Newsbits

By Neil Ticktin, Editor-in-Chief

Symantec Ships Upgrades to their Development systems

Symantec Corporation has announced Symantec C++ for Macintosh, THINK C 6.0, and Symantec C++ for MPW. For more information, see the end of the editorial column in this issue.

Farallon Lends Help to Cross-Platform Developers

Farallon Computing, Inc., the Alameda, CA.- based networking company, today announced the Timbuktu AppleTalk Developer's Kit (ADK) and a support program for developers who want to build network software applications for Microsoft Windows and DOS computers that interoperate with Apple Macintosh computers. The ADK is aimed at Macintosh-based developers who want to port their applications to the PC platform, as well as corporate MIS developers who want to create custom internal applications.

The Timbuktu AppleTalk Developer's Kit is built on the AppleTalk networking protocol. The kit consist of a series of PC software modules, help files, sample code and other tools that developers can use to build Windows and DOS AppleTalk network software. The Timbuktu ADK provides APIs similar to those already in the Macintosh, which saves programming time. The kit includes a Dynamic Link Library (DLL) that exposes the APIs to the major protocols in AppleTalk, enabling developers to create full-featured AppleTalk network software. And the ADK includes a 10-user license of Timbuktu for Windows to enable developers to run their network applications. For a one-time fee, a developer can obtain a license so that the kit can be used by up to four engineers.

The Timbuktu AppleTalk Developer's Kit is available worldwide direct from Farallon for US$5,000. Engineering support to accompany the kit is available for US$8,000 per year.

For more information, contact Farallon, 2470 Mariner Square Loop, Alameda, CA 94501-1010, Voice: 510/814-5000, Fax: 510/814-5023, AppleLink: FARALLON.

4D Draw 1.1

ACI is now globally shipping 4D Draw 1.1, the newest upgrade of their integrated graphics program for 4th Dimension, a relational database for the Macintosh. 4D Draw 1.1, which can be used in its own window or placed in a 4D layout, introduces a suite of new features to broaden ACI's family of modules for 4th Dimension and 4D Server.

4D Draw is a MacDraw like, object-oriented drawing module. Completely integrated into 4th Dimension, 4D Draw documents can be dependent on, created from, and integrated with database information. Users can create hybrid solutions that allow drawings to act as interfaces. The interface is modifiable by programming.

In addition to offering increased speed when opening and saving documents, 4D Draw 1.1 allows users to save documents in several formats to reduce the amount of memory and disk space used. Access to 4th Dimension commands has also been improved to increase speed. The new commands offer flexibility such as a background layer and the ability to hide and show objects.

For more information, contact ACI US, Inc., 10351 Bubb Road, Cupertino, CA 95014, Voice: 408/252-4444, Fax: 408/252-0831, AppleLink: D4444.

Look ma! No hands

No Hands Software is now shipping Common Ground 1.0 for the Macintosh. Common Ground is the electronic document exchange and distribution program that lets users create documents that anyone can view, search and print, without requiring that they have the creating applications or fonts on their system.

What distinguishes Common Ground from other electronic document exchange and distribution programs is DigitalPaper - the technology that converts documents created in any application into a platform independent file format. Common Ground utilizes information directly from the host imaging system, resulting in a smaller, faster solution. In particular, No Hands can deliver a simple version of its viewer, the part of the program used to open Common Ground files, for approximately 62KB in size. The simple viewer of "Mini-Viewer" can be embedded in a document that anyone can open, even if they don't have the Common Ground application.

No Hands also announced earlier this month that the Mini-Viewer will be freely distributed through on-line services, to help establish Common Ground as a standard. No Hands has also disclosed plans to license Common Ground 1.0 to developers and independent software vendors (ISVs) for their Read Me files, electronic documentation, and support and promotional materials.

Common Ground consists of two major components: a maker and a viewer. The Common Ground maker converts any document from any application to DigitalPaper - making it a pixel-for-pixel replication of the original document. Common Ground's maker features print resolution at 300dpi, DES encryption and the ability to embed sound. The Common Ground viewer features copy and paste options, text searching, zoom capabilities, navigational tools and on-line help. The Mini-Viewer features viewing and printing only.

Common Ground's suggested retail price is $189.95. A Windows version will be available later this year.

For more information, contact No Hands Software, 1301 Shoreway Road Suite 220, Belmont, CA 94002, Voice: 415/321-7340, Fax: 415/593-6868, AppleLink: NOHANDS.

BBEdit goes Commercial!

Rich Siegel, author of the text editor "BBEdit" has announced the release of two new high-performance text editors: BBEdit 2.5 and BBEdit Lite.

BBEdit 2.5 includes support for integrated software development in tandem with THINK C version 6.0 from Symantec Corp., as well as the rest of Symantec's development tools for the Macintosh, including THINK Reference 2.0 and THINK Pascal 4.0. BBEdit 2.5 provides the ability to browse and search source files contained within THINK C and THINK Pascal project documents. In addition to support for Symantec's tools, BBEdit 2.5 provides integrated support for MPW ToolServer version 1.0, and the "411" reference system, both from Apple Computer, Inc. BBEdit 2.5 includes other developer-oriented features, such as an integrated utility for comparing differences between two text files, extensibility via "drop-in" code resources, and powerful "grep" searching and replacing.

As a general-purpose text editor for engineers, on-line service users, and other Macintosh users who need to edit plain-text files, BBEdit 2.5 offers integrated translation of foreign file formats via Claris XTND translation; a disk browser for easily viewing any translatable file on any mounted volume; high-performance searching of entire directories of text files; and facilities for transforming text in a variety of ways.

The suggested retail price of BBEdit 2.5 is $99. A discounted price of $49 is available for users of previous versions of BBEdit, as well as for current owners of THINK C, THINK Pascal, MPW, QUED/M, Vantage, and the shareware editor Alpha.

BBEdit Lite is an improved version of the popular free text editor BBEdit 2.2. It is free, and available for downloading from most popular on-line services and Internet archive sites. BBEdit Lite is also available directly from the author; users wishing to obtain a floppy disk should send US$5.00 to the address above. Users of BBEdit Lite can upgrade at any time with payment of a $49 upgrade fee, as described above.

For more information, contact Rich Siegel, 1 Larkspur Way #4, Natick, MA 01760, Internet: bbedit@world.std.com.

AppleScript from Quickeys

CE Software announced the availability of an AppleScript extension for QuicKeys.

The AppleScript extension gives QuicKeys the ability to send scripts to the AppleScript engine for execution. AppleScripts can be sent from individual QuicKeys shortcuts or as part of a Sequence of QuicKeys shortcuts. With the extension, an AppleScript can be triggered from a keystroke, at a specific time (or interval), from within a modal dialog, and from a palette.

Together, QuicKeys and AppleScript can automate any application, regardless of its support for AppleScript or AppleEvents. In addition, QuicKeys shortcuts can be triggered from within AppleScripts via AppleEvents

The AppleScript extension for QuicKeys is available immediately, free of charge, on CE Software's On-line Support Forums. These forums are located on America Online, Compuserve, AppleLink and GEnie. A disk containing the extension is available directly from CE Software for $15.

For more information, contact CE Software, 1801 Industrial Circle, West Des Moines, IA 50265, Voice: 515/224-1995, Fax: 515/244-4534, AppleLink: CESOFTWARE, America Online: CESOFTWARE, CompuServe: 76136,2137.