Corel today announced a special pricing programme specifically for Creative Suite users looking for an alternative to Creative Cloud. CS users residing in North America can purchase CorelDRAW Graphics Suite, Painter, PaintShop Pro, VideoStudio Pro and AfterShot Pro at a special price (ranging up to 60% off the suggested retail price) until 30 August 2013. To experiment with the tools, features and workflow of Corel products, free 30-day fully functional trials can be downloaded from the website below.

ArcSoft has just released Photo+, a new photo viewer that promises "an unparalleled viewing and manipulating experience." Unlike other programs that require users to import photos directly into the software, Photo+ pulls directly from any folder or drive. By just dragging or selecting a single image, Photo+ automatically displays every image from the same folder without the constant closing and clicking that accompanies so many standard photo-viewing programs. ArcSoft Photo+ for Mac is compatible with 35 image file formats including a number of raw formats. The program will sell for $9.99 but is currently available from the Mac App Store for just $1.99.

Yahoo! has announced a major update to Flickr. "We’re releasing a Flickr that’s more spectacular, much bigger, and one you can take anywhere," the company said in a statement. Not only does Flickr sport a brand new look and redesigned user interface - it now offers up to 1TB of free storage to every user, allowing you to "share your photos in full resolution."  There’s also a new slideshow mode with elegant transitions, an Activity Feed that combines users' recent uploads with those of their contacts, and an option to choose a customisable cover photo and a high-resolution profile picture. These features are granted to every user but if you are bothered by advertisements, you can opt for an AdFree account at $49.99 per year. And if 1TB just isn't enough for your needs, a Doublr account will provide you with 2TB for an annual fee of $499.99.

The free Flickr smartphone app has also been updated, and is now available from the Google Play Store (requires Android 2.3.3 or higher).

Website: Flickr

Kuuvik Capture is a feature-laden Canon EOS tethering application for Mac OS X. In addition to offering a typical set of remote shooting tools, Kuuvik Capture provides real-time parametric sharpening coupled with an adjustable focus peaking overlay as well as various compositional aids such as preset and adjustable guidelines and grids. Other highlights include the capability to display a histogram based on raw image data and, with select cameras, a split-view display of the camera’s live view image, allowing simultaneous evaluation of focus and superior control over depth of field. Kuuvik Capture also supports exposure bracketing, which can be combined with an intervalometer function to shoot user-defined image sequences for HDR images or time-lapse videos. The application is licensed on a per camera basis, with prices starting at $79.99. A fully functional 30-day trial version is available from the website below.

proDAD has announced that its ProDrenalin software is now available to purchase. This all-in-one software application allows GoPro action/sports camera users to improve their videos by removing fisheye and perspective distortion, stabilising, correcting rolling-shutter distortion, de-noising, colour correction, and adjusting the brightness and contrast of the video. Supporting 2.7K and 4K resolutions, the program is also capable of rotating the video if the camera was accidentally mounted upside-down or at the wrong angle. ProDrenalin for Windows sells for £29.85..

The Tiffen Photo fx Ultra 5.0 iPad app has been named "Best Mobile Photo App of 2013" by the Technical Image Press Association (TIPA). "We are extremely proud to be honored by TIPA for Photo fx Ultra," comments Steve Tiffen, President and CEO, The Tiffen Company. "Unlike other awards that require a submission process, eligibility is based purely on a product's value in the marketplace, making the TIPA Awards one of the most coveted in the industry." The award-winning app is available for $4.99 through the iTunes App Store.

Corbis Images have launched Corbis CRAVE, a premium photo viewing iPad app and accompanying website. Basically, Corbis CRAVE is a digital boutique featuring expertly curated imagery from industry-leading commercial and editorial photographers. “Corbis CRAVE provides creative directors and art buyers a search and ideation experience tailored to their unique and specific needs whether they’re accessing the collection on their iPad or through the website,” said Edie Tobias, senior vice president of commercial products at Corbis. The CRAVE app is available as a free download from the iTunes App Store.

Digital Negative, an iOS app which captures uncompressed images that retain all of the information recorded by the camera sensor and saves them in DNG format, is now available in a dedicated iPad version. In addition to DNG, the Digital Negative HD app can also record high-quality JPG images or uncompressed TIFF files. Other interesting features include a real-time histogram, exposure compensation and shutter speed adjustments as well as flash, focus, and zoom controls. Digital Negative HD is available on iTunes for $2.99.

Bits & Coffee have released version 3.7 of BatchPhoto, which lets photographers enhance photos quickly and efficiently. New features in version 3.7 for Mac include the Enterprise edition with the new Monitor component, greatly improved speed for the annotate filters, updated user interface, and some additional improvements and fixes. BatchPhoto 3.7 runs on Mac OS X Mountain Lion (10.8), Lion (10.7), Snow Leopard (10.6) as well as Windows 8, 7, Vista, and XP. It comes in three editions: Home, Pro, and Enterprise priced at $34.95, $59.95 and $149.95, respectively.

Iridient Digital has released Iridient Developer 2.1 a major update to its critically acclaimed image processing software for Mac OS X. "This update features a total overhaul of the noise reduction functionality including three all new, state of the art, noise reduction methods along with optional auto noise adjustment levels based on ISO and other image parameters," says programmer Brian Griffith. The application now provides support for use of Apple's raw conversion libraries as an alternate raw conversion method and as a way to provide support for some unique camera models (such as Fuji's X-trans cameras) that Brian has not yet found the time to support with his own custom demosaic routines. A new monochrome conversion option, "Raw Colour Channel Mixer" has also been introduced, which provides direct colour mixing of the sensor colour planes direct from the demosaic process without any prior color conversion. Finally, the update adds support for 22 new camera models from a variety of manufacturers.

The judging panel of the Technical Image Press Association (TIPA) has honoured DxO Optics Pro 8 with this year's "Best Photo Software" award.  Jérôme Ménière, CEO of DxO Labs, states: “Being awarded the most coveted photo and image prize in the profession is a tremendous recognition for DxO Labs. It reinforces our goal to continue pushing the limits of image quality, while giving serious photographers the most successful tools for fully expressing their passion.”

Adobe presented a behind-the-scenes look at cutting-edge design and interactive technologies at Adobe MAX, The Creativity Conference. MAX Sneak Peeks offer a unique opportunity to see inside Adobe’s engineering labs and to preview new features during their early stage of development. Videos of the technology explorations spotlighted during the MAX Sneak Peeks, hosted by Rainn Wilson and special guest Mary Lynn Rajskub, with Ben Forta, director of Evangelism, Adobe, are available on YouTube.

Akvis has released version 3.5 of Refocus, a program for improving the sharpness of out of focus images and adding lens blur effects to your photos. Version 3.5 offers an advanced algorithm with improved image processing speed for the program's "Tilt-Shift" (miniature) and Iris Blur modes. The improvement is especially noticeable when using the larger values of the Blur parameter, the company says. Registered users of Refocus can upgrade to version 3.5 for free by downloading and installing the new version.

Harrisburg, Pennsylvania-based photographer Derek Schoffstall has started a petition urging Adobe to "restart development for Adobe Creative Suite 7," following the company's announcement that it had "no plans for future releases of Creative Suite or other CS products." Adobe has already decided that the newest iteration of Photoshop - called Adobe Photoshop CC - will be available exclusively to Creative Cloud members (although it did add that "Creative Suite 6 products will continue to be supported and available for purchase"). The petition, which has already been signed by more than 1500 photographers from around the world, argues that customers ought to "have a choice between either CC or the creative suite."

PhotoStitcher is a new easy-to-use tool for the combining of multiple overlapping pictures into a single ideally fitting panoramic image. Recently released by TeoreX. PhotoStitcher automatically addresses the entire scope of technical issues that can hinder the creation of stitched panoramics, including the proper alignment of images, distortion compensation and varying perspective. The program supports creation of horizontal, vertical and combined panoramic photos without any user input. PhotoStitcher is available for Windows XP or higher and for Mac OS X 10.6 or higher, priced at $19.99.

Adobe has unveiled the latest version of Photoshop, now dubbed "Adobe Photoshop CC." Adobe’s desktop apps, including Photoshop, were previously known as Creative Suite (CS), and will now be branded CC to reflect that they are an integral part of Creative Cloud. New features in Adobe Photoshop CC include a range of new tools offering "the most advanced deblurring and sharpening technologies to date," including Camera Shake Reduction and a reinvented Smart Sharpen tool, intelligent upsampling, Adobe Camera Raw 8, advanced 3D image editing capabilities, and much more. Adobe Photoshop CC will be available exclusively to Adobe Creative Cloud members, beginning June 2013. Creative Cloud membership for individuals is £38.12 (ex-VAT) per month based on annual membership; existing customers who own CS3 to CS5.5 get their first year of Creative Cloud at the discounted rate of £22.22 (ex-VAT) per month. Students and teachers can get Creative Cloud for £22.22 (ex-VAT) per month.

At Adobe MAX, Adobe announced a significant update to its Creative Cloud service. From June, Adobe Creative Cloud will be expanded with a set of CC desktop applications -- including Photoshop CC, InDesign CC, Illustrator CC, Dreamweaver CC and Premiere Pro CC -- and sophisticated cross-device collaboration and publishing capabilities. Adobe’s desktop tools, previously known as Creative Suite (CS), are now branded CC to reflect that they are an integral part of Creative Cloud and have been "reinvented to support a more intuitive, connected way of creating," the company says.

Adobe has no plans for future releases of Creative Suite or other CS products, the company has said in a statement. While Adobe Creative Suite 6 products will continue to be supported and available for purchase, Adobe says it will focus creative software development efforts on its Creative Cloud offering moving forward. “We launched Creative Cloud a year ago and it has been a runaway success,” said David Wadhwani, senior vice president and general manager, Digital Media, Adobe. “By focusing our energy -- and our talented engineers -- on Creative Cloud, we’re able to put innovation in our members’ hands at a much faster pace.” The company has already announced that the newest iteration of Photoshop - called Adobe Photoshop CC - will be available exclusively to Creative Cloud members.

DxO Labs have released DxO ViewPoint 1.2, the newest version of its software dedicated to correcting keystoning and volume anamorphosis. Version 1.2 provides a new feature that allows photographers to save the correction settings for any given image and to reapply them later, and includes more examples that show photographers how to choose and use the most appropriate tools for correcting their photos. This upgrade is free for all owners of DxO ViewPoint 1.0.

The Morpholio Project today unveiled seven new design tools for the creative world, with the launch of Morpholio 2.0. Originally initiated by a group of five architects and academics, the Morpholio Project opened to the public in December 2011. The new tools include Portfolio Futures, EyeTime, Crit, Trace, Palettes, Pinup and Printables. Click through / scroll down for the details, including a two-and-a-half-minute introductory video.