I have done a post on the drupa blog about the Google Launch of the Nexus One phone and the Flash support for this. Seems very impressive.

Problem for IPEX is the range of phases of technology to consider. I think most print organisations are interested in Postscript. Adobe see this as a static market, not worth much promotion at all. There will be some PDF based workflow but no Adobe stand as far as I can tell from the floorplan. The PDF / XML phase relates to screens as well as hard copy. People in print organisations can relate to this and Adobe on e-books is reported in Printweek. But the Flash phase is still a bit strange. The thing is that print needs to present workflow as convenient for customers as publishing online through XML. Also print to complement the Flash options on mobiles. This requires more engagement with technology as a context. The layout of IPEX suggests that some print buyers may start at the HP end of the arc and maybe not get much further.

While checking the Printweek link I discover that Positive Focus has ceased trading. This is very disturbing. They were at the centre of pre-press technology. What is meant by "pre-media"? There must be some development somewhere but it may need a wide scope to find the current positives.

The floorplan shows a "knowledge area" near the pre-media, drupa 2012 near Heidelberg and Xerox, Printweek near Komori, and Print City near manroland. There are probably some online tags for these as well as the spread in real space. I think the show may as well start now for comments. BETT is next week and the same issues will come up. There may well be book publishers there still thinking about mobile devices and actually concentrating on contracts with libraries. The learners are the ones who but phones, whatever the age is.

I still plan to do stories for OhmyNews based on the actual event but meanwhile there may be events that offer a lead item to raise some issues. Adobe will be at BETT so what is their offer? Clues may appear even if they do rave on about Flash in a way mysterious for most of us in the UK. Maybe this is just me and I do try to keep an open mind. Adobe again at the Learning Technology part of Olympia. why not hold this alongside BETT?

The London Bookfair will probably have a tech zone for e-books etc. This could indicate what "pre-media" means. The XML space at Online Information was about publishing workflow for organisations. There was a brief Adobe presence but the approach to e-books is rarely explained.

manroland / Print City and Heidelberg will open the event with statements about how litho compares with digital. Xerox seem very close to Heidelberg, maybe there is a joint workflow possibility as mentioned previously. The Guardian and Haymarket are both covering UK media news and both moving online. The Technology section from the Guardian and also Direct Marketing both went from print in 2009. What will happen before May?

Events and blog posts will be examined in the future by archivists and media archaeologists. Apparently chronology and what makes an event are open for discussion. So blog posts in random order over 2010 may be as good a way as any to cover IPEX. No plan to change the name of the blog from 2002.