New & Noteworthy: ViaVoice; SparkME; Office v. X news; OS X software; more

IBM ViaVoice X 3.0 is the Mac OS X version of this continuous speech recognition/voice dictation software. It includes an Aqua user interface/look and feel throughout the application, including VoiceCenter, Command Center, SpeakPad, and Preferences, faster enrollment, a re-designed Voice Center, new Command and Preference Centers, and processor optimization (for G4 with Multiple Processors and for G4 with Velocity Engine).

SparkME for Mac OS X is a real time audio editing and processing application.

Office v. X for Macs: A More Comfortable Fit From the Washington Post: "Microsoft has updated its market-dominating productivity suite for Apple's new Mac OS X operating system. In terms of individual features, the new Office v. X -- due in stores Monday -- isn't much more powerful or easier to use than last year's Office 2001. But v. X (short for "Version 10") still feels like a major improvement." More.

Macworld on Mac Office v.X's Entourage Macworld has a look at the new version of Entourage.

Software targeted for Mac OS X finally starts to appear From the Houston Chronicle: "Last week I received three promising programs that run natively under OS X. I have not spent enough hands-on time with any of the three to write a review yet, but here are my initial impressions. I've been waiting for Microsoft Office v. X and Canvas 8 since my first day using OS X. Now I have both. And while BBEdit 6.5 came as a surprise, considering that BBEdit 6.1 (also Mac OS X native) has only been around for a few months." More.

Like Windows XP? You'll like Mac OS X 10.1 even better From the Houston Chronicle: "There's a new, cooler operating system in town. It's got a slicker desktop, vastly improved performance and is much more stable than past versions. It's probably the best operating system upgrade you can make this year. And get this -- it's not from Microsoft." More.