[James Roberts]

Thanks. That’s pretty much what I thought. It’s just another one of those simple questions that becomes difficult to cu t straight to in the manual (or in this case online help).

As I said above, I do refer to the manuals, but I usually have one of those simple direct questions up front that just isn’t answered as directly as it could be. I prefer to look into the finer points
after I have that basic “can I do this or not?” type question answered. I have little enough time to work on things after the day job wrings out most of my energy, so I hate spending too much of it searching through chapters trying to find what could be described with one sentence.

I’ll try looking for some objects online to toy around with to get an idea of how much it can do.

[James Roberts]

It was more so in the past, but now they’re getting a little more defined as two different apps. Elements is still very much like full Photoshop, but has more easy solution features for beginners getting more focus.

Basically, most tools found in both have more features and settings in Photoshop, and file formats like CMYK are missing in Elements, as well as channels and paths
in the layers panel.

I’ve been using Elements the last 5 years or so, but just got the CS4 Production Premium, so I’m back to proper Photoshop for the first time since version 5.

Unless you need the higher end features and pro file formats, You can do more with Elements than you’d think for the difference in price.

[James Roberts]

Never mind. I sorted it out when I got home. Once you go into the purchase process they describe the process for Motion 3. I started with the “small” group. There some nice ones in there.

I guess this wasn’t a problem for many others, since the search brought up so little, but as I said above, I’ve been shut out of using purchased plugins before, and I wouldn’t want to buy anything
already outdated.

For anyone else wondering, Go ahead and try them. Even the small set has some good smoke and fire effects not in the stock emitters.

[James Roberts]

Was this ever resolved? I’m interested in trying some of these, but I don’t trust sites that haven’t updated in a few years. Never any mention of Motion 3, not even a mention that 2006-2008 have happened.
Abandoned sites make me skeptical.

I’ve seen other situations where a new version of Apple software has shut out plugins previously compatible (Slick effects & iMovie)
and there seem to be sites just “alive” enough to still sell their downloads, but “dead” as far as keeping up with the times.

I’d like to know what to expect, but I can’t even try to contact Wondertouch until much later in the day. Their “contact us” link won’t work here at my job, and the site need Flash to even open, so I can’t use my iPhone either.

I was hoping to see this thread end in a report of success, but it just leaves off with “I’ll look into it”. From May. Did you? Did it work?

[James Roberts]

Fair enough. Along with the “Dude,even my Grandma…” comment just had me feeling a bit like the boob
who should have kept his thoughts to himself. I probably shouldn’t have dived right into reading the posts having just walked in the door after another dreary work day (not a job that has anything to do my creative pursuits, other than stealing time and energy from them).

[James Roberts]

I’m 47 and I lost both my parents a few years ago, so let’s never mind the mommy bits. In fact, I work about a block from an Apple store, but I seldom go in. I’m not an early adopter type, I like to wait until the bugs are out and early problems are solved. I dragged my feet for nearly a year on the iPhone. And if you look at the phrasing I used, I said I bought it a week before they “announced” the new one, not released it. I would have waited if I knew about it.

I was just relating how many times I’ve had bad timing when I finally decided to buy something, then the deal gets better a week later. I don’t have a personal tech guru telling me “don’t buy the shuffle right now, I hear a new one’s coming out”, so I’ve felt a little burned at times.

I figured it would be something people using Final Cut might relate to, but instead I just feel a bit singed. Never mind…

[James Roberts]

I think we all know how this works by now. The hardware upgrades keep on coming, and you’re never likely to have the best for long.
Consider this recent history with Apple products:

Early 06-I buy a fully Loaded 20″ iMac, then they introduce the 24″

This year-I buy a 1GB iPod shuffle for $79, less than a week later there’s a 2 GB model for $69

I buy an iPhone for $499, less than a week later they announce the 3G for $299.

Last week-I bought an $3,900 8 core Mac Pro, so get ready for a 12 core to hit the market soon, for $999! (okay, maybe not at that price)