Photoshop CS4, Buy or Die
Submitted by deke on 23 September 2008 - 12:46am.
Episode 006: We're barely three months into dekePod, and suddenly, the whole paradigm shifts. By which I mean, we are once again confronted by an upgrade. Five or six years ago, I would have written an 8-page Preview article for one of the trade magazines. Today, I'm trying something new: a real-time, lightning-fast, video-based demo and product review. Here's the official marketing description:
September 23 marks the announcement of Adobe's Creative Suite 4. And that means a new version of the company's flagship image editor, Photoshop. Coming just 18 months after its predecessor, is Photoshop CS4 any good? Enter dekePod, Deke McClelland's irreverent and uncensored video series. Day and date with Adobe's announcement, Deke will provide a third-party, impartial, and highly opinionated review of the new software. Titled "Photoshop CS4: Buy or Die," this episode promises to show you all facets of the program -- complete with commentary -- without interrupting your busy day. In just five minutes, youíll know whether you want to upgrade or not. Either you buy or it dies, it's as simple as that.
If you'd like to download the video (you know, to share with the grandkids when computers and everything else we know have been rendered obsolete by electro-cosmetic bioplasmics), try one of these links:
- For a high-quality QuickTime movie, right-click here and choose Save Target or Download Link or the equivalent.
- For an M4V file that you can play on an iPod, right-click here and choose one of those same commands.
- Or you can subscribe to dekePod via RSS or iTunes.
You can also check out the page at my book publisher O'Reilly Media.
Hungry for still more movies? Consult my Photoshop CS4 New Features series for lynda.com, which currently includes just two movies. Both free, they explain the new tabbed-window interface and content-aware scaling.
Comments
Photoshop CS4 one-on-0ne
Hello Deke, I'm back again, this time at page 6 Lesson 1: Open and Oraganize. I have located the folder called "Lesson Files-PsCS4-1on1. I opened it to find a "No Items to Display" sign. My lessons files are in my Desktop Folder, as well as on the desktop! Your lessons are all there, but I cannot launch them from Bridge, which would be really convenient! What have I done wrong?
Thanks, in advance. Billie
PS CS4 transparency at start up?
I've been playing around with PS Cs4,I was going to start up a new Drawing,When I opened the new document It opened with a Black Background...I thought Oops I accidentally,had "Background Contents" set to Foreground color So I closed it,and started another one...It was set to Transparent,but Opened up as Black in the Preview window,but transparent in the Layers Palette.Did I accidentally change a setting somewhere while exploring CS4? I was just doing a Bert thing,Exploring and Playing....Any help would be appreciated thanks....Lil B
I'm seeing nothing in this sreenshot
To explain why the image window is black. You appear to have set the pasteboard to a bright turquoise, and your transparency grid is likewise colorful. But you have an empty layer and no other settings of consequence that I can see.
You're using a PC -- have you updated your video drivers?
Have you tried restarting?
Have you tried launching with Ctrl+Shift+Alt down to rest prefs?
You were trying a Bert [Monroy, I assume] export and play thing -- any specifics on that?
That did it...
Thank you Deke,
I used the Ctrl+Shift+Alt,and that seems to have cleared it up....I was almost to the point of reinstalling,The only thing,I could imagine was something I copied and pasted from ilustrator....Yep,Bert Monroy,Deke Taught me the nuts and bolts how,why,and Bert opened my eyes and imagination of what could be done with it...Now Morty has opened the world of illustrator to me....Thank you,again and Happy Holidays....
Ummm.... that's Mordy
Ummm... that's Mordy as in "Mordechai" not "Morty" :-) Mordy Golding is his name and Illustrator is most definitely his game.
Glad to see another Illustrator user here. As someone who teaches Illustrator classes, I agree... Mordy's Illustrator stuff is hot. Deke's Illustrator stuff is also hot and we should see a new Illustrator book from Deke before too long that will really "shake things up"... gotta cover that base... (I'm not a witch, Deke!)
"todah rabah Mordy veDeke"
Thanks a lot for some great illustrator teaching Mordy and Deke,
Thomas
Thomas Benner
The Art Institute of Austin
My Apologizes
In my excitement,and rush to get back to my idea,I missed typed...I'm Sorry Mordy...I do enjoy reading his blog Realworld illustrator....Have a great day Lil B
Mac or PC for CS4?
Okay, I've decided to buy the Photoshop CS4 upgrade (can't wait for the natural rotating while painting!) & it's also time for a new computer.
My question is this: I've always used a PC, but since this computer will be dedicated mainly to my work (no games which were one of the reasons we chose PC back in the day) I can get whatever I like. (Under $5000 or so.) Should I stick with PC or make the move to Mac? I'm used to the PC after using it for years, but so many people tell me that Mac is hugely better, fewer crashes, &c. &c.
I'm a professional freelance illustrator & use Photoshop extensively, both to tweak scanned paintings & to create fully-digital art. My files tend to be large & many-layered, & I often have two or more open at any time. I've heard there may actually be speed advantages to the PC for CS4, but it seems most of the digital art folks I know prefer Mac. Is this just a vestige of previous advantages, or is there still a real reason to go Mac?
I know you possess the wisdom of the ages + up-to-the-millisecond info on all things Photoshop, so I beg of you, please advise me-- what should I get?
Many thanks,
Leah
Age Old Question
I know you heard this before, but it's a personal choice between Mac and PC. The Mac is a stable tested machine that adheres to Apple's strict code of quality. What this means is that you will get a product that will work out of the box with little fuss. Now with a PC, it's more of a customizers dream. You can write your own coded programs, tweak the drivers, overclock the processors and much more. Also included is MS XML support which adds some advantages to CS4. I'm not much into the specs and I'm sure someone will follow up with more details.
Also, most artists don't want to bother learning how to be a minor PC tech and would rather jump into their work. Mac machines take out the troublesome guess work. If you know how to work in an out of a PC then I see no reason to switch. Up to you.
Thanks for the input, androsine!
My natural lazy inclination is to stick with PC, since it's what I'm used to-- won't have to re-memorize all those keyboard shortcuts so I can use my limited brainpower to learn new tricks from Deke instead! Also the PC's cheaper for the speed, at least on paper.
As you can guess from the above, I'm definitely not techy, so the customizing factor is minimal (though I do have friends & family who could do some tweaking for me).
I've been told that Adobe started out affiliated with Apple, thus PS "runs smoother" on a Mac. Was that true? Is it still?
What about the virus issue? I keep up with updates & run Norton & Spybot regularly, & I won't be downloading dubious stuff, so is there really still a Mac advantage there?
Thanks again,
Leah
Viruses
Well, Mac has the strength there because Apple is more of a US product. The majority of spam and viruses are made for PC because of vast availability of PC products around the world. For that reason alone I was tempted to buy a Mac. But if you stay away from unknown websites and never open unwelcomed attachments PC would be fine. If your looking for good computer deals, check and see if the Circuit City near you is closing. My brother in Law picked up high end computers for 1100 bucks. Not bad at all!