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Adobe Creative Suite 6 Kicks!

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If you’re doing anything at all creative with your computer, you’re likely aware of the excellent suite of creative tools from Adobe (coincidentally called the Adobe Creative Suite).

Well earlier today, Adobe announced a huge upgrade to the suite, Adobe Creative Suite 6 — CS6 — which contains a lot of new features to all products within the suite and is also designed to drive Adobe users to their new subscription-based (and also announced today) Creative Cloud service

Aimed at the serious creative hobbiest or professional, Adobe Creative Suite has long contained many of the industry-standard creative tools including Photoshop and Illustrator.

Creative_Suite_6_Design_Standard_mnemonic_RGB_300px.jpgAnd if you’ve been using an older version of Adobe Creative Suite, here’s some of the new feature you’ll find in CS6.

  • Content-Aware image retouching tools
    Retouch images with stunning results in Photoshop Extended. Use the Remix tool to move a selection with auto-recompose and blend. Content-Aware Patch lets you control patch samples.
  • Fluid grid layout for mobile devices
    Design and develop confidently for mobile devices with advanced tools in Dreamweaver CS6, including CSS3-based layouts that scale responsively to virtually all screen sizes and form factors.
  • Global Performance Cache
    Create more in less time with unprecedented 64-bit Performance. This revolution “under the hood” makes After Effects CS6 fast and responsive by taking full advantage of the power in your computer’s hardware.
  • Extraordinary image editing
    Use the Mixer Brush and Bristle Tips in Photoshop CS6 Extended to explore lifelike, naturally textured painting. Add dimension to your imagery with 3D extrusions using Adobe Repoussé technology, and make precise image selections with Truer Edge technology.
  • Interactive documents and presentations
    Create memorable documents and presentations with interactivity, motion, sound, and video in InDesign CS6. Enhance layouts with rich media using motion presets and support for FLV and MP3 audio file import to engage your audiences.

As with previous CS releases, Adobe has bundled tools into various configurations and pricing. According to Adobe’s news release, CS6 and Creative Cloud will be available within 30 days — we’ll update this post when we have precise details on their arrival and pricing at Future Shop.

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Three essential PDF readers for iPad

A while ago I wrote about ways to read PDF files on your iPod Touch, iPhone or iPad. Well that post is showing it’s age, so rather than completely redo it, I thought I’d discuss my current three top PDF readers, and why.

GoodReader
GoodReader is my first choice, go-to PDF reader on my iPad.

First off, getting files into GoodReader. It’s simple, and supports iTunes file transfer, Network transfer via WiFi, or downloading from shared services such as;

  • DropBox
  • Google Apps
  • Mobile Me
  • SugarSync
  • FTP servers

Next, it’s under active development, with frequent new features, updates and bugfixes.

As expected GoodReader supports PDF and TXT files, but it can also display all of the most popular file types including:

  • MS Office – .doc, .ppt, .xls and more
  • iWork’08/’09
  • HTML and Safari webarchives
  • High resolution images
  • Audio & Video playback in some formats

Yes, GoodReader is my PDF reader of choice. But, there are cases where an alternative is important. Enter…

CloudReaders
This is a more simplistic app that I use primarily for reading graphic novels and comic-book files. Some are in PDF format and others in CBZ or CBR format.

CloudReaders allows WiFi upload by running a small server that you connect to using your desktop computer. Here’s some of the cooler features of CloudReaders:

  • Multi-task support
  • Rotation lock
  • iPhone/iPod/iPad touch support
  • Automatically add books when files were transferred via iTune application
  • Auto page alignment (on iPhone/iPod touch)
  • Smoothing (from Settings app)
  • Default page-orientatin (from Settings app)

As a free eReader and PDF reader, it’s a bargain. There’s also an in-app purchase that allows you to share (via P2P) with other local CloudReaders users. Very neat.

Stanza
This is my go-to eBook reader on the iPad, and has been one I’ve used on the iPod Touch previously.

I’d written about it here, and it’s still a solid app you should check out, especially since it’s free!

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Checking out library books on your eReader?

sonylib.jpgGot a Sony eReader and use the Sony Reader store? Well check out the little blue & white box in the right-hand sidebar on the page.

Yep, you read correctly — you can check out books from the library and read them on your eReader.

In early December, Sony (and technology providers Overdrive) will have hundreds of Canadian libraries hooked up and ready to lend books; many libraries are already set up and running. As I understand it, only libraries in Atlantic Canada will be missing…for now.

This Library search page will help you find a participating library in your region. For example, entering Alberta in the search field turned up a large number of participating libraries in my province.

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The system requires you have an Adobe account to manage the DRM and ‘return’ of the eBook you ‘borrowed’. Actually the DRM just expires and you can’t read it after the lending period runs out. Which is another way of saying you don’t have to remember to return borrowed eBooks back to the library.

Not every book at your library will be available for loan, but as libraries start to convert their catalogues to digital, you’ll find more and more of the popular reads on your library’s virtual shelves. Welcome to the 21st century :smileyhappy:

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It was a dark and stormy morning

Foggy Morning at the University (2c)

It’s been said that the best camera is the one you have with you — heck it’s even the title of a book on iPhone photography.

Which makes sense, because you can easily stumble across a nifty scene, as I did here, and not be able to capture it if you don’t have a camera with you.

True, the scene didn’t exactly look like that. I did enhance the dramatic using Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 2, to pretty good effect, I think.

But back to the point, carrying a camera with you will enable you to catch these unexpected scenes, and then take them back to your digital darkroom and explore the artistic possibilities.

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How to view PDF and other files on your iPhone and iPod Touch

This article was originally written in April 2009. A few new apps have appeared since then, but one, GoodReader is now my daily go-to PDF reader right now. I touch on a few of the new apps here, including GoodReader, but you’ll be back on this page if you want to check out Stanza — a great eBook reader.


I have to read a lot of fiction in the next few months. A lot of Science Fiction to be precice, and it’s so I can cast an informed ballot to help select the best of the genre at this year’s World Science Fiction convention (WorldCon).

As a member of WorldCon, a packet containing this year’s nominees arrived in my inbox earlier this week. Lots of PDF, RTF, DOC and TXT files, for many diverse categories including best Novel, Novella, etc. Not small files by any stretch.

So, to avoid culling a small forest by printing it all out, I decided to try and read them on my iPod Touch. In the past I’ve enjoyed reading on my previous portable device, the Palm T|X, so figured that I should give it a try on the Touch. And that got me wondering, is there an iPhone or iPod Touch app to read pdfs? I’m happy to say the answer is yes, but.

The dilemma, how to get just under 200mb of data on to this little sucker. Well, I solved it, two ways. Here’s how: Continue reading “How to view PDF and other files on your iPhone and iPod Touch”

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Top of the World Provincial Park (2008)


I decided to take a scan through some photos from earlier this year. This one from our summer vacation stuck with me as one that I could play with.

And I did. Using Lightroom again. A bit of Sepia. A bit of dodging and burning, and I’m rather pleased with the result.

There’s an easter egg in this shot, though I didn’t notice it until I was finished editing! See if you can find it 🙂