When I first heard of 'digital magazine', I didn't expect anything that actually resembled a real magazine. Let's face it, we are in an age of clicking to 'navigate', not turning pages, and quite frankly, I miss the experience. Having said that of course, I think of the reality of looking through a pile of magazines for a particular article I read a while back, and that I want to look at again. The thing that we have all gotten used to is search-ability, or keyword searching ability. Here's a tip for those of you who didn't know, and are using Windows - try holding down the control key, and hitting the letter 'F'. You should have had a search box appear, that will allow you to search the current document or webpage for a particular word. But it only applies to the current page you have open. Now there is a great deal going to make life easier. It is a program that creates a magazine, it really looks and acts like a paper magazine, but without killing the trees. It is called 3D Issue Manager and it really has been well thought out. Now, those of you who read this blog will know how much I dislike stupidity, and I have to say, there appears to be none in the design of this program. Like all new programs, it will take a few 'goes' to get used to how it operates, but overall, it is set up to be user friendly. At the website, they have video examples of how it operates, and I was impressed, and I don't mean just by the announcing gal's Scots accent. It has a page flipping feature that turns the pages just like paper ones, but with no licking of thumbs required. The convertibility from other formats is what makes it so great, in my opinion. It is set up to convert PDF files, for example, automatically into a flash magazine format conversion that could be not only a great sales tool, but also an impressive presentation tool that gives a more personal approach than does, say, Powerpoint. Useful for offline editions. This truly is a new approach to readability on a digital screen, an increasing of usability, rather than a stepping back. And there is even a trial version for evaluation purposes. A very, very, neat program to see working.

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