MacEdition Pro News : October 3, 2002: In another Dimension, the planet spins, and X is learned, Captain!
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Built to serve
4th Dimension rolled a new Web mail component into the newly released version of WebSTAR Server Suite V. According to the company’s press release, the new Mac OS X hosted fully-scalable mail server software features tight security and anti-spam filters, support for McAfee’s Virex antivirus software in addition to a migration tool for administrators of WebSTAR 4.x
“4D WebSTAR v5.2 is an exciting update for easy, powerful Internet serving, and now includes robust mail handling,” said Brendan Coveney, president and CEO of 4D, Inc. “The new Mail Server in 4D WebSTAR v5.2 is well architected and fast, while secure and easy to administer, even for delegating administrative authority. Mail user migration is automated through a tool we provide, so WebSTAR v4 users can quickly begin to take full advantage of Mac OS X. New users should see the WebSTAR tradition of ‘easy-to-use’ for themselves, now with unprecedented speed, power and security.”
The new 4D Mail software is also available as a stand-alone product and pricing starts at US$149 and scales up to US$1499 for an unlimited license. Further details on the mail server software can be found on 4D Mail’s product page. The software supports SMTP, POP, and IMAP, multiple domains, advanced relay blocking and features a secure tool for remote administration.
“4D Mail is easy for a small 10-person office to set up and maintain, yet fast and scalable enough for Internet service providers,” Coveney explained. “Beyond ease, performance and scalability, 4D Mail also includes anti-spam, antivirus, 4D WebMail support and more. 4D Mail answers the call from Mac OS X users asking for an easy to use mail server, they can afford.”
The new WebSTAR update – which includes an unlimited mail license – is available for free for users who registered their WebSTAR V product before Aug. 31. WebSTAR 4 uses who upgrade before Oct. 31 will also receive the unlimited license. Upgrade pricing starts at US$199 and cross-grades are available for those using Mac OS X server. Details on the new WebSTAR v5.2 package are available on 4D’s WebSTAR product page. 4D has also provided a product evaluation.
Keeping an eye on the world
Those who ponder whether it is night or day in some other part of the planet can find the answer on the desktop of their computer. Trygve Inda has released a new version of EarthDesk – a mapping program that puts all that multitasking goodness of OS X to work. As the company’s press release says:
EarthDesk replaces the desktop picture with real-time maps showing proper sun and moon illumination over the earth. The maps continuously update in the background, behind the users windows and icons as they work. Both satellite and political maps are supported and can be shown in many different projections including a globe and traditional Mercator map.
EarthDesk, which is also available as a Classic application, can be purchased from Trygve Inda’s Web site for US$19.95 or bundled with Time Palette for US$44.95. Time Palette is a complimentary program to EarthDesk which displays time, weather and astronomical data on a global scale.
Every day’s a learning day
Those eager for learning all the tricks buried within Mac OS X may want to hook themselves into OSXFAQ’s new mailing list which delivers handy tip-of-the-day information about groping in the guts beneath the GUI. The rational for the Unix-based tip sheet was simple, the site says in their press release:
With Mac OS X becoming more & more popular users are digging into the underpinning of Mac OS X and need a stable diet of UNIX help and instruction.
Adrian Mayo, the site’s senior editor, has added bite-sized bits of knowledge that complement the site’s rather morein-depth tutorials. Anybody wishing to get a daily tip should go to the registration page.
Take a load up
For anybody doing maintenance work on a Web site a good FTP software is a handy tool indeed. Xnet Communications believes they have a candidate worthy of that consideration in their new version of Captain FTP.
The new version, tuned for Mac OS 10.2, includes a host of other enhancements listed on the company’s product page. The program is localized for English, German and French users; and on demand Xnet will deliver a Chinese version of Captain FTP. In its press release Xnet says the enhancements and multilingual abilities of the program were driven by users who needed to access servers in a host of nations.
“In the first place we have obtained very hot feedback from our users, who not only use Captain FTP as a simply FTP client, but also use it as a complementary solution for their web maintenance,” said Peter Luczak, Xnet product manager. “Taking these things into consideration we have decided to enhance capabilities of cooperation between Captain FTP and oversees servers.”
A download of Captain FTP is available from the product page.
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