Martini Hour 055, In Which Deke Teases Because He Loves…Photoshop

In the words of Photoshop PM John Nack, "We swear because we care." If we weren’t using Photoshop everyday, reveling in its amazing almost magical powers, we wouldn’t notice all those little annoying things that make our work just a teeny bit irritating. Or a lot irritating if we have to repeat certain activities often. Regular loungers know that Deke and I even have a recurring segment of Martini Hour dedicated to our "pet peeves," in which we discuss those behaviors that just seem inexplicable or unneccesarily arduous to us. Well, it looks like we may have a little less fodder for that particular segment in the future.

In this week’s show, we have a delightful time with our old (younger than us) friends from Adobe, John Nack and Bryan O’Neill Hughes, who share with us the "Just Do It" list of everyday requests from users that they’re working on for potential future (code: next) versions of Photoshop. The idea here is that while they’re making sure Photoshop keeps up with cutting edge software possibilities, they also take some time to go back and fix smallish if long-standing irritations and work on suggestions that come from experienced users of the product. 

Here are some of the JDI improvements you may see in the not-so-distant Photohsop future: 

       
  • Saving 16-bit files as JPEGs in one step, in which Photoshop does the downsampling of those raw files and high-end scans for you. 
         
  •    
  • Adjusting the opacity of multiple layers at the same time. (Nice!)
         
  •    
  • Dragging and dropping an image from the desktop into Photoshop. (Very nice, and attended by a preference wherein it doesn’t add the word "copy" to the layer name of everycopied layer you add.)
         
  •    
  • Having a one-click straightening button (that would completely address the secret handshake of using a command called "Arbitrary" to set something as highly specific as the horizon which Deke and I have ranted on in a past episode).

You can actually see some of these features in action here at Photoshop’s Facebook page, a place where you can also suggest JDI ideas of your own. Because as John points out, "You only worry when they stop bitching." By which he means, he knows that we love Photoshop and only want it to get even better.

Take a page from our Adobe pals and just do it (listen to the show, that is!)  Here’s the regular-quality (128kbps) audio file. You can stream, or for best results, right-click and choose Download or Save. For you audiophiles out there, we’re working on the high resolution version to post shortly. And don’t forget the usual suggestion to subscribe via iTunes.

Hey, Audiophiles, here at last is the high-quality (32Kbps) version.

Thanks again to John and Bryan who love an excuse to drink at work as much as we enjoy giving them the opportunity! You can follow John on Twitter here and get sneak previews and other Photoshop goodies from Bryan and the other Photoshopperific folk here. Cheers!

Next entry:Martini Hour 056, In Which Colleen Is Trapped in a Mellow Yellow and Purple Groove

Previous entry:Russell Brown’s “2010: A Photoshop Odyssey”

  • Off Topic

    Dear Colleen & Deke,
    Much although I love the atmosphere you create in the Martini Hour, could I please ask you to tone the music down… just a bit…  you know Opacity slider to the < left < ~10%.
    It may be my age, I am older than PhotShop itself after all but I sometimes struggle to mask the vib’rant fx on the background layer from your otherwise perfectly rendered conversations.
    Yours with much appreciation, 
    BRB (in the UK)


  • mo’ smooth polyrhythms&pixel talk goodness

    The comment section on most websites/forums these days has given birth to a whole load of moaning and hecklin and armchair critics..
    Its a podcast not an audio book.. guess jazz is not for everyone it seems.
    i like the mix of the intellectual-ish;) conversation and music ..cerebral marmalade.  Ignore all the wingers.. keep up the goodwork.

    (in the UK too) not that it matters.

    Wouldnt mind seeing a tutorial on hedcut technique without usuing a plugin.


    Or how to create Guilloché Patterns in Illustrator ??
    Sum wicked stuff link below:
    http://www.subblue.com/projects

    Whats chances one day of a vray engine in photoshop 3d extended;)?

    cheers:O)

  • The music…

    Hello C & D:

    I am another person who finds the music a little loud (yes, I like jazz too). To not actually be able there to drink the martinis with you is bad enough; not to be able to always hear the conversation makes it doubly hard.

    The difficulty comes when you have Deke, Colleen and two guests - sometimes talking over one another - as in real life, plus the music. It is genuinely hard to catch every word or sometimes even follow the thread of a conversation element.

    I also see a number of comments on John Nack’s blog in the comments section that mention this subject too.

    Anthony

  • Comment

    Hello,

    Is there a comment section where one can start a new comment topic?  And is there a way to contact Deke.  Just wondering.  I bought his new InDesign book, but I have a question and cannot find a way to contact anyone.  I’ll keep trying.

    Network? No. Nurture? Yes.

  • Re O.T.

    Thanks Deke,
    I was not really moaning, I like the of atmosphere, I do like jazz and the Pims Quartet do a great job. I have even been known to take my shoes off when listening, honest. But as they say “If I didn’t care, I wouldn’t swear, either” not that we Brits ever do.
    Thanks for a great show anyway, it’s always informative and very much appreciated.
    Oh… and for keeping the squirrel on a leash, this time.
    BRB ( in the UK : - )


  • We are listening

    Although I am actively undermining the “martini magic” of the piece (would Disney admit to their ambiance being too loud? no, they’d have a uniformed squirrel take you in for questioning), I will admit that I actually took down the background noise down a couple of notches from the first mix. In responses to comments from an earlier show.

    But we’ll continue to tweak. (Sigh.)

  • Can’t download via iTunes

    deke, I’m dying, it’s been 2 days, I can’t get it via iTunes.

    i can’t take it anymore, so i downloaded the regular quality version

  • And skipdinggg is not alone,

    And skipdinggg is not alone, I keep trying to download on Itunes also, no joy !
    What’s up?


  • Downloading Videos 101

    I’m getting way too old for this… but it still amazes me how many supposedly computer savvy people don’t or can’t comprehend that almost everything you see on your browser has already been “downloaded” and resides on your computer.  This often (but not always) includes videos.

    For whatever reason, Deke has not been consistent (during this Top 40 run) in regards to the bitrate/quality versions offered (on the web site).  Some are only in 320 or 480 FLV format while others have both FLV and higher bitrate MP4 (mov) formats.

    If you can view/play the video directly from Deke’s site… then you have already downloaded it.  The trick is to choose the quality version and/or format you want.

    While not available before the video begins… the moment it starts playing a small “quality option” box will appear at the bottom (lower right) of the player and a quick mouse over will reveal the options.  360 or 480 will usually be FLV formats while 720 and above will be MP4 (which is a streaming version of MOV).  If/when you select a verson/bitrate other than what is playing, the video “should” start over as the new file is accessed.

    So children… dump your browsers cache (this makes finding things easier).... go to the Top 40 video you want on Deke’s “dekepod” page and start it playing.  Immediately select the bitrate you want (the default version will be pre-selected and indicated) and let it play.  Actually you do not need to let it play all the way through… just watch the download progress bar (NOT the position indicator) and when it gets to the far right… the file will have been saved to your computer.  Note: FLV files (although smaller) take longer to download (re: stream) than the higher quality MP4 files.

    When done… open your “temporary internet files” folder (on an PC)... sort by size, and the video should be on top.  Then COPY (not cut or play) that file to another folder and rename it to whatever you want.

    If you have no idea where that folder is remember… Google is your friend.

    SO…. Problem solved… drop dead simple and VERY old school


    Sorry Mac users… I don’t have a clue as to what you do :(

  • Our lounge crowd has been a little rowdy lately.

    I’ve asked the bartenders to 86 the worst offenders.

  • should be good to go

    fixed it.

  • Page not found

    ?

  • Great News

    I think this’ll be really useful for everyone.

  • all links to audio fixed…enjoy

    fix one thing…break another.

    I think all the ducks are in a row.

  • hi, i’m bitoy new to this

    hi, i’m bitoy new to this community, i found this through google . It seems that i can learn a lot in this community and probably share my ideas regarding particular topics.

  • contact the web master

    try to contact the webmaster.:)

  • hey

    Nice post..thanks for sharing…

  • Very useful post. This is my


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Comments