Technologies

Lightroom Just Got Better at Slurping in Your Phone Photos

Also coming: better presets for quick edits. The idea is to make Lightroom easier for new users to improve their photos.

One of the hassles of using Lightroom, Adobe’s software for editing and cataloging your photos, is getting them into the app’s catalog. On Tuesday, Adobe made that process a step easier, and more steps are coming.

Previously, to edit photos in Lightroom, you first had to import them from your phone’s camera roll. It’s not exactly hard, but it’s a barrier that stands in the way of trying out the software. Now the Lightroom app for Android and iOS has a «device» tab on the lower left that shows your familiar camera roll. Tap an image, and Lightroom will let you start editing it even as it’s imported into its catalog.

«This is the beginning of our journey to make the mobile app more friendly for folks that aren’t power users,» Maria Yap, Adobe’s vice president of digital imaging, said in an exclusive interview ahead of the launch.

Another change, still in the works, will elevate editing presets that you can apply to your photos, she said. Presets previously made it easier to apply styles to photos, like warm color tones or an artsy black-and-white look, but they’re getting more powerful with artificial intelligence technology Adobe has begun building into Photoshop, Lightroom and other apps.

Phones come with built-in tools like Apple Photos and Google Photos to manage your shots, but Lightroom is a top contender for those who want to venture further. It’s got powerful editing tools, including new AI-powered abilities to select faces, skies and other specific parts of an image. It’s free, though paying $10 per month unlocks premium features and gets you the ability to synchronize photos across multiple devices, including personal computers whose big screens and computing horsepower are good for photo editing.

Another feature arriving in Lightroom on Tuesday, edit replay, lets you create a quick video that animates the steps from original photo to finished version, letting you share how you edited a shot.

Adobe gears Lightroom toward anybody who wants to take even one step beyond the original photo, like cropping to frame the subject better. The company isn’t neglecting the enthusiasts, pros and power users, though Yap said.

«For us, it’s always been about people that genuinely have a passion and interest for photography,» Yap said. «We also understand that we’re bringing in a lot of more casual users, and so we want to make sure that they get the benefit of the product really quickly and easily.»

And phones are no longer a photography joke.

Companies like Apple, Samsung and Google now spotlight camera upgrades as the top new feature on the latest flagship phone. Better low-light performance, higher resolution sensors and ever-wider zoom range means smartphones are ever more capable.

«We really want to empower every photographer, whether you shoot on mobile to big cameras with long telephoto lenses,» Yap said. Even if you have serious equipment, your smartphone might be the only device you have at some moment. «So that becomes your best camera,» Yap said.

Technologies

Facebook Brings Back Local Job Listings: How to Apply

One of Facebook’s most practical features from 2022 is being revived by Meta.

On the hunt for work? A Local Jobs search is being rolled out by Meta to make it easier for people in the US to discover and apply for nearby work directly on Facebook. The feature is inside Facebook Marketplace, Groups and Pages, Meta said last week, letting employers post openings and job seekers filter roles by distance, category or employment type.

You can apply or message employers directly through Facebook Messenger, while employers can publish job listings with just a few taps — similar to how you would post items for sale on Marketplace.

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Facebook offered a Jobs feature before discontinuing it in 2022, pushing business hiring toward its other platforms. Its return suggests Meta is attempting to expand Facebook’s usefulness beyond social networking and to position it once again as a hub for community-driven opportunities.

«We’ve always been about connecting with people, whether through shared interests or key life events,» the press release states. «Now, if you’re looking for entry-level, trade and service industry employment in your community, Facebook can help you connect with local people and small businesses who are hiring.»

How to get started with Local Jobs on Facebook

According to Meta, Local Jobs will appear as a dedicated section in Facebook Marketplace starting this week. If you’re 18 or older, you can:

Tap the Marketplace tab on the Facebook app or website.
Select Jobs to browse available positions nearby.
Use filters for job type, category and distance.
Tap Apply or message the employer directly via Messenger.

Businesses and page admins can post jobs by creating a new listing in Marketplace or from their Facebook Page. Listings can include job details, pay range, and scheduling information and will appear in local searches automatically.

The Local Jobs feature is rolling out across the US now, with Meta saying it plans to expand it in the months ahead.

Technologies

Tesla Has a New Range of Affordable Electric Cars: How Much They Cost

The new, stripped-back versions of the Model Y and Model 3 have a more affordable starting price.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Strands Hints, Answers and Help for Oct. 22 #598

Here are hints and answers for the NYT Strands puzzle for Oct. 22, No. 598.

Looking for the most recent Strands answer? Click here for our daily Strands hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

Today’s NYT Strands puzzle is a fun one — I definitely have at least two of these in my house. Some of the answers are a bit tough to unscramble, so if you need hints and answers, read on.

I go into depth about the rules for Strands in this story.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections and Mini Crossword answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: NYT Connections Turns 1: These Are the 5 Toughest Puzzles So Far

Hint for today’s Strands puzzle

Today’s Strands theme is: Catch all.

If that doesn’t help you, here’s a clue: A mess of items.

Clue words to unlock in-game hints

Your goal is to find hidden words that fit the puzzle’s theme. If you’re stuck, find any words you can. Every time you find three words of four letters or more, Strands will reveal one of the theme words. These are the words I used to get those hints but any words of four or more letters that you find will work:

BATE, LICE, SLUM, CAPE, HOLE, CARE, BARE, THEN, SLAM, SAMBA, BACK

Answers for today’s Strands puzzle

These are the answers that tie into the theme. The goal of the puzzle is to find them all, including the spangram, a theme word that reaches from one side of the puzzle to the other. When you have all of them (I originally thought there were always eight but learned that the number can vary), every letter on the board will be used. Here are the nonspangram answers:

TAPE, COIN, PENCIL, BATTERY, SHOELACE, THUMBTACK

Today’s Strands spangram

Today’s Strands spangram is JUNKDRAWER. To find it, look for the J that’s five letters down on the far-left row, and wind down, over and then up.

Quick tips for Strands

#1: To get more clue words, see if you can tweak the words you’ve already found, by adding an «S» or other variants. And if you find a word like WILL, see if other letters are close enough to help you make SILL, or BILL.

#2: Once you get one theme word, look at the puzzle to see if you can spot other related words.

#3: If you’ve been given the letters for a theme word, but can’t figure it out, guess three more clue words, and the puzzle will light up each letter in order, revealing the word.