Monday, October 29, 2007

Lightroom update coming mid-November

Lightroom Product Manager Tom Hogarty announced news of a Lightroom update coming in mid-November to address compatibility issues with Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard.

"As noted in Adobe’s Leopard FAQ the current version of Lightroom 1.2 is not fully compatible with Leopard, Mac OS X 10.5. The good news is that we’ll be releasing an update in mid-November that will address key compatibility issues. In the interim, the following list describes areas where photographers may encounter problems with Lightroom 1.2 on Leopard:
  • The Print module may not load
  • The Import dialog and other dialogs can “disappear” below Lightroom’s main window. The dialog can be retrieved by switching to another application and then returning to Lightroom.
  • Lightroom’s web module may not provide a visual update after a setting is changed
  • The left-side panels in the Develop module may not display properly. Resizing or closing/opening the panels will correct the issue.
  • The interaction between Leopard’s Time Machine and Lightroom’s catalog files is unknown at this time. Running Time Machine backup or restore operations while Lightroom is in use is not recommended until more information can be obtained
Feel free to share your Leopard/Lightroom experiences in this post’s comments section."

Head on over to Adobe's official Lightroom Journal blog for additional updates and to leave your comments for the Lightroom team.

Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard upgrade experience

I'm a technology geek... I admit it!

And I'm the worst kind of technology geek... the early adopter type. I stood in line for hours when the iPhone launched. It was a fun social experience. However, I decided to skip the launch festivities at my local Apple Store for the Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard launch. Amazon.com had it for $20 less than Apple Store. Sure I wouldn't have it in my hands on launch day, but I'm glad I didn't because I would have popped that sucker in the computer and been at the mercy of not knowing how to fix any bumps I ran across during the upgrade.

Good thing I waited...

My order arrived late this afternoon. I did a quick update to bring my daily SuperDuper! backup current. I can't stress how important a current backup is for anyone performing an OS upgrade. This one little thing can save you from feeling that sinking feeling in your chest when you find out that something went wrong and you lost some important files.

Installation

Once that was done, I popped in the Leopard install DVD. Installation was extremely straight forward. Just insert the disc, tell it what drive to install to, and what kind of install you want to do. I did a very straight forward 'Upgrade' install.

I was kind of surprised that there were no screenshots or information about the new Leopard features during the install. It was quite boring actually. I made a phone call and watched an episode of the Colbert Report while it did its thing.

I thought it was particularly amusing how the install seemed to go quickly until it got to the '5 minutes left' mark. Once it said '5 minutes', time stood still. It was at '5 minutes' for no less than 15-20 minutes.

Once the install was complete and the system booted, it asked me to enter my Apple ID information. A message came up that there were two updates available for 'Login & Keychain Updater'. I installed the updates and let the computer reboot.

Bumpy road ahead

Once my computer rebooted, that's when things went south.

The AirPort card in my Mac Pro was no longer recognized! My computer is not anywhere near my cable modem, so I had no way to access the Internet to research the issue.

Thank god for my iPhone that I stood in line for hours to get on launch day! I loaded up the Apple Support website and found this discussion of others that were experiencing the same problem as me.

The solution that worked for me was to delete the following file:

/System/Library/Extensions/AppleAirPort2.kext

Immediately after I dragged that file to the Trash, my AirPort card was recognized and connected to my wireless network without any further action on my part.

No sound from speakers

The upgrade had also disabled my speakers, so all audio was coming from the Mac Pro internal speaker. This was an easy fix. Just go to System Preferences and click on 'Sound'. 'Internal Speakers' is currently selected. I just click on the 'Line Out' device and my speakers started working again. I'm listening to a live version of AC/DC "The Jack" now.

Lightroom and Photoshop CS3

As I reported earlier, Adobe had already released documentation stating that Photoshop CS3 was certified for Leopard, but that Lightroom was not. After monitoring several discussions about Lightroom performance with Leopard, I already went into this with the knowledge that some people have experienced problems importing files into Lightroom and that the entire Print module didn't work at all.

I don't currently do any printing from Lightroom, so that was not a big concern to me. But the ability to import my photos was a huge deal! So naturally that is the first thing I did. I breathed a sigh of releif when I successfully imported some RAW photos from my CF card and some JPG files from my iPhone.

Lightroom was a little slow at first, but then it got back to its snappy self. I'm very pleased with the performance of both Lightroom and Photoshop CS3 in Leopard. Nevertheless, I will be happy when the Lightroom patch is available to address the printing module and any other Leopard compatibility issues.

Other programs

Mail crashed once and I submitted an error report to Apple. Other than that, all of the applications that I have tried are working great. I love the fact that my iCal icon no longer tells me that it's July 17th every day. All of the programs seem a little snappier than they were in Tiger (10.4).

The updates to Mail, iCal, Dictionary, and Address Book are enough to sell me on the upgrade, but there is so much more to this upgrade than you realize going into the upgrade.

Conclusion

Once I got through the AirPort card and audio crises, everything else has been smooth. I will go through and try out everything later, but tonight I wanted to hit the major ones and get a post up incase anyone else runs into the same issues that I did.

Friday, October 26, 2007

Adobe on Mac OS X Leopard compatibility

Adobe has released a PDF document outlining compatibility of their products with Mac OS X 10.5 'Leopard'.

Both flavors of Photoshop CS3 are compatible with Leopard. In fact, most of the CS3 line are compatible, with a few exceptions.

Lightroom requires an update, but they do not provide any details as to what features are not working properly (or when the 'future update' will arrive).

"Photoshop Lightroom 1.2 is not fully certified for Mac OS X Leopard, but future updates will address areas of Leopard compatibility".

Bad news for Photoshop CS2 (and earlier) and Photoshop Elements 4.0 (and earlier) users as they are marked as "Not Designed for Mac OS X Leopard". Comments state "Likely to encounter issues for which there is no resolution."

'Dixie' the ladybug pony

Dixie the ladybug pony

I was standing in line at Petsmart last night buying my dogs some food. I noticed other looking behind me and smiling. When I turned around, I saw what I thought was a large dog wearing a Halloween costume. Nothing abnormal this time of year.

After taking a second look, I realized that it was a small pony wearing a butterfly costume. It's owner took her over to look at the cats.

I had my iPhone with me and couldn't let this photo opportunity pass me by. My friends would have thought I had been tipping the bottle too much if I told them that I saw a pony dressed like a ladybug! I couldn't have that, so I asked the owner if I could take a picture of Dixie. Enjoy!

Wednesday, October 24, 2007

Learning how to scan the "right" way

I love my new Epson Perfection V700 Photo scanner. I am planning on scanning a bunch of old family photo negatives and prints. But when I do something I have to do it "right". It's a pain having a perfectionist mentality and sometimes causes me not to do it at all... but not this time.

I found an excellent website called "A few scanning tips." It took me a few days to read it, but I finally finished. The site covers the basics of scanning prints, negatives, and slides to produce great results! There are some topics (such as scanning for faxes) which I didn't feel was relevant to my needs, but as I read I found that even those topics helped me understand the scanning process better. The author does a good job of identifying the items that are essential to know and drills those topics into your head.

The author also has a book available of the same name. I have not purchased the book (yet), but the author claims that the book has more current information than the website. Some information on the website does seem a bit aged.

If you have a scanner, or are considering getting one, definitely bookmark this one!

Wednesday, October 17, 2007

Picked up a new toy... score!

Sorry it has been so long since my last update. I picked up the Epson Perfection V700 Photo scanner and have been busy studying how to use it... properly. I'm still learning, but I have been really pleased with the scanner. I will post some scans later this week.


Wednesday, October 3, 2007

Photoshop Express demo'd at Max 2007

10/4/2007 UDPATE: Added video below.

CNET News.com has posted a three minute video of Photoshop Express being demo'd at the Max 2007 conference in Chicago.

What they showed looks promising. It integrates Flash heavily into the web based product. Here are some of the topics covered in the video: cropping, picture rotation, white balance, scar removal, and the ability to jump to a specific change in the history.

Mid-week random stuff

This Saturday, I am going to attend the Autumn Conservation Festival at the National Zoo's Conservation and Research Center (CRC) in Front Royal, Virginia. The CRC is normally closed to the public, but it opens for one weekend a year for FONZ members who have made contributions to the CRC. This is my first year going, so I don't know what to expect but it should be a lot of fun!

I had agreed to help out with the FONZ Photo Club table at the CRC on Sunday, but unfortunately we were told that we could not set up a table to sell photos (of which the money goes directly to zoo programs). I don't understand why, but that's how it goes sometimes.

It's a pretty long drive, so I'm kind of glad to have Sunday to myself. I will post some pictures from Saturday's trip to the CRC this weekend.

Monday, October 1, 2007

Halo 3 stole my life for the weekend

Normally on weekends I try to get out and take some pictures. It's calming, peaceful, and I get some much needed exercise. However not this past weekend. Like hundreds of thousands of others, Halo 3 owned me for the weekend.

Great game! I normally don't care about the story in games, but with Halo 3 you can't help but be drawn into it. It was like reading a good book. I didn't want to put it down until I had finished it... which I did in two days. And I liked the fact that it was a relatively short game. As I get older, I don't really want games that I have to invest more than a couple of weeks of my time to finish. The great thing about Halo 3 is that even though I have completed the single player game, there are thousands of Halo 3 matches on Xbox Live just waiting for me if I want to get a quick gaming fix in.

I had ordered the 'Limited Edition' version. It cost $10 more than the regular version and came with a few extra goodies and a metal case. It also came with real shoddy case with poorly designed disc nubs to hold the discs in place during shipment. The result was that many of the 'Limited Edition' boxes arrived with scratched discs. In fact, it was so many that Microsoft implemented a free disc exchange program to replace the discs at no cost (other than shipping costs to Microsoft). The catch, if you didn't guess, is that you have to send your discs away to Microsoft in order to get them replaced. Microsoft claims a 2-week turnaround once they receive the disc(s), but that's two weeks that people wouldn't have had to wait if Microsoft had just invested in quality packaging instead of taking the cheap path. They're making a bundle on this game anyways... and they should because it's a great game!

Scratched disc issue aside, I can't recommend spending the extra $10 on the 'Limited Edition' version of the game. There's just not anything very exciting on the second disc. Interesting, yes... but it's not something that I would pay $10 for. If you are a serious Halo fanatic, go for the Legendary Edition which includes a whole lot of geeky goodness (yes, I'm a geek too)! Otherwise, I recommend the regular version.

Enough about gaming. I just wanted to let everyone know why I had not made any posts over the past few days.

A quick teaser... I'm doing some volunteer work this coming weekend for the FONZ Photo Club at a National Zoo special event for FONZ members. I'll post some details this week.