Bare Bones Software has released BBEdit 5.0.1, an update to the commercial version of their high-powered text editor. In addition to a handful of bug fixes to the recently released BBEdit 5.0 (see "HTML Enhancements Highlight BBEdit 5.0" in TidBITS 454), BBEdit 5.0.1's function scanner now supports JavaScript (whether embedded in an HTML document or in a standalone file), offers additional support for inserting include files and placeholder tags, improves image tag updating, and adds a selection of HTML-oriented scripting commands as well as a generous selection of tweaks and minor feature enhancements

Casady & Greene has released a free Conflict Catcher 8.0.4 update which adds support for performing a Clean-Install System Merge under Mac OS 8.5.1, includes Base and All extension sets for Mac OS 8.5.1 (which could be lost using previous versions of Conflict Catcher), and updates the reference library with additional file descriptions (including Sherlock plug-ins)

Visioneer has released a 2.1 MB update to its PaperPort software to resolve crashing problems using PaperPort 5.0 or higher under Mac OS 8.5. Very little additional information is available in the update installer or from Visioneer's support pages, but Visioneer apparently recommends all users of PaperPort 5.0 or higher install this update.

At Macworld Expo in January, Microsoft will release Internet Explorer 4.5 for the Macintosh, a major upgrade to the company's Macintosh Web browser. Several features have stood out in our testing of pre-release versions, including AutoFill for automatically filling out basic contact information in Web forms, AutoComplete for completing text in forms, print preview, and the capability to shrink Web pages to fit when printing (it's ideal for printing out directions from a Web mapping service)

Mark your calendars if you're going to the Macworld Expo in San Francisco next month. The tireless Jon Pugh is organizing the 13th Annual Netters Dinner in the traditional style, which means it will be held at the Hunan on Sansome and Broadway on Thursday, 07-Jan-99

Fog City Software has released a free update to LetterRip Pro, their elegant mailing list server. Version 3.0.3 has better menu compatibility with Mac OS 8.5, is better able to recover corrupted files, and includes several minor changes to MIME and Content-Type headers

A Bunch of Yo-Yos -- Gordon Meyer suggests the Yo-Yo call manager device from Big Island Communications. "The stylish device hooks to your telephone line and Macintosh to provide caller ID, speed dialing, contact management, and other phone-related features

Tomb Raider II -- Saint John says: "If I hadn't pre-ordered it six months in advance, I'd be ecstatic to see a copy of Aspyr Media's Tomb Raider II under my tree

Welcome to the TidBITS 1998 special gift issue, which falls outside our regular weekly publication schedule and features gift ideas contributed by TidBITS readers

Despair to the World -- A few suggestions were interesting enough to include even though they weren't Macintosh-specific (think of them as appropriate for the sort of person who would use a Mac)

The Ultimate Rodent Gift -- We're going to have to try these 3M mousepads, since they continue to garner rave reviews every year. Dave Fitch was the first of many to suggest them this time around

Your Roots are Showing -- Genealogy has taken hold of several of our relatives in the past year, and if anyone in your family might be interested, David Kanter's suggestion is ideal

New Dreamweaver Adds Features and Templates -- Macromedia is now shipping Dreamweaver 2.0, a Web authoring package known for its early support of cascading style sheets and dynamic HTML

Macromedia is now shipping Dreamweaver 2.0, an update of its Web authoring package. The new version adds several features that Web designers will appreciate, such contextual menus for manipulating table and cell attributes, a graphical map for visual site management, support for XML (Extensible Markup Language), and an eyedropper tool that can select colors from anywhere on the desktop and then shift to the nearest Web-safe color

Brief Horn Tooting -- As the year draws to a close, we can't resist passing on a few bits of self-promotion from 1998. Internet Valley just placed TidBITS 29th on a list of the top 100 most influential computer publications, according to the number of external links pointing at that publication