TripAdvisor®, the world’s largest travel community, today announced the top 10 art museums in the world, based on traffic to the attractions on tripadvisor.com.

1. Louvre Affair: Musee du Louvre, Paris, France
Once a fortified palace that was the home to kings of France, the Louvre is now the world’s most famous museum, renowned for some of the finest pieces of art in the world, including the Venus de Milo and the Mona Lisa. According to one TripAdvisor traveler, “The world’s greatest museum-from its Italian Renaissance Masters, to its Dutch Masters and the exquisite collection from Egypt’s Pharaonic period. Each time I visit I always discover new treasures and I reacquaint myself with my favorites.”

2. Religious Experience: Vatican Museums, Vatican City, Rome, Italy
Spanning nearly nine miles, the Roman Catholic Church’s Vatican collection is one of the largest and most stunning in the world. Estimated to have more than four million visitors annually, the Vatican museums feature the art of Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael and, of course, Michelangelo’s ceiling in the Sistine Chapel. As one TripAdvisor traveler commented, “The amount of history and art that is located here is mind-boggling, from the frescoes to the statues, virtually every nook and corner (even the floor) is a treasure.”

3. Art in the Apple: Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, New York
From Picasso to Pollock, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, on New York City’s Museum Mile, is one of the world’s largest museums with over two million pieces of artwork and enough variety for any enthusiast. Peruse the Greek sculptures, admire the armory or browse the 2,000 European paintings, all contained in a magnificent Beaux-Art façade building. As one TripAdvisor traveler said, “The building itself is a work of art. This would be a great place to spend a day alone!”

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Students can obtain QuarkXPress® 7 (plus Quark Interactive Designer™ and Quark XPert Tools Pro) totally FREE of charge. They can use it at home for the full academic year, provided their school purchases the Quark School Unlimited User License priced at £1,750 excluding VAT.This offer is only available until 30th April 2008

Here’s how it works:1 Order the site license QUK-122922-S
2 Add QUK-123991 to the order, plus a contact within the school responsible for managing the student licenses
3 The contact within the school directs the students to download the software at:
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If your prepress shop is like most shops, you will have a spectrophometer from X-Rite kicking. It may have a layer of dust on the case from being on the shelf for a number of years, but you have one.

Many shops have an Eye-One, it virtually comes with every Prinergy system nowadays. You should use it to calibrate your Matchprint although many shops just calibrate it once and then stick it in a corner.

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 iStockphoto®, the world’s busiest online stock image marketplace, today announced that it will extend a year-old program that makes a collection of low-resolution images and illustrations available free of additional charge to Microsoft (News/Aktienkurs) Office® users through Microsoft Office Online. Based on the initial success of the program, iStockphoto will significantly increase the number of free images to the collection. In addition, the companies are looking to expand the program to new languages and countries in the coming year.

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Create Magazine is officially accepting entries for its 2008 Create Awards – one of the top creative competitions for professionals and students in advertising, film and video, motion graphics, graphic communication, photography, printing, interactive media, and copywriting.

The 2008 Create Awards (www.thecreateawards.com) has once again doubled its prize pool from last year. More than $125K worth of the latest in software and hardware from leading creative industry manufacturers is up for grabs, not to mention national print and online exposure in Create Magazine.

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X-Rite and Pantone Launch ColorMunki Family of Breakthrough Color Products for Photo and Design Markets ColorMunki Photo, ColorMunki Design and ColorMunki Create Empower Users to Create and Control Color from Inspiration to Final Output

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. � March 17, 2008 � X-Rite, Inc., the world leader in color management and measurement technologies, along with recently acquired Pantone, Inc., the global authority on color and provider of professional color standards for the design industries, today introduced ColorMunki �, a breakthrough in both price and performance.

Based on X-Rite and Pantone�s deep understanding of the photo and design communities, ColorMunki solutions are the industry�s first easy-to-use, convergent technologies developed specifically to feed the artistic imagination of creative professionals � at an affordable price. Designed to meet the requirements of creatives working in a digital environment across industries, the revolutionary ColorMunki family, (colormunki.com) ensures accurate color from inspiration to final output in ways never before possible,

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The 1.4 update for Adobe’s Lightroom and the 4.4 update for Camera Raw, the Photoshop Raw importer, contain a number of errors. These relate to the way that Lightroom deals with the EXIF time stamp, the conversion of raw data to the open-source DNG format and the conversion of Olympus files. While it fixes these errors, Adobe has withdrawn the software update from 13 March, which included support for the formats of several new camera types. In the Adobe Blogs Lightroom Journal,Tom Hogarty from the Lightroom team recommends users who have already updated to uninstall the update and reinstall Lightroom 1.3.1 on their Windows-PC or Mac.

The EXIF error causes Lightroom 1.4 to incorrectly modify the EXIF time stamp in the original raw file, although the information written to the XMP sidecar files remains correct. Apart from this, the raw data itself is not affected by the errors. Lightroom also reports an error when converting Olympus JPDG photos.

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While Microsoft is looking to convince developers and consumers alike to try Silverlight, the alternative to Adobe’s Flash, the incumbent has made some strides of its own.

Adobe Systems Inc. has released the first version of its widely anticipated Adobe Integrated Runtime (AIR) cross-operating system runtime along with updates of its Flex framework for Windows and Mac platforms. The release of AIR is expected to let Web developers use their existing skills to build rich Internet applications (RIAs) for the desktop, smart clients and browsers.

AIR is a technology long in coming. Under development at Macromedia, AIR was acquired along with Flex, Coldfusion and Dreamweaver when Adobe acquired the developer tools company in 2005 for $3.4 billion.

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Quark Inc. announced that it has launched a community-based Web site for designers called ilovedesign.com. The Web site is developed around an interactive and accessible community concept that was inspired by a love for design. It features the work of leading industry designers David Carson, Peter Saville, Chip Kidd, and many more and gives users the opportunity to showcase their own work and become part of a design community.

On visiting the ilovedesign.com Web site, users are encouraged to join this community by creating their own profiles and uploading samples of their own design work. Users can also search, view, and rate designs uploaded by other members and even contact them in a secure way. The content of the site will be largely user generated and the aim is to create a platform where designers can showcase their work, be inspired by the work of others, and discuss their love of design.

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Ft. Lauderdale, FL, February 27, 2008 –(PR.com)– Quark Inc. and The Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale announces that graphic design student at The Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale Lina Herrera, of Coconut Creek, was the grand prize winner of a poster design contest to create an original design in QuarkXPress® that addresses typography in an informative, historical or humorous way. She won full entry to the upcoming Graphics of the Americas conference in Miami, along with software, and international notoriety from Quark.

Herrera’s compelling poster demonstrated the capabilities of QuarkXPress while staying within the parameters of the competition. “Out of a field of impressive entries, the judges selected Herrera’s as the winning poster. Her design stands out visually and her skill in QuarkXPress is apparent,” said Chris Edwards, business development specialist in education for Quark.

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By Scott Gilbertson
Adobe has announced it will discontinue Adobe Stock Photos, its royalty-free image service, which shipped as part of Adobe Bridge. Stock Photos will be shut down April 1, 2008.

First introduced as part of the Adobe CS2 package, Stock Photos was touted as a one-stop image shopping solution. The goal was to provide a convenient way for photographers to search across multiple image libraries at once and purchase royalty-free images.

Unfortunately for Adobe, it would seem that no one wanted Stock Photos.

Adobe has posted an FAQ that covers common questions about the closure, including what existing customers can expect. The short version is that you have until March 3 to search for images and until March 31 buy any image you’ve downloaded.

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Posted by Stephen Shankland | CNet News
An Icelandic photographer has for a second time encountered the ugly side of Internet photo sharing, finding photos she published at Yahoo’s Flickr site being sold by somebody else through the iStockphoto Web site.

Rebekka Guðleifsdóttir, a professional photographer, found a picture she took of three frolicking horses on iStockphoto, a “microstock” site that licenses images for relatively low prices.

“I mean for crying out loud, out of 31 images this particular user has on his ‘portfolio,’ 25 of them are mine, and at least 3 are of me,” she said in the caption for a screenshot of the iStockphoto page.

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Corel has launched The Painter Factory, an online community for Painter artists and enthusiasts. This global community site is the newest in a series that Corel is launching to support its various user communities.

Through The Painter Factory, artists, designers, and photographers can share their ideas ad projects, find solutions to design challenges, and provide feedback on Painter to the product’s design, development and marketing teams. The site provides members with a centralised location where they can access community news, participate in discussions in the Painter Discussion section and download content from the Painter Resources area.

In addition, members can learn from some of Corel’s Painter Masters by reading their blogs on the site or viewing their latest works on the Factory Wall.

For more information see the Corel Web site.

Scribus is an open-source program that brings award-winning professional page layout to Linux/Unix, MacOS X, OS/2 and Windows desktops with a combination of “press-ready” output and new approaches to page layout.

Underneath the modern and user friendly interface, Scribus supports professional publishing features, such as CMYK color, separations, ICC color management and versatile PDF creation.
Download the Latest Scribus v1.3.3.11

Download ScribusThis stable release adds the following:
Several fixes and improvements to text frames and the Story Editor.
New Arabic Translation.
More translation and documentation updates.
Many improvements to PDF Forms exporting and non-Latin script handling in PDFs.
Several fixes to protect against possible crashes.
Improved Color Managed Display in some cases.
Some fixes to the Scripting plugin.

 Adobe Systems Incorporated was ranked No. 40 on FORTUNE magazine’s eleventh annual “100 Best Companies to Work For” list. Adobe was among the top companies included from the high-tech sector. In FORTUNE’s subcategory of medium companies (those with 2,500 to 10,000 U.S. employees), Adobe ranked No. 12. This marks the ninth time Adobe has been included on list. The full list and related stories are currently available at www.fortune.com and will be featured in FORTUNE’s Feb. 4, 2008, print issue, available on newsstands Jan. 28, 2008.

“Adobe is proud to be ranked on this distinguished list once again,” said Donna Morris, senior vice president, Human Resources at Adobe. “Our employees are the best in the business - passionate, innovative, collaborative and driven by a set of core values that makes Adobe a place where people want to build their careers.”

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Getty’s Images Inc, a global supplier of pictures and video to media and advertising companies, is for sale. The sale could reach a forecasted price of $1.5 billion. “While the evaluation process, including discussions with various interested parties, is ongoing, there can be no assurance that any transaction will occur,” the company said in a statement.

Getty’s shares soared on Tuesday after it acknowledged it is exploring strategic alternatives. With the enlistment of investment bank, Goldman Sachs, to facilitate financial advice, several private equity firms have expressed interest in Getty, such as Bain Capital and Kohlberg Kravis Roberts. The tightening of high-yield debt markets cutting off private equity firms from the lifeline of their businesses, makes it a challenge to finance deals. This results in non-assured deals.

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 GreenPrint Launches a Free Version with the Hope of Saving 100 Million Trees
With the tagline “Free to Be Green”, The World Edition will be available globally at no cost

(CSRwire) PORTLAND, OR — January 28, 2008 — GreenPrint Technologies announced today the launch of GreenPrint World, a new version of its paper-saving software available for free to home users worldwide. The company estimates that with widespread use the software could save over 100 million trees and reduce greenhouse gasses by over 300 million tons globally.

“Our goal is nothing short of ending wasteful printing worldwide,” said CEO Hayden Hamilton, “We believe that GreenPrint World provides the opportunity to do exactly that. It gives home users everywhere the ability to eliminate waste which helps the environment as well as their wallets.”

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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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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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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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