In today's reader mail & rumor report, we note the release of Mac versions of Babya's software-Babya AU Host, Babya Photo Workshop for Mac, Babya CD/DVD Studio & Babya E-Type.
Babya AU Host & Babya CD/DVD Studio are 2 Mac exclusive Babya applications.
Babya E-Type:
Babya E-Type for Mac is now available-with native PDF output, and easy editing of Word files.
Babya E-Type for Mac is a powerful word processor with a incredible sense of style, allowing you to create stylish documents with multiple-language support and easy HTML page creation.
You can export documents to PDF natively, without the need for Adobe Acrobat. Also, Microsoft Word documents can be easily imported, edited and saved back to Word or Word XML formats.
Other features include:
• Babya E-Type is a universal binary-meaning that it be can be run on both PowerPC & Intel based Macs.
Babya E-Type now uses new NSError and NSAlert facilities to put up better error messages on failed file system operations.
• Babya E-Type now has a preference to enable the use of the new Cocoa feature to auto-number printed pages. Although the feature enables sophisticated customization of the headers and footers by the application, Babya E-Type just uses the default format.
• The new "Document Properties" panel enables setting properties such as author, company, comment, etc. The fields in the panel are hooked up to the document via bindings, and are imported by the Spotlight text importer for easy searching. The preferences panel has fields where you can specify default values for properties (for which default values are appropriate).
• Babya E-Type can now save WordML, HTML, and Safari WebArchive documents. In the preferences panel you can specify a number of options for controlling the type of HTML that is generated.
• Babya E-Type has a few menu items to support new text system features such as tables, lists, and link editing panel. Other than the new menu items, these features are pretty much free for Babya E-Type . Be sure to read about new text features in the AppKit release notes.
• The new Insert submenu under the Edit menu enables inserting line break, paragraph break, and page break. Note that the default line break you get by hitting the Return key is actually paragraph break; line break is used to break lines without starting a new paragraph.
• Undo can now be used to undo changes across a save. Note that on save, Babya E-Type now calls the new NSTextView method, breakUndoCoalescing, in order to let the text system know that it shouldn't coalesce across a save.
• Babya E-Type can now process Finder or scripting print requests much better.
• When multiple documents are opened simultaneously, Babya E-Type now makes the first one key, and opens others behind this first document. For large numbers of files, this change reduces the overall time before the application is responsive. In addition, in these cases Babya E-Type now does foreground (that is, uninterruptible) text layout only for the front-most document. This also helps greatly improve the time to make the app responsive when the files are large.
• Babya E-Type now uses -[NSParagraphStyle defaultTabInterval] to manage tab stops in plain text documents, rather than having to fix up tab stops after every change. This change removes a good number of lines, including the routine fixUpTabsInRange: and the need to observe textStorageDidProcessEditing:.
• If user's default encoding choice and their defaultCStringEncoding don't work for a plain document, then try Unicode, assuming it's in their encodings list.
• When an RTF document becomes RTFD, the user now has the option to save the document with the same name (this happens by saving a .rtfd file and thrashing the .rtf).
• NSSavePanel's setAllowsOtherFileTypes: method is now used in the plain text case, to use a ".txt" extension unless the user specifies otherwise.
• Checkbox in the plain text save panel now allows the user the control the ".txt" extension.
• The preferences panel has been redesigned. And although it is a good candidate for using NSUserDefaultsController and bindings, it doesn't yet. It should.
• The Cocoa text system now lets you create multiple, non-contiguous selections when editing text. Option-drag will let you select text in a rectangular area; command-click will let you add new selections to an existing selection. You can then copy the contents of these multiple selected regions as if they were one. In addition, you can select all occurrences of a word in the Find panel by holding down control when clicking "Replace All" (this exposes the "Select All" command). Finally, you can use the Styles panel to find all text which is of a given style.
Also Babya E-Type can be extended by using AppleScript:
v : Close an object.
close reference : the object for the command
[saving ask/no/yes] : Specifies whether changes should be saved before closing.
[saving in alias] : The file in which to save the object.
count?v : Return the number of elements of a particular class within an object.
count reference : the object for the command
[each type class] : The class of objects to be counted.
? integer
delete?v : Delete an object.
delete reference : the object for the command
duplicate?v : Copy object(s) and put the copies at a new location.
duplicate reference : the object for the command
to location reference : The location for the new object(s).
[with properties record] : Properties to be set in the new duplicated object(s).
exists?v : Verify if an object exists.
exists reference : the object for the command
? boolean
get?v : Get the data for an object.
get reference : the object for the command
? anything
make?v : Make a new object.
make
new type class : The class of the new object.
[at location reference] : The location at which to insert the object.
[with data anything] : The initial data for the object.
[with properties record] : The initial values for properties of the object.
? reference
move?v : Move object(s) to a new location.
move reference : the object for the command
to location reference : The new location for the object(s).
open?v : Open an object.
open alias : The file(s) to be opened.
print?v : Print an object.
print alias : The file(s) or document(s) to be printed.
[print dialog boolean] : Should the application show the Print dialog?
[with properties print settings] : the print settings
quit?v : Quit an application.
quit reference : the object for the command
[saving ask/no/yes] : Specifies whether changes should be saved before quitting.
save?v : Save an object.
save reference : the object for the command
[as Unicode text] : The file type in which to save the data.
[in alias] : The file in which to save the object.
set?v : Set an object's data.
set reference : the object for the command
to anything : The new value.
application?n [inh. item; see also TextEdit suite] : An application's top level scripting object.
elements
contains documents, windows.
properties
frontmost (boolean, r/o) : Is this the frontmost (active) application?
name (Unicode text, r/o) : The name of the application.
version (Unicode text, r/o) : The version of the application.
color?n [inh. item] : A color.
document?n [inh. item; see also TextEdit suite] : A document.
elements
contained by application, application.
properties
modified (boolean, r/o) : Has the document been modified since the last save?
name (Unicode text) : The document's name.
path (Unicode text) : The document's path.
item?n : A scriptable object.
properties
class (type class, r/o) : The class of the object.
properties (record) : All of the object's properties.
window?n [inh. item] : A window.
elements
contained by application, application.
properties
bounds (bounding rectangle) : The bounding rectangle of the window.
closeable (boolean, r/o) : Whether the window has a close box.
document (document, r/o) : The document whose contents are being displayed in the window.
floating (boolean, r/o) : Whether the window floats.
id (integer, r/o) : The unique identifier of the window.
index (integer) : The index of the window, ordered front to back.
miniaturizable (boolean, r/o) : Whether the window can be miniaturized.
miniaturized (boolean) : Whether the window is currently miniaturized.
modal (boolean, r/o) : Whether the window is the application's current modal window.
name (Unicode text) : The full title of the window.
resizable (boolean, r/o) : Whether the window can be resized.
titled (boolean, r/o) : Whether the window has a title bar.
visible (boolean) : Whether the window is currently visible.
zoomable (boolean, r/o) : Whether the window can be zoomed.
zoomed (boolean) : Whether the window is currently zoomed.
attachment?n [inh. text > item] : Represents an inline text attachment. This class is used mainly for make commands.
elements
contains attachments, attribute runs, characters, paragraphs, words; contained by attachments, attribute runs, characters, paragraphs, texts, words.
properties
file name (Unicode text) : The path to the file for the attachment
attribute run?n [inh. item] : This subdivides the text into chunks that all have the same attributes.
elements
contains attachments, attribute runs, characters, paragraphs, words; contained by attachments, attribute runs, characters, paragraphs, texts, words.
properties
color (color) : The color of the first character.
font (Unicode text) : The name of the font of the first character.
size (integer) : The size in points of the first character.
character?n [inh. item] : This subdivides the text into characters.
elements
contains attachments, attribute runs, characters, paragraphs, words; contained by attachments, attribute runs, characters, paragraphs, texts, words.
properties
color (color) : The color of the first character.
font (Unicode text) : The name of the font of the first character.
size (integer) : The size in points of the first character.
paragraph?n [inh. item] : This subdivides the text into paragraphs.
elements
contains attachments, attribute runs, characters, paragraphs, words; contained by attachments, attribute runs, characters, paragraphs, texts, words.
properties
color (color) : The color of the first character.
font (Unicode text) : The name of the font of the first character.
size (integer) : The size in points of the first character.
text?n [inh. item] : Rich (styled) text
elements
contains attachments, attribute runs, characters, paragraphs, words.
properties
color (color) : The color of the first character.
font (Unicode text) : The name of the font of the first character.
size (integer) : The size in points of the first character.
word?n [inh. item] : This subdivides the text into words.
elements
contains attachments, attribute runs, characters, paragraphs, words; contained by attachments, attribute runs, characters, paragraphs, texts, words.
properties
color (color) : The color of the first character.
font (Unicode text) : The name of the font of the first character.
size (integer) : The size in points of the first character.
application?n [inh. application; see also Standard Suite] : TextEdit's top level scripting object.
elements
contains documents, windows.
document?n [inh. document; see also Standard Suite] : A TextEdit document.
elements
contained by application, application.
properties
text (text) : The text of the document.
print settings?n
properties
copies (integer) : the number of copies of a document to be printed
collating (boolean) : Should printed copies be collated?
starting page (integer) : the first page of the document to be printed
ending page (integer) : the last page of the document to be printed
pages across (integer) : number of logical pages laid across a physical page
pages down (integer) : number of logical pages laid out down a physical page
error handling (standard/detailed) : how errors are handled
fax number (string) : for fax number
target printer (string) : for target printer
Download Babya E-Type for Mac:
http://www.winsite.com/bin/Info?2750000
http://www.versiontracker.com/dyn/morei
http://www.macupdate.com/info.php/id/21
Babya CD/DVD Studio:
Now you can easily burn and share your own CD's on a Mac with Babya CD/DVD Studio-a free & advanced data disc creation software containing a complete virtual filesystem. The application presents a simple interface to create the virtual filesystem and panels to set the various options that Babya CD/DVD Studio provides for data burning.
Requires:
Mac with Intel Core processor
Combo or SuperDrive required
Mac OS X 10.4.5 or later
Download:
http://www.winsite.com/bin/Info?2750000
http://mac.softpedia.com/get/System-Utilities/Babya-CD-DVD-Studio.shtml
http://www.versiontracker.com/dyn/moreinfo/macosx/30036
http://www.macupdate.com/info.php/id/21894
Babya Photo Workshop for Mac:
A amazing, Core Image powered version of Babya Photo Workshop has just been released.
Babya Photo Workshop for Mac is a image editing application that allows you to get started and experiment with Image Units. You can start out with a base image, apply a color control filter, an exposure adjust filter, white point adjust filter, and a color blend mode filter—all the while watching the filters being applied to the source image in real time. By using Babya Photo Workshop for Mac and seeing how Image Units work, you can get a feel for how Image Units could be used in your own applications.
Image Units Included with Tiger
Blur
Median Blur
Gaussian Blur
Motion Blur
Zoom Blur
Noise Reduction
Color Adjustment
Color Controls
Color Matrix
Exposure Adjust
Gamma Adjust
Hue Adjust
White Point Adjust
Color
Color Map
Color Invert
Color Monochrome
Color Posterize
False Color
Sepia Tone
Mask to Alpha
Compositing
Addition
Maximum
Minimum
Multiply
Source Atop
Source In
Source Out
Source Over
Distortion
Pinch Distortion
Hole Distortion
Bump Distortion
Displacement Distortion
Glass Distortion
Glass Lozenge
Torus Lens Distortion
Twirl Distortion
Vortex Distortion
Circle Splash Distortion
Circular Wrap Distortion
Generators
Checkerboard
Constant Color
Lenticular Halo
Star Shine
Stripes
Sunbeams
Random Generator
Gradients
Gaussian Gradient
Linear Gradient
Radial Gradient
Sharpeners
Sharpen Luminance
Unsharp Mask
Color Blends
Color Burn Blend Mode
Darken Blend Mode
Difference Blend Mode
Exclusion Blend Mode
Hard Light Blend Mode
Hue Blend Mode
Lighten Blend Mode
Luminosity Blend Mode
Multiply Blend Mode
Overlay Blend Mode
Saturation Blend Mode
Screen Blend Mode
Soft Light Blend Mode
Geometry
Affine Transform
Crop
Perspective Transform
Lanczos Scale Transform
Halftones
CMYK Halftone
Circular Screen
Dot Screen
Hatched Screen
Line Screen
Styles
Blend with Mask
Edge Work
Height Field from Mask
Pointillize
Shaded Material
Bloom
Edges
Gloom
Pixellate
Spot Light
Crystallize
Tiles
Affine Clamp
Affine Tile
Op Tile
Parallelogram Tile
Perspective Tile
Triangle Tile
Kaleidoscope
Transitions
Page Curl
Copy Machine
Dissolve
Flash
Mod
Ripple
Swipe
Disintegrate with Mask
How Core Image Works in Babya Photo Workshop:
Babya Photo Workshop uses Core Image-here’s how it works:
In a nutshell, an Image Unit performs pixel-level operations on image data that results in the creation of a new image.
When an Image Unit is loaded and configured with an image (or images), as well as any needed parameters that define the settings that the Image Unit can take, pixels are fetched from the input image by a sampler object that handles any needed coordinate transformation and scaling.
These pixels are provided to the Image Unit's processing kernel which then performs its calculations and returns a result pixel.
When multiple Image Units are combined to process an image, Core Image calculates the processing pipeline path for each pixel.
Babya Photo Workshop then dynamically concatenates the entire recipe for each result pixel from all of the Image Units into a single optimized operation. Furthermore, Core Image uses lazy evaluation.
Only the pixels that need to be processed for a given destination will be processed—and only when they are drawn to their destination.
This behavior dramatically minimizes the amount of work that Core Image needs to perform in order to create a final result image.
Core Image operates non-destructively on image sources. Since Image Units execute in near real-time, and only on the pixels that need to be processed, it is possible to keep the original state of the source images and reprocess the displayed pixels as needed.
This lets you adjust the effects of an Image Unit and see the changes immediately.
For example, a user can adjust the level of sharpening applied to an image and see the changes without delay.
Parallel Execution:
While it is easy to think of the per-pixel operations that an Image Unit performs as happening one-by-one in a linear fashion, Core Image executes these operations, whenever possible, using either the Velocity Engine in the PowerPC G4 or G5 CPUs or the high performance GPUs on the latest video cards.
These SIMD (Single Instruction, Multiple Data) hardware solutions allow the same code to be executed on multiple data sets in parallel.
This use of parallelism is a perfect match for manipulating images where the same operation is performed over and over on hundreds or thousands of pixels.
Core Image Accuracy:
Because Core Image uses 32-bit floating point numbers instead of fixed scalars, it can handle over 1025 colors.
Each pixel is specified by a set of four floating point numbers, one each for the red, green, blue, and alpha components of a pixel.
This color space is far greater than the human eye can perceive.
This level of precision in specifying color components allows image fidelity to be preserved even through a large number of processing steps without truncation.
Download Babya Photo Workshop for Mac:
http://www.winsite.com/bin/Info?2750000
http://www.versiontracker.com/dyn/morei
http://www.macupdate.com/info.php/id/21870
http://mac.softpedia.com/get/Graphics/Babya-Photo-Workshop.shtml
Babya AU Host:
Babya's first Mac application-Babya AU Host is now available.
With Babya AU Host, users can access all of their Mac's Audio Unit plugins, whether from a 3rd-party or by Apple. Drag and dropping from the Finder and iTunes is both possible.
Requires a Mac with a Intel Core processors to run.
Download:
http://www.winsite.com/bin/Info?2750000
http://mac.softpedia.com/get/Audio/Babya-AU-Host.shtml
http://www.macupdate.com/info.php/id/21925
http://www.versiontracker.com/dyn/moreinfo/macosx/30003
That's it for today's reader mail & rumor report-in our next report, we take a look at some of the newest features added to Babya System '06.
