The SoftwareMedia Tribune
Find out what happened in the world of software in October 2008. The SoftwareMedia Tribune gives you all the latest software news, releases, innovations, tips, tricks and more. Sign up to keep up with the latest Software News and get exclusive discounts for SoftwareMedia.com in you inbox once a month!

Help & How To
Compare Accounting Programs
Software Licensing Guide
VMware & Virtualization Guide
Audio Software Guide

New Software Releases
Adobe Creative Suite 4
QuickBooks 2009
VMware Fusion 2
Adobe Photoshop Elements 7
McAfee 2009
Norton Internet Security 2009

Briefly…

• $100 rebate for onOne’s Plug-In Suite 4 for Adobe Photoshop. Plus free upgrade for CS4 compatibility.
  
• Vista SP2 began shipping to a limited number of testers this month.
• $200 rebate for new users of Autodesk AutoCAD LT 2009 for a limited time.
  
• Corel says takeover talks have ended; will continue as independent software company.
• Microsoft released its first security patch for the pre-beta version of Windows 7.

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With just a few exceptions, Adobe Creative Suite 4 bundles and applications are now shipping. Adobe’s biggest launch to date includes updated versions of Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, Flash, Dreamweaver, Fireworks, Contribute, After Effects, Premiere Pro, Soundbooth, OnLocation, Encore and the Creative Suite packages. With Creative Suite, Adobe is providing more of an incentive for you to upgrade with each new release. If you have CS3 or CS3.3 your upgrade price will be cheaper than those with a prior version. However, for a limited 4 month engagement, the upgrade prices will remain the same. So if you have a version prior to CS3, upgrade soon!

One of the biggest changes you’ll notice is in the user interface. It now uses tabs so you can work on multiple tabs with just one window open. New for Photoshop is Content-Aware Scaling, which takes a large image and resizes it without cropping people out of the shot. Dreamweaver features the addition of Live View; Flash brings tighter integration; Fireworks offers improved performance; Premiere improves workflow; After Effects offers searchable timelines and projects; Illustrator adds the ability to have multiple artboards; and InDesign boosts Flash integration and live preflighting.

This month Microsoft announced its new cloud services platform, Windows Azure. Cloud computing is a style of computing which users can access technology-enabled services from the internet (“in the cloud”). The basic concept for Azure is that “developers, consumers and enterprises will be able to build, deploy and access cloud-based applications running on what is essentially a re-tooled, distributed version of Windows Server. That re-tooled version is Windows Azure.” Experts say anything Microsoft releases will have to be compelling, unique and competitive on price. Other companies who have already released such services include Amazon, Salesforce.com and Google. But Microsoft contends they can bring simplicity, scale and openness to the market. Additionally, it will build a series of its own applications and services developers and customers will be able to take advantage of. Azure isn’t expected to be released for another year.

In the war against a rapidly growing enemy, security companies like Symantec and McAfee have to challenge fundamental assumptions about how security suites work. With new releases of their top security programs, manufacturers are making breakthrough improvements. With Norton Internet Security 2009, Symantec has built everything from the ground up to provide solid protection without slowing your computer down. No pop-up notices, performance lags or annoying scans – except in emergencies. With McAfee Internet Security 2009 the focus is more on building an entirely new malware detection system. Hard drive size and computer speed have traditionally limited the effectiveness of PC security software, sometimes slowing computers to a halt. But McAfee has solved this problem by shifting the work to powerful processing centers via the internet. Other companies to release new versions of their security software include Kaspersky Lab. CA Internet Security Suite 2009 coming soon.

Whatever the economy might bring, Microsoft is predicting it will fare better than others in the IT industry. Although it did lower its growth outlook for the year, now forecasting a mild recession, it did not lower it as much as some were anticipating. Microsoft is staying afloat by corporate customers renewing licenses and other business programs. At the same time, they are taking their worst hit from small businesses which are perhaps “more affected by the credit squeeze”. In any case, Microsoft’s approach to the recession is to focus on cutting costs and investing for the future.