Recently in Technology Category

WoodWing + Adobe: What It Means for You

At Day 1 of Adobe's MAX conference yesterday there were two big announcements: Adobe has purchased TypeKit (so get ready to see Cooper Black all over your favorite websites) and Adobe is partnering with WoodWing. The Adobe-WoodWing partnership raises a lot of questions about its impact on the design community. Joe Zeff Design, a Silver Authorized Solution Partner of WoodWing, provides some of the answers. One thing we already know we like is what you'll hear more about after the jump -- "much more accessible for small shops and freelance designers." Here's the full Q&A:

Why would WoodWing join forces with Adobe?

WoodWing's primary focus has always been related to workflow, helping publishers push content to different channels. When the iPad emerged as a new channel, there was no existing solution for publishers to make apps, so WoodWing developed its own. Its partnership with Adobe allowed WoodWing to create a set of tools that worked with Adobe InDesign, and ultimately competed with Adobe's own solution. Rather than continue to compete with its partner, WoodWing returns its focus to workflow with Adobe's Digital Publishing Suite serving as the publishing engine for tablets.

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Joe Zeff: Reinvent Everything

Joe Zeff is in Amsterdam today (May 24), giving a presentation at the WoodWing Xperience conference, called "Reinvent Everything--Your Content, Your Business Model, Your Future."

Folks who have seen Joe at various SPD events know that he gives a good presentation, and this one looks to be another smart, potent, focused learning experience. "Reinvent Everything" is a quick guide to an effective digital design strategy (both iPad and other platforms), with great tips on creativity and business. We always learn a lot from Joe's presentations, and this one is no exception. There are sections on development, creativity, technology, partnerships, and app promotion. This is our essential reading for today!

Dueling Covers on the iPad

No matter how you tilt the iPad, as publication designers, the workload has increased. When it comes to covers, back in the old days (8 months ago) you "only" had to ship a newsstand and subscriber cover. Nowadays, add a portrait and landscape iPad cover to the mix. … MORE

The Economics of the iPad

I spent the last couple days at the Power of the Tablet seminar at the Poynter Institute in St. Petersburg, Florida. A lot of smart people were gathered together by newspaper redesign guru Mario Garcia to talk about the potential of the iPad and other tablets to transform magazines and newspapers. You can see a full report on the seminar here, including transcripts of all the sessions and interviews with some of the key presenters. Among the speakers were: D.W. Pine, art director of Time magazine, Jennifer Brook, interaction designer at The New York Times, Andrew DeVigal, multimedia editor of The New York Times, and Gary Cosmini of Adobe. One of the strongest presentations was by art director/illustrator/smart guy Joe Zeff of Joe Zeff Design. His talk, The Economics of the iPad, is available at his blog. It's a quick read/view and well-worth the time to get a smart, comprehensive rundown on the financial potential of publication apps.

More on the WIRED iPad app:
"We make up the language as we go."

It seems safe to say we're all pretty interested in the ways that apps are impacting the magazines of today, and what they might mean about the magazines of tomorrow. There's admittedly some frustration too, about how much we DON'T know yet, including more of the specifics and the nitty-gritty details we'll have to really know, and quickly. For every great, sexy user-video, there are ten times more questions about workflow, tech, staffing, and on and on. The Loud Cloud Creative Agency posted a pretty extensive interview today with WIRED's Creative Director, Scott Dadich about their new app for the June 2010 issue that at least starts to lift the veil, and probably launch a hundred more good questions. Definitely worth a read.
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A Critical Look at the New Wired iPad App

I ordered my iPad last week, but there's now a minimum wait of 10 business days before it shows up on my doorstep. So I'm spending my time reading everything I can about the new apps that I can't play with yet, and getting ready for Mario Garcia's The Power of Tablets seminar at the Poynter Institute on June 14.… MORE

PopSci: Back to the Future

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The iPad: "everybody needs to calm down"

Andrew Losowsky has some very smart analysis on magazines and the iPad on his blog Magtastic Blogsplosion. It's called "Why everybody needs to calm down." Read the whole thing, but his takeaway:

Joe Zeff on Newspapers and the iPad

Illustrator / designer / smart guy Joe Zeff has a new post on his blog about newspapers and the soon-to-be Apple iPad. His bottom line: newspapers will have success if they go local and heavy on service and resources. It's good reading.… MORE

The iPad: One step forward, two steps back?

William Owen, the strategy director at UK digital design firm Made By Many, has adapted a recent presentation on the iPad that he gave to an event organized by the British Society of Magazine Editors and the Editorial Design Organisation (that's the UK version of SPD). It's called "The iPad: one step forward, two steps back?" and is one of the crispest and sharpest takes on the upcoming iPad publishing revolution that we've read.

Tablet Wrap-Up from CES

With CES 2010 kicking off on Thursday (1/7/10) there are high expectations and will be lots of news about Tablets and e-Readers all with the mission to "save magazines and newspapers."… MORE

Tablet Crystal Ball, Pt 3: Another Demo on Magazines Going to Tablets

Hot on the heels of the NYT's article yesterday about the Sports Illustrated and Wired solutions for magazines on the fabled Tablet, Bonnier (home to Popular Science, Field & Stream and others) introduced this video yesterday of what they're working on:

Mag+ from Bonnier on Vimeo.

Follow-up: Must-Have Handheld of '10?

James Reyman (from our Facebook page, thanks, James!) and Kottke both shared this video today of Sports Illustrated / Time Inc.'s 2010 plans for magazines on they mythical tablet device that may, or may not, be under development at Apple, or some other mystical company:




What do you think? Better than the UK's Best-of for 2009?

Esquire: The Augmented Reality Issue

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EW: The (Really) Small Screen

The Wall Street Journal reports that Entertainment Weekly will run ads from CBS this fall that feature video. The TFT LCD screens will be able to play 40 minutes of video clips. … MORE

Digital Paper: Closer than You Think

Wired has posted an article, "Flexible Displays Closer to Reality", that reports on how quickly the technology for thin flexible (paper-like) digital displays is progressing, possibly available as soon as 2010! The surprise news to me is that this speed-to-market is thanks in large part to the U.S. Army and the nearly $44 million they've invested in the technology since 2004. U.S. troops will be the first to get their hands on it, but the goal is to make flexible displays commercially available.
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"New E-Newspaper Reader Echoes Look of the Paper"

There is a notable piece in the NYtimes today about a new electronic newspaper reader from Plastic Logic due out next year. It seems to be similar in many ways to the Kindle, but larger in size and looks to have the ability to display layouts.

While I don't own a Kindle, I was blown away recently when I sat next to a subway rider using one. The legibility was so good I could even read over his shoulder.

From the article ...

... "Even though we have positioned this for business documents, newspapers is what everyone asks for," Mr. Archuleta said.

The reader will go on sale in the first half of next year. Plastic Logic will not announce which news organization will display its articles on it until the International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas in January, when it will also reveal the price.

Read the full NYtimes article for more.