Holiday Geekfest
With the holidays on the way, you may have a few free days on your hands — and a perfect opportunity for some productive downtime. If you run a Macintosh, then perhaps this end of the year may be a good time to load and evaluate Mac OS X 10.3, Panther. A similar idea for those of you still on Windows 2000 (or even Windows 98); consider a move to Windows XP. Since it will take a while to iron out the kinks in your workflow engendered from the upgrade process, the holiday is the best time to move forward with this plan.
Now, either of these moves may mean upgrading your system to a more powerful processor and certainly, adding more memory. I know you’re thinking that such a plan is easy for me to say and tough on the budget. However, if you purchase a new machine in December, you might also find a year’s worth of depreciation for equipment received and paid for in this calendar year (be warned, however, that I’m no a tax attorney).
At the same time, readers on either platform should take this holiday time as an occasion to run a full backup as well as a full copy, or replication, of your workspace and data. Some reading my recent articles on backup, would say that I’m a fanatic on the subject. And they are correct. Please consider adding a backup plan into your workflow as a New Year’s resolution, too.
To facilitate the backup process, a number of vendors offer hard drives with buttons connected to integrated backup software; press the button and you’re backed up. For desktop machines there’s Maxtor’s OneTouch line, some of which offer both FireWire and USB 2.0 ports; and Seagate Technology’s self-branded 160GB External Drive. And for those of you with notebooks, take a look at CMS Products’ ABSplus Portable drives. The rugged little units don’t have a button but they autosense a connection when plugged to your computer and then invoke a backup automatically.
Here’s a tip for Web production software. Perhaps some of you support family and friends with Web designs? This work can be fun but also a burden at times, especially when it involves the updating of content.
I recently began to take a look at Macromedia Contribute 2.0 as a low-cost way around this support issue. The $99 software offers an understandable graphical interface that lets users open a page, cut and paste data into it and then publish the revised edition. You can stay with your professional tools, while your friends and relatives can take advantage of a more-appropriate, easier, program. Version 2.0, released this summer, now supports both Mac and Windows platforms.
Since I have a notebook (more than a couple actually), I sometimes find myself computing at night in the dark, sitting bed or some other dim place. Many vendors offer inexpensive USB-powered “snake” lights, really just an LED stuck on the end of a cable that can direct a bit of light on the keyboard. I use mine all the time. Here’s one example costing $5.99.
But I also place these snake lights on my desktop machines. I find it difficult to see the ports and labels on the back panel much of the time, even with the office lights on — there’s often a shadow cast on the rear of the machine (perhaps you place your computer under a desk or some other dimly-lit spot). So, I keep one of these snakes pointed at the rear of the box, either from one of the USB ports or from a hub, always shining until it’s needed. The LED “bulb” will last for years and draws little energy.
Figure 17: This light gets its juice from your computer’s USB port.
I mentioned Meridrew Enterprises’ Kleer Screen line of cleaning products in a spring column on scanner maintenence. The company has a cleaning solution that won’t damage lens coatings or LCD screens as well as an optical-grade microfiber cloth to wipe off the solution. I believe that their $29.95 Anchor Power Klean Kit bundles all of the company’s products.
In addition to being a techno-geek, I’m also a science fiction fan. I recently bought a wonderful DVD box set of the Farscape television series’ first season (Season Two was recently released). Filmed in Australia, the show made extensive use of computer graphics and puppetry (from the Jim Henson Creature Shop), giving it a look unlike any other. It’s brilliant.
Present Heaven
The Apple PowerBook 12-inch ultra-slick notebook weighs under 5 pounds and now can hook up to an Apple 20″ Cinema Display ($1,300). It’s small enough for on-the-go use yet is a capable desktop machine with lots of breathing room at home.
Then again if you can only afford one system, the new 20-inch iMac includes the beautifully spacious 20-inch Cinema Display in an all-in-one Mac G4 for about $2,000.
Figure 18: The new 20-inch iMac is a real beauty.
If you’re looking for a digital camera that is an all-around a great model, that’s affordable, that has decent battery life, and that’s small enough that you don’t mind carrying it around, the Canon Powershot S400 and the Powershot SD100 are the ones to consider, in my opinion.
Apple has a deal going on that you can pick up Apple Final Cut Express, a slightly scaled down version of Apple’s award-winning video editing software, $299 or $99 with a purchase of a new Mac. Definitely worth it.
Adobe’s new integrated Adobe Creative Suite includes brand new versions of Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign, plus GoLive in the Premium package. This is as close as you get to a no-brainer upgrade.
If your primary work is Web design and development, Macromedia Studio MX 2004 is meant for you. Dreamweaver now includes a great cross-browser checking feature and Flash has never been more robust.
When your CD/DVD burning needs surpass what your computer offer, consider upgrading to Roxio Toast 6 Titanium. The new version has a simplified interface, storage gauges, and improved support for all the latest media options: VCD. SVCD, DVD-R, DVD+R, etc.
For books, I like:
- “Designing with Web Standards” by Jeffrey Zeldman. If you’re involved in designing Web sites or Web-based applications, do pick this book up and give it a read through. Jeffrey’s tone of writing is an easy read yet very informative. He let’s you know what you need to design a Web site that is both standards compliant while backwards=compatible with older browsers. A must read for any one in Web design.
- “InDesign for QuarkXPress Users” by David Blatner, Chris Smith, and Steve Werner. David Blatner has written a book for all my design friends who want to get off the QuarkXPress merry-go-round but can’t seem to part with something they know even though they know they want something more. A great book for anyone considering the switch to InDesign.
- “Down and Dirty Tricks for Adobe Photoshop CS” by
Scott Kelby. Scott Kelby puts out another great book chock full of recipes for achieving those certain Photoshop effects you’ve seen but couldn’t quite figure out how it’s done. This is a fun book while informative as well.
These Verbatim Digital Movie DVD-Rs come in nice jewel cases and each disc has a movie reel imprinted on it. Verbatim also carries CD-R’s that look like old 45’s record albums. Remember 45’s?
When you find yourself waiting in line or your commute to work, give your brain a rest and play a fun game on a Gameboy Advance SP. Lose the multi-function PDA, get something you’ll enjoy. Some great games to consider picking up are: Yoshi’s Island, Advance Wars 2, Zelda: Legend of Link.
Big Wishes
Well I’d still love an Apple iPod. In the hopes that someday somebody might get me an iPod as a gift, I’ve been keeping lists of songs on iTunes I’d like to have in my listening library. If you know someone who does have an iPod– iTunes gift certificate would be wonderful. Maybe some day they’ll let us make play lists of songs we would like to buy for someone…
On the less expensive side, I just got Leo Laporte’s “Technology Almanac” as a gift for a tech-loving friend.
Oh, and I’m thinking about getting one of those Brookstone “Quick-Access Airport Wallet” (that Sandee Cohen wears around on her trips) as gifts for frequent travelers.
If you have a more robust gift budget, I HIGHLY recommend a new digital camera. For someone who wants to have a camera at the ready where ever — the Canon Digital Elph is fab. And for someone who wants SLR framing in a compact camera with a big (10x optical) zoom– the Olympus C-750 my favorite gift to myself in recent years.
But if you really want to make your loved one happy… Buy them (or me!) a 23-inch Apple Cinema Display, or better yet… a 17″ PowerBook… Wait– get BOTH a Cinema Display AND a 17″ PowerBook!
Happy Holidays!
–Sharon Steuer
This article was last modified on January 18, 2023
This article was first published on December 9, 2003
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