AN EASIER-TO-UNDERSTAND PHOTOSHOP FOR AMATEURS
Adobe recently announced a new version of its popular Photoshop Elements 8 picture-editing software. As you might expect, Photoshop Elements uses the same algorithms as Adobe’s professional-level Photoshop software, but the features are much more accessible to users. Think of it as Photoshop for very smart dummies.
The Organizer in Elements can now check for problems like blurry focus or poorly lighted photos. The Smart Tags tool can flag and suggest fixes to these images.
Adobe has also improved its face-recognition technology to make it a bit faster to verify the correct association of names with faces.
Adobe has enhanced its Quick Fix feature by making it easier to understand photo-editing terms. The company says many users have not taken advantage of certain adjustments, like temperature, because they simply didn’t understand the language. To help, the Quick Fix tool displays changes to the main image as you edit, a useful addition for more casual users.
The Windows versions of Photoshop Elements 8 is available now for US$100. The Mac version will be available in October for the same price.
—NY TIMES NEWS SERVICE
3D PHOTOS FROM A POINT-AND-SHOOT, NO GLASSES NEEDED
We are entering the third dimension. And we’re doing so without the cheesy glasses.
Fujifilm just took the wraps off its long-awaited 3D camera and photo frame, which can also capture and display regular 2D images. The technology seems likely to appeal primarily to a small group of stereoscopic photo enthusiasts.
The US$600 FinePix Real 3D camera employs dual lenses and CCD sensors to capture and process two 10-megapixel images and overlay them to create the 3D effect. It’s a solid chunk of camera, housed in a sturdy aluminum die-cast frame, but it’s also much bulkier than your average point-and-shoot. The US$500 FinePix Real 3D V1 viewer is an 8-inch photo frame with an SD card slot for loading images and video. (It also has 512 megabytes of built-in memory). You have to find the sweet spot to match the images properly, and when you don’t, you’ll see plenty of ghosting. Next month, users of the 3D camera can order 3D “lenticular prints” online from Fujifilm. The photos take two weeks to process, at a special lab in Tokyo.
—NY TIMES NEWS SERVICE
HIGH-END PRODUCTS FOR PUTTING DIGITAL MUSIC IN THE AIR
The Bowers & Wilkins Mini Zeppelin and the Bose SoundDock 10 are fairly expensive systems for playing music from an iPod, iPhone or computer (US$400 for the Mini Zeppelin, coming next month; US$600 for the Bose, available now). Both companies say the technology inside makes it worth it. The Mini Zeppelin streams digital data directly from a music device using what the British company says is an audiophile-grade digital-to-analog (DAC) converter, bypassing the DACs in the music players.
The Bose SoundDock 10 has a few tricks of its own, including a pair of proprietary Twiddler transducers (a combination of a high-frequency transducer and midrange driver; in other words, a speaker).
There’s an auxiliary input and video output (to use the iPod to send content to a TV) but no USB connector. Bose says it will offer an optional US$150 Bluetooth dock to stream music from a phone. — ny times news service
A COCOON OF WARMTH FOR YOU, POWER FOR YOUR TOYS
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