Posts Tagged ‘Adobe Illustrator cs4’

Adobe CS4 Suite – look back 2 look forward

Monday, October 19th, 2009

Breaking News !! H-e-double hockey sticks has frozen over and I have written some new Illustrator material. I know the crowd does cheer and golf claps do raise to the low double digits but I guess the best way to do this is as good news / bad news.

So Good news

  • I have written new Illustrator CS4 material and I will be starting a new CS4 class
  • The NEW Intro to CS4 Class is ready to role and Registration is open now and Classes start on 10/28.
  • the CS3 class will still be available to people that have not or don’t plan to upgrade to the CS4 version.

The bad news is that

  • a number of the things that where going to into an advanced Illustrator class have been pulled out and combined with the current CS3 class to make a new Intro to CS4.
  • So this means that the Advanced Illustrator class is still not done and is even less done now.
  • While the CS3 class is still available it is moving into the Self Study area of LVS. This means that while the cost of the class has gone down. I don’t provided any help or witty, insightful commentary to the work. Its all up to you as the buyer to do the work then tell yourself what you did wrong.

For those that are wondering what has become of the advanced class in Illustrator. Well there is some of it done but then yours truly has had the oportunity to help out Bean Fairbanks, another teacher here at LVS Online; with running her Intro to Dreamweaver class and I’m helping out in the Advanced Dreamweaver class.

For those still interested, how would feel about a more video based class? A new function of the new version of Acrobat reader is that you can watch video clips that are embedded in the document. Quite similar to watching a video that you would find here on this site.

I have also been working on getting up to speed with the Illustrator CS4. As a quick review for people that might be curious about CS4. Let me point out that at first it sorta looks like a lesser upgrade then CS3 was to CS2 but it has a number of changes and while few the changes cause a ripple effect though out the program. Does this make it a new and different kind of application? the answer would be not really. If you are familiar with the CS3 program then you are still on pretty firm ground with CS4 but there are a number of bumps or potholes if you will in the road that can cause problems. So if you have taken my CS3 class, I can’t really say that you need to take CS4 but I do talk about new things like The Blob Tool and the big new thing Multiple Art Boards. If you haven’t taken my CS3 class. What is wrong with you? Do you not like America?

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Partying with Adobe Max & Photoshop

Wednesday, September 30th, 2009

Looking for something to do this weekend?

Want to take a vacation
and be able to write it off as a business trip next year.

Have I got two events for you. The first is Adobe’s own MAX convention. It will be taking place Oct 4-7 in Los Angles California.

    What is Adobe Max? From the Max web site “Adobe MAX 2009 is the annual global Adobe conference for forward-thinking designers, developers, and decision-makers.” Its a large conference that does tend to learn towards Flash & Web development but it is also a great place to network, meet people in the field, and just see the newest and the coolest in Web apps as well as the tools that go into making them. While a tad on the pricey side, you will also get to see the new Web big thing for next year Augmented Reality.

One of the big reasons I’m presenting it here in my blog is that there will be some online coverage of the conference that will cover topics like

  • Photoshop Tips and Tricks,
  • How to code using Flex
  • CSS tips and tricks.
  • The CS4 Evangelist Shootout.

That last one will be the one I will definitely be watching. There is no cost to you but I would imagine that there will be some advertising to watch before the show.

The other event is also this weekend would be The Napp produced Photoshop World. It runs Oct 1-3 in Las Vegas.

    Photoshop World runs a conference twice a year(maybe 3 times) and offers any number of seminars and group lectures on Photoshop hence the name as well as the other programs in the CS4 suite of programs.

  • They offer free portfolio reviews
  • as well as the Guru Awards
  • a Keynote address from the Senior Vice President of Adobe to top it all off.

If you’re running low on cash there is the 2 day free expo hall full of vendors, exhibitions and demonstrations.

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win 7 64 bit VS 32 bits Part 1

Tuesday, August 18th, 2009

Hey people, Today we’re going to get our Geek ON! We are going to talk about Operating Systems & Processors & A big part of the Adobe Creative Suite Line up. Why? You ask. Well a couple of reasons.

1) Adobe made a recent announcement that the company would no longer be supporting the non Intel based Power PCs made by Apple in any future software versions.

2) In October, Microsoft will be releasing its newest operating system ( OS ) Windows 7. This will come in 3 varieties and 2 types of operating systems a 32 bit version and a 64 bit version.

This brings up the question.
Is the Adobe suite ready for 64 bit OSes?
Do you ready need to get a 64 bit Computer system?
Does it make adobe software faster, stronger, better?
Buckle up my pretties, it is going to be a bumpy ride.

Let me point out that all this talk about the tech can get really
involved and confusing but it does serve a function here and I will try
to keep it down to how does this affect my Adobe software.
So lets first talk about what is a 32 bit OS and what is a 64 bit OS?

A 32/64 bit OS is the software that makes your computer run and provides you with a desktop with icons on it. Microsoft Windows is an OS, just as MACos is an OS made by Apple. In their current versions you can get either OS as a 32 bit version and as a 64 bit version. This means that the OS can though some serious math access more memory from the ram in your computer. In a 32 bit version, the most ram you could have in a system is 4 GB (gigabytes). In a 64 bit system, you can go up to 128 GB, assuming that you could find a motherboard that supported more then 16GB. Now if you have worked with Adobe software for any long period. You know that the one thing Adobe software loves is more memory.

Now if you have the software, you’re also going to need the hardware. You need to have a 64 bit processor (CPU) to run your 64 bit software. To stay on topic I leave it as you should talk to your local computer repair guy but what you have now but if you have a newer computer like a Intel Core duo, Core2, Quadcore or an AMD Phentom or AMD64 X2 dual core then you are ready for 64 bit action. I also mentioned memory a short minute ago. Memory is the Ram in your system again, check with a computer guy about what you have and what you can get. If you are going with a 64 bit OS, the more memory, the better for you.

To try to focus this more I’m going to use my own computer setup as a real world example. I have a AMD64 X2 2.2ghz dual core system with 2GB of ram and I’m running the Beta version of Windows 7 (they call it a release candiate version). Now while I have 2 GB of ram and should have more like 4 to 6 GB the system runs fine. I don’t have many problems. I have My Adobe Creative Design suite installed and it runs fine. So we now get to the First of the questions. Is the Adobe suite ready for 64 bit OSes? The Answer is YES. Several adobe CS4 software are certified for 64 bit system. The good news is that Windows 7 64 bit is supporting most 32 bit programs such as Adobe illustrator and Dreamweaver.

So with 1 question down and 2 to go. I am taking a break to allow people to take in all the tech talk and maybe even ask some questions. I’ll be back to answer the rest. Stay tune and feel free to chime in.

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New & Improved & Happening Now

Wednesday, August 12th, 2009

I’m back people. I’m rested and refreshed and I have a new plan to bring the word of Adobe Creative Suite to you. In a hundred and 44 characters or less here is the plan.

I’m going to write less and do more. The End.

Everytime i wanted to blog about something. It either got bogged down in paragraphs of explanation or I’d see something and go OOOOHH, ( hey its a manly sound. Back off) This would be great for the blog. Later I’d look at it and said well its cool but its really not about Illustrator. So the answer hit me. A friend( his name is Doug ) and I were talking about how to make a drink he makes that was dubbed as Doug Drink ( its awesome, will lay you out and it taste like Lemonade with a strong bite ).
While i can’t tell you whats in it, Its Need to know Only and guess what? You don’t don’t need to know. Anyway, He was talking and pointed out that what was more important then exactly how it was made was what the final product tasted like and did it do its job. So later after I climbed off the bar, It occurred to me that this was it. I had talked to Yoda ( OK, it was Doug with a yoda mask on. JEEZ people) and he had shown me the light. It was all about the sum total and not the parts.

So starting now, I will be writing less about the how tos and writing more about doing and if that means talking about something other then Adobe Illustrator that’s ok because its all about getting the job done and looking sharp.

VIVA LA Revelation because it all starts with the learning. Art

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