Twelve Reasons Why Adobe Photoshop Elements is The Best Thing in Town

Adobe has put powerful image editing into the hands of hobby photographers with Adobe Photoshop Elements. Once only within the reach of professional photographers and designers, feature-rich image editing is now affordable and easy to use with Adobe Photoshop Elements.

Some professionals are even using Adobe Photoshop Elements instead of Adobe's flagship software, Adobe Photoshop. And there's good reason.

If you wan to master Photoshop Elements, check out the step-by-step tutorials in Learn Elements Now.

But if you still need to be convinced to use Elements, here are the top 12 reasons why Adobe Photoshop elements rocks:

1. Elements is easy to use. With an intuitive interface and plenty of shortcuts, Elements is within the grasp of your elementary school-age child. And yet...

2. Elements is closer than ever to Adobe Photoshop CS4 in its features. Each new upgrade of Elements brings its feature set closer and closer to that of Adobe Photoshop.

3. It's easy to organize and find your pictures. The tagging and text search features means you can easily find pictures in your catalog.

4. Quick edit mode. A few clicks is all it takes to carry out the most common editing tasks - such as removing red eye or whitening teeth.

5. Guided edit mode. As the name implies, in this mode, you'll be guided through a series of steps to turn your photo from good to great. These include cropping the photo, adjusting lighting and exposure, correcting color and more.

6. Full edit mode. Work with layers, move photo elements, add text - do more in this more advanced mode, which gives you access to all the features of Elements.

7. Special effects. Use filters, layers, photo effects and other tools to transform an image with a few clicks. And if you don't like it, it only takes one click to revert to the original image.

8. Scene cleaner. Remove unwanted elements from a picture by simply drawing a line over it (available only in Elements 7 and higher).

9. Photo projects. Have fun creating physical objects with your photos, such as photo books and calendars. Elements gives you the tools to create your own lay outs or use ready-made templates.

10. Create slideshow videos. Elements lets you create a slideshow of your pictures, which you can then export to video format, complete with video effects, transitions and other effects (available only in Elements 7 and higher).

11. Easy sharing. Let others enjoy your photos, whether through online albums, burning to a CD or DVd, or via FTP.

12. Print your photos. You can make individual prints, contact sheets or picture packages.

Adobe Photoshop Elements helps you enjoy and share your photos. But you'll only get the most of it if you know how to use it.

If you're interested in mastering Adobe Photoshop Elements in as little as two hours, then take a look at Learn Elements Now. It's a set of video tutorials, which teach you the basics of using Adobe Photoshop Elements. It's like watching over the shoulders of a pro.

Each video is only a few minutes long, so you can go through all the tutorials - and be an expert - in less than two hours. This is especially helpful if you're the type who can't follow along a user's manual.

Go here now and watch a sample tutorial:

http://www.learnelementsnow.com/a.php?a=121604

President Barack H. Obama's Inaugural Speech

The 44th president of the US was sworn yesterday and its a very exhilarating experience. Though the swearing ceremony was riddled by mistakes in the side of President Obama, it does not stop the crowd in cheering and applauding the newly sworn leader of the country. His inaugural speech was staggering and lots of Americans watching on the grounds of the White House and from the TV had tears in their eyes. With emotions running high, a record-setting crowd bearing witness and an unprecedented number of former presidents – Carter, Bush, Clinton and Bush – looking on together on the Capitol Steps, Barack Obama placed his right hand on Abraham Lincoln's Bible on Tuesday and stirringly affirmed: "I, Barack Hussein Obama, do solemnly swear that I will execute the office President of the United States faithfully."

Even Mother Nature seemed under Obama's spell. By the start of the ceremony, the skies over Washington, D.C., were clear but for the thinnest wisps of cloud, as a blinding sun kept winter temperatures tolerable. As one Obama aide put it, "if Barack Obama can deliver 70 degrees and sunny in Chicago for Election Day in November, we never had any doubt the sun would shine on his inauguration."

Here's The Speech Of President Barack Hussein Obama:

My fellow citizens:

I stand here today humbled by the task before us, grateful for the trust you have bestowed, mindful of the sacrifices borne by our ancestors. I thank President Bush for his service to our nation, as well as the generosity and cooperation he has shown throughout this transition.

Forty-four Americans have now taken the presidential oath. The words have been spoken during rising tides of prosperity and the still waters of peace. Yet, every so often the oath is taken amidst gathering clouds and raging storms. At these moments, America has carried on not simply because of the skill or vision of those in high office, but because We the People have remained faithful to the ideals of our forbearers, and true to our founding documents.

So it has been. So it must be with this generation of Americans.

That we are in the midst of crisis is now well understood. Our nation is at war, against a far-reaching network of violence and hatred. Our economy is badly weakened, a consequence of greed and irresponsibility on the part of some, but also our collective failure to make hard choices and prepare the nation for a new age. Homes have been lost; jobs shed; businesses shuttered. Our health care is too costly; our schools fail too many; and each day brings further evidence that the ways we use energy strengthen our adversaries and threaten our planet.

Check the complete speech from People.com.