Showing posts with label web design. Show all posts
Showing posts with label web design. Show all posts

12/14/2012

Omnigraffle 5 Professional Review

Omnigraffle 5 Professional
Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)
I've been a Microsoft Visio user for years on the Windows platform. When I switched to using the Mac as my primary platform at home, I wanted some kind of solution for creating diagrams such as web site maps, system development flowcharts and so on.
My first solution was to run Visio for Windows under Parallels Desktop 4.0 for Mac. However, the performance running in a virtual environment never really impressed me. I've got a Mac mini with a 2Ghz Intel Core Duo processor and 2 GB of RAM, but even that wasn't enough to provide a satisfying experience under Parallels.
My next stop was Crossover for Mac, which allowed me to run Visio 2003 on the Mac and associate Visio files to run Visio in a Windows-like setting. This has been an acceptable solution performance-wise; but when it comes to editing files and integrating well with my external hard drives attached to the Mac mini, I really didn't feel it was a seamless experience.
After searching, I gave OmniGraffle 5 Pro a whirl. I've just completed a few site map design projects using OmniGraffle. On the second project, I had to exchange data with Visio, as OmniGraffle is not available for Windows and my Windows-installed laptop left me only the option of using Visio. The VDX (Visio XML Drawing) format allowed me to exchange data between OmniGraffle and Visio without too many glaring issues. There were some formatting problems when I read the VDX file exported from OmniGraffle into Visio (carriage returns and tabs ended up as garbage characters, and a few text boxes were out of place), but I was pleasantly surprised that the export process to VDX from OmniGraffle and then back into OmniGraffle when I came home went as smoothly as it did.
There are a few other thing that Visio users will need to remember when switching to OmniGraffle, such as the need to hit ENTER when adding text to a shape rather than just selecting and typing it as Visio allows, or the different keyboard shortcuts available in OmniGraffle, such as Z for zoom, 1 to switch to the selection cursor and so on. However, I found that after a brief period of adjustment, I was more productive in OmniGraffle.
Also, I found that the buttons and options are there where you expect and need them, and the overall feel of the application is very ergonomic and well-thought-out. (The text options in particular throw you for a loop first - clicking the text icon on the text style palette opens up the fonts palette, which provides more options... this could be consolidated a lot better!)
Although I'm not a big fan of all the floating palettes (which tend to clutter the screen and obscure the document you're working on, if you don't periodically minimize or close the ones you don't need), the combination of Illustrator-like keyboard shortcut options and the easy text input feature for shapes makes OmniGraffle a winner for any flowcharting, mind-mapping or general diagramming option.
Overall, I feel that although I have yet to really explore the options available in OmniGraffle, it has served my needs very well so far. With a little more attention to the usability of the floating palettes, and a bit more detail in the help screens, the application could be improved... but my feeling so far is that OmniGraffle is a very user-friendly, extremely versatile application that will provide a very satisfying experience that beats Illustrator hands-down for people who need to create diagrams and charts of all types on the Mac... and even for those who need a high degree of compatibility with Visio for Windows. I'm sticking with OmniGraffle. And if I had to make a choice between OmniGraffle and Visio, at this point I'd certainly choose OmniGraffle.


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9/27/2012

Adobe Photoshop Extended CS5 Review

Adobe Photoshop Extended CS5
Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)

CS5 is Aaa...Mazing! It is light years ahead of its predecessors (including CS4). This new version of Photoshop has packed a number of exciting new features and enhancements that help make photo editing quicker, easier, and an absolute delight! With CS5, image editing tasks that used to be painstaking and meticulous work can be accomplished with incredible ease. I'll touch on just a few of these new features that I consider the most useful:
Edge Detection for Selections
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Edge Detection saves you time by helping you to easily make complex selections. CS5 has made major enhancements on the Refine Edge Tool (first introduced in CS3) by incorporating the new Edge Detection feature into it. Edge Detection lets you effortlessly and accurately refine your selection after you've made an initial rough selection, say, with the Quick Selection Tool.
> Feature In Action:
After a rough selection is made, click on Refine Edges on the toolbar. As in CS3 and CS4, this brings up the Refine Edge dialog box. CS5 has the new Edge Detection feature that helps you fine tune your selection. By using the new Touch Up Brush, you can "paint" over the edge of your selection and CS5 will almost magically remove any extraneous bits of selection and add to the selection areas you might have missed. If required, you can use the Decontaminate Colors (also a new feature) to remove any bits of background that might have spilled over into your selection.
> How well it works:
Edge Detection is one of the most, if not the most useful new feature in CS5. It works extremely well when there is a good contrast between the background and the subject to be removed. It makes selecting intricate regions such as the edges of hair or fur (which used to be a real pain) almost effortless. With some practice, Edge Detection can save you a lot of work _and_ time. It's no exaggeration to say that this feature alone is worth the upgrade!
Content-Aware Fill
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Content-Aware Fill fills in a deleted subject with the background. Traditionally, after a subject is removed from the foreground, you have to fill in the deleted area by painting it with cloned pixels. But with Content-Aware Fill, CS5 does this job _for you_.
> Feature In Action:
After an area to be deleted is selected, press the delete key. This will bring up a dialog box that gives you the type of fill to use: Content-Aware, Foreground, Background, etc. With Content-Aware selected, click on OK. Presto! CS5 automatically fills in the deleted area with the background for you.
> How Well It Works:
Content-Aware Fill doesn't always realistically fill in a deleted area. It all depends on the type of background the removed subject is in front of. The Content-Aware Fill works best with landscape backgrounds like a beach or a meadow. It will probably NOT work very well in an urban area full of buildings, for example. With the "right" background, you can get away with deleting fairly large objects/subjects. For example, I was able to use Content-Aware Fill to successfully remove quite a bit of undesired foreground (mostly people and railings) in my shots of the Grand Canyon to produce convincing and natural-looking images.
Puppet Warp
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Puppet Warp lets you place control points on a subject and warp it or move parts of it as though it were Play-Doh (Fun stuff!).
> Feature In Action:
From the edit menu, select Edit/Puppet Warp. You can then click to add control points to manipulate your subject, such as a person (which would have to had been extracted from a picture). You can then bend, stretch, or warp your subject by moving any of the control points. Alternatively you can press the Alt key to make a point act as a "pivot" point (or a "joint" of sorts).
> How Well It Works:
Puppet Warp may seem like a toy at first sight since many of the demos use this feature for moving or manipulating the limbs of a person or animal - but Puppet Warp can be used for much more. When used on a person or an animal, if your intent is to create a realistic image, moderation in the transformation is key. However, if your intent is to create a goofy looking picture (much as you would with the Liquefy Tool), you can do some really wacky transformations in Puppet Warp.
Puppet Warp has some serious applications too. It can be used to correct non-uniform distortions, which is a common problem in stitched panoramas. (For a demo, search for the "Puppet Warp Sneak Peek" video.) You can also use it to tweak the popular "smoke," "halo," or other layered effects that are commonly used on subjects in portrait photography. I personally find Puppet Warp an invaluable tool for this purpose.
Faux HDR
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Normal HDR requires 2 or more source images. CS5 lets you create a _faux_ HDR with just one image.
> Feature In Action:
Go to Image/Adjustments/HDR Toning. CS5 immediately applies a default set of settings, which you can change to suit your preferences. There is a lightening/darkening setting each for Shadows and Highlights. Other settings include color Vibrance and color Saturation, Exposure, Gamma, etc.
> How Well It Works:
The faux HDR is a great tool for salvaging photos where subjects are under-exposed because of backlighting. By using the tool to lighten the darker areas, you can make it seem as though you have a fill light on your subjects! However, lightening darker areas will inevitably introduce some noise. No matter, CS5 actually has a new noise reduction feature that does an amazing job. This HDR feature can really help you create surrealistic images.
Miscellaneous New Features & Enhancements
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CS5 has many niceties such as improved layer pasting called Paste In Place (pastes layer in the same coordinates as the source image), Lens Correction (corrects distortion, chromatic aberration, and vignetting), Mixer Brush and Bristle Tips (tools for blending colors and painting on your picture/canvas - not quite as complete a suite of tools as Corel Painter, but very impressive nonetheless), Mini Adobe Bridge (a "mini" Bridge in-program), improved noise reduction, a new Workspace Switcher, on-screen color picker, and much more...
> Additional Notes
------------------
A lot of operations in CS5, such as Content-Aware Fill, is memory (RAM) intensive. Memory usage can easily run up in the GB range. On 32-bit systems, there is a limit on the amount of memory that Photoshop can use.
Here's information about RAM usage taken from the adobe site:
Photoshop Version / Windows Version / Maximum amount of RAM that Photoshop can use
32-bit / 32-bit / 1.7 GB
32-bit / 64-bit / 3.2 GB
64-bit / 64-bit / as much RAM as you can fit into your computer
I use Windows XP (32-bit) and ran into a problem where the area I selected for Content-Aware Fill was too large. I got the message "Could not fill because there is not enough memory (RAM)." If you are using a 64-bit system, insufficient memory will not be a problem. CS5 is optimized for systems that use 64-bit addressing.
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In conclusion, the many new features and enhancements in CS5 will help you do more with your images to help you create great looking images in less time and with greater precision. There's no question in my mind that CS5 is well worth the upgrade.


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Adobe Photoshop CS5 Extended software helps you create the ultimate images for print, the web, and video. Enjoy all the state-of-the-art editing, compositing, and painting capabilities in industry-standard Photoshop CS5, and experience fast performance thanks to cross-platform 64-bit support. Also create 3D extrusions for logos, artwork, and motion graphics; edit 3D objects with advanced tools; and create and enhance motion-based content.

Create powerful images with the professional standard
3D extrusions Easily explore new creative directions: Create 3D logos and artwork with Adobe Repoussé technology. Twist, rotate, extrude, bevel, and inflate these designs, and then apply rich materials like chrome, glass, and cork.
Advanced 3D editing capabilities Push your creative boundaries with powerful 3D editing tools--even paint directly on 3D objects. Add 3D objects to your designs and create amazing composites. Illuminate your scene with real lighting, and animate your objects.
Motion content editing Paint, add text, and clone over multiple frames of an imported video sequence using your favorite Photoshop tools.
Easy access to core editing power Get just the tools you need--exactly when you need them--when performing common editing activities. Adjustments and Masks panels guide you in making precise edits.
Extraordinary creative tools Achieve realistic painting effects with the ability to mix colors on canvas and create natural brushstrokes. Merge multiple exposures into stunning high dynamic range (HDR) images. Move, remove, warp, or stretch any image element.
State-of-the-art photography Easily merge multiple exposures to extend the dynamic range with more power, precision, and fidelity than ever before. Convert to black-and-white in new ways. And use Dodge, Burn, and Sponge tools that intelligently preserve color and tone details.
Image analysis Use measurement and counting tools to extract quantitative information from images. Record and export data for further analysis. Import DICOM files as frames or as a volume to directly analyze and edit your image data.
Industry-leading raw image processing Enjoy superior results when you convert raw images with the Camera Raw 6 plug-in, which offers support for over 275 camera models plus nondestructive editing so you can experiment without harming your original photo.
Automated compositing tools Easily create a single image from a series of shots that have different focal points, smoothly blending color and shading and extending your depth of field. And take advantage of accurate, automatic layer alignment.
Efficient media management Manage your media visually with Adobe Bridge CS5 software. Enjoy more flexible batch renaming plus the ability to access files in the context of your work using the customizable Adobe Mini Bridge panel.
Powerful printing options Get outstanding prints in less time with automation, scripting, and a print dialog box that's easier to navigate.
Broad file format support Import and export hundreds of file formats, including PSD, AI, PDF, NEF, CRW, TIFF, BMP, Cineon, JPEG, JPEG2000, FXG, OpenEXR, PNG, Targa, DICOM, OBJ, KMZ, Collada, U3D, 3DS (import only), 3G, FLC, MOV, AVI, DV Stream, Image Sequence, MPEG-4, and FLV.
Extensibility Personalize Photoshop and extend its capabilities. Use developer-created custom panels to accomplish specific tasks. Visit the Adobe Photoshop Marketplace for third-party plug-ins and resources. And check out Adobe Community Help for tips and tricks.
Adobe Photoshop Lightroom integration Enjoy tight integration with Adobe Photoshop Lightroom software (sold separately), easily moving files from Lightroom to Photoshop CS5 to create HDR images, panoramas, and multilayered Photoshop documents. Roundtrip your files back to Lightroom.
Top new features of Photoshop CS5 and Photoshop CS5 Extended
Intelligent selection technology Photoshop CS5 takes the time and frustration out of making precise image selections and masks, providing you a faster way to extract subjects from their backgrounds and create realistic composites. New intelligent selection technology offers better edge detection and faster, more accurate masking results of complex subjects, like hair. Automatic color decontamination helps you eliminate background color around the edges of a selection, resulting in more seamless compositions when placing extracted subjects on new backgrounds.
Experienced Photoshop users know that the best selections are created by constantly adapting the selection technique for differences in the subject's edges--one method for hair and another for the edge of a building. With Photoshop CS5, you can produce highly accurate masks and selections faster and more simply than before with a set of new adaptive selection-edge modification controls. Smart Radius automatically matches the best selection approach with the subject's changing edge characteristics, and the extra view modes assist you in previewing the quality of your selections. The Refine Radius and Erase Refinements tools customize your masks and selections as you make them. These tools, in combination with the color decontamination settings, help eliminate any residual background color from around the edges of your selections.
Content‐Aware Fill One of the most exciting new features in Photoshop CS5 is the remarkable ability to remove an image element and magically replace it with details that match the lighting, tone, and noise of the surrounding area so that it looks like the content never existed. Now, you can make substantial changes to photo composition quickly and easily, as even large complex subjects can be seamlessly erased.
You can use Content-Aware Fill with the Spot Healing Brush or as an option of the Fill feature to replace content in an active selection. Selecting the Content-Aware setting with the Spot Healing brush changes the way the tool fills in the areas you paint. This retouching approach is designed to account more fully for the structure and detail of the image elements that surround the painted area, providing a near-invisible result when removing unwanted objects. Alternatively, you can select the object to be removed, and then replace the area with synthesized details from the area surrounding the selection, simply by using the Content-Aware option in the Fill dialog box.
HDR Pro for creativity and precision with the next generation of high dynamic range imaging With just a few clicks, you can go beyond the capture capabilities of your camera by combining multiple exposures into a single high dynamic range (HDR) photo that preserves the full tonal range of a scene with high contrast. Photoshop CS5 introduces HDR Pro for more control over the HDR merging process and greater adjustment power over the mapping of tones and the styling of HDR output, resulting in images that range from photorealistic to highly surreal.
HDR Pro offers extended controls, an enhanced dialog box, and improved image processing. New algorithms enable more accurate alignment of source files and automatically deghost any problem areas that occur when trying to merge source photos where subjects have moved during capture. You can even select a source file to be used as the sole reference for any ghosted areas or allow the feature to do this automatically for you.
New tone-mapping tools and adjustment controls give you the power to implement your own HDR vision, producing photos that range in style from fully textured images of high-contrast scenes to wildly hyper-realistic creations. Save your favorite styles as presets and apply them to multiple groups of source files to provide a common look and feel to your HDR photos. And for times when you don't have multiple source files, create the look of an HDR-processed image from a single photo with the new HDR Toning feature that allows you to mimic the tone-mapping results traditionally achieved in high dynamic range photos.
Together with the existing Photomerge feature (which allows for image stitching), the exposure-merging capabilities of HDR Pro can add up to high-bit-depth, 360-degree panoramas ideal for composite photography, video, and beyond.
The Auto Stack Panorama/HDR files option in Adobe Bridge CS5 and the new panelized Mini Bridge groups source files together into stacks for quicker creation of HDR images in Photoshop CS5. You can even start the creation of an HDR file by choosing Tools > Merge To HDR from the Mini Bridge panel inside Photoshop.
State-of-the-art raw-image processing The Adobe Camera Raw 6 plug-in, which ships with Photoshop CS5, now supports more than 275 camera models as it continues to provide you with the industry-leading conversion of raw files. In addition, the utility provides advanced, nondestructive image editing and enhancement for raw files, as well as for other standard formats, including JPEG and TIFF. Now you can remove noise, achieve better quality sharpening, and creatively apply new styles of vignettes and film-like grain.
You can now shoot at higher ISO settings with confidence, because the updated controls in the Adobe Camera Raw 6 plug-in remove the noise common in such high-ISO images (as well as in photos captured with long exposures and pictures from consumer cameras) while still preserving excellent color and detail.
New controls for adding grain and additional post-crop vignetting settings join many creative options already available in this utility, such as the Adjustment Brush and the Graduated Filter. For the first time, you can add grain-like texture to photos as part of your nondestructive editing workflow. Adjust amount, size, and roughness of grain to easily give composites a more natural, seamless appearance by matching levels of grain across all source images--or simply use the feature to make a digital photo look more organic or film-like.
Updated post-crop vignetting options offer more creative control over the corner darkening and lightening process, and your favorite vignette effects can be saved as presets for quick application across multiple files.
Upgraded sharpening options produce clearer photos with fewer artifacts while providing better control over key details, especially when working with high-resolution pictures produced by multi-megapixel cameras.
Extraordinary painting effects With a new Mixer Brush, a Bristle Tips feature, and a new mechanism for blending colors, Photoshop CS5 redefines the way you paint. You can take advantage of more natural and realistic painting effects, making it easy to take your imagery and designs in new artistic directions.
The Mixer Brush lets you define multiple colors on a single tip, and then mix and blend them with the underlying hues on your canvas, achieving creative results that rival traditional painting media. When starting with a photo original, you can use a dry, empty brush to blend the existing colors while at the same time adding a painterly effect to the image. Mixer Brush settings provide extensive control over the wetness of the canvas colors, the load rate that determines amount of paint loaded on the brush, the mixing rate between brush and canvas colors, and whether the brush is refilled, cleaned, or both after each painting stroke.
In conjunction with these new mixing features, Photoshop CS5 incorporates unprecedented control over stroke characteristics of its painting tools with Bristle Tips. Bristle Qualities define key bristle properties such as shape, length, stiffness, thickness, angle, and spacing, which affect how the color is laid on the image as you paint.
The Bristle Brush Preview feature provides a visual representation of these changes, and you can save your tip configurations for future use, allowing you to build a customized collection of Bristle Tips to experiment with when using Photoshop brush tools.
Puppet Warp Puppet Warp gives you more freedom when pushing and pulling elements within an image. The feature lets you recompose an image to make it more appealing, or to fit a specific layout, by allowing the precise repositioning of any element within a Photoshop document, or selection, by simply clicking and dragging. After you reposition an object, Photoshop adjusts the rest of the image to account for the shifted pixels.
After choosing Edit > Puppet Warp, click on your image to drop pins establishing anchor points where you want image parts not to move, and handles that you can use for warping. Then drag any of the pins to reposition the picture elements. Use Puppet Warp to swing a raised arm to a person's side, warp and stretch text to create new effects, or reposition intrusive objects in a photo to create a more pleasing composition.
Automated lens correction The Lens Correction features in Photoshop CS5 create better quality captures by removing or correcting the three most common lens-based errors: geometric distortion, chromatic aberration, and vignetting. This means you can use a wider range of lenses with the confidence of producing images of the highest quality. With the aid of the Adobe Lens Profile Creator (available separately as a free download from labs.adobe.com) you can produce custom profiles characterizing the optical aberrations of your camera lenses. When installed and selected in the Lens Correction filter in Photoshop CS5, the profile automatically removes or corrects the three types of distortion.
The Lens Correction filter in Photoshop CS5 is redesigned to include manual adjustment controls under the Custom tab, and settings for locating and applying custom Lens Correction Profiles (LCP files) under a new Auto Correction tab. Installed profiles that match your camera and lens combination are used to apply precise distortion corrections to your photos. Suitable profiles can be located easily based on the EXIF data automatically recorded with the image, and if a suitable profile is not present in the Lens Correction filter, then with a single click within the dialog box, you can search online for the correct profile to meet your needs.
Individual error types can be selected in the filter's settings, as can options for handling any transparent areas that surround the corrected image.
Easy 3D extrusions with Adobe Repoussé (Photoshop CS5 Extended only) Repoussé is an ancient metalworking technique for embossing artwork on the surface of metals such as gold, silver, copper, tin, and bronze. Photoshop Extended offers a powerful new feature, inspired by this traditional technique, for creating eye-catching 3D artwork.
Use Adobe Repoussé to easily convert 2D artwork into 3D objects and then create depth by altering the extrusion properties of the 3D model. Easily extrude text to create logos and 3D artwork for use in websites, video frames, or layouts.
Starting with a text layer, a path, a selection, or a layer mask, you can convert the content to 3D with the Create New 3D Object section of the 3D panel. After the conversion is complete, you can alter the look of your 3D model by manipulating its key extrusion properties--depth, scale, bend, shear, inflate, or twist--in the Repoussé dialog box.
In addition to manipulating these properties, you can inflate the front or back of the extrusion and/or apply a custom bevel. Sections of objects (internal subpaths) can also be inflated by creating a selection first and then adjusting the Internal Constraints settings in the Repoussé dialog box. The 3D Axis widget allows on canvas rotation of the of the model
Enhanced 3D realism and rich materials (Photoshop CS5 Extended only) Bring your 3D creations to life with the materials that ship with Photoshop CS5 Extended. You can select materials from the library of included presets, download additional materials by choosing 3D > Browse 3D Content, create your own, or even edit existing materials to customize them for your needs (in the materials section of the 3D panel). Test a variety of looks for your 3D models and extruded designs by adding different materials or textures to their surfaces. Materials that feature reflection or refraction properties can be rendered with the new Adobe Ray Tracer engine. The Repoussé dialog box, and the Materials section of the 3D panel, both contain options for applying a single material to all surfaces—as well as choosing different treatments--for individual sections and surfaces of your models
Use the 3D Material Drop tool and the Material Load tool to easily load a material and drop it into different meshes, allowing you to sample and apply materials interactively. New overlay controls provide instant feedback about where specific materials and meshes are located in your model, and the updated 3D axis widget now works with lights and cameras as well as 3D objects.
With the Shadow Catcher feature, you can now easily generate a shadow on the ground plane of a scene, and then adjust how the shadow interacts with image content of other layers by altering its opacity and its softness. To further enhance realism, you can use an HDR image to light your scene, or re-create traditional depth-of-field effects in your rendered scene by adjusting the zone of sharpness with the new Distance and Blur controls.
Better 3D performance and workflow (Photoshop CS5 Extended only) Take advantage of better performance and immediate rendering feedback thanks to the improved Adobe Ray Tracer (ART) engine in Photoshop CS5 Extended. ART 2.0 brings substantial improvements in performance when you interact with and edit 3D models. ART 2.0 progressively renders 3D scenes with an option to re-render after a pause, or even perform selective renderings, all while providing more immediate feedback and dramatically reducing the time it takes to preview key areas in high quality.
You also get faster previews and more responsive interaction thanks to changes made in the OpenGL engine, which now fast-tracks the delivery of complex 3D geometry to the video card. Overall workflow performance has been optimized with improved import, interaction speeds, and better merging of 3D objects into a single scene. To aid with fine-tuning and adjustment of these performance features, there is a new 3D section in Preferences.
User-inspired productivity enhancements Photoshop CS5 helps boost productivity and creativity throughout the editing workflow with dozens of enhancements inspired by Photoshop users. Some of these include:
A neutral-density preset for the Gradient tool
The ability to save 16-bit Photoshop documents in 8-bit JPEG format in a single step
An option for reversing the clone source using the flip buttons in the Clone Source panel
A Don't Show This Message Again option when saving files with maximum compatibility
Default value for Shadows/Highlights changed from 50% to 35%
The ability to move a selection while the active layer is hidden
An on/off option for trackpad gesture support on Mac and in Microsoft Windows 7
A new layer command for deleting all empty layers via scripts
A Straighten button on the Ruler tool options bar
A Close All Open Images Without Saving option
A Save As option for always defaulting to the folder to which you last saved an image
The ability to drag and drop a file onto an open Photoshop document to create a new layer
Multiple improvements in Lens Correction filter options, including:
Grid Display is off by default
Show Grid, Grid Size, and Grid Color settings are now sticky
Default grid size is increased from 16 to 64 pixels
Decimal point adjustments are allowed as values for the Chromatic Aberration sliders
A third Chromatic Aberration slider enables the correction of green/magenta fringing
The Background Color Edge setting is replaced with the Black Color entry
A White Color option is available in the Edge menu
Reset options are changed so that only the calibration settings are reset, not the Grid options

A new Cache Tile Size control in the Performance section of the Preferences dialog box
Zoom in and out with the new scrubby zoom tool
Presets for setting Cache Tile Size and Cache Levels simultaneously
The ability to use keystrokes to set values in the Adjustments panel text fields
Performance increases of up to 50% when importing OBJ files
Sample colors faster using the new on screen color ring built into the eyedropper tool
Customizable default values for Layer styles
New creative resources, including actions, tools, presets, brushes, swatches, shapes, gradients, styles, and tool presets
Window and Door shapes added to list of meshes that can be created from a layer
An option for changing the opacity of multiple selected layers
The ability to create a mask from the transparent areas of a layer
Pick colors faster using the new on-screen color HUD
Print settings saved with the image file, allowing one-button printing with user-selected values
Selecting a printer automatically lists the profiles installed for that printer at the top of the profile list
Printer-specific profiles are selected automatically when choosing a printer
Customized print settings can be recorded as part of a Photoshop Action
An overlay grid can be displayed when using the Crop tool
Layer groups can be nested more than five levels deep
New Paste Outside and Paste Inside commands, along with the previously existing Paste In Place option, are included in a new Edit > Paste Special menu

Streamlined creative reviews through integration with Adobe CS ReviewCollaborate with colleagues and seek client comment quickly and easily with Adobe CS Review, a new CS Live online service* designed to simplify and accelerate the design review process.
With CS Review, you can avoid the hassles of large email attachments, logon problems with FTP servers, and time-consuming next-day air deliveries usually associated with client reviews by instead initiating a secure, shared review. Comments are displayed in near-real time and in context, providing convenient feedback on your images and designs. You can access the CS Review service from within Photoshop CS5.
Faster performance with cross-platform native 64-bit support Tight deadlines and large file sizes make performance a high priority for many Photoshop users. Photoshop CS5 and Photoshop CS5 Extended deliver cross-platform 64-bit support, allowing you to perform day-to-day imaging tasks up to 10 times faster. Video and photo professionals, especially, benefit from the extra performance, as gains are even greater if you regularly work with very large files, where processing can be up to ten times faster when you take advantage of higher addressable RAM amounts--limited only by what your hardware accommodates.
To help you tweak the performance of your setup, Photoshop CS5 lets you adjust history, tile, and cache controls in combination.
Greater access to key resources via flexible custom panels Photoshop CS5 offers easy ways to integrate and extend your workspace with customized panels. With the aid of the Configurator 2.0 panel utility (available separately as a download from labs.adobe.com) you can produce your own panels, bringing together your most used tools and menu selections and incorporating your favorite web feeds or video tutorials.
Stay connected to the greater Photoshop community and all facets of your digital life directly from within Photoshop CS5 by using panels you create or those produced and distributed by other users. You can access anything that lives on the web--favorite blogs, video content, even your email--with these integrated panels. You can even expand content beyond a panel's standard viewing area when you need a magnified view.
Easier interface management with Live Workspaces and Workspace Switcher Creating dedicated, task-specific workspaces that mimic your individual workflow increases productivity and efficiency by hiding the features you don't use and exposing the ones you do. New Live Workspaces auto-save any changes you make to a task-specific workspace, so that if you switch to a different workspace and then back again during an editing session, your panels remain exactly where you left them. The number of entries displayed in the collapsible Workspace Switcher can be altered, and the position of each workspace can be rearranged. This provides quicker navigation between frequently used setups.
Superior black-and-white conversion Photoshop CS5 continues to support the tradition of producing finely crafted monochrome photos with the inclusion of new ways to explore an endless variety of black-and-white looks. You can use the integrated Lab Black & White Technique action, located in the Default Actions group of the Actions panel, for an easy and interactive way to convert color images. Create gorgeous HDR black-and-whites with greater ease and speed by taking advantage of the new and updated features in HDR Pro. Take your monochrome creations in new directions with conversion presets in the Black & White panel.

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3/31/2012

Professional SharePoint 2010 Branding and User Interface Design (Wrox Programmer to Programmer) Review

Professional SharePoint 2010 Branding and User Interface Design (Wrox Programmer to Programmer)
Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)
What's in this book my manager, users, and I have been waiting for. This is a great start in branding and User design work for SharePoint 2010. I've been really busy setting up our corporate farm and working with some of our developers on cool new solutions. Now I can deliver them with a solid brand and a fresh look and feel that is unique and professional. This book will set you on a course with fresh ideas and confidence.
I've spent the last few days with this book and being new to SharePoint and specifically new to SharePoint 2010 I really appreciate the depth the authors have used in their topics. Everyone will get something from this book. From the new SharePointer to the old salt, there is something here for everyone.
I truly appreciated the sections on customizing the ribbon, wireframes, and the entire section on SharePoint Designer 2010. I also now have a new perspective on waffles!! If nothing else this book will keep you wanting a delicious breakfast treat!!
Black Friday is upon us, what a perfect gift for that SharePoint geek in your life!

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A must have guide for creating engaging and usable SharePoint 2010 branding
With SharePoint 2010, Microsoft has provided a more robust environment for creating collaboration and content management sites that rival any of the popular websites on the internet. Creating a branded SharePoint site involves understanding both traditional web design techniques as well as topics that are typically reserved for developers. This book bridges that gap by not only providing expert guidance for creating beautiful public facing and internal intranet sites but it also addresses the needs of those readers that only want to understand the basics enough to apply some style to their sites.
Things like creative design, the experience visitors have navigating your user interface, ease of use?these are all important branding considerations and not always intuitive. This unique book from a team of SharePoint branding experts lays it all out. The book is divided into four sections:
Introduction to SharePoint Branding: In this part you will learn about what SharePoint branding is and how the topic has changed since SharePoint 2007.
Branding Basics: This section is geared towards both getting started as well as being a guide for people that don?t want to dive super deep into the advanced topics of SharePoint branding. You will learn about how to plan for branding projects, including creating wireframes and creative mockups as well as gathering requirements and estimation. You will learn how to work with SharePoint Designer 2010, SharePoint 2010 themes, and SharePoint navigation as well as gain an understanding of the low and medium effort approaches to branding can be used to make SharePoint look more like your own visual style.
Advanced Branding: This is where you will learn about the more intricate techniques for making large changes to the SharePoint UI, such as cascading style sheets (CSS), master pages, page layouts, web parts and XSLT. You will also get an introduction to deploying SharePoint branding to production servers using solution packages (WSP).
Other Topics: Everything else that is related to SharePoint branding is discussed here, including working with the SharePoint 2010 ribbon and client side technologies such as the client object model, jQuery, and Silverlight.

Whether you want to make SharePoint look completely different or just make minor design changes, this expert guide will provide tips, techniques, and insights to get the job done.

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1/26/2012

Designing Web Usability Review

Designing Web Usability
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I agree with other reviewers, Jakob does present his ideas as Rules You Must Follow, rather than observations or suggestions. On a few things, he offers no data to back up his assertion, and on a couple things I know he's factually incorrect. I also agree that there are a lot of typos in this book, but only if you're observant.
However, what he does present is just great. I like the writing style. I like the example images. For example, when he says to design for "any" screen size, and then shows you 3 screenshots of Web sites that lock themselves into a certain size, that certainly illuminates how stupid some designers can be.
One other point. Jakob is writing for usability, about how people get information. He pays no attention to marketing issues, such as branding, creating product interest, giving the customer a memorable experience, entertainment, etc. It is fine that he concentrates on other areas, but know before you buy the book that you will have to make up you own mind in those areas (at least). For instance, site reports from the Web site I work on show that any time I throw a DHTML "whiz-bang" widget onto the site, the area it is promoting gets a doubling to a quadrupling of traffic. That flies in the face of his "don't use whiz-bang features" philosophy. But I've learned that his data and my data don't always agree. So take Jakob with a grain of salt.

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10/05/2011

Web Application Architecture: Principles, Protocols and Practices Review

Web Application Architecture: Principles, Protocols and Practices
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This book is an ideal text for providing intermediate-level web developers with a solid grounding in architectural principles and more advanced techniques. Before going into why I like this book I do want to offer one caveat - the authors' approach is towards the Model-View-Controller paradigm, and is based on Java Standard Tag Library, Jarkata struts and Apache. These are solid elements, but if you are working in a different environment you will not appreciate this book as much.
The historical material in this book is not fluff if you approach it with the intent to gain a fuller understanding of the major components of the Internet and web. This material is rich with details about why the core web technologies developed and evolved, including design choices the pioneers made in the face of constraints. In a subtle way this part of the book is a primer on design and architecture.
What makes this book so valuable is the non-trivial application that brings this book alive. This is a refreshing change from other books that use thinly contrived snippets of code or trivial applications. The code for this application can be downloaded from the book's supporting web site, which also contains errata (thus far there are only two entries), and articles that are valuable resources with or without this book.
Overall this is one of the better books on web application design and development, and one that dives into code and technical details.

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An in-depth examination of the core concepts and general principles of Web application development.This book uses examples from specific technologies (e.g., servlet API or XSL), without promoting or endorsing particular platforms or APIs. Such knowledge is critical when designing and debugging complex systems. This conceptual understanding makes it easier to learn new APIs that arise in the rapidly changing Internet environment.* Includes discussions of markup languages: HTML, the eXtensible Markup Language (XML), XHTML, eXtensible Stylesheet Language (XSL), and Cascading Style Sheets (CSS)* Contains exercises geared to constructing an advanced XML application that makes use of XML and XSL parsers* Explores emerging technologies: Java 2 Enterprise Edition (J2EE), industry-specific XML standards, Resource Description Framework (RDF), and XML query languages

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Web Application Architecture: Principles, Protocols and Practices Review

Web Application Architecture: Principles, Protocols and Practices
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Have to disagree with prior reviewer's complaint that the book doesn't cover Java EE 5. It's not supposed to, it's not a Java book, it's a book on the principles and protocols of web application development. Authors say upfront they don't focus on a specific API, toolkit, or framework. They cover HTTP, XML and HTML through HTML5, core protocols and languages of the web. In discussing server-side web application frameworks and client-side techniques using Javascript and Ajax, they have an agnostic attitude that doesn't endorse one approach. Instead they survey the many available options contrasting their benefits and shortcomings. The end result is that you learn what all approaches have in common, reliance on underlying standard protcols. The new material improves on what was already a great text book. Coverage of new frameworks since the last edition has been added. Two new chapters on search engines and on Javascript/Ajax are excellent. The administrative interface sample application is the most objective tutorial on Rails I've read. There's also expanded coverage of semantic web and web services, both SOAP and REST.

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In-depth examination of concepts and principles of Web application development
Completely revised and updated, this popular book returns with coverage on a range of new technologies. Authored by a highly respected duo, this edition provides an in-depth examination of the core concepts and general principles of Web application development. Packed with examples featuring specific technologies, this book is divided into three sections: HTTP protocol as a foundation for Web applications, markup languages (HTML, XML, and CSS), and survey of emerging technologies. After a detailed introduction to the history of Web applications, coverage segues to core Internet protocols, Web browsers, Web application development, trends and directions, and more.
Includes new coverage on technologies such as application primers, Ruby on Rails, SOAP, XPath, P3P, and more
Explores the fundamentals of HTTP and its evolution
Looks at HTML and its roots as well as XML languages and applications
Reviews the basic operation of Web Servers, their functionality, configuration, and security
Discusses how to process flow in Web browsers and looks at active browser pages
Addresses the trends and various directions that the future of Web application frameworks may be headed

This book is essential reading for anyone who needs to design or debug complex systems, and it makes it easier to learn the new application programming interfaces that arise in a rapidly changing Internet environment.


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9/15/2011

Collaborative Web Development: Strategies and Best Practices for Web Teams Review

Collaborative Web Development: Strategies and Best Practices for Web Teams
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Give Jessica Burdman credit for concept and the wealth of practical tools, techniques and insights. This is an excellent book, especially for those who are trying to transfer their knowledge/skills from another field.
I'm in the process of working with writers and project managers who are coming from the more traditional publishing world. They are hungry for prescriptive formulas, guidelines, templates and checklists. This book (and CD) has them. They also want streamlined overview information about the technical side (the stuff they are really scared about), and this book has that too. I have seen nothing else like this book and for the moment the material is still fresh and relevant.
Ms. Burdman has lots of real life experience and her writing shows it. The anecdotal information and the interviews that are included further support the practical impact. Where the book begins to fall apart is that the interviews are not representative enough of the rest of the world. Many of the cited people fall into a small circle that she is acquainted with. IMHO, this dilutes the material's impact.
Also, given that this book is about a world that moves really quickly, Burdman's publisher made a big mistake in handling the resource information in the appendix. The software products cited are already out of date, and with each day this type of information becomes more and more irrelvant. It would have been better to point readers to an on-line resource center that is kept up-to-date.
If you are hardcore and have been doing work like this for years, this book is not for you. If you are looking for an organized and practical framework to use if you've been shooting from the hip, the book does the trick. Absolutely essential reading for the novice web project manager!

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In Collaborative Web Development, author Jessica Burdman shares the successful secrets of managing a web project, including collaboration, communication, and budgeting. The book provides many case studies of both successful and unsuccessful Web sites, and will help web-project managers pick and manage their web teams so they can sell their projects and needs to executive managers. The ultimate goal of this book is to make a "level playing ground," offering a similar vocabulary for developers, marketing people, and IT managers, so everyone is "bought in" to the Web project.

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