Users of the Avid Studio iPad app are seeing a pop-up informing them that support is discontinued, notes TUAW. As a replacement, people are being directed to Pinnacle Studio, a similar video editing app owned by Corel, but currently free through September 18th. Avid Studio is still available for $5.
Corel today announced two additions to the functionality of its Painter 12 desktop program. The graphic design program received a free update adding new user interface options and support for artist tablets. The company also released an app for the iPad that allows the tablet to be used as a second input device.
Pro Tools maker Avid is selling music technology company M-Audio to inMusic. Avid has agreed to the sale in order to focus on media enterprise and other professional customers, and to improve its operating performance. It is also passing its line of video editing apps to Corel Corporation at the same time as the M-Audio sale.
Alien Skin Software has announced Exposure 4, a new version of its image effects plug-in for Photoshop. A completely redesigned interface has been added with the latest release, along with new controls for exploring a range of effects or creating custom presets. Black & White and Color Film have also been combined into a single filter, and a new text search feature allows users to easily search for filters. Exposure 4 is expected to be released in February at a cost of $250. However, current Exposure customers will be able to purchase an upgrade license for $99.
Corel has launched AfterShot Pro, a new photo utility. Much like Adobe's Lightroom or Apple's Aperture, AfterShot Pro is a RAW/JPEG workflow tool meant mainly for professional photographers. Users can organize photos into catalogs or folders, tag them, and perform a number of non-destructive edits without having to open images in a dedicated editor like Photoshop.
Microsoft will now support raw format images with Windows Live Photo Gallery 2011. Until now, photographers working with photos in RAW had to work with third-party apps such as Adobe Photoshop or Corel PaintShop Photo Pro. Apple has supported RAW formats natively since 2005.
Microsoft on Wednesday reached a deal with New York City to supply software directly to local government but which avoids the controversial practices of earlier years. The deal will give copies of Office and other software to as many as 100,000 people in city agencies but will prevent Microsoft from demanding that software come in bundles. Workers will be put into three different tiers depending on the apps they need and will pay less for the reduced bundles.
Wacom used the advent of CeBIT to roll out a refresh of its largest tablet display, the Cintiq 21UX. The 21-inch display revolves around a new stylus that provides much higher sensitivity: it can work at 2,048 different gradients (twice the previous best) and is sensitive enough that it can register input with only the slightest contact. Sketch artists and others that depend on line strength are those most likely to reap the benefit.
HP's most significant CES unveiling includes a sweeping update to its Mini netbooks to bring them in step with Intel's Pine Trail platform. Heading up the range is the 10-inch Mini 5102, the company's first touchscreen netbook. It supports native multi-touch for Windows 7 and is targeted at the relative high end with an aluminum chassis like the EliteBooks and a Broadcom HD decoder that can process 1080p video.
HP's TouchSmart convertible tablet has received an upgrade in the form of the tm2. It now has a sleeker, unibody-like design much like the Envy 13 and has made a switch from AMD to low-power Intel Core 2 Duos to extend the battery life; HP claims up to 9 hours even on the stock battery. An option for Mobility Radeon HD graphics give it a lift in video.
Wacom on Thursday morning put out multiple tablets that signal a gradual break away from the company's pen-only approach. The Bamboo Touch, Bamboo Pen & Touch, Bamboo Fun and Bamboo Craft all have a multi-touch surface used for navigation, ranging from basic moves like a basic tap select or mouse-like input to two-finger pinching for zoom and twisting to rotate images. Users don't have to toggle modes when a stylus comes into play, Wacom adds.
The next-generation Intuos tablet from Wacom has been spotted, though the device itself has not yet been officially announced. The photo of the packaging reveals the new tablet will sport a wide-format tablet area along with a number of customizable ExpressKeys. It also reveals that the tablet will have a user-defined touch ring and the pressure-sensitive grip pen will be new and improved.
Corel has announced a February 25th release for Painter 11, its key illustration software. New are a variety of features, such as new marker, pen, pencil and chalk brushes which behave differently depending on options or drawing technique. Users also have access to customizable hard media types, and improved selection options including a polygonal mode for the Lasso tool.
