Adobe announced that Lightroom - a new RAW digital workflow application similar to Apple's new Aperture is now available to download as part of a public Beta program.
The main advantage to Aperture is that it is available to buy NOW, it uses the graphics card to speed up image manipulation and it is Alpha software (the Lightroom application is actually Alpha software - that is, the features and bugs have not been fixed and is at least 6 months away from the final version 1 release).
Please note, whilst it is useful to get a glimpse of where a tool that might become as important as Photoshop is heading - I would recommend AGAINST installing this software on a production machine. Beta means feature complete but still containing bugs.
Welcome to the blog of D Revolution. Sydney based supplier of consulting and training to the digital professional.
Wednesday, 18 January 2006
Apple release new Intel machines at MacWorld
Last week, Apple unveiled the first machines to run on Intel CPU's. This is the start of a 1 year transition away from PowerPC based RISC CPU's to Intel X86 based CISC CPU's.
Whilst RISC technology has the advantage of efficiency of code and execution - meaning more code is executed at a slower clock speed (the reason a 2.5 GHz G5 is FASTER that a 4.3GHz Pentium), CISC has the advantage of massive market pressure keeping the price down and now for the first time, lower power requirements - essential for laptops, and small machines like the Mac Mini.
What this means for the publishing industry is "Classic" (needed for old scanners, QuarkXpress 4 and 5, and old peripherals WILL NOT RUN!
Also, programs will have to be re-released for the Intel platform - this should take around 3 to 6 months depending on the size of the program. Expect QuarkXpress, Photoshop and Microsoft Virtual PC to be late to the Intel party.
In the mean time, Apple have included "Rosetta", a technology that allows PowerPC programs to run on the new Intel macs.
The downside is that they will run at about 60% the speed due to emulation - similar to Virtual PC (which won't run via Rosetta)
Curently, the new machines announced include the MacBook Pro (replacement for PowerBook) and iMac.
This means that if you need new machines, you need to totally ditch any dependance on Classic programs BEFORE you buy a new machine. Call us for more information
Whilst RISC technology has the advantage of efficiency of code and execution - meaning more code is executed at a slower clock speed (the reason a 2.5 GHz G5 is FASTER that a 4.3GHz Pentium), CISC has the advantage of massive market pressure keeping the price down and now for the first time, lower power requirements - essential for laptops, and small machines like the Mac Mini.
What this means for the publishing industry is "Classic" (needed for old scanners, QuarkXpress 4 and 5, and old peripherals WILL NOT RUN!
Also, programs will have to be re-released for the Intel platform - this should take around 3 to 6 months depending on the size of the program. Expect QuarkXpress, Photoshop and Microsoft Virtual PC to be late to the Intel party.
In the mean time, Apple have included "Rosetta", a technology that allows PowerPC programs to run on the new Intel macs.
The downside is that they will run at about 60% the speed due to emulation - similar to Virtual PC (which won't run via Rosetta)
Curently, the new machines announced include the MacBook Pro (replacement for PowerBook) and iMac.
This means that if you need new machines, you need to totally ditch any dependance on Classic programs BEFORE you buy a new machine. Call us for more information
Quark announce public Beta of QuarkXpress 7
Quark announced that QuarkXpress 7 is now available to download as part of a public Beta program.
This would represent Quark corp's last grasp at retaining the leading layout tool in the publishing industry.
If this release does not improve on InDesign CS2 and also retain Quark's ultra-reliable output engine - say good-bye!
Please note, whilst it is useful to get a glimpse of where a tool as important as QuarkXpress 7 is heading - I would recommend AGAINST installing this software on a production machine. Beta means feature complete but still containing bugs.
This would represent Quark corp's last grasp at retaining the leading layout tool in the publishing industry.
If this release does not improve on InDesign CS2 and also retain Quark's ultra-reliable output engine - say good-bye!
Please note, whilst it is useful to get a glimpse of where a tool as important as QuarkXpress 7 is heading - I would recommend AGAINST installing this software on a production machine. Beta means feature complete but still containing bugs.
Tuesday, 17 January 2006
Site Grand Re-Opening
Welcome to the grand re-opening of the dRevolution web site.
Since the company name change from "Desktop Revolution Consulting" to "dRevolution" the website has gone unchanged.
Now with a new host ( .mac ) and increased space 10 MB to 1GB this site will expand to become a portal for all your publishing needs.
Please feel free to comment on the new web site layout and content.
Check back regularly for future additions including publishing news coverage, webinars (web seminars), private customer portal, private partners portal.
Since the company name change from "Desktop Revolution Consulting" to "dRevolution" the website has gone unchanged.
Now with a new host ( .mac ) and increased space 10 MB to 1GB this site will expand to become a portal for all your publishing needs.
Please feel free to comment on the new web site layout and content.
Check back regularly for future additions including publishing news coverage, webinars (web seminars), private customer portal, private partners portal.
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