Super Ginormous

Author: Chris Harrison

  • RIAForge

    RIAForge: Open Source projects built on Adobe technology.

  • Tablecloth

    Tablecloth. Pretty slick way to stylize tables using JavaScript and CSS. Might prove handy someday.

  • Windows Live Writer Beta 3

    Windows Live Writer was recently updated to Beta 3. I’ve been really impressed by the Live apps so far, and Windows Live Writer is definitely one of the best blogging apps I’ve used on the PC.

  • Sample AIR Applications

    There are tons of sample AIR applications available on the Adobe Labs website. I’m writing this post using Bee. The more I use AIR apps, the more promising the technology looks. I really wish my skills with Javascript were better…

  • Buzzword

    Buzzword: Get an early look at it.Buzzword is abso-friggin-lutely gorgeous. Seriously. I learned about Buzzword when I heard that Adobe bought the company developing it: Virtual Ubiquity. After spending a good bit of time using Buzzword, I may never use Microsoft Word or Google Docs again. (Check out these screenshots.)

    Adobe was smart to pick this company up. It’s a fantastic use of Flash technology and could prove to be an incredible asset to Adobe’s burgeoning line of online applications (Photoshop Express, Premiere Express). Microsoft has already announced that they would be offering an online, ad-supported version of Word soon; and Google has been offering Google Docs – which includes a word processor, spreadsheets and presentations. Not having used Word Online (or whatever Microsoft will call it), I can’t comment on how it will look, but I can say that Buzzword is light-years beyond Google Docs word-processor.

    • THE GREAT
      • Simple, streamlined interface.
      • Easy-to-use.
      • Beautiful fonts – Adobe Garamond Pro, Courier Std, Cronos Pro, Minion Pro, Myriad Pro, News Gothic Std, and Tekton Pro. (Thanks, Adobe!)
    • THE GOOD
      • You can easily save your file for offline use. Current formats supported include Word (.doc), XML and Rich-Text (.rtf).
      • Everything is web-based, so you can access your documents from anywhere.
      • You can share any documents you create with other people and you can control whether they can be a co-author, reviewer or a reader. (Unfortunately, other people need to have a Buzzword account.)
    • THE BAD
      • Requires Adobe Flash. But seriously, who doesn’t have Flash at this point?
      • Still in Beta. You have to have an account in order to do anything with the service.
      • Can’t save files as PDFs (which seems like a no-brainer…) (Though, if you have Acrobat installed as a printer, you can always print the documents as a PDF.)
      • No style support. (Thanks Will!)
      • Other minor issues:
        • No HTML export. (Admittedly, this might be a good thing.)
        • No support for Open Document Format (ODF).

    In short, even though there’s still some work to be done, Buzzword is the best web-based word processor I’ve ever used. If you’ve never heard of it before, you’ve heard of it now. Head on over to Buzzword.com to sign up for the chance to get a beta invite.

    P.S. In case you’re interested, I typed up this review in Buzzword and printed it to PDF to show you how the output looks: Buzzword Review PDF

  • TOTD – 10.03.07

    Forgiveness means giving up the right to revenge.

  • Wuss in a Blender

    Wuss in a Blender. An instant classic from JoeCartoon!

  • Microsoft Open-Sourcing .Net

    Microsoft Open-Sourcing .Net. Didn’t see that one coming, did ya? Now if only Adobe would open-source ColdFusion…

  • Basic Alternatives

    Let’s face it, Adobe Photoshop CS3 isn’t ideal for every task. It’s great at a lot of things, but often I find that it’s too much software when it comes to handling basic tasks.

    For red eye removal, cropping basic image tweaks/adjustments, I use Google’s Picasa. Its tools are easy to use, provide pretty consistent results and automatically save backups of my original files when I make changes. The fact that it doubles as a photo manager is a bonus. You can easily send photos via, post them to Picasa Web Albums, make cd backups and more. And did I mention it’s free? The only downside to Picasa is that it is PC-only.

    For online image editing I use Picnik. It works with Flickr and Facebook, so I was able to link my accounts on those sites with my account in Picnik and make adjustments to pictures I’ve already uploaded to those services. The site is a little slow, but it’s great when you’re wanting to make basic adjustments to photos. Right now Picnik is still in beta, but eventually they will be offering a pro version of the site that will let you do a lot more with your photos.

    For everything else I use Photoshop.

  • More on Photoshop Express

    Man, the Adobe MAX conference has unleashed a flood of information on all kinds of new applications and technologies Adobe is working on. One of the things I am most excited about is Photoshop Express. Photoshop Express is a Flash-based image editor that runs within a web browser. CNET has new screenshots and additional details on Photoshop Express. Hopefully we’ll be able to play around with it soon. (via John Nack)

    In the meantime, if you’d like to check out a great online image editor – that’s compatible with Flickr, Facebook, and more – might I suggest Picnik? I’ve been using it off and on for a couple of months now and the technology is very promising.