Continue reading »]]> QuarkXpress is well known as the best tool for creating high fidelity print documents, and is used by some of the top publications around to create their content. Quark recently released QuarkXPress 8, which totes a lot of great new features. Most notably is the built in web and Flash authoring tools, now you can share your content from Xpress8 on the web without hassling with code, or an external program. In honor of that Quark is offering $750 worth of Exclusive Flash Resources for free with the purchase of any version of QuarkXpress 8. We decided to take a look into the Magician’s Toolbox as Quark calls it, to check out some of the resources.

Here are some of the coolest things we found:

Loading Animations

Inside the Magician’s Toolbox you will find a variety of loading animations that will be sure to catch anyone’s eye who visits your site. A professional looking loading animation will ensure user’s that they are visiting a well designed website.

Website Templates

There are some great templates for building a website included in the Toolbox. The templates are very clean and professional, and are a great foundation for building your website. Using a template saves a lot of time when building your website and still gives you options to make your site look unique.

Photo Galleries

One of the best applications of Flash on the web are Photo Galleries. Quark offers a few different templates as part of the Magician’s Toolbox. These templates are great for sharing family memories, event highlights, and just about anything else you can think about. The thumbnail viewer is especially cool, users can select the pictures they want without viewing an entire slide-show.

Purchase QuarkXPress 8 now for access to the Magician’s Toolbox and all the great resources it offers. We only scratched the surface on some of the cool elements in the Toolbox. Check it out for yourself to see how they can help you publish some impressive looking content on the web.

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Continue reading »]]> I don’t know if you’ve heard… last week… April 12th… highly anticipated… Adobe launched their next installment of the famously popular creative suite software series, Adobe Creative Suite 5! There’s been ample hype for the new release, particularly Adobe Photoshop CS5′s new content-aware fill tool. But, let me just graze over some highlights, in case you haven’t been aware of the press that’s been going around…

• Photoshop: Content-Aware Fill – remove an image element and immediately replace the missing pixels (I know, I already said it, but it’s so cool!)
• Photoshop: Refine Edge — precisely detects and masks the trickiest types of edges, such as hair and foliage, while eliminating background color contamination
• Photoshop: Puppet Warp — precisely reposition or warp any image element, such as straightening a bent arm in a photo or manipulating the landscape to generate a new perspective
• Flash: Text Layout Framework — professional-level typography capabilities with functions like kerning, ligatures, tracking, leading, threaded text block and multiple columns, as well as advanced multilingual typographic and layout features for more than 30 languages
• Flash: Code Snippets Panel — quickly inject code into projects for timeline navigation, actions, animation, audio and video
• Premiere Pro: NVIDIA GPU-accelerated Adobe Mercury Playback Engine — open projects faster, refine effects-rich HD sequences in real time and play back complex projects without rendering
• After Effects: Roto Brush — isolate moving foreground elements in a fraction of the normal time
• Illustrator: Bristle Brush —  set bristle characteristics such as size, length, thickness and stiffness, as well as brush shape, bristle density and paint opacity, for simulated life-like blending
• Illustrator: Variable Width — control stroke width at any point along a path, align dashes to corners and path ends
• New Program: Adobe Flash Catalyst — transform designs into interactive components without writing code

If you’re more of a visual person, there’s also a really long video at the launch site that gives an overview of the latest features in the new Adobe Creative Suite –tell me how it is, if you make it through the whole thing ! Adobe also posted a few coinciding press releases: Adobe Unveils Creative Suite 5 Product Family; Adobe Unveils Creative Suite 5 Product Family (Multimedia); Adobe Delivers Creative Suite 5 Design Premium; Adobe Announces Creative Suite 5 Web Premium; Adobe Debuts Creative Suite 5 Production Premium; Adobe Launches Photoshop CS5 and Photoshop CS5 Extended; InDesign CS5 Powers the Transition to Digital Publishing; Adobe Introduces Flash Catalyst CS5; Adobe Releases Illustrator CS5; Adobe Premiere Pro CS5 Redefines Nonlinear Editing; Adobe Helps Prepare the 21st Century Workforce with Creative Suite 5.

For a quick, easy-on-the-eyes rundown, check out this Business Wire page.

Now, are you as excited as I am?! Well, hold that thought for just a bit longer… According to all those releases from Adobe, “Adobe Creative Suite 5 products are scheduled to ship within 30 days, with availability through Adobe Authorized Resellers, the Adobe Store and Adobe Direct Sales.” Remember, these press releases are all dated April 12th, the same day as the launch. So, are we going to see availability by May 12th!? Well, most retailers (that even have the product up) are taking pre-orders but without saying a date. Amazon has disclaimers that say June 30th on the product order pages. Could it be possible that SoftwareMedia.com have CS5 available before the online retailer giant? Hm… Mid-May perhaps? Hmm…..

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Continue reading »]]> I’m going to come right out and say it. The Oscars were boring last night! Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin are two hilarious talents, but last night… I was not amused. Where did Neil Patrick Harris go the rest of the night? That made no sense at all. Just because Hugh Jackman did a successful number last year doesn’t mean you should repeat it — especially if the singer is not also going to be the host the rest of the night! What happened, Academy?!

Well, all is not lost I suppose. I’ve got a blog post out of it! While sort of paying attention to the Oscars last night, my friend Alex screamed out, “What?! They have a 3D TV now?!” Yep, it’s true. According to Gizmodo, Best Buy will be rolling out a couple Samsung LED 3D HDTVs on March 21st.

What’s made even bigger headlines today is the iPad commercial. Announced not too long ago, it’s probably safe to say it’s one of the year’s most anticipated tech products. Unfortunately, since the Oscars weren’t all that interesting last night, we seemed to have missed the broadcast. I don’t remember seeing the iPad commercial at all. No fear, that’s what YouTube is for:

Do know that HP is coming out with a similar product (with a much better name) called the Slate. And hey, it runs on a Windows 7 OS and supports Flash — whereas, iPad does not.

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Continue reading »]]> Andrew, our graphic designer here at SoftwareMedia.com, put together an animation tutorial using Adobe Flash and Adobe Fireworks (after much pushing and nagging from me, I admit). Learn how to apply motion to objects in Flash by using the classic tween feature.

If Andrew starts to bug the crap out of you, click on the image above to get him to stop waving and bobbing. Don’t worry, I got annoyed too — so I made sure he built in that click to bring things to a halt. Just kidding, Andrew… you rock, for making this tutorial….

First, Andrew reviews how to remove the background from an image using the magic wand and eraser tools in Adobe Fireworks. After the image has been cleaned up, Andrew describes how to copy it to your Flash library. He also touches on useful functions such as tracing a bitmap, creating symbols and working with the timeline in Adobe Flash.

For more software tutorials, click the SoftwareMedia TV tag or follow us on YouTube. Are there other Flash or Fireworks applications/functions/features you would like Andrew to capture a tutorial for? Let us know by leaving us comments!

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Continue reading »]]> Just released today… Adobe AIR 2 beta and Flash Player 10.1!

New features include:

Adobe AIR 2 beta

• Mass storage device detection
• Advanced networking capabilities
• Open a file with its default application
• Global error handling
• Multi-touch and gesture support
• Microphone data access
• Networking support

Read more about the release and the features of Adobe AIR 2.

Adobe Flash Player 10.1

• Ubiquitous Reach
• Global error handling
• Design for mobility
• More options for high quality media delivery

Read more about the prerelease and features of Adobe Flash Player 10.1.

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Continue reading »]]> Adobe’s new Flash Platform Services, unveiled Monday, assists in making Flash applications easier to share, and specifically targets social networking sites and mobile devices.  The new program will allow users to share Flash apps and games, instead of having to point to a link.  Advertisers will benefit most from the new platform, which will greatly improve content publisher’s ability to distribute, track, and monetize flash content.

How good is this? A better way to for advertisers to penetrate and track the lives of internet denizens?

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Continue reading »]]> Adobe launched the latest version of Adobe TV today, its popular video channel offering its own official advice and training for Adobe products. The new face of Adobe TV includes the ability to customize your viewing experience and interact with the player during tutorials.

Videos featured instruct on topics ranging from beginning tutorials, such as creating simple animations in Flash CS4, to in depth explorations of Adobe product features, such as  Photoshop CS4’s powerful tone-mapping capabilities, to advice on the best ways to integrate CS4 Creative Suite programs.

The new version of Adobe TV was designed in response to feedback from users, and offers a resizable pop-out window that will allow viewers to watch while working within the Adobe programs they are learning about. A free Adobe Media Player associated with Adobe TV is also available, allowing fans to save and watch content offline.  The free media player also allows users to stream podcasts and internet shows, collect flash videos, and  personalize via filters and playlists.

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Continue reading »]]> Today, Adobe announced it is extending its Flash platform to digital devices in your living room like internet-ready televisions, Blu-ray players, game consoles, and more. This means services like Hulu and Netflix will soon be available for streaming straight to your TV.

Simulated Flash television content, courtesy Adobe

Flash support for televisions will mean interactive viewing experiences and the ability to switch between web content and standard television programming. So, if there is nothing on TV at the moment, just switch over to Hulu or Netflix and stream whatever you feel like. This could be a major change in the way home entertainment is presented to the consumer.

Flash for your TV is just the latest development in what will be the proliferation of Flash technology into your everyday life. Flash is already installed on 98% of all internet enabled computers, and as I reported last month, Flash will soon be invading your mobile phone. This is great for content providers and consumers alike. It give consumers more freedom and customization in their television experience, and allows content providers to interact and retain their viewers with greater ease. I just hope this doesn’t devolve into pop up ads on your television, but I’m sure that will be one eventual side-effect.

Adobe also announced partnerships with content providers like Disney, Netflix, Comcast, and Atlantic Records, as well as partnerships with chipmakerse like Intel and Sigma Designs. Partnerships with TV manufacturers are expected soon.

New devices with support for Flash will be available starting in the second half of 2009, so you will have to be patient for a little while longer before Hulu is integrated into your new HD flatscreen.

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Continue reading »]]>

Today I ran across one of Microsoft’s mini-sites, MicrosoftGamePlan.com. Our Microsoft rep brought the site to my attention, and it actually sounded kind of useful *slash* interesting. I’m told it’s all about how Microsoft can help your business during tough economic times.

That sounds beneficial to us and our customers, so what do I do? I visit the site. To my utter disappointment, I see a bunch of white space, a small explanation, and a button to install Microsoft Silverlight. The site “requires Microsoft Silverlight for full functionality.” Boo. The website sounded cool, but do I continue knowing I have to go through this extra step?

I think about it. What is the deal with Silverlight anyway? Why can’t we all just use Flash and be on our merry way? It’s installed on 99% of all Internet-enabled desktops, after all.

But of course I know things aren’t that simple. Microsoft couldn’t just sit around twiddling its thumbs while Adobe commanded the RIA market. (While both programs are currently free, some question whether both Microsoft and Adobe have some sort of agenda with their offerings.) And maybe there really are benefits to Silverlight that can’t be found in Flash. The companies that are standing behind Silverlight – CBS Sports, Netflix & Blockbuster to name a few – certainly seem to think so.

I’m not sure what to make of the whole battle between Silverlight and Flash, but in the end I decide to go for it. The download was surprisingly painless. Took all of 10 seconds. And the site ended up being pretty cool. It’s kind of a wheel-of-fortune for areas of your business where you’d like to save money, complete with ROI Tool and Case Studies. Concerned about the expense and implications of your business energy use? See what virtualization can do for you. Other topics for savings include Capital Conservation, Travel & Communications, Business & Marketing Insight and more. See it for yourself (now that you know the caveat).

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Continue reading »]]> The new Adobe Flash Lite Distributable Player will allow mobile web users to view rich, engaging Flash content directly on their smartphones, while always having the latest version of Flash. This also allows developers and content providers to reach millions of new users through a user experience that will be similar to that found on desktop computers, with automatic updates that are seamless.

The Adobe Flash Distributable Player is already being implemented in the Nokia S60 and other Windows Mobile Devices. As expected, the iPhone is still not supporting Flash, and it is something we hope will happen EVENTUALLY. Many content providers and advertisers like Disney, Digital Chocolate, and Dolce & Gabbana are already using the distributable player to reach new mobile customers.

Flash content for the distributable player solution can be created using Adobe Flash CS4, and then packaged with Adobe Mobile Packager. For more information on this new Adobe technology, see the Distributable Player Solution page on the Adobe Labs website.

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