Jan 28

Adobe on Flash and the iPad: ‘Apple is continuing to impose restrictions on their devices’

Posted in: adobe, Apple, flash, ipad, tablet, Today's Chili

Adobe’s been trying to get Flash on the iPhone with zero success since Steve Jobs first held the thing in the air in 2007, and it looks like the tension is only going to grow as the iPhone OS moves onto the iPad. We noticed that the iPad doesn’t have Flash support almost immediately when Jobs was demoing the browser, and the Adobe Flash Platform blog picked right up on it, saying:

It looks like Apple is continuing to impose restrictions on their devices that limit both content publishers and consumers. Unlike many other ebook readers using the ePub file format, consumers will not be able to access ePub content with Apple’s DRM technology on devices made by other manufacturers. And without Flash support, iPad users will not be able to access the full range of web content, including over 70% of games and 75% of video on the web.

If I want to use the iPad to connect to Disney, Hulu, Miniclip, Farmville, ESPN, Kongregate, or JibJab — not to mention the millions of other sites on the web — I’ll be out of luck.

Yep, that sounds about right — and Adobe goes on to point out that the Open Screen Project is bringing Flash to all sorts of other devices. Considering the Nokia N900 runs Flash 9 extremely well on a 600MHz ARM Cortex A8-based TI OMAP 3 processor (and the Palm Pre, which uses the same chip, will be able to run Flash 10.1 when webOS 1.4 comes out) we don’t see any reason other than politics that the iPad can’t do it on that fancy new 1GHz dual-core Cortex A9-based A4 chip. Turns out people might think “the best way to experience the web” might involve a little Hulu, you know?

Adobe on Flash and the iPad: ‘Apple is continuing to impose restrictions on their devices’ originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 28 Jan 2010 15:34:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Daring Fireball  |  sourceAdobe Flash Blog  | Email this | Comments

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Jan 19

Online Photoshop Express Image Editor

Posted in: adobe, Features, Photos, photoshop, Today's Chili, Web Sites

This article was written on September 07, 2007 by CyberNet.

online photoshop express screenshot
Click to Enlarge

Adobe announced back in March that they intended to create an online Photoshop that is geared towards home and casual computer users. The solution that they came up with, called Photoshop Express, will offer a simplistic interface that is free for everyone to use. However, it will be ad supported (I’m guessing that’s what the box in the bottom-right corner of the screenshot is for).

The online Photoshop Express is not yet available, and all we have to go on at this point is the screenshot that has been provided by John Nack, the Senior Product Manager of Adobe Photoshop. Aside from the screenshot the only feature he mentioned was being able to  "adjust an image just by rolling over the different versions shown at the top, previewing the results & then clicking the desired degree of modification."

I think I’ve been able to draw some fairly accurate conclusions by analyzing the screenshot of Photoshop Express:

  • Options available in the sidebar:
    • Crop and rotate photos
    • Auto correct is available (hopefully this is as good as Photoshop’s)
    • White balance adjustments
    • Tuning – probably adjusting hue, saturation, exposure, etc…
    • Details – might be some basic filters from Photoshop, such as blurring
    • Touchup – probably things like removing red eye and fixing small imperfections in the photo
    • Fun – probably for adding shapes, callouts, etc…
    • Recent – things you’ve recently applied to the image?
  • Zoom in and out
  • Undo/redo or reset the photo back to the original
  • A history of your edited photos is kept in the sidebar
  • A history of changes to the current photo is in the top bar
  • You can save an image, or export it (probably to Photoshop)

So that’s my best guess of what the online Photoshop Express will have at launch, and all of that is based solely on the screenshot. One of the more interesting things that I’ve noticed is missing from it is a lacking of layer management. One of Photoshop’s strongest features is being able to manage insane amounts of layers, but I see no section dedicated to that type of feature in the online version.

I would say that the best online Photoshop clone has got to be Fauxto. The interface is extremely close to that of Photoshop, and it has an extensive list of features available (including layer management). I would say that Adobe should have just acquired this site instead of making their own version of Photoshop online, but I have a feeling that Adobe wouldn’t have been comfortable with Fauxto since it is a bit too close to the real deal.

Source: Adobe Blog [via CrunchGear]

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Jan 06

Freescale, Adobe and Movial team up for Flash 10.1 on i.MX platforms

Posted in: adobe, flash, Today's Chili

What goes better with a brand new Freescale smartbook reference design than a little Flash? An actual price and a release date, maybe, but Flash isn’t too shabby either. That, naturally, comes courtesy of a little help from Adobe, who worked with Freescale and Movial to get Flash 10.1 up and running on Freescale’s i.MX51 family of processors — which, incidentally, power a range of other mobile devices in addition to smartbooks you can’t buy. Still nothing in the way of demos or anything, unfortunately, but Freescale says that the first devices ready to support Flash 10.1 will indeed be smartbooks.

Freescale, Adobe and Movial team up for Flash 10.1 on i.MX platforms originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 06 Jan 2010 17:16:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jan 03

HTC testing out ‘touch tablets’ for Android and Chrome OS?

Posted in: adobe, Android, chrome os, ChromeOs, Google, handheld, HTC, qualcomm, rumor, slate, speculation, tablet, tablet pc, TabletPc, Today's Chili, touchscreen

What good would the rumor mill be if it didn’t voice our innermost desires? Apparently not content with giving us the roomy 4.3-inch HD2, HTC is now said to be actively testing out fully fledged tablet devices. Slated (get it?) to be driven by Google’s Android and minimalist Chrome OS, multiple varieties are currently being run through their paces and there’s even word that “core HTC customers” will get to check them out at CES. Who these doyens are and whether they’ll be so kind as to leak us a few photos is unknown, but word is that Qualcomm and Adobe are engaged to provide their hardware and software knowhow — making for an impressive corporate combo if nothing else. This is still strictly uncorroborated, one-source rumormongering, but ain’t it fun?

HTC testing out ‘touch tablets’ for Android and Chrome OS? originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 03 Jan 2010 22:22:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Dec 15

Comcast On Demand Online renamed Fancast Xfinity TV, now streaming nationwide

Posted in: adobe, cable, hands-on, streaming, Today's Chili

After taking some time in limited beta, Comcast has renamed its TV Everywhere streaming venture Fancast Xfinity TV and made it available nationally to all customers with internet and cable TV subscriptions. A simple browser plugin authorizes up to 3 computers per account, but now that it’s live we’ve found more has changed than just its unfortunate new name. Users won’t need to be at home to activate their computers for viewing; all that’s needed is a login and with plenty of cross browser compatibility it should work easily no matter your setup anywhere within the U.S. For us, the Comcast Access installer worked flawlessly on one Windows 7 equipped netbook while failing with an error message tech support couldn’t decipher on a similar desktop. Once up and running, there’s even some high-definition streaming video available (Juno, Max Payne, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 25th Anniversary and others) with more on the way. All told there’s about 2000 hours of content online including HBO and Starz restricted items, peep the full list on Fancast.com or check out the setup and viewing process in our gallery below. Technical glitches aside, for the price of absolutely nothing over our current cable and internet bill with HD streaming already active, we may have a new way to keep up with our stories while on the go.

Gallery: Comcast Fancast Xfinity TV

Comcast On Demand Online renamed Fancast Xfinity TV, now streaming nationwide originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 15 Dec 2009 15:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Dec 01

Adobe Adds Speed, Flickr Integration to Lightroom 3

Posted in: adobe, Software, Today's Chili

adobe lightroom 3 screenshot
Adobe has released a public beta of Lightroom 3, the company’s tool for processing and organizing cameras’ RAW images. While still an early release, Lightroom 3 looks to be a worthy upgrade thanks to impressive speed improvements and baked-in image sharing tools.

For Lightroom 3, Adobe completely rewrote much of the underlying code. The result still looks like Lightroom, but it’s considerably faster than previous releases.

Large image libraries in Lightroom 2 frequently meant blurry, pixelated previews that took a few seconds to resolve into sharp thumbnails. At times Lightroom could feel like a web-based editor for how much trouble it had rendering thumbnails.

Thankfully, pixelated previews are a thing of the past with Lightroom 3. We loaded up an 8,000+ image library into the new beta and not only were the thumbnail previews sharp no matter how many images we scrolled through, common tasks like switching from Library view to Develop view and exporting images to Photoshop were noticeably faster.

Speed isn’t the only thing new in this beta. Lightroom 3 will also bring integrated support for publishing your photos to the web. In the beta, that means built-in syncing with Flickr.

To use the Flickr syncing tool simply authorize Lightroom to access your Flickr account. Once that’s done, publishing your images is a drag-and-drop task. Even better, the syncing is two-way: Lightroom 3 will pull down and update your metadata with any changes made on Flickr and will also grab any comments on the image.

Flickr comments in Adobe Lightroom 3 beta

Lightroom 3 now imports comments on your photos from Flickr.

For those with Flickr Pro accounts, it’s even possible to edit and update images that you’ve already posted on Flickr.

The new publish tool also allows you to export images to folders on your desktop or an external drive. It’s a nice backup feature, but it also means that you can now use Lightroom to manage your iPhone photos — just publish your Lightroom images to a folder and tell iTunes to sync photos from that folder.

While on the surface most of Lightroom 3 looks just like Lightroom 2, the import dialog has been radically revamped. Not only is the import tool much faster, it now offers full-resolution image previews and the ability to define import templates.

Lightroom 3's import dialog is faster.

Lightroom 3's import dialog is faster.

The other standout feature in the Lightroom 3 beta is the new set of sharpening and noise reduction tools, which makes it a snap to get rid of noise in high ISO images.

The new algorithm managed to get rid of a significant amount of color noise without overly softening the images we tested it with. Although the results weren’t perfect, Lightroom 3 did a much better job than its predecessor. The noise reduction tools will be particularly useful for those who’ve upgraded to some of the new, extremely high ISO cameras from Nikon and Canon.

Addicted to high ISO levels? Lightroom 3 can help reduce the noise.

Addicted to high ISO levels? Lightroom 3 can help reduce the noise.

On the flip side of the noise spectrum, Lightroom 3 sports a new “film grain” tool that allows you to simulate the look high-ISO film grain without using an external editor. So if graininess is your thing, you can put it back in as easily as you can take it out.

So far Adobe has not set a release date for the final version of Lightroom 3. If you’d like to test Lightroom 3 you can grab a copy from the Adobe Labs website. Be careful though, this is a true beta with known bugs. We definitely don’t recommend using it for production work and highly recommend making a backup copy of any images you plan to import.


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Nov 25

Samsung Go netbook gets $100 cheaper with one-year Times Reader 2.0 subscription

Posted in: adobe, content, e reader, e-book, e-book reader, E-bookReader, netbook, samsung, Today's Chili

Publicly, at least, The New York Times has seemed perfectly kosher with the way things are moving in the newspaper industry. Rather than freaking out and wondering why they didn’t make the move to digital earlier, it’s apparently looking to push the digital distribution of its content via discounts and partnerships with hardware providers. In a rather unique and unprecedented move, the paper has today announced that prospective readers can receive $100 off of a Samsung Go netbook if they subscribe to Times Reader 2.0 for a year. The machine will come pre-loaded with the Adobe AIR-based application — which pushes published content to one’s machine on the double — and will be sold exclusively through J&R Music and Computer World. Of course, NYT wants $179.40 for a one-year sub, so the deal’s not exactly awesome or anything, but the offer stands for first-time subscribers until March 2010 if you’re interested.

Samsung Go netbook gets $100 cheaper with one-year Times Reader 2.0 subscription originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 25 Nov 2009 07:12:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Business Wire  |  sourceNew York Times  | Email this | Comments

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Nov 19

Apple tablet(s) in 2H 2010 with OLED screen and tailored content in tow?

Posted in: adobe, Apple, content, delay, Games, gaming, LG, MID, OLED, rumor, tablet, Today's Chili, touchscreen

Rumors of the mythical Apple tablet‘s release were just starting to coalesce around an early 2010 release, so naturally DigiTimes is now reporting that the much ballyhooed device won’t show up until the second half of next year. Apple is said to have given itself more time to swap out internals and install a 9.7-inch OLED display from LG, which meshes with earlier rumors about where the relationship between the two companies was heading. Sources expect the opening retail price to be around a hefty $2,000, but for the budget-conscious there will also be a 10.6-inch LCD version that will land somewhere between $800 and $1,000. Or so we’re told. Somewhat more concrete is the news that Conde Nast, publisher of Wired Magazine, has openly confirmed that it is developing a digital version of its tech magazine for consumption on the Apple tablet, with the rest of its content catalog to soon follow. Its own estimate of having the paid-for digitized magazines, which will include Vogue and GQ, ready for the middle of 2010 also jibes with the reported delays. Then again, Apple has refused to discuss the unannounced device with anyone, leaving Conde and Adobe developing the necessary software in the dark.

Apple tablet(s) in 2H 2010 with OLED screen and tailored content in tow? originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 19 Nov 2009 09:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceDigiTimes, All Things Digital  | Email this | Comments

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Nov 17

Adobe’s Flash Player 10.1 beta GPU acceleration tested, documented

Posted in: 1080p, adobe, AMD, Apple, ati, flash, hulu, intel, mac os x, MacOsX, NVIDIA, os x, OsX, Software, Today's Chili, YouTube

We know you don’t actually care about 99 percent of the contents of the latest Flash Player update. What you really want to know is whether those new 1080p YouTube streams will run smoothly on your machine thanks to the newly implemented graphics card video acceleration. AnandTech has come to our collective aid on that one, with an extensive testing roundup of some of the more popular desktop and mobile GPU solutions. NVIDIA’s ION scored top marks, with “almost perfect” Hulu streaming (see table above), though Anand and crew encountered some issues with ATI’s chips and Intel’s integrated GMA 4500 MHD, which they attribute to the new Flash Player’s beta status. On the OS front, although Linux and Mac OS are not yet on the official hardware acceleration beneficiary list, the wily testers found marked improvements in performance under OS X. It seems, then, that Adobe has made good on its partnership with NVIDIA, and made ION netbooks all the more scrumptious in the process, while throwing a bone to the Mac crowd, but leaving the majority of users exercising the virtue of patience until the finalized non-beta Player starts making the rounds in a couple of months. Hit the read link for further edification.

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Adobe’s Flash Player 10.1 beta GPU acceleration tested, documented originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 17 Nov 2009 05:46:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Nov 17

Adobe Flash Player 10.1 and AIR 2 betas are out, multi-touch and video acceleration are in (video)

Posted in: adobe, flash, multitouch, Today's Chili

Here we go: Adobe just made its Flash 10.1 prerelease packages available for download in fulfillment of its Open Screen promise. The download is available for Windows, Intel-based Mac, and Linux systems with a smartphone version coming later; notably, while no other mobile OS is specifically mentioned, Adobe says that a beta for Palm webOS is slated for “later this year” on its Flash Player 10.1 page. At the moment, however, only the Windows release includes hardware-based video acceleration for H.264 video. And this is beta-ware kids, so there’s more than the usual level of hazard with installing. Then again, for those of you with Atom-based netbooks brought to their knees by full-screen HD video, well, the benefits likely outweigh the risk for you. Adobe also announced an AIR 2 beta which allows developers to build more feature-rich applications including multi-touch capabilities — see the unholy union demonstrated on an HP TouchSmart in the video after the break.

Update: As noted by reader ZeroK2 in the comments, the release notes [warning: PDF] specify which GPUs will benefit from the hardware acceleration. These include ATI Radeon HD 3xxx and 4xxx series, Mobile Radeon HD 4xxx series, select FirePro products, Intel 4 series chipsets, the Broadcom Crystal HD decoder, and most NVIDIA ION and GeForce 8/9/1xx/2xx powered PCs. In other words, the vast majority of netbook owners with integrated GMA950 graphics need not apply.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Read — Press release
Read — About Flash Player 10.1

Continue reading Adobe Flash Player 10.1 and AIR 2 betas are out, multi-touch and video acceleration are in (video)

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Adobe Flash Player 10.1 and AIR 2 betas are out, multi-touch and video acceleration are in (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 17 Nov 2009 03:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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