Douglas R. Seidler

With Adobe Photoshop Express (beta) you can upload, sort, polish, and store up to 2GB of photos for free. The software is in beta and is not a replacements for Photoshop, but may be a good tool for those of you who cannot afford the real thing.

AutoCAD 2009 is now available for trial download. To receive your free 30-day trial complete and submit the form at autodesk.com.

New features in 2009 include:

• Ribbon - With the ribbon interface, overall drafting productivity is increased as the number of steps to reach a command is decreased. The ribbon interface presents command options in a concise visual format. allowing you to quickly select commands based on the work you’re doing . Moving between applications is now quick and intuitive. The ribbon is both customizable and expandable so that it can be optimized for each user and meet each company’s standards.
• Menu Browser - Reviewing and working with several files is no longer a tedious and time-consuming process. The new menu browser interface allows you to browse files and examine thumbnail images and provides detailed information about file size and file creator. Plus, you can organize recently used files by name, date, or title.
• Action Recorder - The new action recorder saves time and increases productivity by automating repetitive tasks without requiring the skill or assistance of a professional CAD manager. Users can quickly record a task, add text messages and requests for input, then quickly select and play back recorded files.
• Layer Dialog - The new layer dialog makes creating and editing layer properties faster and less prone to error. Changes are instantly reflected in the drawing as they are made in the dialog. The manipulation of the dialog box has been simplified, and columns in the dialog can be individually resized so the contents of that column or its title are not truncated. Individual columns can be fixed in place so that the rest of the columns can be scrolled through and referenced to a fixed column such as the layer name.
• Quick Properties - The easily customizable quick properties menu increases productivity by reducing the steps to access properties information, ensuring that information presented is optimized for that particular user and project.
• Quick View - The quick view feature uses thumbnails instead of file names, making opening the correct drawing file and layout faster and decreasing the time spent opening incorrect drawing files.