Bluebeam PDF Revu version 10 is out now!
We usually expect great things from Bluebeam… but this time, wow what a release!
Check out the full feature video here: Bluebeam Revu 10
This is a major step forward for a number of reasons:
Completely new menu system
Bluebeam has always been easy to use straight out of the box, but now it is even easier with a really well thought out of the ribbon menu. The functions have been rationalised to make selection much more intuitive, and many of the icons have been redesigned to make their use completely obvious. Just the new menu system, on its own, will significantly enhance your productivity.
Dynamic Layers™
It has always been possible to have layers within a Bluebeam PDF, but now this ability has been significantly enhanced. It is now possible to have markups assigned to a single layer or even multiple layers.
3D PDFs
Bluebeam V9 could produce 3D PDFs, but in the V10 release this ability has increased dramatically. A much requested feature is the ability to embed a 3D image in a standard PDF document. This is of particular interest in a Complex CAD drawing where you need to examine and rotate a small image of the whole structure. Version 10 has also introduced Revit® 3D integration!
Studio Sessions
The Bluebeam server product for larger installations is the Studio Server. Now there is a free ‘Cloud’ based version with 5 Mb of storage free of charge. This allows live sessions with multiple attendees and in addition has a ‘Project’ addition. The Project allows groups to have an online document management system. There are a whole range of permissions which may be established to control who sees what. This may be extended to whole groups. A neat aspect to this service is the ability to not only view any document, but ‘check it out’ just as you would a library book. The idea is that you can modify/mark-up without conflicts. When you have finished, you simply check the amended document into the library.
Conclusion
These are just some highlights from the 15 major improvements. This is not just a cosmetic change, but a significant step forward in efficiency and the Paperless Office.
More info: http://www.mindsystems.com.au/products/bluebeam/index.php
2012 – The Year of Innovation and Communication
The past year has contained allot instability and unrest, particularly with the European economic crisis. While there will inevitably be more fall out from this situation, we believe there are signs for real optimism for those who choose to work smarter (as opposed to harder). Mindsystems strongly believes that as the world begins to rebuild, people will focus on innovation and communication. For this reason we are reinforcing our products and services in these areas.
During 2012 we plan to release some fresh new products and services focused on enhancing productivity and communication with your customers. Our new focus will be to help small and medium business achieve results well beyond their size by sharing our innovation and expertise.
Mindsystems wishes you all the very best in 2012.
* Mindsystems ticket support will continue throughout the holiday period (24th Dec until 3rd Jan).
* Phone support will be limited but helpdesk tickets will be addressed promptly. Delays may occur for license activations during this period also.
We just counted and Bluebeam PDF has 47 more features than Adobe Acrobat!
By now allot of our users will know about the benefits Bluebeam has over Adobe for PDF doc management, not the least of which is awesome pricing… but we have had numerous requests to create a simple summary to help people discover the differences in one easy to understand page.
We have created a summary page which contains a comparison video from Bluebeam, and a summary list of features. If you click on the “Expand Full List” option you get an exhaustive list of features.
Adobe v Bluebeam — GAME ON!!
http://www.mindsystems.com.au/products/bluebeam/compare_bluebeam.php
Journal of Info Warfare – JIW2 launch to mark 10th Birthday!
Journal of Information Warfare celebrates ten years of being the leading online Journal in this field with a new interactive web site.
Information Warfare and Information Security are vital concerns in the modern world. A new interactive website has been launched by Mindsystems, the online publishers of The Journal of Information Warfare.
The site will better serve the needs of the rapidly growing community of Information Professionals who consider Information Warfare to be an area of critical concern.
Mount Eliza, VIC, Australia – November 17, 2011 Mindsystems JIW, Journal of Information Warfare, announces the release of the new JIW interactive website (www.jinfowar.com). Designed for Information Professionals in both Academic and Corporate environments, the site will become a focal point for information Security issues.
“When we first published JIW in September 2001, Information Warfare was an area of modest concern” said the Founder of Mindsystems and the Online version of JIW (www.jinfowar.com).
“Today, the story is very different. Now Information Warfare is a very real problem for both the Corporate and Academic Worlds. Particularly in a business sense, if you are not ‘up-to-speed’ in this area then your organisation is at considerable risk. In cooperation with Edith Cowan University, have brought a wealth of information concerning Information Warfare to a wide audience which included Universities, Corporations, private individuals and students.”
The new website (www.jinfowar.com) extends the tradition by including an interactive Forum, which will become an arena for new ideas and discussion.
JIW is unique in its ability to bring accredited, key information to Information Professionals around the world. The Journal has the ability to provide informed opinion and focus on critical issues in a timely manner.
“Brining the critical area of Information Warfare into the mainstream has been my ambition for many years” said Professor Bill Hutchinson (Edith Cowan University, Western Australia).
“It was a great day when I teamed up with Mindsystems, to make this dream come true. Now the Journal of Information Warfare is in its 10th year and is read all over the world.”
The Journal offers the following specific advantages:
Students:
Regardless of the field of study, information security will be a concern to future employers. The Journal will give students a head start in this critical area.
Personal:
Allows individuals to keep abreast of this rapidly changing field with the unique opportunity to learn from and exchange views with… Continue reading
US follows Aussie lead on password checking
Key logging malware and a host of other malicious software is floating around, being constantly redeveloped, much of it with the goal of copying and relaying your username and passwords to hackers. So is there a way to know if your details may have been compromised?
The Australian site Should I Change My Password is a useful local resource to find out if your email or username has been compromised and distributed to the hacker community. The concept of a publicly searchable database has now spread from Australia to the US with the advent of PwnedList.
The service is something of a part time affair at this stage. Security experts Alen Puzic and Jasiel Spelman are the co-founders of PwnedList. Like the Australian site, PwnedList should never be relied upon exclusively, but it is definatley useful. We recommend using these services but also regularly rotating your passwords. It is critical to understand that a clean result from either the Australian or US website is by no means a rubber stamp of security, or indeed a reason to lower your guard.
Update your anti-virus daily. Rotate your passwords monthly and make them complicated. If you use maiden names, DOBs or phone numbers you really are asking for trouble! Safe surfing.
Telstra launches Cloud Services
Telstra sailed into what is best described as the ‘retail focused’ Cloud Services space today with the launch of their new Cloud Portal.
Telstra has previously declared it would invest up to $800 million into new cloud computing services, answering what appears to be an ever increasing demand for virtual server capacity by the local Australian market.
Taking a look around their new Cloud Portal site, the offering looks to be pitched moderately in terms of value for money (as compared with other current solutions based in Australia). We are used to seeing bad value for money in terms of bandwidth from other Telstra offerings (LTE mobile data is one recent example), yet this new offering seems quite reasonable in terms of allowances.
The service itself has the weight of Telstra’s technical expertise behind it, but as with anything new the proof of the pudding will be in the eating.
If you are looking at tinkering with the new Telstra Cloud offering, you can expect to spend anywhere between $200 and $4500 per month plus additionals.
This is definitely an impressive looking début from Telstra. We will be watching the service closely.
The new site is worth checking out, if nothing else this is nice new clean design: https://cloud.telstra.com
Top 10 reasons people love Bluebeam PDF Revu
Bluebeam PDF Revu is a great alternative to Adobe Acrobat, and it costs a fraction of the price. We have been asking how our customers are using it, and here are the top ten reasons people absolutely love Bluebeam PDF Revu:
1) They can create PDF files from and in cooperation with many sources such as Microsoft Office, AutoCAD, SolidWorks, Revit. This all happens via built-in ‘plugins’. This includes the creating of fully interactive forms.
2) It is easy to navigate between multiple PDFs at the same time. It handles up to 16 PDFs at the same time and multiple document handling extends to batch processing.
3) Full editing of a PDF file, in its native format, just as if it were a Word document. This includes PDF Mark-up for editing, changing and commenting on a PDF. For example highlight, add notes, lines, clouds, callouts and more.
4) ‘Redacting’ – this completely blacks out selected data for security or privacy reasons.
5) Bluebeam allows viewing of complex 3D models.
6) You can create a ‘Tool Chest’ of commonly used functions. Once created they can be shared by others.
7) Measurement. Where a diagram is included it is possible to measure dimensions and areas. These figures may be transferred to build in worksheets for costing.
8) Comprehensive search for words and phrases in a single PDF, but across complete folders.
9) Built-in OCR functions means that if you ever need to translate a PDF for normal word processing this can be done directly without need for third party software.
10) Scripting and customisation is possible to allow full automation of office processes.
11) (Mindsystems wanted to sneak this in) If all this were not enough, Bluebeam works perfectly on a TabletPC!
Something unique and not so ‘Business’ from BlackBerry
Research In Motion released their BBM music service in Australia today. We like it alot!
After several years of using the walled garden that is iTunes (and it’s various imitators), RIM has put a refreshingly different spin on downloadable music.
I know this may read like a paid advertisement, but actually we think this is really cool.
Two things make it different:
1) Fluid content at a low price – The user picks 50 songs and can swap out 25 per month,
2) It has a social element – your Blackberry Messenger contacts can team up with you so you get access to their 50 songs.
Of course this has limitations, but then again I can’t think of any other provider who does not try to lock their content (or at least access to the content) down to some extent.
For people on limited data plans, there is the option to cache music to the SD card when in WiFi range and then play back later.
This was released across all major Australian telcos today. Nice one RIM 
Small Business DIY Web Hosting using the NBN?
When the NBN comes to my area, can I ditch my current web host and host a server myself? We have been asked this question on a number of occasions now. So here is our take on it.
The slow release of the National Broadband Network in Australia spells certain change for Internet Service Providers and their resellers, but what does it actually mean for Small Business?
The NBN promises to deliver connection speeds up to 100Mbps to the small business user. 100Mbps connection is the same speed currently offered by data centres for most web servers. So is this the same thing? Can you run a web server from your premises using the NBN? Does this mean a small business will be able to dump its current hosting provider and DIY its own hosting?
Well… yes and no. Mostly no.
Connection speed to your premises is only one part of the equation, actual performance is also influenced by the content provider you are trying to access (and a myriad of carriers in between). The increase in speed will enable small business to access content, cloud services and conduct video meetings with a much greater level of convenience and reliability. Similarly, solutions such as Microsoft’s Small Business Server will probably enjoy renewed popularity.
This all sounds great, but if you are thinking of running DIY web hosting just because of the increase in speed, we recommend you reconsider. When it comes to website or application hosting, connectivity is just one part of a very big chain of services that your current data centre provides you. A reliable web host will ensure your data is secure and backed up. It will be accessible from a range of carriers (should one fail), have power supply backup and will run on premium hardware. In most cases this is maintained in optimal conditions and most importantly is monitored 24/7.
A standard NBN connection will offer fast speeds to your premises, but ultimately will be a retail based connection with no service agreements or redundancy.
There are fierce arguments on either side for and against the NBN rollout… but what is absolutely certain is consumer focus on Internet based services will increase. Will you be part of this or not? If you want to be part of the next wave of business growth, this means you need to establish an impressive web presence. So in… Continue reading
Symantec warns of potential new mega-virus
Symantec has announced detection of a potential new mega virus similar to the Stuxnet worm. Initially detection has been on computers in Europe, however the open nature of the Internet means this new virus could spread globally in a matter of hours. Files created by the virus bear the prefix ‘~DQ’, giving rise to the virus name ‘Duqu’.
At this stage it is unclear the exact capabilities of the new virus, but if it holds any similarity to the Stuxnet worm the impact could be high. What is known is that it is capable of downloading and uploading files (specifically JPEG) and exchanging encrypted data with a control server. Symatec also indicate the malware is programmed to automatically remove itself from the system after 36 days in operation. Again the reason for this is unknown, but it does leave potential for entire networks to be compromised and the offending virus auto-removed before detection even occurs.
There is a full report from Symantec located here.
Of course most of us are in the hands of our chosen security providers, but as always we recommend regular anti-virus updates and system scans using ‘big name’ anti-virus provider tool.
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