Super Ginormous

Month: April 2007

  • And here I thought it was my fault…

    I experienced intermittent connectivity issues with AOL Instant Messenger. I thought it was just issues with my internet connection… Seems I was not alone:

    ‘Glitch’ Keeps Some AIM Users Offline

    AOL told BetaNews Wednesday afternoon it is in the process of resolving a “technical glitch” that is affecting a limited number of AIM users. The problem surfaced early in the day, and resulted in some users being knocked off the service repeatedly.

    The company did not say what caused the problem, which seemed to hit users in various regions of the United States. “All affected AIM users will have their service issue resolved by very early morning, though for many AIM users, the problem has already been fixed,” an AOL spokesperson told BetaNews.

  • Photoshop CS2 Script for SlideShowPro

    SlideShowProIf you use Photoshop CS2 and Todd Dominey’s awesome SlideShowPro, you’re going to dig this free script from developer Matt Johnson. It takes all of the hard work out of setting up an XML file for use with SSP.

    Written in the Javascript language for the Adobe Photoshop DOM, this script quickly produces folder structures, optimized images, and outputs the XML source needed for the creation of galleries in SlideShowPro.

    Feature List:

    • Creates folder structure
    • Populates the album title
    • Populates the album description
    • Populates IPTC / Photoshop Captions
    • Custom fit-image resize using Bicubic Sharper
    • Export large and thumbnail size images
    • Saves space using “Save For Web” compression
    • Closes original images without saving changes
    • Ready to use, just publish your swf file to the same directory

    (Hat tip: SlideShowPro)

  • Proud Granny

    On the way into work today, I stopped and got gas at a station I frequent at least once a week. A new clerk was working this morning. When I went to pay, here’s part of the conversation we had:

    Clerk: You work at John Deere?Me: No, ma’am. I got the hat for free when I bought a tractor from them.Clerk: Oh, okay. I have a new grandbaby comin’ soon.Me: Congratulations.Clerk: Ya see, JCPenney’s was havin’ this sale this past weekend. They had this cute little camouflage outfit and I got for my grandbaby. It had the John Deere logo on it.Me: … (I didn’t know how to respond)

    I don’t think I’ll be wearing this hat out in public again.

  • Tragedy

    Words escape me when I think about the tragic shootings at Virginia Tech today. A Columbia County resident was among those killed. It’s hard to even imagine how senseless acts like this occur…

  • Upgrading to CS3

    adobecs3.pngCurrently I’m using Adobe Creative Suite 2 Premium. On a limited basis, I’ve been testing out the Photoshop CS3 Beta and figured I should give CS3 a test drive before upgrading the rest of the guys in my department.

    I was given the go-ahead to upgrade to CS3 if I wanted to a couple of weeks ago, but I’ve struggled with what version to get. I was torn between getting the Design Premium and Web Premium versions… Honestly, I’ve been toying with the idea of not upgrading at all considering a few of the reviews I’ve read. This morning I ordered Adobe Creative Suite 3 Web Premium (that’s a mouthful!). The source of contention in deciding which version came down to one thing: InDesign CS3.

    We do a little bit of print design at PowerServe, but most of it can be done in Photoshop and/or Illustrator without the need for InDesign. As a matter of fact, in the time I have had InDesign I have only used it for one project. (Hardly enough justification to get an upgraded version of the app.) With CS3 Web Premium I’ll gain access to Contribute CS3, Flash CS3, Fireworks CS3… which I definitely think fit in more with the kind of work I do now.

    I’m looking forward to using it, and if all works out I’ll be picking up copies of it for my three coworkers in the near future.

  • Feed

    I just finished up “Feed” by M.T. Anderson tonight. Man… what a good book! I picked it up based on the recommendation of a complete stranger, and I was not disappointed at all.

    Imagine a future where everyone’s plugged in… People have microchips implanted in their heads that connects them to the Feed. The Feed constantly delivers news, information, music, and so on based on how you feel, what you want, and more.

    I can’t help but think about how we’re inundated with so much information on a daily basis, and how much of it I choose to voluntarily consume… The book really struck a nerve with me, and really challenged me to unplug myself from the feed. I would definitely check the book out. I highly recommend it.

  • Wireless

    Well, this morning I ended up picking up a DI-624M from CompUSA, brought it home, installed it and didn’t have any problems. Then I tried to setup WEP, which shouldn’t have been a problem. But one thing led to another and the router ended up not working at all. Trying to reset the router to factory defaults didn’t work at all.

    A quick trip back to CompUSA resulted in me getting a cheaper D-Link router: the D-Link WBR-1310. It’s an 802.11g/b router with less range than my previous router, but I don’t bring my laptop outside much anyway. I was able to get my laptop, my wife’s laptop, the Wii, and the 360 all connected to the new router within about 10 minutes. I didn’t bother with WEP this time, but I may enable it at some point if I see that neighbors are leeching connectivity from me.

    What a way to kill a Saturday.

  • Optimization

    In an effort to conserve GPUs on my new web host, I’ve been taking the advice of OpenSwitch’s Ben Gray and trying to optimize this site as much as possible. I’ve temporarily killed the Flickr photos I had displayed on the sidebar, and made a few other tweaks to cut down on the number of queries on page load… I usually get less traffic on the site during the weekend so now’s a perfect time to do some testing and optimization of the site.

  • Disconnected

    Ugh. My wireless router kicked the bucket this morning after serving me well over three years. Time to buy a new one. It’s not a huge deal seeing as my laptop is only a few feet from our DSL modem most of the time, but if my wife wants to get online with her laptop, or if I want to get my game on with the XBOX360 or Wii — it’s a no-go. Honestly, I’m a bit surprised it has lasted as long as it has.

    Most people I know haven’t had good luck with D-Link routers, but most of them tend to be using Comcast as their ISP. I currently use AT&T FastAccess DSL (Xtreme) service at home, and the D-Link wireless routers, in my experience, have been wonderfully easy to use. (I’ve even set them up at family members’ houses that use DSL – in some cases replacing Linksys routers – and had tremendous success.)

    I’m looking at a couple of models to replace the dead D-Link DI-624 Wireless Router.

    My first choice is the D-Link DI-634M Wireless 108G MIMO Router which supports 802.11g/b. It’s gotten pretty good reviews at CompUSA and Amazon. It’s a little more expensive than I want to spend, but it would be the most comparable router I could get compared to what I currently have. Another option would be to simply replace the router I have with another DI-624. I’m not sure if they make the one I have anymore, but I do know there is a DI-624M available at CompUSA, so we’ll see…

  • Buying Photoshop CS3?

    Just got a friendly tip/reminder via email from the National Association of Photoshop Professionals that I thought I would pass along:

    If you happen to be working on an older version of Photoshop (Photoshop 6, 5, 4… you get the idea) then you can save some money upgrading to CS3 if you move quickly. You see, previously Adobe let anyone with a registered version of Photoshop (even Photoshop 2.0, etc.) upgrade to the latest version by simply paying the regular upgrade price. But, with the release of Photoshop CS3 , you’ll only be able to upgrade at the standard upgrade price if you have Photoshop 7, CS, or CS2. So, if you are still using Photoshop 6.0 or earlier, you should upgrade to Photoshop CS2 in the next few weeks (a cost of around $169), then you can buy the upgrade to CS3 when it comes out at the regular upgrade price. This workaround will literally save some of you hundreds of dollars over having to the buy a full version once CS3 and CS3 Extended ship.