subscriptions

Adobe gives Photoshop CS6 a new graphics-chip boost

Adobe Systems has released a second advance look at Photoshop CS6 that shows new work to give a hardware boost to the image-editing software.

The graphics processing unit (GPU) speeds the Liquify tool, which lets people smear images in a finger-painting way, according to a Zorana Gee, a Photoshop product manager. She demonstrated the change in a YouTube video, the second in what looks to be a series of previews of the software. An earlier Photoshop CS6 preview showed new raw image editing tools adopted from the Lightroom 4 beta, a darker user interface, and improvements to brush size selection. … Read more

Rhapsody brings its music to Android tablets

Popular music subscription service Rhapsody today brings its library of tracks to Android tablets running Honeycomb.

While Rhapsody has long been a fixture as a music player on many Android phones and the iPhone, today's newly released app was specifically created for tablets. And different from the iPad app, it's not simply a scaled-up version of its smaller-screen counterpart. According to Chief Product Officer Brendan Benzing, the folks at Rhapsody "re-imagined the entire experience" in order to take advantage of the extra screen real estate of a tablet and the capabilities of the Android Honeycomb OS. … Read more

Adobe: Here's why Creative Cloud is worth $600 a year

Unimpressed by Adobe Systems' Creative Cloud, its forthcoming $50-per-month subscription plan? Adobe wants to change your mind.

The company offered some new details today to show people that the Creative Cloud plan gets people access to more than just the full Creative Suite (CS) Master Collection and tablet-oriented Touch programs. Specifically, according to Scott Morris, senior director of product marketing on Adobe's digital media team, there are these elements:

• The Creative Cloud will include Adobe's Muse and Edge software for creating Web pages. Muse won't be part of the Creative Suite, and Adobe hasn't decided whether … Read more

YouTube eyes subscription-based services for content providers

Although advertising has been the most-desired way for YouTube to generate revenue, the company is reportedly considering another way to rake in cash.

Speaking at the D: Dive Into Media conference last night, YouTube CEO Salar Kamangar said his company is considering allowing content providers to create their own, unique subscription-based video service on the site, according to GigaOm, which attended the event in Dana Point, Calif. That said, Kamangar reportedly cautioned that YouTube has yet to decide if it will, in fact, launch such a service and hasn't even gotten to the point of determining how it could … Read more

Beware the fake subscription app

I miss software. I miss buying a tiny CD swimming in a big box of air for $49.99, installing the program on my PC, and not worrying about paying for the product again.

Today, thanks to "The Cloud," consumers are being sold subscriptions to products that should really be one-shot purchases.

Many services deserve to be subscription-based. But not all. And while you can finagle a justification to charge a few dollars a month for almost anything, that doesn't mean you should.

Here's are some guidelines to see if the app or service you're … Read more

Internet now active with 2.1 billion users

You're one of the 2.1 billion people actively using the Internet.

Looking at the state of the online world throughout 2011, traffic site Pingdom found that the number of Internet users has jumped from a mere 360 million at the end of 2000 and now accounts for 30 percent of the planet's population.

Sweeping across the continents, Asia holds 922 million Internet users, Europe has 476 million, and North America is in third place with 271 million. Drilling down to individual countries, China is on top with 485 million people using the Internet, more than 36 percent … Read more

Adobe has change of heart for CS6 upgrade pricing

Adobe Systems has responded to complaints about its Creative Suite upgrade prices with a new option for customers who bought earlier versions of the software.

The company, which plans to release its CS6 software bundles in the first half of 2012, had offered upgrades only to those who'd bought CS5 or CS5.5. That raised a ruckus, especially after Scott Kelby, president of the National Association of Photoshop Professionals, griped about the upgrade pricing in an open letter.

Adobe's now changed course with an upgrade offer for CS3 and CS4 users, too. That offer, though not yet detailed, … Read more

How Apple could shake up TV: A la carte channels

Apple can set its much-expected television set apart from those of competitors--and shake up the TV industry to boot--if it can figure a way to introduce a la carte pricing for shows and channels on Apple TV, a new analyst report suggests.

In a note today to investors, Sterne Agee analyst Shaw Wu asserts that Apple's strength lies less in the hardware innovation it might bring to the TV market than in letting customers subscribe to particular channels or shows of their choosing.

Such a model would run counter to traditional TV packages offered by cable providers that sell … Read more

How to set up your tablet

A few weeks ago at CNET Gotham, I gave a quick live presentation called Tech Boot Camp: Tablet setup.

It consisted of a look at some of my favorite bits of advice for new tablet owners.

My focus was mainly on the iPad, but much of what I discussed could apply to Android owners, too.

So, here's a video we shot at CNET that recaps what I said then. Topics covered:

Picking a case that makes senseUnderstanding the cloud, and using itGet your "free" content! (Or, how to find things you've already paid for and get … Read more