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Corel Painter 8.1 Digital Sketching/Painting Tool
LapCop 2.0 - Recover Your Stolen Mac
Toshiba 20GB/40GB 1.8-Inch Hard Disk drive
Panther and Oxford 922/Initio 2430 1394b chips
E-on Software Announces New Japan Partnership With e-frontier
Smith Micro Debuts FAXstf X Pro Version 10.5, Supporting Mac OS X 'Panther'
DivX for Mac 5.1 Offers Up to 100% Faster Video Decoding, Higher Quality and Improved Compression
Aqua Interface and Proven BRU Technology Combined to Deliver Reliable, Easy to Administer Mac OS X Backup
Perforce Sole Commercial SCM Chosen for Xcode Integration
OSX Drivers for the DFG/1394-1 Released[/url]

Corel Painter 8.1 Digital Sketching/Painting Tool

With 30 mediums and over 400 new brushes, no other software replicates the traditional painting experience like Corel Painter 8. It unleashes your creative power, increases your productivity and enhances your compatibility with Adobe Photoshop, giving you digital tools that capture the subtleties of your artistic style.

Interactively blend paint colors using the new Mixer and design custom brushes with the Brush Creator. Experiment with true-to-life media such as Digital Watercolor, and create original sketches from photographs. With a redesigned interface, customizable palettes, and industry-standard layer masks and channels, you'll work more efficiently, leaving more time to be creative.

Special Holiday Offer from Corel:

Purchase either Painter 8 or Painter 8 Upgrade today and receive a free Lynda Weinman training CD with your purchase (valued at $49 US/$69 CAD). Getting Started with Corel Painter with Lynda Weinman is a CD-ROM workshop that includes video clip tutorials developed for beginning Corel Painter users, as well as returning Corel Painter users who want to understand the latest features. Offer valid in North America only until December 31, 2003.

Features

• Mix your own colors

Blend colors interactively as you would with paint and a palette.

• Better, faster access

Enjoy easier access to tools, papers, patterns, gradients and nozzles with a redesigned interface.

• Enhanced compatibility

Experiment and combine media for new ways of expressing and presenting your ideas.

New in this version:

• Corel Painter 8.1 reintroduces the Custom Palettes from Painter 7. While there are some minor differences between the Custom Palettes in version 7 and 8, they are fundamentally the same. For more information on using Custom Palettes, please download the updated PDF of the Corel Painter 8 User Guide from Corel.com

• Make Mosaic was not working properly with some input devices.

• Crash: Increasing brush size using shortcut keys resulted in a crash in some operating systems.

• Scroll buttons appeared over parts of the palettes and obscured other parts of interface.

• Sliders sometimes disappeared. You were still able to scroll, but there was no visual feedback while scrolling.

• In Color Sets, swatches were sometimes cut off on the right and bottom edges of the palette.

• Maximizing the document window in Mac OS X forced the document under the Property Bar.

• There was a crash while saving files if they were saved to a directory that contained a "." character.

• There was a maximum number of plug-ins set internally that caused some installed plug-ins not to appear in the Effects menu.

• Property bar colors (stroke and fill) for the Shape tool and the Pen tool can be set individually by using Option+F1 and Option+F2 on a Mac, or ALT+F1 and ALT+F2 on a PC.

• Some fonts where not working at all and caused a "Now placing brush strokes" error message to appear.

• CPU remained at 100% if the Brush Tool was selected and the cursor was idle over the canvas - even when doing nothing.

• Eraser for some pen tablet manufacturers was not working .

• Brush strokes did not line up with placement of the cursor when using a Wacom Cintiq interactive pen display in a dual monitor situation.

• Document window position on screen slowly moved down the screen in Mac OS 10.3 while clicking on the title bar.

• Some pen tablets did not have pressure sensitivity functioning in Corel Painter 8.

• Painting on a layer, and then editing the layer mask, followed by resizing, then saving, and then painting on the canvas caused a crash.

• OpenType and Type 1 fonts were not working in Mac OS 10.3.

• Up and down arrow keys can now be used to increase and decrease the values of the sliders in the Property Bars and Palettes.

• "Get Profile From Disk" in the Color Management dialog box did not work.

• Could not Set Function Keys for Brush Selector functions such as "Set Default Variant".

• JPG files saved from Corel Painter 8 opened incorrectly in some applications.

• Fit to Page printing was not working on Mac OS.

System Requirements

• Mac OS 9 (version 9.2.2 or higher) or Mac OS X (version 10.2 or higher)

• Power Macintosh® G3 or higher

• 128 MB RAM

• 1024 x 768 display, 24-bit color

• CD-ROM drive

• Mouse or tablet (Wacom tablet recommended)

Corel Painter sells for $299.00 new/$199.00 upgrade

For more information, visit here.

LapCop 2.0 - Recover Your Stolen Mac

LapCop's developers are iBook and PowerBook users themselves and like most Mac portable aficikonados, say they could not live one day without their 'Books. To help recover your iBook or PowerBook in case it gets stolen, LapCop is an innovative application that secretly sends an alert e-mail to an address of your choice.

Features

- LapCop monitors your system.

- If your Mac is stolen, LapCop sends an alert email to your designated email address as soon as your lost or stolen Mac is connected to the Internet.

- The alert email contains all information needed for the police to recover your Mac.

- Send us a copy of the alert e-mail and we will help you locate your stolen Mac.

Laptops are becoming increasingly popular, but their portability makes them very susceptible to theft. Computer theft has reached huge proportions worldwide: there were 591,000 laptops stolen in the USA in the year 2001. According to a recent FBI report, 97% of all stolen computers are never recovered. Macintosh laptops are especially popular among thieves, because sometimes, even thieves have good taste...

There is no way to test LapCop without registering. However, if you are not satisfied after 30 days, they will fully refund it. There are two LapCop packages: one for Jaguar and one for Panther. Jaguar users with LapCop 2 installed don't need to upgrade. Jaguar users who have recently upgraded to Panther, or new Panther users should download and install the Panther version.

New in this version:

• This is an update for Panther users. This update is NOT compatible with Jaguar: Jaguar users don't need to upgrade.

System requirements:

• Mac OS X 10.3 or higher for this update

• Mac OS X 10.2 for the Jaguar-compatible version still available on our website

LapCop sells for $25.00

For more information, visit:

http://homepage.mac.com/sweetcocoa/lapcop.html

Toshiba 20GB/40GB 1.8-Inch Hard Disk drive

Toshiba Storage Device Division (SDD) has announced its newest family of 1.8-inch embedded hard disk drives (HDDs) available in 20GB (single platter) and 40GB (dual platter) capacities. Digital entertainment and business devices continue to drive demand for robust storage in a mobile footprint as people want to take their digital content with them when travelling between the office, home, school and car.



"Toshiba continues to build on the 1.8-inch product line to deliver high-capacity drives capable of storing everything from digital music and photos to videos and presentations," said Amy Dalphy, manager, HDD business unit, Toshiba SDD. "We've been expanding our manufacturing capabilities in an effort to address this burgeoning demand as products are selling faster than the drives can be produced."

Toshiba's 1.8-inch family is now available in 5/10/15/20/30 and 40GB capacities, providing a selection of "digital suitcases" to accommodate a range of applications. Products based on 1.8-inch technology include mobile entertainment devices, MP3 players, handheld computers, ultraportable notebooks, portable handheld GPS units, automotive jukebox systems and other specialized digital devices.



Measuring 54 mm wide and 78.5 mm deep, and weighing 51 and 62 grams respectively, Toshiba's 20/40GB drives are smaller than a credit card and lighter than a pager - helping manufacturers create small form factor, more portable digital products. The 1.8-inch drives can withstand operational shock of up to 250g and non-operating shock up to 1,000g, providing a rugged, durable storage solution for today's mobile devices.

Toshiba's 20GB and 40GB drives are available now. For more information about Toshiba's line of 1.8-inch HDDs, visit:

http://][url=http://www.sdd.toshiba.com]http://]http://www.sdd.toshiba.com]http://[/url] ][url=http://www.sdd.toshiba.com]http://www.sdd.toshiba.com[/url][/url]

Panther and Oxford 922/Initio 2430 1394b chips

FireWire Depot has posted both the Oxford 922 and Initio 2430 flash utilities on their home page.

Oxford 922

http://www.fwdepot.com/firewiredepot/oxford922/922_updater_Mac.sit

Initio 2430

http://fwdepot.com/firewiredepot/initio216/Initio2430216.zip

While all of the problem reports have focused on the Oxford 922 chip, some users are experiencing some problems with other chips sets as well and the Initio 2430 utility can be used on the new Initio 2430 1394b chip.

If you are using a 'generic' Oxford or Initio chip, the flash utilities posted will work. If you are using an Oxford 922 or Initio 2430 chip that has been modified in firmware by the vendor you purchased the enclosure/drive from, you will need to get the modified version from the vendor. Do NOT use the posted utilities as you may damage the bridgeboard you have.

When using either flash utility, you should first disconnect all FireWire devices and then connect only one FireWire device to your computer before using the flash utility.

There are also basic Oxford flash utility instructions posted on the website at:

http://www.fwdepot.com/firmware/firmware.html

FireWire Depot has just moved from California to Georgia. You can find all your FireWire needs at FireWire Depot:

http://fwdepot.com

E-on Software Announces New Japan Partnership With e-frontier

Beaverton, Oregon-based e-on software, the leader in 3D natural scenery animation and rendering products, announced today a distributor and republishing partnership with the leading 3D software and content publisher of Japan, e-frontier, Inc.

"E-on software welcomes our new partnership with the highly respected e-frontier. E-frontier‚s advanced human content and Shade line of 3D products ensure both excellent integration and support for new and existing e-on software customers in Japan," said Nicholas Phelps, president of e-on software.

E-on software recently shipped Vue 4 Professional, its complete, professional natural 3D studio. Vue 4 Professional is a standalone product that integrates with all leading 3D applications, including import and export of e-frontier‚s native Shade format as well as integration with Discreet 3D Studio MAX, Alias Maya, NewTek LightWave, Maxon Cinema4D and Softimage XSI. It also exports data to compositing applications such as Discreet Combustion and Adobe AfterEffects.

"E-frontier and e-on software share a common mission to make advanced 3D technology immediately accessible to hobbyists, 3D designers and digital production houses. We look forward to working closely with e-on software," said Kenichi Ando, president of e-frontier, Inc.

E-frontier Inc. will market, sell and support all e-on software products in Japan, including:

-Vue 4 Professional, e-on software‚s flagship product for 3D production and digital video professionals; -Vue d‚Esprit 4, a 3D natural scenery application for graphic artists and beginning animators; -Mover 4, an animation expansion add-on to Vue d‚Esprit 4 and Vue 4 Professional; -Ozone 2.0 for LightWave and Cinema4D volumetric sky plug-ins;

All products are available for MacOS X and Windows. Owners of Vue d‚Esprit 4 and Vue d‚Esprit 4-J in Japan should contact e-frontier for special sidegrade pricing for Vue 4 Professional.

For more information, visit:

http:///www.e-onsoftware.com

http://www.e-frontier.co.jp

Smith Micro Debuts FAXstf X Pro Version 10.5, Supporting Mac OS X 'Panther'

Smith Micro Software, Inc. has announced the debut of FAXstf X Pro Version 10.5, featuring support for the exciting new Apple Mac OS X "Panther" operating system. Among its many improvements, FAXstf X Pro Version 10.5 leverages Panther's Fast User Switching feature, enabling users who share the same machine to receive incoming faxes to their own FAXstf inbox.

FAXstf X Pro is the solution more Mac users rely on than any other fax program. Designed for people that want to send and receive faxes from their computer whether they send an occasional fax or hundreds a day. FAXstf X Pro gives users everything they need to send, receive, and manage faxes from any application. FAXstf X Pro Version 10.5 provides more intuitive features than other fax programs and adds these new features:

• Auto Print, enabling users to automatically print received faxes;

• Auto Email, automatically forward received faxes to any email address, great for receiving a fax while you are away;

• Full AppleScript Support including auto execution of AppleScripts, allowing users to create customized features such as incoming email alerts;

• New Address Book Support for Microsoft Entourage and Palm Desktop. Added to FAXstf X Pro's existing support for Mac OS X Address Book;

• Cover Page/Page Header Editor, eliminating the need to use external programs to set up cover pages;

• Email Fax, email a received fax with one-click;

• QuickFax Preview, enabling fast preview of faxes before sending; and

• Auto Update, automatically receive the latest FAXstf X Pro updates.

"Like Panther, FAXstf X Pro is all about productivity and convenience. The powerful feature list of FAXstf X Pro Version 10.5 makes it easier than ever to manage faxes quickly and with minimal effort," said Robert Elliott, General Manager of the Macintosh Business Unit of Smith Micro. "With version 10.5 of FAXstf X Pro, we've taken the next step in maximizing the efficiency with which Mac users can send, receive, and organize their business or personal faxes."

FAXstf X Pro, the professional version of Smith Micro's FAXstf fax management software, includes versatile features such as group fax support, multiple customized cover pages, an easy-to-read fax status log, location support to create different "travel" or "office" setting, and a convenient QuickFax feature. The application's browser interface allows users to view multiple documents at once, sort faxes, create subfolders, and complete other fax management tasks, simply and conveniently.

FAXstf X Pro Version 10.5 is currently shipping. Qualified registered users can purchase an upgrade to FAXstf X Pro Version 10.5 for as little as $19.95 (plus shipping and handling) from Smith Micro's online store or by calling 1-800-700-1299. For more information, visit:
http://www.smithmicro.com/mac

DivX for Mac 5.1 Offers Up to 100% Faster Video Decoding, Higher Quality and Improved Compression

DivXNetworks Inc. has announced the release of DivX for Mac 5.1. The newest Mac version of the revolutionary, patent-pending DivX video compression technology, DivX for Mac 5.1 offers significant improvements in speed, performance, and visual quality, making it the highest-performing video compression technology for the Mac platform. DivX for Mac 5.1 is available at

http://www.divx.com/divx/mac.

The new DivX release brings the same improvements in performance and visual quality to the Mac platform that the recently released DivX for Windows 5.1 release brought to Windows users. New features and optimizations in DivX for Mac 5.1 include:

-- Decoder Re-architecture (Up to 100% Faster)

-- The completely re-architected video decoder is up to 100% faster than previous versions.

-- New Feedback Mode

-- This new feature displays visual feedback and technical information to the user, providing more precise control over the compression of video.

-- New Psychovisual Modeling

-- Improved psychovisual modeling enables better compression and more precise encoding through texture cortex masking, speed optimization and more.

-- Two New High-Quality Modes

-- New high-quality encoding modes with improved B-frame support and improved motion estimation for higher visual quality.

-- New GUI

-- New interface provides a simplified user experience and improved accessibility.

"With this release, we have brought the industry-leading performance and visual quality of the DivX codec to the Mac with no limitations," said Kevin Hell, chief marketing officer and managing director at DivXNetworks Inc. "The release of DivX for Mac 5.1 is an important milestone for Mac users who want to create, view and distribute truly high-quality digital video across a range of devices."

DivX for Mac OS, a QuickTime component that runs on Mac OS 8.6 through Mac OS X, is available with an optional MP3 encoder to ensure cross platform audio compatibility. The new release empowers Mac users to create, distribute and watch full screen DVD quality video, offering the highest level of compression with advanced encoding tools and interlaced video support.



DivX 5.1 for Mac is available to consumers in two versions. DivX Pro 5.1 for Mac, an advanced application for professional users, is available for a small one-time charge. A standard version of the Mac codec is also offered for download free of charge. To download DivX 5.1 for Mac, visit:

http://www.divx.com/divx/mac

Aqua Interface and Proven BRU Technology Combined to Deliver Reliable, Easy to Administer Mac OS X Backup

TOLIS Group has announced the availability of BRU for Mac OS X that delivers the famed reliability of BRU data backup and restore technology while being administered from a user-friendly graphical interface. The primary market for BRU for Mac OS X is commercial Xserve, G4 and G5 users. Special migration pricing is also being announced for users of Dantz Retrospect.

Macintosh users will appreciate the graphical interface that provides point and click access to all of BRU's robust features while adhering to the Aqua interface standard. For advanced users, BRU for Mac OS X is also fully scriptable from the command line to customize operation by using the familiar UNIX scripting tools (sh, cron, at, etc.).

"Apple's Mac OS X operating system has quickly proven to be a very creditable implementation of UNIX. Grounded in UNIX, BRU's support of OS X is a natural extension of our heritage," said Tim Jones, president of TOLIS Group. "Adding the support for Macintosh specific extensions was a straightforward expansion of BRU's robust and portable code base. BRU for Mac OS X provides the highest level of UNIX integration and reliability of any Macintosh backup product available while providing the expected Apple look-and-feel user interface experience."

BRU for Mac OS X provides full backup and recovery of Mac OS X filesystems. On those OS X systems that also contain old style, single file binary files, BRU for Mac OS X will transparently backup and restore these files as well. Additionally, BRU for Mac OS X supports 64-bit filesystems and will accurately back up and recover files of any size in full compatibility with Apple's HFS+ filesystem. BRU for Mac OS X can create single archives greater than 1 TB, and there is no catalog size limitation.

BRU provides 100% coverage of all aspects of the OS X filesystems including Resource Fork and Finder Information as well as all UNIX permissions.

Accurate backups are key to successful restores. BRU for Mac OS X implements TOLIS' unique archive format in concert with checksumming calculations to provide a mechanism that verifies the 100% accuracy of each backup. BRU for Mac OS X accounts for each and every bit of data processed in the backup stream for placement on the backup media.

The unique characteristics of the BRU logical data format allow the backup to be verified in an out-of-band process, thereby returning the system to user availability 50%, or more, faster than other backup tools. Access to the system disk, or disk farm, is not required to verify the backup. Backups can be also verified on a different system, and even under a different BRU-supported operating system.

Tapes created with BRU for Mac are fully compatible with all current versions of BRU across all platforms. BRU for Mac OS X provides backward compatibility with archives created by previous versions of BRU all the way back to BRU 6.1, released in 1987.

BRU for Mac OS X returns the most data of any backup tool. When corrupt archive data is detected, rather than aborting the restore like other tools, BRU for MAC OS X reports the location, advances the media until the next good BRU header is found and continues the recovery. Additionally, there is no dependence on any special files (i.e. Storage Sets) contained on the system hard disk in order to recover data.

BRU for Mac OS X supports SCSI/Fibre-Channel/USB/Firewire tape drives and SCSI/Fibre Channel tape libraries. No special device drivers are required, and there is no limit to the number of supported tape drives within a library or number of tape slots. BRU for Mac OS X employs TOLIS' unique tapectlâ„¢ and libctlâ„¢ tools that provide tape device and tape library control that is transparent to the user.

BRU for Mac OS X can write multiple, simultaneous, non-interleaved data streams to multiple tape devices to achieve incredibly fast throughput. BRU for Mac OS X utilizes the variable block mode of modern tape drives to allow them to deliver their maximum performance. Additionally, BRU's very low overhead allows the streaming of the most modern tape technology without bogging-down system resources. BRU for Mac OS X can process a single stream of data coming off an Xserve filesystem in excess of 110 MBPS.

BRU for Mac OS X works with removable disk technology, tape, MO, Zip and will also write to disk-files.

Operationally, BRU for Mac OS X provides full support of UNIX's security and access properties, as well as the standard Macintosh user model, so users can configure systems to the security level of choice. To optimize system uptime while minimizing backup downtime, BRU for Mac OS X supports incremental and differential backups as well as full system backups. Remote volumes can be mounted and backed-up via AFP, SMB, NFS and other protocols. BRU for Mac OS X supports Mac OS 10.2 and newer.

BRU for Mac OS X is available immediately, and is priced at $499. TOLIS Group provides 30 days of free expert technical support, and cost-effective extended support plans are available. BRU for Mac OS X is available from TOLIS Group directly and through select Resellers.

A competitive upgrade program is available to users through January 31, 2004. During this 90-day period from product launch, BRU for Mac OS X will be priced at $250 for customers that provide a photo static copy of their Dantz Retrospect installation CD label when ordering. Included also is a special $199 price (normally $265) for one year of expert TOLIS technical support that includes unlimited telephone support and free updates.

For more information, visit:

http://www.tolisgroup.com

Perforce Sole Commercial SCM Chosen for Xcode Integration

Perforce Software has announced the integration of its fast Software Configuration Management (SCM) system with Xcode, Apple's newest and most powerful set of development tools. Now Apple developers can be more productive by seamlessly accessing the Perforce source control system directly from their Xcode development environment.

"The push for Apple to implement this integration came from the Mac community," said Christopher Seiwald, founder and chief technology officer of Perforce Software. "And we're happy for the opportunity to show leading edge Macintosh developers the leading edge of SCM."

Specific SCM features available in this integration include: check-in and check-out; file comparison via either the built-in Apple Filemerge tool or UNIX diff; file history; and updates to new and old versions. One important feature, conflict resolution with diff markers, advances concurrent development allowing developers to work on the same file at the same time, and then resolving conflicting entries at check in.

Perforce SCM provides Macintosh developers with the leading and most comprehensive SCM system for the native Mac OS X environment. A high-powered enterprise SCM system, Perforce is a fast and easy-to-use tool for version control, logically packaging changes to multiple files into one unit. Perforce is efficient and flexible, managing project files on local disks and providing for distributed development from remote locations. Perforce's extensive platform support enables Mac developers to share code easily among developers on more than 50 operating systems.

For more information, visit:

http://www.perforce.com

OSX Drivers for the DFG/1394-1 Released

Aupperle Services and Contracting offers OSX drivers (version 2.00.01 - Panther Compatible) for The Imaging Sources's DFG/1394-1 Analog Video to FireWire Converter. The DFG/1394-1 hardware delivers uncompressed, full size, full frame rate NTSC or PAL YUV 4:2:2 and Indexed Color (monochrome etc.) video over FireWire to your Mac.

Major Features:

• Delivers full frame, full size 640x480 NTSC @ 29.97 fps or 768x576 PAL @ 25 fps interlaced YUV 4:2:2 (yuv2) uncompressed and Indexed Color (monochrome etc.) video. YUV 4:2:2 Video has twice the color information than DV compressed video does - which results in more detailed, vibrant and accurate color images.

• Delivers 320x240 NTSC single (decimated horizontally but vertically full 240 lines) field at 29.97 fps. There is no interlacing in the 320x240 sizes and only the odd field is kept, which is specifically designed for Video Conferencing and Video Broadcasting.

• With the new "E" series DFG/1394-1 hardware additionally support sizes of 384x288PAL, 720x576 PAL and 720x480 NTSC.

• Provides interactive real time access to image controls for adjusting the Hue, Saturation, Brightness, Contrast and Sharpness of the Analog Image before they are digitized. No more time consuming CPU intensive post processing to correct off color video as can happen with DV Converters and older video media.

• For Color YUV422 video, supports up to three (3) DFG/1394-1 units delivering 320x240 29.97 fps NTSC video or two (2) DFG/1394-1 units at 320x240 and 640x480 29.97 fps NTSC or a single (1) DFG/1394-1 for 768x576 25 fps PAL unit on one Mac at the same time. The "E" Series support the above and up to two (2) DFG/1394-1 at 384x288 25 fps PAL.

• For Indexed Colors (i.e. Monochrome to Psycho modes), supports up to six (6) DFG/1394-1 units delivering 320x240 29.97 fps NTSC video or four (4) DFG/1394-1 units at 320x240 and two (2) 640x480 29.97 fps NTSC or three (3) DFG/1394-1 units delivering 640x480 29.97 fps NTSC, or two (2) DFG/1394-1's for 768x576 25 fps PAL unit on one Mac at the same time. The "Series" support the above and up to four (4) DFG/1394-1 at 384x288 25 fps PAL

• Allows you to switch to any of the 3 video in inputs by name (Comp1, Comp2 or SVHS) and by Signal Type (NTSC or PAL) via software.

• Low CPU utilization,use of Altivec (if available) and multi threading allows Video Conferencing and Video Broadcast applications to devote more time to compression rather than decompressing the incoming video stream.

• Embeds Time Code information, based on initial start time of digitization for post analysis (limitations apply due to various QuickTime Bugs, listed below)

• Allows applications to specify what fields are to be displayed; both fields interlaced, odd only, even only, both fields separated and both fields alternating.

System Requirements, Compatibility and Limitations:

• Requires a G3 or G4 Mac (Power Mac, iMac, iBook or Power Book) that has a 400 mhz or faster processor(s), 128 or more megabytes of Ram and FireWire (built-in, PCI or CardBus). To use multiple converters at the same time, we recommend a minimum of a 600 mhz G4 processor.

• Requires OS X 10.2.x (10.2.6 recommended) or higher (including OSX 10.3 or Panther) and QuickTime 6.x (6.01 recommended) or higher (including QuickTime 6.4) installed.

• Some FireWire Cardbus (i.e. LYNX based such as the FireWire 2 Go or early Orange Micro) cards in Power Books without built-in FireWire support (pre date Pismo models) do not have enough bandwidth to handle 3 kilobytes per packet at 400 mbps and will not deliver 640x480 sized video. Most current FireWire Cardbus cards made by IBM, Agere or Lucent (which have a larger FIFO) should work reliably.

• Older Macs that have limited bus bandwidth (ie < 66 mhz) may not be able to view video at sizes exceeding quarter (320x240) screen resolution or at reduced frame rates.

• To record full size, full frame rate uncompressed video requires a fast hard drive and ample hard drive space. For NTSC video, the hard drive must be able to handle a minimum sustained rate of 17.6 megabytes per second (1.03 gigabytes per minute), otherwise dropped frames will occur. To reduce the recorded video size, use the PhotoJPEG compressor at medium quality instead of the "DFG1394 Component Video" (for YUV2 mode) or "DFG1394 Indexed Video" (for indexed color modes).

• Due to how DV devices (i.e. Camcorders and Analog/DV converters) allocate bandwidth on the FireWire bus, it is not possible to run a DV devices at the same time as a DFG/1394-1. You can use a DFG/1394-1 and a DCAM/IIDC camera at the same time (assuming their is enough bandwidth to do so), but neither of these devices will work reliably when a DV device is actively transmitting.

• Compatible with most QuickTime based Video Capture or Display Applications. Applications we have explicitly tested with include QuickTime Broadcaster, Live Channel Pro, ZyGoCasting, Frame Thief, Hack TV, Reel Eyes Carbon, BTV Pro, Security Spy, Squid Cam, Stop Motion Studio, Movie Works, Site Cam, Image Caster, ArKaos VJ, Max/MSP, SoftVNS and Jitter.

• The DFG/1394-1 is Not Compatible with iMovie or Final Cut Express, since they only work with DV (DV Camcorder, DV Analog Converter, DV Recorder etc.) video devices. The DFG/1394 is also not usable with the current iChatAV Beta, as Apple excluded any device that is not a DV or IIDC/DCAM compliant. We do not know if Final Cut Pro is compatible or not.

• If you want to use multiple DFG/1394-1's with Security Spy (or other software that allows you to run multiple DFG/1394-1's at the same time), make sure that you set default Video size: to appropriate values in the Input Setup dialog (Settings Menu > Input Setup...). For NTSC sources this should be 320x240 and if you have "E-" series DFG/1394-1 then use 384x288 for PAL. The DFG Driver will allocate or deallocate FireWire bandwidth if it can do so based on the Image Size you have selected.

• If you are recording with the "Indexed Colors" option, you need to make sure you have selected the "DFG1394 Indexed Video" Codec in the Compression Panel of the Applications Video Settings Dialog before recording. Under QuickTime 6.3 and earlier the Sequence Grabber would return an error code and gracefully fail to record, but under QuickTime 6.4 the Sequence Grabber just crashes with no warning (thanks again Apple).

New in Version 2.00.01:

• Fixed numerous crippling OSX 10.3 / Panther induced bugs for both FireWire and QuickTime that did not happen under OSX 10.1.3 to 10.1.5 and 10.2.0 to 10.2.8.

• Adds support for the "E" series of DFG/1394-1 Hardware, which on the bad side "broke" our previous driver, registration application and documentation such that we had to re-write and re-test everything. On the Good side, the new "E" Series hardware also adds support 384x288PAL, 720x576PAL and 720x480NTSC video sizes - which we and our customers have been wanting for a long time.

• Added a "DFG1394 Options" Video Panel, which allows you to set options for the DFG/1394-1 VDIG/driver and returns basic information on the hardware for diagnostic purposes. Due to an Apple QuickTime Bug, this panel is currently not accessible in the applications "Live Stage Pro (2.0 and earlier)", "Evo Cam" and "FrameThief".

System requirements:

• Mac OS X 10.2 and up with QuickTime 5 or later.

You can purchase a single unlock key for $29.95USD or in blocks of ten for $250.00USD (saving you $49.50USD) from ASC's Secure Online Store.

Until you purchase an unlock key for each DFG/1394-1 device, the Driver will run in "Demo Mode". In Demo Mode, the Driver will operate normally for up to 10 minutes and then will being scrambling the Video colors (pink and green) alternating approximately every 10 seconds. This allows you to try the VDIG out for extended periods before purchasing it. .

NOTE: ASC does not sell the DFG/1394-1 hardware-- only drivers for it. To purchase the DFG/1394-1 hardware, contact "The Imaging Source".

For more information, visit:

http://www.outcastsoft.com/ASCDFG1394.html

For more information about the latest Mac software releases and updates, you'll find it on the Applelinks Search Engine here:

http://www.applelinks.com/pages/search.shtml

Charles W. Moore

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