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...news that counts, news for
architects and designers.
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- ArchitoshBooks Has New
Titles Featured!
- 1 Mar
99. Architosh staff (info@architosh.com)
-
- Our in-site bookstore, ArchitoshBooks,
has new titles featured in a new section. This month we
want to bring to light two new books for 99 that focus on
the intriguing saga of Apple Computer. With Apple's
current "renaissance" in full swing, Infinite Loop is
once again the Florence of Silicon Valley, and the media
knows it! From the cutting edge iMac, the wonder computer
of 98', to the new Blue G3's and video displays, all eyes
are once again on the company that was once called the
"Little Kingdom". To check out these two new titles, with
pictures of their covers, click
here. Or you can go directly to Amazon.com.
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- New Instructional
Handbook on Electric Image 2.9!
- 1 Mar
99. Architosh staff (info@architosh.com)
-
- Electric
Image has a new instructional book out on their
recent product, Electric Image 2.9. The
ElectricImage Handbook by John Sledd was published
back in December and is the first book available on the
broadcast-quality Electric Image software. The 500 plus
page book includes a CD-ROM and is available for $59.95.
The book features tips and techniques from several
Electric Image pros with real-world experience and
highlights many of the new features in version 2.9.
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- Seybold Seminars in
Boston 99: Architosh to be there!
- 1 Mar
99. Architosh staff (info@architosh.com)
-
- Architosh will be covering Seybold Seminars in Boston
this year. The event starts today and runs through the
week. We will be on the Expo show floor starting tomorrow
first thing in the morning. Look here
for a full report on what's new and what's cool!
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- Bentley's new IAI
support expands interoperability!
- 27 Feb
99. Architosh staff (info@architosh.com)
-
- Bentley has become the first company to announce its
support of the International Alliance for
Interoperability (IAI) new standard IFC 2.0 which will be
unveiled in Washington DC at the 2nd Annual IAI
International Conference.
-
- A statement from the press release reads: "Patrick
MacLeamy, chairman of the board, IAI North America and
executive vice president for operations of Hellmuth,
Obata + Kassabaum Inc. (HOK), one of the world's leading
architecture, engineering, interiors and planning firms
noted, 'Bentley's decision to support IFC 2.0 places them
in the front rank of global software companies committed
to interoperability. This commitment will give users of
Bentley products many advantages, including flexibility
of usage, full data exchange with other systems, and
better end products for clients.'"
-
- Since the introduction of MicroStation TriForma three
years ago, Bentley has been the lead developer of
intelligent object software that IFC interoperability
requires. TriForma is the standard for many of the
world's leading architectural and engineering firms,
including NBBJ, KPF (Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates), and
Buro Happold Consulting Engineers.
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- Modern Master Frank
Stella Makes Art with G3 and form-Z!
- 26 Feb
99. Architosh staff (info@architosh.com)
-
- Architosh was delighted to discover a story on modern
master Frank Stella in this month's (March) new issue of
WIRED magazine. The article, on page 132, discusses how
Stella captures the spatial formations of smoke (from
smoking a Cuban cigar) using a special constructed
Black-Box and cameras. From this image data Stella uses
products like Illustrator, Photoshop and modeling
programs like form-Z and Alias/WaveFront to produce 3D
models. All of this on, of course, a rocket fast Power
Macintosh G3!
-
- Stella doesn't actually do the digital work himself
(what did you expect!) but rather orchestrates the
process working with his two digital assistants Earl
Childress and Andrew Dunn. The article is interesting for
many reasons and also because WIRED doesn't mention Apple
or Macintosh but simply says the work is done on a G3
(and other mysterious machines). Could it be a Blue
G3?
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- Architosh Updates CADD
and Application Pages: New Stuff!
- 26 Feb
99. Architosh staff (info@architosh.com)
-
- Architosh has updated the CADD
and Application
pages today. New listings include a product called
Aperture which is a tool for facilities management. The
product is fully cross-platform and Intranet ready! It
supports DXF and DWG file formats and works in
conjunction with professional CAD systems.
-
- Also added to the list in two places is CADtools by
Hot Door. The innovative product is a CAD tool plugin for
Adobe Illustrator enabling you to produce very accurate
and dimensioned plans and technical illustrations in
Illustrator. It is also a valuable tool for web prep
work, producing and getting CAD-based drawings into shape
for web delivery via Illustrator's built-in tools.
-
- CADintosh and GraphicsConverter, two products new to
Architosh's ears, were added as well. A warm thank you to
those readers who turned us--and all of you--on to these
applications!
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- AEC Software updates
FastTrack Schedule to 6.0.1!
- 25 Feb
99. Architosh staff (info@architosh.com)
-
- According to a press
release, AEC
Software updated FastTrack Schedule yesterday to
version 6.0.1. This update to the very popular scheduling
software brings a number of new features that are
valuable to the Mac audience. The program now supports
the MPX file format thus providing seamless data exchange
with Microsoft Project. This is important to those
multiplatform organizations where the use of Microsoft
Project as a standard has put pressure on Mac holdouts.
Microsoft Project for the Mac is currently in a holding
pattern but with this new MPX functionality built-in to
FastTrack Schedule this may help those Mac users who
cannot keep up with their Windows counterparts.
-
- New scripting enhancements include support for
AppleScript in addition to enhancements to Visual Basic
for Applications (VBA). For more info read the press
release.
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- MacSciTech web site has
books at steep discount!
- 25 Feb
99. Architosh staff (info@architosh.com)
-
- A reader informed us that the MacSciTech
organization has technical books at a steep discount for
both members and nonmembers. The more technically
inclined architect or Mac engineer may want to skip on
over to their web
site.
-
- The reader also informed us that Apple is no longer
supporting the MacSciTech organization but Architosh has
yet to confirm this. What we do know is that the site
seems to be partly abandoned (the news, for instance list
a story on the resignation of Dr. Gil Amelio as the
second item.)
-
- For those of you who may be wondering what ever
happened to the Science, Engineering and Design pages at
Apple.com, good question? A quick search at Apple.com
using science, technology and design will not bring up
the old pages. However, Architosh has long had a link to
the Science,
Engineering & Technical area within the Apple
Solutions Seminars page. For those with further need
of technical solutions from Apple, call the Apple
Technical Solutions Hotline: (888) 462-6221 and ask for
Mac OS technical solutions.
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- BAGH updates Architrion
and ArchiDesign!
- 24 Feb
99. Architosh staff (info@architosh.com)
-
- Version 6.43R2 is now available for Architrion
and ArchiDesign. This maintenance release is available
free of charge for users of version 6.xx. A fix
list is available for review prior to downloading the
update. Release
notes summarize key new or fixed features.
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- Autodessys: Update to
form-Z 3.0!
- 24 Feb
99. Architosh staff (info@architosh.com)
-
- An update patch, brings
form-Z 3.0 up to 3.0.1. According to the press
release, this patch introduces a new extension to how
animations are saved. Animations can now be saved
directly to Apple's QuickTime Movie format (.mov) and AVI
format, as well as the native form-Z animation format
(.fan) The patch also fixes a number of irregularities
common in the Windows version only. Symptoms include
icons turning gray, palette font changing to bold,
etc..
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- Positive Story on Mac
User Evangelical Activities in Smart Money!
- 23 Feb
99. Architosh staff (info@architosh.com)
-
- A reader on the EvangeList Digest wrote in to say
that the February issue of Smart Money Magazine has a
feature story on Apple Macintosh users who freely give of
themselves to "evangelize" Apple and the Mac. The story,
of course, still suggest that such users are a "little
crazy".
-
- Check out this issue on the newsstand now! And for
the record: "Here's to the crazy ones..."
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- Strata now offering full
working demo of VideoShop 4.5!
- 23 Feb
99. Architosh staff (info@architosh.com)
-
- Strata, the
makers of Strata StudioPro and Strata Vision3D, are
offering a working
demo of their award-winning video application
VideoShop 4.5 for Power Macintosh. For those of you who
do video work, have a AV Mac or new Blue G3, it doesn't
hurt to check out something for free! VideoShop 4.5
supports FireWire
and QuickTime
3.0. Some special features of this application that
set it apart from others is its ability to incorporate
actual 3D objects (QuickTime 3.0 supports 3D tracts) and
be able to place video on 3D objects and animate them.
Pretty cool possibilities!
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- Adobe Acrobat 4.0
Windows-Only Features -- Bunk for Mac users!
- 23 Feb
99. Architosh staff (info@architosh.com)
-
- Adobe last week announced Acrobat 4.0 in a press
release that shocked some industry experts and news
sites. While the product is expected shortly, when it
arrives the Macintosh version will not be getting all of
the available functionality of the Windows version. Adobe
says these Windows only features are temporary setbacks
for the Mac version and that Adobe is busy porting these
features to the Mac. It is unclear to Architosh whether
the entire Mac version is a port.
-
- The new Adobe Acrobat 4.0 will feature a host of cool
new functionality. Features include new annotation and
security tools, the ability to reuse information within
PDF files, and to deliver high-end professional
publishing features. Users can now convert files directly
into PDF by simply dragging the file to the Acrobat icon.
Also new in 4.0 is the ability to capture web pages off
the Internet and convert them into PDF. Acrobat also
supports ICC profiles.
-
- Unfortunately--and this is just temporary--Mac users
will not have the following features in their version of
Acrobat 4.0: no PDFMaker, Table and Web Capture, and
Digital Signatures.
-
- Without PDFMaker, Mac users will not be able to
convert Word, Excel and PowerPoint files easily into PDF.
And the very useful Web Capture, which can enable users
to easily convert entire web sites to PDF, will not be
present in the initial Mac version as well. Digital
Signatures is also important to Mac users because the new
feature enables more security features--important to a
paperless workflow environment and for processing
applications, forms and other documents over the
Internet.
-
- Why is Adobe releasing a Windows version with clear
advantages over its Macintosh counterpart? Adobe only
says that it is due to timing. However, if you feel that
this was an unfortunate strategic move by Adobe and use
Acrobat for document sharing then voice
your concerns to them by kindly reminding them that
these missing features (most of them make the whole
upgrade cool) are very important to Mac users, especially
those using PDF to share documents over the web.
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- Architosh Updates
Applications Page!
- 23 Feb
99. Architosh staff (info@architosh.com)
-
- Architosh has updated the Applications
page today and list a few new items to the list,
including an innovative architectural engineering
application called DrBeam
and DrBeam Pro.
The program uses sophisticated visualization and active
modeling to illustrate beam behaviors under stress and
various states of stress. Also of note for architect
builders or developers is MacNail
by Turtle Creek Software, a fully integrated construction
management package that utilizes the power of Microsoft
Excel.
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-
- Highlights from Steve
Jobs' Keynote: Macworld Expo Tokyo!
- 18 Feb
99. Architosh staff (info@architosh.com)
-
- MacWEEK this
morning is reporting on Steve's keynote speech and will
continue to produce coverage of the event. The following
are "keynote" highlights:
-
- This was Steve's first ever appearance at a Tokyo
Expo and he received a hero's welcome. Show organizers
are expecting 170,000 attendees and more than 200 vendors
for the annual event. The keynote started with the same
Power Mac-Pentium "bake-off" that he presented at
January's Expo in San Francisco. Needless to say, the 400
MHz G3 toasted the 450 MHz Pentium II.
-
- Unfortunately, no new hardware or software from Apple
was announced at the keynote, and the presentation was
plagued with unusual system crashes. Also missing in
action was QuickTime 4.0 and Final Cut Pro. Many were
hoping to see the introduction of Wallstreet 3 PowerBooks
and/or a glimpse at the mysterious P1 consumer laptop.
Jobs did announce that 100 new USB devices will debut by
the end of the month and that Apple was a pioneering
leader in FireWire technology (see story below).
-
- Jobs announced that Final Cut, the video-editing
technology application it acquired from Macromedia last
year was due in the "next few months." The application is
expected to rival leading video apps like Adobe Premier
and Avid's offerings, while exploiting the full potential
of QuickTime technology.
-
- About iMacs in Japan and Microsoft's
Offerings:
-
- Based on Apple's numbers 46 percent of iMacs sold in
Japan went to first-time computer users. Jobs said, "we
cannot make them fast enough."
-
- Unfortunately Ben Waldman of Microsoft crashed during
his presentation of localized versions of IE and Outlook
4.5. He stated: "It worked at the demo." And. "One of the
greatest things about the new G3 is the reset switch on
the front."
-
- Lastly, Jobs announced that Mac OS X will debut in
the US later this month and that Connectix's Sony
PlayStation emulator, Virtual Game Station, will be
released in Japan this summer.
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-
- Prosoft Engineering:
NetWare 5.12 Available Now for Macintosh
- 18 Feb
99. Architosh staff (info@architosh.com)
-
- After agreements made last
year with Novell, Prosoft
Engineering has taken over under license the future
development of Macintosh network solutions for Novell's
NetWare network operating system. Prosoft Engineering is
now shipping NetWare 5.12 Client for Macintosh. This is
the first upgrade in over two and a half years.
-
- NetWare Client for Mac OS is workstation software
that enables Mac OS users to take advantage of all
NetWare and NetWare services and resources, including
Novell Directory Services (NDS). With this client
software installed a Mac becomes an equal network citizen
on a Novell network.
-
- In addition to stability and speed improvements, the
new client software adds a "Mac-like" functionality. No
longer do you need to mount server volumes via the
NetWare Volume Mounter; instead you simply choose to
mount a NetWare IPX volume the mac-way--through the
Chooser! You choose NetWare printers via the Mac Chooser
as well. Other improvements include accurate file size
reporting on the client side and more stable connections
to the server. There is also a mac-like installer that is
intelligent.
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-
- Architosh to launch
online forums !
- 18 Feb
99. Architosh staff (info@architosh.com)
-
- Architosh has been very busy this last week
responding to our many readers' request and comments
about the site. Only 17 days old (not counting the beta
month) the site has garnered a steady stream of positive
feedback from the Macintosh architectural community.
Earlier in the week The Architosh Site was noted and
featured on such heavyweight sites as Ric Ford's
MacInTouch and The Mac Observer. Kudos go out for those
two, especially the editors of The Mac Observer for
offering such a warm (and fuzzy---ooh, reminds me of
those sunny, warm Macworld Expo days in Boston) welcome
into the Mac sites community. Thanks again.
-
- Over the last few days the site has been getting over
2500 hits per day and serving over 10,000 request across
1500 plus servers around the world. That rocks! And we
are really excited about it. So excited that the number
one request--online forums--is in the works. Technically,
a forum is up at the server right now, but it is not
formatted to match the rest of the site yet.
-
- Over the next week and a half, possibly less,
Architosh will try to whip this forum in to shape and get
it ready for all of you Mac-loving architects and
designers to begin discussing things--all kinds of
things. I will kick off the first topics, starting with
CAD in the Mac OS market and then let topics evolve based
on what readers are talking about. So tune in often to
Architosh to catch the opening of the Architosh Forum.
And thanks for your support.
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- Apple, Compaq, Sony, and
Other Industry Heavyweights Form Patent Pool for FireWire
Technology (IEEE1394)
- 17 Feb
99. Architosh staff (info@architosh.com)
-
- In a joint press release today, Apple,
Compaq, Matsushita
(Panasonic),
Philips,
Sony and Toshiba
announced full support for Apple's FireWire technology
(IEEE1394) and plans to form a Patent Pool. According to
Apple's
press release, the intention behind the patent pool
is to efficiently license patents required to implement
the standard, and to promote the industry-wide adoption
of IEEE1394, also known as FireWire.
-
- FireWire
technology is poised to become the most widely
adopted industry standard to interconnect consumer
electronic devices to personal computers. A common
example of this would be the connection of a
consumer-level digital camcorder to a common PC. This
powerful interface standard offers transfer rates up to
400 megabits per second, compared to say approximately
208 megabits per second for Ultra SCSI. The technology is
very
promising both in terms of ease-of-use and
speed.
-
- IEEE1394, or FireWire as its called by Apple, was
invented by Apple and adopted by the Institute of
Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) as an industry
standard in 1995.
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- Rumors on Disney, Apple,
Pixar Merger!
- 16 Feb
99. Architosh staff (info@architosh.com)
-
- Today AppleInsider
has a detailed story
on the possible rumors being circulated on a merger
between Disney, Apple and Pixar, leaving Steve Jobs as
CEO of Disney. What is amazing about this rumor is the
seriousness that it is being given at AppleInsider, a
site that specializes in--you might say--"inside
information". For the record, AppleInsider is one of the
most reliable sources of inside information about Apple
and Macintosh anywhere on the Net. And with this rumor,
they have been very careful and conservative in the past
about any such suggestions.
-
- What is so startling about this rumor now is not only
its timing (as related to upcoming shareholder meetings,
Macworld Expo Japan, Apple's resurgence in the consumer
market, etc.) but in its--shall we say--
"it-makes-total-sense" like quality. After all, Steve
Jobs has done what many of us didn't expect him to do:
stick around so long. Perhaps he has been waiting for
something larger than Apple to happen, for some move in
the entertainment industry (see BusinessWeek
magazine's Nov 23, 1998 issue, front cover, "Steve
Jobs Movie Mogul: Can he build Pixar into a major
studio?").
-
- Some highlights from the story at AppleInsider
include Steve Jobs becoming CEO of Disney, starting June
7th, 1999, while current CEO Michael Eisner steps down to
become Chairman of Disney's Board of Directors. Apple and
Pixar would become independent divisions of Disney in a
deal worth $12 billion, with no cash exchange. Apple and
Pixar stock holders would receive Disney stock in
exchange for their holdings. This deal would allow
"Disney to leverage the strong Apple brand name in an
effort to get technology into the hands of the mass
market."
-
- Addendum: Apparently RFI Apple Recon had a
belly of a
laugh over AppleInsider's
rumors of a Disney, Apple, Pixar mega merger (see the
link above). While Apple Recon does raise good points
about the ridiculousness of the rumor (when you get down
to the details) Architosh does acknowledge, as mentioned
above, the consistent nature of reliability of
AppleInsider reports. This is NOT an endorsement or
position by Architosh! Rather, in an unbiased fashion, we
are simply reporting the story as is, including the
reactions it gathered. The READER is left to judge this
rumor for themselves. We'll all have to wait and see on
this one.
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- Architosh makes the
News!
- 15 Feb
99. Architosh staff (info@architosh.com)
-
- The Architosh Site is mentioned today on Rick Ford's
MacInTouch web
site and The Mac
Observer daily news site. Over the weekend Architosh
was busy sending press releases announcing the site to
Apple and Macintosh user groups around the country as
well as key Mac news sites. Additionally, press releases
were sent to software companies listed on the Architosh
site. Since these announcements and features, Architosh
email boxes have been flooded with positive reactions to
the site. A warm thank you goes out to the producers and
editors of MacInTouch and The Mac Observer, as well as
all of you who have shared the site with others. Thanks
again and continue to--as Guy Kawasaki would say--"kick
butt" using Macs!
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- The Architosh Site to
update the CADD and Applications pages.
- 15 Feb
99. Architosh staff (info@architosh.com)
-
- The Architosh Site will be implementing changes to
the CADD and Applications
pages over the next week. Work will include changes and
additions to content, reorganization of categories,
better formatting as well as some cosmetic changes.
Although Architosh is only one month old, the site has
received much applause and many suggestions to make it
better.
-
- We are reacting each day to an increasing wave of
email urging us to do different things, add this or that,
change, fix, and otherwise make the site better. For
example, an architect in Russia suggested forums oriented
toward activities that architects like to partake in
other than architecture--like skiing, fishing, golf,
travel--things that can unite Mac architects worldwide.
Sounds like fun to us! Certainly more immediate needs
will come before things like that: like general forums
for all of you to discuss using Macs in architecture, a
database-driven listing of architects, and a guest book.
The important thing is we are listening and you will
begin to see some of that this week.
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- New Java applications to
be researched by Architosh
- 15 Feb
99. Architosh staff (info@architosh.com)
-
- With the introduction of MJR
2.1 by Apple over
the weekend, Architosh will set out this week to research
the many implications this new Java Machine will have on
architects using Macintosh. Java, a programming language
by Sun Microsystems, is
widely known for its cross-platform orientation and
strategy, as well as the fear it has struck in
Microsoft's heart. Some possible goodies coming from Java
include tools for viewing CAD software files over the
Internet, especially from engineers, surveyors and others
using Windows-only software. An example of this is the
SolidWorks Java Viewer application (story below) by
SolidWorks
Corporation. Other possibilities include the ability
for Mac users to harness the power of enterprise-level
applications from companies like Oracle and Sun, as well
as Internet related software tools.
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-
- Strata releases new
Strata Extensions for Studio Pro
- 10 Feb
99. Architosh staff (info@architosh.com)
-
- Strata Inc. has
announced four
new StudioPro Extensions, called Strata
Extensions. The limited time offer for all four
extensions is $247.00 and you can order directly from
their web site. The four extensions are: Strata's Jiggle,
Model Master, Clouds 2, and Ripples 2. QuickTime movie
examples are available to view on their web site.
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-
- SolidWorks Java
Viewer--Beta Released
- 10 Feb
99. Architosh staff (info@architosh.com)
-
- Solidworks
Corporation has released a beta version of SolidWorks
Java Viewer. Available as a stand-alone application
or an applet, the Java Viewer allows engineers to view
SolidWorks native parts, drawings, and assembly files
locally or over the Internet on any Java virtual machine
(JVM) using the Java 3D API and JVM 1.2 or later from Sun
Microsystems, Inc. SolidWorks is a CAD/CAM application
for engineers; and with a Macintosh running a v1.2
compliant JVM, a Mac engineer could view SolidWorks
drawings at any time in the design cycle.
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-
- DVD-RAM drives available
BTO at Apple Store!
- 8 Feb
99. Architosh staff (info@architosh.com)
-
- The much anticipated DVD-RAM drives are available and
scheduled to ship on BTO machines within three weeks. The
Apple Store also makes note of the 36 GB Ultra SCSI
drives with dual-channel SCSI PCI card, which Apple is
saying will be available in March. The new G3's can hold
three of these drives bringing total hard drive capacity
up over 100 GB's. From Apple,
the upcoming DVD-RAM drive writes to DVD-RAM disks at up
to 1x speed (1.3MB per sec) and reads DVD-RAM disks at up
to 2x speed (2.7MB per sec). It also reads CD's at up to
20x speed (3MB per sec). The DVD-RAM drive is compatible
with all of the same DVD-ROM formats, including
DVD-Video, DVD-ROM, audio CD, PhotoCD, CD-ROM, CD-i, CD-R
and CD-RW, as well as, of course, DVD-RAM. This drive is
not to be confused with the DVD-ROM drive and Video Kit
available from the Apple Store for the PowerBook G3.
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