Think affiliate programs are solely the province of SEO firms and experts? Think again. There’s such a thing as a malware affiliate program, and a very recent one targets Mac users specifically. It’s a sign that cyber-crime is beginning to target Apple more aggressively than it has in the past. Darrell Etherington over at TheAppleBlog has an informative article; There’s a Bounty On Your Mac: 43 Cents Per Malware Infection. With the popularity of the Mac operating system growing more and more every year, it’s wise to stay informed about the potential of virus and malware heading our way.
Type: Aside
Rant: Internet assholes and how to spot one
The Expert:
The Expert
The number one way to spot an Internet @$$hole (referred to in the rest of this article as I.A.s) is to look on the potential turd-burglar’s Twitter page in the Bio section. If you see the word “expert” or “S.E.O.” or my favorite “S.E.O. Expert,” you have struck gold. You’ve come across the highest order of I.A. there is. If you follow them, drop them. If they follow you, block them. But for cryin’ out loud, don’t engage them – you’re just feeding wild animals that will eventually knock over your trash can and spill your garbage all over the driveway! Keep reading. There’s plenty more I.A.s out there to learn about.
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Working with Document Tabs in Adobe CS4 Apps
With the release of the Adobe Creative Suite 4, all the major apps have adopted a tabbed document interface. At first it’s a bit difficult to get used to, but I’ve found it to be a pretty decent productivity increase. The one thing that baffled me was how difficult it was to get objects from one document to another. I of course am not one for reading manuals, so it took me a while to figure out how simple it really is. You can drag objects (or entire layers for that matter) from one document to another when they’re both open simply by selecting the object(s) or layer(s) from one document and dragging them to the tab of the second document and hovering them over the tab for a brief second. The second document moves to the front and you can let go of them to place them.
Is OS X Snow Leopard ready for heavy-duty design work?
Whenever Apple releases a new operating system, the first thing creatives consider before updating is whether or not the new OS will play nicely with their existing investments in hardware and software. For most designers and artists, that means Adobe Creative Suite, font managers, and Web browsers, not to mention their existing Macs. In my latest article at Macworld, I share a brief overview of Snow Leopard, and how it might affect designers using the Adobe Creative Suite 4 applications. To make a long story short, the answer is yes, go ahead and upgrade. While the speed increases are nominal at this point; future upgrades to individual applications will boost speed in the not-so-distant future – as shown by Safari, Mail and iCal. I experienced no issues running Adobe CS4, Extensis Suitcase Fusion 2 or any other applications I use on a daily basis.
Avoiding daily distractions
Being a designer requires more knowledge, experience and dedication than ever. Gone are the days of “specializing” in one area of design or the other; you have to work in print, Web and multi-media – all demanding more of your valuable time. Freelancers in particular generally have enough work to fill their day without figuring in time for distractions. I spent the last nine months freelancing, and was lucky enough to have enough work to fill my day. I was also spending some of my time each day searching for a full-time gig, so my time had to be managed well. It took a while, but I found a decent balance after about a month of trying different things. Below are a few of those things that gave me more time to focus on my design and writing, job searching, and even a bit of time for me to sit back and relax a little each day, go for a bike ride, or leisurely surf the Web. Read on to see what worked for me. (more…)
Monsterize yourself
There’s no valid reason to bother with this – heck, it’s not even Halloween yet. But I came across this site and it’s fun as heck to mess around with. Upload a photo of yourself and go to work turning yourself into Frankenstein, a vampire, and more. Just visit the Buffalo Wild Wings Night Hunger site to get started monsterizing yourself. A tightly cropped head shot with a simple background work best. This is the second time I’ve referred you to a Buffalo Wild Wings site because it was über-cool! The main Buffalo Wild Wings site I recently wrote about is awesome as well.
Night photography tips
Photo by inoc @ Flickr
Adobe drops PPC support for CS5
Adobe announced today that future versions of the applications in their Creative Suites will no longer support PowerPC (PPC) Macs. With Apple’s recent announcement that the next version of OSX (Snow Leopard) will not support the PowerPC chip set, there was really no reason to continue with future development for the pre-Intel platform.
Adobe Creative Suite 5 drops PPC support
30″ LCD Showdown: Apple vs. Dell
In my quest to upgrade an aging dual-monitor setup (a 20” main screen with a 17” screen off to the side to house application palettes, iTunes, etc.), the first decision to make was choosing between another dual-monitor setup, or going large with a 30″ display. I chose to go the single-monitor route.
With only a single monitor, I wanted the largest I could get, a 30″ LCD. After quite a bit of research online, and real-world use of the Apple 30” Cinema Display and a Dell 30” UltraSharp Widescreen, I was prepared to make a decision based on several factors. Rather than give a run-down of tech specs you can get on your own, I decided to give you a side-by-side comparison from a typical user’s perspective.
Tips for photographing pets
Pets fill very quickly their place in our hearts and families and we enjoy having their pictures framed on our desk or wall! However taking pictures of your best friend is not always easy. Pets, unlike humans, do not understand what we are trying to do and won’t just pose for the camera!
Photo by José Luna @ Flickr