Clancy . . . overflow . . . the best bits . . . funnies

The popular industry identity has published a book, The Price of Love, written with Jenni Lans, billed as the first and only consumer guide to the most popular dating services; internet dating, speed dating, dinner for six, personal ads, self-help books, relationship experts and matchmakers. It’s an in-depth look at the global dating game drawn from 300 interviews with single men and women and producing some eye-opening information such as – 30 per cent of online daters are married and 35 per cent of men believe the objective of being online is casual sex.

It’s the kind of information Clancy is sorely in need of. Available at all good bookstores and essential reading if you’re out there.

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

There’s an upside to corporate drives if you go looking for it. Nelson Ferrari, large format marketing manager for HP, has a programme going where he will give a large format machine to any school that asks for it. The only proviso is that the school has to offer a suitable graphic design curriculum subject, or similar. On the face of it it’s a remarkable offer and you have to wonder why more schools and colleges haven’t taken advantage, especially when you consider that these machines can cost up to $38,000.

If you’re digging deep for your children’s education – and who isn’t? – ping Nelson and ask him for a large format printer. You’ll be surprised at how easy it is.
Nelson.Ferrari@HP.com

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Adobe continues to power on in the face of crumbling resistance from Quark, which is going through a leadership crisis. Results just out show the graphics software company exceeded its second quarter revenue target. Posting a 21 per cent growth it hit US $496 million, over its target range of $475 to $495. Meanwhile integration preparations for the Macromedia acquisition are underway with Adobe claiming there is little likelihood the Department of Justice will have anything bad to say about the deal.

Mind you, in the USA there’s always someone ready to sue, and ‘a purported Adobe stockholder’ has lodged a complaint with the Superior Court of California alleging a breach of fiduciary duty against the Adobe board in respect of the takeover because Macromedia restated its financial results.

Adobe intends to defend ‘vigorously.’

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

The ‘creofication’ of Kodak’s Graphic Communications Group (GCGH) continues apace now that the deal has finally been done. Apart from former Creo honcho, Garron Helman, taking the helm as managing director of the greater Asia region (GAR) and Judi Hess, formerly president of Creo, leading the workflow & prepress strategic product group, it’s nice to see Dan Gelbart, a bloke with a brain the size of a small planet and the technical genius behind Creo, is also getting a gig. He’s joining Kodak as a senior research fellow and a special adviser to Jim Langley, president of GCG.

And of course in our own region, Steve Green’s general mangership, makes GCG almost a complete 'creoation.'

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Here’s something from the USA where industry seer Dr Joe Webb www.whatthey think.com reports that printing profits for the first quarter are down by a whopping 27 per cent. He makes the point that over there, the first quarter is the industry’s top season, unlike here where we look forward to the second half of the year. Last year he says the first quarter was the best of the four, which if it carries through for the remainder of 2005 means there are some very hard times a ahead.
And you know what they say about how we follow the Yanks.

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

And finally … every occupation has its hard-won wisdom. Here are some nuggets from project managers that can speak to all of us who ever had to produce anything on time.

Nothing is impossible for the person who doesn't have to do it

A problem shared is a buck passed

What you don't know hurts you

There's never enough time to do it right first time but there's always enough time to go back and do it again

The bitterness of poor quality lasts long after the sweetness of making a deadline is forgotten

If at first you don't succeed, remove all evidence you ever tried

Fast - cheap - good - you can have any two

Warning: dates in a calendar are closer than they appear to be

Anything that can be changed will be changed until there is no time left to change anything

If you don't know how to do a task, start it, then ten people who know
less than you will tell you how to do it

The person who says it will take the longest and cost the most is the only one with a clue how to do the job

The sooner you get behind schedule, the more time you have to make it up

The nice thing about not planning is that failure comes as a complete surprise rather than being preceded by a period of worry and depression.