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Adobe To Let Third Party Devs Incorporate Photoshop Features

Posted by samzenpus on from the open-to-the-public dept.

angry tapir (1463043) writes Third party developers will be able to build mobile applications that tap into the features of Adobe's Creative Cloud, including effects such as Photoshop's "content-aware fill" and PSD file manipulation, thanks to a new SDK the company is releasing as part of a major update to the suite of graphic design products. However, the company has been mum on important details such as how much (if anything) it will cost and what the license is likely to be (at the very least it seems end users will need to be Creative Cloud subscribers). The company has also made a foray into hardware releasing a pressure-sensitive stylus for tablets called Ink and a ruler called Slide.

39 comments

  1. Bandwidth Intensive? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I can only image how bandwidth intensive this will be.

    1. Re:Bandwidth Intensive? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      I can only image how bandwidth intensive this will be.

      Or you could download Photoshop Mix and actually measure it.

    2. Re:Bandwidth Intensive? by Hsien-Ko · · Score: 1

      What's so intensive about clicking "Clouds" and "Lens Flare" from the filter menu?

  2. More apps tied to an unreliable cloud.... by QuietLagoon · · Score: 3, Interesting
    So now when the Adobe cloud disappears from the Internet more people will be affected.

    .
    Has Adobe said anything substantial regarding how they are going to address their cloud downtime problem?

    1. Re:More apps tied to an unreliable cloud.... by davester666 · · Score: 1

      Yes. They thanked people for continuing to pay Adobe regardless of whether or not they received anything in return.

      --
      Sleep your way to a whiter smile...date a dentist!
    2. Re:More apps tied to an unreliable cloud.... by QuietLagoon · · Score: 2
      I guess P. T. Barnum was right. There's a sucker born every minute.

      .
      Adobe's Cloud Solutions Fuel Strong Financial Results

      So, apparently, Adode has convinced many people to buy in to an unreliable service. I sincerely wish them success.

    3. Re:More apps tied to an unreliable cloud.... by ColdWetDog · · Score: 1

      But they've SAID they're working on it. A whole new group.

      "We have top men working on it now. Top men."

      --
      Faster! Faster! Faster would be better!
    4. Re:More apps tied to an unreliable cloud.... by ColdWetDog · · Score: 1

      I got something in return. A get a nice bill from them every month. Very nicely done.

      Without fail.

      (And in actually, the 'outage' was more 'outrage'. The vast majority of people worked unawares and unconcerned about the outage. The 5 people using Adobe's Beyance (once? isns? something like that - Adobe's halfbaked store front) and the two dozen people insane enough to leave their fonts on the Internet were annoyed. The reset of us just continued to be annoyed at Adobe's rather odd way of 'improving' things and buggy software.)

      --
      Faster! Faster! Faster would be better!
  3. Still in the cloud? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    No thanks.

    I don't need your subscription software bullshit. CS6 is fine for me. Hell, I'd practically go back to CS2 inside a VM now that it's available unlocked (requires no license server activation) for existing users rather then upgrade to CC. There is no fucking way I'm letting that company dictate how and when I work (the how being mandatory updates, the when assuming their licensing servers are still authenticating your subscription every N days).

    The funny thing is that we should be on CS7 by now (err, CS8?)... From what I've heard, pretty much none of the CC applications have actually changed that much since CC was introduced.

    1. Re:Still in the cloud? by quetwo · · Score: 1

      Except they've been pushing out updates to the major applications like Photoshop, Illustrator and Lightroom every two months since they launched CC. Illustrator has gone some MAJOR new features in the last 18 months -- most which have been a huge time saver to me. Photoshop has beefed up it's 3D capabilities and now supports 3D Printing (do I think it's best of breed? no. But it is a new feature that has been added).

      They don't force updates on you. You still choose when they get installed, etc. In fact, I haven't updated Dreamweaver since the original CC update because they changed around some options in a way I didn't like. Yes, it does check with the licensing server every 30 days, but guess what? Most apps do now a days..

      So, maybe you should check into the things you are ranting about a bit more...

    2. Re:Still in the cloud? by UnknownSoldier · · Score: 2

      > Yes, it does check with the licensing server every 30 days, but guess what? Most apps do now a days..

      What the hell kind of intrusive apps are you using?? SolidWorks?? AutoCad??

      If software is *stealing* your bandwidth and using it *unauthorized* there is no way in hell I'm going to install crap like that. I'm not the only one who has zero tolerance for software that doesn't respect me, my rights, and my hardware.

      Adobe can go fuck themselves with their DRM. He'll I can't even open high resolution scans of money without it making some bullshit claim that I'm doing something "illegal". So now a sequence of *numbers* is illegal?? Fuck Adobe. Sure GIMP still sucks ass but every year it gets better - soon it will be good enough. Krita and Inkscape are a dream to use. At least I don't have to worry about this bullshit Adobe license.

    3. Re:Still in the cloud? by quetwo · · Score: 1

      Windows, Office, MacOSX, and just about every other app in the top 15 do this now. If you don't think that's the case -- you got something else coming....

  4. A little too late by SuperKendall · · Score: 1, Informative

    It's a nice idea but how many people will pay to embed this framework when scores of iOS extensions are going to come out with iOS8, and let you do essentially the same thing?

    --
    "There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
    1. Re:A little too late by exomondo · · Score: 2

      To get a consistent experience across multiple platforms?

    2. Re:A little too late by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It's a nice idea but how many people will pay to embed this framework when scores of iOS extensions are going to come out with iOS8, and let you do essentially the same thing?

      Yeah like theres totally no world outside of apple! Why would people bother with all the ios8 features that just mimmick services and features available from other vendors?

    3. Re:A little too late by Bogtha · · Score: 1

      Consistent experiences across mobile platforms is not useful. You want consistency across the applications on the platform that the user actually uses. Normal iPhone users aren't going to care if Android users get a different UI to them, and normal Android users aren't going to care if iPhone users get a different UI to them. But both groups of users do care if the application they are using works differently to the other applications they use on their phone.

      --
      Bogtha Bogtha Bogtha
    4. Re:A little too late by exomondo · · Score: 1

      Consistent experiences across mobile platforms is not useful.

      Actually yes it is, if you've developed an image editing application you want it to produce the same results on whatever platforms you target.

      You want consistency across the applications on the platform that the user actually uses.

      What relevance does that have to the application developer? If I hook into an image filter provided by some SDK why do I care whether that image filter works the same in other applications?

      Normal iPhone users aren't going to care if Android users get a different UI to them, and normal Android users aren't going to care if iPhone users get a different UI to them.

      What does UI have to do with it? This isn't about applications looking the same.

      But both groups of users do care if the application they are using works differently to the other applications they use on their phone.

      What are you on about? Why would I want 2 applications to do the same thing on the same device? Not only do I want applications to work differently, I expect them to, if they work the same then why would I have both?

    5. Re:A little too late by SuperKendall · · Score: 1

      So either that means you embed this thing in iOS8 and have a separate way to get to it from the system extensions for editing, which means it's not the same as any other platform...

      Or you don't use it and just use the system extensions which means it's not the same as any other platform...

      OR you only us this and don't allow system extensions in which case it's the same across all platforms and zero people are using your product on iOS because every other app gets to use system extensions for editing instead of your singular library.

      --
      "There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
    6. Re:A little too late by SuperKendall · · Score: 1

      Actually yes it is, if you've developed an image editing application you want it to produce the same results on whatever platforms you target.

      Actually no it's not. If your image editing program can make further use of external plug-ins, then you don't care about having it produce the same across platforms because it will never be the same FOR EACH USER.

      Would you truly argue that image editing programs should not allow for plugins, that there is no value? Because you are.

      There is some base level of functionality it is useful to provide. But my point is why would you PAY for only that base?

      --
      "There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
    7. Re:A little too late by exomondo · · Score: 1

      If your image editing program can make further use of external plug-ins, then you don't care about having it produce the same across platforms because it will never be the same FOR EACH USER.

      What are you talking about? If you want to perform an operation on an image and that operation produces different results in your application on iOS and Android then that is a problem, your application is not portable and is inconsistent.

      Would you truly argue that image editing programs should not allow for plugins, that there is no value?

      No.

      Because you are.

      No i'm not, and if that's how you understood it then you have misinterpreted.

    8. Re:A little too late by exomondo · · Score: 1

      What "system extensions"? Are you even reading? This is about using Adobe's services which are then available from whatever platform you target resulting in a consistent experience. Are the iOS8 features available on Android or Windows Phone so my application can produce the same results on those platforms too?

    9. Re:A little too late by SuperKendall · · Score: 1

      This is about using Adobe's services which are then available from whatever platform you target

      Try reading yourself noob.

      I am talking about allowing your application to make use of system extensions which means no two apps are alike in use.

      --
      "There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
    10. Re:A little too late by SuperKendall · · Score: 1

      What are you talking about?

      Look, we all know you are lost at this point but the deal is that with system extensions a user of your app can perform different editing of images in your app based on what other applications they have installed.

      DUH.

      Did you even look at what iOS8 can do at all? Or are you just totally ignoring the key point?

      --
      "There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
    11. Re:A little too late by exomondo · · Score: 1

      The key point is that those extensions are not available on platforms other than iOS so if you want a consistent cross-platform experience you won't be using platform-specific features.

    12. Re:A little too late by exomondo · · Score: 1

      I am talking about allowing your application to make use of system extensions which means no two apps are alike in use.

      And how many of those system extensions are available on platforms other that iOS? None. But from within your Apple-centric view of the world that doesn't matter.

  5. Adobe is incredibly trustworthy. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    If you want to make Adobe flash files, you pay excessive money for the creation program. When people play them back, they need to get Adobe Flash player, which these days tries to feed you spyware too.

    Their products are excessively priced, and it wouldn't surprise me if competitors are already creating an alternative to this product (but simply haven't announced it yet). Pressure sensitivity on iPad is a well known issue.

    If people keep buying into them, we'll all be worse off in the long run

    1. Re:Adobe is incredibly trustworthy. by quetwo · · Score: 1

      They developed a new pen to get around the pressure sensitivity and accuracy issues. It doesn't use the touch screen for input, it connects to the app via Bluetooth. This is not your standard iPad pen...

    2. Re:Adobe is incredibly trustworthy. by JackAxe · · Score: 1

      This is not true. You can develop Flash/AIR without paying a cent to Adobe and you don't even need to join their bullshit cloud service to do so.

      You don't need to use Adobe Flash Builder -- which is bloated vomit now days -- to develop for Flash/AIR. Alternate IDEs like Flash Develop on PC are free and way better, or the best option by far is InteliJ IDEA, which is one of the best IDEs on the market IMO -- I use it for all of my development work web, AIR, etc..

      And the SDK for AIR and Flash are completely free and there are open source versions available under Flex. Adobe also funds open source frameworks like Starling and Away3D that make development easier. You can download everything but Adobe Scout -- which is a profiler -- outside of their Cloud-vomit. But it is worth it to be part of their free cloud-service to gain access to Scout if you're doing development.

      And I'm not a fan of Adobe now days, but don't blame them if some fuck is using Flash to deliver spyware, whatever, because that same fuck will do so using whatever avenue is available -- like the tons of background scripts that bloat up any site on load.

    3. Re:Adobe is incredibly trustworthy. by JackAxe · · Score: 1

      All styluses on the iPad still require touch( capacitive ) to track their position. The ones that have pressure-sensitivity built in, like Wacom's option, use Bluetooth to send the pressure data. And I think the parent post was referring to Adobe's iPad apps as being the problem and not properly supporting pressure-sensitivity.

  6. Krita: alternative for Mac by Reemi · · Score: 3, Informative

    Sorry for being a little off topic, but isn't it time that we start supporting alternatives to Photoshop?

    Krita impresses me with the frequent feature updates they provide and they are running a kickstarter at the moment: https://www.kickstarter.com/pr...

    What would be really great is if they could reach their super goal which will mean they are going to port Krita to Mac as well.

    1. Re:Krita: alternative for Mac by drinkypoo · · Score: 1

      Sorry for being a little off topic, but isn't it time that we start supporting alternatives to Photoshop?

      It's going to need a great interface, content-aware fill (resynthesizer doesn't cut it, though it is pretty good) and photoshop plugin support to actually replace photoshop.

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
    2. Re:Krita: alternative for Mac by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I've only ever used alternatives to Photoshop, mostly being Gimp and a few others. It's worked out remarkably well for me.

    3. Re:Krita: alternative for Mac by JackAxe · · Score: 1

      That's a paint package where as Photoshop encompasses pretty much everything including digital painting. The only alternative to Photoshop has been GIMP, but when compared to even much older versions of Photoshop, it's not that good; and CS2 is available from Adobe online for free now days.

  7. But...why? by Camael · · Score: 2

    Third party developers will be able to build mobile applications that tap into the features of Adobe's Creative Cloud, including effects such as Photoshop's "content-aware fill" and PSD file manipulation

    But if you are a mobile developer coding an app which you presumably intend to profit from in some way, why would you want to put your creation at the mercy of Adobe? Not to mention the hassle of having to ensure that your app is compliant with whatever flavour of Adobe's Creative Cloud exists at the time, and having to update every time Adobe changes something.

    Seems more trouble than its worth, really.

    1. Re:But...why? by quetwo · · Score: 1

      Because they offer a feature that you may not have the skills or ability to do yourself? A technology like content-aware fill is one of those billion dollar patents -- and one of the reasons why people buy Photoshop. If they license it to you so you can use it within your own app, you have that power and technology that you didn't have to develop yourself -- you just include it.

  8. Krita: alternative for Mac by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The big problem is that the industry needs to move as a whole. The Adobe workflow is the standard in pretty much any creative / artworking role. If I'm hiring I'm looking for PS, AI and ID skills.

  9. Photoshop? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    People still use Photoshop? I use Gimp for Windows. Just saying.

    1. Re:Photoshop? by Hsien-Ko · · Score: 1

      Plus there's a handy 'resynthesize' plugin for Gimp that is pretty much this Content-Aware fill. Heal selection is handy.