Remember when we said the four largest record companies were working together with Apple to add enhanced liner notes and extra media to full album purchases through the iTunes Store? Well, apparently Apple wasn't in on that cooperation. The Guardian is reporting that the four companies' plans for enhanced full albums were rebuffed by Apple, and they are planning to release their own format in competition with the one to be released in the iTunes Store.

The new file format, called CMX, was created by EMI, Sony, Universal and Warner. It will function quite a bit like a DVD, with a launch page allowing for navigation to the related artwork and video portions of the album. An unnamed label representative is quoted saying that the format was initially presented to an uninterested Apple; now, Apple is releasing a competing format under the code name Cocktail.

The format's tentative launch date is set for November, will be for a small number of titles, and only available in smaller music stores and non-Apple players. It is unclear how Cocktail and CMX will be different, if at all, save for the exclusivity of platforms. Apple is largely said to be following up on the format as a precautionary measure, in case it proves to be immensely popular; as they've said repeatedly, their interest still lies with supporting the more lucrative hardware, rather than trying to profit from full album sales. Still, Apple is stepping up to the format battle, and while not on the scale of Betamax vs. VHS or HD-DVD vs. Blu-ray, this promises to be a pretty decent fight.

[via Electronista]

Ohai ZOMG. Realz! MySpace can has fab nu Music cheezburger. Wurks with iPod, all 4 awzom Muzik labels! Dayz wil haz MP3 for $$. "MySpaceMusic" so kyoot! Universal Music/MySpace fwends -- bai bai "copyright-infringement lawsuit" for realz. iTunes ftl. MySpace ftw. kthxbai.

Universal Music is desperate for Apple to face some real competition in the digital music download arena that it is now trying to work with the other record labels to launch their very own iTunes like store. The twist? Universal would like to see hardware manufacturers pay a fee (something like $5) for each device. That device would then have a free, to the consumer, subscription to the label's music service. Universal figures people will be happy because they can get the music they want on their player they want (as long as it isn't an iPod), the hardware manufacturers will be happy because people won't be buying iPods, and the labels will be happy because they can maintain their vise-like grip on the content their artists produce.

How can anything go wrong?

[via iLounge]

It is safe to say that most folks aren't big fans of DRM, though Apple's flavor of DRM (FairPlay) is flexible enough that most will never run afoul of it. You might remember Steve's letter to the music industry in which he extolled the virtues of DRM free music. EMI has been the only major record label to adopt this DRM free stance, and much of its catalog is available via iTunes Plus for $1.29 a song (you can still get the DRMed versions for $.99). EMI is about to have some company in the DRM free music biz, pretty soon.

The New York Times is reporting that the Universal Music Group is going to be selling part of its catalog sans DRM for the next few months to gauge consumer interest. This is great, but the only catch is that these DRM free songs won't be available via iTunes. Universal, in an effort to lessen Apple's dominance of the digital music market, will be offering up the DRM free music via Amazon, Google, RealNetworks, and Wal-Mart for $.99 a song (a price many accredit Apple to pioneering).

You might recall that Universal recently decided not to renew their contract with Apple to sell music in iTunes, and switched their commitment to a month by month basis. What does all this mean? I am betting that this experiment will succeed, and that Universal will reverse their decision and sell DRM free tracks via iTunes, why not sell your wares on the top online music store?

Our Macs work hard, and sometimes they get sleepy. But that doesn't mean they can slack off on the job! To keep your Mac alert and ready to go, check out Caffeine. It's a tiny little app (and at 48KB, we mean tiny!) that puts an icon in your menu bar. Give it a click to prevent your Mac from going to sleep, putting the disk to sleep or dimming the screen. Click again to remove these restrictions. It's quicker than launching system preferences and adjusting those settings manually, and convenient for those overnight downloads. Caffeine is universal and free.

Alternatively, try out Jiggler, which periodically "jiggles" your cursor to prevent your Mac from sleeping or launching a screensaver. Like Caffeine, Jiggle is universal and free. Now tell your Mac to get to work!

Adobe will host a press event this March 27 to announce the availability of CS3. This will be the first Universal Binary version of the Creative Suite, and Adobe is calling the event the largest software release in its history. If you've been looking for an excuse to finally buy that Mac Pro, this could be it.

In the meantime, enjoy the "What's in the Box?" promo video above.

Thanks, Nik!

UPDATE: Adobe has said that they won't be shipping CS3 on the 27th, just announcing it. Sorry for the confusion.

Apple just posted a new Security Update (2007-002) at its download site. The update addresses security in CoreServices, iChat and the User Notification Center and is available as a PPC download, a Universal download and a Panther download -- see Mike's post for more detail.

Other software updates today include Final Cut Pro 5.1.3, Web Objects 5.3.3, Java for OS X 10.3 update 5, Java for OS X 10.4 update 5, Daylight Savings Time Update for Tiger, and Daylight Savings Time Update for Panther. Most of these updates are to allow these components to recognize the changes in the way the US and Canada will be observing Daylight Savings Time starting in March 2007; however, the core OS X DST logic has been right on with the new rules since 10.4.5, released about a year ago.

QTAmateur brings a lot of the handy QuickTime Pro features to the table without having to pay the $30 upgrade. Full screen video playback (with a more streamlined, iTunes 7-like video window) and batch exporting of any format QuickTime can read and write make for a handy little app.

QTAmateur is free, Universal and available from Mike Ash, a Rogue Amoeba programmer.

Keyword Assistant is a stellar iPhoto plugin that dramatically simplifies the chore of adding keywords to images. In fact, one could go so far as to say Keyword Assistant brings tagging to iPhoto, but we'll let you judge for yourself. As you can see, it adds a menu item to iPhoto, as well as a simple, smart popup window that allows for comma-separated tags. We call this keyword entry utility 'smart' because it can auto-fill tags keywords from your existing set, (optionally) warn you when creating new keywords, and even auto-fill names from Address Book. It also brings a desperately needed option to iPhoto's preferences: alphabetizing the keyword list. All things considered, this is a utility we can easily refer to as a missing link from iPhoto's current abilities.

This can't-iPhoto-without-it plugin just went Universal, and it is still provided as freeware from Ken Ferry's .Mac homepage. KA requires 4.0.3 or 4.0.4 and Mac OS X 10.4.7, and is localized for English, Danish, Dutch, French, German, Italian, Spanish and Swedish.

I have to admit, I was pretty excited when I saw the screencap of an Adobe order confirmation email above from TUAW reader Craig. Despite Adobe's repeated official refusal [pdf] to do anything for Intel Mac Photoshop users until CS3, it looked like there might be big news on the Photoshop front. A closer look, though, shows that the rumor mill has gotten ahead of itself on this one, and here at TUAW, we believe in quashing this sort of thing in the bud. It's "Macintosh, Universal English," not "Macintosh Universal, English." That one little comma is huge. It's the difference between a universal binary, and a product that isn't localized specifically for British, American, or Canadian English.

Despite some recent logo troubles and the move of design and ad agencies toward Adobe InDesign, Quark seems to be climbing out of the hole it dug itself with its disastrous transition to OS X. Today with version 7.1, QuarkXPress 7–first announced at MacWorld and released in May–became the first major page layout application to make the transition to Universal Binary for the Intel architecture. This move comes a full 6 months before the announced release time-frame for Adobe Creative Suite 3.

With today's announcements of upcoming Leopard technologies, it will be interesting to see what Quark has in store for us with its next version. Perhaps designers will be able to use Time Machine to go back and fix that pesky mistake they made 3 days ago. For now at least, we'll all just have to sit on our hands and wait like good little boys and girls.

I hope you've cleaned out your downloads directory, because we have another roundup of software for the week of 7-30-06 to 8-5-06:

Shareware

• Pukka 1.3 - del.icio.us bookmarking utility gets private 'mark and AppleScript support
• Packrat 0.87 - killer offline Backpack client (probably the only) receives page link editing and creation
• TubeSock - Rip, mix, save and convert YouTube videos for your iPod
• WiLMa - automatically change default network, printer, SMTP servers, desktop wallpaper, system volume and more based on Mac OS X Locations
• Audio Hijack Pro 2.7 - big podcast recording update to an already killer audio app

Freeware

• Apple Security Update 2006-004 - many bugs and security holes were put to rest
• kip - iPhoto for your documents (digital or otherwise)
• Afloat - killer Mac OS X plugin/utility that brings transparency and 'always on top' options to all Cocoa apps
• Quake 4 demo - Aspyr finally gets a clue, releases demo of $50, hardware-hungry game
• Picasa Web Album Uploaders - Google releases standalone uploader and iPhoto plugin for their Picasa web photo sharing service
• Doodim - darken background apps (a la Exposé) for better concentration

Open Source

• Back/Center Stage 0.6 - open source media center project receives Apple Remote support, new UI and Intel-friendliness
• NeoOffice 2.0 Aqua Beta - major update to the non-X11 OpenOffice client

Donationware

• ShapeOnYou - handy and integrated basic 3D drawing app
• Photoshop Automator Actions v3 - major update to rocking set of around 50 actions for automation with and without Photoshop

Widgets

• DashMail (formerly QuickMail) - quick email widget, works with addresses from Gmail, AOL, AIM, Yahoo! , .Mac and custom servers. Remembers addresses and subjects, with Address Book support in the works
  
• iPick - magic card trick widget
• Reuters Yahoo! Widget - 10-line Reuters news widget for Yahoo! Widgets (formerly Konfabulator)
• Telescope - Basecamp widget

Universal

• Camino (Intel-optimized) - Mac OS X-friendly Mozilla browser receives an Intel-only optimized build

CenterStage and BackStage make up a dynamic duo which gives FrontRow a run for its money. The free software suite reached version 0.6 today, bringing with it some exciting new features and Intel support. Media management app BackStage got madeover with a new unified UI, while FrontRow-esque component CenterStage now features support for the Apple remote, Elgato eyeTV, and Griffin RadioShark, as well as a new UI for photo browsing. While the programs might not be as polished and feature rich as MediaCentral, the price can't be beat, and new features are being added rapidly.

Via HardMac

It was another packed week for software premieres and updates, so here is a roundup in case you missed them the first time around:

Shareware

• Groupcal 3 - manage your Exchange calendar from iCal
• EyeTV 2.3 - Front Row-like menu and speed boosts
• OmniPlan (beta) - OmniGroup's brand new project management app
• BurnAgain - powerful and standards-compliant multi-session 'smart' CDR/RW burning utility
• Rax 2 - virtual rack software for musicians
• Übercaster (beta) - all-in-one podcasting application
• NewsFire 1.4 - feature update for popular RSS reader
• mira 1.1 - make your Apple Remote control more than just Front Row

Freeware

• Automator action to change wallpaper
• Fenêtres Volantes (Flying Windows) - gorgeous 3D screensaver that gives your open windows something to do
• Suggest-a-ZOT - be the first to suggest a new macZOT app, get a free copy
• Skype 1.5 beta and video preview - more Mac OS X integration and a 'preview' version with video support

Donationware

• iStat Pro 3.0 - powerful system monitoring widget gets a major upgrade and a new UI

Widgets

• bpiDash - finally, a second widget for Backpack
• Basecamp - widget for 37Signals' much-loved online project management service

Universal

• Flip4Mac - QuickTime codec for playing Windows Media files
• ShapeShifter (beta) - Unsanity's Mac OS X skinning utility gets a speed boost (thanks Intel!)
• Now Up to Date and Contact 5.3 - contact management software
• MaxMenus - application launcher
• LiteSwitch X - application switcher
• Democracy Player - popular and powerful IPTV player gets the Intel treatment

In a post aptly titled 'At Long Last!', Unsanity announced a beta of a Universal version of ShapeShifter, their UI haxie for skinning Mac OS X. As the post states, your Intel Mac can finally "get its spank on" (what on Earth are those guys at Unsanity selling??). Obviously, as their post states, this is a beta so things could very well go wrong with it. On the upside this Universal version should work just fine with any guiKit (skin) that you throw at it.

This ShapeShifter 2.4 beta version is a free upgrade for registered 2.x owners and is available from this Unsanity blog post.