Adobe Releases Beta Version of Photoshop CS3 & CSS Advisor

"Adobe Systems Incorporated (Nasdaq:ADBE) will introduce a beta version of Adobe® Photoshop® CS3 software, the next release of the world standard in digital imaging, on Friday, December 15th. Adobe is delivering a widely available Photoshop CS3 beta to enable customers to more easily transition to the latest hardware platforms, particularly Apple's new Intel-based systems. The beta is available as a Universal Binary for the Macintosh platform, as well as for Microsoft® Windows® XP and Windows Vista computers. The final shipping release of Adobe Photoshop CS3 is planned for Spring 2007. The software can be downloaded at: http://labs.adobe.com , in the early hours Pacific Standard Time on December 15."

Check out this article, it suggests that you'll need a CS2/CS serial number to use the beta. Also, there's a note about a CSS forum for designers to reference, see www.adobe.com/go/cssadvisor.

UPDATE: Here's a cool sneak peak video:

New Packaging for Windows Vista and 2007 Office System Announced

"With Windows Vista and 2007 Office system, we didn't just redesign the software packages themselves, but are also introducing new packaging for the two products... Designed to be user-friendly, the new packaging is a small, hard, plastic container that’s designed to protect the software inside for life-long use."

These appear to still be renderings, and no specifics on dimensions or materials. I'll be interested to see this form factor in person.