Brand: MacNews

Brother has announced the MFC-6800, flatbed scanner designed for copy, scanning or faxing bound documents. The new scanner will support Mac OS X via downloadable drivers and is shipping in Canada now for an estimated street price of CAD$799.99.

E.Digital has unveiled what it claims is the first wearable, voice-activated digital music player. The MXP was developed in conjunction with IBM and can hold up to 32 hours of music and voice recordings. Jim Collier, the company’s CEO, was quoted as saying “We feel it’s going to be very competitive with the iPod.” Mac compatibility is expected around the end of the first quarter of 2002, but comparing it to Apple’s iPod may be a stretch.

Steve Jobs’ “other” company, Pixar Animation Studios, has reported a 30% fall in third quarter earnings — a loss that some analyst’s felt would be worse. Pixar’s latest film, “Monsters, Inc,” is currently a smash hit at the box office.

An interesting Wired article discusses Maya for Mac OS X, questions its existence, and predicts that the US$7,500 software will be discontinued by the summer. “No one in the industry can understand why Alias launched this widely acclaimed product, directing millions of dollars and its talented engineering staff to write more than 20 million lines of code for the Mac’s new and unproven OS X.”

The Mac Show, an Internet-based live radio show focusing on all things Mac, has announced their guest lineup for tonight’s broadcast (9:00-11:00 pm ET). Tonight’s guests include Jon McCarron of Mac.Tucows.com, who will be on to detail his monthly shareware picks; Gene Steinberg of The Mac Night Owl to discuss the iTunes 2.0 for Mac OS X installer bug; Chuck Joiner with the User Group Focus; and Mac Basics with Ron Fairborn.