Author: conrad

Put That iPad to Work in Your Studio: CreativePro Magazine article

You might already be using Apple iPad apps for creative and production work—but maybe that’s as far as you go. When you turn to your computer to use desktop applications, your iPad becomes a silent black rectangle on your desk. It doesn’t have to! You can put it to work as a valuable studio sidekick, from being a control surface for desktop apps to automating lights and cameras for live video. I’ll show you how in my article in the September 2023 issue of CreativePro Magazine. For links and details, read on…

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Photoshop 2023 Classroom in a Book now available

I revised the Adobe Photoshop Classroom in a Book for the 2023 release for Adobe Press, and you can now order the book! This is the eighth edition of the Photoshop Classroom in a Book that I’ve updated. A 35% discount code is available later in this article.

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macOS 13 Ventura: Will Adobe software work?

With the release of macOS 13 Ventura, you’re probably wondering if your Adobe software will work in this major upgrade to macOS. We don’t usually know everything right away; that information emerges over time as Apple, Adobe, and other software developers test with the final public release and produce updates with fixes. I’ll update this article as new information comes out.

The good news: If you’re upgrading from macOS 11 Big Sur or later, the differences between that and macOS 13 Ventura are relatively minor. But if you’re upgrading from macOS 10.14 Mojave or earlier, Apple changed macOS in ways that may prevent older applications from running in macOS 13 Ventura. If you have applications you must use, but you have older versions that aren’t compatible with macOS 13 and you choose not to upgrade them to current versions, you should delay upgrading to Ventura. If you decide to upgrade to Ventura, expect to run the most recent versions of software including Adobe Creative Cloud applications.

If you’re upgrading from an Intel Mac to a Apple Silicon Mac, there are a few more things to think about. You might not need to upgrade Intel versions of applications right away if your current software versions actually run on macOS 13 Ventura. However, eventually you’ll want to replace all of your Intel-only software with Apple Silicon compatible versions, for two reasons: If you bought an Apple Silicon Mac because you wanted the best possible performance and battery life at the price you paid, then you’ll get that performance only if you upgrade applications to the latest Apple Silicon compatible version. And, eventually Apple will discontinue the Rosetta translation environment that lets Intel software run on Apple Silicon, so one day you will have no choice but to modernize your applications.

For more details, or if you have questions about Adobe Creative Suite (CS) software, read on…

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Faster, cooler, quieter: Export GPU acceleration in Lightroom Classic 11.4

In the Lightroom Classic 11.4 update, one new performance enhancement got my attention: GPU acceleration for exporting. A quick test shows that GPU acceleration can result in faster multi-file exports that use computer resources more efficiently on less power, which in turn produces less heat and fan noise, potentially improving battery life.

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Adobe MAX 2021: Larger Forces at Work — Article for CreativePro Magazine

My friends at CreativePro Magazine (formerly InDesign Magazine) asked me to comment on the major Adobe Creative Cloud announcements and software upgrades at the Adobe MAX conference in October 2021. I wrote up my thoughts in the article Adobe MAX 2021: Larger Forces at Work for the December 2021 issue. Some new features can seem puzzling…why is it a priority to create a web browser version of Photoshop, over other potential new features? After summarizing upgrades to individual applications, I talk about some of the higher-level goals at Adobe that make it easier to understand those changes across the entire Creative Cloud suite.

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