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RANDOM THOUGHTS 77
April 13, 2004
Media Bakery Temporarily Off-Line
Media Bakery, a company that represents over 500,000 RF images, is
temporarily off-line due to a decision to change hosting companies. They have
contracted with a new company to host their site and are in the process of uploading
images and creating HTML pages. They expect the new site with improved
functionality to be up and running in about a month.
During this period of transition to the new hosting service, they will
continue to service customer requests for single images and CD's and will
fulfill orders via email and FTP links. For the inconvenience, they are
offering every customer 10% off every order until their website is restored.
This is in addition to all current monthly promotions that are also being
honored.
According to Chad Newell, CEO of Media Bakery, they started selling RF
online in January of 2002 and their revenue doubled in 2003 compared with
2002. According to Newell, the hosting service broke its contractual
agreement with Media Bakery.
In the fall of 2004, Media Bakery expects to expand their offering to
include Rights Managed images.
RF Portal Closes Doors
Atlantech, Inc., parent of Central Stock, has closed its doors and stopped
trading. The phone service is disconnected, but the owner will respond to
emails at the end of April. The assets, including intellectual property, are
being sold at auction on eBay. These auctions are being conducted under the
name "centralliquidator".
The first auction is for the Central Stock brand, registration, domain, and
toll free number. This auction began at 9:30 am PDT on Sunday, April 11,
2004, and end on April 14, 2004 and requires a minimum bid of $1,000. This
is a three day auction and you may access it directly using the following link:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3091029322
This sale does not include the web site or right to sell any of the content
currently presented on the site. Content rights must be obtained by direct
contact with the copyright holder of each of the collections. Anyone wishing
to continue using the design and functionality of the site must contact
Atlantech's ISP (david@emsix.com).
Additional assets will be placed at auction beginning April 26, 2004. They
will include collections entitled FreeModels, Imagin, and Digital Textures 1
and 2. These collections can be viewed at
www.centralstock.com until the
domain name is sold.
An Apple A Day
Corbis is running a promotion that will give away an Apple G5 computer every
weekday during April as a way to build loyalty among creative professionals
who use stock photography.
"Don't tell the boss," joked Corbis spokesman Dov Schiff when the Seattle
Post-Intelligencer asked about the promotion. Microsoft and Apple have been
rivals for years.
Each G5 comes complete with a 23-inch display and retails for $4,998. The
grand total for the 22 that will be given away in the promotion is $109,956.
In addition they are sending out 1,800 chalk drawings to ad agencies,
graphic design shops and news organizations. It is also sending clients
boxes of apples with Corbis' stickers on them.
"If you think about it, we are really advertising to advertisers and
marketing to marketers," said Schiff. "So we have to be really creative in
terms of how we approach them."
Photoshop Fix Magazine
Dynamic Graphics Group has launched PHOTOSHOP FIX, a publication devoted
entirely to Photoshop. The 16-page monthly newsletter will have guest
columnists, tutorials and tips with experts who will break down the
essentials of Photoshop: menus, tools, filters, and effects.
Targeted to intermediate to advanced Photoshop users, PHOTOSHOP FIX will
offer step-by-step instruction with rich, full-color images. The format
will offer a concise, quick read where readers will be able to look at a
page clearly, see the end result, see the images that led up to it, and feel
they could immediately implement the technique without wading through
unnecessary verbiage.
"PHOTOSHOP FIX came about from our research that identified a demand for a
publication that wasn't full of flashy 'wow-type' tricks, although we will
have a few of those, but a need for a publication that can be utilized every
day," commented David Moffly, CEO of the Dynamic Graphics Group.
"The image industry has recognized that Photoshop has become nearly a cult
more than a software application -- and that users are fixated on the impact
Photoshop has on their business. PHOTOSHOP FIX is designed to give those
enthusiasts a monthly fix that will make them stronger, more efficient users
of Photoshop."
For information on PHOTOSHOP FIX, please visit
http://www.PhotoshopFix.com .