DTG News and Else
DT&G: Vol. 13, Number 9, September, 2003 ~ The eZine for Design, Typography, & Graphics   (since 1990)  

Welcome to September

Giving Away Design Books

This month's theme is "Back to (Design) School," so we're steeped with cool stuff for designers -- AND -- we're giving away a superb "Designers' Bookshelf" from Peachpit Books including the best in authors of beginners' design, Photoshop, Painter, Acrobat and the highlight, making that leap from Quark XPress to Adobe's InDesign.
      You can win any one of the books, or take them all, we're giving individual copies -- as well as the entire bookshelf. So make sure you drop in to the Designer's Bookshelf and register for the drawing. Be sure to tell us which book you'd like to win, and why.
  Click to register for the "Designers' Bookshelf"

Opening Fall... ahhhh September!

Of course, don't forget to sign up to win the "Back to Design School" books, over in the Design Bookshelf! You could pick up five of the best selling design books on the market, just for registering!
 
The Publishers' Warehouse folks and the Loading Dock seem to be on vacation this month. Nothin' much happening in there this month -- there were no new posts, no new shareware items sent in, and our attentions were set on September, and preparations for the "Fall Fonts Festival." So, in light of that, we'll just leave them in Bakersfield where they were last month. Make it easy on'ya.

Design Excitement with Grids

This month we go "back" to design school with another chapter in our Newsletter Makeover Clinic.
      This time we'll take a look at Design Standards, and then analyze an excellent example of grid design in the most unlikely place -- a tabloid newspaper add-on called Parade Magazine
      If you design publications, see how this modular grid gives this editoral department a fresh look week after week -- in the DTG Design Department

Photoshop: Improve a photo with the Extract Filter

Many readers quite often write to ask how to remove an image from a background. So, in this two-page session we actually do a lot more than just the Extract Filter.
      We are called upon to clean up a client's digital photo, change colors of the subject, eliminate the "burn-in" of the flash, and lift the subject from the background for a depth of field effect. We use various techniques, most notably the Photoshop 6, 7 Extract Filter

Bennie is back with Web Design Critiques:

This month, frequent reviewer Bennie Taylor takes a look at three web sites sent in by readers. The Heartland House Designs lacks identity, cohesion; and the Medical Billing & Transcription web site seems to need more clarity, less hype. Then Bennie wraps it up with the Kinnon Keepsakes web site commenting "What a neat site!" See them all at WebDesign & Review Critiques

Fun Surfing for September:

We had more than 75 readers who sent in their web sites for review during August... are you going to let them down?
      In the Business department we have a new type foundry from Keith in Manchester, England. For the Art fans this month, Jimmie Bingle submitted his "Visual art for everyone" web site, and in the "EDU" we have Department of Economics, University of the West Indies Mona, Michigan State University - Department Of Theatre, and even the "Brain Channels" web site of evolving human consciousness! (We like to give the .org sites extra play since they're nonprofit.)
      In the "Home" department, check out "Preemie Clothing" and learn "How to Leave Your Footprints in the Sand" -- an interesting concept!
      Over in hobbies and entertainment we'll visit LA's "Swing" jazz community, and visit the world of Robbie and the Robots, a comic book based on the band! In the Personal sites department we visit the "Best of Kristy McNichol" site, and we'll wrap it up with the new "Washington Soccer Magazine" web site!

Take a look -- then help them out with your review of the site! You'll find their listings in September's Web Reviews

September Field Trip: The Engineer's Hand

This month our travels take us into the exotic world of Bangalore, India, to meet up with Design Consultant Varshesh Joshi to see some extraordinary drawings. Varshesh holds a Bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering, and we were impressed with the stylistic, edge that lends to his art.
Come along... it's in the Gallery

NEXTEL Spams with Paper

I usually pay no attention to junk mail delivered in our business mail box. However, this time three brochures mailed from NEXTEL made me sit up and take notice. One was addressed to a nonexistent person's name, obviously gathered through a spam harvester! 60-Second Window #159.
      We posted this on September 1, and already there have been numerous responses and comments. One rebuttal from "Dave" in the audience, was agrivated at my "waste of bandwidth," citing "moronic actions you took to resolve the spam issue"
      Interesting, thought provoking reading. To say the least.
  60 Second Windows #159

Mailbag: and now, some news...

Ann Smith writes to alert us that Actual Tools has rolled out their new Actual Transparent Windows 2.0. Now you can set any level of transparency for any individual window on the system with this intriguing Windows shell enhancement novelty. Some Windows users are even reporting an overall increase of productivity when using several business applications that require manual information interchange simultaneously. Transparent Windows 2.0 runs under Windows 2000/XP, costs a paltry $19.95 (US)

Poser animations inside Maya and 3ds Max

Daryl Wise has a cool tip for anyone who uses Poser and 3DS Max. Up until now, some Poser users would like to integrate with the higher-end modeling programs. Reiss Studios has the answer: BodyStudio seamlessly integrates Poser 3D character animation technology into Discreet 3ds Max and Alias Maya. This innovative plug-in software allows Poser users to easily render and playback Poser animations directly inside of both Maya and 3ds Max. Artists that work with 3D software will notice the many improvements that have been made from the original version of the popular Pro Pack plug-in for 3ds max. BodyStudio is available for a limited at the introductory price of $179.00

Self Publishers Back To School

Christopher Willitts has tipped us on his new web site where he has reviewed and selected only the best resources and information on the subject of self-publishing. He's inviting any self-publisher to drop in and post poems, short stories and/or other literary works you've created. Of course they welcome questions at Publish It Yourself dot com

Inside the Wormer's Mind: Jeffrey Parson

The 18-year old alleged "cyber-hacker" suspected of creating a variant of the Blaster worm has spilled the beans (er, uh, worms) in a no-holds-barred interview on MSNBC. While the press blurts "he's a troubled kid" citing "reckless driving" and "no stranger to law enforcement" Jeffrey laments "I don't know where this stuff came from -- I don't even have a driver's license, and I don't drive!" And, accoarding to the MSNBC article, none of the accusations are true.
      Eric Ortner, a producer for NBC�s �Weekend Today� show reported: Parson claimed his role in the attacks had been greatly exaggerated and his actions relatively benign despite the government�s focus on them. Parson�s parents charge the GOV has trampled their son�s rights in order to address America�s frustrations with cyber terrorism and hold him accountable for someone else�s crime.
      Parson was charged with intentionally causing damage to a protected computer; if convicted, he faces up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Authorities say Parson admitted to modifying the original Blaster worm in an interview with FBI and Secret Service agents. He has not yet entered a plea in the case.
      IMHO: This kid's got talent. Someone should hire him, and let him write worms that target only spam and porno servers. Then the MSNBC storywould have a "happy" ending! It's a fun read with photos

Apple to run an Intel based PC?

According to a story in the Aussie Tech publication "Smarthouse", Apple is set to announce an Intel based PC that will run on an Apple operating system. Although still in rumor stages, these folks report that the first system is expected to shown at Macworld San Francisco in January 2004 -- and that software companies like Adobe, who develop for the Mac platform and Intel based system have already been briefed on the proposed move. Read it and stay tuned...

World's Slimmest Multimedia Device?

Gadget hounds will be anxious to get their hands on Panasonic's "next generation" portable audio/video entertainment devices: the new SV-AS10. It's a a 2.0-megapixel digital camera, a QuickTime video recorder, an MP3 music player and a digital voice recorder all rolled into one neat little package for under three bills! The footprint of this puppy is not much larger than a business card -- measuring a mere 4-1/8 inches long by 2 inches wide by 1/3 inch thick. While it's not going to set the world on fire with quality imaging, usually 2 megapixels is plenty for viewing on a PC. It's set up to share content with a wide variety of SD-enabled products, including camcorders, laptop PCs, PDAs, printers, cell phones, DVD recorders and so forth. With its built-in microphone and speakers, you create and listen to voice recordings, taking notes, reminders, or recording meetings. You even get to select from metallic blue, silver or copper colors! Click for a picture, and see it all at: Panasonic.com

FTC: Identity Theft Worse Than Estimated

You probably saw this one on your favorite network news program -- it's good to know main stream media is beginning to get the hints that online crime is a lot bigger than anyone thought. Now the FTC brings the story home with their latest crime survey on identity theft -- it reveals more than 27 million victims of identity theft crimes in the last five years.
      While they did not differentiate Internet-related ID theft from standard ID theft, most agree that perpetrators are leveraging technology to commit this kind of offense today. Just take a look at your email box. A good news story covering the survey can be found at: Technews World and Yahoo News.
Get the full story and recommendations on Identity Theft

Virginia Tech Builds Supercomputer

Mere hours after breaking this story in the "InfoManager" column last Thursday, I had the opportunity to chat with fellow JMU professor John Woody about Virginia Tech's new data processing cluster. He had just returned from Tech reporting they've already taken delivery on most of the 1,000 dual-processor Power Mac G5 computers.
      The Virginia Tech project is departing from monolithic mainframe supercomputing to a new, grid-like "supercomputer cluster" configuration that promises to be among the fastest in the world.
      Woody is the lead guru in JMU's School of Multimedia Arts & Design (SMAD)
The Linux Insider carries another more detailed look at this emerging technology at Vriginia Tech.

[Cool] Free P2P Web Telephone

From Kazaa? Yep, Skype is a simple, easy-to-install client that offers IP telephony connections, claiming it's better than the "old telephony system." For the time being, Skype is free. While Kazaa file-swapping software has become a target for the entertainment industry, Skupe could open some new opportunities for its maker. This is a BETA version, but the maker claims in the future users may be able to chat with users of other instant messaging clients and to place calls to traditional telephones. Read more at Skype.com, or read the PCWorld story.

Fall Fonts Festival Opens Next Month

... and we're real excited. We've got the incredible new book and font collection from P22 -- a follow-up to their "Indie" fonts!
      You'll also get to meet the font developers of some of the hottest new fonts on the market!
      We'll be posting articles about fonts and typography, and we'll be giving away font CDs, type books, and lots of free, downloadable fonts. Don't miss it. It's in the Typography department in October...

Happy September, happy learning

As I walked into my all new computer lab at JMU -- filled with brand new flat-screen iMacs, my mind's 'ear' was hearing the familiar verse of Bob Dylan: "The times they are a'changin'"
      This semester marks a new chapter in the times. I've launched into my newest class "Typography" and already, after only three classes, I'm reminded that teacher teaches student, and student teaches teacher. I'm learning that the history of typography with all its wonderful highlights is not nearly as boring as I thought it was when I took typography class. And, I'm also learning that with today's technology, learning typography can be a wonderful experience - as opposed to those old days of tracing and inking. Yes, my students will do their fare share of tracing -- but that's really the only way to fully gain an appreciation of the legacy and importance of letterforms. I only hope my students see it the same way! [Grin]

Thanks for reading

Fred Showker
Editor / Publisher, DT&G Magazine

Parting words: on the subject of performance

"Resolve to perform what you ought.
    Perform without fail what you resolve."
        Benjamin Franklin

Participate in your Design Center

Lots of fun and information for all... don't forget, any community is only as good as the participation of its members. We invite your tips, tricks, comments, suggestions and camaraderie.