with Photoshop, to the latest release Photomontages, this series is sure to please and refresh the creative imagination of new comers and season pro alike.

They are a great tool by themself, but could very well become the center of attraction on a coffee table.

Designer's Notebook Series

-Photo Retouching with Photoshop ISBN 0-596-00860-0
-Illustrations with Photoshop ISBN 0-596-00859-7
-Creating Photomontages with Photoshop ISBN: 0-596-00858-9

All published by O'Reilly

MacPractice DDS to include aMac dental imaging

MacPractice Inc. and aMac Digital Radiography announced Thursday that the forthcoming release of MacPractice DDS -- dental practice management software for Mac OS X -- will include aMac 2.0, a Mac-based x-ray management system for dentists and specialists. As a result, MacPractice DDS users will be able to check x-rays acquired using aMac.
Wow! And it won't hurt a bit......Open Wide........!

New PocketMac with HoldIt!

PocketMac HoldIt!, a utility that senses an incoming phone call and stops or pauses iTunes, DVD Player or El Gato's eyeTV, or simply mutes the computer's sound, runs an AppleScript or displays a warning. It can also run some or all of those actions simultaneously when the phone rings. Users plug a phone line into their Mac's modem port and run the application to get started. Mac OS10.3 require.

iPhoto 5.0.1

iPhoto 5.0.1 addresses issues with upgrading iPhoto 4 libraries, dragging albums into folders, importing MPEG 4 movies, and also includes a number of other minor fixes. It is available through Software Update.

Game firm holds 'cast' auditions

Video game firm Bioware holds open auditions for people to become cast members in future games.
Turns out that gaming maybe the starmaker of the years 2000.....

TextWrangler: now free, and better than ever

This announcement by BareBones might be somewhat eclipsed by all the new Apple stuff, but I think it’s important and potentially invaluable to a lot of Mac users. As of now, TextWrangler has been updated to version 2.0, with a bunch of fantastic new features that have only appeared before in BBEdit 8.0. And it’s now free. Yes FREE!
Go visit on of our favorite most enduring Mac developers around: BareBones. Kudo to them!

Tangelo 1.0 released

Brad Rhine: “Tangelo streamlines organization of weblog text and images, and publishes the weblog to both an Internet web server and to the user’s own computer for better control and backup. In addition, Tangelo features integration with NetNewsWire 2.0 for posting RSS news items. Will test and review.

The Clips announced for iPod shuffle

PodBuddy, a division of DVForge, announces The Clips, a mounting accessory for use with Apple's iPod shuffle.
Smart and price to sell from our Buddy at DVForge.