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SAN FRANCISCO—While some attendees of this weeks Macworld Expo San Francisco may have griped about the relatively few announcements of new software and hardware from Apple Computer Inc., third-party vendors for the Mac platform did not flag in their own product introductions and updates.
Across the floor of the Moscone Center here, vendors offered a wide range of new software products and updates aimed at businesses and enterprise applications, including database applications, backup, connectivity and utility software.
- As previously reported here, Sybase Inc. of Dublin, Calif. announced Sybase Adaptive Server Enterprise 12.5.1 relational database for Mac OS X 10.3 “Panther” Server. Particular to this Panther version are support for asynchronous disk I/O and the increase of addressable memory from 2GB up to 4GB, both vital to large transactional capabilities.
- On a smaller business scale, MYOB US Inc. of Rockaway, N.J., announced its AccountEdge 2004 Network Edition, an accelerated and networked version of the companys financial application for managing banking, payroll and accounts. The software will require Mac OS X 10.2 or higher, when it is released in Spring.
- Longtime compatibility vendor on the Mac platform, Thursby Software Systems Inc., showed its new DAVE v5, a revision of the Arlington, Texas-based companys software for integrating Mac and Windows systems on networks. The new version offers a number of features, including support for Windows Server 2003s default security settings. It works with Mac OS X 10.3 and Mac OS 9. Upgrades and $69.95, with full versions going for $119.
- Retrospect 6.0 from Dantz Development Corp. of Walnut Creek, Calif., adds support for Mac OS X 10.3, Xserve RAID systems with over 1TB of data, Fibre Channel-based storage and SCSI tape libraries. The backup software will be available by the end of the month in versions ranging from $129 to $799.
- CryptoCard Corp. launched Crypto-Server X, the companys first authentication product for Mac OS X 10.3. This software allows secure access to VPNs and Web-based systems through software and hardware tokens or smart cards.
The Chicago-based company said the introductory price of $499 includes ten tokens or smart cards and one year of support. A five-user pack is also available for $299.
- Bedford, Mass.-based Bare Bones Software Inc. updated its Mailsmith e-mail client to Version 2.1, adding SMTPS support, new mailbox capabilities, improved contextual menu support and more. The update is free for current Mailsmith owners.
- Live Time Software Inc. of Newport Beach, Calif., brought out Live Time Support 2.5, a J2EE-based technical support and Help Desk product, and a “special” support program for Apple consultants. Version 2.5 includes a new “dashboard” for technicians as well as other improvements.
- Equinux USA Inc. of Lexington, Mass., announced two products at Macworld Expo: APC Tracker 4 and VPN Tracker Server. The former, which will be released in the “near future,” according to officials, manages power supplies remotely. Version 4 adds support for USB-based UPS devices.
- VPN Tracker Server will allow encrypted remote access connections for Mac OS X groups over the Internet. It is available for $129, with client pricing beginning at $89.90.
- New from Salt Lake City-based Red Rock Software Inc. is DeltaGraph 5.5, an update to its charting and graphic editing application. When used on Mac OS X 10.3, Delta Graph 5.5 takes advantage of the operating systems Exposé, transparency and advanced drag-and-drop features. An upgrade from Version 5.x is free.
- Startup You Software of Portland, Ore., offered a pair of utilities: You Control and You Synchronize. You Control enables the creation and customization of menus in Mac OS X. You Synchronize uses Time and State methods for synching a user contents across multiple computers. Both titles are $59.95 with a $10 discount for a downloaded version.
- Insider Software Inc. released Font Agent Pro 1.4 an update to its Mac OS X 10.3 font management utility, adding support for font auto-activation in Adobe Systems Inc.s Creative Suite applications. The Los Gatos, Calif. company said the cost is $90 for a downloadable version.
- Prosoft Engineering Inc. of Pleasanton, Calif., showed off two new products: Data Backup 2.0 and Data Rescue X Version 10.4. The former adds a new interface to the backup utility. The latter, a data recovery tool, gains support for flash media cards and also sports a new front end. Both will be a part of Prosofts Data Safety Suite.