In continuing to provide the direct download links for such major Adobe products as CS6, Acrobat XI, Elements 11, and Lightroom 4, below you’ll find the DDL for the brand new just-released Adobe Flash Player 11.7 (the final version).  This is important because the free Flash Player is the most widely-used and often-downloaded software in world, and some folks find it easier to access it quickly and directly, without a download manager (e.g., Akamai), or with their own DLM, and without additional products or toolbars included.

Check your current Adobe Flash Player: What version are you running now?

What’s New in Flash Player 11?

Flash Player 11.7 contains dozens of sophisticated new features and enhancements over version 10, here are some of the major ones – for more, and more details, see the Official Release Notes:

• Improved Security through Sandboxing Enhancements
• Concurrency (ActionScript Background Workers)
• Expanded Hardware and Driver Support
• Full screen complete keyboard input
• Low latency audio support (Sound API)
• Protected Mode for Firefox
• Mouse-Lock, 360-Rotation, and Infinite Scrolling
• Added Support for Middle-Click & Right-Click
• Automatic Background Updates (Windows & Mac)
• Protected HTTP Dynamic Streaming (HDS)
• Stage 3D Accelerated Graphics Rendering
• Native 64-bit Support Available
• H.264/AVC Software Encoding for Cameras
• Asynchronous Bitmap Decoding
• TLS Secure Sockets Support
• Cubic Bezier Curves
• Updated iOS native extensions
• Native text input UI for Android

Read more…

Founder Cites Mayan Calendar, Vintage Cars, and Memorable Birthday Party in Decision

SAN JOSE, Calif.—April 1, 2013—Following a recent software trend for high version numbers, Adobe Systems announced today that it would be forgoing a Creative Suite version 7 and moving straight to Creative Suite 17.

Commenting on the move, Founder John Adobe explained that with the recent availability of Firefox 19, Chrome 25, and AutoCAD 19, it made no sense to stay on low version numbers any longer.

“Single digits are so last-century… People like big release numbers. This is America, and we like things big,” said Mr. Adobe. “We normally put a lot into each major release we do, but imagine moving 10 versions!  CS17 is going to to knock your socks off, as well as a tens digit,” he added.

Why 17?

“I remember my 17th birthday, it was a great time,” recalled Adobe. “I got my permit that year and it was the first time I could drive on my own. Well, using CS17 is going to be like operating a fine automobile… Or like drinking a fine wine, which gets better with age of course. After all, would you rather have a wine that was 7 years old, or 17?”

Read more…

[UPDATE (May 6th) – The next release is announced! Learn more about new Adobe CC.]

Adobe has just now confirmed what’s been going around as a rumor – that they will soon discontinue selling all boxed versions of Creative Suite 6 software…

Here it is direct from the company themselves:

… As Adobe continues to focus on delivering world-class innovation through Creative Cloud and digital fulfillment, we will be phasing out shrink-wrapped, boxed versions of Creative Suite.  Electronic downloads for Creative Suite products will continue to be available as they are today …

Now there’s been some confusion about this, so we’ll try to make it clearer:  This news does not mean Adobe will stop selling any of the traditional CS products, only that you will no longer be able to buy them in the form of a shrinkwrapped box package, physically hand-delivered via mail, courier, or store. Customers can continue to download their purchases instantly as most already do, saving on both shipping costs and the environment.

Why is Adobe doing this?  Besides not being green, boxed software is static and costly to produce, manage, and deliver. In line with software industry trends, Adobe is focusing more on the Creative Cloud – which for an affordable membership rate, digitally delivers the entire Creative Suite and more to your desktop, and is always up-to-date with the latest upgrades.

Read more…

This week the web has been buzzing over a rumor of Adobe offering the eight-year-old Creative Suite 2 software for free download to all, including Photoshop CS2.  “Adobe releases Creative Suite 2 for free,” “Grab Photoshop and CS2 Absolutely Free,” and, “Free! Download Adobe Creative Suite 2, Photoshop CS2, or other Adobe software at no cost,” have read some of the headlines around the blogosphere.

The programs in question are 2005-vintage Adobe and Macromedia tools such as Photoshop CS2, Illustrator CS2, InDesign CS2, Dreamweaver MX 2004, Flash MX 2004, Acrobat 8.0, Captivate 1.0, and others. The software is pretty dated, originally written for 32-bit Windows 2000/XP and PowerPC Macs – and won’t run optimally or at all on current computer systems, especially [Intel] Macs.  CS2 is “EOL” (end-of-life), no longer officially supported, and not updateable nor upgrade­able. Nevertheless Adobe has put these downloads out there on an open page – full versions in 15 languages with accom­panying universal serial numbers, and seemingly freely available for what it’s worth – but the company says they’re not.  So what’s the story?

Read more…

The big annual MAX conference for all-things-Adobe is traditionally held each fall. The company has just revealed the major story of the MAX 2012 show – and to our surprise it’s… see you next year!

MAX was originally scheduled to be held from October 20-24 in Los Angeles, California. The venue will remain the same, but the date has now changed to May 2013:

The next Adobe MAX is May 4–8, 2013

A lot of exciting changes have happened at Adobe since last year’s MAX. And one of the best places to learn about innovations in the industry and within Adobe will be at Adobe MAX 2013! The conference originally scheduled for October is now moving to May.

Be among the first to know about our plans for this must-attend conference for designers, developers, and business decision-makers:

 

Read more…

Arguably the biggest announcement to come out of the annual Adobe MAX Conference last month was the unveiling of the Adobe Creative Cloud…

It was the major focus of the first day’s keynote address, and then different components of it were covered in greater detail in a number of the later educational sessions.

What Is the Creative Cloud?

Adobe CTO Kevin Lynch describes it as an optional membership-based program formed of three pillars: Creative Services, Creative Community, and Creative Applications.

Read more…

[UPDATE — Show special!  Save 20% on CS5.5 upgrades at the Adobe Store.]

Adobe MAX 2011 – the worldwide user conference – runs this week and if you aren’t in Los Angeles, the two major keynotes will be broadcast free, with both live and on-demand streaming… The company is promising lots of big news and announcements, so if you can’t join us there in person, you can see it all unfold online.

What’s more, over 160 free hours of the best training and tutorial sessions from this year’s show will also be available.

Adobe Dreamweaver tweets, “To hear BIG Adobe MAX announcements, register now to listen LIVE to the keynote presentations Monday & Tuesday morning…”

Adobe Creative Suite posts, “The countdown has officially begun for Adobe MAX! Even if you can’t make it to the live event, you can still join in on the fun! To hear the BIG announcements we have planned, register now to listen LIVE to the MAX keynotes Monday & Tuesday morning.”

Read more…

Though the economic recession officially ended over two years ago, the job market remains pretty challenging. In the U.S. officially no new jobs were created last month, continuing a slowing trend from the spring – and this situation is currently a major focus of Washington. However, Adobe is one company that continues hiring new staff at a healthy pace, and more broadly, Adobe product skills remain in strong demand by employers worldwide.

Adobe Systems (the company itself) presently has 358 job openings around the globe (adding another 4% to their workforce) – but if you know Adobe software generally, then the opportunity is even larger. Right now there are nearly 50,000 employment openings across North America that require Adobe skills, and you can see these and browse for yourself with the free downloadable Adobe Job Feed app.

All major tools are represented here: Flash, Dreamweaver, Photoshop, InDesign, Illustrator, Acrobat, Premiere, After Effects, and so on. You can drill down to sort by city/state or ZIP code for jobs in your area, and then view the complete descriptions and even apply for positions directly from within your web browser.

Read more…

In our tradition of providing the direct download links for major Adobe products such as CS6, Acrobat XI, Photoshop & Premiere Elements 11, and Lightroom 4, below you’ll find the DDL for the just-released new Adobe Flash Player 10.3 (final version). This is important because the free Flash Player is the most widely-used and often-downloaded software in world, and some folks find it easier to access offline without a download manager (Akamai or Adobe DLM), or with their own DLM, and without additional products or toolbars included.

Check your current Adobe Flash Player version: What version are you running now?

What’s New in Flash Player 10.3?

Flash Player 10.3 improves stability, enhances security and user privacy protection, and provides new desktop video and audio capabilities for enterprises and developers.

Besides a dozen bug fixes, this release contains several new features and enhancements:

Read more…

[UPDATE (June 6th) – MAX registration is now open!  Save $200 with an early-bird discount - or an even better promotion, save $400 with coupon code from Adobe product purchased.]

MAX is the big annual conference for all-things-Adobe. One of the best aspects of MAX last year was the key presentations and announcements were webcast live, and most of the rest of the talks and lectures were offered later on-demand. These sessions are still available for viewing and are a fantastic free resource (see the list) for learning about Adobe software. There are more than 200 recorded videos on topics ranging from Photoshop Tips, Techniques & Power Shortcuts to “Deep Dives” for Dreamweaver and Flash.

This year, MAX will happen from October 1-5 at the Los Angeles, CA Convention Center. It’s a great time to tune in online or to attend in person for the news, excitement, training, gather­ings, and giveaways (last year all attendees received free Motorola Droid 2 smartphones and Google TVs) – plus the chance to meet the experts and ask your own questions.

(…not to mention, enjoy all the hilarious fake commercials for Adobe products!)

Read more…