Since around 1986, Apple’s Mac Operating System has won-over users due to its ease of use, simplicity and the fact that not much changed in the way it worked — a fact that many PC users claimed was a fault. In fact, until OSX was release in March of 2001, about the biggest thing that changed with the way the Mac OS looked and worked was a few Control Panels making connecting to the Internet easier and a handful of doo-dads that were easily missed unless you were looking for them. All the Finder windows, keyboard commands and icons remained relatively unchanged for years. 
With OSX, everything changed. Users cried foul, threatened to leave the platform if Apple didn’t immediately remove the candy icons and buttons and go back to the dull grayscale and relatively flat appearance of OS9. Of course, eventually those users came-around and quickly learned to love OSX. From OSX 10.1 PUMA to 10.4 Tiger, not much changed with the overall appearance of the Mac OS. A few cool new apps like iChat, a brushed metal appearance, iTunes, iMovie, iDVD, Mail and Safari came along, but none of those really fundamentally changed the way we work with the OS. But then came along a big, bad cat named Leopard. (more…)
Category: General
Gizmodo pulls prank – gets banned from CES
You may have heard about Gizmodogate, a practical joke a blogger at Gizmodo played on unsuspecting exhibitors at the recent CES show in Las Vegas. Basically, one of the bloggers at Gizmodo was given TV-B-Gone clickers and he chose to use it at the world’s largest gathering of tech-geekery by shutting off not only individual LCD TVs on display, but also a presentation being made by one of the exhibitors. While this may come across initially as good-spirited fun and Tom-Foolery, I look at it another way. To me it was a childish prank that not only affected the hard-working people working the targeted booths, not just the companies that spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to show-off their latest wares, but may have completely ruined the reputation of all bloggers who take what they do seriously. And what’s worse is that Gizmodo appears to be proud of the act, publicizing it on their own site. As a blogger myself, I’ve worked hard to establish myself as a serious writer. Granted, this site is a hobby for me, something I do because I love to do it. But I also would like to think that you, my readers, and other Mac-related sites take me seriously. Maybe it’s just a fantasy and I’m just dreaming. But serious bloggers have been fighting the notion that they’re two-bit hacks not worthy of being called a “real” journalist for years. CES just this past year finally gave-in to bloggers everywhere, offering them media credentials for the event. What Gizmodo has done has validated their past thinking, that bloggers are nothing but a bunch of children playing games and are not to be taken seriously. While CES has banned the Gizmodo staffer from future CES events, and are considering further sanctions against Gizmodo and their parent company (Gawker Media), one can only guess that they will also restrict all bloggers further media access and acknowledgement in the future. Thanks Gizmodo. I hope the 15-minutes of fame was worth it to you. Again, this in no way truly affects my ability to write for my own site now, but who’s to say that it won’t in the future affect my ability to do so should I choose to attend and cover such an event? And while it doesn’t affect me now, it may affect other bloggers I respect that DO depend on these media credentials to do their job. And that would be a shame. I’m not going to sit here and beg you not to visit Gizmodo’s site. You should take advantage of any source of information you can on the internet. But I will say that I personally will not click the ads on Gizmodo anymore, and if this childish act bothers you in any way, I ask you to do the same. Punishing them financially is about all we as readers can do about it. Let’s just hope we don’t have a repeat at Macworld this week.
Master your DSLR camera – program mode
You ponied up for a digital SLR camera because you hated the shutter lag on your little point-and-shoot. The good news: Your photos have improved! The bad news? You know they could be even better—if only you dared to let go of the camera’s “auto” mode. It’s as if you’ve been creeping around the neighborhood in a new Mustang using only first gear. No more! It’s time to take control, hit the highway, and learn what you can do in program mode. Lifehacker has a great feature titled Master Your DSLR Camera: Program Mode — worth taking a look at if you have a digital camera and you’re not yet used to the settings.
PDF font subsetting explained
I’m often asked about Font Subsetting when exporting and creating PDF files using Distiller or directly from InDesign, so I thought I would post this explanation of what Font Subsetting is. When generating a PDF, it is possible to include only those characters in a font that were used in the document. This partial font is called a “Font Subset”. You adjust font subsetting in either the Acrobat Distiller job options or InDesign’s export dialog under “Subset fonts below X%”. The percent represents how much of the font is used in your document before it gets embedded in the PDF file. So a setting of 100% would mean that the entire font would be subsetted in the PDF file, while a setting of 5% would mean that you would have to use nearly all the characters available before the font would be subsetted. The primary advantages of subsetting fonts are that it not only reduces the PDF file size, but RIP’s (raster image processors) are forced to use the subset font even if the system has the full font available. Your PDF is slightly larger than other PDF files, but is also less likely to have problems with substituted fonts when output. Disadvantages of font subsetting are that it prevents your output provider from making edits to the PDF file if necessary, while still maintaining font integrity.
How to avoid flash blow out in your digital photos
You’ve been in the situation. You’re up close to your subject in a low-light situation, you take the picture and the flash goes off. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime shot – but when you check the photo, it’s completely washed out and white from the flash. Digital Photography School has 7 Strategies for Avoiding Flash Blow Out in your digital photos. One of the techniques I really love using is #4 on their list, commonly referred to on digital cameras is “night mode.” This mode uses a technique called slow sync flash, where the camera shutter stays open a little longer to allow more light in, and then the flash goes off at the beginning or end of the shot. This method allows you to allow more ambient light from the background, while still freezing the action when the flash goes off. The technique can produce stunning results.
Logo trends 2007: The latest “in” styles
I always look forward to Bill Gardner’s yearly trend outlook on logos over at LogoLounge. The 2007 logo design trends article is no exception. Last year’s assortment of orbs, buttons and splats give way to 3D, flowery, non-cmyk-reproduceable, wireframed logos – watch as they proliferate into oblivion, my friends. While most of them are cool, I’m seeing a slight move toward the outrageously complicated logo mark. Overly complex, 3D, or brightly colored logos simply don’t reproduce well in traditional print, but with so many Web businesses popping up, it really doesn’t matter. And while the “print purist” in me cringes, the designer in me rejoices. FREEDOM!!!
Good designers copy, great designers steal
Pablo Picasso, the first living artist to be featured in the Louvre, influenced the artistic world in a uniquely original way. So why is he known for saying “Good artists copy, great artists steal?”
The key? Steal from discreet sources.
Cameron Moll, a freelance new media and print designer, wrote an article a few years back on the topic, but I find it still relevant today. Stop by SitePoint and take a look at Good designers copy, great designers steal.
Use native graphics files when placing into your layout
I can’t stress enough the importance of saving your Photoshop and Illustrator files as native .psd and .ai files, rather than the old standby .tif and .eps. While these older formats will work just fine for most uses, when you place native files you get the advantage of full transparency support and most times, smaller file sizes. Let’s say you have applied a drop shadow to an object in Illustrator. If you save it as an .ai file, the shadow will appropriately darken whatever color or object that is underneath it in your InDesign document. If you save the same Illustrator file as an .eps you get unexpected results – usually a white bounding box behind the shadow either on screen, when printed, or both.
Digital photography tip roundup
Digital Photography School has posted a roundup of digital photography tips from around the Web, as well as a few great ones of their own. Among those is a great breakdown of some popular DSLR lenses, and how to take great group photos. If you’re shooting your own photos for ads, or you are just getting into digital photography as a hobby, Digital Photography School is a great resource.
Design choices can cripple a Web site
AListApart has an old article by Nick Usborne titled Design Choices Can Cripple a Web site. While the article is quite old, it still argues a point that I feel (almost) exactly the opposite about. I believe that the content of a Web site provides the site its worth – the design has to be at least acceptable and pleasant to the eye, but it is not the major reason for me to visit. Nick appears to favor the design of a site over the content (at least, that’s the conclusion I’ve drawn after reading). As designers we tend to focus on the design, the bells & whistles and the functionality of a site. But we must not forget the content. You can’t make a promise with design that you can’t deliver with content.