Adobe MAX 2021 kicks off today, and with it Adobe is introducing new features to its Creative Cloud applications for desktop and mobile. Creative Cloud is also expanding to the web and integrates several new sharing features to make design collaboration easier. Below are just a few of the biggest highlights:
Adobe MAX 2021 overview
Photoshop CC and Photoshop for iPad
Starting things off, Adobe is releasing “a major feature release of Photoshop on the desktop and iPad.” Photoshop for iPad is gaining Camera RAW support and the ability to edit Smart Objects on the go, which I covered in a separate post.
On the desktop, The Object Selection Tool is being improved to allow users to hover over an object and make a selection with a single click. This enhanced selection method utilizes Adobe’s Sensei AI machine learning and should only improve over time. Adobe also claims selections made with the Object Selection Tool “are now more accurate and preserve more details in the edges of the selection.”
Photoshop for desktop also gains a new ability to mask all objects in a photo with a single click. From the Layer menu, users can now create masks for all the subjects detected in an image.
Photoshop’s Neural Filters were released last year and are receiving three new beta filters with the latest update.
Landscape Mixer allows users to quickly edit scenery by changing the season and/or the time of day. Edits can be made using a selection of presets or a user’s own imagery. Alterations are made on the fly and the results are rather amazing:
Color Transfer is a new Neural Filter that takes the color palette of one image and makes it easy to apply it to a different image. As Adobe puts it, “make this image look like that.”
Harmony is the last new Neural Filter being released with this newest Photoshop update and uses Adobe’s Sensei AI to match the color, tone, hue, and luminosity when compositing two images. For example, taking a photograph of a model from a photoshoot, placing her atop a different background, and synchronizing the “look” between the two images.
The Depth Blur Neural Filter is not not new but is getting updated with a new machine learning technique that applies a more realistic blurred background while keeping the subject in focus to produce a more believable bokeh effect. This results in an image similar to one taken using Apple’s Portrait Mode, though no lidar sensor data is required or used.
One of Photoshop’s “top feature requests” is finally coming with this latest edition as well: the ability to copy vector shapes from Illustrator and paste them into Photoshop while retaining their editable attributes, groups, and layers. According to Adobe, “When Photoshop can’t maintain editability from Illustrator, because Photoshop doesn’t support a feature for example, we try to maintain visual fidelity.” This should be a tremendous time saver for many designers, and one that I am looking forward to using myself.
Adobe is also implementing a new “Share for commenting” feature to make collaboration easier:
Quickly share your work for review with clients and colleagues and receive their feedback within Photoshop in the new commenting panel on both the desktop and iPad versions. Your collaborators will receive a link to your document where they can access it on the Creative Cloud web site and leave comments, including adding pins and annotations. That information flows directly to you inside Photoshop so you can see and address the feedback in context.
Here’s how Adobe describes the main features:
Notify others by private invitations
Create both private and public links that can be shared
Control link access and what people with the link can do with the file
Send comments back and forth to collaborators without leaving Photoshop
View pins and annotations left by others (desktop and web)
Work across the Photoshop ecosystem (desktop, mobile and web)
You can read more about all the new features coming to Photoshop for iPad and desktop in Adobe’s announcement release.
Lightroom
You can learn what’s new for Lightroom for iPhone, iPad, and Mac in a previous post that I covered here.
Illustrator CC and Illustrator for iPad
The biggest enhancement to Illustrator CC is the improvement of 3D effects, which have been reworked with a new interface and introduce new features like applying textures to designs without the need to learn 3D software. It won’t replace true 3D models and texturing, but it’s a welcome improvement nonetheless.
Here’s a look at the new Materials panel:
Illustrator for iPad also gains some new capabilities, starting with Vectorize Technology Preview. Vectorize allows users to convert drawn images into clean vector graphics. Take a photo of a sketch and Illustrator automatically vectorizes the image. Users can also fine tune these results to their liking.
Brushes now allow users to create and apply artistic or calligraphic brush strokes to their designs, making Illustrator for iPad that much more powerful for designers on the go and bringing it a bit closer to feature parity of Illustrator for desktop.
Object blend comes to Illustrator for iPad for the first time and functions like it does in Illustrator for desktop. Also new is the ability to transform objects as shapes without having to manually adjust individual anchor points.
Like Photoshop, Illustrator is also gaining a new “Share for Commenting” ability to simplify collaboration.
Premiere Pro and After Effects
Simplify Sequence is new to Premiere Pro and – as the name suggests – lets users create a clean, simplified version of their current sequence by removing gaps, unused tracks, user-designated clips, effects, and more without changing the final video.
Speech to Text has also been updated with better transcription of pop culture terminology and improved formatting of dates and numbers, so those using this capability should see better results.
Multi-Frame rendering exits beta and is now available in After Effects. Adobe claims this brings 4x faster performance by taking full advantage of the CPU.
Other new features new to After Effects include Speculative Preview, a new technique that automatically renders compositions in the background when a user’s system is idle, and Composition Profiler. As Adobe puts it, Composition Profiler “highlights the layers and effects in designs that have the biggest impact on processing time and gives users the option to optimize their projects for faster rendering as they iterate.”
M1 Mac users will also be pleased to learn that After Effects Beta is now available for Apple Silicon Macs.
Based upon Adobe’s claims, M1 users should expect significant performance gains:
Opening a graphics-heavy file is now 185% faster and scroll performance on a text-heavy document of 100 pages has improved by 78%, making working and iterating on your designs much faster and more efficient.
InDesign also receives a new Capture Panel which “enables designers to create color themes and vector shapes and find font recommendations directly in InDesign, so that they can collect inspiration from any images within their document.”
The Capture Panel will also make it easier for users to try and match fonts through Adobe Fonts based on raster images within an InDesign document. Perfect for those times when a client sends you a photo of their business card and wants you to match their company font!
Creative Cloud Collaboration
Adobe is launching new betas of Illustrator and Photoshop that work directly within a web browser to make collaborating on design easier than ever. While they lack the full features of their desktop counterparts, users will be able to make basic edits without the need to download and install the full applications. Comments can also be posted to files (“Make the logo bigger!”) as a means to share feedback, etc. Any edits and comments made to a file are then reflected in Photoshop and Illustrator for desktop and iPad. A spokesperson for Adobe confirmed in an email that a Creative Cloud subscription is not required to use Photoshop or Illustrator for the web.
Adobe made the review and comment experience on the web open and easy to access while also empowering customers to control who can access their files. For content shared with permissions set to “Anyone with the link can view”, no login/Adobe ID is required to view and comment. Logged-out guests can access a shared document that has permissions set to “Anyone with the link can view.” Guest users can submit a comment/pin/annotation, at which point they will be prompted to continue as a guest after typing their name (no Adobe ID is needed).
Two years ago, we launched the Content Authenticity Initiative (CAI) to combat visual misinformation and protect creators through digital provenance. We set out to create accessible features, open technical standards, and a solid foundation for organizations across industries to use in a global effort toward a more trustworthy digital landscape.
Today, we’re excited to introduce the next step in this journey: Content Credentials, Adobe’s new way to provide and assess digital content provenance and attribution.
Adobe is stepping up its efforts to combat misinformation by allowing users to include personally identifiable information and edits made to an image as metadata within their documents. This metadata can then be included within their exported files and “verified” at the Content Credentials website, where anyone can see who originated the image and what changes were applied.
So, if your eccentric uncle shares a photo of aliens landing at the pyramids, you can check the image against the Content Credentials database and see that it’s not true and was instead created by Thomas A. Anderson with Adobe Stock imagery using Photoshop. That’s assuming Anderson chose to include his metadata. Content Credentials is opt-in, so those “bad actors” perpetrating fake graphics will most likely never use this feature.
Updates to the Creative Cloud applications are expected to begin rolling out starting today.
I covered some of the biggest announcements and changes, but you can learn more about everything announced at Adobe MAX here. What new features are you most excited about? Let us know in the comments below!
The federal government is ordering the dissolution of TikTok’s Canadian business after a national security review of the Chinese company behind the social media platform, but stopped short of ordering people to stay off the app.
Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne announced the government’s “wind up” demand Wednesday, saying it is meant to address “risks” related to ByteDance Ltd.’s establishment of TikTok Technology Canada Inc.
“The decision was based on the information and evidence collected over the course of the review and on the advice of Canada’s security and intelligence community and other government partners,” he said in a statement.
The announcement added that the government is not blocking Canadians’ access to the TikTok application or their ability to create content.
However, it urged people to “adopt good cybersecurity practices and assess the possible risks of using social media platforms and applications, including how their information is likely to be protected, managed, used and shared by foreign actors, as well as to be aware of which country’s laws apply.”
Champagne’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment seeking details about what evidence led to the government’s dissolution demand, how long ByteDance has to comply and why the app is not being banned.
A TikTok spokesperson said in a statement that the shutdown of its Canadian offices will mean the loss of hundreds of well-paying local jobs.
“We will challenge this order in court,” the spokesperson said.
“The TikTok platform will remain available for creators to find an audience, explore new interests and for businesses to thrive.”
The federal Liberals ordered a national security review of TikTok in September 2023, but it was not public knowledge until The Canadian Press reported in March that it was investigating the company.
At the time, it said the review was based on the expansion of a business, which it said constituted the establishment of a new Canadian entity. It declined to provide any further details about what expansion it was reviewing.
A government database showed a notification of new business from TikTok in June 2023. It said Network Sense Ventures Ltd. in Toronto and Vancouver would engage in “marketing, advertising, and content/creator development activities in relation to the use of the TikTok app in Canada.”
Even before the review, ByteDance and TikTok were lightning rod for privacy and safety concerns because Chinese national security laws compel organizations in the country to assist with intelligence gathering.
Such concerns led the U.S. House of Representatives to pass a bill in March designed to ban TikTok unless its China-based owner sells its stake in the business.
Champagne’s office has maintained Canada’s review was not related to the U.S. bill, which has yet to pass.
Canada’s review was carried out through the Investment Canada Act, which allows the government to investigate any foreign investment with potential to might harm national security.
While cabinet can make investors sell parts of the business or shares, Champagne has said the act doesn’t allow him to disclose details of the review.
Wednesday’s dissolution order was made in accordance with the act.
The federal government banned TikTok from its mobile devices in February 2023 following the launch of an investigation into the company by federal and provincial privacy commissioners.
— With files from Anja Karadeglija in Ottawa
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 6, 2024.
LONDON (AP) — Most people have accumulated a pile of data — selfies, emails, videos and more — on their social media and digital accounts over their lifetimes. What happens to it when we die?
It’s wise to draft a will spelling out who inherits your physical assets after you’re gone, but don’t forget to take care of your digital estate too. Friends and family might treasure files and posts you’ve left behind, but they could get lost in digital purgatory after you pass away unless you take some simple steps.
Here’s how you can prepare your digital life for your survivors:
Apple
The iPhone maker lets you nominate a “ legacy contact ” who can access your Apple account’s data after you die. The company says it’s a secure way to give trusted people access to photos, files and messages. To set it up you’ll need an Apple device with a fairly recent operating system — iPhones and iPads need iOS or iPadOS 15.2 and MacBooks needs macOS Monterey 12.1.
For iPhones, go to settings, tap Sign-in & Security and then Legacy Contact. You can name one or more people, and they don’t need an Apple ID or device.
You’ll have to share an access key with your contact. It can be a digital version sent electronically, or you can print a copy or save it as a screenshot or PDF.
Take note that there are some types of files you won’t be able to pass on — including digital rights-protected music, movies and passwords stored in Apple’s password manager. Legacy contacts can only access a deceased user’s account for three years before Apple deletes the account.
Google
Google takes a different approach with its Inactive Account Manager, which allows you to share your data with someone if it notices that you’ve stopped using your account.
When setting it up, you need to decide how long Google should wait — from three to 18 months — before considering your account inactive. Once that time is up, Google can notify up to 10 people.
You can write a message informing them you’ve stopped using the account, and, optionally, include a link to download your data. You can choose what types of data they can access — including emails, photos, calendar entries and YouTube videos.
There’s also an option to automatically delete your account after three months of inactivity, so your contacts will have to download any data before that deadline.
Facebook and Instagram
Some social media platforms can preserve accounts for people who have died so that friends and family can honor their memories.
When users of Facebook or Instagram die, parent company Meta says it can memorialize the account if it gets a “valid request” from a friend or family member. Requests can be submitted through an online form.
The social media company strongly recommends Facebook users add a legacy contact to look after their memorial accounts. Legacy contacts can do things like respond to new friend requests and update pinned posts, but they can’t read private messages or remove or alter previous posts. You can only choose one person, who also has to have a Facebook account.
You can also ask Facebook or Instagram to delete a deceased user’s account if you’re a close family member or an executor. You’ll need to send in documents like a death certificate.
TikTok
The video-sharing platform says that if a user has died, people can submit a request to memorialize the account through the settings menu. Go to the Report a Problem section, then Account and profile, then Manage account, where you can report a deceased user.
Once an account has been memorialized, it will be labeled “Remembering.” No one will be able to log into the account, which prevents anyone from editing the profile or using the account to post new content or send messages.
X
It’s not possible to nominate a legacy contact on Elon Musk’s social media site. But family members or an authorized person can submit a request to deactivate a deceased user’s account.
Passwords
Besides the major online services, you’ll probably have dozens if not hundreds of other digital accounts that your survivors might need to access. You could just write all your login credentials down in a notebook and put it somewhere safe. But making a physical copy presents its own vulnerabilities. What if you lose track of it? What if someone finds it?
Instead, consider a password manager that has an emergency access feature. Password managers are digital vaults that you can use to store all your credentials. Some, like Keeper,Bitwarden and NordPass, allow users to nominate one or more trusted contacts who can access their keys in case of an emergency such as a death.
But there are a few catches: Those contacts also need to use the same password manager and you might have to pay for the service.
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LONDON (AP) — Britain’s competition watchdog said Thursday it’s opening a formal investigation into Google’s partnership with artificial intelligence startup Anthropic.
The Competition and Markets Authority said it has “sufficient information” to launch an initial probe after it sought input earlier this year on whether the deal would stifle competition.
The CMA has until Dec. 19 to decide whether to approve the deal or escalate its investigation.
“Google is committed to building the most open and innovative AI ecosystem in the world,” the company said. “Anthropic is free to use multiple cloud providers and does, and we don’t demand exclusive tech rights.”
San Francisco-based Anthropic was founded in 2021 by siblings Dario and Daniela Amodei, who previously worked at ChatGPT maker OpenAI. The company has focused on increasing the safety and reliability of AI models. Google reportedly agreed last year to make a multibillion-dollar investment in Anthropic, which has a popular chatbot named Claude.
Anthropic said it’s cooperating with the regulator and will provide “the complete picture about Google’s investment and our commercial collaboration.”
“We are an independent company and none of our strategic partnerships or investor relationships diminish the independence of our corporate governance or our freedom to partner with others,” it said in a statement.
The U.K. regulator has been scrutinizing a raft of AI deals as investment money floods into the industry to capitalize on the artificial intelligence boom. Last month it cleared Anthropic’s $4 billion deal with Amazon and it has also signed off on Microsoft’s deals with two other AI startups, Inflection and Mistral.
