Wildform, Inc. today announced the release of Flair, a completely redesigned version of and major upgrade to its award-winning WildPresenter multimedia presentation and rapid e-learning software.

Key elements of the Flair update include:

    * A new interface which provides easier access to all the program’s features and a more intuitive workflow.
    * Support for the PowerPoint 2007 PPTX format. Flair is the only PowerPoint to Flash converter available that creates fully editable files including text, art, animations and transitions.
    * New LMS options that make it easy to add SCORM and AICC tracking to any presentation.
    * The ability to instantly add scrolling text and image boxes.
    * Support for the use of presentation remote controls.
    * Improvements to Flair’s unique tool that automatically combines PowerPoint and video. Now fine-tuning of synchronization is a snap.
    * The ability to create and use presentation templates and multimedia object templates.
    * A scalable timeline.
    * Additional preloader options.
    * The ability to add text boxes to shapes.
    * And many additional work flow enhancements.

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A fully-fledged HTML to RSS converter that offers you an easy way to create and maintain RSS feeds.

 ExtraLabs Software today announces the release of RSS Wizard 3. RSS Wizard is an HTML to RSS converter than can generate the RSS feed out of virtually any web page without having to edit it first. RSS Wizard generates RSS 2.0 feeds and allows you to create, edit and publish an unlimited number of RSS channels. The program has a great collection of features such as the built-in scheduler, autodetecting of RSS tags, command line support, XML editor and built-in FTP client.

The program has been especially developed to meet the needs of both novice and advanced users. Now the RSS Wizard features a built-in scheduler so that now it can function in a 100% automatic mode creating excellent RSS channels without any user assistance.

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Hosted by Jeff Gamet and Jay Nelson of Design Tools Monthly.

Blu-ray Picks Up Steam
Back To My Mac
MacWireless: Add 802.11n Wi-Fi to Older Macs
Microsoft Office 2008
QuarkCopyDesk 7
Typefi Autofit: Auto-Size and Link Items in InDesign
Move into Movies with Final Cut Express
Mac OS X and Helvetica Fractions: FontDoctor

Check out these fantastic guests on InsidemacRadio this week

Daniel Jalkut the founder of Red Sweater Software talks about MarsEdit – http://www.red-sweater.com /

Philip Hodgetts from the Open TV Network talk about all the Mac POST News of the week – http://www.opentvnetwork.com /

Darin Beamish the CEO of Qwizdom talks about Quizdom, and Mactionpoint for Keynote – http://www.quizdom.com /

Peter Kirn the Creator and Editor of CreateDigitalMusic.com talks about What’s hot at NAMM ’08 – http://www.createdigitalmusic.com /

Andy Shalat with his Mac Design Out Of The Box Tip of the week – http://www.shalat.com  /

Sean Stead the Director of Marketing for NTI talks about DragonSuite for the Mac – http://www.ntius.com/dragon_suite.asp

Embroidery and decorations technology developer Wilcom International and digital media software provider Corel have collaborated to launch the DecoStudio, a new graphics and embroidery technology for users in the apparel and promotional items industries.

According to the company, DecoStudio offers the ease-of-use for CorelDRAW graphics suite while delivering the digitizing quality of Wilcom ES. With DecoStudio users can combine embroidery and print and can move between vector art and embroidery elements, while keeping everything in one file for production purposes. The company also claimed that the designs can be layered with different techniques including screenprint, direct-to-garment, print embroidery, applique and more.

Martin Kristiaman, chief executive at Wilcom International said: “After surveying our vast user base, we discovered that CorelDRAW was by far the most popular graphics tool for the print and embroidery industry worldwide, so we are truly excited about our partnership with Corel. We believe DecoStudio is a new milestone that benefits the multi-decorations industry and makes it easy for users to visualize and design a creative mix of garment printing, embroidery and applique.”

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Corel Corporation (NASDAQ: CREL; TSX: CRE), a leading developer of graphics, productivity and digital media software, today unveiled the newest version of its award-winning graphics suite, CorelDRAW® Graphics Suite X4. With more than 50 new and significantly enhanced features, CorelDRAW Graphics Suite X4 provides users with the tools, resources and confidence to tackle a wide variety of projects – from logos and Web graphics, to multipage brochures, to high impact signage and digital displays. New text and page-layout enhancements, market-leading file format compatibility, and an expanded collection of high-quality content make this powerful suite the ultimate design partner, helping users turn inspiration into stunning results.

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Pantone and the color experts at X-Rite Color Services today announced the 2008 release of the company’s highly popular seminar “Color Control Freak”. With a completely revised curriculum, Color Control Freak 08 offers an in-depth understanding of color, its value in the design process, and techniques for proper reproduction.

Sponsored by Pantone, HP, Eizo and X-Rite, this one-day interactive seminar equips design professionals with the latest color knowledge and tools, exposing a new level of design freedom. Industry experts will teach attendees basics in color trends and psychology as well as how to collect, build and specify color that remains consistent from screen to print.

“Color is a key inspirational element in any design project. Choosing the right color is critical in portraying the intended message and creating the desired response. The right color can be motivational, emotional and very persuasive,” says Doris Brown, Vice President of Marketing at Pantone, Inc. “Accurately capturing the desired color, and reproducing it faithfully and consistently, is imperative in maintaining the intended message and integrity of the design project.”

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 Apago Inc., a software developer for the graphic arts and document management industries, today announces the release of PDF Shrink 4.2, a Mac OS X utility for reducing the size of PDF files. PDF Shrink optimizes the content and structure of Free Update Supports Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard, Adobe Acrobat 8
PDF documents, making them easier to use in email attachments, on the Web, for on-screen reading, for document archiving, and more. Free to registered users of PDF Shrink 4, this update adds the ability to process entire folders of PDF files and improves compatibility with Apple’s Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard and Adobe Acrobat 8. Apago will demonstrate PDF Shrink and its professional companion product, PDF Enhancer.

“This update includes full support for Mac OS X 10.5 and Adobe Acrobat 8, and it implements several new features that our users have requested,” states Dwight Kelly, president of Apago. “PDF Shrink is an invaluable tool for reducing the size of PDF files while retaining the maximum quality possible.”

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After seven years as the most popular colour for a car, silver has been replaced by white/white pearl.

The DuPont 2007 Global Automotive Colour Popularity Report shows that white/white pearl, silver and black/black effect are in a virtual tie for first place, with white/white pearl narrowly taking the top spot in North America.

White also overcame silver in Japan and is the decisive leader in Mexico.

The US-based DuPont group supplies vehicles coatings to vehicle manufacturers. DuPont produced the paint for Henry Ford’s first automobile.

The company has tracked colour statistics for more than 55 years, and reports converging trends in colour preference.

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Corel Corporation, a leading developer of graphics, productivity and digital media software, today announced the launch of PhotoImpact� X3, its award-winning digital photo editing software. PhotoImpact X3 combines easy-to-use photo editing, inspiring photo projects and amazing digital art to make digital photography and image creativity fun, fast and easy.

PhotoImpact is designed for the family memory keeper and the graphic arts hobbyist with its quick, effective photo enhancement tools and fun photo projects. Graphics hobbyists can paint, draw and experiment for hours while video enthusiasts can take their projects to the next level by exporting DVD menus from PhotoImpact directly into Corel’s DVD MovieFactory and VideoStudio.”

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The American Design Awards is inviting graphic and web designers from around the world to participate in its 2008 Winter Semi-Annual Design Contest.

San Diego, CA (PRWEB) January 15, 2008 — The American Design Awards are calling on all graphic and web designers to submit their best design creations to the 2008 Winter Semi Annual Design Contest, for a chance to win top honors in their world-renound competition. The Winter and Summer Semi-Annual Design Contests, which are now in their sixth year, are the flagship of the American Design Awards which attract an average of five thousand participants annually.

Deadline to submit entries for the 2008 Winter Semi-Annual Design Contest is February 15, 2008. Applications must be submitted online through the American Design Awards website.

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Pantone, Inc., the global authority on color and provider of professional color standards for the design industries, announced the release of the summer 2009 edition of the PANTONE VIEW Colour Planner, its cross-discipline color forecasting tool, titled “Independence.”

Summer 2009 celebrates the spirit of independence and the promotion of individuality. Rather than follow any one specific trend in color, this season focuses on a state of mind and is largely influenced by sociological factors.

The changing world and emergence of new markets have resulted in many people taking a proactive stance in their personal contributions to the betterment of the world.

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(PaperSpecs.com)
By  Sabine Lenz

Your initial reaction is: Great. You are feeling better about the choice you made. Eighty percent fat free! Seventy percent sugar free! Your heart and waistline will thank you, and you are certain: this must be good for you.

When you stop for a moment and start thinking about it, you might wonder… what happened to the other 30 percent?

The food industry started it. And whatever works successfully in one market, others are sure to copy. Unfortunately, the paper industry is no exception.

Sooner or later marketing in all its glory takes over, and the issues get more blurry and confusing for everyone. How can a paper be elemental and process chlorine-free?

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Looking back, my first experience with “convergence” happened sitting in a movie house in Boston circa 1965. I was a teenager, aspiring photographer, and serious fan of French new wave cinema. I was watching a film by Jean-Luc Godard when the moving images suddenly became interspersed with captivating still images: a face distressed, a look back over the shoulder, a moment of joy. The still photographs were profoundly powerful and, more importantly, fell seamlessly in step with the moving images. The final scene in Truffaut’s “The 400 Blows” comes to mind as well, when the lead character is frozen in a still image that sums up the realization of his existential dilemma. The still image flowing from the moving image, and vice versa.

For the past many decades the moving image and the still image have prospered independently. When a young person was interested in images, usually they would make the choice to pursue film school or photography school, and then to pursue either a career in film or video, or go in the direction of still photography. Each of those avenues had myriad career paths, and each career path could take years to master.

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Brand System Speeds Business Growth for a Newly-Debuted Technology Company

 San Francisco, CA— January 22, 2008 — Method, a leading brand experience agency, today announced the development of a comprehensive, multi-platform brand system for Organic Motion, a venture-accelerated Method client, and a leading innovator of computer vision and highly advanced markerless motion capture systems. Debuted at SIGGRAPH 2007 and featured in the CES 2008 Keynote presentation with Intel CEO Paul Otellini, the new brand system includes new identity marks, business papers, marketing brochures, product naming and a web site to fully communicate the value and reach of Organic Motion’s breakthrough technology.

 Organic Motion has brought to market the world’s first turnkey markerless motion capture system for the entertainment and life sciences industries, as well as a customized offering for use with the general public. The new line of products harnesses the company’s core computer vision technology, enabling computers to cognitively “see” people’s complex movements and generate highly accurate 3D tracking data in real-time, all without body suits or tracking devices.

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Hosted by Jeff Gamet and Jay Nelson of Design Tools Monthly.

Macworld Highlights:
• DisplayLink USB video device
• Eye-Fi
• Time Capsule
• FontDoctor Now Cleans Font Caches
• Smasher Automatically Cleans Font Caches
• FontAgent Pro
• Extensis “Universal Type Server”
• OmniFocus
• Photoshop Elements 6
• SwingSeat
New XTensions from Quark & Quark Labs site
• ShadowCaster
• Quark Welcome Screen
• Quick Look Filter
• Image Drag and Drop
20% Off iPhoto Books & Calendars (Use coupon code NAWinterBook08 for photo books and NAWinterCal08 for calendars.)
Should You Upgrade to Leopard Yet? (ebook)

Check out these fantastic guests on InsidemacRadio this week

Peta-Gaye Latibeaudiere the Project Manager for Avery Dennison talks about the Avery DesignPro for Mac OS X – http://www.avery.com /

Philip Hodgetts from the Open TV Network talk about all the Mac POST News of the week – http://www.opentvnetwork.com /

Anthony Rink the VP National Sales for Rocstore talks about there new Line of Pocket External Hard Drives – http://www.rocstor.com /

Benjamin Grier the Product Marketing Manager from SRS Labs talks about iWow 2.0 – http://www.srslabs.com /

Andy Shalat with his Mac Design Out Of The Box Tip of the week – http://www.shalat.com /

Anderson Schoenrock the CEO of ScanDigital talks about preserving your family memories with iPhoto and ScanDigital – http://www.scandigital.com

The word on everyone’s lips, in everyone’s heart, and on everyone’s shopping list is THIN. The new MacBook Air, or as some of us fondly refer to it, the SliceBook, has taken our collective breath away. The whole Keynote at Macworld Expo 08 in San Francisco was lean and mean. Even Jobs was looking extra thin. I suggested he’d been on a diet as a prototyping experiment, a sort of proof of concept for the new MacBook Air, testing to see if you could be so thin, and still wield power. But that’s not what was so impressive. What impressed us about this product introduction wasn’t what you’d think. Sure, the display is bright and sharp. The weight is half of the sibling MacBook. The keyboard is a merging of the best of the MacBook Pro with the clean comfort of the MacBook not pro. All these are wonderful, but what strikes us as the most attractive feature, and maybe I’m crazy or have suddenly uncovered some odd fetishistic tendency I heretofore wasn’t aware of in myself, but the thing I like the most is the little latch door to the USB and Micro DVI ports. It has a solid, almost automobile like quality. The kind of door-slamming thunk that you expect to hear when you close a luxury car. And this little door is the Macintosh equivalent. It speaks of solidity, of solid state, of durability, and reliability. And Apple really got this one right. 

Andrew Shalat - 200 Words on Design 

X-Rite, Incorporated (NASDAQ:XRIT) – Pantone and the color experts at X-Rite Color Services today announced the 2008 release of the company’s highly popular seminar “Color Control Freak”. With a completely revised curriculum, Color Control Freak 08 offers an in-depth understanding of color, its value in the design process, and techniques for proper reproduction.

Sponsored by Pantone, HP, Eizo and X-Rite, this one-day interactive seminar equips design professionals with the latest color knowledge and tools, exposing a new level of design freedom. Industry experts will teach attendees basics in color trends and psychology as well as how to collect, build and specify color that remains consistent from screen to print.

“Color is a key inspirational element in any design project. Choosing the right color is critical in portraying the intended message and creating the desired response. The right color can be motivational, emotional and very persuasive,” says Doris Brown, Vice President of Marketing at Pantone, Inc. “Accurately capturing the desired color, and reproducing it faithfully and consistently, is imperative in maintaining the intended message and integrity of the design project.”

Read the rest of this entry »