Album DS 6.x now includes pre-defined product selections for many of ACI's products including all available sizes of their Art Books and Memory Books. Included in the book size options are sizes for covers, spreads and other options including their hinged paper. Customers who purchase or download the demo will see ACI listed as a company option in the new/open menu of Album DS and can easily begin new projects for ACI and even resize existing album or design projects to fit ACI's specifications automatically. Once a project is complete it can easily be sent to ACI via their Studio Art Suite online ordering system.
Existing Album DS customers can easily add ACI's products by using the Album DS Updater. Video instructions on updating Album DS are available on both ACI's website and on Album DS's website. ACI customers who do not yet own Album DS can visit American Color Imaging and get a code good for 10% off of Album DS plus a free copy of the deluxe DVD version ($50 value). Purchasers will receive download links immediately upon purchase to allow for the enjoyment of Album DS and ACI's presets right away and the deluxe DVD will be mailed out. There is a free fully functional demo version available from the Album DS website, plus video tutorials and a written PDF manual are also available with the demo or full versions.
BEST TUTORIALS? I was following a reader's lead last night and it took me to Smashing's "Best Photoshop Tutorials" page. Upon surfing around in that site, it occurred to me that something wasn't quite right. I run Sniffer on my Mac to alert me when a web site attempts a breach or other covert activity, and found stalker links employed attempting to open ports and obtain information. Of course, this doesn't work on a Mac beyond local IP and provider information.
I began to think about what sites are recommending other sites, and how they are mysteriously connected. I see many sites recommending other sites that recommend back -- even if the content doesn't merit recommendations -- or if they're both promoting the same revenue streams. Some of these are hugely popular getting tweeted and re-tweeted over and over again. One popular Photoshop Twitter person (I think the proper term is "TWIT") tweets certain sites and pages over and over and over on a seemingly pre-defined schedule, making me wonder about the validity of the tweets.
Is it getting more difficult to believe news photos these days?
Most people haven't noticed, but it's getting more and more difficult to recognize reality in photographic journalism. While the unwary public soaks up newspaper and broadcast news reports which show stark photography, those of us who know what can be done with today's software are taking a more careful look. A recent photo in the local newspaper editorialized the aftermath of a house fire. Most people looked at the story it told. I saw it -- but I also saw the affects of over-sharpening and was alerted that the image had been manipulated. As a journalist myself, I've come to scrutinize the images as much as the content.
Computer Threats Predictions for 2007
Messagelabs runs an annual trend report that highlights the evolution of the threat landscape each year. They are probably the best to make predictions because they're on the leading edge of spam and computer threat science. And, of course, the complexity of attacks on your computer are predicted to continue in 2007