Adobe Premiere Pro CS5 Tip -Export frame from Source and Program Monitors

The Export Frame buttons in the Source and Program Monitors offer a rapid frame export workflow that bypasses the Adobe Media Encoder. Position the playhead at the desired location in a clip or sequence and click the Export Frame button. In the Export Frame dialog name the exported frame, choose a file format, and browse to a location for saving the exported still image to disk.

After Effects CS5 Tip - Align your layers to composition features

To align selected layers to the center or edge of a composition, choose Composition in the Align Layers To drop-down menu in the Align panel (Window>Align), and then click the icon corresponding to the desired type of alignment.

Adobe Photoshop CS5 Extended Tip - Punch out holes in your extrusions!

When you have any of the 3D tools active, you can turn on 3D overlays from the bottom of the 3D panel to view the 3D Axis (the widget for manipulating meshes, lights, and cameras), light widgets, material and mesh bounding boxes, and a ground plane. Go to Photoshop (PC: Edit)>Preferences>3D to change overlay settings. To use the 3D Axis for meshes, lights, or cameras, select the right tool to invoke the 3D Axis for that property. For example, when you select one of the 3D Light tools in the 3D (Lights) panel and click on a light widget, the 3D Axis will now rotate and move the selected light.

Adobe Dreamweaver CS5 Tip -No more related file overload

If you're working with a dynamic CMS framework such as WordPress or Drupal, you may find yourself overwhelmed with files in your Related Files bar. Click the icon to the far right of the Related Files bar to filter your view options-by file type, or even better, by custom filter. Only working with your design? Turn off all file types besides CSS. Need to find just the WordPress core PHP files? Create a custom filter for "wp-*.php," and you'll see only those files in your Related Files bar.

October 2010

October 2010, unusual month; five Fridays, five Saturdays, and five Sundays....it happens once on 823 years, think about it :)

Is Apple About to Cut Out the Carriers?

Sources inside European carriers have reported that Apple has been working with SIM-card manufacturer Gemalto to create a special SIM card that would allow consumers in Europe to buy a phone via the web or at the Apple Store and get the phones working using Apple’s App Store.

It’s rumored that Apple and Gemalto have created a SIM card, which is typically a chip that carries subscriber identification information for the carriers, that will be integrated into the iPhone itself. Then customers will then be able to choose their carrier at time of purchase at the Apple web site or retail store, or buy the phone and get their handset up and running through a download at the App Store as opposed to visiting a carrier store or calling the carrier. Either way, it reduces the role of the carrier in the iPhone purchase. Gemalto and Apple have not responded to requests for comment. I’m also waiting to hear back from other sources to get more details.

However, if Apple is doing an end run around the carrier by putting its own SIM inside the iPhone, it could do what Google with its NexusOne could not, which is create an easy way to sell a handset via the web without carrier involvement. Much like it helped cut operators out of the app store game, Apple could be taking them out of the device retail game. Yes, carriers will still have to allow the phone to operate on their networks, which appears to be why executives from various French carriers have been to Cupertino in recent weeks.

The Gemalto SIM, according to my sources, is embedded in a chip that has an upgradeable flash component and a ROM area. The ROM area contains data provided by Gemalto with everything related to IT and network security, except for the carrier-related information. The flash component will receive the carrier related data via a local connection which could be the PC or a dedicated device, so it can be activated on the network. Gemalto will provide the back-end infrastructure that allows service and number provisioning on the carrier network.

The model should work well in Europe, where the carriers tend to use the same networking technology and are far more competitive. It also means that customers can roam more easily with the iPhones, swapping out the carriers as needed. The iPhone has lost its exclusivity in much of Europe and other markets of the world, which makes this model a compelling one for consumers, but a nightmare for carriers.

Adobe Fireworks CS5 Tip - Flash Catalyst integration

Flash Catalyst is a new interaction design tool for the Adobe Flash Platform. In Fireworks CS5, you can export a selection, an entire page, or all of your pages to an FXG 2 file and take that into Flash Catalyst where you can then add structure and interaction. FXG files can be imported into Flash Catalyst, Flash Professional, Illustrator, and Photoshop, or even added to a Flash Builder project.

Adobe InDesign CS5 Tip - Presentation mode

Press Shift-W to switch into the new Presentation mode. This will hide the user interface and center and fit your document into the screen. Any extra screen area will be colored black. Press G to change the background to grey, press W to change it to white, and press B to change it back to black.