It ’s been a busy calendar month so far , between last week ’s Macworld Expo and preparations for next week’sPMA showin Las Vegas . ( I ’ll be in Vegas for the show , and be post update from the field ; if you ’re going to be there , flatten mea line . )
While all this is go on , I ’ve been keeping track of a bunch of cool things on the WWW . Here are a few choice , originative - minded items that I think are deserving a click :
Font stars of 2007
For typoholics everywhere , FontShop has an intriguing fresh atomic number 48 calledFontStars 2007 , a $ 599 ingathering of 29 OpenType fonts from 14 foundries . There are n’t any cheesy belt - offs in this $ 599 readiness ; if you do n’t believe me , check out thePDF spec sheet .
VectorMagic
Converting bitmap images to transmitter fine art is one of those technologies that software railroad engineer have been struggling to hone since the dayspring of the Mac . I lie with interior designer who keep former Macs active just so they can useAdobe Streamline , believe that it offers unspoiled bitmap - to - transmitter transition than Illustrator ’s unrecorded Trace characteristic ( which I do n’t buy , btw ) .
Two research worker at Stanford University ’s Artificial Intelligence Laboratory have adjust upVectorMagic , a Web - based public-service corporation for change over pixel - based trope to vectors . You upload your image — in JPG , BMP , PNG , GIF or TIF format — and it process them using a proprietary algorithmic program . The site is surprisingly mere to use , and the results I ’ve seen are astonishing . If vectorization interests you , go play around with it . ( The researchers take that , “ Your images are keep securely on our servers . Only you and the people you take have access to them . ” )
Lightroom and Aperture, redux.
There was a lot of back - channel buzz at Macworld Expo about an Aperture 2.0 announcement at PMA . An update to the Apple app makes sense , and is about due . On the other hand , no one seems to be expecting an update to Adobe ’s Lightroom , but I ’m sure the Lightroom squad is face at Scott Kelby ’s “ What I ’d love to see in Lightroom 2.0 . ” Scott , as always , is place - on in his appraisal ; I knowI’dlike to see a gang of these features added to Lightroom .
Veerle’s vintage Photoshop effects (and more)
Veerle Pieters is one of the nerveless designer blogging on the Web . Her stuff ranges from example to Web design and everything in between . This week , she post a tutorial for using Photoshop to create avintage effectfor your photos . And while you ’re tooling around her web log , check out hertutorialssection — there ’s a batch of good material mightily there . ( And , if you ’re concerned in the electronic image - to - vector technology mentioned above , check out her post onusing Illustrator ’s Live Trace . )
The Creative Digital Darkroom
One of the thing I love most about Macworld Expo is the book trafficker ’ booths . Despite the rich people on the Web , I still love a well - written technical book . I buy a few book of account from Peachpit , Wiley and O’Reilly at the show , but the one that I utterly love is Katrin Eismann and Seán Duggan’sThe Creative Digital Darkroom(O’Reilly ) . This beautiful 400 - page Koran is designed for digital photographer using either Photoshop or Lightroom , and plow everything from workflow to sharpening , people of colour chastisement and more . I ’ve always fuck Katrin ’s stuff and nonsense , and this Bible is no exclusion : I ’ve had it in my bag for a week and I ca n’t put it down .
The Story on the Rebel XSi
Derrick Story provide up his speedy take on Canon’sRebel XSi , a 12.2 - megapixel update to Canon ’s low-spirited - end D - SLR line . At $ 800 , the XSi has a bunch of interesting features , but Derrick rightly wonders how well the small sensor will handle dissonance . ( In related news program , Canon also announced four raw Powershot cameras , include a 7.1 - megapixel good example price at $ 130 . )
B8850 first look posted
I ’ll close-fitting with a bit of shameless self - promotion : Over on Printerville , I ’ve posted a first looking of HP ’s forthcomingPhotosmart Pro B8850 . The lower - priced ( $ 549 ) sibling to the Photosmart Pro B9180 ( ) look like it will be a barn burner when it ship this give , and will be suitable competition to Epson ’s much - anticipatedStylus Photo R1900 , which is also priced at $ 550 and should ship in the same time full stop .
[ Rick LePage isMacworld’seditor at with child , and editor ofPrinterville , a internet site dedicate to photo printing . ]
