newsletter
Site last published: 02/28/10
Pre-flighting, PDF creation and holiday notice
27/Nov/2009
Welcome to the last newsletter for the
year. It’s assumed nobody will read an email between
Christmas and New Years!
Before delving into new publishing workflows, first a note on D Revolution’s holiday plans.
D Revolution will be on holidays from Thursday 3rd of December and will return Thursday 10th December.
We will be available through Christmas and the new year.
If you need help with PC support, contact David Mews on 0404 067 111 or email pcsupport@drevolution.com.au
If you need help with Mac support, contact David Stone on 0414 310 999 or email david@drevolution.com.au
Clients with the D Revolution remote access ie; the Netgear DGFV338 router will be able to get remote support for their entire network via VPN - just schedule a time!
Back in a previous article on the 1st October I stated;
“The AdStream QuickPrint plug-in for InDesign CS4 cannot see any extra installed Colour profiles”
The issue is not the QuickPrint plugin but InDesign CS4 not seeing colour profiles stored in the default user library.
Thank to Marcus at QuickCut Support for pointing this out.
If you are having any QuickCut issues call them on 1300 768 988 or email support@quickcut.com.au
The majority of all artwork layout these days is created in an Adobe package and exported to a PDF for print production.
Whilst Adobe holds the lion’s share of layout software with InDesign, quite a few companies still use QuarkXpress.
With QuarkXpress 8 and Adobe InDesign 6 (CS4) there are new workflows to help with the creation of page layouts.
Adobe InDesign has introduced “Live Preflight” and Quark have refined their “Job Jackets”.
Both companies tackle the issue in different ways and at the moment, Adobe’s more visual method of flagging errors as they are produced (via a Preflight profile) takes the edge over QuarkXpress and setting up correct Job Jackets.
In Australia, the two big ad delivery platforms - AdStream and WebSend both have tools to aid in the creation of layouts to publisher’s specifications. Whilst these tools are invaluable in creating layouts to the correct mechanical specs like column size, type area,bleed etc... they don’t address the more common printing issues early enough in the layout process.
If you are an InDesign 6 user, a new initiative out of Belgium holds some promise.
The VICG have produced a set of freely available live preflight profile for InDesign.
Combined with PDF profiles produced by the Ghent Working Group, your workflow should produce less “surprises”
Call us if you need help evaluating this or other pre-flighting/PDF workflows.
I hope AdStream and WebSend take up the challenge and start producing live preflight profiles for the new AS/ISO 12647-2 print standard. This way, errors can be picked up during layout creation - not waiting till PDF production as is currently the case.
For PDF creation, when in doubt, SPEAK TO YOUR PRINTER - they will often supply a PDF joboption.
If not, a good standby is to use the PDF/X-1a 2003 setting as recommended by 3dap. NOTE: InDesign CS3 has the older 2001 specs and should not be used.
A better approach is using the Ghent PDF profiles (which build on the PDF/X-1a standard) as mentioned earlier along with the supplied GWG transparency flatteners...
For Sheetfed (CMYK +spot) use SheetSpotHiRes
For Magazine (CMYK only) use WebCmykHiRes
For Newspapers (CMYK) use WebCmykNews
Call us if you need help setting up a PDF workflow.
If you know someone who might gain from this information, they can subscribe to the newsletter - here.
Holiday Notice
Before delving into new publishing workflows, first a note on D Revolution’s holiday plans.
D Revolution will be on holidays from Thursday 3rd of December and will return Thursday 10th December.
We will be available through Christmas and the new year.
If you need help with PC support, contact David Mews on 0404 067 111 or email pcsupport@drevolution.com.au
If you need help with Mac support, contact David Stone on 0414 310 999 or email david@drevolution.com.au
Clients with the D Revolution remote access ie; the Netgear DGFV338 router will be able to get remote support for their entire network via VPN - just schedule a time!
Correction of previous article
Back in a previous article on the 1st October I stated;
“The AdStream QuickPrint plug-in for InDesign CS4 cannot see any extra installed Colour profiles”
The issue is not the QuickPrint plugin but InDesign CS4 not seeing colour profiles stored in the default user library.
Thank to Marcus at QuickCut Support for pointing this out.
If you are having any QuickCut issues call them on 1300 768 988 or email support@quickcut.com.au
Pre-flighting and PDF creation
Pre-flighting and correct layout creation
The majority of all artwork layout these days is created in an Adobe package and exported to a PDF for print production.
Whilst Adobe holds the lion’s share of layout software with InDesign, quite a few companies still use QuarkXpress.
With QuarkXpress 8 and Adobe InDesign 6 (CS4) there are new workflows to help with the creation of page layouts.
Adobe InDesign has introduced “Live Preflight” and Quark have refined their “Job Jackets”.
Both companies tackle the issue in different ways and at the moment, Adobe’s more visual method of flagging errors as they are produced (via a Preflight profile) takes the edge over QuarkXpress and setting up correct Job Jackets.
In Australia, the two big ad delivery platforms - AdStream and WebSend both have tools to aid in the creation of layouts to publisher’s specifications. Whilst these tools are invaluable in creating layouts to the correct mechanical specs like column size, type area,bleed etc... they don’t address the more common printing issues early enough in the layout process.
If you are an InDesign 6 user, a new initiative out of Belgium holds some promise.
The VICG have produced a set of freely available live preflight profile for InDesign.
Combined with PDF profiles produced by the Ghent Working Group, your workflow should produce less “surprises”
Call us if you need help evaluating this or other pre-flighting/PDF workflows.
I hope AdStream and WebSend take up the challenge and start producing live preflight profiles for the new AS/ISO 12647-2 print standard. This way, errors can be picked up during layout creation - not waiting till PDF production as is currently the case.
PDF Creation
For PDF creation, when in doubt, SPEAK TO YOUR PRINTER - they will often supply a PDF joboption.
If not, a good standby is to use the PDF/X-1a 2003 setting as recommended by 3dap. NOTE: InDesign CS3 has the older 2001 specs and should not be used.
A better approach is using the Ghent PDF profiles (which build on the PDF/X-1a standard) as mentioned earlier along with the supplied GWG transparency flatteners...
For Sheetfed (CMYK +spot) use SheetSpotHiRes
For Magazine (CMYK only) use WebCmykHiRes
For Newspapers (CMYK) use WebCmykNews
Call us if you need help setting up a PDF workflow.
If you know someone who might gain from this information, they can subscribe to the newsletter - here.
Colour Management and Australian Print Standards
01/Nov/2009
Print Standards and Colour Management.
The next 3 issues of the D Revolution e-news will be chock full of useful information relating to the printing industry.
Everything from the new Australian Standard for offset printing (AS/ISO 12647-2) to colour management to best practice for pre-flighting and PDF Creation.
If you know someone who might gain from this information, they can subscribe to the newsletter - here.
AS/ISO 12647-2 - the new Australian Standard for offset printing.
This article is technical, there is a short glossary included at the end of this email.
Australia has finally adopted a common print standard inline with Europe, China, India and the USA - among others.
The standard was created in 2004 and adjusted in 2007, mainly to make it a more international standard encompassing the USA as opposed to a European driven standard.
Previously, Australia was awash with different standards for different print markets.
There was Euroscale for sheet feed offset printing, SWOP for web magazines and several other standards. Asking a printer which colour standard they printed to often drew a blank stare!
We also had QuickCut, AdSend, D2P as well as 3DAP all pushing different approaches to creation and printing of material.
On top of that, most digital presses (as well as photoshop) used SWOP colour settings by default!
The history of this print standard is;
Fogra in Germany created a standardised set of colour reference data for german printers to match to.
This was submitted for ISO standardisation which produces guides and also colour profiles.
Fogra then created the PSO standardisation and certification program to make sure printers were adhering to the standard.
IdeaAlliance in the USA made their own standardisation and certification program called GrayCol (G7).
It is important to remember that GrayCol and PSO are matching the same ISO standard - they just have taken different paths to achieve the same final result!!
Image Creation and preferred profile settings for Applications.
The most important thing is - SPEAK TO YOUR PRINTER - when in doubt, defer to their judgement or use somebody else!.
The Adobe Creative Suite features uniform setting across all the programs - as long as Adobe Bridge is used to set it up.
The default colour setting (CSF) since Adobe CS2 is “North American General Purpose 2”
For any quality sheetfed printing on a coated paper stock, this will produce inferior results.
“North American General Purpose 2” specifies a reduced gamut RGB colour space “sRGB” and a CMYK colour space for North American web offset printing “SWOP”
If you are using this setup for higher quality sheetfed work, the result will often be washed out images without deep rich shadows as well as minor colour shifts.
Whilst still not perfect, inside of Adobe Bridge, you can set “European PrePress 2” which since CS3 uses an RGB profile of “AdobeRGB” and a CMYK profile of “Coated Fogra27 (ISO 12467-2 2004)”
The RGB profile has a wider gamut and the CMYK profile is using the ISO standard with a higher total ink weight so shadows are printed heavier - ie; more dynamic range.
There is a great article on why to NOT use the “European PrePress 2” colour settings.
As was mentioned at the start of the article, the ISO standard was adjusted in 2007, and whilst the colour profile IS included in CS4, the colour setting is NOT included in any version of the Adobe Creative Suite.
For the print nerds (that would be me!) or technical curious here is a good comparison between the two characterisations.
For results that are closest to the standard and reproducable around the world be any GrayCol, PSO or ISO certified printer, the CMYK profile needs to be changed to either “ISO Coated v2 (ECI)” or “ISO Coated v2 300 (ECI)” profile which are both based on the newer “Fogra39” characterisation data.
Both of these profiles can be downloaded online.
Use “ISO Coated v2 (ECI)” for higher sheet fed jobs or “ISO Coated v2 300 (ECI)” for magazine jobs or when you are not sure of the output.
Call us if you need any help with this technical subject, or if you have any other workflow questions.
If you deal with printers - especially if you work with overseas markets and need to have a high degree of quality control to match jobs printed in different locations, ask if your printer is either PSO certified or AS-ISO (ISO Printer of Australia and New Zealand) certified.
Tune in next month to learn the best way to automate flight checking and print/PDF standards using InDesign C4 and Quark8 during the entire production.
Glossary.
Colour Profile (ICC profile) - these are files used in the conversion from one colourspace to another - ie; RGB to CMYK or RGB to a different RGB or CMYK to a different CMYK.
ICC (International Color Consortium) - A member group who created and steers the icc profile specification. The intent of the ICC profile format is to provide a vendor neutral device profile format.
Colour Settings File - this file is used in the Adobe Suite and is simply a collection of setting including RGB profile, CMYK profile, dot gain as well as few other settings.
ECI - European Colour Initiative - A member workgroup whose goal it is to implement the ISO and ICC standards.
This body provides profiles, workflows and tools to achieve the relevant ISO print standards.
PSO (Process Standard Offset) - A certification for print companies that they meet the collection of ISO colour standards.
G7 (GrayCol) - A certification for print companies that they meet the collection of ISO colour standards.
News Break
01/Oct/2009
News from the IT and publishing industries as well as a round of compatibility updates...
Services
D Revolution provide support and training for people involved in the publishing/creative industries.
If you need equipment, training, support, workflow support we can organise it!
Our preferred supplier Proton Digital, has spawned a new website - I Need Storage.
If you need to purchase storage, the new website is easy to use and has great pricing.
Proton Digital now offer monitor hoods. These hoods stop ambient light hitting the screen and are pretty much essential in any colour managed workflow - especially now that Apple use reflective glass screens!
D Revolution can help with calibration and colour management training, but unless you control the lighting - it is all wasted!
Please note: Whilst D Revolution has no affiliation with Proton Digital, we do use them most for our quotes as the owner Ross Pappas has been the most reliable and honest reseller we have dealt with in 11 years of operation.
News and updates
Space to share in Chippendale studio with small graphic design company.
Warehouse with wooden floors and exposed beams, lots of light, air-conditioned, close to Central, good security. Area approx. 6.0m x 2.5m, suit 2-3 people. Use of meeting room, kitchen, toilet, some storage. Desks in pics are temporary.
For more details call Ken 0407 211 986 or email kenzofo@me.com
Apple releases OS X 10.6.1.
This is the first update since the the release of Snow Leopard.
All the major upgrades are paid new versions - 10.5 to 10.6. All the minor updates are free - 10.5.5 to 10.5.8 and are available under the Apple Menu > Software Update.
Please note: As with ANY major system release, don't go out and install it on a machine which you use to earn a living
(especially if it's your only machine). Whilst most programs work - things WILL BREAK.
A wiki has been setup listing compatibility of programs. Please check here before installing and give us a call!
Update on Snow Leopard compatibility for the publishing industry.
Font Explorer X Pro has been updated for compatibility with Snow Leopard - a new InDesign activation plug-in is included.
Extensis Suitcase Fusion has been updated for compatibility with Snow Leopard.
NOTE: There seems to be a font rendering bug. Whilst I have not seen it during my testing, designers are reporting type reflow across a range of programs.
For the best explanation on font technology and what is / is not needed in different versions of OS X, see this article.
AdStream Pagestore works with Snow Leopard but you cannot store your database on a AFP server.
NOTE: This restricts PageStore to local use only.
The AdStream QuickPrint plug-in for InDesign CS4 cannot see any extra installed Colour profiles - call us for a work around...
Read/Write on NTFS volumes. If you rely on reading NTFS volumes in OS X, call us BEFORE upgrading to OS X 10.6.
1. 3G NTFS - so far there have been some compatibility reports stating it is unstable - wait for official news.
2. Paragon NTFS - They have released a beta hear which is compatible (remember it is beta software so do not put on a machine without a full backup)
3. Apple native NTFS driver. You can enable read/write support in Snow Leopard using this software. (Apple disabled write support which they probably did for a reason!)
GMail updated for Exchange push on iPhone.
GMail previously could be setup as an IMAP account on an iPhone.
This meant emails were not “pushed” to the iPhone, rather the iPhone would check periodically for new emails.
Google have now implemented push by using the “ActiveSync” technology licensed from Microsoft. see this post.
NOTE: Currently, push only keeps 28 days of messages on the phone and also you cannot search for messages on the server - these issues should be resolved soon...
Call us if you need help setting this up.
Services Update
01/Sep/2009
Updates on Services and news from the IT and publishing industries
Services
Just a reminder, D Revolution has rolled out several new services over the course the last 9 months.
We now offer the following;
cPanel and Plesk webhost administration
Migration services to Google Apps
iPhone setup, integration and training
Online HelpDesk with growing FAQ section
Netgear ReadyNAS installation, support and maintenance
OpenSource installation, support and maintenance.
VPN support and configuration for remote workers
Professional Windows PC Support
Of course, we also continue to provide support and training for people involved in the publishing/creative industries.
If you need equipment, training, support, workflow support we can organise it!
Our preferred supplier Proton Digital, has spawned a new website - I Need Storage.
If you need to purchase storage, the new website is easy to use and has great pricing.
This week, we picked up 2 1TB hard drives for $125 each!
Please note: Whilst D Revolution has no affiliation with Proton Digital, we do use them most for our quotes as the owner Ross Pappas has been the most reliable and honest reseller we have dealt with in 11 years of operation.
News
Apple releases OS X 10.6 - Snow Leopard.
Last Friday, Apple released their latest Operating System - OS X 10.6.
Whilst there are a lot of "under the hood improvements, it looks essentially like OS X 10.5 - Leopard did.
The new system takes up less space and is faster on the same hardware - take that large software developers (I'm looking at you Adobe!)
Please note: As with ANY major system release, don't go out and install it on a machine which you use to earn a living (especially if it's your only machine).
Whilst most programs work - thing WILL BREAK.
A wiki has been setup listing compatibility of programs. Please check here before installing and give us a call!
D Revolution is starting testing of OS X 10.6 this week on the publishing tools and workflows used by the creative industry. We will update you on the progress soon...
Google Apps continues to receive updates.
When Google Calendar CalDAV launched, there was no provision for delegation and no setup tools.
Since then, Google created Calaboration (which has since been depreciated) to help setup of CalDAV accounts into iCal and now they have quietly introduced delegation.
This means you can have one calendar of your own and can have delegated access to other peoples calendars.
Also, the calendar colours assigned in Google Apps are now automatically synced with iCal and the iPhone. This makes it much easier to find events when switching for the website to iCal to iPhone.
Adobe CS5 to be Intel only.
With Adobe on a 18 month release cycle for the Creative Suite, the next version which is due around March next year WILL not run on PowerPC macs - ie: G5's
Read the FAQ.
This ties into Apple's new Operating System 10.6 which was released last Friday as Intel only.
If you have any equipment that is not Intel, now is the time to start thinking about upgrading.
Microsoft finally releases Entourage 2008 Web Services Edition.
If you use Entourage 2008 connected to an Exchange Server, this update should greatly enhance the functionality of Entourage and almost bring it on par with Outlook.
The update brings speed, ease of setup, extra synchronisation, decent logging (for troubleshooting), out of office assistant among other things.
For setup instructions, follow Microsoft's guidelines - or call us!
It was also announced that Entourage is to be scrapped and replaced with a ground up rewrite that will switch back to the name Outlook.
People with long memories might remember that Microsoft ditched Microsoft Outlook for Mac 2001 in the move to OS X. Since that time, the Mac version has not had the parity of features of it's PC cousin.
With today's announcement, the next version of Office (2010) will include a all new Oulook.
More minor malware threats for Mac OS X.
Whilst OS X has NOT had a single virus in 8 years, there are threats.
These mostly take the form of security threats and malware.
Security threats are vulnerabilities that allow things like escalation of privileges, crashing of programs etc…
These are taken care of by Apple Software Update. Make sure you keep up to date using "Software Update" located under the Apple Menu.
Malware is are usually in the form of software you install and type in your administrator's password.
These have been things like a tampered version of Photoshop and IWorks that were floating around on peer to peer download sites.
There have also been websites that trick people into downloading a supposed "Quicktime codec" that was actually malware that adjusted the DNS network setup on your machine.
Whilst this class of malware has a fairly minor threat, it does redirect ALL your website requests through DNS servers in Eastern Europe. This means they will know the address every website you visit and can potentially redirect you a bogus site to try to fool you into handing over credit card details etc…
If you ever get asked to install a codec to view a website - DON'T install it!
See the following blog for details.
Microsoft has released an update for Office 2008.
This update restores the ability to open office files created on Windows. NOTE: This was a large bug introduced in the 12.2 update that did NOT affect all users.
Funny look at the upgrade path from previous versions of Windows to Windows 7.
see - Cult Of Mac.
Mozy breaks network Time Machine.
If you are a user of the Mozy for online backup, they silently pushed out an update 2 weeks ago which broke Time Machine backups over the network.
An update has now been released that fixes the problem.
Open Souce goodies
28/Jul/2009
Introducing several new D
Revolution technological solutions.
Xero online accounting to replace MYOB AccountEdge.
After a trial and conversations with the developer D Revolution has ditched MYOB and taken up residence on the Cloud.
We are now using xero for our accounting.
For our clients, this means faster billing and reporting as well as PayPal credit card processing.
All PDF invoices have a "Pay online now" link which takes you directly to the secure PayPal site.
You can of course still pay via cheque or direct deposit - whichever is more convenient.
The service so far has been excellent and the support responsive and helpful.
We would definitely recommend this over MYOB AccountEdge (which is now owned by a Venture Capital firm)
Installation and support of Open Source packages.
We are now offering installation and support on the following Open Source packages.
so far, the list of supported packages include:
PHPList
This is the best open source web based mailing list manager available.
It has the same feature set as paid for services like campaignmonitor and mailchimp.
With PHPList, you can effectively communicate with your clients via email on a regular basis and also manage things like subscription, un-subscription, multiple lists, multiple email templates all from a website either running on premises or with your cPanel WebHost.
If you need to handle 100 contacts or 30,000, this software will handle it.
Contact us for a demo account on our secure server.
ResourceSpace
This is the best of breed D.A.M (digital asset manager) with features to rival Cumulus Web Publisher Pro or SeeFile.
With ResourceSpace, you can upload virtually any kind of content to be accessible to your clients using a web browser.
Files supported include; illustrator photoshop, indesign, acrobat, word ,excel, powerpoint, postscript/eps, movie files of most formats, sound files of most formats and the list goes on...
You the have control over who sees what, if they have access to original files or watermarked versions, if they can order files from you for delivery, low resolution previews, automatic thumbnail galleries.
Contact us for a demo account on our secure server.
Tracks
This is a great example of a simple Ruby on Rails application used to track time and jobs via a simple drag and drop website. You can even subscribe to iCal feeds so your calendar has the latest updates from the website.
There is also a wealth of graphical reporting on things like how many things are done per month, average time to close etc...
Contact us for a demo account on our secure server.
WebHelpDesk
Whilst this is not open-source, if you need to track issues within your organisation - this is the answer.
The licence is free for one technician and the application is licensed per technician after that.
Please use the logins provided by D Revolution to our help desk here for example.
We have been using all the above tools for at least 9 months for most of our mission critical tasks.
If you have suggestions on other Open Source tools you would like us to support like SugarCRM etc - please let us know.
Maintenance
Currently, with the slow economic climate, business are holding off capital purchases like computers etc...
Whilst this is an important way to improve you cash position, it does mean the equipment you have will have to be used for a longer term.
If the technological tools that drive your business - eg: your computers/servers fail - so does your business.
Spend the time making sure your machines are optimally maintained, either by someone in-house or through a specialist IT consultant working in the same industry/market as you.
Email Newsletter
We have switched from a hosted version of PHPList to one running on our own secure server.
In the process we did loose the mailing database.
This means if you receive this email after you previously unsubscribed, we apologise.
Please unsubcribe using the link at the bottom and you will receive no further newsletters.
Stay tuned for more information...
All services supplied by D Revolution are subject to a 10% GST, and include a Tax invoice.
Xero online accounting to replace MYOB AccountEdge.
After a trial and conversations with the developer D Revolution has ditched MYOB and taken up residence on the Cloud.
We are now using xero for our accounting.
For our clients, this means faster billing and reporting as well as PayPal credit card processing.
All PDF invoices have a "Pay online now" link which takes you directly to the secure PayPal site.
You can of course still pay via cheque or direct deposit - whichever is more convenient.
The service so far has been excellent and the support responsive and helpful.
We would definitely recommend this over MYOB AccountEdge (which is now owned by a Venture Capital firm)
Installation and support of Open Source packages.
We are now offering installation and support on the following Open Source packages.
so far, the list of supported packages include:
PHPList
This is the best open source web based mailing list manager available.
It has the same feature set as paid for services like campaignmonitor and mailchimp.
With PHPList, you can effectively communicate with your clients via email on a regular basis and also manage things like subscription, un-subscription, multiple lists, multiple email templates all from a website either running on premises or with your cPanel WebHost.
If you need to handle 100 contacts or 30,000, this software will handle it.
Contact us for a demo account on our secure server.
ResourceSpace
This is the best of breed D.A.M (digital asset manager) with features to rival Cumulus Web Publisher Pro or SeeFile.
With ResourceSpace, you can upload virtually any kind of content to be accessible to your clients using a web browser.
Files supported include; illustrator photoshop, indesign, acrobat, word ,excel, powerpoint, postscript/eps, movie files of most formats, sound files of most formats and the list goes on...
You the have control over who sees what, if they have access to original files or watermarked versions, if they can order files from you for delivery, low resolution previews, automatic thumbnail galleries.
Contact us for a demo account on our secure server.
Tracks
This is a great example of a simple Ruby on Rails application used to track time and jobs via a simple drag and drop website. You can even subscribe to iCal feeds so your calendar has the latest updates from the website.
There is also a wealth of graphical reporting on things like how many things are done per month, average time to close etc...
Contact us for a demo account on our secure server.
WebHelpDesk
Whilst this is not open-source, if you need to track issues within your organisation - this is the answer.
The licence is free for one technician and the application is licensed per technician after that.
Please use the logins provided by D Revolution to our help desk here for example.
We have been using all the above tools for at least 9 months for most of our mission critical tasks.
If you have suggestions on other Open Source tools you would like us to support like SugarCRM etc - please let us know.
Maintenance
Currently, with the slow economic climate, business are holding off capital purchases like computers etc...
Whilst this is an important way to improve you cash position, it does mean the equipment you have will have to be used for a longer term.
If the technological tools that drive your business - eg: your computers/servers fail - so does your business.
Spend the time making sure your machines are optimally maintained, either by someone in-house or through a specialist IT consultant working in the same industry/market as you.
Email Newsletter
We have switched from a hosted version of PHPList to one running on our own secure server.
In the process we did loose the mailing database.
This means if you receive this email after you previously unsubscribed, we apologise.
Please unsubcribe using the link at the bottom and you will receive no further newsletters.
Stay tuned for more information...
All services supplied by D Revolution are subject to a 10% GST, and include a Tax invoice.
PC Support
05/Mar/2009
D Revolution has
expanded.
After 10 years we are branching out! We can now offer professional Windows support along side our current offerings.
If you need help integrating mac's into PC environments or PC's into mac environments, we can help.
We are also working on integrating Entourage 2008 and Exchange Server 2007 Web Services - see microsoft.com/mac/itpros/entourage-ews.mspx
We have expertise in Publishing systems and workflows, opensource DAM's, Google Apps hosted email, cPanel website and email setup, internet setup and networking, content filtering via OpenDNS, OSX FileServers and ReadyNAS Servers - and now of course PC setup and maintenance.
If there is something you need, either we can do it or put you in contact with some who can.
Maintenance
The economy is going through a rough time at the moment and companies are rightly holding back on IT purchases, this makes maintenance of current equipment more important then ever.
This is especially true given that most IT suppliers have increased prices 15% to 25% in the new year due to the fall in the AUS to US exchange rate.
Over the last 2 months D Revolution have tracked a significant number of hard disk failures - some leading to expensive recovery bills from Disk Recovery firms like Payam Data. If your machines are over 3 years old and you do not have up to date backups, get the machines checked out!
HelpDesk System reminder
This new system allows companies to track how many support requests are made, how quickly they are acted on and most importantly, how fast the problem is resolved.
FAQ's (frequently asked questions) are an important part of this system. Whenever a ticket is logged, a growing list of FAQ's will show questions and answers to similar helpdesk queries.
If you have suggestions for FAQ's, email info@drevolution.com.au and they will be added to the FAQ section of the HelpDesk.
Over time, we want this to be the first place anybody looks for help. You will be able to fix alot of issues BEFORE calling anybody!
The login page is at partners.drevolution.com.au/helpdesk and all connections are over a secure connection for your safety.
Please contact us for your login details.
Stay tuned for more information…
All services supplied by D Revolution are subject to a 10% GST, and include a Tax invoice.
If you have received this email in error, we apologise.
Please follow the link at the top of this email to unsubscribe.
After 10 years we are branching out! We can now offer professional Windows support along side our current offerings.
If you need help integrating mac's into PC environments or PC's into mac environments, we can help.
We are also working on integrating Entourage 2008 and Exchange Server 2007 Web Services - see microsoft.com/mac/itpros/entourage-ews.mspx
We have expertise in Publishing systems and workflows, opensource DAM's, Google Apps hosted email, cPanel website and email setup, internet setup and networking, content filtering via OpenDNS, OSX FileServers and ReadyNAS Servers - and now of course PC setup and maintenance.
If there is something you need, either we can do it or put you in contact with some who can.
Maintenance
The economy is going through a rough time at the moment and companies are rightly holding back on IT purchases, this makes maintenance of current equipment more important then ever.
This is especially true given that most IT suppliers have increased prices 15% to 25% in the new year due to the fall in the AUS to US exchange rate.
Over the last 2 months D Revolution have tracked a significant number of hard disk failures - some leading to expensive recovery bills from Disk Recovery firms like Payam Data. If your machines are over 3 years old and you do not have up to date backups, get the machines checked out!
HelpDesk System reminder
This new system allows companies to track how many support requests are made, how quickly they are acted on and most importantly, how fast the problem is resolved.
FAQ's (frequently asked questions) are an important part of this system. Whenever a ticket is logged, a growing list of FAQ's will show questions and answers to similar helpdesk queries.
If you have suggestions for FAQ's, email info@drevolution.com.au and they will be added to the FAQ section of the HelpDesk.
Over time, we want this to be the first place anybody looks for help. You will be able to fix alot of issues BEFORE calling anybody!
The login page is at partners.drevolution.com.au/helpdesk and all connections are over a secure connection for your safety.
Please contact us for your login details.
Stay tuned for more information…
All services supplied by D Revolution are subject to a 10% GST, and include a Tax invoice.
If you have received this email in error, we apologise.
Please follow the link at the top of this email to unsubscribe.
Help Desk
07/Dec/2008
Introducing the new D
Revolution Help Desk
D Revolution is proud to introduce a new web based Help Desk system.
All clients will be able to log in, submit a support request and track it's progress via the website and email.
This new system will allow companies to track how many support requests are made, how quickly they are acted on and most importantly, how fast the problem is resolved.
FAQ's (frequently asked questions) will be an important part of this system. Whenever a ticket is logged, a growing list of FAQ's will show questions and answers to similar helpdesk queries.
If you have tech support questions you want answered, email us and it will be added to the FAQ's.
Over time, we want this to be the first place anybody looks for help. You will be able to fix alot of issues BEFORE calling anybody!
The login page is at http://partners.drevolution.com.au/helpdesk and all connections are over a secure connection for your safety.
A follow up email will provide individual login details for each person. Please contact us if you dont receive the email.
Holiday Notice
A quick reminder that D Revolution is on holidays from Friday 12th December until Friday 19th December.
If you need work done, call soon a book a time.
Maintenance
The quiet time between mid December and mid January is the perfect time to complete IT projects that there simply isn't enough time for during the year.
Now is a good time to upgrade workstations, servers networks - especially in light of the falling Aussie dollar. Most suppliers are increasing prices by %15 to %25 before the end of the year.
Call us to arrange quotes and snap up equipment before the price rises.
Stay tuned for more information…
All services supplied by D Revolution are subject to a 10% GST, and include a Tax invoice.
D Revolution is proud to introduce a new web based Help Desk system.
All clients will be able to log in, submit a support request and track it's progress via the website and email.
This new system will allow companies to track how many support requests are made, how quickly they are acted on and most importantly, how fast the problem is resolved.
FAQ's (frequently asked questions) will be an important part of this system. Whenever a ticket is logged, a growing list of FAQ's will show questions and answers to similar helpdesk queries.
If you have tech support questions you want answered, email us and it will be added to the FAQ's.
Over time, we want this to be the first place anybody looks for help. You will be able to fix alot of issues BEFORE calling anybody!
The login page is at http://partners.drevolution.com.au/helpdesk and all connections are over a secure connection for your safety.
A follow up email will provide individual login details for each person. Please contact us if you dont receive the email.
Holiday Notice
A quick reminder that D Revolution is on holidays from Friday 12th December until Friday 19th December.
If you need work done, call soon a book a time.
Maintenance
The quiet time between mid December and mid January is the perfect time to complete IT projects that there simply isn't enough time for during the year.
Now is a good time to upgrade workstations, servers networks - especially in light of the falling Aussie dollar. Most suppliers are increasing prices by %15 to %25 before the end of the year.
Call us to arrange quotes and snap up equipment before the price rises.
Stay tuned for more information…
All services supplied by D Revolution are subject to a 10% GST, and include a Tax invoice.
Update and holiday
03/Nov/2008
D Revolution is going through some
exciting changes.
Firstly, we are looking at expanding.
We are going to be deploying and maintaining a few open source packages like;
ResourceSpace (a Digital Asset Management Program) - http://www.montala.net/resourcespace.php
GLPI (an Inventory Management interface for your hardware and software) - http://glpi-project.org/?lang=en
OCS (an inventory scanner used in conjunction with GLPI) - http://www.ocsinventory-ng.org/
These will be deployed as appliances built on on the excellent ReadyNAS Pro platform.
With one of these devices, you will be able have a very large file server (7.5TB), FTP server, iSCSI target for backup as well as a DAM for managing all your assets.
see - http://netgear.com.au/Products/Storage/ReadyNASPro.aspx
The ReadyNAS Pro is due to ship on 15 November.
Secondly, we are now offering a migration to Google Apps service.
We migrated to Google Apps 3 months ago as a trial for our clients and so far the system has been excellent.
Spam filtering is best in class - it is easily catching 1000+ spams per month per address with less that 10 spams per month getting through.
The online wordprocessor and spreadsheet is good enough for my needs which allows for sharing of data as well as offline access with Google Gears.
see - http://gears.google.com
All access is via either a https (secure connection) on the web or imaps/smtps (secure connection) inside of both Apple mail on the workstation or the iPhone mail client.
We can migrate your domain email away from your current provider to Google Apps.
This can be either the free service which comes with 200 email addresses each with 7.25GB of space or the paid version which comes with 90 day backups, support and 200 email accounts each with 25GB of space.
See the difference - http://www.google.com/apps/intl/en/business/editions.html
Call us to find out if it is right for you.
Lastly, our rates are due to rise.
We will be increasing our prices effective January 2009.
Our last rate increase was on July 2005.
The main reasons for the increase are inflation and travel costs.
The average cost has risen 50% since July 2005.
Our rate sheet as of January 1 2009 will be;
$165 per hour for our standard support service.
$135 for our pre-paid support service.
$135 per hour for remote support*
$200 per hour for training.
$90 per hour travel outside Sydney CBD
* For remote support, D Revolution will first have to implement a secure hardware VPN which means you need ADSL2 as well as compatible hardware.
Compatible hardware includes either the Netgear DG834G or DGFV338 ADSL2+ routers.
Call us for more information.
If you want to save money on support there are 2 options.
1. Buy some Bill Bill credits before the price rise.
2. Opt for remote support. If a problem can be fixed remotely overnight, you pay a reduced rate that also has a lower minimum time.
PUBLISHING NEWS
Adobe have released CS4.
see - http://www.adobe.com/ap/products/creativesuite/design/
With the new release, the big change is applying some photoshop filters is done via the GPU.
With a faster video card with 128MB or more of RAM, this will speed up some operations up to 1000%
Quark have released Xpress 8.
see - http://8.quark.com
The new release focuses on interface changes reminiscent of Macromedia Freehand.
Also QuarkXpress now works with .AI files as well as .PSD - a welcome addition.
There are also enhancements to job jacket to allow large teams to collaborate easier.
Extensis have released Universal Type Server.
see - http://www.extensis.com/en/products/universaltypeserverlite/what-is-it.jsp
This will allow organisations to sync font sets across machines as well as audit installed fonts etc…
Whilst most of my clients now use FontExplorer - it does have it's limitations.
Font Explorer can not replaces override system fonts, does not have temporary activation and has issues with mixed sets (postscript and truetype/opentype mixes together)
OEM partners finally deliver PDF Print Engine2 RIP's.
see - http://www.adobe.com/products/pdfprintengine/
For the last 20 years, the publishing industry has relied on PostScript as the language for RIP's.
This has become a bottleneck as Postscript does not understand transparency, ICC profiles etc…
Programs like QuarkXpress and Adobe Indesign both produce transparency and can embed ICC data, but this information had to be stripped or transformed during the RIP process. With the new RIP's, files can be sent through un-flattened with all the transparency in place - as well as make use of better compression with JPEG2000.
AGFA, FujiFilm, Kodak, SCREEN and Xanté all have PDF ready RIPS's.
Ask your printer if he is using PDF Print Engine2
GENERAL NEWS
For people sick of MYOB, there is now an online subscription solution that has been available in the UK and NZ for the last year and as of 30 September it is now available in Australia.
see - http://www.xero.com
The video tour is very impressive and iphone support looks like a winner.
I have started testing it over the last few weeks.
So far, it has performed very well and rather quickly considering it is hosted.
The only downside currently is the cost is $49 per month and that does not include any payroll.
If you are doing this manually, this wont be an issue.
I did find it could not import my chart of accounts from MYOB - it currently only imports from the NZ version.
After sorting out the chart of accounts and starting balances it as been very good.
Stay tuned for more information…
All services supplied by D Revolution are subject to a 10% GST, and include a Tax invoice.
If you have received this email in error, we apologise.
Please follow the link at the top of this email to unsubscribe.
Firstly, we are looking at expanding.
We are going to be deploying and maintaining a few open source packages like;
ResourceSpace (a Digital Asset Management Program) - http://www.montala.net/resourcespace.php
GLPI (an Inventory Management interface for your hardware and software) - http://glpi-project.org/?lang=en
OCS (an inventory scanner used in conjunction with GLPI) - http://www.ocsinventory-ng.org/
These will be deployed as appliances built on on the excellent ReadyNAS Pro platform.
With one of these devices, you will be able have a very large file server (7.5TB), FTP server, iSCSI target for backup as well as a DAM for managing all your assets.
see - http://netgear.com.au/Products/Storage/ReadyNASPro.aspx
The ReadyNAS Pro is due to ship on 15 November.
Secondly, we are now offering a migration to Google Apps service.
We migrated to Google Apps 3 months ago as a trial for our clients and so far the system has been excellent.
Spam filtering is best in class - it is easily catching 1000+ spams per month per address with less that 10 spams per month getting through.
The online wordprocessor and spreadsheet is good enough for my needs which allows for sharing of data as well as offline access with Google Gears.
see - http://gears.google.com
All access is via either a https (secure connection) on the web or imaps/smtps (secure connection) inside of both Apple mail on the workstation or the iPhone mail client.
We can migrate your domain email away from your current provider to Google Apps.
This can be either the free service which comes with 200 email addresses each with 7.25GB of space or the paid version which comes with 90 day backups, support and 200 email accounts each with 25GB of space.
See the difference - http://www.google.com/apps/intl/en/business/editions.html
Call us to find out if it is right for you.
Lastly, our rates are due to rise.
We will be increasing our prices effective January 2009.
Our last rate increase was on July 2005.
The main reasons for the increase are inflation and travel costs.
The average cost has risen 50% since July 2005.
Our rate sheet as of January 1 2009 will be;
$165 per hour for our standard support service.
$135 for our pre-paid support service.
$135 per hour for remote support*
$200 per hour for training.
$90 per hour travel outside Sydney CBD
* For remote support, D Revolution will first have to implement a secure hardware VPN which means you need ADSL2 as well as compatible hardware.
Compatible hardware includes either the Netgear DG834G or DGFV338 ADSL2+ routers.
Call us for more information.
If you want to save money on support there are 2 options.
1. Buy some Bill Bill credits before the price rise.
2. Opt for remote support. If a problem can be fixed remotely overnight, you pay a reduced rate that also has a lower minimum time.
PUBLISHING NEWS
Adobe have released CS4.
see - http://www.adobe.com/ap/products/creativesuite/design/
With the new release, the big change is applying some photoshop filters is done via the GPU.
With a faster video card with 128MB or more of RAM, this will speed up some operations up to 1000%
Quark have released Xpress 8.
see - http://8.quark.com
The new release focuses on interface changes reminiscent of Macromedia Freehand.
Also QuarkXpress now works with .AI files as well as .PSD - a welcome addition.
There are also enhancements to job jacket to allow large teams to collaborate easier.
Extensis have released Universal Type Server.
see - http://www.extensis.com/en/products/universaltypeserverlite/what-is-it.jsp
This will allow organisations to sync font sets across machines as well as audit installed fonts etc…
Whilst most of my clients now use FontExplorer - it does have it's limitations.
Font Explorer can not replaces override system fonts, does not have temporary activation and has issues with mixed sets (postscript and truetype/opentype mixes together)
OEM partners finally deliver PDF Print Engine2 RIP's.
see - http://www.adobe.com/products/pdfprintengine/
For the last 20 years, the publishing industry has relied on PostScript as the language for RIP's.
This has become a bottleneck as Postscript does not understand transparency, ICC profiles etc…
Programs like QuarkXpress and Adobe Indesign both produce transparency and can embed ICC data, but this information had to be stripped or transformed during the RIP process. With the new RIP's, files can be sent through un-flattened with all the transparency in place - as well as make use of better compression with JPEG2000.
AGFA, FujiFilm, Kodak, SCREEN and Xanté all have PDF ready RIPS's.
Ask your printer if he is using PDF Print Engine2
GENERAL NEWS
For people sick of MYOB, there is now an online subscription solution that has been available in the UK and NZ for the last year and as of 30 September it is now available in Australia.
see - http://www.xero.com
The video tour is very impressive and iphone support looks like a winner.
I have started testing it over the last few weeks.
So far, it has performed very well and rather quickly considering it is hosted.
The only downside currently is the cost is $49 per month and that does not include any payroll.
If you are doing this manually, this wont be an issue.
I did find it could not import my chart of accounts from MYOB - it currently only imports from the NZ version.
After sorting out the chart of accounts and starting balances it as been very good.
Stay tuned for more information…
All services supplied by D Revolution are subject to a 10% GST, and include a Tax invoice.
If you have received this email in error, we apologise.
Please follow the link at the top of this email to unsubscribe.
Upcoming Anniversary
01/May/2008
D Revolution is turning 10!
July 1 1998, D Revolution was born out of the smouldering ashes as my role of publishing support for Australia for QuarkXpress, Freehand and several PrePress tools at Mitsui Computers.
It has been an exciting 10 years of continual learning and refining the craft of publishing support.
From my first client at SNAP Printing Rockdale to my most recent at an unnamed law firm, I thank all of you for your ongoing support.
In the lead up to the anniversary, D Revolution is reducing prices.
10 years - 10% discount. From today till 30 June 2008, prices are reduced to $135 per hour.
If want to keep saving money, we have had for several years a bulk bill scheme.
You buy 20+ hours in advance at $120 per hour and use them as needed. These credits do not expire.
As most people have experienced, publishing has taken quite a sudden downturn. Whilst these are trying times, it is often the only time major internal changes can be made. No one wants to deal with new systems under a crush of job deadlines.
If you are planning on upgrades, take the opportunity to roll them out before June 30 so you can depreciate it in this years tax.
D Revolution can help on developing the solution, getting quotes, implementing and then maintaining.
We can organise quotes through either Proton Digital or Computers Now and we often test new equipment direct with distributors.
As a case in point, I recently completed testing of iSCSI storage systems from DLINK and iStor for use with Apple workstations and servers.
These storage systems allow you to connect direct over the network at high speed. They are half the price of Apple Promise RAID and offer the same performance.
Use these with SAN software and you have a fast, cheap, scalable storage system to handle future growth.
Stay tuned for more information…
All services supplied by D Revolution are subject to a 10% GST, and include a Tax invoice.
If you have received this email in error, we apologise.
Our mail-out database needed rebuilding and I had to scrape email addresses from previous correspondence.
Please follow the link at the top of this email to unsubscribe.
July 1 1998, D Revolution was born out of the smouldering ashes as my role of publishing support for Australia for QuarkXpress, Freehand and several PrePress tools at Mitsui Computers.
It has been an exciting 10 years of continual learning and refining the craft of publishing support.
From my first client at SNAP Printing Rockdale to my most recent at an unnamed law firm, I thank all of you for your ongoing support.
In the lead up to the anniversary, D Revolution is reducing prices.
10 years - 10% discount. From today till 30 June 2008, prices are reduced to $135 per hour.
If want to keep saving money, we have had for several years a bulk bill scheme.
You buy 20+ hours in advance at $120 per hour and use them as needed. These credits do not expire.
As most people have experienced, publishing has taken quite a sudden downturn. Whilst these are trying times, it is often the only time major internal changes can be made. No one wants to deal with new systems under a crush of job deadlines.
If you are planning on upgrades, take the opportunity to roll them out before June 30 so you can depreciate it in this years tax.
D Revolution can help on developing the solution, getting quotes, implementing and then maintaining.
We can organise quotes through either Proton Digital or Computers Now and we often test new equipment direct with distributors.
As a case in point, I recently completed testing of iSCSI storage systems from DLINK and iStor for use with Apple workstations and servers.
These storage systems allow you to connect direct over the network at high speed. They are half the price of Apple Promise RAID and offer the same performance.
Use these with SAN software and you have a fast, cheap, scalable storage system to handle future growth.
Stay tuned for more information…
All services supplied by D Revolution are subject to a 10% GST, and include a Tax invoice.
If you have received this email in error, we apologise.
Our mail-out database needed rebuilding and I had to scrape email addresses from previous correspondence.
Please follow the link at the top of this email to unsubscribe.
Holiday Notice
20/Jan/2008
D Revolution is is taking a short
holiday.
As of 21 Jan I will be in Queensland hopefuly working on my tan in MovieWorld, SeaWorld etc…
I will be back on deck first thing Monday morning 28 Jan.
Obviously I will be unavailble for onsite work during this period, but will still be checking my emails and voice mails and responding as promptly as possible.
If you need onsite help, or faster response than I can provide, I have asked Geoff Johnson to respond in my absence.
Please call him on 0411 523 166 to schedule an appointment.
Stay tuned for more information…
All services supplied by D Revolution are subject to a 10% GST, and include a Tax invoice.
If you have received this email in error, we apologise.
Please follow the link at the top of this email to unsubscribe.
As of 21 Jan I will be in Queensland hopefuly working on my tan in MovieWorld, SeaWorld etc…
I will be back on deck first thing Monday morning 28 Jan.
Obviously I will be unavailble for onsite work during this period, but will still be checking my emails and voice mails and responding as promptly as possible.
If you need onsite help, or faster response than I can provide, I have asked Geoff Johnson to respond in my absence.
Please call him on 0411 523 166 to schedule an appointment.
Stay tuned for more information…
All services supplied by D Revolution are subject to a 10% GST, and include a Tax invoice.
If you have received this email in error, we apologise.
Please follow the link at the top of this email to unsubscribe.
Secure Remote Support and Secure Client Connect
15/Oct/2007
D Revolution is pleased to announce an
expansion of our services.
Secure Remote Support and Secure Client Connect.
Secure Remote Support
With this service, if you need support and you don't want or need someone on-site, D Revolution can remotely connect and fix most issues that used to require an on-site consultation.
The connection is via an encrypted VPN (virtual private network) so it is totally secure. When the work is completed a worksheet will be waiting for you on the machine that was fixed.
If D Revolution helped you connect to the internet via ADSL, you probably already have the right equipment to start using the service straight away!
This service is discounted and charged in smaller increments to save you money.
It costs $120 per hour and the minimum fee is 30 minutes.
This compares with the normal on-site support costs $150 per hour with a 2 hour minimum fee.
Secure Client Connect
With this service, you can connect to your office securely from either at home or from anywhere in the world.
Copy files from your server, print out a file to the office printer whilst on holiday, do your bookkeeping.
The way it works is an ADSL2+ VPN router is installed at your workplace. At home a similar device is installed and a secure VPN setup between the locations. Software can also be installed on a laptops as well if access from the road is also needed.
This service is a one off fee for setup with no ongoing costs.
It costs $300 to setup both a workplace and also the second location.
Other locations and laptops are charged at the standard $150 fee to setup.
Both of these services require at least a hardware VPN at your office.
D Revolution offer the choice of 2 devices depending on your budget and needs.
1. Netgear DG834G - $124.
This all in one device allows connection of up to 5 hardware VPN's.
If you only want to access your work from a fixed location like home - this is for you.
2. Netgear DGFV338 - $365
This all in one device allows connection of up to 50 hardware or software VPN's If multiple staff need to access the office from a range of locations - this is for you.
It is also covered by a lifetime manufacturer warranty.
D Revolution will also soon be offering Managed Networks.
Think of this service as having your own on-site IT department available 24/7 fixing devices when needed and informing you of potential issues.
This service will allow your company to get pro-active support on all devices in your network.
D Revolution will monitor and inform you in advance of issues that need addressing.
Like how much server space do we have left/how much are we using per month, is our network fast enough for the workload we place upon it, is the UPS needing it's battery re-conditioned, are the backups running.
Stay tuned for more information…
If you have received this email in error, we apologise.
Please follow the link at the top of this email to unsubscribe.
Secure Remote Support and Secure Client Connect.
Secure Remote Support
With this service, if you need support and you don't want or need someone on-site, D Revolution can remotely connect and fix most issues that used to require an on-site consultation.
The connection is via an encrypted VPN (virtual private network) so it is totally secure. When the work is completed a worksheet will be waiting for you on the machine that was fixed.
If D Revolution helped you connect to the internet via ADSL, you probably already have the right equipment to start using the service straight away!
This service is discounted and charged in smaller increments to save you money.
It costs $120 per hour and the minimum fee is 30 minutes.
This compares with the normal on-site support costs $150 per hour with a 2 hour minimum fee.
Secure Client Connect
With this service, you can connect to your office securely from either at home or from anywhere in the world.
Copy files from your server, print out a file to the office printer whilst on holiday, do your bookkeeping.
The way it works is an ADSL2+ VPN router is installed at your workplace. At home a similar device is installed and a secure VPN setup between the locations. Software can also be installed on a laptops as well if access from the road is also needed.
This service is a one off fee for setup with no ongoing costs.
It costs $300 to setup both a workplace and also the second location.
Other locations and laptops are charged at the standard $150 fee to setup.
Both of these services require at least a hardware VPN at your office.
D Revolution offer the choice of 2 devices depending on your budget and needs.
1. Netgear DG834G - $124.
This all in one device allows connection of up to 5 hardware VPN's.
If you only want to access your work from a fixed location like home - this is for you.
2. Netgear DGFV338 - $365
This all in one device allows connection of up to 50 hardware or software VPN's If multiple staff need to access the office from a range of locations - this is for you.
It is also covered by a lifetime manufacturer warranty.
D Revolution will also soon be offering Managed Networks.
Think of this service as having your own on-site IT department available 24/7 fixing devices when needed and informing you of potential issues.
This service will allow your company to get pro-active support on all devices in your network.
D Revolution will monitor and inform you in advance of issues that need addressing.
Like how much server space do we have left/how much are we using per month, is our network fast enough for the workload we place upon it, is the UPS needing it's battery re-conditioned, are the backups running.
Stay tuned for more information…
If you have received this email in error, we apologise.
Please follow the link at the top of this email to unsubscribe.
D Revolution has expanded
08/Jan/2007
D Revolution has expanded!!
On Saturday morning at 3.32 am, we had a new edition to the family.
I now have 2 boys, a tear-away 2 and a half year old and a beautiful baby called Oliver.
This means of course that I will look like death warmed up for the next 6 weeks but it is business as usual.
To help me, I have arranged for Geoff Johnston of JMAC to handle any support calls I am unable to attend.
I will still be checking and responding to emails several times a day and also doing on-site support work.
Please call me on 0414 310 999 to book an appointment.
If I am unavailable or not able to come soon enough, please call Geoff on 0411 523 166.
If you have received this email in error, we apologise.
Please follow the link at the top of this email to unsubscribe.
On Saturday morning at 3.32 am, we had a new edition to the family.
I now have 2 boys, a tear-away 2 and a half year old and a beautiful baby called Oliver.
This means of course that I will look like death warmed up for the next 6 weeks but it is business as usual.
To help me, I have arranged for Geoff Johnston of JMAC to handle any support calls I am unable to attend.
I will still be checking and responding to emails several times a day and also doing on-site support work.
Please call me on 0414 310 999 to book an appointment.
If I am unavailable or not able to come soon enough, please call Geoff on 0411 523 166.
If you have received this email in error, we apologise.
Please follow the link at the top of this email to unsubscribe.
Holiday Notice
01/Sep/2006
LATEST NEWS
This news is short and sweet.
The stone family is expanding again, we are expecting another boy due in January!
So we are taking a holiday - probably the last one for quite a while...
I will be away from the 8th September to the 13th of September in sunny Fiji.
Being the nerd you all know I am, I will be responding to email twice daily and also returning phone calls. I will have call screen setup so if you call, a hopefully polite Vodafone call monkey will take your message and SMS me. It will be a little hard for on-site visits for obvious reasons In the past, I have asked Rochester to cover my absence, but since their demise last year I do not have a fall back.
If you have any pressing issues, please call me ASAP so I can schedule in some time before I depart.
If you have received this email in error, we apologise.
Please follow the link at the top of this email to unsubscribe.
This news is short and sweet.
The stone family is expanding again, we are expecting another boy due in January!
So we are taking a holiday - probably the last one for quite a while...
I will be away from the 8th September to the 13th of September in sunny Fiji.
Being the nerd you all know I am, I will be responding to email twice daily and also returning phone calls. I will have call screen setup so if you call, a hopefully polite Vodafone call monkey will take your message and SMS me. It will be a little hard for on-site visits for obvious reasons In the past, I have asked Rochester to cover my absence, but since their demise last year I do not have a fall back.
If you have any pressing issues, please call me ASAP so I can schedule in some time before I depart.
If you have received this email in error, we apologise.
Please follow the link at the top of this email to unsubscribe.
Latest News
06/Jan/2005
LATEST NEWS
Lots of things have happened since the last news letter.
We have recently completed a company name change and change of address.
Thats right, Desktop Revolution Consulting is dead - long live D Revolution!
This links in with our domain name www.drevolution.com.au and also was an excuse for som funky new branding courtesy of Front Design - www.frontdesign.com.au.
We will soon be sending out printed invoices in Reply Paid envelopes to make it easier to for you to pay.
As of July we are also expanding payment options to over the phone Credit Card payments, walk in payments at Australia Post and of course the Reply Paid envelopes for cheque payments.
Later this year we are also expanding into other fields including back end database development to allow for fully interactive websites, Windows workstation support and also Service Level agreements with guaranteed response times.
Our rate sheet as of July 1 2005 is;
$150 per hour for our standard support service.
$120 for our pre-paid support service.
$180 per hour for training.
$80 per hour travel outside Sydney CBD
Please note all prices are ex GST
PUBLISHING NEWS
Apple have updated their system software to 10.41. The list of improvements is vast.
Of most interest is Automater, a visual environment to build pipelines to automate workflows.
An example would be - Resize all images, rename based on a rolling number and upload to an FTP server.
Adobe is now shipping CS2 with an update to Adobe Bridge - their image browsing platform already available.
Quark corp have updated QuarkXpress to 6.5 with 7 promised before the end of the year.
The update fixes issues including fonts in natively made pdf's, stability, s.
The new version only works with Mac OS X and includes the ability to make PDF’s without Acrobat Distiller.
While the feature list is impressive and the reliability and quality of output have proved themselves over may years, the new version has a major snag.
Single versions of QuarkXpress 6 must be activated after installing on a computer. The activation code is based on the hardware it is installed on. You will not be able to install the same version on multiple workstations and move work around like before. If you are considering QuarkXpress and need more than 5 copies, give us a call and we can organise a site licence.
Quark do offer secondary licences to allow you to use the one copy of QuarkXpress on both a work machine and also a laptop/home machine - contact Modulo Systems directly on 1800 670 973 to organise.
A site licence means you do not need to activate the software. You can install it on as many machines as required and the licence will determine how many users can use the software.
Virtually all printer manufacturers with the exception of the RIP supplier EFI are now shipping printers with Bonjour support. This allows them to be setup as TCP/IP printers in Mac OS X (at least a 300% speed improvement over Appletalk) by simply plugging in the printer and turning on.
TIPS
Want to find the address of a colleague in AddressBook - download the AddressBook plugin "Whereis 1.6" and "Whereis Directions 1.6".
http://www.versiontracker.com/dyn/moreinfo/macosx/24545
http://www.versiontracker.com/dyn/moreinfo/macosx/24618
Once installed simply press the "Work" or "Home" label to get the options "Whereis map of…", Whereis directions from" and Whereis directions to" - viola!
Mac OS X is being updated on a regular basis due to its UN*X underbelly. It makes sense to keep your system up to date.
The best way to do this is using Apple’s combo updaters. They are much bigger - usually 80Mb+ but they are the safest most reliable update method. They are not available via software update and must be downloaded from - http://www.apple.com/support/downloads/
MAINTENANCE
Doctors say “an ounce of prevention is better than the cure”. This especially true for the publishing industry with our increasingly tight deadlines. It is safer to have your equipment maintained on a regular basis then wait for a problem to take a machine out of action just when you need to send of that important job to the printers!
If you are proactive, call us for a check-up of all your computers - it might save you from missing that deadline.
Remember you can purchase blocks of 20 hours to use at your discretion at the discounted rate of $120 per hour + GST, this represents a 20% saving. This does not affect the free phone tech support we have always given.
TRAINING
If you need onsite training for Mac OS X or graphic applications and workflow, call us.
dRevolution - 0414 310 999 - training@drevolution.com.au
If you need classroom training (especially in Adobe products) then the best training available is;
Pandy Dimitrious – Alpha Computer Consultants - 02 9299 4570 - sales@alphacc.com.au
PAYMENTS
Please remember, payment terms are 30 days. If you require longer terms please contact us BEFORE the invoice is due.
RESELLERS
If you need any hardware or software, please feel free to call me contact us for advice - david@drevolution.com.au then contact these resellers they have proven themselves informative and reliable.
Ross Papas – Proton Digital - 02 9524-5971 - 04 1462-4059 - ross@protondigital.com.au
Adam Fittler - Rochester Systems - 02 8752 6900 - 0410 505 538 - adam@rochester.com.au
Trevor Newland – Rochester Systems - 02 8752 6900 - 04 1942-2234 - trevor@rochester.com.au
Oliver Jean – Power-Media Systems – 02 9518-9111 - 04 0323-6609 - olivierj@powermedia.com.au
If you have received this email in error, we apologise.
Please follow the link at the top of this email to unsubscribe.
Lots of things have happened since the last news letter.
We have recently completed a company name change and change of address.
Thats right, Desktop Revolution Consulting is dead - long live D Revolution!
This links in with our domain name www.drevolution.com.au and also was an excuse for som funky new branding courtesy of Front Design - www.frontdesign.com.au.
We will soon be sending out printed invoices in Reply Paid envelopes to make it easier to for you to pay.
As of July we are also expanding payment options to over the phone Credit Card payments, walk in payments at Australia Post and of course the Reply Paid envelopes for cheque payments.
Later this year we are also expanding into other fields including back end database development to allow for fully interactive websites, Windows workstation support and also Service Level agreements with guaranteed response times.
Our rate sheet as of July 1 2005 is;
$150 per hour for our standard support service.
$120 for our pre-paid support service.
$180 per hour for training.
$80 per hour travel outside Sydney CBD
Please note all prices are ex GST
PUBLISHING NEWS
Apple have updated their system software to 10.41. The list of improvements is vast.
Of most interest is Automater, a visual environment to build pipelines to automate workflows.
An example would be - Resize all images, rename based on a rolling number and upload to an FTP server.
Adobe is now shipping CS2 with an update to Adobe Bridge - their image browsing platform already available.
Quark corp have updated QuarkXpress to 6.5 with 7 promised before the end of the year.
The update fixes issues including fonts in natively made pdf's, stability, s.
The new version only works with Mac OS X and includes the ability to make PDF’s without Acrobat Distiller.
While the feature list is impressive and the reliability and quality of output have proved themselves over may years, the new version has a major snag.
Single versions of QuarkXpress 6 must be activated after installing on a computer. The activation code is based on the hardware it is installed on. You will not be able to install the same version on multiple workstations and move work around like before. If you are considering QuarkXpress and need more than 5 copies, give us a call and we can organise a site licence.
Quark do offer secondary licences to allow you to use the one copy of QuarkXpress on both a work machine and also a laptop/home machine - contact Modulo Systems directly on 1800 670 973 to organise.
A site licence means you do not need to activate the software. You can install it on as many machines as required and the licence will determine how many users can use the software.
Virtually all printer manufacturers with the exception of the RIP supplier EFI are now shipping printers with Bonjour support. This allows them to be setup as TCP/IP printers in Mac OS X (at least a 300% speed improvement over Appletalk) by simply plugging in the printer and turning on.
TIPS
Want to find the address of a colleague in AddressBook - download the AddressBook plugin "Whereis 1.6" and "Whereis Directions 1.6".
http://www.versiontracker.com/dyn/moreinfo/macosx/24545
http://www.versiontracker.com/dyn/moreinfo/macosx/24618
Once installed simply press the "Work" or "Home" label to get the options "Whereis map of…", Whereis directions from" and Whereis directions to" - viola!
Mac OS X is being updated on a regular basis due to its UN*X underbelly. It makes sense to keep your system up to date.
The best way to do this is using Apple’s combo updaters. They are much bigger - usually 80Mb+ but they are the safest most reliable update method. They are not available via software update and must be downloaded from - http://www.apple.com/support/downloads/
MAINTENANCE
Doctors say “an ounce of prevention is better than the cure”. This especially true for the publishing industry with our increasingly tight deadlines. It is safer to have your equipment maintained on a regular basis then wait for a problem to take a machine out of action just when you need to send of that important job to the printers!
If you are proactive, call us for a check-up of all your computers - it might save you from missing that deadline.
Remember you can purchase blocks of 20 hours to use at your discretion at the discounted rate of $120 per hour + GST, this represents a 20% saving. This does not affect the free phone tech support we have always given.
TRAINING
If you need onsite training for Mac OS X or graphic applications and workflow, call us.
dRevolution - 0414 310 999 - training@drevolution.com.au
If you need classroom training (especially in Adobe products) then the best training available is;
Pandy Dimitrious – Alpha Computer Consultants - 02 9299 4570 - sales@alphacc.com.au
PAYMENTS
Please remember, payment terms are 30 days. If you require longer terms please contact us BEFORE the invoice is due.
RESELLERS
If you need any hardware or software, please feel free to call me contact us for advice - david@drevolution.com.au then contact these resellers they have proven themselves informative and reliable.
Ross Papas – Proton Digital - 02 9524-5971 - 04 1462-4059 - ross@protondigital.com.au
Adam Fittler - Rochester Systems - 02 8752 6900 - 0410 505 538 - adam@rochester.com.au
Trevor Newland – Rochester Systems - 02 8752 6900 - 04 1942-2234 - trevor@rochester.com.au
Oliver Jean – Power-Media Systems – 02 9518-9111 - 04 0323-6609 - olivierj@powermedia.com.au
If you have received this email in error, we apologise.
Please follow the link at the top of this email to unsubscribe.