Hasta La Gadget!

This article was written on February 25, 2008 by CyberNet.

Adobe AIR 1.0 has officially shipped and now we’re already starting to see applications built with the new platform. One such application is AOL’s Xdrive Desktop Lite. It was designed for uploading and downloading files from AOL’s Xdrive storage solution.  As a quick reminder, Xdrive is a service that allows users to store (for free) 5GB worth of data. It’s particularly useful for Windows users who can install Xdrive as a virtual hard drive and ends up being a backup solution.  The new Xdrive Desktop Lite works for Windows users but also Mac users now for the first time.

Xdrive Desktop Lite Features

• Queue multiple files/folders for simultaneous upload and download
• Easy-to-use file organization tools to create, move, and rename your folders
• Preview of supported media files on the fly with built-in players
• Browse files and your desktop, hard drive, or USB device, not just your Xdrive account
• Drag-and-drop uploading

If you’d like to try Xdrive Desktop Lite, you’ll need to do the following:

• Install Adobe Air (get it here)
• Install Xdrive Desktop Lite and launch it (get it here)
• Login to Xdrive Desktop Lite (using a AOL or AIM screen name) and begin using it

We’re excited about Xdrive Desktop Lite, especially because Windows Live SkyDrive which launched last week wasn’t all that we expected it to be. While they offer 5GB of storage like AOL does, Microsoft didn’t integrate it into Windows as well as they could have. AOL’s solution isn’t perfect, but with Adobe Air behind it now, the application looks great which is always a plus. And with competitors like omnidrive, mozy, box.net, and SkyDrive, AOL needed something to set themselves apart from the others. For those who need more space, AOL offers 50GB of storage for $9.95 per month or $99.50 for the year.

Eventually AOL intends to say “adios” to the PC only desktop version and stick with an application built with Adobe’s Air platform.

Source: Download Squad

Copyright © 2011 CyberNetNews.com

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Adobe’s new deblurring algorithm is like something out of science fiction

There are two things that work with photos in sci-fi movies that still don’t work in real life. One is saying “enhance” to your computer and having it magically zoom in and conjure new pixels from nowhere. And the other one is removing the blur from an image.

Thanks to the brainiacs at Adobe, the next version of Photoshop may actually take care of the second one. Above you see the before/after results of the new deblur tool (click to see it full-sized). The plugin — currently in the early prototype phase — first examines the image to work out what kind of blur it has. This generates a grayscale map which can be visualized as a line, with direction.

Then this information is used to correct the blur. The Photoshop team is keeping hush-hush on the details, but the main problems seem to be that combination blurs are very tricky to decipher. Thus, if you take a photo of a speeding car, it may blur. If you shake the camera at the same time, that will blur everything, not just the car. Separating these from each other requires a lot of processing power.

If you can stomach some idiot actor trying to be funny and heckling the poor technician who demoes the tool, you might like to watch the video of it in action. Deblur works especially well on text. This could certainly help with the shaky shots I take of menus and business cards with my cellphone camera.

The tech might be too far off to make it into the next version of Photoshop, but at least it has made it into the near future, instead of the far-future of movies.

Behind All the Buzz: Deblur Sneak Peek [Photoshop.com Blog]

See Also:

• Magic Software Re-Focuses Your Blurred Photos
• Filter Finds Data Hidden In Blur
• Samsung Patent Creates Shallow Depth-of-Field in Digicams …

LG wants to bring the world of Adobe Flash to your living room. Yes, 2012’s lineup of Smart TVs, theater systems and Blu-ray players are all set to arrive with support for both Flash Player and AIR 3, and the Korean manufacturer is keen to get developers signed up for its next-generation Smart TV SDK. The new software development kit will include a simplified dashboard, the ability to render 2D apps in 3D and even “console-quality gaming.” Throw in Adobe’s new Game Input API, and we could see tablets, joysticks and even LG-made smartphones used to control on-screen action. LG has informed us that these upgrades will be limited to next year’s catalogue — your 2011 purchases won’t support the new software, and will have to make do with the slightly weedier Adobe Flash Lite. New Smart TVs will also be compatible with the Wiimote-esque Magic Motion Remote, bringing gesture-based awkwardness to menu selection.

Continue reading LG Smart TV goes on the charm offensive, appeals to Adobe developers

LG Smart TV goes on the charm offensive, appeals to Adobe developers originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 04 Oct 2011 23:33:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Adobe unveiled Creative Cloud, a suite of apps and services for tablet-based creativity. Image: Adobe

Adobe unleashed a suite of services aimed at the growing mobile crowd at its Adobe MAX 2011 Conference today. The apps and services allow creative professionals and hobbyists to do what they do best without being tethered to traditional digital creative tools like desktops or laptop PCs.

It’s all part of Adobe’s so-called Creative Cloud initiative, which provides apps, services and (in the near future) a community surrounding them. Adobe will be releasing six iPad and Android touch apps for Creative Cloud, including Photoshop Touch, Collage, Debut, Ideas, Kuler and Proto. Adobe is also introduce Digital Publishing Suite, Single Edition, an iPad publishing platform for freelancers and small businesses.

The introduction of Adobe Photoshop Touch is especially exciting for aspiring artists who want to move away from using the usual digital tools. The app will feature Facebook and Google integration, as well as a tablet-only “Scribble Selection Tool” that will let users scribble on areas they want to keep or remove. The app syncs with Adobe’s “Creative Cloud” so files can be worked on both in the app or in Adobe’s Photoshop program on the desktop.

Digital Publishing Suite, Single Edition will let designers use InDesign CS 5.5 to design page layouts, which they can then use to publish a single, custom iPad app.

It’s even more exciting for the non-iOS fans in the creative community. Although there are a number of drawing and vector graphics apps for the iPad, few have been ported over to the Android platform. Sketchbook Pro is one notable exception, as was Adobe’s Photoshop Express app. It’s a sign of Android’s success that a tablet-based app isn’t launching as an iPad exclusive.

Pricing for the entire Creative Cloud package will be announced in November, but the Single Edition Digital Publishing Suite will cost $400 and individual touch apps are $10 each.

This article was written on April 16, 2007 by CyberNet.

It was almost a year ago when Microsoft and Adobe went head-to-head because of the built-in PDF functionality that Office 2007 was supposed to include. Adobe was obviously afraid that by Microsoft incorporating the ability to save a document as a PDF, that they could lose out on people needing their tools. In the end Microsoft had to provide the feature as an add-on that can be downloaded at no cost.

Now they are both at it again because Microsoft is launching a new technology called Silverlight and Adobe introduced a media player. Both of the offerings aim to make the user’s media experience on the Web more feature-rich while also making the media transfer more efficient.

Here are some snippets from Microsoft’s press release on Silverlight:

Microsoft Silverlight, previously called Windows Presentation Foundation Everywhere (WPF/E), integrates with existing Web technologies and assets to provide higher-quality experiences with lower costs for media delivery. Delivered to end users through a seamless, fast installation, Silverlight offers consistent experiences to both Macintosh and Windows users on a variety of browsers including Internet Explorer, Firefox and Safari.
…
Leading media companies and solution providers have announced support for Silverlight including Akamai Technologies, Brightcove, Eyeblaster, Limelight Networks, Major League Baseball, NaviSite Inc., Netflix, Pinnacle Systems Inc., Rhozet Corp., Skinkers, Sonic Solutions, Tarari Inc., Telestream Inc. and Winnov. All have indicated plans to deliver Silverlight-based experiences for their viewers and customers.
…
“Netflix is leading the way for people to rent movies for instant viewing over the Internet,” said Netflix Chief Product Officer Neil Hunt. “With 6.3 million members now and millions more in the next few years, Netflix needs rapid and reliable scalability so all members can enjoy DVD-quality movies immediately on our instant-viewing feature. We depend on Microsoft Windows Media technologies, and we’re excited about Microsoft Silverlight as a platform to enable instant watching of great content for all our members, on multiple platforms.”

Adobe plans on doing just about the same thing with their media player, and they even plan on dipping their hands in some Flash DRM! As NewTeeVee points out this will essentially be a video RSS Reader that retrieves the video listings from feeds. Here is what Adobe has to say about the media player in their press release:

For viewers, Adobe Media Player enables higher quality Flash format playback, the ability to download and view videos offline, ways to discover interesting new shows, full screen playback, one-click viewer ratings, and a powerful Favorites feature that automatically downloads new episodes of favorite TV shows or video podcasts. The player is cross-platform, based on open standards – including RSS and SMIL – and brings viewers the highly desired ability to play the Web’s most popular video format outside of their browser.

For content publishers, Adobe Media Player enables better ways to deliver, monetize, brand, track and protect video content. It provides an array of video delivery options for high-quality online and offline playback, including on-demand streaming, live streaming, progressive download, and protected download-and-play. The Adobe Media Player enables a wider selection of monetization and branding options including viewer-centric dynamic advertising and the ability to customize the look and feel of the player on the fly to match the brand or theme of the currently playing content.

Unlike Microsoft, Adobe is yet to announce any partnerships that they have already setup. Either they don’t want to tip off Microsoft as to companies that are looking for a better online media solution, or they don’t have any big companies like Microsoft.

One thing is for sure and it’s that this will be one big cat fight. Normally when two companies compete like this, the consumer is always the winner because they are constantly updating and innovating their technology.

Source: GigaOm

Copyright © 2011 CyberNetNews.com

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