Download Squad http://www.downloadsquad.com Download Squad http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/%SiteURL%/media/feedlogo.gif Download Squad http://www.downloadsquad.com en-us Copyright 2009 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/<![CDATA[Acrobat.com gets revamped and gets a mobile app]]>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/20/acrobat-com-gets-revamped-and-gets-a-mobile-app/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/20/acrobat-com-gets-revamped-and-gets-a-mobile-app/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/20/acrobat-com-gets-revamped-and-gets-a-mobile-app/#commentsFiled under: , , , , ,

Adobe's Acrobat.com service is getting a big update tonight, followed closely by a new mobile app for iPhone and BlackBerry. The name "Acrobat" goes hand-in-hand with the PDF file format, and Acrobat.com allows you to convert documents to PDF and save, store and view PDF files. It also features some other applications, including the Adobe BuzzWord word processor, a web meeting service called ConnectNow, and storage space for docs, spreadsheets and images.

The new features include searching by filename (I'm still wrapping my head around how they didn't have this before), but not searching within documents. That feature is reportedly coming soon. Your files are also now displayed in a file organizer that lists everything you have stored on Adobe's webspace - I think this includes saved stuff from other web apps, including presentations.

The mobile app is reportedly going to be a pretty basic mobile front-end for Acrobat.com, with the ability to upload documents and send faxes (what's a "fax?") from your phone. It will come in both free and paid flavors, and the free version will allow a limited number of uploads and faxes per month.

[via CNET]

Acrobat.com gets revamped and gets a mobile app originally appeared on Download Squad on Fri, 20 Nov 2009 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>acrobatacrobat.comadobedocumentspdfFri, 20 Nov 2009 14:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Adobe release Flash Player 10.1 with GPU acceleration for HD video]]>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/17/adobe-release-flash-player-10-1-with-gpu-acceleration-for-hd-vid/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/17/adobe-release-flash-player-10-1-with-gpu-acceleration-for-hd-vid/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/17/adobe-release-flash-player-10-1-with-gpu-acceleration-for-hd-vid/#commentsFiled under: , ,

This morning Adobe is launching a beta version of Flash Player 10.1 with support for hardware decoding of H.264 Flash video. In other words, if you have a supported graphics card (PDF link), you should be able to watch high definition and high quality Flash video without killing your CPU.

This comes as particularly good news for people who have picked up small laptops and nettops based on the NVIDIA ION platform. While the graphics processor is powerful enough to decode Blu-Ray video and play many modern video games, the ION chipset uses a low power Intel Atom processor that seems to think that 1080p Flash video would look better as a slideshow than a video.

With Flash Player 10.1 beta installed, even these ION-based machines can handle 1080p Flash video from sites like YouTube, which is good because YouTube is getting ready to roll out a whole heck of a lot more 1080P video.

You can download Flash Player 10.1 beta from Adobe Labs.

NVIDIA loaned me an ASRock ION 330 nettop with NVIDIA ION graphics to test the new Flash Player, and it performed as advertised, easily handling 720p and 1080p HD video playback from Hulu and YouTube. The video at the top of this post shows the ASRock nettop playing video smoothly after installing the latest version of the software. To see what video playback looked like with the older version of Flash Player 10, check out the video after the break.

Continue reading Adobe release Flash Player 10.1 with GPU acceleration for HD video

Adobe release Flash Player 10.1 with GPU acceleration for HD video originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 17 Nov 2009 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>1080p720padobeadobe flashadobe flash player 10adobe flash player 10.1AdobeFlashAdobeFlashPlayer10AdobeFlashPlayer10.1hd videoHdVideonvidia ionNvidiaIonTue, 17 Nov 2009 08:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Adobe Air 2 goes beta, adds tons of new features, sucks a whole lot less]]>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/17/adobe-air-2-goes-beta-adds-new-features-sucks-a-whole-lot-less/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/17/adobe-air-2-goes-beta-adds-new-features-sucks-a-whole-lot-less/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/17/adobe-air-2-goes-beta-adds-new-features-sucks-a-whole-lot-less/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,

We've had a love-hate relationship with Adobe Air since it arrived on our desktops. Ram-hungry apps had us seeing red. Still, a few killer apps helped drive adoption - apps like TweetDeck, Times Reader 2.0, and DeskTube. As Air continued to develop, it got leaner and meaner and now version 2 has arrived in beta. Adobe Air 2 is now here, and it's ready to get down to business.

Air 2 features a number of tweaks, updates, and feature additions. For starters, the Air 2 ships with Flash 10.1 beta - which adds GPU acceleration support and so far seems to kick my CPU's ass less often. Air 2 also boasts tighter integration with operating systems and can now access certain mass storage devices like USB flash drives, digital cameras, and flash memory cards. Air 2 can also tap into your computer's microphone.

Webkit has been updated, as has the SquirrelFish Extreme Javascript engine. Those two changes combine for a reported 50% gain on SunSpider benchmarks. There's also added multi-touch and gesture support and better printing and networking (including the ability to listen for incoming socket connections). Got a gigantic display? Air 2 supports a maximum window size of 4095x4095 - a 42% increase, though likely not one you'll benefit from at home.

Processor usage and memory consumption have been addressed, with many Air apps reporting about half the CPU utilization of Air 1. TweetDeck on my system is using about 20Mb less RAM. More efficient use of my hardware? Now that you can enjoy at home.

For more details about Adobe Air 2 check out the embedded clip of Kevin Lynch's presentation from MAX or head over to Adobe Labs, where you can also download the new version. Downloads are available for Windows, Mac, and Linux.

So far, the Air 2 beta feels like a major step in the right direction for Adobe. As more developers begin taking advantage of the possibilities now available and optimizing their apps for the new version, you may just see some pretty cool things happening on Air 2.

[via Adobe.com]

Adobe Air 2 goes beta, adds tons of new features, sucks a whole lot less originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 17 Nov 2009 03:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>adobe airAdobeAirTue, 17 Nov 2009 03:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Photoshop.com Mobile now available for Android devices]]>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/08/photoshop-com-mobile-now-available-for-android-devices/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/08/photoshop-com-mobile-now-available-for-android-devices/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/08/photoshop-com-mobile-now-available-for-android-devices/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

With the release of the Droid and Android OS 2.0, Google has set up a head-on gadget war with Apple's iPhone. Even if they've got a comparably-cool piece of hardware and a nice OS, Android will have to compete with (arguably) the iPhone's biggest selling point: apps. If Photoshop.com Mobile for Android is any indication, Android will do just fine. The Android version of Photoshop.com offers everything the iPhone version does.

That means you can crop, zoom and flip your photos, as well as adding filters and color adjustments. Black and white, sepia and soft focus are just a touch away. The app also plugs into Photoshop.com, so you can browse your photo library and upload new shots. The only difference between the Android and iPhone versions, as John Gruber pointed out over at Daring Fireball, is that the Android version includes a straighten tool for devices without multitouch.

[via AppScout]

Photoshop.com Mobile now available for Android devices originally appeared on Download Squad on Sun, 08 Nov 2009 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>androidphotoshopphotoshop.comSun, 08 Nov 2009 16:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Adobe AIR 2.0 will hog less memory and add multitouch support]]>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/10/30/adobe-air-2-0-hogs-less-memory-and-adds-multitouch-support/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/10/30/adobe-air-2-0-hogs-less-memory-and-adds-multitouch-support/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/10/30/adobe-air-2-0-hogs-less-memory-and-adds-multitouch-support/#commentsFiled under: ,

If you use Adobe AIR apps on a regular basis, you have a lot to look forward to in AIR 2.0. The next version of Adobe's cross-platform app framework adds a bunch of little tweaks and a few major ones, including support for multitouch and gestures. Maybe even more importantly, AIR apps now won't suck up your CPU cycles and memory at such an absurd rate. A full list of upcoming features was just posted by AIR developer Chris Cantrell.

I've run into a lot of people who choose not use AIR apps because of their memory-hogging tendencies, and the improved performance in AIR 2 - depending on how improved it is - might go a long way toward getting more people to adopt the framework. Meanwhile, folks whose machines support multitouch and gestures will start to see new apps that take advantage of zooming, rotating and more. Other less-flashy features include audio recording and opening files in their default applications.

My favorite assessment of AIR comes from Tweetie developer Loren Brichter: "AIR apps are like modern day Java applets ... sure, they run on every platform. But they also suck on every platform." Hopefully, AIR 2.0 will prove him wrong. A beta is coming later this year, with a full release in early 2010.

[via ReadWriteWeb]

Adobe AIR 2.0 will hog less memory and add multitouch support originally appeared on Download Squad on Fri, 30 Oct 2009 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>adobe airAdobeAirair 2.0Air2.0Fri, 30 Oct 2009 18:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Get Adobe Lightroom 3 for free! (kinda)]]>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/10/27/get-adobe-lightroom-3-for-free-kinda/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/10/27/get-adobe-lightroom-3-for-free-kinda/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/10/27/get-adobe-lightroom-3-for-free-kinda/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,

Adobe Lightroom 3 Beta -- photo credit: Adobe Systems
Until April 30th 2010 -- six whole months! -- Adobe Lightroom 3 is available for public beta testing.

In the last week there's been a lot of news regarding Lightroom 3's advanced feature, and now here's your chance to actually give it a whirl!

Lightroom is great for every kind of photographer -- casual, avid snapper or professional. It's not a full-featured editing suite like Photoshop, but it does have most functionality that photographers (note: not 'digital artists') might require -- but if you're the kind of artist or photographer that likes to airbrush his works into submission, Lightroom isn't for you. It is a 'digital darkroom and presentation' tool -- so from downloading photos, to sorting through them and producing pretty presentations/contact sheets, Lightroom's the program to use.

For those of you that have used it before, and are wondering why it might be a good time to upgrade (or at least try the beta), here are the new or enhanced features that Adobe are touting:
  • Brand new performance architecture, building for the future of growing image libraries
  • State-of-the-art noise reduction to help you perfect your high ISO shots
  • Watermarking tool that helps you customize and protect your images with ease
  • Portable sharable slideshows with audio-designed to give you more flexibility and impact on how you choose to share your images, you can now save and export your slideshows as videos and include audio
  • Flexible customizable print package creation so your print package layouts are all your own
  • Film grain simulation tool for enhancing your images to look as gritty as you want
  • New import handling designed to make importing streamlined and easy
  • More flexible online publishing options so you can post your images online to certain online photo sharing sites directly from inside Lightroom 3 beta (may require third-party plug-ins)*
And if those bullets got your juices flowing, here's the download link again: Adobe Lightroom 3 Public Beta

Get Adobe Lightroom 3 for free! (kinda) originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 27 Oct 2009 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>adobebetadigital cameraDigitalCamerafreelightroomphotographytestingTue, 27 Oct 2009 12:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Share your screen easily, and for free, with Adobe Creative Suite 4]]>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/10/26/share-your-screen-easily-and-for-free-with-adobe-creative-suit/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/10/26/share-your-screen-easily-and-for-free-with-adobe-creative-suit/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/10/26/share-your-screen-easily-and-for-free-with-adobe-creative-suit/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

I noticed this function a while ago when I upgraded to Photoshop CS4 -- I never dared use it, but I did notice it!

Now there's a handy little video from Adobe that shows you exactly how to enable the free screen sharing available to you in their latest suite of tools.

You're probably thinking: Neat! But what can I actually do with it? The first thing that comes to my mind is for businesses that are using an external graphic designer -- want to see their current progress on some work? Want to make sure they're sticking to the draft? Use the screen sharing!

You could also use it for collaboration -- there is chat and video conferencing functionality included. You could suggest changes and watch them occur in real time. I can just see it now... 'No, no, move it a bit to the left. That's it! Up a bit! How about if you make it luminous pink? And the font slightly more interesting... how about Comic Sans?'

Share your screen easily, and for free, with Adobe Creative Suite 4 originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 26 Oct 2009 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>adobe photoshopAdobePhotoshopcollaborationcreative suite 4CreativeSuite4cs4productivityscreensharingMon, 26 Oct 2009 16:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Adobe working on content-aware fill tool for Photoshop]]>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/10/26/adobe-working-on-content-aware-fill-tool-for-photoshop/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/10/26/adobe-working-on-content-aware-fill-tool-for-photoshop/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/10/26/adobe-working-on-content-aware-fill-tool-for-photoshop/#commentsFiled under: ,

John Nack at Adobe recently posted a demo video of a hot new project in the works from Adobe Labs: content-aware fill in Photoshop. Where the current spot-healing tool in Photoshop (up to CS4) replaces the selected area using information from one other part of the image, the new content-aware version uses a technology called PatchMatch to fill in the hole using info from multiple surrounding points. The upshot is that you get a much more convincing automatic heal.

In the demo video, you can see how content-aware spot healing makes things like removing wires from a photo a whole lot easier, but there's also a new version of the fill tool for larger areas. You can use it to scrub out entire trees and big chunks of scenery, and the result seem pretty plausible.

When is this magical new feature coming to Photoshop? Maybe not ever, according to Nack's disclaimer, but it looks far enough along that I wouldn't be totally surprised to see it in the next major version.

Adobe working on content-aware fill tool for Photoshop originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 26 Oct 2009 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>content-awarefillpatchmatchphotoshopspot healingSpotHealingMon, 26 Oct 2009 15:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Adobe Browserlab open for business]]>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/10/21/adobe-browserlab-open-for-business/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/10/21/adobe-browserlab-open-for-business/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/10/21/adobe-browserlab-open-for-business/#commentsFiled under: , , , , ,

Adobe Browserlab
Several months ago Jay pointed to Browserlab, a very useful new service for Web developers from Adobe. Browserlab allows you to view a Web page in multiple versions of most of the latest browsers. Since cross browser testing is perhaps the most painful part of Web development, any service that aids in this task is very welcome. The service is now accepting new users, and is very cool.

The flash-based tool will render a page in recent versions of the most used browsers, and will let you view an image of the rendered page one at a time, side by side (2-up view) or my personal favorite, onion skin view, which stacks two images from two different browsers on top of each other and gives you a slider to adjust translucency back and forth so you can see just how horribly Internet Explorer renders your page elements relative to every other modern browser.

The service is currently free and I expect that I will be using it quite heavily.

At the time of writing, the supported browsers are:
  • Firefox 2.0 - Windows XP - version 2.0.0.18
  • Firefox 3.0 - Windows XP - version 3.0.4
  • Internet Explorer 6.0 - Windows XP - version 6.0.3790.3959
  • Internet Explorer 7.0 - Windows XP - version 7.0.5730
  • Internet Explorer 8.0 - Windows XP - version 8.0.6001.18702
  • Safari 3.0 - OS X - version 3.2.3
  • Safari 4.0 - OS X - version 4.0.3
  • Firefox 2.0 - OS X - version 2.0.0.18
  • Firefox 3.0 - OS X - version 3.0.4


Adobe Browserlab open for business originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 21 Oct 2009 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>adobebrowserlabbrowsersWed, 21 Oct 2009 12:30:00 EST<![CDATA[Adobe Photo Uploader for Facebook is a full-blown Facebook app]]>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/10/12/adobe-photo-uploader-for-facebook-is-a-fully-blown-facebook-app/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/10/12/adobe-photo-uploader-for-facebook-is-a-fully-blown-facebook-app/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/10/12/adobe-photo-uploader-for-facebook-is-a-fully-blown-facebook-app/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,

Adobe Photo Uploader for FacebookAdobe has released an Adobe AIR based client for Facebook called Adobe Photo Uploader for Facebook. As Digital Inspiration notes, it's better than Facebook's official app.

Photo Uploader for Facebook offers most of Facebook's functionality, with uploading photos being only a small part of it, though it does make uploading photos much better than using Facebook's web interface. The app offers various views including a rich media version and a plain text version, as well as offering a slide show mode.

Adobe is really selling this app short by naming it Adobe Photo Uploader for Facebook, given the full functionality of the app. Maybe they don't want to step on any toes, but it seems that with an app this powerful, they'd want to pitch it as an AIR version of the Facebook experience.

Adobe Photo Uploader for Facebook is a full-blown Facebook app originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 12 Oct 2009 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>adobefacebookfacebook photo uploaderfacebook-photo-uploaderFacebookPhotoUploaderpMon, 12 Oct 2009 09:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Keeping your OS patched isn't enough]]>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/10/11/keeping-your-os-patched-isnt-enough/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/10/11/keeping-your-os-patched-isnt-enough/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/10/11/keeping-your-os-patched-isnt-enough/#commentsFiled under: , ,

Adobe Reader exploitThe prevailing wisdom is that if you keep your operating system up to date with the latest security patches, and you run antivirus software, you're probably safe from malware. Unfortunately, that's just not true.

Consider yesterday's news that Trend Micro has discovered a new zero-day exploit in Adobe Reader. Who doesn't have Adobe Reader on their machine? If you have it, how careful are you about keeping it up to date? To be fair, the likelihood that you are going to try to open an infected PDF file is probably fairly small, but on the other hand, Adobe Reader is only one of probably hundreds of applications on your machine. As Mozilla recently discovered, thousands of Firefox users have potentially vulnerable older versions of Flash running on their machines.

So what's a responsible computer user to do? It's a difficult problem. Some software vendors are very responsible about pushing out updates to their software when needed. Others leave it in the user's hands. There are tools that will scan your machine and let you know when updates are available, but I'm not a big fan of these; I think users should know just what is changing on their system.

The best you can do is to be vigilant and consider your software at the same level you do the operating system when ensuring your machine is up to date. Obviously web-facing software or software that interacts with downloaded files are the biggest concern, and anything that is ubiquitous or incredibly popular, like Microsoft Office or your favorite browser.

What do you do to make sure your machine is as secure as you can make it?

[via InSecurity Complex]

Keeping your OS patched isn't enough originally appeared on Download Squad on Sun, 11 Oct 2009 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>adobeadobe readerAdobeReaderdownloaded filesdownloaded-filesDownloadedFilesexploitolder versionsolder-versionsOlderVersionstrend microTrendMicroSun, 11 Oct 2009 12:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Adobe releases ultra-light iPhone version of Photoshop]]>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/10/10/adobe-releases-ultra-light-iphone-version-of-photoshop/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/10/10/adobe-releases-ultra-light-iphone-version-of-photoshop/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/10/10/adobe-releases-ultra-light-iphone-version-of-photoshop/#commentsFiled under: , ,

Photoshop has come to the iPhone in the form of Adobe's new Photoshop.com app. As someone with a lot of experience using Photoshop on the desktop, and a little bit of practice with Photoshop.com, I was surprised to find that the iPhone version is incredibly light. There are no layers, no brushes, and no levels ... just a lot of filters. You can touch up the exposure and saturation on your photos, add borders and vignettes, and apply a tint or a number of preset color effects. When you're done, you can save your work on your phone or upload directly to a photoshop.com account.

Honestly, I think Adobe got this one right. It would be cool to do some serious photo editing on the iPhone, but even the 3GS doesn't have the specs for the more resource-heavy features we've come to expect from Adobe's Creative Suite apps. iPhone users mostly just want to make their photos look a little better, and it's not like they're shooting with some kind of 12 megapixel DSLR. The Photoshop app delivers: just throw a little soft focus on there, fix up the colors, and you're good to go. The app also seems to be a promotional effort to get people to sign up for photoshop.com accounts, but it's not much harder to save your images and then upload them to Flickr or another photo sharing site you like.

Adobe releases ultra-light iPhone version of Photoshop originally appeared on Download Squad on Sat, 10 Oct 2009 10:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>adobeiphonephotoshopphotoshop.comSat, 10 Oct 2009 10:45:00 EST<![CDATA[Eolas v. Everyone you've ever heard of]]>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/10/06/eolas-v-everyone-youve-ever-heard-of/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/10/06/eolas-v-everyone-youve-ever-heard-of/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/10/06/eolas-v-everyone-youve-ever-heard-of/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , ,


Tireless patent troll Intellectual Property holder Eolas has filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas against, well.. nearly everyone. The issue at hand deals with two patents in Eolas' possession -- the first of which was the subject of a successful lawsuit against Microsoft back in 2004.

The second patent, what Eolas refers to as "a continuation of the '906 patent" claims to hold as the sole intellectual property of Eolas, "fully-interactive embedded applications [...] through the use of plug-in and AJAX (asynchronous JavaScript and XML) web development techniques." The second patent is so far untested in court -- and ostensibly covers more popular websites than you can shake a knock-off Louis Vuitton handbag at.

I haven't had time to delve into the language of the patent, but this reeks of utter nonsense to me so far. In my layman's oppinion, Eolas may have made a crucial mistake however, taking aim at so many large targets at once -- with one untested patent, and another which Microsoft already came rather close to beating.

Take the leap to read the whole extortion demand press release, and see the enormous list of publicly traded web firms included.

Continue reading Eolas v. Everyone you've ever heard of

Eolas v. Everyone you've ever heard of originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 06 Oct 2009 11:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>ajaxeolaspatentpluginstrollweb browserweb devWebBrowserWebDevTue, 06 Oct 2009 11:15:00 EST<![CDATA[Adobe Flash CS5 converts Flash to iPhone apps]]>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/10/06/adobe-flash-cs5-converts-flash-to-iphone-apps/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/10/06/adobe-flash-cs5-converts-flash-to-iphone-apps/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/10/06/adobe-flash-cs5-converts-flash-to-iphone-apps/#commentsFiled under: , ,

Flash is coming to the iPhone! Well, sort of. Adobe is showing off a new feature of Flash CS5 Professional that will convert Flash/Actionscript into iPhone apps. The public beta of CS5 with Flash Platform is due out later this year, but for now, you can test out some iPhone games that were created with the new system. For comparison, check out the puzzle game Chroma Circuit on the web and then on the iPhone.

This is good news for Flash developers who want to get their games into the App Store without having to write iPhone-native apps themselves, especially because it allows them to reuse the same code on the web or on Flash-friendly mobile platforms. This might mean that we'll see some of our favorite Flash time-wasters on the iPhone, too. There's also the possibility that the App Store will be flooded with the same awful Flash games that plague the web now. Developing a lame Flash game for the web doesn't have the same $99 pricetag that signing up for the iPhone developer program does, though, so that might keep the quality of iPhone game offerings from taking a huge dive.

Adobe Flash CS5 converts Flash to iPhone apps originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 06 Oct 2009 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>adobecs5flashgamesiphoneTue, 06 Oct 2009 09:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Flash Player 10.1 to support smartphones, NVIDIA powered netbooks... next year]]>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/10/05/flash-player-10-1-to-support-smartphones-nvidia-powered-netbook/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/10/05/flash-player-10-1-to-support-smartphones-nvidia-powered-netbook/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/10/05/flash-player-10-1-to-support-smartphones-nvidia-powered-netbook/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

Flash 10.1 on the Palm Pre
Adobe Flash has become the standard protocol for web video over the last few years. And while Flash is capable of some pretty excellent video quality, it's not exactly light on system resources. In fact, it's kind of a CPU-hog, which is why some computers with slower processors (and most netbooks) struggle to play high quality of high definition video from YouTube, Hulu, and other online video sites.

But that's about toe change. Kind of. Adobe has announced that Flash 10.1 will support GPU acceleration for NVIDIA graphics, which means that if you've got a computer with NVIDIA GeForce, ION, or Tegra graphics in it, you should be able to watch high definition Flash video in fullscreen mode even if you have a slow processor like an Intel Atom or ARM-based chip.

What's more, Adobe is going to bring Flash 10.1 to Smartphones, ending the separate but unequal era of Flash Lite. Flash 10.1 will be available for Blackberry, Windows Mobile, Google Android, Palm WebOS, and Symbian phones. The iPhone's not on that list because Adobe still hasn't worked out an arrangement with Apple to add support for Flash 10.1 to the iPhone's Safari web browser, but that could still happen.

Flash 10.1 is due to hit the streets in the first half of 2010. But there should be beta versions available before the end of 2009.

You can check out videos of Flash Player 10.1 on the Palm Pre and Toshiba TG01 at Adobe Labs.

Flash Player 10.1 to support smartphones, NVIDIA powered netbooks... next year originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 05 Oct 2009 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>adobe-flashflash-player-10.1gpu-accelerationnvidiasmartphonesMon, 05 Oct 2009 08:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Opacity lets you create great screen graphics]]>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/09/25/opacity-lets-you-create-great-screen-graphics/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/09/25/opacity-lets-you-create-great-screen-graphics/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/09/25/opacity-lets-you-create-great-screen-graphics/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,

We've covered a bucketload of image editors here at Download Squad recently: from Photoshop Elements, to stylish OS X apps to great Windows image manipulators. But if you're someone who works with icons and screen graphics, you're probably using something other than Photoshop Elements to create your stunning vector icons and glyphs.

Sure, there's the brawn of Illustrator if you want to spend big - or already own Creative Suite - and there's free & open-source Inkscape if you're looking for something that's also cross-platform. But if you're on a Mac, there's also another choice: Opacity. Unlike most vector drawing apps, Opacity is specifically designed to help you create resolution-independent icons and glyphs.

There's a tonne of presets available - from iPhone icons to desktop app icons - and perhaps most impressively, there's an option to export the vector drawing as - get this - Objective-C code that you bring straight over to Xcode and build for the iPhone and OS X platforms.

Sure, it's pretty specialised - but if you're creating icons and the like then you simply have to give Opacity a go. A licence costs US$89.99, with a free demo available - as well as a slimmer Opacity Express for US$39.99.

Opacity lets you create great screen graphics originally appeared on Download Squad on Fri, 25 Sep 2009 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>IconsScreen GraphicsScreenGraphicsFri, 25 Sep 2009 11:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Adobe releases Photoshop Elements 8]]>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/09/24/adobe-releases-photoshop-elements-8/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/09/24/adobe-releases-photoshop-elements-8/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/09/24/adobe-releases-photoshop-elements-8/#commentsFiled under: , , , , ,

Yesterday Adobe announced the latest version of Photoshop Elements, their slightly-lighterweight consumer-oriented photo editing application. New features in the Windows release include Photomerge Exposure which combines differently-exposed shots of the same scene to create uniformly-exposed shots (similar to High Dynamic Range photos), improved Online Sharing, and people recognition (much like Picasa).

For Photoshop Elements 8 on the Mac (which ships in October), there's Bridge CS4 for image management, scene cleaning - to remove objects like people or cars across multiple photos - and TouchUp brushes to easily improve your snaps.

Photoshop Elements costs US$99 for the Mac or Windows edition - and Windows users can also pick up Photoshop Elements 8 and Premiere Elements 8 in a bundle for US$149. Windows users can also download a trial version of Photoshop Elements from the Adobe website.

If you're not convinced by Elements, we've covered a few alternatives recently on Download Squad: Paint.NET and GIMP 2.8 for Windows, and Pixelmator and Acorn for Mac OS X.

Adobe releases Photoshop Elements 8 originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 24 Sep 2009 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>Adobe PhotoshopAdobePhotoshopimage editingImageEditingPhotoshop ElementsPhotoshopElementspremiere elementsPremiereElementsThu, 24 Sep 2009 17:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Adobe Story offers web-based script (as in movie) writing and collaboration]]>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/09/22/adobe-story-offers-web-based-script-as-in-movie-writing-and-co/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/09/22/adobe-story-offers-web-based-script-as-in-movie-writing-and-co/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/09/22/adobe-story-offers-web-based-script-as-in-movie-writing-and-co/#commentsFiled under: , ,


Somewhere in the depths of my mind, there's a burning desire to one day write a screenplay. It probably has as much to do with my disbelief at some of the crap that actually gets made into Hollywood movies as my own creative desire, but it is what it is.

So when I woke up this morning and checked on Adobe Labs, my curiosity was piqued by Story, a new web-based script authoring app that is now available to test on Adobe Labs.

Obviously Story isn't for everyone. I can, however, easily see this become a terrific compliment for animation studios who use Adobe products like Flash to produce their cartoons. Since it's web based, Story provides anywhere (with net access)/any time access to your writing tools and documents - critical, because you never know when a flash of brilliance will strike.

Story is tailored to the script-writing process, making it easy to hack together character bios, drop links to web pages you want to reference, and, of course, compose your masterpiece. There's even a full screen option for distraction-free writing.

Aspiring creatives, give Story a try and tell us what you think in the comments! Story recommends IE6 or later, Firefox 2.0+, and Safari 3.x. Other browsers will receive a warning message, but you can click through and try your luck -- Chrome 4 worked just fine for me.

Adobe Story offers web-based script (as in movie) writing and collaboration originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 22 Sep 2009 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>adobe-storydirectormovieproducerscreenwritingTue, 22 Sep 2009 13:30:00 EST<![CDATA[Adobe gets into advertising biz, teams up with Gigya]]>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/09/21/adobe-teams-up-with-gigya/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/09/21/adobe-teams-up-with-gigya/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/09/21/adobe-teams-up-with-gigya/#commentsFiled under: , ,

After Adobe's recent acquisition of analytics giant Omniture for $1.8 billion, there was a lot of speculation that Adobe was beginning a foray into the advertising. Now we've got some more clues, since Adobe's partnering with Gigya, a company that distributes widgets and advertising. Now, Adobe's got its fingers in every part of the process, from content creation to ads to analytics.

Adobe's new Distribution Manager lets developers share their Flash widgets on 70 sites, tracks traffic for the widgets, and serves ads. Destinations include Facebook, MySpace and iGoogle, amongst others. It also supports mobile devices, including Windows Mobile and Symbian phones. The iPhone is also (sort of) supported, but without Flash, the widgets have to be part of approved app store apps. Developers can follow their traffic and ads with - what else? - an Adobe Air app.

[via Techcrunch]

Adobe gets into advertising biz, teams up with Gigya originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 21 Sep 2009 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>adobeadsadvertisingdistributionfalseflashwidgetsMon, 21 Sep 2009 11:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Firefox catches 50% with insecure Flash, only 30% click through to update]]>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/09/18/firefox-catches-50-with-insecure-flash-only-30-click-through/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/09/18/firefox-catches-50-with-insecure-flash-only-30-click-through/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/09/18/firefox-catches-50-with-insecure-flash-only-30-click-through/#commentsFiled under: , , ,


Two weeks ago Mozilla prepared a new landing page for Firefox updaters to check for outdated versions of the Adobe Flash Player plugin. When the page went live last week for some six million Firefox 3.5.3 and 3.0.14 users, Mozilla compiled some interesting -- and disconcerting -- statistics.

Just over 50% of users shown the page were found to be running an insecure Flash Player version. That's an alarming number, especially considering the number of times Flash vulnerabilities have been exploited in the past two years alone.

The bad news doesn't stop there. As it turns out, the warning only convinced about 30% of viewers to click through and immediately update the plugin.

When you consider the amount of time most people spend browsing and massive number of threats lurking on the Internet maintaining a secure, updated browser is imperative. That, of course, means keeping plugins like Flash and Java up to date and there's no time like the present to do it.

Hopefully Mozilla's next push will meet with more success.

Firefox catches 50% with insecure Flash, only 30% click through to update originally appeared on Download Squad on Fri, 18 Sep 2009 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>firefoxflashflash-playerpluginvulnerabilitiesvulnerabilityFri, 18 Sep 2009 13:00:00 EST