Monthly Archives: July 2009
Back from Campus Technology 2009
July 31st, 2009 by Cindy Valladares
Extensis participated at the Campus Technology Conference, where we had a booth to introduce our digital asset management and font management solutions. Here is my colleague Jeremy Godfrey, Regional Sales Manager, East at our table.
The conference was well attended with representatives from K-12 and higher education institutions. People stopping at our booth seemed mostly interested in digital asset management, so we talked and showed the new capabilities of Portfolio Server 9. People really liked the new Web Client and the web-based server/catalog administration console. If you haven’t seen the new components, take a look at these short 3-5 minute overview videos.
There were also many sessions with diverse topics such as online collaboration, video capture capabilities, developing brand, e-learning, and others. We had an opportunity to give a presentation about how DAM is being used in universities such as Yale to enhance student literacy. If you missed us at Campus Tech, stay tuned for more information about how to sign up for a webex where I’ll be presenting this same material.
Comparing the Portfolio Server 9 Web Client with Portfolio NetPublish
July 28th, 2009 by Jim Kidwell
One of the handy new optional features for Portfolio Server 9 is the Portfolio Web Client. You may know our other Portfolio web product, Portfolio NetPublish, but the Web Client differs from Portfolio NetPublish in many ways.
Portfolio NetPublish is great for browsing and downloading assets from your Portfolio catalogs. With NetPublish, you can choose from many different web templates, and quickly publish a website that allows users to browse and download the assets that you want to provide. You can even develop custom websites using JavaScript and NetPublish commands that allow access to assets in your catalogs. Portfolio NetPublish is a great way to distribute files through a branded website.
The Portfolio Web Client takes an new approach to accessing Portfolio catalogs via the web. The Web Client is a robust portal through which users can upload, download convert, tag and process files. While NetPublish websites only allow users one-way access to download files, the Portfolio Web Client offers two-way access where users can also upload and modify files, thus creating a robust portal into your catalogs.
This video demonstrates some of the features of the Portfolio Web Client.
Each user who logs into Portfolio Server using the Web Client gains access to only the catalogs that they have permission to view. Administrators are typically given full access to all catalogs, while other users may only be given access to catalogs relevant to their workflow. For example, graphic designers and art directors may require access to the organization’s entire stock image archive, while copywriters and editors may only have access to catalogs that contain published material.
The Web Client operates in all standard web-browsers that have Adobe Flash 10 installed, and provides a consistent standard interface to access and manipulate files. Using the Portfolio Web Client alleviates much of the need for an installed Desktop Client. The Desktop Client is still required for a number of administrative tasks, but for the most part, many of your users can access assets directly through the Web Client.
If you require a custom, or branded interface for clients, and don’t need to upload files from the web, Portfolio NetPublish is the best option for you. But if you need a more robust interface that allows users to also upload, download, enter metadata and process files, consider integrating the Portfolio Web Client into your workflow. For more information about both products, and the rest of the Portfolio Server solution, see the main Extensis website.
The subtitler gets a new disc of fonts
July 27th, 2009 by Jim Kidwell
I’ve seen many parodies of this film about the last days of Hitler’s regime, but Thomas Phinney just brought this one to my attention last week. Pretty funny stuff. Fair warning: some of the subitles use coarse language.
Extensis arrives to a town near you
July 24th, 2009 by Cindy Valladares
Extensis is expanding its presence across the United States, with two new regional business managers in the field, adding to our existing presence in North America. So let me introduce to you the three sales managers for each of our regions.
Kari Friedewald — Kari has been with Extensis for over ten years and is based in our headquarters here in Portland, Oregon.
She covers the following states and provinces: CA, OR, WA, NV, ID, MT, WY, UT, AZ, NM, C, TX, OK, KS, NE, SD, ND, AK, HI, BC, AB, SK, YK
Girish Joshi — Girish just joined us this past month, and has been working with creative, advertising and publishing industries for a long time.
Girish is based out of Chicago and covers the following states and provinces: MN, IA, MO, AR, LA, MS, AL, TN, KY, IL, IN, OH, WI, MI and Manitoba.
Jeremy Godfrey has been with Extensis for a number of years, and just recently moved to New York to be closer to all of you from the East Coast.
Jeremy covers the following states and provinces: FL, GA, SC, NC, VA, WV, MD, DC, DE, NJ, PA, NY, CT, RI, MA, NH, VT, ME, PR, ON, QC, NB, NL, NS, PEI.
A complete list of sales, technical support, customer service, marketing, human resources contact information is listed on our site.
Thomas Phinney named Typophile of the Year
July 23rd, 2009 by Jim Kidwell
We’re proud to announce that our Senior Product Manager Thomas Phinney was named Typophile of the Year last week at Typecon 2009 in Atlanta.
To achieve this designation, Thomas attained the highest score on the notoriously difficult Type Quiz.
This from Thomas: “So, especially considering that I missed two points by accidentally transposing the authors of the first two typography books I ever read, and lost a point by going back and changing an answer, I was very surprised in the final scoring when I won!”
Congratulations Thomas! We’re very proud of your achievement.
Campus Tech ’09
July 22nd, 2009 by Cindy Valladares
Next week I’ll be in Boston for the Campus Technology Conference to be held at the Boston Convention Center from July 27-30. It will be my first time at this event that focuses on technologies for higher education.
We’ll be showing our brand new solutions:
- Universal Type Server 2.0 (font management)
- Portfolio Server 9 (digital asset management)
You can find us at the Extensis booth #333. I’ll also be giving a presentation entitled “Enhance Teaching and Improve Student Literacy with Digital Asset Management” on Wednesday, July 29 at 1:30 pm.
Stop by and say hello.
Universal Type Server “has no real competition”
July 21st, 2009 by Jim Kidwell
We’re starting to see product reviews of Universal Type Server 2, and would like to share the good news. Our most recent review is from Erik Vlietinck over at the IT Enquirer site. This site focuses on the IT side of products for creative professionals and cross-channel publishers, and provides a wealth of knowledge.
We’re very proud that Universal Type Server 2 received a very favorable review. The new Directory Integration and System Font Policy features were very well received. Here are a few snippets from Erik’s review:
“Universal Type Server 2.0 has no real competition”
“The Professional version is an absolute must for large corporate and publishing environments. UTS 2.0 simply can’t be compared to other font servers anymore, because the others lack the most important features that set UTS 2.0 apart.”
“With Universal Type Server 2.0, Extensis has shown it need not be taken for granted at all. This new version of their server product has a complete system in place that allows you to manage system fonts just as you would with any local font management application.”
To read the review in its entirety, see IT Enquirer.
Toyota’s iQ font development
July 17th, 2009 by Jim Kidwell
Over the years, there have been many new and innovative ways of developing a typeface – from online playthings to scanning all sorts of everyday items. Check out this video where the creators capture the path of car to use as source material.
Me? I think that I’ll just go out and ride the motorcycle. It’s by far the best source of inspiration for me. (via ilovetypography.com)
European webcast: What’s New in Portfolio Server 9
July 15th, 2009 by Jim Kidwell
Do many of our webcasts fall directly in the middle of the night for you? Well fear not, we’ve got a great team based in Northampton, UK as well as across Europe who are ready to show off our products for you.
This Thursday we’ll be walking you through new features of Portfolio Server 9, including:
- File access from a central, visual catalog
- Automated web delivery of assets
- Easy administration & user-friendly design
- Remote management of server & users
- Fast asset processing
- Extensive file format support
So, if you’re in the market for a new digital asset manager, or if you’re merely interested in what you’ll be getting for free with your Annual Service Agreement, be sure to join us for the hour long webcast.
Webcast details:
- Day: Thursday, June 16th
- Time: 10:00 British Summer Time
- Registration: Extensis Webex Registration
Portfolio Server 9 integrates Equilibrium MediaRich technology
July 14th, 2009 by Jim Kidwell
Today Equilibrium announced the integration of MediaRich technology into our Extensis Portfolio Server digital asset management solution.
MediaRich technology provides Portfolio Server many benefits, including a new metadata architecture, resulting in extensive file format support that allows users to catalog and thumbnail virtually any file.
The complete list of file formats supported by Portfolio Server has been expanded and now includes most file types that are critical to creative workflows.
