Brand: MacNews

Unsanity Echo has released Mint Audio 1.5, an update to its compact MP3 player. The new version adds an equalizer, improved playlist management, and other enhancements. Mint Audio is US$13 shareware.

Apple will release Mac OS X 10.1 next week, despite the fact that Apple Expo was cancelled, according to The Register. Sources also tell the online publication that Apple will announce a dual-processor 800MHz Power Mac G4 Server configuration, after updating the product line with a 733MHz model two weeks ago.

Casady & Greene’s main page notes the release of Conflict Catcher 8.1, although all other pages on the site refer to version 8.0.9 as being the latest. VersionTracker, however, offers a direct download link to the update, although the changes that have been made with version 8.1 are unknown.

US antitrust officials today proposed to start remedy hearings against Microsoft on February 4, 2002, and that each side be limited to 40 hours of testimony. Microsoft, however, claimed it would be premature to set a specific date until the government outlines how sweeping its proposed remedies against the company will be. The government has been pushing for months for a swift remedy.

Walter Mossberg of The Wall Street Journal has published a very comprehensive review of Windows XP, Microsoft’s controversial new operating system. Mossberg raves about the system’s stability and improvements over previous versions, although the many steps Microsoft has taken to keep users in “its domain” is troubling. Mac users will find a handful of the new features in Windows XP have been “borrowed” from the Mac OS, including DiscBurn-like functionality.