Brand: MacNews

The IEEE standards body has approved a new wireless standard, IEEE 802.11g, that operates in the 2.4GHz waveband and provides speeds of up to 54mbps, according to ZDNet. Another wireless LAN standard that was previously approved, IEEE 802.11a, also provides speeds of up to 54mbps but operates in the 5GHz waveband. Industry analysts expect 802.11a to take the leading role in next-generation wireless LAN devices due to its earlier arrival and backwards compatibility with existing 802.11b (AirPort) devices.

AdCritic, the popular Web site that featured a large archive of television and radio ads, has closed its doors citing the difficult economic environment. Although all the media was recorded and encoded using PCs, AdCritic delivered its content exclusively with QuickTime, after finding Apple’s technology to be superior to that of competitors. AdCritic says it hopes to be able to launch again down the road.

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.