OMG! Apple is having a media event next week! But don’t get too excited… the invitation essentially spills the beans on this education-centric event, so we’ll be surprised if CEO Tim Cook shows up with an iPad 3 under his arm. But hey, it’s an Apple event, so we’re excited to see what they have to say, even if some of us are way too old to be concerned about going to school. While you ponder what Cupertino has in store for next week, have a quick read of the rest of the tech stuff that’s making news for this Wednesday, January 11, 2012.
Adobe touched a nerve with customers still using Creative Suite 3 and 4 products at the end of last year by announcing there would be no upgrade path for them to the forthcoming CS6 (CS5 and CS5.5 users can upgrade as usual). Needless to say, that was an unpopular decision, and today Adobe backpedaled with a special upgrade offer for CS3 and CS4 customers to get Creative Suite 6 and the new Adobe Creative Cloud, which are expected “in the first half of 2012.” The company hasn’t released any actual pricing quite yet, but the “special introductory upgrade pricing” will be in effect from the CS6 release through December 31, 2012, which should give those old-school users time to take advantage of it.
The Loop was among the first to report on a new Apple event announced today, which will take place on January 19 at the Guggenheim Museum. As widely predicted in recent weeks, the media event will be focused on education. Rather than a cryptic tease, Apple has sent the invitation shown above to the press which reads, “Join us for an education announcement in the Big Apple.” So, that makes it pretty clear that we shouldn’t be expecting an iPad 3 or an Apple-branded HDTV. The event kicks off at 10am EST, so check back next Thursday to find out what’s new.
The folks at Shazam Entertainment have introduced a new app for the iPhone and iPod touch called Shazam Player. Rather than listening to and recognizing music around you, Shazam Player is essentially a replacement for Apple’s Music (formerly iPod) app, with a twist. With Shazam Player, users will get streaming lyrics in real time for the music they play through the app, with the ability to share what they’re listening to on Facebook or Twitter. Watch YouTube videos and concert clips without leaving the app, and you can manage your music — including creating new playlists from your iOS music library. Needless to say, if you should happen to hear a tune you like while jamming away with Shazam Player, you can switch over to the Shazam app instantly. The free app is available now from the App Store and requires iOS 4.3 or later.
If you’re attending the International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas this week, you may have bumped into an Apple employee and not even realized it. Don’t worry: You didn’t miss some invisible Apple booth! According to AppleInsider, “over 250 of Apple’s employees are registered for this week’s show,” says the usual “person familiar with Apple’s plans.” On Tuesday, a reporter for paidContent was the first to spot Apple vice president of product marketing Greg Joswiak lurking near Sony’s booth, with his show badge “strategically arranged” to cover his name and company. Reporter Tom Krazit explains: “Joswiak said he was interested in how other companies present their products at events such as CES, from things like booth layout and aesthetics to which products are highlighted within a company’s booth.” Apple, of course, is not a CES exhibitor and even famously backed out of the Macworld Expo back in 2009 in favor of focusing on their own events.
As we briefly reported on Tuesday, Adobe has decided to rebrand their Carousel consumer subscription photo service as Adobe Revel. And sure enough, late last night, a new version of the universal iOS app and Mac App Store version were pushed out to new and existing users. Today, the company made it official with a blog post on Photoshop.com that explains the decision and offers some insight as to what’s new. The biggest change is “the ability to automatically import photos from the Camera Roll on your iPhone and iPad” as well as photo sharing via Flickr, which certainly is a good first step toward addressing some of users’ early concerns. Despite the name change, Adobe Revel is still a .99 per month or .99 per year subscription service, which is processed as an in-app purchase through the iOS app.
Follow this article’s author, J.R. Bookwalter on Twitter
Ah, the weekend is fast approaching, but that doesn’t mean the last full week of October won’t bring a harvest of goodies before it winds to a close. Lots of free (and cheap) stuff hit the App Stores today, and we’re all geared up for iTunes Match which is running out of days to launch in “late October”. In the meantime, here’s all the news that’s fit to print for this Thursday, October 27, 2011.
Announced early last month, Adobe Carousel is now available on both the iOS and Mac App Stores. The software is a new cloud-based initiative from Adobe that attempts to keep all of our photos available at all times. Upload them once and they’ll be instantly available on your Mac, iPhone, iPod touch or iPad — perfectly for families who want to access the same photo library or sharing with friends. The software even includes editing tools to make the most of your collection. Adobe Carousel is free to download and comes with a complimentary 30-day subscription; after that, you can take advantage of a limited time offer for .99 per month or .99 per year (discounted from the regular .99 per month/.99 per year).
After our Wednesday recap was published, Apple tossed out a handful of updates you might want to take advantage of. AppleInsider has collected them all in one convenient post, which includes links to EFI firmware updates for 2011 model iMacs, Mac mini, MacBook Air and Macbook Pro which enables OS X Lion Recovery mode as well as Thunderbolt Target Disk Mode, depending on the model. Also available is an iPhoto 9.2.1 update which addresses an issue with the 3ivxVideoCodec plug-in that was causing some crashiness, and for our Windows friends, a QuickTime 7.7.1 update squashes some security issues on that side of the world. Check ‘em out!
AllThingsD is reporting that music sharing service/utility SoundCloud has pushed out an update to its iOS Thursday which is now available in the App Store. Version 2.0 adds universal compatibility for an all-new experience on the iPad, complete with gorgeous new waveform designs and improvements to make it easier when posting or viewing comments.
If you’ve been (im)patiently waiting for Apple to launch iTunes Match, you won’t have much longer to wait — after all, at the company’s “Let’s talk iPhone” event earlier this month, they promised it would launch in late October and… well, there’s only two more business days left. In what may be a telltale clue, MacRumors is reporting that developers have been notified of an iTunes Match reset taking place today, which certainly sounds like the service could launch tomorrow (no promises, though).
If you have an aversion to Adobe Photoshop or simply can’t afford the high price tag, another option has just hit the Mac App Store today in the form of Pixelmator 2.0. According to MacStories.net, the latest version is billed as a “significant update with significant improvements, completely new features, a new look and full support for OS X Lion.” Best of all, the introductory price is a mere .99 for a limited time — and absolutely free for anyone who’s already purchased it from Apple’s virtual storefront. Among the great new stuff is a healing tool with content-aware fill, new brushes editor and type tool and native Auto Save and Versioning in OS X Lion. Sounds like a winner!
Cnet is reporting that manufacturers made have their work cut out for them with the rumored leap to a 10-inch Retina Display for the iPad 3. Having such incredible pixel density on an iPhone is one thing, but a 10-inch tablet is entirely another. According to sources, display manufacturers LG Display and Samsung are aiming for a 2048×1536 display, which equates to 264 pixels per inch (PPI) — twice that of the current iPad 2, but a hair short of the 326 PPI found on the iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S. Should manufacturers fall short of their goal, they could even dial it back to 1600×1200. One source called the 2048×1536 display a “quantum leap in pixel density… this hasn’t been done before.” Come on guys, let’s make this happen!
Follow this article’s author, J.R. Bookwalter on Twitter
The big news of the today is undoubtedly iOS 5 and iCloud, but Apple and its third-party developers have been pushing out updates and little pre-Halloween tricks and treats all day long as well. But that’s not the only thing going on for this mid-October hump day — here’s the rest of the news for Wednesday, October 12, 2011.
Late Tuesday night, the first reviews of the iPhone 4S started pouring out and as you can imagine, they’re overwhelming positive for a device that was met with less enthusiasm at its debut a mere week ago. A million preorder customers on the first day can’t be wrong, and the reviewers tend to agree. MacRumors has the best roundup of reviews for the new handset, including TechCrunch, This Is My Next, AllThingsD, The New York Times and others.
The folks over at Engadget have a cool new tablet app available for the iPad today called Distro. If you’re familiar with Flipboard or Zite, you’ll immediately get the concept here, except Distro is “hand-crafted by the Engadget team” and only pulls in the best content from that particular venue. The 2.6MB app is free, so it’s certainly worth a look for iOS 4.2 or later users.
Late Tuesday night, Macworld followed up its iPhone 4S review with a report detailing how CDMA carriers Sprint and Verizon Wireless will allow the GSM SIM card slot to be unlocked on their devices — a distinct advantage over AT&T for international travelers averse to paying inflated roaming charges. Unfortunately, Sprint has since gone on the record with Ars Technica, claiming that while international roaming is indeed supported with “the appropriate monthly plan,” the SIM card slot is not truly unlocked — as in, you can’t stick another SIM card into it and go about your business. Kind of a bummer, but still better than nothing for those of you choosing CDMA carriers.
Not content to let Apple hog all of the software news today, Adobe pushed out a press release detailing a new promotion for the company’s Creative Suite 5.5 products. If you already own CS2, CS3 or CS4 and haven’t upgraded yet, you can get a nice 20 percent discount off those upgrade prices through December 31, 2011. Of course, the deal isn’t valid just anywhere — you’ll need to hit up Adobe’s online store to take advantage of it.
You’re probably already aware that iCloud was released earlier today, but did you know you’ll need to update a ton of stuff to truly take advantage of it? In addition to OS X Lion 10.7.2 and iOS 5, the second-generation Apple TV now has a version 4.4 update which adds Photo Stream as well as new content from the National Hockey League and Wall Street Journal Live. That update also provides AirPlay mirroring for wireless playback from your iOS 5 device, and can be downloaded directly from your black ATV.
Last but not least, iPhoto 9.2 and Aperture 3.2 are both available now, providing iCloud Photo Stream integration as well as a nice range of bug fixes for Apple’s consumer and pro photo apps. Those updates can be found in the Mac App Store (assuming you bought one or both there), or via the Software Update mechanism after you’ve applied OS X Lion 10.7.2.
Follow this article’s author, J.R. Bookwalter on Twitter
We pity the fool that held any kind of media event today (Adobe, we’re looking at you!), because the Apple juggernaut pretty much ran right over other announcements for this fine Tuesday, October 4. But there was more than just a new iPhone 4S and a release date for iOS 5 going on today. Here’s the latest and greatest from across the internet!
We’ve all been watching the legal tussle between Apple and Samsung over the Korean manufacturer’s Galaxy product knock-offs. Samsung Electronics recently extended Cupertino an olive branch in the hopes of getting their Galaxy Tab 10.1 tablet into the waiting hands of Australians, but Apple has roundly rejected that advance, according to a report from Reuters.
“The main reason we are here is to prevent the launch (of the Galaxy tablet) and maintain the status quo,” Apple lawyer Steven Burley told the court, claiming the offer made last week “provided no basis for a settlement.” Sorry, Sammy… better luck next time.
Ironic that Microsoft would choose the eve of the iPod’s 10th anniversary to make this announcement, but it appears Apple stands victorious over the music player market with Redmond announcing the death of the Zune hardware, according to a report from Engadget.
“Windows Phone will be the focus of our mobile music and video strategy,” Microsoft announced in a blog post that was posted, then pulled and then posted again. “We will no longer be producing Zune players.” Probably a wise move, guys.
There’s probably only a few of us who still miss Adobe Flash on our iOS devices, but the company is forging ahead with the technology on the desktop, announcing on their Adobe Flash Platform Blog that Adobe Flash Player 11 and AIR 3 are ready for your downloading pleasure — or misery, depending on where you stand on Flash.
“Today, we’re excited to announce that Adobe Flash Player 11 and AIR 3 will be launching in early October,” writes Tom Nguyen. “These milestone releases introduce the next generation of the technologies that deliver stunning content and apps to over a billion people — across screens including Android, iPhone, iPad, BlackBerry PlayBook, Windows, Mac, and connected TV devices — pushing the boundaries of what’s possible on the web.”
Last but not least, there was some kind of little event happening up in Cupertino, California this morning where a gaggle of Apple executives trotted out the latest and greatest hardware and software for their mobile iOS platform. You’ve probably already read all about it right here on MacLife.com, but if you’d rather see video of the event, it’s time to jump on over to Apple’s website and check it out.
Jeez, with all of this great stuff happening so early in the week, will there be anything cool to write about the next three days? You’ll just have to stay tuned to this channel and find out.
Follow this article’s author, J.R. Bookwalter on Twitter
(Image courtesy of Reuters)
Adobe Photoshop Elements 10 is proof that — as the Irish saying goes — the older the fiddle, the sweeter the tune. Now that the world’s most popular consumer photo editing software ships has launched, users will find all of Elements’ user-friendly tools intact with some killer new features and enhancements.
Browsing the list of Elements’ new elements, if you will, I was most excited to test a feature allowing users to “add curving text that automatically flows around shapes, objects or custom paths.” Whenever I’ve wanted to do something like that in the past, I’ve typically done it by hand with my ol’ Wacom tablet — awesome in some respects, but not if you’d rather employ typeface than your handwriting.
Using the “Text on Custom Path Tool”
I opened a photo of a German Shepherd I met in Bavaria, drew a wavy line next to her, clicked the “check” on my toolbar to okay the line, and then began typing a quote from Mark Twain. Ridiculously easy — so easy a cave man can do it. I experimented with some shapes, too, and that was easier still: as simple as clicking your shape onto the screen, sizing it accordingly, and typing away.
Mark Twain was a wise man.
The other new feature I was super-geeked up to try? Object Search, which is exactly what it sounds like: a content-based image search tool that peruses your photo library and identifies similar objects (facial recognition software is so 1995).
Framing my pup’s head to see how Elements 10 would fare in finding similar objects.
Sticking with the German Shepherd theme for my test, I selected a photo of my own beloved pup to see what the software would turn up in a search. Similar photos featuring my dog appeared, but so did, among manifold other irrelevant photos, a plate of barbecued chicken drumsticks and an accordion player (at least Elements 10 nailed the German thing with the accordion player).
Disappointing results, I wonder why barbecued chicken (bottom left) appears in a search for my dog.
A little disappointed, I navigated to a “Refine Search” icon and manipulated its slider hoping that that the search algorithm would include more of the “Shape” of my dog, rather than focussing on the “Color” — which is another way of saying that I guess my dog is colored like barbecued chicken. Curiously, the accordion player still popped up, but overall, the results dramatically improved: I saw every German Shepherd in my photo library and even some photos of a statue from outside the German Shepherd Kennel Club in Augsburg, Germany.
A refined “Object Search” proves worthy, but what gives with the accordion player?
All things considered, “Object Search” proved a super-sweet tool that I’m looking forward playing with more.
The refined Object Search for my dog turns up this German Shepherd statue.
Facebook fiends will be thrilled to know that another of Elements’ newest perquisites enables you to “use your Facebook friends list to quickly tag faces in your photos and easily share them on Facebook from within the Elements Organizer.” In other words, all those hours you’ve spent manually tagging folks in Facebook will pay off in the form of automatically tagging those same people in your Elements files after you next shoot them. Again, ridiculously easy.
Got an iPhone video of your favorite singer-songwriter performing in the mountains? Uploading to YouTube is just a click away.
Among further fresh features and enhancements are easy sharing with YouTube, augmented area paint-on effects, and composition crop guides. Look for a complete review of Adobe’s Photoshop Elements 10 in the next issue of Mac|Life.
