Adobe stunned the creative world this week by dropping boxed versions of Adobe Creative Suite 6 in favor of the subscription-based Creative Cloud. Josh Centers digs into the details to see if Creative Cloud is good or bad for users. In other news, Glenn Fleishman profiles the new App.net Passport iOS app, which is a directory of App.net apps and users, and as a bonus, we’re giving away free App.net accounts! On a practical note, Michael Cohen tells you what to do when your Web browser won’t display PDFs, and he examines Marvin, a new ebook reader for iOS with some amazing features but an Achilles heel. Matt Neuburg wraps up the issue with a review of Cloud Mate for iOS, which brings even more of the power of Dropbox to iCloud. Notable software releases this week include Thunderbolt Firmware Update v1.2, Alfred 2.0.3, Microsoft Office 2011 14.3.4, and Fission 2.1.3.
Adobe is leaving the boxed software game for a subscription-only model. Will it be good or bad for customers?
The App.net messaging infrastructure service has released Passport, an iOS utility app that also enables signing up for a free-tier account without an invitation, but doesn’t allow posting or messaging. This is all part of App.net’s support for developers.
These days, most Web browsers can display PDFs with aplomb. But if you see a black or white screen instead of a PDF in your browser, you may need to remove an elderly plug-in or two.
If you’re looking for more of a challenge from casual iOS games, then our own Matt Neuburg’s apps will hit the spot.
Marvin, an ebook reader for iPad, offers advanced reading tools over other ebook readers, but its Achilles heel is faithful rendering of more complex book layouts.
Cloud Mate’s developers have been so hard at work since our review a month ago that it deserves another visit. Along with an improved Mac app, there’s now an iOS version of Cloud Mate that magically shows you all your iCloud documents, even though that should be impossible.
Notable software releases this week include Thunderbolt Firmware Update v1.2, Alfred 2.0.3, Microsoft Office 2011 14.3.4, and Fission 2.1.3.
With Managing Editor Josh Centers on the job, we have a nice set of ExtraBITS for you to read this week, including articles about how the iPad could interfere with pacemakers, how iOS encryption is slowing down law enforcement, concerns about Apple’s weak and confusing photo management story, Apple breaking into the Fortune 10 for the first time, and a nice overview of iPad writing tools.