It's been quite a long time since I posted anything in the MediaCollege.com blog. I won't bore you with excuses, I just want to let our subscribers know that I'm back and looking forward to posting again.

I'm hoping to do lots of work on the website this year and I have lots of ideas for new material. Unfortunately one of my biggest tasks is to update old material; for example, much of our web design tutorials need updating to include recent developments in the industry.
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Over the last few weeks I've had my first real experience with Adobe Customer Care/Support. Before I get to the rant I'll say that the person who dealt with my case tried her best to help me and ultimately she did - the issue is now resolved. However the experience was less than impressive and left me wondering "How could such a clever company have such an impotent customer support system?"

Here's the story...

Oct 16th: I purchased Adobe Master Collection from the Adobe...

In a nutshell, CS4 highlights include:

Premiere Pro: Native AVCHD support! Woohoo! Also "speech search" which allows you to transcribe audio and search for words in the video. Reports on how well this works vary - don't expect too much.

After Effects: Photoshop 3D layer import. New "Mocha" tracking application.

Encore: Firewire output for monitoring. Pop-up menu for Blu-ray support. Enhanced Flash output (automatically make a Flash version of a DVD)....

As reported at stuff.co.nz this morning, "a walking, talking image of Australian chat show host Rove McManus was beamed across the Tasman yesterday to appear live on stage at Auckland's Vector Arena." Telecommunications company TelstraClear is promoting the technology for both business and home use, although the latter is still several years way.

Is this also the future of larger-scale "live" appearances? With increasing concerns about the environmental impact of touring acts, might...

It's not quite Star Trek standard but this one might do for now... The Immersive Cocoon is an enclosed virtual-reality pod being developed by international design collective NAU.

Have a look at the Flash demo and tell me you're not drooling for one as well.