SoftwareDaily
SoftwareDaily is edited by Karl Dallas, who has been a leading international commentator on the IT scene since 1979. His previous online newsletters have been supported financially by companies like Microsoft, Oracle, Novell etc.Tuesday, May 20, 2008
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Tuesday, August 28, 2007
Welcome back!
SoftwareDaily is back!
Look out for upcoming posts on video and audio editing.
SoftwareDaily is back!
Look out for upcoming posts on video and audio editing.
Tuesday, August 01, 2006
A blog for computer disasters
A blog for computer disasters
(Previously posted Tuesday, August 01, 2006)
As computers become more and more susceptible to bugs, virus attacks and other threats, the publishers of SoftwareDaily and HardwareDaily have started a new blog, computerdisasters.blogspot.com.
We are at present working on a solution for the hundreds of users who have been affected by problems arising from attempting to install the Internet Explorer 7 beta.This often removes functionality from a wide range of programs, which are looking for two new DLLs that the IE7 install should have placed in the Windows/system 32 directory.
We have found a source for these files and at the present stage of our quest for a solution we have found that downloading them remedies some (but not all) of the problems.We have provided Microsoft with details of these files and where they may be found, but they have refused to distribute this information, since IE7 is in beta and they do not provide technical support for beta products.
However, a check with Google reveals the unprecedented extent of the problems arising from this beta, and if Microsoft will not make solutions available, then we must remedy that omission. Hence this new blog.
Please let us know of any disasters you have suffered - and, hopefully, of any solutions you have found. You can post them as comments to postings on this blog, or send them by email to disasters@blueyonder.co.uk.
We regret that we cannot enter into correspondence about any such postings which will be published "as is", with no guarantee of their veracity.In this, as in all things regarding computers, extreme caution is recommended.
(Previously posted Tuesday, August 01, 2006)
As computers become more and more susceptible to bugs, virus attacks and other threats, the publishers of SoftwareDaily and HardwareDaily have started a new blog, computerdisasters.blogspot.com.
We are at present working on a solution for the hundreds of users who have been affected by problems arising from attempting to install the Internet Explorer 7 beta.This often removes functionality from a wide range of programs, which are looking for two new DLLs that the IE7 install should have placed in the Windows/system 32 directory.
We have found a source for these files and at the present stage of our quest for a solution we have found that downloading them remedies some (but not all) of the problems.We have provided Microsoft with details of these files and where they may be found, but they have refused to distribute this information, since IE7 is in beta and they do not provide technical support for beta products.
However, a check with Google reveals the unprecedented extent of the problems arising from this beta, and if Microsoft will not make solutions available, then we must remedy that omission. Hence this new blog.
Please let us know of any disasters you have suffered - and, hopefully, of any solutions you have found. You can post them as comments to postings on this blog, or send them by email to disasters@blueyonder.co.uk.
We regret that we cannot enter into correspondence about any such postings which will be published "as is", with no guarantee of their veracity.In this, as in all things regarding computers, extreme caution is recommended.
Tuesday, September 21, 2004
Corel® Painter™ IX Unveiled!!
Commercial Designers, Photographers & Professional Artists Discover the Most Powerful Natural-Media® Painting and Illustration Application EVER!
London, UK - 21 September 2004 - Corel today announced that Corel® Painter™ IX, the world's most powerful Natural-Media® painting and illustration software, is now available for pre-order. Hitting the streets in October, Corel Painter IX allows commercial designers, photographers, and professional artists to use their natural talents and techniques to create breathtaking works of art.
Corel Painter IX is a highly-sophisticated painting and illustration application designed to capture the intricate nuances of traditional art tools while taking advantage of the incredible power of digital media. It is the must-have software for creative professionals, whether they're in film making, game development, commercial design, illustration, photography, or fine arts.
"Professional users tell us time and again - there is simply no substitute for Corel Painter. Painter is the only application that has the power and versatility that enables them to create the masterpieces they build their reputations on," said Nick Davies, Director of Graphics for Corel.
"Setting a new standard for performance, Corel Painter IX introduces tools that redefine digital art. Creative professionals who work either traditionally or digitally should give serious consideration to the benefits Corel Painter IX can offer to their creativity and workflow," Davies continued.
Professional Customers Praise Corel Painter "Having worked exclusively in Painter at Disney Features for 8 months prior to beginning art direction of Bambi And The Great Prince, I knew its potential. I was given the opportunity to show that a beautiful 'traditional' painting could be done digitally - specifically Bambi, which was incredibly difficult regardless of the medium. Painter took off the digital curse, sensitively emulating paint, stroke, texture, and atmosphere not possible with Photoshop alone. We simply could not have produced the great artwork, reminiscent of the original movie, for this production, without it!" said Carol Kieffer Police, Art Director, The Walt Disney Company.
"Corel Painter IX lets photographers offer their customers unique painted masterpieces created from photos. For photographers who already use Painter, the benefits of the new Quick Clone feature alone make the upgrade absolutely essential. I am delighted at the way the new Artists' Oils perform, so much like my traditional paints and brushes do. And I am amazed at the way familiar brushes now react - they are all simply luscious, the speed is incredible, and there are so many variations and choices that anything is possible. Working with Painter has always been fun, and Painter IX is not only pure pleasure, it's also profitable," said Helen Yancy, Past President & Chairman of the Board, Professional Photographers of America (PPA).
"In my experience, using Painter IX is faster, more efficient, and produces more realistic results than any other paint software. Snap-to-path also puts Painter IX into a professional illustration category where other software packages struggle. The combination of tools, and the opportunity for customisation unequivocally augments my work flow," said Christopher Welch, Senior Designer, DaimlerChrysler Corporation.
Corel Painter IX Takes Digital Art to the Next Level
Performance and Productivity
- Improved Speed - This is the fastest version of Corel Painter yet. Some brushes perform up to 10 times faster, and most brushes work, on average, twice as fast.
- New Welcome Screen - Getting down to the job at hand has never been easier, thanks to the new Corel Painter IX Welcome screen, which launches on startup and provides access to a Corel Painter Master gallery, lynda.com training, brush tracking, and more.
- New and Enhanced Brush Control Palettes - Providing easy access to all brush settings and controls, users can now make on-the-fly changes to brush settings and variables by simply dragging sliders - without any disruption to their workflow.
- New Frames Per Second Control - Animators can now test frame rates directly in Corel Painter. With the new Frames-per-Second Control, frame rates can be set and previewed in a range of 1 to 40 frames per second.
- New Customisable Shortcut Keys - Corel Painter now offers creative professionals an unprecedented level of control over their workflow by enabling complete customisation of shortcut keys.
Creativity
- New Artists' Oils Painting System - A milestone in the evolution of digital art, this new painting system creates a new level of realism for digital painting, delivering oil paints that truly behave like traditional media. They blend, mix and feel 'organic'. Artists' Oils blow away previous notions of what is possible in the digital realm.
- New Snap-to-Path Painting - When users need to paint or draw a perfect curve or shape, Snap-to-Path Painting is a great time-saver. Snap-to-Path Painting makes it possible to constrain a brush stroke along a vector path or shape, creating a distinctly 'made-by-hand' Painter look.
- Improved Digital Watercolor - Digital Watercolor has been significantly enhanced in Corel Painter IX. Paint stays wet between sessions, enabling artists to start one session where the last one ended. Digital Watercolor emulates the traditional watercolour painting experience more realistically than ever before.
- New Quick Clone - Ideal for photographers, Quick Clone enables the easy transformation of a photo into a painting. This new feature speeds up the image-cloning workflow, reducing five complicated steps to one simple click.
Compatibility
- Enhanced Adobe® Photoshop® Support - Moving between Adobe Photoshop and Corel Painter is easier than ever. Files saved to the Adobe Photoshop (PSD) file format open in Corel Painter, with layer masks, alpha channels and layer sets (layer groups) maintained. New layers are now added above the selected layer, layers with different merge modes are collapsible, and it is now possible to hide or display multiple layers by simply clicking and dragging. - Enhanced Wacom® Support - Corel Painter IX features support for Wacom's newest pen tablet model - the Wacom Intuos®3 - and the entire Wacom tablet product line. The Wacom Intuos3 has touch strips that can be configured to control brush size, zooming, and many other functions, eliminating the need for a keyboard.
- Enhanced Color Management - Supporting industry-standard ICC4.0 profiles, Corel Painter IX Color Management enables colour matching between on-screen and printed colours.
Learning
- With improved Help; a revitalised User Guide; tutorials from leading graphics professionals; free training videos from lynda.com; and academic courseware specifically designed for educators; getting started with Corel Painter IX is easier than ever!
Powerful Software, Training and Content in One Box Corel Painter IX includes the following components: Corel Painter IX, both Mac® and Windows® versions; libraries of unique gradients, nozzles, patterns, stock photos, paper textures, and brushes, including the new Artists' Oils brush category; The Corel Painter IX Handbook, including tutorials written by creative professionals; the User Guide (PDF) in electronic format; and free lynda.com training video content.
Pricing and Availability
Corel Painter IX English language version is available for pre-order starting today from www.corel.co.uk and selected Corel partners. Suggested retail pricing for Corel Painter IX is £249 / €379 full edition, £99 / €149 for upgrade and £59 / €84 for the education edition (excl.VAT). The French, Italian and German language versions of Painter IX will be available early 2005.
About Corel Corporation
Corel provides innovative software solutions and services that help millions of customers worldwide improve their productivity. Founded in 1985, the Company is best known for its leading graphics and office productivity solutions, including CorelDRAW®, Corel® Painter™, and WordPerfect®. With its headquarters in Ottawa, Canada, Corel has offices around the globe. For more information, please visit www.corel.com. © 2004 Corel Corporation. All rights reserved. Corel, Painter, Natural-Media, CorelDRAW, WordPerfect and the Corel logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Corel Corporation and/or its subsidiaries. All other product, font and company names and logos are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies.
London, UK - 21 September 2004 - Corel today announced that Corel® Painter™ IX, the world's most powerful Natural-Media® painting and illustration software, is now available for pre-order. Hitting the streets in October, Corel Painter IX allows commercial designers, photographers, and professional artists to use their natural talents and techniques to create breathtaking works of art.
Corel Painter IX is a highly-sophisticated painting and illustration application designed to capture the intricate nuances of traditional art tools while taking advantage of the incredible power of digital media. It is the must-have software for creative professionals, whether they're in film making, game development, commercial design, illustration, photography, or fine arts.
"Professional users tell us time and again - there is simply no substitute for Corel Painter. Painter is the only application that has the power and versatility that enables them to create the masterpieces they build their reputations on," said Nick Davies, Director of Graphics for Corel.
"Setting a new standard for performance, Corel Painter IX introduces tools that redefine digital art. Creative professionals who work either traditionally or digitally should give serious consideration to the benefits Corel Painter IX can offer to their creativity and workflow," Davies continued.
Professional Customers Praise Corel Painter "Having worked exclusively in Painter at Disney Features for 8 months prior to beginning art direction of Bambi And The Great Prince, I knew its potential. I was given the opportunity to show that a beautiful 'traditional' painting could be done digitally - specifically Bambi, which was incredibly difficult regardless of the medium. Painter took off the digital curse, sensitively emulating paint, stroke, texture, and atmosphere not possible with Photoshop alone. We simply could not have produced the great artwork, reminiscent of the original movie, for this production, without it!" said Carol Kieffer Police, Art Director, The Walt Disney Company.
"Corel Painter IX lets photographers offer their customers unique painted masterpieces created from photos. For photographers who already use Painter, the benefits of the new Quick Clone feature alone make the upgrade absolutely essential. I am delighted at the way the new Artists' Oils perform, so much like my traditional paints and brushes do. And I am amazed at the way familiar brushes now react - they are all simply luscious, the speed is incredible, and there are so many variations and choices that anything is possible. Working with Painter has always been fun, and Painter IX is not only pure pleasure, it's also profitable," said Helen Yancy, Past President & Chairman of the Board, Professional Photographers of America (PPA).
"In my experience, using Painter IX is faster, more efficient, and produces more realistic results than any other paint software. Snap-to-path also puts Painter IX into a professional illustration category where other software packages struggle. The combination of tools, and the opportunity for customisation unequivocally augments my work flow," said Christopher Welch, Senior Designer, DaimlerChrysler Corporation.
Corel Painter IX Takes Digital Art to the Next Level
Performance and Productivity
- Improved Speed - This is the fastest version of Corel Painter yet. Some brushes perform up to 10 times faster, and most brushes work, on average, twice as fast.
- New Welcome Screen - Getting down to the job at hand has never been easier, thanks to the new Corel Painter IX Welcome screen, which launches on startup and provides access to a Corel Painter Master gallery, lynda.com training, brush tracking, and more.
- New and Enhanced Brush Control Palettes - Providing easy access to all brush settings and controls, users can now make on-the-fly changes to brush settings and variables by simply dragging sliders - without any disruption to their workflow.
- New Frames Per Second Control - Animators can now test frame rates directly in Corel Painter. With the new Frames-per-Second Control, frame rates can be set and previewed in a range of 1 to 40 frames per second.
- New Customisable Shortcut Keys - Corel Painter now offers creative professionals an unprecedented level of control over their workflow by enabling complete customisation of shortcut keys.
Creativity
- New Artists' Oils Painting System - A milestone in the evolution of digital art, this new painting system creates a new level of realism for digital painting, delivering oil paints that truly behave like traditional media. They blend, mix and feel 'organic'. Artists' Oils blow away previous notions of what is possible in the digital realm.
- New Snap-to-Path Painting - When users need to paint or draw a perfect curve or shape, Snap-to-Path Painting is a great time-saver. Snap-to-Path Painting makes it possible to constrain a brush stroke along a vector path or shape, creating a distinctly 'made-by-hand' Painter look.
- Improved Digital Watercolor - Digital Watercolor has been significantly enhanced in Corel Painter IX. Paint stays wet between sessions, enabling artists to start one session where the last one ended. Digital Watercolor emulates the traditional watercolour painting experience more realistically than ever before.
- New Quick Clone - Ideal for photographers, Quick Clone enables the easy transformation of a photo into a painting. This new feature speeds up the image-cloning workflow, reducing five complicated steps to one simple click.
Compatibility
- Enhanced Adobe® Photoshop® Support - Moving between Adobe Photoshop and Corel Painter is easier than ever. Files saved to the Adobe Photoshop (PSD) file format open in Corel Painter, with layer masks, alpha channels and layer sets (layer groups) maintained. New layers are now added above the selected layer, layers with different merge modes are collapsible, and it is now possible to hide or display multiple layers by simply clicking and dragging. - Enhanced Wacom® Support - Corel Painter IX features support for Wacom's newest pen tablet model - the Wacom Intuos®3 - and the entire Wacom tablet product line. The Wacom Intuos3 has touch strips that can be configured to control brush size, zooming, and many other functions, eliminating the need for a keyboard.
- Enhanced Color Management - Supporting industry-standard ICC4.0 profiles, Corel Painter IX Color Management enables colour matching between on-screen and printed colours.
Learning
- With improved Help; a revitalised User Guide; tutorials from leading graphics professionals; free training videos from lynda.com; and academic courseware specifically designed for educators; getting started with Corel Painter IX is easier than ever!
Powerful Software, Training and Content in One Box Corel Painter IX includes the following components: Corel Painter IX, both Mac® and Windows® versions; libraries of unique gradients, nozzles, patterns, stock photos, paper textures, and brushes, including the new Artists' Oils brush category; The Corel Painter IX Handbook, including tutorials written by creative professionals; the User Guide (PDF) in electronic format; and free lynda.com training video content.
Pricing and Availability
Corel Painter IX English language version is available for pre-order starting today from www.corel.co.uk and selected Corel partners. Suggested retail pricing for Corel Painter IX is £249 / €379 full edition, £99 / €149 for upgrade and £59 / €84 for the education edition (excl.VAT). The French, Italian and German language versions of Painter IX will be available early 2005.
About Corel Corporation
Corel provides innovative software solutions and services that help millions of customers worldwide improve their productivity. Founded in 1985, the Company is best known for its leading graphics and office productivity solutions, including CorelDRAW®, Corel® Painter™, and WordPerfect®. With its headquarters in Ottawa, Canada, Corel has offices around the globe. For more information, please visit www.corel.com. © 2004 Corel Corporation. All rights reserved. Corel, Painter, Natural-Media, CorelDRAW, WordPerfect and the Corel logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Corel Corporation and/or its subsidiaries. All other product, font and company names and logos are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies.
Wednesday, December 17, 2003
Techweb > News > Toshiba Launches VoIP Phone Client > December 16, 2003
"Toshiba's Digital Solutions Division on Tuesday rolled out a software-based VoIP (Voice over IP) client that turns any Windows XP laptop or desktop into the equivalent of a desktop phone."
FULL STORY
Thursday, December 04, 2003
I have now added “comments” links to all my blogs. This means that when you read something, you can add a comment, without having to subscribe.
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Karl Dallas
Thursday, November 13, 2003
Use Windows XP Pro's Network Diagnostics tool
for comprehensive troubleshooting
Note from Karl Dallas: I ran the Network Diagnostics Tool and it appears to have hung when it was 35% through its work. This has happened several times. I'm leaving it and will report further when/if it actually finishes.
for comprehensive troubleshooting
Note from Karl Dallas: I ran the Network Diagnostics Tool and it appears to have hung when it was 35% through its work. This has happened several times. I'm leaving it and will report further when/if it actually finishes.
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