Category: adobe
Acrobat, Adobe Reader & Flash updated for critical security fixes
Filed under: Software, Security
In response to two critical vulnerabilities in Acrobat and Adobe Reader 9.3, yesterday Adobe released the 9.3.1 update for both applications; users of the older 8.x versions can update to 8.2.1 to resolve the security issues. One of the two vulnerabilities addressed would allow a malicious PDF to make unauthorized cross-domain requests; the other could crash the PDF application and possibly allow an attacker to gain access to other parts of the system. The first flaw is related to a Flash Player issue that was revealed last week; if you have not updated Flash to the latest version (10.0.45.2 as of this moment, see your version & current versions here) & you aren't blocking Flash, you should go get the latest build right away. Although you can configure auto-update notifications in Flash Player, it's not clear if Mac OS X clients are consistently getting these reminders to update.
Even though Mac users are far less likely to be targeted by malware than our Windows-using friends and family, vigilance is still critical. Security analysis firm ScanSafe reported that it saw the percentage of exploits delivered via PDF files rise from 56% at the beginning of 2009 all the way up to 80% in the 4th quarter, so keeping those Adobe apps current -- or, better yet, using Apple's Preview app as the default PDF reader on Mac OS X -- is only prudent.
TUAWAcrobat, Adobe Reader & Flash updated for critical security fixes originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 17 Feb 2010 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Macworld 2010: TypeDNA
Posted by Brett Terpstra in adobe, cs4, extensions, font, fonts, illustrator, indesign, photoshop, plugins, typeface Sunday, 14 February 2010 00:00 No Comments
Filed under: Macworld, Graphic Design
On the last day of Macworld, I caught up with the guys from TypeDNA to take a look at what I soon realized was going to be a revolutionary bit of software magic for designers of any ilk. TypeDNA is a series of plugins for Adobe CS4 applications (Photoshop, InDesign, Illustrator) which makes finding the right font a simple matter.
It has several methods for navigating font collections, starting with a search by name, which is handy on its own. The functionality expands from there, doing such things as automatically offering suggestions for similar fonts and font harmonies. The harmonies feature is especially interesting, and the suggestions it offered while they were demoing it were very good. You can pick a font from the suggestions and search for similar fonts to find exactly the right typeface for your project. TypeDNA always offers a variety of suggestions, and recognizes that font choice is entirely subjective ... you make all the decisions, it just helps you navigate a large font collection quickly and intuitively.
I'll be doing a more in-depth review as soon as the demo version comes out (soon). The full version will be available in March, and will run $59US per plugin, or $89US for a full set (3 plugins) and two licenses so you can use them on two separate machines.
TUAWMacworld 2010: TypeDNA originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Sat, 13 Feb 2010 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Apple ships latest version of Aperture for photo professionals
Posted by Mel Martin in Aperture 3, Aperture3, adobe, iphoto, photo software Tuesday, 9 February 2010 17:00 No Comments
Filed under: Multimedia, Software, Software Update
It certainly caused a lot of excitement when the Apple web store went down this morning. No, it wasn't an updated MacBook Pro line but Aperture 3, Apple's high-end photo editing and image management software.The latest version is U.S. $199.00, and upgrades are available for any existing Aperture users for $99.00.
Apple says Aperture 3 has "more than 200 new features", including Faces and Places, brought over from iPhoto '09. There is an enhanced tool called Brushes, which allows photographers to paint adjustments and filters directly onto their images using new enhanced edge detection.
This latest version of Aperture runs in 64 bit on Snow Leopard and 64 bit processors.
Aperture has been in a long features war with Adobe Lightroom, a similar and very popular application. Aperture was last updated in February, 2008.
We'll have a close look at Aperture 3 when we get our hands on it. Apple has a free 30 day download for people who want an advance look, but as of this writing download links haven't yet been provided. Aperture 3 needs an intel-based Mac, so older machines like the G5 are out of luck.
TUAWApple ships latest version of Aperture for photo professionals originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 09 Feb 2010 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
16 month-old bug continues to crash Flash
Posted by TJ Luoma in adobe, crashing, flash Saturday, 6 February 2010 21:30 No Comments
Filed under: Multimedia
Matthew Dempsky has discovered a bug which will crash the Flash player on every supported platform. That might not seem like a huge deal, except that he discovered this bug in September of 2008 and has reported it to Adobe, which hasn't fixed it yet.16 months later.
If you'd like to test it for yourself, make sure there's nothing important open in your browser window and head to http://flashcrash.dempsky.org/.
In Safari and Google Chrome, this crashes the plugin but not the browser. It took Firefox 3.6 down entirely.
Why would Matthew post such a page? Isn't that reckless? Well, he explains on that page:
"Regarding crashing, I can tell you that we don't ship Flash with any known crash bugs, and if there was such a widespread problem historically Flash could not have achieved its wide use today," Lynch wrote. "Addressing crash issues is a top priority in the engineering team, and currently there are open reports we are researching in Flash Player 10." (Source: PC Mag, "Adobe Defends Flash, Calls Apple Uncooperative")
He goes on to say:
This page exploits a bug that I reported to Adobe in September 2008, and has affected every release of Flash on every platform since then. Despite numerous email exchanges with the Flash product manager about the bug, the bug report being hidden from the public for "security" reasons, and [although] Adobe CTO Kevin Lynch's claims otherwise, it continues to be an issue.
...I'm not an Apple fan boy out to prove Steve Jobs right in Apple's decision not to support Flash on the iPhone / iPad. Instead, I'm just a software engineer who at one time had to deal with Adobe's sorry excuse for a development platform and made an earnest effort on several occasions at helping them improve it for everyone. (This issue is merely the tip of the iceberg of ridiculous bugs and random backwards and forwards incompatibilities known as Adobe's Flash Player plug-in.) After trying to work with them to fix this issue and experiencing nothing but frustration, I just don't give a damn anymore.
Adobe has been able to rest on its laurels with Flash, because it was a de facto standard. Now that the platform is being left behind by new mobile devices and computing metaphors, Adobe is making an appeal to the public that Flash isn't that bad.
Adobe's been able to do much the same with Photoshop and CS4. Even people who love the apps and use them every day have learned to live with the crashes and other problems. Adobe seemed not to be in too much of a rush to get Snow Leopard compatible versions out. Ditto for when Apple switched to Intel.
I'm amazed by people who continue to defend Flash, including those who believe that alternatives will have a chance if web developers weren't pushed to start using newer alternatives like H.264 and HTML 5. (No, I'm not saying H.264/HTML 5 is a drop-in replacement for Flash, and I'm not even going to mention SVG.)
If we all went with the "de facto standard" we'd be using Internet Explorer 6 on Windows. Actually, we'd probably be using Internet Explorer 4.
No doubt that Flash has done some great things. At one time, it was cutting edge stuff. Now it's a dull butter knife.
And I'd be remiss if I didn't remind you about ClickToFlash which I've reviewed previously.
(Hat tip to Craig Hockenberry and Mike Damm for bringing this story to our attention.)
TUAW16 month-old bug continues to crash Flash originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Sat, 06 Feb 2010 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
iPad popular on Twitter, biggest complaint is no Flash
Posted by Chris Rawson in Iphone, Polls, Space, Twitter, adobe, attitudes, flash, iPad, ipod touch Tuesday, 2 February 2010 22:00 No Comments
Filed under: Odds and ends, Internet Tools, Surveys and Polls
Attensity Group has published a study showing people's attitudes toward the iPad. Their methodology for the study is fairly interesting: They analyzed 20,000 tweets from Twitter two hours before the iPad announcement, another 20,000 two hours after, and another 15,000 four days later. Two bits of data from Attensity's study are particularly intriguing -- four days after the iPad's introduction, a full 69% of analyzed tweets expressed positive sentiments toward the iPad, with only 27% having negative feelings toward the device. So given a few days' space, the iPad proves pretty popular.Out of the 27% of the twitterverse that disliked or even hated the iPad, what was their biggest complaint? Unsurprisingly, 41% of iPad haters cited its lack of Flash support as their number one gripe.
Of course, Twitter is a self-selecting group as well (I've seen spambots, geeks, and celebrities over there -- in roughly that order), so Attensity Group's analysis is probably not indicative of general public perception of the iPad. While the news media and the online tech community has been on fire all week about the "war" between Apple and Adobe over Flash, I'm going to go out on a limb and say that for average users, the iPad's lack of Flash support isn't going to deter people from purchasing one any more than it did for the iPhone or iPod touch. All the fervor over the Flash issue will eventually die away, but not because Apple's going to cave -- not if Steve Jobs has anything to say about it (and he does).
What do you think about Flash on the iPad? Give us your opinion in a poll by clicking on the "Read More" link below.
[Via Macsimum News]
There's been some extremely lively debate all over the internet on this issue, including here at TUAW. So far my general perception of things is there's been a roughly 50/50 split on Flash, with half of commenters being happy there's no Flash on the iPad or just not caring, and the other half being disappointed, annoyed, or outright angry about it. So let's have a (rather unscientific) poll of our own and see what you really think about Flash on the iPad.
TUAWiPad popular on Twitter, biggest complaint is no Flash originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 02 Feb 2010 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.