September 29, 2001
Mac OS X 10.1 Available
Apple today officially announced that Mac OS X 10.1 will be available today. The upgrade will be available free of charge to Mac OS X users, and will be available on CD from Apple resellers. Customers can also order the upgrade from Apple for US$19.95 (covers shipping and handling). Apple also announced that more than 1,400 applications are now available for Mac OS X 10.1, and quietly announced the Mac OS X Server 10.1 update.

Apple's Mac OS X 10.1 update that is available for free from dealers and will not include the Mac OS X 10.1 Developer Tools CD, we have learned. The CD will only be available in the full Mac OS X 10.1 package and through Apple's Mac OS Update-To-Date program (the much-discussed "free" update that costs US$19.95 for shipping and handling). Furthermore, sources inform us that the Mac OS X 10.1 update (free retail or Mac OS Up-To-Date) will include the Mac OS 9.2.1 updater; the full copy of Mac OS X 10.1 will include the full version of Mac OS 9.2.1.

In conjunction with Apple's announcement of Mac OS X 10.1, Microsoft will release a beta preview version of Word X for Mac, part of the upcoming Office v. X for Mac productivity suite, on Saturday.

iMac Power Management Update 1.1 posted
Apple has posted the iMac Power Management Update 1.1 -- which will allow your iMac to keep date & time and other Control Panel settings for a longer period of time when disconnected from AC power. This update is intended for use with Macs released in February or July 2001 (iMacs - early 2001 and iMacs summer 2001).

September 28, 2001
Apple quietly rolls out $799 iMac
Apple has started making available to catalog houses and retailers in the U.S. its low-end US$799 iMac system -- which previously had only been available to the American education market and in many other parts of the world, including the U.K. The system is an Indigo-colored, 500MHz, G3-based system with 512K L2 cache at 200MHz, 64MB of memory, 20GB Ultra ATA Drive, CD-ROM, RAGE 128 Pro w/8MB and a 56K fax modem. It's expected that catalog Web sites and the Apple Online Store will post the product for ordering before Monday in what is being called a low-key announcement by Apple with little fanfare.

September 26, 2001
Apple has posted iMovie 2.1.1 for Mac OS. [7.7 MB]

Apple updates AppleWorks for 10.1
Apple has posted an AppleWorks 6.2.1 updater for Mac OS X 10.1 users that adds compatibility and performance enhancements to the application. [4.4MB]

Firmware Updates Available
Apple posted firmware updates for G4 Cube, iMac, iBook, PowerBook, and PowerMac G4 systems.

G4 Cube Firmware Update 4.1.9 [1.3MB], iMac Firmware Update 4.1.9 [1.3MB], Power Mac G4 Firmware Update 4.1.9 [1.3MB]

MOTU has released Digital Performer 3.01
MOTU has released Digital Performer 3.01, an update to its integrated digital audio and MIDI sequencing production system as well as the required MOTU Audio System v.2.3.1, which will also update versions of the Delay, Trigger and Auralizer plug-ins. [DP 3.01, MAS v2.3.1]

September 24, 2001
FileMaker Developer 5.5 to ship October 1st
FileMaker has announced FileMaker 5.5 Developer, which brings FileMaker 5.5 features to its software for developing solutions for deployment on the Web, desktop, or as a runtime application. The upgrade will ship on October 1st for US$499 and will include native Mac OS X support.

Adobe announces Illustrator 10, InDesign 2 with native OS X support
Adobe has officially taken the wraps off Illustrator 10 and InDesign 2, major upgrades to its illustration and layout/design software. Illustrator 10 packs a number of new features, including vector and raster-based slicing; liquify tools, enveloping, and warping; four new drawing tools for lines, arcs, grids, and polar grids; and compound-path compatibility, allowing users to cut and paste compounds between Photoshop and Illustrator. Illustrator 10 will ship during the fourth quarter of 2001 for US$399; upgrades will be $149. InDesign 2 adds support for importing and exporting XML, transparency, table creation, long document support, and more. Version 2 will ship during the first quarter of next year for $699; upgrades will be $149. Both Illustrator 10 and InDesign 2 will ship Carbonized for Mac OS X.

September 19, 2001
Apple has posted the Macintosh Manager 2.0.3, the workstation management utility with support for clients running Mac OS 8.1 and later, recommended for use with Mac OS X Server update 10.0.4. The update has two main changes:

• Mac OS 8 Macintosh Manager clients will now store their documents folder in the correct location so that they will be available from both Mac OS 8 and Mac OS 9 workstations.
• If the option "Copy only Internet or administrator-defined preferences" on the Global security pane was selected in Macintosh Manager Admin Mac OS 8.x workstations would copy the entire preferences folder back to the server. This problem has been corrected. To use this fix, reset the option in Macintosh Manager Admin and save the changes

DeskJet driver updates
HP has released updated 4.3 drivers for its DeskJet 800 and 900 series of printers.

Alladin releases Stuffit Deluxe 6.5
Aladdin today released StuffIt Deluxe 6.5, an update to its $80 compression utility. Version 6.5 includes new StuffIt Express Personal Edition (available separately), which can create customized drop boxes that can be configured to automate file compression and transfer tasks. It also brings Magic Menu support for OS X, smart expansion of Palm OS files, and DropTar, a new drop box compression utility for Unix.

Registered owners of any previous version of StuffIt Deluxe, DropStuff, and DropZip can upgrade to StuffIt Deluxe 6.5 for $20. Retail, catalog and online dealers are offering $60 mail-in upgrade rebates and $25 new-user rebates. All StuffIt Deluxe purchases after August 19, 2001 are entitled to a free upgrade.

Aladdin has also posted StuffIt Expander 6.5, an update to its free decompression utility. Expander 6.5 adds the ability to automatically set Palm OS downloads to be copied to a Palm OS-based handheld next time the device is synchronized.

Microsoft to release Office for OS X in November
Microsoft's OS X upgrade to Microsoft Office has received its official name: Office v. X for Mac.

The new version will be available in November. Retail price will be $499 ($299 for an upgrade with a limited time upgrade price of $149). All of the applications in the Office suite have been Carbonized to run native in Mac OS X. They all make rich use of OS X's Aqua interface.

MSN Messenger 2.1 for Mac, an instant-messaging application, is integrated with Office v. X through Office Notifications. A copy of Messenger will be included with Office.

Microsoft gave a sneak peek at the new Entourage X for Mac, the email/calendar/contact application included as part of Office. As stated in a Microsoft press release:

"Entourage X boasts a refined, easier-to-use interface, improved support for Internet standards, and new features to help users manage e-mail and personal information...The personal Address Book offers improved international support, enabling users to customize and format addresses for any country or region in the world. The Calendar in Entourage X has been revamped to offer greater flexibility in managing schedules, particularly when meetings involve people in several time zones. Users of Entourage X also will appreciate enhancements such as improved Custom Views, new and improved Word editing tools and the ability to insert rich content, such as movies or photos, into the body of e-mail messages."

Entourage also features new ways to hide folder names in its Folder List so as to minimize unwanted listings.

Support for syncing Entourage data with a Palm device will come later, pending expected upgrades to Palm's software. The Entourage upgrade will be a free update available from Microsoft's web site.

88203: PowerBook (FireWire): Periodic CD/DVD Drive Noise states: "After upgrading to Mac OS 9.2.1 the CD or DVD drive periodically resets itself even if there is no disc in the drive. The reset lasts only about a second and is accompanied by a slight vibration and noise. The work-around is to turn off the SDAP Authoring Support extension. This extension is not needed on this computer model unless you are using a third-party CD-RW expansion bay device."

88205: PowerBook (FireWire): Audio CD Stops Playing states: "After upgrading to Mac OS 9.2.1, PowerBook (FireWire) computers may occasionally stop playing audio CDs. To work-around this, turn off the SDAP Authoring Support extension."

September 6, 2001
The new September 1st Virex definition update fixes an 'error 32767' problem with some Application files, a "strange but as yet unknown error (32767)" when scanning some application files, and improves compatibility with Connectix Virtual PC 3.x. It is also recommended to increase the memory allocation for the Virex application. Virex can run low on resources when scanning very large volumes. To do this, select Get Info > Memory and increase the preferred size from 3.5 Mb (the default) to 8 Mb. In some circumstances, this may have to be increased further. [1.9 MB]

Apple iMac Power Management Update (Only for 2001 iMacs)
Many people switch off their power strips or unplug their computers to conserve energy. When you disconnect your iMac from power, it relies on an internal battery to remember the date and time and some control panel settings. After you install this update, your iMac will keep these settings for a longer period of time when disconnected from AC power.
[1.1MB]

Apple quietly offers QuickSilver server
Apple has quietly introduced its first QuickSilver Power Mac G4 Server, a single-processor 733MHz system for US$2,799. For the $1,100 price premium the system commands over a basic 733MHz Power Mac G4, users get 256MB of RAM (instead of 128MB), an 80GB/7200RPM Ultra ATA drive (instead of 40GB/5400RPM), and a copy of Mac OS X Server (unlimited users, which sells for $999 on its own). As The Register points out, if your network consists of less than 10 Macs, it's less expensive to buy a standard 733MHz Power Mac G4 and spring for the 10-user copy of OS X Server, which sells for $499. The new Power Mac G4 server is currently carrying a 15 day estimated ship time at the Apple Store.

September 4, 2001
Updated KB articles: iBook screen flicker; QuickTime Pro key and Mac OS 9.2.1

88200: iBook (Dual USB): External Monitor Flickers at 1024 by 768 Resolution describes an issue with using external non-DDC monitors with iBook (Dual USB) computers, and provides a workaround.

106443: Mac OS 9.2.1: Installs QuickTime 5, Which May Require a New QuickTime Pro Key explains what options are available if your old Pro key no longer works after upgrading to Mac OS 9.2.1.