Type of Article: MacMinute Web Site

Aspyr Media today announced that it will release Return to Castle Wolfenstein, a World War II-era action game from id Software and Gray Matter Studios, for Mac OS 9 and Mac OS X in late January, according to MacCentral. The title is currently being converted to the Mac at Westlake Interactive and will be on display at Macworld Conference and Expo next month in San Francisco.

JMTek plans to begin shipping USBDrive, its line of keychain-sized USB drives, beginning December 20. The drives range in capacity from 16MB to 1GB and require no drivers, allowing them to be used on a wide range of operating systems, including Mac OS 8.6 through Mac OS X 10.1. Pre-orders of the USBDrive are currently being accepted: 16MB (US$39.95), 32MB ($69.95), 64MB ($99.95), 128MB ($179.95), 256MB ($349.95), 512MB ($599.95) and 1GB ($899.95).

Pressplay, a partnership between entertainment giants Vivendi Universal and Sony to offer a subscription-based Internet music service, will launch tomorrow with a free two-week trial offering 200 streams and 20 downloads, according to c|net.

In a statement sent from Apple to members of the media, CEO Steve Jobs reaffirmed his opposition to Microsoft’s US$1 billion proposed settlement of private lawsuits. Microsoft lawyers are meeting with mediators today to improve the terms of the settlement. “Microsoft’s proposed settlement compels schools to adopt Microsoft technology,” Jobs said. “Most educators, along with Apple, think this is simply wrong.

Adobe has begun taking pre-orders for InDesign 2.0, as noted by MacNN. The desktop publishing software will ship next month and will run natively under Mac OS X. InDesign 2.0 carries a US$699 price tag; upgrades from 1.x are $99.