Steve Jobs just unveils from his San Fransisco Keynote address the release of new Mac OS 10.4.4 for X86...All Apple Pro Applications will be X86 natives (an update pack will be available for $49 in March). And of course Steve Jobs announced new Intel iMacs. With 17- and 20- inch screens, these new iMacs have same design, same features, but are 2-3x faster with Intel Core Duo processor. Each processor is faster than the G5 and all upcoming new iMac range will have dual processors.

New iMac is available with dual 1.83 GHz (1379 euros or $1299) and dual 2 GHz (1799 euros or $1699).

Steve Jobs just begins his Keynote from the San Franscisco Moscone Center and announces the release of iLife 06 :

- new iPhoto : limit is 250,000 photos, full screen editing with fade in/out tools, new calendars, send cards function, new photo books, a new Photo Casting function allowing users to update internet-based albums with password protection (with RSS feed).

- iMovie : with realtime effects/titles, new audio tools, new sound effects, multiple open projects, new themes and more.

- iDVD. support widescreen DVD creation, magic iDVD function, improved slideshows, enhanced map viewing, and at last support for third-party DVD burner (bravo !!!).

- Garageband : "podcast studio" function, 200 royalty-free sound effects and 100+ royalty-free jingles, automatic "ducking" effect, speech enhancer, integration with iChat for remote interviews. Apple also announces a new "World Music" JamPack.

- iWeb : allows user to "one-clic publish" and share musics, photos, blogs and more on the web.

ILife 06 will cost $79. More info will be available soon on the AppleStore

After a few weeks of testing on the French side of the site, we are proud to offer you a Wiki on MacMusic. So, what is a Wiki? A Wiki is a collaborative system where any reader (and we mean any), without any HTML or coding knowledge, can write or edit articles. The best example you can find is the acclaimed Wikipedia, a large collaborative online encyclopedia.

So, a MacMusic Wiki, what for? we can (and have already started) a database of articles on music or mac related subjects. Now you can add any article even a simple one (others can expand/correct it later at ease). It can be about MIDI, digital audio, synthesis, the guitar pickups or the human voice... Even about the G5 Quad!

You'll find some definitions already written (which can be corrected or expanded) and a lexicon for entries to be made. Register to the Wiki with the same login as on MacMusic (it's important! We need this for later things…), read the short help page (which can be edited too if something is not clear enough) and up you go! Beware, Wikis can be addictive… ;-)

Audiolexic: the MacMusic Wiki

Sonoma Wire Works, developers of RiffWorks, is demonstrating the latest version of their guitar recording software at the MacWorld Expo this week in the Music & Audio Pavilion. A preview of RiffWorks Standard Version 2 is being shown running on Mac OS X with new features such as RiffLink online collaboration service, RiffCaster instant podcasting technology, and more. Several new recording features have also been added in version 2 including Riff Notes, Riff Gain and Riff Effects.

RiffWorks Standard Version 2 will be Mac OS X compatible with any Core Audio device. It will be available as a universal binary for Intel Macs. This version is slated for release at the end of the 1st quarter of 2006.

URS announces the Audio Units versions of the URS Classic Console Compressor Bundle. The URS Classic Console Compressor Bundle digitally re-creates the sound of two popular British console compressors. The URS 1970 is smooth and warm, and the URS 1980 is snappy and more aggressive. Both feature up to 192k sampling and 64-bit double-precision processing. The URS Classic Console Compressor Bundle includes two plug-ins: the URS 1970 Compressor and the URS 1980 Compressor.

Bundle price is $449 (Native Audio Units, includes RTAS), and 1970 and 1980 are sold individually for $249.99 each. A 10 Day Demo version is now available.