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Print ArticleThe Software Market
The Comfort Level is Rising With Digital Consumers
by Theano Nikitas
August 2001
From tourists in downtown Seattle to airplane fans at a summer
air show, digital picture-taking is much more noticeable than ever
before. Digital images are not yet ubiquitous, but the increasing
presence of digicams in the hands of everyday people - from teens
to seniors - is evidence that more and more people are, at least to
some extent, becoming comfortable with technology.
Not surprisingly, as consumers' comfort level rises, so does the
desire to do more with their digital images. Digicam users need and
want software to take their pictures to the next step -
manipulation, project creation, sharing and taking them on the
road.
At the same time, technology continues to expand, right into the
hands and pockets of consumers and software is keeping pace. PDAs
are becoming more commonplace (3 out of 4 people pulled out their
Palm Pilots the other night at dinner when we were trying to set up
our next get-together) and, thanks to MGI (see below), digital
images are going mobile.
The iMac and its easy-to-use movie-making feature has helped bring
Apple back into the consumer fold. Affordable, easy to use video
software from MGI, Ulead and now ArcSoft brings new meaning - and
sophistication - to home movies.
And the introduction of OS X has software publishers working hard
to carbonize applications for the new Mac operating system
(remember, most graphics artists and many photographers are - and
always have been - on the Mac platform). Case in point: Corel is
introducing OS X optimized versions of Bryce 5, Corel Painter 7,
CorelDRAW 10 for Macintosh, Corel KnockOut 2 and KPT 7 this fall
and, according to Steve Houck, executive vice-president of sales,
Corel is "committed to delivering the tools that Macintosh users
need to fully empower their creativity." Other software publishers
are following suit and we expect to see more OS X-compatible
software in the near future. (Keep in mind that already-existing
software will probably operate under OS X under "classic
mode.")
We've also seen some movement to optimize programs for Microsoft's
new Windows XP, though we expect most initial optimization to occur
for business programs.
With so much going on in the hardware world, we thought we'd take a
wider view of software than usual. Rather than limiting this
round-up to image-editing programs, we've included an assortment of
applications that address the expanding world of the digital
consumer.
Software Selections
ACD Systems
ACD Systems, recently announced a new version of their digital
imaging/multimedia management program - ACDSee for Mac 1.6. This
new Mac version, which costs $39.95, is compatible with OS X and
offers two new features: read support for EXIF JPEG, for viewing
metadata and TWAIN support, for access to TWAIN-compatible
scanners.
Also new from ACD is FotoSlate, a printing plug-in for ACDSee.
FotoSlate eases the task of creating and viewing different layouts
for printing. Preparing multiple image layouts is drag-and-drop
simple. The program offers more than 450 layout templates and
images can be quickly cropped to standard print sizes. Users can
also add captions as needed with this $19.95 application. www.acdsystems.com
Adobe
Photoshop Elements is Adobe's latest entry into the image-editing
arena. While there are similarities between Photoshop LE and
Elements, i.e., priced at $99, based on the Photoshop engine, there
are a number of substantial - and very exciting - differences. A
number of new features have been added, including learning tools
that provide users with extensive context sensitive help as well as
"Recipes" for performing image-editing tasks.
File and filter browsers and automatic straightening and cropping
of scanned images are only a few of the new features that make
using Elements both convenient and easy. In addition to
image-editing capabilities, GIF animations, Elements also makes
short work of optimizing images for the Web. This is a great
program for photographers and business people alike, especially
those who want to step up from a more basic program but don't want
to invest in the full version of Photoshop. The details are worth a
look at: www.adobe.com
Alien Skin
Alien Skin is at the top of our list for the utmost in fun and
creativity with their very cool plug-in software. Eye Candy 4000
has a new and highly intuitive interface, with tons of added
features. In addition to all the Eye Candy 3 filters, five new
filters have been added: Marble, Wood, Drip, Melt and Corona.
Seamless tiling, a bevel profile editor and color gradient editor,
the ability to save and swap settings, along with unlimited
undo/redo makes this an awesome update. The software is well worth
the $169 price (upgrades are available for Eye Candy 3 owners for
$69). www.alienskin.com.
Andromeda
Andromeda has an interesting new Photoshop plug-in filter, ideal
for photographers who want to add some depth and perspective to
their images. Not to be confused with LensDoc, which fixes
perspective, the new Perspective filter adds perspective into the
image. Utilizing the perspective tool, users can produce
consistency across multiple images and in text characters. And
settings can be saved for future use.
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