September Holiday Update and more...

Welcome to the latest update of the D Revolution newsletter.

Holiday notice.

D Revolution is taking a short holiday from Monday 14th September and returning on Wednesday 22 September.
I have a wedding to attend in Queensland, but will be available for phone support or after hours remote support.
If you need onsite help, I can arrange help via my contractor network - just ask...

Fastest Support Option.

D Revolution maintains an excellent online helpdesk.
For the fastest service, as well as the ability to track all services provided by D Revolution, use our helpdesk.
The helpdesk requires a provided username/password. If you don’t have yours yet, or (shame) have forgotten it, simply lodge a ticket using the anonymous form. Provide your email address and you will emailed your username/password for future reference.

Account Executive Wanted.

Do you know someone looking to break into the advertising industry?
If so check out this link to one of my clients, it would be a really good entry role
NOTE: Link is to a PDF hosted on the D Revolution server.

If you want to get in touch with over 400+ (and growing) like minded industry professionals, contact us.

Positive experience with D Revolution? - let the world know!

If you like to spread the love, log into the Google Apps Marketplace and post a review.
You will need either a Google Apps or Gmail account.

SAAS (Software as a Service) Rumours.

D Revolution has embraced the cloud - an easy and cheap way for smaller companies to acquire technology and platforms they would find hard to justify if they had to deploy/maintain themselves.

Xero.com is an excellent Online SAAS Accounting package with one major drawback - no integrated payroll.
Rumour is, they will be adding payroll directly into xero.com in the coming months...

To see the advantages of cloud based computing, simply take a look at the speed at which they add features/updates to services like Xero.com or Google Apps - normal purchased applications have no hope of keeping up with this level continued progress.

August Update

Welcome to the latest update of the D Revolution newsletter.

Site update coming soon…

D Revolution will soon be deploying a new website with iPhone/iPad support.
This entails custom CSS as well as Javascript detection for iOS device (iPhone/iPad)
If you are interested in adding support for mobile devices to your website, please contact us!

Official Google Apps Reseller.

We are now a proud Google Apps reseller. After trialling Google apps for D Revolution, then deploying for alot of our clients, we have now taken the next step in reselling Google Apps.
This allows us better support people on Google Apps with direct phone and email support via the Google Enterprise Portal.
If you are thinking of moving your emails to “the cloud”, or wanting to move up from the free unsupported version of Google Apps to the full featured Premier version, contact us!

With the Google Apps Marketplace, you can extend Google Apps, from CRM, helpdesk, bookings website, workflow automation - take a look.

New company depreciation rules bulk billing option.

The end of financial year has past once again and the question always is should we purchase new equipment now, or wait.
Starting July 1, small businesses (less than 2M turnover) can depreciate 100% of the cost of new equipment worth less than $10000 in the year it was purchased - instead of the previous 3 year schedule. Please - ask your accountant for advise!!

If you have a large project looming and need help, take advantage of our bulk billing to get discounted support credits to use when you need them. If you would like to take up our bulk billing offer - please contact us!

Adobe CS5 issues.

No software comes out without bugs these days - especially something with a huge code base like Adobe CS5.
Updates have now been released fro Bridge, InDesign, Illustrator, Dreamwaver and Photoshop.
To get the updates, in any CS5 application, go to > Utilities > Check for updates…

Font Management.

FontExplorer Pro X and Suitcase have now released updated plugins for CS5 to allow for correct activation of fonts.
If you are running FontExplorer (free version), you will need to buy the Pro version. People already on FontExplorer X Pro get a free update.
If you are running Suitcase, you will need to buy the latest version - Suitcase Fusion 3. Call us or Proton Digital for a quote.

Asset Management.

Finding the correct image, layout, illustration is critical today and is a major problem for most small designers and advertising agencies.
The usual method revolves around everybody in the company naming files in a consistent manner and storing them with the job or a linked “master folder”.
Retrieval is usually by searching through where the file is “supposed to be”. When the file is not there or a previous version - you get chaos!
We can setup and deploy ResourceSpace to help catalogue and present your assets in a meaningful way.
The latest update has also included hooks for a shopping cart - so you can charge clients to download assets - a key for image warehousing for photographers.
Contact us if you you would like to see a demo.

CS5 and other news from the interwebs...

Welcome to the April update of the D Revolution newsletter.

D Revolution Joins Google Apps Authorized Reseller Program

We are pleased to announce that we have become an authorised reseller of the Google Apps™ suite of communication and collaboration tools.

Since moving our mail system to Google Apps in July 08 for client testing, we have yet to have a single minute of downtime.
Over the past 18 months we have moved many clients to Google Apps. The addition of becoming a reseller allows us to easier manage Google Apps on behalf of our customers.
Getting support has now become a whole lot easier.
If you are interested in testing add-on tools to Google Apps via the Google Apps Marketplace, we can help.
As an example, we are currently testing SherpaTools to allow for easy shared address book creation and will soon be testing Tactile CRM and Zoho CRM.

If you need help migrating to Google Apps or want to see a demonstration of the functionality, please contact us.

Adobe CS5 was launched on 12 April.

As advertised, Adobe CS5 was launched earlier this week with a glitzy website and increased price.
The new version has some very useful production features for both photographers and magazine publishers.
Like previous launches, CS5 is not actually available yet, it should ship in 30 days. This means if you buy it immediately, you actually get CS4 and a free upgrade to CS5 when it ships.
There a few hoops to jump through first - you have to buy and register the version then apply for the free upgrade.
See here for the confusing details.
If you are on CS2 or CS3 and still have a few non-Intel machines like the G5, purchasing now allows you to move to CS4 (the last version compatible with non-Intel machines) and gives you a migration path when you are ready to move to an Intel Imac or MacPro using CS5.

If you need help streamlining your workflow using CS4 or CS5 from design to print - including moving to the new AS/ISO print standard, please contact us.

Client Poll results.

The results are in from our last poll.
Since the sample pool was a total of 5 respondents, we have decided against become a market research global powerhouse!
In short, as expected, the last 6 months was very tough on the printing industry with companies looking at downsizing premises and staff to cut costs.
Debtors has expanded, but there is optimism that conditions are improving.

Update for Twenty10

News from the IT and publishing industries

Adobe Creative Suite 5.

Adobe will most likely announce Creative Suite 5 next month - Every previous Creative Suite launch was 18 months apart.
If you are looking at new machines, or needing to upgrade from CS2 or CS3, I recommend holding off till the Adobe announcement.
The reasoning is that previously, when a new suite is announced - it does not actually ship for 30-60 days.
So if you order an upgrade from CS3 straight after the announcement, you get CS4 with a free upgrade to CS5 when it ships.
Considering CS5 will not work on any machines older than 3 years, this allows you to get CS4 which will work on your old mac as well as a free upgrade which will work on any new mac you buy.

iMac Update.

The 27" iMacs that Apple introduced last year have been under constraint due to a combination of issues including LCD problems, massive orders as well as Australia not getting as many iMacs as the USA.
Most orders for the iMac i5 and i7 should have now been delivered.
These new iMacs are the first consumer macs that are a good replacement for the big G5's still out there in production.
With the switch to Intel, most designers/advertisers/photographers are now forgoing the MacPro which they would have previously used for 5 years and replacing it with a cheap iMac that will be used in production for 3 years.
Of course, if you work with video production, the MacPro is still THE option, paired with lots of RAM, RAID storage and Final Cut Studio.
Contact us for a quote.

Optimising Performance.

Purchasing more RAM is an easy, cheap way to boost performance of a workstation.
The analogy for RAM is that it is like a desk - the larger the desk, the more things you can have on it at once - programs and documents open.
To see how mach RAM you currently have, go to the Apple Menu, then About this Mac.
Click the More Info... button to open System profiler which will list all your machine specs.
To see how much RAM (and what type) your mac can takes, take a look at MacTracker - http://mactracker.dreamhosters.com/
Please note: RAM only helps when you do not have enough - cramming 16GB into new iMac will NOT make it run faster.
If you need any help, or would like a quote - contact us!

JOB AD FROM CLIENT... Freelance Mac Op/Finished artist for publishing based design studio

Our publishing based Crows Nest design studio, that requires a talented Mac Op/Finished Artist for a freelance position.

The successful applicant will be working with a small and friendly team on a variety of publications and have the ability to see out a job from beginning to end. Have accurate spelling and grammar qualities with a high attention to detail and be able to work with in our small team and also work autonomously.

The successful applicant must have:

• Minimum 5 years experience and qualifications
• Very strong technical skills
• Ability to produce quality work within brand guidelines
• Pre-press knowledge and experience
• The ability to work under tight deadlines is essential
• Communicative and friendly
You will have previous publishing experience and a great working knowledge of Indesign, Quarkxpress, Photoshop and Illustrator.

When applying please supply a brief selection of your work (5 pieces) in PDF format (file supplied under 5MB) that displays, technical skills, resume and written references if available.
studio@lizpurduedesign.com.au

Client Poll.

Trading conditions are still very tough, although there is optimism, industries like print/advertising and photography are still struggling.
In light of this, we are conducting a poll on technology in use and work expectations for the next 6 months.
The information gathered will be released in the next newsletter and should be a good gauge comparing you with your peers in terms of technology used and expectations for growth.
The poll is completely confidential and NO personal details are requested.
Fill out the poll at our website - http://www.drevolution.com.au/poll/