Brand: MacNews

Glucose today released Impasse, a Mac OS X firewall front-end that integrates into the System Preferences and allows users to access and control the system’s built-in firewall without having to use the Terminal. A basic mode monitors which services are being used and opens or closes firewall holes automatically as needed, while an advanced mode gives a user access to the full wealth of options available with the firewall. Impasse sells for US$10; a 30-day demo is also available.

Proteron today announced the release of MaxMenus, a Mac OS X utility that gives users access to an array of menus for accessing any item on their system. Mimicking in part the functionality of Now Menus and ACTION Menus from the classic Mac OS, MaxMenus is highly customizable, allows users to assign Hot Keys to items, and offers complete support for drag and drop into spring loaded menus. MaxMenus sells for US$29.95; the company plans to announce competitive upgrade pricing in the near future.

After a U.S. District Court recently ruled that Palm’s Graffiti handwriting recognition software infringes upon a Xerox patent, Palm has been ordered to post a US$50 million bond as it appeals the ruling, according to Reuters. The bond is intended to ensure that Xerox receives some of the damages it is due should Palm be found guilty; the court stopped short of preventing Palm from selling its PDAs pending the appeal, as Xerox had requested. Xerox originally filed suit against Palm-creator U.S.

Kodak this past weekend introduced the DX4900 Zoom, the latest addition to its line of EasyShare digital cameras. The DX4900 is a 4-megapixel camera that features a 2x optical zoom, 3x digital zoom, 16MB CompactFlash card, and will ship in March for US$399.

Corel is offering owners of Apple’s new iMac the opportunity to purchase the full version of Corel Graphics Suite 10, which normally sells for US$549, for the upgrade price of just $199, as noted by MacCentral. The offer is valid through August 31 and requires a valid iMac serial number in order to obtain a license key for the software.