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Alien Skin Exposure 2

David Biedny — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 15:36:18 -0500

The simple interface lets you emulate hundreds of film types, and the before-and-after preview is incredibly handy.

While no one would dispute that we live in the era of digital photography, the fact is that there’s an entire history of film that simply refuses to ride off into the sunset. If you grew up in a darkroom—like this reviewer—you’ll remember the smell of the chemicals, the intricacies of the different brands of film, the subtleties of Tri-X film, the tricky process of “pushing” film beyond its ASA rating, and all the art that surrounded those smelly strips of celluloid. Alien Skin, in its quest to cook up unique Photoshop plug-ins, has essentially condensed the history of film into Exposure 2, a wonderfully capable and sublime tool for emulating a vast range of film stocks and looks.

Installation is effortless, and the plug-in works within recent versions of Photoshop or Elements (but at this price, we also want Exposure 2 to work inside After Effects and Final Cut Pro), on even the most modest of systems. If you have Photoshop CS3, you’ll be pleased to know that the plug-in works just fine as a nondestructive Smart Filter, expanding its overall usefulness.

Exposure 2 has two main modes—Color and Black-and-White—which involve loading two different versions of the plug-in. We’d prefer to see these as two modes inside of a single plug-in interface, but this is a relatively minor complaint. The control panel defaults to the Settings menu, which contains over 200 options, covering the gamut of black-and-white or color film stocks, grouped by type of overall effects (such as print film, slide film, color processing, and so on) and subgrouped by manufacturer. We found it a tad difficult to find a specific film type quickly. We went right for the Kodak Tri-X, for example, and found multiple variations of it under the general black-and-white category in seconds. But given that there are a couple hundred settings to sort through, a Find command would have saved time.

The range of emulation offerings is extensive, and while many of the custom controls for tweaking color and tonal effects are easily replicated in Photoshop with the right know-how, the Grain panel is a special case, offering noise and grain types that go significantly beyond what you can create directly inside Photoshop. Any of the presets can be edited and turned into a new user preset, and the interface displays a real-time preview of your selected effect. In typical Alien Skin style, the app has a number of ways to split the screen for before-and-after comparisons, but we’d love to see a custom rectangular selection option for speeding up previews. You can also instantly switch between the original and processed version of your image by clicking anywhere in the preview area, which is a nice touch.

InterOffice Mac Envelope Sleeve

Susie Ochs — Fri, 30 May 2008 14:35:33 -0500

You too can re-create Steve’s keynote stunt with your own Envelope Sleeve.

If buying a MacBook Air didn’t empty your bank account, fear not. The stampede of related accessories is ravenously thundering toward you, ready to gobble up every spare dollar. Sure, that might seem cynical, especially since, as far as add-ons are concerned, a good laptop sleeve is usually considered money well spent.

InterOffice Mac’s Envelope Sleeve lands on the novelty side of the spectrum. It’s a vinyl sleeve in manila-envelope yellow that features a zippered closure, a hand-stitched button and red string detail on the opposite end, and light padding on the inside. The design is cute, but it misses the mark in its big footprint, measuring 14.5 by 11.1 inches. The actual Air is only 12.8 by 8.9 inches, so while it fits inside with room to spare, the sleeve takes up so much space in your laptop bag that you’ll lose much of the benefit of such a svelte computer. The vinyl also gave off that new-plastic smell for a few days—kind of a turn-off.

The bottom line. The Envelope Sleeve is a fun novelty, but if it doesn’t fit in your bag, you won’t be laughing.

COMPANY: InterOffice Mac

CONTACT: www.interofficemac.com

PRICE: $29.95

REQUIREMENTS: MacBook Air

Cute design with hand-stitched buttons. Padded interior. Zip closure.

Fairly large—measure the inside of your bag first.

Speck SeeThru

Susie Ochs — Thu, 15 May 2008 11:55:06 -0500

The sleek SeeThru adds barely any bulk, but a bit of weight

Speck’s SeeThru is a hard-shell case that snaps onto the top and bottom of the Air. The case leaves the ports and vents open, and doesn’t impede you from opening the Air past 90 degrees (for use with a laptop stand, for example). We liked how the clear version added a bit of shine to the Mac, and it also comes in smoky gray or bright pink. Although it adds barely any bulk, the SeeThru does increase the Air’s weight by 12.5 ounces—which feels significant since the Air is only 3 pounds by itself. Removal was easy, especially compared to the last SeeThru we tested, for the 15-inch MacBook Pro (3 out of 5 stars Mar/07, p68).

The bottom line. The SeeThru is thin enough to fit practically anywhere (even inside the Envelope Sleeve), and lets the real star—your MacBook Air—shine through.

COMPANY: Speck

CONTACT: www.speckproducts.com

PRICE: $49.95

REQUIREMENTS: MacBook Air

Thin plastic shell offers protection but leaves ports and vents open. Available in clear, smoke, and pink.

Adds 25 percent to your MacBook Air’s weight

Protect Your Notebook on The Road

Robert Strohmeyer — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 19:14:18 -0600

Your Apple notebook is a thing of beauty, so protect its looks—and shield its sensitive parts from damage—with the help of these accessories.

1. RadTech ScreenSavrz

As your ’Book bumps around in your bag, the keys can leave a permanent imprint on the screen. ScreenSavrz (from $9.95, www.radtech.us) cover your keys to prevent damage, and double as a polishing cloth.

2. iSkin ProTouch

The iSkin ProTouch ($24.99, www.iskin.com) is a thin membrane that keeps dirt, spills, and other crud from gumming up your keyboard and potentially destroying your computer.

3. Power Support Track Pad Film

Few parts of your notebook take as much friction as the trackpad. Track Pad Film (from $10, www.powersupportusa.com) reduces wear, and you can replace the film every so often to keep your machine looking like new.

4. Speck SeeThru

These colored plastic body plates ($49.95, www.speckproducts.com) cover your ‘Book but leave the ports open. Keep them on full-time, or just snap ’em on for traveling—but beware, it can be tricky to remove them.