- 01 Chilly surprises for January
- 02 60-Seconds looks at Threes
- 03 Photoshop 911 to the rescue
- 04 The Best of the Best
- 05 Fear of CSSing
- 06 Speaking of Web Design
- 07 Go take a review. . .
- 08 Cumulus for Mac OS X
- 09 Two interesting pieces from Aurelon
- 10 Get Savvy and Win Prizes for Valentines'
- 11 Dirty Rotten Spammers
- 12 Atari said no. Hewlett-Packard said no.
- Chilly surprises for January
- Well, hello 2003. I hope everyone had a great holiday season and are ready to tackle a new year!
I tackled the new year with a bit too much zeal -- deciding to take a few days in the fresh powder of the West Virginia mountains, like a teenager, then returning with my right hand in a cast! You have no idea how valuable your right hand is! Consequently, typing and working the mouse has been a whole new experience -- with only three operative fingers on my mouse hand!
But I'm here, and seriously looking forward to an exciting 2003 in the Design Center.
http://www.graphic-design.com/ [top]
- 60-Seconds looks at Threes
- I hope you all get to make a quick read of the 2003 60-Second Window column -- I ponder "THREE" throughout history and consider what it might mean to us today... a fitting way to open a new year.
http://www.60-Seconds.com/articles/150.html [top]
- Photoshop 911 to the rescue
- Letters to the Photoshop 911 team are beginning to pick up with a whole pile of questions answered and problems solved during December and early January.
We've published a dozen of the more frequently asked questions to the Photoshop department covering everything from 'Rich Black' generation to setting up to print a halftone in a PMS color. We also have a piece on blurring edges of a selection, and another on 'borrowing' clouds from other images. Several problems in the batch were 'unfixable' but we tackled them with alternative techniques. One reader couldn't get all 750 fonts to appear in the Photoshop type menu. The advice given there is both sage, and important for all graphic designers.
You can read these and ten others in this month's Photoshop department.
http://www.graphic-design.com/Photoshop/index.html [top]
- The Best of the Best
- In both DTG and the Designers' Bookshelf we review the "BEST of 2002" in books and products. There's one surprise from Olympus, and several landmark books you simply should take a look at, and our high-end media asset management favorite Cumulus has already announced upgrades for 2003. (See next news burst.)
See the lineup at:http://www.design-bookshelf.com/BEST/ [top]
- Fear of CSSing
- Nearly a year ago I started a feature article on CSS which has turned into a trying crusade in frustration. The article was to show how to gently begin the conversion process from traditional HTML to the new CSS spec. Little did I know that seven books and hundreds of test pages later I would still be scratching my head.
Christopher Schmitt calls me an HTML "terrorist" and Eric Meyer says I need 'rehabilitating' as a 'point and click' designer. Of course the article reviews both their new books along with a half-dozen other notables -- all of which will be required if you plan to get further than I have. Which is not very far.
My real 'Fear of CSSing" comes from working hour upon hour with these books, to the point of obsession, designing and developing stunning web pages with real style sheets only to be crushed by the realization that they become screen garbage in some browsers. In fact that's been the entire hold-up on getting the Photoshop911.com site finally open and standing on its own. Until the styles look correct in all the most popular browsers, there will be delays. (And then Apple announces their new browser last week, which is already broken -- not supporting some CSS1, and very little CSS2 specifications! What's a designer to do?)
At any rate, I do -- finally -- have a CSS hybrid (or 'transitional' as they aptly call it) template ready for the new WebDesign-Review.com site. So you might see that one making its debut ahead of Photoshop 911. Stay tuned!
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- Speaking of Web Design
- Two of our frequent web site reviewers are back this month, both looking at two sites posted last month for review.
The Alaska Bed and Breakfast... is heavy on code light on polish, as reviewed by Suzanne Fyhrie of OneWay Advertising and Design. (This is a rare review which looks into the coding of the page as well as Meta tags. GOOD REVIEW!) Then we visit the Chestnuts USA site with an insightful review from Bennie C. Taylor. (Mt. Cheaha Web Design) The GeoProducts site gets two reviews -- Leona says: "Good site, minor problems," and Bennie chimes in with "...good content, confusing navigation."
Then there's a rather curious yet excellent review of the "Creating Good vibrations" site. This one's all about content and not to be missed.
Enjoy these and others in the Web Design Critique department:http://www.graphic-design.com/Web/Critique/ [top]
- Go take a review. . .
- Visit the Web Design department where readers have posted their web site links in hopes of gathering some comments, feedback, and constructive criticism. Help those who need help making their web sites better, and we all benefit from a better web.
http://www.graphic-design.com/Web/Reviews/ [top]
- Cumulus for Mac OS X
- This was just too hot to wait until the February newsletter -- Canto made a big splash in San Francisco with upgrades to their 2002 "BEST Product" award winning Digital Asset Management solutions. They rolled out Mac OS X versions of the Cumulus Client Software as well as of the Cumulus Single User Edition. Server products and Cumulus Options have been available as OS X versions for quite some time now, with this announcement Canto again emphasizes the commitment to the Macintosh platform. Bravo! The latest product releases like such as Web Publisher Pro, Cumulus HELIOS Companion and Internet Client Pro for Mac OS X point out the significance Canto holds for the Macintosh platform. A first Cumulus Client version for Mac OS X was showcased at the press conference at Mac World San Francisco 2003.
For details and to download demo versions go to: http://www.canto.com [top]
- Two interesting pieces from Aurelon
- These two items came in too late to make our Else column, but I thought they are important enough to pass along here...
CoCo is a Photoshop plug-in that provides easy selective color correction without masking in RGB, Lab, CMYK and MultiChannels. CoCo is not only for the professional to perform selective color corrections. It is the smartest tool for dealing with standard work such as spotcolors, bump plates, HiFi colors or colors that will not be printed on white substrates.
Signalize! Graphic software is a professional modular production suite for large format printing and signmaking. Available for both Mac and Windows it incorporates a visual PDF and PostScript Editor, a software RIP with extensive possibilities in an ICC compatible calibration application. It features a CAS Production engine for output of vector based data on cutting and signmaking devices and in combination with the RIP engine hybrid print and cut devices are easily driven.
Get info at: http://www.visutechnologies.com/ [top]
- Get Savvy and Win Prizes for Valentines'
- Everyone in both the Design CAFE and WebDesign-Review had such a great time with our 'Font Fest' and Holiday trivia giveaways we've decided to do it again.
In fact, the folks from Sybex books had such a great time, they've decided to send in a pile of books from their "SAVVY" series to give away! One lucky reader will even be drawn at random to win the ENTIRE SAVVY collection directly from Sybex! Note that "Photoshop 7 SAVVY" was one of the Design Bookshelf's "BEST" books for 2002. So stay tuned, and keep watching the web sites for those 125 pixel ad buttons telling you how to win!
http://www.design-bookshelf.com/BEST/ [top]
- Dirty Rotten Spammers
- "Rotten" is defined as an adjective meaning:
Having rotted; corrupted or extremely unpleasant or inferior."
I can think of a lot of better names to call spammers, but they shouldn't be spoken here. Besides it would do absolutely no good whatsoever.
I've spent about 12 hours boiling down and analyzing all the spam that came to my mailboxes during 2002 -- well over 19,000 of them. And as I worked on drawing statistical data from the wretched mess I'm continually astonished that there are people out there who would even think such thoughts and still consider themselves part of the human race -- much less blindly email hundreds of thousands of them to people they don't even know.
We can agree that the Internet will never die. However, I've come to the conclusion that it will never really flourish so long as these disgusting criminals are allowed to bombard society with their miserable misfeasance.
In February's issue I'll share just some of those statistics with you. The rest I'm saving for the FCC.
And, I challenge you to keep all your spam for the next thirty days. Capture it but don't open it. Store it all in it's own mail box. When you get the next newsletter announcing the article, open some of your spam and you can play along.
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- Atari said no. Hewlett-Packard said no.
- Who are they?
Who went to Atari and said,
"Hey, we've got this amazing thing, even built with some of your parts, and what do you think about funding us? Or we'll give it to you. We just want to do it. Pay our salary, we'll come work for you."
Atari said, 'No.' So, then they went to Hewlett-Packard. But HP said:
"Hey, we don't need you. You haven't got through college yet.'
Who were they?
Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak, founders of Apple Computer Inc.
Even if you're a Windows user, you should see what went on in San Francisco last week. What? A new internet web browser? What? A new presentation software package? Yes, some interesting new developments from those two guys that who never took 'no' for an answer. So we celebrate in SanFran all month long. (Hint... grin!)
Have a great one, and don't forget to write!
-
Fred
your loyal editor
http://www.graphic-design.com/news/index.html
- Oh, and don't forget my BEST BOOKS FOR 2002
-
GO TO: http://www.Design-Bookshelf.com/BEST/
- ...also don't miss these. . .
-
- Limited-edition Indie Fonts book
-
Information Graphics - by Ronnie Lipton
-
Graphically Speaking
-
The Art of Design
-
The Encyclopedia of the Future
- Folks, we can't help you if you don't cooperate...
Each month accesses (looking for that new EPS clip art disk) and prize registrations are denied in the Publishers'Warehouse.
Why? Because the email address keyed into the Loading Dock request was incorrect, or no longer in use. I find it hard to believe that people would register for something and then drop the address.
Remember: no spaces, correct spelling. Dozens of AOL users didn't put in "@aol.com" -- remember: name@aol.com, no spaces. (We assume they were AOL since they had no "@" indicator.)
Remember too, that the loading dock changes locations each month. You'll find the clue you need to the new location in each issue of this column.
Don't forget to write.
... http://www.graphic-design.com/contact.html [top]
- Join us for discussions:
- Here's an invitation to you all to join us in discussions about graphic arts, design, illustration, or just about whatever might be on your mind. You can take your pick of the Design Cafe, or the WebDesign Review list, or both. We'll be looking forward to meeting you there real soon...
* Go To: http://www.graphic-design.com/subscribe.html [top]
- Help the community do something about spam...
- Do you get spam? Do you wish you didn't?
The Design Center is helping sponsor a SPAM SURVEY conducted by the Association of Apple Computer Users & Groups. The organization is chartered for community service, education and legislation advocacy for technology. SPAM is one of the big issues they hope to take to Washington D.C. this year, and they need YOUR help. Go there and fill out the simple, secure and safe SPAM SURVEY. It will help them gather data for their UCE Presentation.
* Go To: http://www.user-groups.net/submit.html
- Speaking of spam... read this:
- Top Ten Signs You're About to be RIPPED OFF
Fred tracks the illusive spammer! With the influx of thousands of new UCEs ('Unsolicited Commercial Email" -- aka: SPAM) hitting the Graphic Design Network servers, our spam-hunting team decided to track a few of these low-lifes down, and find out where it's all coming from.
* Go To: http://www.60-Seconds.com/articles/130a.html [top]
- Keeping in touch
-
Thank you for visiting the Design & Publishing Center's online newsletter for DT&G. You are currently reading the Editor's column, where each month Editor and Chief Fred Showker writes, from the heart, about what's happening in the Design Center. Contents Copyright (c) 2003, Reproduction or reuse of parts or all of this manuscript without prior written permission is expressly forbidden. The Design & Publishing Center is the product and trade name for Showker, Inc., in Harrisonburg, Virginia, USA, trading as Showker Graphic Arts & Design -- a Virginia State Corporation since 1972. DT&G: The Online Journal of Design, Typography & Graphics has been distributed continuously each month since May of 1990, originally on the GEnie and CompuServe networks, then on America Online, and in 1993 on Apple Computer's "EWorld", migrating to the internet world wide web in 1994.
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