Adobe Photoshop Express – Free for Windows 8

It’s true, Windows 8 is still lacking a little bit in the apps department. But when awesome apps that do what you need them to do come to Windows 8, and they’re free, they deserve a little attention. Now, I know, kiddies, it’s not Instagram, but Adobe Photoshop Express has been released for the Windows 8 Store. You can use great features to clean up your photos quckly, save them, and share them from within the app. It’s got a lot of built in filters, what this app calls Looks.

Lots of very responsive and simple to use sliders for adjusting brightness, contrast, color saturation, hue, and all of those usual photo-editing knobs you can twist and turn all day long. The picture above is a scanned in photo from the 80’s, it’s me at around age 3 or 4 – I applied one of hte Looks that it shows below and viola, I could put this bad boy on the internet and look just as hip as the cool kids.

Alright, so it’s not quite as fancy as you might like, but you’re getting top level software, the pieces you need, and you’re getting them for free. It’s simple to use and a great addition to the Windows 8 Store catalog. Go ahead and download Adobe Photoshop Express.

#XboxReveal – just a couple of details of the Xbox One

Here are some key points from today’s Microsoft announcement:

  • Name: Xbox One
  • Snap Mode (multi tasking)
  • App Switching
  • Live TV Integration
  • Gesture and Voice Controls (Kinect sensor included)
  • Skype on the Xbox
  • USB 3.0, Bluray, 8GB RAM, 500GB hard drive,
  • Kernel of Windows
  • Halo TV Series
  • NFL Partnership
  • Call of Duty Ghosts
  • Price unannounced
  • Release date unannounced (later this year)

Wired Magazine has a nice spread of press photos of the new console and controllers.

Will #XboxReveal mention Windows 8?

Tuesdays are my tech articles, and I admit I’m behind on a few articles over the last few days, but I had to pop in and remind people that the #XboxReveal is today. You’ll be able to watch it live at Xbox.com/Hub. I’m also interested to see what Microsoft does.

There will be a new console, but I’m almost wishing they would blow people’s minds and say no box! “Xbox” should become a service on the PC, comparable to Steam. And I don’t mean the “Xbox for Windows” games that we see in the Windows 8 Store, but really an environment that you load in to, much like the Games app, but from there it exists as its own platform, and any game available on the console, is available on the PC. Okay, I highly doubt that will happen, but there needs to be some kind of seamless integration among the Windows 8/RT, Windows Phone, and Xbox platforms – and I hope they give some great detail on that today. E3, next month, June 10th, will talk about the games. Today? I’m expecting some general media and entertainment information.

I plan on having some follow up comments on this later today or tonight, and I promise I’ll bring back some regular posts to the website, but I’ve had some hectic days, lately, and I don’t expect things to calm down – but I assure you, I’ll make time for you folks!

Spider-Man games: is it just me?

Call it a guilty pleasure, but there is something about Spider-Man games that I just can’t get enough of. Spider-Man games have always had a certain “free-roaming” quality to them. Even the platformers like Maximum Carnage on the Super Nintendo, which was a “Beat’em Up” in the vein of Final Fight or Double Dragon. But you still had the feeling that you could move more freely. And the web-slinging has been down-pat and accurate since Spider-Man debuted on the Atari 2600.

The most modern revisions have tempted me in to playing each iteration. Spider-Man 3 and Spiderman: Friend or Foe gave you a huge sandbox to play in. Spider-Man: Web of Shadows gave the game a darker, grittier feel, similar to the X-Men Origins: Wolverine game. Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions allowed you to experience Spider-Man spin-off characters who have never had their own games before. I plan to continue that theme in Spider-man: The Edge of Time before moving on to the latest movie tie-in game, The Amazing Spider-Man.

I, for one, can’t wait to sling webs around giant open worlds, free fall, and catch myself with a quick tap of the trigger. These games are fun, and I spend more time exploring than “playing the game.” Call me crazy, but I’m glad they just keep coming – and, of the titles I’ve played, at least, they just seem to keep getting better!