Adobe’s Photoshop Creative Suite 2 Page 2
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Where's The Bling?
There are many improvements in Photoshop CS2, almost all of which are aimed
at the advanced user, but there are lots of little improvements such as a WYSIWYG
font menu where font names are listed in the regular system font and a sample
word rendered in the font itself is listed next to each font name. A new Redeye
tool (in the Tools palette in the same slot as the Healing Brush) can automatically
neutralize common redeye problems with a single click and is much easier than
was possible by painting with the Color Replacement tool.
Other improvements may not be so noticeable. Photoshop CS presently features
almost 500 menu commands, making the program intimidating for newbies and harder
for experienced users to find the tools they want. That's why Photoshop
CS2 will allow you to enable and disable certain items; allow menu items to
be color-coded and give you the ability to save customized work spaces that
contain menu, keyboard, and/or palette layouts. This mixture of little and big
improvements make Photoshop CS2 a must-have upgrade for serious image-makers.
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System Requirements For Adobe Photoshop CS2
Mac OS: Mac OS X Version 10.2.8, 10.3.0 through 10.3.4 (10.3.4
recommended); PowerPC Processor (G3, G4, or G5); 192MB of RAM (256MB recommended);
320MB of available hard disk space; color monitor with 16-bit or greater video
card; 1024x768 or greater monitor resolution; and CD-ROM drive.
Microsoft Windows: *Intel Xeon, Xeon Dual, Centrino, Pentium
III or 4 processor; Microsoft Windows 2000 with Service Pack 3, or Windows XP;
192MB of RAM (256MB recommended); 280MB of available hard disk space; color
monitor with 16-bit or greater video card; 1024x768 or greater monitor resolution;
and CD-ROM drive. *Other compatible processors include AMD's Opteron,
Opteron Dual, Athalon 64 FX, and AMD Athalon 64.
Users of older operating systems have to ask themselves if they feel the productivity
increases are worth it. The short answer is that they are and besides, don't
you want to get the maximum performance from your imaging software?
Arggggghhh, Not More Buzzwords
Yes kiddies, welcome to the world of HDR and its attendant buzzwords. Photoshop
CS2 supports HDR images in the following formats: PSD/PSB, TIFF, LogLUV TIFF,
Radiance HDR, PFM, and OpenEXR. Here's a quick guide to help you through
the minefield:
LogLUV: A raw image format developed by Silicon Graphics, Inc.
(www.sgi.com) that uses 32
bits/pixel and is based on human perception.
OpenEXR: An HDR image file format developed by Industrial Light
& Magic (www.ilm.com) for
use in computer imaging applications. OpenEXR is used by Industrial Light &
Magic on all motion pictures currently in production. The first movies to employ
OpenEXR were Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, Men in Black II, and
Signs. Since then, OpenEXR has become Industrial Light & Magic's main
image file format.
PFM: Printer Font Metrics
Radiance HDR: Radiance is a highly accurate ray-tracing software
system for UNIX computers that is licensed at no cost to users for non-commercial
use. The primary advantage of Radiance over simpler lighting calculation and
rendering tools is that there are no limitations on the geometry or the materials
that may be simulated.
For more information on Photoshop CS2, visit Adobe's website at: www.adobe.com.
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