Adobe Photoshop CS6 review

Adobe Photoshop CS6 only strengthens the benchmark software's existing position as the unrivaled production suite and an indispensable tool for old and new generation creative minds: graphic designers, web developers, video editors, you name it.
Let's start with the interface: dark is good. Photoshop CS6 brings a darker, more focused default work environment, with menus and toolbars painted in dark grays and blacks. Of course, if you're itching for a brighter look, CS6 gives users lighter-colored interfaces, reminiscent of previous versions. Tools are more streamlined thanks to Adobe's continuing move towards collapsible menus, while leaving the primary tools visible.
There are seriously way too many new features for us to cover in such a short overview: instead, we'll briefly look at some of the more notable improvements. Photoshop CS6 finally empowers users with the ability to search within their layers, a crucial benefit for those who work on projects with many elements and layer groups like UI and Web designers. You can search by layer name, type, attribute, and color. Another major change is the ability to apply layer styles to groups. You can define the layer style for various folders, potentially opening the door to even more complex effects and filter combinations.
Photoshop also brings improved precision to setting colors and custom dimensions for shapes. Creative Suite 6 now accepts the standard 3-6 character HEX codes in their color selectors, which is key for designers who want to call out specific Web colors. You can also generate custom-size shapes by inputting numerical pixel values to add more precise mock-up elements. In addition, Photoshop CS6 also has a dummy "lorem ipsum" body text built into the app so designers can quickly paste sample paragraphs.
We've barely scratched the surface of everything CS6 offers, including video support and auto-save functionality like its suite cousin, Adobe Premiere. But if you're a creative producer serious about producing industry-standard content, Photoshop CS6 is a strong, competitive tool.

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Windows 8.1 Desktop review: It’s finally safe to upgrade from Windows 7, folks

Windows 8.1 Desktop review: It’s finally safe to upgrade from Windows 7, folks

Yesterday, Microsoft released the preview version of Windows 8.1. I’ve now been using it for almost 24 hours on my main desktop PC with two monitors (neither of them touchscreens), and I can safely say that Windows 8.1 drastically improves the experience for mouse-and-keyboard users, and users who do most of their work on the Desktop. SkyDrive integration is awesome, the Start button — despite the lack of Start menu — is surprisingly functional, and improved split-screening means Desktop users can now actually use Metro apps without being forced into full-screen mode.
Even so, there’s no getting around the fact that mouse, keyboard, and Desktop are still second-class citizens in the latest iteration of Microsoft’s touch-oriented operating system.
Updated: A hands-on review of Windows 8.1 on a multi-monitor Desktop setup has been added to the post (see below).

The Start button and menu

The biggest change for Desktop users in Windows 8.1 is the semi-return of the Start button and menu. The Start button is enabled by default, and takes the shape of a flat Windows flag in the bottom left corner (or elsewhere, if you move the taskbar). By default, clicking this button takes you to the Metro Start screen — which is still pretty useless for Desktop users. All is not lost, however: A new tab in the taskbar properties window (pictured) lets you configure the Start button to pop up the Metro Apps view instead.

The new Metro Apps view is probably the best addition to Windows 8.1 for mouse and keyboard users. By default this view shows you every app (Desktop and Metro) in an alphabetical list, but sorting it by “most used” makes it much more usable. If you begin typing on the Apps view (or the Start screen), the magic really starts to occur: It’s basically a full-screen version of the Windows 7 Start menu. Rather than sorting by Apps, Files, and Settings, Windows 8.1 defaults to “Everything,” so that you can easily bring up anything — apps, files, settings — just by typing. With Windows 8, if you wanted to add/remove programs, you had to manually click “Settings” every time, or perform a convoluted tabbing maneuver — now it’s a lot easier.

Searching in the new Windows 8.1 Apps view (Click to zoom in)

Booting to Desktop

The taskbar properties window also lets you “Go to the desktop instead of Start when I sign in.” By enabling this, you see the Desktop immediately after you log in — or, if you remove your password and disable the Lock screen, you can boot straight to the Desktop after powering up. It really is that simple, and it boggles the mind that it took this long for Microsoft to implement such a change.
Rounding out that beautiful taskbar properties window, you can now disable the hot corners (very useful if you regularly use full-screen Desktop apps and games), and you have the option of displaying your Desktop wallpaper as your Metro Start screen and Apps list background. The latter sounds like a small change, but it goes a long way towards making the Apps list feel like part of the Desktop. It’s not quite the same as having the Windows 7-era pop-up Start menu, but it’s nowhere near as jarring as Windows 8′s OMG-FULL-SCREEN-TILES-IN-YOUR-FACE Start screen.

Windows 8.1 SkyDrive configuration

SkyDrive

Depending on your point of view, Windows 8.1′s extensive SkyDrive integration is either a massive boon to the user, or a monopolistic power play by Microsoft to dominate the much-contested cloud storage market. During Windows 8.1 you have the option of enabling SkyDrive sync — and if you do, all of your documents and settings, whether they originate from Metro or Desktop, will be automatically backed up to the cloud. Moreover, installed Metro apps and app data are now backed up, too. For documents, SkyDrive is seamlessly integrated into Explorer; it’s another Library, just like Downloads, Photos, and Documents, that’s directly accessible from every Explorer window.
For Desktop users, this feature is useful if you make regular use of cloud storage to access your files on the move. SkyDrive apps exist for Windows Phone, Android, and iOS. If you’ve been resisting cloud storage due to the pain of installing and managing third-party apps on your PC, now’s your opportunity to dive in. I haven’t tested it, but in theory you might be able to use this new version of SkyDrive to restore a new install of Windows to a usable state, too.

This is what Windows 8.1 looks like, on multiple monitors with split screening. I’m not sure if Desktop users will really use Metro apps like this, but who knows. (Click to zoom)

Slim pickings

For Desktop users, that’s about it when it comes to noticeable changes and feature additions in Windows 8.1. Some Metro-oriented features, such as improved app split-screening, could be useful for Desktop users, but only if you intend to actually make use of Metro apps — and, if you use a mouse and keyboard, Metro apps are still rather painful. Likewise, you might enjoy the new Metro-style Control Panel (PC Settings), but you’ll probably still opt to use the Desktop version. For more features that might be useful for Desktop users, see our complete list of Windows 8.1 changes and feature additions.
The big question, of course, is whether these changes make Windows 8.1 better than Windows 7 for productivity and gaming. Windows 8 has always been faster, securer, and more power and memory efficient than Windows 7. If you assess the Desktop side of Windows 8 purely on its own merits, it’s the best PC operating system/interface out there, far outstripping Windows 7 and OS X. When it gets right down to it, everyone wants to upgrade to the latest and greatest x86 operating system; everyone wants to enjoy the latest speed-ups and productivity boosting features — but, so far, Desktop users are sticking firmly with Windows 7.
Does Windows 8.1 do enough to relieve you of the persistent, intrusive annoyance that is the Metro interface? Does Windows 8.1 make Windows 8 fully usable with a mouse and keyboard? Does Windows 8.1 make the Metro interface slightly less abhorrent to Desktop users?
Yes, but only just. Good job, Microsoft — you’re a year late, and you’ve garnered a massive amount of ill will, but you got there eventually.
Download the Windows 8.1 preview now

What's New in Windows 8.1 We built Windows 8 to bring a modern computing experience to businesses and to help professionals stay connected to their colleagues and clients from anywhere, anytime. Windows 8.1 advances this vision and introduces new manageability, mobility, security, user experience and networking capabilities that will be available later this year – with the goal of offering customers the best business tablets and versatile modern business PCs driven by the most powerful operating system designed for today’s modern businesses. Below is a list of some of the new and updated features that we invite to you test out when the Windows 8.1 experience becomes available later this month. Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) Enhancements Workplace Join A Windows 8 PC was either domain joined or not.  If it was a member of the domain, the user could access corporate resources (if permissioned) and IT could control the PC through group policy and other mechanisms.  This feature allows a middle ground between all or nothing access, allowing a user to work on the device of their choice and still have access to corporate resources With Workplace Join, IT administrators now have the ability to offer finer-grained control to corporate resources.  If a user registers their device, IT can grant some access while still enforcing some governance parameters on the device. Work Folders Work Folders allows a user to sync data to their device from their user folder located in the corporation’s data center. Files created locally will sync back to the file server in the corporate environment. This syncing is natively integrated into the file system.  Note, this all happens outside the firewall client sync support. Previously, Windows 8 devices needed to be domain joined (or required domain credentials) for access to file shares.  Syncing could be done with third-party folder replication apps. With Work Folders, Users can keep local copies of their work files on their devices, with automatic synchronization to your data center, and for access from other devices. IT can enforce Dynamic Access Control policies on the Work Folder Sync Share (including automated Rights Management) and require Workplace Join to be in place. Open MDM While many organizations have investments with System Center and will continue to leverage these investments we also know that many organizations want to manage certain classes of devices, like tablets and BYOD devices, as mobile devices. With Windows 8.1, you can use an OMA-DM API agent to allow management of Windows 8.1 devices with mobile device management products, like Mobile Iron or Air Watch. Mobile Device Management When a user enrolls their device, they are joining the device to the Windows Intune management service.  They get access to the Company Portal which provides a consistent experience for access to their applications, data and to manage their own devices.  This allows a deeper management experience with existing tools like Windows Intune. IT administrators now have deeper policy management for Windows RT devices, and can manage Windows 8.1 PCs as mobile devices without having deploy a full management client. Web Application Proxy The Web Application Proxy is a new role service in the Windows Server Remote Access role. It provides the ability to publish access to corporate resources, and enforce multi-factor authentication as well as apply conditional access policies to verify both the user’s identity and the device they are using resources, and enforce multi-factor authentication as well as verify the device being used before access is granted. RDS Enhancements Enhanced Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) in Windows Server 2012 R2 with improvements in management, value, and user experience. Session Shadowing allows administrators to view and remotely control active user sessions in an RDSH server. Disk dedupe and storage tiering allow for lower cost storage options. User experience for RemoteApps, network connectivity and multiple displays has been improved. Administrators can now easily support users with session desktops to provide helpdesk style support. Administrators now have even more flexible storage options to support a VDI environment without expensive SAN investments. End users will find RemoteApp behavior is more like local apps, and the experience in low-bandwidth is better, with faster reconnects and improved compression, and support for multiple monitors. NFC Tap-to-pair Printing Tap your Windows 8.1 device against an enterprise NFC-enabled printer and you’re all set to print. No more hunting on your network for the correct printer and no need to buy a special printer to take advantage of this functionality. Simply attach an NFC tag to your existing printers to enable this functionality. Wi-Fi Direct Printing Connect to Wi-Fi Direct printers without adding additional drivers or software on your Windows 8.1 device, forming a peer-to-peer network between your device and the printer. Native Miracast Wireless Display Present your work wirelessly with no connection cords needed; just pair with a Miracast-enabled projector via NFC and Miracast will use Wi-Fi to let you project wire-free. Mobility Enhancements VPN We have added support for a wider range of VPN clients in both Windows and Windows RT devices. We have also added the ability to have an app automatically trigger VPN connections. Mobile Broadband At Windows 8 launch, the devices had embedded radios that were separate components within the devices.  Windows 8.1 supports embedded wireless radio, which gives you increased power savings, longer battery life, also enables thinner form factors and lower cost devices. Windows To Go With Windows To Go in Windows 8.1, the Windows Store is enabled by default. Windows To Go users may roam to any number of machines and access the Windows Store and use Windows Store apps. Broadband Tethering Turn your Windows 8.1 mobile broadband-enabled PC or tablet into a personal Wi-Fi hotspot, allowing other devices to connect and access the internet. Auto-triggered VPN When you select an app or resource that needs access through the inbox VPN – like a company’s intranet site – Windows 8.1 will automatically prompt you to sign in with one click. This feature will be available with Microsoft and third-party inbox VPN clients. Security Enhancements Remote Business Data Removal Corporations now have more control over corporate content which can be marked as corporate, encrypted, and then be wiped when the relationship between the corporation and user has ended. Corporate data can now be identified as corporate vs. user, encrypted, and wiped on command using EAS or EAS + OMA-DM protocol. This capability is requires implementation in the client application and in the server application (Mail + Exchange Server). The client application determines if the wipe simply makes the data inaccessible or actually deletes it. Improved Biometrics All SKUs will include end to end biometric capabilities that enable authenticating with your biometric identity anywhere in Windows (Windows sign-in, remote access, User Account Control, etc.). Windows 8.1 will also be optimized for fingerprint based biometrics and will include a common fingerprint enrollment experience that will work with a variety of readers (touch, swipe). Modern readers are touch based rather than swipe and include liveliness detection that prevents spoofing (e.g.: silicon emulated fingerprints). Access to Windows Store Apps, functions within them, and certificate release can be gated based on verification of a user’s biometric identity. Pervasive Device Encryption Device encryption previously found on Windows RT and Windows Phone 8 is now available in all editions of Windows. It is enabled out of the box and can be configured with additional BitLocker protection and management capability on the Pro and Enterprise SKUs. Consumer devices are automatically encrypted and protected when using a Microsoft account. Data on any Windows connected standby device is automatically protected (encrypted) with device encryption. Organizations that need to manage encryption can easily take add additional BitLocker protection options and manageability to these devices. Improved Internet Explorer Internet Explorer 11 improvements include faster page load times, side-by-side browsing of your sites, enhanced pinned site notifications, and app settings like favorites, tabs and settings sync across all your Windows 8.1 PCs. Internet Explorer 11 now includes capability that enables an antimalware solution to scan the input for a binary extension before it’s passed onto the extension for execution Malware Resistance Windows Defender, Microsoft’s free antivirus solution in Windows 8, will include network behavior monitoring to help detect and stop the execution of known and unknown malware. Internet Explorer will scan binary extensions (e.g. ActiveX) using the antimalware solution before potentially harmful code is executed. Device Lockdown With Assigned Access, a new feature offered in Windows 8.1 RT, Windows 8.1 Pro, and Windows 8.1 Enterprise, you can enable a single Windows Store application experience on the device. This can be things like a learning application for kids in an educational setting or a customer service application at a boutique, Assigned Access can ensure the device is delivering the intended experience. In our Windows Embedded 8.1 industry product, we deliver additional lockdown capabilities to meet the needs of industry devices like point of sale systems, ATMs, and digital signs. Modern UI Experience Variable, Continuous Size of Snap Views You have more ways to see multiple apps on the screen at once. You can resize apps to nearly infinite sized windows, share the screen between two apps, or have up to three apps on each monitor. Boot to Desktop We have made configuration options available which will allow you to boot directly to the desktop in Windows 8.1. Desktop and Start Screen Improvements have been made to better support users who prefer a mouse and keyboard experience to access applications. These are just some of the key features available in Windows 8.1 We encourage you to test out and try these features when you evaluate Windows 8.1 for use both in your work environment as well as at home in your personal life. Please note that Windows Server 2012 R2 may be required in order for some of these features to be available. Download the preview here! windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-8/preview-download‎