Year: 2006

  • What to expect from Macworld ‘06?

    Steve Jobs

    Kevin Rose seems to think he knows… Here’s what he’s suggesting will be announced, per an Anonymous tipster

    • 15? intel Macbook – order tomorrow, ships Feb (thinner, dual core)
    • iPod FM receiver
    • iWork/Life ‘06
    • New remote of some type
    • Photocasting (iPhoto)
    • OS X.4.4 w/new widgets

    We’ll certainly find out soon enough, won’t we? MacWorld SF starts at 9am PST.

  • Adobe Lightroom

    Lightroom Beta 1 Splash Page

    Screenshots of Adobe Lightroom Beta

    Not to be outdone by Apple’s Aperture application for professional photographers, Adobe has just annouced Adobe Lightroom Beta. NAPP has created a Learning Center for this new tool on their website, that is immensely useful.

    Lightroom Beta lets you view, zoom in, and compare photographs quickly and easily. Precise, photography-specific adjustments allow you to fine tune your images while maintaining the highest level of image quality from capture through output. And best of all, it runs on most commonly used computers, even notebook computers used on location. Initially available as a beta for Macintosh, Lightroom will later support both the Windows and Macintosh platforms.

    The Lightroom Beta, is available for download from the Adobe Labs website. You’ll need an Adobe ID in order to preview this application.

    I’m glad to see Adobe pushing something like this out. I was just talking to Mercer Harris, an excellent photographer in Washington, GA, about Aperture and how it might fit into their workflow. Lightroom looks to be a viable alternative (if priced right)…

    This is going to be great for consumers. I’d love to see Apple and Adobe go head-to-head even more. It’ll just drive them to innovate even more!

  • Google: Leader of the Pack?

    Forget the Google Video store announcement… people have been clamoring over that rumor (and now, fact) for days… The thing that jumps out most to me is Google Pack. Why hasn’t someone thought of something like it before? With Google Pack, you get an application (trusted, we hope) that can manage safe, useful software for your computer. We’re not just talking Google stuff here, either. We’re talking about Ad-Aware, Adobe Reader 7, Norton Antivirus 2005 SE, Mozilla Firefox, Trillian… PLUS all of the great stuff coming out of Google these days – Google Earth, Picasa, Google Talk, etc. Sounds great, doesn’t it? So far, I’m really digging it.

    There are definite pros to having this sort of application manage “trusted” apps for you. They’re easy to install and uninstall, it’s software given the thumbs up by Google… I like that management of applications could be seperated from my operating system. Microsoft doesn’t always do things right, or well for that matter. The only con I’ve identified is that it’s letting Google a little deeper into your system… by allowing it to see what software you’re installing on your system.

    If you haven’t grabbed the Pack, or parts of it, you might want to check it out.

  • Photoshop CS2 Power Tour

    Photoshop CS2 Power Tour

    Don, Patrick and I will be attending the Photoshop CS2 Power Tour in Atlanta, GA later this month. If you’re interested in attending, check out photoshopseminars.com.

    On Wednesday, January 25th at the Cobb Galleria Convention Center, Dave Cross, Senior Developer, Education and Curriculum for the National Association of Photoshop Professionals, will be presenting the all-new Photoshop CS2 Power Tour.

    Amplify the impact of your work with these high-voltage, hair-raising techniques for Photoshop CS2! This brand-new one-day seminar will charge your creative batteries and transform you into a Photoshop dynamo, Guaranteed!

    The seminar is only $79 for NAPP members, or $99 for non-members. At the seminar you’ll receive our invaluable keyboard shortcuts guide, our “goodies” disc, and a detailed seminar workbook that includes all the techniques presented in a step-by-step format to take home.

    Think you might attend, let me know to look out for ya!

  • Get Your Feed On

    Standards-Geeks rejoice… Microsoft has acquiesced and accepted Mozilla’s option for RSS iconography. (Hallelujah… they had some pretty awful options they were toying around with…) You too can now spread the love for the delightlful little orange icon, by heading on over to feedicons.com, where designer Matt Brett has graciously created a site for distributing the standardized icon to the masses. Do the web a favor, and grab the files! Incorporate them into your site… you’ll be doing the RSS-uninitiated a favor.

  • Happy New Year

    Well, I’m only a day late. I stayed away from the computer yesterday. Sue me. ;)

    It’s 2006 already. Hard to believe, isn’t it? 2005 was a great year for me. 2006 can be even better. We all tend to make resolutions at the start of each year… I thought I’d make mine public. Next year, I’ll do a review to see how each resolution stacked up. That is, if my resolution for this year of eliminating procrastination from my vocabulary succeeds…

    1. Be a better father.
    2. Be a better husband.
    3. Lose weight.
    4. Excercise more.
    5. Grow closer to God.
    6. Read through the entire Bible this year.
    7. Finish books I’ve started and not finished.
    8. Stop procrastinating. (Maybe tomorrow?)
    9. Stop being so impulsive.
  • New Year, New Ride

    Yep, I broke down and got another truck. I wasn’t ready to get rid of my old truck, just yet. But the fact that the work truck package I had wouldn’t address the needs of our family (i.e. being able to fit a car seat in the rear seat), we had to get something different.

    I picked this truck up from Master Pontiac-GMC in Augusta, GA. It’s a 2006 GMC Sierra 1500 SLE. Color: Stealth Gray Metallic. Interior: Charcoal Gray fabric. It’s the nicest vehicle I’ve ever had the pleasure of owning. Thank God for giving me the ability to be able to afford something like it. I know that others are not so fortunate.