Akvis has posted ascreencast (http://www.youtube.com/user/AKVISvideo#p/a/u/1/fjyc_W5CwGo) showing how to use AKVIS Smartmask to remove someone from a background.

Smartmask (http://akvis.com/en/smartmask/) is an image selection and masking plug-in for the Mac and Windows platforms. It's designed to save time on complex selections. With the app, there are two pencils, red and blue. Draw a line with the blue pencil inside the object being selected (for example, yourself in a group photo) and then outline the same object with the red pencil to define the areas that should be cut out.

The selection algorithm analyzes the image and your drawing, and creates the selection you want. Akvis SmartMask features three selection modes are tailored to...

Mac adoption is rising, even in the enterprise, and IT departments and support staff can't afford to ignore the Mac any longer. A recent survey by the Enterprise Desktop Alliance (http://www.enterprisedesktopalliance.com), an organization that helps IT departments integrate Macs into the corporate environment, shows that 66% of 322 IT administrators from large organizations with both Macs and PCs stated that their organization expects to increase the number of Macs in their sites.

Additional responses show management priorities and organizational approaches to managing Macs. The respondents cited user preference, increased productivity, and ease of technical support as leading reasons for choosing Macs.

Increased Mac usage can only mean increased Mac-related support issues. Unfortunately, most remote support products simply don’t support Macs at all, and many of...

Many CTOs and system/network administrators feel that tape is something to be avoided. But a new white paper by the Tolis Group (http://www.tolisgroup.com) -- which makes back-up solutions for Mac OS X, Windows, Linux and Unix systems -- begs to different.

The Tolis Group says that no longer is tape a performance, usability, or cost gating factor. In fact, the white paper says that LTO-4 technology is actually faster than the filesystems that feed it, the reliability is excellent, and the life expectancy of written tapes is measured in decades. The same can be said for other fine tape formats, though throughput performance varies.

What's LTO? It stands for Linear Tape-Open, a magnetic tape data storage technology . IT developed jointly by IBM, HP and Seagate as an open alternative to the proprietary Digital Linear Tape (DLT). Developed jointly by IBM, HP, and Seagate.

LTO-4 cartridges...

With screen sharing, Mac users can control the mouse and keyboard of one computer while sitting at another computer across the room or on the other side of the world. In a new ebook, "Take Control of Screen Sharing in Snow Leopard," networking expert Glenn Fleishman walks readers through the steps for identifying, configuring, and using the screen-sharing option that best meets their needs. For those who want to get the most out of Apple's MobileMe-based Back to My Mac file- and screen-sharing feature, Fleishman has also written a companion ebook, "Take Control of Back to My Mac." Each title costs $10, or they can be purchased together for $15 at http://www.takecontrolbooks.com/snow-leopard-screen-sharing

Find essential advice for running Windows on your Intel-based Mac! Using an Intel-based Mac means you can choose the best of both worlds—running Mac OS X or running Windows, but what's the optimal way way to go about it? Cross-platform expert Joe Kissell has distilled untold hours of testing into this ebook to help you understand the pros and cons of Apple's Boot Camp versus virtualization software and to give advice and step-by-step instructions for installing and using either Windows 7, Vista, or XP in Boot Camp, Parallels Desktop 5, VMware Fusion 3, and VirtualBox. http://www.takecontrolbooks.com/windows-on-mac

Configure file sharing to be fast, effective, and secure with networking guru Glenn Fleishman! This detail-packed book makes file sharing easy, whether it's between two Macs on a local network, among a mixed-platform office workgroup, or between far-flung computers on the Internet. You'll learn how to select and configure the right hardware and software for your needs and budget, consider the pros and cons of different file-sharing options, find set-up steps for each of the core Mac OS X file-sharing services—AFP, SMB, and FTP—(with tips to help you avoid problems and security risks), and learn how to connect to Mac file servers from a variety of major operating systems. The ebook discusses Snow Leopard's Wake on Demand feature and the quirky Snow Leopard firewall, as well as how to share files from iPhoto '09 and iTunes 9.

http://www....

Why REALbasic?What development enviroment should you use? Already you are faced with a plethora of choices: cross-platform or for Mac only? Standalone programs or ones that need a runtime? Just for fun or might it develop into something more serious?My own requirements in a development tool were: easy to learn, good graphical user interface, cross-platform, and if possible, cheap, preferably free.So, based upon my requirements, that excluded X-Code (though I still have it on my Mac), Tcl, Python, and a few others and left me seriously looking at REALbasic, Java, SuperCard and Revolution. I tried all of them for a few weeks and REALbasic came out on top by a mile. I had used the old HyperCard extensively and I found SuperCard and Revolution to be quite limited. I hadn’t previously appreciated the difference that a fully object-oriented language would make. Java is object-oriented and cross-platform, but it is intended mainly for web use, and is very limited....

Start podcasting or take it to the next level with our step-by-step guide!

Beginning a podcast is easier than starting a radio station, but it's still hard to assemble your hardware and software, and learn the tricks of the trade. You can easily meet that challenge with start-to-finish guidance from long-time podcaster Andy Affleck.

http://www.takecontrolbooks.com/podcasting-mac

The Rapid Release Model for Software DevelopmentSummaryMoving software development schedules to a 90-day cycle offers substantial benefits for both software consumers and software developers. For software consumers, it means gaining faster access to new features and functionality and better software quality. For developers, it means reduced risk, improved project management and market agility.IntroductionFor the past 20 years, commercial software has been packaged and sold using the same sales model as other household products such as breakfast cereal and laundry detergent; in an attractive box on the shelf of a retail store. The software industry has grown up trying to fit within this well-established system of selling consumer products.http://www.realsoftware.com/support/rapidrelease.php