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Shareware Beat MacWorld Expo Edition Thursday, July 19, 2001

• Baton Mail
• Connectix Announces Virtual PC for Mac OS X Test Drive
• Cumulus 5 - the Ultimate Metadata Machine
• YENCO.COM Makes Improvements to Agenda 2
• CADintosh 4.0 2D CAD Program For Technical And Architectural Drawings
• Converter 1.0 Utility That Converts Between 12 Different Unit Categories
• ICQ for Mac OS X version 2.6X Beta
• ZipIt 2.0 Now Mac OS X Native
• SysMenu 1.0.4 Lets You Open Documents, Launch Apps And Organize Files In A Universal Menu
• MacFreenet 1.0a8 Launches the Freenet Server With Just A Double Click
• ReadMe Designer X 1.1 Tool To Create Plain/Rich Text & HTML Read Me Files

Thursday, July 19, 2001


By Applelinks Contributing Editor Charles W. Moore

Baton Mail

Baton Mail has been in existance for about 8 months in a limited Emailer users circle (members of the Emailer-Talk list). The basic idea of Baton Mail is ; it works as an intermediary relay. Your email client sends email to Baton Mail, which in turn authenticates you to your mail server, and then passes the mail stream along.

Developer Chris Bartlett says:

"It is fairly solid (although still beta, simply because I am still adding features), and as I said, has been in use now publicly for about 8 months, and in use constantly on my laptop until about a month ago when my poor PB 1400 bit the dust :-("

System requirements:
• 68020 or better processor
• 2 mb of RAM
• about 500k of hard drive space

Baton mail supports SMTP Auth (Plain, Login, CRAM-MD5), POP Auth, port mapping, AOL relaying, and Location Manager.

Baton Mail is currently freeware, (and will remain free during beta

You can read more about its features, and download a copy at :
http://www.mythtech.net/baton.html

Connectix Announces Virtual PC for Mac OS X Test Drive

Connectix Corporation, makers of the Virtual PC family of products, has announced Connectix Virtual PC for Mac OS X Test Drive. Registered users of Virtual PC 4.0 can download the Virtual PC Test Drive, from the Connectix website, free of charge. The Virtual PC Test Drive is a timed-out early preview of Virtual PC 4.0 running on Mac OS X. The Virtual PC Test Drive will expire on January 31, 2002.

"The Test Drive demonstrates our strong commitment to the Mac market and to our Virtual PC customers. Its goal is to allow Virtual PC customers to prepare for their migration to Mac OS X," said Mitchell Cipriano, Connectix vice president of marketing. "By providing these early Mac OS X users with the VPC Test Drive and the user forum for feedback and discussion, these users will influence the future direction of Virtual PC and Connectix will be able to deliver a better product for Mac OS X."

Like Virtual PC for Mac OS 9, the Virtual PC for Mac OS X Test Drive runs almost all PC-based operating systems, including Windows 98, Windows Me, Windows 2000, Windows 95, Windows NT, DOS, and several Linux distributions. The Virtual PC Test Drive also maintains the seamless integration with the Macintosh OS that has made Virtual PC one of the best selling Macintosh applications. However, some features of Virtual PC 4.0 are limited or not yet implemented in the Virtual PC Test Drive.

Features
• Full Support for Virtual PC 4.0 disk images -- Boot and use existing disk images and save states in Virtual PC under both Mac OS X and Mac OS 9.
• Fully Supports the Mac OS X user experience -- Uses the Aqua user interface and supports the Mac OS X Dock.
• Connectix OS Packs -- Virtual PC users can easily add additional Windows operating systems with the Connectix OS Packs in both Mac OS X and Mac OS 9.
• User Forums -- Provide feedback to Connectix and help shape the future of Virtual PC.

• System Requirements
• Macintosh G3 or G4
• Mac OS X 10.0.4
• Virtual PC with DOS requires 160 MB. Virtual PC with Windows 98/Me
• requires 192 MB of RAM. Virtual PC with Windows 2000 requires 256 MB.
• 10 MB of disk space to install the Virtual PC Test Drive.
• CD-ROM Drive

Connectix Virtual PC for Mac OS X Test Drive is available now, free of charge, to registered users of Virtual PC 4.0 from the Connectix website:
http://www.connectix.com

Cumulus 5 - the Ultimate Metadata Machine

Cumulus 5 is an archiving system for multimedia data (aka media assets or digital assets). The Cumulus 5 platform also offers a flexible base for any kind of workflow solution for assets in production. Cumulus is a high-end application for managing and publishing all types of media assets such as images, layouts, presentations, video, audio and text. The program offers powerful search capabilities, comprehensive customizing options, e.g. user-definable fields, and Internet access, incl. HTML export, e-mailing and more. When cataloging your digital assets Cumulus automatically reads the contained metadata, creates a thumbnail and references to the original data - no matter which storage media they are on. The Cumulus product line consists of three Editions: Single User, Workgroup, Enterprise, as well as additional Options offered either by Canto or Partner companies.

New in this version:
• Cumulus 5.0.10 supports further file formats, reads even more metadata and offers improved performance and stability

See Cumulus Live at MacWorld 2001 in New York Booth:1519, 10am to 6pm daily & until 4pm on Friday

For more information, visit:
http://www.canto.com/

YENCO.COM Makes Improvements to Agenda 2

Agenda is a "round, virtual device which can greet you, tell you the current date, read off your scheduled events for the day and remind you of pending items on your to-do list." A number of improvements have been made in Agenda 2.2:

• Improved cut, copy and paste.
• Improved drag & drop support.
• Context-aware help system updated.
• Improved virtual battery indicator.
• Improved virtual plastic/metal prefs.
• Updated shareware registration system.
• Several under-the-hood changes.

Agenda 2.2 is shareware. More information about Agenda can be found at YENCO.COM's website:
http://supercard.vr9.com/

CADintosh 4.0 2D CAD Program For Technical And Architectural Drawings

CADintosh is a 2D-CAD program for technical and architectural drawings, from the people who have brought you the excellent Graphic converter app.

Key features of CADintosh

• it is a 2D-CAD program for technical and architectural drawings
• interactive window redrawing (you can work in the same time of the window redrawing)
• number of elements limited by memory
• pen oriented mode: 8 line widths/line colors/pens
• individual mode: line width from 0.0 to 99.99mm, pattern and colors
• it has a lot of tools like lines, arcs, dimensions, splines, hatching etc.
• import and export HPGL, DXF and PICT
• 6 line types (solid,dash,dot-dash,phantom,zigzag,dotted)
• 32000 groups
• 1024 layer
• alternative units in inches or freely definable
• shareware version has a simple layer filter (easy to use)
• registered version has a additionaly extended layer filter (named filter sets, palette with name of filter)
• shareware version has internal symbols (number of symbols only limited by memory)
• registered version has additionaly external symbol librarys and more simple work with symbols
• user preferences saved in the drawing
• registered version is 68K and PPC native

New in this version:
• first Carbon version
• DXF import and export much improved
• many bug fixes and internal changes

System requirements:
• PPC

CADintosh is $40 shareware

For more information, visit:
http://www.graphicconverter.net/us_cadabout.html

Converter 1.0 Utility That Converts Between 12 Different Unit Categories

Converter is a useful utility which converts between different units. Right now it handles twelve different unit categories: Area, Energy, Force, Length, Mass, Power, Pressure, Radiation, Temperature, Time, Velocity, Volume. There is a separate color conversion utility to convert between RGB and hex values. Nice to have when working with web colors. A basic calculator is included for further calculations. Included is also a conversion table which list the conversion formulas used when converting between different units.

New in this version:
• Added a complete help system
• Added a fourth tool, the Unit Conversion Table. This lets you see the conversion formulas used to covert between different units.
• Added tooltips
• Added a menu item to go to www.pixits.com
• Fixed a couple of bugs including some conversion formulas that was wrong.

System requirements:
• Mac OS X 10.0

Converter is $10 shareware

For more information, visit:
http://www.pixits.com/converter.htm

ICQ for Mac OS X version 2.6X Beta

No other details.

Get it at:
http://www.icq.com/download/ftp-macppc.html

ZipIt 2.0 Now Mac OS X Native

This zip compression program for the Macintosh is now Mac OS X native. ZipIt version 2.0 runs on Mac OS X as well as OS 8.6 and later with Carbon installed. Sporting a brand new user interface, ZipIt version 2.0 now makes it even simpler and more intuitive to access your archived files. ZipIt uses the familiar Macintosh interface to help you manipulate your zip archives, including a hierarchical list identical to that used by the Finder.

ZipIt retains all essential Macintosh information for files while retaining complete compatibility with zip products on other platforms. Thus, ZipIt is ideal for both personal compression use, for sending files to others with Macintoshes, as well as for sending and receiving files from PC and Unix users. Even better, your friends and coworkers don't have to have a copy of ZipIt. Instead, you can create self-extracting archives, so they need merely to double-click, and it will expand.

ZipIt is also ideal for your archival needs. With full support for segmented archives, you can create a zip file of any size, so long as you have enough disks to hold the archive.

ZipIt features a complete Macintosh interface, based on the interface provided by Bill Goodman's Compact Pro. That means that, if you can use Compact Pro, you can already use ZipIt. If you are new to the Macintosh, ZipIt's interface should still be easy to figure out; but it also comes with an extensive manual that explains how to use all of its features.

A zip archive is any file that ends with the extension '.zip'. The zip format is popular on the IBM, and is widely used as an interplatform compression format. In addition, ZipIt can compress Macintosh applications and documents without losing any of their data. ZipIt is best used when transferring compressed documents to and from other computer types. Some examples are: text files, TIFF pictures, Excel databases, and QWK message packets, to name just a very few. Note that files that end in '.Z' or '.gz' are not ZipIt files, even though Netscape may give them a ZipIt icon.

ZipIt is fully compatible with all versions of PKZip on the IBM, Info-ZIP on Unix, and zip implementations on other platforms.

New in this version:
• Complete visual overhaul
• Native for Mac OS X
• Segmenting and self-extracting archives more stable
• Miscellaneous stability and feature-related bugs fixed

System requirements:
• Mac OS 8.6 or higher with Carbonlib 1.3.1 or
• Mac OS X

ZipIt is $15 shareware

For more information, visit:
http://www.maczipit.com/

SysMenu 1.0.4 Lets You Open Documents, Launch Apps And Organize Files In A Universal Menu

TMDC SysMenu is the only menu you need! Featuring submenus, plugins, customizable options, and more, you can now launch any application, document, control panel, or use one of many plugins in any application, including the Finder.

Creating your SysMenu listing takes no time at all and can be done directly through the Finder. Using a simple but effective method of using aliases organized in folders, your SysMenu can have anything you want. Organizing the elements in the SysMenu could not be easier, adding special formatting to a menu item is as simple as appending a suffix, and adding dividers is as easy as creating a folder.

Using the control panel, you can modify the font SysMenu is displayed in, regulate the usage of icons in the listing (or even turn them off), change the SysMenu icon (the icon which appears in the menu), and regulate many of the other included options (see screenshot).

TMDC SysMenu has the ability to use plugins specifically created for it ranging from simple ones such as connecting to the internet to more complex ones such as ejecting disks and putting the computer to sleep. Several plugins are included with TMDC SysMenu and more will be released shortly. Check the plugins page for more plugins!

The main features of SysMenu are:
• Customizable, system wide menu
• Launch applications, documents, or anyother type of item from any application
• The ability to organize the menu as well as group items in submenus and between dividers
• Apply formatting to different items to suit your need
• Use plugins to add extra features to SysMenu
• Fully customizable and much, much more!

New in this version:
• Fixed a problem with the registration system. Users of version 1.0.3 who could not get their information saved should reenter their code in this version.

System requirements:
• Mac OS 8.5 or higher

SysMenu is $15.00 shareware

For more information, visit:
http://www.tmdc.org/sysmenu/

MacFreenet 1.0a8 Launches the Freenet Server With Just A Double Click

MacFreenet is a Macintosh front-end to the Freenet Server. It simply launches a Freenet server. I created it because there was no simple way to run a Freenet node in a Macintosh.

This is the eighth version of MacFreenet.

New in this version:
• Now uses Freenet v 0.3.9.2.

System requirements:
• Apple MRJ

MacFreenet is freeware

For more information, visit:
http://www.geocities.com/elifarley/macfreenet/

ReadMe Designer X 1.1 Tool To Create Plain/Rich Text & HTML Read Me Files

An easy way to create a readme file for your application; ReadMe Designer. ReadMe Designer isn't just a simple text editor with maybe an option to create a read only file, ReadMe Designer has predefined fields that you simply fill in. The best part about this program is you can save your ReadMe file in mulitple formats at the same time! You can make read me file in plain text, rich text, or even as a web page!

System requirements:

• PPC

ReadMe Designer X is $4 shareware

For more information, visit:
http://freaksoftware.tripod.com/rd.html


Charles W. Moore

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