Flash handles HD Video on Netbooks

Link via NYTimes.com

Flash CS4 ProfessionalIntel has been dead set on making sure that people know netbooks do not perform as well as full-blown PCs. The company insists on pointing this out because it wants netbooks to function as complements to regular PCs rather than replacements. That approach leads to Intel’s selling more expensive chips than the Atom chips that go into netbooks. So Intel has been quick to point out that netbooks struggle to handle things like high-definition video.

Adobe has stepped in to solve this problem. At the Computex trade show here in Taipei, Adobe announced deals with Broadcom and Nvidia, both of which make graphics chips that link with Atom chips, to produce a version of Flash that handles HD video well. Flash will direct graphics-heavy jobs to special graphics chips rather than to the Atom chip.

The fresh Flash should arrive by early 2010.

Flash CS4 Professional is available at an academic discount price of $249.

Smile and Say ‘No Photoshop’

Link via NYTimes.com

Reese Magazine Covers Photoshop

A backlash against the overuse of Photoshop in fashion photography:

Some popular blogs have made a sport of identifying egregious cases of Photoshop abuse, but the degree to which changes are made is rarely disclosed (and usually only when a magazine is caught). But as retouching has become more blatant and bizarre, sometimes resulting in bodies that defy the natural boundaries of human anatomy, a debate over photo manipulation has spilled into public view, with Mr. Lindbergh, one of the world’s most famous image makers, leading the charge against the practice.

“My feeling is that for years now it has taken a much too big part in how women are being visually defined today,” Mr. Lindbergh said in an e-mail exchange. “Heartless retouching,” he wrote, “should not be the chosen tool to represent women in the beginning of this century.”

Photoshop CS4 Extended is available at an academic discount price of $299.

Photoshop CS4 Extended College Student Edition is available at a student discount price of $199.

Macworld reviews Avid Media Composer 3.0

Link via Macworld

Avid Media ComposerWhile not an earth-shattering upgrade, Avid Media Composer 3.0.5 is indeed a must-have if you or anyone in your facility work with the emerging HD formats popularized by card-based camera systems. Corporate, editorial, and prosumer users will love this upgrade’s functionality, especially if they’re working with JVC’s 720pHDV, Panasonic’s AVC-Intra codec, or Sony’s EX cameras. Media Composer 3 allows users the same interface and working options on location that they’ve had in their edit bays, simplifying the workflow by maintaining a single user interface in both the desktop and the laptop versions.

Avid Media Composer 3.5 is available at an education discount price of $295.

Earobics meets the requirements of many grant and funding sources.

The award-winning Earobics software is a powerful tool for improving reading achievement, and meets the requirements of many grant and funding sources, including:

• Title I
• Reading First
• English Language Acquisition Grants (Title III)
• Enhancing Education Through Technology (EETT)
• 21st Century Community Learning Centers (21CCLC)
• Early Reading First
• Comprehensive School Reform (CSR)
• Special education funds
• Professional development grants

Earobics is also an excellent match for many state-specific literacy grants aimed at improving student reading achievement and improving the quality of instruction.

Earobics adheres to all state, district, and school reporting standards mandated by No Child Left Behind, and includes features to facilitate progress monitoring of all subgroups in achieving Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP).

Benefits:
• Develops phonemics awareness skills
• Increases auditory attention and memory
• Improves listening and comprehension skills
• Enhances awareness of the sounds and language

Earobics is based on the developmental reading levels of the student:

1. Earobics® Step 1 is for developmental ages 4-7 and features 6 interactive activities with over 300 levels of play.
2. Earobics® Step 2 is for developmental ages 7-10 and features 5 interactive activities with nearly 600 levels of play.
3. Earobics® for Adolescents and Adults is for older struggling readers and older English Language Learners who are struggling to improve their reading and spelling skills.

Earobics is also offered in two versions:
1. Home Version The Home version is intended for home use for up to 2 students. This version is ideal for parents or tutors who work with students one-on-one.
2. Clinic/Small Group Version The Clinic/Small Group version is intended for classroom/lab use for up to 12 students

Real Savings
An analysis of the cost of referring and enrolling 17 children in Special Education reveals that Earobics may have saved Community School District 20 and P.S. 229 more than $250,000.

Real Success
To date, none of the at-risk children who participated in the Earobics pre-intervention program were ever referred for Special Education services.

Earobics is available at an academic discount price from Creation Engine.

Save your district dollars and reduce the need for Special Education services with Earobics (745K PDF).

PhotoTools 2 Lite free plugin for Photoshop

Link via onOne Software

onOne PhotoTools 2 Lite

With the PhotoTools 2 Lite free plugin for Photoshop, you can add a professional look to your photos with just a few clicks. Based on the award-winning PhotoTools 2 Standard Edition plug-in, PhotoTools 2 Lite gives you 14 professional-grade actions and photographic effects for Photoshop that will make your images stand out from the crowd. PhotoTools 2 Lite is completely free and will introduce you to a whole new way to improve your digital processing workflow and get outstanding results inside Photoshop CS2, CS3 or CS4.

PhotoTools 2 is available in three versions, Professional Edition, Standard Edition, and the free Lite edition. The Lite edition includes 14 free effects. The Standard Edition includes 181 effects developed by onOne Software and Photoshop Hall of Fame member Jack Davis. The Professional edition adds 50 type and graphic effects from Jack Davis and 62 portrait effects from Kevin Kubota, voted one of the Top 10 Wedding Photographers in the World by American Photo Magazine. Additionally, PhotoTools 2 Professional Edition now works in Lightroom 2 and Apple Aperture 2.1.

PhotoTools 2 is available at an education discount price of $79.

PhotoTools 2 Professional Edition is available at an education discount price of $129.

Swift 3D v5.0 Exports to Silverlight & WPF

Link via Electric Rain

Swift 3DSilverlight XAML Export allows anyone with the Silverlight Player installed on their machine to view your work within an internet browser, just like they would view Flash files using the Flash Player. Swift 3D Exports frame-by-frame animation in the 2D XAML format (simulating 3D effects), which is the language the Silverlight Player understands. These XAML files can also be used in Microsoft Expression Blend, as a design element of a larger Silverlight Project, just as you would import the SWF format or our proprietary SWFT format into Flash to complement a larger Flash Movie or Application.

Swift 3D v5 is available at an education discount price of $118.

Expression Studio 2 is available at an education discount price of $108.

Purchase Nik Sharpener Pro 3.0, get Dfine 2.0 free! Save $65!

Link via Creation Engine

Nik Sharpener Pro 3.0Sharpener Pro 3.0
Purchase Nik Sharpener Pro 3.0, get Dfine 2.0 free! A $65 value for students and teachers!
Offer good while supplies last.

Education volume license discounts now available for 3ds Max 2010 and Maya Unlimited 2009

Perpetual and 1-Year Term volume licenses are now available at education discount prices for:

3ds Max Education 2010 3ds Max Education 2010
Maya Unlimited 2009 Maya Unlimited 2009

3Dconnexion 3D Mice Now Supported by Autodesk 2010 Product Family

Link via 3Dconnexion

3Dconnexion’s line of 3D mice is now supported by AutoCAD 2010 and Autodesk Inventor 2010 software, giving design engineers added control over the enhanced 3D design capabilities offered in the latest platforms. Using 3Dconnexion 3D mice, professionals can interact more intuitively with new features in Autodesk 3D environments such as the free-form design tools in AutoCAD 2010 and fly-through navigation in Autodesk Inventor 2010, improving overall workflows and design performance.

SpacePilot PROSpacePilot PRO
Special introductory academic price of $239!
Suggested retail price is $499.
Offer good through 5/31/2009.

Graduating High School Seniors entering the College Freshman Class of 2013 – Save Hundreds of Dollars with Adobe Student Editions!

Link via Creation Engine

Adobe Student Editions

Adobe Student Editions are full versions of the latest industry-standard software from Adobe, including Adobe Creative Suite 4 Design Premium, Creative Suite 4 Design Standard, Creative Suite 4 Web Premium, and Photoshop CS4 Extended, priced at a huge discount for higher education students. With the latest products in hand, students can start gaining the skills they need to express themselves and stand out — in the classroom and in future careers.

An example of the savings is that Adobe Creative Suite 4 Design Premium has a commercial price of $1,799, but the Adobe Student Edition price for Creative Suite 4 Design Premium is only $389!

High School Seniors who will be attending college next year are also eligible to purchase Adobe Student Editions: You must provide a copy of your college acceptance letter as proof of your eligibility along with a photo ID.