Nice.

Here's to Freedom of Choice:

Damon

Grab it. Keep it handy. Show it.

Damon

Here is the interview:

Enjoy!

Damon

I know very little about Photoshop (big Photoshop Elements user here) but I was using Content-Aware Fill to patch up photos within 10 seconds! (Check out a few demos of this killer feature HERE, HERE, and HERE.)

If you would have told me this would be possible one day with software, I would have told you it was pure science fiction. Wow. Remove annoying Uncle Ned or that long-dumped Ex out of your old vacation photos and it's like they were never even there! :)

And that's just one feature in Photoshop! Adobe Creative Suite 5 is a killer release and a total no-brainer upgrade, IMO.

Start here: http://www.adobe.com/products/creativesuite/

And for a set of great overview tutorials on the various Adobe CS5 products and their features, check out the Adobe TV CS5 home page here: http://tv.adobe.com/channel/how-to/learn-cs5/

Enjoy!

Damon

Get it from Adobe Labs here: http://labs.adobe.com/technologies/flashplayer10/gala/

Enjoy!

Damon

Does HTML 5 Herald The End Of RIA Plug-Ins? Not Really

Executive Summary:

"Will HTML 5 make rich Internet application (RIA) technologies such as Adobe Flash/Flex and Microsoft Silverlight obsolete? For at least the next five years, the answer is a definite "no"; inconsistent implementations of the draft HTML 5 specification and immature tooling make building HTML 5 apps that work consistently across browsers and operating systems a real challenge.

Furthermore, this "either/or" scenario is driven only by vendor politics, not by developer realities. Ultimately, HTML 5 and RIA platforms will be complementary technologies, and enterprise development shops will need to invest in both approaches to deliver expressive applications that combine reach and richness. "

Damon

You can bet there is more of this to come...iPhone SDK Section 331 aside, I think it would be difficult or impossible for a print designer or publisher to do this in Objective-C coding every 30 days for each magazine issue, for example. I think this is one compelling case for the need for higher-level tools and publishing capabilities for tablet devices.

In fact, I would argue that without sophisticated publishing tools, doing something like this "natively" and "originally" in Objective-C, for example, would be out of reach for most publishing organizations, leaving unsupported device owners to read glorified web pages and simple "eBook" applications.

For now, check out the What's New in Adobe InDesign CS5 page: http://www.adobe.com/products/indesign/whatsnew/.

Happy publishing!

(DISCLAIMER: Please note the opinions expressed here are mine and do not represent any sanctioned opinion by my employer, Adobe Systems, Inc)

Damon

Ironic, given the iPhone SDK 3.3.1 language rollout that same day, don't-cha-think?

http://blog.anscamobile.com/2010/04/lua-the-lingua-franca-of-iphone-games/

Check him out:

He's LOVIN that non-Objective-C LUA-based app! Go Steve go! :)

Damon

If you or someone you know think you might have what it takes to work on a cutting edge product at a world class company voted one of Fortune's "100 Best Places to Work - 2009", please forward your/their resume to me at dcooper@adobe.com.

Here are the details:

Sr. Computer Scientist (YH050914):
http://cooljobs.adobe.com/frameset.html?goto=er-viewjob&refnode=462119

Principal Computer Scientist (YH050915):
http://cooljobs.adobe.com/frameset.html?goto=er-viewjob&refnode=462117

Thanks!

Damon

Adobe Creative Suite 4 Now Shipping
October 15, 2008

Adobe Flash Player 10 Now Available
October 15, 2008

Come and get 'em! Improve your web experience just by installing the new Flash Player 10 by visiting this page: Flash Player 10 Page and check out the unbelievable features and fusion of Adobe and former Macromedia technologies in the new CS4 suite here: Creative Suite 4 page.

Damon

I should note here that Adobe employees obviously have early access to our own pre-release bits at any point in the release cycle, so I would not infer from this posting when the bits would be publicly available, etc, just watch the Adobe web site for that. However, we did announce that Adobe Creative Suite 4 and its associated point products are scheduled to ship in "October 2008 with availability through Adobe Authorized Resellers and the Adobe Store" so -- there. :)

Now, I'm obviously a little biased here as an Adobe employee but as one small feature example, the new "Transcribe" option in CS4 which analyzes and transcribes audio tracks with spoken speech into actual text (stored in the metadata of the file), is absolutely, positively mind-blowing. You can actually search for text and jump to that exact point in the file where the word instances you are searching for were spoken. Using this to speed the production of multi-lingual subtitles on videos on DVD production, would be one real-world use for this. Just transcribe, review, translate and burn with multi-lingual subtitles on your videos. I'm lost for words.

The bits aren't yet available to the general public (coming soon), but you can check out the details on the Adobe site for now and I think you can pre-order but don't quote me on that:

http://www.adobe.com/products/creativesuite

All I can say is, Wow. Nice job guys.

Damon

Don't miss this awesome technology event. Space is limited and it's an great opportunity to connect with thousands of designers, developers, partners, executives, and Adobe staff and product teams for education, inspiration, and community.

Check it out and get your registration in here:

http://max.adobe.com/

Damon

In particular, "If you look at something like Flash, when you get to the much more advanced stuff -- richer interfaces, more complex network protocols, more complex APIs -- it really falls short."

John Dowdell, fellow Adobian, captures my sentiments exactly in his blog here: http://weblogs.macromedia.com/jd/archives/2008/01/gosling_on_flas.cfm

Damon

Read the full press release here.

The system will "...help improve NATO's operational readiness, by reducing the time to prepare for missions, and improve the delivery of information to flight crew members."

Very cool stuff. Since I've taken on the additional responsibility for the Adobe LiveCycle Data Services ES Engineering team here at Adobe, it's a reminder to me that we bear an awesome responsibility to our customers to make sure our software is the very best we can humanly produce when it goes out the door. Organizations the world over are depending on us to get it right.

According to the press release, by delivering the new system as an Rich Internet Application (RIA) with Flex and LCDS, NATO crew members will be able to put together mission briefs aggregated from over 80 different data sources, including information such as flight numbers, details about the region and routes to take refuge in case of an emergency. Mission briefs are highly visual electronic maps that show all the information they need to analyze, develop and deliver in preparation for a mission.

For those who may not be familiar wth Adobe LiveCycle Data Services, check out the official product page here on the Adobe website: http://www.adobe.com/products/livecycle/dataservices. It allows applications tpo be developed that automatically synchronize data between rich Internet applications (Flex and Ajax) and back end servers, providing real-time data push and publish/subscribe messaging, and enable collaborative and occasionally disconnected applications.

For those Adobe ColdFusion customers following my blog, not to worry: I'm still a part of the ColdFusion team and will keep my responsibilities there for the foreseeable future. But watch this space for more to come about both Adobe LiveCycle Data Services ES AND Adobe ColdFusion.

It's a great time to be building Internet applications!

Damon

Wait.

Was that.....?

(I back up with my DVR for a closer look...)

Yep, sure enough, it's the Adobe stock symbol ("ADBE") on the Apple iPhone ad.

Huh! Well that's kinda cool.

(Yes, yes, I'm a long-time Adobe employee and shareholder and I admit I have a built-in sixth sense that automatically detects and alerts to any occurence of the four-letters "A-D-B-E"!)

I hit "pause" on the DVR and took a picture of the Apple iPhone ad with MY iPhone:

So......

Does this mean Apple employees are watching Adobe stock on all their iPhones? Or maybe the Apple ad agency is a creative shop and thus uses a lot of Adobe products and it was a known quantity to them, or....

Perhaps, and more likely I suppose, they just wanted some commonly held stocks that are easily recognizable that were showing "green" (up) :)

Anyway, let the speculation and conspiracy theories begin, but I thought it was interesting!

I hope everyone had (and has) a great and safe holiday!

Damon

We have an immediate opening for a Senior Product Manager of LiveCycle Data Services (aka "Flex Data Services"), and we're looking for the right candidate with the "right stuff". Full job description and Req details are here:

Adobe Senior Product Manager of LiveCycle Data Services

If you or someone you know think you might be a good fit for this demanding and rewarding job, please do let me/us know! (There is an "Apply Now" button on that link).

Thanks!

Damon

Seriously.

Check it out:

http://www.adobe.com

Damon

http://www.adobe.com/creativelicense

CS3 is super-sweet. Check it out.

Damon

Some info from the team on this great new tool:

It's located at the top of http://www.macromedia.com/support, as well as all the product support pages, the Macromedia Knowledge Base allows customers to access precise technical information (technotes), Macromedia Developer Center articles, and Macromedia Customer Service notes on policies and procedures.

An intuitive guided search tool within the Knowledge Base allows users to fine-tune their queries based on established categories and "best bet" choices.

Each search that a user performs automatically provides structured feedback so we can continually contribute new technical information to make the Knowledge Base more effective for customers.

Some highlights:

- Front page of Knowledge Base http://www.macromedia.com/support/
- FAQ and Captivate demo http://www.macromedia.com/support/knowledgebase/
- Feedback from customers can be done via the form on the web.
- Internal inquires can be sent to KB@macromedia.com.

Check it out.

Damon