New Products

The company Blackmagic Design recently announced a wholesale move to the Linux platform of its formerly Windows- and Mac OS-only products. Linux support was added to the new Media Express 2.0, a video capture and playback software application compatible with all Blackmagic Design DeckLink, Multibridge and Intensity products. This new version is a major update that adds support for direct capture and playback of DPX, AVI and QuickTime files, as well as list-based batch capture and playback, plus a major UI overhaul. Also adding Linux support are the DeckLinux (video cards), Intensity (HDMI/analog editing component) and Multibridge (external capture and playback solution) products. A free, cross-platform SDK is included. Finally, the DeckLink Optical Fiber, which Blackmagic calls “the world's first 10-bit SD/HD broadcast capture card with both optical fiber SDI and regular SDI”, now has a Linux driver and SDK. The card is designed for high-end broadcast and post-production customers who work in large facilities needing lots of creative workstation seats and seek to use both types of cabling.

www.blackmagic-design.com

Software development companies should take note of the new PureCM 2009-1, a Software Configuration Management (SCM) solution that controls, tracks and visualizes changes to digital assets. PureCM facilitates software development in team environments, accommodating best practices, such as task-based version control, parallel development and build automation. One key new feature involves greater advance insight into and control of changes that need merging. Merge conflicts also can be resolved pre-integration using a visual resolve tool. A second key feature is a new and simplified cross-platform GUI, allowing developers to see on which files their colleagues are currently working within their private workspace. They also can preview their completed changes before integrating them automatically into the workspace. PureCM is cross-platform for Linux, Mac OS and Windows, and it offers native integration with Eclipse and Visual Studio.

www.purecm.com

Greening your computing experience keeps getting easier, thanks to the efforts of companies like ASUS, whose new VH Series LCD monitors garnered a Gold rating under the EPEAT environmental standard. The VH series offers five models with screen sizes ranging from 20"–24". Each model has been certified by the EPEAT organization, which evaluates PCs based on their environmental attributes. EPEAT's standards demand exceptional performance in areas such as reduction or elimination of hazardous materials, design for end of life, product longevity, resource conservation, end-of-life management, corporate performance and packaging. Gold is EPEAT's highest rating. ASUS says that with the VH monitor series, it perfected new manufacturing techniques to reduce mercury and utilize post-consumer recycled plastic without affecting product performance and reliability.

www.asus.com

If you're laid off or stuck in a dead-end career, Andy Lester's new book Land the Tech Job You Love from Pragmatic Bookshelf may land you a gig that springs you out of bed each morning. The book will help techies learn the job-search techniques that work for finding an fulfilling career. Lester claims that we techies have a tougher time finding and winning the right job, because companies are ever-more demanding and our competition is smart, tech-savvy and resourceful. The reader will learn skills such as how to uncover hidden jobs that never get publicized, perform effective social networking, craft an effective résumé, understand the mindset of hiring managers and perform well in interviews. The book is further peppered with real-life stories about what works and hilarious tales of what doesn't.

www.pragprog.com

If your dream job means saying adiós to your boss and running your own show, pick up Aaron Erickson's new book The Nomadic Developer: Surviving and Thriving in the World of Technology Consulting, published by Addison-Wesley. Making a living as a technology consultant has its pros and cons, and author Erickson first helps readers assess whether it's their ideal career path. Should readers decide to choose to become (or continue as) consultants, Erickson presents a guide to success in the field. He explains issues such as how to break into the business and build a career path, understand the mechanics of consultancies and avoid the traps of unscrupulous ones, master secret consulting success tips, add more value than competitors, enhance professional development and build a personal brand. Erickson and other battle-worn consultants also offer the lessons they learned from years in the trenches.

www.informit.com