Darren Hester of Pixel Perfect Digital sends this in: "I've just launched a brand new site called Free Web Page Headers that offers free 800x200 page headers for personal websites and blogs. I currently have 60 graphics in 7 categories. I think designers will really like these page headers. I especially think they will appeal to those who know how to work with CSS layouts and blogs. PixelPerfectDigital.com has been a huge success over the past 4 years. We're hoping to reach an even larger segment of the design community with FreeWebPageHeaders.com."

Headers are available in two sizes: 800x200 for "fixed" width designs, and 1600x200 for "fluid" designs. All images can be downloaded instantly as high quality JPG files. Registration is not required.

So 2 days ago someone asked me to help them with a blog header and I sent them to Darren's site and they came back with a great crayon image that we put some text on and placed online. All so effortless, just the way I like it. This is a sweet free resource for getting some very nice web headers done fast.

For more free blog resources, see our Blog Template Tutorial.
posted by Jennifer Apple | permalink | send comments



Complete Photo Protection From New Online Photo Backup Service ProtectMyPhotos

ProtectMyPhotos launched its new online photo backup service. The company is focused on providing the most complete photo protection service for consumers.

"We started this company because we needed this service ourselves. Other backup solutions such as burning CD's, expensive online services, and companies that force you to order prints just didn't cut it," says Cliff Shaw, CEO of ProtectMyPhotos. "Our goal with ProtectMyPhotos was to create an affordable and easy-to-use service that allowed for seamless uploading and protection of customers' digital photos, and required zero maintenance. Market research shows that 97% of digital camera owners would be distraught if they lost their family photos, but only 18% have all of their photos backed up. I think that says a lot about the shortcomings of the current solutions. When it comes to backup, people want it to just plain work."

ProtectMyPhotos automatically uploads users' digital photos using their broadband connection, and continues to check for additions and changes. Photos are stored at secure datacenters in two geographic locations, and customers can access them anytime via the Web. In the event of data loss, photos are easily restored to their original form. Rare for online storage, ProtectMyPhotos also ensures pictures are restored with their original file locations and dates and with no reduction of quality. The service costs $5.95 per month and is available now at the company's web site, www.protectmyphotos.com.

"2006 will go down as the year that broadband finally fulfilled its promise, especially in online backup," says Shaw. "High-speed connections have always promised to deliver these types of solutions and the smart players are focusing on automatic and perfect end-to-end delivery. Our service helps users transfer thousands of photos with no guesswork. You will see us quickly change peoples' perceptions of what it means to upload thousands of files."

For more on Photo Backup & Recovery, see our Photo Recovery Resource Center.
posted by Jennifer Apple | permalink | send comments

Announcing Aperture Library Spanner

[From creativepro.com] Although Apple's Aperture confines its internal library to a single drive, you can use a little under-the-hood trickery to span the library across multiple volumes. Ben Long has released a simple, free application that performs this trickery for you, allowing you to increase the size of your Aperture Library.

With a single click, the Aperture Library Spanner reconfigures your Aperture library so that it is stored across several currently-mounted volumes. If you later decide you want to return to a normal, single-volume library, you can easily undo the change from within Aperture itself. The Aperture Library Spanner is available for free at Ben Long's Complete Digital Photograph site.

For more on Aperture, see our Aperture Resource Center.
posted by Jennifer Apple | permalink | send comments

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.