Year: 2001

Aimster, the file sharing alternative to Napster that integrates with AOL Instant Messenger, is now available for Mac as a public beta. The release has a handful of outstanding bugs, which are documented.

Griffin Technology has posted iMic Control 1.3, a new version of the control panel for its USB audio input device, as noted by VersionTracker. Version 1.3 provides a workaround for a problem with the Apple USB audio drivers.

Napster has obtained the rights to distribute songs from 150 independent European labels, allowing the song swapping service to offer tracks from those artists as part of its forthcoming fee-based service. The deal took some four months to broker.

Imation today introduced its 20GB FireWire Travan tape drive at PC Expo. The FireWire interface allows the US$499.99 Travan to write at purported speeds of up to 120 MB/sec (compressed). Individual 20GB cartridges sell for $33.99. The drive wil be available in July.

NEC has debuted the Versa DayLite, one of the first laptops to feature a daylight-viewable LCD screen. Laptop computer screens are generally impossible to view under direct sunlight, but the Versa DayLite features a special 10.4″ illuminated reflective display that makes viewing the screen under such conditions possible. The DayLite packs a 600 MHz Crusoe processor and sells for US$2,499. Other companies will likely follow NEC in offering such daylight-viewable portables.