Apple has released the Magic Trackpad, a multi-touch trackpad designed for use on desktop computers. It has a size and profile that matches Apple’s most recent keyboards. Priced at US$69, many have labelled the device too expensive, while others wonder if it is the beginning of a paradigm shift away from mouse input. Check out the MacScene forum thread for the community’s take, and see the...

Apple recently released the report on its third fiscal quarter, telling of their most recent trends, profits, and deficits. The results were surprisingly positive, according to the mammoth company's predictions. What's your opinion on their recent growth? Do you absolutely oppose iPhone 4? Let us know, and read on for the Q3 details... Highlights Apple's net quarterly revenue was $15.7...

To write about old games. We’re starting a new feature here called Retro Game of the Week (see the first entry here). The basic idea is that someone (you, perhaps) writes an article about an old game, then the MacScene the community discusses said game. Simple, right? If it’s going to work, though, we need your help. I will organise everything and help the volunteers with their articles (if...

The latest operating system for Apple’s iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch devices -- newly renamed as iOS 4 -- is now available for download from the iTunes store. It is a free update for 2nd-gen iPod Touch / iPhone 3G or newer, although some features are only available on newer hardware, such as the not-really-multitasking-but-still-called-it multitasking. There’s really no reason not to update,...

Leading digital distribution platform Steam finally made its way to the Mac on May 12, with around 50 launch games. The Mac Steam library now includes 96 titles, including newly released ports of Half-Life 2, Torchlight, and Portal. Check out the MacScene community’s reaction here, here, and here, in addition to a Portal-specific thread here. As proof of a drastically changing tech...

Emulation has come to the iPad (you owe me five coins if you didn't see this coming).  TouchArcade has pointed out a great YouTube video showing off an iPad playing Super Mario World using a Wiimote as a controller.  If that's not enough to get you excited, you can enjoy how much the person demoing the emulator sucks at Super Nintendo. If you're looking for more information...

A Mac-native version of GameBase64 Browser has been released. GameBase64 is a database of over 20000 Commodore 64 games, with detailed information and screenshots for each game. Setting up is not exactly intuitive if you do not already have the database file -- you’ll need to drag a folder (any folder) to the application, then it will tell you that the folder contains no valid database file. It...

Here’s some of the news you might have missed over the past month or-so:In news from just a few days ago, the Mac-only Nintendo 64 emulator Sixtyforce has risen from the dead. After more than two years without an update, author Gerrit posted a new version on his birthday earlier this week. The update brings major improvements to the Cocoa interface, graphics and game compatibility, sound, and...

In what is one of the most complete and comprehensive comparisons between VMware Fusion and Parallels virtualization software for Mac, MacTech concludes that across the board Parallels outperforms Fusion.  Not only in start up times, normal application execution, disk activity, and compatibility, but also in 3D graphics and gaming.  If you're looking for a solid thorough comparison of...

TouchArcade reports "Retro gaming fans can add another item to their "things in life to be excited for" list, as we just got word that Manomio, who brought us the C64 for iPhone [App Store] emulator, is currently working on bringing an Amiga emulator to the App Store." C64, the Commodore 64 emulator referenced, had troubles with the AppStore approval process when it was discovered...

Slow batch of news in 2010 it seems.    Well folks, here's an update to the Apple ][ Emulator.   Here's a list of features to those new to this application or this site.   Emulates the Apple ][, ][+ and //e Supports USB game pad and joystick Store a running machine and resume later on Full-screen mode Epson FX-80 and Imagewriter II emulation Many...

Seems like there's just a ton of iPhone news for us over the past couple days; and now we have news that Square Enix is bringing one of the most successful RPG series of all time to the iPhone and iPod Touch.  In December of 1987 the original Final Fantasy was released for the Nintendo Entertainment System.  Since then Final Fantasy has released twelve sequels (most recently Final...

Sega, creator of the original Sega Genesis console system, has just announced Sega's Ultimate Genesis app for the iPhone and iPod Touch.  Fundamentally, this free app allows the purchase of many classic Sega games such as Sonic the Hedgehog ($5.99) and Golden Axe ($4.99).  This app appears to be a fully featured emulator which downloads authentic ROMs of the original games; this means...

Apple has just released an update to Boot Camp that includes support for Microsoft's latest incarnation of their operating system; Windows 7.  The update also fixes a number of bugs, addresses a lot of various issues, and adds support for Apple's latest peripherals. This update adds support for Microsoft Windows 7 (Home Premium, Professional, and Ultimate), addresses issues with the...

byuu on the forums pointed out an update to the popular Super Nintendo emulator Snes9X.  This open source emulator sports incredible compatibility and has been the most popular Super Nintendo emulator for Windows and Mac for years.  This update includes a large amount of bug fixes, an updated sound core, and some Leopard and Snow Leopard specific changes. While Snes9x sports a must...

Richard Bannister has updated Genesis Plus to v1.3.1.  The sole new feature in this version is support for Game Genie cheat codes.  Genesis Plus is a very accurate emulator for Sega Genesis games.  If you are using an older machine or you are having speed issues with Genesis Plus it is recommended you use Generator. Richard Bannister is a popular Mac emulator porter and author,...

Looks like everyone's Christmas gift this year is emulator news on the iPhone.  Hot on the heels of Nescaline's release on the App Store (and prompt removal) comes the first N64 emulator for the iPhone.  Unfortunately it's only for jailbroken phones, but it has been released by the master of emulators on the iPhone; ZodTTD.     Ignoring the catchy Michael Jackson...

Update: Nescaline has been pulled from the App Store.  No official word from the developer about the situation, although this was expected. Emulation is not allowed through Apple's App Store; but today a Nintendo Entertainment System emulator called Nescaline [App Store] has appeared on the App Store.  Released by Jonathan Zdziarski, Nescaline comes with a handful of free games but actually...

As many of you know, MacScene v9.0 has crashed.  Some sort of technical error with our hosting service has caused the database to become corrupted, and our frequent requests for a weekly backup (a service we pay for) have gone unfulfilled.  Most notably the database table containing all of the posts made over the past two years of MacScene v9.0 is lost.  This put us in a bit of a...