Adobe Looking to Spread Mobile Flash
Adobe said Wednesday it had purchased mobile graphics software developed by Actimagine, a move designed to improve the availability of Flash across a wide variety of mobile devices. Thus far, Flash is only available on higher-end phones, but Adobe said the additional technology would help the company produce versions for mass-marketed mobile devices.
In addition to the technology acquisition, Actimagine has also agreed to incorporate Adobe Flash Lite into its current and future offerings. "We look forward to accelerating the existing momentum of Flash and increasing its reach and capabilities in mass market mobile phones," Actimagine CEO Andre Pagnac said.
Adobe Releases Lightroom Beta 4
Adobe on Monday released the fourth beta of its Lightroom application for processing RAW files from digital cameras, unifying its Mac and Windows versions and rebranding the tool under Adobe's Photoshop lineup.
Lightroom Beta 4 integrates technology Adobe acquired from Pixmantec in June. The Danish company's RawShooter workflow management and processing technology has been added to Adobe's RAW engine for Lightroom, bringing features such as a "vibrance" color strength adjustment.
Symantec, Adobe Complain Over Vista
It's no surprise that Symantec and Adobe are wary of Microsoft bundling its own security software and electronic document format in Windows Vista, but the companies had yet to lodge official complaints about the operating system until now.
According to a report in Thursday's Wall Street Journal, Adobe has told the European Commission that Microsoft should be barred from building into Vista competing software for reading and creating electronic documents. Adobe developed PDF and is the leading provider of software for the format.
Adobe Acrobat 8 Adds Conferencing
Adobe on Monday introduced version 8 of its ubiquitous Acrobat PDF software as part of a minor update to its Creative Suite. The new release brings with it Web conferencing functionality incorporated from Macromedia Breeze.
In recent years, Adobe has endeavored to turn Acrobat from simple PDF creation software into a complete platform for digital publishing - even adding support for 3D imaging. Now, the company is looking to hook businesses with collaboration features.
Adobe Warns of Possible Flash Exploit
Having just integrated Macromedia's Flash Player into its technology portfolio, Adobe today issued a "critical" warning, advising Flash Player users to apply an update to prevent a possible denial of service attack.
The exploit affects what's called Flash remoting - essentially the provision of server-based application services via Flash, as opposed to via HTML, Active Server Pages or some other wrapper. Though an exploit itself has not yet been discovered, Adobe engineers found that a certain form of Flash remoting command sent to ColdFusion servers (another acquired Macromedia technology) triggers an infinite loop process that will not stop itself.
Adobe Launches Photo Sharing Site
Adobe debuted updates to both its Adobe Photoshop Elements photo editing software and Premiere Elements video editing suite on Tuesday, which it billed as major upgrades to both products. The applications are consumer versions of the more comprehensive professional products offered by Adobe.
The company offers Abobe Photoshop CS2 for the professional photographer, and Premiere Pro for the advanced and professional videographer.
Adobe Delivers Flash Player 9, Flex 2
Adobe on Wednesday released the final version of Flash Player 9, which the company says offers ten times better performance through ActionScript 3.0 and a new ActionScript Virtual Machine. The update provides the backbone for Flex 2.0, Adobe's new line of development tools.
The new releases are intended to promote the use of Flash in next-generation Web applications. While AJAX is garnering much of the spotlight, Flash is finding its way into a number of services, including Yahoo! Maps, Google Finance and Goowy Web mail.
Adobe Acquires Photo Software Firm
In a move to bolster its RAW capabilities, Adobe on Monday acquired the assets of Pixmantec ApS, a Danish software company that develops the RawShooter product for digital photography. RawShooter's workflow management and processing technology will be integrated into Adobe's new Lightroom software, currently in beta.
The RAW format, which provides uncompressed picture data, has become the centerpiece of digital photography, as once high-end cameras reach the consumer market. Adobe will discontinue the RawShooter products once Lightroom is ready for release. However, an upgrade path will be offered to existing Pixmantec customers. Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.
Adobe Refreshes Lightroom Beta
Adobe issued an update to its Lightroom professional photographer workflow software on Tuesday. The third release of the beta includes several features requested by testers, including the addition of a tool that helps users keep track of changes made to photos.
Lightroom is currently only available as a free download for the Macintosh, however Adobe says it plans to offer a Windows version in a future beta. The software could be considered a competitor to Apple's Aperture photo application, which the company released in October of last year.
Adobe to Sue Microsoft for PDF Feature?
Microsoft and Adobe appear to be headed for court after talks to include PDF support in Office 2007 broke down, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday. The dispute has been brewing for the past four months, Microsoft's lead counsel Brad Smith disclosed.
Smith said Adobe threatened to sue in Europe, and that the company was preparing for that eventuality. Adobe wants the feature removed and offered separately, which Microsoft has done. However, it also wants Microsoft to charge for it, which the Redmond company refuses to do.
Adobe Pens Deal with Stamps.com
UPDATED Through a deal with Stamps.com, Adobe users will now be able to design print 'PhotoStamps' through a variety of the company's applications. The option would be included in Adobe Photoshop Album Starter Edition and Photoshop Elements 3.0 for Windows, as well as both Photoshop Elements and Photoshop CS2 for Windows and Mac OS X.
While they are considered legal stamps by the USPS, PhotoStamps cost more than the average stamp. 20 stamps are priced at $17.99, or 90 cents per 39-cent stamp. Ordering stamps in bulk, however, does provide a discount. Other postal denominations are also available.
Adobe Plugs Critical Flash Vulnerability
Adobe on Tuesday issued a security advisory urging all Macromedia Flash users to upgrade to version 8.0.24.0. The company says it has identified "critical vulnerabilities" in Flash Player that could lead to a full system compromise. The flaw can be exploited through a malicious SWF file.
The problem, which discovered and reported by Microsoft, affects all operating systems. Adobe has made available updates for a number of its products that include Flash, such as Breeze, Shockwave and Flex. Fixed versions of Flash 7 for Linux and Solaris are also available for download.
Adobe, Symantec Forge Partnership
Adobe and Symantec forged a partnership Thursday that would offer downloaders of the popular Adobe Acrobat program a trial of Norton Internet Security 2006, as well as discounts on the full version of the software. While the deal initially covers only Acrobat Reader, it could be expanded to other popular Adobe products in the future.
Acrobat and Flash Player, which Adobe acquired through its purchase of Macromedia last year, are installed on some 600 million computers and devices worldwide.
Adobe Goes 3D with Acrobat
Adobe on Monday announced Acrobat 3D, a new version of the popular software that would allow users of 3D visualization programs to convert several CAD formats into PDF files. The application marks the first time Adobe has released a version of Acrobat directed at a particular industry.
Recipients of the files would not need CAD software to view the embedded images, however an upgrade to the latest version of Acrobat Reader would be required.
Adobe Releases Lightroom Beta
To coincide with the start of Macworld 2006 this week in San Francisco, Adobe has released a beta version of its new tool to compete with Apple's Aperture. Called Lightroom, the software enables professional photographers to work with digital photos more easily and natively supports manipulation of RAW images.
According to Adobe, "The concept behind Lightroom is to provide a single environment that has all of the functions photographers most commonly need to perform on their images." But the company says it isn't "interested in trying to pack more knobs and switches into Lightroom than Aperture."
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