Monday, November 30, 2009

Cyber Monday - Get 10% off at the Adobe store when using Ebates.com

I'm a big fan of ebates.com (referral link) - if you do any online shopping you really need to sign up! It's about the easiest way to get online discounts (along with retailmenot.com). Today (Cyber Monday) ebates.com is offering 10% cash back on purchases from the Adobe store. Not a bad discount for clicking on a link! If you look online you can often find special sign up deals - PSECU has one for their members - so it's worth it to check before you sign up if you're a new member.

Saturday, November 21, 2009

JobOp: Design for a Cause! Governors Stables Non-Profit Website

Nonprofit organization "friends of governors stables" is looking for a team or individuals to work in a collaborative effort to create a website that will reach out to a diverse community. We are looking for people with experience in php, asp, cms, ajax, sql, mysql, css, seo and/or any combination of website development skills that would be willing to work in a small group and dedicate time and efforts in order to help complete our goals. If you or anyone you know would be interested in this opportunity to give something back to central Pennsylvania while expanding your skills and would like more information please contact Tim Rose at tarose@gmail.com with "friends of governors stables " in the subject line of your email. We look forward to hearing from you.

Friday, November 20, 2009

CPAUG Library Book Request and Renewal Form


Please fill out all of the information in this Book Request Form to request, hold or renew a library book. All requests must be received by 2pm on the CPAUG meeting day. Only pre-requested books will be brought to the CPAUG meeting for checkout completion.
View the CPAUG Library Book Inventory to see what books are currently available.

This information is available on the CPAUG website (AdobeGroups) just below the Upcoming Events list. It's also available on the CPAUG blog (http://cenpennaug.blogspot.com/) on the top of the right rail. It will be included in our emails on the right rail as well.

What is the CPAUG Library? It's a resource that we've made available just for CPAUG Members. The books come from our publishing partners, donations and fellow user group members. Members can request a book online and pick it up and return it at CPAUG meetings. All future books that we receive from book publishers go into the library for every one's use. Any duplicate books we may receive are raffled off at our meetings. Returning books are on the honor system.

Thursday, November 19, 2009

$50.00 Adobe Photoshop Elements 8 Windows Bundle w/ Digital Camera

http://www.buy.com/prod/adobe-photoshop-elements-8-windows-bundle-w-digital-camera/q/loc/105/212945934.html

BarCamp Harrisburg

Harrisburg University of Science and Technology will host BarCamp Harrisburg from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Saturday, April 10. The ad-hoc “unconference” will be filled with open, participatory events, discussions, and workshops where presentation content is provided by the participants rather than chosen speakers. The topics for this year’s BarCamp Harrisburg will be the Web with a track on education.

Attendance is free for those who register, but space is limited, so register early online at http://www.facebook.com/l/0b1fb;www.barcamphbg.org/what-is-barcamp/
Attendees arrive around 9-10 am, have breakfast, network, and post topics they would like to discuss on a schedule board (we’ll have markers and paper available to post topics). Following a brief kick-off meeting with the entire group, the day will consist of sessions broken down into 45-minute blocks. There will be a break for lunch, followed by afternoon sessions that will run until around 5 pm.

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Recording of the After Effects presentation

Here's the recording of the After Effects presentation hosted by Dave Lambert.

http://experts.na3.acrobat.com/p72577150/

REMINDER: Tonight at 6:30 PM Connect session (webcast) - After Effects with Dave Lambert. Details at www.cenpennaug.com

Monday, November 16, 2009

Lightroom 3 Print Improvements [Digital Photography School]

"With Lightroom 3 Beta having just been released, the first thing that most people will do – as I did – is to look and see if the features that you’ve always wanted in the program have been added.

One of the areas that Lightroom 2 fell a little short on in my book was the Print module. I wanted to be able to print with a colored background without having to import a background to use as a Identity Plate to achieve the effect and I wanted to be able to assemble a single printed sheet incorporating multiple images but I didn’t want them to have to always be the same size.
Ok, so the good news is I am a very happy gal! Both these problems are fixed in the new Lightroom 3 Beta. In fact, the new print module in Lightroom 3 Beta totally rocks.

Over the next few weeks I plan to post on some of the new features in the Lightroom 3 Beta but today I just want to show off the new Custom Picture Package tool."


Read more:
http://digital-photography-school.com/lightroom-3-print-improvements?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=

CPAUG Meeting Location Update!

The Kline Branch of the Dauphin County Library System (DCLS) has agreed to let CPAUG use their meeting room free of charge. Therefore, we'll be using their room for our meetings in 2010 until the East Shore Branch is reopened (TBD).

The Kline Branch is located at 530 South 29th Street, Harrisburg, PA 17104.

Specific meeting dates and information will be posted at: http://groups.adobe.com/groups/11e8f51bb7/summary

Sunday, November 15, 2009

TechWeds - November 18, 2009 : First Look at Lightroom 3

Date: November 18, 2009

Start time: 1:00pm ET (New York)

Adobe’s Product Manager for Lightroom 3 will show you what’s new with these public Beta products. You’ll get the deluxe tour through new tools, powerful updated features, and product enhancements.

Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 3 Beta – Available Now on Adobe Labs

The Adobe Photoshop Lightroom team is proud to introduce the third public beta of its application designed by and for photographers. For those that aren’t familiar with Lightroom, it is an intuitive digital darkroom and efficient assistant that offers serious photographers-amateur and professional- what they need to easily manage, enhance, and showcase their images from one application.
Adobe is offering a public beta release of the next version of Lightroom to give photographers a chance to preview some of the new features and enhancements that will be part of Lightroom 3, and to help Adobe gather valuable user feedback to be used to help Lightroom 3 be an even better digital darkroom and efficient assistant solution.
Key new features and advancements in the Lightroom 3 Beta include:
· Accelerated performance—work smoothly with growing image libraries

· Importing made much easier—see exactly where Lightroom will copy files off your card and then use import presets to get fast repeatable results

· New image processing controls, including powerful noise reduction and new film grain simulation

· New flexible watermarking—embed identities or other information in your images

· More flexible print package layouts—add as many different images in whatever configuration desired on a single page or multiple pages

· Ability to save slideshows as videos and include audio

· Integration with online photo sharing sites (may require third-party plug-ins)


This exciting Lightroom 3 public beta is available world-wide, in English only, and can be found on Adobe Labs. You don’t need to be a current Lightroom user to try it. As important members of Adobe’s partner community, Adobe would like you to experience the Lightroom 3 beta and provide Adobe with early feedback.

Friday, November 13, 2009

Try the new version of Safari Books Online during their Open House — no charge, no strings attached!

Try the new version of Safari Books Online during their Open House — no charge, no strings attached! O'Reilly Media founder Tim O'Reilly is enthusiastic about the benefits of this new release:

Tim O'Reilly"Safari Books Online 6.0 is a complete, bottom-to-top revamping of the original service. The new UI is slicker and faster, with the kind of drag-and-drop goodness that people expect from a modern web application. In addition, we've added some long-requested features that take advantage of the online medium in ways that aren't possible with standalone ebooks."

There has never been a better time to check out Safari Books Online:

icon books

Access 8,500 Books & Videos
Enjoy unlimited online access to more than 8,500 books and videos from the world's leading publishers, including O'Reilly Media, Addison-Wesley, Prentice Hall, Microsoft Press, Apress, Manning, Total Training, PeepCode and more.

icon bulb

Search Multiple Sources on One Platform
Quickly search across the entire library to pinpoint just the information you need. You can even save your favorite searches as folders you name that automatically update as new information is added!

icon rough

Read Books Before They are Published
Be the first to learn about cutting edge topics. Read pre-publication manuscripts and interact with the authors.

icon folders

Organize Your Favorites
Create your own Favorites Folders for the books and videos you use the most. Drag and drop titles into folders. Build your own custom digital library within Safari Books Online.

icon paper

Use Time-Saving Tools
Rate and review books, attach your own notes, assign tags, highlight sections and bookmark pages of books as you read them. You can then search across your highlights, notes, and tags or even build and print custom summary documents.

icon mobile

Get Information Where You Need It
Read mobile-friendly books directly from cell phones and mobile devices. Receive five download tokens per month to download chapters or full books to print or read offline.


Whether you need to stay on the cutting edge of your field, learn new skills, or prepare for certification exams, you can learn more and spend less with Safari Books Online.

See for Yourself.
Try the New Safari Books Online On Us


For a very limited time, try a Safari Library account on us -- no strings attached! Register during our Open House and test drive Safari Books Online for up to 10 days or 200 page views.*

Start Your 10 Day Trial Now

Thursday, November 12, 2009

45% Off Discount and Pizza & Beer Contest!

45% Off Discount and Pizza & Beer
Contest Extended!

uglyguyLast month, we launched our Pizza and Beer Contest. The two user groups who submit the most reviews will win $500 for their user group. Throw a pizza and beer party on us! We had a few submissions, but we decided to extend it one more month. You can see who's in the lead on our Pizza & Beer Contest Tracker.

Here's how to win
  1. Publish book reviews for any Manning new release or MEAP you've read in the month of November. They can be posted on your user group site, Slashdot, Amazon, or personal blogs. Book reviews must be at least 200 words and they can cover any 2009 release or MEAP.
  2. Each time a review is published, email stho@manning.com. In the body of the email, include the review URL, the user group name and the line "Give us some pizza and beer." You can send URLs as they are published.
45% Off All Manning Books

With the holidays coming up, why not spread some programming cheer? Share the gift of knowledge with your loved ones and colleagues with our Hello! Series. These books are designed to get newbies up and running on some common languages and platforms. And since so many of you took advantage of our 45% exclusive User Group Discount, we've extended it into November! Until November 30, get 45% off any Manning book using the code ug090945. You can distribute this discount code to your group freely or post on your group's website.

Hello World
Hello World! Computer Programming for Kids and Other Beginners--In Print--Provides a gentle but thorough introduction to the world of computer programming. It's written in language a 12-year-old can follow, but anyone who wants to learn how to program a computer can use it. Hello World! uses the easy to learn Python programming language. [more]
Hello! Python--In MEAP--This fast, entertaining on-ramp to the world of Python programming is perfect for beginners--or for anyone looking for a snappy, smart tutorial. Fully-illustrated and full of examples, it's never been easier to get started with Python. [more]
hellopython
helloflex4
Hello! Flex 4--Print Edition in November!--Everything you need to know to get started with Flex 4 without obscure details or academic edge cases. In this entertaining, hands-on book, you'll quickly move from Hello World into the techniques you'll need to use Flex effectively. [more]
Hello! Silverlight--In MEAP--This is a fast-paced, entertaining guide that will have you creating eye-catching animations, slick visual transitions, friendlier user interfaces, and even rounded corners! [more]
hellosilverlight3
Also, check out these new releases
sqlservermvp
SQL Server MVP Deep Dives--New in Print!--This book brings together the world's most highly-regarded SQL Server experts to create a masterful collection of tips, techniques, and experience-driven best practices for SQL Server development and administration. [more]
JavaFX in Action--New in Print!--Create dazzlingly rich applications for the web, desktop, and mobile devices. JavaFX is a complete RIA system with powerful presentation and animation libraries, a declarative scripting language, and an intuitive coding model--all fully integrated with the Java platform. [more]
javafx

uglyguy2User Group special!
Save 45% on any print, ebook or MEAP edition


Use code ug090945 in your shopping cart at manning.com.
Offer Expires November 30, 2009.

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

The meeting room search continues - or "have you checked out this location....?"

UPDATE 11-15-09:

The Kline Branch of the Dauphin County Library System (DCLS) has agreed to let CPAUG use their meeting room free of charge. Therefore, we'll be using their room for our meetings until the East Shore Branch is reopened (TBD). The Kline Branch is located at 530 South 29th Street
Harrisburg, PA 17104.


UPDATE 11-12-09:

  • Called the Lower Paxton Twp. Municipal Building and they only rent their rooms to non-profits.
  • Friendship Center "Social Hall" would be $75/hour
  • Called Wiedner Law - waiting to hear back on if they'd charge us a fee
  • Called Kline Branch of DCLS - waiting to hear back on if they'd charge us a fee. Does not have WiFi nor projector
  • Called & left message with Susquehanna Twp High School office.

=========================

I just wanted to take a minute to let you know how our search for a new meeting location is going. We've received a lot of suggestions both recently and a few months back and we looked into each and every option. Unfortunately, finding a free & adequate meeting space is a much more difficult endeavor than one would think!

We've received a few emails from CPAUG suggesting that we try the Giant Foods Community Room for our meetings. While we appreciate the suggestion, it's an option that we've already looked into and, unfortunately, it would cost us $50 per meeting for our group to use that room as we are not a registered non-profit organization. Since we don't receive financial support from Adobe, nor do we charge membership fees, we really need to secure a meeting room in the long term that is free to use. We really like the idea of free membership and we'd like to keep it that way.

The East Shore Area Library, our previous meeting space, is currently under major renovation and they do not anticipate opening up the library to groups until about May 2010. They've had their meeting rooms closed to groups for since early 2009.

Additionally, we've contacted both HACC and Harrisburg University but both required at least group insurance (which we don't have) and HU had additional fees as well. The library in Camp Hill would charge our group $75 per meeting.

Please keep those suggestions coming and we continue to seek out meeting locations. Our needs for a meeting room are: No rental fees, free Internet access, a projector, Harrisburg area location, and availability in the evenings.

Thanks. We'll continue to provide updates as they are available.

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT: November Meeting & Meeting Location

IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT:

Due to unfortunate circumstances, we will no longer be able to meet at Computer Aid. We're sorry for any inconvenience this may be and we're currently researching other meeting location options. Therefore, we are holding the November 17th meeting at 6:30pm online via Adobe Connect. You will be able to communicate with everyone & ask questions via a Chat window.

Please log in using your home or office computer using this URL:
http://experts.na3.acrobat.com/CPAUG-Nov2009-AfterEffects

This meeting is open to anyone so feel free to invite friends and coworkers. Thanks!

Sunday, November 8, 2009

11-11-09 TechWeds: Introduction to Adobe's Open Source Media Framework by Sumner Paine

Title:
TechWeds: Introduction to Adobe's Open Source Media Framework by Sumner Paine
Date & Time:
1-2PM EST
Connect Link:
Description:

Date: November 11, 2009 (open to the public - feel free to share!)

Start time: 10:00am PT (Los Angeles) / 1:00pm ET (New York)

Join us for an overview of Adobe's open source media framework — what it can do and how you can use it in your current projects. You'll learn how OSMF can help you create rich media experiences online and how the new development framework can increase monetization opportunities with your media assets through direct integration with advertising services for tracking and reporting services. Developers can use this framework to create media viewing environments that drive longer view times and leverage the latest features such as Dynamic Streaming and DVR from Adobe Flash Media Server.

Speakers:
Sumner Paine & Company

Tuesday, November 3, 2009

Limited-time offer: Purchase Adobe Creative Suite 4 at 10% off.

New creative features. Enhanced workflows. Incredible results. You’ve seen what Adobe® Creative Suite® 4 can do. Now see what you can do with the industry-standard software used by top creative professionals worldwide.

With 10% off on Adobe Creative Suite 4 Premium suite purchases, this is the time to make the move. Don’t wait too long, though — this special offer ends November 30, 2009.*

Or call 800-585-0774

Must use offer code Adobe10off