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&Else :: News & Reviews for 2007

  • You Are the News! Tired of feeling unrepresented by the media machine? The solution is citizen journalism, which allows writers and viewers alike to decide for themselves what is timely, relevant, and newsworthy. Paul Sullivan, editor in chief of Orato.com, offers his insights... Five Reasons Why Citizen Journalism is a concept whose time has come
  • Common Questions about Citizen Journalism Some Common Questions about Citizen Journalism and the Web Site That Gives It a Voice Paul Sullivan, editor of Orato.com takes a moment to tell us a little bit about this multi-faceted Web site and the future of citizen journalism.
  • Ultimate Patterns made easy... You'll never have to search for -- or fumble over -- patterns again -- this updated Adobe Photoshop plug-in makes the coolest patterns and textures so easy you wonder why someone didn't invent this before now. SymmetryShop is the tool that automates the creation of all types of surface designs
  • LightZone photo editing software LightZone for Apple OS X Leopard presents innovative and powerful photo editing capabilities with support for a number of new digital cameras, available for both the PC and Mac
  • PhotoBooks Here's a great gift idea for your entire list ... make a PhotoBook -- hardcover photo albums -- using the Unibind PhotoBook Creator thermal binding machine
  • High Quality Raytrace Renderer Microspot Interiors provides interior space and modelling space in the same application with a shared library, Interiors Pro gives professionals the flexibility they need to be truly creative without the computer slowing them down.
  • Instant Storefront RocketLife Technology creates an "Instant Storefront" that lets everyone, including individuals, businesses, educational and other institutions, launch a revenue-generating photo products and gifts website in less than 15 minutes.
  • Chroma Keying Plugin for Mac Most people don't need Chroma key support in their daily lives. But when you need it, you need it -- and when it has to be perfect, DVDxDV Veescope Key gets the job done as a professional chroma keying plugin for Final Cut Studio and Motion.
  • BusySync: Multi-User Calendar BusyMac has rolled out BusySync 1.0, their multi-user calendar sharing utility for iCal. Designed for families and small workgroups, BusySync allows multiple users to easily and cost-effectively share calendars on a local area network without the need for a dedicated server.
  • CDFinder finds everything on CD I have used CDFinder for years -- since version 2 in fact. With dozens of CDs of client files and archives, dating back to the early 1990s, I can give you my personal endorsement that it works
  • Grants for Solutions Congress Considers Grants for Technology Solutions to Stop Illegal Downloading or P2P Distribution of Intellectual Property on Campus
  • Ten Ways to "Get It Done" Richard Lepsinger presents ten keys to starting an "execution revolution" so you can "Get It Done" Every Day ... Goals and mission statements don't mean a thing if people can't back up the words with action.
  • Web Design for ROI What if you could change one button on your site and increase sales or leads by 10% to 50%? Making small, simple design changes to a web site can significantly increase profit margins according to a new book, Web Design for ROI
  • New Tutorial Videos These videos demonstrate exactly how easy to use and powerful these applications are. Learn how to digitize your LP collection using Sound Studio 3, as well as how to use Lineform's clean, uncluttered interface to create the most sophisticated vector illustrations!
  • Leopard Pocket Guide Mac OS X Leopard Pocket Guide fills this need. This timely new resource by Mac expert Chuck Toporek comes packed with more than 300 tips and techniques. It covers all the details you need to learn Leopard's new features
  • Yazsoft updates Speed Download Tired of slow downloads? Did you think you would actually get all that speed Comcast promised you? Speed Download for Mac OS X Tiger and later is an easy to use, powerful and reliable download manager that picks up where your portly ISP fails.
  • iPod: The Missing Manual Bopping around the iPod. Learn everything from turning an iPod off and on to charging an iPod without a computer.
  • Tips for Making Software Available for Download The size of a file has a crucial effect on the amount of time a user needs to download it. Software sales, when counting on downloads to increase in quantity, are influenced by this factor. Adriana Iordan reveals vital information
  • Unique Photoshop Brush Sets Graphic Extras brush packs for Adobe Photoshop and Photoshop Elements are royalty-free designs for art history, clone, blur, smear, pattern stamp, paint, dodge, burn + others.
  • Photo collage made easy You really didn't know it could be this easy! AKVIS version 5.0 of its photo collage plug-in AKVIS Chameleon is totally cool -- and a true breakthrough in photo collage creation. Works in Photoshop and Elements as well as any other Photoshop compatible software
  • Create a Watercolor from a Photo This very cool plug-in for Photoshop compatibles offers natural-looking paint media with ArtStudioPro, Watercolor, Technical Pen, Marker, Crayon, or Colored Pencil
  • Photo viewer in your pocket What a great gift this will make -- and it's totally affordable -- with digital foci's "pocket album" Digital Key Chain photo viewer ... carry up to 74 photos everywhere you go on 1.5-inch color LCD screen with 8mb of internal memory
  • Photo collage made easy You really didn't know it could be this easy! AKVIS version 5.0 of its photo collage plug-in AKVIS Chameleon is totally cool -- and a true breakthrough in photo collage creation. Works in Photoshop and Elements as well as any other Photoshop compatible software
  • WYSIWYG website creation tool XtraLean Software has rolled out the latest release of its WYSIWYG website creation tool, ShutterBug V2.3. This version dramatically improves the quality of images with the new image processing engine and the addition of filter controls to adjust the sharpness, brightness, contrast and saturation of images.
  • Free seamless backgrounds The fourth installment of Spiral Graphics free seamless texture packs more than 150 textures freely downloadable seamless textures -- bringing the total of free textures to 600 -- including all new terrain textures for games and maps
  • Making Things Talk Tom Igoe bestows the power of communication upon your favorite tech creations -- guidelines for electronic verbosity
  • The Free iPod Book Here's an update of the iPhone-friendly 244-page edition in Adobe PDF format. Available immediately for any PC or Macintosh computer... by its fourth day of availability the Free iPod Book 3.0 had been downloaded 300,000 times!
  • Protection against cybercrime Intego VirusBarrier X4 Dual Protection and Internet Security Barrier Antispam Edition could save your six by helping Mac users protect both Mac OS X and their Windows installation.
  • Microsoft Word automated output Multiple Word files -- printed at the same time? You can select the files you want to output, adjust the settings, and WordOutput will do the rest automatically.
  • Data rich and decision poor Almost every business is inundated with data that piles up higher and deeper on a daily basis. And when you're trying to solve a problem, sifting through it all can be frustrating at best and paralyzing at worst. Rudolf Melik offers a fresh perspective.
  • Linux Firewalls Linux Firewalls shows how to use iptables and Netfilter to detect and prevent network-based attacks -- in today's security nightmare, a secure firewall is essential
  • Powerful Notebook for the Mac Notae is advanced notebook software -- including such features as template notes (notes you can insert into other notes), partial matching for tag searches, optional automatic saving of documents when they are closed, adding or removing tags via contextual menus as well as many smaller usability enhancements
  • FTC to Crack down on P2P The chairman of a House investigations committee is pushing the Federal Trade Commission to expand its investigation into abuses by P2P companies, telling the agency it isn't doing enough. Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., chairman of the House Oversight Committee, contends that the FTC needs to delve more deeply into alleged abuses by the P2P networks (HR 7/25). Move endorsed by SafeMedia Corp.
  • DiskLibrary: Catalog your digital life DiskLibrary media cataloging application for Mac OS X is indispensable if you have a lot of media to keep track of. It catalogs not just your complete file structure, it also creates thumbnails, and stores metadata, for most popular media formats.
  • Activity Visualization Ascent is an activity visualization application designed to organize and analyze exercise data downloaded from exercise computers or imported via various file formats. Version 1.8 adds the following new features. (See video for sure!)
  • Marshall McLuhan ... Everyman's McLuhan Everyman's McLuhan is McLuhan's career; his words are accompanied by colorful and innovative illustrations that apply McLuhan's and Gordon's ideas to the realities of 21st century technology and media.
  • Photoshop Lightroom Adventure Field testing in Iceland turned out to be a stroke of brilliance," enthuses George Jardine, pro photo evangelist for Adobe Systems, about Mikkel Aaland's new book, Photoshop Lightroom Adventure
  • Adobe Photoshop CS3 One-on-One Pioneering computer graphics author Deke McClelland updates his bestselling hands-on tutorial for "Adobe Photoshop CS3" -- Read the Lessons. Watch the Video. Do the Exercises.
  • Art Text If you do a lot of graphics, check out Art Text for creating textual graphics, high-quality headings, logos, web banners and buttons.
  • Killer virtual tours Starting from digital images, the software's powerful central automatic stitching engine enables a diverse range of users to create high-quality panoramas and virtual tours
  • CSS Tool, Makes CSS approachable for Mac users Eric Meyer really is the leading expert on CSS for the web. His new tool, CSS Sculptor, created in collaboration with WebAssist, makes it easy for Dreamweaver users to create Web standards compliant CSS-based layouts
  • Graphic Inspector The latest version of Graphic Inspector provides extensive info about graphic files and helps locate potential problems according to user defined settings.
  • ConceptDraw 7.2 CS Odessa ConceptDraw 7.2 Dramatically Shortens Learning Curve for Business Graphics - it's vector graphics make it easy to build and modify all kinds of graphics not just charts and presentations!
  • Kinko's and Adobe There's been a lot of controversy over this move, but FedEx Kinko's and Adobe are going through their plan to Deliver Print on Demand via Kinko's across the country. The interface didn't work for me.
  • iWatermark iWatermark is the popular watermarking package for Mac OS X and Windows - ease of use with efficiency for beginner and professional photographers to protect their work. Add digital signatures, url, email address or company logo to one, or a 1000 images at a time.
  • Custom shapes for Photoshop Graphicxtras.com's latest set of royalty-free releases feature flames and fiery imagery: custom shapes for Photoshop and Elements; symbols for Illustrator; and font set for DTP and 3D and others
  • Showtime Gets CS3 Showtime Networks Inc. has implemented Adobe Creative Suite 3 Design Premium edition across its in-house creative agency, The Red Group. After successfully switching to Adobe InDesign
  • Buttons for Photoshop, Elements and Illustrator three new Button Themed Sets for use in Adobe Photoshop, Elements and Illustrator as well as a corresponding Fonts Button Pack. Custom Shapes Pack consists of 200+ custom button themed shapes for digital scrapbooking, fashion designs, packaging, books and more
  • Automate Illustrator and Photoshop Production Pack 5.0's plug-in interface integrates directly with the Workgroups 2007 suite, enabling users to quickly access information about the job or project they are working on.
  • Video Marketing Tips The use of videos on the Internet brings numerous advantages. Marketing expert Adriana Iordan shares advantages, tips and tricks for video marketing tools and techniques.
  • Small Business Marketing And Advertising Too often, small business advertising and marketing campaigns prioritize branding at the expense of direct response--i.e., actually getting leads and/or sales right now. That is almost always a foolish and even dangerous proposition.
  • AlphaStar for Adobe After Effects AlphaStar for Adobe After Effects create different types of highlights, stars, rays, flashes, blinks, lens flares, rainbows and etc., and gives a lot of possibilities to decorate video and create both natural and unusual fantastical effects
  • Free QuarkXPress 7.3 Updater More people use QuarkXPress for creative design and page layout than any other software in the world. Here's support for five additional languages including European Portuguese, Finnish, Croatian, Hungarian, and Russian
  • Sound, Motion, Near DVD Quality DXG ANNOUNCES DXG-572V DIGITAL CAMCORDER - Full-Motion Video in Near DVD Quality with Sound, 5 Megapixel Photos, Digital Voice Recorder for Only $149 ... pretty slick!
  • Create, Animate 3D Worlds e frontier has launched Power Bundle, a total 3D animation solution - Poser 7 - Vue 6 Esprit for creative professionals, graphic artists and hobbyists to create 3D worlds with human and natural imagery.
  • Artist's Guide To Gimp Effects The GIMP, an image editor whose power and ease-of-use rivals that of Adobe Photoshop, is one of the world's most popular free software tools. Here's the guide you'll need...
  • Free Photos at TurboPhoto 5th in celebration of the 5 year milestone, Turbo Photo plans to release an unprecedented amount of free stock photos for the month of September -- Thousands of web photos for commercial and personal use can be downloaded for free
  • Improve your Time Tracking Now you have the option to pause a running timer when a new one has started. Billings, the time tracking and invoicing software from Marketcircle Inc. has accommodated user requests for restricted timers in a new point release.
  • Toon Boom Digital Pro Toon Boom - easy-to-use interface - the complete animation software for professionals, offering advanced content creation, animation and compositing capabilities within a single application.
  • Tips on Writing a Good FAQ Adriana Iordan shares insight and tips on Writing a Good FAQ, those organized "collections" of valuable information you want your readers to learn
  • Logos 01 Today's designers must be clear on all the steps necessary to create work that stands out in an increasingly competitive marketplace -- here's a book to help you upgrade your image
  • BBEdit gets upgrade Since the early 1990s we've preached the true benefits of having BBEdit installed on your computer. It's been said that BBEdit should be the second piece of software installed after the System package. If you use text on your Mac, then you need BBEdit!
  • Store more, share more - at home NewerTech has announced the miniStack Drag, Drop Shared Storage up to 750GB for Home or Business, 6 Times Faster Performance, Extra Security with NDAS Technology
  • RapidWeaver gets a slew of handy new features RapidWeaver brings a slew of handy new features including an upgraded blog plugin, new custom RSS fields, and a brand new Dynamic Sidebar option allowing far quicker upload times
  • Memory for New iMac Upgrade your Memory for New iMac Intel Core 2 Duo 2.0/2.4GHz, Core 2 Duo 2.8GHz "Extreme" Models - Upgrade from 1.0GB to 3.0GB for Less than Factory Option to 2.0GB
  • Data recovery for Mac OS X FileSalvage 6, Data recovery software for Mac OS X now has support for custom file type recovery, embedded file search, and new bootable DVD
  • iLife '08 iLife '08, the most significant upgrade ever to Apple's award-winning suite of digital lifestyle applications, featuring a major new version of iPhoto and a completely reinvented iMovie
  • iWork 08 Apple has introduced iWork '08, a significant upgrade to Apple's productivity software suite featuring new versions of Pages and Keynote word processing and presentation applications, and introducing an innovative new spreadsheet application called "Numbers."
  • Disk Cleaner regains More Disk Space To regain space and keep your computer running fast, it's essential for you to clean it up -- Windows users can now reclaimj more Disk Space from Disk Cleaner than ever before
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  • Guidelines for Writing Software Copyright Adriana Iordan, Web Marketing Manager at Avangate B.V. Avangate shares important details about copyright law and copyrighting your software - the right of a certain individual or business entity to make copies of a particular work
  • Getting One-Way Inbound Links With search engines putting a damper on direct reciprocal links, the hunt for the elusive one-way inbound link is on. Content syndication expert Joel Walsh shares five major strategies for getting valuable one-way inbound links
  • Beautiful Code How do the experts solve near-impossible software development dilemmas? Renowned computer scientist Henry Warren offers this approach
  • Photoshop CS3 Photographer's Handbook Photoshop CS3 Photographers Handbook is a step-by-step guide that provides a simple and effective workflow for editing photographs in Photoshop
  • DXG 7 Megapixel digital camera DXG 7 Megapixel digital camera - Compact Design, 3X Optical Zoom, Large 2.5 High Res LCD, User-Friendly Features at an affordable price.
  • Dreamweaver CS3: The Missing Manual This one-stop Dreamweaver CS3 resource aims to boost the skills and knowledge of designers at every level, from novices to power users.
  • Learning Web Design Learning Web Design - cultivating a beginner's mind for creating beautiful web designs -- Jennifer Niederst Robbins brings you clear, easy-to-grasp text, user-friendly graphics, and hands-on exercises to teach primo design techniques
  • Dynamic Learning: Photoshop CS3 clear explanations of how Photoshop CS3 works, easy-to-follow instructions, full-color examples, professional tips and techniques, and something brand new: a DVD with Digital Classroom video tutorials
  • Photoshop CS3 Bible Get the book you need to succeed in any Photoshop endeavor -- totally updated edition to the international bestseller, learn how to master every aspect of Photoshop
  • Photoshop CS3 Forensics You may watch CSI the popular TV show... well crime scene investgation is very real, and Photoshop is a key tool for Forensics Professionals, law enforcement and legal personnel -- here's the inside story.
  • iPhone News Scanner MacTech Magazine has announced the immediate availability of the MacTech Community News Scanner specifically designed for the iPhone.
  • Virtual TimeClock, iDisk Virtual TimeClock Pro 5.5.3 is a maintenance release that features several timecard backup optimizations, including manual and scheduled backup support to iDisk volumes for .Mac members ...
  • More Adobe Releases Adobe Ships Creative Suite 3 Production Premium and Master Collection - Roll-Out Completes Largest Software Release in Adobe's 25-Year History
  • BitFonter 3 BitFonter is a tool for creative professionals who wish to create and customize bitmap fonts or to turn artwork into full-fledged fonts.
  • Image Cut (Image Splitter) Here's a creative tool for professional webmasters who want a foolproof method for splitting images including html for faster loading, easy building web sites.
  • Preflighting Adobe InDesign Zevrix Solutions announces the release of InPreflight 2.1, a comprehensive quality control and file packaging solution for Adobe InDesign which allows to quickly and easily locate potential problems, produce error-free documents and package multiple files.
  • Harrys Filters are back ... along with PhotoFreebies for Windows - Harry's Filters is a free Photoshop-compatible plugin containing dozens of useful image effects. The PhotoFreebies are a collection of 11 freeware plugins with various effects for digital photos.
  • Keyboard Maestro OS X Manager Stairways Software Pty Ltd has announced Keyboard Maestro 2.1, the new Universal Binary version of its powerful productivity enhancer for Mac OS X. This release adds native Intel Universal Binary support and resolves a number of minor issues.
  • PageSender SmileOnMyMac has released PageSender 4.0.3, an update to its top-rated fax software for Mac OS X. The update features improved support for printing faxes as well as other enhancements and bug fixes.
  • Savvy Clipboard Savvy Clipboard adds multiple Clipboard capability to Mac OS X. It facilitates copying and pasting repeated items, as well as storing frequently used data fragments of various types.
  • AlgoLab Photo Vector for Windows Vectorizer and image cleaner: a proven handy tool for designers and CAD/CAM professionals to cleanup, reduce number of colors and vectorize images.
  • TinyBooks accounting for the Mac TinyBooks is a simple, flexible, non-bloated, single-entry bookkeeping and accounting system for Sole Proprietors, home and other small businesses, and family finances.
  • AdWords Campaigns? There can be no good commerce without proper marketing. Adriana Iordan shares tips and techniques for proper marketing to boost sales reaching a specific range of potential customers.
  • Designing an interactive PDF newsletter Publishing expert Rob Cubbon shares tips and tricks on how to use Adobe InDesign to make an interactive screen resolution PDF
  • Low Budget Shooting Low Budget Shooting is the one-stop source where you will find instructions and a shopping list on how to build an array of useful and inexpensive photographic tools.
  • 40 Digital Photography Techniques 40 Digital Photography Techniques provides dozens of tips for taking better pictures and getting creative with digital photography
  • Watermarking Photos You work hard to take great photography and should be rewarded for your efforts. Watermarking your images is a way to reduce theft and to get recognition for your creative talents.
  • Snapz Pro X Universal Binary Ambrosia Software Snapz Pro X is a quantum leap in video capture technology, adroitly capturing full motion video of anything on your screen. It's our most recommended screen capture utility for Mac.
  • Anime Studio Rose Agent Rose Agent is fully vector-drawn and "bone rigged" with video clips that will help even the newest users draw and create compelling animations
  • AKVIS Noise Buster AKVIS Noise Buster -- Noise Suppression for Digital and Scanned Images - digital camera or scanner introduces digital noise - noise removal software removes noise while keeping fine details of a picture.
  • Human Resource Metrics HR to the Rescue! In light of the looming labor shortage, organizations must maximize the contributions of their human capital. Ultimate Performance: Measuring Human Resources at Work, a new book from Wiley, explains how.
  • Adding Ajax Easy Ways to Rev Up Web Applications -- Shelley Powers skillfully reveals the myriad advantages of adding Ajax
  • Affordable Scanners The Microtek ScanMaker s450 is a versatile scanner designed with both photo imaging and document imaging features -- to meet the diverse needs of a home office
  • Adobe GoLive 9 With GoLive 9, designers can master the basics of web design and then grow into building more sophisticated web experiences using the industry-leading tools in Adobe Dreamweaver CS3 software.
  • Safari for Windows Considering the successes of Apple's other Windows products, we knew it wouldn't be long before they would be playing in the big boy's browser sandbox. Apple has introduced Safari 3 for Windows PCs and Macs.
  • RAGE MapDesign 1.0 RAGE MapDesign provides a WYSIWYG user interface that allows web developers to visually add hot spots to a single image file which link to multiple web pages.
  • EagleFiler information manager EagleFiler information manager -- lets you archive and search mail, Web pages, PDF files, word processing documents, images, and more. Use it to collect information from a variety of sources
  • Timeline Maker Professional This easy-to-use timeline-making application offers one-click power and flexibility when creating static or multimedia charts (Windows only!)
  • Good Bye Typos Even if you use programs like BBEdit, with built in glossary functions, this program can save a lot of keystrokes -- auto-correcting typos, auto-typing text and inserting graphics across all Mac OS X applications
  • 12 Mistakes Presenters Make If you ever had to sit through one of those boring Powerpoint presentations -- heed this before producing your own... Paul LeRoux tells a story about a multimillion-dollar sales presentation to which "Murphy" paid a visit
  • Drop the PowerPoint Crutch Presenters from salespeople to CEOs have embraced PowerPoint, but they're using it incorrectly and undermining their own messages. Paul LeRoux, author of Visual Selling, offers six tips for regaining control and delivering presentations that truly persuade.
  • Tips for Online Advertising After over a decade, we've gotten pretty Internet savvy. But one concept that still eludes many professionals is effective online advertising. A new book by experts at The Advertising Research Foundation teaches you how to chase the clicks that really pay off.
  • How to Write End User Agreements Whenever you install software on a computer, you will have to face the inevitable: agreeing to the EULA (End User License Agreement). Avengate.com's Adriana Iordan will help you write the effective EULA.
  • Adobe CS3 for $89? How many people do you suppose fall for that headline in thousands of illegal email messages they received over the past week? New spam wave offers Adobe CS3 as bait to steal identity and scam unweary computer users... BEWARE...
  • LightZone Photo-Editing Light Crafts Unveils LightZone 3.0 -- Easy to Use Photo-Editing Software -- the first product to fulfill the photo-editing needs of all photographers
  • Closeup Shooting Closeup photography is one of the most fascinating photographic genres -- with Macro Photography, the digital camera photographer can capture tiny objects beautifully in photographic images.
  • Designing BSD Rootkits Traditionally, rootkits are used to covertly give a remote attacker complete control of a computer... but you can write offensive rootkits to protect against malicious ones! Here's how...
  • Own a Color Jonathan Munk shares important considerations for your Logo, color scheme and identity program
  • Cure ugly online presentations WINDOWS: WildPresenter is the only presentation software that allows users to instantly re-create all multimedia elements including images, video, audio, quizzes, text effects, and screen recordings
  • CONTINUES ON THE NEXT PAGE...

Thanks for reading...

Fred Showker
Editor / Publisher, DT&G Magazine

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