Internet marketing and design news from Florida and around the world

Internet Marketing and Web Design News - Florida & Beyond

Wednesday, December 14, 2005 12:10 PM

Adobe & Macromedia combined web bundle

Looking for the ultimate solution for web design? Since the acquisition of Macromedia, Adobe now has all of the professional software bundled into their new "Adobe Web Bundle". For $1899.00, you get:

Adobe Creative Suite Premium

Combines full versions of:
Adobe Photoshop® CS2 - a MUST buy for image manipulation
Adobe Illustrator® CS2 - logos & such
Adobe InDesign® CS2
Adobe GoLive® CS2 - use Dreamweaver instead (below)
Adobe Acrobat® 7.0 Professional - convert all your files to PDF
Version Cue® CS2
Adobe Bridge
Adobe Stock Photos

and from Macromedia, you get:
Macromedia Studio 8

Combines full versions of:
Dreamweaver® 8 - a MUST for HTML usage
Flash Professional 8 - a MUST for animation & advanced interactivity
Fireworks® 8 - use Photoshop instead
Contribute™ 3 - fantastic for web clients needing to update their website.
FlashPaper™ 2 - use Adobe PDF except for flash-based docs.

But what if you're just looking for the essentials? Here's what I suggest:

Adobe Photoshop - $649
Macromedia Dreamweaver - $399
(Optional) Contribute - $79
Total: $1127

You'll save $772, but will miss out on photography, PDF files, making logos & such.

Some other things to note:
- If you're into programming more, don't go for the bundle. Wait until they integrate Cold Fusion (Macromedia), or just learn the free programs such as ASP or PHP.
- Keep in mind that this merger just happened. In a few years, expect some serious integration of these products. We could see another Corel developing (putting all the programs into one giant program) or focused systems (i.e. best suited for each industry).

Want to Live in India - IT needs you NOW!

Have you ever dreamed of living in India but don't know how you would fare out there in their job market? Well, if you're in the IT field & overall in technology, then you might have a great chance at making it. According to news.com, India will be facing an IT shortage in skill-based labor by 2010.

Here is the money projected:
"McKinsey predicts global offshore outsourcing spend to hit $110 billion by 2010 and tips India to capture more than 50 percent of the market if it overcomes its challenges."

Here is the shortage:
"The report by consultant McKinsey and Indian IT body Nasscom warns that labor market pressures could leave India facing a shortfall of 500,000 IT staff equipped with the skills to work in the offshore outsourcing industry."

and...

"'The skills and quality of the workforce need to be improved, since only 25 percent of technical graduates and 10 to 15 percent of general college graduates are suitable for employment in the offshore IT and BPO industries respectively,'he said in the report."

So, if you're ever dreaming of living & working in India for long-term, get your continuing education in IT/technology fields + learning the Indian language. Then start to make a lot of money...