Researchers from Italy have created a robot that could one day allow diabetes patients to get a dose of insulin without any needles. PILLSID involves two separate parts. One component is an internal insulin dispenser that a doctor would surgically implant in your abdomen. The other is a magnetic capsule loaded with the hormone.
Anytime you need to refill the dispenser, you take one of the pills, and it travels down your digestive system until it reaches the point where the device is implanted near your small intestine. Using the power of magnets, the device rotates the capsule into position and then punctures it with a retractable needle and pumps the refill of insulin into a reservoir. The cool thing here is that the dispenser charges wirelessly, limiting the number of interventions a doctor needs to maintain the device. Once the capsule is empty, it continues its trip down your digestive system until you eventually poop it out. Good times.
On the surface, the system may sound scary, but in a lot of ways, it’s preferable to many of the current tools you can use as a type 1 diabetes patient to regulate your blood sugar levels. Insulin pumps, for instance, involve a tube or needle that you need to self-administer. One jab might not be so bad, but some people need to get multiple injections per day. "Maybe it's scary to think about a docking station inside the body, but it worked," Arianna Menciassi, one of the co-authors of the study, told IEEE Spectrum. Unintuitively, this is a much less intrusive system, and it has the potential to be useful for administering other life-saving drugs.
In a test involving three diabetic pigs, the research team found the system could successfully manage their insulin levels for several hours. In some instances, they found bodily fluids from the pigs would leak into the robot. So as a next step, the team is working on sealing the device better.
While it will likely be some time before PILLSID makes its way to hospitals, devices that attend to your medical needs from inside your body are likely to become more and more common. In 2016, for instance, MIT showed off an origami robot that can pick up objects from inside your intestine.
The US crackdown on flavored e-cigarettes might soon reach the federal government. A New York-led coalition of 31 states and territories is pressuring the Food and Drug Administration to regulate flavored e-cigarettes. The group wants to not only ban e-cigs with "youth-appealing" flavors like candy, mint and menthol, but to limit nicotine levels and restrict marketing efforts aimed at kids.
The coalition is hoping to thwart what it calls a "youth nicotine epidemic." About 19.6 percent of high school students from 2020 said they'd used e-cigarettes at least once in the past 30 days, according to a study published in the National Library of Medicine. The alliance also pointed to the effects of nicotine on kids' brains, including higher chances of addiction as well as mental health issues and poisoning.
The pressure campaign follows high-profile action against e-cigarettes at the state level, particularly in New York. The state not only banned flavored cigarettes in late 2019, but sued Juul (where tobacco giant Altria is a minority investor) for "deceptive and misleading" marketing that contributed to a youth vaping crisis. We've asked Juul for comment on this latest action.
There's a chance the states could get more than they were hoping for when the FDA will decide whether or not to ban e-cigs and oral nicotine starting on September 9th. Even if this doesn't lead to an extensive ban, though, the coalition's sought-after measures could significantly limit the reach of e-cig technology across the US.
When Samsung introduced the original Galaxy Z Flip in 2020, it surprised us all with a “one last thing.” The company revealed special editions of the Flip, Galaxy Buds and Galaxy Watch styled by American designer Thom Browne. Since then, every foldable Samsung has launched has come in a special Thom Browne (TB) version. Just 3,500 units of these limited edition bundles are available each time, and according to Browne, “they sell out supposedly in minutes.”
This year, Samsung is offering the Thom Browne bundles of the Fold 3 and Flip 3 for $3,449 and $2,349 respectively. Each box comes with TB-themed versions of the foldable, Buds 2, Galaxy Watch 4, wireless charger trio and a selection of cases and straps. The regular Fold 3, Buds 2, Watch 4 and wireless charger cost $1,799, $150, $250 and $80 respectively, bringing the total to about $2,280, not including the cases and straps. So you’re paying about $1,000 more for the Thom Browne aesthetic.
The packaging for the special edition Fold 3 bundle is extravagant. Each device has its own labelled container and sits in slots carved out inside a giant box. Thankfully, most of the packaging is paper, so I didn’t feel too guilty about the environmental impact. A drawer beneath the devices holds all the accessories, like a pair of TB-themed straps for the watch, a case for the Fold 3 and covers for the Buds 2’s charging case. There’s also a special S Pen Pro in the Fold bundle that’s white with blue and red stripes on the inside.
All the devices have Thom Browne branding on them, and this year’s set features the designer’s signature stripes in red, white and blue. It’s a deliberate selection of colors meant to be an homage to American sportswear, but also acknowledge that it’s an Olympic year.
“The reference to the red, white and blue, and specifically the white with the red trim felt very reminiscent of old Olympics and old Olympics uniforms,” Browne told Engadget. “I love sports, I love athletes, I’ve been so inspired by athletes at that level,” he said. (He’s a swimmer, in case you were wondering. And while we’re in a parenthetical, I’m a thrower.)
But the stripe-centric design and familiar color scheme have always been a part of the Samsung bundles, which Browne said is “something that feels very signature to me.” He’s made sure to keep recognizable elements from his brand on them, because he felt people “would have been disappointed if it were to be approached any differently.”
Not only does the motif appear on the Galaxy devices’ externally, the Fold 3 and Watch 4 also have custom wallpapers in TB themes. The default background on the special edition Fold is covered in the designer’s signature gray-and-white vertical lines with a small postage stamp-esque square in the middle as the clock widget. At the top center of the screen is a small band of the red-white-and-blue pattern that’s reminiscent of a fabric bookmark. System icons and fonts match the overall theme as well.
Cherlynn Low / Engadget
Though there aren’t any differences in size between the TB edition devices and their standard counterparts, the shiny metal finish on the branded Fold and Watch make them feel sleeker somehow. I also vastly prefer the Thom Browne watch straps to Samsung’s boring, chunky versions. And though there isn’t much room on the buds for the company to add design flourishes, I love that it still managed to paint little strips of red-white-and-blue on each headphone. Though in that shape, they look like color-reversed French flags.
Now that the Thom Browne versions of these devices are in their third iteration, the designer is pretty familiar with the process of coming up with them. Each edition has taken about a year to create, and Browne said that the “most important thing for these collaborations is that you see the best from both parties.”
For Browne, the partnership has been a “really good, very supportive, mutually respectful relationship” that’s lasted over 15 years. Though the special edition foldables have only been around for about two years, Samsung has carried his collections in its stores in the past. But the opportunity to create a Thom Browne version of the original Z Flip was intriguing. Browne said the first phone he ever had was a flip phone, so “it was interesting to me, the idea of that iconic phone being reintroduced, yet, making it a very relevant device for today.”
Samsung
Though Browne says Samsung has never put any limits on how he wanted to approach his designs for the devices, something he would make if anything was possible would be a phone made from pure gold. “That would be a challenge that I would like to give to Samsung.”
Perhaps because of how content he is with the partnership, Browne said he wouldn’t want to work with any other company in this field. He’s not thinking of making a Thom Browne smartwatch, though he’s open to considering other Samsung products.
Ultimately, the biggest benefit for him is probably visibility. “I hope, in a way, that the phone introduces a lot of new people to the world of Thom Browne.”
Tesla could face further federal scrutiny over its Autopilot feature. Senators Ed Markey and Richard Blumenthal have called on the Federal Trade Commission to investigate the company over "misleading advertising and marketing" of the Autopilot and Full Self-Driving (FSD) systems.
"Tesla and [CEO Elon] Musk’s repeated overstatements of their vehicle’s capabilities — despite clear and frequent warnings — demonstrate a deeply concerning disregard for the safety of those on the road and require real accountability," the senators wrote in their letter to FTC chair Lina Khan. "Their claims put Tesla drivers — and all of the travelling public — at risk of serious injury or death." It's not yet clear whether the FTC will heed the senators' call and investigate the company.
Today @SenMarkey & I wrote to FTC Chair Lina Khan to express our serious concerns about Tesla’s marketing tactics. Their overstated claims give drivers a false sense of security & overblown confidence in their car’s capabilities—putting motorists & others on the road at risk. pic.twitter.com/6Mv1fKREq3
Along with several examples of Tesla and Musk seemingly overselling Autopilot and FSD functions, Markey and Blumenthal cited an investigation that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration opened this week. The agency is looking into a string of collisions between Tesla vehicles and parked emergency vehicles, one of which resulted in someone's death. The NHTSA said the Tesla vehicles in question all had Autopilot or Traffic Aware Cruise Control switched on when the crashes occurred.
Despite the name, FSD (for which Tesla charges $10,000 when a car is purchased) doesn't yet make vehicles fully autonomous. FSD, which is in beta, is currently an advanced driver assistance feature that handles maneuvers such as automatic parking, lane changing and summoning the vehicle to a nearby location. It's a Level 2 autonomous driving system, whereas full self-driving capability with no human supervision required is Level 5. Tesla notes on its website that "Autopilot does not turn a Tesla into a self-driving car nor does it make a car autonomous."
Musk has made many claims over the years about Tesla being close to offering fully autonomous capabilities. In a January earnings call, Musk said he was "highly confident the car will be able to drive itself with reliability in excess of human this year." However, a Tesla engineer later suggested the company was a long way off from rolling out Level 5 functionality.
The National Transportation Safety Board previously accused Tesla of overselling Autopilot's capabilities. In May, reports suggested the California Department of Motor Vehicles was looking into Musk's FSD claims. The names of the Autopilot and FSD features have been criticized for potentially leading drivers to overestimate their capabilities. Markey is among those who called on Tesla to change the name of Autopilot.
Back in January Poly Effects unveiled Hector: a virtual modular synth designed to live inside your physical modular synth. Now the Eurorack sibling of the Beebo is finally shipping to customers eager to start building the synth modules of their dreams on an easy to use touchscreen.
Inside Hector is a collection of over 100 different modules that you can combine and connect to create your own synth voices, modulation sources or effects and then use them with your existing Eurorack setup. The beauty here is that the Hector can be whatever you want it to be: a boring utility module like a mixer or an attenuator, an emulation of a Mutable Instruments oscillator or a crazy convolution reverb built around the sound of a bong rip.
The Hector itself is a 30 HP unit with six ins and eight outs, all of which can be used either for audio or control voltage (CV). There's also MIDI in and out via 3.5mm TRS jacks and USB.
Poly Effects
The Hector runs basically the same firmware as the Beebo, so everything I said was great about that pedal when I reviewed it still stands. Plus, Poly Effects has made some big improvements in the months since. For one, there are a few new modules, including a proper looper which is something I had dinged it for lacking. Additionally responsiveness has been improved and there a bunch of tiny bug fixes as well. And, since they run the same software you can use existing Beebo presets on the Hector.
There are some differences worth noting though: While the Beebo had two encoders and a trio of footswitches the only controls for the Hector are on the touchscreen. If you want to take more control you'll need to hook up an external controller.
If you didn't preorder a Hector you'll be in for a bit of a wait, though. Batches one and two are sold out and the third one isn't expected to ship for about three weeks. But you can still secure yourself a future Hector for $599 over at the Poly Effects site.
Since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, Facebook has taken a much tougher stance on health misinformation than it has in the past, removing millions of posts for sharing misinformation. Now, we know just how many accounts, groups and pages have been banned from the platform for repeatedly breaking those rules: 3,000.
Facebook shared the stat as part of its community standards enforcement report, which measures how the company enforces its rules. The number may seem low given the vast amount of misinformation on Facebook about the pandemic and the vaccines.The company also said that more than 20 million pieces of content have been removed and more than 190 million have warning labels between the start of the pandemic in 2020 and this past June.
But the relatively low number of bans — just 3,0000 — tracks with findings by researchers who say that just a few individuals are responsible for the vast majority of vaccine mistruths on social media.
During a call with reporters, Facebook’s VP of Content Policy Monika Bickert, said the company has had to continually evolve its policies, and that it now removes 65 types of vaccine falsehoods, such as posts saying COVID-19 shots cause magnetism. She also noted that some groups have used “coded language” to try to evade the company’s detection, which can pose a challenge.
Facebook’s handling of vaccine misinformation has been in the spotlight in recent months as government officials, including President Joe Biden, have said Facebook should do more to counter mistruths about the COVID-19 vaccines. On its part, Facebook says that vaccine hesitancy has declined by 50 percent in the US, according to its surveys, and that its COVID-19 Information Center has reached 2 billion people.
Throughout this week, Roku is adding 17 new content sources to the Roku Channel. With the expansion, you can now access TV shows and movies from more than 200 different sources. Some of the more notable additions include IGN, CBC News and AccuWeather, as well as a linear channel devoted exclusively to the Tribeca Film Festival.
At launch, the latter includes 114 movies from the festival’s back catalog, with new films to come every 30 days. The channel will also feature original content from Tribeca Studios. While it won’t replace the in-person event, its addition is timely given how hard it’s been to make it out to a movie theater in the last year and a half.
“The demand for free, quality programming continues to be of importance to our streamers,” said Ashley Hovey, director of the Roku Channel. “We’ve seen linear streaming explode over the last year, and we’re very excited to offer an all-new lineup of great channels with some of the most-recognized franchises to our users.”
If you need a refresher, the Roku Channel is a free way to watch ad-supported video content on your Roku device or TV. Last September, the company released standalone Android and iOS apps, making the platform even more accessible.
Want to create your very own magazine? Why not? Magazines can be hugely informative and entertaining.
Today we’re going to look at what a magazine is and share some stunning magazine templates that can support you in creating the magazines of your dreams.
What Is the Definition of a Magazine?
A magazine is a collection of articles, stories, photographs, and often advertisements sandwiched between attention-getting front and back covers. Magazines are typically published on a regular schedule, be that once a month, bi-monthly, quarterly, etc. Originally, magazines were always printed, but today they can be distributed digitally as well. Magazines generally finance themselves by a combination of advertisements, prepaid subscriptions, and their purchase price.
Editorial content in a magazine refers to all content that is written to inform, educate, or entertain. Editorial content is the opposite of commercial content or advertising copy, which is written to sell something.
How to Make a Magazine
Creating a magazine is a huge undertaking. You and your team will need to wear several hats to create a project you can be proud of. One of the ways you can cut down on the demands of time, energy, and expense is to use a professionally designed magazine template.
Magazine templates provide you with an aesthetically appealing layout with placeholder text, images, and graphics. When you customise the template, the layout stays locked in place, and you replace the placeholders with your own content.
Magazine templates can be used repeatedly, so you only need to buy one template for your new venture. Let’s take a look at some example magazine cover templates and magazine content templates to give you an idea of what’s out there.
We can all agree that the cover of a magazine is critically important to a magazine’s success. If the cover doesn’t entice potential readers to want to open the magazine, then the magazine will continue to sit on the shelf. So if you want to make sure that potential readers open your magazine, you want to pay special attention to the design of the cover and what you include on it. Clearly the content is up to you, but the layout is something a well-designed magazine cover template like this one can help you with.
Envato Elements has a range of magazine cover templates for every kind of magazine. If your magazine is focused on the wedding industry, here’s a terrific cover template you can use to create a stylish and eye-catching cover.
This Magazine Cover Template can be used for a range of topics, from business to technology to fashion and more. The A4 template also comes in US Letter size and offers four different layouts, which can all be customised in Photoshop.
These three stylish magazine cover templates are offered in both A4 and US Letter size. Use them for fashion, lifestyle, showbiz, and more. Select the layout you prefer, add your photo and your text, and your template is ready.
If you’re looking for a minimalist cover design, then this magazine cover template is an excellent choice. It offers two variations on the layout, both of which are fully editable in InDesign.
Now let’s take a look at the heart of the magazine, its internal layout. The magazine template offers 14 pages of unique layouts in both A4 and US Letter size, so you have plenty of choice when it comes to the best layout combination for your magazine.
Multi-Purpose Magazine Templates is a great template for a range of magazines from fashion to business. The A4 and US Letter size formats contain 14 unique layout pages, and all images, objects, text and colours are fully editable in InDesign and Illustrator.
Fructe is a gorgeous magazine template that’s perfect for image-heavy content. It offers 14 superb layouts to show off your images and is offered in both A4 and US Letter size.
NOIR is a beautiful grayscale fashion magazine template created in Adobe InDesign. With 36 unique page layouts, the template offers tons of choice for you to create the exact look you have in mind for your magazine.
The Magazine Template is a 32-page template that’s available in both A4 and US Letter size. Each page features clean layouts, with maximum space for images and minimal typography. All elements of the magazine are easily edited in InDesign.
Choose Your Favourite Magazine Template
Now that you know what a magazine is and how to create stunning magazines using templates, head on over to Envato Elements and select your favourite template.
And finally, if you want more information on magazine templates, check out these really helpful articles below:
Facebook really wants people to know that it’s most popular content isn’t political and it’s releasing a new report to try to prove it. The social network released its first-ever “Widely Viewed Content Report,” documenting what it claims is the most-viewed content on its platform during the second quarter of 2021 in the United States.
The report is Facebook’s rebuttal to commonly cited data that indicates posts from polarizing figures are consistently among the best-performing on the platform. Data from Facebook-owned CrowdTangle, an analytics platform, commonly shows posts from conservative figures and outlets like Newsmax, Fox News, Ben Shapiro and Dan Bongino get the most engagement.
Notably, none of those names appear in Facebook’s latest report, which included lists of top-performing domains, pages and specific public posts it said attracted the most eyeballs. Among the top domains were YouTube, Amazon, Unicef, GoFundMe, Spotify and TikTok. The most widely-viewed links included a website for an organization associated with former Green Bay Packers football players. That page drew more than 87 million viewers, according to Facebook. An online storefront for CBD products was #2 on the list, with 72 million views. A cat GIF from Tumblr with just over 49 million views was also on the list.
Facebook
When it comes to the most viewed public pages, Facebook’s list included Unicef, as well as animal site The Dodo, LADbible, and Sassy Media and other publishers that have built media companies off of viral Facebook content. Notably, most of the content Facebook put forward in its report didn’t appear to be overtly political. "Many of the most-viewed Pages focused on sharing content about pets, cooking, family, and relatable viral content," Facebook wrote in a statement.
Interestingly, the most-viewed individual posts were all a collection of text-based memes, encouraging users to answer light-hearted (and mostly boring) questions, like what foods they don't like. The top such post was a year-old image challenging users to find three words hidden in a jumble of letters. The posts had more than 80 million views, according to Facebook.
Facebook
It’s not the first time Facebook has tried to counter perceptions that its most popular content is polarizing or political. The company says it will release the “widely viewed content” report on a regular basis to help people track what type of content is being seen the most.
“There's a few gaps in the data that's being used today, and the narrative that has emerged is quite simply wrong,” Facebook's VP of Integrity, Guy Rosen, said during a call with reporters. “CrowdTangle is focused on interaction, CrowdTangle only has a limited set of certain pages, groups, and accounts. We are creating a report that provides a broad view and … an accurate representation of what people’s experiences actually are on our platform.”
Notably, the report only looked at public posts, and didn't include data around posts that may have used non-public privacy settings. The company said it would evaluate how it gathers and shares information for future reports. The company also said that more than half of posts that users see in their News feeds comes from their family and friends, not from pages or groups they follow. Mark Zuckerberg said in January, following the election and the January 6th insurrection, that he wanted to make News Feeds less political.
Waze might have a way to keep your kids entertained during a drive without handing them a tablet: distract them with your navigation app. The company has added a PAW Patrol experience to Waze that has the TV show's Ryder guide you to your destination with help from Chase, Marshall and Skye. You can also switch your Waze Mood to replace the usual icon with Chase's police car, Marshall's fire truck or Skye's aircraft.
The feature is available for a "limited time" to English users through the My Waze section in the app. It's available on both Android and iOS.
This is a not-so-subtle plug for the upcoming PAW Patrol movie, but it could be helpful for keeping your young ones engaged. It might even encourage them to take an interest in the drive and the world outside the car window. Of course, it's also easy to see this going very badly — the last thing you want is to have your kids shouting at the phone while you're listening for directions. This might be best for children who tend to watch the show in raptured silence.
Along with several other games in the franchise, The Pokémon Company (TPC) provided another look at Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl during its showcase on Wednesday.
The chibi art style didn't receive the warmest of receptions when TPC announced the games earlier this year, but the latest trailer might resolve some concerns. The games have a tilt-shift perspective, similar to the The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening remake. As such, the character designs might not be quite as noticeable.
The two games are remakes of Pokémon Diamond and Pearl, a pair of Nintendo DS titles from 2006 that are among the most highly regarded Pokémon games. So, there might be a bit of pressure on TPC and developer ILCA from fans to get these new versions right.
In the remakes, you can customize your trainer’s outfit and adorn Poké Balls with stickers, which add visual flair when you throw out a Pokémon. There are several mini-games too, such as mining in the Grand Underground and a Cuteness Contest.
The starter Pokémon choices are Piplup, Chimchar and Turtwig, and you'll be able to have one of your Pokémon follow you around as you explore the Sinnoh region. You can dive into online battles as well.
Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl will land on Nintendo Switch on November 19th. There are a few pre-order bonuses, including a code you can redeem for a dozen quick balls. TPC also revealed that Pokémon Home support is coming to Brilliant Diamond, Shining Pearl and Pokemon Legends: Arceus next year.
Nintendo
Alongside the latest peek at Pokémon Diamond and Pearl, TPC revealed a new special-edition Switch Lite. It has a metallic gray shell and is adorned with decals of Dialga and Palkia on the rear. The $200 special-edition console, which takes its cue from a similar version of the DS from back in the day, will be available on November 5th.
Audio-Technica is giving its wireless M50x headphones a refresh after three years, and the new over-ears include some welcome upgrades that bring them into the modern era. The just-introducedATH-M50xBT2 maintains the familiar design and 45mm drivers we liked so much, but notably adds a built-in Alexa voice assistant and multi-point Bluetooth pairing. It'll be easier to both ask for help and switch from your computer to your phone, to put it another way.
There are more functional improvements regardless of quality. A low latency mode helps with games and streamed video. Codec support has widened to include AAC, LDAC and SBC, although there's curiously no mention of AptX. The updated USB-C connection gives you three hours of listening with a 10-minute charge, although you won't be plugging in too often when Audio-Technica claims 50 hours of use.
There's still no active noise cancellation, but you do get a cable for wired listening, control over common voice assistants and Fast Pair setup on Android.
The ATH-M50xBT2 is available today for $199. That's slightly higher than the original headphones' $180, but that still makes them a bargain if you're more interested in pure sound quality than ANC or other common frills for over-ear headphones.
What is Photoshop? Though most have heard of it and some use it periodically or extensively, there are always newbies who need a thorough introduction to this powerful software.
Today we will take a look at exactly what Photoshop is and share some of the cool tools you can use to help you get the most from this incredible software.
What Is Adobe Photoshop?
Adobe Photoshop, commonly known as just Photoshop, is a powerful photo editing and graphic design program. Developed in 1988 by brothers Thomas and John Knoll, it was initially released as Image Pro, but as that name was already taken, they later changed it to Photoshop. The brothers sold distribution rights to Adobe, which released the software as Adobe Photoshop 1.0 in 1990.
Photoshop was originally intended to provide an easy solution for editing digital photos, and it has certainly evolved with each new release to become the most popular and powerful photo editing software in the world. However, it is also a premium program for creating a wide range of digital products, from digital paintings to web design materials, posters, mockups, and more, and it’s widely used by designers, photographers, artists, web developers, and many others.
Photoshop files have a default file extension of PSD, which stands for Photoshop Document. PSD files store an image with support for most imaging functions available in Photoshop like masks, alpha channels, transparencies, etc., but you can also save to file formats like JPG, PNG, and GIF, among others.
A Photoshop action is essentially a recording of a sequence of steps that you use to create a desired effect on an image. That recording can then be used over and over again at the click of a button to create the same effect on other single images or a batch of images.
For example, you could create an action that applies a particular effect to an image, changes it to black and white, applies a texture, and saves the file to the format of your choosing. Then you could apply that one action to multiple images.
Photoshop comes with predefined actions installed that help you perform common tasks. You can also create your own actions or buy complex actions that create spectacular effects like these ones below.
Creating this awesome charcoal effect is just a click away when you download and install this Photoshop action. The action is well organised in layers, all of which are adjustable.
Check out this Energy Animation Photoshop Action and create images that burst with energy. There is a video tutorial included with this action that covers how to set up your Photoshop file and then customise the effect.
Deepen the meaning of your portraits with one click when you use this Portrait Into Text Photoshop Action. The action works equally well with black and white as well as colour photos.
Want to add creative interests to your portraits? How about using this Double Light Photoshop Action? The action adds accent and emotion to your images with just one click. Great for magazine covers, posters, and album covers.
So you’ve taken some great action photos, but you want to increase their drama. How do you do that? With this action, of course. Just download it to your computer and add it to Photoshop, and then run the action with the click of a button to transform your image.
Want to have a bit of fun with your photographs? Try this Winter Pack Photoshop Action. It offers tons of different winter effects, as well as 20 different glitter actions. Just download the action, open your image in Photoshop, click the play button, and you’re done.
Cartoons are fun, and giving your images a cartoon effect is even more fun. The Cartoonizer Photoshop Action is designed to transform your images with cartoon effects. You can choose between several different effects with this action.
Transform your photos into gorgeous paintings when you use this Painting Photoshop Action. The action works in a non-destructive way to achieve a high-quality look, so the original image layer will remain unchanged.
Take gorgeous photos of your baby and then use these awesome Newborn Photoshop Actions to create interesting and eye-catching effects with a single click. There are 50 different actions included, so have fun experimenting with various combinations.
SandDust Action uses suspended sand particles and rays of light to create dramatic and stunning images. The action is as easy to use as one click, but there is a video tutorial included to help give you ideas of how you can use the action creatively to expand its possibilities.
Realistic rain effects can take loads of time to create, but with this Rain Photoshop Action, you can add the effect to your photos in just a few minutes. You can choose the angle of the rain, and there are ten colour presets included with the action.
What Are Photoshop Brushes?
The Photoshop brush is a tool located in the standard Photoshop toolbar that reproduces digitally the physical brush used by painters.
Photoshop includes several built-in brushes ready to use, but the real power of the brush tool comes when you add your own or buy brushes made by other creators that create stunning effects. Let’s look at a few examples.
Geometric Photoshop Brushes offers 50 high-resolution geometric Photoshop brushes. Use these versatile brushes to decorate your next project. The pack includes transparent PNG files and the original vector files (EPS).
Plastic is such an ever-present part of our world, so why not have a bit of fun adding plastic effects to your work with these plastic Photoshop brushes. The collection offers 30 different brushes to keep you busy experimenting for a while.
Add mystery and intrigue to your photos and artwork when you use these ten dust brushes to add dust effects to your work. This brush pack is fully customisable, so you can change any brush parameters as you like to achieve the results you need.
What better way to add texture and interest to your work than with this collection of 90 stamps and Photoshop brushes. Perfect for creating posters, pattern designs, greetings cards, invitations, social media designs, and more, these brushes are high resolution so are suitable for both web and print projects.
Now this is a set of brushes that every designer and digital artist should have in their toolbox. This collection contains 24 texture brushes, 10 spray brushes, 10 hatch brushes,10 sketch brushes, 7 pencil brushes, and 10 grunge textures. Think of the hours of fun you can have experimenting and creating.
Whatever kind of art you create, these brushes can help you take your work to the next level. The set contains a total of 1,500 brushes in high resolution.
With 99 high-resolution brushes to choose from, this collection of compact, dense splatters and individual drops gives users maximum flexibility when decorating their work. Each brush is high resolution, making them ideal for both screen and print work.
This collection of 48 naturalistic watercolour brushes will help you to create stunning artwork and backgrounds easily. This brush pack features a huge range of textured strokes that were sampled from real watercolour for maximum authenticity.
With 25 brush line variations and 25 circle brushes, this collection of 50 ink brush styles can be used separately or mixed to create dramatic results.
What Are Photoshop Templates?
A Photoshop template is a document that has been pre-formatted with a specific layout, placeholder images, graphics, text, and colours. Templates offer a starting point for you to create your own document. If you don’t have strong design skills or are fresh out of ideas, but want to create an invitation, brochure, flyer, etc., a professionally designed Photoshop template gives you a solid base which you can customise with your own images, text, and colours.
When you customise the template, the layout stays locked in place, and you replace the placeholders with your own content. Photoshop templates can be used repeatedly, so you only need to buy a template once.
Wedding Wreath Wedding Invitation Template makes it easy for you to create stunning wedding invitations in no time at all. Each element contained in this template is placed in well-organised layers and highlighted to make customisation easy. All fonts are 100% free, and the download links are in the zip folder.
If you need help creating the eye-candy posts you’ve seen on Instagram, here’s the secret recipe: just download this Instagram Photoshop template, add your own text and images, and get ready to watch the likes roll in!
Creating eye-catching lookbooks is now easier than ever, thanks to this awesome eight-page Photoshop brochure template. Just use the existing layouts, swap in your own text and images, and it’s ready to print!
Whether you’re planning a party, opening an art gallery, or need to create a fundraiser flyer, Summer Flyer 16 has you covered. With its cool, dissected circles and intersecting shapes, the template is yet another example of the on-trend designs you can expect when you sign up for Envato Elements.
This beautiful and creative design poster template gives you the perfect base for creating any kind of poster, and best of all, it’s easy to customise to suit your taste and needs.
This bifold template offers a professional and eye-catching four-page layout. Change the cover photo, and then add your text and business brand colours to make the most of the template.
Want an eye-catching magazine cover? Try this terrific magazine cover template to help you create a beautiful magazine cover in no time. Use it for your next issue, or just to try out concepts for a future magazine launch.
If you run a cafe or restaurant, you can use this Photoshop menu template to create a simple, eye-catching menu to advertise your dishes with mouth-watering images. The simple bifold design makes it perfect to give out as a brochure to generate publicity as well.
This Photoshop book template gives you a fantastic foundation to work from, with 41 pages and eye-catching layouts and imagery. It’s a great way to create a short but attention-grabbing e-book to communicate an idea and showcase your expertise.
Offering gift certificates is a great way to spread the word about your business, while offering your customers an easy gift for their hard-to-buy-for friends and family. Create one the easy way by opening this gift certificate template in Photoshop and customising it as much or as little as you want.
Choose Your Favourite Photoshop Resource
Now that you know what Photoshop is and have an idea of the kind of tools available to help you create great work using this powerful software, why not choose one of the above actions, brushes, or templates available from Envato Elements, and see what you can create in Photoshop?
And finally, if you want more information on Photoshop resources, check out these really helpful articles below:
While Facebook and Twitter are already struggling to handle vaccine misinformation and extremism, there's an increased focus on how social networks are handling Taliban-related content, following America's sudden withdrawal from Afghanistan. The militant group has swiftly overtaken Afghanistan's civilian government, taking control of the capital Kabul in only a few days, far sooner than intelligence analysts expected. Just like every modern organization, the Taliban relies heavily on social media to spread its messaging and communicate with followers, which puts the onus on technology companies to secure their platforms.
“The Taliban is sanctioned as a terrorist organization under US law and we have banned them from our services under our Dangerous Organization policies," a Facebook spokesperson said in a statement. "This means we remove accounts maintained by or on behalf of the Taliban and prohibit praise, support, and representation of them." They went on to note that the company will be following the situation closely with the help of native Dari and Pashto speakers, who serve as local experts. Facebook isn't making any additions to its existing policies, which cover its core app, Instagram and WhatsApp, but it's clear that it's making the Taliban's uprising a priority.
Still, that statement doesn't mean much if Facebook can't actually see what's happening on its platforms. Vice reports that the Taliban has been spreading its message on WhatsApp, which uses end-to-end encryption to secure conversations. The company could technically ban specific accounts, but it won't be able to easily search and remove content like it can on Facebook proper and Instagram.
Twitter, meanwhile, wouldn't say if it would ban notable Taliban accounts like spokesperson Suhail Shaheen's. CNN reported yesterday that he had 347,000 followers on the platform, but now he's amassed over 361,000, a clear sign of growing influence. Twitter noted that people were using its service to seek help in Afghanistan, and that it would continue to enforce its existing rules around things like the glorification of violence and hateful conduct. The company also introduced the ability to report misleading tweets yesterday.
While Twitter is shying away from any definitive stances against the Taliban, a spokesperson noted: "Our enforcement approach is agile and we will remain transparent about our work as it continues to evolve to address these increasingly complex issues." Basically, the rules could change at any moment.
YouTube is taking a stronger stance, telling CNN that it would be terminating accounts run by the Afghan Taliban because the group appears on the US Treasury Department's sanctions list.
Moving forward, it's unclear how social media companies will recognize the Taliban as it takes control of Afghanistan. As the Washington Post reports, it's up to social media firms to determine who maintains official state accounts like the Afghanistan President's Twitter, which now has over 926,000 followers.
The Pokémon Company (TPC) held its latest Pokémon Presents event on Wednesday, in which it revealed more details about its upcoming games. Pokémon Legends: Arceusgot much of the focus. It's a brand-new open-world adventure set in the Hisui region (later known as Sinnoh), and it takes place long before the events of Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl.
Since this is a different spin on the Pokémon formula, developer Game Freak has revamped the battle system, taking a similar approach to Final Fantasy X. Battles are still turn-based, but rather than Pokémon each taking a turn, their respective stats and other facets such as items dictate the order of actions and how many each creature gets to take.
Pokémon might take multiple turns in a row, so you might take the opportunity to dish out multiple attacks on the spin or take time to heal up in between. Each of your Pokémon's four moves has two styles: agile style and strong style. The former speeds up your action speed and might bump up your next turn in the queue, but the move will be weaker than unusual. You can unleash a more powerful attack if you opt for strong style, though you might need to wait longer to act again. It's clear you'll need to rethink your battle strategies to be successful here.
Not only can you sneak up on wild Pokémon through tall grass to hurl a wooden Poké Ball at them, you can use smoke bombs to conceal yourself. Wild Pokémon also might attack before you deploy a Pokémon of your own. Battles will start right away rather than moving to a battle-specific screen.
The Pokémon Company
Elsewhere, the trailer featured another look at the game's gorgeous visuals and other gameplay. It has expansive vistas that feel a bit reminiscent of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. You'll be able to ride certain Pokémon on land, as well as in the water or sky.
The aim of the game is to create the region's first-ever Pokédex, and you'll need to carry out research tasks to learn more about each Pokémon. There are base camps dotted around Hisui, where you can craft items and restore the health of your Pokémon. Pokémon Legends: Arceus arrives on Nintendo Switch on January 28th.
The Pokémon Company
Meanwhile,Pokémon Unite is scheduled to hit iOS and Android on September 22nd. The free-to-play MOBA landed on Switch in July. If at least 2.5 million mobile players pre-register, they'll all be able to use Pikachu in battles. TPC also noted that Pokémon Café Mix is being reworked as Pokémon Café ReMix with updated gameplay and more Pokémon. The new version will arrive this fall.
