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Adobe Creative Suite 5.5 Web Premium suite

Wednesday, April 13th, 2011

Adobe Creative Suite 5.5 Web Premium suite is a major mid-cycle update to the software for Web designers and developers. The new version give Web professionals the ability to bring high-impact content experiences and mobile apps to the latest form factors across Android, BlackBerry Tablet OS and iOS platforms.

New in the suite are updated versions of Adobe Dreamweaver, Adobe Flash Professional, Adobe Flash Catalyst, Adobe Flash Builder, the all-new Flex framework for mobile devices, Adobe Device Central and Adobe Acrobat X Pro.

Key enhancements include substantive HTML5 advancements in Dreamweaver, new tablet and smartphone application development capabilities in Flash Professional CS5.5 and Flash Builder Premium 4.5, and enhanced cross-browser testing as well as mobile emulation and on-device debugging.

Estimated street price for the Creative Suite 5.5 Web Premium suite is US$2185. It is one of five suite editions of the Creative Suite 5.5 line of software.

Advances in HTML5

Web Premium CS5.5 advances HTML5 authoring tools, enabling Web designers and developers to create browser-based content that gives end-users a seamless and immersive experience across virtually any screen.

New HTML5 support in Dreamweaver CS5.5 includes jQuery mobile framework integration for browser-based content and PhoneGap integration for native and mobile application design and development.

Enhancements to the multiscreen preview panel in Dreamweaver have also been made, supporting the latest in media queries, WebKit engine updates, and CSS3 attributes, enabling side-by-side renderings of what a single design looks like on different form factors.

“With Adobe the jQuery project has spent a significant amount of time researching and developing user interfaces for mobile browsers, the final result being the creation of the jQuery Mobile framework,” said John Resig, founder of the jQuery Project.

Enhanced Flash tooling

New additions in Flash Professional CS5.5 include content scaling so users can easily scale their content on stage to adapt to different screen sizes, which is a huge timesaver.

Flash Professional CS5.5 also includes a new shared assets feature for more streamlined publishing, as well as more than 20 new code snippets for creating mobile and Adobe AIR applications for accelerometer, multitouch gestures, and save/load data.

Enhanced Application Development for Mobile Devices

Adobe CS5.5 Web Premium includes new mobile application development support to deliver rich interactive applications to the latest Android, BlackBerry Tablet OS and iOS devices.

In the updated Flash Builder 4.5, users have new mobile support for ActionScript and mobile Flex projects, as well as improved designer-developer collaboration throughout application development with a new bi-directional workflow with Flash Catalyst CS5.5 and Flash Professional CS5.5.

New capabilities in Adobe Flash Builder 4.5, Flash Professional CS5.5 and the introduction of the Flex 4.5 framework for mobile devices, let designers and developers build mobile applications that run on iPhone, iPad, Android devices and BlackBerry PlayBook. The apps can be easily deployed through the application markets such as Apple’s iTunes App Store, Android Market and BlackBerry App World.

Enhanced Browser Compatibility Testing

To keep Web developers and designers ahead of rapidly changing technology, Web Premium CS5.5 includes new HTML5 emulation and support for the latest mobile devices in Adobe Device Central, software that simplifies the production of innovative and compelling content for mobile phones and consumer electronics devices.

Adobe BrowserLab, a key component of Adobe CS Live online services, has also been updated for cross-browser compatibility testing for the newest browsers to help ensure Web projects are accurately previewed across a spectrum of browsers.

Adobe CS Live online services are free until April 12, 2012.

Tags:Adobe, Android, BlackBerry, Creative Suite 5.5, CS5.5, Flash, iOS, tablets
Posted in Adobe, Creative Suite, Flash, Phones, Prices, Software, Specifications, Tablets | 1 Comment »

Adobe introduces Creative Suite 5.5

Tuesday, April 12th, 2011

Adobe’s major mid-cycle product release targets enhancements across Flash, HTML5, video, mobile App and digital publishing tools. It also extends workflows to include tablets.

Adobe announced today the new Adobe Creative Suite 5.5 product line, enabling designers and developers to target popular and emerging smartphone and tablet platforms, as the revolution in mobile communications fundamentally changes the way content is distributed and consumed.

Today’s launch marks a significant change to Adobe’s product release strategy for Creative Suite, the design and development software catering for print, video, mobile and online media.

Adobe now plans to have milestone Creative Suite product introductions at 24-month intervals and – starting with Creative Suite 5.5 – major mid-cycle releases between the milestone versions.

Product lineup and pricing

The new Creative Suite product lineup is headlined by Adobe Creative Suite 5.5 Master Collection, which includes, in a single package, all of Adobe’s industry-defining creative tools, such as Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, Acrobat, Flash Builder, Flash Catalyst, Flash Professional, Dreamweaver, Adobe Premiere Pro and After Effects.

These products are available separately or as components of one or more of the five Creative Suite editions.

The complete Creative Suite 5.5 lineup and their estimated street prices are tabulated below, and is scheduled to ship within 30 days. Upgrade pricing, volume licensing and education pricing are also available.

Creative Suite 5.5 Master Collection: US$3159
Creative Suite 5.5 Design Premium: US$2309
Creative Suite 5.5 Web Premium: US$2185
Creative Suite 5.5 Production Premium: US$2065
Creative Suite 5.5 Design Standard: US$1579

Key enhancements

The new Creative Suite 5.5 Web Premium suite sees enhancements in HTML5 and Adobe Flash authoring tools, allowing users to create, deliver and monetize rich content and applications for virtually any screen.

This release helps enable designers and developers to deliver mobile applications on Android, BlackBerry Tablet OS, iOS and other platforms; create rich browser-based content across screens using HTML5; and leverage Flash Player to deliver premium video content, casual games and rich Internet applications.

Tablet devices are now included in the creative workflow, going beyond the desktop computer. A new scripting engine in Adobe Photoshop and an enhanced Photoshop Software Development Kit (SDK) enable developers to build tablet applications that interact with Photoshop from Android, BlackBerry and iOS devices.

Adobe also announced three new iPad applications that demonstrate the creative possibilities of using tablets to drive common Photoshop workflows – Adobe Color Lava for Photoshop, Adobe Eazel for Photoshop and Adobe Nav for Photoshop.

With the launch of Adobe Flash Builder 4.5 – available as part of the Creative Suite 5.5 Web Premium suite – and the Flex 4.5 framework, developers can easily develop and deploy mobile applications to the over 200 million Android, BlackBerry Playbook and iOS devices anticipated to be in market by the end of 2011.

With more than 131 million smartphones expected to have Flash Player installed by the end of the year, Adobe Flash makes it possible to bring rich content to desktops and devices inside the browser.

Flash Player is supported on Android, HP webOS and Google TV today. BlackBerry Tablet OS, upcoming versions of Windows Phone, Samsung SmartTVs and others are expected to support Flash Player in the near future.

For video and audio professionals, Adobe Creative Suite 5.5 Production Premium suite promises breakthrough performance, workflow improvements, creative innovations, and powerful new audio editing capabilities.

The powerful Adobe Mercury Playback Engine, introduced in Adobe Premiere Pro CS5, broadens its graphics processing unit (GPU) hardware support to include laptops and more supported cards, allowing users to open projects faster, get real-time feedback and work more smoothly at higher resolutions.

Creative Suite 5.5 Design Premium suite includes Adobe’s recent product innovations in digital publishing to create slick digital editions for tablet devices. Using InDesign CS5.5, in combination with the integrated Folio Producer toolset, designers can add new levels of interactivity to their page layouts targeted to tablet devices.

Documents can include video, audio, panoramic views, 360-degree object rotation, pan and zoom of images, integration of HTML and HTML5 content and other interactive overlays. Leading to a much more robust and engaging reading experience.

Creative Suite 5.5 is tightly integrated with Adobe Digital Publishing Suite to support publication, sale and analysis of content on an array of tablet devices.

Adobe Creative Suite 5.5 products integrate with Adobe CS Live, a set of online services that accelerate key aspects of the creative workflow and enable designers to focus on creating their best work. CS Live online services include: Adobe BrowserLab; Adobe CS Review; Acrobat.com; Adobe Story; and Adobe SiteCatalyst NetAverages powered by Omniture. Adobe CS Live is free until April 12,2012.

Tags:Adobe, Android, BlackBerry, Creative Suite 5.5, CS5.5, iOS, tablets
Posted in Acrobat, Adobe, Events, Flash, Launch, Photoshop, Prices, Software, Tablets, Tech news | 1 Comment »

Creative Suite 5.5 Design Premium and Design Standard suites

Monday, April 11th, 2011

Creative Suite 5.5 Design Premium comprises new versions of Adobe InDesign, Adobe Dreamweaver, Adobe Flash Professional and Adobe Flash Catalyst, as well as Adobe Acrobat X Pro, Adobe Illustrator CS5, Adobe Photoshop CS5 Extended and Adobe Fireworks CS5.

Estimated street price for the Creative Suite 5.5 Design Premium suite is US$2309 while that of the Design Standard suite is US$1579. Both are part of five suite editions of the Creative Suite 5.5 line of software and will ship within 30 days.

The software in the Adobe Creative Suite 5.5 Design Premium suite enables designers to produce content faster and deliver immersive, visually rich experiences to screens of all shapes and sizes. New features in Creative Suite 5.5 Design Premium bolster the many timesaving features that were introduced in Creative Suite 5 to improve efficiency of everyday tasks.

Design for both Tablets and Smartphones

With Creative Suite 5.5 Design Premium, designers can create immersive digital magazines, e-books with accompanying video and audio, websites based on HTML5 and CSS3 standards, and interactive mobile applications built with familiar Flash tools that display consistently across Android, BlackBerry Playbook and iOS devices.

Updates to Dreamweaver CS5.5 (including the Live View mode, CSS panel and Multiscreen Preview panel) streamline the design of websites that need to be optimized for viewing on multiple devices, and let designers preview desktop, tablet and smartphone browsers side-by-side.

With the new Folio Producer tools in InDesign, which work in conjunction with the Adobe Digital Publishing Suite, creative professionals can design interactive, rich media digital magazines, newspapers, corporate publications and advertising for reading on tablet devices such as Apple iPad, BlackBerry PlayBook and a wide variety of Android tablets.

Using InDesign CS5.5 in combination with the integrated Folio Producer toolset, designers can add new levels of interactivity to their page layouts. Documents targeted to tablet devices can include video, audio, panoramic views, 360-degree rotation of objects, pan and zoom of images, integration of HTML5 content and other interactive overlays.

Designers can also easily test how their content will look and feel on a broad array of tablet devices directly from within InDesign. Once content authoring is completed in InDesign, tight integration with Adobe Digital Publishing Suite allows users with a Digital Publishing Suite account (available separately) to efficiently produce, distribute, optimize and monetize content for tablet devices.

A number of features in InDesign have also been enhanced to improve reading experiences on e-book devices, such as Barnes and Noble Nook, Sony Reader and Apple iPad.

Designers can now add refined typography, images that resize automatically to fit virtually any screen, and video and audio for e-book reader applications that support HTML5 video and audio tags.

New capabilities in Flash Professional CS5.5 let designers and developers build mobile applications that run on iPhone, iPad, Android devices and BlackBerry Playbook. The apps can be easily deployed through the application markets such as Apple’s iTunes App Store, Android Market and BlackBerry AppWorld.

Beyond the Desktop

Adobe is continuing to extend productivity with cloud services and new tablet apps.

Creative Suite 5.5 Design Premium works with new tablet applications for Photoshop (available separately) that enhance the creative workflow and extend the design experience beyond the desktop.

A new scripting engine in Adobe Photoshop and an enhanced Photoshop Software Development Kit (SDK) enable developers to build tablet applications that interact with Photoshop from Android, BlackBerry and iOS devices.

Adobe has used the new SDK to deliver three iPad applications that demonstrate the creative possibilities of using tablets to drive common Photoshop workflows – Adobe Color Lava for Photoshop, Adobe Eazel for Photoshop and Adobe Nav for Photoshop.

Creative Suite 5.5 Design Premium also integrates with CS Live, a set of hosted services that accelerate key project workflows such as shared reviews. CS Live online services are free until April 12, 2012.

Tags:Adobe, Creative Suite 5.5, Design Premium, Design Standard
Posted in Acrobat, Adobe, Creative Suite, Dreamweaver, Fireworks, Flash, Illustrator, InDesign, Launch, Photoshop, Prices, Software, Specifications, Tablets | 1 Comment »

New Adobe Software Development Kit for Photoshop CS5

Sunday, April 10th, 2011

The Photoshop Touch SDK and a new scripting engine in Photoshop CS5 open the door for Android, BlackBerry Tablet OS and iOS apps to drive and interact with Photoshop on the desktop.

Adobe has announced the Photoshop Touch Software Development Kit (SDK) inviting developers worldwide to create mobile and tablet applications that interact with Adobe Photoshop CS5 and Photoshop CS5 Extended software, uniting the fun and interactive experience of touch devices with the power and precision of Photoshop.

Using the Touch SDK, Adobe has developed three initial Photoshop CS5 companion apps for Apple iPad: Adobe Color Lava for Photoshop, Adobe Eazel for Photoshop and Adobe Nav for Photoshop. The apps are designed to enable users to create custom color swatches, paint and drive popular Photoshop tools from tablet devices.

Adobe Color Lava will allow creative professionals to use their fingertips to mix colors on the iPad, creating custom color swatches and themes to transfer back into Photoshop.

Adobe Eazel takes advantage of cutting-edge painting technology to let digital artists create rich realistic paintings with their fingertips and introduces a new kind of interaction between “wet” and “dry” paints. These paintings can then be sent directly to Photoshop CS5 for compositing or for taking the artwork further.

Lastly, Adobe Nav increases workflow efficiency by letting users select and control Photoshop tools using the iPad as the input surface, customize the toolbar, browse and zoom in on up to 200 open Photoshop files or easily create new files.

All three applications take advantage of the iPad tablet’s touch screen for a truly immersive, tactile, on-the-go experience.

Although the first applications available are for the Apple iPad and the iOS, the Photoshop Touch SDK makes development possible on other devices, including Android and BlackBerry PlayBook.

Utilizing the Touch SDK, developers will have wide access to Photoshop functionality with the freedom to innovate and create new apps or add capabilities to existing ones. Adobe has already engaged with a number of developers across the industry to incorporate tablets and other devices into creative workflows that empower Photoshop users in new and groundbreaking ways.

For more detailed information about features, OS support, upgrade policies, pricing and international versions, visit: www.adobe.com/go/photoshop.

Tags:Adobe, image editor, photo editor, Photoshop, Touch SDK
Posted in Adobe, Creative Suite, Launch, Photoshop, Software, Tablets | No Comments »

Adobe CS6 in 2012

Wednesday, March 23rd, 2011

The next major version of Adobe Creative Suite will arrive in 2012, Chief Executive Officer Shantanu Narayen revealed. This is in line with the 18 – 24 month product renewal cycle the suite has followed in the past.

Adobe CS6 in 2012 In the meantime, Adobe plans to release an HTML5 update to the current version. The update will make it easier for designers and developers to build websites using the HTML5 Internet standard.

Adobe released the current Creative Suite 5, which includes the Photoshop and Illustrator programs, in April 2010. The version before that, Creative Suite 4, was released in October 2008.

The HTML5 standard is supported by both Apple and Google and competes with Adobe’s Flash Internet video and animation software. Apple bans Flash on the iPad tablet computer and iPhone handset.

Adobe believes that selling HTML5 development tools and working with software developers who create applications for smartphones and tablets can help Adobe assert the importance of its tools.

By embracing HTML5, Adobe gives Web developers more options and positions itself to benefit whether programmers decide to use Flash or HTML5. It is a win-win situation for the company whether developers choose to work with Flash or HTML5.

Tags:Adobe, Creative Suite, CS5, Photoshop
Posted in Adobe, Creative Suite, Photoshop, Software, Tech news | 1 Comment »

Japan disaster fallout: Adobe tempers forecast

Tuesday, March 22nd, 2011

Lower sales in Japan due to the Mar 11 disasters. Adobe forecasts second-quarter profit that missed analysts’ estimates because of earthquake and tsunami impact on sales.

Adobe forecast affected by Japan disasters Adobe Systems Inc. is the largest maker of graphic design software in the world. It has reduced its sales forecast by $50 million because of the disasters in Japan – its second largest market after the U.S. According to analysts, Japan accounts for 10 – 15 percent of Adobe’s revenue each quarter.

Profit for the current quarter is expected to be 47 – 54 cents. This compares with a 56 cents average based on analysts’ projections compiled by Bloomberg.

“We saw a noticeable drop in our revenue,”Aaron Ricadela from Businessweek quotes Mark Garrett, Adobe’s Chief Financial Officer.

Tags:Adobe, Creative Suite, CS5
Posted in Adobe, Creative Suite, Figures, Software | No Comments »

IE9 downloads vs the rest of the world

Friday, March 18th, 2011

Microsoft has claimed that Internet Explorer 9 has been downloaded 2.35 million times in the first 24 hours since its official release on Monday night. This ranks it behind Firefox and Opera but ahead of Safari.

Mozilla Firefox 3 was fastest off the block when it clocked 8 million downloads in the first 24 hours after its launch in June 2008. Next was Opera 11 with 6.7 million downloads in the first day after launch in December 2010.

Both browsers were ahead of Internet Explorer 9 in terms of number of downloads in the first 24 hours.

Following behind was Apple’s Safari which reached 6 million downloads but only after three days. Data for Chrome were unavailable.

The above statistics were compiled by Gavin Clarke of The Register and based on claims by the companies themselves without any means of external verification.

I have summarised the compilation below. Also included are downloads statistics for Angry Birds, the Mac App Store, Nokia Ovi store and the all-time-favourite – Adobe Flash Player.

Browser/ App/ Plug-in	Claimed downloads	Time period	Launch Date
Mozilla Firefox 3.0	8 million	1 day	Jun 2008
Opera 11	6.7 million	1 day	Dec 2010
IE 9	2.35 million	1 day	14 Mar 2011
Apple Safari 4.0	6 million	3 days	Jun 2009
IE9 beta	2 million	2 days	Sep 2010
IE8 beta	1.3 million	5 days	Aug 2008
Angry Birds	5 million	1 month	Dec 2010
Mac App Store	1 million	1 day	Jan 2011
Nokia Ovi	3 million	Daily	Ongoing
Adobe Flash Player	8 million	Daily	Ongoing

Tags:Adobe, Apple Safari, Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, Opera
Posted in Browser, Chrome, Figures, Firefox, Flash, Internet Explorer, Opera, Safari, Software, Tech news | 2 Comments »

Adobe launches Photoshop Express 2.0 for iOS

Thursday, March 17th, 2011

Adobe has announced the release of the free Photoshop Express 2.0 for iOS devices, as well as a new $3.99 Adobe Camera Pack that you can purchase from within Photoshop Express.

Adobe Photoshop Express has more than 20 million subscribers on iOS and Android devices. It provides easy-to-use features for capturing, organising, editing and sharing of photos on popular social networks like Facebook, giving users on the road the ability to work on their digital photos on smartphones and tablets.

Adobe Photoshop Express 2.0 for iOS devices can be downloaded free on the Apple iTunes Store. From within the app, you can purchase the new Adobe Camera Pack which includes the following features.

Reduce Noise: Removes and smooths out grain and speckling from photos to improve them.

Self Timer: Set a camera timer to three or 10 seconds to control when a photo is to be recorded.

Auto Review: Provides a quick look at photos taken before saving or deleting it.

Photoshop Express 2.0 requires iOS 4.2 or later. To use the Adobe Camera Pack, customers must have an iPhone 3Gs, iPhone 4, iPod Touch (3rd or 4th generation), or an iPad or iPad 2 (note that Photoshop Express does not include support for the iPad 2 camera at this time).

Tags:Adobe, Apps, image editor, iOS, photo editor, Photoshop Express
Posted in Adobe, Cameras, Phones, Photography, Photos, Photoshop, Tablets | No Comments »

Adobe Refresh Roadshow in Singapore

Thursday, March 10th, 2011

Two product “evangelists” and the Product Manager of Flash Professional show designers and attendees how to design once but deploy to different hardware and software platforms and screen sizes.

Instead of designing for the standard desktop monitor at standard screen resolutions, end-users are accessing web content using a whole range of devices with different screen sizes/resolutions, and on different hardware and software platforms.

These devices range from the traditional PC to the whole range of smartphones and more recently the tablets and web TVs.

Richard Galvan, Product Manager - Flash Professional Flash Professional Product Manager, Richard Galvan, went through the trends of the day and predicted that the number of people surfing the Internet using smartphones and tablets will surpass the number using PCs by 2013 – maybe earlier.

He demonstrated how the existing and upcoming versions of Adobe’s Flash Professional and Flex application development platform facilitates the ability to develope apps only once but deploy to devices running different operating systems such as Google’s Android, Apple’s iOS and RIM’s BlackBerry.

Paul Burnett, APAC Evangelist - Adobe Systems Inc Michael Stoddart, APAC Evangelist - Adobe Systems Inc The product “evangelists” Paul Burnett and Michael Stoddart also illustrated how the software assisted coders by providing features such as code hints, code completion and code snippets – so much so that even designers could have a go at the coding.

Some of the sneak peeks of features being explored for future products were also presented. Some of these were first shown in Adobe Max 2010 developer conference in October last year.

The beta version of the BlackBerry Playbook, which made its first appearance during Adobe Max, was also displayed for the first time in Singapore.

Photoshop on a tablet?

Galvan also gave a demo on the recently released Wallaby – an experimental piece of software for converting Flash files into HTML5.

The simple animation he converted were identical before and after conversion – handy for banner ads without audio, video, or ActionScript.

Multi-touch interface for a future version of Photoshop?

Galvan believed that Flash and HTML5 were complementary instead of being mutually exclusive. He emphasised that Flash and HTML5 will continue to complement each other into the future, with Flash providing additional features and capabilities to HTML5 based content.

The roadshow was held at the NTUC auditorium at One Marina Boulevard from 8.30am to 5.30pm.

Tags:Adobe, Flash, Flex, smartphone, tablets
Posted in Adobe, Events, Flash, Gadgets, Notebooks, Phones, Photoshop, Software, Tablets, Technology | No Comments »

Flash-to-HTML5 conversion tool from Adobe

Wednesday, March 9th, 2011

At long last, Adobe has released an experimental piece of software codenamed Wallaby that can convert Flash files into HTML5. It’ll be interesting to see how the Flash vs HTML5 rivalry pens out.

HTML5 logo This tool was first demo-ed at Adobe Max 2010 developer conference in October last year. The cross-platform AIR app is available for free download as a technology preview for developers.

Wallaby allows Flash developers to deployFlash content on Apple iOS devices like iPads and iPhones, which has banned Flash on Steve Jobs’ accusations that it is vulnerable to exploits, battery draining, and prone to frequent crashes.

Flash logo FLA files from Flash can be instantly converted to HTML5 by a simple drag-and-drop. The HTML can then be edited in Dreamweaver or any HTML authoring tool.

Tom Barclay, senior product manager for Flash pointed out that not all elements from Flash files will make it into HTML5. Although the overall look and feel can be ported, much will be discarded in the migration.

The Wallaby Release Notes describe what features are supported, what differences we have already discovered between the various browsers, what device variations have been found, and any currently known issues.
Adobe logo What is thrashed: audio, video, ActionScript, as well as blend modes and filters (apart from simple alpha), dynamic masks, some Text Layout Framework text, and 3D tweens and transforms.

What is supported: vector art and images, classic text, keyframes, MovieClips and graphics, classic motion and shape tweens, rollover buttons, and instance names.

Immediate application of the tool would mainly be for making basic banner ads and animations, especially if the FLA files have already been developed.

iAds Producer Apple had released iAd Producer in December last year. It is a free tool “for online advertisers to create content for Apple’s iAd platform, helping the company to establish HTML5 as a viable alternative to Adobe Flash technology on mobile devices,” wrote Daniel Ionescu of PCWorld.

iAd Producer is a visual HTML5 authoring tool, available to Apple developers for producing advertisements for iOS devices, using a combination of HTML5, Javascript and CSS3.

Tags:Adobe, Apple, Flash, HTML5
Posted in Adobe, Apple, Flash, Gadgets, Phones, Software, Tablets, Tech news, Technology | 1 Comment »

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