This week’s issue spans the gamut, starting with releases of Suitcase 9, AirPort 1.2, and PowerMail 3.0.3. Next, we check out the acquisitions of Bungie Software by Microsoft and Farallon Communications by Proxim, then move on to a discussion of preventing or reducing the severity of RSI problems. Next, we look at changes in Casady & Greene’s SoundJam, and close with a review of RepairClinic.com, a clever Web site that sells appliance parts.
Suitcase 9 Packs Plenty Into Upgrade -- The Extensis Product Group of CreativePro.com has released a new version of the venerable font management utility Suitcase, which was rescued last year from Symantec's pile of acquired-then-expired software (see "Extensis Rescuing Suitcase" in TidBITS-466)
AirPort 1.2 Update Available -- Apple Computer has released AirPort 1.2, the latest version of its wireless networking software for configuring AirPort Base Stations and enabling any AirPort-equipped Mac to act as a software base station
PowerMail 3.0.3 Available -- CTM Development recently released a pair of updates to PowerMail, the latest version of its multilingual email client with search capabilities based on the same technologies as Apple's Sherlock
Poll Preview: I Want My MP3 -- The MP3 audio format is radically altering the music landscape in terms of playing and distributing recorded material. Now that MP3 is gaining a wider acceptance, which software MP3 player do you prefer? There are a ton of MP3 players available, including some less well-known applications we didn't have room to include, so if you use a program we didn't list, send a note to TidBITS Talk at outlining what you use, why, and where others can find the program
This week brought two significant corporate acquisitions in the Macintosh world: Microsoft's acquisition of game developer Bungie Software and wireless networking company Proxim's purchase of Farallon Communications, currently a TidBITS sponsor.
Microsoft & Bungie -- Microsoft's acquisition of privately held Bungie Software for an estimated $20 to $40 million was the most atypical
Last week's quiz on our home page focused on ways of reducing or eliminating repetitive stress injuries, or RSI. Years ago, Tonya and I suffered from tendonitis and carpal tunnel syndrome respectively, and we recovered completely thanks to adjusting how we work and live
Casady & Greene last week released SoundJam MP Plus 2.1, a free update to the company's popular (if awkwardly named) MP3 player and encoder. That reminded me that I'd somehow missed writing about the update to version 2.0, which added numerous features and introduced a free version called SoundJam MP Free, which offers a reduced feature set and the capability to encode only 30 songs
Kirk McElhearn's article last week about the emptiness of pages of links highlights why we don't maintain a list of Macintosh-related Web sites, and why we only infrequently write about specific Web sites