Commentary: Adobe Unveils 'Big Splash' Creative Cloud Release Including New iPad Apps and Major Photoshop and After Effects Updates
New After Effects features include additional keying effects, Kuler integration, and the ability to create live text templates and to share masks with Premiere Pro; Photoshop gets more powerful Smart Objects, Improved Layer Comps and Content-Aware technology, Blur Gallery motion effects, and a Focus Mask
New Adobe Hardware
To enhance the operation of their new iPad Apps, Adobe is releasing two hardware devices (Figure 2, below), Adobe Ink and Adobe Slide. Ink is the three-sided aluminum stylus built using Adonit Pixelpoint technology, so the pen is fine-tipped, and pressure-sensitive. Slide is a digital ruler that enables precision sketching of lines, shapes and circles. The two devices are sold together for $199.99. Initially, they will only be available in the US, with plans to make them available in other regions later in the year.
Figure 2. Adobe Ink and Adobe Slide, available together for $199.99.
Plan Updates
Adobe also updated how users can access the Creative Cloud, adding a new Photography Plan for $9.99 a month, which includes Photoshop CC and Lightroom 5. Adobe also released Creative Cloud for enterprise, which includes more services with collaboration and file storage, expanded options for deployment and a dashboard for managing users and entitlements. For education, Adobe announced device-based licensing for classrooms and labs, which ties the license to a machine, rather than an individual.
If you’re a Creative Cloud subscriber, you can download all the updates immediately, and, as always, you can download a 30-day trial at any time. Check the Adobe website for Creative Cloud pricing.
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