PALM and Adobe

Once I have sent an email message to Palm, that was many years ago, sending them some sincere and constructive feedback. I said to them, between other things, that competing with Microsoft was to get into the rat's race where many finished bad. And the arrogant answer I received was: "We are sorry but Palm does not accept feedback from outside the company". Years later and with problems piled up I'm sure Palm is not arrogant as before. Now they need ideas and success. If they achieved it, better for all of us.

The World of operating systems is getting close to a very interesting moment.

Palm introduced the WebOS, Google is talking about a Chrome OS, Microsoft is not talking about a secret project called Midori.

In the meantime Adobe is creating really cool and innovative Web applications destined to be even better while all the others are trying to get the media on their side. I'm talking about Acrobat.com.

Apple is doing well but not perfectly well. The update to OSX 10.5.7 is still painful for many users. And it is coming to the common sense that a never crashing OS is more a myth than anything else. Apple failed with MobileMe, even now is getting much better.

Linux is also getting a good share of attention, the latest version of Ubuntu is really good!

So what is there for you? well, Microsoft tends to make good products when is under pressure. When they thought they are invincible they forgot about Internet Explorer, released Windows Vista and made a mess of Live services. And I think Microsoft wasn't so vulnerable in years! and I think that is not over.

Eachone of us will like more to experiment and try different OS. We will be able to do that easier than ever.

Competition will be fierce and I believe will be needed for contestants to be stronger.

Why not Adobe and Palm as a team? I think that would be a good mix. Adobe has the Web apps and Palm the OS. They don't need to run the same rat's race. Just to work together to get a nice WebOS into a beautiful and very functional productivity platform. I think that PALM needs to expand the concept of their business and the opportunity is that lightweight computers are becoming popular. PALM introduced in the past the idea of a Phone companion and after that unsuccessful initiative many things changed: more Web oriented phones, Netbooks, cravings about a Mac tablet computer. That makes me think that the World is now ready for notebooks and desktop computers that run the same OS. Something like the iPhone, but including desktop and mobiles apps. For example:

• I would be happy to install a Word processor in my notebook and have it automatically available in my phone and other computers.
• I would like to install a game on my phone and being able to play it in my notebook.

Adobe and Palm could do it.

Adobe Photoshop Express

After many months from its announcement finally Adobe released a beta version of its online application for managing and editing images: Adobe Photoshop Express.
You will need to create an account no matter if you have an adobe account (very strange... maybe I made a mistake).
The great thing is that it works in Safari, Firefox and IE no matter if you use Windows or Mac based computer.
It also makes easy to upload multiple images at the same time and the editing capabilities are really cool.
By placing the mouse cursor over an uploaded image gives many options (img 1).

Img. 1

The editing options are powerful and very easy to use. In the Img.2 you can see a list of available functions and on the Img. 3 you can see one of the screen that gives you automatic previews of different tint options.

Img 2

Img. 3

Online conferencing: Adobe Brio

I've been using Adobe Brio for a few weeks now. According to Adobe this is the definition of the service: "Brio is a web meeting service designed for small collaborative meetings for individual professionals and small businesses. With Brio, you can instantly communicate and collaborate through an easy-to-use, easy-to-access online personal meeting room.".
I find it very good! even it is only for 3 participants at a time for small business it is rare to have more persons in one conference.

Brio is the code name for the next generation of "Adobe Acrobat Connect", it is 100% usable in a Web Browser and no matter if you use a PC a Mac or a Linux computer. Brio works with Adobe Flash 9 (free download). You can Enter to a Brio conference room like a guest or like the host. Guests doesn't need to create an Adobe account.

Brio lets you share documents and make them available for download to all participants. That means that you could be uploading documents before the meeting starts in order to share important information for the guests. During the conference it is also possible to upload documents.

Within the Brio environment you will find many tools, they are called "pods". One of them that is very cool, even I didn't use it in any of the past meetings, is the "whiteboard". It lets you draw basic shapes, write texts and format the elements with different colors. When someone draws something the rest of the participants will see the drawings on their screens as well.

One of the most interesting characteristics of Brio is the possibility of sharing your computer screen. That is just great! works perfect and it is certainly the ideal tool for showing persons how to perform tasks with their computers, like a customer support tool. The great thing is that it works no matter wich OS you are working with. I could see my friend's screen (Windows Vista) while I was on a Mac.


"Shared notes" is one of the less cool "pods" but certainly is the most useful. Any participant can add notes and that is really helpful to have a resume of the meeting. Then you just need to copy the text and send it by email to the participants to not forget the agreements and conclusions.


Brio is integrated with a telephone conferencing system. It is free for the countries that are listed. In my case, Slovenia is not listed but that is not a problem because using Skype I could call to the free telephone number for United States and I had to pay nothing!

There are many more interesting things about Brio that you should check. You can use a web cam and use a chat room as well.

Don't forget that the documents, notes and drawings will be erased automatically after exiting the conference. At this moment you can't store the files or save the meeting configuration for later use. Remember that Brio is a free service in Beta version. But certainly covers my expectations.

Testing Adobe Share Beta

I'm testing the Adobe Share service and I'm positively surprised. It has the potential to become the YouTube of files and flash contents.

The first page is going to give you the chance to sign in with your existing Adobe ID or to create a new one.


The next screen will start loading the flash application in your browser. For my opinion it is still taking too long to load, but I'm sure that "speed" problems will be solved after the beta period will be finished.
The interface of the "Share" is very simple to understand. You have available 2 tabs, one is "Home" and the other is "My library"; the first one gives you the chance to upload, share the file with someone and specify the access level you want to give to the uploaded file:

That page shows also your recent activity, that means you will see the last uploaded files.
In the case of the "My library" page the interface is different and it is meant to show you the files you have uploaded. It also gives a tool bar where you could filter your library and check files shared to you by other persons.

Some things I like a lot:

1. You don't need to load your Internet line anymore when sending emails with attachments. You could send links to them using the service's band width.
2. All the site and sharing works using "https", that means is secure.
3. 1GB of free storage.
4. Developers could be using the APIs in order to extend the capabilities of the system and of course to create additional solutions.
5. The files and flash movies could be automatically embedded in any web site, Blog or Wiki.

Some doubts I have:

1. It is possible to upload Adobe Captivate files, does it means that I could use Share for hosting finished Captivate files with preloaders and controls?
2. Can I use Share for commercial purposes? For example to host the files I produce for my e-learning portal?

I don't like:

1. When the user receives the shared file and then goes to the "download" page, there is too much "advertising like" information for creating or getting a new account. Users are used to get the files right away when they click on the link. Adding an additional step is understandable, but it should work fast and give straight options to download the file, get the embed code, etc.

I think Share can be a real revolution. Developers could start producing plugins for Outlook and other important mail clients in order to make easy the process of attaching "links" to emails.
Good for Adobe!
Find more about Share

PowerPoint in video

The video boom on the internet is really one of the strongest trends I remember from the moment I started using the Internet, maybe I have this feeling because even my company is using videos like a way to express ideas, show information, record events and publish them on our web sites.
Many people will be able to make each time more and better videos and with the help of technologies like Flash (YouTube, Google Video, SoapBox use Flash) the contents will stream fast all around the world and no matter in which device.
In that case a tool that could convert PowerPoint in Flash videos would be more than welcome. Adobe is advertising Ovation for PowerPoint. Give a check on it.
This product is part o the Adobe Creative Suite 3 Production premium. You can also check a new software called Adobe Vlog it
It helps to make video blogs.. sound interesting.

Free alternatives to Adobe Creative Studio

I found an interesting post about this topic. It is amazing that the open source "movement" is able to offer such a great alternatives and in many cases for free. Here you have the list and links:

1. Photoshop: The Gimp; Paint.Net
   
2. Illustrator: Inskape
3. DreamWeaver: KompoZer
4. Flash: Synfig
5. InDesign: Scribus
6. AfterEffects: JahShaka
7. SoundBooth: Audacity

Adobe Creative Suite CS2 and Windows Vista

If you are thinking to upgrade to Windows Vista and you have installed Adobe Creative Suite CS2 think twice. Adobe is not recommending you to do so.
In a document released by Adobe they said:

"While some of its components, including Adobe InDesign CS2, Illustrator CS2 and Photoshop CS2, install and run under Windows Vista with only minor known issues, other components such as Acrobat 7.0 Professional do not support Windows Vista,".

Creative Suite CS3 will run on Windows Vista and Intel based Macs.

The new Adobe Creative Suite CS3 will be on the market in a few days from now! Exactly on March 27 at 3:30 p.m. Eastern Time. Click here to know where to go online to see a live web cast of the event.
If you want to learn more about what will change on Photoshop CS3 here you have a good new.
News.com article here.

Adobe: stay tunned for an online and free Photoshop!

I know it sounds like a dream coming true... but wake up! it s true!
You can expect to have a free and online version of PhotoShop within the next 6 months.
Read more in News.com

It is not only super cool, it is Kuler!

Today I received the Edge newsletter from Adobe. It includes really great topics but today one of them really means a lot for my work. They made a web tool called Kuler and its purpose is to help designers, developers and web masters to get color schemes. Yes... this is very important if you need to combine colors and that the whole thing will look good!
You will be able to see many color schemes that some other persons already prepared! you can download them and use them like part of Adobe products!
Give a check.. I'm sure you will be amazed!

Adobe SoundBooth

Some weeks ago I had to edit an audio cast recorded in the lobby of one hotel in Ljubljana. It was very difficult because the background noise was painful!
I made some efforts but It was difficult to remove those annoyances. I just discovered a tool that promises to help in that kind of cases. It is the Adobe SoundBooth.
The Beta2 version is available for download.

Photoshop CS3 Beta

Adobe just released a public Beta for the PhotoShop CS3, this time the software is also made for the Intel based Macs. If you have installed an original version of a previous Adobe Photoshop or Creative Suite you can request an activation key so your beta software could work for more than the 2 days "preview" set as default.
The CS3 looks very good! I think they made huge improvement on the interface. It is more organized than before and helps to get advantage of the screen space.
My Creative Suite is for PC and I've installed the beta in a Mac computer, so the activation key is not working. For those cases is needed to send an email to photoshopcs3beta@adobe.com
As soon as I will get my activation key I will write more about the new CS3!

Give a check on this Blog to get more info about Photoshop CS3: http://blogs.adobe.com/jnack/