Jackie Dove

Recent versions of Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, and Flash Professional--the company's high-profile Creative Suite applications--have security vulnerabilities on both Mac and Windows platforms. Late Friday night, Adobe confirmed its plan to issue free patches to fix the problems in all three applications--a reversal of its previous strategy that would have forced users to pay for a CS6 upgrade in order to rectify the problems.

According to an Adobe spokesperson, "The team decided to make available patches for Photoshop CS5.x, Illustrator CS5.x, and Flash Professional CS5.x." The time frame for availability of those fixes is unclear. "We are still in the process of finalizing the timeline for the patches," the spokesperson said. "We will update the respective security bulletins once the patches are available."

Following a debut filled with fanfare and a rollout designed to stoke anticipation, Adobe has released its Creative Suite 6 (CS6) software for sale on its website and via authorized dealers worldwide. This upgraded collection of professional applications, which targets artists, graphic designers, photographers, videographers, multimedia specialists, and Web designers, is available immediately.

Bundled into four distinct packages, CS6 features upgrades of Photoshop and Photoshop Extended, Premiere Pro, InDesign, Dreamweaver, After Effects, Illustrator, Flash Professional, Audition, and Fireworks, as well as companion apps Bridge and Encore. It also debuts two new video-related software packages—Prelude and SpeedGrade.

Adobe CS6 Master Collection boxAcknowledging the critical role of digital media in the classroom, Adobe has launched the Adobe Creative Cloud Student and Teacher Edition and the Adobe Creative Suite 6 Student and Teacher Edition, both targeted to educational institutions, teachers, and students worldwide.

This release, plus supporting educational resources, are designed to help K-12 and higher education institutions enhance teaching, learning, and career preparation using Adobe's creative products. The education initiative coincides with the company's announcement of Creative Suite 6 and the Creative Cloud subscription service, which Adobe views as the ticket to enhanced creative workflow and software.

The suspense is over.

Adobe CS6 Master CollectionAdobe has launched the much-anticipated sixth version of its Creative Suite—14 separate applications, including two companion apps—spanning a vast range of creative workflows and pursuits, targeting artists, graphic designers, photographers, videographers, multimedia specialists, and Web designers.

There's been a whole lot of buzz around Adobe Creative Suite 6 lately, and even if you're familiar with the basic concept of Adobe's huge application bundle catering to artists, graphic designers, photographers, Web designers and developers, videographers, and a host of related professions, CS6 can be a swiftly shifting landscape, especially if you factor in the new Creative Cloud offering.

Here's a brief summary of recent Creative Suite events and a guide to where to find further details about Adobe's launch of the new Creative Suite 6 and Creative Cloud.

With the launch of Creative Suite 6 (CS6), Adobe has realigned, tightened, and refocused its collection of software and targeted bundles into four disciplined groups. With Photoshop CS6 at the helm, CS6 reflects the updated, streamlined, real-world workflow of many creative operations. Adobe has long acknowledged that print and online creative projects were converging, and this version of Creative Suite demonstrates that.

Adobe Web and Design Premium CS6A $1299 Design Standard package, targeted to print-based graphic designers and artists, features the standard version of Photoshop, InDesign, Illustrator, and Acrobat X Pro.

The National Association of Broadcasters trade show in Las Vegas will host the first public preview of brand new versions of Adobe's Production Premium video editing and motion graphics suite of programs, destined for Creative Suite 6 and its new Creative Cloud subscription service.

These pre-release demos are sneak peeks at what will soon be in store for cinematographers, videographers, color technicians, motion graphics specialists, and a huge number of creative professionals connected to the movie-making industry in the upcoming Creative Suite releases.

A free public beta of Photoshop, Photoshop CS6, will be available to try for the next few months as Adobe readies its Creative Suite of applications for launch alongside the brand new Creative Cloud online hub, targeted to creative pros. The Photoshop beta is available now on Adobe Labs for both Mac and PC users.

Various under-the-hood improvements promise to make life easier and protect long hours of labor-intensive operations. The highest profile of these include Background Save and Auto Recovery, Preset Migration and Sharing, and the new Mercury Graphics Engine.

Keeping its tradition of releasing a free public beta of its professional photo management software in advance of a major new version, Adobe has announced Photoshop Lightroom 4 beta. It's now available for download on Adobe Labs. The company seeks feedback from the community on how to improve the program before the final release of version 4, which will be sometime in the early part of the year.

Lightroom, which plays alongside Apple's Aperture and the brand new Corel AfterShot Pro, is a photo workflow tool targeted to professionals and advanced amateurs to import, manage, enhance, and showcase their images.

With social networks like Facebook and YouTube assuming a greater role in people's personal and work lives, Canon's new line of consumer camcorders seeks to accommodate that trend by enabling easy shooting and online posting of better video faster.

Canon Monday announced six new high definition camcorders-three compact Vixia HF M-series models and three entry-level Vixia HF R-series models-offering an assortment of new, built-in capabilities, including Wi-Fi.

With the debut of the Nikon D4, Nikon has introduced its new flagship, full-frame DSLR camera. At 16.2 megapixels, this high-end professional model improves on the speed and accuracy of its predecessors by boosting image quality and low-light capability, adding 1080p HD video recording to the mix, and adding a multitude of new features. Here are the highlights.

The camera sports a new Expeed 3 image processor, an expanded ISO range that auto adjusts based on lens focal length, and a burst mode of 10 fps in full frame format with continuous autofocus. It can shoot 200 frames continuously in normal JPEG mode.

It might not have come as a surprise that Go Daddy's previous support of the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) would have generated a storm of controversy -- enough to provoke an exodus of the internet registrar's customers to competing services. But Go Daddy was having none if it. At least until now.

Late last week, GoDaddy's CEO, Warren Adelman issued a statement admitting that indeed, the public has responded negatively to its support of the proposed legislation, and that as a result, it has experienced an increase in customers transferring their domain name business from the company.