Whether you’re an existing user of Adobe Photoshop Lightroom or have just been interested in giving it a spin, the company has just released a public beta of the next version for all to enjoy.
Adobe Labs has released a public beta for Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 5, the next generation of the company’s digital photography software for Mac and Windows. The public beta is free to download and use until its expiration on June 30, 2013.
Lightroom 5 adds welcome new features to the existing tools for organizing, enhancing and sharing images. The big news with the latest version is offline editing with Smart Previews, which creates smaller files perfect for SSD-powered notebook computers — make image adjustments or add metadata, and those changes will automatically be applied to the original files the next time that offline volume is mounted.
The public beta also introduces a trio of new tools, including a more advanced healing brush for fixing image defects or removing entire objects, straightening tilted images with the new Upright tool and radial gradient, which creates vignette effects to better lead the viewer’s eye to a specific area of a photograph.
Last but not least, Lightroom 5 introduces video slideshows for mixing still images, video files and music into HD videos viewable from almost anywhere, as well as improved photo book creation with simple, customizable templates.
Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 5 public beta is available free for all Mac and Windows users to download and use until June 30, 2013 from the Adobe Labs website.
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We all have our favorite magazines that we like to flip through and read. If your mailbox doubles as a news rack because you read so many magazines, maybe it’s time to switch over to digital. Next Issue can help you make the transition with tons of great magazines available to read on your tablet. You can enjoy two months of the service for free with our latest Deal.
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Looking for some good deals for Mac software this weekend? The folks at AppyFridays are currently promoting three free Mac apps, covering your text editing, internet radio, and editable screenshot needs. Hey, it’s everything you need for a weekend of heavy blogging!
AppyFridays continually offer cool app bundles, like last month’s March Madness. But with April showers comes — well, more free Mac apps. Right now during the April Awesomeness promo, you can grab Short Wave, tEditor, and Nanotate for the low, low price of nothing.
tEditor is a simple text editor, with some fairly basic features. But if you’re in need of typing out something in plain text format, tEditor could prove handy. Granted, the setup isn’t much different than Apple’s own TextEdit, but it’s at least an alternative.
Short Wave, as you might have guessed, organizes internet radio streams into a simple list. Normally priced at .99, you can start listening to your favorite online stations for free.
Nanotate is actually a fairly handy little app for anyone who needs to grab and annotate screenshots. And uploading via imgur is apparently just a keystroke away.
All three Mac apps are on sale until April 7.
Follow this article’s author, Matt Clark, on Twitter.
Whew! Hopefully you made it through Monday’s April Fool’s Day unscathed and are ready to get back to business. With the first calendar quarter of 2013 already behind us, there’s plenty to look forward to in the months ahead, and Apple is giving developers their first taste of what’s to come with an initial beta for OS X 10.8.4 — which just so happens to kick off our Monday recap…
AppleInsider is reporting that Apple has begun seeding the first beta build of OS X 10.8.4 to developers, just over two weeks after finally releasing OS X 10.8.3 to the public. Very little is known about the new beta, which bears a build number of 12E27, although those testing the software have been asked to focus their efforts on Wi-Fi, Graphics Drivers and Safari, with no other known issues singled out. One curiosity with the latest beta is that it’s not available for download from the Mac App Store as all of the OS X 10.8.3 beta builds were, but the reason for the change is unknown.
Now that the shockwaves over the demise of Google Reader have subsided a bit, developers whose products depended upon the service are getting down to business making the necessary changes. Among them is Silvio Rizzi, who announced Monday that the Mac and iPad versions of his popular Reeder software will be free until version 2.0, which is expected “in the coming months.” As previously announced, the iPhone version is adding support for Feedbin integration as well as standalone or local RSS with the next update, expected soon. One thing’s for sure: Reeder will live beyond the July 1 demise of Google Reader, and the developer plans to “add more services you can choose from in the next weeks and months” in its place.
Macworld reported Monday that the Macworld/iWorld 2014 expo is shifting further away from the busy post-holiday season next year, with the show now taking place from March 27 through March 29, 2014 instead of the first three days in February. Along with the calendar change also comes a slight change in venue, from Moscone West to Moscone North in San Francisco. IDG World Expo’s show used to run concurrently with the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas in early January, but the move to late March further avoids that competition as well as the 2014 Super Bowl, which is scheduled for February 2.
The Verge is reporting that Amazon has updated its desktop-based Cloud Drive software for Mac and PC on Monday, adding the ability to sync files between computers and the cloud, rather than simply access files stored there. With dedicated folders for documents, pictures and videos, Amazon is clearly gunning for the likes of Dropbox — especially when they offer a more generous 5GB free compared to the popular third-party cloud storage service’s 2GB (which can be raised as high as 18GB with referrals). Amazon has also reduced its paid subscription prices, which start at per year for 20GB and top out at 0 per year for 1TB.
For as long as Playboy magazine has existed, men have made excuses to their wives and lovers that they “only read it for the articles,” rather than the photos of naked women. Now they can back up that claim courtesy of Playboy for iPhone, a free app that brings exclusive content into the palm of your hand, along with a selection of the best articles straight from the pages of the magazine. Pictorials are also included, but in compliance with Apple’s App Store rules, all of the ladies are non-nude — likely making it more attractive for your significant other than the print version. While the first taste is free, you’ll need to subscribe for unlimited access, starting at .99 per month.
Follow this article’s author, J.R. Bookwalter on Twitter
The BioShock series is undoubtedly one of the biggest franchises in modern gaming. The upcoming third game, BioShock Infinite, already looks amazing. But as a Mac gamer, maybe you’re concerned about when you’ll get a chance to SkyHook your way through the skies of Columbia. Well, fear not — Infinite is coming to Mac, and sooner than you might think.
On Wednesday, Mac developer Aspyr Media announced the studio would bring BioShock Infinite to the Mac. The first two games in the series — BioShock and BioShock 2 — were also released for Apple computers. But those two games, ported by Feral Interactive, took years to arrive on Apple machines.
According to Aspyr, Infinite will arrive on Mac OS X this sunny summer. The Windows and game console release date for Infinite in North America is March 26. Not too bad, eh? Seems like those Mac game releases are getting quicker all the time.
BioShock Infinite is a departure from the first two titles in the franchise, leaving the underwater dystopia of Rapture for the floating city of Columbia. Protagonist Booker DeWitt must track down and retrieve Elizabeth, a girl with unique abilities. The first-person shooter features some familiar BioShock elements, while exploring themes of xenophobia and nationalism.
But hey, you may not even have to buy your copy of BioShock Infinite. Every week through the end of May, Aspyr is giving away a coupon for a free copy of the game. Just “Like” the Aspyr GameAgent Facebook page, fill out the form, and maybe you’ll get into Columbia gratis.
Follow this article’s author, Matt Clark, on Twitter.
