The Web

Recently, the world has been transformed by a powerful new invention. This new communication technology is as revolutionary as the telephone and as ubiquitous as the automobile. Within a few years , it has embedded itself deeply in our lives and has affected how we communicate and how we do business. The World Wide Web (see Figure 1.8) is by far the most accessible communication medium in which to publish images or text. As a research tool, the Web gives us instant access to every conceivable form of information. The Web is the ultimate technical manifestation of democracy in that it embodies the essence of free speech and freedom of the press. Being the most unregulated of all publishing mediums, anyone can publish anything at any time.

Figure 1.8: An Adobe Web page

The Web has changed the nature of how we handle pictures. Images can be transmitted electronically and downloaded, making access to them almost instantaneous, even at a distance. Many art museums and libraries have placed digital files of their entire archives online, making them accessible to everyone. If you need a picture of a particular subject, the first and last place to look is now the Web.

Many tools and functions introduced with recent upgrades of Photoshop have been devoted to Web publishing. Methods for choosing, optimizing, and saving files in the appropriate format have been seamlessly integrated into the program, eliminating all guesswork. The Color Picker offers the choice of Web-compatible hexadecimal colors. ImageReady, which is bundled with Photoshop, empowers you to create dynamic Web pages that can include slices, hypertext, rollovers, and animations. This latest version of ImageReady provides new features like the ability to save documents in Flash (SWF) format, and a new Tables palette.