Author: Serkadis

This post is the second part of the two part-serie of the Top 25 Photoshop Tips. If you came straight to this article, no worries, you can find The Top 25 Photoshop Tips Part 1 here.
Enjoy Part 2!

13. Switching Channels

The Ctrl hotkey modifier, combined with the numbers from 0 to 4, will reveal the RGB – Red, Green, Blue – components of an image in an isolated fashion. The current selection is displayed beside the name of the document. The Ctrl + 0 hotkey activates the default rendering method, revealing all color channels of the image.

14. Transform Copy

The hotkey combination Ctrl + t grants access to the Free Transform command, yet, its more complicated sibling, Ctrl + Alt + t will automatically make a copy of the currently transformed selection and will amend the changes on the replica. This is an efficient method of keeping the original variant of a certain element, still being able to see how the Free Transformation would affect it.

15. Repeating Transformations

Ctrl + Shift + t will repeat the last transformation. Ctrl + Shift + Alt + t will yield the same result, but, on a copy of the transformed element.

16. Opacity Tests

The opacity of the current Layer can be adjusted by relying on the number keys 0 to 9, where 0 is full opacity. To gain precise control of the opacity, press the number keys quickly and the decimals will behave accordingly.

17. Merge All Visible

The hotkey combination Ctrl + Shift + Alt + e merges all visible Layers and renders them unto a fresh Layer. This gives you the opportunity to test out- or amend global changes on this Layer without modifying the original elements.

18. Hide All Palettes

The TAB key hides all the palettes and the toolbox, while the hotkey combination TAB + Shift hides all palettes but keeps the toolbox around.

19. The Full Screen Hotkeys

It is the hotkey f that grants access to the various full screen workspaces, with default layouts configurable to contain no interface elements at all. Using the f hotkey and the TAB + f hotkey combination, you can find the right amount of interface elements – including none of those.

20. Selecting Blend Modes

To cycle through the available Blend Modes of the active Layer, rely on the – and + keys, combined with the Shift modifier key. The Blend modes are accessible by their respective letter codes, as well. To invoke a Blend mode using a keyboard shortcut, use the hotkey combination Alt + Shift + the letter code for the Blend mode.

21. Fade

The Ctrl + Shift + f hotkey combination invokes the Fade dialog. This slider lets you control the opacity of the last edit you made.

22.  Eliminating Unwanted Matte

In case the color difference between the selection and its background is severe, it is common to end up with a slight black/white halo around the selection. Getting rid of these unwanted pixels manually can be troublesome, but it is worth knowing that there is a command in Photoshop to automate this process. To eliminate black or white matte, go to Layer – > Matting – > Remove Black/White Matte.

23. Filters Unleashed

In case you have applied a Filter on a Layer or on a selection, you can repeat that Filter using the Ctrl + f hotkey combination. If you want to change the settings of the Filter, use Alt + Ctrl + f whenever you want to dial in fresh values for the modification.

24. Invert Selections

Inverting a selection is an efficient method of selecting scattered elements of an image with a distinctive color difference to them, when compared to their surrounding. For example, if you have black text on a white background, it is easier to select the white portion of the image than it is to select the black letters consecutively. To select all the letters with minimal effort, first select the black portion of the image with the Magic Wand tool. Now everything is selected, except the letters. To invert this selection, so everything is selected except the current selection, use the hotkey combination Ctrl + Shift + i.

25. Placing Pixel Data into a Selection

If you have pixel data stored in your computer’s memory, you can paste that information into a selection region, using the Ctrl + Shift + v hotkey combination. To store the pixel data itself, you need to define the pixel region you want to store by relying on the Ctrl + c hotkey combination.

Related posts:

1. Top 25 Photoshop Tips – Part 1 This 2 part article offers 25 tips for Adobe Photoshop,…
2. Complex Manual Selections in Photoshop Photoshop comes with various selections tools you could utilize to…
3. Using Reuseable Borders in PhotoShop About In this tutorial I will continue where the previous…

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Since Sony brought a new and improved VAIO X, I have been wondering about how it compared to VAIO X505 in its dimensions as well as to some other slimmer small factor VAIOs I own. Current VAIO X is definitely another engineering breakthrough and its lightness impresses a lot of people who have asked me to check it out. I was at a meeting with it and my colleague picked it up and was so surprised because her paper pad weighed more than my VAIO X.

So far my initial impressions are positive. Keyboard is very responsive and there is a slight learning curve to it. VAIO X505 keyboard is very similar however it still has a different feel to it. As for the touchpad, I am still trying to figure out the touch pad with its multi touch functionality. The LED LCD is crisp and beautiful color reproduction compliments it a lot. I could definitely tell that the older VAIO X505 LCD screen is not as vibrant as this one, and again back in 2003 there was no XBrite LCD or LED backlit screens either. Thanks to 128 GB SSD VAIO X is speedy and applications respond quickly, I will be upgrading VAIO X505 soon to an SSD glory and it  will definitely bring a new breath of life to this aging piece of history.

One thing I have to mention that I did not like about the current VAIO X is its…. power cord! In my soon to be posted unboxing video I discussed how small the AC Adapter was, it is actually the smallest I have seen so far (VAIO W has also a similar one), however when I saw the ungodly thick power cord, I almost could not believe my eyes at first and thought I was supplied with a wrong cord.  Not really sure who thought of it and how it really contradicts the whole slimness concept and overall aesthetics.

Check out the video below and a number of pictures as well and see for yourself the evolution of VAIO X series. To be continued…

Here are a few more shots of VAIO TZ and VAIO W in the mix with VAIO X:

One of the pioneers of the memory based flashcarts for the Nintendo DS, the Superacard team has officially announced that they are now developing t…

If somehow you missed the opportunity to join the last  MAG beta and was still hoping to try out the highly anticipated online shooter of the g…

Just like last week, gold is rocking out of the gate, breaking $1160/oz for the first time. Astounding.

Join the conversation about this story »

See Also:

• With Gold Completely Out Of Whack, Silver Looks Better By The Day
• CHART OF THE DAY: How The Old Gold Bugs Lost Control Of Gold (GLD)
• Gold Spikes Again, Now Nearing $1150 (GLD)

Filed under: Performance, SUV, Europe, MISC

Fornasari, the independent purveyor of exotic sport-utes, has been in the game since before Porsche came along with the Cayenne, but despite its blend of Italian craftsmanship with American muscle, the three-door body-style of the Fornasari RR450 and RR600 relegated the quirky exotic truck to the fringe. Now Fornasari, has come back with its first proper (or not) five-door SUV.

Dubbed the RR99, the latest from the Creazzo-based automaker is some 25cm longer than its three-door predecessors, but thanks to a lightweight tube frame, it weighs only 1850 kg (just over 4000 lbs), significantly less than competing performance SUVs. This despite the six-liter General Motors V8 sitting up front, which Fornasari says it has optimized for near-50/50 weight distribution, driving 610 horsepower to all four wheels with a 40/60 rear-biased torque split via limited slip differential and six-speed Borg Warner transmission.

Wheels are available up to 23 inches, packing optional Brembo brakes mounted to F1-style triangular suspension. But the most ambitious figures come down to the performance: Fornasari claims its exotic sport-ute can rocket to 62 mph in just 3.8 seconds en route to a 174 mph top end. Those are eyebrow-raising numbers, and if the RR99, with substantially-improved styling over its oddball predecessors (upon which we reported three years ago), can actually come anywhere near those projections, count us among the flabbergasted.

[Source: Fornasari via Italiaspeed]

Fornasari intros five-door RR99 performance SUV originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 22 Nov 2009 20:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: Recalls, Ferrari

We see all sorts of recall notices here at Autoblog. Most of them affect ordinary passenger vehicles, but nearly all of them get cleared up the first time around. So this is a bit of a first: Ferrari North America and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration have issued a second recall notice to correct a problem on the F355 that should have been addressed with the initial recall issued 12 years ago.

The concern apparently centers around the fuel delivery system, which initially prompted a recall back in 1997. The original repair should have corrected the issue, but if the “independent automobile repair facilities” that performed the service on many of the cars didn’t properly install the new screw clamps, they could have damaged the fuel hoses, which in turn could cause smoke or even an engine fire. New fuel divider blocks should (hopefully) fix the issue this time around, which affects some 2,356 F355s and F355 F1s manufactured between 1995 and 1999. Full details in the recall notice at NHTSA.

[Source: NHTSA]

Ferrari F355 recalled over fuel system concerns… again originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 22 Nov 2009 19:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Here is an interesting rumour. TheMobileNinjas.com is reporting that Telus, who has recently launched a new HSDPA network with Bell, is set to re-release the HTC Touch Pro 2 in its GSM/HSDPA version.

While the current CDMA HTC Touch Pro 2 of course is GSM/HSDPA capable, a device targeted at the GSM market should have video calling, absent from the CDMA device.

Hopefully gaining a video conferencing camera will not mean losing the 3.5 mm headphone jack.

Read more at TheMobileNinjas.com here.

Filed under: Motorsports, Hirings/Firings/Layoffs

Reports circulating the motorsport press indicate that USF1 has signed a provisional contract with Argentine driver Jose Maria Lopez to drive for the new team next season. The arrangement, however, depends on Lopez bringing with him $8 million in sponsorship dollars, of which the young South American reportedly already has 80% in his coffers.

Lopez has experience in formula racing, but has been off the radar for a few years now. After competing in Formula Renault and Formula 3000, Lopez drove a couple of seasons in the GP2 series and even ran some test sessions for Renault F1 . After that, he returned to Argentina, where he competed in local touring cars and in a few international sports car races.

Only a few months ago, USF1 team principal Peter Windsor said the team would absolutely not take on a driver purely on these financial criteria alone, but after balancing their budget, the nascent American grand prix team has apparently decided otherwise. Meanwhile, the team is said to be considering a number of F1 veterans for the second seat, with a 12-name short list that reportedly includes such names as Villeneuve, Montagny and de la Rosa. So much for nurturing American talent.

[Source: Autosport and F1-Live]

REPORT: USF1 signs pay-drive deal with Jose Maria Lopez originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 22 Nov 2009 19:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Paul Krugman continues his assault on the national debt worryworts, posting this chart, and noting:

If these countries can run up debts of more than 100 percent of GDP without being destroyed by bond vigilantes, so can we.

Indeed, betting that any developed country, such as, say, Japan, would default on its debt and get crushed has been a fool’s bet for years.

Anyway, let’s hope that since nothing bad has ever happened, that it won’t.

Join the conversation about this story »

See Also:

• Saturday Night Live Rips Obama Over China Trip, Spending, And The Deficit
• The National Debt Just Broke $12 Trillion
• The Japanese Bond Market May Really Be Ready To Collapse

The French timekeeper BRM is well known to the car world – and not because it happens to share its name with the 1962 F1 championship team – but because of its motorsport-inspired mechanical timepieces. For Abarth, BRM has tweaked its titanium-cased V12-T-44 chronograph with some unique Scorpion-brand touches, from the logo on the watch face and the chrome hands to the Nomex strap with red stitching. They’ll only be making 49 examples, each individually numbered and selling exclusively through the BRM website for a handsome €4,900 (about $7,300). Details in the press release after the jump.

[Source: Abarth]

Continue reading Abarth’s Race Against Time: BRM V12-T-44 Chronograph

Abarth’s Race Against Time: BRM V12-T-44 Chronograph originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 22 Nov 2009 18:38:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

2009Nov22: East Antarctica has been losing 57 billion tons of ice mass per year for the last three years, according to data from NASA’s Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (Grace) mission. The study, which was led by Jianli Chen from the Centre for Space Research at the University of Texas in Austin, appears in the journal Nature Geoscience (BBC).

Reference: BBC http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/8371773.stm

Image Description: Antarctic Ice Sheet. Credit: Ben Holt Sr., GRACE team, DLR, NASA. Image Location: http://www.csr.utexas.edu/grace/gallery/other/misc/iceberg.html Image Permission: This file is in the public domain because it was created by NASA.

 

   +   

read the last paragraph – NYT: With FHA Help, Easy Loans in Expensive Areas; Barney Frank Pushes for Permanent Higher Limits – Approaching $1 Million – Posted by TraderMark – Fund My Mutual Fund

and
more on no money down – The Magic of the F.H.A. – Kid Dynamite’s World

————

   +  

Delinquent Mortgages Equal to Three Times A Balanced For-Sale Inventory – Michael David White – A Flood Will Humble Thee – Eight million homes with delinquent mortgages represent a staggering 300% of the normal supply of existing homes for sale. With 3.63 million units now on the market, one million above the long-term average, an inundation of foreclosures represents a fatal death blow capable of inflicting brutal damage on the largest financial market in the world. – New Observations

great charts – Property Values Will Likely Fall 14% From Current Level  – Mike White – An average of three major indexes on residential property values suggests prices will fall 14% from their current level. – New Observations

————

Wells Fargo Dominates Ginnie Mae Servicing Market – Wells Fargo dominates the market for servicing securities issued by Ginnie Mae with a portfolio of $215 billion, according to figures compiled by National Mortgage News and the Quarterly Data Report. Bank of America is second with $189 billion, meaning the two banks account for 48% of the Ginnie Mae market, Mortgage Servicing News reports. – Emii.com

————

Tax Servicing – Front-End Tax Relief Pays Back-End Dividends – BY LORI ESHOO – … As we know, a key area of struggle – and opportunity – is bulk processing of loan modifications. Savvy servicers are recognizing that tax servicing is one facet of this effort that truly represents a double-edged sword. This article outlines tips to help servicers use this sword to gain an edge without getting cut. … – Mortgage Orb

————

Obama mortgage rescue: Only a few get lasting help – By Tami Luhby – … Fewer than 5% of the trial modifications on loans owned or guaranteed by Freddie Mac were converted to long-term adjustments as of Sept. 30, according to the mortgage finance giant.  Looking more broadly, the figures are even lower. As of Sept. 1, only 1.26% of all trial adjustments were made permanent after three months, reported the Congressional Oversight Panel,… – CNNMoney.com

————

Reverse Mortgages – Fannie Mae Pricing Brings More Diverse Investor Base – Neil J. Morse – …  The “big story” in secondary marketing for HECMs is Fannie Mae, adds Cates. “They were the market for most of 2007 and 2008 and early-2009,” he notes. But, now, “other investors are re-engaging in that market as Fannie has reduced their prices to competitive levels and stopped supporting it … – Reverse Mortgage Daily

————

Hiring Boom in Mortgage Restructuring – By KYLE STOCK – … Four of the largest mortgages servicers — Bank of America Corp., Citigroup Inc., J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. and Wells Fargo & Co. — have collectively hired almost 17,000 people this year, mostly to work with financially ailing homeowners. With the number of defaults rising, many are planning to keep adding staff. … – Wall Street Journal

————

U.S. mortgage rates sink to or near all-time lows – By Lynn Adler – U.S. fixed mortgage rates sank to or near record lows last week, home funding company Freddie Mac said on Thursday, adding incentive for refinancing and home purchases.  The average 30-year home loan rate fell 0.08 of a percentage point to 4.83 percent, on the brink of the all-time low of 4.78 percent set in April, based on Freddie Mac records dating back to 1971. – Reuters

————

Record Delinquencies – Delinquencies Continue to Climb in Latest MBA National Delinquency Survey – The delinquency rate for mortgage loans on one-to-four-unit residential properties rose to a seasonally adjusted rate of 9.64 percent of all loans outstanding as of the end of the third quarter of 2009, up 40 basis points from the second quarter of 2009, and up 265 basis points from one year ago, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) National Delinquency Survey. The non-seasonally adjusted delinquency rate increased 108 basis points from 8.86 percent in the second quarter of 2009 to 9.94 percent this quarter. – MBA Press Release

————

Mortgage Servicers Have Financial Incentives To Let Your Loan Go To Foreclosure – Leon Williams – The Sacramento Press

————

Freddie Mac Predicts Modest Housing Recovery – BRITTANY DUNN – … More specifically, the company is expecting a 13 percent increase in total one-family detached home sales, which would result in 5.5 million units during 2010. This increase, Freddie Mac says, is attributed to buyers who are hunting for bargains in a time of such affordable housing … – DSNews.com

————

Going Delinquent – By David Urani – A friendly reminder that housing is still in the gutter – Wall Street Strategies at Wstreet.com

Filed under: SUV, Marketing/Advertising, Toyota, Off-Road

Said the executive creative director of the 2010 Toyota 4Runner media campaign: “This is the last authentic SUV. All the rest have gone suburbia.” By “authentic” he means dirt, surf, wilds, and maybe bears, and to show you how to get there, Toyota has rolled out the Toyota Trail Tracker.

A social media tool and soon-to-be mobile app, the trail tracker allows you to find and upload info on trails across the United States. And it isn’t just for wild, rocky hellholes either (that’s the 4Runner on the Rubicon Trail above) — you can upload and find scenic drives and fire roads that lead to great surfing spots.

If you want the world to know what you did when you got there — or how you manged to get out — you can post photos and video to the site, as well as upload GPS data. The Trail tracker website is live now, with about 29 trails nationwide at the time of this writing. It’s intriguing that one of the vehicles that led SUVs out of the wilds and into suburbia is now playing the Pied Piper to lure folks back into the woods. At least now maybe we’ll get to see what it’s really got.

[Source: Marketing Daily]

Toyota blends social media and trail search tool in 4Runner marketing blitz originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 22 Nov 2009 18:06:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Everyone knows that the price of property is down right now, but paying less taxes on that property? Unheard of.

Except now, even sunny-side city tax assesors are forced to admit that yes, maybe, times are bad, and thus property owners ought not to pay as much as they were at the peak. Maybe.

SF Chronicle: Trophy buildings, including One Market Plaza, Bank of America Center, Crocker Galleria, the Marriott Marquis, the Westin St. Francis and One Sansome Street, lead the list of more than 1,000 commercial properties in San Francisco asking to have their property taxes slashed.

Collectively, those office towers, hotels, shopping centers and apartment buildings have an assessed value of $21.25 billion – but their owners say they’re worth about half that amount. If those claims stand, that could wipe $115.78 million off the property taxes the city collects. Residential appeals could erase another $13.47 million in property tax revenue.

San Francisco Assessor-Recorder Phil Ting usually scoffs at building owners’ claims, but now admits they may have more validity. Read the whole thing >

Meanwhile, if you’re a tenant in one of these — or many other — buildings seeking property tax relief, you should make sure you’re agitating for a cut.

Square Feed: As a tenant, it is also smart to have language within your lease that forces the landlord to seek property tax reductions, particularly if you are an anchor or sole tenant. In addition, many office are gross leases and as such contain a provision whereby the tenant is responsible for increases over the base year expenses.

What happens when the operating expenses fall? That is why tenants should seek the benefit of decreases as well, otherwise a tenant may be responsible for increases over the base year, but not see any of the benefits that result from a decrease.

And back on the government for a second…this is partly why even a balanced budget can be thrown off a mere few months after being passed. What the government is given, the government will spend, and more. So raising taxes is merely a short term solution unless there is legislation that forces the government to build and maintain a rainy day fund which can only be used to offset a fall in property values and income taxes.

And on down the deflationary spiral we go…

Join the conversation about this story »

See Also:

• The Court System Deals The Commercial Real Estate Death Blow
• Sam Zell Slams Wilbur Ross, Calls Him A Commercial Real Estate Wannabe
• Michael Panzner: Commercial Real Estate Is A "Tsunami Unfolding"

  We recently received an email with:

Last week I received my HTC HD2, I have encountered several problems & wonder
if you can help me with any of them:

So, lets see what we can do to help the issues!

I like to customise my sounds for messages received etc.  Normally you would copy audio files to the windows directory. When you plug into PC, you cannot view windows folder.  To copy & paste, you normally click at the end of the list to be able to paste.  Where you cannot use a stylus you cannot do this as the gap for fingers is too small.  How can I get around this?

You have to hit menu, edit and then paste. This isn’t quite as fast, but does at least work. To display \Windows you need to make sure you’ve enabled viewing system/hidden files on your desktop.

Secondly I like to use Phone keypad as my writing tool.  Depending on whether you are in email, messages, opera, or anywhere else it does not always display phone keypad & other switches off t9.

In the browser, T9 is disabled as Opera should handle that. It does the same whilst typing the address in HTC Messaging, and without Outlook I guess it switches to QWERTY to make the letter by letter searching faster, you’ll just have to get used to it I think…

The HD2 does not have the voice speed dials like the HD.  This was great, can it be downloaded anywhere?

It certainly can be downloaded, there’s MS Voice Commander and Cyberon Voice Speed Dial, which have been extracted from ROMs, though I’m not sure whether we can post cabs here for licensing reasons…

When changing ringtones, testing the sounds is not easy for selection.

If you go to the Settings tab in Sense, and then "Sound & Display" within each of the popups for notifications, ringtone etc, simply hitting the sound you want to play should give you a preview.

It is not easy to end tasks & a long process to get to task manager.  You cannot select this as a program shortcut, is there a way around this?

You can manually go to \Windows, find TaskMgr.exe and then create a shortcut to it under \Windows\Start Menu\Programs, or I can whip up a cab in a second.

When I use youtibe, it often will not work saying unable to find vidoes.  I have ended my internet connection & started program again with no success. Rebooting does nto help.

This may well be a service provider issue, some networks (T-Mobile UK for example) block YouTube. One possibly fix is to disable Proxy settings for the connection. (Settings->Menu->All Settings->Connections->Connections->Manage Proxy…. Uncheck the "This network uses a…" box)

Finally, it should play avi files, I have been unsuccessful with this.

You may need a third party player such as CorePlayer or TCPMP. My HD2 doesn’t support AVI natively either… Alternatively, there is the Touch HD Video Encoder that can be found here (I’m in the process of making something similar for HD2 only…

Hope that lot helps both the person that sent in the email, and anyone else who’s getting frustrated at their HD2!

If anyone else has any questions regarding the HD2, drop me a line and I’ll see what I can do!

Its been a long wait, but the Windows Mobile 6.5 powered HTC Touch Pro 2 is now available on US Cellular.

The carrier is the last major network in US to carry the device.

The CDMA smartphone will be $199 on a two year contract after a $70 mail in rebate.

Read more at US Cellular’s page here.