Fission 1.5 Pops With Major New Features

Rogue Amoeba’s easy-to-use audio editor Fission debuted seven months ago as the first and only editor on OS X to provide lossless editing of MP3, AAC, Apple Lossless, and AIFF audio files. Fission provides fast and easy editing for consumers and professionals alike, and now version 1.5 brings with it several major new features.

With version 1.5, Fission now has full audio insertion support, allowing audio to be copied and pasted in a single file or between multiple files. Files can also be merged with a simple drag and drop from the Finder. The new Gain Adjustment feature allows the volume of any file to
be manually increased or decreased. Fission even sports full support for cue sheet files.

The Full Fission 1.5 feature list:
+ Full audio insertion support
+ Copy and paste audio within a single file
+ Combine audio from other files and between audio formats
+ Drag and drop files to append to existing audio
+ Increase and decrease gain of audio selections
+ Full support for cue sheets
+ Auto-complete in Inspector fields
– Added Zoom to Selection command
– Added Album Artist tag to Inspector
– Several minor bugs fixed

Fission is immediately available as a free trial for Mac OS X 10.4 and up and can be downloaded from http://www.rogueamoeba.com/fission/download.php. Fission is fully functional, but will degrade the quality of audio saved while in trial mode. Fission can be purchased at our online store.

CSSEdit 2.5 Now Available

MacRabbit is proud to announce CSSEdit 2.5, a major update to its Style Sheet editor that makes styling anything from blogs to dynamic Web Apps a piece of cake. With intuitive visual controls and a powerful source environment, aspiring web designers and Pros alike will find their way to Web 2.0 in style. CSSEdit 2.5 redefines web design by offering real-time styling and analyzing for any website, even your AJAX-powered killer Web App.

Major Highlights in version 2.5:
– Most flexible and integrated tabbed interface on the market;
– Powerful and easy to use X-ray Inspector that integrates your CSS and your web pages;
– Selector Builder innovates by letting you describe styles in plain English;
– Intelligent CodeSense now analyses your CSS to offer smart, context-sensitive suggestions;
– Greatly streamlined interface for an even smoother workflow

Cool new tabs and an X-ray Inspector that shows applied styles make CSSEdit 2.5 the ultimate tool for anyone who wants to author, debug or have fun with web pages. Open all your favorite sites and play to your heart’s content. X-ray anything and see how it all ticks in the blink of an eye.

CSSEdit 2.5 is available for $29.95 to new users. Version 2.5 is a free update for all registered 2.x users, upgrades from 1.x are $14.95. For more information: http://macrabbit.com/cssedit/

Mori 1.6 released with tagging support

Today Hog Bay Software announces the release of Mori 1.6, a digital notebook that makes it easy to record and organize your notes.

Mori provides a place to remember your notes and organize your ideas. Search through your entire notebook in a flash with its built in search engine, or use Spotlight to search through all of your notebooks at once. Mori’s familiar Mail style interface will get you started quickly. Once you’ve entered your notes-sort, tag, link, and alias them to get organized. Use Mori’s Smart Folders and Tag Folders to collect matching notes behind the scenes as you work. Mori
requires Mac OS X 10.4 or later. Mori 1.6 is all about tagging support.

First, Mori adds support for a del.icio.us style tagging system for your entries. Tagging provides another dimension for structuring you notes that lies outside of the traditional file / folder hierarchical structure. Many users had been using Mori’s custom column support to
create their own tagging systems, but now tags are natively supported by Mori and much faster and easier to use.

Second, Mori adds new interface elements to view and edit these tags. Mori’s optional note header view has been redesigned to include a tags section below the entry’s title. Mori 1.6 also has a new inspector window that allows you to edit tags and other entry attributes in a separate window. Now you can see an entries attributes without needing to clutter your main window with many columns.

Last, Mori 1.6 adds a new “Tag Folder” entry type. Tag folders are similar to smart folders, both find matching entries based on a search criteria, but they differ because you can also drag and drop entries onto tag folders. When you do that the dropped entries will be modified to match the tag folder’s search criteria. Tag folders provide a quick drag and drop way to assign multiple attributes to a group of entries.

Mori is available from Hog Bay Software for $39.95 at http://www.hogbaysoftware.com

ASK Video Ships Pro Tools Level 2 DVD Tutorial

ASK Video Interactive Media, a leading creator of software tutorials on DVD, is now shipping Pro Tools Level 2, the second in a set of three DVD tutorials covering one of the recording industry’s most powerful Digital Audio Workstations.

Pro Tools expert Brian Hogue returns to expand on the foundation built in Level 1 with 29 new, extremely high-quality videos covering intermediate and advanced topics. Using Pro Tools 7, this DVD is a must for user of both HD and LE and features an easy to use interface for progressive learning as well as quick reference.

Picking up where Level 1 leaves off, this DVD begins with advanced set-up topics like Templates, Rulers, Digibase, and Tempo Track. Next, Brian will take the user through more advanced audio features of Pro Tools including Editing, Looping, Headphone Mixes, and Plug-ins. The DVD concludes with chapters on Advanced Mixing, Sends and Bussing, Beat Detective, Delay Compensation and ReWire.

Pro Tools Level 2 contains a Mac OS X & Windows compatible DVD-Rom, DVD (NTSC) and DVD (PAL) all in one package! Pro Tools Level 2 DVD Tutorial is available now for $55 USD. Pro Tools Level 1/Level 2 Bundle is available for $100 USD.
Video examples and ordering information are available at http://www.askvideo.com.

Steinberg announces updates to VSTi products

Steinberg Media Technologies GmbH is pleased to announce updates for its current VSTi range that will offer compatibility to Intel-based Macintosh computers. The updates will be available from April 2007 through Steinberg’s website at http://www.steinberg.net.

The VST instruments to be updated include HALion, HALion Player, HALion Player OEM, The Grand 2, HALion Symphonic Orchestra, HALion String Edition 2, Hypersonic 2, Virtual Bassist and Virtual Guitarist 2. The updates will be available in April 2007 as an update download from Steinberg’s website.

The updates to HALion and products based on HALion technology such as HALion Player, HALion Symphonic Orchestra and The Grand 2 will also include a range of product enhancements such as support for Windows Vista (32-bit). The HALion update also extends the supported import formats to include both GIGA 3 and Kontakt 2.

Prosoft Engineering Announces the Release of Data Backup 3

Data Backup 3 is a powerful utility that allows you to backup, restore and synchronize your valuable data with minimal effort. Whether you are a new computer user or a seasoned professional, Data Backup 3 offers you just the right amount of power, flexibility and ease-of-use to help protect your files fast.

New Features of Data Backup 3

• New user interface.

• Backup to CDs and DVDs, automatically spanning on multiple disks.

• Fast Start feature skips scanning and speeds up backups dramatically.

• Built-in backup sets to quickly backup your iTunes or iPhoto files, other important data or your entire system.

• Automatically wake from sleep to backup.

• Automatically power off after your backup completes.

• Go “back in time” and see your files and directories, as they were when your backups happened.

Data Backup 3 will be available for purchase online at http://www.prosoftengineering.com and at Apple Stores, Fry’s Electronics, ClubMac, MacMall, Other World Computing, MacConnection, Amazon.com and other Mac software retailers. International partners may be found at www.prosofteng.com/about_us/distributors.php.

Steinberg Sequel: Make Music in Minutes

Steinberg proudly presents Sequel, an exciting new “one-window” music studio for anyone who wants to create their own music. Sequel includes everything needed create and performance music on a PC or Mac, and lets anyone create their own songs with just a few mouse clicks.

Sequel is so accessible because of its revolutionary design concept, which puts Steinberg’s renowned music technologies at almost instant disposal – even with no special music knowledge whatsoever. Everything needed to create and perform music live is included – from loops, sounds, effects, instruments to a virtual mixer and other professional “under the hood” features that can be easily explored at your leisure.

Inspiration for new songs comes in the form of a staggering 3.5GB of built-in loops and sounds covering a huge range of today’s music as well as over 600 instantly playable instruments. Produced by top pros from the US, UK, and Germany, Sequel’s sound library provides inspiration for Dance projects, Urban beats, Rock and Pop songs and much more.

With the Live performance mode, a Sequel song can be rearranged and remixed live and on-the-fly for performances at clubs or parties. Budding performers can also play or sing live to an existing arrangement, making Sequel an ideal software tool for performing songs live using a laptop computer.

Price and Availability: Sequel is now shipping for $99 USD.

Screenshot at http://www.mtechmarketing.com/SMT_032807_Sequel.html.

Star Wars: Empire at War

Aspyr Media, Inc. announced today that Star Wars: Empire at War has begun shipping for Macintosh. Star Wars: Empire at War is licensed by LucasArts and was developed for Mac by Aspyr Studios.

Star Wars: Empire at War puts the power to command an entire war for the Star Wars galaxy in the hands of players, giving them the freedom to determine how they play the game within the completely scalable and accessible gameplay. Set a few years before the events of Episode IV A New Hope, LucasArts¹ Empire at War lets players wage war on the ground and in space, as well as experience the creation of the Rebel Alliance, the strengthening of the Empire and the beginnings of the Galactic Civil War.

Using an entirely new game engine created by the Las Vegas-based developer Petroglyph, Empire at War features beautifully rendered land and space battles set on memorable planets such as Yavin IV, Tatooine and Dagobah, as well as never-before-seen environments taken directly from the Star Wars films and expanded universe novels. In the game, players choose to join either the Rebel Alliance or the Galactic Empire, building and setting up tactical forces to unleash upon the enemy in real-time 3D. Memorable Star Wars hero characters can be brought into the action to help turn the tide of the battle as players build, manage and upgrade their space and ground-based
units, vehicles, troops and base structures.

A free demo of this title is available now at http://www.macgamefiles.com/detail.php?item=19466.

Adobe Delivers Two Editions of Photoshop CS3

Adobe Systems Incorporated (Nasdaq:ADBE) today announced Adobe® Photoshop® CS3 and Photoshop CS3 Extended, two new editions of the professional industry standard for digital imaging. Photoshop CS3 software is a major upgrade, offering new innovations in editing power and productivity for designers and photographers. The addition of an entirely new version of Photoshop, Photoshop CS3 Extended, means creative professionals can now discover new dimensions in digital imaging, harnessing everything in Photoshop CS3 plus groundbreaking tools for 3-D, motion graphics, image measurement and analysis. Photoshop CS3 Extended expands the boundaries of digital imaging, simplifying the workflows for professionals in architecture, engineering, medicine, and science.

Adobe Introduces Powerful InDesign CS3 Release

Adobe Systems Incorporated (Nasdaq:ADBE) today announced Adobe® InDesign® CS3 software, the latest version of its award-winning professional page layout program. InDesign CS3 addresses design, efficiency and output challenges to improve the way that design, editorial, production and IT professionals work on a day-to-day basis. InDesign CS3 delivers a powerful, yet easy-to-use set of tools that enable creative exploration, streamline productivity, improve collaboration and automate layout and production of complex documents. The software is the keystone to Adobe’s comprehensive publishing solution that also includes Adobe InCopy® CS3 and Adobe InDesign CS3 Server.