Adobe has just unveiled the new “CC” release to follow CS6 (it’s not CS7) – and one of the upgrade ques­tions people are asking is what’s new, what’s different, what’s changed in CC (Creative Cloud) compared to the previous version?  The company says it “brings together everything you need to create your best work with incredible new versions of our flagship desktop tools, services that take publishing content to the next level, and making it easier than ever for creatives to collaborate and share their work worldwide.”  So our job here is to give you a quick “cheat sheet” on top new features, to help you decide about upgrading…

Adobe CC updates almost all of the individual products from CS6 – including Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign/InCopy, Dreamweaver, Flash Pro, Premiere Pro, After Effects, Audition, Prelude, SpeedGrade, and Story.  In addition, Adobe Muse and the Edge family of tools are now also branded with the “CC” moniker.

The CS6 tools not revisioned to CC are Fireworks and Encore – although the CS6 versions of both continue to be available within Creative Cloud.  Acrobat XI Pro and Flash Builder 4.7 are also included but remain the same editions as before.

Adobe CC works on a membership or subscription basis starting as low as $9.99 a month, which includes future upgrades automatically at no additional cost.  Alternatively, the static CS6 versions of all tools & suites are still available for standalone purchase for those that may prefer traditional licensing.

The new CC release is set to ship on Monday, June 17, 2013, and brand new free 30-day trials of all the apps will be available at that time via the Creative Cloud free membership. And the CS6 free trials continue to be available for download as well.

Adobe is offering many specials and discounts now for the new product launch, but for exact details and information on Adobe CC worldwide pricing, see their “CC Plans” page.

You can read more about why Adobe is making this move here:

« Apples, Oranges, and Creative Cloud: Thoughts on Adobe CC »

What’s New in CC vs. CS6? A New Feature/Version Comparison

Some key elements of what’s new with Adobe CC generally:

• A slick and solid new Creative Cloud Desktop App that unobtrusively replaces both the Adobe Application Manager and the Creative Cloud Connection, and does file versioning too.
• Cloud-based syncing and sharing of all your customized tool settings like preferences, presets, brushes, shortcuts, workspaces, styles, fonts, colors, and more.
• The ability to share your work directly from within your creative tools up to Behance in the Cloud as desired.

• 680 individual Typekit fonts will now be download­able and installable locally on your desktop (a nearly $25,000 value if purchased commercially).
• Customers with annual memberships will be now able to use all CC products for up to 99 days offline without revalidation or needing to be connected to the Internet (eventually to be 180 days).
• The new CC apps will install and work alongside any older versions of Adobe software like CS6, CS5, etc., and will be able to backsave or export to CS6 file formats.
• In fact, Creative Cloud members will have access to download and install prior versions from an archive of selected desktop releases starting from CS6 onwards.

[ Do you believe any of these?  The 10 Most Common Myths About Creative Cloud ]

And here’s a quick run-through of some of the top new features in CC for major applications…

— Photoshop CC: All-new Smart Sharpen, Intelligent Upsampling, Sync Settings and Save to Cloud, New Camera Shake Reduction (Image Deblurring), Conditional Actions, Improved 3D painting & effects, Copying of CSS attributes, Editable rounded rectangles, Multi-shape and path selection, Camera Raw 8 support, all “Extended” features now included.  [SEE DETAILS]

— Illustrator CC: Touch Type tool, Images in brushes, Font search, Multiple-file place, CSS extraction, File packaging, Unembedded images, On-art Free Transform, Area and point type conversion, Auto corners for pattern brushes, Sync Settings/Fonts/Colors, Faster type performance, Expanded Links panel options, a more connected Illustrator.  [SEE DETAILS]

— InDesign/InCopy CC: New modern user interface, Native 64-bit support for fast performance, HiDPI and Retina display support, Instant font preview, QR Code Creator, Font favorites, Adobe Exchange panel, EPUB enhancements, Font search and filter, Sharing with Creative Cloud, Sync Fonts, InCopy now included in CC.  [SEE DETAILS]

— Dreamweaver CC: New CSS Designer Tool, Modernized & streamlined workflow, enhanced Fluid Grid Layout interface, Edge Web Fonts support, Modern platform support, jQuery UI widgets, Sync Settings & Preferences, Behance Integration, Source Code Pro font for Code View.  [SEE DETAILS]

— Muse CC: Create stunning effects with new Parallax scrolling, Live in-browser editing, a more connected Adobe Muse as part of the CC family.  [SEE DETAILS]

— Flash Pro CC: Reengineered and streamlined user interface, New 64-bit architecture, High-definition export, Improved HTML publishing, Real-time mobile testing, Powerful new code editor, Real-time drawing, Unlimited pasteboard size, Sync Settings & Shortcuts to Cloud, Code profiling in Adobe Scout CC, Timeline time-savers, Custom metadata APIs.  [SEE DETAILS]

— Premiere Pro CC: Link & Locate, Editing finesse, Lumetri Deep Color Engine, Precise audio control, New Closed captioning capabilities, Adobe Anywhere integration, Enhanced Mercury Playback Engine, Mezzanine codecs built in, High-fidelity interchange, Sync Settings, Improved multicam editing, Adobe Story panel, Project browsing, Multiple GPU export support, Adobe Exchange panel, Broad format support, Enhanced monitoring, and more.  [SEE DETAILS]

— After Effects CC: Live 3D Pipeline with Cinema 4D, Refine Edge Rotoscoping Tool, Warp Stabilizer VFX, 3D Camera Tracker improvements, Pixel Motion Blur, Adobe Anywhere integration, Bicubic resampling, Streamlined user interface, Snap to Layer features, Find Missing Assets, Optimized and accelerated performance, Improved multiprocessor and GPU support, Sync Settings, and more.  [SEE DETAILS]

— Audition CC: New Sound Remover Tool, Preview Editor, 64-bit performance, Frequency Band Splitter, Enhanced multitrack editing, New Sound Design tools and effects, Audio finesse, ITU loudness metering, Enhanced Spectral Display, Editable Favorites with Favorites Panel, a more connected Adobe Audition, and more.  [SEE DETAILS]

— Prelude CC: Thumbnail hover-scrubbing, Rough cut export, File renaming and custom metadata on ingest, Script scenes as metadata.  [SEE DETAILS]

— SpeedGrade CC: Redesigned user interface, Shot Matcher, Mercury Transmit, Film stock emulations. Powerful layer-based grading, Snapshot browser, Expanded control surface support, Adobe workflow integration.  [SEE DETAILS]

These are just a few highlights of what’s new in the toolset as there are literally hundreds of new features.

Related Posts

• What’s the Difference Between Adobe CS7(?) vs. CS6 – What’s New?
• Adobe Unveils New “CC” Release (CS7) Exclusively in Creative Cloud
• CS7? Create Grace Period for Free Upgrade to Next Adobe Release
• Why Creative Cloud Gets Free Upgrades but Adobe CS6 Doesn’t
• Free! 130 Hours of Training and Tutorials from Adobe MAX 2013

Just back from Adobe MAX 2013 and as in previous experiences, it’s always the three most intense days of the year… It’s wall-to-wall with larger-than-life presentations, keynotes with creative luminaries, diverse educational sessions, connecting with other leaders in the Adobe space, hands-on with the latest design tools, meeting the product teams, feeling the energy of the show floor, the buzz over “Sneak Peek” demos of cool new technology, and of course the fantastical MAX Bash party with 5,000 of your closest friends.

But perhaps the best part for those who weren’t there is the majority of the sessions were captured on video and are now offered online for free… In other words, pick your favorite Adobe product(s) and you can learn the latest tips, tricks, and techniques from the top instructors in the field from the comfort of your desktop. There are five major tracks below (Design and Creativity, Web Experiences, Video, Gaming, and Digital Publishing) with scores of different topics; most sessions are about an hour long and the collection runs to nearly 130 hours of video in total.

Experience the Creativity Conference – online. Adobe MAX gathers designers, developers, industry pros and visionaries to explore the latest technologies, techniques and strategies for delivering cutting edge creative work… Now available on-demand.

Of course, the biggest news out of the show was the launch of a major new upgrade to the Adobe’s industry-leading creative toolset with hundreds of new features, rebranded from CS and now called “CC”… We cover that in more detail here.

Adobe also revealed some whizzy new creative hardware initiatives, namely Project Mighty (an intelligent tablet stylus) and Napoleon (a tablet ruler). And the second day’s keynote presentation (available below) was packed with brilliant and famous artists stepping you through their creative processes and works, in truly fascinating and inspirational fashion.

But without further ado, here are all the best training and tutorial sessions direct from MAX, now free to watch…  130 hours – that’s 16 eight-hour days worth of content!  Dig in…

MAX 2013 – Keynotes

• A Creative Evolution – Welcome and Introduction
• A Creative Evolution – Creative Tools
• A Creative Evolution – The Creative Process
• A Creative Evolution – The Future of Creativity
• Community Inspires Creativity – David Wadhwani (intro)
• Community Inspires Creativity – Paula Scher
• Community Inspires Creativity – Phil Hansen
• Community Inspires Creativity – Erik Johansson
• Community Inspires Creativity – Rob Legato
• Community Inspires Creativity – Scott Belsky
• Highlights of Adobe MAX & More
• MAX 2013 Creative Cloud and More…
• Back Stage Access at Adobe MAX 2013 Keynote & More…

MAX 2013 – Design and Creativity

• Adobe Design Evangelists Shootout
• Adobe Illustrator and the Technology of Apparel Design
• Adobe Illustrator: Designing for Any Screen with Vector Graphics
• Adobe Muse: Creating HTML websites without Coding
• Adobe Muse: How Did You Do That?
• Anyone Can Draw — Really!
• Beautiful Typography with InDesign
• Beyond Print: Digital Content from InDesign (PDF, EPUB, DPS, HTML)
• Building Interactive Presentations, Brought to You by “Sesame Street”
• Creating an Engaging Web Design with Adobe Muse
• Creating and Working Quickly with 3D in Photoshop
• Creativity, Technology, and karlssonwilker
• Deke’s Techniques for Photoshop
• Designing for International Fashion and Sports Brands with Vasava
• Designing for iPads with InDesign and Digital Publishing Suite
• Designing for Mobile Devices with Adobe Muse
• Developing Web Experiences Inside Sony
• Expressive Painting in Photoshop
• Fonts? We Don’t Need No Stinking Fonts!
• Handmade Digital
• Hidden Gems in Adobe Photoshop
• InDesign Accelerated
• InDesign Tips and Tricks
• Making Movement: Creating & Editing Stunning Videos Easily in Photoshop
• One-Click Instant Photoshop Techniques
• PDF Form Authoring with InDesign
• Photoshop Power Shortcuts
• Social Media and Its Impact on Design and Creativity
• Tablet Publishing: The Interactive Future at the School of Visual Arts
• Tall Tales from a Large Man
• The Art of Storytelling with Design Army
• The Power of Pattern: How to Create & Communicate Through Patterns
• Theories and Harmonies of Color
• Tips and Techniques for Creating Mind-blowing Photo Effects
• Visual Storytelling with Photography and Video by Corey Rich
• What’s New in Adobe Illustrator CC
• What’s New in Adobe Photoshop CC
• What’s New in InDesign CC

MAX 2013 – Digital Publishing

• Be Seen on Every Screen: Publishing to Multiple Devices
• Building Tablet Applications Using InDesign and Digital Publishing Suite
• Empowered by Single Edition: Publishing on iPad
• Engaging Your Customers and Employees with Mobile Apps
• Extending and Integrating Digital Publishing Suite
• From Print to Digital Media: Building a Digital Publishing Business
• The Meaning Behind the Metrics: Analytics in Digital Publishing Suite

MAX 2013 – Gaming

• 2D Skeletal Animation Design with Creative Cloud
• Adobe Scout: Profiling Taken to the Next Level
• Best of the Best: International Flash Games Showcase
• Case Study: Creating Game Engines in WebGL and Stage3D
• Extending Mobile Games with AIR Native Extensions (ANEs)
• From C++ to Flash: The Power of the Adobe Flash C++ Compiler
• Game Frameworks Panel
• iD Gum ArtCade: 1 Codebase, 18 Games, 3 Platforms, Thousands of Devices
• Mastering Multiplayer Stage3D and AIR Game Development for Mobile Devices

MAX 2013 – Video

• Adobe Throwdown: The Movie. Real-time Storyscaping with SapientNitro
• Advanced Audio Techniques for Voice-over Recording
• Advanced Editing Techniques: Adobe Premiere Pro for Speed and Precision
• An Introduction to 3D in Adobe After Effects
• Applying the Power of the Cloud: Content Anytime, Anywhere, to Any Device
• Audio Is Half the Picture: Getting the Best Mix with Adobe Audition
• Best Practices: Encoding for the Web and Tablets
• Building a Next-Generation Online Video Experience with Adobe Primetime
• Creative Cloud for Video: Using Adobe Premiere Pro and Other Tools
• DSLR Editing for Photographers and Designers
• Dust to Lightning: The Unique Storytelling of Bandito Brothers
• How to Edit Just What You Want: Ingest and Rough Cut with Adobe Prelude
• Look Your Best: Introduction to Color Correction and Grading
• Powering Your Creativity
• Starting on the Right Foot: An Introduction to Adobe Premiere Pro
• Tell Your Story: Adobe Story for Scriptwriting and Project Management
• Using Photoshop with Adobe Premiere Pro: Putting It All Together

MAX 2013 – Web Experiences

• A Year Before the MAX Keynote — Envisioning the Context Project
• Adobe Exchange: Discover, Create, and Share
• Adobe Photoshop: Designing for Screens
• Advanced Layout with CSS
• Advanced PhoneGap Build
• Advanced Workflows for Mobile Web Design and Development
• Architecting a PhoneGap Application
• Behance: Connecting the Creative World
• Brackets: An Open Source Code Editor for the Web
• Bridging the Gap Between Designers and Developers with Edge Reflow
• Bringing Your HTML Content to Life with Adobe Edge Animate
• Building a Successful Workflow for Responsive Design
• Building Mobile Apps with Web Standards
• Building the Best Team for Responsive Design
• Case Study: Designing and Developing PhoneGap from the Ground Up
• Choosing a JavaScript Framework
• Collaborating with Creative Cloud in a Team Environment
• Converting Ads Built with Flash Professional to HTML
• Create like Crazy with Edge Animate
• CreateJS: Building Rich Interactive Experiences in HTML5
• Creating High-Performance Mobile Apps with HTML5
• Creative Software Development Techniques Using Adobe Edge
• Cutting Edge: Animazing!
• Developing an Effective Sales Strategy for Your Web Agency
• Developing Modern Web Interfaces with Dreamweaver
• Digital Government: The Adobe Advantage in the U.S. Public Sector
• Digital Marketing Best Practices with Business Catalyst
• Edge Tools & Services: From Design to Mobile App
• Educating Agency Customers on the Importance of Responsive Web Design
• Effective Technical Strategy and Planning for Mobile Apps
• Expanding PhoneGap with Plug-ins
• Exploring Digital Reading Experiences
• Extending Brackets with JavaScript
• Fast Performance with CSS on Mobile
• From the Sublime to the Ridiculous: Novel Game Control Techniques
• Getting Shellacked with TopCoat
• Go Beyond the Canvas Box to Create Your Own Cinematic Effects
• Goal-Oriented CSS
• Hack Your Editor: Contributing to Brackets
• How to Avoid App Store Rejections with Your Mobile Apps
• HTML5 for ActionScript 3.0 developers
• Icons, Sprites, and CSS with Fireworks
• Introduction to using Adobe Edge Code
• JavaScript Puzzlers: Puzzles to Make You Think (and Write Fewer Bugs)
• Look Ma! Game Development with No Canvas and No Flash!
• Measuring and Optimizing your E-Commerce Checkout Experience
• Optimizing Browser Rendering
• Optimizing PhoneGap Applications
• Philosophy Behind Responsive Web Design
• PhoneGap and Untappd: The Perfect Pint
• Practical JavaScript
• Programming in CSS
• Responsive Design in Dreamweaver
• Responsive Design with Edge Reflow
• Secrets to Creating a Successful Mobile Roadmap, Apps, and Mobile Websites
• Space Age Miracle Tools: Experiments with Brackets
• SVG Reboot
• Tamagotchi Galore: Wrangling 7,000-Plus Devices
• Ten Commandments of Modern Web Design
• The Content-Shaped Elephant in the Room
• The Cutting Edge of Edge Animate
• The Importance of Storytelling in Web Design
• The Innovation Pipeline: How Adobe Defines the Next Big Thing in Web Design
• The Ins and Outs of Creative Cloud
• The Magic Bullet of Web Gaming
• The Quest for the Graphical Web
• The Wonders of HTML5 Canvas
• Tips for Creating Real PhoneGap Apps That Look As Good As They Perform
• Top 10 Performance Techniques for PhoneGap Applications
• Unfolding Your Brain: Catapult Your Creative Productivity
• Universal Typography
• Using Creative Cloud to Create Responsive, Interactive Web Pages
• Using Edge Animate to Create a Reusable Component Set
• Using Illustrator for Web Design and Graphics
• Using jQuery Mobile for Your Next Web Application
• Wanted: Mobile Dev with 40 Years of Experience
• Web Design for the Enterprise
• Web Graphics and the Creative Professional
• What’s New and Upcoming in Flash Professional CC
• What’s New in Dreamweaver CC
• Zero to Hero: The Business Catalyst Partner Journey

Related Posts

• Watch Adobe ‘Creative Week’ On-Demand: Demos, How-to’s + More
• 160+ Hours of Free Training and Tutorials from Adobe MAX 2011
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• What’s the Difference Between Adobe CC (Creative Cloud) vs. CS6?
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= BREAKING NEWS =

We’re coming to you today direct from the MAX Conference, where Adobe has just made a blockbuster announcement.

The next generation of Creative Suite products – sometimes referred to as CS7 or CS-Next – will actually be called “CC” (as in “Photoshop CC“) and from here on out will be available exclusively through the Creative Cloud.

What this means is that we’ve reached the end of the line with the traditional or boxed releases – the last one was CS6, which came out over a year ago. Adobe will continue to offer CS6 for purchase and free trial going forward (in download form only), for those who need perpetual licensing – however, if you want the the new 2013 versions of Adobe’s creative tools with the latest features and upgrades, then getting Adobe CC via the Creative Cloud is now the only way to do it.

Adobe sees the old model of static, monolithic 12-to-18-month software releases as outmoded in an increasingly fast-moving, connected, and collaborative world… Creative Cloud was introduced 18 months ago and since that time adoption has exceeded expectations: the Cloud has gained millions of users and received nearly 5-star reviews from customers, and so the company is now putting all of their resources into it.

They write:

“Adobe’s desktop tools, previously known as Creative Suite (CS) are now branded CC to reflect that they are an integral part of Creative Cloud and have been reinvented to support a more intuitive, connected way of creating. In all, Creative Cloud will now consist of more than 30 tools and services that enable professional grade content creation and delivery across print, web, mobile apps, video and photography. Focusing development on Creative Cloud will not only accelerate the rate at which Adobe can innovate but also broaden the type of innovation the company can offer the creative community.”

You can read more about Adobe’s reasons for the move in their online message to customers:

« Open Letter from the Creative Cloud Team to Our Creative Users »

What’s New in Adobe CC?

The company has added hundreds of new features into the CC release since CS6, focusing on productivity, performance, and connectivity. The 15 new CC products will download and run locally on your desktop just like normal; they are not web applications nor do they require continual Internet access to use.

They will be available automatically to all Creative Cloud members on the “CC” release date of Monday, June 17th – and free 30-day trials will be offered for download, even if you already have the free level of Creative Cloud membership and/or have used the CS6 trials.

Even after the CC release ships, Creative Cloud members will continue to be able to download and/or run all the CS6 tools if desired, on the same computer(s). As a reminder, Creative Cloud apps can be installed on up to two systems, including both Windows and Mac.

If you don’t want or need the whole Creative Cloud at this time, then Adobe also offers single-app memberships for $19.99 a month. And if you own any previous CS tool (from CS3 to CS6), then you can subscribe to any individual app for just $9.99 a month for the first year. So for example, a Photoshop CS3 user can get Photoshop CC for that price.

Adobe will continue to offer Student & Teacher Editions with discounts up to 75% off the regular prices for education customers including students, teachers, and academic staff. Just be sure you know the key differences between Adobe’s academic versions vs. regular. Here is the link to buy the CS6 education editions if you want that instead of the Cloud.

The company has put together an excellent FAQ that addresses a lot of general questions about the new release. There’s also an extensive set of CC overview videos on Adobe TV.

Here are some important aspects of what’s new with Adobe CC generally:

• Photoshop CC now includes all of the additional features and functionality that were only available in Photoshop Extended previously.
• InDesign CC, Flash Pro CC, and Audition CC now come in native 64-bit (fast) versions, in addition to 32-bit versions (similar to Photoshop and Illustrator).
• Fireworks CS6 will still be included in the Creative Cloud plus sold separately, however is not being upgraded to the “CC” family of tools.
• Likewise, Encore (for making DVD’s) is also not being updated to CC, but Encore CS6 can be used with Premiere Pro CC.
• We have the much-requested addition of Adobe InCopy, now included in the Creative Cloud as InCopy CC.
• Lightroom (including LR5) will continue to be available as a perpetual standalone product, as well as an included part of Creative Cloud.
• Adobe has lowered some prices with special promotions: Current CS6 owners can now get the Creative Cloud for $19.99 a month for the first year. From CS3 – CS5.5, it’s $29.99.
• The education deal is back: Students and teachers receive a discount of 60%-70% off the regular price worldwide, and pay US$19.99/month for the complete Cloud.
• If you need more than one copy, check out Creative Cloud for Teams – where pricing has been reduced to $39.99 a month for the first year (40% off) for upgraders.

For more in-depth coverage, see our CS6 vs. “CC” Version Comparison Guide just published.

Give your input before it ships – what would you like to see in the next release? Or do you have any questions about what’s coming?  Share your thoughts in the comments below or at Adobe’s official feature request “wishlist”…

Related Posts

• What’s the Difference Between Adobe CC (Creative Cloud) vs. CS6?
• What’s the Difference Between Adobe CS7(?) vs. CS6 – What’s New?
• CS7? Create Grace Period for Free Upgrade to Next Adobe Release
• New Discount Code: Get 40% Off Adobe Creative Cloud, NAB Special
• Adobe CS7? Next Release of Creative Suite to Come Out May 6th

[UPDATE (May 6th) – Major news out: Adobe Unveils New “CC” Release (CS7)...]

Adobe just slipped out a brief sneak peek of the upcoming new version (perhaps CS7?) of its popular InDesign application, “InDesign Sneak Peek: See What’s Coming Next.”  This short preview shows a revamped user interface demoing a new “Generate QR Code” feature.

Based on public information, we’ve previously written on how the next release of InDesign will be a native Cocoa app with full 64-bit support for high performance, and – if it’s been fully rearchitected like the similar changes coming for Flash Pro – then it should be much faster.

There’s also a customizable new user interface with light and dark themes (similar to what Photoshop got in CS6), as well as the long-awaited support for HiDPI displays (like the MacBook Pro Retina).

Finally, there’s now the capability to add and edit QR codes directly in any document, with a new command on the Object menu:

Want to create and edit QR codes directly in InDesign? This sneak peek shows you something we’re working on for the next version of InDesign. See more exciting developments on May 6 at Adobe MAX.

Check out additional first looks at the upcoming releases of Photoshop and Dreamweaver & Flash Pro, as well as new versions of the Creative Suite pro video tools.

Or see what’s new in all of the Creative Suite “Next” tools.

These are just partial feature lists of what’s coming, and all new releases and features will be included for Creative Cloud members at no additional cost – so if you’ve been thinking about going that route, Adobe says:

The new version‘s release date has not been announced, but there is a great way to get yourself to the front of the line. If you join Creative Cloud now, you will immedi­ately receive the entire stable of currently shipping CS6 applications AND you will automatically receive the new versions of all your favorite Adobe applications as soon as they are available.”

Related Posts

• Adobe Working on Cool Deblurring Tools for Both Video and Images
• 16 First Looks at Adobe CS7(?) Video Tools! The NAB Sneak Peeks
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• Watch the Adobe Create Now World Tour with Terry White [VIDEO]

Last week we got a sneak peek of a great feature that is likely to be in the next release of Photoshop: a new Camera Shake Reduction Tool, which was previously known as Photoshop Image Deblurring… We expect more details to be revealed about this and other new features in a possible CS7 announcement on May 6th.

But accomplishing this for still images isn’t the only cool deblurring application Adobe has been working on lately… Adobe researchers Jue Wang and Sunghyun Cho have published a paper on an innova­tive new technique to deblur videos as well – which could be huge considering how much handheld video footage is out there now, and growing every day. The develop­ment of this technology could be a big addition to video editing tools like Adobe’s Premiere Pro.

Here’s their summary:

Videos captured by hand-held cameras often contain significant camera shake, causing many frames to be blurry. Restoring shaky videos not only requires smoothing the camera motion and stabilizing the content, but also demands removing blur from video frames. However, video blur is hard to remove using existing single or multiple image deblurring techniques, as the blur kernel is both spatially and temporally varying.

This paper presents a video deblurring method that can effectively restore sharp frames from blurry ones caused by camera shake. Our method is built upon the observation that due to the nature of camera shakes, not all video frames are equally blurry. The same object may appear sharp on some frames while blurry on others. Our method detects sharp regions in the video, and uses them to restore blurry regions of the same content in nearby frames. Our method also ensures that the deblurred frames are both spatially and temporally coherent using patch-based synthesis. Experimental results show that our method can effectively remove complex video blur under the presence of moving objects and other outliers, which cannot be achieved using previous deconvolution-based approaches.

And check out this demo to see some of the very impressive results of their work:

Now, will we see this technology part of the upcoming release of Creative Suite or the Creative Cloud? It’s hard to say for sure from what’s been presented, but if things goes like they did for Image Deblurring, then we may see a sneak peek presented at Adobe MAX and then hopefully incorporated into Premiere in a future version. Right now, the biggest challenge seems to be the time needed to process and perform the video deblurring function, which is said to be about one minute per HD frame on an Intel Core i7 system, according to the researchers’ conference presentation. However, they add that the believe the technology is easily parallelizable, which may make it a good candidate for a cloud-based service.

And considering the Adobe CEO said recently that the new Photoshop Image Deblurring may be available only through a cloud service, that would be consistent.

What’s your view – would you like to see a capability like this in a future release of Premiere Pro?  Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

If you’ve been thinking about going with the Cloud, Adobe says:

The new version‘s release date has not been announced, but there is a great way to get yourself to the front of the line. If you join Creative Cloud now, you will immedi­ately receive the entire stable of currently shipping CS6 applications AND you will automatically receive the new versions of all your favorite Adobe applications as soon as they are available.”

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Adobe has made available an excellent resource that’s now updated for CS6 – a free printing handbook in the form of a 149-page downloadable e-book: The Adobe Creative Suite 6 Printing Guide. Earlier editions of this book have been out for previous releases (see the older CS5.x, CS4 and CS3 links below), but now this is fully refreshed and upgraded for the most recent versions of the products.

This very handy tome will tell you everything you ever need or wanted to know about getting great print results with your projects in Photoshop CS6 (including Extended), Illustrator CS6, InDesign CS6, and brand new Acrobat XI Pro. All the different tools, setups, settings, options, functions, and formats – what they mean and how to best use them to achieve your goals.

“The Adobe Creative Suite 6 Printing Guide will tell you everything you need to know to produce files that printers will love and published documents that clients will adore. Learn the best ways of handling and preparing CS6 files for print. Use it as a handy technical reference or as a training tool for new staff.” So anybody who would like a tutorial on how to print effectively and generate the most optimal output from their designs can gain something here…

Because some technologies and concepts – such as PDF creation, transparency, and the Graphics Model – are common across all Adobe products used for print design and production, the first chapter of a dozen pages is devoted solely to explaining common terminology and back­ground resources. And with the groundwork laid, the rest goes into comprehensive detail on things you probably have wanted to know at some point but were afraid to ask or didn’t know where.

So now, whether you print from Photoshop, InDesign, Illustrator, or Acrobat, this ebook explains all you need to know about successful printing and best practices in output generation.

And luckily, the price is right!

Here is the complete collection of these guides for current and older CS releases:

• Read/download the Adobe CS6 Printing Guide (PDF, 149 pages, 22MB)
• Read/download the Adobe CS5/CS5.5 Printing Guide (PDF, 140 pages, 20MB)
• Read/download the Adobe CS4 Printing Guide (PDF, 139 pages, 5MB)
• Read/download the Adobe CS3 Printing Guide (PDF, 120 pages, 7MB)

Also don’t miss these additional materials – over 1,000 pages of free e-books for all Adobe CS6 products that you can download to help learn the software, and/or three full, in-depth professional Creative Suite training courses, again at no charge…

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• What Are the Differences: CS6 vs. CS5.5 vs. CS5 vs. CS4 vs. CS3?

[UPDATE (May 6th) – The next release is announced! Learn more about new Adobe CC.]

Normally in the weeks before a new version of Creative Suite comes out, we don’t have a very concrete idea of what will be in it…

However this year – thanks to the early upgrades already out for Creative Cloud members, some telling blog posts, several “first look” videos, and a “major reveal” at the recent NAB show – we have already a pretty good picture of some of the major new features that CS7 (let’s call it) will include. Adobe says all of the new products will be included in the Creative Cloud as soon as they’re out.

Here below we’ve compiled some of the key information on what’s new and expected in the upcoming release, and will keep this list up-to-date as we move forward…

Adobe promises much more will be revealed in the presentation on May 6th – so stay tuned!

What’s New in CS7 vs. CS6?

So here’s a quick run-through of some of the top new features we expect for the top applications (click the product names for more details):

— Photoshop: Copy CSS support, Image Deblurring, Conditional Actions, plus lots more.

— Illustrator: Package Files and “Unembed” Images functions, Links Panel enhancements.

— InDesign: Retina Display and native 64-bit/Cocoa support with dark UI, plus QR Codes.

— Dreamweaver: Improved HTML5 support, new CSS Designer panel, better FTP transfers.

— Flash Professional: 64-bit architecture, native Cocoa, faster, more reliable, + new UI.

— Premiere Pro: Too many to list – see the “NAB Reveal” sneak peek videos.

— After Effects: Impressive new “Refine Edge” Rotoscoping and much, much more.

— Audition: Sound Remover, Preview Editor, Native 64-Bit Performance, Favorites Panel.

— Prelude, SpeedGrade, Media Encoder: See the first looks.

— Inclusion into suite editions of new Acrobat XI Pro, which is already in the Cloud.

— More to come – we will keep this list updated going forward…

If you’ve been thinking about going with the Cloud, Adobe says:

The new version’s release date has not been announced, but there is a great way to get yourself to the front of the line. If you join Creative Cloud now, you will immedi­ately receive the entire stable of currently shipping CS6 applications AND you will automatically receive the new versions of all your favorite Adobe applications as soon as they are available.”

If you want to know what’s different in CS6 going back to prior releases, check out the comparisons of earlier versions of the Creative Suite, for example CS6 vs. CS5 or CS4.

Related Posts

• What’s the Difference Between Adobe CC (Creative Cloud) vs. CS6?
• Adobe Unveils New “CC” Release (CS7) Exclusively in Creative Cloud
• CS7? Create Grace Period for Free Upgrade to Next Adobe Release
• Why Creative Cloud Gets Free Upgrades but Adobe CS6 Doesn’t
• Free! 130 Hours of Training and Tutorials from Adobe MAX 2013

Summer is coming and school will be out soon… But if you want to take the break as an oppor­tunity to learn new skills, did you know that Adobe offers free full-year curriculums on print, web, and video design? The three extensive, project-based courses are downloadable to anyone for building career and communica­tion expertise using industry-leading tools, although naturally you can go at your own speed. The programs include presentations, technical guides, project guidelines, reproducible student materials and select media assets, and each project builds on lessons learned previously. Time-saving new features in CS6 are high­lighted within the 2,400+ pages of total content.

Adobe collaborated with a community of educators across the US and UK to develop the appropriate depth and breadth of each project. Additionally, Adobe co-developed the classes with the International Society of Technology Education (ISTE) to create standards-aligned, career-track, course materials that focus on the major fields below. They are recommended for use when preparing for Adobe certification (Adobe Certified Associate, or ACA).

The three extensive course offerings are:

1. Visual Design: Foundations of Design and Print Production (641 pages)
2. Digital Design: Foundations of Web Design (1088 pages)
3. Digital Video: Foundations of Video Design and Production (681 pages)

Visual Design develops key digital skills such as design, communication, project management, and graphic and print technology. Students use Adobe Photoshop CS6 Extended to develop images, InDesign CS6 to design and build layouts and print materials, and Illustrator CS6 to create vector-based graphics and illustrations to add interest. They use Adobe Acrobat Pro to review and improve content, produce print-ready materials, and develop a portfolio. The curriculum can be used in photography or graphic design education, or in broader career and technical education.

Digital Design develops important digital skills such as web design and production, project management, and web technology. Students use Adobe Dreamweaver CS6 to design and build websites, Fireworks CS6 to develop static and interactive graphics, and Flash Profes­sional CS6 to apply design solutions requiring rich media and interactivity. Includes technical instruction on teaching HTML5 and CSS3, working with HTML5 video, designing and developing games and mobile applications, deploying to multiple screens, and utilizing web-hosted fonts. This curriculum can be used in web design education or in more general career and technical education.

The Digital Video curriculum develops knowledge in storytelling, capturing and editing video and audio, and finalizing content for DVD or web through emphasis on design, production, project management, and video technology. Students employ Adobe Premiere Pro CS6 to edit video, and Audition CS6 to create and edit audio. They use Adobe After Effects CS6 to enhance videos and add motion effects, Story CS6 to write scripts and prepare for video shoots, and Encore CS6 to produce content for a DVD. Use this curriculum in career and technical education courses — or any other course that involves the use of video.

Learn more about the free downloadable curriculums… There are CS5 and CS4 versions of the classes still available there as well.  If you need any of the software to get started, just download a free trial of the Creative Cloud and you’ll get CS6 now, plus the next release soon.

Related Posts

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• Free Adobe CS6 eBooks — Download 1,022 Pages of New Tutorials
• What’s the Difference Between Adobe Student Editions vs. Regular?

[UPDATE (May 6th) – Major news out: Adobe Unveils New “CC” Release (CS7)...]

At their last MAX conference in October 2011, Adobe showed a sneak peak of some exciting work in progress: the prototype of a new Photoshop Image Deblurring feature that takes shaky photos and brings them into focus. The demonstration was impressive and the tech­nology received huge press at the time, but ultimately was said to be too early stage to make it into the final release of Photoshop CS6 last year.  Since that time, our readers have been asking about the status of the unblurring function – and when, where, and how we might see it finally released and available to the public…

Well now, we may finally have the answer.

This morning Adobe slipped out a first look of the next release of Photoshop entitled, “See What’s to Come” – a new version which we expect to launch on May 6th.  Included built into the application (and not a plug-in as the 2011 demo was) is a new feature called “Camera Shake Reduction,” which will automatically deblur photos.

Senior Photoshop Product Manager Zorana Gee explains:

Today I’m going to show you a sneak peak of a few features we’re working on for photographers. Camera Shake Reduction is a tool that allows one to deblur an image that would have otherwise been lost. It works really great for shots taken under low light conditions or slow shutter speeds.

Here in Photoshop under the Filter menu, I’ll go ahead and launch the Shake Reduction dialog… Photoshop will automatically detect an area to deblur. Here you can see the before, and the after.

Make sure you check out Adobe MAX where you can learn more about what’s coming next for Photoshop and the rest of the Adobe’s creative tools.

Watch it here:

What’s interesting is that last year, the Adobe CEO said that Photoshop Image Deblurring “will be available through a cloud service – and only through a cloud service.”

So with the anticipated arrival of this new capability next month, will it be something that’s available only via the Creative Cloud?

We won’t be able to answer that defini­tively until the announcement on May 6th…  Further, we have good reason to believe that Adobe also has a deblurring capability in the works for video footage as well – and hope to find out more then.

See additional first looks at new versions of Dreamweaver and Flash Pro, as well as the Creative Suite pro video tools. There’s also a preview of InDesign.

[ Learn more about the unblur feature and how it works, or check out some amazing before-and-after photos of the technology in action. ]

What do you think – with smartphones being the most popular cameras now, is automatic photograph deblurring an addition you’d like to use? Let us know in the comments below…

If you’ve been thinking about going with the Cloud, Adobe says:

The new version‘s release date has not been announced, but there is a great way to get yourself to the front of the line. If you join Creative Cloud now, you will immedi­ately receive the entire stable of currently shipping CS6 applications AND you will automatically receive the new versions of all your favorite Adobe applications as soon as they are available.”

Related Posts

• Adobe Working on Cool Deblurring Tools for Both Video and Images
• Photoshop CS7? See New Features Coming in the Next Release
• What’s the Difference Between Adobe CC (Creative Cloud) vs. CS6?
• Adobe Unveils New “CC” Release (CS7) Exclusively in Creative Cloud
• What’s the Difference Between Adobe CS7(?) vs. CS6 – What’s New?

NEWS FLASH – Adobe has just announced a free public beta release of the eagerly-anticipated Photoshop Lightroom 5, with new tools and advancements to develop, enhance and share your digital photographs… Lightroom 5 provides photographers with an elegant and efficient way to work with their growing digital image collections, bring out the best in their images, and make an impact from raw capture to creative output, all while maintaining the highest possible quality each step of the way.

“The Lightroom team is proud to introduce the fifth major version of the product designed for and by photographers. We’ve been hard at work improving an application that’s intended to be as easy to use as it is powerful. This release builds on the image quality improvements in Lightroom 4 to provide a truly complete workflow and imaging solution. We encour­age you to try the beta release and provide your feedback to the product team.”

Available as a free public download for Windows and Mac, the Lightroom 5 beta is a limited-time preview of new features and capabilities that will be offered in the final release of LR5, expected in mid-2013 and available separately as well as part of the Creative Cloud.

New Features in Lightroom 5 Beta

Here’s the quick hit list of what’s new – for more details check out the Lightroom Journal or the “LR5 Top 5″ video below:

• Performance Improvements – Lightroom 5 user interactivity is quicker and faster.
• Smart Previews – Edit and showcase your images while offline from the originals.
• Advanced Healing Brush – Heal or clone using brush strokes of any shape or form.
• Radial Filter – Apply any of LR’s local adjustment attributes with a circular mask.
• Upright Tool – Automatically level horizons, straighten buildings, & correct askew lines.
• New Visualize Spots Tool – Highlights sensor dust spots for easy removal.
• Slideshows with Videos and Still Images – Bring images, video clips & music together.
• Improved Photo Book Creation – Customize with templates, captions, and more.
• PNG File Support
• True Full Screen Mode
• And more – Almost 50 additional features and JDIs.

Note that some user-requested features like person/face recognition and support for shared catalogs on network drives are not in the beta version, but we’ll have to see what the final release brings.

LR5 Beta Download Availability

The free Lightroom 5 beta program is open and available to the public. Anyone with an Internet connection can download and test it out in full. You do not need to own (or have tried) a previous version of Lightroom, and there is no serial number required. The Lightroom 5 beta will not overwrite or interfere with any existing installation of Lightroom 1, 2, 3, or 4.

You can download the beta immediately and use it freely until the product expires at the end of June. Please see this detailed post for the minimum system requirements and installation instructions, as well as more information on the new features and known issues. One possible hiccup for some users is that Lightroom 5 is not supported on Mac OS 10.6 or Windows Vista systems or lower.

Also be sure to give your feedback to the Adobe developers…

Introduction to Lightroom 5

And here’s a great video review from Creative Evangelist Terry White to get you started…

The final version of Lightroom 5 will be included automatically in the Creative Cloud – and if you’re not a member yet, now is a fantastic time to sign up because Adobe is offering a special one-time 40% discount until the 19th of April.

For Lightroom 4, the Current Release

For Creative Suite and Creative Cloud

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• Adobe Releases Final Version of Lightroom 3.2 – A Free Update

[UPDATE (May 6th) – Major news out: Adobe Unveils New “CC” Release (CS7)...]

With over 2.5 million customers having already joined in the ten months since it launched, Adobe’s new Creative Cloud offering has been a success exceeding even the company’s own expectations. Still, there are a lot of misconceptions out there that we see from time to time, or that some folks seem to believe… (do you?)  Here below we dispel and debunk the top 10 most common myths we’ve heard – and hopefully even if you already know the scoop or use Creative Cloud you’ll pick something up… read on!

Myth #1: “‘Creative Cloud’ sounds like cloud storage only – which is just a way to store your files, and I already have Dropbox which is free.”

Some may find the name misleading – but the Creative Cloud is actually a comprehensive collection of creative tools and services including all fourteen CS6 products, Acrobat XI Pro, Adobe Muse, Lightroom 4, Digital Publishing Suite, Behance ProSite, Adobe Edge, and more – the complete working versions…  You do also get 2-20 gigabytes of online storage space for sharing, syncing, and viewing your files, but that is only one piece of of the big picture.

Myth #2: “I don’t want to be constantly connected to the Internet to start and run my creative apps; what happens when I’m on a plane?”

You do not have to be continually connected to the Internet.  After the CC applications are installed on your desktop, online access is only required once every 99 days for revalidation of your membership. And there are solutions in place if you will be offline for an extended period – like traveling for six months without web access… just contact Customer Service.

Myth #3: “The applications can’t be very powerful if they are running in a browser – trying to run Photoshop over the web is going to be really slow.”

None of the the tools mentioned above are hosted or web-based versions… These are the genuine desktop products that you download and install right on your computers, and work just like usual – these are not web applications, it’s not “software as a service” (SaaS), and your CS6 programs like Photoshop will run as normal.

Myth #4: “The subscription model sounds like it might be more expensive than perpetual licensing, so it may not be worth it to me.”

When you add up the price tags of all the individual products you can install and use in the Creative Cloud, the total value is more than US$10,000. The CS6 Master Suite by itself sells for $2,600, and that’s just part of what you get… All upgrades are included, as well as early access to new features and free professional training.  You can access all of these leading products for $19-$49 a month, one year at a time, and install them on up to two of your computers (including both PC and Mac) – compare the two options in detail here.

Myth #5: “So I can have the entire latest Master Collection and more for $1-2/day, and do anything with it – it must be too good to be true, no?”

There’s no catch. It works exactly as described, you can imagine and create without bound­aries using all of the world’s best tools for photo, image, video, audio, graphics, illustration, web, print, mobile, publishing, gaming, animation, development and design – and so far the overall user reviews and ratings are close to 5 stars out of five.  And if you only want to use one single tool, then you can sign up for even less ($14-19) with a Single-App Membership.

Myth #6: “Well, then Adobe is going to entice everyone to the Cloud – and once we are all hooked, they are going to jack up the prices.”

Adobe has offered subscription-based CS products for six years now, and over that time their prices have only fallen, never risen… You’ve got elasticity of the demand curve – the lower the monthly rate, the more people sign up, the greater the cost is spread out, and repeat.  It’s a virtuous cycle in our view – and if anything, no guarantees but we think prices will continue to drop as the Cloud grows. Raising to unaffordable rates would be counterproductive.

Myth #7: “If my friend or client or colleague isn’t a Creative Cloud member, I can’t share my files with them.” …or… “But I don’t want to share all my work publicly.”

You easily set different levels of sharing for any or all of your stored files online, from sharing them publicly with anyone who is not a member to not sharing them at all. Viewers will be able to do many things like see thumbnails and larger previews, change layer states of PSD files, step through Illustrator artboards and InDesign and PDF pages, and see file metadata from within their browser [watch video demo here].  And you can also keep or share your files on your disk as normal, because using the online storage in the Cloud is completely optional.

Myth #8: “The Creative Cloud isn’t free (is it?), so if I leave then I will lose all my files.”

No worries – there is a totally free (for life) level of Creative Cloud membership which provides 10 terrific benefits including free products & services, that anyone can sign up for… If you cancel a paid membership then you’ll have a 90-day grace period bring any cloud storage down to the size of 2GB free (or can buy additional storage separately if you like).  You prob­ably also saved your files locally on your computer as well, before sharing online.

Myth #9: “Why do only Cloud members get exclusive new features and early upgrades? It must mean Adobe has something against its traditional customers.”

Actually the Creative Cloud is a different business and financial model from anything that Adobe has done before, and because of that they are able to offer free upgrades to subscription-based customers where they couldn’t previously – read why here.

Myth #10: “With the Cloud you can’t ever stay on or run previous versions if you want to, you are always forced to update to the latest release, right? I might not always be ready to do that, plus some plug-ins might not yet work with the newer version.”

No, in fact it’s optional – and your call. Creative Cloud makes updates avail­able for those who want to install them, but the applica­tion manager will not automati­cally update your system without your go-ahead… You can continue using the versions you have already downloaded, and then choose if and when to install the new releases, whenever is convenient for you.

Bonus Myth: “If for some reason Adobe decides to stop offering products in the Creative Cloud, then I’ll be stuck.”

In the event that Adobe decides to discontinue any products in the Creative Cloud, then they will make the most recent full and permanent version of the software available free of charge to active members on an as-is basis. But that seems unlikely to happen, because with the brisk adoption the offering has been receiving – 12,000 new customers each week – the future of Creative Cloud appears bright.

“In the event that Adobe decides to discontinue any of the products in Creative Cloud, we will make the most recent version of the product available for download free of charge to active Creative Cloud members for a period of no less than 90 days. Such downloads will not require a subscription and will be licensed on an as-is, no warranty basis …”

If you’ve been thinking about going with the Cloud, Adobe says:

The new version‘s release date has not been announced, but there is a great way to get yourself to the front of the line. If you join Creative Cloud now, you will immedi­ately receive the entire stable of currently shipping CS6 applications AND you will automatically receive the new versions of all your favorite Adobe applications as soon as they are available.”

Do you have any questions, thoughts, or other myths you’ve heard about the Creative Cloud?  Check out our extensive Creative Cloud FAQ, or just post them below and we’ll get you answers fast!

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• ProDesignTools Greatest Hits: Best Adobe Articles & Tips of All Time

[UPDATE (May 6th) – Major news out: Adobe Unveils New “CC” Release (CS7)...]

Based on recent indications from Adobe, we expect a new release of Creative Suite and/or Creative Cloud to be unveiled at their big annual MAX Conference on May 6th, just a few weeks away…

Historically during times like these, the company has set a “grace period” or grandfather offer to provide free upgrades to the next versions for customers buying the older software around the time of new releases – and in fact, such an “Upgrade Assurance promotion” deal was announced for CS6 in March of last year.

However, no such announcement has been forth­coming this year, perhaps due to the advent of Creative Cloud – where all paid members already receive all product updates and upgrades at no additional charge as soon as they are available.

But no matter – you can actually create your own grace period now, whether one officially exists or not.

The key is in awareness of Adobe’s longstanding Software Return/Exchange Policy – whereby you can return your purchase to them within 30 days and they will grant you a full refund, no questions asked. This is possible even if you’ve already opened, installed, activated, and started using your product – and can be done quickly over live online chat with their customer service team.

(The best part is nothing ever has to be returned physically, because the product returns all happen electroni­cally through deactivation of software license keys.)

So, if you buy something today (either CS6 or Creative Cloud, full or upgrade) – but new information or a newer version comes out within 30 days from now to change your decision – then you can easily return whatever you bought and get something else instead, no problem.

In a nutshell, this automatic protection means you can move forward with confidence and get started with your software today and not have to worry about what happens on May 6th, because you now have an “insurance policy” if you should change your mind or see something better then.

Naturally, the other options are to use the 30-day free trial downloads – or a go with month-to-month Cloud subscription to retain flexibility and see what happens, rather than make a fixed full purchase now that may soon become obsolete.

If you’ve been thinking about going with the Cloud, Adobe says:

The new version‘s release date has not been announced, but there is a great way to get yourself to the front of the line. If you join Creative Cloud now, you will immedi­ately receive the entire stable of currently shipping CS6 applications AND you will automatically receive the new versions of all your favorite Adobe applications as soon as they are available.”

Either way you decide, you can read more on the details of Adobe’s Return Policy to assure yourself, then go for it!

Give your input before it ships – what would you like to see in CS7?  Share your thoughts below or on Adobe’s official feature request “wishlist”…

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• Why Creative Cloud Gets Free Upgrades but Adobe CS6 Doesn’t
• Free! 130 Hours of Training and Tutorials from Adobe MAX 2013
• Adobe Unveils New “CC” Release (CS7) Exclusively in Creative Cloud

[UPDATE (May 6th) – The next release is announced! Learn more about new Adobe CC.]

Recent indications from Adobe hint that they will announce a new version of Creative Suite on the morning of Monday, May 6th.

May 6th is the first day – and main keynote address – of the big annual MAX conference in Los Angeles, California.

These release tipoffs have come in the form of new sneak peek videos of what’s going to be in the next generation of CS tools – see the preview for Photoshop, and new InDesign, as well as for Dreamweaver & Flash Pro.

Adobe is ending all these “first look” videos with a teaser page: “Learn what’s coming next from Adobe to help you create your greatest work. May 6th at MAX.”

And in one of the official blog posts accompanying these videos, the product manager says, “Over the past 12 months we have been hard at work on the next version of Dreamweaver and today we’re excited to give you a first look… Make sure you check out Adobe MAX, where you can learn more about what’s coming next for Dreamweaver and for the rest of Adobe’s creative tools.”

What’s more, the MAX conference has many sessions with titles like, “What’s New in Adobe Photoshop / Illustrator / InDesign / …” – and tellingly, the lists of features to be covered are definitely not present in CS6…

Which means there should be news of a new release of these applications by that time.

Typically, the springtime is when we’ve been seeing new versions of Creative Suite anyway – so this jibes with historical patterns.

If you want to see what’s going to be available soon (and there is some chatter on the Adobe Forums saying it would be CS7), then just tune in yourself on Monday, May 6th at 9:30am Pacific Time for the free live webcast of the keynote address.

We also have an early read on what’s going to be in it – check out the list of expected new features here.

If you’ve been thinking about going with the Cloud, Adobe says:

The new version‘s release date has not been announced, but there is a great way to get yourself to the front of the line. If you join Creative Cloud now, you will immedi­ately receive the entire stable of currently shipping CS6 applications AND you will automatically receive the new versions of all your favorite Adobe applications as soon as they are available.”

Why Creative Cloud Is Your Only CS Purchase Option Now

Finally, our best advice to our readers. We’ve been covering Adobe software for over six years, and invariably there are customers who wind up upset when purchasing Creative Suite tools right before a new release…

Nobody wants to buy a major product and then have it already be displaced by a newer version within a short time.

In the past, Adobe has offered “grace periods” for free upgrades to recent purchasers, but there is definitely no guarantee that would continue with the advent of the Creative Cloud, which is growing very popular…

The reason is because all full Creative Cloud members automatically receive all upgrades for free anyway, they are included with membership… So presently, there is no risk to signing up for the Cloud now because CS7 would become available immediately and at no additional cost in the Creative Cloud.

So bottom line, if you can’t wait until May and need or want to use CS tools now, then you might want to consider signing up for a month-to-month Cloud membership or individual product subscription – and those could get you to the big news and coming announcements, and then you can see and be more informed with the latest software out (or available soon thereafter).

Just our sense for what could help out in navigating with this “upcoming version” on the way… and here’s a brand new spot from Adobe describing how it works:

Give your input before it ships – what would you like to see in the next release?  Share your thoughts in the comments below or at Adobe’s official feature request “wishlist”…

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• CS7? Create Grace Period for Free Upgrade to Next Adobe Release
• New Discount Code: Get 40% Off Adobe Creative Cloud, NAB Special

[UPDATE (May 6th) – The next release is announced! Learn more about new Adobe CC.]

In recent days Adobe has been slipping out little sneak peeks of new product versions (perhaps CS7?) entitled, “Early Views Into the Next Generations Of Dreamweaver and Flash Professional.”  These brief first looks show improvements centered on re-architecting the tools for performance, usability, and stability – as well as adding some new features and keeping on top of technological trends.

For the next release of Flash Pro (code-named “Hellcat”), there’s a blazing new 64-bit archi­tecture, written in native cocoa – making the program modularized, much faster, and more reliable so you can be more efficient. For example, start time has been cut to just 2 seconds, 10X faster than CS6… There’s also a new user interface with light and dark themes, plus support for HiDPI displays (e.g. MacBook Pro Retina) – read more details here.

For the upcoming version of Dreamweaver, you’ll be getting a modernized, retooled and streamlined user interface with some old features deprecated, and new ones like the CSS Designer added for responsive web design. The CSS Designer is a visual interface to quickly and intuitively work with CSS properties like gradients, box shadows, and media queries to support web content presented in different-sized media. Adobe says this feature will be available later this year and you can find more information in this blog post.

Find out more about the next generation of Adobe Flash Professional.

Get more details on the next release of Adobe Dreamweaver.

Dreamweaver and Flash Pro are available standalone or in the CS6 suites, and also two of the many tools in the Creative Cloud offering… Any new product features or versions that Adobe releases in the future will automatically be available free to Cloud members.

Note at the end of both videos there is a big teaser!

« Learn what’s coming next from Adobe to help you create your greatest work: May 6th. »

Check out more first looks at new versions of the Creative Suite video tools, as well as a sneak peek of Photoshop CS7(?) and the upcoming release of InDesign “Next”.

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• Adobe Working on Cool Deblurring Tools for Both Video and Images

The Creative Cloud and Creative Suite 6 are the most powerful and versatile toolsets Adobe has ever produced and so we’re seeing a lot of demand for training resources to learn how to best use these products…

In January we posted details on over 30 hours of free video tutorials for CS6, and last month published details on a fantastic new ebook for getting started learning the Adobe Design Suite (194 pages).  But if you’re looking for a nice primer or beginner’s lessons for Adobe Dreamweaver, that’s harder to find.

Fortunately there’s a a new book you can download that will teach you the essentials of Adobe Dreamweaver for free, thanks to the generosity of author Professor Thomas Payne… He writes:

“These tutorials are designed to get you through the basics of making web sites in Dreamweaver with the most flexibility and the least amount of work. Think of them as supplying you with a toolbox full of tools to start making good websites.

They are deceptively packed with informa­tion, and they are designed to also act as reference after you are finished completing them. Web pages across the Internet have a lot of similarities, and the information here is designed to cover many of these similarities.”

The illustrations in these tutorials are from CS6, but the CS5.5 and CS5 panels and buttons covered in this book are functionally similar.

You can download in the book in PDF format after signing in with your Adobe ID (which is easy to create if you don’t already have one). The full book file is less than 4MB in size, so shouldn’t take long for you to grab:

If you don’t have the software yet, just download a free working trial for any CS6 product for Windows or Mac (or try the whole Creative Cloud) – then install, run, and start your training…

[ Trying to decide which is right for you?  See: Creative Cloud vs. CS6 Comparison ]

If you’d like more free books to continue your Adobe training, be sure to also check out this additional collection of 10 free CS6 ebooks covering all applications (over 1,000 pages).

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[UPDATE (May 6th) – Major news out: Adobe Unveils New “CC” Release (CS7)...]

Just in time for the big NAB show, Adobe has given us an enormous window onto what they’re calling an “upcoming version” of their industry-leading Creative Suite professional video tools: Premiere Pro, After Effects, Audition, SpeedGrade, Prelude, Media Encoder, Story Plus, and new Adobe Anywhere.

Powerful new features are coming to Adobe’s industry-leading video and audio tools. You’ll soon be able to work even more creatively, seamlessly, and profitably — from script to screen. Here’s an early look at what to expect in the upcoming releases …

See the complete NAB Reveal here.

What’s immediately apparent from the huge list of new features and improvements is that Adobe’s product development teams have been very busy in the twelve months since CS6 came out…

We’ve known since 2010 that Creative Suite was moving to an annual release cycle, and that Creative Cloud would eventually make formal CS cycles obsolete by releasing free product upgrades as soon as they are ready.

And we now believe this next release of Creative Suite will be launched on May 6th and there’s some chatter that it would be CS7.

So what’s new in these upcoming versions? Here are some very quick highlights – for more details click on the product names below because there is much more:

• Premiere Pro: Editing Finesse, Link & Locate, Audio Clip Mixer, closed captioning support
• After Effects: Warp Stabilizer VFX, “Refine Edge” Rotoscoping, Live 3D w/CINEMA 4D Lite
• Audition: Sound Remover, Preview Editor, Native 64-Bit Performance, Favorites Panel
• Prelude: Easy Metadata Templates, Hover Scrub Thumbnails, Native 64-Bit Architecture
• SpeedGrade: Shot Matcher, Rebuilt Interface, Luma Waveform Scope, Mercury Transmit
• Media Encoder: Match Source Settings, Export Closed Captions, New MPEG-2 Exporters
• Adobe Anywhere: Brand new workflow platform, final availability expected in May 2013

And Adobe states:

The new version‘s release date has not been announced, but there is a great way to get yourself to the front of the line. If you join Creative Cloud now, you will immedi­ately receive the entire stable of currently shipping CS6 applications AND you will automatically receive the new versions of all your favorite Adobe applications as soon as they are available.”

Check out more first looks at new versions of Dreamweaver and Flash Pro, as well as a sneak peek of Photoshop CS7(?) and the upcoming release of InDesign “Next”.

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Founder Cites Mayan Calendar, Vintage Cars, and Memorable Birthday Party in Decision

SAN JOSE, Calif.—April 1, 2013—Following a recent software trend for high version numbers, Adobe Systems announced today that it would be forgoing a Creative Suite version 7 and moving straight to Creative Suite 17.

Commenting on the move, Founder John Adobe explained that with the recent availability of Firefox 19, Chrome 25, and AutoCAD 19, it made no sense to stay on low version numbers any longer.

“Single digits are so last-century… People like big release numbers. This is America, and we like things big,” said Mr. Adobe. “We normally put a lot into each major release we do, but imagine moving 10 versions!  CS17 is going to to knock your socks off, as well as a tens digit,” he added.

Why 17?

“I remember my 17th birthday, it was a great time,” recalled Adobe. “I got my permit that year and it was the first time I could drive on my own. Well, using CS17 is going to be like operating a fine automobile… Or like drinking a fine wine, which gets better with age of course. After all, would you rather have a wine that was 7 years old, or 17?”

When asked why not wait to reach CS17 on its own, Mr. Adobe replied, “Well heck, that would take a decade or longer – who’s got time to wait around for that?  People want results – and we figured, why put it off?  Besides, 17 is a lucky number on the Mayan calendar this year.  Imagine: Photoshop CS17!”

Adobe Photoshop CS17

So, what new features will be in CS17, when compared to CS6?

“Big stuff. Really big stuff,” promised Adobe. “For starters, we’ve got this amazing new tool – it’s called Content-Aware Content. Basically you just open Photoshop, draw a big box and it puts in your content for you. Whatever you want, whatever you’re thinking of – it’s there auto­matically.  Boom, a little clean-up and you’re done.  This feature is an incredible timesaver, and you’ve got to see it to believe it.”

OK, it sounds fantastic – can we see it now, do you have a demo?

“Uh, um, no. Oops, actually I wasn’t supposed to tell you that yet… You’ll have to wait for the sneak peek.”

No word yet on upgrade pricing from CS6 to CS17… however we’re told that Creative Cloud members will receive CS17 and all other product upgrades at no additional cost.

» Learn what’s coming next from Adobe on May 6th, 2013! (really)

In the meantime, grab four easy chances to win a full CS6 Design & Web Premium Suite or Photoshop CS6 absolutely FREE in our Spring Giveaway, open worldwide and worth US$2,600! (no kidding)

[UPDATE – Now confirmed: Next Release of Creative Suite to Launch May 6th.]

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• CS7? Create Grace Period for Free Upgrade to Next Adobe Release
• New Discount Code: Get 40% Off Adobe Creative Cloud, NAB Special

[UPDATE (May 6th) – Major news out: Adobe Unveils New “CC” Release (CS7)...]

You have probably heard about Adobe’s recent acquisition of Behance, the leading online commu­nity and social media platform for creative professionals, with over 18 million visitors per month…

With Behance, you can easily upload your photographs, projects, or portfolios and gain a fantastic way to showcase, share, and get exposure for your work as well as receive feedback from the creative community, and get inspired for future work.

Yesterday, Adobe announced it has completed integration of Behance with the Creative Cloud, and it is now making the premium-level Behance ProSite (normally $100/year) completely free for all Creative Cloud members.

In literally five minutes, ProSite transforms your online portfolio into a slick, fully-customizable website hosted by Behance with your own URL, without writing any code… You can quickly design a stunning, professional-looking public portfolio site (see some examples here) that automatically stays in sync with your projects on Behance, increasing your efficiency and helping your work get more exposure from Behance’s enormous viewership as the premier creative community destination.

And now, as a Creative Cloud member – or even if you subscribe to just one application like Photoshop, you get the ProSite included as part of your mem­bership at no additional cost… Check out this video to see how easy and fast it is to do this:

Find out more about how to create and publish your own ProSite in a snap – or join the Creative Cloud and get started today:

(Note: There are over 2 million members now for the free level of Creative Cloud and these folks can use Behance, however only paid members are able to build and use a ProSite.)

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[UPDATE (May 6th) – The next release is announced! Learn more about new Adobe CC.]

By now you have probably already heard about the benefits of Creative Cloud and how it compares vs. the traditional CS licensing…

Now it is being proven in the marketplace, Adobe reveals with its latest membership figures.

Last night the company divulged the latest member stats since the new offering was officially released in May 2012 – see the press release here.

The numbers are impressive: Over 2.5 million customers have now signed up worldwide, including over 500,000 paying subscribers – with an accelerating pace of almost 12,000 new paid members per week. For a new product only ten months old this is pretty strong adoption, even if most to date have joined for the benefits given in the free version of Creative Cloud.

What’s perhaps even more impressive are some of the numbers that came out of Adobe’s analyst conference call that followed the news…

In a nutshell, the switch has flipped and more customers are now opting for Cloud membership over the traditional CS6 products… The company says: “Creative Cloud is quickly becoming mainstream, with the overwhelming majority of Creative purchases on Adobe.com now being Creative Cloud subscriptions.” Aside from affordability, this may also be because of all the exclusive updates that the Cloud software has received in recent months for many of the included applications, as well as other benefits like products you get only in Creative Cloud. Management also cites more and more awareness of the offering, as well as its viral nature with the very strong customer reviews.

What’s more, 92% of Creative Cloud subscribers are on an annual plan, versus month-to-month; and 81% of subscribers are licensed to the full Creative Cloud versus individual tool subscriptions. Adobe sees momentum continuing with sequential quarterly increases in the number of new subscribers throughout the year, and expects 1.25 million paid subscribers the end of 2013, and 4 million subscribers by the end of 2015!

You can read the full transcript here.

[ Do you believe any of these?  The 10 Most Common Myths About Creative Cloud ]

“Exciting Announcements to Come in May”

With the switch to annual Creative Suite releases in 2010, the spring season has become the point in the cycle where customers historically have been more cautious about buying a traditional CS product. That’s because folks don’t want to end up buying a static piece of software that quickly becomes obsolete with the next CS version being released.

But now with the advent and availability of the Creative Cloud, that point becomes moot – because free product upgrades are always included automatically, even with the month-to-month subscriptions.

Adobe in fact hinted this last night: “Creative Cloud is becoming the go-to destination for creative professionals, satisfying their need to access all their creative tools and services, as well as sync and store their work, and collaborate with their colleagues. Creative Cloud subscription growth is being driven by its attractive pricing as well as frequent product, feature and service enhancements we are providing. The value and rich features of Creative Cloud is also helping us achieve our goal of bringing in new customers, customers who have never before done business with Adobe.”

And: “Creative Cloud momentum continues to build. We are regularly releasing new innovation and are dramatically enhancing and simplifying the creative process for our customers. We have much more innovation coming to Creative Cloud, and we will make some exciting announcements at our MAX conference in May. We look forward to seeing you then.”

UPDATE (April 10th) – The company furthered this today: “The conference will feature highly anticipated MAX keynotes … that will explore the dramatically changing creative process and major advance­ments in technology. Adobe is expected to unveil a milestone update to Adobe Creative Cloud at the event.”

[ Trying to decide which is right for you?  See: Creative Cloud vs. CS6 Comparison ]

The End of Boxed Versions

Finally, Adobe has confirmed what we reported here last week: “We are moving away from shrink-wrapped, boxed products. We will have some savings from that, and the fact that we don’t have to manufacture and ship that boxed product any more. The savings on the pack­aged products does, to some extent, get offset by the fact that we have storage costs and things like that through the Creative Cloud offering.”

Read more about this upcoming shift here:

Adobe to Discontinue Boxed Sales of Creative Suite (CS6) Software

If you’ve been thinking about going with the Cloud, Adobe says:

The new version‘s release date has not been announced, but there is a great way to get yourself to the front of the line. If you join Creative Cloud now, you will immedi­ately receive the entire stable of currently shipping CS6 applications AND you will automatically receive the new versions of all your favorite Adobe applications as soon as they are available.”

And here’s a brand new spot from Adobe describing how it works:

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[UPDATE (May 6th) – The next release is announced! Learn more about new Adobe CC.]

One could say that Adobe After Effects is the Photoshop of the video editing world, creating graphics and visual effects for moving pictures… And rotoscoping is effectively cutting an object out from a video so that it can be manipulated separately or placed somewhere else. Creating a perfect mask (or matte) that accurately defines the in-motion object has been particularly challenging over the years, an often painstaking and time-consuming task…

But now enter the next release of After Effects (perhaps CS7?) – which promises a new “Refine Edge” feature to make this work (look like) child’s play… Here’s the history of rotoscoping technology over the years and what After Effects will be able to do for you in the future – and it’s impressive to watch even if you have never before used After Effects:

Read more details on this new feature at the Adobe After Effects Blog.

After Effects is available standalone or in two CS6 suites, and also one of the many tools in the Creative Cloud offering. Any new product features or versions that Adobe releases in the future will automatically be available free to Cloud members.

Adobe confirms:

The new version‘s release date has not been announced, but there is a great way to get yourself to the front of the line. If you join Creative Cloud now, you will immedi­ately receive the entire stable of currently shipping CS6 applications AND you will automatically receive the new versions of all your favorite Adobe applications as soon as they are available.”

When will this new software be launched? We believe it’s coming on May 6th.

[UPDATE (April 4, 2013) – NAB sneak peeks out! 16 first looks at new CS7 video tools here.]

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