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Review of the Powerbook G4 and Second Life (December 2005 model) |
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Keiki Lemieux
I make HUDDLES
Join date: 8 Jul 2005
Posts: 1,490
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01-07-2006 18:16
Perhaps it was the sad little video cards they're putting in them nowdays? Only a few with a 128 meg card, and most had a 3rd rank chipset for the video card. I counted perhaps 10 total with nvidia OR ati... <sigh> Anyway. I needed to be bi-Operating on computers anyway. Mac users need tech support too on occasion.  I have a 64mb card. Works fine. _____________________
imakehuddles.com/wordpress/
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Marcos Fonzarelli
You are not Marcos
Join date: 26 Feb 2004
Posts: 748
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01-07-2006 19:54
I recommend Transmit for FTP use.
It's a really good app. I even paid the shareware fee.  http://panic.com/transmit/ I'm really looking forward to the Intel Powerbooks. I'm using an almost-two-year-old 17" Powerbook and I could really use the extra processor muscle. |
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Dianne Mechanique
Back from the Dead
Join date: 28 Mar 2005
Posts: 2,648
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01-07-2006 20:48
<sigh> For the same reason as The above banned. $500-$1000 price ranges... I'm not a hard man to get along with, but GOOD GRAVY! Even I can see pricing meant to keep out the rif-raf. Combine that with a moral issue with copying software, and you have a problem... Anyone use Swift Publishing? If you are serious about page layout or need it for production (or both), then *nothing* will do but the industry standard. Usually this means Adobe. _____________________
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black art furniture & classic clothing =================== Black in Neufreistadt Black @ ONE Black @ www.SLBoutique.com . |
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Foolish Frost
Grand Technomancer
Join date: 7 Mar 2005
Posts: 1,433
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01-08-2006 03:05
No offence Foolish, but there is no such thing as inexpensive page layout software that's any good. It just doesn't exist, and never has in my experience. If you dont have a need for a professional product, then the limited page layout capabilities of a crap program like Word (or almost anything really) should do. If you are serious about page layout or need it for production (or both), then *nothing* will do but the industry standard. Usually this means Adobe. PagePlus 10. Excellent stuff. Windows only.  |
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Foolish Frost
Grand Technomancer
Join date: 7 Mar 2005
Posts: 1,433
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01-08-2006 07:07
Good news!
Seems that someone created an OSX version of Scribus that does not X11. Seems to have a good number of features, and is customizable to what I need. It IS a bit glitchy, but seems to be getting improvements on a regular basis... http://aqua.scribus.net/ Don't thank me, I just like to share the JOY! |
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Merwan Marker
Booring...
Join date: 28 Jan 2004
Posts: 4,706
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01-08-2006 07:37
I've gotten SL to run on PC notebooks, but they generally cost around $1800 USD for SL to run well. I am, however, a huge Mac fan. Congrats on the PowerBook. Not sure if this is going to make you regret purchasing now, but later this month, at the MacWorld expo in San Francisco, it's widely rumored that Apple is going to unveil their lineup of "Intel Macs" -- as in, you can dual-boot XP and OS X. Also, some rumors say one of the first computers to be upgraded to Intel will be the PowerBook, and they also say that the new Intel PowerBook will have a built in iSight camera. We shall see what is true in a few weeks. It's true - iSight cameras are built in...  _____________________
Don't Worry, Be Happy - Meher Baba
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Kurshie Muromachi
Primtastic!
Join date: 24 Apr 2005
Posts: 278
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01-08-2006 08:48
I used to run SL on my PowerBook 17" with 2 GB of RAM (Jan 05 edition). I play SL on my AMD desktop now. I'm curious though of the effects of playing SL on a PowerBook for long term usage that the constant overheating will run down the lifespan of the PowerBook. Is it possible for extended periods of running the CPU hot (such as SL hot) can decrease the lifespan of it as opposed to general usage?
Anyways, the PowerBook is a great mobile productive machine. In addition you don't have to deal with all the non-sense of running anti-spyware tools and background virus scanners. Extremely rare if anything to have to redo the system because of spyware/virus corruption. Not a bad platform for the general usage non-techies but in my opinon I think Macs should stick to the artist, audiophiles and developers. Heck of a price to pay (got mine cheaper thru a special Amazon deal. Bah, really didn't need that 2GB of RAM.) for just general usage in my opinion. Not too many MMORPG's for Mac though. Planeshift, Dofus (Flash based) and probably a couple others. Anyone care to share the MMORPG's they know of for the Mac off the top of their head? I found some others in Apple's software section of their website but they didn't seem all that great or just real plain looking. |
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Foolish Frost
Grand Technomancer
Join date: 7 Mar 2005
Posts: 1,433
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01-08-2006 09:41
Well, to be honest, the Mac is not going to be any more prone to overheating than any other laptop. And since I payed for the 3 year Comp-USA 'fix anything except you dipping it in water or shooting it in the screen with a shotgun warrentee', I feel confident that if it blows from playing SL, I'm going to have a new system pretty darn quick.
Or else. |
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Percy Plunkett
Registered User
Join date: 3 Dec 2005
Posts: 8
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pgup/pgdn
01-11-2006 22:34
A silly if not somewhat unrelated question...what are you folks using for your page up/down keys on the powerbook? I hate not being able to increase decrease altitude while flying, and miss the ability to do my silly little backflips to impress my friends. :^)
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Max Case
Registered User
Join date: 23 Dec 2004
Posts: 353
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01-12-2006 02:24
Hi FF.
Welcome to the club You may want to check here? Printing a Book with CSS: Boom! http://www.alistapart.com/articles/boom/ While not a program per se, it will walk you through how to typeset a book using CCS & HTML. HTML and CSS, two of our favorite acronyms, are normally associated with web pages. And deservedly so: HTML is the dominant document format on the web and CSS is used to style most HTML pages. But, are they suitable for off-screen use? Can CSS be used for serious print jobs? To find out, we decided to take the ultimate challenge: to produce the next edition of our book directly from HTML and CSS files. In this article we sketch our solution and quote from the style sheet used. Towards the end we describe the book microformat (boom!) we developed in the process. -Percy - Close your typing field, and use E for up, C for down. Or use the old fn-Up arrow/Down arrow -m _____________________
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Raster Teazle
Registered User
Join date: 13 Sep 2005
Posts: 114
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01-12-2006 08:13
What does everyone think about the Apple switching over to Intel based processors?
So basically we have a PC running MAC operating system. Jobs has said that the speed will be about 4 to 5 times faster then what they have now. 1st models to be released in about a month. Soon it may be just a choice of just operating systems with Window and OSX (and Linux)sitting on a shelve besides each other. |
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Enabran Templar
Capitalist Pig
Join date: 26 Aug 2004
Posts: 4,506
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01-12-2006 08:34
So basically we have a PC running MAC operating system. Jobs has said that the speed will be about 4 to 5 times faster then what they have now. 1st models to be released in about a month. It's not a PC. It won't boot Windows XP, thanks to Apple's using EFI instead of the traditional PC BIOS model. Vista will probably run on it. Having the Intel chip powering the MacBook Pro is very exciting, as it offers significant speed improvements over what the G4 was able to give us. We were never going to see a G5 PowerBook -- heat and power consumption were overwhelming obstacles to that end. Now I think we can see further progress in terms of raw power in Apple's portable lines. The wall has finally been breached. I'm excited to have x86 architecture inside a Mac enclosure. As I said, there's no dual-booting to XP because of EFI, but I see no reason why a virtualization wouldn't be possible given enough time tinkering. Currently, running Windows on a Mac involves a significant speed penalty thanks to emulating the x86 action necessary to run Windows apps. With no chip to emulate, all you have to do is simulate the BIOS via software and you're good to go. I have sordid, pseud-sexual fantasies about running any Windows app I want, at nearly full speed, in a window tucked behind Mail and Safari. Soon enough. _____________________
Furthermore, as Second Life goes to the Metaverse, and this becomes an open platform, Linden Lab risks lawsuit in court and [attachment culling] will, I repeat WILL be reverse in court. Second Life Forums: Who needs Reason when you can use bold tags? |
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Foolish Frost
Grand Technomancer
Join date: 7 Mar 2005
Posts: 1,433
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01-12-2006 08:35
What does everyone think about the Apple switching over to Intel based processors? So basically we have a PC running MAC operating system. Jobs has said that the speed will be about 4 to 5 times faster then what they have now. 1st models to be released in about a month. Soon it may be just a choice of just operating systems with Window and OSX (and Linux)sitting on a shelve besides each other. On this note, I think I should advise you that while I loved the new powerbook, it just went back to Comp-USA as of yesterday. The reason? The MacBooks are 200-400% faster. Four... Hundred... Percent... Not 25-50%. Not minor feature set. It's an overhaul. And it's for the same $1999 I payed for the Powerbook. Look at the following: Technical Specifications In the box * MacBook Pro * Power adapter with MagSafe Connector, AC wall plug and power cord * Lithium-polymer battery * Apple Remote * DVI to VGA adapter * Install/restore DVDs * Printed and electronic documentation Processor and Memory: Intel * 1.67 or 1.83GHz Intel Core Duo processor, 2MB on chip shared L2 cache running 1:1 with processor speed * 667MHz frontside bus * 512MB (single SODIMM) of PC2-5300 (667MHz) DDR2 memory on 1.67GHz configuration; and 1GB (single SODIMM) on 1.83GHz configuration; two SODIMM slots support up to 2GB Expansion * One FireWire 400 port at up to 400 Mbps * Two 480-Mbps USB 2.0 ports * ExpressCard/34 slot Battery and power * 60-watt-hour lithium-polymer battery (with integrated charge indicator LEDs) (1) * 85W Power Adapter with MagSafe Connector and cable management system * Power adapter port Battery Communications * Built-in 54-Mbps AirPort Extreme wireless networking (802.11g standard) (2). * Built-in Bluetooth 2.0+EDR (Enhanced Data Rate) * Built-in 10/100/1000BASE-T Gigabit Ethernet (RJ-45 connector) Audio * Combined optical digital input/audio line in (minijack) * Combined optical digital output/headphone out (minijack) * Built-in stereo speakers * Internal omnidirectional microphone (located under left speaker grille) Keyboard and trackpad * Built-in full-size keyboard with 78 (U.S.) or 79 (ISO) keys, including 12 function keys, 4 arrow keys (inverted “T” arrangement), and embedded numeric keypad * Backlit keyboard with ambient light sensors for automatic adjustment of keyboard illumination and screen brightness * Illuminated Keyboard Solid-state scrolling Trackpad for precise cursor control; supports two finger scrolling, tap, double-tap, and drag capabilities * Apple Remote included Security * Kensington cable lock slot 15.4-inch display Display * 15.4-inch (diagonal) TFT display, support for millions of colors o Supported resolutions: 1440 by 900 (native), 1280 by 800, 1152 by 720, 1024 by 768, 1024 by 640, 800 by 600, 800 by 500, 720 by 480 and 640 by 480 at 16:10 aspect ratio; 1024 by 768, 800 by 600, and 640 by 480 pixels at 4:3 aspect ratio; 720 by 480 at 3:2 aspect ratio Radeon Video and graphics support * ATI Mobility Radeon X1600 graphics processor, dual link DVI support, 128MB of GDDR3 on 1.67 GHz configuration. 256MB GDDR3 on 1.83GHz configuration * Dual display and video mirroring: Simultaneously supports full native resolution on the built-in display and up to 2560 by 1600 pixels on an external display, both at millions of colors * iSight DVI output port * VGA output using included DVI to VGA adapter * Built-in iSight camera Storage * 80GB 5400-rpm Serial ATA hard drive on 1.67GHz configuration. Optional 100GB 5400-rpm, 100GB 7200-rpm, 120GB 5400-rpm drives (3). * 100GB 5400-rpm Serial ATA hard drive on 1.83GHz configuration. Optional 100GB 7200-rpm or 120GB 5400-rpm hard drives. * Slot-loading SuperDrive (DVD±RW/CD-RW) o Maximum Write: 4x DVD-R, DVD+R, DVD+RW, and DVD-RW; 24x CD-R; 10x CD-RW o Maximum Read: 8x DVD-ROM (single layer); 6x DVD (double layered), DVD-9, DVD-R, DVD+R, DVD-RW, DVD+RW; 24x CD 1-inch thick Size and weight * Height: 1.0 inch (2.59 cm) * Width: 14.1 inches (35.7 cm) * Depth: 9.6 inches (24.3 cm) * Weight: 5.6 pounds (2.54 kg) with battery and optical drive installed (4) Software Universal * Mac OS X v10.4.4 Tiger (includes Spotlight, Dashboard, Mail, iChat AV, Safari, Address Book, QuickTime, iCal, DVD Player, Xcode Developer Tools) * iLife ’06 (includes iTunes, iPhoto, iMovie HD, iDVD, iWeb, GarageBand), Microsoft Office 2004 for Mac Test Drive, iWork ’06 (30-day trial), QuickBooks for Mac New User Edition, Comic Life, FileMaker Pro trial, Omni Outliner * Photo Booth * Front Row Software * Mac OS X v10.4.4 Tiger (includes Spotlight, Dashboard, Mail, iChat AV, Safari, Address Book, QuickTime, iCal, DVD Player, Xcode Developer Tools) * iLife ’06 (includes iTunes, iPhoto, iMovie HD, iDVD, iWeb, GarageBand), Microsoft Office 2004 for Mac Test Drive, iWork ’06 (30-day trial), QuickBooks for Mac New User Edition, Comic Life, FileMaker Pro trial, Omni Outliner * Photo Booth * Front Row See what I mean? The Remote, iCam, and CPU upgrades alone forced me to return it and wait... I just get ill thinking about what would have happened to me if they had waited another two weeks to release this data. Let's be honest: Programmers create software to 'fill' all the available hardware on a computer. The old Macs will not be able to run the new software coming out in as little as six months. <shakes head> This is going to be too big a jump not to leave a LOT of people behind. Ah well... Now I just have to wait... And wait... and wait... and wait... |
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Enabran Templar
Capitalist Pig
Join date: 26 Aug 2004
Posts: 4,506
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01-12-2006 08:50
Good choice, Foolish. I'm glad you still had time to return it all.
MacBooks will rock, omg. Hopefully they get to coding a Universal Mac port of SL that will run on the new x86 chips. I sure hope they're using Xcode. edit: Foolish, you'd better order that thing, like, yesterday. It's going to be a hot item, even though the experience won't be much fun until about Q3 2006, when all of the juicy virtualization software and Universal binary updates are starting to flow out. _____________________
Furthermore, as Second Life goes to the Metaverse, and this becomes an open platform, Linden Lab risks lawsuit in court and [attachment culling] will, I repeat WILL be reverse in court. Second Life Forums: Who needs Reason when you can use bold tags? |
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Max Case
Registered User
Join date: 23 Dec 2004
Posts: 353
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01-12-2006 09:05
Yah, I don't know if returning it was such a good plan.
You may will have quite a wait. Maybe a Linden can chime in here, but software not specifically written for the intel chipset will be running in an emulation mode of sorts, which may actually turn out to be slower. And somehow, I would be surprised to hear that Linden had the resources to do that (re-write for the new chipset). _____________________
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Enabran Templar
Capitalist Pig
Join date: 26 Aug 2004
Posts: 4,506
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01-12-2006 09:12
edit: I've seen some conflicting stuff on all of this, including things that indicate OpenGL will run at native speeds even if an emulated app is calling it. So I dunno. Someone have some facts to shut me up with?
Grain of salt: Yah, I don't know if returning it was such a good plan. You may will have quite a wait. Maybe a Linden can chime in here, but software not specifically written for the intel chipset will be running in an emulation mode of sorts, which may actually turn out to be slower. And somehow, I would be surprised to hear that Linden had the resources to do that (re-write for the new chipset). Rosetta doesn't really work for anything 3D, if I understood correctly when it was announced. I dunno that the Mac version of SL will run at all on the MacBook Pro. However, once someone whips up the Windows XP virtusalization that one would assume to be inevitable, Foolish will probably be able to run the Windows version of SL through that without much trouble at all. As for the re-write for x86, it's apparently not too painful a process if you've been developing with Xcode. I believe they had Mathematica ported in... 5 days, was it? Someone should hotline this question. _____________________
Furthermore, as Second Life goes to the Metaverse, and this becomes an open platform, Linden Lab risks lawsuit in court and [attachment culling] will, I repeat WILL be reverse in court. Second Life Forums: Who needs Reason when you can use bold tags? |
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Marcos Fonzarelli
You are not Marcos
Join date: 26 Feb 2004
Posts: 748
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01-12-2006 09:18
I remember reading somewhere that LL has their MacIntel version of SL in development. They have an office full of Macs over there.
Someone who is better than me at forum research will have to find it.  |
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Enabran Templar
Capitalist Pig
Join date: 26 Aug 2004
Posts: 4,506
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01-12-2006 09:21
I remember reading somewhere that LL has their MacIntel version of SL in development. They have an office full of Macs over there. Someone who is better than me at forum research will have to find it. That's good news. Jobs initially reported that he'd deliver his first Intel Macs around Mid-2006, with the rest out in 2007. Now he wants to deliver them all this year. Kind of lights a fire under the ass, huh? _____________________
Furthermore, as Second Life goes to the Metaverse, and this becomes an open platform, Linden Lab risks lawsuit in court and [attachment culling] will, I repeat WILL be reverse in court. Second Life Forums: Who needs Reason when you can use bold tags? |
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Marcos Fonzarelli
You are not Marcos
Join date: 26 Feb 2004
Posts: 748
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01-12-2006 10:01
Well I'm just hoping that LL can get their version up by the time I can scrape up enough pennies to buy a new Intelbook.
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Foolish Frost
Grand Technomancer
Join date: 7 Mar 2005
Posts: 1,433
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01-12-2006 10:13
Can't get it early. The return leaves me with credit as CompUSA, but they are not able to hold one for me unless my sales rep gets lucky and catches one before they hit the floor.
In other words, I may have to wait 1-2 months. But such is life. |
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Tod69 Talamasca
The Human Tripod ;)
Join date: 20 Sep 2005
Posts: 4,107
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01-12-2006 14:28
If you are serious about page layout or need it for production (or both), then *nothing* will do but the industry standard. Usually this means Adobe. I haven't tried the Adobe web stuff in a long time, might have to check it out again. I like to recommend Macromedia Dreamweaver for either Mac or PC. _____________________
really pissy & mean right now and NOT happy with Life.
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Raster Teazle
Registered User
Join date: 13 Sep 2005
Posts: 114
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01-12-2006 15:04
Macromedia is now owned by Adobe.
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Cristiano Midnight
Evil Snapshot Baron
Join date: 17 May 2003
Posts: 8,616
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01-12-2006 16:54
I haven't tried the Adobe web stuff in a long time, might have to check it out again. I like to recommend Macromedia Dreamweaver for either Mac or PC. People keep recommending web page editors - he is looking for print page layout for creating books. Dreamweaver, while excellent, is for web pages, and yes, is now owned by Adobe. _____________________
Cristiano
ANOmations - huge selection of high quality, low priced animations all $100L or less. ~SLUniverse.com~ SL's oldest and largest community site, featuring Snapzilla image sharing, forums, and much more.  |
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Rickard Roentgen
Renaissance Punk
Join date: 4 Apr 2004
Posts: 1,869
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01-12-2006 17:56
Very good review foolish.
I grew up on macs being as my parents were teachers and mac did a lot of school support back then. hehe, good ol' mac LC. no OSX back then, but being me that poor computer was using operating system parts from 6 7 and I think 8 by the time I was done. It had a few issues but overall, worked amazingly well. Imagine trying to run windows with libraries dropped into it from 98, 95, and 2000. Now I know that's not a standard way to test an os, but to me it suggests amazingly circumspect programmers and QA. Later I decided I wanted to do more tinkering with the insides and with software and PCs seemed like a better option. I've been known to tease people who use macs but I do think they're good stuff. I keep thinking I should get a laptop but I've always talked myself out of it on the basis of cost vs performance. This review definately makes me think seriously about getting a mac rather than a pc. As far as mac switching to intel processors, I think it will probably help, as long as mac keeps the reins on the OS and periferal hardware selection. Anyway, much appreciate foolish ._____________________
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Tod69 Talamasca
The Human Tripod ;)
Join date: 20 Sep 2005
Posts: 4,107
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01-12-2006 19:27
Macromedia is now owned by Adobe. Yea, I wonder how thats gonna work out in the end. Like can I expect Adobe to integrate Macromedia media options into the software? _____________________
really pissy & mean right now and NOT happy with Life.
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