Xtra Lean Software has released ShutterBug 2.0. The major update to the website publishing tool has a WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get) design environment  with drag-and-drop interface that puts you totally in conrol. Great way to attract beginners as well as advanced users. The new version boasts of 30 new features and 26 new themes.

"The software enables users to add QuickTime, flash movies and audio content to Web pages. "Xtra" text and image boxes, contact forms, page counters, HTML snippets, thumbnail rollovers, layered graphics, and the ability to embed other Web pages into sites enhances users' ability to construct custom pages."

Shutterbug veterans will be delighted with the many added features including password protection and iPhoto integration.. ShutterBug 2.0 retails at $50. It is available as a free upgrade to registered users, and requires Mac OS X 10.3.9 or later.

Feral Interactive has announced that all its future game titles will be released as Universal Binaries, which simply means it will be compatible with PowerPC and Intel-based Macs. Many of Ferals existing titles will be updated so that those who have made the switch to the shiny new Intel iMacs will be able to play games such as Chessmaster 9000, Bionicle, Ford Racing 2, Enemy Engaged, Republic, and Worms 3D.

You don't have to wait much longer because details of the games and the release dates will be announced this month.

You know, you never realize just how good you've got it sometimes in the States, where almost as soon as Apple announces a product, you can order it and expect to get it just a few days after its release. Apparently, that's not the case in India, where consumers are just now being bombarded with all the Apple goodness that has come out in recent months.

The company this week unveiled 10 products in India, ranging from the popular iPods, including the new 1-gigabyte version of the Nano, and other products and software that has been available over in America for some time now. Among the products launched this week are: iLife '06, which of course includes iPhoto 6, iMovie HD 6, iDVD 6 and GarageBand 3, among other apps; iWork, a Microsoft Office-type solution for Mac users.

One of the biggie products shown was the Macbook Pro, which is now available in India in its varying speeds and capacities, 1.67 GHz and 1.83 GHz (To all our Indian readers: you're really going to like that little beauty). The last of the products were the new MacMini and iMacs. Of course, the red-headed stepchild that is the Apple Hi-Fi made an appearance (To all our Indian readers: I can't tell you what happened there).

So you can't wait to get your hands on the touch screen technology for iMacs. If it's easy for you to shell out $2,275 or $2,675, then head on to Troll Touch's Valencia, California facilities to get your new full-touched enabled 17- and 20-inch iMac Core Duos. If you're running low on funds, then have your iMacs converted for only $869 and $1045, for the 17 and 20 inch iMacs, respectively. The prices already include both outbound (to the facility) and return shipping. 

"Troll Touch seamlessly integrates its PSR-1 touch technology on a variety of Macs, including the iMac, eMac, iBook laptops and the Apple Cinema displays. The company's touchscreen technology operates with any non-sharp pointing device, such as a stylus, fingertip or gloved hand."

Dual Processors were long the drool-inducing thing of nerds.  But anymore they're pretty common to come by.  The latest move has been to go the route of Dual Cores.  Is there a real difference?  Does one setup perform better than the other?  What exactly does all this mean, and does it apply to the everyday Joe?

A terrific article at Puget Systems discusses just this topic.  It explains things for the average consumer, while providing benchmarks and other tidbits that will be of interest to the bit-heads out there.

Quickly: DualCore means putting two processors on a single chip.  It's cheaper since it only requires 1 slot on the motherboard, one chip, etc.  The flip side is to have 2 processors, each taking their own space on a more expensive motherboard.  The outcome?  (Look away or click the link if you don't want to spoil the surprise.)  The dual core systems that are becoming a standard in the computer industry are not only cheaper, they're also slightly faster.  So it's a win-win for everyone!

You only need £13.99 to give some love to your iPods. So, give it what it deserves.

It turns out that your Apple MacBook Pro running Windows XP is a better Adobe Photoshop system than any other Core Duo laptop on the market

According to Gearlog who has run some benchmark tests measuring the 2.16GHz Core Duo-based MacBook Pro ran through a series of Windows XP-native Photoshop CS2 scripts in 1m 10s - better than a 1.66GHz Core Duo-based Mac Mini (1m 56s) and a 2GHz Core Duo-based iMac (1m 25s).

Also PC Magazine did a similar test but used the Dell, Lenovo, Acer and Gateway. The only one that came close to the Core Duo- based MacBook was the Acer, with a score of 1m 11s. All the laptops tested had 2GHz Core Duo CPUs, just like the iMac.

So before you run out to buy a new notebook take a look at the test results they might make the decision process easier.

That silly little contest organized by Colin Nederkoorn has has finally drawn to a close. To recap, Nederkoorn offered a nice bundle of cash to the first person who could successfully boot Windows XP on an Intel Mac. A certain narf2006 was the first to submit his solution, and the world eagerly awaited verification - or repudiation - of narf's process.

Now we've received word that Nederkoorn has verified narf's solution (and that narf's been paid, but that's not really the point here, is it?). We're wondering what's going on at Apple and Microsoft as a result of this development. We're thinking that we should await some sort of announcement from those guys. Well, an annoucement would certainly be forthcoming, given how momentous something of this sort would be, whether true or false - but we're really wondering what we can now expect from both companies, especially Apple.

And, of course, we're just dying to give the process a whirl ourselves...

MacDaily News has gotten hold of a video purportedly showing Windows XP booting up on an Apple iMac Core Duo. The video is reportedly submitted by the person who responded earlier to a challenge of booting the incompatible OS on a Mac system.

Not a lot more information is available on this at the moment, but this certainly is something to look closely at. Whether or not this is true, though, we'll have to wait and see.