A new incarnation of Cooliris, the free plug-in that transforms your browser into an interactive and infinite 3D Wall of content, has just been released. Version 1.11 changes the way Cooliris interacts with you “in some really fundamental but really important ways”, the company says. A big change is that Cooliris now features tabbed browsing. This enables you to run multiple instances of the app, and lets you jump freely between Cooliris, other tabs, and desktop programs such as email clients and iTunes. Furthermore, full-screen is now an option rather than a default, allowing you to make Cooliris your centerpiece or just another window. The new version can be downloaded from www.cooliris.com for Firefox (Windows, Mac, Linux) and Internet Explorer. A beta version for Safari (Mac) is also available.

1clickactions have released their latest set of Photoshop actions for photographers, called 1clickPRO. Using a combination of traditional actions and javascript, 1clickPRO offers a higher degree of versatility and control than has previously been available, the company says. The 1clickPRO series is compatible with Photoshop CS2 and later on both Windows and Macs and is available now from http://www.1clickactions.com.

Adobe today released the final Photoshop Lightroom 2.4 and Camera Raw 5.4 updates. Both updates bring additional raw file support to 31camera and camera back models including the Canon EOS 500D, Nikon D5000. In addition, Adobe released an update to its Digital Negative specification. DNG 1.3 now includes opcodes, a defined list of operations and their parameters for performing complex activities in the raw file conversion process. By utilising opcodes, photographers can maintain the advantages of raw mosaic data, giving them increased opportunity to improve their photographs with the maximum amount of image data preserved. The Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 2.4 update is available as a free download for existing Lightroom 2 customers and Camera Raw 5.4 is available as a free download for existing customers of Photoshop CS4, Photoshop Elements 7, Premiere Elements 7 and Photoshop Elements 6 for Mac. Click through / read on for the full list of newly supported cameras and backs.

Website: Lightroom 2.4 & ACR 5.4 Updates
Website: DNG Specification

AKVIS Software Inc has just announced the update of AKVIS ArtSuite to version v.5.0. The program can be used as an independent application (standalone) and as a plug-in to a photo editor. The standalone version offers new Hand Painted Photo Frames. These frames have been designed by artists specially for ArtSuite. Also new to version 5.0: new interface design; improved compatibility of the plugin with Photoshop CS3, CS4 on Macintosh computers; improved texture generation options in the Texture effect; new interface language added - Italian. The AKVIS ArtSuite Plugin sells for $49 USD; AKVIS ArtSuite Standalone for $69. Upgrade to version v5.0 is free for registered users of older versions.

Casio has released EX-F1 Controller 1.000, a new Windows program that allows Casio EX-F1 owners to control their camera from a Windows PC via USB. This software provides the following capabilities:

- Control of your EX-F1 camera from a computer connected to the computer with the USB cable that comes with the camera.
- Computer-control of High Speed Continuous Shutter, High Speed Movie, Interval Recording, and more.

In order to enable computer-control an EX-F1 camera, you must first update the camera with special firmware (Version 2.00) included in the download file. Note that updating the firmware of your camera to Version 2.00 will cause your camera to lose its ability to display messages in Russian.

Website: EX-F1 Controller 1.000 Software Download

The makers of Flip Video have announced the latest version of their on-board FlipShare software that allegedly makes sharing personal video easier than ever before. FlipShare now gives users the ability to publish personal video channels online with Flip Channels, in addition to easy uploading to popular sites like MySpace and YouTube. The new version of FlipShare software will begin shipping as the on-board software for all Flip Video camcorders as of June 16, 2009. The software can also be downloaded for free by visiting www.theflip.com.

Nik Software today announced that its Complete Collection, which bundles all of the company’s digital imaging software tools, is now also available as a Lightroom Edition. The Complete Collection for Photoshop has been updated to include Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 2 support as well and also includes installers for Adobe Photoshop and Apple Aperture. Current registered owners of the Photoshop versions of Nik Software products can download and install the Lightroom compatible versions free of charge at www.niksoftware.com/lightroom. For new users the bundle costs €299-95 incl. German VAT and is available from Nik Software and through specialty camera retailers..

A new iPhone app debuting today instantly turns photos taken on an iPhone into personalised postcards—and then prints, stamps, and mails them for you. Created by HazelMail, the app is free to download, and comes with a credit for one free postcard. HazelMail also launched a feature that allows users to pre-purchase a dozen postcards for $12 (vs. $1.50 per individual postcard) in order to avoid the hassle of entering credit card information while atop the Eiffel Tower or Great Wall of China. In addition, a personal address book feature enables travelers to easily access the addresses of friends and family no matter where they are in the world. To ensure that postcards get to their destinations quickly, HazelMail utilises a global network of printers based in North America, South America, Europe and Asia which print and deliver postcards from the location closest to the recipient. To download the app and start sending postcards from your iPhone, go to www.hazelmail.com/iphone.

Hasselblad have released version 1.2 of Phocus, their software solution for tethered shooting, image export and processing. The new version offers increased speed, new navigator and gray scale tools, improved viewer sharpness and improved print functionality.The Windows version is coming later this month, featuring the same functionality as Phocus 1.2 for the Mac platform.

Magix has released Photo & Videoshow Premium Sounds 5, a collection of diverse sound files that can be used for audio dubbing. Audio dubbing is the process of adding sounds and music to videos and slideshows, which underlines the overall effect of the movie or show. With Photo & Videoshow Premium Sounds, Magix offers private users the possibility to add professional sounds to their projects, particularly to those that are difficult to record outdoors. To complement the Photo & Videoshow Premium Sounds collection, Magix offers Video & Photo Soundpool, a compilation of several instrumental soundtracks. Photo & Videoshow Premium Sounds costs £19.99 including VAT.

Unified Color has announced an upgrade to its imaging software, HDR PhotoStudio Version 2.12 improves the product features and incorporates new operations of colour tone equalizer, colour tuning and white balance. Moreover, the new HDR merge works directly with TIFF and JPEG files. The price of the program is $149.99, and there is a 30-day free trial available from http://www.unifiedcolor.com/.

Reallusion, creators of 3D and facial animation software CrazyTalk, have announced the release of CrazyTalk 6. Highlights of the new version include a newly enhanced facial fitting technology which enables more natural head rotation animation and smooth facial performance for animals, comics, robots, anime, machines, humans etc; multi-actor animation; digital actors for moviemaking, an interactive camera and direct upload to YouTube and publishing to social networks, blogs and websites. CrazyTalk 6 Standard costs £34.99, while the pro version will set you back £109.99 including VAT.

Idruna has announced version 6 of Pocket Phojo, its Windows Mobile software for real time digital photography transmission. Currently in use by newspapers, news agencies, military, and police forces around the world, Pocket Phojo can have a photo transmitted from anywhere in the world to where it is needed within moments of it being taken. Versioon 6 adds support for the newly announced Eye-Fi Pro card and comes loaded with new features. Pocket Phojo is available now from http://www.idruna.com/pocketphojo.html

DxO Labs have released their new DxO Optics Pro version 5.3.4, which adds support to the Canon EOS 500D, Fujifilm S100FS, Nikon D5000, Pentax K200 and K-m, Sony A200 and A300 cameras. With these seven new models DxO Optics Pro 5.3.4 adds 155 new DxO Optics Correction Modules and now supports more than 1,400 camera body/lens combinations. The release of DxO Optics Pro 5.3.4 is accompanied by the publication of RAW sensor data and DxOMark Sensor rankings for the Canon EOS 500D and the Nikon D5000 on the dxomark.com website, along with reviews for both.

Website: DxOMark

Photodex Corporation has released the ProShow StylePack Volume 2, a new collection of pre-made slide enhancements for use in ProShow Producer slide shows. The ProShow StylePack Volume 2 features 25 new styles, including styles like Old Film Projector, Slot Machine, Merge Madness and Blow Out Cascade. The product is available now for $19.95 from www.photodex.com.

AKVIS Software has released AKVIS SmartMask v.2.5, an image selection and masking plugin for Windows and Mac platforms.  Version 2.5 makes the eyedropper tools more flexible; adds new interface languages (French and Portuguese) and improves compatibility with Photoshop CS3,CS4 on Macintosh. Upgrade for registered users is free. AKVIS SmartMask sells for $120.00 USD. Upgrade to version 2.5 is free for registered users of earlier versions.

Apple has released a Digital Camera Raw Compatibility Update along with updates to the iLife Support software and three iLife ‘09 applications. The Digital Camera Raw Compatibility Update adds support for the Canon EOS 500D, the Nikon D5000 and the Olympus E-30 (pictured). The iLife Support update (version 9.0.3) improves the stability of the Media Browser, addresses certain compatibility issues and contains some additional, minor fixes. iPhoto 8.0.3 embeds GPS co-ordinates in emailed photos and exported JPEGs, improves slideshow playback and fixes a few other issues. iMovie version 8.0.3 adds AVCHD Lite support, while iDVD version 7.0.4 addresses general compatibility issues.

Website: Apple Support Downloads

Viewbook.com has released a plugin for Adobe Lightroom2, allowing professional photographers to deliver presentations with ease. Photographers that use Adobe Lightroom2 can now export their images directly to Viewbook.com and create professional online presentations instantly from their Lightroom2 library. At export, Viewbook automatically creates two sizes for web and converts the photos to sRGB for optimum display in browsers. The originals are stored untouched and can be used for visual high-resolution client delivery. Photos in Viewbook can be simply added to portfolios, to project sites or promotional widgets in a few easy clicks.

Website: viewbook.com

Camera Bits has announced that it had surpassed the milestone of 35,000 licenses sold of its Photo Mechanic software and released Version 4.6.1. Photo Mechanic is a photo browser and workflow solution that is claimed to be the most popular photo editing software used by educational institutions, the U.S. military, photojournalists and major newspapers and news organizations including The Associated Press. With Photo Mechanic, users can read the images from a memory card, flatten the directory structure, apply IPTC metadata, create a backup on a separate disk and rename files – all in a single step. The original software was released more than 10 years ago, whilst Version 4 has been available for exactly six years, the company says. Version 4.6.1 incorporates many improvements and fixes to the new features of version 4.6 including Live Ingest, embedded GPS coordinates in photos individually or in a batch using GPS log files, new upload templates, a Convert RAW to DNG command, a loupe tool and file upload status indicators in the Contact Sheet view and an auto-advance after tagging feature in the Preview window. A full license of Photo Mechanic is available starting at $150, while upgrades to existing owners start at $90.

Website: Camera Bits Store

Blurb has just announced the release of Blurb BookSmart 2.0, and introduced its new 12x12 Large Square book offering, available immediately. BookSmart 2.0 includes many new features that give creative professionals full control in the customisation of their book layouts, down to the pixel. The introduction of flexible containers allows bookmakers to control the size, location, layers and content type of all elements on the page. Precision tool bars, gridlines for quick visual guidance, and the ability to save designed pages as custom layouts for reuse all elevate the bookmaking experience and offer extended flexibility for advanced users and consumers alike. Blurb BookSmart 2.0 is available for download immediately at www.blurb.com.