This question has become a rite of passage for the creative individual; sometimes occuring annually and sometimes bi-anually. That’s right folks CS4 is coming out very, very soon. Adobe ran a live videocast earlier this morning which demoed the newest versions of it’s product line. There are definitely some great new features packed into this robust sampling of creative tools, but let’s get right down to the only question that matters- “Should I shell out the cash and upgrade?” Here’s my answer thus far: “No… well Yes… Maybe…” It may be cliche, but the age old adage rings true in this case: different strokes for different folks. Here’s a subjective list of 3 reasons TO upgrade and 3 reasons NOT TO upgrade to CS4 according to… well, me.
My friend Lauryn sent this video to me. This one is definitely dedicated to all of those design/typography geeks out there! I must say, my stomach turned a bit when I realized Comic Sans was the hero, but Wingdings more than made up for it.
So… I’ve switched over to MobileMe for email. I was somewhat weary of the transition of .mac to MobileMe by Apple earlier this month, but my fears have been abated. The interface is stellar- very minimalistic and extremely easy to navigate. Finally- I have a web-based front to access my email, address book, calendar, photo gallery, and 20gb of file space for me to store and access files at will from anywhere that has an internet connection. What’s more, all of this pulls from information that is synced directly from my computer at home (sorry guys and gals: MAC only). That’s mighty groovy in my book.
Sure there are a few shortcomings, the primary of these being that mail has no external IMAP support, and you are forced to use the @me.com (or @mac.com if you were a previous .mac subscriber) domain for your email. However, these aren’t deal breakers for me anymore. Awhile ago I wouldn’t have touched my .mac account for email. Frankly, the interface stunk and didn’t have a lot of interoperability. Now though, its worth the switch. I have routed all my email accounts to forward to this account. You can still reach me via my email at Vigilant Studios or Pulse of Thought, but you’ll be getting responses from my @me.com account instead.
To me this doesn’t break branding protocol (though many would argue differently that they MUST have their domain name in the resolution of their email address). Obviously large corporations or organizations with 10+ people will still want to use their native domain name, but for those of us running independent businesses where we are are the only employee, the ‘@me.com’ email resolution works quite well. Unless you are a very old corporation who got in early on the domain registering bandwagon, you aren’t going to be able to get a domain that is 2-letters long. It’s just not going to happen. If memory serves me correctly, all 2-letter permutations of domain names were taken by the early 90’s. Also the ‘@me.com’ is generic, non-associative, and easy to remember. For me this is a huge plus- the ‘@vigilantstudios.com’ was getting a bit rough to use as an address… While it makes sense and pushes people towards my web address, its not easy to tell someone on the fly or over the phone. Generally it results me having to spell it out multiple times, and even then there’s bound to be room for error. With ‘@me.com’ there’s virtually no room for error.
I recently purchased the LG Voyager phone- it’s awesome, I love it. I went through the whole cell phone company debate and nearly switched to T-Mobile, but in the end my wife and I stuck with Verizon. Their network is great, customer service has never been a problem, and the phones are better (in my opinion) than what any other service provider offers. The only downside is that Verizon doesn’t use SIM Cards. Basically- this means you can’t just up and grab a new phone, swap your card into it, and have it work.
One of the only reasons I was tempted to go with T-Mobile is that they do use SIM cards. The only phone (again in my opinion) that rivals what Verizon’s line-up has to offer, is the iPhone. However, I decided that the extra money and hassle wasn’t worth it. It IS possible to unlock the iPhone and use it on T-Mobile, but only after going through the headache of purchasing a wireless contract with AT&T (this didn’t used to be the case… but now it is), breaking that contract, incurring and paying the charges associated with breaking that contract (think the iPhone prices fell? Think again- you’re paying for it elsewhere now…), finding someone to unlock the phone, and then FINALLY using it with T-Mobile. To me, that just wasn’t worth it.
Apple has also recently launched its iPhone application store. A place where developers can create applications that run on the phone. I knew this would be a cool addition but still couldn’t imagine it justifying the cost.
Then I saw an ad on Pandora… they now have an app out for the iPhone that allows you to use it for free. Wow. Anyone who visits here often knows that I am a Pandora endorser to the extreme. The fact that Pandora has been released for the iPhone is amazing. Essentially it means that you’ll have full, near-mp3-quality music with you whenever you want it… again for free. Forget satellite radio, forget the iTunes music store, and forget your MP3 player. With this app you can bluetooth streaming internet radio into your car, home speaker system, headphones, or pretty much anywhere else you can take your phone.
Does anyone else realize how groundbreaking this is? This is the most portable audio has ever been! I do love my Voyager, but my goodness… this app makes an iPhone extremely enticing, yet expensive, option.
16.7 Million colors not enough for you? (I know, I know… isn’t that always the complaint? Colors- I need about a billion more of them and then this piece will be just right!) Check out HP’s new monitor (overkill- maybe… cool and the way of the future- probably…)
At its Connecting the World event in Berlin, Germany, HP unveiled the first DreamColor monitor from its partnership with DreamWorks. The DreamColor LP2480xz is a 24-inch LCD that will set you or your design shop back $3,500. For the money, you get 30-bit color for over 1 billion color possibilities (standard LCDs are 24-bit for 16.7 million color options). HP says you will see deeper reds, blues, and greens when standing next to a run-of-the-mill consumer LCD, while blacks will appear four times darker and whites are adjustable.
This question has become a rite of passage for the creative individual; sometimes occuring annually and sometimes bi-anually. That’s right folks CS4 is coming out very, very soon. Adobe ran a live videocast earlier this morning which demoed the newest versions of it’s product line. There are definitely some great new features packed into this robust sampling of creative tools, but let’s get right down to the only question that matters- “Should I shell out the cash and upgrade?” Here’s my answer thus far: “No… well Yes… Maybe…” It may be cliche, but the age old adage rings true in this case: different strokes for different folks. Here’s a subjective list of 3 reasons TO upgrade and 3 reasons NOT TO upgrade to CS4 according to… well, me.
