Author: Jeff Gamet

Jeff Gamet is a contributing editor for Design Tools Monthly, the executive summary of graphic design news. He is also the morning editor and reviews editor for The Mac Observer and iPodObserver.com, and contributing writer for Layers Magazine and Photoshop User. He writes the InBrief column for InDesign Magazine, and is the author of "The Designer's Guide to Mac OS X," from Peachpit Press When Jeff isn't writing about the graphic design world, he's talking about it on the Design Tools Weekly podcast with co-host Jay Nelson. He also talks about Apple and the Mac world every week on The Mac Observer's Apple Weekly Report. Jeff studies, tests and reviews new software and technologies for the Macintosh community as well as the design and print industries. He is a former Pre-press specialist, and has nearly 25 years experience with computer technology. Jeff trains, lectures and consults on techniques for more efficiently using Mac OS X in creative environments throughout the country. In the rare moments when he can get away from his MacBook Pro, Jeff spends his time climbing and biking in the Colorado mountains.

The Skinny Books released for Photoshop, Lightroom and Photoshop Elements

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When you need to quickly get up to speed on a topic, check out the new series of The Skinny Books by best-selling author and speaker Lesa Snider.

The Skinny Books are short, yet comprehensive e-books that are finely focused on a single subject. A collection of the best QuarkXPress tips and techniques will be available soon.

In the meantime, titles include:

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 The Skinny on Photoshop Tips, volume 1 ($2.99)

A collection of more than 150 incredibly practical and useful tips that cover multiple versions of Photoshop.

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The Skinny on Photoshop Elements 12 ($7.99)

Learn the essential differences between Photoshop and Photoshop Elements, and how to use Elements’ three editing modes: Guided, Quick, and Expert.

You’ll also learn how to perform a slew of practical editing techniques such as replacing backgrounds, cropping and resizing without losing important objects, removing blemishes and objects, correcting colors, lightening teeth & eyes, moving and cloning objects, colorizing black-and-white images and artistically converting color images to black-and-white, stitching a panorama, adding a dark edge vignette, placing text behind an object and placing a photo inside text, tinting an image, fading images together for a collage, adding creative edges, and intelligent sharpening.

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The Skinny on Photoshop Lightroom 5 ($9.99)

Learn all the essential techniques to get the most value from Lightroom, quickly. Part 1 provides an overview of what Lightroom is and isn’t, and how it compares to Photoshop. Then we dive into the organization of the program, so you’ll know how to set up your Lightroom world, and where to find its various parts.

In Part 2, you’ll learn how to edit your photos like a pro, including enhancing specific areas and applying creative effects.

Part 3 takes you through working with Lightroom and an external image editor such as Photoshop, as well as how to export and share photos, create printed photo books, make slideshows, Web galleries, and print packages.

At the end of each book is a cheat sheet of the most useful keyboard shortcuts you’ll use every day.

The books are available in EPUB and PDF formats compatible with various book readers from Kindle to iBooks that you can read on a computer, tablet or even a smart phone.

See all The Skinny Books at www.TheSkinnyBooks.com

“Engraved” Digital Cards from your iPad

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Connor is a free iPad app from New York-based Connor (named for renowned 19th-century stationer John Connors) that lets you create and send beautiful digital cards that appear to be engraved.

Use it for thank-yous, invitations, friendly notes, or any other occasion when you want to make a good impression.

Check it out here.

Make Your iPad an Extra Display

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Avatron’s Air Display app ($9.99) turns your iPad or iPhone — or even a desktop or laptop computer — into an external display. With your computer and iPad/iPhone on the same wi-fi network, you can stash your panels, tools, and extra controls on the tablet or second computer and use your main display for your working area.

Here’s another use: in a client meeting, you could control a presentation from your laptop, and mirror it on the iPad for the client.

The latest version (Air Display 2) lets Macs use up to four external devices, while Windows is still limited to one.

Learn more about it at www.avatron.com.

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Apple to begin selling Mac Pro on 19 December

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As noted by Macworld UK, Apple will start taking orders for the new Mac Pro on December 19th. They’re already in production, so shipments should begin soon.

This new Mac Pro is a totally new and revolutionary design, shaped like an extruded donut:

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(Update: unlike Apple’s images online, it’s not black — it’s a reflective silvery gray, as shown in the spectacular photos at Macworld UK here and at Macworld (U.S) here.)

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Photos of the new Mac Pro at Macworld UK’s Facebook photo page. Click the photo to be taken there.

 

The new version is 9.9 inches tall and 6.6 inches in diameter, and it includes Intel Xeon E5 processors with up to 12 cores, dual AMD FirePro GPUs with support for multiple 4K monitors, PCI-based flash storage instead of spinning hard drives, six Thunderbolt 2 ports, four USB 3 ports, dual Gigabit Ethernet, HDMI out, built-in Bluetooth and 802.11ac Wi-Fi, and built-in audio in/out ports. It has no internal expansion slots, so pros who need extra PCI cards will have to use an external expansion chassis connected to a Thunderbolt 2 port.

Apple’s website has an impressive demonstration of its features.

Macworld (U.S.) has a “first impressions” article with photos here.

Pricing starts at US$2,999.

How to Use Mission Control on Your Mac

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You can use the Mac’s built-in Mission Control feature to sequester applications on separate “desktops” so your workspace will be clutter-free. (You can also use it to quickly see and access every open document or folder.)

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Building on older technologies like Exposé and Spaces, Mission Control is a feature of OS X 10.7 and higher; access it by pressing F3 or fn-F9 on your keyboard or by clicking on its icon in your Dock (it looks like a square with three small app windows in it):

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On a trackpad or Magic Mouse, you can also access Mission Control by swiping up with three fingers or double tapping (not double-clicking) with two fingers.

Once the interface opens, create a new desktop by dragging your mouse to the upper-right corner to reveal a plus button. Afterward, drag any application or window to your new desktop, and then you can move between desktops by pressing Control-Right Arrow and Control-Left Arrow

To learn the basics of Mission Control:

http://support.apple.com/kb/ht4689

For lots of Mission Control tips from Apple:

http://support.apple.com/kb/PH13925

For a tip on using Dashboard in Mission Control in Mavericks:

http://www.tekrevue.com/tip/manage-dashboard-space-os-x-maverickss-mission-control/