Digital Asset Management 88

InteliGator - Online Investigations

2011-04-24T06:48:00.000-07:00

Is the Inteligator background checks website a scam? This site allows you to look into data on individual and government files, using the power of the Internet to allow anyone to access this information online. Some of the information that users of this website can find include residential addresses, contact information, criminal and legal records and even minor details like the person's magazine subscriptions.

1. What is the Inteligator Service Website All About?

This site allows its members to access a database of millions of records of personal and sensitive documents. There are many of this type of records searching sites available on the Internet, but their availability of information and customer support services can vary greatly.

2. Is the Inteligator Website Legal to Use?

Some people wonder if looking up the private information about another person is actually an act against the law. This type of activity is carefully watched and monitored by the state, local and federal laws. As of today, it is considered legal when the information is not used for unlawful or any other undesirable purposes.

3. What Are the Benefits of Using Inteligator to Look for Records Rather Than Searching Using Other Online and Offline Methods?

More people are choosing to do this type of search through the Internet since it is faster, easier and more convenient to do so. There is also a much higher chance of the searcher being able to find whatever he or she wants since Inteligator is able to access both local and internet facilities to find data. It is also much more frequently updated with the latest information compared to other sources and all can be accessed from the comfort of the users' homes.

4. What Are Some Limitations to Using the Inteligator Site?

Some of the more private and detailed info may require the users to pay fees to be able to access and view them. From my experience, I feel that the affordable fees and good amount information provided makes this service website worth the money using.Click Here!

Visit HomePage Inteligator.

What Is Illusion Mage? The Complete 3D Animation Software Suite

2011-04-24T06:35:00.000-07:00

First of all, Illusion Mage IllusionMage 3D Animation Software has a very passionate, dedicated and experienced owner.

Seth Avery had certainly put in tons of effort in putting together what I call the "Ultimate 3D Animation Kit". It consists of an amazing 3d animation software with video tutorials and guides.

We think this is extremely important because we have tried plenty of other 3d animation software which are very difficult to learn. Some has very steep learning curves which is simply not user friendly. (who wants to spent weeks trying to put together a simple animation?) You know what I mean if you've tried to use other animation software with frustration. And I didn't even mention the pricey fees you have to pay to get Maya or 3DMax.

Well fortunately, these flaws and mistakes are hardly be seen in IllusionMage

visit HomePage

Cloud Computing and the world of GeoApps

2010-10-05T06:52:00.001-07:00

Just like online social gaming , GeoApps is another emerging in-the-cloud meme. When I say GeoApps, I am referring to a wide variety of new and old ideas: Geographic Information Systems (GIS) for enterprises, geospatial applications, map-based mashups, geo-data visualization and mapping, Location-based Services (LBS), Location-aware mobile applications, Geo-Social Apps and anything and everything related to geo-technology.
This new world of GeoApps will be powered by the cloud. Whether it is serving ads from geo-located tweets to Mobile phones or analyzing and visualizing massive amounts of geo-data in real time or even playing geo-games with a group of friends at a particular location, these GeoApps are going to be the sweet spot for Cloud computing.
I got interested in GeoApps in May 2007 when I experimented with MapCruncher. In 2008, I was impressed when I saw how voters were mapped on a country map during the President Obama Campaign using all open source tools and AWS. Last week, I presented at Location Intelligence GeoCloud conference. My presentation was titled "The Cloud as a Platform for GeoApps". I researched and talked to several customers and partners and learnt that this world of GeoApps is on a verge of a perfect storm and feel that cloud will be fueling this perfect storm.

A few interesting case studies and stories that you might like:
Swisstopo - The Swiss Federal Geo-Information Center
Swisstopo, The Swiss Federal Office of Topography, currently serves with its Amazon EC2 instances up to 30,000 unique visitors per day. This equates to data transfer of 8 TB per month; up to 1,300 delivered map tiles per second; 250,000,000 pre-produced map tiles in Amazon Simple Storage Service (Amazon S3); and 40 GIS applications with 40 Web map services for Swiss Federal offices, among other customers. Swisstopo estimates it is now possible for the team to launch a new server within hours, instead of the weeks or months it took before using AWS. Read the case study for more information.

BP Gulf Oil Spill Response Website (Solution built by ESRI)
In response to the Deepwater Horizon incident, The Joint Incident Command needed to have a publicly facing interactive website that would support the public’s need to have a view into the response. Timeframe was extremely tight, and they had to deploy the idea to global deployment roughly in a week. www.Gulfofmexicoresponsemap.com was built using ArcGIS Server Standard version 9.3.1 on Amazon EC2. It leverages the Flex API which utilizes ArcGIS Online, Microsoft Bing, and Response Content (which is refreshed every 2 days). The website provided the public with a view into the response efforts showing the work that was being done to mitigate the environmental disaster.
USDA Food and Nutrition Service (Solution built using ArcGIS)
The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, formerly known as “Food Stamps” helps 40 million people a month put food on their table. With help from ESRI, USDA was able to quickly build a rich Retail Locator – a tool that helps locate nearby businesses that accept the SNAP card. The SNAP Retailer Locator is built using the Flex API for ArcGIS Server 9.3.1, leverages ArcGIS Online maps and services, and is hosted on Amazon Web Services (EC2) platform.
Haiti Earthquake (ESRI and CrisisCommons)
The earthquake occurred on Jan 12th and the first satellite images were available Jan 13th. There were several websites built in the cloud to facilitate emergency response efforts. ESRI also built an application to display up to the minute satellite images of the affected area. They were able to provision ArcGIS server on AWS in less than 2 hours. As a result, relief workers were able to quickly identify evacuation routes and get aid to the hardest hit areas. Likewise, CrisisCommons, a global network formed to help sustain the knowledge gained from CrisisCamps, also launched several communications sites (like wiki's and blogs) on AWS Cloud to collaborate and co-ordinate on earthquake relief efforts.
HRSA.Gov Project UDSMapper.org (Solution built by Blue Raster, LLC)
Section 330 of the Public Health Service Act (HealthCare reform 2010) defines federal grant funding opportunities ($1Billion) for organizations to provide care to underserved populations. It’s the Presidential initiative to double the number of Community Health Centers nationally from 1200 to 2400. HRSA and Robert Graham Center provide tools to these applicants (Community Health Centers) to assist them in the grant process. Blue Raster LLC, a government contractor specializing in Geospatial applications built a web mapping application that helps applicants to explore existing federally-qualified health center service areas, identify gaps in the safety net, and locate which neighborhoods or regions might hold the highest priorities for health center expansion and help them decide where to build the next new HealthCare facility. Blue Raster had built a highly available and redundant app hybrid-architecture leveraging several AWS services including AWS import export service to move first round of data and ESRI's ArcGIS. They host the web mapping application on EC2 and utilize S3 as caching servers for Tile Caching. Michael Lippmann presented the entire solution at the conference and discussed economics ($300K in non-cloud solution v/s. $30K in the cloud) and architecture of this "perishable" website which was live only for 90 days after grant was announced. The static data website is at UDSMapper.org. Its was an interesting cloud-scale success story that used Amazon S3, EC2, CloudFront. They only had 48 hour notice before the grant was announced and hence they built all the necessary automation to not only bring up the infrastructure on-demand quickly but also to scale the resources dynamically to address the expected big spike of bidders after the announcement.
Recovery.gov Architecture (Mapping and Visualization provided by ESRI ArcGIS)
Recovery.gov provides a visual representation of the US with the distribution of stimulus funding in the form of contracts, loans and grants. If you drill down into the top level map, there is a detailed map that allows you to see the funding and programs right down to an individual township. For each contract, grant or load you can see the dollars that were spent and the jobs that were created. This visualization and geo-mapping was built using ESRI's ArcGIS server.
Analyzing Carbon Density in the Amazon Rainforest
Rhiza Labs discussed how they used their product, Rhiza Insight, on Amazon EC2 to visualize and analyze carbon density of 600,000 acres of Surui Territory of the Amazon Rainforest. The project was executed in conjunction with Google Earth Outreach program and Amazon Conservation Team in which Google gave handheld devices that has a GPS and Camera to the Sural Tribe so that they can take pictures of remote locations and get the current situation of Amazon Conservation. This pictures were then used to analyze carbon density. Josh Knauner, CEO of Rhiza labs, discussed the entire solution at the presentation and it was impressive.
Geo-data and Geo-Platform Providers (powered by AWS):
ESRI
ESRI is one of our featured solution providers and in the frontline of geo-mapping, analysis, and visualization in the enterprise GIS space. The ArcGIS Server on Amazon EC2 product allows you to quickly set up a pre-configured instance in the cloud and get started. I highly recommend reading the whitepaper "GIS in the Cloud" if you would like to know more about the product.
FortiusOne (GeoCommons/Mapufacture)
FortiusOne acquired Mapufacture that runs on AWS. They provide set of products under the GeoCommons brand that provides collaboration and access to data, visualization and analytics. On the public web with GeoCommons, they allow anyone to upload and share open data (there are 40,000 or so datamaps today). Their customers then license the platform, GeoIQ, to combine their business data with open data. For example, they work with real estate companies to compare their appraisals and listings with demographic information, school ratings, and even social media. They deploy GeoIQ on Amazon EC2 and are moving the entire GeoCommons to AWS. I was very impressed at their pace of innovation and technical expertise.
eSpatial
eSpatial is one of emerging startups focused on providing GIS as a Service. They use Amazon EC2 and Oracle server and have built several platform services on top of AWS. They aim to provide GIS data and platform services to enterprise companies.
WeoGeo
WeoGeo provides geo-data library and marketplace where data providers can upload and sell their data maps and have built a really cool self-healing auto-scalable platform on the top of AWS. The team is extremely smart and know the stuff really well. I have known them since 2006, when they first launched WeoCEO - Auto scaling service on EC2. Just recently, Pitney Bowes Business Insight (MapInfo) has agreed to license their services and platform. WeoGeo will be powering their GeoSK marketplace.
SimpleGeo
SimpleGeo is built on top of AWS. They aim to provide "iTunes for Geo-data" - anything that is related to a particular location. Geo Mobile application developers find it very simple to integrate with their APIs.
CloudMade
CloudMade, an innovative startup that sources all the mapping data from OpenStreetMap and provides several layers of geodata that can be mapped on the top of basic layer. They provide rich set of tools and API that can leverage different datasets like POI on OpenStreetMap.
Getting started on GeoApps in the cloud is easy. You can take advantage of several open source and commercial tools: ESRI's ArcGIS Server, MapServer, GeoServer, and other OSGeo Products, TileDrawer AMI, MapTiler (and MapBox from DevelopmentSeed) are some great tools for those who would like to get started with GeoApps. Read the essential skills required to succeed in a GIS career post to see what skills you need in order to enter the world of GeoApps.
Are you building a next-generation GeoApp in the AWS cloud that we should know ?
-- Jinesh Varia

For Digital Asset Management, Search is Not Enough

2010-10-05T06:51:00.000-07:00

By Fran Alexander
Digital Asset Management (DAM) depends on metadata, but when choosing a system it is worth bearing in mind the difference between your subjective metadata (tags, classifications, indexes, etc. for search and retrieval) and your objective metadata (file formats, source details, etc. for routine functions like rights management, stock control, and distribution). DAM vendors often promote the latest search techniques because they sound exciting, but if the system cannot handle your objective metadata well, you may find you have an expensive search engine that struggles to support your normal business processes.

Text is comparatively easy to index, analyse and, to a certain extent, classify automatically. The new trends mostly relate to what is analysed, rather than how it is analysed. For example, social media monitoring and sentiment analysis tools search blogs, tweets, and social networking sites, but most still use familiar text searches.

Tagging

As text is easy to search, adding textual captions and keyword tags to audiovisual content remains popular. Tagging software has improved, so that indexers can add terms very quickly, whether supported by controlled vocabularies, taxonomies, and predictive text or other feedback to improve tag consistency, or as free tagging for unconstrained folksonomies. Some DAM systems allow direct tagging of audiovisual content - for example to attach labels to a particular frame, but this can be time consuming. If the tags are locked into a closed proprietary system, they might not integrate well with wider enterprise search systems, leaving the content well tagged, but in silos.

Some 'smart search' or 'intelligent' systems only analyse the text that has been added to content, so it is worth making sure you know how any proposed DAM system works before procuring a text-based system that has been marketed to sound more sophisticated.

Content-based image retrieval

Interpreting the visual world is difficult for humans, and if we often 'can't see something that is right under our noses' or fail to recognise an old friend who has a new haircut, it is not surprising that content-based image retrieval (CBIR) is a difficult problem for programmers to solve. Most CBIR works by analysing the colours in an image (as the colour values of pixels can be extracted from digital files), textures (by identifying regular patterns of brightness and darkness), and shapes using edge detection (where blocks of colour change). Rules can be added to colour, shape, and texture to suggest likely topics - for example, an image that is blue for a third of the image across the top and green across the bottom is probably a landscape.

Problems with automated interpretations of images:

Is this a landscape? Is it a crowd scene? Is it a beach scene? Is it a picture of birds? It has a sad colour palette, but is it a sad image? The most obvious feature is the building, but that is arguably the least relevant part of the image.

This image has a similar colour palette, but very different feel. Is it a landscape? A seascape? A picture of a bridge or a road?

Companies such as imense (http://www.imense.com) are interesting because they combine mathematical analysis of shape, colour, and texture with a language-based classification. They have built an ontology to link the concepts that the mathematical analysis produces - the maths suggests that one image contains pointy things that are probably mountains and another is mainly white so is probably snow, then the ontology suggests that mountains are associated with snow, so the picture with the pointy things and the white picture are both worth offering to someone searching for 'snowy mountains'.

Other companies, such as Pixolu (http://www.pixolu.de) , use textual metadata to generate initial search results but then offer refinement of these through a 'find similar' feature based on shape and colour analysis. A person can quickly spot the type of image they want - close-ups of skiers rather than a snowscape for example - and so the system refines the initial search by retrieving other images with similar colours, shapes, and mathematical relationships.

Face recognition

The development of face recognition software has been supported by military and law enforcement agencies. Faces can be identified as they are roughly the same shape, and are assumed to have two eyes, a nose and a mouth in fairly constrained proportions. However, systems can be inaccurate because of technical issues such as unusual lighting, or because people change their appearance by doing things like growing beards or dyeing their hair. Such systems require training and work best in constrained environments - employee ID passes providing a consistent set of images of a limited number of people, for example.

Digital fingerprinting

Digital fingerprinting is similar to CBIR and is being pioneered by anti-piracy and plagiarism detection services. It is based on mathematical techniques that analyse features of specific frames, or sections of content, and translate them into a coded file that is so specific that the chances of two different assets ending up with the same 'fingerprint' are minuscule. It works especially well for video identification, as audio is more easily mixed and mashed up with other sources, making the original content harder to trace. The 'fingerprints' are stored in a database and then used to compare with videos from sources likely to contain pirated content, such as video sharing websites. However, the bulk processing required can be expensive.

Speech-to-text

Speech-to-text software is an exciting development for managers of audio assets, but can also be used to extract the script - or create subtitles - from video. It has proved useful in industries that collect a lot of spoken audio data, such as call centre conversations and focus group interviews. The text derived from the audio can be searched, indexed, and analysed by traditional methods. Speech-to-text software works well on clear, simple samples, but can be tripped up when the audio is unexpected or unclear. Speech-to-text systems require training in the voices, accents, and languages that will be encountered, and work best with predictable subject matter, clear articulate speakers, and good quality recordings with little background noise. It is worth remembering that key terms and ideas useful for retrieval may not be mentioned in the script at all, especially if the content is poetic, dramatic, or academic.

Cutting-edge experimental work is being undertaken to analyse rhythm, tempo, and sounds other than speech, which may provide additional ways of automatically tagging audio content in future. The rhythm and tempo of a piece of music can be analysed, and then an association made with other pieces of music that have similar patterns. Sounds like explosions and gunshots can be recognised by their distinct waveforms and associated with dramatic events such as 'fight scenes', but it is not yet clear how accurate, useful, or cost effective such automated tagging will be in practice. Content-based video indexing techniques are becoming more sophisticated and, in some ways, are moving ahead of indexing stills because there is more information available in video that can be automatically analysed. A still that is mainly blue and blurry might be sad, or calm, or arty, but a section of video will have other sources of information to be mined to help make an automated classification - a slow tempo soundtrack would be more likely to be sad, but lots of intercut shots in different colours are more likely to be lively.

These new search technologies are very exciting, but beware of the hype - they are only part of the story and often involve hidden costs. A DAM system that supports your business critical, rather than your 'nice to have', functions is likely to be more cost effective overall. Managing administrative metadata may be less fun than intelligent sentiment-based content analysis, but it is what will keep your day-to-day processes running smoothly.

By Fran Alexander
Fran Alexander is Taxonomy Manager at the BBC Archive, one of the world's largest audiovisual archives. She began her career as an editor of dictionaries, encyclopaedias, thesauri, and almanacs, with a focus on converting print products to online formats. In 2001 she joined Keesing's Worldwide where she managed the creation of a new online news archive before becoming editorial director in 2007. She has a Master of Research degree from the Department of Information Studies at University College London and blogs at http://www.vocabcontrol.com.

WebNative Suite: Best Asset Management Software

2010-10-05T06:50:00.000-07:00

If you are barely getting by managing your work or just swamped by it then help yourself. Go to the Xinet WebNative Suite website and avail of a digital asset management software that will surely fit into your business. WebNative suite specializes in streamlining the storage, access, use and distribution of multimedia assets that simplifies global and remote workflows twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. By integrating workflow automation software into the system of business establishments allows them to manage their workload into more comprehensive data that can be controlled and arranged in an order that would best fit the specifications of the company that is using it. WebNative Suite software organizes your data into pertinent divisions and stores them in the system. And if any employee, merchant or partner wishes to access information from the company’s site they can do so 24/7. Digital asset management is the best way to ensure the success of incorporating the advantages of technology to improve the quality of how you do business. The WebNative Suite software supports the use of Adobe Creative suite which brings about productivity in the work place. Managing resources effectively is the key to success for businesses and working with the software is the best way to achieve this. Simplification through digital asset management of creative and production processes enables a no nonsense and fast way to business. The automation of production is efficiently increased with metadata workflows. This reduces repetition of manual tasks which saves valuable time. The software is very flexible because it scales to your company’s growing needs. It manages the addition of users, servers, and the capacity of increasing needs. The WebNative Suite software also allows access to usage controls but provides data security as well. This software is what every business establishment needs to be globally successful.

Fixed Asset Management Interrelated Info

2010-10-05T06:49:00.000-07:00

As you search for Fixed Asset Management related information or other information about incorporation or digital asset management second edition, take your time to view the below article. It will provide you with a really refreshing insight into the Fixed Asset Management information that you need. After going through it you will also be better informed about information in some way related to Fixed Asset Management, such as investment advisors or even ca asset management.
With electronic enterprise-wide IT asset management, improvements are inevitable in the areas of: forecasting, budgeting and procurement; software license compliance; maintenance planning; and overall PC life-cycle planning. Improving an asset utilization is a key component to sustain corporate growth.

All in all, asset management companies are ideal resources to drive costs out of your business operations, increase profitability and get access to vast information database for making a prudent choice.
Asset Management Resource: There is much different means of asset management. It often depends on what type of asset is involved. There are companies and software products available to assist in asset management. Whatever method you choose, there are many similar things that your asset manager system should entail:
As detailed as this article is, don’t forget that you can find more information about Fixed Asset Management or any such information from any of the search engines out there. Commit yourself to finding specific information therein about Fixed Asset Management and you will.
Asset management software applications that are connected to an enterprise wide network or the Internet is referred to as online asset management applications. Connecting these applications to a network offers several benefits.
Asset management refers to the method that a company or a specialized asset management firm uses to track all fixed assets such as equipment, chairs, tables, computers and technology and even building, which are owned by a company or an individual.
Aside from managing a company’s assets, asset management advisors also provide feedback to their clients, making them aware of their assets. Such reporting is deemed useful for clients to see how much they have so far, and what they can do to manage their assets. Knowing how to manage assets also enables companies to invest wisely; think of ways to cut-down operational expenses; and increase their productivity.
For your information, we found that lots of people that were searching for Fixed Asset Management also searched online for asset management software web, long term care cost, and even brand asset management software.

HP Launches Faster HP Inkjet Web Press and various digital print systems at Graph Expo

2010-10-05T06:47:00.001-07:00

Chicago – HP today introduced the HP T350 Color Inkjet Web Press, which is capable of printing nearly 4,000 letter-size pages per minute, and unveiled a multitude of HP Designjet, Indigo, Scitex and Specialty Printing Systems solutions at the Graph Expo 2010 tradeshow.
HP also reported that its customers have printed significantly more pages this year as they accelerate their shift to digital technology for greater flexibility, more customization, superior quality and reduced cost. Collective page volumes for the high-end HP Indigo 7000 series presses, for example, grew 90 percent year-over-year for the third quarter of 2010, compared to the same time period in 2009.(1)

"The fact that our customers' digital color print business continues to grow – while the overall volumes are flat or down – reflects that print service providers are realizing the benefits of HP's digital printing solutions," said Christopher Morgan, senior vice president, Graphics Solutions Business, HP. "People are printing smarter, with targeted, high-quality output printed on demand with less waste, more streamlined supply chain processes and a reduced environmental impact."
A new milestone in Graph Expo history
HP, the leading digital color printing solutions provider in the graphic arts industry(2), has the largest booth at Graph Expo (booth No.1200). This marks the first time in Graph Expo's history that a digital print solutions provider is the event's largest exhibitor, another sign that the industry is rapidly transforming from analog to digital technology.
HP's new solutions, which improve productivity, profit potential and opportunity for print service providers (PSPs), include:
- the 30-inch-wide HP T350 Color Inkjet Web Press for applications such as high-quality books, transpromotional/transactional statements and direct mail. The T350, a faster version of the T300 model, prints at up to 600 feet per minute (up to 3,927 letter-size pages per minute) on standard offset or custom coated media
- the HP Indigo 7500 Digital Press, a flagship sheetfed, offset-quality commercial printing solution featuring advanced Vision Systems technologies for higher quality, reliability and productivity
- the HP Indigo W7200 Digital Press, shown for the first time with an advanced color consistency option for high-end photo and publishing applications
- the HP Indigo 3550 Digital Press, a high-quality, entry-level solution that prints in up to five colors
- the HP Print Module, shown in the HP booth as a technology demonstration for monochrome and spot-color production at speeds up to 800 ft./min., and as part of the new four-color process Print+ Messenger Color Inkjet system from Pitney Bowes
- the HP Durable Black CQ849A Ink Cartridge, a pigment-based cartridge that helps inkjet technology integrators develop new solutions for printing on coated, aqueous overcoated and varnished substrates
- HP Latex Printing Technologies for large-format printing in their first full-portfolio demonstration in North America, including the HP Designjet L25500 Printer Series, the 104-inch HP Scitex LX600 Printer and the 126-inch HP Scitex LX800 Printer
- two flatbed large-format solutions: the HP Scitex FB700 Printer offering increased productivity with advanced media load and collect features, and the HP Scitex FB500 Printer, a product that offers value as an affordable and compact flatbed production device
- the HP Designjet Z6200 Photo Printer, a solution that is the world's fastest, professional-quality large-format photo printer in its price class,(3) along with the HP Designjet Z5200 PostScript Printer, a simple, affordable device for small commercial print businesses interested in entering the large-format market
- software and workflow solutions, including the latest version of HP SmartStream Designer software for HP Indigo and HP Scitex customers.
Greater productivity in production printing with the HP T350 Color Inkjet Web Press
With a speed that exceeds the HP T300's, the new HP T350 Color Inkjet Web Press expands what graphic arts professionals can do with digital, offering a more productive platform for streamlined, high-volume full-color printing.
The four-color, 30-inch-wide HP T350 also extends an up to 1,200 x 600 dots per inch (dpi) native resolution HP Inkjet Web Press product line that also includes the 30-inch-wide HP T300 and the 20.5-inch-wide, single-engine, duplex HP T200.
Expected to be available in the second half of 2011, the HP T350 features a new writing system and improved data processing workflow. HP is presenting details on the HP T350 in its booth at Graph Expo. O'Neil Data Systems, Los Angeles, has the world's first HP T350 beta unit. The company also currently operates the first HP T200 Color Inkjet Web Press beta unit.
"O'Neil's expanding business is directly linked to success of the HP T300 inkjet press," said James Lucanish, president, O'Neil Data Systems. "With the new T350 web press, productivity has increased from 400 feet per minute to 600 feet per minute with the usual HP color quality."
"We've added to our portfolio the T200, which will also be used to increase our capacity. O'Neil is excited with the portfolio of products that HP has supplied to us. We continue to see the quality of color and productivity that sets them apart from the competition."
HP is providing updates at Graph Expo on its progress in creating a new magnetic ink character recognition (MICR) production solution for HP Inkjet Web Presses. Currently in the development and testing process, the HP MICR solution will be based on a new print bar that will insert into existing expansion slots on all HP Inkjet Web presses.
HP also has completed several media advancements. Standard uncoated papers and newsprint, as well as a growing range of coated papers, run on HP Inkjet Web presses. Appleton Coated's line of Utopia Inkjet papers, which HP and Appleton Coated co-developed to allow for high-quality, high-speed inkjet production, are now commercially available. HP also is collaborating with Sappi Fine Paper Europe for the development of new coated papers for European HP Inkjet Web Press customers.
The HP Exstream customer communications platform on display helps HP T300 customers like O'Neil Data Systems and Communisis assemble and process complex variable-data jobs at full-rated press speeds.
High-value digital color pages grow with new HP Indigo solutions
The launch of the highly automated HP Indigo 7500 Digital Press in May highlights the industry's digital page growth trend.
Making its first appearance at a North American tradeshow, the HP Indigo 7500 elevates the quality, reliability and productivity of sheetfed digital printing. PSPs use the HP Indigo 7500 to offer customers efficient, offset-quality printing on jobs normally produced on mid-size sheetfed offset presses, as well as high-value variable-data jobs requiring digital print capabilities.
The HP Indigo 7500 includes the new Vision System, an integrated module that enables scanning of press output at full press speed. Developed in conjunction with HP Labs, the company's central research arm, the Vision System automates a number of the press calibration and service tasks that operators typically must perform, reducing downtime and improving print quality. Future enhancements for the Vision System will allow for real-time monitoring and color correction across the printed sheet, as well as optional, real-time data inspection for variable fields.
"The HP Indigo 7500 makes us more productive and more competitive. – our operators run it more than the other six HP Indigo presses we own," said Chris Nunez, director of Digital Printing for Grandville (Mich.) Printing Company, a company that uses the HP Indigo 7500 to print auto manuals for one of the world's best-known luxury car brands.
In addition to producing a full range of commercial print products, the HP Indigo 7500 has an optional thick substrate kit that allows PSPs to expand into new product offerings such as greeting cards and folding cartons.
HP also has introduced a progressive finishing solution that eliminates manual intervention, lowers production costs, improves turnaround time and enhances document integrity. Using a new Universal Finishing Interface (UFI), the press can work in automated print-and-finish workflows.
The press' streamlined production capabilities include the new Lasermax Roll Systems PageReady, an automatic cutter/slitter/merger/stacker option that can serve as an in-line connection to finishing modules from other manufacturers.
Many HP Indigo 7500 model features will be available as field upgrades for HP Indigo 7000 users.

Debut of HP Indigo's premier high-volume photo book printing solution
The HP Indigo W7200 Digital Press has a new, advanced color option designed for high-end photo specialty and publication work. The new option consists of linked color-management utilities on both of the press's print engines, which yields highly accurate, consistent prints.
Designed to meet high-volume production needs for photo specialty products, publications and transational/transpromotional statements, the Indigo W7200 model prints up to 240 four-color letter-size pages per minute at volumes up to 7.5 million pages per month.
The press is in production at some of the world's leading photo specialty production firms, including Seattle-based RPI, which bought the press at Ipex 2010 and installed it in preparation for the annual photo specialty peak production season that begins in October and will continue through the end of the calendar year.
The press also has been installed at leading PSPs in the publishing, transactional printing and other markets, including a new, five-press installation at Jeppesen, where HP Indigo W7200 Digital presses will produce aviation charts used in the global transportation industry.
The new, entry-level HP Indigo 3550 Digital Press also is making its North American debut at Graph Expo. Offering HP Indigo's hallmark print quality and versatility at a low initial investment, the new 3550 model is the ideal solution for PSPs producing up to 300,000 four-color pages per month.
Higher productivity, more color in mail and HVTO applications
HP is expanding its relationship with Pitney Bowes for transpromotional and high-volume transactional output (HVTO) solutions. Pitney Bowes, which uses HP Inkjet Web Press technology in its IntelliJet line of solutions, will provide details at Graph Expo on a new 20.5-inch-wide, dual-engine solution scheduled for 2011 availability that is capable of printing at speeds up to 600 ft./min. using HP Inkjet Web Press technology.
Pitney Bowes is showing and accepting orders for its new Print+ Messenger Color Inkjet System inserter, which enables the high-resolution color printing of a company's logos and customized marketing messages onto envelopes during mail finishing, in its booth, No. 3601. Using HP Color Print Module thermal inkjet technology, the Print+ Messenger Color Inkjet System helps increase mail's value, relevance and response by bringing full-color personalization to the outside of the envelope.
Other new products for the HVTO and direct mail markets include the HP Durable Black CQ849A Ink Cartridge for imprinting applications using coated, aqueous overcoated and varnished substrates. Available now from HP, it can produce high-quality, high-resolution dark black text at up to 600 dpi(4) and barcodes with high optical density and excellent durability at speeds up to 150 ft./min.
New Latex Ink solutions and advanced flatbed productivity for the signage market
For PSPs offering large-format signage and graphics services, HP Latex Printing Technologies offer more consistent image quality than solvent-ink printers while delivering comparable performance in terms of productivity, size, durability and media choices.
By supporting a broader range of applications, latex-based printers offer PSPs more versatility and also help reduce the environmental impact of printing. These solutions have gained tremendous market acceptance since their introduction, with HP shipping more than 3,000 latex-based printers to customers that have collectively printed more than 32 million square feet of output.(5)
Latex-based printers at Graph Expo include:
- the104-inch HP Scitex LX600 Printer, which is on display and for sale at the show in reseller PRISCO's booth, No. 417
- the126-inch HP Scitex LX800 Printer, the largest, most productive HP Latex Ink device to date, operating at speeds up to 947 sq.ft./hr. for outdoor billboards and up to 484 sq.ft./hr. for indoor applications
- The HP Designjet L25500 Printer, which delivers easy, low-maintenance printing with unrivaled versatility(6) for a broad range of high-quality and flexible, outdoor and indoor applications.
HP Scitex flatbed printers on display offer application flexibility based on their ability to print on a wide variety of media. They also offer ease-of-use with automated calibration, HP Print Care solutions and on-board camera monitoring features for consistent, high print quality.
- The HP Scitex FB700 Printer, with new media handling features and a White Ink Upgrade Kit, helps PSPs produce high-quality prints for durable outdoor and indoor applications on virtually any rigid or flexible media
- The HP Scitex FB500 Printer, a 64-inch printer on display in the PRISCO booth, helps digital and screen printers, sign shops, converters and large repro houses bring rigid-printing capabilities in-house. It offers fast and efficient printing; simultaneous media loading, printing and collection; and no daily printhead maintenance.(7)
Helping production print businesses expand with large format
Graph Expo also features two new, low-volume solutions that allow production printing firms to bring large-format printing opportunities in-house.
- The HP Designjet Z6200 Photo Printer delivers fast photo-quality output at up to 2,400 dpi with the versatility to produce indoor applications from line drawings, to photographic output to signage. HP Vivid Photo Inks, featured in the HP Designjet Z6200 Photo Printer, offer improved scratch resistance, gloss levels and gloss uniformity, as well as a wider color gamut with deeper blacks, compared to previous HP inks.
- The HP Designjet Z5200 PostScript Printer is a simple, affordable device suited for a broad range of applications. The 44-inch printer includes new HP Instant Printing Pro software that offers fast, easy file preparation and automates production tasks.
New workflow products from the world's leading IT provider
A new version 5 of HP SmartStream Designer software helps HP Indigo and HP Scitex customers use Adobe InDesign CS5 to create effective variable-data print collateral and targeted signage campaigns. The new software includes Photo Smart Fit and Photo Image Enhancement – a pair of sophisticated image handling solutions from HP Labs – new database editing tools for variable-data work and auto-impositioning features that optimize the use of media.
Another workflow offering, HP SmartStream Production Pro Print Server version 4.0, improves workflow performance processing times by an average of 18 percent.(8) HP SmartStream Designer and HP SmartStream Production Pro also raise the industry bar in variable-data imaging flexibility and productivity, as they are two of the first workflow products in the industry to support the new Adobe PDF/VT format.
HP SmartStream Production Analyzer monitors and analyzes HP Indigo production operations in real time, providing a central console for fleet management and press operation optimization. HP is demonstrating a new version 1.5 of HP SmartStream Production Analyzer that supports more press models, monitors a greater number of production parameters and has enhanced reports.(9)
HP offers flexible financing solutions for customers deploying the latest HP digital printing technology through HP Financial Services, the company's leasing and life cycle asset management services division. An HP Financial Services representative is on-site in the HP booth during Graph Expo to provide details of applicable offers.
(1)   HP internal data.
(2)   HP internal data based on internal and external unit placements reported through the end of 2010 fiscal Q3 on July 31.
(3)   Based on published manufacturer specifications as of June 2010.
(4)   For semi-porous and non-porous substrates, high-resolutions of 600x600 dpi or line speeds greater than 100 ft./min. may require drying assistance.
(5)   HP internal data through September 2010.
(6)   The HP Designjet L25500 Printer produces an extremely broad range of both outdoor and indoor applications from a single device, which surpasses the number of different applications that traditional eco-solvent printers or water-based printers can produce.
(7)   Flexible media printing with an optional HP Scitex FB500 Roll-to-Roll Upgrade Kit. Printing performance may vary depending on media.
(8)   Compared to previous versions of the HP SmartStream Production Pro Print Server.
(9)   Compared to HP SmartStream Production Analyzer version 1.0.

teaching education : What is MADAM?

2010-10-01T05:59:00.000-07:00

Kings College of London has started its first Masters (MA) degree program in Digital Asset Management (DAM) this year. MADAM is the first Master’s Degree program of its kind. Best wishes in all their endeavors.

As written in an earlier post, this are not the only school of higher education to offer courses in DAM by name. There are other courses and programs that may call it something else in the fields of Archiving (specific to digital) and Library Science (again specific to digital). The issue too many schools still resist is (changing) teaching their students about the real digital world and how things get done today. I would encourage any student to get a real job or internship to see how things are done…not in theory, but reality.

You are more than welcome to try and:

Apply theory in practice when applicable
Learn to think on your feet
Walk through the possible consequences (pros/cons) of one action over another
Reference/respect other people’s point of view and take them all with a grain of salt
Learn to spend wisely
Diversify
If failure happens, fail quickly and learn why this happened so those reasons do not keep reoccurring again. Then, don’t repeat that failure. Kings College of London has started its first Masters (MA) degree program in Digital Asset Management (DAM) this year. MADAM is the first Master’s Degree program of its kind. Best wishes in all their endeavors.

As written in an earlier post, this are not the only school of higher education to offer courses in DAM by name. There are other courses and programs that may call it something else in the fields of Archiving (specific to digital) and Library Science (again specific to digital). The issue too many schools still resist is (changing) teaching their students about the real digital world college punjab india and how things get done today. I would encourage any student to get a real job or internship to see how things are done…not in theory, but reality.

You are more than welcome to try and:

Apply theory in practice when applicable
Learn to think on your feet
Walk through the possible consequences (pros/cons) of one action over another
Reference/respect other people’s point of view and take them all with a grain of salt
Learn to spend wisely
Diversify
If failure happens, fail quickly and learn why this happened so those reasons do not keep reoccurring again. Then, don’t repeat that

Categories of Digital Asset Management Expertise

2010-10-01T05:57:00.001-07:00

While ResourceSpace is fairly easy for those with moderate skills to install and use, *developing* for a DAM system like ResourceSpace requires a very broad range of skills and experience. I'll try to outline some of the skill sets required for DAM development:

Graphics/File Formats

One of my first modifications of ResourceSpace involved researching the INDD (InDesign) format and figuring out how to extract embedded previews from those files. So, the first encounter with DAM development often has to do with a file format that isn't currently supported for previews.

In DAM, being able to have visual previews of files is essential, and there are many techniques involved depending on the file format.

Tools such as ImageMagick can handle many bitmap graphics formats, so familiarity with ImageMagick is a must. Even then, you must go deeper and deeper into the options available to get good renders of files which contain, for example, layers or transparency (or color management profiles)

Proprietary formats like INDD are often not possible to render using an open source library, but in those cases, previews are sometimes embedded within the file and must be extracted. Initially we did this with straight PHP code, but now Exiftool has made this much easier.

Many Audio and Video file formats can be transcoded using FFMPEG or similar tools.

For Office Documents, again, some formats like the new XML formats (ODF and OOXML) embed a preview that can be extracted, but sometimes those previews are single paged or too small. In those cases, running a program like OpenOffice on the server to convert the files to a renderable PDF is often a good option. We use Ghostscript to RIP (raster-image-process) PDF page layouts into a JPEG preview format.

Additionally, the process of creating various preview sizes in an efficient manner has been very important. ResourceSpace, for example, starts with a full sized image, and gradually produces smaller previews using the next largest preview available. I found that creating each thumbnail preview from a full-sized TIFF image, for example, was incredibly slow, and was able to enhance the speed of previews by 400% by creating the various thumbnail sizes from an already-smaller JPEG.

Metadata

There seem to be almost as many types of metadata as there are file formats! Luckily, there is the excellent Exiftool by Phil Harvey, which provides ResourceSpace with a way to avoid many of those details. Exiftool creates a layer of abstraction, where at the application level we can simply refer to "tags" by name, and generally let Exiftool worry about whether those tags are EXIF, IPTC, XMP, ID3, or others, and let Exiftool deal with how exactly to read or write (if possible) to those metadata elements within the various file formats.

We've found that metadata tools within ResourceSpace using Exiftool, such as the Metadata Report, help us to not only understand existing metadata better, but help us to debug and refine metadata strategies.

SQL

As ResourceSpace becomes more complex, a more and more solid understanding of SQL (and specifically the MySQL server) becomes necessary. Much data needs to be interleaved into every search result, such as access permissions, watermarks, and display fields.

A lot of work has gone into analyzing indexes, denormalizing data, and using available data wherever possible to avoid excessive queries. And there is still room for improvement. We've added the $config_show_performance_footer option to help explain which queries are being made on a page, and how they are performing. In more than one case, this tool has allowed me to greatly optimize query speed.

PHP/HTML/CSS

Obviously, the big three 'languages' (other than SQL) that go into creating every ResourceSpace page. There is a constant need to learn about HTML/CSS standards, PHP extensions and configurations, and cross-platform issues on both the client and server side, since ResourceSpace needs to run on many different platforms and every possible browser.

Server Administration

Then, there is this whole world of IT issues. Linux. Apache. MySQL. PHP. Cloud hosting. Domains. Extending storage. Cron jobs. Automated Backups. SSH. Security. Local or Remote. Bandwidth and transfer speed. Etc.

Workflow

Perhaps the most important part of being a DAM developer is understanding real-world workflows. ResourceSpace is used in many different ways, by various types of organizations. Developing for ResourceSpace in some ways means to look out for all of those possibilities at the same time, and to understand particular workflows enough to make the system efficient and useful in the real world. I can honestly say that every one of my ResourceSpace installations has been a unique challenge, with unique configurations and developments. ResourceSpace has become so configurable that people like me specialize in knowing what is possible and how to configure it via configuration files, permissions, server setup, etc.

Honestly, I'm sure there are more categories of expertise. Business and communication, and how to monetize these skills and services certainly come to mind! Since I started working on ResourceSpace three years ago, it has been a constant learning experience and expansion of my technical horizons. I love it.

Digital Asset Management Demonstration from Widen

2010-10-01T05:55:00.000-07:00

Open Source Digital Asset Management App. – Phraseanet

2010-09-27T07:06:00.000-07:00

Phraseanet is an open source PHP application for managing and distributing digital assets (photos, videos, sounds, PDF documents, etc.).
Files can be added into it one-by-one or with the import feature in bulk and keywords can be defined to each of them for finding them easily.
Searching files works pretty fast as they are all indexed and can be added into baskets to download as a zip or to send via e-mail (as a download link).

For photographers, you can easily manage the whole archive, categorize them and send to customers quickly.
For web designers, it is specially functional if you're regularly purchasing/downloading stock images or videos and in need of archiving them for future use.
Also, it can work as a bridge between you and your customers for easily sending the designs.

Adobe Creative Suite 5 Web Premium Student & Teacher Edition

2010-09-26T07:32:00.000-07:00

Adobe Creative Suite 5 Web Premium combines Dreamweaver CS5, Flash Catalyst CS5, Flash Professional CS5, Flash Builder 4, Photoshop CS5 Extended, Illustrator CS5, Acrobat 9 Pro, Fireworks CS5, and Contribute CS5

Use a comprehensive toolkit with Flash Catalyst CS5 to design interactive content without coding, Flash Professional CS5 to create expressive content, and Flash Builder 4 Standard to develop rich Internet applications.

Build standards-based websites with Adobe Dreamweaver CS5, the leading web authoring tool. Develop with PHP and content management frameworks like WordPress, Joomla!, or Drupal, and design productively with CSS tools.

Get fast and accurate browser-compatibility testing, and accelerate tasks, such as collaborative content creation and reviews of presentations and project pitches through integration, with new Adobe CS Live online services.

Design with your chosen system–Mac OS, Microsoft Windows 7, Windows XP, or Windows Vista–and then deliver across platforms with more reliable, consistent, and high-performance results.

Amazon.com Product Description
New Adobe Creative Suite 5 Web Premium software and supporting resources build the web and mobile design and development skills students need for today’s technology-driven workforce. Students and educators can more easily create interactive, media-rich content for websites and mobile devices–with the support of a standards-aligned curriculum, professional development resources, and certification opportunities. Using Adobe Flash Catalyst CS5, students can produce interactive content without having to learn how to write code, while Code Snippets help lower the learning curve for the ActionScript language, allowing students to more easily learn programming fundamentals. Flexible volume licensing programs and low pricing for students and educators make Adobe Creative Suite 5 Web Premium affordable for institutions of all sizes.

Adobe Creative Suite 5 Web Premium combines:

Adobe Dreamweaver CS5
Adobe Flash Catalyst CS5
Adobe Flash Professional CS5
Adobe Flash Builder 4
Adobe Photoshop CS5 Extended
Adobe Illustrator CS5
Adobe Acrobat 9 Pro
Adobe Fireworks CS5
Adobe Contribute CS5

Additional components:

Adobe Bridge CS5
Adobe Device Central CS5
Integration with new Adobe CS Live online services

Redefine the extraordinary in web design and development

Comprehensive toolset for the Adobe Flash Platform
Create expressive interactive content with Adobe Flash Catalyst CS5, Flash Professional CS5, and Flash Builder 4 Standard that you can deliver consistently across personal computers, mobile devices, and screens in a multitude of sizes and resolutions.
Creative Suite integration
Enhance productivity and workflow when using Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, Flash Catalyst, Flash Professional, and Flash Builder. Leverage the FXG graphics file format and integration with Mini Bridge for digital asset management.
Content delivery virtually anywhere
Deliver consistently across screens of any size and use Adobe Device Central for enhanced device testing. Distribute, track, and monetize applications on social networks, mobile devices, and desktops via Flash Platform Services.
Cross-platform support
Design with your chosen system–Mac OS, Microsoft Windows 7, Windows XP, or Windows Vista–and then deliver across platforms with more reliable, consistent, and high-performance results.
Support for evolving web trends
Develop standards-based web content more efficiently and integrate with content management system frameworks, including WordPress, Joomla!, and Drupal. Generate high-impact designs with advanced image technology and support for 3D.
Best practices
Make best practices in web design and development your practice with standards-based tools from Adobe, whether you’re building CSS-based layouts or data-rich pages with the accessible HTML Data Set feature.
Powerful coding tools
Take advantage of a powerful Eclipse based IDE that includes editors for MXML, ActionScript, and CSS, as well as syntax coloring, statement completion, code collapse, interactive step-through debugging, and automatic generation of common code.
Adobe CS Live online services integration
Expand your capabilities with new CS Live online services that integrate with Web Premium software, including BrowserLab, CS Review, and Acrobat.com. Perform accurate browser-compatibility testing and get feedback with design project reviews through integration with online services. CS Live online services are complimentary for a limited time–visit www.adobe.com/go/cslive for details.

Brand new in CS5 Design Premium, Flash Catalyst CS5 equips you to design interactive content using intuitive tools that leverage skills you already have–and without writing code. Click to enlarge.

Paint freely in Illustrator CS5 with the vector-based Bristle Brush to produce lifelike brush strokes. Click to enlarge.

With Adobe Repoussé, you can extrude, bevel, bend, shear, and twist any text layer, selection, path, or layer mask. Apply lighting and materials to create effects never previously possible in Photoshop. View controls.

Easily troubleshoot CSS-based page elements–Dreamweaver CS5 highlights box model properties with colors so you can visually inspect individual page elements. Click to enlarge.

Advanced application development
Design and create your Adobe AIR interactive prototype in Adobe Fireworks for deployment in Adobe Dreamweaver, Flash Professional, or Adobe Flex software. Enhance your AIR application with HTML and JavaScript in Dreamweaver–and then preview or deploy it immediately.
Cross-discipline workflow
Transform static Photoshop, Illustrator, and Fireworks artwork into dynamic components without writing code, and build wireframes and prototypes and turn them into standards-compliant HTML and CSS. Preserve design fidelity throughout the entire process. Use Flash Builder as an ActionScript editor for Flash Professional and to develop projects created with Flash Catalyst.

Adobe Dreamweaver CS5–Design, develop, and maintain standards-based websites and applications

Adobe Dreamweaver CS5 software empowers designers and developers to build standards-based websites with confidence. Work visually or directly in code, develop with your existing content management system like WordPress, Joomla!, or Drupal, and design productively with CSS inspection tools. Simplify advanced website development with integrated support for Subversion software and custom PHP code hinting. Get fast and accurate browser-compatibility testing and test dynamic content thanks to integration with Adobe BrowserLab, a new Adobe CS Live online service.
Develop with content management systems
Build dynamic standards-based websites and applications quickly and easily. Leverage powerful content management systems with integrated authoring and testing support for your existing frameworks like WordPress, Joomla!, and Drupal.
Design websites more productively
Inspect, track, and preview web designs with powerful CSS diagnostics and functions. Improve your layouts and designs, and reduce the need for manual tweaking in the CSS code.
Extend Dreamweaver through integration with CS Live online services
Some of the new CS Live online services integrate with Dreamweaver, such as fast and accurate browser-compatibility testing with Adobe BrowserLab. CS Live online services are complimentary for a limited time–visit www.adobe.com/go/cslive for details.

Adobe Flash Catalyst CS5–Create expressive interfaces and interactive content without writing code

Adobe Flash Catalyst CS5 software is an approachable new interaction design tool. Use it to transform Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, and Fireworks artwork into expressive interfaces and fully interactive content without writing code, and publish as SWF or Adobe AIR files. Collaborate with developers who can open your project files with Adobe Flash Builder software to extend functionality, and leverage the reach and consistency of the Adobe Flash Platform.
Leverage the power of the Adobe Flash Platform to create interactive projects
Rapidly create expressive interfaces and interactive content to your exacting design standards. Deliver your creative vision with the reach and consistency of the Adobe Flash Platform.
Approach interaction design without writing code
Transform static designs from Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, or Fireworks software into fully interactive projects without requiring development or coding skills. Define behaviors and control sophisticated interactions with simple yet powerful menu-based commands.
Speed the design and development process
Use familiar design applications to easily create and edit artwork. Developers can open Flash Catalyst projects directly in Adobe Flash Builder software, preserving design fidelity and interactions defined by the designer.

Adobe Flash Professional CS5–Create and deliver rich interactive content

Adobe Flash Professional CS5 software is the industry-leading environment for interactive authoring and delivery of immersive experiences that are presented consistently across personal computers, mobile devices, and screens of virtually any size and resolution. Design expressive content with professional typography and pixel-precise drawing tools, write code precisely and efficiently with code completion and customizable code snippets, and deliver superior-quality video to audiences practically everywhere.
Design with expression
Communicate your creative vision without sacrifice and set the bar for interactive design with typographic precision, layout fidelity, and expressive motion-editing capabilities.
Write code quickly and easily
Quickly and efficiently write code with powerful authoring tools and integration with Adobe Flash Builder software. Easily add interactivity directly in the ActionScript language by injecting extensible code snippets.
Deliver in fewer steps and in more places
Save time and reduce the number of required steps when moving content from design, to development, and ultimately to delivery. Distribute consistently across personal computers, mobile devices, and screens of virtually any size and resolution.

Adobe Flash Builder 4–Develop cross-platform rich Internet applications

Adobe Flash Builder 4 (formerly Adobe Flex Builder) software is a professional-grade development tool designed to help developers rapidly build cross-platform rich Internet applications (RIAs) and content using the open source Flex framework.
Improve productivity
Accelerate development and testing of expressive web applications using powerful developer tooling.
Integrate with existing infrastructure
Integrate with servers and services in existing infrastructure, including those based on Java, PHP, Adobe ColdFusion software, REST, and SOAP.
Deliver more expressive applications
Create intuitive, engaging applications that deliver more compelling experiences.

Adobe Photoshop CS5 Extended–Create powerful images with the professional standard

Adobe Photoshop CS5 Extended software helps you create the ultimate images for print, the web, and video. Enjoy all the state-of-the-art editing, compositing, and painting capabilities in industry-standard Photoshop CS5, and experience fast performance thanks to cross-platform 64-bit support. Also create 3D extrusions for logos, artwork, and motion graphics; edit 3D objects with advanced tools; and create and enhance motion-based content.

Designers who love fine typography will be thrilled by extensive type controls in Flash Professional CS5. Click to enlarge.

Integration between Fireworks CS5 and Device Central CS5 means you can begin a Fireworks project using the exact specifications of a target mobile device, then preview in Device Central before handing it off to a developer. Click to enlarge.

Adobe BrowserLab is a fast, flexible, and convenient way to make sure your web designs look exactly the way you intend them to look, no matter what browser, computer, and operating system is used to view them. Click to enlarge.

Innovate in 3D
Go beyond traditional image editing by bringing 3D elements to your 2D artwork directly within your favorite digital imaging application, which now offers an easy on-ramp to 3D image creation.
Maximize creative impact
Explore new creative possibilities with breakthrough tools that enable you to select, adjust, paint, and recompose images with tremendous precision and freedom.
Boost productivity
Accelerate your workflow with fast performance on 64-bit hardware systems, smoother interactions thanks to GPU acceleration, and dozens of time-savers throughout the application.

Adobe Illustrator CS5–Explore new paths with the essential vector tool

Create distinctive designs for any project. Used by creative professionals worldwide, Adobe Illustrator CS5 software provides precision and power. Paint expressively with vectors, draw in perspective, and explore designing for interactivity. Move easily between Illustrator, other Adobe products, and Adobe CS Live online services. Get the job done efficiently but beautifully, moving quickly from multiple ideas to multiple outputs with complete control and delivering exactly what you had in mind.
Design with powerful creative tools
Take advantage of exceptional precision and power to create distinctive vector artwork. Combine highly controllable drawing tools with expressive natural brushes and dramatic effects to make unique, striking designs.
Work smoothly and efficiently
Speed up your workflow with innovations that encourage efficiency. Get the job done with purpose and agility using shortcuts and time-savers to take multiple ideas to multiple outputs.
Deliver virtually anywhere
Incorporate vector artwork into essentially any project and deliver resolution-independent graphics across media. Enjoy tighter-than-ever integration with other Adobe products and go anywhere your creativity takes you.

Adobe Acrobat 9 Pro–Protect documents and accelerate information exchange with PDF

Adobe Acrobat 9 Pro software builds on the foundational feature set of Acrobat 9 Standard to provide business and creative professionals with additional capabilities, including enhanced security features, high-end print production support, and easy-to-manage electronic document reviews.
Deliver polished, professional documents
Quickly integrate content, insert company logos, define navigation, and add polish to your PDF Portfolio using one of many customizable templates.
Create dynamic electronic forms
Use included Adobe LiveCycle Designer software–a professional form design tool–to create, customize, and automate dynamic forms.
Collaborate and share with virtually anyone, anywhere
Gain the input you need–in real time–through interactive, shared document reviews that help participants see and build on each other’s comments.

Adobe Fireworks CS5–Rapidly prototype and design for the web

Create expressive screen graphics for virtually any device rapidly with Adobe Fireworks CS5 software. Design websites, user interfaces, or rich media applications using both vector and bitmap tools. Import assets from Adobe Photoshop or Illustrator software and export to HTML and CSS, Adobe Flash Catalyst software, or the Adobe AIR runtime. Optimize final imagery with the industry’s leading screen graphics software.
Combine the power of vector and bitmap tools
Design with vector and bitmap tools together to achieve optimal imagery quickly. Enjoy pixel precision that maps to your resolution requirements, using graphics tools designed for screen-based output.
Produce better screen graphics, faster
Create rich, interactive screen graphics with fewer steps. Create and name slices efficiently, and then deliver superior-quality graphics optimized for the web and a wide range of devices.
Design once for multiple deliverables
Quickly optimize designs for websites, rich media applications, and mobile devices. Edit assets from other graphics programs for wider deployment with Fireworks. Integrate client review into the design process.

Adobe Contribute CS5–Simplify website management

Adobe Contribute CS5 software enables users to quickly create and edit web pages collaboratively in an easy-to-use WYSIWYG HTML editor, without writing code. New features include in-browser editing of text, hotspot images, and CSS for content authors, as well as drag-and-drop input of FLV, SWF, and PDF files. Managers can encourage creative web development while easily controlling workflow, review, and version processes to produce static or dynamic websites with one-click publishing.
Update sites efficiently
Make website updates easy. Familiar WYSIWYG tools help content authors create and edit web media–no HTML required. Maintain control of site integrity and expedite review and approval cycles.
Increase contributor productivity
Let content authors collaborate fully using simple in-browser creation and editing of text, images, rich media, and advanced interactive layout elements–without writing code. Contribute maintains design integrity for you.
Accelerate publishing cycles
Quickly add pages and migrate existing content without repeating design tasks. Keep previous versions ready for redeployment. Manage reviews and approvals efficiently, and then publish with a single click.

Adobe Creative Suite 5

With powerful new creative tools, enhanced performance and workflows, and the ability to integrate with timesaving new Adobe CS Live online services, Adobe Creative Suite 5 software provides the edge you need to create rich content for virtually any media–print, web, interactive, video, audio, and mobile. Whether you need to produce printed pages efficiently or design and distribute engaging content online, on film, on air, and on device, you’ll find the right combination of Adobe tools to increase your productivity and keep pace with your creative vision.

Adobe Creative Suite 5 Web Premium Student & Teacher Edition

Digital Asset Management Software

2010-09-26T07:30:00.000-07:00

With the right type of digital asset management software you can make your company operate more effectively than you ever though possible before. with the right type of software you’re going to be able to take your company to the next level, and you’re going to be able to enjoy a much more easy to manage asset system. It’s just a matter of picking out the perfect type of software, that’s going to manage your assets to your satisfaction. what you’re going to find with any type of digital asset management software, is that they can be very different based upon the type that you choose. for that reason, you have to be careful, and you want to choose the right program that’s going to work the way that you need it to work.
What digital asset management software is going to do for you basically, is make a digital record of all of your documents, as well as even photographs, to provide easier access to them later on. what this is going to do, is ensure that you’re able to find everything relating to your business more easily than ever. through a browser based system, you’re able to actually scan and find just the files that you’re looking for, without even having to leave your desk. This a major difference from having to get up and go through file cabinets like you would have had to do in the past. Instead, you’ll be able to find items easier than ever before, so that you can work more effectively.
But of course, one of the real joys of digital asset management software, is that it enables you to create different levels of access for different employees. you can make it so that employees are able to actually access what they need, but then restrict them so that they can’t change documents that you don’t want them changing. Or you can even restrict access to certain files, so that you need administrative permission to access certain parts of the system. That’s one way to ensure that you’re able to keep control, and keep what you need to keep protected, completely safe.
What’s more, digital asset management software is really just going to give you the perfect system to back up all of your information in a safe place. By using some form of online backup, you’re going to be sure that all of your digital assets are always safe for use, and will survive any natural disaster or fire. with physical documents, if there’s a fire or disaster, you just lose all of that information and you’re never able to get it back again. but through digital asset management software, you’re able to ensure it’s always going to be there, so that you can always get your company going, through any disaster.
When it comes to choosing the most ideal digital asset management software, you’ll find that you have plenty of options. through sites like Extensis.com or Widen.com you can setup a local and online management system for your business, that’s more effective than anything you’ve ever tried before.

Is SharePoint 2010's DAM Good Enough for Your Organization?

2010-09-16T06:53:00.000-07:00

During your search for the appropriate Digital Asset Management (DAM) solution, you've no doubt considered SharePoint as a possibility. SharePoint is probably already being utilized in your organization in some way, so it makes sense to see how it measures up. But does SharePoint 2010 offer enough OOTB features to be a legitimate candidate?
Digital asset management (DAM) is defined by Microsoft as "the process by which an organization creates, obtains, stores, organizes, manages, distributes and eventually disposes of digital assets". In today's organization, managing digital assets in a structured manner is more than likely a mandatory process.
Editor's Note: Read more on DAM: 6 Things to Consider When Selecting A Digital Asset Management Solution

Does SharePoint Provide Enough DAM for You?

To properly answer that question you'll need to identify the core requirements for your organization. If you're looking for an experience that is designed specifically for digital media with a lot of advanced options, then SharePoint is not going to give you that OOTB. But if you're like most, then your goal is to make sure your investment in SharePoint has something to offer your users for their digital content.

Native Features

The main drivers behind SharePont 2010's DAM offering are asset libraries and the new digital media content types for images, audio and video.
Asset libraries are essentially document libraries that have been altered for managing digital media. With these library types, you can preview digital content by hovering over the item in the library itself. It will show you some of the metadata without having to bring up the item on a separate page.

You’ll even be able to render the content in the browser as long as you have Silverlight installed.

The great advantage of using SharePoint 2010 to manage your digital assets is that you’ll have all of the other great features of SharePoint at your disposal. Whereas a standalone DAM product might tout workflow or search as a selling point, SharePoint 2010 offers these and many more as standard features within the framework of SharePoint itself.
Search, tagging and rating, workflow, fine-grained permissions, metadata management, collaboration and Office integration are all core features that make SharePoint 2010 an attractive option.

DAM Limitations

Is SharePoint 2010 a perfect solution for DAM? Definitely not. There are some noteworthy limitations that you should evaluate before you commit to this product. But one thing to keep in mind about SharePoint in general, is that it has always been a great enabler of 3rd party enhancements.
It is unique in that there are hundreds of add-ons available to meet specific needs not met by OOTB features. If you have already invested in SharePoint, then one of the limitations listed below may be solved by a small investment in a 3rd party add-on.

No DAM With SharePoint Foundations: The first major limitation is that the new asset library is only available with SharePoint Server 2010. This means that SharePoint Foundation installations simply do not have the ability to create asset libraries.
Silverlight is Required: Asset libraries use Silverlight to render content: If you need to launch a specific application to render digital content then this is not possible OOTB. A typical use case here is if you have the need to play content that uses customized audio/video codecs that Silverlight cannot playback.
No Auto-Detection of Metadata: SharePoint will not be able to auto-detect common digital metadata like format, duration, size and device maker. Like any other SharePoint library though, you could add custom metadata columns for this data, but it will need to be keyed in manually by the user.
No Support for Thumbnails: Last but not least on my list is the inability to automatically add thumbnails for video files. You can link to an external image that represents that video, but as shown below, SharePoint does not give you the ability to do this on the fly.

Final Thoughts

As I mentioned previously, SharePoint 2010 will not contend as the ultimate DAM solution. If your firm deals primarily in digital content, then you’ll need to look for a dedicated solution or a 3rd party add-on that enhances the OOTB features, like Equilibrium Media Rich for SharePoint 4.1 or Bamboo SharePoint Video Library.
It’s a good idea to explore SharePoint’s OOTB DAM features as a starting point though. You’ll more than likely realize that SharePoint 2010 covers most of the features you are looking for without having to invest in a disparate system that only deals with digital content.
You can follow more of Mike's SharePoint articles, starting with: 8 Ways Web Content Management has Improved in SharePoint 2010.

Jason Bright of Media Beacon Wins DAMMY of the Year

2010-09-16T06:51:00.000-07:00

(Burbank, CA) The DAMMY Awards, the first honors specifically recognizing excellence in innovative digital and media asset management technology, methodologies and services, have announced that Jason Bright of Media Beacon has won the DAMMY of the Year Award. The DAMMY’s, making their debut during Createasphere’s Digital Asset Management Conference and Exhibition in New York, will be awarded during a gala luncheon on September 24th, 2010 at The New Yorker Hotel.

The DAMMY of the Year was created to acknowledge an outstanding individual or organization that has positively impacted the success and growth of the DAM industry and community. Qualities including forward thinking leadership, innovation, and a global perspective on the industry drove the entrants and the judging. The DAMMY of the Year was chosen by a panel of blue-ribbon judges of digital and media asset management experts who are professionals in the space.

The goal of the DAMMY Awards is to raise awareness of the rapidly evolving, increasingly crucial role of digital asset management (DAM); to promote creative and technical excellence in the field; and to recognize the achievements occurring in DAM. Mary Yurkovic, Manager of Createasphere’s DAM Conference noted, “We launched the DAMMY’s to put DAM in the spotlight and to draw attention to the ingenious work going on in this important arena. The DAMMY of the Year gives special recognition to the innovative thinking and excellence that is propelling the digital asset management industry forward. All of us on the Createsphere team are honored to work on the DAMMY’s, and to announce Jason Bright as DAMMY of the Year.”

In addition to DAMMY of the Year; categories for the first annual DAMMY Awards include Best Storage, Archive, and or Preservation Solution; Best Strategy or Solution for Digital & Media Asset Management during the Acquisition of Content; and Best Example of Asset & Media Repurposing. Eligibility for the DAMMY’s included innovative organizations and individuals breaking new ground in managing digital assets, creating new revenue opportunities, increasing security, and developing more efficient workflows to maximize ROI.

For more information about the DAMMY Awards, or to purchase tickets, visit http://createasphere.com/En/dammys.html. For information about the Createasphere DAM Conference and registration, please visit http://www.createasphere.com/DAM or call 818.842.6611.

About Createasphere

Createasphere is a global community builder for the entertainment technology industry, building and connecting communities and advancing technology and careers through expos, conferences, education and online offerings.

Createasphere was founded in 2001 as HD EXPO, and over the past decade has grown into a global company that develops and presents influential events for the content creation community, on line and face to face. Founded by Kristin Petrovich Kennedy in Los Angeles, Createasphere became part of Diversified Business Communications in 2009, now driving their entertainment strategies and properties division. Currently Createasphere is presenting the Createasphere Entertainment Technology Expos in New York and LA, The Digital Asset Management Conference, in New York and Los Angeles, The DAMMY Awards in New York, Cinema India in Mumbai, and workshops focused on 3D, Canon EOS, REDucation, and Post Production Master Classes in the US and abroad.

Createasphere is headquartered in Burbank, California (www.createasphere.com).

Media Contact: Chris Purse

ignite: 818.508.0450

chris@ignite.bz or mimi@ignite.bz

Extensis Unveils New Portfolio Studio Digital Media Archive Server

2010-09-16T06:49:00.001-07:00

Extensis, a division of Celartem Inc., today introduced a new addition to its Portfolio line of Digital Asset Management (DAM) products: Portfolio Studio™ – an image archive server that saves time within small teams by automatically archiving and centralizing access to photos and project files with consistent metadata. Portfolio Studio takes folder-based workflows to the next level by providing web-based tools for teams to locate and convert photos and graphic files.
Portfolio Studio is the perfect choice for small workgroups to streamline their projects without any IT hassles. The entire system is available via an elegant web or desktop application and the included AutoSync™ technology continuously works behind the scenes to monitor network folders for the most up to date information to keep the archive searchable. Portfolio Studio’s seamless and standards-based approach means keywords and other important metadata are automatically synchronized with Adobe Bridge, Lightroom, and other Creative Suite applications.
“The system leverages MediaRich® server from Equilibrium® to expedite turnaround on repetitive actions—such as file conversion and image resizing—and frees up desktops and users”, notes Davin Kluttz, Senior Product Manager. “Portfolio Studio can catalog virtually anything and supports a massive array of file formats including: images, Camera Raw and DNG files, graphics, PDF files, documents and videos.”
Portfolio Studio highlights:

Allows up to 3 simultaneous connections to a single catalog
Performs fast visual searches of indexed thumbnails and full size previews
Saves time by providing a central place for teams to find important photos and projects – regardless of file location (even discs stored offline)
Protects work by ensuring that important file information like usage rights, copyrights, and dates are consistently applied and shared
Users quickly get back to work by offloading time-consuming file format conversion jobs to a media processing server
Includes user friendly Web, Mac, and Windows clients
No IT team required – Portfolio Studio is setup using a web browser and practically maintains itself

Pricing and Availability
Portfolio Studio is immediately available at a price of 1,975 €. Product is available from leading retail outlets and direct from the Extensis website (www.extensis.com). English, French, German, and Japanese versions are available.
Portfolio Studio is limited to 3 client connections and 1 shared catalog. Larger workgroups and organizations that need a scalable Digital Asset Management system should consider Portfolio Server 9.5. For more information on the Portfolio family of products, visit www.extensis.com/portfolio.
About Extensis
Extensis is a leading developer of software enabling creative workgroups and professionals to streamline workflows, securely manage digital assets and fonts, and control corporate typographic branding. Used by hundreds of Fortune 5000 companies, Extensis’ award-winning client/server, desktop, and web service products include: the Portfolio suite for digital asset management, Universal Type Server for server-based font management, Suitcase Fusion for single-user font management, and the WebINK web font rental service. Founded in 1993, Extensis is based in Portland, Oregon, and the United Kingdom. Extensis is a division of Celartem Inc., which is wholly owned by Celartem Technology Inc., (Hercules: 4330). For additional information, visit www.extensis.com, or call 1-800-796-9798.
About Celartem
Celartem Technology Inc. develops and sells innovative technologies for storage, access and distribution of rich media content. Celartem has developed technology in the areas of digital image compression, scalable image viewing and secure content distribution and management. Celartem is listed on the Osaka Securities Exchange, Hercules:4330. Established in 1996, Celartem is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan and has a wholly owned subsidiary, Celartem Inc. with headquarters in Seattle.
Extensis, Portfolio Server, NetPublish, and NetMediaMAX are trademarks of Extensis, a division of Celartem, Inc. Equilibrium and MediaRich is a registered trademark of Automated Media Processing Solutions, Inc., dba Equilibrium. All other trademarks are property of their respective owners.

FatWire Digital Asset Management Named ‘Trend Setting Product of 2010’ by KMWorld

2010-09-16T06:48:00.001-07:00

-FatWire Software, the largest independent provider of Web Experience Management (WEM) solutions, today announced that the FatWire Digital Asset Management (DAM) solution has been named a ‘Trend Setting Product of 2010’ by KMWorld. Judged by a panel of analysts, systems integrators, business managers and end users, the award recognizes companies that demonstrate technology breakthroughs that deliver real-world benefits for their customers.

“FatWire continues to drive innovation in the market, and this award from KMWorld recognizes our dedication to providing the best solutions for helping our customers to drive interactive marketing and business success.”

The FatWire Digital Asset Management (DAM) solution by EMC^® enables marketing and sales teams to work together seamlessly around digital assets and to use and reuse them in campaigns across multiple channels. FatWire’s DAM solution includes EMC^® Documentum^®Media WorkSpace, EMC Documentum Digital Asset Manager, and EMC Documentum Content Transformation Services. The solution is sold integrated with FatWire’s Web Experience Management (WEM) suite, which offers organizations the ability to create an engaging online experience for site visitors, complete with content targeting, user-generated content, gadget-based personalization, delivery to web and mobile channels, and other modern features that are needed by marketers. Together, the DAM and WEM products provide a comprehensive solution for marketers to create a rich web experience for site visitors and to deploy successful multi-channel campaigns.
Now in its eighth year, KMWorld’s ‘Trend Setting Product’ award consistently distinguishes businesses that advance the industry through product innovation. FatWire’s WEM products were recognized with this distinction from KMWorld in multiple previous years, and FatWire was also named to KMWorld’s “List of 100 Companies that Matter in Knowledge Management” in March 2010.
This award comes on the heels of a strong first half of 2010 for FatWire in which the company realized a 78 percent license revenue growth, delivered several new products to the market, and signed a strategic partnership with EMC in which EMC sells FatWire’s WEM solutions as their strategic offering for the web, and FatWire offers the EMC DAM solution to solve customers’ digital asset management challenges.
“2010 has already been an extremely successful year for FatWire, as the company has shown significant revenue growth, customer success, new customer adoption and aggressive delivery on our product roadmap,” said Yogesh Gupta, president and CEO of FatWire. “FatWire continues to drive innovation in the market, and this award from KMWorld recognizes our dedication to providing the best solutions for helping our customers to drive interactive marketing and business success.”
About KMWorld
KMWorld is the leading information provider serving the Knowledge Management systems market and covers the latest in Content, Document and Knowledge Management, informing more than 50,000 subscribers about the components and processes - and subsequent success stories - that together offer solutions for improving business performance. KMWorld is a publishing unit of Information Today, Inc.
About FatWire Software
FatWire Software provides Web Experience Management (WEM) solutions that power the web presence for some of the world’s largest organizations and most trusted global brands. FatWire’s technologies provide the platform for organizations to deliver an engaging web experience, with tools that are easy to use and built to scale. With FatWire, enterprises can use the web to drive revenue, customer loyalty and business efficiencies. Headquartered in Mineola, New York, FatWire serves more than 500 customers in industries including financial services, media, technology, manufacturing, public sector, retail, healthcare, and more, from offices in 11 countries.

Contacts

Articulate Communications Inc.
Isa Loundon, 212.255.0080, ext. 32
iloundon@articulatepr.com

Honeycomb Archive Offers FREE Digital Asset Management Pilot System

2010-09-14T06:53:00.000-07:00

Honeycomb Archive has just announced a new way to evaluate their web-based Digital Asset Management System before purchase. This Free Pilot is being offered with no obligation, cost or risk to potential customers and allowing them to experience this fully working SaaS DAM System. Set up to meet the unique business objectives of each customer, the Free Pilot utilizes a sampling of the customer’s own familiar marketing files, images and system users. Potential customers can determine if this DAM System meets their unique requirements and business goals while in this pilot stage.

Not just a cookie cutter trial, this Free Pilot allows users to touch, feel and experience the actual Honeycomb Archive Digital Asset Management System in a setting that is real for their company. Shopping for a DAM often become a comparison of features, benefits and costs that is confusing and impractical. “Too often someone is tasked to find a corporate digital asset management system based on comparisons that aren’t comparable” says Matt Yerkes, founder of Honeycomb Archive. “For example, some Digital Asset Management Systems claim to offer branding capabilities but the flexibility within that feature differs greatly. One DAM provider may say that they have a great Search feature but it isn’t user-friendly and chances are that the DAM System won’t be used to its potential. A truer question to ask is not if a DAM System has a particular feature but how that feature meets your business objectives.”

Experienced specialists from Honeycomb Archive begin with a discussion to discover business goals and how a company needs to use the DAM. Then, the potential customers’ marketing files are loaded into the Pilot so they can experience a fully working SaaS DAM in accordance with their specific company requirements. This becomes a much truer, real-world method of evaluation. “This helps customers make a solid decision about our DAM System,” states Yerkes. “By using this free Pilot, they can determine if this DAM solution allows them to organize, distribute and manage their digital assets within their own corporate structure.”

Honeycomb Archive provides a powerful online Digital Asset Management SaaS with the agility to customize the service to fit the specific needs of customers. This DAM solution allows customers to streamline workflow through efficient and effective organization and management of thousands of digital assets and the investments they represent. Honeycomb Archive supplies customizable, branded digital asset management systems to Fortune 500 & 5000 clients worldwide.

About Honeycomb Archive/Quick Square Consulting

Founded in 2001, Honeycomb Archive is a web-based digital asset management service provided by Quick Square Consulting, a privately held company based in Columbus, Ohio. Honeycomb Archive provides customizable, innovative online DAM application with options for branding, customization and unlimited users and many additional advanced features and controls. For more information visit: www.honeycombarchive.com

Contact
Elizabeth Willford
press@quicksquare.com
http://www.honeycombarchive.com

Public Beta Release of FocusOPEN .NET Open Source Digital Asset Management System

2010-09-14T06:51:00.001-07:00

Leading digital asset management vendor, Daydream, have announced a public beta release of their .NET open source digital asset management system, FocusOPEN Digital Asset Manager under an Affero General Public (AGPL) open source licence. Offering a public release marks a strategic change for Daydream, who have been providing high-end enterprise digital asset management software to corporations worldwide since 1995.
“Although traditionally we have concentrated solely on the enterprise tier of the DAM market, we found increasing demand for our software and services from smaller businesses and creative agencies. We always offered our software with an open source licence, but until now we avoided a public distribution because our service delivery operations were oriented towards the needs of our enterprise clients. Therefore, prior to a full public release, we made significant investments into our support infrastructure to ensure that the user experience is a positive one.” said Ralph Windsor, Managing Director of Daydream.
“The Open Source (AGPL) Edition of FocusOPEN provides a ‘tried-and-tested’ fully featured DAM system derived from our existing enterprise product that users can download from our website without charge. It has many of the features of its enterprise counterpart such as a dedicated asset transcoding server, embedded metadata support, multi-branding, full text search, faceted search, taxonomies, asset permissions and workflow for usage management as well as ingestion." Windsor continues.
FocusOPEN is the only fully supported .NET open source DAM system available and promises to radically shake up this segment of the digital asset management market, which has hitherto been characterised by a limited selection of expensive and proprietary solutions. Daydream have set up a dedicated product website with a range of community support facilities. All registered users are provided with their own account where they can also manage additional service subscriptions.
“We have a package of associated services like hosting, SaaS, priority support and consulting. Users can also take advantage of some fantastic early bird offers, including sizeable discounts on any paid for services they might need to help them implement FocusOPEN in their organisation."
Daydream also plan to reach out to the developer community and channel partners with the FocusOPEN Developer Network and a reseller programme. A public Commercial Edition is also planned for release shortly after the Open Source edition leaves the beta phase at the end of September 2010.
For further information, to trial or to download FocusOPEN Open Source (AGPL) Edition, visit the product website at http://www.digitalassetmanager.com or contact Daydream's sales team on +44(0) 20 7096 1471.
About Daydream
Established in 1995, Daydream is the leading UK vendor of Digital Asset Management and Brand Asset Management systems. Over the last 15 years, their FocusOPEN DAM technologies have been implemented by over 40 global organisations including Major League Baseball, WS Atkins, BNP Paribas, Adecco and Really Useful Group. For more information, visit Daydream at www.daydream.co.uk or contact us at press(at)daydream(dot)co(dot)uk.
###

L'Oréal ensures marketing success with celum IMAGINE

2010-09-14T06:50:00.002-07:00

All photos used in L’Oréal’s worldwide communication campaigns are centrally managed in Paris. The international advertising agency Publicis Worldwide preselects the photos for all countries. L’Oréal Profesionnel uses celum IMAGINE to manage the advertising materials and distribute them to 54 countries worldwide.

In order to meet L’Oréal’s exact needs, the Digital Asset Management solution had to be highly customized as complex image rights, delivery and reporting mechanisms had to be implemented.

Only a few photos stored in the DAM are free for use by all regional organizations. This implies that the regional organizations have to place orders for most of the photos. Therefore, the celum IMAGINE Digital Asset Management system had to be extended by an order management system operating in the background. Until the implementation of celum IMAGINE, the entire order process had been managed manually.

When regional organizations purchase images, the rights of use are transferred to the organization for a period of two years. The pricing varies from country to country and is calculated automatically by the system according to predefined conversion indexes for each country based upon pricing information for France.

Within celum IMAGINE, administrators can constantly generate reports of orders placed and/or downloads performed on the server. These reports include information such as order names and dates, prices of photos ordered, lists of charged, free and already purchased photos, file names and IDs of the photos purchased and downloaded, download date and hour, IP address.

By implementing the new reporting mechanism, L’Oréal Profesionnel’s headquarter in Paris was able to get a better overview and control of the photos used in all regions. Together with the fact that country organizations are not allowed to share photos between them, this significantly reduces the risk of illegal usages of copyrighted materials that potentially lead to extremely expensive copyright infringements.

SmartFile to Showcase Revamped UI at Innovation Summit

2010-09-14T06:50:00.000-07:00

Innovation Summit, Techpoint's annual conference for emerging Indiana businesses, will serve as the platform for the unveiling of SmartFile's revamped user interface. SmartFile, a market leader in FTP, Online Storage, File Sharing, File Upload, and File Backup services, has been working on a sleek new design and plans to make its release public during the Innovation Summit conference on October 27 in Indianapolis, IN. with a more intuitive interface and a revamped user management dashboard, SmartFile continues to improve upon the file and user management process.
In addition, visitors can also learn more about SmartFile's Private label Reseller Module. Developed for organizations seeking to add an additional revenue stream to an existing client base, the Private label Reseller Module provides resellers with a fully customizable, completely integrated solution for the distribution of online file storage services. with pricing as low as $0.29/GB, direct billing integration, and all the training and resources needed to become a reseller, SmartFile has introduced 'plug and play' tothe world of online file storage and sharing.
For further information on SmartFile and its products, contact sales(at)smartfile(dot)com
For information regarding the Innovation Summit, please visit www.techpoint.org
SmartFile is a market leader in digital asset management, FTP Hosting, online file storage, file upload, file sharing and file delivery. Our robust and easy-to-use web interface empowers businesses of all sizes to manage large files, and define different levels of access to those files. we provide service to web design, law firms, medical, software and many other businesses that require a secure place to connect people and files. SmartFile provides service to companies in over 35 countries and includes General Mills, Yahoo, EA Sports, Skechers and Roche Diagnostics among its list of clients.
SmartFileDave Scotthttp://www.smartfile.com877-336-3453E-mail InformationTrackback URL: http://prweb.com/pingpr.php/SW5zZS1DcmFzLUNyYXMtTWFnbi1TcXVhLVNxdWEtWmVybw==
SmartFile to Showcase Revamped UI at Innovation Summit

Digital Asset Management Software supports Adobe plug-ins

2010-09-14T06:48:00.000-07:00

To integrate with Adobe® Creative Suite 5, WebNative Suite v16.05 supports Picture Wrangler® ID, WebNative® ID, Annotator ID, and Asset Browser ID. Picture Wrangler ID provides 1-click relinking between FPO and high-resolution versions of images, while WebNative ID creates previews for documents that have been saved after it has been installed. Annotator ID enables customers to create PDFs that contains interactive links to images that reside on WebNative server.

Xinet Releases WebNative Suite 16.05 with Full Support of All Plug-Ins for Adobe Creative Suite 5

-- Xinet® Inc., the leader in digital asset management solutions (www.xinet.com), today announced the release of WebNative Suite 16.05 which includes support for plug-ins Picture Wrangler® ID, WebNative® ID, Annotator ID, and Asset Browser ID to integrate with Adobe® Creative Suite 5. With this latest release, Xinet continues to provide seamless integration of WebNative Suite tools with the latest Creative Suite, helping customers to improve workflow automation and enhance productivity.

"As more graphics professionals upgrade to Creative Suite 5, they eagerly anticipate being able to take advantage of WebNative Suite's powerful digital asset management and workflow tools integrated with the new features and functionalities of the latest Creative Suite," said Scott Seebass, CEO of Xinet. "This crucial upgrade to WebNative Suite ensures that Xinet customers will be able to transition to Creative Suite 5 smoothly and easily."

WebNative Suite 16.05 plug-ins for Creative Suite include:

-- Picture Wrangler ID - a plug-in for InDesign® that provides easy one-click relinking between FPO and high-resolution versions of images. If files have been moved between folders, Picture Wrangler relinks images by automatically searching for them throughout the file directories.

-- WebNative ID - a plug-in for InDesign that creates previews for documents that have been saved after WebNative ID has been installed. These previews can be viewed through WebNative, and will contain links to images used in the document. Users can also drag and drop images from the web preview directly into InDesign documents on the desktop.

-- Annotator ID - a plug-in for InDesign that enables customers to create PDFs that contains interactive links to images that reside on the WebNative server. The plug-in also allows customers to use pre-configured print queues that enable the server to send the print output from an InDesign document to a folder relative to the original file location.

-- Asset Browser ID - a plug-in that allows users to open a Web browser within InDesign itself. Designers can drag and drop images from that panel directly into layout documents. Additionally, a new layer of customization can be added using AppleScript® that automates many aspects of the design and layout for both images and the metadata associated with them.

About Xinet

Xinet is a leading developer of high-performance server software applications for graphics and media professionals. With North American headquarters in Berkeley, California and a European office in Munich, Xinet has built a loyal customer base of the top advertising agencies, retailers, printers, publishers, and corporations worldwide. The Xinet digital asset management software solution is a flexible and efficient asset management system that provides access to volumes throughout the enterprise and around the globe.

© 2010 Xinet. Xinet, the Xinet logo, FullPress, and WebNative are registered trademarks of Xinet. All other trademarks are owned by their respective companies.

Web Site: http://www.xinet.com/

Managing Assets Digitally

2010-09-14T06:46:00.001-07:00

Anybody can be confused while deciding to choose the correct software that can manage digital assets as there are many types of software available in market. Managing assets digitally provide a total solution and helps a business to grow. The installation of such software has gained importance as it is beneficial while operating a business from more than one location by streamlining the business more at a national level. Digital assets are actually any company material in electronic form such as logos, photos, documents, audio files, PDFs, and so on. To manage these assets is not an easy job.
With the help of digital asset management software it has become very easy to track important information like corporation value and tax information. It is important to note that many of such software have many things in common. One should actually go ahead and do enough research before installing such software and can compare to get the best in market. By reviewing you will be in a position to choose the best suited for your business. Such solutions can actually take your business to a higher level of power and performance.
It can be a catastrophe for most of the companies if they don’t have their electronic or digital assets at place. Digital asset management software is always there to assist greatly and to give a helping hand to avoid such destruction.
DAM systems are highly appreciated by photographers as this allows their images to distribute online. This software secures the photographs by allowing access using a sophisticated permission feature; therefore they are highly popular amongst photographers.
DAM has a great ability that maintains the integrity of digital assets. As they are digital they can be accessed through browser having various levels of security for various users. DAM has version control of assets.
As DAM software has many advantages, it has also got two main disadvantages. One is that it takes time to have all the digital files while uploading them which could be a problem for larger businesses. The second disadvantage is the security as digital files are targeted by hackers who look for data which can give them profit. The best way to deal with security is to allow access only to those who actually need and not to all.
If properly handled DAM is a boon to organizations. There are many asset management software available in market some of them are free make sure you choose the correct one which is reliable and pretty enough to manage all the needs of your business.
View the Original article

Digital Asset Management Suite to Accelerate Life Science Research

2010-08-05T20:03:00.001-07:00

global leader in HPC and data center solutions, announced that the Queensland Centre for Medical Genomics (QCMG) at the University of Queensland has selected SGI® LiveArc® storage solution to increase its ability to store, manage and process human cancer genome sequence data. This project will contribute to mapping the genetic changes that lead to cancer, providing better understanding of such cancers and potentially helping to combat the disease.
QCMG selected LiveArc to overcome the problems of tracking huge amounts of data and linking it to clinical information. Since deploying the LiveArc solution in January 2010, QCMG has released two cancer genome sequences. QCMG’s goal is to sequence 30 patients over the next 12 months, which will include the genome, transcriptome and epigenome, ultimately providing insight into the genetic changes that have occurred and that can lead to pancreatic and ovarian cancer. The center is part of the International Cancer Genome Consortium (ICGC), a worldwide effort to sequence 50 different types of human tumors from 25,000 individuals.
“QCMG chose SGI LiveArc because it was the most suitable system for deploying the Applied Biosystems Bioscope bioinformatics package, a critical component of the ICGC informatics pipeline,” said John Pearson, senior bioinformatics manager at QCMG. “The level of local service support offered by SGI was also a significant factor in choosing its technology.”
LiveArc is used for the management of metadata and workflow processes. This includes ingestion of assets from 11 genome sequencers – generating more than 1TB of unmapped data per week, replication of assets from the local data store to the university’s highly available long-term data store, delivery of primary data for processing using SGI high performance computing (HPC) and storage systems, and management of the resulting secondary and tertiary data sets. The hardware infrastructure consists of 75TB of high-speed scratch storage and SGI Data Migration Facility (DMF) for hierarchical storage management. The I/O bandwidth performance of the scratch storage has been engineered for 3GB/sec and a high concurrent level of input-output operations rates (IOPS) to support the level of I/O processing required by the analysis and data processing applications.
“QCMG is the largest genome sequencing facility in the Southern Hemisphere, and SGI has been able to provide significant productivity advantages for this critical research through our unique technical expertise and products,” said Philip Chua, managing director and vice president of Asia Pacific and Japan at SGI. “The QCMG joins an established list of research organizations using SGI LiveArc to greatly improve the organization’s workflow and tracking of research data.”
About SGI
SGI is a global leader in large-scale clustered computing, high performance storage, HPC and data center enablement and services. SGI is focused on helping customers solve their most demanding business and technology challenges. Visit http://www.sgi.com for more information.
LiveArc is a result of a development partnership between SGI and Arcitecta Pty. Ltd. of Australia, and is sold with SGI InfiniteStorage solutions.
About The Queensland Centre for Medical Genomics
The Queensland Centre for Medical Genomics (QCMG) has been established with funding from the Australian National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC), the Queensland State Government and the University of Queensland (UQ). The centre’s flagship project is the sequencing of 500 pancreatic and ovarian cancer genomes as part the International Cancer Genome Consortium (ICGC). Australia’s commitment to the ICGC has required the formation of this world class sequencing centre within the Institute for Molecular Bioscience (IMB) at the University of Queensland. The QCMG currently employs over 30 molecular biology research scientists and bioinformaticians dedicated to medical genome research. Visit www.qcmg.org for more information.
© 2010 SGI. SGI and LiveArc are registered trademarks or trademarks of Silicon Graphics International Corp. or its subsidiaries in the United States and/or other countries. All other trademarks are property of their respective holders.
CONTACTS :
Schwartz Communications, Inc.
Gina Titus, 415-512-0770
SGIPR {at} schwartz-pr(.)com

Widen Adds Ten New Digital Asset Management Software Clients in Q2 2010

2010-08-05T20:02:00.000-07:00

Widen Enterprises, a Madison, Wisconsin-based digital asset management software and premedia services company, announced today its service commitment to ten new customers signed during the second quarter of 2010. These customers selected Widen’s Software as a Service (SaaS) solutions for Digital Asset Management (DAM) to help maximize the value of their marketing and brand assets, while increasing operational efficiency and managing brand compliance.

Little Rapids Corporation, a manufacturer and marketer of products to the healthcare and beauty industries, comprehensively reviewed digital asset solutions before deciding to deploy the Widen Web-based DAM system. “We selected Widen because we are confident in their product offering and service levels. As we are going through the implementation process, the Widen team has been great to work with – responsive and flawless. They have exceeded our expectations,”

said Sarah Voss, Channel Manager, Little Rapids Corporation / Graham Medical. “We look forward to launching our online digital asset library to customers and making it easier for our distributors to access images and other digital media. It will ultimately help us strengthen our partnerships with distributors by allowing us to offer greater support to their marketing efforts.”

Other new Widen clients include:

• AO North America – A non-profit health care and medical education organization dedicated to the advancement for patient care in orthopedic, maxillofacial, spine and veterinary surgery.
• Discovery Toys, LLC – A leading direct sales company who specializes in learning toys, books, games, and music for early childhood education.
• Institute of International Education (IIE) – An independent not-for-profit educational institution among the world's largest and most experienced international education and training organizations.
• Texas State Technical Colleges – An educational institution with campuses in Harlingen, Marshall, Waco, and West Texas offering 100 advanced technical AAS degree programs and certificates.
• University of Stavanger, Norway – An educational institution organized in three Faculties – Arts and Education, Social Sciences, Science and Technology – and also includes two national centers of expertise.

Other new Widen DAM software customers include a hospital, an advertising agency, the business school of a major university and a corporate training company.

"The diversity of industries represented in our new customers speaks to the challenges of every marketer when it comes to managing and distributing images and video,” said Matthew Gonnering, CEO of Widen Enterprises. “We are delighted these customers reached out to us because of our high service and product performance levels. We're ready to help them get control of their brand with digital asset management."

The Media Collective^®, Widen’s flagship hosted digital asset management product, is now in version 5.5 and supports the creative and marketing workflows of 135 different customers in over sixteen vertical markets. The scalability of the Media Collective allows marketers of all sizes to support their diverse user groups with access to a centralized library of marketing resources for improved performance and a greater ability to manage brand compliance across different business units and geographies.

About Widen Enterprises, Inc.
Based in Madison, Wisconsin, Widen has honed its more than 60 years of experience in premedia services and color management specifically for assisting customers with building brand equity and supporting consistent brand representation across print and Web communications. Through its inventive suite of Web-based digital asset management applications, Widen software services provide marketing networks with real-time, Web-based access to the clients' digital asset libraries, subsequently eliminating manual search and file preparation time, costs related to replacing images and videos that cannot be located, and added costs for hardware, software and upgrades. For more information, visit: http://www.widen.com.

Valuable Marketing Tool: Hosted Digital Asset Management Facilitates Collaboration, Efficient Operations and Cost Saving

2010-08-04T06:59:00.000-07:00

The California Department of Education (CDE) oversees a complex system educating more than six million students enrolled in California’s 10,000 public schools. With the help of Princeton, NJ based prime contractor ETS (Educational Testing Service), the CDE annually conducts the STAR Test which evaluates the academic performance of this diverse student body. Each year, video training materials are used to communicate important information concerning the STAR Test and its administration to 300,000 teachers state-wide. The training materials   consist of approximately 55 different video segments on a set of two interactive DVD’s, and 15,000 DVD sets are produced for distribution.

Production Process

The annual production of video training materials involves creating approximately 20 hours of new video footage each year. The editing process also draws from past years of archival material and includes gathering hundreds of graphics, covers and documents related to the test. Editing typically takes several weeks and requires multiple editors working simultaneously in geographically dispersed edit suites. The approval process      includes academic experts and decision makers in San Antonio, Texas, Sacramento and Concord, California.

MAVRIC Media Hosted Database

This year, longtime ETS sub-contractor, B.K.       Productions decided to utilize the web to help make the production and approval process more efficient. BK Productions used MAVRIC Media’s on-line database tool, Asset Engine™ to create a hosted, CDE branded database to facilitate the entire STAR video project. This web-accessible database    enabled creative team members to upload, download and share the countless media assets needed for the project. Individual video segments were available on-line in the CDE database well before the final mastering of the STAR DVD’s.

The database ultimately hosted an interactive presentation consisting of 55 video segments. This on-line collaboration, editing, viewing and approval of the final DVD segments meant that segments could be quickly and conveniently   reviewed and revised. Substantial time reduction and cost savings  resulted from the elimination of shipping DVD’s back and forth to the content experts during the approval process. With the online database, these collaborators were able to closely follow the creative process and interact in a highly    efficient manner and shorten editing time.

Once the editing was completed and the content approved, there was another challenge for the team – accelerating the two to three week process of close-captioning the two+ hours of material and manufacturing and shipment of 30,000 DVD’s to 1,200 school districts. With many schools already urgently requesting access to the training        materials, time became a critical issue.

Efficient Operations and Cost Effective

Once again the MAVRIC Media database proved invaluable. Since video can be streamed to multiple viewers directly from the database, test site coordinators and administrators were given       advance access to the material. In less than 48 hours, the CDE database became the online     distribution hub for this material. STAR Site     Coordinators and Test Administrators were given access to all finished content in a hosted environment where they could instantly view or download specific video segments.

The MAVRIC Media database enabled ETS to greatly enhance customer satisfaction, increase efficiency by reducing production time and costs. The acceptance of online distribution of CDE video training materials suggests that even more money might be saved by eliminating the shipment of DVD’s altogether, and moving to an entirely web-based distribution model using MAVRIC Media technology at www.mavricmedia.com/cde.

Secrets of digital marketing to create a system for asset management companies

2010-08-04T06:57:00.000-07:00

Secrets of Digital Marketing to create a system for audit firms
An audit firm has a strong web presence, designing and developing a corporate website on the Internet. However, this step alone is not a digital marketing plan. Just on a website on the internet is like a physical business like a shop or an office, and then just sit back and wait for customers to stream for Others Most probably will not happen andYour site will be like a billboard in the desert.
Accountants need to understand that they inform their spread has set a deadline for the need to speak with people, communicate with potential clients and their services on the Internet. The attention of searchers looking for accountants has changed, and instead to rely on the yellow pages, search, people prefer the network to find an accounting firm. To search for an accounting firm in Tunbridge Wells
May First VisitorType "Tunbridge Wells Accountants"
Visitors 2 could of "accounts of research Tunbridge Wells.
Different people try different ways and it is important to ensure that the valuable website traffic captured.
What should auditors, large and small are doing to be found on the Web?
The auditing company must be in a digital marketing strategy, accounting firm search engine optimization, marketing experts will invest, and the siteDesign. A professional marketing consultants digital media have the business skills and know how to handle it. Other important factors are:
Digital Media Marketing site design starts with your company. The site needs elements of search engine optimization, if meta tags are properly written and performed by structured. The site is designed with SEO in mind. The starting point is keyword research and if properly done rightThe keywords are embedded in the content. Photos and graphics are optimized to reduce the company's web search engine friendly.
Even if the above is obvious to help organic rankings in search engines, the digital marketing strategy needs some fast traffic on a pay-per-click campaign. Organic Search Engine Optimization will require several months to start until the site has gained control of the search engine rankings. During this time, will help the sponsored ads and paid advertisingsociety and transport project begins to flow with the site.
In parallel, the digital marketing strategy will also perform other digital media, media marketing, as the announcement of your web presence through press releases and news. Syndication will help ensure that messages reach the widest possible readership.
While this will build enough to begin to monitor website traffic, web visitors and leads the marketing strategy of digital media campaign to build a social networkpull through video, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc. for the company in close social community on the Internet.
The strategy will provide legal blogging, writing the article and comments. Through blogs and articles, it is possible, a sense of trust with the creation of society and to educate readers about the accounts. This project the company as an authority on the subject and businessmen tend to trust the company with her.
We have heard the phrase "You can not manage whatYou can not measure, "and this is still very much in favor today, and even more at a time of recession. In this context, the digital marketing plan using web analytics to collect data from site to determine which aspects of the site work towards the business objectives defined for the site.
Web Analytics is a continuous improvement process and an essential component of an effective digital marketing plan. It is not enough just to produce monthly reports, it is necessaryanalyze these reports in order to ensure that the site always needs of its visitors. Once collected the data, analyze the results, the changes proposed and implemented these changes, repeat the process.
Auditing firms, and who think that digital marketing is something you can do without them, are difficult to cut short. Consider these facts from January 2010:
Over 1.5 million searches conducted in the United Kingdom for the duration"Accounting"
More than 1.2 million searches for the term "accounting"
33,000 searches, after the words "accounting firms a. .."
The question is, accounting firms and tax advisors can take away from a concentrated strategy of digital marketing?

MA in Digital Asset Management (MADAM)

2010-08-04T06:54:00.001-07:00

New MA in Digital Asset Management
King’s has launched an innovative postgraduate programme to respond to the demand for digitally literate professionals to work in libraries, archives, cultural heritage institutions and business enterprises by equipping students with a range of strategic, technical and practical skills to provide direction and leadership in this area.
We live in a digital age where understanding our history, culture, society, and the future development and innovation in the economy and business relies increasingly upon the effective management, curation, preservation, and use of a wide range of complex digital information and knowledge. Managing this digital information is presenting significant challenges for organisations and as a consequence there is an increasing demand for professionals with expertise in digital asset management.
The MA in Digital Asset Management, jointly taught by the Centre for Computing in the Humanities and the Centre for e-Research, takes a comparative approach requiring students to explore and critically assess competing theories and practices from across library, archival, information science, and e-science thus providing a well-rounded understanding of the requirements across domains.
Recent years have seen an explosion in the volume, complexity and range of digital content, often referred to as a data deluge or data tsunami, whilst government speaks of the digital economy as the engine of growth.
Sheila Anderson, Director, Centre for e-Research at King’s and co-director of the programme, comments:
‘This MA meets the needs of a wide variety of organisations, including libraries, archives, museums, higher education, government, industry, healthcare, publishing and law firms, for leaders who can plan and implement the management, exploitation and preservation of an ever increasing quantity of digital content. We hope that the students graduating with this MA will make a start in providing those much needed solutions.’
Simon Tanner, Centre for Computing in the Humanities, and co-director of the MA adds:
‘The programme is a great opportunity for those already working in libraries, archives, and other cultural heritage institutions, who wish to move to a leadership role in the management of digital content. It will benefit those wishing to apply best practice in the management and curation of research data, and for graduates of archival, library and information science who wish to specialise in digital records and digital asset management. Computer science graduates may also wish to move into this growth area.’
Claire Hudson, Head of Collections Management, Victoria & Albert Museum Department of Theatre & Performance says:
‘Those working in the heritage sector need to exploit the contribution that digital content can make to their collections but also understand the inevitable complexities relating to its preservation and use. Building capacity in the management of digital assets is essential.’
There are still places available for 2010 entry. For further information about course content, fees and the application process, visit www.kcl.ac.uk/iss/cerch/teaching and the online prospectus www.kcl.ac.uk/prospectus/graduate/index/name/digital_asset_m...
Notes to editors
Centre for e-Research
The Centre for e-Research (CeRch) is an academic research centre, located in Information Services and Systems (ISS) at King’s College London, aimed at facilitating interdisciplinary, cross-school and department, national and international collaboration. The Centre’s strengths are in:
• sustainable e-infrastructures for research;
• digital libraries and digital archives including data use, creation, curation and preservation;
• researcher practices in the digital domain; and
• ICT-Methods with particular expertise in e-Science, geo-spatial and geo-temporal methods, text mining, textual analysis, and use of grids.
The Centre is unusual in that it is both an academic centre researching, publishing and teaching in its areas of expertise - including contributing to an RAE Unit of Assessment with the Centre of Computing in the Humanities (CCH) at King's and running (with CCH) a masters teaching programme in Digital Asset Management - and a focus for ISS-related activities supporting e-research, data management, and the curation and preservation of research data.
The Centre works collaboratively with researchers, research teams and groups, and as partners in research projects across King’s College London. It also works in partnership nationally with HE and research institutes, with European institutions, and internationally with HE library and research institutes.
www.kcl.ac.uk/iss/cerch
Centre for Computing in the Humanities
The Centre for Computing in the Humanities (CCH) is an academic department in the School of Arts and Humanities at King's College London with emphasis on research. The primary objective of the CCH is to study the possibilities of computing for arts and humanities scholarship and, in collaboration with local, national and international research partners across the disciplines, to design and build applications which implement these possibilities, in particular those which produce online research publications. CCH offers undergraduate modules and programmes at the MA and PhD levels, hosts seminars, conferences and colloquia, has an active programme for visiting fellows and welcomes collaboration of all kinds in the digital humanities.
www.kcl.ac.uk/schools/humanities/depts/cch

Lynda.com Digital Asset Management for Photographers

2010-08-04T06:53:00.001-07:00

Lynda.com Digital Asset Management for Photographers | 500 MB

Anyone who shoots, scans, or stores digital photographs is practicing some form of digital asset management. However, many people don't yet know how to manage their files (and their time) efficiently. In these tutorials, Peter Krogh, author of The DAM Book: Digital Asset Management for Photographers, presents his proven RAW workflows in depth. Peter teaches the steps for end-to-end management of RAW files, including editing, file conversion, adding metadata, client feedback, backup, archiving, and more. This video training incorporates two different workflows -- one for managing images shot in variable lighting conditions, and another for managing images shot in controlled studio lighting.

Topics include:

* Importing photos from a camera

* Batch renaming and applying metadata

* Reviewing a shoot and ranking favorites

* Applying fast adjustments with Adobe Camera Raw

* Converting files to DNGs

* Creating catalogs with iView Media Pro

* Optimizing photos in DAM catalogs

* Emailing photos

* Creating slide shows

* Creating web galleries

* Sharing catalogs with clients

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Trillium Asset Management Free Important Info

2010-08-01T06:43:00.001-07:00

Trillium Asset Management Free Important Info
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For larger companies that have very specific requirements for their fixed asset management software, there are companies that specialize in engineering custom made solutions. With such a software is in place, it is now possible for anyone in the company to access any type of information regarding fixed assets. This is very helpful when it comes to creating marketing strategies and the growth of a business.
By combining enterprise asset management software with mobile computers, bar code reading devices and radio frequency identification, you can optimize the value of your assets.
Although this software is very powerful the accuracy and efficiency of it is dependent upon the abilities of the data entry clerk who types in the information. If the data are accurately entered regularly, the reports will be accurate and up to date; otherwise the software will print out misleading information in your reports, which can be devastating if you are relying entirely on this information to make your business decisions.
I know that as informative as this article is, it might not adequately cover your Trillium Asset Management quest. If this is so, don’t forget that the search engines like Dogpile.com exist for looking up more information about Trillium Asset Management.
The success or failure of an EAM project lies on the four components of EAM systems. These vital components have to interact with each other toward achieving a common goal — to improve your organization’s business processes.
What’s more, most digital asset management software is affordable even to smaller businesses? There are single-user versions that go for less than 100, and it only costs 50 more to upgrade to a professional version. Business packages are also affordable at about 2,800 including license. These packages already include servers, multiple user accounts and constant manufacturer support. There are even free online demo versions available to hesitant buyers. These demos have limited functionalities, but business owners who want to try the product out before purchasing to find them very useful.
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Nuxeo Introduces New Cloud Edition of Digital Asset Management Application

2010-08-01T06:42:00.000-07:00

Nuxeo, the Open Source Enterprise Content Management (ECM) company, today announced an update to its Nuxeo Digital Asset Management product with the release of Nuxeo DAM 1.1, as well launching the hosted version, Nuxeo DAM - Cloud Edition. This new release of Nuxeo DAM incorporates feature enhancements driven directly by early adopter customers and the Nuxeo developer community.
Nuxeo DAM - Cloud Edition runs on the Nuxeo secure cloud services infrastructure, backed by the resilient and high-performing Amazon web services. Nuxeo DAM - Cloud Edition offers a media management solution ideally suited to small- to medium-sized organizations with fixed budgets and limited IT infrastructure and resources. It is also ideal for businesses that need to collaborate with geographically dispersed customers, helping marketers and brand managers quickly catalog, process, store, retrieve and distribute rich media. A subscription or trial version of Nuxeo DAM Cloud Edition can be found at http://www.nuxeo.com/en/subscription/ecm-cloud/digital-asset-management-cloud.
"Nuxeo DAM - Cloud Edition brings feature-rich and sophisticated digital asset management to businesses that don't have the time or IT resources to invest in an expensive legacy DAM product. It provides a subscription solution to handle all types of digital content," said CEO Eric Barroca. "It eliminates heavy investments in IT or hardware, while still providing all the ingestion, categorization, management and collaboration tools that today's businesses and marketing departments require to protect their media content investment. Nuxeo DAM - Cloud Edition is one of the ways that a new or growing business can use technology to help level the playing field and compete cost-effectively in the digital economy."
Also launched today is Nuxeo DAM 1.1. The newest release of Nuxeo DAM includes feature enhancements driven by the feedback and requirements of early adopter clients: video enhancements, batch upload improvements and repository level integration with Nuxeo Document Management (DM).
Video enhancements include automatic generation of thumbnails that segment the content of a video file as part of the import process. These video chapters can be viewed individually, making it easier to locate scenes and find video segments to share among teams. Brand managers, digital archivists, research/intelligence analysts and content application builders will also find new video streaming provides a productivity boost. The application gives instant viewing access to a video by beginning to play before the file is completely downloaded.
New bulk import and editing functionality are additional time-savers for power-users. Nuxeo DAM can now import a larger number of files, with IPTC and EXIF metadata extraction and bulk tagging to speed up capture of digital assets. To ease large-scale media file processing, Nuxeo DAM also allows users to edit file descriptions, define metadata and adjust settings to a selection of multiple assets, putting more capabilities into the hands of content creators and consumers.
"These new features are being driven by our early adopter customers such as a global operator in the financial markets and cutting-edge medical research organizations," said Barroca.
For seamless integration with other content applications, Nuxeo DAM and Nuxeo's Document Management applications can also share the same underlying content repository. Nuxeo's applications are built on the open source, Java-based Nuxeo Enterprise Platform so that Nuxeo DAM can now easily be connected to a Nuxeo Document Management application or another Nuxeo EP-based application. Documents and files managed in a Nuxeo DM repository can be accessed from Nuxeo DAM without switching applications -- or vice versa -- providing a more unified user experience and smoother workflow. Fully assured and supported by the Nuxeo Connect comprehensive subscription offering, Nuxeo DAM builds on the deep content application expertise gathered from repeated customer successes.
About Nuxeo
Nuxeo provides a modular, extensible open source ECM platform for managing information. A pioneer in the open source ECM market, Nuxeo is used by hundreds of customers worldwide, including The Press Association, Agence France-Presse (AFP), EllisDon and Cengage. Companies of all sizes across all industries, including media, government, transportation, education and energy sectors, use the Nuxeo Enterprise Content Management offerings to meet their specific vertical and horizontal content application needs. Support, training and professional consulting services are available to customers and partners worldwide. Headquartered in Paris, the company has global offices in North America (Boston), Western Europe (Paris, Madrid and Rome), Eastern Europe (Moscow) and the Middle East (Dubai). More information is available at www.nuxeo.com.

NETIA CEO interview

2010-08-01T06:40:00.001-07:00

Henry Stewart Events DAM UK 2010 Conference Draws 100+ Digital Asset Management Professionals to London Event

2010-08-01T02:15:00.000-07:00

LONDON - (Business Wire) More than 100 delegates attended DAM UK 2010, the second in an annual multi-conference global series on Digital Asset Management (DAM) from Henry Stewart Events, held June 30 in London. DAM UK 2010 highlighted the organizational efficiency and cost savings achieved by leading UK organizations in the implementation of DAM, providing both experienced managers and those new to DAM the latest thinking in digital asset management. The attendee list included a diverse group of end users in digital asset management from a wide variety of industries, and leading suppliers of systems and services, industry analysts, consultants and experts in DAM.
All attendees agreed that the conference was a resounding success, providing feedback that Henry Stewart DAM events continue to present practical, relevant insight to digital asset management from the end user’s perspective. Kunal Patel, Product Manager, TAG, commented that "HS DAM events have allowed me to learn about DAM from a number of perspectives – procurement, technical implementation and future trends"; and Kate Kunac-Tabinor, Head of Design, Oxford University Press added, “HS DAM events are always relevant to where my industry is at."

Chaired by David Lipsey of FTI Consulting, DAM UK 2010 featured speakers with practical and industry relevant case studies and interactive presentations tailored for experienced DAM managers and those new to DAM. Highlights included panel discussions bringing together industry experts and end users of DAM systems to share their real world experiences on:

Procurement (Adidas, BBC Worldwide Magazines, Cambridge University Press)

Implementation (ITV and Hit Entertainment)

Metadata and Taxonomy (Pearson Education, BBC)

Research and analyst partners for DAM UK 2010 were Aberdeen Group, Forrester, IDEAlliance, Frost & Sullivan, GISTICS, InfoTrends, Plus Coalition, The Real Story Group and The Journal of Digital Asset Management. Media partners are Business Wire, CMS Wire and Palgrave Macmillan.
DAM UK 2010 was sponsored and supported by Autonomy Virage, Capture Ltd., celum, North Plains Systems, Inc., Open Text Digital Media Group and Picturepark; all of whom showcased their latest technology and solutions for DAM.
The London event will be followed with a one-day briefing in Chicago on September 22 and the 2010 conference series will culminate with a multi-day conference in Los Angeles, November 15 and 16. Visit www.damusers.com for upcoming event details.
About Henry Stewart Events
Henry Stewart Events is recognized as the leading producer of dedicated, cross industry Digital Asset Management (DAM) briefings worldwide. Attended by hundreds of delegates and sponsors, Henry Stewart DAM events are the premier briefings for experienced DAM managers and those new to the implementation of DAM. Suppliers of systems and services, industry analysts, consultants, end users and experts in DAM attend the events for information on current happenings and future trends in the industry, newsworthy briefings and access to leading industry experts. For more information visit Henry Stewart on the web at www.damusers.com.

Henry Stewart Events
Patricia Connelly, CEO
patriciac@henrystewart.co.uk
44 207 092 3467

Reshaping the Way Organizations Think About Digital Asset Management

2010-08-01T02:13:00.002-07:00

By definition, Digital Asset management (otherwise known as DAM) includes tasks and decisions relating to ingesting, annotating, cataloging, storage, retrieval, repurposing and the distribution of digital assets. DAM, in its earlier days, was referred to as optimizing, maintaining, thinning and exporting files. As digital libraries grew so too did the need to do more with the assets contained therein. DAM has since evolved to become an essential part of an organization’s business process for organizing rich media assets such as pictures, images, video and audio for storage, retrieval and distribution.
What Digital Asset Management Can Do For You
Many organizations are integrating DAM as part of their business-critical strategy for managing digital assets. They need dedicated solutions to help overcome operational and organizational challenges unique to them. DAM provides much needed centralization, optimizing workflow, virtual collaboration and seamless integration with other digital media applications so that there is minimal disruption to existing processes while maximizing business efficiencies. It ultimately helps organizations of all shapes and size work better, faster and smarter – giving them more time to focus on other mission-critical objectives.
Broadcast, Media and Entertainment
Primarily DAM is used by creative users including photographers, video editors, marketing and advertising professionals, to name but a few. So, DAM systems must integrate with all kinds of creative applications, allowing digital data to be quickly accessed, easy to manipulate in a collaborative environment and made available via simplified distribution. Other key benefits include streamlining internal operations, as well as the entire production environment; shortening editing cycles in post production and providing an end-to-end storage and management solution. DAM plays a vital role in media and entertainment businesses in innovating new designs, generating new sources of revenue or return on investment, and ultimately, in achieving high customer satisfaction.
Print and Publishing
DAM also helps print and publishing businesses in managing the assets that are created in image form like graphics and scanned documents layouts. DAM solutions manage various components of digital assets like images, photographs and their description data associated with them. DAM systems are a key component in identifying the most efficient way to get images, video, audio, pdf’s, InDesign, PPT’s, Excel, Word, EPS, GIF, and SVG files from where they are created and managed to their ultimate destination.
Advertising and Marketing Agencies
Advertising, design and marketing services companies face a challenging business landscape with shorter client engagement times, lower billed revenue per account executive, reduced customer switching costs and an increasing commoditization of the services they are delivering. These changes suggest that revenue growth appears to be an impossible goal for agencies when you also consider the: It provides a powerful tool that relieves some of the throughput strain on existing creative, studio, and production staff; meets the need for tighter security for clients’ rich media assets; and enables creative teams to move faster, be more efficient and effective everyday.
Educational Institutions
Instructors are challenged with the task of integrating e-learning environments with in-class teaching programs. DAM plays a vital role in helping modern educational and training institutions promote and encourage new forms of learning and generate revenue from sources never before possible. DAM systems give them the ability to leverage a virtual ‘treasure trove’ of existing learning assets contained within libraries and instructors’ offices. The technology lets instructors cost-effectively access, repurpose and deliver them via distance-learning, video lectures and instruction, self-service portals, and collaborative curriculum development and make them available to the faculty, students, and the wider world.
Conclusion
The unprecedented rise in the number of digital assets in an organization’s virtual library is one of several driving forces behind the need for sophisticated DAM solutions. In less than 10 years alone DAM has moved from a ‘nice to have’ service to a ‘need to have’ business requirement that: streamlines the creative workflow process; enables a centralized and collaborative creative working environment; provides a reliable and scalable platform that cost-effectively delivers assets across a distributed network; and finally, unleashes the revenue potential of an existing library of assets that can be easily repurposed to generate new top line growth. Innovative technology vendors and their ability to bring solutions to market are helping reshape the way organizations think about what DAM can do for them.

Document Management and Digital Asset Management

2010-08-01T02:13:00.000-07:00

Everywhere you look within organizations, there is content. All this content needs to be managed. At first it was static information, and documents published on the Internet needed management solutions. As a result document management (DM) emerged as the mechanism or process to create, capture, manage, store, and deliver these documents to the right departments and individuals.

Digital Assets

Today, electronic media is more then just on-line text. Organizations are using images, video, and audio files and other digital formats within organizations that need to be managed as well. Digital assets are often time consuming to create, but they are valuable to organizations because digital assets attract the attention of clients, whether internal or external to the organization.

Digital assets require a format and management process that enables re-use. When looking for a solution, one question that faces organizations is whether a DM system is capable of supporting their needs or if a digital asset management (DAM) solution it more appropriate.

To determine this answer, an organization must understand the difference between the two solutions. This is a difficult task because there is confusion in the market between DM and DAM solutions. This article will investigate what is unique to a DAM solution and why organizations need a DAM to manage other types of data instead of just text documents.

Document Management

Organizations use document management to assist with the management, creation, workflow, and the storage of documents within different departments. A DM solution uses databases for storage, and workflow engines to design and support workflows, including business rules and metadata.

Document management systems are often used in industries where there are high volumes of documents, such as in the insurance, health care and government industries. Increasingly DM solutions are evolving into Web content management (CM) systems.

Digital Asset Management

Digital asset management (DAM) solutions are also referred to as media asset management (MAM), entertainment media asset management (EMAM), brand resource management (BRM), marketing content management (MCM), and asset management (AM). DAM focuses on organizations specifically with digital assets, such as the entertainment or advertising industry, and is used in situations where asset reproduction is important. Often organizations combine a DAM solution with a CM solution to maintain their web site. Consequently, DAM and CM vendors acquire one or the other to combine their solutions into an integrated solution.

Different Views on DM and DAM

Even though there is a variety of acronyms for DAM, and there are slight differences in functionality for each category. This article, however, will focus mainly on regular DAM functionality, including rich media files and types.

Magan Arthur of Arthur Consulting Group, explains that organizations can take three different approaches when contrasting DM and DAM:

* Tools and processes
* File and content types
* Business use

This article will leverage these approaches to explore the difference between DM and DAM.

Tools and Processes

Both DM and DAM use functionality common to content management solutions. These functionalities include the repository, metadata indexing, search capabilities, user- and role-defined accessibility, and workflow.

The repository stores the content and can either be a relational database or a simple file system. It includes standard features, such as check in and check out, versioning, and taxonomy. It will also allow metadata to be defined, so it includes all relevant descriptions of the different documents and files. This metadata then can be used by the search engine for indexing. The workflow takes care of the different tasks and roles that are involved within the process, whether serial or parallel.

Besides these similarities, there are essential differences in the respective tools and processes of DM and DAM.

DM, on one hand, focuses on capturing text content through optical character recognition (OCR), it is integrated with text processing tools, and is able to define different elements within a document as content. DM is capable of reusing this content either in parts or as the whole document. In the repository, DM can store document elements in different formats, such as extensible markup language (XML).

DAM, on the other hand, integrates with applications that focus on the creative design of assets, such as Quark, AutoCAD, Flash, and three dimensional animation. DAM solutions are capable of linking, disassembling, and reassembling complex and combined assets. DAM is also able to change images directly by either resizing or changing colors, and can handle large files, especially video files. Its search capabilities extend beyond standard search to permit visual searches using image recognition. Besides text indexing, which DM solutions also provide, DAM is able to index speech-to-text videos, closed caption videos, and more.

File and Content Types

The tools, as described above, allow different file types to be stored, which is another way to differentiate DM with DAM. DM files are mostly text based such as, paper documents, files from office tools, PDF, HTML files etc. DAM systems capture rich media files which can be images; logos; audio; video; CAD; animation (including GIFs and Flash); and design files.

DM systems are often capable of storing these kinds of files as well, but provide little more than storage, which is not sufficient for organizations that handle large quantities of digital asset files.

SOURCE:-
http://www.technologyevaluation.com/research/articles/document-management-and-digital-asset-management-is-there-a-difference-and-what-might-it-be-18316/

Nuxeo Introduces New Cloud Edition of Digital Asset Management Application / Adds New Video Management Functionality to Nuxeo DAM 1.1

2010-08-01T02:12:00.000-07:00

BOSTON, MA -- (Marketwire) -- 07/29/10 -- Nuxeo, the Open Source Enterprise Content Management (ECM) company, today announced an update to its Nuxeo Digital Asset Management product with the release of Nuxeo DAM 1.1, as well launching the hosted version, Nuxeo DAM - Cloud Edition. This new release of Nuxeo DAM incorporates feature enhancements driven directly by early adopter customers and the Nuxeo developer community.
Nuxeo DAM - Cloud Edition runs on the Nuxeo secure cloud services infrastructure, backed by the resilient and high-performing Amazon web services. Nuxeo DAM - Cloud Edition offers a media management solution ideally suited to small- to medium-sized organizations with fixed budgets and limited IT infrastructure and resources. It is also ideal for businesses that need to collaborate with geographically dispersed customers, helping marketers and brand managers quickly catalog, process, store, retrieve and distribute rich media. A subscription or trial version of Nuxeo DAM Cloud Edition can be found at http://www.nuxeo.com/en/subscription/ecm-cloud/digital-asset-management-cloud.
"Nuxeo DAM - Cloud Edition brings feature-rich and sophisticated digital asset management to businesses that don't have the time or IT resources to invest in an expensive legacy DAM product. It provides a subscription solution to handle all types of digital content," said CEO Eric Barroca. "It eliminates heavy investments in IT or hardware, while still providing all the ingestion, categorization, management and collaboration tools that today's businesses and marketing departments require to protect their media content investment. Nuxeo DAM - Cloud Edition is one of the ways that a new or growing business can use technology to help level the playing field and compete cost-effectively in the digital economy."
Also launched today is Nuxeo DAM 1.1. The newest release of Nuxeo DAM includes feature enhancements driven by the feedback and requirements of early adopter clients: video enhancements, batch upload improvements and repository level integration with Nuxeo Document Management (DM).
Video enhancements include automatic generation of thumbnails that segment the content of a video file as part of the import process. These video chapters can be viewed individually, making it easier to locate scenes and find video segments to share among teams. Brand managers, digital archivists, research/intelligence analysts and content application builders will also find new video streaming provides a productivity boost. The application gives instant viewing access to a video by beginning to play before the file is completely downloaded.
New bulk import and editing functionality are additional time-savers for power-users. Nuxeo DAM can now import a larger number of files, with IPTC and EXIF metadata extraction and bulk tagging to speed up capture of digital assets. To ease large-scale media file processing, Nuxeo DAM also allows users to edit file descriptions, define metadata and adjust settings to a selection of multiple assets, putting more capabilities into the hands of content creators and consumers.
"These new features are being driven by our early adopter customers such as a global operator in the financial markets and cutting-edge medical research organizations," said Barroca.
For seamless integration with other content applications, Nuxeo DAM and Nuxeo's Document Management applications can also share the same underlying content repository. Nuxeo's applications are built on the open source, Java-based Nuxeo Enterprise Platform so that Nuxeo DAM can now easily be connected to a Nuxeo Document Management application or another Nuxeo EP-based application. Documents and files managed in a Nuxeo DM repository can be accessed from Nuxeo DAM without switching applications -- or vice versa -- providing a more unified user experience and smoother workflow. Fully assured and supported by the Nuxeo Connect comprehensive subscription offering, Nuxeo DAM builds on the deep content application expertise gathered from repeated customer successes.
About Nuxeo
Nuxeo provides a modular, extensible open source ECM platform for managing information. A pioneer in the open source ECM market, Nuxeo is used by hundreds of customers worldwide, including The Press Association, Agence France-Presse (AFP), EllisDon and Cengage. Companies of all sizes across all industries, including media, government, transportation, education and energy sectors, use the Nuxeo Enterprise Content Management offerings to meet their specific vertical and horizontal content application needs. Support, training and professional consulting services are available to customers and partners worldwide. Headquartered in Paris, the company has global offices in North America (Boston), Western Europe (Paris, Madrid and Rome), Eastern Europe (Moscow) and the Middle East (Dubai). More information is available at www.nuxeo.com.
Contact:
Sarah Conway
Clement Communications
pr@nuxeo.com

Google Introduces Apps For Government

2010-07-29T20:59:00.000-07:00

Google have announced a special government/public sector edition of Google Apps – their on-line productivity tools stack and MS Office alternative. The suite features the same applications as the regular editions of Google Apps but provides greater security (according to Google).
It is the first range of cloud based applications to receive FISMA (Federal Information Security Management Act) certification from the US government. FIMSA requires higher levels of security by storing email and calendar data into separate system to reduce the chances of cross-leakage.
“With no hardware or software to install and maintain, Google Apps for Government allows agencies to redeploy resources to technology projects core to their mission of serving the public. This new edition should give governments an even stronger case for making the move to the cloud.” [Read More]
The public sector is a key battleground for productivity applications and an area where Microsoft has been dominant for some years despite various challenges from open source alternatives

Using Digital Asset Management for Multiple Brands

2010-07-29T20:57:00.001-07:00

This is the tenth and final video in the series of Widen customer interviews with Jason Barinaga, Manager of eCommerce Initiatives, at Oceania Cruises, Inc. In this video, Jason talks about the multi-site branding available with the Widen digital asset management system. Widen DAM serves as a dual solution used by Oceania Cruises and their sister company—Regent Seven Seas. Oceania Cruises has a niche between the premium and luxury cruise lines where they offer a luxury experience at premium pricing. Regent Seven Seas is a luxury cruise line that is a little more upscale. Each brand has two different catalogs of digital assets partitioned into a Regent side and an Oceania Cruises side. If a user enters through the Regent travel agent center they automatically see all resources from Regent and the same applies to travel agents seeking brand assets from Oceania Cruises. Widen’s ability to have multiple skins for the same digital content management system was instrumental because it satisfied the needs of two different companies. Watch the video to learn more about using digital asset management for multiple brands.

All The Secrets Behind The Best Digital Photo Manager Databases

2010-07-29T20:55:00.000-07:00

Many companies and organizations are adopting digital photo manager database as a business strategy, because the administration to provide a photo, video and other media businesses unique challenges and require solutions designed specifically to increase the efficiency of collection, storage and retrieval of digital media developed. What we need is a system that can reduce the time and cost of content production, maximize the return on investment of media assets, bring new products and services faster to market and modernization of the contract. This should be the way to optimize cost-effectiveness of media management to be organized in society. Digital photo manager data types are numerous. The following categories of digital asset management systems can be distinguished: Brand Asset Management systems, with particular attention to facilitate reuse of content within large organizations. Library asset management systems, with emphasis on conservation and recovery of large amounts of infrequently changing media activities, such as video or photo archiving. Making Asset Management Systems, with particular attention to the preservation, organization and control of the review frequently changing digital assets, such as the production of Digital Media for digital photo manager database. Sector development As the industry evolves into technology-oriented society to organize a growing number of companies reached a critical threshold in need and manage their large volumes of Digital Media Holdings. But technically, a digital good is any form of media that has been transformed into a source track. digital photo manager database close to the textile mills around the images, logos and images in PowerPoint presentations, text documents and also e-mail, proving to be the property of value in terms of efficiency and corporate valuation. On the other hand, it is good is only good if you can find, or do you know that you first. The numbers tell a very interesting story. A digital asset management application is simply a tool for organizing the digital media storage and retrieval. When looking for a digital photo manager database, the first thing to identify the target. Since the flow of work varies greatly between different types of business process-centric solutions are often tailored to the needs of specific vertical markets. Industry-centric solutions to extend the media division of property of a company, suppliers, contractors and other partners. Such systems are of high safety level that companies with more primary shares owned property without stirring work permits.

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Adobe to Acquire Day Software

2010-07-29T20:54:00.000-07:00

Adobe and Day Software Holding AG announced the two companies have entered into a definitive agreement for Adobe to launch a public tender offer to acquire all of the publicly held registered shares of Day Software for CHF139 per share in cash in a transaction valued at approximately CHF255 million on a fully diluted equity-value basis. This approximates US$240 million at the current exchange rate.
Adobe’s acquisition of Day will strengthen the company’s enterprise software solutions with market leading Web Content Management (WCM), Digital Asset Management and Social Collaboration offerings. This acquisition represents a significant market opportunity for Adobe to help organizations transform themselves by enabling them to create, manage, distribute and monetize content while optimizing the web experience for their customers.
Day’s leading web solutions combined with Adobe’s existing enterprise portfolio will enable customers to better integrate their global web presence and business applications, unlocking value across their marketing, sales and service processes.In addition, Day customers will be able to leverage more interactive application and document capabilities from Adobe® AIR®, Adobe® Flash®, Flex, Adobe® LiveCycle® and PDF.The combination of Day and Adobe will help customers realize the full potential of the web in acquiring, servicing and retaining their customers, without disrupting their existing IT infrastructures.
“Adobe’s acquisition of Day represents a key milestone in our efforts toward delivering best-in-class customer experience management solutions to enterprises and governments worldwide,” said Rob Tarkoff, senior vice president and general manager, Digital Enterprise Solutions, Adobe. “With the addition of Day to our enterprise portfolio, we will be able to enhance the value of our offering and deliver on our vision of the web as the hub of customer interaction.”
“Organizations around the globe have recognized the importance of the online and mobile channel and turned to Day as their enterprise standard for next generation Web Content Management,”said Erik Hansen, CEO, Day Software. “We are excited to join Adobe and combine our expertise in WCM with technologies that create and deliver rich online and offline experiences leveraging the ubiquity of Flash and PDF. We believe this is a winning combination for both Adobe and Day customers.”
Transaction Details
As part of the expected integration of the two companies, Day will operate as a product line within Adobe’s Digital Enterprise Solutions Business Unit. Day CEO Erik Hansen will join Adobe reporting directly to Rob Tarkoff.
The proposed offer represents a premium of 59 percent over Day’s volume-weighted average share price for the last 60 trading days. The Board of Directors of Day unanimously recommends the offer to Day shareholders. The Chairman and the CEO of Day and other Board members have entered into undertakings to tender their shares.
The completion of the transaction, which is subject to customary government approvals and the satisfaction of other customary conditions, including a minimum acceptance threshold with respect to the tender offer, is expected to close in the fourth quarter of Adobe’s 2010 fiscal year.
Adobe expects the acquisition will have no material impact on Adobe’s non-GAAP earnings for fiscal year 2010 and that it will be accretive to non-GAAP earnings for fiscal year 2011.

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Bringing Media Management and Web Content together

2010-07-25T22:27:00.000-07:00

MINNEAPOLIS, Minnesota, July 19, 2010: MediaBeacon, Inc., a leading provider of rich media solutions, today announced integration of IBM and MediaBeacon’s technologies to bring rich media management to enable corporations’ next generation web experiences. This new integration and joint technology initiative brings together technologies to help clients enable rich media as a communication medium to better engage their employees, customers, prospects, vendors and partners.
With this initiative, MediaBeacon’s digital asset management platform is being integrated with IBM’s WebSphere Portal and Lotus Web Content Management software. This initiative will bring MediaBeacon’s digital asset management technology to organizations that want to easily manage and publish media-rich content for their external-facing websites. Through this integration, businesses will be able to access media assets like pictures, imagery, audio, video, collateral files in their web environments built on IBM WebSphere Portal and IBM Lotus Web Content Management with ease.
“With digital content becoming ubiquitous, it is becoming increasingly critical for companies across all industries and geographies to better use their media assets as people expect a richer web experience,” said Mukul Krishna, Global Director – Digital Media, Frost and Sullivan. “MediaBeacon’s Digital Asset Management combined with IBM’s web technologies will allow users to create a smarter web presence while being able to repurpose not only digital assets but resources as well and become more productive.”
"The joining of these two major forces marks the beginning of an important new chapter in the history of Digital Asset Management. In the long run, this partnership will ultimately change what customers expect from the entire industry," said Paul Nicholson – VP, Print & Broadcast Production, Showtime Networks.
“MediaBeacon’s investment in open standards in developing our solution is paying off in how straightforward it has been in bringing our solutions together,” said Jason Bright, Founder and CTO, MediaBeacon. “We discovered right away that we can rapidly and cost effectively develop this next generation web experience that will evolve as the market moves into a Web 3.0-centric paradigm where the web, the media and business analytics are all brought together.”
MediaBeacon will be participating in IBM’s Portal Excellence Conference in Chicago, Illinois from July 19 – 22. More information about the event can be found at this link.
About MediaBeacon
MediaBeacon, Inc. is the leading provider of Digital Asset Management, organic enterprise search and secure role-based media distribution portals. With some of the largest DAM deployments in the industry and hundreds of global enterprise customers, MediaBeacon is a proven leader in the industry. For more information, visit http://www.MediaBeacon.com
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Wyndham Worldwide Receives Silver LEED Certification

2010-07-25T22:25:00.000-07:00

PARSIPPANY, New Jersey (April 9, 2010) – Wyndham Worldwide (NYSE:WYN), one of the world’s largest hospitality companies, received Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Silver certification from the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) today during a celebration event at their Parsippany global headquarters. One of numerous plotted Wyndham Green events throughout Earth Month, the LEED celebration was attended by over 100 guests and included remarks by Melverne E. Cooke, chief of staff for the office of Assemblyman Alex DeCroce, Parsippany Mayor Jamie Barberio, USGBC vice head, market development, Doug Gatlin and Wyndham Worldwide chairman and chief executive officer, Stephen P. Holmes. The LEED Green Building Rating System is the USGBC’s chief ranking classification for designing and constructing the world’s greenest, most energy-efficient and high-the theater buildings. The Company’s headquarters meets LEED standards for energy use, lighting, water and material use and also incorporates a variety of additional sustainable strategies including the use of recycled materials throughout the building, as well as paints, carpets and furniture. The facility was designed, built and operates following LEED’s sustainability practices and is powered by wind, bought from an energy company, and runs energy efficient lights and appliances. “We are honored to be recognized by the USGBC for our commitment to preserving our natural resources,” said Holmes. “As a global company that interacts with over 150 million consumers annually we can make a profound impact in caring our Earth. This includes preserving natural habitats, preventing pollution and educating our employees, franchisees, partners, and customers on how we can communally continue to make a positive difference in sustainability.”The USGBC’s LEED certification is one aspect of Wyndham Worldwide’s overall commitment to corporate social responsibility and the environment. The Company’s choice winning curriculum, Wyndham Green, has six areas of focus including: Energy Conservation, Water Conservation, Recycle/Re-Use, Education, Community and Innovation. Wyndham Worldwide works with their associates, suppliers, owners and local communities to minimize their environmental impact and to make the world a better place. The Company is continuously seeking and implementing opportunities to manage energy consumption as a part of their overall green strategy crosswise its businesses and brands, which together encompass near 70,000 properties in 100 countries. Wyndham was named to Newsweek’s Green Ranking as one of the top 100 greenest companies in America and was just recently announced as a finalist in the USGBC’s fourth annual “Building a Greener New Jersey” choice, which will be announced on May 20, 2010. Wyndham Worldwide is one of three finalists in the Corporate Commitment category.
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Daydream & Highwinds Partner To Offer Ultra-High Volume Integrated Digital Asset Delivery

2010-07-24T07:52:00.000-07:00

Daydream (www.daydream.co.uk), leading European Digital Asset Management (DAM) specialists, has partnered with Highwinds, pre-eminent global Content Delivery Network (CDN) service provider, to offer ultra-high volume digital asset delivery by integrating Daydream's FocusOPEN DAM platform directly into the Highwinds CDN.

"Highwinds has all the core features that we would expect from a CDN service provider. Their RollingThunderTM global network is robust and has the very high levels of capacity that our corporate client base requires, but their flexibility and can-do attitude are really what convinced us to partner with them," explains Ralph Windsor, Managing Director of Daydream.

Daydream is using Highwinds' RollingThunder private network, the backbone of their CDN, for very large scale digital asset delivery, in particular for distributing video content and print files to very large numbers of users simultaneously. "By leveraging the Highwinds API, our clients are able to seamlessly transfer an existing asset on or off the CDN, directly from within FocusOPEN at the click of a mouse. Their real-time ingest and purge features are essential for our clients, who expect to be able to publish, update and remove assets without any delays," continues Windsor.

Highwinds' channel-centric sales model has been favourably received by Daydream. "Their channel partner approach works well for us. Highwinds seems to be one of the few CDNs that understand they are providing a service that operates most effectively when partners are able to add value easily and without obstructions. Most of the other providers we looked at were either unwilling to help us with the integration of FocusOPEN, or we had concerns about the underlying quality of service. Highwinds has managed to provide flexibility and stability at the same time, which seems to be surprisingly rare in the CDN market."

"We are thrilled to welcome Daydream into the Highwinds partner program. Their Digital Asset Management platform enables new markets for the Highwinds CDN," said Mark Hayes, vice president of business development for Highwinds. "The seamless integration between asset management and delivery services will provide unparalleled ease of use for corporate clients and institutions who rely on Daydream for safety, reliability and speed of delivery."

Highwinds' range of supporting tools and documentation has proven significant in Daydream's decision making process. "StrikeTrackerTM is very well constructed, easy to use and offers a lot of useful functionality. The quantity of detailed technical documentation, guidance and support that Highwinds has been able to offer makes it obvious that they have substantial technical expertise and a positive attitude towards partner support."

Windsor concludes by saying, "The method Highwinds has chosen to market themselves allows them to specialise in providing a world class CDN while we can focus on adding value for our clients. I don't envisage Daydream looking for an alternative CDN partner for the foreseeable future."

About Daydream

Established in 1995, Daydream is the leading UK vendor of Digital Asset Management and Media Asset Management systems. Over the last 10 years, their FocusOPEN DAM technologies have been implemented by over 30 global organisations including Major League Baseball, WS Atkins, Shell and Credit Suisse. For more information, visit Daydream at http://www.daydream.co.uk or read our digital asset management reports at http://www.daydream.co.uk/reports/

About Highwinds

Highwinds is a leader in multi-platform IP services, file replication, and content delivery software and services. Since 2002, Highwinds has provided for the advancement of a variety of technologies - including messaging bus architecture, network management, distributed file systems and content routing methods. The Highwinds CDN leverages the company's high-performance RollingThunder™ network and user-friendly StrikeTracker™ media manager and reporting dashboard to globally deliver content, videos, live events and other media. It sets the pace among content delivery networks by offering advantages in data center peering, real-time analytics, instant account provisioning, complete content control and massive scalability. Highwinds is headquartered in Winter Park, Fla., and maintains 23 data centers throughout North America and Europe. For more information, please visit http://www.highwinds.com

Scientific American Taps DPCI to Facilitate Vendor Selection Process for Digital Asset Management Project

2010-07-24T07:51:00.000-07:00

DPCI (http://www.databasepublish.com), a provider of integrated technology solutions for organizations that need to publish content to Web, print, and mobile channels, today announced it supported Scientific American through the process of selecting a digital asset management system to centralize all of the organization's digital content. The leading publisher of scientific and technological news utilized DPCI's expertise and vendor selection process to refine its requirements, manage the request for proposals (RFP), and ultimately select Canto® Cumulus®.

Scientific American publishes 15 foreign language editions and has a total of more than 1,000,000 copies in circulation worldwide. Its website - www.SciAm.com - is viewed by 1.7 million visitors per month. DPCI worked with Scientific American to understand its business and workflow processes associated with centrally managing all of its editorial content, including text, illustrations and photographs. It also identified a strategy to manage digital rights, permissions, accessibility and repurposing of all content which includes years and volumes of magazine issues.

As part of the process, DPCI put together a matrix of questions which Scientific American presented to a number of vendors to determine how the products would address the publication's editorial and production needs. DPCI worked with Scientific American to manage the entire selection process, including product demonstrations and review of vendor legal agreements.

"DPCI clearly identified the exact digital asset management needs and specifications required by our editorial and production departments," explained Roger Hirschkind, Director of IT at Scientific American. "Their experience in publishing and technology expertise in digital asset management helped us not only identify the appropriate vendor, but ensure it would support our ongoing business initiatives."

Analyzing the information from the vendor RFPs, Scientific American selected Canto Cumulus digital asset management software. The Cumulus product provided the best match to support the publication's editorial and production departments and their respective workflow processes. With Cumulus in place, Scientific American has the capability to centralize all aspects of their digital content and utilize the system to monetize their vast catalog of editorial.

"We have created a standard protocol for digital asset management procurement that makes it easier for our clients to match their needs to available products on the marketplace," stated Joseph Bachana, President and Founder of DPCI. "Above all, the process is designed to allow companies like Scientific American to make more objective decisions about which solution fits best for its user community and also tie in with the organization's technical and budgetary constraints."

About DPCI

DPCI (http://www.databasepublish.com) is an interactive technology agency that delivers integrated content management solutions for organizations that need to deliver information and content across a range of channels. DPCI helps customers design and deploy Web Content Management Systems, Digital Asset Management, Multi-Channel Publishing, Portals, and Workflow Management solutions, as well as other custom development applications and projects. DPCI serves customers throughout the United States, including Hachette Filipacchi Media U.S., Comcast Cable Corporation, Hanley Wood, and Nielsen Business Media.

Does Your Company Need Digital Asset Management?

2010-07-24T07:49:00.001-07:00

People talk all the time about the good old days, but if you were a photo editor, audio/video professional or graphic artist (or owned a company providing these services) in the 1960s those days were often quite tedious. What we call asset management, the storing and retrieval of photos or artwork, meant having entire rooms, sometimes even entire buildings, full of file cabinets, storage closets and 1,000-page inventory lists. It could take days to find something.
The same sort of manual filing systems were used for fingerprints at police labs when DNA profiles were not even featured in science fiction yet. Technicians could compare crime-scene fingerprints only by sight, and only had access to local print cards, too. Printing, publishing, photography and police work all changed radically with the advent of computers and the digital workflow. Asset management became digital asset management (DAM), and a completely new paradigm was born.
The basics
Every company today has computer files that need to be stored for either random retrieval or long-term archiving. Even a Mom-and-Pop print shop could have thousands of font files, hard drives full of photos and DVDs full of clip art, not to mention all the completed projects and their various components. Keeping track of all of this is far beyond the abilities of a file cabinet. Digital asset management experts have come forward to help the many individuals and firms that get lost in the sea of files, formats, drives and discs.
At its most basic, your plan for digital asset management begins with an honest, thorough assessment of the objectives you have for managing and distributing your particular digital assets. You then need to define and adopt a long-term plan for what you wish to accomplish, factoring in the real-world experience at your place of business (and the different people and departments that need various levels of access). You can take the job on yourself, as long as you have sufficient expertise and time. If you do not have one or the other, or have neither, you can get help from companies that specialize in solving your DAM problems (pun intended).
What it provides
It is not just about storage. It is about efficiency, time, employee productivity and profits. Once you quantify the cost of your present inefficient system, you will be able to provide an accurate idea of the ROI (Return On Investment) that you will get from a new DAM system. In a generic corporate example (not a digital content producing company but, say, a shoe manufacturer), DAM would be essential to the functioning of the in-house marketing department. Even large Fortune 500 firms that use outside ad agencies have their own in-house departments, and companies large and small can both have huge libraries of images, shelves full of discs and hard drives full of uncoordinated digital materials.
You can approach the solution several ways, but it will normally involve centralizing the media assets for quick retrieval. Some firms will do all of this onsite, but the real advances in computing in the cloud, as it’s called, is convincing many other companies to seek DAM in the SaaS (Software as a Service) model. The advantages are numerous, including redundant backups, on- and off-site access and storage, tech support and customer service, too. There is no one overarching model, and unique situations require unique solutions. However, it is clear that the SaaS model is a powerful, efficient and cost-effective solution for many companies.
How to proceed
The first, most important thing, as previously mentioned, is doing an honest review of the present workflow and DAM system. There will be standardized tools and systems that a SaaS DAM provider will offer you, and often these are fully up to the challenge. If there are unique issues in your firm, the solution provider can customize the approach for your specific situation. It is important to acknowledge that the DAM professionals have the expertise and have seen it all, so the more you learn about the technology and the process, the better you will adapt to the new way of doing things.
As to the question initially posed (Does your company need digital asset management?) the answer would have to be “yes” for every company. No firm today works without digital assets. However, you may have a very small home office and not need a cloud-based DAM. In fact, you can probably devise and maintain your own DAM system with a bit of study and ongoing learning. However, if you have a small to medium-size business (SMB) and are starting to drown in TIFF, JPEG, audio and video files, you may need to take a step back and consider how much it is costing you to continue working the old way, especially when the new world of DAM is waiting for you. Give it some thought!
Are you looking for a digital asset management or photo archive? Brand management, marketing asset management or video management platform? Widen provides web-based digital asset management systems aka Hosted aka Software as a Service (SaaS). All hardware, software, implementation, training, integration, upgrades, maintenance, security and technical support is handled by Widen.

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Eye-Fi Geo X2 Cards

2010-07-23T19:15:00.000-07:00

Today’s advanced techniques make it easier to spot a fake photo, and history is littered with famous examples. Photos of The Loch Ness Monster, The Yeti and Bigfoot have all been viewed with scepticism and prevented these mysteries from being settled once and for all.
Now, thanks to the Eye-Fi Geo X2, the world’s first wireless memory card to include geotagging, photographers’ can capture those once in a lifetime moments with confidence, as this unique feature provides proof of their location.
With a 4GB capacity, the Eye-Fi Geo X2 card integrates with Macintosh environments and applications, such as MobileMe and iPhoto. The card’s unique embedded Wi-Fi technology will upload photos straight to the user’s computer and/or photo sharing accounts, such as Facebook, Flickr and Picasa, without the need for wires and worrying. Geotagging, just one of the features on offer, will then show the pictures on a map and make albums searchable by location.
There are four Eye-Fi cards within the X2 range, and the geotagging feature is available with the GeoX2, Explore X2 and ProX2. Here’s what a few of those notable contentious images would have looked like if they’d been geotagged by Eye-Fi…
Another key feature on the entire Eye-Fi X2 range is Endless Memory, the space saving service which makes room for more images and videos on your card once they have safely been wirelessly uploaded to the PC. This ensures you can capture the rarest of sights without ever worrying about running out of space again.

Open Source Digital Asset Management Software

2010-07-23T19:14:00.000-07:00

Digital Asset Management (DAM) refers to technology which helps us to manage the mass of data which we work with in our personal and professional lives.
Digital asset management is a set of processes that when working together give a system, repository, and enabling workflow process for managing publishable media content such as images, illustrations, documents, audio, video and physical (non-digital) elements.
Digital assets include documents, emails, pictures, MP3's, online movies, and any other content which we store on a computer.
Digital Asset Management applications try to help with one or more of the typical file management tasks:

Searching for a digital asset
Organizing digital assets
Backing up digital assets
Securing digital assets
Verifying the integrity of digital assets
Discovering duplicate copies of digital assets

Open Source Digital Asset Management Software

DSpace

DSpace is a Digital Asset Management system which was developed jointly by MIT Libraries and HP Labs.
DSpace is designed to capture, store, index, preserve, and redistribute enormous volumes of digital data.
DSpace runs on Unix, Linux, and Microsoft Windows.

Image Arcadia

Image Arcadia is a Digital Asset Management server package. Image Arcadia runs on Unix or Windows NT under Apache and PERL. Image Arcadia Incorporates an extensible file type manager so that any type of file is supported.

Amazon: Kindle Now Outsells Hardcover Editions

2010-07-23T19:12:00.000-07:00

by Naresh Sarwan

According to a recent Amazon press release, electronic books delivered via Amazon’s Kindle platform now outsell hardcover editions:
“We’ve reached a tipping point with the new price of Kindle–the growth rate of Kindle device unit sales has tripled since we lowered the price from $259 to $189,” said Jeff Bezos, Founder and CEO of Amazon.com. “In addition, even while our hardcover sales continue to grow, the Kindle format has now overtaken the hardcover format. Amazon.com customers now purchase more Kindle books than hardcover books–astonishing when you consider that we’ve been selling hardcover books for 15 years, and Kindle books for 33 months.” [Read More]
Writing on the North Plains blog, WeSpeakDigitalMedia.com blog, Joshua Duhl comments:
“Publishers are still highly selective in publishing eBook titles because they still lack the infrastructure to quickly and easily put out all books as both hardcover and eBooks. There are many more books that could potentially be e-published, especially if they had better eBook publishing and distribution processes. It illustrates both just how far the industry has come, and just how fare it is from getting to “long-tail” eBook publishing.” [Read More]
Of course, Amazon do not discuss the role of the iPad in the ongoing rise of electronic books, although this would increase the volume of potential eBooks sales still further. The economics of print publishing certainly do appear to be increasingly difficult to justify and in the same way that B2B news/magazine titles have increasingly migrated toward electronic only distribution, the same can be expected of books also now. The cost savings in terms of warehouse storage for print titles alone makes this trend seemingly inevitable.

Briefly In Business

2010-07-21T05:32:00.001-07:00

Creatasphere announces new DAMMY Awards
Burbank-based Creatasphere Digital Asset Management will host the first DAMMY Awards during its conference in New York this fall.
The DAMMY's recognize excellence in innovative digital and media asset management technology, methods and services, the company said.
'Peanuts' get the Blu-ray treatment
Burbank-based Warner Bros. Home Video is set to release its "Peanuts Holiday Collection" pack on Blu-ray high-definition. The pack is comprised of three specials, including "A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving," "A Charlie Brown Christmas" and "It's a Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown" and will retail for $42.93, the company announced.
The packs include the Blu-ray and DVD editions of the specials.
AMC Theatres hosts MovieCamp
AMC Theatres' Summer MovieCamp is being held at 214 movie theaters across the nation, through Aug. 10.
For $1 admission, patrons can enjoy a past release such as "Kung Fu Panda" on Tuesday, or "The Spiderwick Chronicles" on Aug. 3.
Doors open at 9 a.m.; show time is at 10 a.m. Tickets for each week's show go on sale about one week in advance.
Proceeds from admissions and concessions go to charities, including the Will Rogers Institute and Variety: The Children's Charity.
Burbank's participating AMC is at 125 E. Palm Ave.
For more information, visit http://www.amcentertainment.com/smc.

Reshaping the Way Organizations Think About Digital Asset Management

2010-07-21T05:31:00.001-07:00

Razuna 1.4 brings new setup wizard

2010-07-21T05:30:00.001-07:00

On our way to Razuna 1.4 we just wiped up a brand new setup wizard which will setup the DB, paths and account for you in a simple steps. Also, you will have a custom setup where you can setup your own database (Yes, no more setting up a standard Razuna DB and then doing it again if you deploy another database). Moreover, you can restore your data right from the start (the new backup & restore function is another new thing of Razuna 1.4).
Right, here are some screenshots for your appetite. Razuna 1.4 RC2 will be coming soon!
The new Startup Wizard:

Custom Installation let’s you choose the database you want to use with Razuna right from the start:

If you want to restore from a previous Razuna installation you can do that now too.

MediaBeacon Integrates Rich Media With IBM's Web Technologies

2010-07-21T05:29:00.000-07:00

MINNEAPOLIS, MN, Jul 19, 2010 (MARKETWIRE via COMTEX) -- MediaBeacon, Inc., a leading provider of rich media solutions, today announced integration of IBM and MediaBeacon's technologies to bring rich media management to enable corporations' next generation web experiences. This new integration and joint technology initiative brings together technologies to help clients enable rich media as a communication medium to better engage their employees, customers, prospects, vendors and partners.
With this initiative, MediaBeacon's digital asset management platform is being integrated with IBM's WebSphere Portal and Lotus Web Content Management software. This initiative will bring MediaBeacon's digital asset management technology to organizations that want to easily manage and publish media-rich content for their external-facing websites. Through this integration, businesses will be able to access media assets like pictures, imagery, audio, video, collateral files in their web environments built on IBM WebSphere Portal and IBM Lotus Web Content Management with ease.
"With digital content becoming ubiquitous, it is becoming increasingly critical for companies across all industries and geographies to better use their media assets as people expect a richer web experience," said Mukul Krishna, Global Director -- Digital Media, Frost and Sullivan. "MediaBeacon's Digital Asset Management combined with IBM's web technologies will allow users to create a smarter web presence while being able to repurpose not only digital assets but resources as well and become more productive."
"The joining of these two major forces marks the beginning of an important new chapter in the history of Digital Asset Management. In the long run, this partnership will ultimately change what customers expect from the entire industry," said Paul Nicholson -- VP, Print & Broadcast Production, Showtime Networks.
"MediaBeacon's investment in open standards in developing our solution is paying off in how straightforward it has been in bringing our solutions together," said Jason Bright, Founder and CTO, MediaBeacon. "We discovered right away that we can rapidly and cost effectively develop this next generation web experience that will evolve as the market moves into a Web 3.0-centric paradigm where the web, the media and business analytics are all brought together."
MediaBeacon will be participating in IBM's Portal Excellence Conference in Chicago, Illinois from July 19 - 22. More information about the event can be found at this link.
About MediaBeacon
MediaBeacon, Inc. is the leading provider of Digital Asset Management, organic enterprise search and secure role-based media distribution portals. With some of the largest DAM deployments in the industry and hundreds of global enterprise customers, MediaBeacon is a proven leader in the industry. For more information, visit http://www.MediaBeacon.com
Contact:
Tom Rieger
tom.rieger@mediabeacon.com
612-317-0737

North Plains Systems Named to EContent 100 List 2009

2010-01-06T00:52:00.000-08:00

TORONTO – November 30, 2009-- North Plains Systems Inc., the leading provider of digital asset management (DAM), media asset management (MAM) and publishing software solutions, today announced that it has been named to EContent’s 9th Annual EContent 100 List of companies that matter most in the digital content industry.

EContent Magazine gives the award to the top 100 companies that lead the digital content industry through market share, but also thought-and-technology leadership, innovation, and experimentation. This is the third time that North Plains has been chosen as a winner of the EContent 100. The fourteen EC100 judges include EContent magazine editors, contributing editors, fellow Information Today, Inc. editors, and other experts in the digital content industry.

“We are very pleased to be included on the EContent 100 List with such great company. To be recognized once again as a leader in content management category reaffirms that North Plains DAM, MAM and publishing solutions fill a significant need for many businesses,” said Hassan Kotob, President and CEO, North Plains Systems, Inc. “As companies have struggled with the challenging economic environment, the unceasing demand for video content and, in the publishing industry, declining print margins, North Plains has responded with innovative and comprehensive DAM, video workflow and editing, and publishing workflow products that help companies yield greater value from their digital content and related processes.”

“The EContent 100 list represents the best and most innovative digital content companies as selected by our many judges, who focus on the many different aspects of our industry,” said Michelle Manafy, editor-in-chief of EContent. “This list recognizes companies that not only lead our industry, but inspire organizations to put these tools to work to engage new customers, satisfy existing ones, maximize digital and knowledge assets, create new products and new revenue streams, and solve real business problems.”

For the past 15 years, TeleScope has been the industry’s leading digital asset management solution. North Plains’ leadership and innovation have led to TeleScope’s adoption by many of the world’s foremost companies in their respective industries, including Warner Bros, Turner Broadcasting System, Harper Collins, Boeing, Merck, Publicis Groupe, and countless others. TeleScope’s modularity and scalability are designed to meet the needs of companies across every industry and of all sizes, from small businesses and workgroups to the world’s largest enterprises and government institutions.

North Plains’ TeleScope™ Digital Asset Management (DAM) Platform
TeleScope™ is an award-winning digital asset management platform that enables the secure access, management and distribution of all digital and rich media content across an entire organization. With its distributed and modular architecture, TeleScope is designed to meet the diverse range of rich media needs from small and mid-size businesses and design studios, to the complex business challenges of global enterprises. Whether you’re a new creative ‘shop’ just starting out; growing so quickly that your asset inventory is getting out of control; or a globally distributed organization with millions of assets to manage, North Plains’ TeleScope platform is ready to meet your unique business challenges.

About EContent
EContent is dedicated to one of the most essential commodities any business has to offer--content. While the digital era has provided businesses with unprecedented access to content, it has also created an exponentially increasing need to manage, store, and deliver that content in ways that are efficient, effective, and affordable. Every industry—from publishing to pharmaceutical—needs to maximize its content resources. With this steady rise in digital content challenges, EContent magazine is there to help guide professionals with sound advice and breaking news. EContent is the most respected source for information about the digital content industry. The magazine has a mission to clearly identify and explain emerging digital content trends, strategies, and resources that will help readers navigate the content maze and find a clear path to profits and improved business processes. Essential reading for executives and professionals involved in content management, creation, acquisition, aggregation, and distribution in corporate and B2B environments, EContent provides the go-to resource for digital content business strategies. www.econtentmag.com

About North Plains Systems Inc.
Founded in 1994, North Plains Systems Inc. is the world’s leading provider of digital and video asset management solutions. With a portfolio of over 475 satisfied customers, North Plains’ TeleScope platform streamlines the complexity of managing increasingly challenging digital asset environments. From centralized workflow optimization, asset creation, production and virtual collaboration, to delivery and distribution, North Plains provides end-to-end solutions that scale to meet your unique business requirements. Benefit from North Plains’ proven deployment expertise and join its growing list of global customers, including: AOL, Boeing, Bowling Green State University, Gallaudet University, Harcourt, HarperCollins Publishers, Microsoft, Ogilvy and Mather, Playboy, Publicis Groupe, Publishers Clearing House, Rodale Inc., Sony Pictures Entertainment, The Utah Education Network, Viacom, and Warner Bros. For further information please visit www.northplains.com. Follow us on Twitter and join us on Facebook.

Editorial Contacts:

Jeremy Sohn
North Plains Systems
416-345-1900
jsohn@northplains.com

Becki Parkhurst
PAN Communications
978-474-1900
northplains@pancomm.com

Digital Asset Management and the Professional Photographer

2010-01-06T00:48:00.000-08:00

by Peter Krogh

Digital Asset Management (DAM) is a term that refers to everything one does with image files from the point of capture onward. This includes transferring, renaming, attaching metadata, rating, adjusting, proofing, backing up, archiving and more. Understanding the principles of sound DAM practices will help you design a workflow that is secure and efficient, and can help you increase profitability in the world of digital photography.

As professional photographers, there are a couple of functions of your DAM practice that are going to be most important. The prime directive, to borrow from Star Trek, is to make sure you don't lose the files. If the images can't be delivered, you can't be paid. So the first thing a professional photographer needs to do is to evaluate the risk points in file handling, and develop an adequate system to protect against these hazards.

The second most important function of the DAM system for the pro is to create an efficient workflow, so that jobs can be delivered profitably. If you are spending twice the time (or more) that your competitors do to get jobs out the door, you will be at a significant competitive disadvantage. In a business environment that is becoming more challenging by the month, every advantage you can leverage is important. Understanding the principles of digital asset management will help you to increase your efficiency.

A good understanding of DAM can also help the pro photographer to find images in the collection, and to combine them in new and valuable ways. Because a photographer's collection can be brought together as a large body of work, the photographer can find and group images efficiently. As both the technological and business landscape change, it becomes even more important to mine your collection for new sources of revenue.

Developing a DAM system will be an ongoing process. As your understanding the tools improves (and as the tools themselves improve), you'll be able to do more. Start with the prime directive (don't lose the photos) and move out from there. Don't try to do everything at once, as it can make the process overwhelming, and lead to paralysis. Let's take a look at some of the tools and principles, and see how to come up with a plan of action.

Use DAM Software
Implementing good asset management will be best done by making use of DAM software. While you can do lots of the necessary functions by looking through folders of images and keeping a pencil and paper handy, that's going to be frustrating and inefficient. DAM software is designed to help you with these tasks.

As this article is being written, there are a number of packages of DAM software on the market. Many of them provide similar functionality, with main differences mostly in the form of user interface.I strongly suggest that you download trial versions of the software so that you see which has the features you like, with acceptable performance, and a user interface you can understand. Here are a few guides as to how to compare software.

Cataloging Software is the kind of program you'll be looking for. This type of software keeps a database record of all your images, and can show them to you even if you are not currently connected to the storage device. Catalog software helps preserve the images because it knows what photos are supposed to be in the collection. This is essential information to have in the event of some kind of problem with the storage hardware.

A comprehensive catalog system can help you streamline the work you do to your images from card to delivery. And because the catalog can help you bring widely scattered images together, it can assist you as you work to extract new value from your existing collection.
Browsers are a type of software that lets you look through folders of images. While they can be helpful in finding images, and may include the capacity to do lots of work to the pictures, they don't provide the kind of total information about a collection that catalog software does. And if the images are gone for some reason (you're away from the studio, say, or the hard drive crashed), a browser will be of no help at all.

Adobe Bridge

Cataloging software and browsing software may also have the ability to adjust your images, in addition to helping to organize them. In most cases, these adjustments will be done by reinterpreting the image as it gets opened, rather than by actually changing the image as Photoshop does. This non-destructive adjustment is called Parametric Image Editing (PIE), since it changes the photo by changing the rendering parameters.

The most interesting area of growth in collection management is occurring where cataloging software is combined with a Parametric Image Editor. We can call this Cataloging PIEware. In these programs, you can sort and manage your images in the same program that lets you adjust them. At the time of this writing, there are two Cataloging PIEware programs on the market, Apple's Aperture and Adobe Photoshop Lightroom. Although neither can claim to be the best catalog software on the market, they both do a reasonable job with these functions. Look for this to be an area of rapid growth. Listed below are some current software offerings, by type:

Browsers:

Adobe Bridge
Photo Mechanic
Google Picasa
BreezeBrowser

Photo Mechanic

Catalog Software

iView MediaPro
Microsoft Expression Media
idImager iMatch
ACDSee

Apple Aperture

Cataloging PIEware

Protecting the Images
While digital imaging can offer the ability to protect your photographs in ways unimaginable in the film world, it can also lead to the loss of images in brand new ways. Theft of a laptop, hard drive crash, virus, or user error can all wipe out large number of images in a fraction of a second. As part of your image handling, you need to anticipate problems and make allowance for these hazards.

While we photographers don't think of ourselves as IT professionals, in the digital world that's exactly what we are. We can take some of the accepted IT rules and apply them to our DAM system. Perhaps the most useful concept in image preservation is the 3-2-1 rule. To be fully protected, you should have three copies of any file (that's three different devices, not three copies on the same device), two different media types (like hard drive and DVD, for instance), and one should be stored off-site. If you can adhere to this rule, your images will be extremely well-protected.

While it's pretty feasible for most people to implement the 3-2-1 rule for images that have been worked and archived, it's a little more difficult if you are working on location. I strongly suggest that you work with a program that allows you to download multiple copies of the file, so that the backups are made the first time you mount the card on your computer. For very valuable shoots, it makes sense to create a write-once copy of the files (like a DVD or Blu-ray disk), but that may not always be possible. If you can't get the files on to a second media-type right away, at least make sure you have the images in three places right away.

Once the images have been archived, you will still need to do periodic checks of the files to make sure that everything is still there, and that the files themselves are fine. Most catalog software can help you check to see that all images are sitting in the archive where you expect them to be (at this writing, the Cataloging PIEware applications seem to be less capable in this regard). You should also use disk utilities to check on the general health of your storage media. You should do periodic checks of both the volume structure (kind of like the table of contents of the disk) as well as media checks (the capability of the media itself to be read correctly).

In addition to disk utilities, we will be seeing a growth in programs that will be able to comb through an entire drive looking for files that have problems. Keep an eye out for this functionality as you evaluate how you store your image files.

Once we can be reasonably sure that the images won't be lost due to some catastrophic failure, we need to think about how to make sure they are not lost to confusion. Perhaps the most important principle here is to always know which is the primary version of your image, and which is a backup. Using good DAM practice for wrangling your image files can help you from becoming confused between the primary and the backup version of the files.

Good DAM Practice Aids Workflow
Designing a good workflow is a challenge for all photographers as they go digital. We experiment with different software, devices, and work order. By understanding the principles of DAM, a photographer can standardize work order for maximum efficiency, security and repeatability.

Once the photographer understands the ecosystem for collection management, it becomes easier to get a handle on all the tools and how to put them together most efficiently. While there may be no "right" way to do things, there certainly are some methods that are more efficient than others.

Listed below are the steps I use in my own workflow, in the order I generally do them.

Renaming Image Files
Backing Up Applying Bulk Metadata (creator information and subject information)
Rating for Quality
Custom Adjustment of Images
Cataloging
Archiving
Creating Proof
Creating Master Files
Cataloging and Archiving Master Files
Data Validation

Taking steps out of order can result in the loss or duplication of work. Once you understand why a particular work order is more efficient, it becomes a natural and obvious workflow for the photographer. By settling on a standardized work order, you speed your jobs through the workflow, and are less likely to make mistakes.

There's another benefit to understanding DAM and standardization of workflow - it lets you hire people to help with the work. If you can't say with certainty how you want the work done, it's pretty difficult to trust someone else to do it for you. Once the production routine is standardized, you can offload some of the production to an assistant, and you can get back to shooting, or building your business, or spending time doing something that is not work.

Making Images Discoverable
The preceding sections have dealt with the medicine part of DAM - protecting from loss, and protecting your time. Now lets talk about the candy. Creating a comprehensive DAM system lets you get the most out of your images, both personally and professionally. By using comprehensive DAM techniques, you can have access to your images in ways that are unimaginable in the film world, and you can do some interesting things with those pictures.

You can use some simple techniques to make it easy to find images when you want them, and to group them with other images in interesting and valuable ways. There are a couple of different kinds of metadata that can be used in a comprehensive manner across your entire collection. You can cross-reference this metadata to make finding images easy. Lets take a look at some of the tools we have available.

There are several kinds off automatically created metadata that can be collected by cataloging software. These include the date the image was created, the file format, and the camera used. This makes it easy to find images with any of these attributes without having to group the images by folder.

Of course, you can also assign Keywords to the files - descriptions of the subject matter that is in the photographs. By assigning the keyword "Landscape" to appropriate images, you can collect and view all landscape images easily, despite the fact that they may be scattered among many folders across several different hard drives.

The IPTC file information standard also has several fields where you can make note of the location of the photograph. This includes the Country, City, State and Location where the photo was taken. Most DAM software will collect this information in a hierarchical form, so that the Location is a subset of the City (if appropriate) which in turn is a subset of the State, which is a subset of the Country. By organizing this information in this manner, it becomes relatively easy to find images taken in a particular location, even if they were shot at different times for different projects.

Any cataloging software worth using will also have the ability to create some kind of user-defined collections. You can think of these as little piles of slides that have been grouped together for some reason. This could be a broad grouping like "all my architectural photos" or a narrow one like "images to send for stock request of kids eating ice cream." These collections are where the real power of cataloging software lies, since they enable the photographer to group images in valuable ways that are appropriate to the body of work.

Once you get used to using the collection tools, you can start to mine your collection for valuable groups of images, and to bring them together for output. If you're putting a portfolio together, you can group and refine your photos to help create the most compelling presentation of your work. If you've been shooting a particular subject matter on an ongoing basis, you can collect those images for a custom website, book proposal, or for a stock sales effort.

Using catalog software enables the photographer to think of and see their photographs as a body of work, rather than simply as a collection of individual pictures. As you think about how you can bring value to the marketplace, having your image collection easily available can give you new ideas on how to use the photographs, and make those new uses economical.

Beyond the important economic value, having access to your images can also provide you with a richer artistic relationship with your photos. Most of us became photographers because we love the photographic image. The demands of professional photography often force the personal use and enjoyment of photography to take a back seat to day-to-day production concerns. By using proper DAM techniques, you can unlock the personal artistic value of your images, and get to spend more time with them.

A Word on Liability
While DAM practices can offer a lot of protection for the images, I advise most photographers to avoid charging a specific DAM or archiving fee in their production charges. Once you charge a client for anything related to long-term storage of images, you open yourself to some liability in a number of ways.

Most obviously, if you have charged a client for archiving, you may be financially responsible if the images are lost through some kind of unexpected event. In the case where the images would be costly to reproduce, this could be a significant financial risk for the photographer.

Additionally, a client that is charged for archiving may feel as though the images should be available at a moment's notice. This may include, for instance, the expectation that the photographer would be able to provide the images at any time, with little or no prior warning.

In my photography business, I charge for capture and processing, but only charge for retrieval of older images - never for archiving them. I make clear in my paperwork that the client is responsible for archiving the photos once they have been delivered. I do archive them, and expect to keep them forever, but I do not offer any sort of claim that I will do so - the liability is just too great. (I do charge for retrieval of previously delivered images, and find that I do this several times a year. Clients who need this service are generally only too happy to pay a modest charge for re-delivery of legacy images.)

Conclusion
Collection management is a fast-moving part of the digital photography puzzle. The software and the hardware is changing at a pretty fast clip, as companies work to provide the best solutions. While there's not one-size-fits-all solution, nor a single program that does it all, it's getting easier all the time.

Managing a collection of digital images is like managing a film archive in some ways, and is very different in others. It's up to the individual photographer to understand the pitfalls and the opportunities, and to create an affordable solution that works for his or her business. At the moment, that means understanding the components of a digital archive, and how to use them to create a secure and efficient system. Of course this is not so different from what professional photographers have always had to do - to understand the technical needs to bring their creative works to market.

As you are putting your system together, it will be necessary to do some study, and some testing. And while it may be a bit frustrating at first, be aware that good DAM practice can unlock the power of your photography, and give you access to your photographs in ways that could only be dreamed of a few short years ago.

Resources:
The DAM Book, by Peter Krogh (O'Reilly)
The DAM Forum
White paper of Non-Destructive Imaging

Peter Krogh is the godfather and undisputed heavyweight champ of digital asset management (DAM). He is a frequent lecturer and consultant on the topic, and he graciously contributed to this overview. The following excerpt is from the ASMP Professional Business Practices in Photography, 7th Edition

http://blog.photoshelter.com/2009/06/digital-asset-management-and-t.html

Types of Digital Asset Management Systems

2010-01-06T00:44:00.000-08:00

The current issue of Business Management Magazine has an interview with industry analyst Melissa Webster of IDC, a leading technology research company. The article, Optimizing Digital Asset Management on page 86, includes a section devoted to defining the Types of Digital Asset Management Systems.

The types of Digital Asset Management (DAM) Systems that are mentioned in the Business Management article include the following:

Brand asset management systems: Focus on content re-use of marketing and sales materials such as product images, logos and marketing collateral.

Library asset management systems: Focus on storage and retrieval of large amounts of infrequently changing media assets—video and photo archiving.

Production asset management systems: Focus on storage, organization and revision control of frequently changing digital media.

Digital supply chain services: Focus on pushing digital content out to digital retailers, such as music, videos and games.

These definitions of the types of digital asset management systems have common characteristics with the three core categories of DAM systems defined by another leading digital asset management analyst firm. The breakout includes the following core categories based on these use case scenarios:

Brand Management & Marketing Operations

DAM Library of Photo Archive
Basic Brand Management
Multi-Lingual Brand Management
Marketing Asset Production & Distribution
Ad Production

Publishing

Periodicals Production & Distribution
Multi-Channel Publishing
Catalog Production
Rights-Managed Syndication & Distribution

Video Production

E-Learning
Video Ad Review & Approval
Short Form Video Production
Broadcast Video Production

This DAM analyst firm suggests Widen’s digital asset management services are best fit for these use cases: dam library or photo archive, basic brand management, marketing asset production & distribution, and catalog production & management.

Widen’s 11 most recent customers added in Q2 2009 fall into several of these overlapping use cases, but primarily fall into the brand management and marketing operations category. Nonetheless, they all adopted Widen digital asset management tools to make creative workflows more streamlined, improve brand consistency and be more agile marketers.

Do you agree with the breakout of the types of Digital Asset Management systems above? How would your use cases agree or differ?

http://blog.widen.com/blog/marketing-20/0/0/types-of-digital-asset-management-systems

Getting to a Digital Asset Management ROI

2010-01-06T00:43:00.001-08:00

As I investigate new possible brands and product avenues for Widen to go down, I inevitably end up studying our current flagship product, the Media Collective Digital Asset Management system, quite a bit. And having come from an enterprise-software sales background my mind is always going down the path of "what is the benefit to the customer, what is in it for them?"

In today's economic conditions most companies demand an ROI. Those projects that have a "this would be nice" benefit or even arguable soft costs are getting buried at the bottom of the stack while products and solutions that can reduce costs or even show an ROI are going straight to the top. And in a time of high unemployment employees have a vested interest in finding solutions to reduce their companies’ costs: the more a company can save, the better they can afford to pay their employees.

While we know there is an ROI associated with time it can be difficult to articulate to customers because there are too many soft costs... How much is your time worth? How much time could you save if you could find images faster? If you could protect your brand better how much is that worth to you?

All great talking points but in a world of black and white numbers sometimes that is not enough. Hard numbers and clear ROI are required.

To that effect, I came across some great statistics on DAM and how DAM can help various organizations reduce costs. The numbers come from GISTICS research, with some highlights below:

An average of $8,200 per person per year is spent on file management activities which include searching, verification, organization, back-up and security.
Creative professionals spend an average of 1 out of every 10 hours of their time on file management, mainly searching.
The average creative person looks for a media file 83 times a week and fails to find it 35% of the time.
Research shows that digital asset management solutions will drop that figure to 5%.

$8200 per year per person!! How many people at your firm or organization deal with file management per year? How much does that add up to on a 1-year and 5-year basis?

And those numbers don't take into account the fact that when you are not searching for files/images you can be working on something else, possibly something billable. And the average person fails to find digital media over one-third of the time? How much productivity is lost there? And how much frustration is built up there? And with SaaS, hosted DAM you don't even have to worry about maintenance, servers, etc.

Add to that the fact that with a digital asset management solution you CAN protect your brand, that little thing you've invested thousands and millions into.

Digital Asset Management has always made sense and always had clear benefits and process efficiencies. But as the economy continues to struggle it is also becoming more and more clear that there is ROI to be achieved as well.

http://blog.widen.com/blog/widen-enterprises/0/0/getting-to-a-digital-asset-management-roi

Digital Media Facility, Meddin Studios Announces Ribbon Cutting

2009-11-03T22:28:00.000-08:00

WEB: meddinstudios.com/

A ribbon cutting ceremony is scheduled for Meddin Studios on Friday, November 6, 2009 at 2 PM at 2333 Louisville Road, Savannah, Georgia 31415

Meddin Studios is located inside the historic Meddin Brothers meat packing facility built in 1917, located at 2333 Louisville Road, Savannah, GA 31415. This 22,000 square foot building is located on 2.5 acres, three miles from downtown Savannah, Georgia.

An outlet for advanced digital media technology, this innovative facility is the brainchild of Jon Foster and Nick Gant. Jon and Nick recognized the need to provide such a facility through market research and 30 years of combined experience in the film and television industry. Nick has worked in a wide range of industry roles, including Sr. Designer and Art Director for a Fortune 400 company, broadcast designer, interactive designer and producer, director, editor, animator, aerial cinematographer and military combat photographer. Jon brings expertise in technical service and design, developed through years of building and integrating large systems inside post production and production facilities across the southeast. Together, Foster and Gant have primed Meddin Studios to be a premier facility that will foster innovation in digital film and video production and distribution. They’ve developed, and currently have in place, an experienced management team to carry out the mission of the company: Staci Donegan, Location Manager/Producer; Jason Osterday, Production Director (Camera/Audio); Andrew Riggs, Production Director (Grip/Lighting) and Steve Smith, Director of Sales/Account Executive.

At full operating capacity, the facility will be outfitted with four 2,500 square foot sound stages (2 of which can be combined for a single 5000 sq. ft sound stage), all with independent entrances and green rooms, full lighting grids, compressed air, water and natural gas provisions; a full post production facility that consists of 3 complete editing suites, 1 color correction/edit suite, a fully equipped 1,600 square foot Pro Tools audio suite that includes a multi-purpose recording booth that can facilitate full ADR and foley recording capabilities (with an ultimate goal of obtaining THX and 5.1 Dolby certification); 2,200 square feet dedicated to camera rental; and over 1,800 square feet dedicated to equipment rental. It will also have a 2,000 square foot lobby, a kitchen and multiple restrooms throughout the building. The facility will connect in a 1,700 square foot, centrally located machine room to handle video and audio signal distribution in the facility, digital asset management, backup and archive, compression and transcoding, deliverables and digital, accelerated file distribution. Meddin Studio’s inventory will also include an extensive line of camera, grip and lighting equipment. This will include two and three ton grip trucks, a motion capture remote head, 24’ telescoping camera crane, full Steadicam packages, camera car, and wireless video / follow focus packages. Meddin Studios is also finalizing plans for expansion on this property for future growth.

One of Meddin Studios’ unique offerings is asset management; the organization, conversion and preservation of content in a digital format which provides numerous advantages for an individual or organization. Aging film and tape formats, deteriorating old photos and new digital media formats are just a few of the types of assets for which Meddin Studios can develop and implement a preservation plan. At its simplest, it is a visual, searchable catalog of media from years past, as well as the present and future. From a more complex standpoint, it could mean repurposing existing assets to generate new revenue streams, or potentially saving a corporation or municipality from a liability it knew nothing about, simply because it was buried away in a tape library that had not been accessed in years.

Meddin Studios fills an infrastructure void locally, regionally and nationally for the industries it services. With an aggressive state tax credit program already in place for film, television and gaming production in Georgia, Meddin Studios will feed the already explosive growth of this industry and the businesses that support it. The economic impact will be tremendous, while invigorating the emerging west end of Savannah with the development of a creative professional campus.

For additional information about Meddin Studios, contact Staci Donegan at s.donegan@meddinstudios.com.

http://www.thecreativecoast.org

digital asset management forum

2009-11-03T22:09:00.000-08:00

This is a one-day, exclusive event featuring real-world implementations with a focus on digital asset management (DAM) strategies and solutions. At this forum you’ll see how DAM enables those in the creative services industry to streamline their workflows allowing for greater creativity. You’ll learn about the benefits of centralizing your rich media files for easy organization, access and distribution of brand assets to your clients, sales team, and partners.

FEATURING:		Top Seattle Communications Strategy Firm, Methodologie Case Study: Maximizing the Value of Rich Media Assets in a Down Economy
DATE:		April 9th, 2009
TIME:		10:00am – 3:00pm
LOCATION:		Ignited Minds, El Segundo, CA

Join hosts Extensis and Ignited Minds to:

Find out how Methodologie, a fast-paced high-end design firm utilizes DAM to save time and money for clients like The Coca-Cola Company, Boeing, Potlatch, Microsoft Xbox and Seattle Children’s Hospital
Learn DAM best practices for creative agencies and corporate marketing departments with a focus on digital asset distribution
Participate in roundtable and workflow discussions while networking with your peers

Who Should Attend

Creative, Management and IT professionals interested in maximizing the value of digital assets in creative agencies and corporate marketing departments.

http://www.extensis.com

Video Asset Management In High Demand As Viewership Climbs and Marketers Use More Online Video.

2009-11-03T22:07:00.000-08:00

Widen is seeing increased interest in Video Asset Management solutions to store, manage, access and deliver digital video for online video marketing purposes.

As Sean Callahan recently reported in the Marketers Make Move to Online Video article in BtoB’s Best 2009 special issue for Marketers and Creative, the “Internet has accelerated the creative use of video in b-to-b marketing, which is one key trend we saw in the submissions for this year’s BtoB’s Best.”

Online video has become an affluent medium for both b-to-b and b-to-c marketers alike. Online video is a key method of delivering and consuming information that educates, entertains, and/or inspires in ways that touch emotions static text on a page cannot achieve. Best of all, online video isn’t just for big companies. An abundance of devices and software for video capture and editing are becoming popular additions for many marketing departments. Furthermore, Web-based DAM technologies are making the management and distribution easier and cheaper for organizations of all sizes.

In terms of viewership, the Nielsen Company recently reported viewers have substantially increased the time they spend watching online videos with YouTube being by far the single largest provider of streaming video. Nielsen’s time-per-viewer metric rose to 195.2 minutes per month in September, a 25% year-over-year increase. Read Time Spent Viewing Video Online Up 25% per Viewer to learn more.

Continues @ http://blog.widen.com

Growing need for digital asset management

2009-11-02T21:44:00.000-08:00

Commentary - Digital asset management, or DAM, has often been described as a process or a tool for organizing the creation, management, distribution, and archiving of rich media assets. In the DAM world, the term “assets” generally refers to rich media files such as images, photos, video and audio, whereas a “file” generally refers to email, documents, records, or scanned images. Creative agencies, publishers and media outlets have long realized the wisdom of utilizing DAM solutions for producing media assets, managing digital rights, conferring with clients, handling review cycles, retouching images, and editing photos and videos.

The growing need for digital asset management
Today, it’s increasingly common for businesses of all kinds to produce corporate videos and podcasts, e-Learning modules, YouTube clips, training materials, brand identity graphics, and more. DAM systems bring order to the creative process involved with producing and leveraging these assets to their fullest extent.

A recent Forrester report noted, “With technologies like digital cameras and inexpensive authoring tools driving asset creation costs down, digital assets are greatly increasing in number and these rich media are being used across a wider range of enterprises. Inadequate management of these growing libraries, however, will make reusing and repurposing difficult, leading many organizations to take another look at DAM.”1 Analysts at IDC concur: “IDC believes the digital asset management market will enjoy a compound annual growth rate of more than 25 percent during the period of 2006-2010, outperforming the overall content management market…and the software market as a whole, by a wide margin…DAM will remain an independent and lively market…given the specialized requirements of DAM solutions.”2

The benefits of DAM Organizations deploying specialized DAM solutions typically realize the following benefits:

Consistent messaging and brand — With built-in revision control, asset repurposing, and approval processes, DAM systems enable organizations to maintain consistent use and re-expression of digital assets, from brochures to corporate videos to web content.
Generation of new revenue streams — Many organizations have built new business opportunities around the creation of high-value content for internal and external clients by repurposing their assets such as using book covers to promote books online. Consider a photo that costs tens of thousands of dollars to create each and every time. With DAM, it can be reused. Without DAM, its existence may not be known and the re-creation costs are incurred once again.
Cost savings — Organizations gain a return on their investment through the elimination of redundant asset creation efforts and the ability to quickly retrieve assets.
Digital media management and distribution — DAM systems enable the efficient organization, indexing, and distribution of digital assets. Advanced DAM systems provide a distributed architecture and multi-site asset storage, as well as the ability to provide multiple repositories for self-synchronization of both assets and their associated metadata.
Global web-based access — Organizations can distribute digital masters and other types of licensed assets via secure web access. Advanced DAM systems also provide asset ordering and fulfillment modules, and can easily integrate with existing e-commerce and transaction servers.

Vetting DAM solutions
Select a digital asset management system based on your creative needs. This may include management of your organization’s creative assets, managing broadcast and post-production workflows, media enhanced e-learning, video-on-demand repositories, multi-channel distribution, personalized publishing on-demand, and more. Most businesses today will find it beneficial to use a solution that also manages the video creation, editing, collaboration, and management process. This involves ease of integration with video editing applications, video usage standards, and broadcast workflows. Questions you may want to consider before investing in a digital asset management solution include:

Does the DAM solution provide seamless integration with creative authoring tools such as Adobe Creative Suite and Quark or digital editing suites such as Avid and Apple's Final Cut Pro?
Is “work-in-progress” supported by this DAM solution, or does it simply provide the ability to archive your organization’s assets? Some DAM and ECM solutions provide only the archiving capabilities.
Is this a “best of breed” DAM solution? Be wary of vendors who try to be all things to all customers. Give preference to a best of breed DAM solution over an ECM or MRM (Marketing Resource Management) solution that also offers limited DAM functionality which may not meet your requirements.
Can the solution scale? Be sure to select a DAM solution that has the ability to keep up with the growth of your organization and its requirements. And of course, if you are thinking of an enterprise-wide or global implementation, the ability for your DAM solution to easily scale is a necessity.

Conclusion
Until recently, many enterprises have not realized the great need for DAM solutions. The ability that DAM has to manage both documents and digital assets is extraordinary. While many general content management vendors offer basic DAM functionality, they have lost touch with the collaborative process that is so integral to the creation and management of rich media assets. These systems may support the ability to attach static images or even short video clips. However, the proper management of rich media assets requires a more sophisticated approach.

Forward-thinking organizations recognize the need for solutions designed from the ground up to support the creative process. Selecting the best solution that meets your requirements enables organizations to leverage the expertise of both knowledge management and artistic teams to their fullest extent.

biography
Hassan Kotob is president and CEO of North Plains Systems.

DAM takes on many roles

2009-11-02T21:40:00.000-08:00

The market for digital asset management (DAM) solutions remains robust, driven by increasing demand for rich media on Web sites, for marketing materials and in technical documentation. Ideally, assets for those purposes are managed centrally and published as needed to different destinations. "DAM solutions are extending both upstream and downstream," says Melissa Webster, program VP for content and digital media technologies at IDC. "It’s less and less about the repository and more about the workflow."

The annual market stands at about $600 million, and historically has posted double-digit growth. GSD&M Idea City is a full-service advertising agency with such high-profile clients such as AARP, American Red Cross, BMW, John Deere and L.L. Bean. Based in Austin, Texas, the company’s staff of 450 includes a large creative and studio art department.

The company used a cumbersome, paper-based photography tracking system listing the photographer, customer and other information about the asset. Employees had to leave their desks to retrieve the CD or other medium on which the archived working file was stored. If a piece of artwork could not be found, it might have to be recreated, adding more agency costs and time to the project.

After deciding to move to a digital asset management system, GSD&M Idea City formed a search team consisting of heads of several departments, including creative services departments and IT. "This was not an IT initiative," says Lisa McIntyre, digital asset management librarian at GSD&M Idea City. "We wanted buy-in from other potential users of the system." The company then narrowed down the choices to three vendors that included both pure-play DAM products and enterprise content management (ECM) systems.

Site visits

Each of the finalists made on-site visits as the last stage of the search process. "We worked through several scenarios to make sure the software could do what we wanted," McIntyre says. "We did not want to change our work processes, just the means through which we accomplished the work." At the completion of the evaluation, GSD&M Idea City chose EMC Documentum Digital Asset Management solution from EMC.

Attractive features

An important capability was EMC’s extensibility. "We were able to put DAM into play right away, but we can also broaden into content management and records management if we want," McIntyre explains.

Integration with other products was also a major consideration. "The software has tools that allow users to work in their native environment, which for our studio artists is generally Adobe Creative Suite," McIntyre explains. "The DAM system shows as a file share on the desktop, and users can continue working as they always have." Business users can search for assets from a browser interface.

Now that the system is in place, users can find their assets much more quickly, and search criteria can

be used to locate files instantly. "Archiving used to take two days and now has been reduced to just one afternoon," McIntyre adds.

GSD&M Idea City is also working on an integration with SharePoint to allow a job jacket to be created in the DAM system when a JobSite collaborative workspace is created. "Eventually we hope for a seamless environment that draws from multiple repositories through a single interface," McIntyre adds.

For companies that anticipate needing an ECM system along with their DAM repository, a platform such as EMC’s offers a good path. "We can provide a unified system from day one," says David Mennie, senior product marketing manager at EMC. "Customers can have one system for the rich media, Web content management and enterprise content management, rather than silos."

In addition, EMC’s platform has some unique capabilities, adds Mennie. For example, a 3-D image solution provided by an EMC partner and incorporated into the platform can unlock computer-aided design (CAD) files in 80 different formats. That ability is helpful for creating marketing collateral, technical publications and maintenance manuals that need to include 3-D interactive models, animations or views of consumer products, as well as more complex structures such as airplane landing gear.

Rich media assets

UNICEF was founded by the United Nations in 1946 to help save, protect and improve the lives of children through immunization, education, healthcare, nutrition, clean water and sanitation. It delivers those services and material resources on a regular basis, and responds to emergencies throughout the world.

The UNICEF Web site is the primary means of conveying information about activities in which the organization is involved. With nearly 200 offices operating in 156 countries, and fundraising partner organizations in 36 industrialized countries, UNICEF has deployed a Web content management (WCM) system that allows distributed editing and publishing of content, and localization of field office Web sites.

As rich media, particularly video, became more prevalent, UNICEF also saw a need for a DAM system that could help staff members deal more effectively with the increasing number of digital assets.

http://www.kmworld.com/Articles/Editorial/Feature/DAM-takes-on-many-roles-56214.aspx

An Enterprise Evolution

2009-11-02T21:37:00.000-08:00

Why implementing a DAM system could be the next logical enterprise solution.

By Vanessa Voltolina

Digital asset management (DAM), a process in which a secure central repository helps streamline the creation, management and monetization of digital assets, is one that publishers are continuing to adopt even in a down market. With origins in prepress and production services, DAM aims to integrate asset management and production seamlessly, particularly while working with design programs Quark and InDesign.

“The greatest asset is that it dramatically improves organization, task automation, and content repurposing,” says Jeremy Carlson, Advanstar’s manager of digital prepress, digital imaging and media operations, “which ultimately should equate to any publisher’s bottom line of reducing labor costs associated with asset trafficking, reducing design cycle time, and increasing revenue by simplifying the content repurposing process.”

Bringing It In-House

The pros of a DAM system are such that publishers even seem to be bringing systems in-house “rather than sending out this work as a way to reduce the time to press,” says DAM vendor Xinet CEO Scott Seebass. With hardware requirements becoming significantly less expensive, “there is no longer a huge barrier of investment to doing it yourself,” he adds. Implementing a DAM could even be a savings measure for publishers, although most likely won’t see savings in the first year.

Historically, weeklies have been avid DAM adopters due to their need to quickly process and track huge amounts of photos. “This market pushes the limits of technology amazingly, since it’s all about who can get their magazine out first,” says Seebass. And now, in addition to weeklies, a number of other publishers that are integrating user generated submissions and content into their offerings are also opting for DAM.

When Advanstar purchased its system in 2002 through Xinet, it was used mainly as a tape archiving system. True implementation didn’t come until 2006, when they discovered and expanded the full functionality to serve company-wide across all of editorial locations. But before implementation, Carlson explored a number of key company considerations:

1. Ease of integration with the prepress systems. Does it dovetail with our design application?

2. Is the cost structure designed at an enterprise level, or per seat licensing?

3. Will a system integrator support both our DAM and other prepress systems under one umbrella?

4. Does it follow open standards allowing customization, or is it proprietary?

5. How far can we push the automation as to save staff from doing repetitive tasks?

6. Is it platform neutral?

Advanstar’s system now houses XMP metadata, image tracking, a low resolution FPO/OPI workflow, a centralized image repository, as well as a self-serve Web portal for external downloads for content repurposing.

Digital’s Backbone

New to the scene is F+W Media, which began DAM implementation around 18 months ago with vendor Mark Logic. “It is not a single build, but rather an evolutionary process based on different types of content we offer, the ways in which we deliver that content, digitally, and the different businesses we wish to enter,” says John Lerner, executive vice president of e-media. “We really looked at the business plans for the new products, and revenue that we could generate from our content, and then looked at the platforms that would enable us to get there,” he says.

They anticipate their DAM to be the backbone for new digital products. “We recently launched a report service on OldCarsWeekly.com that leverages our archived content and pricing data to generate unique reports on Old Cars that includes photos, car features, values based on car condition and recent auction prices realized,” says Lerner. “As we continue to update this content through DAM, we will continue to grow the online service and we are now able to create new print products based on the reports generated.” F+W Media plans to use its system as a tool to innovate digitally while leveraging both archive and current content.

Expanding Archived Content

An early adopter, Rodale implemented its full DAM in October 2005 with vendor North Plains’ Telescope. But prior to this, Rodale relied on “internal systems to manage some components of our content as a work around,” says publishing systems manager Sandie Roberts.

In addition to housing six years of books and magazine archives, its DAM system includes all design files, images, extracted text, multiple resolutions of the PDF for the full product, correction information for reprints and various other formats. It has a “recipe repository that captures recipes from our printed products, as well as ones submitted through our online tools, with over 10,000 recipes with a rich metadata model,” says Roberts. It also includes article abstracts, original content prepared by staff librarians, and an image repository of photo shoot outtakes.

Enterprise Is the Future

For his part, Carlson would like to see DAM integrate on an enterprise level with other publishing systems. “This way, our ad booking system can identify incoming ad materials submitted through our ad portal, then relay that information to our DAM, which could then submit to our prepress workflow system and finally flow into a folio system (used for ad/edit mapping) for print, and a CMS system for Web.” While this is currently possible with Advanstar’s DAM and by using XML/metadata, “It’s just a matter of investment in system customization to fit the pieces together,” he says.

Improvement in the rights management arena is key for Roberts, as is the ability to link that information to the appropriate assets. “This is an area that is getting more complex and publishers need a tool to capture and manage all the possible rights scenarios for a product and its related assets. We’re looking at workflow tools to streamline the production process.”

http://www.foliomag.com/2009/enterprise-evolution

Idea7 : Solutions of Digital Asset Management

2009-11-02T05:27:00.000-08:00

Discover the software of D.A.M. and eCatalog

Whatever the size of your company, Idea7 enables you to manage, organize and diffuse easily and quickly your numerical documents thanks to the solutions Cumulus Server.

Come to also discover the new versions of professional module WebSuite Log, WebSuite Order which are integrated into the interfaces web of Cumulus.

Find on Apple Expo Remix'08 the new version of the solutions of eCatalog, FSI Viewer and FSI Pages, which propose an interactivity and a simple interface, in addition to powerful functionalities of zoom, until with the maximum resolution, and of integral research as well as other powerful innovations.

Think Fixed Tech: Digital Asset Management

2009-11-02T05:24:00.000-08:00

Yeah, you probably have some system, right? Some way of cataloging. But if youre a normal human being, your beginnings were humble and probably predate the many choices you have today. Here is a general rundown of available cataloging tools, or Digital Asset Management. The field is crowded and the product you choose needs to be tailored to your needs and budget. In rough order of power, features and cost:

iphoto - Comes bundled with the Apple iLife suite. The 08 version can archive thousands of pics and has basic editing functions. Category: You're Gonna Need a Bigger Boat Cost $80 * you also get iMovie, iWeb, GarageBand and iDVD. Cant beat it for the price but like I say: "If you have an $80 photo library, get an $80 tool to manage it.

MS Expression - The borg takeover of this software leaves me feeling very uneasy but it was a great product as iView Media Pro. Category: Nervously pessimistic Cost: $300 As is typical of microsoft, there are about 50 different versions to choose from. Best of luck.

Extensis Portfolio - Good brand name, scalable product to allow all levels to enjoy. RAW support and a 30 day free trial. Category: Too Good to be True? Cost:$200

MediaDex - The Cumulus single user product. Dont know a thing about it but Cumulus is a very powerful DAM thats not limited to photos (or you might say, not specializing in photos). Category: Dark Horse for Starters. Cost: $80

Cumulus: A real heavy hitter, probably overkill for all but the largest companies. Category: Grandaddy. Cost: Not Sure

Aperture 2: What a laugher V.1 of this was. Dont we expect better from Apple? Well, how about this? Not only offering powerful image cataloging but also a mid range adjustment function (Photoshop lite?). Maybe trying to do too much and no server option. Anyone try it yet? Category: Getting There? There? Anyone? Cost: $200

Montala - I say Montala, you say HUH?!. How about I then say 'free"? Yeah, this may just be the future but youre going to need a code monkey to start it up (easy) and maintain it. But you can also add in functionality to customize it. All web based, so theres no install and you can use it on any machine. Category: The Future is Now Cost: You Heard Me

AS is evident there are plenty of solutions out there at really reasonable costs. If you have specific experience with any of the above (and indeed any I may have omitted) please post in the comments. There is a lot to learn here and I think for the photographer of any level its only second to having a proper back up strategy.

Geof Bowie
www.thinkfixed.com

CMS & DAM in Media and Entertainment

2009-11-02T05:20:00.000-08:00

DPCI counts among its customers many of the world’s most successful and demanding media firms. These include publishers of books, magazines, newspapers, marketing communications materials and catalogs.

In the rapidly changing world of publishing, organizations are constantly seeking new ways to streamline processes, attract and retain new audiences, and maximize the value of their content. Since its inception, DPCI has focused on delivering comprehensive content solutions to publishers that tackle these challenges in a unified way.

A Web content management system, digital asset management system, text mining capabilities and workflow management should not be treated as separate solutions, but rather as integrated parts of an enterprise content publishing strategy. DPCI has helped numerous leaders in media and entertainment to overcome the silos that so often develop.

With this approach, many of our clients have come to rely on DPCI as a trusted technology partner and an ally in their business and IT efforts. Our subject matter experts can help your organization identify the enterprise content management strategy that best suits your organization, then select and eventually implement the systems that will support those needs. At DPCI, technology is never the whole solution and our engagements include coaching on change management and best practices to help you ensure that the new solution is adopted as completely and painlessly as possible.

DPCI solutions for media and entertainment companies include:

* Workflow management systems for streamlined production
* Web content management systems for a more dynamic web presence
* Integration of print and Web publishing platforms
* Digital asset management systems that help you organize and repurpose content
* XML strategies through implementation
* Text mining and natural language processing strategies through implementation

Daydream & Wowza Partner for Digital Asset Management

2009-11-02T05:11:00.000-08:00

Daydream (www.daydream.co.uk), leading European digital asset management specialists, has partnered with Wowza Media Systems, an emerging leader in streaming media software, to provide enterprise-class digital asset management services via Daydream's FocusOPEN DAM platform.

"Wowza provides infrastructure-grade streaming server software that allows us to deliver superior enterprise media asset management solutions for our clients. Prior to Wowza, our options for offering streaming were severely constrained and the limitations or high costs posed problems for the ongoing development of FocusOPEN. We extensively tested a number of open and closed source competitive streaming servers and found that Wowza offers the best combination of functionality, reliability, versatility and price." explains Ralph Windsor, Managing Director of Daydream.

Daydream is using Wowza Media Server Pro to provide a streaming solution that will power the advanced logging and timeline metadata functionality that FocusOPEN provides. "Wowza's server-side programming gives us an immense advantage, providing the flexibility to deliver complex timeline metadata operations, video documentation and logging," continues Windsor.

Wowza's recently introduced support for H.264 has been favourably received by Daydream. "The inclusion of H.264, AAC and interoperability with media encoders is very significant and has enabled us to deliver production quality web-based media asset management tools that can expand the capabilities of our FocusOPEN digital asset management platform substantially over anything our competitors have been able to offer."

Clearly, Wowza's platform stability and security are major factors for Daydream. "The scalability and security features of Wowza are crucial for use in corporate environments. Our clients are justifiably uncompromising about availability and security; many have regulatory compliance requirements that cannot be ignored. Taking risks with untested systems that haven't been developed without a rigorous approach just isn't an option for us."

Windsor concludes by saying, "We are delighted with the service received from Wowza. The available documentation, support and backup provided is excellent. I foresee Daydream continuing to use Wowza Pro for a long time. Other competitors in the streaming market will have to seriously raise their game before we will look elsewhere."

The DAM Book: Digital Asset Management for Photographers

2009-11-02T05:09:00.001-08:00

Can you find your digital photographs when you need them, or do you spend more time rifling through your hard drive and file cabinets than you’d like? Do you have a system for assigning and tracking content data on your photos? If you make a living as a photographer, do your images bear your copyright and contact information, or do they circulate in the marketplace unprotected?
As professional photographer and author Peter Krogh sees it, “your DAM system is fundamental to the way your images are known, both to you and to everyone else.” DAM, or Digital Asset Management, in the world of digital photography refers to every part of the process that follows the taking of the picture, through final output and permanent storage. Anyone who shoots, scans or stores digital photographs, is practicing some form of digital asset management. Unfortunately, most of us don’t yet know how to manage our files (and our time) very systematically, or efficiently.

In The DAM Book: Digital Asset Management for Photographers, Krogh brings clarity to the often overwhelming task of managing digital photographs, with a solid plan and practical advice for fellow photographers on how to file, find, protect and re-use photographs. Following a thorough overview of the DAM system and de-mystifications of metadata and digital archiving, Krogh focuses on best practices for digital photographers using Adobe Photoshop CS2. He explains how to use Adobe Bridge, the new CS2 navigational software that replaces the File Browser introduced in Photoshop 7, with full details on integrating Bridge, Camera Raw and Digital Asset Management software.

Compellingly presented in four-color format, The DAM Book: Digital Asset Management for Photographers brings Krogh’s award-winning creative approach to a subject that could have been technically intimidating. Instead, Krogh’s twenty years of experience and instructive visual storytelling make this material not only accessible, but compulsory reading for serious digital photographers.

D0wnl0ad Here

Digital Asset Management - Because Storage Can't Grow Forever

2009-11-01T22:34:00.000-08:00

Network storage infrastructure is under increasing pressure to accommodate exponential growth in organizational data. Accelerating use of multimedia-heavy content for everyday corporate work is challenging companies of all sizes to ensure they have enough space to store it all. Because throwing more drives at the problem can be reactive, expensive, and ultimately inefficient, DAM (Digital Asset Management) has emerged as a more intelligent solution.

At its core, DAM involves the intake, tagging, cataloging, storage, and retrieval of an organization’s digital assets, which can include anything from business files created in productivity applications to audio- and video-based content. Unmanaged storage impacts an organization in several ways, including:

Cost. Duplicate files saved across the network eat up finite drive space. Companies often overspend on storage infrastructure to compensate, a stopgap solution that only increases operational costs.

Productivity. End users searching endlessly for materials drive up project and ongoing costs and stretch out timelines.

Risk. Inconsistent use of data assets can compromise branding, decision-making, and regulatory compliance. It’s virtually impossible to have a single version of the truth across the organization when everyone works off of disparate bits of information.

Stressed Infrastructure

Without any proactive storage management in place, the environment can quickly become chaotic. When the data skews toward large media files, the results are even uglier.

“DAM can alleviate strains on existing infrastructures by helping to eliminate storage costs from redundant sets of asset libraries in different locations and by keeping all assets and versions in one master library,” says Widen Enterprises (www.widen.com) CEO Matthew Gonnering. “Multiple copies of a file in multiple locations use even more storage,” which can make version control that much more difficult, as it requires someone to remember each file’s location and then update or renew it should a new one become available or it expires.

Understanding the challenge is one thing. Cost-justifying the solution is another. Seth Earley, president of Earley & Associates (www.earley.com), says inconsistent behaviors lie at the root of the problem.

“The business case for DAM is asset reuse,” says Earley. “There are many challenges to doing so in large organizations. In many situations, people store these types of files on a shared network drive but little thought is given to how to organize and retrieve those assets.”

Better Storage Equals Better Business

As beneficial as DAM is to improving storage efficiency, Thomas Vernersson, president of storage management software vendor Northern (www.northernsoft.com), says the real story lies in data availability in today’s increasingly distributed and collaborative work environments.

“Efficient digital asset management assures that business-critical data is available when needed; that data is streamlined to facilitate efficient, low-impact, timely backups; and that storage devices are kept from filling up,” says Vernersson. “This allows organizations to defer new hardware purchases.”

For all its promise, however, DAM is no magic bullet. Art Powell, president of Trinsic Technologies (www.trinsictech.com), says it may motivate the wrong kinds of behaviors.

“DAM is good for companies that have lots of files, such as images and PDF files, and want a way to catalog what they have for search and retrieval,” says Powell. “However, it’s not necessarily an efficient way to contain storage growth as it can actually encourage users to store everything. If a company is looking for ways to control storage growth, there are much better ways to accomplish this through network policies and implementations.”

Beyond Technology

Powell adds that company-wide policies should outline user responsibilities, possibly defining personal photos and music files, for example, as unacceptable.

“By having the community or firm working in a common data environment, the resulting IT support costs can be dramatically lower,” says Tracy Rosen, principal of the WH Group (www.whgroup.us). “Savings are achieved in time, continuity, and money by using a standard method of creating, reviewing, modifying, and publishing a given set of assets. The advantages are speed of asset utilization and reduction in all costs associated with the asset life cycle.”

Organizations interested in implementing DAM must first listen to the leaders and workers who will be most affected by the change.

“One size does not fit all, and feature sets need to be prioritized by actual business need,” says Frank Morris, sector champion of digital technology and content with UK Trade & Investment, adding companies often need to balance the need to centralize repositories with redundancy and distributed availability.

Eye-Opening Cost Benefits

The bottom-line results can be significant, and they’re not limited to static data, either. When applied to redundant software installations, companies can realize major savings here, too.

“In our experience, companies can save anywhere from 20 to 30% on their software bill,” says Ron Halversen, VP of marketing for TriActive (www.systemsmanagementondemand.com), adding the benefits also include 30 to 70% savings in IT costs due to streamlined support requirements. “You can do more with less, and it frees up your time so your IT department can focus on things that add more value to your company.”

As hosted DAM solutions gain momentum, more organizations can take advantage of a more proactive data management maturity without incurring significant upfront capital expense.

“There is a tremendous amount of opportunity to consolidate repositories, provide secure, global access to assets and automate manual processes through DAM,” says Tony Bailey, who leads Acquity Group’s (www.acquitysolutions.com) Content Management team, adding that many of his firm’s manufacturing and distribution clients are already using DAM to automate digital asset distribution to their suppliers and distributors. “It has allowed their marketing teams to focus on higher-value activities and less on mundane and cumbersome click, copy, and ship processes.”

Which points toward a bright future for a technology just now reaching its stride.

“DAM is a great way to aggregate assets and make [them] available in a controlled, cost-effective way to highly fragmented and distributed users,” says WH Group’s Rosen. “If you are clear in your objectives and manage the execution, the potential payback is terrific.”

by Carmi Levy

3 Ways Digital Asset Management Systems Can Improve Your Business

2009-11-01T22:32:00.000-08:00

Content is the reason digital asset management systems are becoming a standard for organizations these days. Everyday a multitude of content is posted on the World Wide Web: newspapers, magazines and You Tube videos are all forms of content. Just think about the blogs alone. The fact is your organization most likely has its own database of content. How is this content being used? Once and then stored forever? Or can your organization reuse the content for other means and make more products and or profits off that same content? The answer is yes. Here are 3 ways digital asset management systems can improve your business.

1. XML Management
Chances are, if you are using a modern computer program, you are creating content that is already in XML form. If not, a digital asset management system will often automatically convert all of your digital files into XML, making it so much easier to search for something fast and efficiently.

2. Enterprise Search
An enterprise search, unlike using a huge internet search portal ensures that you are able to search just within your company’s data base. With a digital asset management system, you will have the ability to use enterprise search with XQuery- a fine grained search tool. Once all of your organization’s content has been converted to XML, searching for the smallest lines of code or footnote of a document is lightning fast. Now image being able to reuse this information to increase workflow and create new products and therefore, new profits.

3. Reuse and Repurpose
Think of the possibilities with digital asset management? With a fast way to streamline the acquisition, storage and retrieval of digital media, your organization will save time and money. Reduce cost of content production and reuse previous creations to bring new products to market faster. Digital asset management solution can handle vast amounts of information and be customized for your enterprise’s unique set up. Digital asset management systems can be built to handle numerous users working simultaneously and manage several workflows or cases at one time.

If your organization is looking for new ways to streamline processes, save money and time by reusing and repurposing existing content, look to a digital asset management solution and renew your old content.

Fordela to Announce the First Cloud-Computing URM Technology-Based Digital Asset Management Application Suite at KMWorld

2009-11-01T22:31:00.000-08:00

Unified Risk Management (URM) for rich-media DAM aficionados will be shown by Fordela in San Jose next month. Here’s news out this week:

SAN FRANCISCO—Oct. 27, 2009—Fordela Corporation develops and sells software that allows enterprise users to manage rich media assets at a lower cost, more efficiently than competitors. The new URM-2100 patent-pending technology being introduced by Fordela is the expert Digital Asset Management (DAM) solution for managing rich media across the web at half the cost and with half the installation challenges. The company is currently supporting customers with rich-media libraries being distributed worldwide.

The pricing and technology advantages of the Fordela URM platform include:

Low impact, seamless integration on any platform
Rapid learning curve
Best-of-breed delivery methods prebuilt into Fordela architecture
Deep analytics & brand exclusivity not available on “free” services
No hardware or client software requirements
Rapid ROI
Time and distance-shifted rich media securely delivered anywhere, anytime
Audience profile support and controlled broadcast windows
Codec agnostic technology with URM-GEOLOCATION metadata

Those who are interested are invited to drop by the Fordela booth at the upcoming KMWorld 2009 show in San Jose, November 17th-19th. The 13th annual KMWorld conference and exhibition is where the latest strategies and solutions are explored. KMWorld 2009 offers a wide-ranging program especially focused to meet the needs of executives and strategic business and technology decision makers. This is a must-attend event for those concerned with improving their organization’s bottom line, business processes, and productivity, as well as streamlining operations and accelerating development and innovation in their evolving enterprises.

Fordela, founded in 2005, is a software company that develops and sells applications for the sophisticated control of “intelligent” rich-media in the enterprise. Known by many names (Rich Media, Video, Video Management, DAM, Digital Video), these digital assets are the domain expertise of Fordela. Efficient use of start-up capital has allowed Fordela to reach its phase-one goal to become a growth company with increasing volumes of enterprise customers. Fordela is positioned to control a significant share of the $4 billion+ Enterprise Content Management (ECM) market. Fordela is now seeking additional funding to take advantage of market opportunities.

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