NS Newsletter: 20 April 2017

Hi again! It's Kohan from namesuppressed, the Photoshop plug-in company. You probably know my Softener or Plaid Lite plugins!

This month there's a huge update to Softener 2.20 (the soft focus Photoshop plug-in), updates to Corner Case and Not Negative, and a sneak peek at some prototypes in the namesuppressed labs.

Not interested in these emails anymore? That's okay! Just click the unsubscribe link below, or ask me to help: support@namesuppressed.com

• unsubscribe: http://namesuppressed.com/cgi-bin/ezmlm/email.php

This Issue

• Softener 2.20 Update
• Corner Case, Not Negative Updates
• Dashplan, Indie Conference & A Sneak Peek
• Ultraflares Photoshop Plug-in
• Listening Booth

Softener 2.20 Update

It’s here! A long overdue update!

Softener v2.20 fixes tons of bugs. The new installer now works with Photoshop Elements, Corel PaintShop Pro (up to PSP X9), and also Serif Photoplus X5-X8. There's better support for Photoshop CC, and even early support for Serif's new Affinity Photo v1.6.

This version has no watermark during the trial, so your friends can try Softener 2 for 21 days. Plenty of time to play with tutorials and make sure you love Softener's effects before buying.

Softener 2.20 is a free update if you've bought Softener 2, and the 64-bit version is free if you have Softener 2 64-bit. Otherwise, you can buy Softener 2 (or Softener 2 64-bit Upgrade) at the link below!

• softener2: https://www.namesuppressed.com/softener/
• buynow: https://www.namesuppressed.com/purchase/

Corner Case & Not Negative Updates

Corner Case is a puzzle game for Android devices, first released in 2013. Corner Case v1.03 launched in December, with shinier graphics, no special Android permissions needed, and it’s now available in more countries worldwide (especially in Europe!).

Not Negative is a Google Chrome extension, specifically for filtering negative news stories from the Daring Fireball website. If you rely on Daring Fireball for your technology news, but don’t want snarky commentary, this free Chrome extension is for you.

• cornercase: https://www.namesuppressed.com/cornercase/
• notnegative: https://www.namesuppressed.com/notnegative/

Dashplan, Indie Conference & A Sneak Peek

Even though I’ve been quiet for the last few months, there’s lots of new projects & updates happening with namesuppressed!

Indie Conference is an email newsletter & website for freelancers, indie musicians, solo programmers, artists, designers, writers and anyone who works on their own. It’s regularly updated with the best conferences worldwide for solo workers, where you’ll find kindred spirits who understand the challenges of working for yourself. This month's newsletter featured Chris Hawkins' $100K Freelancing podcast.

DashPlan is a tool I’ve made for managing small project schedules and simple software or freelance projects. It's the software I've wanted for over a decade! A lightweight tool that tracks time estimates and helps you focus your project. It's great if you're always adding "one more thing" instead of shipping a product or client project. There's a downloadable alpha version for Windows & Mac (Linux coming later), and it's the same software I use every day. It's rough at the edges, but if you're interested I'd love to hear what you think. If people like it, it might become a full product one day.

I haven’t forgotten Photoshop plug-ins! 64-bit Windows versions are in the works, and there’s a sneak peek of another prototype I'm working on, hidden in plain sight on the website.

• dashplan: https://www.namesuppressed.com/dashplan/
• indieconf: https://www.indieconference.com/
• sneakpeek: https://namesuppressed.com/support/mac-version.shtml

Ultraflares Photoshop Plug-in

My friend Richard Rosenman has released Ultraflares, his Photoshop plug-in for adding lens flares, glints, light leaks and chromatic aberration. It's perfect for creating the 'JJ Abrams effect', the lens flares in movies like Super 8, Star Trek and Mission Impossible.

Ultraflares has nearly 100 controls, so it might not be for beginners or amateurs. But if you're a professional user (maybe a pro Softener user), you'll love what this can do for your photography.

• ultraflares: http://richardrosenman.com/shop/ultraflares/

Listening Booth

I’ve traditionally finished every newsletter with a song that is on high rotation while coding in the namesuppressed offices. With Eurovision around the corner, I've been listening to songs from Melodifestivalen, Sweden's national song contest.

This month's track is 'Statements' by Loreen. She won Eurovision in 2012 with Euphoria, a dance-pop track that hit #1 in 18 countries. But Statements is more influenced by Nirvana, VAST, Sia & Gaga, in an anthemic 3 minute electro performance-art spectacular. It didn't win Melodifestivalen though, so it sadly won't compete in Eurovision 2017.

Until next time, enjoy!

• statements: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UzWsrz3_HRM

.wedontneednostatements.