MacEdition Pro News : August 31, 2001
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Keyspan wants to read your Palm
When you think Keyspan, think connectivity. If there’s a connectivity niche that nobody has produced a gadget for yet, chances are Keyspan is working on it. Witness Keyspan’s latest product update: new versions of its USB PDA Adapter and High Speed USB Serial Adapter.
From the press release:
Richmond, CA - September 4, 2001 - Keyspan, America’s #1 USB connectivity products vendor, announced new versions of its USB PDA Adapter and its High Speed USB Serial Adapter.
By responding to customer feedback, we’ve been able to make our category leading products even better," explained Mike Ridenhour, president of Keyspan. "We have enhanced performance and also changed the physical form of the adapters to make them more convenient to use."
The Keyspan USB PDA Adapter (USA-19Q) now has the ability to hot sync PDA devices at up to 115 Kbps. In addition to supporting serial PDAs from Palm, HP, Compaq, Casio, and Sharp, the enhanced adapter now works with Psion organizers. Additionally, the adapter now sports a 3-foot detachable USB cable. The enhanced adapter has an MSRP of $39 and is now shipping.
Keyspan’s High Speed Serial Adapter (USA-19QW), which continues to offer data rates up to 230 Kbps, now includes a 3-foot detachable USB cable, and is compatible with an even broader range of modems, cameras, PDAs, GPS, cell phones, hand-held scanners, and other serial devices. This adapter has an MSRP of $59 and is now shipping.
In addition to "off-the shelf" support for Linux 2.4, Keyspan’s Serial-to-USB Adapters also support Windows 98, Windows Me and Windows 2000, as well as Mac OS 8.6 or higher. Beta drivers for Mac OS X are available at http://www.keyspan.com/support/macosx/.
Attentive readers may have noticed that the date for Keyspan’s press release is September 4. No, that’s not a typo; Keyspan is officially unveiling these products at LinuxWorld next week.
Nisus updates Writer
For the loyal following of Nisus Writer fans and anybody who balks at the price tag of Microsoft Office, Nisus has some good news. Our friends at Nisus Software write:
We at Nisus Software are proud to announce the release of Nisus Writer 6.0.2, the multilingual word processor for the Macintosh. This version is Power PC only and has been tested by Apple to be classic compatible in OS X.
Among the changes in Nisus Writer 6.0.2 are an enhanced RTF translator with better compatibility to both read and write RTF files in any language (WorldScript as well as Roman based alphabets), and compatibility with both the Chinese and Japanese language kits that shipped with OS 9.1.
The complete list of changes, as well as a free updater from Nisus Writer 6.0 and 6.0.1 to Nisus Writer 6.0.2 is available here:
You can purchase Nisus Writer 6.0.2 for only $99.95, or upgrade from any paid version of Nisus Writer (from version 5.1.3 and earlier) for only $49.95.
There is also a Nisus Writer 6.0.2 competitive upgrade (for owners of any previous version of Microsoft Word, Word Perfect, AppleWorks and Claris Works, and WriteNow) for only $69.95!
You can purchase Nisus Writer 6.0.2, or download the 30 day fully working demo from this URL:
This is a nice alternative worth checking out, especially given that a downloadable fully working demo of Microsoft Word is not happening any time soon (let alone a free version such as Nisus Writer 4.1.6).
Sonnet lowers prices
If only Apple followed Sonnet’s cue that lowered pricing helps ship products (oops, looks like they just have). From the press release:
IRVINE, CALIFORNIA - August 15, 2001 - Sonnet Technologies, the worldwide market share leader in processor upgrade cards for Apple Macintosh computers, lowers prices by as much as $50 on nearly half of its entire line of G3 and G4 processor upgrades. This announcement contains the largest number of simultaneous price drops on Sonnet upgrade cards this year. Offering a wide range of new lower prices helps Sonnet maintain market leadership by setting the best price/performance standard in the industry for G3 and G4 processor upgrades.
Sonnet’s new lower prices in Crescendo/PCI upgrades are as follows:Crescendo/PCI G3 400/1M $229.95 (was $249.95)
Crescendo/PCI G3 450/1M $279.95 (was $299.95)
Sonnet’s new lower prices in Crescendo/7200 upgrades are as follows:Crescendo/7200 G3 400/512 $249.95 (was $299.95)
Crescendo/7200 G3 400/1M $349.95 (was $399.95)
Crescendo/7200 G4 400/1M $449.95 (was $499.95)
Sonnet’s new lower prices in the Crescendo/L2 upgrades are as follows:Crescendo/L2 G3 300/512K $149.95 (was $169.95)
Crescendo/L2 G3 400/512K $229.95 (was $249.95)
Crescendo/L2 G3 400/1M $279.95 (was $299.95)
Crescendo/L2 G3 500/1M $349.95 (was $399.95)
Sonnet’s new lower price in the Crescendo PowerBook 1400 upgrades is:Crescendo/PB G3 333/512 $249.95 (was $299.95)
Crescendo/PB G3 333/1M $269.95 (was $319.95)
Crescendo/PB G3 400/1M $349.95 (was $399.95)
Sonnet’s new lower prices in Encore upgrades are as follows:Encore/ZIF G3 500/1M $299.95 (was $349.95)
For information about product compatibility, see Sonnet’s site for further details.
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