The New Image Editors
Posted by Stretch | Filed under Apple, Software
In the past few months, 3 major Photoshop contenders have all been released, Pixelmator, Acorn and DrawIt . All are fighting for the same thing. To be the best Photoshop replacement. But with three different ones, plus other older pieces of software, which one do you
I want to be clear up front: I won’t be comparing the applications’ feature lists exhaustively in the article. I am also going to concentrate on some major items that are always requirements for me. That means I’ll miss some that are critical for you. And I’ll be concentrating on the UI and the behaviour of these apps, because that’s where we spend the most time. Little things that get short shrift in other reviews like application and document icons will be covered.
Testing
My test platform is my aging, but much loved, PowerBook 17 G4 1.5 with 2 GB RAM and an ATI Mobility Radeon 9700. I am not using benchmarks at all, and any time I mention how fast something is it’s a subjective measure. I should mention I am a professional Graphic Designer, and I spend a lot of time in Adobe Creative Suite 3 Design Premium, but I am not an extreme Photoshop professional. I don’t use a tablet. I am always on the lookout for new interesting software with an eye to improving my efficiency and capabilities.
The test image is one that I have taken with my Samsung NV3. The image is a relatively slow exposure taken on a city bus on my way to work one morning. I will be handling the picture in its original format: JPEG, 3072 × 2304, 3.2 MB. This camera doesn’t output RAW files. The photo is stashed in iPhoto ‘08 (v. 7.1). There are a lot of undefined edges and reflected colours and halos.
It is a very good review of all three of the applications. If you are trying to choose between all three, I’d highly recommend reading it.
Via Daring Fireball
Windows VS Mac OS X: The Hype
Posted by Stretch | Filed under Apple, Reviews, Software
Windows Vista and Mac OS X Leopard both have something similar. They were both delayed, although Vista was delayed almost 3 times longer. Roughly Drafted has a comparison between the two of what you expected, and what you got.
What you expected:
What you got:
Need I say more? 
Leopard: The Good & The Bad
Posted by Stretch | Filed under Apple, Software
Leopard is here tomorrow, and reviews are popping up everywhere. With Apple boasting about over 300 new features, some are bound to be picked over by some people. Matt Neuburg goes over what he thinks is the best and the worst of Leopard.
Now, I’m still under a non-disclosure agreement that says I can’t talk about anything Apple hasn’t told you. But since Apple has told you about the 300 features, I can talk about them. I can’t add any new information, of course; but I can tell you how I feel about them (Apple doesn’t own my feelings, as far as I can tell). Here, then, are my favorite (and least favorite) new Leopard features.
Via Daring Fireball
Leopard’s Dock
Posted by Stretch | Filed under Apple, Software
People have been complaining about Leopard’s new dock since we first saw it. Its 3 dimensional, and kinda ugly. But there may be good news for those that don’t like the 3d shelf look.
Although I admit I don’t particularly dislike the new “shelf”-style Dock in Leopard, the alternative dock I wrote about earlier does look very sleek and it made me wonder: can you also use it horizontally?
It turns out, you can! As this post by Andrei Drynov explains, it takes just one line to set a simple preference.
It turns the ugly 3-d shelf into a dock that is not only like Tiger’s dock, but sleek also.
Via MacUser
Web Browser Image Quality
Posted by Stretch | Filed under Apple, Photography, Software
When viewing images online, color profiles are often ignored by your browser. If you are using Firefox, then you are missing out on the image.
This kind of behavior isn’t very good. Mozilla needs to get this fixed as soon as possible. Images have an imbedded color profile, and your choice of web browser should be using that information.
Via Digg
