February 08, 2012

You can put 16GB of RAM in a MacBook Pro

I mention it A) because I just ordered a new machine*, and B) people seem not to know about this capacity. Adobe’s Jason Levine says the upgrade is fast, easy–and now cheap.

I’ve always been a sucka for tons of memory, having jammed an eye-popping 512MB into my first PowerBook at Adobe (2000!). When I priced an 8GB upgrade on Apple.com 3 years ago, it cost $1200–as much as a MacBook + Apple TV. Now Apple will let you go from 4 to 8GB for $200. Strangely, though, they don’t list a 16GB option–which OWC offers for $249.

*This is part of my perverse effort to bring you high-DPI laptops: by ordering a current machine now, I ensure the arrival of a better option moments later. (See also my sales of ADBE and pretty much any other stock or commodity, ever.) I am, if nothing else, a man who *gives*.

February 07, 2012

Photoshop Touch for Android gets new functionality

Now available on the Android Market:

Export to PNG and PSD functionality
When choosing Save to Camera Roll or Share by E-mail or on uploading to Creative Cloud, you can now save to either JPEG, PSD, or PNG.

Improved image quality of images saved to the local Camera Roll/Gallery
Save to Camera Roll saves out JPEGs which are compressed with max quality now instead of medium quality.

Improved compatibility with Android 4.0
This update addresses some issues related to Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) compatibility; including resolving the in-app log-in issues with the Adobe Creative Cloud website.

General bug fixes and performance enhancements
Several performance and memory handling improvements (including Pinch & Zoom and Refine Edge).

Back button improvements
Standard Android Back button is accessible when it wasn’t previously. This button supports returning prior to screens and can be used for easier folder navigation.

As for the iOS release, I still can’t provide a specific release date, but rest assured folks are working hard to get it out ASAP.

Feedback wanted for Adobe Revel (formerly Carousel)

From PM Sumner Paine:

Calling all active and enthusiastic Revel users!

The team at Adobe is looking for people to join our prerelease program. We’re working on new features and we need your feedback and help with testing.

If you are a Revel subscriber and you have it on all three device types (iPad, iPhone, Mac) just send an email to sumner@adobe.com with a brief explanation covering 4 things:

1. Your favorite thing about Revel
2. The most important thing that’s missing from Revel today
3. List of devices where you have Revel installed (e.g., MacBook Air, iPhone 4, etc.)
4. Names of other photo apps you use on your desktop computer, if any

There’s limited space in the prerelease program so we can’t accept everyone who applies, but we look forward to your submissions.

Sumner Paine, product manager

February 06, 2012

Photoshop events in NYC this week

• Thursday, February 9 Event Meetup: Hosted at the School of Visual Arts with special guest SVA alum and pro photographer Sarah Silver. Bryan O’Neil Hughes, Photoshop Sr. Product Manager, will demo.
• Saturday, February 11 Event Meetup: Hosted at pro photographer Sarah Silver’s NYC studio.  Bryan will demo.

Demo: Adobe HTML apps working together

Mike McHugh wireframes a mobile site using Adobe Proto & opens the HTML output in Adobe Edge to add animation. He then creates some SVG graphics in Illustrator, applies animations, and roundtrips the graphics back to Illustrator. (Skip past the first minute.)

[Via]

February 05, 2012

A 5-year-old responds to company logos

I’ve gotta try something like this with our little dudes.

[Via]

February 03, 2012

Canada sends a (Lego) man to space

“A tip of the hat to America’s hat.” :-)

[Via]

February 02, 2012

Photoshop.next: Sneak peek #2

Background save, anyone? How about massively faster Liquify?

Both of these features have been in the team’s sights for a long time, but they kept getting derailed by things like the Carbon-to-Cocoa conversion effort. Nice to have that behind us.

February 01, 2012

Scott Kelby: “Why I Think Lightroom 4 is Going To Sell Like Crazy”

He writes,

“Your photos look better processed in Lightroom 4. Period… The improvements in Lightroom’s Development module are so significant, and so much better than what we’ve ever had before, that I think you’ll be hard-pressed to find most anyone still using Lightroom 3 in just a few months from now.”

As Bryan demos & notes in the Photoshop sneak below, the same engine is coming to PS, and you can try it out in LR4 right now.

A little taste of Photoshop.next

See anything you like?

January 31, 2012

Julieanne Kost’s “Passing Time”

Our globetrotting photo evangelist has created a slideshow of images taken during her travels.

I would not expect the images to hold the same significance to you, the viewer, as they did for me. But that is not the point.

I am sharing this slideshow to encourage every image-maker to begin a visual journal for themselves – as a personal project. I am a firm believer that you have to exercise your creativity and you have to practice in order to improve.  So when I found myself in a rut last year, I started capturing images that were meaningful to me –  purely because I wanted to, for my own reasons – not because I think someone else is going to “like” it. And I had a delightful time.

[Via]

January 30, 2012

Adobe Edge preview 4 supports Web fonts, symbols, more

Adobe’s HTML5 animation tool gets beefed up with a host of new features in Preview 4, available now. Here’s a demo from Mark Anders:

January 29, 2012

New 3D mapping tech for iPad, Android tablets

Looks creamy smooth. Here’s a bit more info.

January 28, 2012

Photoshop in Romanian protests

“Text says ‘We want cheaper Photoshop! Down with Comic Sans!,’” reports the excellently named Marius-Remus Mate.

Jon Stewart one mentioned that American troops were teaching Afghan kids to play baseball. Whole families were really getting into the spirit of the game, he said, showing a dad in the stands holding a sign reading “ESPN: Execute Some Pashtuns Now!” Ah Photoshop, you do get around.

January 27, 2012

Video: Unfolding animation

Ned Wenlock used After Effects to create a neat, endlessly layered look in this short piece:

[Via]