March 29, 2011 by Brad.

For the last several weeks, I have been attending an excellent series of free live webinars on using Dreamweaver CS5 for design and styling web pages using CSS.

CSS is the modern standard for laying out and styling web pages and everyone who is involved in the design of web sites needs to know about CSS. However, there can be a daunting learning curve.

That’s where Myra Rhodes and Everyone’s E-Learning Inc. come to the rescue. Myra has prepared a complete set of online interactive Dreamweaver training lessons that you can purchase as a package or you can buy through a monthly subscription through her web site.

But here’s the best part:

Myra has recently upgraded the package for Dreamweaver CS5 and she is presenting the newly revised lessons in a series of free live webinars every Tuesday at 11am Pacific time. You can sign up for these through her web site.

Myra has a very cheerful, friendly teaching style that makes learning the material a breeze. The complexities of CSS and Dreamweaver dissolve away with Myra’s concise, easy-to-learn units.

I highly recommend Myra Rhodes and Everyone’s E-Learning Inc. for Dreamweaver training.

Posted in Web design, Digital Art-ifacts | Print | 2 Comments »

March 27, 2011 by Brad.

Aloha! We recently spent a few days on the Big Island of Hawaii at the Marriott Beach Resort on Anaeho’omalu Bay ( 19°54′57.97″N 155°53′20.17″W).

There is a very nice group of beaches along the south shore of the bay that afford a roughly 60 degree panoramic view of the entire bay, including the resort. I decided to capture this view in a sequence of photos to create a panoramic image. Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in Photoshop, Photography, Digital Art-ifacts | Print | 1 Comment »

March 6, 2011 by Brad.

It is very easy to prepare images to get outstanding prints at Turning Point Arts. In fact, it might require fewer steps than you think. I have noticed that some clients perform resizing and resampling steps that are actually unnecessary and had they not been done, very likely would have produced better prints. It would also have saved them time. So in the interests of helping you get the best possible prints with the least amount of work (on your part), I am writing this series of articles.

Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in Photography, Printing, Digital Art-ifacts | Print | 1 Comment »

March 6, 2011 by Brad.

“Apps” have become the modern “great differentiator” between devices. ‘MY app store has more apps than their app store, so buy MY smartphone. It’s obviously better than theirs.’ Well, that’s the implication anyway. Marketeers love this; it’s Marketing 101–they teach it in school. Find and flog the key differentiator(s) between your product and their product. If you can’t find one, then invent one.

But “apps” (as ‘defined’ by Apple and now Google, Nokia; and I’ve even read that Microsoft is considering the idea for Windows “8″) are bad, VERY bad. They’re bad for consumers; they’re bad for developers and they’re bad for the computing industry in general. They’re only good for Apple (and possibly Google, Nokia, et al.), but not indefinitely.

Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in Brad's rants, Digital Art-ifacts | Print | No Comments »

August 15, 2010 by Brad.

I recently encountered some mysterious behaviour in Windows 7 (Home Premium 32-bit). Immediately after logging in (usually right after a reboot), the system would become almost completely non-responsive for about 15 minutes. And just as mysteriously, it would then return to normal until the next time I logged in, which could be several days later. What the heck was going on? Was this a Windows bug or something I had done? In fact, it was both…read on to find out the surprising solution!

Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in Windows 7, Digital Art-ifacts | Print | No Comments »

September 6, 2009 by Brad.

Greetings!

There is a common misconception that the correct “resolution” for images viewed on a monitor or the web is 72 ppi. One of the undesirable side-effects of believing this misconception is that it can lead you to get the wrong display of images with the View > Print Size command in your image editing application.

The problem is that View > Print Size depends on your application knowing the correct screen resolution and your screen resolution is probably not 72 ppi. Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in Digital Art-ifacts | Print | 1 Comment »

September 1, 2009 by Brad.

We use a MagicJack USB dongle for long-distance telephone calls over our Internet connection. The price is hard to beat and the unit works amazingly well most of the time. We have a cordless telephone base unit connected to the USB dongle and the handsets can be used throughout the house and deck. Provided of course that the MagicJack software is running.

MagicJack does not operate as a Windows service. It needs its application to be running under a logged-in Windows user. Initially, I had the USB dongle plugged into my desktop workstation. But since I often reboot or run heavy CPU applications, my workstation was not the best place for running the MagicJack.

Recently, I set up another computer on our network as a file server and I also wanted it to host the MagicJack instead of my workstation. This server would run Windows 7 and it would be headless (i.e. not have a monitor, keyboard or mouse of its own). To manage the server, I would log into it using Windows Remote Desktop Connection . The question was: could I get MagicJack to operate in this evironment?

In my initial attempts, the MagicJack software kept crapping out, but…

Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in Windows 7, Digital Art-ifacts | Print | No Comments »

June 23, 2009 by Brad.

Greetings!

Ladysmith, BC has been registered for the 2nd annual Scott Kelby Worldwide Photo Walk. This event is open to anyone who wants to join us in documenting our community through photography. You can find out all about it here. If you would like sign-up for the Ladysmith Photo Walk, just click here.

See you there!

Cheers!

Brad

Posted in Digital Art-ifacts, Events, News | Print | No Comments »

June 23, 2009 by Brad.

Shalom and Best Wishes Everyone!
For June 2009, the Theme Shoot topic was “Moving Parts”. Click here to see the top 3 results.

If you’re interested in joining the Ladysmith Camera Club, please click here to send an email to the club to get further information. The club meets the 4th Tuesday of the month at “The Terrace Room” behind “The Printingdun Beanery Cafe” at 341 First Ave, Ladysmith, British Columbia. The public is welcome. The LCC welcomes new members, novice to pro.

Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in Ladysmith Camera Club, Digital Art-ifacts | Print | 1 Comment »

June 19, 2009 by Brad.

Salutations and Howdy All!
For May 2009, the Theme Shoot topic was “Hot Stuff”. Click here to see the top 3 results.

If you’re interested in joining the Ladysmith Camera Club, please click here to send an email to the club to get further information. The club meets the 4th Tuesday of the month at “The Terrace Room” behind “The Printingdun Beanery Cafe” at 341 First Ave, Ladysmith, British Columbia. The public is welcome. The LCC welcomes new members, novice to pro.

Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in Ladysmith Camera Club, Digital Art-ifacts | Print | 1 Comment »