Last week we reported that starting with Adobe CS6, only people who own the previous major release of the software (i.e. CS5 and above) will be eligible for upgrade pricing. Needless to say, Photoshop users are’t too happy about the changes, and now National Association of Photoshop Professionals president Scott Kelby is weighing in. In an open letter to Adobe, he writes,
While I understand that Adobe needs to make business decisions based on how it sees market conditions, I feel the timing of this new pricing structure is patently unfair to your customers (and our members). Here’s why: You didn’t tell us up front. You didn’t tell us until nearly the end of the product’s life cycle, and now you’re making us buy CS5.5 for just a few months on the chance that we might want to buy CS6 at a discount when it’s released. Otherwise, we have to pay the full price as if we were never Adobe customers at all.
Kelby also makes a plea for Adobe to either start the new policy with CS7 or to offer a tiered upgrade structure in which upgrade price is based on how recent your version is. That definitely makes more sense than having CS4 users pay full price to upgrade to CS6.
If you’ve been waiting to upgrade Photoshop CS3 or CS4 to CS6 when it’s released sometime next year, here’s some bad news: the upgrade price won’t apply to you. Starting with CS6, Adobe will be enforcing a new upgrade policy:
[...] we are changing our policy for perpetual license customers. In order to qualify for upgrade pricing when CS6 releases, customers will need to be on the latest version of our software (either CS5 or CS5.5 editions). If our customers are not yet on those versions, we’re offering a 20% discount through December 31, 2011 which will qualify them for upgrade pricing when we release CS6.
The existing policy is that customers with software from three versions back quality for upgrade pricing. For example, owners of CS2, CS3, and CS4 and upgrade to CS5. Buying the full version of Photoshop CS5 right now costs nearly $500, while the upgrade is only priced at ~$150.
Earlier this week Adobe launched a new subscription-based model for their Creative Suite line of software products. The program ordinarily costs $699, but a yearly subscription costs $420 and gives you access to the latest version. You can also subscribe for a monthly fee of $49 if you need the program on a short term basis. While this won’t be very enticing for heavy users of the programs who can just save money by buying and upgrading, renting is a good option for anyone who needs the latest Photoshop on a as-needed basis.
Every time you launch Photoshop, you’re greeted momentarily with a splash screen showing a cloud of names that give credit to the people who have worked on the program. This “Behind the Splash Screen” video introduces you to some of the people whose names are found there, and provides some background on how Photoshop CS5 was developed (as well as the huge challenges they faced). Read the rest of this entry »
Have you always wondered how to use the Pen Tool in Photoshop but have never gotten around to learning it? f stoppers published this uber-informative video tutorial by Sean Armenta teaching how it’s used and why it’s a tool that everyone should learn. The teaching is done on a Mac, so if you have a PC, just substitute CTRL for CMD and ALT for OPT.
Did you know that Adobe Photoshop was almost Nikon Photoshop? It’s true — in 1988 at the MacWorld tradeshow, two brothers approached Nikon and offered them the rights to an image editing program they had developed. The brothers were Thomas and John Knoll, and the program they had created was called Photoshop.
While the Nikon teams in the US and Europe were enthusiastic about the idea, the leadership in Japan struck it down, deciding that Nikon was not a software company and that there wasn’t much demand for such a program. Kodak and several other photography industry giants also passed on the program before Adobe finally snatched it up in September of that year.
You’ve probably seen the special keyboard covers for Mac keyboards that show you the Photoshop shortcut each key is used for, but what if you’re looking for something more old school (or don’t have a Mac)? These Photoshop Keyboard Stickers should do the trick. They’re individual vinyl stickers that you individually stick onto each key, allowing you to stay old school and giving your keyboard a very childish look. You can pick up a set for about $8 on Amazon.
Here are a couple mockups by MacRumors showing what Photoshop might look like on mobile computing devices like the iPad or iPhone. Adobe recently published a presentation they did on various things they’re exploring with such devices. An example was using Content Aware Fill to modify a scene by painting over objects to be removed using your finger. Read the rest of this entry »
Maybe this is what “Photoshop” would be like if computers had never been invented. This workspace has it all — tools, rulers, layers, etc… These are probably the tools the “I Have PSD” guy uses.
“I Have PSD” is a creative stop-motion short film by Hyperakt imagining what life would be like if Photoshop features could be used in real life — a world in which fixing life’s small problems are as easy as correcting a photograph.
Photoshop dexterity (PSD) is a skillset acquired by proficient users of Adobe Photoshop, the world’s most ubiquitous digital tool for creating visual ideas. Qualities of PSD include supernatural powers of imagination and an overwhelming desire to constantly make the world more beautiful. PSD affects people from different walks of life. In fact, there is a high probability that you have PSD.
Which tool would you pick if you could only use one in real life?
