Yamaha and Arturia announce they have signed an exclusive distribution and marketing agreement. Yamaha will now be the sole distributor Arturia products in the United States. Arturia,maker of virtual software synthesizers based in Grenoble, France is well known for creating realistic sounding virtual recreations of vintage analog synthesizers (minimoo, Moog Modular V and...CS-80).

Smartelectronix.com announces a preview version of LiveCut. LiveCut is a plugin dedicated to breakbeat Cutting inspired by Nick Collins library for SuperCollider called BBCut.

This preview version is available as download in the MacMusic software section.

The Lone Roger announces that MultiVST Shell is updated to version 3.2. This release supports ReWire - it can be used to host VSTi's and play them into Pro Tools, for example, and its built-in arpeggiator can be synced to an external sequencer. It also sports an improved VST fx matrix. VST shell is a shell for VST instruments, to enable you to use them outside of your usual VST host. Multi VST Shell is a multitimbral version, enabling 4 VSTi's to be played at once.

Apple announced enhancements to its mac Mini line, with 512MB of memory standard in every model and prices starting at just $499. The Mac mini also features built-in wireless networking with AirPort Extreme and Bluetooth starting at just $599, and the ability to burn DVDs with a SuperDrive for $699. Three new models are :

The 1.25 GHz Mac mini, for a suggested retail price of $499 (US),
includes: 1.25 GHz PowerPC G4 processor; 512MB of 333 MHz DDR SDRAM, expandable to 1GB; 40GB Ultra ATA hard drive; Combo (DVD-ROM/CD-RW) optical drive; ATI Radeon 9200 graphics processor with 32MB video memory; one FireWire 400 and two USB 2.0 ports; 10/100 BASE-T Ethernet networking and 56K V.92 modem internal support for AirPort Extreme wireless networking and Bluetooth; DVI or VGA out .

The 1.42 GHz Mac mini, for a suggested retail price of $599 (US), includes: 1.42 GHz PowerPC G4 processor; 512MB of 333 MHz DDR SDRAM, expandable to 1GB; 80GB Ultra ATA hard drive; Combo (DVD-ROM/CD-RW) optical drive; ATI Radeon 9200 graphics processor with 32MB video memory; one FireWire 400 and two USB 2.0 ports; 10/100 BASE-T Ethernet networking; built-in AirPort Extreme wireless networking and Bluetooth; DVI or VGA out (adapter included), composite/S-video out with optional adapter; and built-in speaker and headphone/line out.

The 1.42 GHz Mac mini, for a suggested retail price of $699 (US), includes: 1.42 GHz PowerPC G4 processor; 512MB of 333 MHz DDR SDRAM, expandable to 1GB; 80GB Ultra ATA hard drive; SuperDrive (DVD+/-RW/CD-RW) optical drive; ATI Radeon 9200 graphics processor with 32MB video memory; one FireWire 400 and two USB 2.0 ports;10/100 BASE-T Ethernet networking; built-in AirPort Extreme wireless networking and Bluetooth; DVI or VGA out (adapter included), composite/S-video out with optional adapter; and built-in speaker and headphone/line out.

Apple today enhanced its iBook G4 line with faster Power PC G4 processors running up to 1.42 GHz, 512MB memory across the line, higher performance graphics and built-in AirPort Extreme and Bluetooth wireless connectivity. New models are :

The 1.33 GHz PowerPC G4 iBook, weighing just 4.9 pounds, has a suggested retail price of $999 (US) and includes:

- a crisp 12.1-inch (diagonal) active-matrix TFT display;
- 512MB DDR SDRAM expandable to up to 1.5GB maximum memory;
- a 40GB Ultra ATA hard drive;
- AirPort Extreme 54 Mbps 802.11g WiFi wireless networking and Bluetooth 2.0+EDR;
- two USB 2.0 ports, FireWire 400;
- VGA video out, S-video and composite video out support;
- 56K v.92 modem, Ethernet (10/100 BASE-T); and
- a slot-load Combo (DVD-ROM/CD-RW) drive.

The 1.42 GHz PowerPC G4 iBook, weighing just 5.9 pounds, has a suggested retail price of $1,299 (US) and includes:

- a brilliant 14.1-inch (diagonal) active-matrix TFT display;
- 512MB DDR SDRAM expandable to up to 1.5GB maximum memory;
- a 60GB Ultra ATA hard drive;
- AirPort Extreme 54 Mbps 802.11g WiFi wireless networking and Bluetooth 2.0+EDR;
- two USB 2.0 ports, FireWire 400;
- VGA video out, S-video and composite video out support;
- 56K v.92 modem, Ethernet (10/100 BASE-T); and
- a slot-load SuperDrive (DVD+/-R/CD-RW) drive.