TweetFollow Us on Twitter

Jun 01 Network Management

Volume Number: 17 (2001)
Issue Number: 06
Column Tag: Network Management

Seybold Boston, 2001

by John C. Welch
Edited by Ilene Hoffman, MS

An Administrator's Eye View Of A Publishing Conference

Welcome

Seybold 2001 is best described as a conference in transition. While the show still proudly proclaims its publishing heritage, the show seems to be moving from publishing as an end to publishing as a means. Print or digital, the output of the data seems to be far less important than what you do with and to that same data. Asset and rights management have also taken on a much greater importance in this era of Napster and Gnutella.

Another sign of change was the vendors, and as important as who was on the show floor, was who wasn't. The biggest gap was Apple, which adds a touch of irony, considering that without Apple, the digital publishing industry would be far from what it is today. That is not to say there was no sign of Apple at all. In fact, they were everywhere. At least 90% of the vendors on the show floor had at least one iMac, Cube, or G4 tower showing their products in action, and at least half of these were either running Mac OS X, or loudly proclaiming imminent compatibility with the new OS. Apple did have a room that was used for various presentations on OS X, Final Cut Pro, iDVD, and OS X's use of PDF. The session on PDF was quite well attended. The level of questions from the audience was of a technical enough nature to prompt the presenter to ask the folks to remember that the World Wide Developer Conference is coming soon, and that is a better forum for that level of questioning. Apple's iServices group also had a booth in support of another vendor, and was talking up their WebObjects consulting and services options.

The other notable absence on the show floor was Quark. Instead of their usual impressive area on the show floor, they were running their presentations from hotel meeting rooms. This was probably a good thing, as Quark 5 is still in the realm of "Real Soon Now." Their major keynote announcement was an Internet component to Quark Express, that allows multiple people to work on a document, without needing a copy of Quark on each person's computer. While this is a good enhancement, the fact is, Quark 4.x is getting long in the tooth, and at presents a fairly stationary target for other publishing applications, most notably Adobe Indesign. Quark did say at their keynote, that they are working at shedding their hard-earned reputation for being somewhat insensitive to their customers. This was a humorous contrast to the near argument that broke out between the CEO of Quark, and a journalist during a post-keynote Q and A session on the same topic.

So, with no floor presence by either Apple or Quark, this was pretty much Adobe's show, and they took full advantage of it. Adobe showcased the newly released Acrobat 5 and talked about the upcoming revision to Indesign. Acrobat 5 boasts a great many new features, such as WebDAV support for online annotation and comments on PDF files, more support for complex graphics in PDF files, and the long-awaited ability to save PDF files as RTF, so that they can be more easily edited. The interface to Acrobat has been overhauled, sporting more of a Microsoft Office look. Tear-off palettes, collapsible palettes, and a toolbar that can be easily customized are among the most notable interface changes. Thumbnails are also dynamically generated, or can be created in a more static mode as in Acrobat 4. Also upgraded is integration with Microsoft Office, databases, and other corporate computing tools. Unfortunately, only Windows users will see these new updates. Although the corporate line is that some vague limitations in the Mac OS prevent Adobe from implementing the Office integration tools in the Mac version, the reality is, Adobe doesn't see a market for this on the Mac side, and ihas chosen not to implement this feature.

On the surface, there doesn't seem to be any practical reason for Mac shops to upgrade to Acrobat 5 if they need integration with non-Adobe productivity applications. Indeed, Adobe's CEO said during the post keynote Q and A that 90% of all Acrobat purchases are Windows customers. This is a bit misleading, as most Mac OS Acrobat users don't even know that this capability exists, so don't know to ask for it. However, there are two ways around this issue. The first is a set of plugins from Virginia Systems, http://www.virginiasystems.com/. These plugins, available in both Mac OS and Windows implementations, allow you to automatically create linked tables of content, figure tables, indices, and other such features. While not the one-click integration that Adobe has implemented on the Windows side, these plugins give you 90% of the convenience, and more functionality than the Adobe tools. The Adobe tools only work from Office documents, and are useless on PDF files made from other sources, or created without the integration tools. The second solution is from Adobe, namely FrameMaker. While not a cheap solution, (MSRP of $800 per copy), FrameMaker can easily import Word files, and then internally create the links, and export to PDF with the links intact. The advantage that FrameMaker has over the other tools here is that it runs natively on most brands of Unix, and is available with floating licenses, so that companies that are running Unix machines have a decent, easy to use publishing tool available. This does bring up the other, less noticed aspect of Acrobat 5. While they did not directly say there will be no more native Unix support for Acrobat beyond Reader, Adobe came about as close as they could.

Finally, Acrobat 5 is not a carbon MacOS application, although Acrobat 5 reader is a carbon application. Questions to when Acrobat 5 will be available as a carbon application were met with Adobe's standard reply - the next major revision to their Mac OS products will be native for Mac OS X. This is a little perplexing because Acrobat 5 seems to be a Carbon application, but is registering as a Classic application. Actually, Adobe's delay in this area is attributable to the delays from Apple in getting the final version of IO Kit to developers. Adobe in particular has a hard need to be able to talk to external input devices, such as scanners. Without the IO Kit, doing this in OS X is essentially impossible, so for now, Adobe is in a wait status.

Adobe wasn't the only vendor with a large presence at Seybold however. Corel, determined to regain the confidence that they have frittered away of late, had one of the larger non-Adobe booths. Hyping not only Corel Draw 10, but applications like Bryce, they are making a strong statement that anyone counting them out is doing so prematurely. Corel said that they should have OS X native versions of all products but Corel Draw 10 in time for MacWorld Expo in New York, and that Draw 10 should be out in the fall.

Another Mac perennial, Deneba Systems, http://www.deneba.com/ was showing off the capabilities of Canvas 8, the next revision of that venerable tool. Although Canvas 8 wiil be released for Windows first, this is not a sign that they are abandoning the Mac market. They felt it was better to delay the Mac version, so that it would be available as a Carbon application, rather than releasing the Classic version, and releasing another version for OS X almost immediately. In addition to Carbon, there are quite a few new features in Canvas 8 that make it well worth considering for current Canvas users, or those considering a switch. The first new feature that drew my attention was the addition of scripting to all aspects of Canvas. Both the Windows and Mac OS versions will be scriptable in their native environments. In addition, Deneba is using Adobe's idea of actions, to create internal macros. They call the Canvas version Sequences, but regardless of name, they allow you to quickly automate repetitive tasks across the entire feature set. Sequences are cross platform, and can be called by either Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) scripts, or AppleScripts. Deneba also is looking into allowing Sequences to connect to scripts, so that a Sequence could pass results or data back to a script, thereby increasing the workflow capabilities of Sequences. Other features include new slicing tools, for web graphics, and a bitmap preview option, whereby you can take a vector image, see what the bitmap version will look like, and edit it without actually rasterizing the file. Once you are done, then you can convert the file to a bitmap image. This allows you to get a much better bitmap output of your file, without having to convert, undo, edit, convert again, or do all your editing as a bitmap. Finally, Deneba is implementing an online, shared editing system, so that Canvas users can easily set up a peer-to-peer (P2P) system for dealing with any document format that Canvas can handle. Deneba also assured me that Canvas 8 will contain more than a few improvements aimed at the technical illustration users, who have been somewhat left out of the last set of version improvements.

The final vendor of note was Sprockets, http://www.sprockets.com. Sprockets provides online project management capabilities for companies. Although they didn't have as flashy a press conference as last year's Seybold, , they did have some good news, including a partnership with enterprise storage vendor EMC. Also they were almost done validating their Java and other components on Mac OS X. (Note to vendors: If you want to please the press, a B-52s concert is the way to go.) This company continues to catch my eye, as in this day of distributed workflow and teams, the service they provide, and the way they charge is an excellent way for project-based companies to track and charge for work, without the kind of in-house servers and staff this level of product requires.

Conclusion

This was a very quiet Seybold compared to other years, which I attribute more to the transitional aspect of publishing these days. While print is still a big focus, the electronic aspects of publishing, such as electronic books, and other methods is going to be a major new arena, and the ways of dealing with both in a coherent way haven't settled down yet. It definitely looks like Adobe's PDF will be the format of choice for output either way, but the big struggle is still how to get from idea to output.


John Welch jwelch@aer.com is the Mac and PC Administrator for a weather and atmospheric science company in Lexington, Mass. He has over fifteen years of experience at making computers work. His specialties are figuring out ways to make the Mac do what nobody thinks it can, and showing that the Mac is the superior administrative platform.

 

Community Search:
MacTech Search:

Software Updates via MacUpdate

Latest Forum Discussions

See All

Top Mobile Game Discounts
Every day, we pick out a curated list of the best mobile discounts on the App Store and post them here. This list won't be comprehensive, but it every game on it is recommended. Feel free to check out the coverage we did on them in the links... | Read more »
Price of Glory unleashes its 1.4 Alpha u...
As much as we all probably dislike Maths as a subject, we do have to hand it to geometry for giving us the good old Hexgrid, home of some of the best strategy games. One such example, Price of Glory, has dropped its 1.4 Alpha update, stocked full... | Read more »
The SLC 2025 kicks off this month to cro...
Ever since the Solo Leveling: Arise Championship 2025 was announced, I have been looking forward to it. The promotional clip they released a month or two back showed crowds going absolutely nuts for the previous competitions, so imagine the... | Read more »
Dive into some early Magicpunk fun as Cr...
Excellent news for fans of steampunk and magic; the Precursor Test for Magicpunk MMORPG Crystal of Atlan opens today. This rather fancy way of saying beta test will remain open until March 5th and is available for PC - boo - and Android devices -... | Read more »
Prepare to get your mind melted as Evang...
If you are a fan of sci-fi shooters and incredibly weird, mind-bending anime series, then you are in for a treat, as Goddess of Victory: Nikke is gearing up for its second collaboration with Evangelion. We were also treated to an upcoming... | Read more »
Square Enix gives with one hand and slap...
We have something of a mixed bag coming over from Square Enix HQ today. Two of their mobile games are revelling in life with new events keeping them alive, whilst another has been thrown onto the ever-growing discard pile Square is building. I... | Read more »
Let the world burn as you have some fest...
It is time to leave the world burning once again as you take a much-needed break from that whole “hero” lark and enjoy some celebrations in Genshin Impact. Version 5.4, Moonlight Amidst Dreams, will see you in Inazuma to attend the Mikawa Flower... | Read more »
Full Moon Over the Abyssal Sea lands on...
Aether Gazer has announced its latest major update, and it is one of the loveliest event names I have ever heard. Full Moon Over the Abyssal Sea is an amazing name, and it comes loaded with two side stories, a new S-grade Modifier, and some fancy... | Read more »
Open your own eatery for all the forest...
Very important question; when you read the title Zoo Restaurant, do you also immediately think of running a restaurant in which you cook Zoo animals as the course? I will just assume yes. Anyway, come June 23rd we will all be able to start up our... | Read more »
Crystal of Atlan opens registration for...
Nuverse was prominently featured in the last month for all the wrong reasons with the USA TikTok debacle, but now it is putting all that behind it and preparing for the Crystal of Atlan beta test. Taking place between February 18th and March 5th,... | Read more »

Price Scanner via MacPrices.net

AT&T is offering a 65% discount on the ne...
AT&T is offering the new iPhone 16e for up to 65% off their monthly finance fee with 36-months of service. No trade-in is required. Discount is applied via monthly bill credits over the 36 month... Read more
Use this code to get a free iPhone 13 at Visi...
For a limited time, use code SWEETDEAL to get a free 128GB iPhone 13 Visible, Verizon’s low-cost wireless cell service, Visible. Deal is valid when you purchase the Visible+ annual plan. Free... Read more
M4 Mac minis on sale for $50-$80 off MSRP at...
B&H Photo has M4 Mac minis in stock and on sale right now for $50 to $80 off Apple’s MSRP, each including free 1-2 day shipping to most US addresses: – M4 Mac mini (16GB/256GB): $549, $50 off... Read more
Buy an iPhone 16 at Boost Mobile and get one...
Boost Mobile, an MVNO using AT&T and T-Mobile’s networks, is offering one year of free Unlimited service with the purchase of any iPhone 16. Purchase the iPhone at standard MSRP, and then choose... Read more
Get an iPhone 15 for only $299 at Boost Mobil...
Boost Mobile, an MVNO using AT&T and T-Mobile’s networks, is offering the 128GB iPhone 15 for $299.99 including service with their Unlimited Premium plan (50GB of premium data, $60/month), or $20... Read more
Unreal Mobile is offering $100 off any new iP...
Unreal Mobile, an MVNO using AT&T and T-Mobile’s networks, is offering a $100 discount on any new iPhone with service. This includes new iPhone 16 models as well as iPhone 15, 14, 13, and SE... Read more
Apple drops prices on clearance iPhone 14 mod...
With today’s introduction of the new iPhone 16e, Apple has discontinued the iPhone 14, 14 Pro, and SE. In response, Apple has dropped prices on unlocked, Certified Refurbished, iPhone 14 models to a... Read more
B&H has 16-inch M4 Max MacBook Pros on sa...
B&H Photo is offering a $360-$410 discount on new 16-inch MacBook Pros with M4 Max CPUs right now. B&H offers free 1-2 day shipping to most US addresses: – 16″ M4 Max MacBook Pro (36GB/1TB/... Read more
Amazon is offering a $100 discount on the M4...
Amazon has the M4 Pro Mac mini discounted $100 off MSRP right now. Shipping is free. Their price is the lowest currently available for this popular mini: – Mac mini M4 Pro (24GB/512GB): $1299, $100... Read more
B&H continues to offer $150-$220 discount...
B&H Photo has 14-inch M4 MacBook Pros on sale for $150-$220 off MSRP. B&H offers free 1-2 day shipping to most US addresses: – 14″ M4 MacBook Pro (16GB/512GB): $1449, $150 off MSRP – 14″ M4... Read more

Jobs Board

All contents are Copyright 1984-2011 by Xplain Corporation. All rights reserved. Theme designed by Icreon.