Quick Bytes for June 16

Call of Duty 2 now available in stores

Aspyr Media has announced that Activision’s popular WWII first-person action game, Call of Duty 2, has arrived in retail stores in North America for the Macintosh platform. Call of Duty 2 offers more immense, more intense, more realistic battles than ever before, thanks to the stunning visuals of the new Call of Duty 2 engine. Fire In The Hole!


SpeckTone Retro iPod speaker will Rock You The Old Fashion Way

SpeckTone Retro, is first product in a line of fashion and performance focused speaker systems for iPod, is now shipping. "Compact in size yet substantial in sound, the SpeckTone Retro rocks hard and loud with a 28 watt output, 4" subwoofer for pumping bass, and two 3" drivers. The analog circuitry inside completes the retro spirit and sound of the product, producing rich, deep tones," notes the company. Rock On SpecTone!


Montage in public beta and in pre-release stages

Mariner Software today announced the release of the public beta and special pre-release pricing for its screenwriting software for Mac OS X, Montage. During the remaining beta phase of Montage, a discount of over 30% off the list price, will be available. The price also includes complimentary technical support. "Montage provides professional and novice screenwriters with a live script outline, a view of characters, locations, tasks, research, and more. Included with Montage are several templates for film, television, and theater that automatically format the script to industry standards. Montage Smart Views allow writers to visually filter the script to the desired content, based on criteria. Montage also includes the ability to create, submit, and track query letters, a script synopsis, and script submissions to hundreds of included industry contacts, when the script is completed." And ACTION!


Bill Gates to step away from the Day to Day Operation of Microsoft

A report on CNN notes that Microsoft announced today that chairman and co-founder Bill Gates will move out of his day-to-day role at the company, effective July 2008, to spend more time working on his charitable foundation. . Gates said, "It's not a retirement, it's a reordering of my priorities."

Security updates for Office, PowerPoint under Mac OS X

"This update fixes vulnerabilities in Office 2004 for Mac that an attacker can use to overwrite the contents of your computer's memory with malicious code." A similar PowerPoint X Security Update is also available.

Apple releases Bluetooth Firmware 1.2.1 for PowerPC-based Macs

Apple has released the Bluetooth firmware updater 1.2.1 for PowerPC-based Macs.
Remember those PowerPC Macs?

Google is on a Roll; A Mac OSX Roll

Google Releases SketchUp (Free), Updates Google Earth For Mac OS X.
They are on a Roll! IT feel so good not to be ignored as a Mac user.

FileMakerPro 8.5 Will Be Universal Binary

FileMaker, Inc. is currently wrapping up development of FileMaker Pro 8.5 Advanced, sources familiar with the application's plans have disclosed. The upgrade will mark the first Universal Binary of the database application, a feature the Apple subsidiary originally planned for version 9.

Games: Civilisation IV At beta

Aspyr Media as announced that its Macintosh conversion of Sid Meier’s Civilization IV has reached its beta development milestone. The game is on track to ship in June

Mactracker goes 4.0.5 -But not yet Universal Binary

Dear Mactracker Users,

This is just a quick note that version 4.0.5 is now available for Mac OS X
and Windows.

Version 4.0.5 includes the latest Apple hardware along with a number of
smaller changes and additions. This release also fixes an issue where
Mactracker wouldn't run properly under a non-administrator account on
Windows.

To download simply visit http://www.mactracker.ca or select "Check for
Updates" within Mactracker.

A number of users have asked about a universal binary version of Mactracker,
that would allow it to run natively on both PowerPC- and Intel-based Macs. I
plan to provide a universal version once my compiler, REALbasic, is updated
to support the creation of Universal Binaries.

Deadline: Ottawa Intern. Animation Festival it's now or never!

So you have your application in for June 1st. We thank you.

NOW... you just have to SEND us your baby by June 16, 2006.

Remember our categories include:

Feature Film, TELETOON Canadian Student Competition, School Competition, Independent Short Films Competition, Student Animation Competition, Commissioned Films Competition, New Media Competition, Films/Videos Made for Children.

Fine Festival if you ask us!

Need more info,?
http://ottawa.awn.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=66&Itemid=100

Entourage Arts Releases 3 New Volumes of Hand-Rendered Images

Cool Collection
Pay them a visit at: www.entouragearts.com

Books: No Startch Release eBayer Book

THE eBAY PRICE GUIDE: WHAT SELLS FOR WHAT IN EVERY CATEGORY


Every eBayer knows that setting prices and
deciding how much to bid is a delicate art. While there are many pricing
guides for specific collectibles, "The eBay Price Guide: What Sells for
What (in Every Category!)" (No Starch Press (http://www.nostarch.com/ebaypg.htm)
is the first reference to help you determine how much to bid or how much to pay on eBay for a truly vast
array of items. This new book is filled with exhaustive lists of selling
prices for items ranging from rare books and sports memorabilia to
computer parts and video games, covering nearly every eBay niche and the
most popular subcategories. With its companion CD full of additional
reference material and software for accessing real eBay auction
statistics, "The eBay Price Guide" is the first and only book to contain
comprehensive pricing and bidding information.

The eBay Price Guide
Julia L. Wilkinson
June 2006, 608 pp. w/ CD ISBN 1-593270-55-0
from No Starch Press

Adobe Lightroom Beta 3 for the Mac Available

Adobe released a new public beta of Lightroom, the company's professional photo manager and editor.

Adobe Lightroom Beta 3 for the Mac Available

Adobe released a new public beta of Lightroom, the company's professional photo manager and editor.

Apple Tracking to Sell 8 Million iPods This Quarter

Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster on Wednesday issued a research report that looked at the NPD iPod sales data for May, concluding that Apple is on track to sell 7.7 to 8.2 million iPods this quarter

Apple seeds Mac OS X 10.4.7

Earlier this week, Apple provided developers with the first seed of the next update to Mac OS X, Version 10.4.7. The Intel build of the new update is marked build 8J2111, and includes about 60 documented improvements -- and a few known issues, as well.

Dashcode from Apple to be bundle with new MacBooks

Apple's utility for easily creating Dashboard widgets is being bundled with new MacBooks, marking its first public release.

CinemaNow expands online movie distribution

Online movie store CinemaNow has added another distributor to its list, as Apple continues work on its own movie store.