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author: Lesa Snider King rating: asin: 0596522967 binding: Paperback list price: $49.99 USD amazon price: $31.49 USD

Photoshop is the world's most widely used photo-editing and graphics program. But with all its fantastic new features and options, the CS4 version can bewilder even the most seasoned professional. That's where Photoshop CS4: The Missing Manual comes in: packed with tips, tricks, and lots of practical advice, this visually rich four-color guidebook teaches you everything you need to know to edit photos and create beautiful documents in Photoshop. Whether you're an absolute beginner or a power user ready to try some advanced techniques, author and graphics pro Lesa Snider King offers crystal-clear, jargon-free instructions to help you take advantage of these powerful tools -- not only how they work, but when you should use them. You'll quickly get up to speed on new CS4 features such as:

• Photoshop's completely revamped workspace
• Smoother image display and quick zoom, including the new pixel grid view
• New Masks and Adjustments panels
• The Vibrance adjustment layer
• Hand-painting adjustments and using graduated filters in Camera Raw
• Enhanced Adobe Bridge

And much more. You'll also find out which features work well, and which aren't worth your time. Written with the clarity, humor, and objective scrutiny that are hallmarks of the Missing Manual series, Photoshop CS4: The Missing Manual is the friendly, thorough resource you need. Why settle for anything less?

rating: asin: B001FA1NG4 binding: Electronics list price: $199.99 USD amazon price: $209.99 USD

With eight amazing colors, a new curved design, and great new features, iPod nano rocks like never before. The Genius Playlist feature finds the songs in your music library that go great together and makes a playlist for you. With its built-in accelerometer, iPod nano is made to move. Give it a shake, and it shuffles to a different song in your library. Turn it on its side to flip through your album art in Cover Flow. And tilt, move, and play accelerometer-inspired games (games available separately). Watching movies, TV shows, and video is even more fun on the sharp 2-inch screen. And your photos (up to 14,000 of them) look great in portrait or landscape view. Available in 8 GB and 16 GB models, the 16 GB iPod nano puts up to 4,000 songs or 16 hours of video in your pocket.

rating: asin: B0018VH8S2 binding: CD-ROM list price: $299.00 USD amazon price: $338.43 USD

The Photoshop Lightroom 2 Software for Windows and Mac from Adobe is an essential tool for digital photographers. The software features robust photo management capabilities, as well as non-destructive RAW editing, a printing module and easy output to the web. Lightroom is compatible with both Windows and Mac OS X and is fully compatible with 64-bit operating systems.