Top stories

Journalists Cover Microsoft, Using Macs

It’s not an easy time for Microsoft — with Steve Ballmer having to field questions about being “buffoons” and an “evil empire”  at the shareholder’s meeting (.doc) — so when they get together “the world’s most influential technology pundits and online writers” (nb: we weren’t invited) for Mobius to discuss super-secret mobile tech you’d think [...]

Guide To Black Friday Apple Bargains: Cheap MacBooks, iPods and Accessories Galore

Here’s a guide for finding the best bargains on Apple-related gear during the infamous Black Friday sales on November 27. We’ve compiled a comprehensive list of gear from leaked photos of sales flyers and descriptions of sales.
The bargains include a 2.26 GHz MacBook + $150 gift card at Best Buy for $999.99 ; a 32GB [...]

Review: Voices Is Today’s Best Thing Ever, Grab It Now While It’s Cheap

New on the App Store is Voices from the clever folk at Tap Tap Tap. You can guess what it does.

Open it up, pick a silly voice. Helium is pretty silly. A microphone appears and the app even clears your throat for you (try it, you’ll see what I mean). Now speak your brains, and [...]

Review: Sony Walkman S540 Series Video MP3 Player

Press releases, you will hardly be surprised to hear, are rarely very interesting. But one arrived in my inbox a couple of weeks ago that made me double-take.
“Sony’s S Series Walkman,” it chattered, “is a serious challenger to the iPod Nano.” Gosh, really? Perhaps the Cult had better have a look at one, then, despite [...]

Photoshop Elements 8 Due In October, Adds Slew of Smart Fixes

exposure_496x260

Version 8 of Adobe’s popular Photoshop Elements photo-editing software is coming to the Mac in October, adding several new intelligent photo fixes, such as Photomerge Exposure, previewing a range of adjustments and one-click fixes for skin, skies and teeth.

Photoshop Elements 8 adds about a dozen new photo editing features or enhancements, including the ability to share photos via iPhone.

Known as “Photoshop Lite,” Elements brings a lot of the power of Adobe’s flagship editing suite to non-professionals, thanks to its stripped-down interface and well-implemented help options.

“We’ve simplified the editing process, without taking away any of the power, and incorporated smart tools with built-in intelligence to bring once difficult tasks, within reach of everyone,” said Adobe executive Doug Mack in a statement.

Guided Edit for example, new in version 8, walks the user through both basic editing operations like removing scratches and blemishes, and artistic effects like line drawing.

Another new smart fix, Photomerge Exposure, combines two shots — one with flash, the other with flash off — into a single, well-lit photo. See above.

Photoshop Elements was first released for the Mac in 2006 and has gained a slew of new features and enhancements in meantime. Here’s what’s new in version 8, and the list of comparison features between versions.

The $99 software (or $79 pre-order after a $20 rebate) is compatible with Snow Leopard. It requires Mac OS X 10.4.11 or better.

About the author

Leander Kahney

Leander Kahney is senior editor of Cult of Mac, editor of two books about technology culture, Cult of Mac and Cult of iPod, and has written for Wired, MacWeek, Scientific American, and The Observer in London. Follow Leander on Twitter @lkahney and Facebook.

Email the author | Read more posts by Leander Kahney.

No comments yet.

Add your comment

Name(Required)

Mail (required, but not published)

Website

Comment

Buy Inside Steve's Brain Buy from Amazon.com Buy from Barnes & Noble