We have seen the tremendous response designers gave to Adobe’s question about which iPad app customers may want, in this post titled, “Adobe Illustrator and InDesign for the iPad coming soon? Adobe asks for feedback..” Now we read 70% of readers of Sue’s Graphics Software Blog on About.com want this tablet device from Apple and many desire it to offer creative applications such as photo editing and digital art tools:

Source: http://graphicssoft.about.com/b/2010/01/27/poll-will-apples-ipad-appeal-to-digital-artists.htm – Sue’s Graphics Software Blog

Do you want an Apple iPad when it ships next month?

Patrick Marchese, CEO of Markzware, had this to say in a comment on what Steve Job’s is rumored to have said about Adobe, FLASH and the iPad in this Wired.com piece titled, “Google’s ‘Don’t Be Evil’ Mantra is ‘Bullshit,’ Adobe Is Lazy: Apple’s Steve Jobs“:

Posted by: patmarkz | 02/1/10 | 1:58 pm
“imo, there has been no love-loss between Apple and Adobe going all the way back to the TrueType vs Type 1 wars. But, (software) Type 1, PostScript, then PageMaker, started the Desktop Publishing Revolution, not exclusively Apple. So, it again appears that Adobe again is trying to cater to the Apple’s hardware, the iPad: http://www.markzware.com/blogs/adobe-illustrator-indesign-ipad-coming-soon-adobe-asks-feedback/2010/02/01/ and (maybe taking credit for another revolution) regardless how much Steve might not want it to happen…”

Read More http://www.wired.com/epicenter/2010/01/googles-dont-be-evil-mantra-is-bullshit-adobe-is-lazy-apples-steve-jobs/

There was an interesting Apple iPad survey yesterday by one of the main Dutch news broadcaster (RTL4) asking:

Can you hardly wait to get the ‘revolutionary’ iPad?

21% said yes, while 78% said no, they can wait and RTL4 was also wondering in their broadcast what was so special about this new Apple tablet device; as was CNN, Wired Magazine and many Twitter Tweeters. One could argue that this survey is a positive for the iPad is still in pre-launch mode, yet then again, many will see this as a sign that the iPad is an iFail waiting to happen. (Apple stock ticker AAPL shows it down 4%+ last night)

Now this sounds familiar. Remember before the Apple iPhone came out (for instance, “Why the Apple phone will fail, and fail badly” from pre iPhone launch 2006)? Same sort of surveys and opinions it seems. As a matter of a fact, there was a time there just before the launch of the iPhone that many saw it being a complete and utter failure! To be honest, I was one of them. Wow was I wrong! (Just do this Google search, “iPhone will fail“, which I searched on dates from 2005 till end 2006 and it is kind of amazing!),  Read more... (331 words, 1 image, estimated 1:19 mins reading time)

On Apple’s web page under Mac OS X productivity tools, you can see the new and exciting tool from Markzware, PageZephyr- perfect for publishers of all sorts (Book, magazine and newspaper publishing houses) or of course anyone with archives of DTP files which need to be easily searchable. This Macintosh application allows you to search your entire drive or network full of Adobe InDesign or QuarkXPress documents, WITHOUT opening them.. and so much more, like extraction:

http://www.apple.com/downloads/macosx/productivity_tools/pagezephyr.html

—> Do not forget to preflight and then check again your application print files with Markzware’s FlightCheck Professional v6.5. Supporting more than 50 file formats, it takes quality control in the publishing workflow to the next level…

It’s Friday; Microsoft Windows 7 just out, so I’m going retro, as in last years “I’m a PC” ad buzz -

“I’m Linux” (video).. sure glad we primarily use Apple Macintosh around here:

“Electronic books may transform publishing industry” read the title on MarketWatch.com and the tag-line was, “Executives discuss impact of e-books at Frankfurt Books Fair.”

By Polya Lesova, MarketWatch

FRANKFURT (MarketWatch) — Electronic books may transform not only the publishing industry, but the very definition of what constitutes a book. E-books — whether read on an iPhone, a Kindle or a laptop — are a hot topic at this week’s Frankfurt Book Fair.

“Books are just devices. Wikipedia is the new Britannica,” said Ronald Schild, managing director of Germany-based MVB Marketing- und Verlagsservice des Buchhandels GmbH.

“Digital content is superior in many ways,” Schild said Thursday at a panel discussion on electronic books at the fair. “Reading today is solitary process, but there are many other ways of reading. [In the future,] it may become more of a conversation.”

While electronic books still account for only a small part of global publishing, their popularity is growing. Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN ) , which sells the electronic-book reader Kindle, is facing growing competition from other e-reader producers. In addition, many users are reading electronic content on their laptops, PCs and multi-functional mobile devices such as Apple Inc.’s (AAPL 189.91, -1.39, -0.72%) iPhone.  Read more... (692 words, estimated 2:46 mins reading time)

Here is a neat and perhaps handy new resource for viewing and grouping RSS feeds called WebPartner. Standard, you can monitor all things Apple and another group of feeds for creative and graphic designer type stuff, you know Adobe Creative Suite stuff, etc. Here is Markzware’s page on WebPartner; just another way to view our feeds and this blog perhaps:

Don’t forget; a NEW version of FlightCheck is out. Preflight and Package or collect fonts and images from more than 50 file formats!

Today I learned of the rumor that Apple is in talks to buy Twitter for 700 million via an email from MacUser in the UK, which read:

There has been a lot of talk this week about Apple buying micro-blogging service Twitter, with rumors of a $700 million offering on the table. Apple is just one of many companies that has been linked with a possible take-over of the service. (See full story here.)

I disagree with MacUser’s notion (story here) that there is no logical reason for Apple to buy Twitter. Imho, it would be a bargain at 700 mil. The biggest challenge Twitter faces is how to monetize itself. With Apple at the helm, the service ‘itself’ would be like one big marketing costs, with huge exposure and potential ROI. Not to mention it is widely used via the iPhone. Lastly, it would also slide Apple into the search market, which in-and-of itself, will lead to a serious revenue stream. For instance… I use Twitter search for monitoring real-time events. Hands down, you get more information, faster, via Twitter than MSM (Main Stream Media) and often better eye-witness accounts. Which leads me to the next bit, which I of course learned via a RT from @ilovetypography.  Read more... (452 words, estimated 1:48 mins reading time)