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Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator CS6 get Retina display support
Adobe has announced updates for Photoshop and Illustrator Creative Suite 6 that add much-awaited Retina display support to the popular graphics applications. Owners of the standalone versions and owners of the Creative Cloud versions are elligible for the Retina display updates. From an Adobe blog post announcing the Illustrator update: The Illustrator team is happy to announce support for HiDPI and Retina display support for Illustrator CS6 customers. This update is available to all Illustrator CS6 customers, both Creative Cloud members as well as owners of perpetual products. With this update, customers can see more detail in images, text, and in the Illustrator user interface when working on high-resolution displays, including the new Retina display available on MacBook Pro. The HiDPI feature in Illustrator is currently only available on Mac OS. It is expected to be available in the future on additional operating systems. Adobe also says that those wishing to see what further updates are coming to Adobe Creative Cloud can watch the Create Now Live event online that begins today, Tuesday, December 11, at 10 AM PT.
Adobe updates Photoshop and Illustrator CS6 to get cozy on Retina displays
Despite a brief mention when the first Retina display-wielding MacBook Pros were first announced this summer, Adobe hadn't officially made a compatibility announcement until now. The company has rolled out an update to both Photoshop and Illustrator CS6 that outfit the design software for Apple's high-res panels. To sweeten the deal, all customers will receive the tweaks at the same time, instead of those with Creative Cloud subscriptions seeing the new features first.
Adobe turns 30 this week
The Life@Adobe blog reminds us that Adobe Systems turns 30 years old this week. Wow, that's gone by pretty fast. Founded in 1982 by John Warnock and Charles Geschke, the company started when the pair left Xerox PARC to develop the PostScript page description language. Apple was an early fan with its Laser Printer and LaserWriter. In 1985, desktop publishing took off. Later came Adobe Illustrator, and what would become the company's flagship product (and my favorite), Photoshop, which revolutionized image editing. I don't think a day goes by that I don't touch Photoshop, and I've been using it and upgrading since version 1.0 in 1990 when it was a Macintosh exclusive. In 1993, Adobe introduced PDF files and the Acrobat Reader, which is now up to version 11. It's another Adobe product that many people use daily. Like all big companies, Adobe has had its share of missteps. Most recently perhaps, the drama with Apple over Adobe Flash, which Apple chose to not support on iOS devices. After 30 years, Adobe continues to make a tremendous contribution to graphics, photography, printing and web design. It's hard to find a digital product or media tool that lacks some Adobe DNA. Another 30 years of success is a pretty sure thing.
Photoshop Touch adds pressure-sensitive stylus support, iPad Mini optimization
Creating works of art or editing existing pictures using Adobe's Photoshop Touch on the iPad can be a real treat. But up until now, some tablet art aficionados have lacked the all important pressure-sensitive stylus support to create natural pen and brush strokes. That all changes with version 1.4 of the app, which is now available for download. The update adds compatibility with the Pogo Connect, Jot Touch, and various JaJa stylus accessories. This addition is a pretty big deal, and increases the iPad's clout when it comes to competing with other art-centric tablet devices and add-ons. On top of that, version 1.4 also introduces a new user interface for iPad mini users, as well as added sharing support for social networks like Facebook and Twitter. You can download the update -- or purchase the app for $9.99 if you don't already own it -- right now via the App Store.
Adobe updates Photoshop Touch to get cozy on the iPad mini and Nexus 7
Less than a fortnight has passed since Adobe sent its slate-friendly photo editing app to Amazon's Appstore. Today, the graphics software outfit is rolling out another update of Photoshop Touch that has been optimized for those smaller slates -- particularly the options from Apple and Google. In addition to the tweaks that account for less screen real estate, version 1.4 also touts support for three pressure-sensitive styli (Pogo Connect, Jot Touch and the Jaja stylus), added effects, performance enhancements and the ability to share your creations to both Facebook and Twitter without the need to head elsewhere. A fresh download is available now from iTunes, Google Play and the aforementioned Amazon repository for $10. Consult the full announcement below if you're looking for a few more particulars.
Snapheal for OS X improves content-aware heal for the Photoshop-phobic
Snapheal is a cool, inexpensive (US$7.99) photo editor for the Mac with one very high-end feature. It mimics the Photoshop content-aware fill feature that was introduced in Photoshop CS5. This little digital trick allows you to remove unwanted objects or people from an image. Using a series of algorithms to determine what should be filled in where the object you removed was, it smartly and quickly repairs the photo with intelligent guesses about what to fill in. We reviewed version one of this app about a year ago. This version is faster and offers Lightroom and iCloud support. Plus, it works smoothly with Mountain Lion. The GUI has been streamlined and the eraser tools now work with higher precision. %Gallery-168790% In my testing, the app was intuitive and speedy. I think it is best at removing objects from photos, but it does have a variety of other image editing tools like crop, saturation, sharpening and the usual array of editing features. The app has a very nice split-screen mode so you can see the original photo and the edited version. If the content-aware features of the newest Photoshop are something you want, but you don't want to pay the high Adobe tariff, Snapheal will give you that feature at a low price. It has generally received good reviews at the Mac App Store, although a few have complained that Snapheal frequently crashes. I did not see that happen in a couple hours of use on my Mac Pro. There are a few things to watch out for. If your target object is too large, Snapheal might not have enough surrounding textures to make good guesses. Sometimes you'll have to do the removal in stages. Still, the app does work as advertised, and I think most people will find it meets their needs. The price has also been lowered from the initial $19.95, making it even more desirable. Snapheal requires OS X 10.6 or later. I have some step-by-step examples in the gallery.
Adobe announces Photoshop and Premiere Elements 11 with new filters, more beginner-friendly UI
Earlier this year Adobe announced Photoshop CS6 with a new user interface, and now Elements, its line of beginner-level products, is getting a facelift too. The company just introduced Photoshop and Premiere Elements 11, and while the two apps include a handful of new photo- and video-editing features, the bigger story is that they're designed to be less intimidating to newbies. Both have a more readable UI, for instance, as opposed to the old theme with the dark background and low-contrast icons. Things like preview thumbnails have been brought to the forefront so that they're easier to find. Also, both pieces of software ship with a re-tooled image organizer that puts commonly used functions front and center, with lesser-used features like keyword tagging hidden in the menus. The organizer also now has Google Maps integration, so you can view your shots on a map. You can also for the first time view by event, or by the names of people tagged in photos. As for new features, Photoshop Elements is getting a series of new comic-inspired filters, including "Pen and Ink," "Graphic Novel" and, yes, "Comic." Photoshop Elements now allows European customers to upload photos to Cewe, while Premiere Elements supports Vimeo uploads. (Facebook, YouTube, Flickr, Shutterfly and SmugMug sharing were already built in.) Amateur videographers will also enjoy a series of new Hollywood-inspired filters, including Red Noir, a "Sin City"-esque effect with red accents, and "Pandora," which is meant to evoke "Avatar." Finally, you can use Time Remapping and Reverse Time to speed up footage or slow it down, respectively. Fans of the software will notice the pricing hasn't changed: the two apps cost $100 each, or $150 as a bundle. Folks who are upgrading will pay $80 a pop, or $120 for both. Look for both on Adobe's site today, with the old-fashioned boxed software hitting retailers soon.
Google will not kill Snapseed or other Nik software
A lot of photographers and artists were worried about what would happen to some of their favorite products after Nik Software was purchased by Google earlier this month. Snapseed, HDR EFX Pro and Color EFX Pro, along with other Photoshop and Aperture plug-ins are extremely popular in the Mac universe. Google often buys a company for its technology, and then the company (or its product) quietly disappears. Not so with Nik, according to Google's Senior VP of Engineering Vic Gundotra. "Earlier this week I proudly welcomed Nik Software to Google. They've been making pictures more awesome for 17 years, and we're excited to bring Nik's expertise to the entire Google community. I also want to make something clear: we're going to continue offering and improving Nik's high-end tools and plug-ins. Professionals across the globe use Nik to create the perfect moment in their photographs, and we care deeply about their artistry." So if you use Nik products on your Mac or on iOS that's welcome news.
Adobe promises Retina support for Photoshop, other CS6 apps
The advent of Retina across Apple's iOS and Mac product lines has meant beautiful HiDPI displays for well-heeled owners -- and bountiful headaches for application developers who have to rework, revise and rebuild their products to take advantage of all those lovely little pixels. Key productivity and graphic arts tools have yet to make the Retina leap, but today Adobe announced that its customers won't have to wait much longer for support. In posts on both the Photoshop.com and Creative Layer blogs, Adobe is promising an autumn 2012 rollout for Retina support in Photoshop CS6, and eventual Retina goodness "over the coming months" in Dreamweaver, Edge Animate, Illustrator, Lightroom, Prelude, Premiere Pro and SpeedGrade. The iPad image editor Photoshop Touch will also be getting tapped with the Retina wand. While this enhancement plan doesn't currently cover a few essential CS apps (After Effects, Fireworks, Flash and InDesign are notably not listed), Adobe says it's "evaluating the roadmap for when other products may support HiDPI displays" and will update customers when those plans are firmed up. Participants in the company's $49/month Creative Cloud software rental setup will be getting updates and new features on an accelerated schedule, including some Illustrator bonuses released this week that are exclusive to the service. [Photo by Bodey Marcoccia, flickr cc]
Photoshop CS6 and Lightroom 4 will support HiDPI, MacBook Pro Retina Display in 'the coming months'
You know who's likely to buy the MacBook Pro with Retina Display? Creative professionals (obviously). So you know what programs should really be optimized for that 2,880 x 1,800 screen? Try Photoshop, or Lightroom. Adobe hears your frustration, and apparently empathizes mightily: the company just posted a blog post promising Photoshop CS6, Lightroom 4 and Photoshop Touch will support HiDPI, including the MacBook Pro's Retina Display, within the "coming months." (No, this near-term update does not include Photoshop Elements, unfortunately.) While that timetable is on the vague side, the outfit says having a Creative Cloud membership will ensure you get that update sooner. Until then, your frankengadget renders will still look a little blurry, sorry.
GIMP now (finally) available as a native Mac app
This is something that's been a long time coming, and it's finally here. GIMP is an excellent Photoshop-esque open source photo editor. While it's been available on Mac for a long time, it has required the X11 Window environment, which itself needs a separate (and somewhat messy) installation. For a long time, the programmers working on GIMP have been promising to eventually take it native, but it hasn't happened until just recently. As of version 2.8.2, you can now simply go grab the GIMP .dmg file from the main website, and then install and run on your Mac as needed. That's good news for those of us who appreciate a powerful photo editor like this but don't necessarily have the cash for big-name apps like Photoshop or Pixelmator. Congrats to everyone who's worked on GIMP in the past. If you like the app and want to support great open sourced work, they could probably use a donation or two. [via LifeHacker]
Layover for iOS offers sophisticated layering, blending to images
Layover is a neat photo app for iPhone and iPad (US$0.99, universal) that sounds like it might be a travel app. It's not, yet "Layover" is a pretty good name for what it does. The app lets you blend up to 5 photos. Masks and careful editing help you create a new, compelling image. This is the kind of sophistication you expect from pro apps like Photoshop, and it's interesting to see these features trickle down to the iPhone and iPad. %Gallery-162508% The blending modes are quite sophisticated, with options like a simple layer on top of another image. Layover also offers Addition, Difference layers, Lighten, Hue, Saturation, Luminosity, Soft Light, Hard Light, Color Dodge, and Color Burn. Each effect rather dramatically affects the result. You get some basic control of aspect ratio and you can also crop images. When you are done, share your masterwork via emai, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, Flickr or Tumblr. You can see examples of the filters on the Layover website, as well as my gallery above. These effects are familiar to Photoshop users, but I doubt they will mean much to regular photo enthusiasts without some explanation, and that's where Layover is weak. There is some popup help, but not nearly enough to explain the power that the app possesses. Some users could have trouble figuring out how to make the most of Layover. The app would benefit from a library of examples. Still, if you know what you are doing, these advanced features are very welcome on iOS devices. The app developers also offer Diptic, an app for creating multi-panel images, which we were quite enthusiastic about. Layover requires iOS 5 or later.
CE-Oh no he didn't!: Valve's Gabe Newell says 'Windows 8 is a catastrophe for everyone'
Always-outspoken Gabe Newell, the big cheese at Valve, made quite a few interesting statements at this year's Casual Connect conference, including the quote above. Gabe believes Microsoft's impending update will drive manufacturers away from the OS and he reiterated Valve's plan to make the entire Steam catalog available on Linux as a "hedging strategy." During the onstage discussion, he also weighed in on the longevity of touch input, which he estimates at a decade, the possibility of tongue control and the future of wearable computers. Other classic quotes include "the next version of Photoshop should look like a free-to-play game," which Adobe apparently didn't quite understand -- and frankly, neither do we.
Gabe Newell: Windows 8 is a 'catastrophe,' Adobe should try 'free-to-play' equivalent
Valve head honcho Gabe Newell stepped away from his desk – or, pushed his desk away from him, since apparently it has wheels so he can maneuver it around the office – to discuss the future of open platforms, Linux and wearable computing at Seattle's Casual Connect conference last night. Newell even weighed in on Windows 8, calling it a "catastrophe," All Things D reported."I think Windows 8 is a catastrophe for everyone in the PC space," Newell said. "I think we'll lose some of the top-tier PC/OEMs, who will exit the market. I think margins will be destroyed for a bunch of people. If that's true, then it will be good to have alternatives to hedge against that eventuality."Newell's alternative is Linux, and he hopes to have all 2,500 games on Steam running on Linux as part of a "hedging strategy."Newell also sees open, free-to-play-inspired platforms as critical to building healthy markets in the future – not just in gaming, but across all of technology. One Steam user in Kansas makes $150,000 a year making hats for TF2, Newell reported, and the same system can be implemented within services such as Photoshop, if only software companies could see its potential."That causes us to have conversations with Adobe, and we say the next version of Photoshop should look like a free-to-play game, and they say, 'We have absolutely no idea what you are talking about, but it sounds really bad,'" Newell said.Valve predicts the future of computing mechanics lies within wearable computing in a post-touch world. It has so far built a $70,000 wearable rig that overlays information on physical objects, and Newell thinks "we will have bands on our wrists, and you'll be doing something with your hands, which are really expressive."Maybe our hands will do something like hold a real-life, working portal gun. Maybe? Please?
Inpaint Pro allows for easy photo retouching
About a year ago I took a look at Inpaint, an interesting Mac OS X app that is similar to the content aware fill feature of Photoshop, but a fraction of the cost. My only real gripe back then was that the app could not open raw files. In its latest incarnation, Inpaint Pro can now open raw files, and the app has added a few additional tricks to the feature list. Inpaint Pro can load an image, and with some brush strokes, it can eliminate unwanted elements from the picture. It could be an errant tourist who wandered into your shot, or a sign that might detract from your image. If the offending elements are fairly small and don't dominate the image, Inpaint Pro can seamlessly erase the unwanted person or object, and smartly fill it in. Another lets you load multiple images at once and if a person, for example, moved, you can eliminate the person by brushing in pixels from a second photo that doesn't contain the person. That feature is called Multi View. The app can also easily remove time and date stamps from photos, remove blemishes from a face, or repair old scanned photos to get rid of tears or other defects. I've tested the app and found that it does what it claims to do. There is a help file with some video examples, so getting the hang of the app won't be a mysterious process. I noticed a few times that the app seemed to stall, but it quickly recovered. It never crashed, but I suspect it may require some further optimization. The app isn't a substitute for the considerable power of Photoshop, but what the app does, it does well. Inpaint Pro is on sale for US $4.99, which is a considerable savings over the $14.99 list. If you have the need for what it does, Inpaint Pro is worth serious consideration. The app is an 8.8 MB download and requires OS X 10.6.6 or greater. %Gallery-160424%
Final Cut Pro, Photoshop, Aperture, AutoCAD and more score Retina Display support
As we learned pretty quickly when the iPhone 4 introduced the Retina display to the world, all those pixels are pretty useless without apps that can truly take advantage. Thankfully, Apple wasn't about to leave the stage today without delivering the goods for its next gen MacBook Pros. In addition to all the stock apps being updated, Final Cut Pro and Aperture have also gotten the appropriate boost in pixel density, allowing them to be all they can be on that 220ppi display. Which, in the case of Final Cut, means full-res 1080p video docked in a corner of the interface with all the tools exposed to your itchy editing finger. If that isn't good enough for you, Adobe is hard at work on Photoshop and Autodesk will be delivering an update to AutoCAD as well. And, in case you're worried that all work and no play makes Tim Cook a dull boy, Diablo 3 has also been updated, instantly making the Mac our favorite platform to farm low level baddies for gold on. For more coverage of the WWDC 2012 keynote, head over to our liveblog!
Adobe Creative Cloud rolls out today: CS6 applications, storage and syncing from $50 per month
If you haven't already upgraded to CS6, then maybe Adobe can entice you to take the "radical" next step of signing up to its cloud service, which starts today in 36 countries priced at $50 per month on an annual contract, or $75 per month for the non-committal. Will it be worth the potatoes? That depends on whether you're the type of person who prefers to pay $2,600 upfront for a perpetual license, or alternatively make use of subscription-based access to online install files, HTML5 apps like Adobe Muse 1.0 (for code-free HTML design) and Adobe Edge preview (for animations and interactive content), plus integration with Adobe's Touch Apps for iOS and Android tablets. You'd also get that other big cloudy offering: 20GB of online storage for easy sharing, viewing and syncing of all your hard work. Finally, if you're using an older version of Creative Suite, then Adobe's offering you a pretty hefty introductory discount to entice you onto the slippery upgrade slope. Check out the press release for further price info, or just look up in the sky.
Adobe Creative Suite 6 now available, Creative Cloud floating into action May 11th
Eager to get your fancy new mask on? Open up the wallet. Adobe's freshly announced Creative Suite (we're up to CS6, for those keeping count) is now available, with Photoshop, InDesign, Illustrator, Dreamweaver, Premiere Pro, After Effects, Flash Professional and more up for grabs. As for that subscription-based Creative Cloud option? Folks looking to pay monthly for the new wares will have to wait until Friday, May 11th. Those buying outright can get the CS6 Master Collection for $2,599, while $1,899 gets you Production Premium (or Design & Web Premium) and $1,299 nets you Design Standard. As usual, upgrade and education pricing is available for those that qualify, with all the details you could want tucked in the release just after the break.
DevRocket is a Photoshop plugin for iOS developers
This might be of limited use, given that most of our readers are, I'd guess, iPhone users rather than iPhone designers. But if you find yourself mocking up iOS apps in Photoshop often, then Dev Rocket might be just for you. It's a Photoshop plugin that makes it easy to layout and mock up iPhone app interfaces in Adobe's popular photo editor, automating canvas creation, quickly saving various clips that app developers can use in their programs, and it will even keep two layouts saved at the same time and synced, for Retina and non-Retina Displays. It sounds powerful, and for the right designer and Photoshop user, it could save a lot of time. Dev Rocket is available now from UIParade's website, for $10. [via MacStories]
Adobe formally unveils CS6, Creative Cloud, launch event April 23
Adobe has formally announced its upcoming Creative Cloud service, along with Adobe Creative Suite 6, and Adobe will stream a launch event at 10 a.m. PT/1 p.m. ET today, April 23. All products are available for preorder. Creative Cloud is US$49.99 per month; however, those who currently have an Adobe subscription or own Adobe CS3 through CS5.5 can get a subscription for $29.99 per month for a year. When I preordered Creative Cloud, the order screen showed an estimated availability of May 7. We first heard of Creative Cloud in October, and the Photoshop CS6 beta was released in March. Adobe Creative Cloud will allow access to all 14 CS6 applications via monthly subscription. CS6 contains major upgrades to all Adobe apps and Adobe Muse, which we reviewed in August, exits its beta form. Creative Suite prices range from $1,299 for Design Standard to $2,599 for the Master Collection. Upgrades start at $275. Education discounts are available.
