Totally Hip's LiveStage Pro (for creating interactive QuickTime movies) won two Apple Design Awards. Read an Apple Hot News article, "Winners Named for Apple Design Awards".
Newer has a new FireWire 2 Go enabler, which you should get if you're using FireWire2 Go and FireWire version 2.2.2. Get it at Newer's Software Drivers page.
Wondering about QuickTime's future? You're not alone:
Earlier in the month RealNetworks came out with version 8 of their RealSystem, which has prompted a number of articles about what this means to QuickTime's future:
And, Jeremy Neish has done a comparison of the QuickTime codec, Sorenson, and the Windows Media codec, MPEG-4 , and found better results with the MPEG-4 codec. (Expect to see some follow-up tests.)
However, another set of articles focuses on how QuickTime stands out from both Real and Windows Media:
A beta version of the next version of Terran's Media
Cleaner Pro (compression tool) is available. Get info and the 4.0.3b3
Updater at the Terran Downloads
page.
Kodak has licensed QuickTime for use in digital cameras, according to a 5/23 Apple Press Release. A slightly different spin on the story is in a MacWeek or check out an article at MacWeek,"Kodak 'mystery product' will use QuickTime".
Holy Mac has an article about Mac OS X DP4 (Developer Preview 4), which has links to screenshots of the OS X QuickTime Player, with interfaces for both linear and VR movies. (Scroll to the bottom of the article to the QuickTime section.)
A new company will be offering free QuickTime streaming services. A short MacObserver article, QuideCast Offers Free Streaming QuickTime Services" provides some info.
XLR8 is shipping InterView2, a $99 USB cable that connects your analog video devices to your computer, and can be used for capture. It comes bundles with Strata VideoShop. (Owners of InterView 1 can download the InterView 2 software for free; the hardware hasn't changed. You'll find a download link at the XLR8 home page.) Read a May 15 XLR8 press release for lots of details.
This week's Cider Press has a review of Global Village's VideoFX USB video capture device.
Version 3.4 of Play it Cool, a shareware QuickTime movie player, is available from the About Russell Clarke page.
A new tool, Thing Detective, has been release. This is a tool for programmers using the QuickTime API; it reports what QuickTime components are installed on a MacOS system. Buy it from the Unthinkable web site.
This week is Apple's Worldwide Developer Conference. At Steve Job's keynote yesterday, there was some talk about the next version of QuickTime. You can find a detailed summary in an article at MacWeek, "New Features for QuickTime". Also, check out a screen shot of the Mac OS X QuickTime Player.
Beta 7 of LiveSlideShow, a really easy-to-use tool for creating interactive QuickTime slideshows, is now available (for Macs) for download from Totally Hip's LiveSlideShow page. (And if you want to hear an interview with Randall McCallum,Totally Hip's CEO & President, in which he talks about the features of LiveSlideShow, check out the Mac Show Live May 10 broadcast, which you can find on the Mac Show Live Archive page; Randall starts speaking at about 1 hour and 30 minutes into the stream.)
A May 11 article at 2-pop, "QuickTime Woes" talks about compatibility problems with QuickTime 4.1.2 and Final Cut Pro. You can also read an Apple Tech Info Library article, "Final Cut Pro 1.2.1: Audio Blast at End of Video Clip".
A May 15th article at MacCentral, "Wired Media Experts Group formed" explains how Totally Hip has started a consulting team consisting of experts in LiveStage and LiveSlideShow and other QuickTime interactive technologies.
Sorenson is providing one-day seminars on QuickTime streaming in Boston, New York, Philadelphia, and Reston, Virginia. (Unlike other seminars on QuickTime streaming, these are not free.) For more information go to the Sorenson seminars page.
A May 15th Apple press release announces that its iServices professional consulting group will expand its areas of expertise to include the QuickTime Streaming Server.
VersionTracker reports several QuickTime-related updates:
There's a new beta of LiveStage 2 (the tool for creating interactive QuickTime movies). VersionTracker has a More Info page re. LiveStage Pro that's got details and links to the download site.
Aurora Video Systems has a new version (2.1) of their Igniter Drivers. VersionTracker has a More Info page re. Igniter that's got details and links to the download site.
Version 1.0.1 of FinalChapter 1.0.1 (for adding and editing chapter list tracks) is available at the AcutAbove Software download page.
A recently edited article in Apple's Tech Info Library is article #36506, "QuickTime Discussion Board: Frequently Asked Questions", which has pointers to other articles dealing with QuickTime installation, problems with the Plug-in, MIDI and the QTVR Xtra 2.0 for Director.
Wolf Camera store will be carrying "bundles" consisting of an iMac DV (with iMovie editing software) and a Canon DV camera. Read an Apple Press Release, "Apple and Wolf Camera Team Up to Offer Complete Desktop Video Experience".
Apple has released version 2.0.1 of the QuickTime Streaming Server (QTSS) for Mac OS X server. To see what's been improved and download the software, go to Article 11552 of Apple's Software Updates library.
Entera, makers of TeraCAST Servers (QuickTime streaming servers for non-Mac platforms including Windows 2000/NT/98, Linux and Redhat 6.0, FreeBSD, Sun Solaris x86 and Sun Solaris SPARC), introduced a new product, TeraCAST Pro. This is a bundle which includes the TeraCAST Server, Terran Interactive's Media Cleaner Pro (for compressing video), and Sorenson Broadcaster (for broadcasting live video). Check out a May 8 press release on TeraCAST Pro.
If you're interested in how filmmakers are using QuickTime, check out an Apple page, The New World of Online Films.
FinalChapter 1.0, by Cary Dean of AcutAbove Software, was released last week. It's a tool for adding and editing chapter list tracks. You'll find the software and a readme for downloading at the AcutAbove Software download page.
Streaming Media World has an article titled "Sorenson: Worth the Price of Admission" by Tim Kennedy about using Sorenson Pro (the QuickTime video codec that's not free).
Version 3.8 of iView Multimedia ($25 shareware cataloging software that can handle all the file formats QuickTime can, plus more), has been released and can be downloaded from the iView Multimedia web site.
Rearden Technology has merged with NuSpectra, and has come out with new (5.0) versions of their SiteCam (web cam software) and SiteZap (camera that can be remotely controlled via a browser) tools. Get updates and find out more at the NuSpectra web site.
A 4.5 to 4.5.1 updater for Strata Videoshop (video editing software) is available at the Strata Mac Videoshop FTP site.
Check out an Apple Press Release, iMovie Downloads Top 150,000 in First Week
iMovie, the really easy-to-use video editing tool for the Mac is now available as a free download from Apple's iMovie download page. (Apple says it's for G4s and PowerBooks, but there's a MacInTouch iMovie reader report page that has lots of posts from people who are running it on other Macintosh computers. )
Apple has released QuickTime 4.1.2; it's what you'll get if you download QuickTime from Apple's QuickTime web site, the QuickTime standalone installer page, or if you run your updater. To find out what's changed, read a tech note on what's new in QuickTime 4.1.2. To get in-depth information (some of it pretty techy, but some quite valuable, such as how to detect QuickTime on Windows), read the Developer's Tech Note on QuickTime 4.1.1/4.1.2.
Totally Hip's forthcoming LiveSlideShow (for putting together interactive QuickTime slide shows) should be coming out soon. AppleLinks has a short story titled "Who Needs iMovie When You've Got LiveSlideShow?" and MacCentral has a lengthy article that previews LiveSlideShow. (Be sure to check Totally Hip's web site this week; they may have a beta available.)
Entera, the company that makes QuickTime streaming servers that run on many platforms (Solaris on x86, Linux on x86, FreeBSD on x86, Windows NT/98, and Solaris SPARC) has a new beta of their TeraCast server. Get more info and a link to get the beta at the TeraCAST Beta Features page.
There are new drivers for the Mac version of EditDV. VersionTracker has a More Info page re. EditDV drivers that's got details and links to the download site.
There's a MacCentral article, "QT developers: focus on quality, not quantity" that talks about what content developers want to see in QuickTime.
You may want to check out Panopict on the J2S Software page; this is a a tool that allows you to add graphics to QuickTime VR panoramas.
Note to anyone who's tried to send us e-mail at jandr@ccnet.com: we apologize, but due to a glitch at our previous ISP (Verio), we haven't received mail at this address in over 3 weeks. Please use qt@judyandrobert.com; this address, hosted by Zocalo, works just fine.