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Welcome to AECWeekly!

AECWeekly is a news magazine featuring important industry news profiles, a summary of recently published AEC product and company news, customer wins, and coming events. Brought to you by AECCafe.

AECWeekly examines select top news each week, picks out worthwhile reading from around the web, and special interest items you might not find elsewhere. This issue will feature Industry News, Top News of the Week, Alliances, Agreements, Acquisitions, Announcements, New Products, Around the Web and Upcoming Events.

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Susan Smith, Managing Editor

Industry News
Adobe CS5 Powers 20th Anniversary of PhotoShop
By Susan Smith

Adobe recently released its Creative Suite 5 (CS5) product family, designed for workflows for many different user types. According to the press release, the Adobe CS5 product family is powering the creation of content and applications for the upcoming releases of Flash Player 10.1 and Adobe AIR 2, which are optimized for high performance on mobile screens and designed to take advantage of native device capabilities. Adobe Creative Suite 5 products also integrate with Adobe CS Live*, a set of five online services that accelerate key aspects of the creative workflow and enable designers to focus on creating their best work (CS Live services are complimentary for a limited time).

The Creative Suite 5 line-up includes five new versions: Creative Suite 5 Master Collection, Creative Suite 5 Design Premium, Creative Suite 5 Web Premium, Creative Suite 5 Production Premium, Creative Suite 5 Design Standard, as well as 15 point products and associated technologies.



The Creative Suite 5 line-up includes five new versions: Creative Suite 5 Master Collection, Creative Suite 5 Design Premium, Creative Suite 5 Web Premium, Creative Suite 5 Production Premium, Creative Suite 5 Design Standard, as well as 15 point products and associated technologies. Creative Suite now includes a brand-new component, Adobe Flash Catalyst, a professional interaction design tool that allows designers to rapidly create expressive Web application interfaces and design interaction without writing code.

In an interview with Zorana Gee, PhotoShop product manager, AECWeekly covered those new features of the release that would impact the AEC industry, namely PhotoShop and Extended 3D, also touching upon some of the other important aspects of the release.

PhotoShop Family

In the PhotoShop family Adobe now has PhotoShop.com, a free online service that allows for simple editing as well as simple ways of sharing images with the different communities a user is involved with. Adobe PhotoShop Elements, Adobe's hobbyist version of PhotoShop, includes more user driven content, more tutorials, tips & tricks directly in the application. Lightroom, Adobe's professional photography tool offers a complete solution for professional photographers, from bringing images in to editing them, and finally outputting them into an ftp site or gallery or contact sheet for print.

PhotoShop celebrated its 20th year in February 19, 2010, and is in its 12th release.

A big announcement for Adobe is 64 bit support for Mac and Windows, so PhotoShop will now run natively on both Mac and Windows 64 bit systems. “What this means is that all that RAM that is coming out on these new machines, even some of the older machines, PhotoShop can now address,” said Gee. “For people doing imaging processing you can expect up to 10% speed improvements on day to day tasks, or if working with really large images, it means that PhotoShop can now access that memory and use it to process their images. PhotoShop is now using 3 GB of memory, which was never possible before CS5.”

Gee said the new release has over 3 dozen user driven features, content preferences, settings and shortcuts.
The ability to select multiple layers and select opacity for all layers at one time, If you want layer styles to be sticky as preferences they will remain as they were the last time you used them. Nested folders have also been increased.

Four areas that Adobe focused on for this release:

• Productivity boost - to 64-bit support, and customer driven workflow improvements that increase productivity.
• Powerhouse photography - this feature is the product's core competency, and offers maximum creative impact for architects who want to make presentations.
• Innovation in 3D--This release bridges the gap for everyday designers who want to begin using 3D tools. CS5 has a powerful rendering engine that enables users to flexibility in working with 3D objects, such as changing lighting, materials, etc.

Pricing and availability, $199 upgrade, full $699 for Standard $999 for Extended.

System requirements are basically the same although CS5 offers 1 GB RAM, up from 512 RAM for 3D usage is now required, as well as more V RAM than for regular PhotoShop.

ACR Adobe Camera Raw is Adobe's hub for all photo editing in terms of professional photographers. A digital negative format image can be brought into Adobe Camera Raw where basic edits can be made. Improvements include the ability to add grain back into the image, for stylistic reasons.

Post crop vignetting is not new in this release but the algorithm is new, in terms of intelligently adjusting for exposure at the edges rather than just splashing on black and white pixels. Users will see a more natural vignette but they can add stark black pixels or stark white.

HDR images - or high dynamic range imaging -photographers will take multiple pictures, because they want to capture the most data they can in terms of having a low exposure or a high exposure of details in light and dark areas. They can also access this through PhotoShop. In the example given, ten images through the bridge merge to HDR Pro. Often photographers can't get that broad range of exposure data in a single image so they might want to take single images and merge them together. With HDR, Adobe has cleaned up the dialog which allows users to match what the eye can see with details in the dark areas and details in the light areas.



“In past versions this was difficult to use; it was not discoverable and we didn't have that broad range to allow customers to get that realistic look, or the super hyper surrealistic look,” said Gee. “Sometimes with HDR they want the crunchy Harry Potter look.”

Another HDR ability is to remove ghosting, taking ten images of approximately 3 Mb each together on a tripod and the user will see the alignment causes a little bit of blurring and “ghosting” between the images. Photoshop will define a single image and reference it from which all images will snap the pixels to to clean up that blurring.



Puppet Warp is about meshing warping for more precision in warp in PhotoShop. “We've always had the ability to warp pixels but people were complaining that that wasn't precise and the pixels kind of get warped in an undesirable way,” explained Gee. “I've taken this giraffe cut out, then choose edit Puppet Warp. PhotoShop draws a mesh on top of this giraffe. If I'm doing a composite and something isn't positioned the right way, I can use mesh warping to precisely manipulate the pixels in a more realistic way.”

Content-Aware Fill allows users to clean an image up. By leveraging GPU acceleration a user can draw a rule of thirds for compositing objects in an image, or choose a grid. Users can crop the image, removing objects like power lines. Users can remove an image element and immediately replace the missing pixels with Content-Aware Fill. New stroke options allow Adobe Illustrator CS5 users to create strokes of variable widths and precisely adjust the width at any point along the stroke.

Painting tools features a new tool called Mixer Brush which allows users to actually mix colors together on canvas.

“We've always had the ability to resize brushes and change hardness, and now we've actually implemented that in a single shortcut, where horizontal movements will resize brushes and vertical movements will resize hardness,” said Gee.

There is a 3D simulation of the Roto Brush tool in After Effects, called Bristle Tips - which is real physically defined bristles based on density length thickness which employs a physics engine underneath to simulate that brush stroke on canvas. This allows customers to get a textured stroke like using real paint brushes.

Press materials report that New Text Layout Framework in Flash Professional CS5 provides professional-level typography capabilities with functions like kerning, ligatures, tracking, leading, threaded text block and multiple columns.

Dreamweaver CS5 now supports popular content management systems Drupal, Joomla! and WordPress, enabling designers to get accurate views of dynamic Web content from within the product.

Extended 3D Features -

Adobe has added the option to browse 3D content online and brings them into an Adobe marketplace, which is a marketplace for any content related to PhotoShop.

A new materials library and browser contains Image-based lighting which includes presets for lighting and a new feature to enable creating image-based lights. Image-based lights allow users to match lighting in a particular scene. They can take a photo of a site and wrap it around an image to create a light source.

Workflows -

Adobe Repose allows users to create 3D extrusions from text selections, layer pads, etc. directly in PhotoShop. Repose is a French word that defines an old art form that is similar to embossing - taking a sheet of metal and pushing it out to create different designs and compressions.

A new raytracer makes it possible to do selective rendering. If a user wants to render shadows, they can choose the 3D Progressive Render selection for a quick snapshot of what the final render will look like.

Depth of field offers the ability to define the depth of field for 3D objects and animate it as well.

For CS Live online services, see www.adobe.com/go/cslive.


Top News of the Week

Cadsoft Corporation, the leading developer of Building Information Modeling (BIM) software for the residential and light commercial construction industry, announced the official release of the SAPPHIRE Structure Integration Module, a productivity add-on for Cadsoft's Envisioneer software.

Developed in conjunction with MiTek Industries, supplier of engineered products and services for the building components industry, the Integration Module has been designed to allow designers, builders, and LBM Dealers who use Envisioneer to communicate and collaborate with component manufacturers who use MiTek SAPPHIRE Structure whole house design software.

Those users with AutoCAD Civil 3D on subscription will be able to download "The Civil Visualization Extension" (previously know as Dynamite VSP).

This extension provides a process to take Civil 3D surfaces and corridors and easily incorporate them in 3ds Max Design in order to create compelling visualizations.

Alliances, Agreements, Acquisitions

ZWCAD Software Co., Ltd, developers of the ZWCAD product, and Global Force DIRECT doing business as ZwcadUSA, a veteran sales group with deep management experience in CAD software, announced that the two companies have executed the agreement granting Global Force DIRECT exclusive Master Distributor rights to market and sell ZWCAD products across the US and Canada.

Announcements

The Center for International Business Ethics (CIBE) in Beijing China, the Dynamic City Foundation, and Bentley Systems, Incorporated, announced the inaugural Future Cities China design competition for students studying architecture and engineering in institutions of higher education. The program encourages the students to use their design skills, along with Bentley's software for infrastructure, to provide a master plan for the sustainable university campus of tomorrow. This campus will be the cornerstone of the modern “green” Chinese city and help address the many challenges associated with complex, inner-city environments. For additional information about CIBE, visit www.cibe.org.cn.

Bentley Systems, Incorporated announced the immediate availability of the Navigator Passport Subscription. Bentley's Passport Subscriptions offer named users an affordable alternative to perpetual license purchases. For a single annual fee, the Navigator Passport Subscription provides access to the full range of software, training, and content practitioners need for collaborative workflows. Through this “professional upgrade” in software toolset and skills, individual practitioners quickly make their work more valuable. The additional value created is passed on to constituents in the form of higher-quality projects delivered in less time and at lower costs.

Autodesk, Inc announced that it will broadcast its first quarter fiscal 2011 financial results conference call live via its website Wednesday, May 19, 2010, at 2:00 p.m. Pacific Time.

Autodesk will host a live webcast call. An audio replay webcast and podcast will also be available after 4:00 p.m. Pacific Time on the website.

Financials

Deltek, Inc., provider of enterprise applications software and solutions for project-focused businesses, announced financial results for its first quarter ended March 31, 2010. press release

New Products

Corecon Technologies, Inc., a pioneer in web-based construction software, announces its new product Corecon V7, the company's first software release on its second generation platform and the largest upgrade in the company's history.

Corecon V7 provides small-to-medium sized architecture, engineering, construction (AEC) and real estate firms with an affordable and user-friendly solution for managing project information, from business development management and estimating to construction project management and job costing.

Intergraph has released the new version of its SmartMarine 3D enterprise engineering and manufacturing software with expanded automation capabilities to further increase design quality, consistency, productivity and accelerate project schedules.

Autodesk, Inc. has unveiled eight industry-oriented software suites to help students learn core design and engineering skills. The suites contain the full range of Autodesk 2D and 3D design software tools used by professionals worldwide. The bundled packages encourage a multidisciplinary educational approach, helping faculty teach key concepts that help prepare students for rewarding careers in architecture, engineering and the digital arts. These suites, offered globally, are available in English and more than 10 other languages.

Trimble introduced the Trimble Point Creator Software for contractors, engineers, detailers, and architects supporting the building construction industry as well as mechanical, electrical, and plumbing trades. The application, available in two versions-Trimble Point Creator and Trimble Point Creator Pro-provides a platform where Computer Aided Design (CAD) users can create 2D and 3D points easily transferable to and from a Trimble LM80, Trimble MEP, Trimble TS Series Total Stations as well as other total stations. The application is compatible with popular CAD platforms such as AutoCAD, Bricscad, and ZWcad.

Avatech Solutions, Inc. announces the retail release of Avatech AutoOffset. Designed to enhance the AutoCAD Civil 3D experience for users worldwide, this software application is the most recent commercially available product developed and distributed by Avatech Solutions.

HP unveiled a redesigned portfolio of consumer notebook PCs that delivers distinctive design elements, new materials, enhanced performance and better experiences to consumers.

With updates across the HP ENVY, HP Pavilion and HP Mini lines, HP is fusing style and efficiency to offer stylish notebook PCs that meet the personal computing needs of every consumer.

The Open Design Alliance (ODA) announced the release of version 3.3 of its Teigha software development platform. In addition to the new Teigha (pronounced tee-ga) brand names throughout the software development platform, this latest release includes performance enhancements, interface changes designed to provide greater flexibility for application developers, maintenance fixes, and a new module which provides rendering support for PDF files referenced from .dwg files.

Informative Graphics Corporation (IGC), a leader in viewing, collaboration and redaction technology, announced that it is developing integrations for its Brava! and Redact-It products for SharePoint 2010. Together, these products bring the leading multi-format viewing, collaboration and redaction technology to SharePoint, allowing users with non-Microsoft documents -- including TIFF, PDF and CAD drawings -- to take full advantage of enhanced SharePoint 2010 collaboration and workflow features for all content on-premises, in the cloud, or on the go via mobile devices.

Transoft Solutions Inc, developers of software solutions for the AEC design community, has just introduced ParkCAD 4.0 - the latest version of the company's highly touted CAD parking site design software. ParkCAD includes new features that make designing parking lots a much more refined process with support of arcs in the creation of perimeter rows and drive aisles. ParkCAD now lets users run different combinations of row positions and rotations yielding the maximum number of parking spaces in a boundary. The new design manager functionality also allows multiple iterations of parking layouts to be saved, updated, recalled and then compared for client proposals and parking studies.

Adobe Systems Incorporated announced the availability of the Adobe Creative Suite 5 product family, the highly-anticipated release of the industry-leading design and development software for virtually every creative workflow. With more than 250 new product features, the Creative Suite 5 product line brings exciting full-version upgrades of flagship creative tools and workflow enhancements to designers and developers - enabling the creation, delivery and optimization of content across media for greater impact and results.

Around the Web

AECCafe Today Blog

AGC Releases Unit 2: BIM Technology of the Building Information Modeling Education Program May 5, 2010, AGC of America

First LEED for Homes Platinum Home in Marin County May 05, 2010, Green News


Events




You can find the full AECCafe.com event calendar here.

To read more news, click here.


-- Susan Smith, AECCafe.com Managing Editor.