" I was one of the people who's comments you've posted about this software. I've since gone to the pixela company's Japanese site and downloaded version 1.1.3 (which looks to be about the 6th version of their software) and installed it. Surprisingly it works just fine on my machine, I was worried it wouldn't work, since the page I got it from was entirely in Japanese. I went this route since ADS seems to have no interest in updating nor supporting the software that goes with their USB Instant DVD for Mac product and getting no response to emails I've sent to their (ADS) tech support folks since the middle of December when I first sent my reports on this product. As an aside, I wonder if LaCie would be willing to support those of us who made the mistake of buying the ADS hardware product?
The URL I got the software from is (I had already installed the ADS version 1.0 of the software):
http://www.pixela.co.jp/products/application/capty_dvd_vcd/download.html

They've fixed a number of issues I had, particularly those with creating chapter markers. The original version 1.0 software only allowed for randomly placing a marker then moving it in set increments (of .5, 1, 5, 10 seconds, etc). The newer version allows placing the marker based on time and sports a QT player type interface, so you can place the marker at about the right spot then hit play and watch til you get very close then use the 0.5 second movement option to place it exactly. There still isn't a way to define themes and the editing of labels/video text still feels very PC-ish. They have added the option to change the frame displayed on a movie if you use a icon (which I generally don't do) a-la iDVD now. There's a slider which works very similarly to the one in iDVD. The few dialog boxes that didn't have English localizations have been cleaned up also.

I didn't go looking for a newer version of the PixeDV product (the software that drives the capture device).
Brian O. "

I'll add this to the previous page of reports in the next 24 hours.

" Capty DVD software is available to customers who have bought a DVD drive within the last 3 months for $75.00 . If you have not purchased one within the last 3 months, you can purchase a new DVD Firewire drive that ships with Capty DVD for $379.00
LaCie Sales "

I wrote them again to verify that they are not selling the software as a separate item to non-Lacie (probably a Pioneer DVR-10x model) drive owners. Here' s their 2nd reply:

" Mike,
I am sorry about the misinformation. You can purchase it seperately from us for 149.00
LaCie Sales "

At $149 I'm tempted to wait for Roxio's (rumored to be $99) DVD authoring package for the Mac, but for those looking to buy a new FW DVD-R/RW drive, the bundle is a real plus.
(earlier news item follows)
There's been many past reports here on the Pixela CaptyDVD software but a reader noted that Lacie is now selling the software.

"Hey Mike -
I discovered that someone got smart...
LaCie has released their (actually Pixela's-Mike) CaptyDVD Authoring Software to sell "unbundled"... So, this is the inexpensive answer to external drives that want to use iDVD but can't... Someone had to do this sooner or later... But, defiantly good news...
http://www.lacie.com/products/product.htm?id=10064&CFID=30827
Bill"

That page as of this morning has no price and there's no 'buy' button that I can find so not sure what the price is or if it's available yet. I didn't try calling them but have written Lacie sales for pricing info which one reader said is $149. (see the update above for Lacie Sales info.) Although at $149 I'd like to wait to see what Roxio's DVD authoring software is like, If you're in the market for a new DVD-R drive, then the CaptvDVD bundled software makes it much more attractive though.
For past reader reports here on CaptyDVD software (which is also bundled with ADS's USB Instant DVD for Macs) see this page. There's a lot of reports there noting pros and cons, later ones first, many down the page. I'm not sure if the software has been updated since those reports, but just FYI to readers before buying. (That article has been linked on the Misc/OS topics page for future reference.)

"Hi Mike,
this time I saw on front page of your wonderful site, that you mention a Japanese website with instructions how to install Zalman heatsink into Cube and looking for translation into English.
I am not a professional translator and English is not my native tongue - so its surely non-professional translation, but I can read Japanese and made an English translation of the instructions for your site- maybe it will useful even a little bit.
Thanks for the great site!
Hash Chuluun"

Hash's english translation of the japanese .mac page is here.

"The File Browser Update plug-in increases the stability of the File Browser in Adobe® Photoshop® 7 running on Mac OS X version 10.2. This plug-in addresses a specific issue that could occur when browsing a large number of files in a single folder.
Requirements:
Mac OS X 10.2 or later, Adobe Photoshop 7.0.x. "

• Powerlogix G4 Dual 1.2GHz in G4/533 DP AGP (rated 1)
• Powerlogix G4 Dual 1.2GHz in G4/533 DP AGP (rated 3)
• Powerlogix G4 Dual 1.2GHz in G4/450 AGP (rated 8)
• Powerlogix Bluechip G4/500 in PowerBook G3 wallstreet2 (rated 7)
• Sonnet G4/1GHz in G4/400 AGP (rated 10)
• Sonnet G4/700 in 9600/350 (rated 8)
• Sonnet G4/700 in 8500/180 (rated 9)
• Sonnet G3/500 in PowerCenter 132 (rated 10)

(Warning - Overclocking may not be reliable and could lead to hardware failure or corrupted data.) You can find the full reports by searching the database selecting the indicated Mac model and upgrade card brand/type. If you've upgraded the CPU on your Mac, please post an entry in the database. Search the database for entries from most every upgradable Mac model *before* you buy. (Searchable by mac model/upgrade brand). For detailed reviews with performance tests and install tips, see the CPU Upgrades page.)

Combo DVD+CDR Drives:
• IDE LG GCC-4480B (48x24x48x +16x DVD-ROM) in Dual G4 AGP (OS X)
  
  IDE CDRW Drives:
• Buslink RW5252 (52x24x52x) in B&W G3 (OS 9.2)
  (listed under "other" brands, mechanism may be Ricoh, no iTunes/DB burn support)
• Lite-On LTR-52246S (52x24x52x) in B&W G3 (OS X)
  (not bootable from CD)
  (FYI - Illustrated CD drive install guide here covers G4 towers up to the Digital Audio Model, Beige G3 MT, B&W G3 and 8600/9600 Macs.)
  
  USB CDRW Drives:
• HP 8200e (4x4x8x) used w/G4 Cube (OS X)
  (Not recognized in OS X - I suggested trying USB Cypress driver in FAQ)
  
  IDE Hard Drives:
• Western Digital WD1200JB 120GB in G4/AGP Card (OS X)
• Western Digital WD800JB 80GB in B&W G3 using IDE PCI Card (OS X)
  (Illustrated guide to adding a 2nd HD here in B&W G3 rev2 and G4 towers up to the QuickSilver models.
  IDE articles page RAID section has an illustrated guide for adding 2 more drives in the side bays.)

You can find full owner reports (latest shown first) by searching the database by drive/brand/interface/mac models (the latest reports are shown first in searches). For guides to installing CD/CDRW/DVD drives or Hard drives in many mac models, see the IDE Articles page. The Firewire articles page also has guides on case kits, installing drives, etc.
If you've added a IDE, SCSI, Firewire or USB hard drive, CDRW, tape drive, etc. make sure you add a report to the database. (If you post an updated entry - make sure you use the same name, etc. as you did before so I can find your past entry. Thanks.)
(Incomplete entries are deleted. Do not post questions in the database, it's for drive reports not questions on what drive to buy - for that try searching the database for reports from owners of your mac model on the drive type/brand/interface, etc. you're interested in.)

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