October 1, 2002

EARLY BIRD GUI SPECIAL 7:00 pm MDT

Come and Get It! - Fresh and hot off the Monkie griddle is a great bunch of Desktops and Icons that will make your desktop pleasurably pleased! On Page 18 and Page 19 of the Icon department are 5 New Icons sets and the Gallery is cram packed with 9 fantastic Desktops of the 2 and 3-D persuasion. Mouse up them clickers and plaster an ear-to-ear smile on your computer's face!

Auction Tender 4.1 - Just released from the folks over at Colourfull Creations is Auction Tender 4.1. This cool OSX only app allows those that use Online Auction Houses such as eBay, Yahoo, and Amazon to organize their business better. The latest version adds Drag and Drop Item Searching, Drag and Drop Customer information fill in, additional templates, and more. Take a click trip over to Colourfull Creations and grab a look!

AudioX 2.1 - REALmac Software is pleased as punch to introduce the latest update to their fine collection of OSX apps - AudioX 2.1. AudioX was written for people who want an easy way to record sound from any input source under Mac OS X (ie. built-in microphone, USB microphone or even a firewire video camera). The latest version features many requests from current users of this great app. To get all the details as well as download a copy of AudioX 2.1, swing by REALmac Software and check it out!

Monkie Fun! - It's just about that time again to put a great big GUI smile on your desktop! Tomorrow we will introduce another fine artist to the Monkie Galleries with a wonderful piece from Xiupe Créations. Also featured in the order of fine selections are Rampant Mac, MacMonkies, and "double shots" from EA Design and Bob Wiley.

The Icon Department will sport some spiffy icon sets from Happicon, IHeartNY, mac.axonz.com, and miX the piX!

And if you just can't wait till tomorrow, you can always grab your fix during our weekly Early Bird GUI Special later tonight. See you then!

September 30, 2002

Monkie Babel - Yee Haw! It's Monday. Can everybody say: I -- LOVE -- MONDAYS? EEEEK! We knew you could! So now that you have the Monday blues pushed aside, what do you say we take a peek at some of the recent happenings around the web. Shall we?

dotmac.info - For all of you folks with a .Mac account, we were told of a brand new site just for you - dotmac.info! From dotmac.info:

dotmac.info is THE source for all things .Mac! While Apple does provide a great many tools for putting Movies, Pictures, and WebPages on .Mac, there is no good way to share those sites with others. At dotmac.info, users can share and spotlight Calendars, Movies, Photo Albums, Slide Shows, and anything else on their .Mac accounts.

If you're looking to share all things .Mac, dotmac.info is just the place for you! Get to clickin'!

widget : widget - You just can't keep a good pixel pusher to sit still! Mr. Alexander MacLean has added more GUI goodies to the galleries of widget : widget for your downloading pleasure. Added to this update are two new desktop pictures titled Loch and Retro Rocket. And if you haven't already done so, be sure to check out the preview to Alexander's up-and-coming icon set Magnum Opus. There's plenty of GUI treats ready and waiting at widget : widget!

WTMISG - After a long hiatus, Why the Mac is so great.com is back sporting a brand new desktop for your Jaguar eyes with Jaguarised. This bright new piece by Yan Feng is sure to have your desktop seeing spots - Jaguar spots, that is. Slip on over to WTMISG and check it out!

September 29, 2002

Carbon Copy Cloner 1.4 - The little gem of a Mac tool, Carbon Copy Cloner, has been updated to Version 1.4. This version fixes a bug, is now localized in German, French, Japanese, Dutch, Italian, and (mostly) Spanish, and has moved most documentation to Apple Help Viewer. If you want to back up a bootable copy of your OSX Operating System, Carbon Copy Cloner is just the cool tool for you. Check it out!

Did Ya Know: A Number Four You - Did you know that the number 4 is the only number, in the English language, that has the same number of letters in its name as its meaning? Now I can sleep.

September 28, 2002

ClearDock 1.2.1 - The coolness of ClearDock has been updated by the folks at Unsanity. If you want your dock colorized, or sport no color at all, ClearDock 1.2.1 is clearly the choice for you. The latest version fixes a pesky little bug that added some funky color to the dock menus. Grab your copy of this updated cool tool at Unsanity!

Pic of the Day: No Windows - Hmmm. Just what do you think the little guy is tryin' to say?

September 27, 2002

TNT: DYN-O-MITE TIPS AND TRICKS by Paul Sahner

Automate Your Digital Lifestyle - You're a very busy and important person. Your time is worth dollars and cents. You don't have time to be messing around with playlists or photo albums. You want your media organized and you want it done now. You need to have the ultimate in efficiency. You're in luck! Apple thought of those things when creating their digital lifestyle suite. Continued...

Mandolux - Time again for the weekly recap of all the great new desktop additions at Mandolux! From Mando:

Mandolux has issued this week ten new desktops: a new Technosis/Anthraxis, three Giant Petals, one Lincoln 2K2, and five SR-71 Blackbird pictures.

Get your downloadin' clickers ready and get yourself some great desktops from Mandolux!

Toast 5.2 - The latest version of Roxio's CD/DVD authoring solution Toast 5.2 is now available for download at Version Tracker for both Classic and OSX. The new version has many improvements including enhanced Quartz text rendering throughout the user interface and support for OSX 10.2.x.

Note: The update was not available at Roxio's Update Page at press time.

UPDATED - Since this was posted at approximately 1 am MDT, the Toast 5.2 information at Version Tracker -- including product description, download link, and all user comments -- has been deleted and reverted to information regarding Toast 5.1.4. Note the comments in Editor's Notes below the Product Info.

Smirk of the Day - Sign at a radiator shop: Best place in town to take a leak.

September 26, 2002

News Flash! Rampant Mac Attack! - WHOA! You can't go any further till you check out the new and old additions at Rampant Mac! To the grande and groovy archives, Scott "Pixel Chiselin'" Chitwood adds Strange Fire, Circuit Wyrm, (newly reworked, using same title as older piece of art) and Retro 70's Green. Also added to this terrific update are five older desktops and seven previously released patterns. You know the drill. Get your mice warmed up and head on over to Rampant Mac!

IHeartNY - Mr. Matthew Bice has updated the ever popular icon archives of IHeartNY with a brand new set titled Adium Domo-Kun. This enjoyable set of 3 is a cool collection to customize your copy of the popular AIM client Adium. Get yourself over to IHeartNY and check out this great new set!

Bugdom 1.2 - Woo hoo! For all of you Classic fans, the folks from Pangea Software have released an update to your favorite family Mac 3D game - Bugdom 1.2! This new version has been updated for maintenance and a new automatic version checking feature has been added. Also in the works for delivery in late October or early November is Bugdom 2. This all new version will be compatible for Mac OS9 - OSX. Check it out!

Internet Explorer - Microsoft has released the latest version of the OSX web browser Internet Explorer X 5.2.2 and Internet Explorer 5.1.6 for OS 8.1 - 9.x. Both updates resolve certain security issues that compromised the security of the computer. The OSX version also includes support for the new Quartz text and performance enhancements.

September 25, 2002

At The Top

Time Closing In On iTools - The days of the free .Mac trial membership are numbered. Former iTools members, or those who signed up to try out the "new" services, have until September 30, 2002 to convert to the paid service. The service, which includes an e-mail address, 100MB of Internet storage, hosting for personalized home pages, iPhoto albums, and iCal calendars sells for $99.95 per year. However, Apple has offered a special rate of $49.95 to those who already had an iTools account. The discounted price is good for a one year's worth of service. - from Apple

Gideon Softworks - The folks at Gideon Softworks have made updates to a couple of their software selections. Now available for download is Snard v1.6.1 and xBack v2.1.1. Snard is the Swiss Army Knife of launcher programs and xBack is a utility that allows you replace your desktop with a screen saver. Both updates are free to registered users and are available at the Gideon Softworks website.

Simple List - ARTIS Software has informed us of a brand new app called ARTIS Simple List. Simple List is an inexpensive list manager designed to keep personal and business tasks in to-do lists. It features instant filtering functions, auto-opening, and comfortable keyboard navigation. You can download a trial version at the Simple List page at ARTIS Software.

MonkieNews!

NEW! MacMonkies 24th Icon Edition! - For our 24th Icon Edition, we have 3 of the web's favorite icon artists bringing you 4 great icon sets. Shall we?

Flax Creations - Let's get down, let's get Funky Folders from Flax Creations! Mr. Dan Flax, AKA the GUI man of ResExcellence, puts FUN in just about everything he makes, and the cool colors and fun form of Funky Folders make this evident.

 

miX the piX - Yikes! The "scary" looking creatures in Islands & Sea Monsters from miX the piX are certain to chase away your desktop blues! These fun little thingies have all the humor, class, and style that Hein Mevissen is ever famous for.

 

mac.axonz.com - Woo hoo! We get a double dose of the fine GUI goodies from Adrian "wOOge" Jean over at mac.axonz.com. 1st up is the third in the Duranium series with Duranium Apple Branded! This set includes 17 durable icons with Apple branded logos.

Slidin' in for our second treat from wOOge is a triple tuff set with a lonnng title named TriTanium Squared v2: Documentz! For short, we'll call them TTS2 Documentz, but this makes them no less quality cool.

 

Check 'em out!

 

NEW! 7 New Desktops In The Gallery - This week we bring you quite the array of style and color in desktop design with 7 cool desktops from 6 great artists. Let's look!

Desktops - Ushering this week's desktop selections is the bright and colorful Scratch DeeJay from Alexander MacLean of widget : widget. This is the last selection in a series of 5 exclusive pics made especially for our viewers here at MacMonkies. Be sure to swing by widget : widget and give Alexander a great big THANK YOU!

Also adding plenty of pizzazz to our desktop collection is Mercury Lens from Eye9design's Patrick O'Kelly. This great desktop will provide tons of flash, depth, and attitude to your desktop experience.

 

Nature - Freshening up our Nature Department is another beautiful piece from the wonderful world of Taking Pictures - Butterfly by Adam Dickson. This awesome pic will have you dreaming of Spring time all year round!

 

3-D Department - We are pleased to be privileged with a double shot from the galleries of EA Design! This week we get a 3-D selection from both Ed and Alan.

Alan places your eyes in a quiet, solitary piece demonstrating his flare for minimalism in Alone (Sad and Separate)!

Ed returns after a long hiatus with something many spend a lifetime for the looking - Unity Found. This is another great selection from the many works of EA Design that displays the majesty of simplicity.

From the banks of chaos in the Monkie's mind come a pair of 3-D creations a little less on the side of traditional by Bradford Wiles.

The title of Tea 4 One was inspired by the old Zeppelin song of the same name. Rendered in Bryce, the picture was given some additional effects in Photoshop.

Straight off of the Bryce canvas, the original version of Beyond was also run through some Photoshop filters to give it a different perspective. The preview does not give justice to contrasting qualities of this selection, so be sure to give it a glance in full view.

 

 

MANY THANKS EXTENDED...

To:

Adam, Adrian, Alan,
Alexander, Dan, Ed, Hein, and Patrick -

I cannot express enough my most sincere sense of gratitude!

THANK YOU!

Featured Link - Time to check out this week's Featured Link: mac.axonz.com. This fine site has also been added to our Links Page! Check it out!

Community News

creative [box] - Akeem Williams of creative [box] has added a new desktop titled Grasp It. Additional desktops are planned for display in the month of October. Delight your eyes with the desktop archives of creative [box]!

IHeartNY - Matthew Bice has updated IHeartNY with a new version of the Aqua Creation Tutorial, as well as a new Tutorial teaching you how to Customize your Finder and Trash in your Dock. Check out these and the other cool stuff at IHeartNY!

mac.axonz.com - Everything over at mac.axonz.com is up and running and wOOge is back in the saddle again! Get your clickers in gear and get yourself on over there!!

TERRA Dreams - Recently added to the galleries of TERRA Dreams are 3 magnificent new landscapes that will add new horizons to your desktop. These new works are a must-see! Make your way over to TERRA Dreams and grab a look.

Mandolux - Updated in the collections at Mandolux is Lincoln 2K2 Reissue: Frame One! Also recently added are 5 new SR-71 Blackbirds. The many works of Mandolux are just a click away!

Max Themes - Max Rudberg has uploaded a new version of Brushed to the archives at Max Themes. This Appearance Theme for OSX is now at version 2.0. It includes a new menubar and is in the .dlta format for ease of use and a smaller download. Grab this and other great themes at Max Themes!

News On The Net...

Community iCal On The Web - Web designer Patrick Crowley has opened up a web site based on Apple's iCal program for publishing calendars. The web site, iCalshare.com, provides a free service in which iCal users can post their calendars publicly. Over 100 calendars have been posted in the short time that iCal has been available, with calendars that vary from soccer matches to the new Survivor series to Bible readings. - from Wired

Apple Joins The Circus - Bob Young's Lulu Enterprises hosts a technology event called the Lulu Tech Circus in North Carolina this weekend (September 27-29). Apple Computer will be among the rings of the three-day circus which is for people of all ages. Some sections of the circus include "Gear & Gadgets," "Extreme Computing," "Fun & Games" and "Expansive Education." Apple will offer sessions including Mac OS X, Final Cut Pro and iMovie. - from MacCentral

Singing The iPod Praises - Last Sunday a Washington newspaper published all sorts of praises of the Apple iPod for Windows, saying that it "leaves its competitors in the dust." It calls the iPod "simply the best" and says that the PC version "works just as well as the Mac iPod." It also notes that "PCs are just catching up" with technology because the FireWire connection is "noticeably slower" on the PC than a Mac. It took a Mac iPod 14 minutes to download 1,600 songs and a PC iPod 32 minutes to do the same. - from The Mac Observer

Apple Trivia - Plans are in the making for a MacBrainiac Challenge at the January Macworld Conference & Expo . The "game-show style" trivia contest will sport two teams: The Mad Dogcows led by Bob "Dr. Mac" LeVitus and the X.F.L. team led by Shawn King of Your Mac Life. A volunteer from the audience will also be selected to join each team. The MacBrainiac Challenge is scheduled for January 9, 2003 at 12:30pm. - from MacCentral

Boasting The Blue Light - The operator of Kmart, who is struggling with bankruptcy, started a web site in late August called Kmartforever.com. Its purpose is to offer positive support for the supporters of the discount store. Positive and encouraging messages can be posted on the web site, which has had 7000 visitors and 300 subscribers. Messages are filtered, however, to avoid profanity and to avoid bashing the home of the Blue Light Special. - from Yahoo

Have you Heard?

CUBASE SX - For all of you Audio/MIDI buffs, Steinberg has FINALLY announced a ship date for the OSX version of CUBASE SX, the latest version of Steinberg's VST technology for a professional studio environment on your Mac or PC. CUBASE SX for Mac is due to ship October 10. Though the upgrade price was not listed at the Steinberg Online Store at press time, it will most likely sell for around $150 to registered owners of Cubase Audio or VST/24 and will most likely require the trade-in of the install disk.

It is interesting to note that though Steinberg's International Site makes mention of the Mac version of CUBASE SX, we could not find clear mention on the Mac version or release date on the North American Site. The PC version has been available since the first part of the third quarter.
 

Have some inside information on upcoming events? Review our Submission Policy and drop us a line!
 
 

Check 'em Out!

BongoBoogie - If you're looking for a fun game for Mac OSX that provides plenty of monkeying around, we have just the app for you -- BongoBoogie from Phelios Inc. This is a cute game that, as a Version Tracker reader puts it, is "like breakout, only with -holy crap- MONKEYS." =) You bounce your coconuts to break those crates and find your way through more than 200 levels. And the price? A mere $15.00 will keep you coconutz for hours. Grab that net vine and swing over to Phelios Inc. and download your trial version today! Check it out!

Click for Larger Image

Just Plain Nutz!

MICROSOFT VACUUMS!

The day Microsoft will make something that doesn't suck is probably the day they'll start making vacuum cleaners!

COMPUTER DICTIONARY

Upgrade - Take old bugs out, put new ones in.

NET INCOME

What did the web surfer give the Internal Revenue Service at tax time?

Why, his net income!

BAD MESSAGE!

It's been said that if you play the Windows NT CD backwards, you'll get a satanic message. But the most frightening thing is that if you play it forward, it installs NT !!

TIMELY ESTATE

Perhaps you've heard of the young man's father died and left him his entire collection of antique clocks. It seems the young man spent the rest of his life winding up his father's estate.

ALL STITCHED UP

The surgeon said to the stubborn patient who wouldn't buy hospital insurance: All right, suture self!

ENEMIES

The Bible tells us to love our neighbors and to love our enemies, probably because they are generally the same people.

IQ

I had an extremely high IQ when I was five. Too bad I grew out of it.

Have a good line or two that would put a smile on an Ape Face? Check out MacMonkies' Submission Policy and drop us a line!

Odds and Ends

Things That Make A Gorilla Go HUHH? - R. Westby

Is the difference between art and science that if something works in art, you don't have to explain why?

Is the difficulty with a research grant that if you solve the problem, you're out of a job?

Is the difference between a stepping stone and a stumbling block only that you see it?

Why is it that the easier it is to do, the harder it is to change?

Why does the deficiency never show itself during the test run?

AND REMEMBER . . . The early worm deserves the bird.

BJW