Ruby Helyer

United Kingdom, United States

Freelance Content Writer at MUO

Creative Tech Author at XDA Developers

She/her. Content writer and graphic designer/illustrator. Part-time Brit.

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Articles

Adobe XD and Dreamweaver are dying software - here are the best alternatives to use

4 days ago | xda-developers.com | Ruby Helyer

Adobe’s web design and development tools are dying software. Adobe XD — a UX/UI design tool — is only in maintenance mode, and Dreamweaver, Adobe’s web development tool, famed in the past, faces no more development, but still has support from Adobe. These two apps join a list of great Adobe tools that have been discontinued, but the modern day brings a ton of better web design and development tools to use instead.
I Used This App to Fix My Portraits-Now They Look Amazing

5 days ago | makeuseof.com | Ruby Helyer

A portrait-specific professional photo-editing tool is hard to come by, especially one with AI features that doesn’t overhaul your photos. I use Aperty for my portrait edits—it has traditional RAW development tools, a focus on portrait editing for great results, and innovative AI tools specifically for improving professional portraits. When Skylum released Aperty in 2024, it changed the way portrait photographers can edit their best photos.
Grok Just Upgraded to Rival ChatGPT’s Canvas

1 week ago | makeuseof.com | Ruby Helyer

xAI has launched Grok Studio, a major update to its Grok chatbot platform. The new update lets you collaborate on code, create browser-based apps, and generate documents all in one place. Generate Code and Documents with Grok Studio Today, we are releasing the first version of Grok studio, adding code execution and google drive support. Grok StudioGrok can now generate documents, code, reports, and browser games.
5 features PDFgear is missing before it can become a true Adobe Acrobat replacement

2 weeks ago | xda-developers.com | Ruby Helyer

PDFgear is a free alternative to Adobe Acrobat. While it’s not open-source, like many great closed-source Adobe alternatives, it’s an option for anyone who wishes to pivot from Adobe tools. However, PDFgear is still missing some features that would put it at the same level as Adobe Acrobat, preventing many people from making a full switch.
6 discontinued Adobe tools and their modern day alternatives

2 weeks ago | xda-developers.com | Ruby Helyer

Adobe has offered the world many great software tools. Tools like Adobe Photoshop will likely reign in the creative industry until the end of time, but there are loads of discontinued or unsupported Adobe tools. It’s a sad day when your favorite app gets removed from support listings. Despite Adobe discontinuing dozens of software over the years, there are still great alternatives offering better results, so you can continue to create.
How Ente Photos V1.0 marks a step in the best direction for photo privacy and storage

3 weeks ago | xda-developers.com | Ruby Helyer

Ente Photos is a multi-platform open-source photo and video storage tool with a huge emphasis on data security and privacy. Its reliable storage uses three European data centers — one of which is in a fallout center — to ensure your memories will never get accidentally lost.
Stop Using Google Photos-This Photo Backup App Is Safer and Just as Easy

3 weeks ago | makeuseof.com | Ruby Helyer

Backing up photos shouldn’t mean backing up your life to Big Tech. I found a better way, and it’s called Ente. With privacy and security at the forefront of Ente Photos’ policy, you’d wonder why you haven’t made the switch from Google Photos already. Ente Photos Promotes Privacy and Security in Photo Storage and Sharing Privacy and data security are Ente Photos' most important features.
What’s the difference between LPI, DPI, and PPI? When and why you should care?

4 weeks ago | xda-developers.com | Ruby Helyer

You’ve probably seen the acronyms DPI, PPI, and LPI for resolution types. They all look and are similar, but the three are slightly different. Learning about and setting the correct DPI, PPI, and LPI resolution ensures your printed or screen-based designs have high-quality visual results. If the number is too low on a large image, it’ll be pixelated, but sometimes a lower number is fine, depending on the medium. It’s good to know what each means, when you should use them, and why you need to care.
Alternatives to Adobe software are great, but why are we avoiding Adobe anyway?

4 weeks ago | xda-developers.com | Ruby Helyer

Adobe has long topped lists for the best creative software in industries such as graphic design, photography, and videography. It's the most popular brand for the majority of creative tools, but huge swathes of users are making the switch from Adobe or have avoided it entirely. Price is the biggest factor, along with a lack of ownership and privacy concerns. Other software offers better options for those three problems without forgoing many of the creative features offered in Adobe products.
Photopea vs GIMP: Which is the best Photoshop replacement?

1 month ago | xda-developers.com | Ruby Helyer

As alternatives to Photoshop, Photopea and GIMP couldn’t be more different from one another, despite both making good replacement tools. These two are often found in most lists of Photoshop alternatives, and for good reason. They can offer you different creative tools based on your own needs for your creative projects. While both are free to use, they come from different funding backgrounds and platform availability, too.