Suite Archives - Shapiro Consultants

Adobe rival launches major update update to creative suite

May 19, 2023
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Serif has announced some major upgrades to its Affinity page layout and graphic design software – just six months after unveiling the feature-filled V2 of its award-winning creative suite.

Dubbed V2.1, the developers are promising “better-than-ever workflow and user experience” thanks to a sweeping combination of new features and smaller, incremental updates.

And no-one’s left behind, with the all new feature set for Affinity Designer, Affinity Photo, and Affinity Publisher, available across Windows, Mac, and iPad apps.

What’s new in Affinity V2.1?

The list of updates and fixes for Affinity V2.1 is vast – we did say it was major – so it’s worth checking out the full release notes.

When it comes to headline items, Affinity Designer’s new Vector Flood Fill tool and Running Headers in Affinity Publisher both make the cut.

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The former lets users fill areas created by intersecting objects and curves with one click. The latter provides a way to add the name of your document’s topic to headers and footers. Users will also finally get support for keyboard shortcuts for changing the blend mode in whatever layers they’re working on.

Alongside the likes of snappable Vector warp modes and an Auto-select toggle come a raft of smaller tweaks. This includes balanced dash lines, an enhanced cropping tool in its photo editor and Brush Panel improvements based on community feedback.

“We pay meticulous attention to what our customers tell us their requirements are for improved professional workflow and usability,” said Serif CEO Ashley Hewson. “Sometimes a very small improvement can make a huge difference and give somebody their best experience of using Affinity. All the new features have been requested heavily by our customers, and thousands of those users have helped us put 2.1 through its paces during the beta period.”

Existing Affinity users get the latest update to the design and DTP software completely free. For everyone else, V2.1 is available for a one-off cost that’s surprisingly affordable given the power of the tools. Cheerfully, there’s no subscriptions either. That alone is one of the main reasons why we named Publisher as the best alternatives to Adobe InDesign, while Affinity Photo is a serious contender for best Photoshop alternative. With the latest advances in the creative suite rolling out now, that position is only strengthened.

Best laptops for graphic design: Top tech for whenever inspiration strikes

TechRadar – All the latest technology news

March 9, 2022
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Cyberlink is one of the leaders in video editing apps – from movies to wedding projects, they're a go-to in making sure that there's an easy process in getting the right edits.

PhotoDirector 365 and DirectorSuite 365 are the latest versions in its editing suites for Windows and macOS, where you can pay for a monthly or annual subscription, rivaling it against similar apps such as Adobe Creative Cloud.

With vacations and events opening up in 2022, there's going to be more opportunity to capture some moments on video, which is where Cyberlink's Suites will come in.

This is why the company is offering a discount on both of these apps until the end of April.

Today's best Cyberlink deals

Cyberlink Director Suite: ~~$ 129.99/yr~~ $ 96.99/yr direct
Save 25% – This suite combines PowerDirector, PhotoDirector, AudioDirector, and ColorDirector into one, at 25% off the annual price. For example, you can use video editing features of Chroma Key, Keyframing Multicam in PowerDirector, and then use AudioDirector to use the Vocal Balance feature to level out the audio. If you have a project to create, edit and share from start to finish, this suite will do the job in an interface that’s easy to use, for a cheaper annual price.

Cyberlink Photo Director: ~~$ 54.99/yr~~ $ 40.99/yr direct
Save 25% – This is Cyberlink’s photo editing suite for beginners, but with features to make it easy for anyone to edit photos. From deblurring to layer tools, there’s plenty to use. But not only do you get a great editing suite for your photos, but you also gain access to 4,000,000 images from Shutterstock and Getty images to use for those projects.

While many go for Adobe or built-in apps such as iMovie on Apple's macOS operating system, Cyberlink is one of the few in the category where you can create a project from start to finish, and cover every area that you may have not previously considered.

Every project has to have its time to shine, regardless of whether it's a college assignment or your friend's big day for the summer, which is where a suite of apps from Cyberlink should be able to do the job on your Windows 11 laptop.

Check out our review of PowerDirector 365

TechRadar – All the latest technology news

February 11, 2022
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Microsoft is making a bold attempt to steal G Suite users over to its own office software offering.

The company is offering a 60% discount on its Microsoft 365 platform to former G Suite customers unhappy that they will soon have to pay for Google's services.

Google revealed recently that it would be ending free subscriptions to G Suite services such as Docs, Sheets, Meet and Gmail, instead “upgrading” users to a paid subscription by May 1 2022.

In the market

“Organizations of all sizes rely on productivity and collaboration tools to get work done—they’re what keep business humming. If you’re a small business that’s relied on G Suite legacy free edition, we couldn’t help but notice you might be in the market for a new solution,” Jared Spataro, head of Microsoft 365 wrote in a blog post.

“We’ve got news for you: today, you can get a 60 percent discount on a 12-month Microsoft 365 Business Basic, Business Standard, or Business Premium subscription, along with the help you need to make the move.”

The offer is exclusive to current G Suite legacy free edition users who purchase a 12 month Microsoft 365 subscription by August 2, 2022.

Businesses based in the US will also get one year of free support with Business Assist for Microsoft 365, the company's platform that aims to help small businesses migrate and get up to speed quickly.

Google has not responded to the move yet, but Microsoft's bold action could pay off.

Many legacy G Suite users were left annoyed at Google's move, which will see the G Suite legacy free edition no longer available from July 1, 2022, with any users found not to have started paying after 60 days being locked out.

However a recent loophole could allow some non-business users a way out, with Google noting that anyone using G Suite legacy free edition for personal use and unwilling to upgrade to a Google Workspace subscription could possibly continue their current subscription for a little longer.

> Google Workspace is getting a major upgrade to rival Microsoft 365

> Google Workspace Individual offers all you need to start and run a small business

> Google takes aim at Microsoft 365 with small but important update

Google says it will automatically upgrade free users from May 1 to “an upgraded Google Workspace paid subscription” based on its analysis of the customer's usage and the features it thinks you'll need.

Google Workplace plans start at $ 6/user/month for its Business Starter option, with Business Standard ($ 12/user/month) and Business Plus ($ 18 /user/month) also on offer, providing an increasing level of services with the amount paid.

Google is offering a discount for twelve months, and won't start charging subscription fees until July 1, 2022. The company is also offering businesses who don't want to pay or upgrade the chance to export their data at no extra cost.

Here’s our list of the best productivity tools on the market

TechRadar – All the latest technology news

January 27, 2022
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G Suite users upset at Google's recent move to make them pay for their office software could be in luck thanks to a potential loophole.

The company recently announced that all G Suite legacy free edition users would been shifted over to a paid version of Google Workspace in order to keep access to tools such as Gmail, Meet and Docs.

This had upset users who may have recently signed up for the software, particularly non-business users facing having to pay for the first time – but help could be at hand.

Free G Suite

Google had said the G Suite legacy free edition itself will no longer be available from July 1, 2022, with any users found not to have started paying after 60 days being locked out.

But a loophole spotted by Ars Technica writer Ron Amadeo means that non-business users could potentially get around the change. The site spotted that a section on the FAQ for the transition included a section for users that “use G Suite legacy free edition for personal use and don’t want to upgrade to a Google Workspace subscription.”

This includes users who may have signed up to use the initial build of Workspace, known as Google Apps, when it was launched in 2006, but with a non-gmail.com email address. It may also include users who provided family or friends with Google accounts that have certain services still linked, but not the entire Workspace suite of tools.

“We understand some customers may not use their G Suite legacy free edition for business and may be interested in other options,” the company noted.

Such non-business users with 10 or fewer users in their group are instructed to log into their administrator account to provide more information, meaning they may be able to continue with their current situation at least a little while longer.

> Google Workspace is getting a major upgrade to rival Microsoft 365

> Google Workspace Individual offers all you need to start and run a small business

> Google takes aim at Microsoft 365 with small but important update

Google had planned to automatically upgrade free users from May 1 to “an upgraded Google Workspace paid subscription” based on its analysis of the customer's usage and the features it thinks you'll need.

Google rebranded G Suite as Workspace back in October 2020 in a bid to bring more structure to its myriad of apps and services.

Initially described as “the future of work”, the new platform looked to improve the interoperability of its various productivity services, blurring the lines between each product for a more fluid feel.