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Hi guys, I am currently considering getting an iPad and they seem VERY popular; what do you all think? I came across this interesting article online that discusses the possibilities of the iPad selling more than the Mac- I personally don't think this will happen and having a Mac myself I can't imagine anything that gives me the same results! “The iPad, we can all agree by now, has been a hearty addition to Apple's product stable. Many who closely watch Apple figured sales would be pretty good, but no one predicted Apple would sell a whopping 7.33 million of the touch-screen tablets during the last three months of 2010, as the company announced last week. That's close to doubling the number of Macs the company sold during the same time, a fairly amazing feat when you consider the time both have been on the market. The iPad landed in April, while Apple's been making Macs for more than 25 years. But even though it sells more iPads, Apple still rakes in more money overall on Macs than the touch-screen tablets: $5.4 billion in revenue on desktops and laptops, $4.6 billion from iPads. But at the rate things are going--and with a second iPad coming out in the next few months--it's not difficult to imagine that very soon Apple will be make more money on iPads than Macs. Now here's a pesky question: Is that a good thing for Apple if iPad sales somehow eat into Mac sales? For your average consumer electronics hardware company, this situation could be fairly unnerving. That's because the Mac, like many higher-end PC competitors, is a much more profitable product than the iPad. Apple keeps more of the overall price they charge on a Mac ($999 and up) than they do on an iPad right now ($499 to $829). Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster estimates that Apple gets a 25 percent gross margin on an iPad compared to a 40 percent gross margin on a Mac. (That is to say, the difference between what Apple charges for a device and what it costs them to actually make it, divided by how much they charge for it.) It's not a perfect calculation for showing profit on a product, because it doesn't account for hidden costs beyond hardware--like research and development, marketing, overhead, and more. But it's a good indication of how profitable a device is. Investors and financial analysts can get a little nervous when this happens to a company they're interested in too. Especially when the function of the less profitable product, like an iPad, can mimic some of the same functions (e-mail, Web browsing, checking Twitter, Facebook, and so on) of the far more profitable product, a MacBook. It inspires questions of how much the iPad is "cannibalizing" the Mac--or are people buying an iPad instead of a Mac because it has close enough features to what they want. But that's what sets the folks in Cupertino apart from your average device maker. Apple isn't just a hardware company. And the iPad (and iPhone and iPod) have been designed to bring in even more revenue in a way the Mac, for now, does not. "The iPad is not just a product that Apple makes and throws out there in the market. It's a platform," said Michael Cusumano, professor of management and engineering systems at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Sloan School of Management. "So there's alternative ways of making money." That alternative being iTunes. And of course, that very popular App Store, the iBooks Store, and potentially newspaper and magazine subscriptions, whenever that eventually gets off the ground. And on digital content like you find in iTunes, the margins "are extremely high," noted Cusumano. "Because these are pure digital goods. So you can't just look at the gross margin of the product to understand the whole business model that Apple has gotten itself into." So while the Mac might make the company more money per unit, it can't be counted on for customers to spend as much on other items the way the iPad can. The Mac has iTunes, of course, but doesn't inspire multiple app purchases and e-books the way the iPad and iPhone do. Or at least not yet. The Mac App Store, introduced several weeks ago, is clearly designed to do the same thing: be a platform for Mac users to spend more money on digital goods. Not losing sleep While financial analysts may be concerned about what happens if people buy an iPad instead of a Mac, Apple is apparently not. In response to questions from analysts during its earnings call this week, Apple COO and acting CEO Tim Cook insisted he's not "spending one minute thinking about cannibalization." It's something many PC makers that are also producing full-size media tablets may have to worry about. According to Mika Katagawa at Gartner, as much as 10 percent of the PC market "will be eaten up by the media tablet" by 2014. While they won't overtake traditional PCs completely, they will sell well, she says. Tablets made by other manufacturers may not come with a complementary digital platform that drives content sales the way the iPad does. Sure, some tablets will have the Android Market, but those profits go to Google and developers. Further, Cook says he's counting on the iPad (and the iPhone) having the same effect that the early iPod did on Mac sales: it drove them up. People who probably had never used a Mac went into an Apple Store to buy an iPod and gave a Mac a spin. iTunes is the key But how long can Apple keep up high margins on products that slowly get commoditized is a valid question. As time goes on, the margins on selling hardware itself are going to get lower and lower, and competitors will be able to cheaply reproduce similar stuff--see MacBook Pro lookalikes from HP and Dell, or almost any MP3 player today. It's possible that iTunes and its associated content stores will be where Apple makes a very significant chunk of its money someday, at least according to MIT professor Cusumano, who researched the issue for his book. iTunes brought in $1.1 billion last quarter. It's sold 10 billion apps so far, and the Mac App Store is just getting started. That number is only going to rise, and it's conceivable that someday Apple could change tactics on hardware, argues Cusumano. "In many cases, they may end up giving away these devices and making all their money in iTunes," he said. It's possible, of course, but not everyone agrees, particularly because hardware and its design at Apple is very resource-intensive--lots of time and energy is placed on producing hardware of a certain quality. Arvind Bhambri, who teaches competitive strategy at USC's Marshall School of Business, thinks tightly integrated hardware and software is always gong to be Apple's plan for growth because it's what sets the company apart. "Because it's their hardware that's driving a lot of their software revenues. It's a very symbiotic relationship," he said. "It's having one of the richest application platforms that makes their hardware attractive. And attractively designed hardware is what brings people to their App Store to start with." Apple's increasing reliance on the iPad, in other words, shouldn't be a cause for concern. The iPhone, after all, has been its most popular and profitable product for several years. What it does symbolize is just how prescient it was four years ago to drop "Computer" from Apple Inc. Correction 6:32 a.m. PT: This story initially erred on revenue figures for Macs and iPads. For the quarter ended December 25, 2010, Apple recorded $5.4 billion in revenue from Mac desktops and laptops, and $4.6 billion from iPads.” As the only specialist Digital and Creative recruitment agency in the Eastern region, Brand Digital and Creative (BDC) offers clients and candidates alike an unrivalled knowledge of the digital and creative sectors along with unprecedented levels of service. [link removed]

The quicker you get more sites pointing to your own site (whether google classes its own adverts i.e. Adwords as an 'authority' for a site is open to question), the more reason google will have to visit it... When I launched a site early in the year, it would get 50 or 60 visits a day and would get crawled maybe once a week/ fortnight or so.. Now we take 200 or so visits and get crawled more or less every day - more people are visiting, more people are linking to us. I am pretty sure content is a factor, too - if google goes back once a week for four weeks and everything is the same, I am pretty sure it is going to rank your site below a site optimised the same way that gets updated more often... Not 100% on these, but I am pretty sure..

Just a quick one re google maps - did you enter your business into the business directory? What these guys are saying make sense - you can have a site rank quickly a result of on-page SEO, but without 'authority', it will quickly go down in the rankings...

Everyone is hirable in one way or another; in web design and development, however, there is a lot of chaff covering up not so much wheat. I work in an industry hiring developers and designers and it is tough to get that first foot on the ladder. I like what j05hr says - the proof is in the pudding, so if you can show someone something that really works for them, that is more or less there to go, they are going to use you. This way you start off your portfolio, and off you go. Best of luck - hope it all goes well...

Hi there - I am Helen and I work in a job that means I liaise with designers (both web and graphic) and I thought it made sense to join a couple of forums to help me find my feet.

Afternoon all, Happy Bonfire Night! Let's get those sparklers and candy apples out Now that the winter nights are drawing closer, don't know about you, but some mornings it can be near-on impossible to feel enthusiastic about having to get to work in the dark, and get home in the dark - where has the sun gone?? I just came across this article, which might be of interest to you all? I hope so. Happy Guy Fawkes! How to: Maintain Enthusiasm At work

Hi all, Happy Halloween! Hope you all played nice if you had Trick or Treaters - I guess the benefit of not having an obvious front door is times like these, we only have one little scary bat boy who came round yesterday, and that's only because I know his parents! Anyway, just came across this article, it's quite interesting actually, might give some of you inspiration if you're looking to do a re-design of a logo either for yourself or your workplace? 20 Logo Redesigns

Do you have one yet? Or know someone who thinks this is the best thing since sliced bread? The new Apple iPad, a high tech, funky device that is offering new ways to consume and interact with content. With the launch of the iPhone, you would think the iPad would be every household’s “must have” of the century for every digital geek out there, you will either have an iPhone or at least tried one, but overall, only around five percent of the UK population has an in iPhone. It is always enjoyable to play with shiny new devices and cool technology, but no matter how appealing the iPad is, we are being told in everyday life this is the way forward to replace our trusty laptops, as we know it. Now all the hype has died down and the dust has settled, the main question that everyone’s asking is ‘What is the iPad for?’. It’s fair to say that the reaction to the iPad has been mixed - too expensive, too much hype, waste of money but the bottom line is this little gizmo has truly exceptional features. Now you’ve had a chance to admire this slinky new tablet, make it yours. You can change the background image of your iPad and freely arrange your apps and bookmarks as desired. The iPad offers a new and flexible way to view your existing media, so you can sync the device to your videos, music, photos, and more. This is perfect if you’re always on the go (that dedicated commuter) or stuck in a waiting room somewhere. If you're not planning to link your iPad up to another computer, you can always use iTunes on iPad to gain access to millions of songs, as well as loads of movies, TV shows, podcasts, and more. Without the physical heft of a laptop or the limiting screen size of the iPhone, the iPad might be the best way possible to casually surf the web. You can read it in any position on the couch, use it in bed, or even lay it flat on the coffee table (Hallelujah). Another fantastic feature is digital films and TV shows, no more late fees from Blockbusters as you can now access gorgeous high definition videos from iTunes, which is packed full of Hollywood goodies such as; The Hangover, Book of Eli, Twilight Saga; New Moon or catch up on the hit shows like LOST, True Blood or The Office. If this wasn’t enough, Apple has also designed a new iBooks app which lets you purchase and read eBooks with an impressive array of options. You can turn pages with a tap or flick of the screen, adjust the font style or size to best fit your needs, and even look up words using the app's built-in dictionary. The iBookstore promises to host bestsellers, literary classics, and a selection of free options, so you shouldn't have a problem finding something that strikes your fancy. This is just a snap shot of the many features available on the iPad. When the iPad was launched I didn’t fancy buying one, I thought it’s the same as the iPhone features but on a bigger screen but now I haven’t looked back – it’s a fantastic device which should be on everyone’s wish list for Christmas 2010 ... if Santa was real (sorry children), I’m sure he would be using one and promoting Apple on his sleigh.

Do you ever get asked ‘Where did you get that idea from?’ in any of your projects or pieces of work and you couldn’t answer the question? Well, I have actually come across that a few times and it made me think to myself, where do I get my creativity? How do I get my creative juices flowing? How do I boost my creativity? Mindmapping The key to perfecting mind-mapping is creating your own personal style. • Do you use keywords? Images? Both? • Do you use a variety of colours? • Do you use a hierarchy system? A number system? Outlines? Circles? • Do you use random words for inspiration or do you relate words? Both? • Are all lines & thoughts connected? Or do you loiter off into new mind maps? You must find the best method that suits you, as the key to getting great ideas and getting your creative juices flowing is by perfecting your own personal style, as not everyone has the same way of doing things. Finding Inspiration If you are still missing that essential middle puzzle, another idea is have a look at what other people have done and what has succeeded (or failed). This is another great way to get your feet off the ground again. Try looking in books, magazines, newspapers, internet, and journals. Although mindmapping and inspiration are two great ways of getting creative, there are many other ways to help .. Other Creative Methods Have you ever tried practicing any of the methods below? Give it a try, you’ll be surprised. • Get Relaxed – Take a moment to do something that makes you happy; that brings you joy; that you love; that centers you. Meditate, take a walk, go for a swim, read something that puts you in a good mood, write a diary – writing down your thoughts. • Give Gratitude - Thinking about all things you are grateful for produces a positive energy flow and vibration. As you feel the love in your heart for all the wonderful blessings and gifts in your life, you will instantly relax and feel all warm-and-fuzzy inside. In that moment of warmth and love, you are open to creative energy. • Tickle Your Imagination – Imagination is highly visual. Try closing your eyes, and imagine that you are in a scene, any scene. Okay – pick your ideal scene, practice seeing the details of your environment in this scene. See the colours, the textures, touch something. What does it feel like? What do you hear? What do you smell? What is the temperature like? Etc. This makes you more relaxed and gives you gratitude also. • Be In the Moment - Every outstanding musician or artist will tell you that when they are creating great music or art, there are no thoughts, they are completely in the moment, and experiencing flow. Athletes call this ‘being in the zone‘. You can practice present moment awareness by giving full attention to whatever you are doing: eating, washing dishes, making your bed, etc. Meditation helps tremendously. The book “The Power of Now” by Eckhart Tolle is also highly recommended. • Be Inspired - Practice seeing beautiful things that moves you emotionally. Flip through a book containing thought provoking images, go to an art gallery, read something inspirational, talk to someone who calms you. • Draw - This may sounds funny, but one of the effective ways to practice getting in touch with your creative side is to start drawing. Drawing forces you to see things differently. • See Alternatives - Be curious. Practice asking yourself how to do something differently. When seeing the solution to a problem, ask yourself, “What are some alternative ways to doing this?“. Develop the mental attitude that “there is always another way” even when alternatives seem ‘impossible’. • Be Open - Never shut down any idea that comes your way, do not make judgments about it. Appreciate any idea that comes to you, even ones that seem “stupid” or “obvious”. This way, you encourage more creative ideas to surface from your being. • Think on Paper - With a bunch of loose paper, start jotting ideas down. Write everything down that comes to your head: random words, phrases, ideas, thoughts: sometimes you might want to circle things and draw lines to connect ideas. When an inspiration hits, follow it. If you suddenly have a different idea, jot it down somewhere on the page or in a new page As the only specialist Digital and Creative recruitment agency in the Eastern region, Brand Digital and Creative (BDC) offers clients and candidates alike an unrivalled knowledge of the digital and creative sectors along with unprecedented levels of service. Brand Digital & Creative Jobs

Hello fellow Designers! Ok, so it's that time of year again when we need to vote for the best Digital and Creative recruitment agency; follow the link below and happy voting! Best Regional Agency - http://www.mara2010.com/component/option,com_nominee/catid,37/id,148/task,companyprofile/ Best Candidate Care - http://www.mara2010.com/component/option,com_nominee/catid,39/id,147/task,companyprofile/ Best Client Care – http://www.mara2010.com/component/option,com_nominee/catid,40/id,146/task,companyprofile/ As the only specialist Digital and Creative recruitment agency in the Eastern region, Brand Digital and Creative (BDC) offers clients and candidates alike an unrivalled knowledge of the digital and creative sectors along with unprecedented levels of service. http://www.branddigitalandcreativejobs.co.uk

Hi everyone, I found this article online when trying to suss out the difference between Corel Draw and Photoshop. I currently use Photoshop but am contemplating getting a new design software; anyone have any advice? I know they have huge differences- Adobe Photoshop is for image editing and Corel Draw is vector drawing but which one is better? Help please! “At one time, if you were serious at design then you'll have used Corel. Now in its 20th year, it's a leading application that has recently been superseded by the likes of Adobe's Illustrator package. X3 hopes to re-address this balance by introducing new features and streamlining the whole process. While Adobe is aimed at professionals, Corel has aimed for the semi-professional and the enthusiast market. Loading the suite up you'll find that it still maintains its clean and easy to navigate interface. Comprising three separate standalone applications: CorelDraw Photo-Shop and Capture, it's as comprehensive as you need. That said, you won't find any layout tools, nor any applications specifically aimed at web design and remains an art-based package. CorelDraw X3 is the heart of the package and remains a powerful tool and comes with newly designed controls that make creating images easier. PowerTrace is a re-invented tool that once stood alone but has been built into CorelDraw and is a bitmap-to-vector conversion tool. You can choose to do a quick scan for low accuracy conversions, ideal for getting an idea across. Or, more likely, you can convert high-res scans quickly and easily, as the application even allows you to specify and check the colour conversion before it does so, which can save considerable time later on. It's not just images manipulation that has been improved as you'll find that TEXT has been overhauled, allowing for sentence and paragraph formatting - a feature that until now hasn't been supported. What's more, formatting also expands to allow bullet-points and tabbing. True, these features could be found in the previous Format Text feature but now they sit more naturally within the main application making it easier to edit text in real time. Photo-Paint X3, as does Draw, is based around easy to access controls, called "dockers", which are lined on the side of the page for easy access to everything from colour palettes to Hints and Help tutorials. Image correction has been brought together in the Adjustments Lab, while the new Cutout Lab means you can remove details from images far more easily than in previous versions. Sadly, we feel the changes, while worthwhile, haven't gone far enough and still lag behind other applications on the market. Finally, Capture is a screen capture application that works well but doesn't boast too many tools. When it comes to resources, you can't fault the wealth or quality of the included images and clipart. Even the most idea-bereft user can find inspiration here.”

Hi all, Hope you're all well and looking forward to the weekend? Came across this article that may be of interest - enjoy! What makes a good logo?

Afternoon all Hope you're all well and looking forward to the weekend? Came across these photos, and thought they might be inspirational to you all - I know they are for me! Enjoy Amazing Photos As the only specialist Digital and Creative recruitment agency in the Eastern region, Brand Digital and Creative (BDC) offers clients and candidates alike an unrivalled knowledge of the digital and creative sectors along with unprecedented levels of service. Brand Digital & Creative Jobs