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Free product training

Two of the most popular applications customers purchase from us are CorelDRAW Graphics Suite and MindManager.  (Both, coincidentally, now part of the Alludo family and available as individual or volume licenses).

Both companies offer free online training sessions and webinars.  For MindManager you don’t even need to be a customer to access the training.
If you aren’t familiar with MindManager, though have heard about mind mapping, it could be worth having a look at their Starter Academy materials to see what’s possible and how mind mapping is such a brilliant tool for organising and planning.

MindManager training – their Starter Academy – can be accessed by clicking here (opens a new page).  Their "Meet the Experts” webinar sessions can be found by clicking here (opens a new page).

More about CorelDRAW Academy training – can be found by clicking here.

For all the news in the last few weeks please click here.
Created On  4 Jul 2023 15:57  -  Permalink
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E-signatures or e-signing

E-signatures or e-signing
All types of customer are starting to use e-signing. In education it’s being led larger establishments (colleges more than schools) though in charities it doesn’t seem to relate to the size of the organisation, more to their need to handle sensitive or legal documents. Both are using it where they have documents relating to employment matters.

Some years ago Adobe included basic e-signing in Acrobat and, more recently, introduced Acrobat Sign as a separate and more comprehensive product. Last year they included large chunks of Acrobat Sign facilities within Acrobat Pro and announced the cost of Acrobat Pro to commercial customers would increase and this happened in June this year. Education and not for profit Acrobat Pro costs for have not increased.
As Acrobat is the dominant application for PDF editing the need for e-signatures has been met in part within the Acrobat customers already had, whether that be perpetual or subscription licenses. Those with subscription Acrobat Pro (Creative Cloud) do get more facilities.

The common e-signature features in both include:
  • Digitally sign, certify, and verify documents
  • Turn paper or Word files into fillable PDF forms
  • Fill, sign, and send locked forms fast from your computer with smart autofill
To see what e-signature facilities you get with the perpetual and subscription versions take a look at the Adobe Acrobat Pro and Acrobat Pro 2020 product comparison datasheet by clicking here.

If you need all the bells and whistles you can still add an Acrobat Sign license. To see what extras you get take a look at the Adobe Acrobat and Acrobat Sign Solutions product comparison by clicking here.

For all the news in the last few weeks please click here.
Created On  14 Jun 2023 9:00  -  Permalink
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More Headphones and Headsets!

More Headphones and Headsets!
Demand for headsets in education remains high and Andrea Communications have added three new models to their range specifically aimed at education and competitively priced.  Their new AC-125 headphones (top picture) are £9.07 + VAT and might be compared with Avid’s AE-54 costing £11.00 + VAT and the £15.51 + VAT AC-155 USB headset (lower picture) could be viewed alongside Avid’s AE-55 USB costing £20.24 + VAT.

Formed in the early 1920s Andrea’s portfolio has changed over the years and included supplying the audio system used in NASA’s Mercury spacecraft flow in the 1960s.

You can have a look at the Andrea products range by clicking here (opens new window).

For all the news in the last few weeks please click here.
Created On  1 Jun 2023 9:00  -  Permalink
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Photos, videos, etc. What's what from Adobe Stock

Photos, videos, etc. What's what from Adobe Stock You need images, diagrams or videos for a newsletter, social media or website?

Although not the only resource for these Adobe Stock is one of the largest collections and you don't need to be an Adobe application user to access them.  A number of enquries to us in the last few weeks prompted us to summarise your options.

There are two ways you can purchase Adobe Stock (beyond making a one off purchase with a credit card) and neither need you to already have an Adobe VIP agreememt:  
  1. Stock for teams – a quantity of assets per month.  Unused assets in a month from the 10 and 40 assets per month plans can be rolled over to the following month and, if the subscription is renewed, rolled over to the following year.  The 750 assets per month plan does not roll over at all, neither monthly nor to the following year.
  2. Credit Pack for teams – a quantity of credits.  (If you've got a VIP agreement they do not follow your VIP year).  Credit Packs last 365 days from the date of purchase.  Unused credits at the end of the 365 days are lost.
Created On  15 May 2023 9:00  -  Permalink
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“I need to edit and create PDFs. What’s available?”

“I need to edit and create PDFs. What’s available?”

"I need to edit and create PDFs.  What’s available?”  is one of the most common questions we’re asked.  If you just need to read PDFs the free Acrobat Reader is possibly the commonly used, though we’re finding the free PDF reader from the less well known Foxit starting to become more widely used in education and charities. For Acrobat Reader click here or for the Foxit Reader click here.

If you need to write and edit PDFs (beyond what’s available in Microsoft’s Office) you need a PDF editor.  Once again Acrobat is often the first choice.  However, Foxit’s PDF Editor and Editor Pro is rapidly gaining popularity in education and charities as it costs considerably less than Acrobat and you can have the latest version as either a perpetual OR a subscription license.  (Foxit also offers some extra bells and whistles).

If you want to include e-signing facilities then Acrobat Pro DC includes these for education and charities (there are also some facilities in the perpetual Acrobat Pro 2020).  Foxit offer a separate eSign license and include this within PDF Editor Pro+ (which is subscription only) although the cost of this is still a lot less than Adobe’s offering.

 

Education

Charity/Not for Profit

 

Perpetual

Subscription*

Perpetual

Subscription*

Acrobat Pro

£208.33**

£171.26***

£208.33**

£171.26***

Foxit PDF Editor Pro

£49.18

£34.49

£156.08

£86.33

Foxit PDF Editor Pro+ with eSign Subscription

 Not available

£86.33

Not available

£129.92
* Subscription cost per annum
** Acrobat Pro 2020 (this is the most current version)
*** Acrobat Pro DC for teams, Level 1 price band.  Acrobat Pro DC includes some e-signing facilities.

For an Acrobat v. Foxit comparison chart (produced by Foxit) please click here. (opens new window).
For Foxit in education white paper and webinars please click here (opens new window)
Products and prices for education/charity/not for profit please click here.
For all the news in the last month please click here.
Created On  5 May 2023 9:00  -  Permalink
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Latest versions of software for free. Really?!

Latest versions of software for free. Really?!

More and more software licenses are either subscription licenses or, if the manufacturer still offers them, perpetual licenses that include a year of updates and support.  When you subscribe to an application most customers expect to receive any updates during theirsubscription period and you'll hear about these when the vendor emails you.

Perpetual licenses that automatically include updates and support are anewer phenomenon and feedback suggests customers aren’t necessarily aware they’ve got this.  You should receive an email direct from the vendor, though, with the barrage of emails everyone gets or security blacklists, many don’t arrive or get read.

As an example Corel recently released CorelDRAW 2023 and if you purchased this software in the last year updates and support for a year will have been included and you can download the latest release for free and Corel emailed customers.  As a precaution Entec also contacted customers to let them know they could download the latest version and received positoive feedback for this update.

If you’re not sure whether your license includes free updates please contact Entec on 01462 499599 or orders@entec.co.uk.

To see the full Corel range and costs please click here.

For all the news in the last month please click here.
Created On  25 Apr 2023 9:00  -  Permalink
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