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Adobe Announces Flash Player 10.1 and AIR 2.0 with Multitouch Support

Bart Salisbury — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 14:16:51 -0600

It’s not just the season for giving thanks, it’s apparently the season for coughing up betas. Yesterday Microsoft released the Office 2010 beta to developers (and to regular users on November 18). Today Adobe has announced beta versions of Flash Player 10.1 and AIR 2.0.

AIR allows developers to create Internet applications that run outside a browser on a variety of operating systems. Flash provides multimedia content within a browser, again on various operating systems. Both beta versions will offer global error handling (a benefit for developers), local microphone access, and, should you be blessed with a touch screen, support for multi-touch and gestures. Flash will also incorporate the latest hardware decoding of H.264 on Windows PCs. While AIR will add communication with native applications on the local machine; mass storage detection; an open document API; a faster JavaScript engine; and new HTML5/CSS3 capabilities.

The betas for Flash Player and AIR are available now for Windows, OS X, and Linux, as well as x86-based netbooks.

Image Credit: Adobe

Adobe Releases 29 Security Patches for Acrobat and Reader

Ryan Whitwam — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 19:02:36 -0500

Security flaws in Adobe reader and Acrobat are nothing new, but in a recent round of updates, Adobe has patched 29 vulnerabilities at once. The updates also included a new software updater that should, once activated, deliver patches in a more effective way.

This will be a welcome change for anyone that’s had to use the current updater. It only checks for updates to Adobe software weekly, and given the frequency of exploits in their products, it isn’t enough. Some updates would even mysteriously vanish from the updater, leaving users vulnerable. This should all change with the new version.

The other vulnerabilities addressed in the set of patches revolved mostly around remote code execution attacks. One of which was already in use around the internet. Adobe warned Mac and Unix users that the same vulnerabilities exist on their platforms as well. The internet is a dangerous place.

Adobe Acrobat Yet Again Under Attack by Zero-Day Bug

Paul Lilly — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 15:59:00 -0500

If it seems like Adobe's Acrobat Reader is constantly under attack, well, that's because there's some truth to it. The latest threat comes in the form of another zero-day bug being exploited in targeted attacks, Adobe said.

Not a whole lot of information has been made available on the newest threat, though according to an advisory from VUPEN Security, the vulnerability in question is an unspecified memory corruption error that occurs when users open a specially crafted PDF file. VUPEN says the bug can be exploited remotely.

"Adobe plans to resolve this issue as part of the upcoming Adobe Reader and Acrobat quarterly update, scheduled for release on October 13," blogged David Lenoe of the Adobe Product Security Incident Response Team. "Adobe Reader and Acrobat 9.1.3 customers with DEP (Data Execution Prevention) enabled on Windows Vista will be protected from this exploit."

In the meantime, Johannes Ullrich, a researcher with the SANS Institute, says users can avoid the potential threat by first converting PDFs into another format, like Postscript, and then back into PDF form. At the same time, Ullrich warns this isn't 100 percent certain to remove the exploit and could actually infect the machine mucking around with the file. Fantastic.

Anyone else using Foxit Software's super-lean freebie PDF reader, Foxit Reader?

Adobe Rolling Out Flash for Smart Phones; Developer Kit for iPhone

Bart Salisbury — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 18:15:11 -0500

Adobe, at its MAX developer conference in Los Angeles, announced it was preparing versions of its widely used Flash technology to a number of smartphones. Working with Windows Mobile, Research In Motion, Google, and Palm, Adobe will have Flash Players ready for Windows Mobile and Palm webOS phones later this year. Also, public betas will be available early next year for Symbian OS and Google Android. Lastly, a version for Blackberry smartphones is being promised for some future date.

Adobe’s plans for the Flash Player will help to reduce the problems developers experience porting apps to multiple platforms. According to Adrain Ludwig, Adobe’s product marketing manager for the Flash platform, “Fundamentally, right now if you are a web developer, or a mobile developer no one goes back and forth between the two. Now, if you have a great mobile idea, go ahead and build it and put it on a mobile device.”

Initially missing from the list was Apple’s ubiquitous iPhone. Suitable teeth gnashing over the slight followed until a subsequent announcement by John Loiacono, the senior vice president of Adobe’s Creative Solutions Business. During his key note address, Loiacono said the iPhone would get something a bit better: Adobe Flash Professional CS5. CS5 will permit developers to create Flash applications that run native on the iPhone. Aditya Bansod, of Adobe Developers Connection, says this is due to demands by Flash developers eager to create apps for Apple’s mobile device.

Image Credit: iPhone Footprint

Microsoft Lures in Web Designers with Free Expression Design Tools

Ryan Whitwam — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 20:33:11 -0500

If you happen to be a web designer, Microsoft would like to have a quick word with you. Just don’t drop any more money on Adobe products until you’ve heard them out. Microsoft’s Expression design tools haven’t enjoyed wide scale adoption in the face of Adobe, but they’re out to change that. As part of Microsoft’s “Spark” program, they will be giving away several thousand dollars worth of software to any small design firms interested.

Web design shops with up to 10 employees are eligible, and all they have to do is pay a $100 administrative fee. The so-called “WebSpark” giveaway includes multiple licenses of Expression, Visual Studio 2008, Web Server 2008 and SQL Server. The software licenses are good for three years and include full support. Not bad for $100.

Microsoft expects 15,000 to 20,000 companies to get in on the deal. Clearly, this program is meant to get small firms into the Microsoft ecosystem early. While their intentions may not be entirely pure, it’s hard to refuse the offer of free software.

Adobe Adds Photomerge, Recompose, More in Photoshop Elements 8

Mark Edward Soper — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 16:49:45 -0500

This week, Adobe announced its eighth generation of Photoshop Elements for both PC and Mac, and this time Mac users need to wait only a month for the latest version.

PSE 8 for Windows Adds Easy Smarts

Adobe's new Photoshop Elements 8 for Windows adds a number of features for easier photo editing, including:

Photomerge Exposure, which builds upon the powerful Photomerge feature in earlier versions of PE to enable you to combine the properly-exposed areas in two otherwise-identical photos into a "single, perfectly-lit photo." The example Adobe demonstrates uses two photos of friends posing in front of a floodlit building, one with and without flash. It'll be interesting to see how Photomerge Exposure does with a pair of RAW images optimized for bright and dark areas.
Recompose, which allows you to intelligently stretch a photo to fit in a particular frame without distorting the main subject. The example Adobe uses converts a landscape-format photo into a square photo, but inquiring minds (like mine) are wondering about converting 4:3 photos into 16:9 photos (and vice-versa).
Smarter, faster quick fixes for exposure, teeth whitening, bluer skies, contrast, and more with better previews.
Get more online storage (20GB versus 2GB), tutorials, artwork, and templates by upgrading to (or buying up front) Photoshop Elements 8 Plus.

PSE 8 also adds better photo management:

An enhanced Organizer with Auto-Analyzer technology automatically tags photos by type (closeup, high contrast, and more).
People Recognition technology for automatic tagging of people in both video clips and photos.
Automatic media synchronization across computers.

Compare PSE 8 for Windows to PSE 7 and PSE 6 here http://www.adobe.com/products/photoshopelwin/upgrade/?view=compare.

Mac Users Get Even More Goodies

The Mac version, due out in October, has all of the features of PSE 8 for Windows, and also adds:

Adobe Bridge CS4 technology for photo management
PhotoMerge Scene Cleaner to remove unwanted elements from a series of similar photos
SmartBrush and Touch-Up brushes for retouching

How to Try, How to Buy

Adobe, which has sometimes been laggard in providing trials of its latest Photoshop Elements editions, is on the ball with Photoshop Elements 8, offering information, free trials, and special rebate or prerelease offers for PSE 8 for Windows, PSE8 for MacOS, the companion Premiere Elements 8 for Windows, and the Photoshop Elements 8/Premiere Elements 8 bundle for Windows. Note: you must have (or sign up for) a free Adobe account to download trials.

Illustration adapted from Adobe website illustrations of product cover art.

Freeware Files: Five Unique Alternatives to Adobe AIR's Best Apps!

David Murphy — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 12:30:00 -0500

Do you hate Adobe AIR? I sometimes do. While the applications based on Adobe's framework can be pretty neat to use, there's something about their similar look and shared frameworks, not to mention features, that just can just drive me up the wall. Plus, every new Adobe AIR-based application has to be installed and run through Adobe AIR itself. While it's a handy way to make sure that you're running the most up-to-date version of the application, the Adobe AIR platform isn't very conducive to portable use. Actually, you can't stick AIR-based applications on a USB key and run them at all--the host computer would still need Adobe AIR for these apps to function.

That's but one minor complaint about the AIR platform. There are more, but this week's freeware roundup isn't intended to be a slam on these Adobe apps. Rather, I'll be taking a look at some of Adobe AIR's more popular applications and offering up unique freeware alternatives that don't require use of the AIR platform to work. Not all of the listed applications will support portable use out-of-the-box, but you can use the popular Mojopac Free program to store and access all of these apps on any USB device of your choosing.

Adobe Air: TweetDeck / Seesmic Desktop
Alternative: digiTweet

Not going to lie: In a perfect world, there would be no Twitter apps for your desktop other than TweetDeck or Seesmic Desktop. Each varies ever-so-slightly in features, but both are incredibly powerful applications that open up a wealth of functionality for interacting with the Web-based Twitter service that you wouldn't find just by heading over to good ol' Twitter-dot-com. But both apps are built on the Adobe AIR platform. For an open-source alternative to either, be sure to check out digiTweet. While it's not as pretty as, say, TweetDeck, digiTweet nevertheless offers compelling features like multi-tab search for specific words or phrases; individual category boxes for elements like @ mentions, direct messages, and categories; and a customizable API refresh rate so you don't blow past Twitter's hourly use allowances.

Download it here!

Adobe Air: Klok Time Tracker
Alternative: ManicTime

I've covered ManicTime before, but it's worth mentioning again as it's one of the better alternatives to the Adobe AIR-based Klok Time Tracker. Both programs deliver a great graphical layout of how you're spending your time at your computer. So what's the key difference? In Klok Time Tracker, you have to input your daily routines manually--you click on various categories of work you've set up in order for the program to begin its tracking and graphical analysis of your day. In ManicTime, however, this all occurs automatically. In fact, the program is so meticulous in its recording of the exact applications and windows you have open, that it's almost maddening to track what you're doing if you're a compulsive window-switcher like yours truly. Suffice, if you use ManicTime, you will know--down to the second--exactly how you've wasted your day at your computer.

Download it here!

Adobe AIR: DestroyFlickr
Alternative: Cooliris / Photology

Here's the deal: DestroyFlickr is an Adobe AIR-based app that's like a combination of Cooliris and a Flickr uploading tool. The app helps you quickly scan through flickr sets and pictures using an interface that's far more intuitive (and pretty) than Flickr's default series of HTML pages. Cooliris, by itself, is an awesome browser plug-in that replicates this functionality across not only Flickr and your computer's desktop, but a ton of sites across the Web as well. The problem is that it contains no way to actually interact with Flickr accounts the way DestroyFlickr can--Cooliris amps up the browser part of the equation at the expense of being able to upload your own photos. For that, try Photology: It's gallery-based browser for photos and photo-sensitive search filters are restricted to desktop use only, but you can take what you find and upload it to Flickr at the click of a button.

Download Cooliris here and Photology here!

Adobe AIR: Font Picker
Alternative: AMP Font Viewer

Fonts. Can't live with 'em, can't print out signs for your roommate without them. While you could use the Adobe AIR-based Font Picker to see which particular font (of the hundreds on your system) would best suit the text you're typing out, it's worth your while to investigate the alternative AMP Font Viewer instead. Font Picker is but a list--a helpful list that allows you to eliminate fonts you don't want to consider choosing for whatever it is you're typing--but a list nevertheless. AMP Font Viewer not only handles the installation and uninstallation of your fonts, but it allows you to assign your installed fonts to categories of your choosing. You can also make a printout of all your fonts (if you're crazy) or use the included scratchpad to see exactly what each little font looks like for the text you're creating.

Download it here!

Adobe AIR: Doomi
Alternative: DeskTask

Remembering tasks is one of the more useful ways to use your PC. I just try not to think about the fact that my thousands-of-dollars-system has now become one giant digital display for post-it notes. Or, at least, that's what you get when you download Doomi. It's a pretty to-do list for your desktop, but that's about it. You enter items, you click on the check box when you've completed them, and... yeah. DeskTask also pops up your list of to-be-accomplished tasks onto your desktop for easy viewing, but the app integrates with Microsoft Outlook to display your tasks and calendar items without any additional input. In fact, that's all it does. So if you have Outlook, this is the perfect alternative to Doomi for task management. If you don't, you could always check out Remember the Milk?

David Murphy (@ Acererak) is a technology journalist and former Maximum PC editor. He writes weekly columns about the wide world of open-source as well as weekly roundups of awesome, freebie software. Befriend him on Twitter, especially if you have an awesome app or game you're dying to recommend!

Freeware Files: A Case of the Keyboard Krazies!

David Murphy — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 10:30:00 -0500

How jacked up is your keyboard? Do you have one of those super-fancy, 800+ button, LCD-screen, lit-up, wheeled contraptions that's less an input device, more a control panel at a nuclear power plant? If so, you're probably the kind of person who doesn't need the apps I'm about to list out in this week's freeware roundup. Unless, that is, you're also one of those people (including yours truly) who have a ton of buttons and options to play with, yet no resolve to actually go about mapping this to that.

And if you're just rocking a plain ol' keyboard, I hope you're sitting down because you're in for a world of difference. The applications I'm profiling today are all keyboard-focused, and they all seek to add some kind of additional, awesome functionality to (or based on) your default button layouts. Launch programs! Use your keyboard media buttons to control all of your media players! Look up every Adobe-related shortcut within the span of seconds!

All that, and more, await you in this week's freeware and open-source software roundup. Let's get started.

Media Keyboard 2 Media Player

If you've been a freeware and open-source aficionado when it comes to your media players, you might have found that a number of third-party programs just don't work with the media keys on your keyboard. You can jam play, pause, or skip track all you want--nothing happens. Although it's still in its infancy, Media Keyboard 2 Media Player allows you to get some use out of these dead keys by transforming your button-pushing into the actual hotkey combinations for your other media player apps. Unfortunately, only XMPlay, VLC, and Winamp are supported right now. Here's hoping a more universal solution will pop up in the future!

Download it here

Winlayout

The description of this one is simple. Winlayout lets you control your open windows using your number pad. The program doesn't work perfectly with Windows 7 right now, but other than that, it's a quick way to send windows flying around your desktop screen with the mash of a button. More than 30 separate actions, including window resizing, are launched by combinations of the windows key and number pad buttons

Download it here

ActiveHotkeys

So, suppose you're using a fancy program like AutoHotkey to build increased functionality into your keyboard through the use of customized hotkeys. Or, for that matter, suppose you want to change up the hotkeys of any given program? You can select whatever you want, but what happens when you pick a hotkey combination that's in use by another program or application? Short answer: Chaos. Avoid this fate by using ActiveHotkeys to check out which hotkeys on your system are in use or not. The app doesn't tell you which program has claimed the key combination, but at least you'll know that your freshly assigned ALT-T hotkey will load up a new tab rather than your favorite Mr. T application.

Download it here

Adobe Shortcut App

Design enthusiasts take note: If you're one of the lucky to afford any bits or pieces of Adobe's Creative Suite, you'll know that a wealth of functionality can be called up in these applications with but a few hits from your fingertips. And you should equally know that there's little more frustrating than your mad attempts to find the correct key combination for a feature you've previously used and since forgotten. The Adobe Shortcut App solves these problems with its easy-to-use search functionality for Adobe keyboard shortcuts. Not only can you search for and switch between PC and Mac versions of the shortcuts, but you can create your own favorites list for frequently used shortcuts that you want to keep fresh at your command.

Download it here

ControlPad

If you thought the aforementioned Winlayout was lame--the program that allows you to resize windows with your number pad--then perhaps you'll find a bit of joy in this other application that makes even better use of said number pad. In this case, ControlPad transforms your number pad into a launching station. Start by assigning a numerical identifier to a particular task, like opening up new applications or sending a particular series of keystrokes to the OS. From there, you simply have to hold the * key on the number pad for a second or so, then enter the code you just created in the window that appears. Your command then executes, opening up your favorite files or launching your favorite games in a fraction of the time it would normally take.

Download it here

Maximum PC Adobe RSS Feed

Adobe Announces Flash Player 10.1 and AIR 2.0 with Multitouch Support

Adobe Releases 29 Security Patches for Acrobat and Reader

Adobe Acrobat Yet Again Under Attack by Zero-Day Bug

Adobe Rolling Out Flash for Smart Phones; Developer Kit for iPhone

Microsoft Lures in Web Designers with Free Expression Design Tools

Adobe Adds Photomerge, Recompose, More in Photoshop Elements 8

PSE 8 for Windows Adds Easy Smarts

Mac Users Get Even More Goodies

How to Try, How to Buy

Illustration adapted from Adobe website illustrations of product cover art.

Freeware Files: Five Unique Alternatives to Adobe AIR's Best Apps!

Adobe Air: TweetDeck / Seesmic DesktopAlternative: digiTweet

Adobe Air: Klok Time TrackerAlternative: ManicTime

Adobe AIR: DestroyFlickrAlternative: Cooliris / Photology

Adobe AIR: Font PickerAlternative: AMP Font Viewer

Adobe AIR: DoomiAlternative: DeskTask

Freeware Files: A Case of the Keyboard Krazies!

Media Keyboard 2 Media Player

Winlayout

ActiveHotkeys

Adobe Shortcut App

ControlPad

Adobe Air: TweetDeck / Seesmic Desktop
Alternative: digiTweet

Adobe Air: Klok Time Tracker
Alternative: ManicTime

Adobe AIR: DestroyFlickr
Alternative: Cooliris / Photology

Adobe AIR: Font Picker
Alternative: AMP Font Viewer

Adobe AIR: Doomi
Alternative: DeskTask