Just received an invite to try out WordPress.com. So far, it seems pretty cool. I’ve only got limited familiarity with WordPress as a blog app, so I’m not going to be the most knowledgeable when it comes to comparing WordPress.com vs. the downloadable version… What I have seen so far has been pretty cool. I’ll try to talk about it a bit more once I get some time to play around with it.
Blog
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Just me and Cocoa
Been pretty busy lately. Some major projects have fallen on my lap here at work, and I’ve been working hard to keep my head above water. From time to time, it’s good to just take a step back and clear your mind of everything you’ve got going on. I did that last night as I played with my mother-in-law’s puppies… (They can make you forget about anything!Kim snapped this pic last night as I started to doze off at her parents’ house. Cocoa crawled up on my shoulder and fell asleep too! I absolutely love this photo. I still can’t believe how big she’s gotten already. Click here to see a bigger version -
Macromedia Rocks
Macromedia Customer Service is awesome. Not only did they take care of my problem, they took care of it quickly. It was unfortunate that I received a broken CD in the first place, but Macromedia sent a replacement via FedEx right away.Macromedia – you definitely kept a customer happy. Thank you. -
Special Delivery …. Oops!
Are you sure this will work in my CDROM drive? So, umm, my Flash 8 Professional disk arrived via UPS today, and it look like somebody a) sat on my package; b) kicked my package; c) dropped something heavy on my package; d) …
Fortunately, a quick call to Macromedia Customer Service resolved my issue. I told them about the CD issue, and they’ve got a replacement on the way. I had a pretty good experience with them. Got through quickly. They handled my issue quickly and efficiently. Should have my replacement disk soon!
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The Next Great Battle
If you thought the Adobe/Macromedia merger was huge, you ain’t seen nothing yet. Microsoft’s getting into the design biz.
On the surface, this doesn’t seem like a big deal. But it is. Microsoft is trying to position itself to take Adobe/Macromedia head-on with its new Microsoft Expression product offerings.
Microsoft Expression is going to come in three flavors: Graphic Designer, Interactive Designer and Web Designer. I see these product offerings as a direct assault against Adobe’s Photoshop and Illustrator (and GoLive) applications, and Macromedia’s Dreamweaver, Fireworks and Flash applications.
While I don’t really see these tools being adopted by most of today’s designers, I do see them being adopted by “average joes” who dabble in Web Design because they have FrontPage installed on their computer, or dabble in graphics because Paint Shop Pro is on their computers. I’m not trying to knock those sorts of people, because you’ve got to start somewhere. Heck, for the longest time I used Notepad to code HTML because it was all that I had available to me. I didn’t start using Dreamweaver until I started working at PowerServe. But what it does is distort people’s perception of what it takes to get this sort of work. Just because someone makes a tool that allows you todo the work, doesn’t mean you’re good at it.
I hope that Microsoft’s entrance into the field will light a fire under Adobe/Macromedia’s rear and will inspire continued innovation on their part (and for others as well!) because today’s tools can always be made better. But in the end, we all need to remember one thing:
Tools are nothing without great ideas. -
iTunes 5.0.1.4 Released
UPDATE 9/28/05!!!! A re-ran the installer, ran REPAIR, and the issues I was having have cleared up. Truly, truly bizarre.
Apple has released an update to iTunes (full install + Quicktime) (or Update Only here) this morning, which is supposed to fix some of the issues people have been having with iTunes 5.
Hmm… encountered a couple of issues while installing this update. You may want to hold off.
- Got an error that my CD and DVD Burning Drivers are missing, due to the fact that I might have other burning software on my computer. That’s odd.
- iTunes made me close out AOL Instant Messenger and a Konfabulator Weather widget to install.
Okay, if you say so. Reinstalling…
Hmm, still getting the CD/DVD Driver error. Nothing’s changed on my computer since installing 5.0. Downgrading doesn’t work either. Crap. I’ll have to forgo CD Burning til Apple issues an update, I suppose. This sucks. Not happy. This is the first time I’ve had issues with an iTunes install.
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Adobe Creative Suite 2 Premium
I upgraded to Adobe Creative Suite 2 here at work last week. Pretty flawless install other than the fact that I had upgraded from Adobe Creative Suite Premium, and the install of CS2 made Adobe Acrobat 7.0 Professional “forget” its serial number. Not sure if this is a widespread problem, or not. To fix the problem, I am removing the existing install from my system, and reinstalling Acorbat off of the CS2 disks…
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BusinessWeek Best of the Web 2005
Click on over to BusinessWeek to check out the full list of sites that snagged “Best of the Web” honors this year. Congrats go out to 37Signals, for the high ratings that both Basecamp and Backpack both received.
“RELEVANT Weekly Update :: 09.12.05″ by RELEVANT Media Group – Relevant Magazine
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Brand New Toys
Kim and I broke down today and bought a new digital camera, and DVD Camcorder in preparation of the birth of our son. We both wanted to get something that would last us for a while. So, we settled on a Konica Minolta DiMage Z6 – 6.0MP Digital Camera, and a Panasonic VDR-M53 DVD Camcorder. Pretty cool stuff
We chose these two gadget based on cost, and features. The DiMAGE Z6 features a 12× Optical zoom, 4× Digital zoom; 6.0 effective megapixels, and a bunch of other features. The Panasonic VDR-M53 writes direct to mini-DVD discs, and also support Secure Digital Cards for taking still photos.
Once we use them a bit more I will try to review both products a little further.
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More Thoughts on Basecamp
Just realized that I am second only to Jason Fried in the number of posts I have made over in the Basecamp forums. Maybe I visit it too much? I dunno. Basecamp has really struck a cord with me. It’s one of those sort of apps that you either love or hate. I for one can easily say – the $50/month we spend on Basecamp is more than worth the expense.
We’ve used Basecamp full-time as our Project Management app of choice. Before, we used an Excel spreadsheet and Outlook to keep track of projects. There was no centralized place for information related to our projects. All that has changed now. Now, I can log in from work or home and get contact information for clients; check on updates on projects; review files and messages that have been posted; review the workload of co-workers; and so very much more. I’ve said it once before, and I will say it again, Basecamp helps us work better. It helps us stay on top of information. It helps us communicate better. It improves our organization.
I say these things because I feel that strongly about Basecamp. I know I sound like a fanboy, but I don’t really care. Basecamp is that good. If your business/organization is looking for a better way to manage projects – please consider Basecamp. It might just be the best business decision you’ve ever made.