It doesn't seem all that long ago that Adobe trotted out its first consumer image-editing application, but Photoshop Elements seems to have aged fairly well over the past 10 years. It hasn't changed that much--it still has a task-based interface and modular architecture--though it's gotten a bit glitzier looking and, as it continually absorbs new technology and features from its big sister Photoshop, has gotten a lot more powerful as well.

Along the way, Adobe paired it up with a consumer version of its Premiere video-editing software. Though not 10 years old, it carries the same version … Read more

We've all been there at one time or another. You're looking at a beautiful landscape and you want to capture it, but the view is simply too wide to capture it all with your iPhone camera. Or maybe you're selling something on the Web, but taking a flat photograph of the object just doesn't seem to do it justice.

Fortunately, with the enormous abundance of photography apps in the iTunes App Store, there are apps for these specific purposes. These apps go beyond retro images and sketch-drawn re-creations and attempt to offer three dimensions.

This week's collection of iOS apps make 360-degree images. The first creates step-by-step panoramas; the second lets you make panoramas and 360-degree views in one fluid motion; and the third helps you make 360-degree animations.… Read more

By now it's a familiar pattern: Camera makers release new models that can shoot photos in the high-quality but labor-intensive raw image format, and Adobe Systems periodically catches up with a release to support those proprietary formats.

So it's no surprise to owners of Olympus' E-P3, E-PL3, Panasonic's G3 and GF3, and Sony's Alpha NEX-C3 and SLT-A35 that the release candidate for Lightroom 3.5 adds support for their cameras. The closely related Photoshop Camera Raw plug-in 6.5 release candidate, also issued, follows suit; usually it's a few weeks before the test versions are … Read more

Online note-taking specialist Evernote has acquired Skitch, a Mac app for annotating photos and otherwise editing images, and plans to dramatically expand the software's availability.

For starters, Evernote is making the $20 app free. In addition, "We are committed, not only to making the Skitch Mac app more awesome, but also to bringing Skitch to every desktop and mobile platform under the sun," Evernote's Andrew Sinkov said in a blog post today.

That expansion begins with Skitch's first mobile app, a free download for Android, Evernote said.

"Our goal is to make Skitch a … Read more

Even on the first day the iTunes App Store launched there were photo apps that let you manipulate and edit images on iPhone. The App Store has come a long way since then and, with new iPhones with faster processors and better cameras, the apps have gotten significantly better as well.… Read more

Instagram is a long-time favorite photo app with users that lets you apply retro filters to your iPhone photos to turn quick mobile shots into art. It's easy to use, makes sharing photos simple and fun, and, best of all, it's free. The app has been out for quite some time and is extremely popular with users, but if you haven't had a chance to check it out, we think it's an app just about anyone can appreciate. Just beware: Instagram is addictive.

Instagram (free) requires only a couple of touches to produce great-looking images, but … Read more

Updated at 5 p.m. ET with correction about how this feature works.

Microsoft finally shows some love to camera raw shooters, but it feels like more of a hug than a big, sloppy wet kiss. The company now offers a free download of Microsoft Camera Codec Pack for Windows 7 and Vista users that will render thumbnails and display previews of most popular raw camera formats. (A complete list is available at the download site.)

About mid-Vista vintage, Microsoft introduced its own "open" raw format that it hoped camera manufacturers would adopt for better integration with Windows, … Read more

When Apple showed off Mac OS X Lion at the Worldwide Developers Conference keynote speech earlier this year, it was clear the company had paid attention to its successes with the popular iOS devices, and was now beginning to include successful iOS features in its flagship OS.

Also, with Apple laptops and tablets now far outpacing desktop sales, Apple has moved from a primarily desktop computer company to embrace mobile computing. This release of Mac OS X seems to be a reflection of Apple's successes in those categories.

With this eighth major release of the big-cat OS, Apple is … Read more

Google is planning to rebrand two of its most popular services, Mashable is reporting.

Citing anonymous sources, the social-media blog said Google is planning to change the names of its Picasa photo management service and its Blogger blog platform to Google Photos and Google Blogs, respectively.

Google acquired Picasa in 2004 for an undisclosed sum. Its technology, which can be downloaded or used online, helps users edit and manage photos. In 2003, Google acquired Blogger owner Pyra Labs for an undisclosed sum.

According to Mashable, Google's decision to rebrand Picasa and Blogger is the result of its desire to &… Read more