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The Photoshop Blog offers the latest Photoshop news and software updates, Photoshop tips and tutorials, and random thoughts from graphic artist and Photoshop expert Jennifer Apple.



Logitech NuLOOQ Professional Series Design Tool

Logitech and Adobe today announced the results of a collaboration to provide creative professionals and design enthusiasts new levels of control when using Adobe Creative Suite 2 (CS2) and standalone CS2 applications: the NuLOOQ™ Professional Series. The new Logitech product line comprises the NuLOOQ navigator™, an innovative device used in conjunction with a mouse and a keyboard to manipulate images and documents, and the NuLOOQ tooldial™, customizable on-demand interface software that provides quick access to design tools. Both are designed for use with the Mac versions of Adobe Creative Suite 2, Adobe Illustrator CS2, Adobe InDesign CS2, and Adobe Photoshop CS2.

The NuLOOQ Professional Series places the frequently used tools and options in the Adobe Creative Suite right at creative professionals' fingertips, saving them time and giving them the ability to shift their focus to the most important aspect of design - imagery and layout.

"Logitech's specialty is designing intuitive interfaces between people and computers," said Guerrino De Luca, president and chief executive officer of Logitech. "By collaborating with Adobe, who delivers products relied on by millions of creative professionals around the world, we're able to extend our expertise and create truly innovative products specifically tailored to the creative design field."

"In advertising, photography, design, web development and publishing, our creative customers change the way the world looks every day," said Bruce Chizen, chief executive officer of Adobe. "Logitech has delivered an exciting new way for our customers to work with Adobe software, ensuring more than ever our place at the heart of every creative workflow."

Many designers today use multiple large monitors, which means the mouse cursor has to travel farther to complete basic tasks. This takes up valuable creative time and results in workspace inefficiency. The NuLOOQ Professional Series addresses these challenges and provides solutions for the time-intensive elements of design - navigating images, adjusting option values, and accessing menus - so that creative professionals can accomplish more.

NuLOOQ navigator: Complete Creative Control
The NuLOOQ navigator is a companion to the creative designer's existing toolset - a mouse and a tablet or keyboard. Approximately the size and shape of half a tennis ball, this stationary device sits under the non-mousing hand and has a circular touch-sensitive surface (the tooltuner™ dial) for adjusting option values in supported applications. A moveable rubber-like ring (the navring™ controller) at the base allows designers to easily navigate images and documents, while embedded buttons (triggerpoint™ buttons) call up frequently used tools. Additional features include:

• Scroll and zoom with ease: A minor nudge of the navring controller moves selected images, while twisting it controls the zoom feature. The navring controller's built-in sensor is based on advanced robotics technology that senses small movements for quick reaction.
• Touch-sensitive control: Located on top of the NuLOOQ navigator, the tooltuner dial gives creative designers the ability to adjust or tune tool-option values, such as text leading or brush size. This feature minimizes arm movement and saves valuable time by eliminating repeat trips to the option bar to adjust values.
• Context-sensitive and application-aware: The NuLOOQ navigator automatically detects the current Adobe CS2 application, selected object or tool, presenting applicable option values for that application when prompted.
• Instant access to frequently used tools: Three built-in triggerpoint buttons embedded in the tooltuner dial provide instant access to commands, modifier keys, and tooldial menus.

NuLOOQ tooldial: Complete Interface Control
Included with the NuLOOQ navigator or available for purchase separately, the NuLOOQ tooldial software centralizes frequently used tools, commands and files within an intuitive, on-demand circular menu that is divided into eight wedges. Each of these wedges can have up to eight associated wedges appear when the cursor lingers over the original wedge for a total of 72 available tools, commands and files per tooldial. When launched using a keystroke, mouse click or one of the NuLOOQ navigator triggerpoint buttons, the tooldial wheel appears centered under the cursor and disappears when the activity is completed, giving creative designers full control over their interface while keeping their virtual desktop clutter-free. Specific features include:

Easy configuration
Tooldial menus can be configured simply by dragging and dropping commands directly into the wedges or moving files or executables from the Finder.

Fully customizable
Creative professionals can build customized tooldial menus for specific workflows, tasks or workgroups. By customizing tooldials with their most-used tools and commands, they no longer have to navigate complex menus or search for palettes in applications.

One-step functionality
Because designers can access up to 72 defined commands, files or folders per tooldial, they no longer have to drag the cursor across the desktop to access a menu system or remember individual shortcuts.

Application-aware
NuLOOQ tooldial automatically detects the current application and brings up the associated tooldial menu so people can program just one shortcut key that works across all supported Adobe applications. For example, a tooldial configured for Photoshop appears only when Photoshop is running, and it changes automatically when another supported application is selected. Also, when the tooldial command is executed outside of Adobe CS2 applications, a universal, customizable tooldial appears for instant access to files, folders and applications.

One-click tweak tools
With one easy click, users can select brush tools and set brush size in Photoshop, or select leading, tracking or point size in Adobe InDesign CS2.

Real-time feedback
Feedback appears directly on screen while users tune values, allowing creative designers to receive immediate feedback while keeping the desktop clutter-free.

Easy to share
Creative professionals can export their customized tooldials for use in workgroups. In addition, they can download tooldials created by expert designers from Logitech.

Pricing and Availability
The NuLOOQ Professional Series has a suggested retail price in the U.S. of $149.99 and will be sold beginning in March through select resellers, including CDW, Mac Warehouse, MacMall and Amazon.com, as well as through Logitech's online store. The NuLOOQ tooldial can be purchased separately online for a suggested retail price of $49.99. A 30-day free trial is also available for download at the NuLOOQ Web site.

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Photoshop CS3 Upgrade Options And Bundles From The Adobe Store

Photoshop CS3 Extended is ideal for film, video, and multimedia pros and for graphic and web designers using 3D and motion. Get the full version for US $999, or upgrade for US $349. The standard version of Photoshop CS3 is available for US $649, or as an upgrade for US $199. See all upgrade options at the Adobe Store. See our CS3 Resource Center for free Photoshop CS3 tutorials.

Photoshop Extended is also available as part of Adobe Creative Suite 3 Design Premium, which combines all-new CS3 versions of Photoshop, Flash Pro, Dreamweaver, Illustrator, InDesign and Acrobat 8 Pro. Upgrade options for customers in Europe, the UK, Australia, New Zealand and Asia can be found at the Adobe International Store.

Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Available At The Adobe Store

There are tons of new features in Adobe Lightroom 1.0 that you won't find in the beta version. From Clone and Healing functionality to metadata browsing, you'll be able to free-up post-processing time like never before. Get it now at the Adobe Store. Customers in Europe, the UK, Australia, New Zealand and Asia can find special pricing and offers at the Adobe International Store. For free Lightroom tutorials see our Lightroom tutorials page.



Special Offer - Fluid Mask - Photoshop Masking Plugin

Fluid Mask is based on breakthrough segmentation technology inspired by the way the eye, optic nerve and brain perform visual processing. When an image is loaded, Fluid Mask's segmentation engine analyses the distribution of colors, finding the natural groups within the image. Together with information calculated about edges, gradients and textures, a model is constructed which divides the images into objects.

Vertus Software is offering Fluid Mask at the special 'friends and partner' discounted rate. This is an exclusive offer to visitors of PhotoshopSupport.com. To qualify, visit the Fluid Mask Discount Price page. Find out more about Fluid Mask on our special Fluid Mask Page.

SiteGrinder Photoshop Plugin - Create Websites Instantly

There often seems to be a strict division of labor within the world of web design and development. Creative professionals tend to stick to the Photoshop domain, while those well-versed in scripting are left to the task of implementing their work. Indeed, the two realms are quite different from each other, to which any of us even vaguely familiar with either can easily attest.

Essentially, Photoshop is a no-holds-barred design studio, offering the artist a seemingly endless array of creative options. On the other hand, HTML, CSS, Java and the like follow strict rules of engagement, requiring the developer to take any number of esoteric concerns into consideration in order to ensure that designs are properly displayed on the web.

Turn Photoshop Into A Complete Web Design Tool
SiteGrinder seeks to bridge this gap between design and development. Basically, this program turns Photoshop into an easy-to-use and fully functional web design tool. With SiteGrinder, designers will now have the freedom to totally let their creativity loose and then, without skipping a beat, transfer their designs to the web. Bringing esthetic concerns together with more practical considerations, this program is an amazingly powerful tool that would make a fantastic addition to any web designer's bag of tricks.

Generate Your Web Pages Directly From Photoshop
By generating web pages directly from Photoshop, you'll be able to spend much more time on the creative end of the spectrum, since you'll know right off the bat how well particular designs will translate to the web. No more going back to the Photoshop drawing board after getting a phone call from your development team, telling you that what you had envisioned doesn't have a chance of being displayed on the web. You can immediately visually and interactively test your designs, which permits you to then make changes to either esthetics or functions while it's still relatively early on in the design process.

Pricing and Availability
Mac OS X and Windows versions of the SiteGrinder unlockable demo are available now via download. SiteGrinder can be ordered from Media Lab's online store.

Photoshop CS3 Book - CS3 Essential Skills - By Mark Galer And Philip Andrews

Brimming with beautiful pictures, Photoshop CS3 Essential Skills guides you through a project-based, progressive curriculum so that you can build all the essential skills to enhance photographs creatively and professionally with Photoshop CS3. If you are an aspiring professional, enthusiastic amateur photographer, or a student learning photography, digital imaging, art and design, or design graphics, you'll be amazed at the stunning results you can achieve. A DVD is included free.