Microsoft started taking advance orders for the latest version of its Surface computer this week. The Surface 3 Pro is the tablet-like device that has a keyboard and that Microsoft says has enough power to replace some desktop systems. The new device omits "Pro" and the Surface 3 is similar to the Surface Pro 3, except there's less of it.
Microsoft is not saying that the Surface can replace a desktop computer, but they claim it can replace a laptop computer. It's also thinner and even lighter than the Surface Pro 3. It still runs a full standard version of Windows and it has a smaller price tag: The lowest-priced model starts at $500. By the time you add enough extras to make the computer truly usable, you'll have spent more, of course.
A quad-core Intel Atom x7 processor powers the Surface 3 and is designed and configured to provide long battery life. Various storage and memory configurations allow users to customize the Surface 3. The 10.8-inch ClearType HD multi-touch display has a 3:2 aspect ratio.
Another model, the Surface 3 4G LTE will offer mobile connectivity beyond standard Wi-Fi connections.
The Surface 3 and Surface 3 4G LTE can be paired with a keyboard/cover and a docking station. Microsoft's vice president in charge of the Surface project, Panos Panay, says that the new model "brings what customers love about Surface Pro 3 to more people" because it's more affordable.
And, yes, when Windows 10 is released, the upgrade will be free. There's also a no-cost 1-year subscription to Microsoft Office 365 Personal, which includes Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, and OneDrive cloud storage.
Microsoft started taking advance orders online and in stores on Tuesday in the US and in Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy, Korea, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, and the UK. The Wi-Fi version will be available in stores in early May. The 4G LTE version will be "available later this year" through T-Mobile and Verizon Wireless in the US.
Additional information on Surface can be found on the Surface website.
Developers at Adobe continue their relentless efforts to push applications that formerly worked only on large desktop computers onto portable devices. That's the way I started to write the intro, but that's not entirely accurate. Instead of pushing entire applications onto mobile devices, Adobe's developers are making it possible for people who work with Illustrator, InDesign, and Photoshop to perform tasks on mobile devices and to have the work reflected on their desktop systems when they return to their offices.
Adobe Principal Product Manager Will Eisley says that his team's goal is to improve workers' efficiency. "Most designers still begin the creative process with pen and paper," Eisley says, and then they have to recreate on a computer what they've prepared by hand. Even when designers use mobile applications, they still usually need to re-do everything when they get back to their desks because "mobile often doesn't allow the use of brand assets and colors."
Adobe Comp CC is the answer (at least for those who have Ipads). As usual, when Adobe announces new features for users of Apple devices, I try to obtain information about when the features will be available for users of Android devices. Eisley says that Adobe is working on it, but there's no ETA for a release date. While this invariably makes me sad, I'm also enough of a realist to understand that most designers use Macs and, therefore, they're generally locked into Apple's eco-system. Were I a graphic designer, Comp CC might be enough to convince me to buy an Ipad.
Click any of the smaller images for a full-size view.
Press Esc to dismiss the larger image.
As with most of Adobe's other mobile apps, Comp CC is free. As with most of Adobe's other mobile apps, Comp CC isn't especially useful unless it's linked with Adobe's desktop applications. One of the advantages of the Creative Cloud concept is that desktop applications can be updated immediately to take advantage of new capabilities such as those provided by Comp CC. Working on an Ipad, a designer can use typefaces, brand-specific colors, and other assets to create work that can be sent directly to Illustrator, InDesign, and Photoshop for final production.
Ipad users will learn a series of drawing gestures that the application interprets on the fly. Instead of needing to find a menu option to add a graphic box or a text box to a layout, the designer draws the appropriate gesture.
Once the box is created, it can be resized and rotated.
The designer can add text and graphics to a basic layout and then transfer the design to a desktop computer for finishing and production.
Because Comp CC is integrated with Typekit, users can view design concepts on mobile devices, including the typefaces that will be used in the final production. As Adobe products vice president Scott Belsky notes, "Doing creative work on a mobile device is only useful if the results can be synced to the desktop," where the project can be finalized using tools such as InDesign or Photoshop.
Creative Cloud now has approximately 4 million subscribers.
Adobe provides a 35-second glimpse that shows how designers can work when they're not in front of a computer.
Those of us who have been preaching the benefits of backup for years (or decades) seem to have been successful in communicating the message that the data stored on computers has more value than the computers themselves.
Acronis, a company that provides backup software, has released results of a survey that suggests opinions are evolving. The survey was relatively small, only 350 consumers, but more than half said that their personal data is more valuable than the devices that store the data.
World Backup Day was Tuesday, but I hope you perform a backup more than once a year. After all, what's on your computer? Financial and health documents? Photos and videos? Files from the office? Tax records? How upset would you be if all of your tax information for the previous year was lost? Or all the photos you've taken in the past year?
The Acronis survey says that more than 75% of consumers store their data digitally and more than 50% say their files have more value than their computers.
But knowing something and doing something about it are two different things. Although they treasure their digital information, survey respondents said that they do little to ensure that their files are safe. Less than half save copies of their data on an external device or in the cloud. So a little quick math reveals that more than half of the respondents store data only on their computer. And of those using a data backup system, only one third are protecting their entire computer system. The rest are simply protecting some files.
Nearly half of the respondents value their data at over $1,000, but how can you put a value on photographs of events that can never be repeated? Although the cost of reconstructing records can be assigned a value, some things simply cannot be replaced.
World Backup Day serves to educate and motivate the public on the importance of taking action to protect their most precious information stored digitally. As the survey indicates, consumers place high value on their personal data, but aren't yet taking the proper steps to ensure that their information is secure.
More information about the survey and the the company's backup products are on the Acronis website.
Last week, I explained that the Windows 10 Technical Preview wasn't able to accurately detect the screen resolution of a notebook computer I wanted to install it on. As a result, I restored the disk image from backup. With a newly released ISO, I tried again this week.
Unlike last week's experience, a few minutes later, an automatic update allowed Windows 10 to accurately detect the computer's screen. Windows 10 build 10041 apparently had some significant problems, though, and was quickly replaced with version 10049 in the Fast channel. Surprise! Project Spartan has replaced Internet Explorer, so I'll finally have a chance to look at that up close.
The interface continues to flatten, thus proving how cyclical everything is. The original version of Windows (1985) was flat, but Microsoft immediately began adding graphic hints that created the appearance of depth. Starting with Windows 8, the flatter design began to return and the transition seems to be complete with Windows 10. There is an advantage, though. Instead of having to use valuable screen real estate to create depth, the developers have been able to make some parts of the interface just slightly larger.
Change is change. People are people. Therefore people will complain about change.
Now I'm running Windows 10 on a computer that I use many times every day, although not for anything important. So in coming weeks I'll have more information about Microsoft's ongoing development progress.
Whether you're an amateur photographer or a pro, Adobe Lightroom should be the starting point for your images and, depending on what you need to do to achieve your photographic vision, Lightroom might be all you need. For those times when you need pixel-level editing and the ability to use layers for precise control, there's Photoshop. The current version of Photoshop is available only on the Creative Cloud, while Lightroom is still available with a perpetual license. Buying it that way can be a challenge, though.
Before I show you the process used to buy Lightroom alone, consider Adobe's Creative Cloud program for photographers. For $10 per month, photographers have access to the latest version of Photoshop, Lightroom, and Lightroom Mobile for Iphone, Ipad, and Android. Considering $10 per month is far less than you'd pay per month if you were using film, the Adobe Creative Cloud Photography plan seems like a good deal for just about anybody.
But if you want just Lightroom, which is an astonishingly powerful program even without the full version of Photoshop, you need either to be a competent sleuth or to know the secret handshake. I have the secret handshake.
Start at Adobe's website and click the Menu link at the top of the page.
Click any of the smaller images for a full-size view.
Press Esc to dismiss the larger image.
You'll see many of the Adobe applications across the top of the linked page. One of the icons is for Lightroom and you might be tempted to click that one.
If you do, you'll be offered the Creative Cloud version. That's the $10 per month program that significantly expands Lightroom's already impressive capabilities by adding Photoshop.
But if you really want just the perpetual license for Lightroom, scroll down until you see a gray and white button labeled All products. Click it.
Clicking the left side won't make you grow smaller and clicking the right side won't make you grow larger, but clicking anywhere on the button will take you to a list of products that you can buy.
Scroll down to Adobe Lightroom and click the Buy link.
If you have version 4 of Lightroom, leave the upgrade version selected; otherwise, select full. Select your language if you prefer something other than English and modify the quantity if you want more than one copy.
Then click the button to add Lightroom to your cart.
There's no question that Adobe wants you to choose the Creative Cloud version and that's what I recommend, too. Lightroom by itself costs $150, which equates to 15 months of the Creative Cloud Photography plan. If (when?) Adobe releases Lightroom 6, you'll need to pay for the upgrade and you still won't have access to Photoshop. The Creative Cloud program keeps Lightroom and Photoshop up to date constantly.
But the choice is up to you.
