The new version simplifies the process of getting notes on percussion staves to look and play the way you want; includes more than 350 instrument sounds from the makers of Garritan Personal Orchestra; adds the Broadway Copyist font; lets you change or delete notes without changing chords; and adds the ability to export as JPEG and PNG files, as well as import JPEG, PNG, BMP, and GIF files.

The Mac version of Finale 2010 requires a PowerPC G4 processor or better (including Intel Macs) with 512MB of RAM and OS X 10.4 or 10.5. MakeMusic expects to ship Finale 2010 soon, but didn't give a firm date.

The software will cost US$600 for the full version, or $120 for a pre-order upgrade from Finale 2009 (MakeMusic has a Web page that spells out its for the full range of upgrade, crossgrade, academic, and site prices).--

introduced a trio of input devices on Thursday, including a keyboard that's integrated with iTunes and a pair of wireless mice.