Gadgetell Quick Review: Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 2

What is it?

Lightroom 2 is a program for Windows and Mac OS X designed to help organize, streamline, and develop your photos. It costs $99 for the upgrade from Lightroom 1 or $299 for first time buyers.

Pros:

Easy to use thanks to clean and organized interface.Imports all of your files using your preexisting directory structure.Works with a wide variety of file formats.

Cons:

Does not allow pixel editing. Requires another program for that task.Initial use can be frustrating and can cause loss of work.

Does it hit the mark?

Yes. Lightroom 2 definitely lived up to all of my expectations. It’s easy to see that this program would be extremely popular with anyone working in the art or ad industry, or someone who does batch work with photos. The program allows for very controlled editing and is remarkably easy to use.

For the full review, click “More.”

Think of how many people have become very used to the ease of having TiVo. And now, it’s going to be available for your computer as well. Nero and TiVo are working together to launch LiquidTV, which basically is TiVo, just for a computer.

You’ll still get many of the same basic functions you know and love on regular TiVo. You can watch live or recorded TV. You are able to burn videos to DVD if your PC has a DVD burner. As long as your LiquidTV is networked with other TiVo boxes you have in your house, it even plays nice with those.

Updated: 9/25/2008. Memeo has announced the launch of Memeo Share 1.0, MemeoPhoto and a public preview of Memeo Share for the Mac. The services allow families and friends to share photos and video directly via PC, Mac, or the iPhone. It works by allowing users to set up “Sharing Circles” with the people they want to share with. Once completed Memeo Share runs in the background, automatically sending and receiving media and posting them to a private web gallery. This eliminates the hassles that come with emailing large image and video files.

The media is shared buy simply dragging and dropping from the desktop to the desired Sharing Circle. The photos and videos can be rated and commented on, and the application provides notification of all sharing activities. Members can choose what types of media they want to share or receive through filters based on media type, size, or rating. Memeo Share remembers users preferences once they are set.

Let’s say you are trying to attract potential dates on your social networking site and for some reason, you photograph poorly. We’ve found software that claims it is the solution for you. Portrait Professional allows those non-skilled in Photoshop access to some filters that can remove wrinkles, whiten teeth, change eye color, hair color, etc. Save yourself an explanation of why you look nothing like your Facebook photo when you use your photo and this software for about five minutes.

Yeah, but I kinda know Photoshop

As a self-taught Photoshop junkie, I can accomplish just about most of what is offered in Portrait Professional. The difference then? It would take me a couple of hours to accomplish what they do in about five minutes. Don’t get me wrong, my Photoshop work would probably look better, but not by that much. And since my time is worth over $200 an hour (looking at you, new Editor Iyaz), this software could save you a bundle.

Try before you buy

I tried the free download and while I love try before you buy…

Find out what I didn’t like, hit the jump and read on