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Adobe begins regular updates to Creative Cloud applications, details future improvements for Creative Suite
Adobe's subscription-based software service is three months old and the outfit is rolling out the first of its regular updates to the Creative Cloud set of applications. Alongside a new preview of Adobe Edge (now Edge Animate), added features to Adobe Muse highlight this round of improvements -- set to go live for members at 12:01 AM EDT tonight. The app that allows users to create websites without writing a line of code now includes custom contact forms, links to downloadable files (PDFs and such) and the option of using HTML5 animations from Edge and other programs. Other tweaks range from align / distribute and ruler guides that you've grown accustom to using on the fly in Creative Suite to a few FTP and publishing enhancements. Also included in the news is that the company plans to roll out select new features to the regular ol' Creative Suite offerings ahead of the annual release schedule to Creative Cloud subscribers. Some of the newfangled features that will arrive in CS7 will arrive early for those who opt for the membership route as each product team sees fit. For example, a file-packaging feature for Illustrator that was previewed recently is on its way soon. In order to get the entire truckload of new tech that the aforementioned release stands to haul, though, you'll have to wait until the entire lot hits in properly licensed form. Sound like the kind of early access you'd enjoy? Well, those looking to switch from the normal CS license model (CS3 and later) can join the Cloud for $29.99 per month for the first year instead of the usual $49.99 until August 31st.
Adobe changes tune on CS5 updates, won't seek paid CS6 upgrade to patch vulnerabilities
Things have gotten interesting in the world of CS updates. Recently, Computerworld reported that Adobe had informed folks using an older version of its famed Creative Suite -- CS5 and CS5.5, to be exact -- they'd have to shell out the CS6 upgrade fee in order to get a fix for some recently discovered bugs. Apparently, Adobe took notice to its customers' dissatisfaction and updated its initial blog post with a changed tune, stating, "We are in the process of resolving these vulnerabilities in Adobe Photoshop CS5.x, and will update this Security Bulletin once the patch is available." The same is true for both Illustrator and Flash. This kerfuffle started after Adobe handed out warnings for eight "critical" vulnerabilities found in certain versions of the three applications -- some of which are said to be exploitable and could potentially be used to "take control of the affected system." We'll see how it all plays out over the upcoming days, but in the meantime hit the links below to see if you need to take any action. James Trew and Joe Pollicino contributed to this post.
Adobe reveals Creative Cloud, links Touch Apps to Creative Suite with 20GB storage
Dropbox just not doing the trick for your design work load? Perhaps Adobe can help. The company has announced Creative Cloud, a "hub for viewing, sharing and syncing of files created by Adobe Touch Apps and Adobe Creative Suite." Included with the service is 20GB of cloud storage, which will probably get you through that web design project you've been putting off. After the first of the year, Adobe expects its cloud to include access to applications software (apps too), digital publishing / business services and a global creative community for inspiration and feedback. Also unveiled were Touch Apps, a set of six applications designed to make your tablet a design machine -- if you're down to work on that small of a screen, of course. You'll have to wait until November to find out just how much the Creative Cloud will set you back, but in the meantime check out the source link for more details.
Adobe-friendly NVIDIA Quadro CX gets reviewed
At just under two grand, NVIDIA's new Quadro CX graphics card certainly isn't for everybody, but its ability to add some GPU acceleration to the apps in Adobe's Creative Suite 4 has no doubt piqued the interest of quite a few professionals out there and, according to PC Perspective, they likely won't be disappointed. On the card's big selling points, PC Perspective found that it mostly delivered as NVIDIA promised, with the stand-out result being a 2x speed increase in H.264 encoding times in Premiere CS4, something NVIDIA and Elemental eventually hope to increase to 10x with a few more updates to the RapidHD software. The card also expectedly provided a significant boost to Photoshop CS4 but, unlike with the RapidHD plug-in for Premiere, many of those performance gains can also be achieved with other OpenGL-supporting GPUs (though obviously not quite to the same degree). Hit up the link below for the complete rundown, plus a few videos that show just what the card (and a suitable system) are capable of.[Thanks, Ryan]
Adobe engineer explains delay in Adobe universal binaries
Adobe has taken some heat for delaying universal binary versions of Photoshop and other Creative Suite software until the next scheduled release of those apps. If you're interested in a view of this controversy from the trenches, take a look at this post by Photoshop engineer Scott Byer. Byer starts out: "'But, c'mon', I hear people saying, 'Steve said it was just a recompile!' Or, 'Back during the PowerPC transition, you guys released a patch?'Well, this time is different. And I really wish it weren't. But let me tell you how..." He goes on to explain why Adobe can't perform the same kind of midcycle shortcut for the Intel platform that it could for the PowerPC. His explanation is worth a read. This kind of communication from the trenches is a very good thing IMHO.
