The vast library is grouped by either the type of music style (hip hop, rock, guitar, country, etc.) or the media theme or feel (motivational, sports, business and finance, just the news, etc.). Most volumes are provided with multiple selections, and each selection is offered in about five track lengths, running from under ten seconds, up to several minutes. Virtually any musical need can be met with tracks from this extensive library. The tracks have been used on many television shows including Dateline, Law & Order: SVU, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Oprah, Saturday Night Live, and others.

The program also supports editing of virtually any sound file. The user can trim their own music or sound and use it immediately in their video project. The video, to which the soundtrack will be added, is displayed in a window on the screen so that the user can match appropriate music to each scene accurately, and with immediate feedback. There has yet to be another method as easy and effective as this. Digital publishers are encouraged to take a close look at what this software can do for for their creativity and their productivity. $299

The program ships with over 100 business card designs and over 500 images, categorized, and previewable. Other features include: color graded fills and mask options; transparency; the use of background images; snap tool for object alignment; print out support for popular card stocks from Apli, Avery, Canson, and others; printing of crop and registration marks; selection of data directly from the Apple Address Book; and more. $39.95

The keyboard is low-profile, with zero-degree tilt. It can be moved to any position, and reasonable location (within 6 feet), to provide the user with proper and convenient access. The dedicated function keys simplify common tasks and reduce them to a single keystroke. A specially designed portion of the keyboard has been designed with controls for playing media, including music, videos, and movies. Another area of the keyboard provides single key access to Internet resources, such as searching. The large palm rest area provides support as needed.

The cordless MouseMan Optical mouse provides a high degree of accuracy, yet does not require cleaning. It contains two buttons and a scroll wheel, and can be used on virtually any surface.

The devices connect via USB, although a PS/2 cable is also provided. Digital publishers will find these devices a welcome relief from cord-bound peripherals. $99.95

The training series is presented on-screen using QuickTime videos which are controllable using VCR player-like controls. The user can easily pause, repeat, or jump forward or backward. Each volume is well-organized, and leads the learner through a logical progression of tasks. The set serves as both a comprehensive course and a ready reference. Here is the contents of the main course components:

Volume 1: THE GRAND TOUR Lesson 1: Getting to know Adobe Acrobat Professional Lesson 2: Creating PDF Files Lesson 3: Editing Lesson 4: Interactivity Lesson 5: Layers Lesson 6: Review and Comments Lesson 7: Printing and Prepress

Volume 2: INTEGRATING ADOBE ACROBAT Lesson 1: Viewing and Printing Lesson 2: Using Acrobat Distiller Lesson 3: Scanning and Capture Lesson 4: Saving Files Lesson 5: Commenting Lesson 6: Distributing Content

Volume 3: INTERACTIVITY IN PDF FILES Lesson 1: PDF Interactivity Lesson 2: Adding Movies and Sound Lesson 3: Creating Presentations Lesson 4: Securing PDF Files Lesson 5: Digital Signatures Lesson 6: Working with PDF Forms Lesson 7: PDFs and the Web

Work files are provided so that the user can benefit from completing presentation-related exercises. $99

The best solution that we have found for creating, managing, publishing, and tabulating surveys and questionnaires is Dragon Web Surveys 6.5*, software that works within the FileMaker Pro Unlimited environment. The program is cross-platform, and requires a dedicated IP address. The software provides an easy-to-use interface for creating a wide range of survey instruments, without programming or coding. The program also supports the creation of on-line quizzes, with two types of questions (single choice and value choice) that can be assigned individual scores. The program supports branching, so that a respondent can be routed to a particular section of the survey instrument based on their response to a particular question. As quizzes are submitted, the scores are compiled and an individual score card, summarized by each quiz section, is tallied. Although respondent-specific data gathering is the usual case, the program also supports anonymous submission, so that the respondent's identity remains confidential. Conversely, the survey may be set to one of four levels of authentication, which might include the respondent being assigned a password and user name, or provided access only from a particular IP address. The Dragon administrator can remotely view the status and results of surveys from anywhere, at any time, using a Web browser.

The Dragon Web Survey tool is a finely-tuned survey construction and delivery tool that has been refined through years of real-world use. It is among the most flexible solutions for gathering all sorts of data, assigning weighted points (if necessary), and managing the data submission and reporting process. It can be set-up fairly quickly, requiring the administrator (i.e. user) to fill in just a few dialog boxes, and add users, if required.

The program runs within the FileMaker Pro Unlimited environment. Unlike the standard version of FileMaker Pro, which limits remote access from ten unique IP addresses, the Unlimited version is just that. This program is a powerful yet user-friendly database application that provides the easiest and fastest way possible to share and gather data over the Web, combining the database application, CGI, and Web Server in a single package. For certain kinds of data gathering, users may find the capabilities of FileMaker Pro Unlimited sufficient.

The creation of a FileMaker Pro database is very simple, and can be accomplished in a matter of minutes. By clicking a few checkbox selections in appropriate dialog boxes the new database can be published to the Web, and made available to anyone who has the correct IP address and authentication (if necessary). The process is a marvel of modern programming and frees the user from the onerous burden of high-level coding which would otherwise be necessary, time-consuming, and expensive.

Dragon maintains a list of all of the surveys and quizzes that have been created in its Surveys window. The listing shows the name of the instrument, its start and end dates, the target size of the population, the actual number of surveys returned, the number processed, and a progress bar showing the percent of response. The user can add comments about any survey, create a new survey, export or import a survey, print survey questions, or view an overview report. Through this one window the user can manage the entire inventory of survey instruments.

The survey question interface is very direct. It consists of three options: Demographic, Add/Edit, and Branching. The Demographic section allows for the input of up to ten items that relate to the individual filling-in the instrument. Common field entries are first name, last name, address, city, state, zip, telephone number, e-mail address, etc., but can consist of any data that the user cares to include. The Add/Edit section is the heart of the program. It is here that sections are established, questions are entered, answers are indicated, and points are assigned. The Branching section provides a simple way to direct the respondent to a new section on the basis of a particular response. After the survey has been constructed, the program generates the URL for the survey so that it can be sent to respondents.

The authentication capabilities offer a rich set of tools including the option to generate automatically, unique passwords for each of the individuals who are to be invited to participate in the survey. Dragon Web Survey provides the means to compose a message and batch e-mail it to the list of potential respondents along with their passwords. Surveys of a general nature can also be conducted with no authentication requirements.

As surveys are submitted the user can get a variety of reports showing such things as the number of respondents and the percentage of expected results. The user can search the responses and save the search criteria, which is handy when there is a concern to monitor, over time, the number of responses of a certain kind, such as all dentists from Ohio. At the conclusion of a survey period an Overall Report can be generated which shows each question, the number of responses, and the number of responses to each answer. $895

Camtasia Studio is an entire production environment that supports the initial screen capture, and then provides tools for making polished professional presentations. The Recorder captures any activity that occurs on-screen, including mouse movements, dialog box interaction, drop-down menus, and more. The Producer provides complete editing features, including the application of transitions, audio tracks, and more. Movies can be output in AVI, Flash, GIF Animation, RealPlayer Streaming Media File, RealPlayer Movie File, QuickTime Movie File, and Windows Media Streaming Media File formats. The Effects module enables the user to add text boxes, shapes, arrows, and callouts, to clarify the video content. The MenuMaker supports the construction of a menu interface not only to Camtasia videos, but to PowerPoint files, Word documents, and more. Finally, the Player, which occupies only 320 KB, can be freely shared without further payment. $349

Digital publishers will appreciate the new capabilities for print production. These include a color separation preview window (and the printed output of color separations), preflighting tools, and the production of PDF/X-compliant files. The program is optimized for soft proofing, eliminating, in many cases, the need for costly hardcopy proofs. In addition, PDF digital workflows ensure that complex layouts can be shared with customers immediately, and that changes can be recorded and executed accurately. The new Loupe tool allows the user to magnify a given area of a document easily, and view it in a split screen mode.

Based on user perceptions, Adobe has renamed the Acrobat Reader as the Adobe Reader, although it can't read any Adobe file format except Acrobat PDF. $449

The user interface is simple and clean, and consists of fields for specifying the format to convert from, the encoding method, the format to convert to, a listing of the operative fonts, and the specification of the output folder where the converted fonts will reside. $45

According to research conducted by Macromedia, Web professionals spend from 15% to 50% of their time making simple content changes rather than working on the design, usability and functionality of their Web sites. Most agree that they would like to see the content creators take responsibility for that function.

The program is very robust, as it must be to maintain an on-line connection while editing. For this purpose it incorporates what Macromedia calls a Third Generation Site Connection System, which ensures that connections will be held reliably. This feature, which integrates threaded architecture with file caching, is responsive to the great variability in server and network configurations. In addition, Contribute 2 supports SFTP secure site connections, with encrypted transfers of all data.

Those whose businesses have Web sites, but whose technical expertise has prevented them from implementing e-commerce, will appreciate the new PayPal Merchant Tools that are now a part of the program. The optional wizard-based system simplifies the process of adding payment buttons to selected pages. The user pays only transaction fees. There are no set-up nor monthly charges.

Windows 2000 and XP users can benefit from Macromedia's new FlashPaper Web Document Publishing technology. Through the use of FlashPaper, any printable document can be converted into a trim (up to 80% smaller) Flash format file that can be added as a part of any Web page. The user need not have the application that was used to create the original document (nor does the end-user need the original application to view FlashPaper), and any number of documents can be processed by simply dragging them onto the Contribute 2 edit window, or selecting Insert>Document as FlashPaper.... As the documents are embedded into the target Web page the user can align and size them as needed. All that an end-user needs to view FlashPaper documents is a current version of the Flash Player, which is available for free, and is, in fact, used by almost all Internet users (98%). Although FlashPaper enables the sharing of document content, it does not have the rich feature set (searching, annotation, text selection, encryption, etc.) found in Adobe Acrobat PDF.

Although Contribute 2 can be used with Web pages that were produced using any Web development application, there is a benefit in using it with pages that were created using Macromedia Dreamweaver. First of all, Contribute recognizes and responds to Dreamweaver Templates, so that areas of a page can be identified as editable by Contribute users. Second, both programs share the same check-in/check-out system, so that users can work together safely, and there will not be accidental overwrites. Those Dreamweaver users who buy or try Contribute 2 can also get a program update that enhances Dreamweaver to work in a workflow that integrates Contribute 2.

The program enables Web page editing and correction in four steps: Connection, Browse, Edit, and Publish. The Connection step may be preconfigured by a Web site administrator, or established by the user with the connection wizard. After connecting, the user browses the site using the built-in Web browser and Contribute tools to locate the page that needs editing. By clicking the Edit Page button, the user enters Edit mode, and Contribute transfers a temporary copy of the page to the user's computer. At this point, edits are made, spelling can be checked, tables and bullets can be inserted, and standard text-formatting can be applied. Users can also insert Web page links, and create new Web pages. The user can save a page for later editing, or publish it immediately. Using the Publish button the page is sent to the Web site and the process, at least for one page, is complete. $99

The program incorporates a unique Formula Builder that contains 50 statistical and other mathematical functions that can assist the user in understanding and analyzing their data. Digital publishers will appreciate the fact that DeltaGraph can publish its output either as paper reports, electronic presentations, or Web documents.

Data can be imported from a variety of sources and file formats, with a capacity of up to 32,000 rows and 256 columns. Graphics can be imported in PICT, BMP, Photoshop 4, PNG, GIF, TIFF, QuickTime Image, JPEG, EPSF, and movie file formats.

The construction of charts is simplified with the use of the Chart Advisor. This wizard-based interface helps the user to select the appropriate chart type based on the intended audience, 2-D or 3-D chart, and the data provided. Charts can be customized using PANTONE Color Matching, customized layouts, the application of backgrounds from a stored library, importation of pictographs, and the use of built-in drawing tools. $299

This book is the most authoritative and up-to-date source on the subject of DI (Direct-Image) presses. In it the authors cover the considerations that potential buyers must consider, and the opportunities that are awaiting recent buyers. The content includes coverage of the enabling technologies, new workflow processes, and the technologies that enable direct image printing.