September 22, 2008

CS4: Sweating the Details

I’m a perfectionist, and I deeply, viscerally want to smooth & polish every aspect of Photoshop.  Doing it all in any one cycle is impossible, but I’m proud to say we’ve put a ton of effort into sweating the details in CS4. 

You’re going to see tons of flashier features in other write-ups, and of course I’ll cover them here, but for this cycle I want to lead with the little stuff–things you might not read about otherwise, but which can make a big difference while working. Read on for the details.

(more…)

(CS)4 On The Floor!

I’m delighted to say that Photoshop CS4 and Photoshop CS4 Extended, along with the entire Creative Suite 4 lineup, have been officially announced!  I’ll have a ton to share over the days and weeks ahead, to be grouped under the new CS4 category, and the big product webcast is due shortly; there’s still time to sign up to watch.  In the meantime, tons of good resources are going live as I type:

• The Photoshop User guys have posted a comprehensive set of videos showing off what’s new in Photoshop.
• Imaging Resource posts an in-depth set of descriptions & screenshots.
• Rob Galbraith posts a nice, concise list for photographers.
• I spoke to CNET’s Stephen Shankland about GPU acceleration in CS4, among other things, and I recorded a podcast with ZoomIn’s Aanarav Sareen.
• Uwe Steinmuller of Outback Photo brings his photographer’s eye to the release.
• Former Illustrator PM Mordy Golding has posted a detailed overview of AI CS4. (At first glance I didn’t think they had a lot planned for this rev, but dig a little detail and you’ll find a lot to like. I say this as a very long-time Illustrator user.)
• Deke McClelland has posted CS4 Buy Or Die, “a sassy, no-holds-barred, is-this-thing-worth-buying-or-not review.”
• Colin Smith of PhotoshopCafe has posted a Photoshop CS4 Learning Site.
• Chris Orwig has posted an overview of the release.
• Lynda.com is adding CS4 content, including an effective demo of Content-Aware Scaling.
• Richard Harrington & crew have posted a couple hours’ worth of video training plus other materials at CSFour.com.

I’ll keep updating this list as I see new links appear (and feel free to suggest good ones via the comments).

Monday Photography: Bright lights, big pixels

• From the Big Picture:
  • I’ve never thought of London as a great-looking city, but dang if Jason Hawkes’ London from Above doesn’t offer a fresh take.
  • TBP has posted a beautiful set on Observing Ramadan.  These two images are my favorites.
• The NYT features a nice interactive panorama from yesterday’s final game at Yankee Stadium.
• [Emit low whistle] Boy, cameras are good these days.  The Online Photographer makes that point in a really concise way.
• "Strobist Jet Pack" or "Dignity-B-Gone" machine?  You decide.
• A group in Israel is teaching photography to the blind. [Via Adam Pratt]
• In "The Process-Enacted Mutoscope," 987 Polaroids make up a (short) original film.
• Blowed-up pretty: Beautiful toner explosion. [Via]