The creative process requires that all images, movies, and sounds have already been created. eZediaQTI 2 is a composer environment in which all of the digital assets are assembled, and their interaction and attributes are defined.

The prevalence of PDF files, and their inherent value to digital publishers, requires that users have an arsenal of tools for editing them, and extracting content. OmniPage enables users to access elements from the files for repurposing. In addition, paper files can be converted directly into PDF files, retaining them in their most useful form, and enabling their electronic distribution to Macintosh as well as Windows users. Users simply open a PDF document and process it as if it were a scanned document.

The ordinarily complex OCR process has been reduced to a single button, yet does an extraordinary job of retaining the content of documents that are of less than ideal quality (faded originals, degraded faxes, etc.), and the layout of documents that have a complex structure (spreadsheets, reports, large headlines, small numbers, etc.).

After pages have been scanned and processed, the Voice Read-Back option can be used for proofing. The computer reading capability enables the user to follow and proofread converted materials without the need for a second person. Over a dozen voices are provided, and the user can adjust the reading speed from slow to fast and in between. $499.99

The program maintains a database of references which the user keeps in libraries created on the basis of subject or project. References can be entered manually, or by connecting to on-line or CD-based sources. Through tight integration with Microsoft Word (Cite as you Write), the references can be inserted easily, and directly, into manuscripts.

The program has been enhanced to perform significantly faster when executing import/export and sorting. Its new database structure, introduced in version 8, supports libraries of unlimited size, as well as the inclusion of images. Its over 2600 connection files, import filters, output styles, and manuscript templates, makes it the most comprehensive, yet flexible program of its kind. It is the ideal program for sharing and collaborating with colleagues, across platforms and around the globe.

This version incorporates support for Macintosh Spotlight search, which uncovers both EndNote references and related files on the user's system. EndNote references appear in an ordered list. Clicking on a library results in a view of its contents.

The new support for Unicode now enables users to import, export, cite references and create bibliographies in any language, as well as connect to native language libraries from any source. Users can flexibly connect and search worldwide data sources and benefit from 20 new MARC formats.

Several research tools work seamlessly with EndNote. These include RefViz (Mac and Windows), to explore references visually; OnFolio (Windows), to manage Web information; and sciPROOF (Windows), to proof scientific manuscripts for spelling and formatting. Trial versions of these products are bundled with EndNote 9.

Although this review focuses on the Macintosh version, the Windows version is similar. $329.95 for the full version. The student price is $109.95 with valid institutional I.D.

Most of the fonts in the collection are designed on a square em space so that they can be composed as borders with no tracking and solid linespacing. This provides the enduser with limitless design options.

Three of the newest releases are Cuts 3, Dingbats, and Sports. Cuts 3 includes a wide variety of leaves, wings, phones, light bulbs, and sunburst designs. Dingbats, as the name implies, is comprised of glyphs such as encircled numbers, check marks, ballot boxes, pointers, stars, etc. that are common to typographic embellishment. Finally, Sports consists of various types of balls, rackets, clubs, gloves, and other representations of popular sports. Each font is $19.

Although it is often more comfortable, and less expensive, to remain with a familiar version of a software product, to do so is usually shortsighted, and potentially damaging from a business and productivity perspective.

Software usually takes on a life of its own. The upgrade cycles of most applications run, on average, from six to twelve months. This means that users must take the time to upgrade their systems and learn new software capabilities on a routine basis. This is a fact of life for the creative professional.

On Sept. 29, 2003 Adobe set a milestone in the history of digital publishing software by introducing the Adobe Creative Suite. It represented the first integrated collection of applications that worked synergistically, streamlining production and significantly improving efficiency. The suite represents the spectrum of operations that digital publishers confront daily, and deal with in a nonlinear, and sometimes illogical, workflow. What Adobe accomplished with the initial release of the Creative Suite was no less than monumental in its impact on the daily lives of creative professionals. The major benefits included:

• A consistent user interface for all applications. This relieves users from the burden of dealing with differences in tool and menu placement, and the typically different working scheme of various programs.

• Cross platform support for files produced on Macintosh and Windows, and complete application performance parity across both platforms.

• Close integration of applications, so that files are easily and readily moved between applications and operating systems.

• Acknowledgment of the reality that no one piece of software is typically used alone to produce a given project. By bundling the full complement of Adobe software into one package it provides an affordable, complete, integrated workflow solution.

• Direct use of native file formats in CS programs other than their originating applications. It was not long ago that there were literally hundreds of text and graphic file formats in use, which served to unnecessarily complicate the exchange process between customer and service provider. Vestiges of that remain, however, Adobe is clearly not contributing to it.

• Version control using Version Cue, which recognized that projects usually require many files which undergo many changes before they are complete, and that several people are likely to work on them, interact with them, and ultimately approve or disapprove them.

• Recognition that creative content may, in its lifetime, take a number of different forms, and be expressed in a number of different publishing formats: print, Internet, electronic document, mobile device, etc.

• The designation of PDF as the universal file format among all of the CS applications.

• Sharing of the Adobe Color Engine, so that all applications work in a common color space and display and output color uniformly.

The Adobe Creative Suite 2, introduced on April 4, 2005, furthers the integration of powerful applications and provides significant new features to their individual sets of capabilities. Perhaps most significant is the Adobe Bridge, a visual file browser and asset management system that binds all applications in the suite together, providing common ground for accessing (and tracking through Version Cue CS2), and deploying all-important content. For the first time users have a digital glue that holds their applications tightly to the creative elements that they process. No contingent of separate software developers could have devised the intelligent structure, and exercised the grand overture, of building a digital asset system into a core of applications.

In addition to serving as a visual content organizer, the Adobe Bridge provides access to the Adobe Stock Photos resource, which supports the viewing and purchase of digital assets from a growing number of world-class stock image providers, including Photodisc by Getty Images; Comstock Images by Jupitermedia; Digital Vision; and many more. This built-in access offers users an immediate connection with professional stock photography houses that can sell and license images immediately, as they are needed.

A file in CopyWrite will consist of several documents, all related to a particular project. The author can create an unlimited number of documents, which can be chapters in a book, sections in a report, or categorized documents labeled as Characters, Places, Elements, Ideas, and Premises. The writer is free to create these associated documents as the urge occurs, and they are all retained within the single file, wherein they can searched, filtered, and accessed immediately. The file is saved automatically, so even an intent, preoccupied author will not lose any work.

Features include: Spectral Cleaning, which can remove background noise, such as coughing and whistling, without negatively affecting the output signal; 38 professional studio effects with cleaning and mastering wizards; automatic volume adjustment; sound filter for the Karaoke effect; production of disc and jewel case labels; and more.

Users have access to options that make the music conversion conform to listening preferences, such as applying the Tape Simulation feature to retain the warm analog-like sound rather than that of cold CD. Audio noise can be removed using the DeHisser 2.0 and DeNoiser 2.0, both of which can be applied using the Task Assistant, which provides mini-video tutorials. $39.99

A very useful feature is Clipping Services, which adds access to any NoteBook page from any application on the computer using the Services menu of that application. Content can be easily copied and pasted, and in some cases the clipping can be edited or annotated prior to pasting in NoteBook.

The content of a cell is accentuated by the addition of several attributes, such as creation and modification dates, keywords, stickers, and highlighting. This information is used to create a notebook index, which is generated automatically, and provides a helpful visual overview of the notebook contents. The table of contents is also generated automatically.

Notebooks can be exported to the Web, retaining their visual formatting, and including clickable tabs and expanding and collapsing outline cells. $49.95

The program is accessible from the context menu, by pressing Control-Command-R, by dragging files to the Dock item, or by dragging files to a defined droplet.

The renaming options are incredible, and include: replace at beginning, replace at end, replace characters, add to beginning, add to end, add date/time to begining, add date/time to end, remove at beginning, remove at end, make UPPERCASE, make Proper Case, add number to beginning, add number to end, and many, many more. If there is a way to automatically rename a group of files, this program can probably do it. A Windows version is also available. $19.95

The program supports a batch processing workflow wherein images can be resized at various quality levels, and watermarked using a variety of text effects such as engraved, drop shadow, and outline, in full transparency. The user selects the level of transparency, the rotation, and the location. The watermark can also be stepped and repeated across the entire surface of the image. The program supports PICT, BMP, TIFF, PNG, and JPEG. $20

The program is intelligent, and recognizes which files or folders have been changed, moved, renamed, or moved. Only files that have changed since the last session are copied. Files are not replaced until they have been copied without errors, and verified. Logs are maintained which show exactly what has transpired during each transfer, and unattended sessions are confirmed with e-mail notifications.

The program can also be used as a back-up utility, and scheduled flexibly. Files that have been deleted or modified can be retained for a preset period in an archive, and can be restored on the basis of various criteria, such as version number or date. $30

DirecType fonts, in PostScript or TrueType formats, are invisible and replaced with user-designed images that can be positioned, scaled, tilted, rotated, wordwrapped, and, of course, to match the 3D field of the host image, composed in perspective. The user can define multiple versions of each letter so that compositions look totally original, based, in part, on the randomness imposed by the software.

IOGEAR USB 2.0 Hub & Card Reader (MAC/WIN)
IOGEAR USB 2.0 Hub & Card Reader is an innovative peripheral device that combines a 6-port USB 2.0 hub with a 12-in-4 memory card reader/writer. The space-saving device can be positioned flat, or upright with the accompanying stand. The memory card reader/writer provides four slots that can be used simultaneously to transfer data between or among any of 12 different card types (CompactFlash I/II, CompactFlash USB, CompactFlash Ultra, Micro Drives, Memory Stick, Memory Stick Switch, Memory Stick Pro, Magic Gate Memory Stick, Magic Gate Memory Stick Duo (requires a Duo adapter), Multimedia Card (MMC), SecureDigital (SD), and Smart Media.). LED indicator lights confirm card activity, and power status. The device, which comes with a three-year warranty, is hot-swappable and plug and play. The package includes the hub, power adapter, and 6' USB cable. $49.95

The techniques are presented in a logical order for those who would view them sequentially, are are also viewable as stand-alone presentations covering such important topics as Camera Raw Basics, Liquify, Typography, Automated Tasks, Photo Restoration, The Pen Tool, and Complex Actions.

The presentations consist of narrated screen movies which demonstrate the processes, methods, and techniques that are both fundamental and of an advanced nature. Julieanne Kost is an excellent instructor, who is not only very clear and easy to understand, but explains each operation, why she is performing it, and what she has done (keys pressed, etc.) to accomplish it. She is the consummate presenter.

The package is a great aid for anyone learning the software, both novice and pro alike. Users can follow along and perform the same operations in their copy of Photoshop CS2.

This is one of the fastest, and most enjoyable, ways to get up-to-speed quickly with Photoshop CS2. In addition, the discs remain as an at-hand reference for review or for learning new techniques. We learned many new things while watching the lessons, and, at the end of each lesson, looked forward to the next. Each DVD is available separately for $159, or together, with the Extras disc, for $299

Users can apply custom overlays consisting of text messages, graphics, and time and date stamps. The user can scale and place graphics and adjust their transparency. Sensor zones can be added to the images so that images are captured only when motion activity is detected in those areas.

Schedule flexibility is built-in, allowing the user to determine how images will be broadcast, at what frequency, and with what overlay messages. Multiple ImageCaster documents can be created, and scheduled differently. Like all Econ Technologies software the user need only buy it once...updates are free. $30

The PYRO 1394 DV OHCI Host Controller is acknowledged as one of the best digital video interfaces available. It supports the direct capture of high quality digital video from any DV camcorder, as well as the connection of external FireWire data storage drives. The card includes three 6-pin FireWire ports, supporting transfer speeds of up to 400 Mb/sec., and comes with a 6' DV cable to connect the card to a DV camcorder.

The software bundle is impressive, and includes three professional Adobe production solutions. First is Adobe Premiere Pro, one of the leading realtime nonlinear video and audio editing applications. Second is Adobe Encore DVD, which supports flexible production of polished DVDs, with easy import of content and construction of menus. Third is Adobe Audition for professional audio mixing, editing, mastering, and effects processing.

This mix of sophisticated hardware and software provides a ready-to-run studio for professional audio and video production and DVD publishing. The package is an outstanding value. $499.95

The complete and essential guide for those charged with deploying wireless networks and maintaining them. Network administrators will find it invaluable for its information on planning, architecture, and network security.

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