Neowin.net

Microsoft has released its own image editing/organizing software. Called "Digital Image Suite 10", the program sells for $129. To sweeten the deal, you'll get a $30 rebate if you purchase a digital camera alongside the software - Not a bad price overall considering what this software offers.

This software isn't wont be targetted at users of Adobe's world famous Photoshop software. Instead, Microsoft is targeting its software towards users who rely on Adobe's Photoshop Elements. Photoshop Elements was created for general / basic use. It's for users without a need for all the advance features that Photoshop offers. Digital Image Suite 10 offers all the features of Elements and more; Features like Microsoft’s Photo Story 2.0 which allows you to create videos from your photos, support for an auto fix feature (such as color, exposure, contrast, levels, camera phone auto fix), and an impressive image management interface.

Adobe has been, for as long as I can remember, the king in the image editing market. So i applaud a bit of competition there. This software provides a interesting insight into the demand for non-bundled / established Microsoft products, and is perhaps one of the few examples where Microsoft are actually taking on a competitor on the basis of quality.

View: Microsoft Digital Image Suite
View: More Information

"The PSP is a portable game machine, and people may think it's oriented towards playing simple games, but it really has the same hardware performance as the PS2," comments Yamauchi in the interview. "Since we're already developing the GT4's system on the PS2 hardware, we're planning to port that directly to the PSP."

Yamauchi broadened the discussion to PSP games in general. "There's basically two ways of making games for the PSP. One way is to develop an original new game, which in general will be limited in its content since the price of PSP games aren't going to be too high, meaning the game's development budget will also be limited. We're going to be taking the second method, which is to take a system from a major title, and effectively sliding it onto the PSP hardware," he said.

Yamauchi also said that Gran Turismo 4 for the PS2 is currently still around 75 percent complete and that he plans to release it by the end of the year. Given that fact, though, it is unlikely whether the PSP version will be finished in time for the PSP launch in Japan this fall and in the US in early 2005.