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Lab Notes Blog

Clearing the Air Over Adobe's new Creative Cloud Business Model

February 2, 2012

Tags: Adobe, Creative Suite, Creative Cloud, Photoshop, Lightroom, Illustrator, InDesign, Digital Publishing Suite, software

For some months, the Web and creative community have been abuzz with rumors related to Adobe's upcoming transition to offering its software via the cloud.

Most of the public's concerns about Adobe's new Creative Cloud business model were related to how the monthly fee would affect the budgets of price-sensitive artists and photographers. After all, when you buy a box, you pay once and you're done; you have the software for as long as you want. Then, if you don't want to pay to upgrade to the next version, you can still keep working. With the Adobe Creative Cloud business model, you can never stop paying the monthly fee, if you want to continue to use the software.

This afternoon, we spoke on the phone with Heidi Voltmer, Adobe's Director of Product Marketing for the Creative Pro Business division. During our conversation, she revealed (more…)

Our Review of the Epson Stylus NX430

February 2, 2012

Tags: Printer review, Epson, Computer Shopper

We give Epson some serious points for the first clever printer-marketing slogan we've heard in some time: The company tagged its compact, slim Stylus NX430 multifunction printer as a “Small-in-One.” (Yes, Epson even trademarked the name.) Small it is, at about the size of two shoeboxes side-by-side when buttoned up. Indeed, even with its paper feeder and receiver tray deployed and extended, this inkjet printer will still fit on almost any desk or table.

The design is a good-news/bad-news proposition, though. The good:... Read the full review on ComputerShopper.com.

Metadata = eBook Sales

January 26, 2012

Tags: eBooks, ePublishing, Metadata

At Digital Book World conference yesterday, president of Nielsen Book Jonathan Nowell gave a compelling presentation on the connection between metadata and eBook sales.

If you plan to ePublish, be sure to pay attention to metadata. According to a Nielsen study, full use of metadata (providing specific information about your book) is directly linked to dramatically increased sales and profit.

Here's a link to that downloadable study: White Paper: The Link Between Metadata and Sales.

The Best Gifts
by Sally Wiener Grotta

December 17, 2011

Tags: Sally's entries, Lexar Media, Backup, Norton Ghost, HP Z800 workstation, USB 3.0, Optimizing computer performance, Sally's photography

My aunt Hetty was a remarkable woman – a combination of the aunties from Gigi and an Auntie Mame. I learned so much from her about people and life and living fully within this remarkable world of ours. I remember Hetty once chastised my sister when we were both very young, after Amy asked Hetty what she wanted for her birthday. "How can you not know what I want? If you listen to a person, you'll know exactly what it is she wants and needs. But it takes really paying attention to the other person."

Over the past month, I learned that (more…)

QuickOffice Pro HD: Bringing Office to the iPad

December 14, 2011

Tags: iPad, iPad Apps, Software reviews, QuickOffice, MS Office

Although not without some limitations, the iPad version of Quickoffice – Quickoffice Pro HD ($19.99) – can quickly become indispensable for storing and sharing files in the cloud, as well as for creating, editing, and viewing word processing docs, spreadsheets and presentations geared to....
Read our full review on TabletPCReview.com.

Adobe Announces Lightroom 3.6 and Camera Raw 6.6 Final Releases

December 13, 2011

Tags: Adobe Lightroom, Adobe Camera Raw, Software

If you use Adobe Lightroom or Camera Raw, new updates are available online for registered users of the current versions. Just click on Update in the programs' Help menu.

Cool iPad Accessories

December 13, 2011

Tags: iPad, Hardware reviews, Gadgets

What makes a product cool? Besides being practical or exotic or fun, the product exhibits a certain style, flair and panache. Here's a sampling of a dozen carefully selected add-ons that iPad owners might love to see under their Christmas trees or Hanukkah menorahs -- or anywhere, at any time of year....,
Read the full roundup on TabletPCReview.com.

LG External Blu-ray Disc Rewriter BE12LU38 (With Millenniata M-Disc Technology) Review and Ratings

December 12, 2011

Tags: DVD Drive, Hardware Reviews, Blu-Ray, M-Disc, Computer Shopper

Millenniata, a Utah-based startup, believes that it has the answer for reliable data archiving using optical discs, with its innovative M-Disc technology. In M-Disc, the company claims to have manufactured recordable DVDs with a thousand-year lifespan...

Read our review of the LGBlu-Ray Disc Rewriter with Milleniata M-Disc Technology on ComputerShopper.com.

Roundup of PDF Apps for the iPad

December 12, 2011

Tags: iPad, PDF, Adobe Acrobat, Apps

Roundup of PDF Apps for the iPad

We tested a number of PDF (Acrobat) apps for the iPad.
Here are our findings and recommendations on TabletPCReview.com.

Review of Nimble: Contact Management for Your Social Networking

September 26, 2011

Tags: Social networking, Contact management, Business software

If social networking is important for your business, you might consider using Web-based application Nimble to manage your presence on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. (Nimble says that they'll be adding Google+ within 60 days). Unlike TweetDeck or HootSuite, Nimble assumes that the most important part of social networking isn't the ubiquitous stream of postings, but how the ongoing communications relate to your business relationships and .... Read the full review at PCWorld.