Back in June of this year, Microsoft and Adobe rocked the world of DAM software by buying up iView Multimedia and Pixmantec respectively. While this field doesn't sound all that rock and roll, workflow is a pretty important field for photographers - especially as it is your livelihood. Even though big companies can bring technological improvements to the software the sad fact is that it's not quite the same now. The program name disappears and so does the familiarity you have with it. It happened with “Adobe” Pixmantec immediately, the whole program line stopping in favour of Adobe's own Lightroom software, and now the axe has fallen on “Microsoft” Media Pro 3.
Today's announcement from Micro-“iView Multimedia”-soft isn't a new product release as such but more a concrete statement of where the line is going. As expected it won't be called Media Pro 4 but “Expression Media” instead - bringing it into Microsoft's Expression Studio line, which is a range of web, design and photography programs. The range is clearly an intention to take Adobe on at their design game - more information can be found at http://www.microsoft.com/products/expression/.
Its clear Media Pro 3 is the basis for Expression Media because when you click the “Download Trial” link you get taken to Media Pro 3. It's less clear that Expression Media will bring any new features when released in Q2 2007 other than “Expression Media Encoder”, which will make encoding and putting video online easier than it is now. The most important thing however is that the program will stay on PC and Mac which will keep all current users happy (but the Encoder is PC only).
You can read the Expression Media FAQ for more details. Prices are $299 for Expression Media and upgrade is free for Media Pro 3 users (so perhaps new features will be very limited). Until then, iView Media Pro 3 will still be available.
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