Soejoeti

oem software

Its actually pretty awesome. I watched a full length episode of weeds on megavideo the other night on a car ride. No heat, no battery drop, really outstanding quality. I usually only use it for little five minute videos here and there, or certain websites(my bank) that use flash, but it is nice to be able to watch videos that people haven’t/can’t put on youtube. I am amazed that they could implement flash video as well on a 600mhz droid as a 1.66ghz asus netbook.
BTW what is farmville?

  +4

@Darkroom

Not sure how many people who post on these boards ever read the business sections. I am guessing not a lot, simply because they live in a world so removed from reality. Consider the following:

1. When earnings season comes around, Adobe, Google and Motorola keep shut. Why? Because Apple invariably blows them away with revenue growth and profitability. You'll not hear a peep about how well Android of Flash is doing. None. Why? because people would laugh in the face of Apple's earnings compared to the rest…

2. As soon as earnings season is past you'll hear tons of how great Android and Adobe and the others are doing. How come if these platforms are doing so well, their companies are doing to poorly compared to Apple? A paradox you might say. So when will these guys actually outperform Apple is Apple is always losing momentum compared to Google, Adobe and Motorola etc?

3. At the time Android launched, Google was worth more than Apple as a company. However, since then Apple is worth over $70B more than Google. In fact Google + Dell + Adobe + Motorola + Lenovo would still be worth less than Apple as a company! Amazing by true.

4. How given how much more Apple is worth than Google, you'd say – wait a minute, Apple stock is overvalued compared to Google. Not so fast! Despite the huge gap Apple has opened up v. Google, Apple STILL has a lower PE ratio. In other words, Google is still over valued compared to Apple!

5. Now why would companies like Adobe that claim to be on 90% of web sites and Google that claims to have 90% of search (or whatever they claim) be worth so much less than Apple? The reason is simple. Apple's business model brings them revenue. Google and Adobe are competing essentially with free products and they have to spend more and more on maintaining their free products to compete with Apple. But the favorable PE ratio for Apple says that even vendors like Motorola who are getting their OS work done for free by Google can't compete with Apple just on the hardware side due to efficiencies in Apple's production system.

What I am sensing is that people on this board are by and large simple people. People who don't know much beyond the headlines. For them I present my simple bullet point facts. The summary is that Apple is doing better v the competition that they have ever done in the past. The post earnings season FUD wants you to believe their competition is catching up, but they are not. Whether it is revenue or profit or introducing new products. Apple is way ahead of the competition. The most important comparison you can make when comparing who is kicking whose butt is to refer to the quarter earnings.

The smart money is on Apple. The idiots money is on Adobe and …

oem software

oem software

I'm an attorney too, and I share your frustration. I do not think that there is a magic bullet out there. (I'll follow this thread just in case, though, because if there is one, sign me up!)

The one thing I've learned is that you have more time than you think. Your boss would rather have you get it right, so ask if you can have one more chance to read it through before it gets filed/sent.

And I second the suggestion to read your work aloud. You would be surprised how many errors you can catch that way. (And although you may feel dumb, you can always hold up your phone so it looks like you're talking on the phone.) You won't need to do it forever – it's kind of like training wheels. It gets you to the point where you can see your mistakes as you're making them.
posted by slmorri at 5:29 PM on July 25

Before the era of photography, artists used many techniques to try to capture the moment. Most of these included working with light, color, tone, and composition. When photography came on to the scene and did a good job of capturing reality, traditional artists moved toward impressionism and other more abstract movements. As both art forms have now entered the world of digital expression, these worlds are colliding and giving artists many more venues of expression.

To compose and create a photograph feels easy to most people, but when it comes to creating traditional artwork, most photographers feel that to paint from photographs, you must have a specialized talent. Like the book Painting For Photographers, the goal of this DVD to show that anyone who can photograph can paint using photos. The same visual sense that drew you to photography can also help you turn your photographs into digital art work. The first three lessons are the bulk of this training with the remainder a set of bonus features that show you how to work with the Corel Painter Image Hose.

Lesson 1, “Part I: Portraits – Introduction (17:38 min),” begins with an introduction to painting by looking at how you use light and dark tones to paint an image, how to work with the various tonal controls, the color choices you should make when approaching a painting, and how to work with color schemes.

In this lesson, as with all of the following ones, you will work with both Adobe Photoshop and Corel Painter. In this lesson you will examine some of the basic operations such as opening and saving files. You will also learn some specifics you need when working with Corel Painter 11 such as the dialog boxes, using brushes, and working with tracing paper.

Lesson 2, “Part II: Portraits – Painting Eyes and Lips (17:58 min),” begins with what many call the window to the soul — the eyes. Here you will see how to determine the light source so you can make sure to show the catch light You will see the steps for painting eyes, learn quite a few shortcuts that you can use to lift a color, undo, resize, show and hide a color pallet, and more.

cheap software

Okay, you're not stupid. Neither am I. But I've used Corel WordPerfect at home and Microsoft Word at work, for years.

WordPerfect is better.

Not because it has a better learning curve; it doesn't. Not because of this or that cool thing that you can do – I mostly type text, whatever word processing program I'm using, and there's not much I do that's cool.

No, it's the codes. Only the codes. Those delightful codes!

Now, if you use Word at work, of course, you're used to the way it functions. But I'll bet you still find yourself, now and then, with some formatting you didn't ask for – with your words looking Extremely Strange on the screen and printing Extremely Strangely on the paper.

I'd like to say that never happens with WordPerfect. But I'd be lying.

Of course it does.

With Word, I have resorted on occasion to copying the text into a fresh document, or even copying it into Notepad to lose its formatting, then copying it back into the fresh document, hurling imprecations the while.

And I'm not (really!) unusually stupid. Nor unusually tech-unsavvy.

It's true that at work (in a library), I was often working with children who had no idea how to use a word processor, but were required to do so by their school. They could mess up a document faster and more creatively than you can imagine!

But I make mistakes at home, too, even though I'm a grownup. Sometimes the fingers go faster than the brain; sometimes I think I know what I'm doing, but I don't. And sometimes I'm trying out something new to me.

So, suddenly my page looks funny.

When that happens, because I'm a keyboard kind of guy, I usually hit Alt-F3. Sometimes, instead, I click on the “View” menu and scroll down to click “Reveal Codes.”

Bang! Suddenly, I have a gray window at the bottom of the page. The gray space shows my text, the formatting codes, and a cursor that keeps up with my cursor. I can make the window larger or smaller; often, I just leave it open, sized at three or four lines deep.

This window shows everything! This paragraph, for example, looks like this with its codes revealed -

This*window*shows*Italceverything!Italc**This*paragraph,*for*example,*looks*like*this*with*its*codes*revealed*-:4:33HRt

In the real WordPerfect, the asterisks would be little diamonds, and the numbers, HRt's and Italc's would be in variously shaped little boxes, very easy to find (and searchable, too). They show exactly when you switched to italics, exactly how many hard returns you used between paragraphs.

None of this is necessary for robots, but for those of us who are human and make human mistakes, this is an enormous benefit: You don't have to have any idea what you did wrong! “How did that code get there?” you say, but you don't really care. You just take it out, and the screen above reverts to something normal.

Sometimes it's not that simple, but most of the time, it really is.

Oh, I do love codes! Thank you, Corel!

oem software

cheap software

Whether you're a budding web developer or a professional web designer, you're limited by the software you use. To let your creativity be your only limit, it's important to choose the best software program for your web design needs. This list provides the top three web design software packages for Windows and Mac systems. No matter what type of sites you want to design, there is a perfect software package for you.

Windows Based Software

CoffeeCup HTML Editor

CoffeeCup HTML Editor is a powerful HTML editing tool allowing you to create amazing websites with ease. CoffeeCup has built in code completion and validation. For beginners, CoffeeCup offers tag references and themes to get your site up and running quickly. Support is available for HTML5 and CSS3.

Easily organize websites and web design projects with CoffeeCup's organization tool. With the provided validation tools, your site works more consistently with various browsers. For further testing and previewing, three preview modes are available, including previewing the site in ten different browser windows within CoffeeCup HTML Editor.

Dreamweaver

Adobe's Dreamweaver software is available for both Windows and Mac. You can develop visually in a WYSIWYG editor or directly in a code editor. Testing is easy with the Adobe BrowserLab, which is offered through Adobe CS Live.

Dreamweaver supports CSS and easy flash video integration. CSS starter pages are provided to help you get started. To go beyond HTML, Dreamweaver has numerous plug-ins allowing you to add videos, designs and code not available through HTML. Dreamweaver supports both web design and web application projects, allowing you to create basic and advanced sites.

Expression Web

Expression Web, by Microsoft, provides sophisticated CSS layouts that can be fully customized to meet your site's needs. To speed up the browser testing process, Expression Web offers Super Preview to view and debug your site in various browsers quickly.

Intellisense and color coding are available in Expression Web's code editor for HTML, PHP, JavaScript and CSS. Real-time validation provides instant feedback to make coding easier. Expression Web also supports many scripting and server-side technologies, such as XML, Silverlight and ASP.NET.

Drag and drop controls are available to quickly add files to your project, such as Windows Media, Silverlight and DeepZoom. Another incredible feature of Expression Web is SEO reporting, which provides information about your site to help you improve your site's search results.

Mac Based Software

Sandvox Pro

Sandvox Pro by Karelia is the perfect web design software for Mac users, both beginners and experienced users. The great thing about Sandvox is that you can try it before you buy to ensure you're getting the features you need.

With Sandvox Pro, you don't need to know HTML to use it. With their HTML editor, you can enter your own HTML or paste code into raw HTML pages or pagelets for immediate results. However, if you are an experienced HTML user, Sandvox has support for advanced HTML. By clicking any element on a page, you can quickly edit the HTML for that element or create an HTML page from scratch.

You can easily see how your page will look outside of the web designer. This lets you see how your site looks in the browser window. Sandvox supports Google integration including Google Analytics and Google Webmaster Tools. Combined with the easy to use and understand graphical interace, Sandvox Pro Edition is a win-win for web designers.

Rapid Weaver

Rapid Weaver is built especially for Mac OS X Leopard operating system, with a familiar interface Mac users will love. Rapid Weaver takes advantage of all Leopard has to offer, including Quick Look, Core Animation and iLife integration.

Rapid Weaver supports one click publishing and supports almost every web host by having built in support for FTP, SFTP and MobileMe. To quickly design your site, ten page types and over forty themes are available. Rapid Weaver also allows you to view your text and code side by side and supports drag and drop to quickly add images and ads to your web pages.

Coda

Coda offers web design software that allows a single screen for everything, including development and file transfer. To make web design even easier, Coda supports plug-ins, which allows you to easily integrate code from other developers into your site. Find files quickly and easily with Coda's version of Spotlight, which allows you to type a few letters of the file name to locate the file.

In addition to code checking, Coda also has a spell check feature that checks only your words, not your code.

oem software

cheap software

Top of the line photo editing and image creation with Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator Creative Suite 4 can take your work to the next level.

Ease of Use, Performance: 24/25
Look & Feel: 24/25
Features 23/25
How much I enjoy 24/25

Total: 95/100

Adobe Photoshop Creative Suite 4 is a bitmap image editing program that is updated and tweaked for the best and easiest image editing software. Adobe Illustrator CS4 is the vector drawing program from Adobe that has been enhanced with a few additions but mostly recreated in the same likeness as other Creative Suite 4 products.

Both programs have been tweaked and enhanced since they first came out and many additions come from what users want and need to continue using the product. One major feature of both programs is the overall appearance but another is the being able to move things from program to program in the Creative Suite easily.

Several complaints about previous versions of Adobe software include the fact that to move a project piece from one software program to another meant opening that program, then exporting and importing the work piece. Now they often have open with or other commands inside or even a tool to edit the piece in one program and save the work in the other format without having to open the other program.

Photoshop CS4 includes a few enhancements and main features but one that was really an upgrade for many people is the availability of Photoshop CS4 in 64 bit Windows Vista. For those running Windows Vista 64 bit for better memory and other features that operating system offers you can now run Photoshop CS4 on your system for better handling of large images with the better memory management 64 bit Windows offers.

A new adjustments palette, Context scaling, New configuration palette creator and performance enhancements round out this new release. While many of these improvements, new tools and better working environment in themselves do not warrant an upgrade this is surely a better program overall and worth a look.

The adjustments palette is a handy feature that adds common adjustments like levels, colors and curves to a palette form that you can use on the side instead of a dropdown menu choice. While this does not add a lot of flexibility or added features it is a nice feature that adds a more flexible use to the overall workplace for Photoshop.

The Context Scaling tool is a nice feature that allows you to change the overall size of a picture and keep certain things in the picture. This is quite handy for things like scenic vistas with people and you want to keep the people in the picture but are not worried about the background getting a bit messed up.

This tool is nice for editing an image but does take some practice and extra work after the tool has been used to clean up the picture. You can do a nice job with reducing or changing the size of a picture and keeping certain parts of the image but again this is not really a tool worth upgrading to CS4 for in itself.

Some performance benefits that have been added are smooth zooming using OpenGL enabled systems which is just a better graphics system using a video or graphics card. The smooth zoom allows you to zoom in varying levels or amounts instead of using steps that the previous version used.

Other useful features of Photoshop CS4 include an adjustable brush size much like the Zoom tool so you can adjust the brush size in small increments instead of the predetermined sizes available previously. A new Panel Configurator allows you to take only the tools, commands and scripts you use and create your very own panel or palette.

This is probably one of the best new features of the Creative Suite I have used while reviewing it as it allows you to really customize a single panel for your commonly used tools and commands. While the new features of Photoshop CS4 do not really warrant an upgrade to this release with all of the new features of this and other programs in the Web Premium package they surely make for a much better suite of programs.

The upgrades to the suite of programs that allow for easier integration and working between the programs with various formats and parts of a project certainly make for a better suite and using them as a whole will be easier. The main project and workflow has definitely been looked at and improved and this seems to be the major area of attention by Adobe so that a single project is easier using all the programs of the suite.

Now on to Adobe Illustrator, a program that I have not used before but liked a lot of its features such as the simple to use tools. Illustrator is similar to CorelDRAW in that it is a vector drawing program but with many more features and more in depth tools.

Illustrator is not a program you can simply pick up and use with little instruction or tutorials and get the hang of in a day or so, it will take weeks of use to fully realize the potential of this program. I have been playing around with Illustrator in a few pet projects of mine to see what it's like and what the new features really amount to and it is impressive.

Illustrator has some new tools and features that I really cannot say if it is worth upgrading to from the previous release but they are impressive. Multiple Artboards is not like new pages or documents as it creates different sized drawings into a single project using specific tools.

Working with one project and being able to have different sizes and orientations for drawings means no messing with reorienting things when getting ready to publish. You can also quickly and easily move things into other programs like Flash using these Artboards for simple creation between the programs.

In my example with the pictures I am using you could create a pieced together robot such as the large white one and cut and draw the various sections and pieces using Illustrator. Then when you have sections that would work together such as a foot you can copy these sections into a new artboard for later use in a Flash animation of this robot walking.

The various pieces you draw would make up different parts of a set of drawings you can easily create and keep as one file within the same document for easy working with the set of drawings. You can also publish your project using a PDF document in one simple process instead of having to piece things together in Acrobat.

I know I have not even scratched the surface of this new feature nor have I worked much with Illustrator but this looks to be a great feature that many have been wanting. One thing I have noticed about using Adobe products for a few years now, they really do listen to users and try hard to get suggestions and customer wants into their products.

Other new features include the Blob brush for creating varied type strokes with easily editable sizes that merge to like colored areas. You can also select single objects and merge or edit with only those objects for a tool that adds a creative aspect that is intuitive and works well.

Two different applications that the Blob brush tool would wrk well that I have played with is coloring in a drawing with a color and merging the strokes into the surrounding colors. Another use is drawing letters or parts of a logo and being able to merge to one part of the drawing and not others so your editing the part you want and not selecting or adding to others.

Other features added to Adobe Illustrator are transparency with gradients, clipping masks that totally hide objects and changing gradients directly on the objects instead of in the palettes. These other additions work well and make for a few extras that are an added boost to the CS4 lineup but may not be worth the upgrade themselves.

The Artboards themselves make the new Creative Suite 4 version of Illustrator a nice feature and for many who create multipart projects a must for this version. The other features also make it nice but the use of Artboards and the integration between programs in the suite will probably make this upgrade a must for previous Adobe Creative Suite users.

The Web Premium Creative Suite 4 is definitely worth the cost for anyone needing a web design suite of software with everything you need. If you're considering the upgrade from a previous version I think this is one upgrade that you will not want to miss with the added features and integration.

Adobe Web Premium Creative Suite 4 is well worth the cost for web designers and web based illustrators wanting to create projects and individual pieces with easy to use programs. While I have not used all of this suite from Adobe I can easily see why Adobe is the industry leader in web and image design and creation.

oem software

Adobe is showcasing the new Motorola Droid 2's ability to play Flash 10.1 out of the box in a new demo video (below). Other handsets, including the HTC Evo and Motorola Droid X, are currently in the process of getting the software update. The Droid 2 has hardware acceleration for Adobe's plugin, making for smooth videos and games shown off in the clip.

The Droid 2 will give users the ability to quickly share videos with friends or followers on the popular social networks, including Facebook and Twitter. Other Flash content commonly found on the web includes animations, rich Internet apps, e-commerce, music and other audio apps.

Verizon is due to start selling the Droid 2 on Thursday and should upgrade both the original Droid and Droid X to Android 2.2 in the near future.

We all know that the Motorola Droid 2 is launching on August 12th. Pre-orders start tomorrow, folks. And, we all know that Android 2.2 is coming pre-installed on the device, as it’s one of the main selling points of the upgraded Droid model. And with Froyo, also comes Flash Player. While there’s been a huge furor over whether or not it even works on the device, as many original Droid owners are having a heck of a time with their own upgrade to Froyo and utilizing the software, it looks like Adobe themselves wanted to calm folks down. So, here’s a video.

And, sure enough, it looks like it works. And, we can confirm that Adobe’s Flash Player is definitely featured right on the Droid 2’s box, so it’s a pretty big deal to Motorola, Verizon, and of course Adobe. However, to get into the details, it looks like Adobe currently has their Flash Player 10.1 Beta at version number 3, and the final version is all set to get released on August 16th at the Adobe Android summit. So, that should mean all the other devices out there that can use the service, will be able to without a problem. Devices like the Samsung Galaxy S line-up, the Droid X, and the HTC Incredible should all get updated in due time.

: Here’s an official statement from Adobe, about the state of Flash Player 10.1, its Beta tag, and when it’s going to launch to other devices:

“Adobe released Flash Player 10.1 in June to OEM and platform partners worldwide. This is the final release that partners like HTC and Verizon/Motorola are distributing to their customers. Examples are the HTC Evo, HTC Desire and the new DROID 2 by Motorola, which is the first smartphone that will come pre-installed with Flash Player 10.1. We expect additional Android devices and other mobile platforms to get Flash Player 10.1 over the next few weeks. The version of Flash Player 10.1 that is available on the Android Market for the Google Nexus One is a Beta 3. A final release will be posted shortly.”

[via Android and Me]

Adobe is not satisfied just having their Flash video technology cornering the web video marketplace; the computer graphics giant is aiming to make their latest version of Adobe Media Player the de facto video hub and streaming video standard on your computer.

Adobe has released the Adobe Media Player 1.1, the front-end for Adobe's video content distribution network. Adobe Media Player is aiming to be your computer's one stop, easy to use destination for cataloging, finding, storing and of course viewing a wide variety of video content on the web. Think a video version of Apple Computer's wildly successful iTunes mp3 software and on-line music store.

Programming available for you to view on the Adobe Media Player currently includes offerings from: The Food Network, CBS, HGTV, Comedy Central, PBS, Showtime and MTV. According to Adobe, the latest version of Adobe Media Player introduces a new streamlined interface with lots of eye-candy and a deal with Sony Pictures that will allow users to watch Sony's movies on-line.

So what are you going to need to run this multimedia monster? Adobe Media Player is available for Windows and Mac OS X. Windows will need a Intel Pentium 4 2.33GHz or faster processor, XP with Service Pack 2 or Vista Home, Business, or Ultimate along with 1GB of RAM and 64MB of VRAM. Intel Mac users will need a Core Duo 1.33GHz or faster processor, at least Mac OS X 10.4.9 and above and 1GB of RAM and 64MB of VRAM.

Adobe Media Player can be downloaded from the company's website at:

http://www.adobe.com/products/mediaplayer/

mac discount software

Valve's Steam for Mac has boosted developers' interest in releasing Mac versions of their games, but according to Valve, that interest won't translate into more new Mac releases until next year. Still, Valve believes that 2011 will mark a sort of renaissance for Mac gaming.

Valve director of business development Jason Holtman said in an interview with GamesIndustry that, while hard numbers weren't available to share, there are plenty of Mac users on Steam. Even users with both PCs and Macs are using the Mac to buy games, instead of thinking of their PC as the sole machine for gaming. 

“They're not thinking about their PC and Mac being separate anymore, they're really thinking about both of them being together and the platform just being there,” Holtman said.

That behavior is driving new interest in delivering Mac versions of current game releases from publishers, as opposed to considering ports after the Windows version has shipped. “Developers who weren't thinking about the Mac a year ago are coming to us and saying, 'Wow! How could I make a Mac version of my game?'” said Holtman.

Graphics performance is still an issue on Mac OS X, though, and so is OpenGL coding for developers more accustomed to DirectX. Apple still has plenty of work to do to support newer versions of OpenGL and better optimize graphics drivers to achieve performance parity with Windows. But to help developers accelerate development schedules and work around these issues somewhat, Valve is making code it has developed for the GL layer available to Steamworks partners. 

Those developers “will have access to some of the hard work that we do to get our games up on Mac, and they'll be able to incorporate that into their games,” Holtman told GamesIndustry. “And our hope is it gets them there faster.”

Even with Steam for Mac making a great distribution platform and Valve providing OpenGL graphics tools, though, Mac gamers shouldn't expect a bunch of simultaneous releases from other top-tier developers just yet. For games already in the development process for 2010, adding a Mac version could ruin current schedules and cause release delays. Valve vice president of marketing Doug Lombardi said that publishers are instead looking at releases planned for 2011, and looking at how to incorporate making a Mac version from day one.

“The interesting thing we're seeing from publishers and developers alike is… they aren't thinking about porting their games to Mac,” Holtman said. “They're thinking, 'I need to write for a Mac. I'm not going to do a port six months later or maybe a year later, I should bring that in and do that now because there's a fair amount of people out there.'”

While gaming has never been one of the Mac's strong suits, Valve's efforts to bring more developers to the platform and generate interest in first-class Mac OS X versions of top-tier games is certainly welcome. 

In part 1 of this article, I covered some basic items in Apple’s Snow Leopard System Preferences. In this second part, we’ll cover a few more basic items—and for some Mac users, perhaps a couple of hidden items which are not regularly used. I’m skipping over the Internet & Wireless items in System Preferences—namely because I assume if you’re reading this that you have your Internet connection set up properly.

MakeUseOf has also published a few other articles on wireless connections that you might find useful. Those include “How to Share the Internet Connection Between Mac and PC“ and another article on sharing file between Mac and Windows computers. There’s also an article on setting parental controls on your Mac. Not to be missed, MakeUseOf’s handy PDF guide: The Mac Manual.

Here are the preference items we’ll be looking at.

Energy Saver

Though computers are nothing more than machines, they still need their rest — not only to maintain performance but also to save energy. In Energy Saver, you can set controls for when to put your computer to sleep, as well set times for it to shut down and start back up (click the Schedule button to set shut-down and restart times). I personally only restart my computer about once a week, but I do make sure it automatically put to sleep when not in use.

Software Update

One of the best ways to keep your computer in tip-top shape is to keep it backed up and updated with the latest versions of software. When Apple releases the latest version of its operating system or software, it will send a notice to your computer to download and install that update. If you want to find out whether you missed one or more updates, click on the Check Now button and it will verify if you need to update the operating system or other Apple software installed on your Mac. Note, however, that it will not check for third party applications.

Clicking on the Installed Software button will reveal what versions of Apple software are already installed on your computer. You can also run this check by clicking on the Apple icon in the upper-left corner of your Mac‘s menu bar and selecting Software Update.

Text to Speech

MakeUseOf has already covered the Speech Recognition feature of System Preferences, but there’s also a feature called Text to Speech which is a handy tool for having your computer read aloud text. I have often use this feature for when I’m too tired to read articles or when I‘m editing my writing. It’s of course also useful for Mac users with impaired eyesight.

If you want to use this feature, you can set a keyboard shortcut to activate it. After doing so, select some text in any application, such as Mail, and then hit your assigned keyboard shortcut. The computer will read the text aloud.

Also, if you want or need additional computer voice assistance, click on the Open Universal Access Preferences for several useful features.

Date & Time

No doubt by default, you already have the date and time clock set up on your Mac; it can be done automatically. But if you ever need an audio timer, such as for work purposes, you can set one up in Date & Time, in which your Mac will announce the time on the hour, every thirty or every fifteen minutes. This is not a feature you will run 24/7 but it’s a quasi built-in timer that might come in handy.

Time Machine

I know of no better and easier back up system than Apple‘s Time Machine. If you’re not using it, you should. All that is required is an external hard drive, of say 500 or more gigabytes. Attach it to your computer and open the Time Machine item in System Preferences. From there, click the Select Disk button to do the initial setup. You can click the Options button to selectively exclude data on your computer that you don’t want backed up. Read this article for additional information about Time Machine.

Startup Disk

If you ever need to troubleshoot your Mac or test out some questionable software on another hard drive, use the Startup Disk feature. You will need to have a bootable backup drive connected to your computer to use this feature.

Other

If the last section, Other, of your System Preferences is not very populated, you’re probably missing out on many useful plug-ins and enhancements for your Mac. One particular item that every Mac user will want installed in this area is the Growl notification program. This free plug-in literally works with hundreds of Apple and third-party applications.

If you ever need to remove items in this section, it can easily be done by right- or Control-clicking on the plug-in or application and selecting the Remove… button.

You may not open System Preferences on a regular basis, but knowing about its powerful features can enhance what you do on your Mac. Let us know about overlooked features in System Preferences that you think should have been covered in our two-part article.

Again, if you’re a new Mac user, check out MakeUseOf’s handy PDF guide on how to overcome the fear of switching and a couple of Mac apps you have to try – The Mac Manual.

(By) Bakari is a freelance writer and photographer. He’s a long-time Mac user, jazz fan, and family man. Bakari’s business blog: http://bakarichavanu.net; Twitterme: @bakarichavanu

Creating a personalize calendar with home computer software is an easy to moderate task for those with computer knowledge. Calendar software programs are designed with easy to use tools, so advanced computer knowledge is not required. Even elementary school students learning how to create a personalized calendar in computer class. Free trial downloads of calendar software allow beginners to choose the programs which best suit their creative needs. Calendars should be printed on cardstock for increased durability. Users can also opt to have personally created calendars printed and bound, using glossy backed paper to highlight photos.

Print Shop Platinum offers a calendar software program, coupled with photo tools for creating additional projects. Users can select the size and style for a “from scratch” calendar, or personalize a “ready made” model. Graphics and photos can be added to the calendar squares, or as a focal point for the top of the project. Borders and text can also be added to the calendar by simply clicking on the border, or inserting a text box inside the calendar.

Digi Labs allows a free trial download of calendar and photo book software. This system is also easy to use, and provides onscreen tutoring for beginning users. The photo enhancement tools add to the creative and personalization of calendar projects. For additional information visit www.digi-labs.net.

Shareware offers approximately three dozen free calendar software programs. When the free trial period for the chosen software ends, users can download the full program from the site. A credit card or Paypal account is required in order to purchase software from www.shareware.com. Calendar software programs on this website range from basic models, to advanced editing and design software.

The Calendar Zone offers over one hundred software trial downloads. The free trial software versions do not include the use of all software features. Purchasing of full software bundles can be completed online with a valid credit card. This calendar software website offers a myriad of calendar options. Users seeking to recreate an ancient calendar can purchase software from this site, and print projects from a home computer. Religious calendars featuring Hebrew, Muslim, Buddhist, and Catholic holidays can also be found on the Calendar Zone website. The enormous variety of calendar software available also includes biorhythms, Patrusi Hat-Sip, Astronomical, Delphi, Aztec, and algorithmic themed projects. For additional information of available calendar software visit www.calendarzone.com.

Free calendar software trial programs can also be found at www.bestfreewaredownload.com Full versions of software must be purchased and downloaded before all project tools are unlocked.

The My Zips website specializes in business and interactive website calendar software. Free trial versions can be downloaded. Purchase of the full software bundle is required for fully functional calendar and photo tools. For additional information visit www.myzips.com.

The Adobe software bundle also features a calendar program. Users can use this software bundle to create calendar projects complete with photo editing and graphic icons. Calendars can also be converted to an Adobe Acrobat PDF document, or uploaded to a website. This software bundle is designed for users, which possess at least moderate computer skills.

The Download Software 4 Free website offers free trial versions of calendar software. Users can link from this site to individual software homepages to purchase the full versions of the software. Some free trial calendar software packages allow full use of all creation tools for a limited period. For additional information visit www.free-calendar-software-download.com.

oem software

Reading between the lines, Apple may face an FTC investigation into its refusal to allow Flash support on the iOS platform. This is speculation based on a recent refusal on the part of the FTC to grant Wired access to the 200 pages of complaints against Apple filed by Adobe.

The FTC declined to make these documents available because it said doing so “could be reasonably expected” to interfere with its “law enforcement” duties.

In full, the FTC statement reads:

“We have located 189 pages of responsive records, all of which are exempt from the FOIA’s disclosure requirement,” wrote Joan A. Fina, the FTC’s assistant general counsel. “These records are exempt… because disclosure of that material could reasonably be expected to interfere with the conduct of the Commission’s law enforcement activities.”

Apple CEO Steve Jobs in April explained the ban as follows:

“We know from painful experience that letting a third party layer of software come between the platform and the developer ultimately results in sub-standard apps and hinders the enhancement and progress of the platform.

“If developers grow dependent on third party development libraries and tools, they can only take advantage of platform enhancements if and when the third party chooses to adopt the new features. We cannot be at the mercy of a third party deciding if and when they will make our enhancements available to our developers.”

Of course, despite years to develop the solution, Adobe still hasn't delivered a version of Flash which delivers across devices on performance and battery life.

Meanwhile, RIM execs yesterday revealed the BlackBerry Torch 9800, which doesn't support Flash, though the company said RIM and Adobe “continue working on it”.

Computerworld tells us the two firms are trying to optimize Flash 10.1 for BlackBerry hardware so devices provide good battery life, performance and efficiency on wireless data transfers, said Tyler Lessard, vice president of global alliances and developer relations at RIM.

“We don't want to deliver an experience that users are going to get really excited about — perhaps buy a new device just because it supports Flash — and then find it doesn't work as they hoped it to,” he said.

Palm in June said it has no idea 'what the hold-up is' with getting Flash Player to webOS, even though Adobe promises to get Flash Player into shape for all smartphones by the end of the year.

Which says it all, really.

@Anatidae U know, as much as people think “cross-platoform development” is the goal, it rarely works out that way. Most “platforms” have different requirements and obviously different UIs hence interacting with it is different. Now I won't say one is better than the other, but the different platforms suite the user (and their expectations) differently.

Embracing a development platform for the sake of it's “cross-platform” compatibilities without thinking about the uniqueness of different platforms is a mistake. Look at Java, the prime example of “cross-platform” development. Yes Java applications typically work in both Windows and OS X (if they are written correctly) but do they suck most of the time? YES. (IBM Lotus Notes?)

The only good cross platform app in java that I think is decent and fairly ubiquitous is probably Eclipse. and even THAT has memory management issues.

Besides, who says that Adobe automatically = “cross platform” and other standards are not?

As a developer, cross platform development is a loose goal, not something u necessarily following 100% of the time.

Have you ever had a word file or other document that you wanted to be displayed in a nice way that and the content was protected? A great way to make documents content protected is to make it a PDF file. This is great if you own the Adobe sweet and have the capability, but the adobe sweet isn’t cheap and it takes time to learn how to use it. Well don’t worry because there is a totally free utility called Primo PDF that will convert nearly any file into a PDF file, and the best part is that Primo PDF is totally free to you!! 

You can get your copy of Primo PDF. (V2.0) at their website www.primopdf.com, it’s a free download and you can install the program and use it when ever you want. Primo PDF. (V2.0) Is a full version of the program, no trial bull crap versions that will drive you crazy wanting money later on once you like the program. Another plus to Primo PDF is their website, it doesn't have ads, no pop-ups, and you don’t have to register to get their product. I would love to hear from anyone who can find a site that provides such a high quality product for free that doesn’t at least require you to register to get the program.

Primo PDF is a free PDF converter; it takes nearly any application and converts the contents into a PDF file. Within minutes you can create high-quality PDF’s by converting from Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and virtually any other printable file type. It’s great for locking content and making any file un-editable. You can use this product and to make your files into a PDF which you can use for virtually anything. You can use it for web content, an EBook, prepress, or anything else you can imagine.

Once you download and install the Primo PDF it basically it emulates a printer on your system and will now be listed as one of your optional printers in the print area. When you want to create your file into a PDF all you need to do is select the print option, when it comes up you have the option to choose your printer, the option is called PDF Creator. Once selected then you will be walked through the steps of the program, which are basically naming the document and then clicking save. There are other options you can choose but the basic steps are just to name the file and then click save it will then save your file in PDF format.

Primo PDF suggests that Windows 98 users download the older version of the program (version 1.0). You can get that version at (http://www.activepdf.com/altdownloads/Primo/primov1.exe), follow the download steps, then install the program and start creating files.

Well get your copy of the Primo PDF and start making your files into PDF’s. I hope you can find this program and use it affectively. It’s fairly easy to use and the website gives you a lot of information on the program and how to use it. Good luck with all your PDF printing and hope that you are successful in all of your file needs.

cheap adobe software

D'Fusion, the company's suite of AR development software, has previously been available to develop desktop, Web-based, mobile and public kiosk-based AR applications. With the release of D'Fusion for Adobe Flash, users of the software will now be able to build AR applications for the Web that can run without installing extra plugins beyond Flash.

While Flash-based AR is nothing new, even to other vendors like seac02 and metaio, added support from Total Immersion is significant because it provides large brands with additional robust and secure Flash offerings in the AR market. Earlier solutions, like the FLARToolkit, required the use of very basic markers, such as quick response (QR) codes, for tracking. D'Fusion for Adobe Flash includes Total Immersion's markerless tracking technology which allows 3D objects to be superimposed on images, not just blocky black and white triggers.

The company's expansion to the Flash platform is also a big step forward for AR standards – an effort CEO Bruno Uzzan is strongly behind. I spoke with North American GM Greg Davis today about how Flash support fits in with the company's vision for AR standards. One of the keys to standardizing the AR industry is creating solutions that are at a high level of quality. Davis says Total Immersion has been working with both its European R&D lab and Adobe on its Flash solution for well over a year in order to bring a stable and flexible product to its development partners.

Flash is much more accessible to both consumers and developers, meaning support from a major vendor like Total Immersion could encourage many more brands to use augmented reality. The company has a large network of partner developers that use the D'Fusion software to create hundreds of AR apps each year, and now the massive population of Flash developers can join in on the fun.

The company has a demo of a Web-based AR app built using Flash (see video above), and it runs very smoothly – exceptionally smooth, in fact. The demo invites users to print out a flier of a lunar landscape and hold it infront of their webcam, triggering the appearance of a robotic rover complete with animations and sound. I don't have a printer, but the application was still able to recognize and track my movements very well even though I used a reflective laptop screen to display the flier.

The company also has fascinating aspirations for the future of Web-based augmented reality – including its use from within mobile Web browsers. As the number of smartphones with front-facing cameras and Flash support increases, developers should be able to launch AR products on the Web that can also be viewed on mobile devices.

Total Immersion North American product marketing and presales manager Jason Smith agreed during a phone discussion today that this is an area the company is looking into with anticipation. Smith says they need to investigate the hardware capabilities of the the current handsets, because the quality of the experience would hinges significantly on the ability to access the graphics processor on the device. He added that he doesn't see this happening with Flash Lite, but possibly with full versions of Flash coming to Android devices soon.

Reading between the lines, Apple may face an FTC investigation into its refusal to allow Flash support on the iOS platform. This is speculation based on a recent refusal on the part of the FTC to grant Wired access to the 200 pages of complaints against Apple filed by Adobe.

The FTC declined to make these documents available because it said doing so “could be reasonably expected” to interfere with its “law enforcement” duties.

In full, the FTC statement reads:

“We have located 189 pages of responsive records, all of which are exempt from the FOIA’s disclosure requirement,” wrote Joan A. Fina, the FTC’s assistant general counsel. “These records are exempt… because disclosure of that material could reasonably be expected to interfere with the conduct of the Commission’s law enforcement activities.”

Apple CEO Steve Jobs in April explained the ban as follows:

“We know from painful experience that letting a third party layer of software come between the platform and the developer ultimately results in sub-standard apps and hinders the enhancement and progress of the platform.

“If developers grow dependent on third party development libraries and tools, they can only take advantage of platform enhancements if and when the third party chooses to adopt the new features. We cannot be at the mercy of a third party deciding if and when they will make our enhancements available to our developers.”

Of course, despite years to develop the solution, Adobe still hasn't delivered a version of Flash which delivers across devices on performance and battery life.

Meanwhile, RIM execs yesterday revealed the BlackBerry Torch 9800, which doesn't support Flash, though the company said RIM and Adobe “continue working on it”.

Computerworld tells us the two firms are trying to optimize Flash 10.1 for BlackBerry hardware so devices provide good battery life, performance and efficiency on wireless data transfers, said Tyler Lessard, vice president of global alliances and developer relations at RIM.

“We don't want to deliver an experience that users are going to get really excited about — perhaps buy a new device just because it supports Flash — and then find it doesn't work as they hoped it to,” he said.

Palm in June said it has no idea 'what the hold-up is' with getting Flash Player to webOS, even though Adobe promises to get Flash Player into shape for all smartphones by the end of the year.

Which says it all, really.

When Adobe Systems Inc. first announced that it was buying Macromedia (at a cost of about $3.4 billion), fans of the products under each company let out a collective groan. It was a terrifying prospect – would the features that make Adobe software something we've come to love suddenly take on a Macromedia look? Fans of Macromedia's own image editing program, Fireworks, didn't want to lose the easy-to-use interface.

It's been several years in the making, but Adobe Systems Inc. finally purchased Macromedia last December. So far, there haven't been any major changes that users of either software could notice – until a few weeks ago, when Adobe's Studio Exchange took on the look and layout of Macromedia's Exchange. As of writing this, it's still practically impossible to find downloads for Adobe's original products (Photoshop, Illustrator, etc.) on the new exchange, but let's keep our fingers crossed that it gets sorted.

The latest version of Adobe Acrobat is the next major change. With the release of Acrobat 8, the design software maker offers up its first major product release since the Macromedia acquisition. Analysts of the upgrade say that it contains features users have been asking for since Acrobat first became popular – the ability to make changes in documents when working together over the Internet, and the ability to remove information from a document to keep sensitive information private.

Not only have new features been added, but Acrobat 8 is integrated with the now-upgraded Creative Suite 2.3 Premium. It also offers Acrobat Connect, a monthly subscription service which lets users connected to the Internet to discuss and edit documents in a real-time conference. If Connect isn't good enough for the user, Acrobat Connect Professional is also available with even more features that appeal to larger meetings – including VoIP.

“They have added enough features that they will continue to have people who want to upgrade,” Tim Hickernell, an industry analyst at the information technology research firm Robert Frances Group, said. “I don't see a change in the buying trend we have seen in the last two versions with getting people to upgrade.”

That buying trend has resulted in a recent quarterly profit that topped Wall Street forecasts. Approximately 25% of the sales Adobe has seen are directly from Acrobat.

Continuing to look forward, Adobe has seriously upgraded the Creative Suite at the same time they released Acrobat 8. Dreamweaver 8 (one of the software products Adobe acquired when they purchased Macromedia) is now bundled into the latest Creative Suite, and they've thrown in Acrobat 8 Professional – so if you use any combination of Adobe/Macromedia products like Photoshop, Dreamweaver, Acrobat, and Illustrator, you're definitely going to want to check out the new Creative Suite.

oem mac software