Said person is addicted to game. Why is he addicted? Presumably, because the game is fun (well, to him; I personally found it just "ok"). So, because the game possesses such a great deal of entertainment, he spends most of his waking hours with it.
Sounds like there's a bit of a disconnect. The idiot isn't addicted to the game, he's addicted to the departure from reality and responsibility... AKA, he's a child.
Ok, that's a bit harsh. There is such a thing as internet addiction, supposedly, and I'm sure it can extend to video game addiction, however, I would say that the problem is less so the game and more so the reason behind pursuing it: not finding regular life enjoyable enough to actually go through the motions.
My next question is this.. How in the hell could he AFFORD to play it that much? I mean, you've also got to be able to afford Cheetos and Code Red to fuel those... 11 ####ING HOUR GAMING SESSIONS? Jesus.
(I'm the Systems Manager for a local newspaper, and also had to deal with administration of local forums) Even in my smallish town, the trolls are quite able to get around IP bans and more (many are still on dialup, but we have had some utilize proxy services, or SOCKS proxies - I knew I shouldn't have written that guide a few years back:P). Beyond that, we also get trolls who aren't even living in the area anymore.
As far as the rubber room, while it's a good idea, many papers don't have staff capable of developing systems like that, and are using CMSes not developed in-house. Hell, many small papers don't even HAVE a "web guy/gal" to manage the site. Still, it is feasible that it would function well once implemented.
We use OO.o when someone sends us OO.o files, but otherwise, we use the MS Suite for so much as is that we can't justify switching without some rethinking of our process for certain dept's work. Not to mention the fact that re-training staff would be a mindblowing headache that we're just not equipped for. We're a daily paper, so every day is full, and we use that time to the best of our abilities (and then some - I'm actually doing some coding for work on my day off:)).
I work in the newspaper industry - first as a graphic designer/web dev, and now as systems manager. I grew up on OSS, and learned the Adobe suite later on.
I try to regularly check up on how OSS is doing regarding my industry, but sadly, it IS lacking. We require so much in the industry, even beyond the obvious stuff (excellent type support, CMYK support, etc). For instance, our RIPs (raster image processors, taking the digital art and burning it to film) require specifically prepared PDFs. We print to postscript files and run them using a specialized preset in Adobe's Distiller to make our PDFs.
As well, we also frequently have to work with artwork provided by clients using a variety of software; not just Adobe, but Publisher generated, and more. Also, we use a software/database combo that allows us to integrate storage of photos, articles, and page layouts, with a slew of features that streamline our work to an extreme (which uses MySQL, though).
There ARE some great open-source programs out there; I love RAW Studio for processing raw photo files. Gimp works fine for web graphics, but I hesitate to use it for print processing just because Photoshop gives us such a great level of quality control and color processing in the CMYK environment.
The problem with this is the fact that it would greatly affect businesses who rely on mail services. No mail on Thursday means no bills going out, no checks coming in, etc. Also, that means people who get newspapers delivered via mail route (yes, they do that - I'm systems manager at a small locally focused paper that is doing quite well) will have to skip a day.
Of course, if we lose Saturday, we lose a day, too.
As far as receiving packages go, I always have mine shipped to work, anyway, so I don't have to worry about being there to sign for it.
Re:Smashing Magazine is of little value as is..
on
The Smashing Book
·
· Score: 2, Interesting
Smashing Magazine is of little value as is..
on
The Smashing Book
·
· Score: 2, Interesting
..to the professional designer. I myself had one of my previous website designs featured somewhere around a year or so ago, which was certainly flattering, but ultimately, I really felt that SM has fairly low-quality content, hacked together into massive link lists quite often. Beyond that, a large portion of the work that is posted is HIGHLY sub-par - take, for instance, the monthly desktop wallpaper features.. Seriously, it's like some of these people just learned photoshop (and yet, the community seems to love every single one of em', and if ANYBODY voices a sincere criticism of the work, they're an asshole).
Not to say it's completely without value, but there are a number of other options available for anybody interested in web/graphic design that are of a much higher quality. Would I pay for a SM book? Hell no. I hardly glance at the website anymore.
The bulk of what you learn in that class you will end up using in some practical sense, especially algorithms, if you have no prior study of such. Plus, discrete math (to me) was a more enjoyable subject.
I can't stress Isaac Asimov enough. He's got a broad range of material, from the depth of the Foundation Series, to his short stories ("I, Robot", not to be confused with the movie) which are approachable to a wide audience. I was introduced to Asimov in High School, and am still an avid (re)reader of his works.
Since we've got licenses for it at my day job, I use it as my preferred webdev/design IDE. It works fairly well for that sort of thing, but it's a bit of overkill for me (I'm not working on collab projects). Of course, I hand code everything. I'll say this much; it's a fast, responsive IDE regarding its UI, code highlighting, and more. When I'm doing my independent work, though, I usually use Geany for my coding, since it's multiplatform.
As a CMS, yeah, it's not very widely used anymore; why would someone use it, with so many CMS options available? A web based system is much, much more efficient, especially regarding cost. Anything that requires a software client, especially anything which requires paid licenses, is just asinine, in my professional opinion.
Seems Sassy Water and the Flat Belly Diet (I'm not even going to honor any links on those with a click to find out what they are) are beating out the frozen Zune.
I guess people are finally realizing that their tech-centric lifestyle is leading them to not consume enough.. sassy water.. and they need to flatten their bellies.
I own a T400, and think the keyboard is actually pretty good. Haven't had a problem with it yet. What specifically does your relative say about the keyboard?
It used to be argued that serif fonts were more readable than sans in print, but recent studies have shown that it likely isn't the case. Things like x-height, width, weight, letter spacing, etc have more bearing than serif or not.
(I work at a newspaper that still has a print following, and also do independent design).
A coworker of mine tried the stuff once. Said it works for about 30 minutes, then the headache will be back. I haven't been arsed enough to try it myself to see if he was just succumbing to the hype or not..
built a gaming PC for a guy who had serious anger management issues. Caught him punching his CRT once. Lucky he hasn't busted it yet.
Side note - That was a REALLY cheesy arrangement of Mason William's "Classical Gas" in the background. Sounds much better with classical guitar leading it.
I can't believe that all these people REALLY go for this movie.
There are so many asinine holes in the logic regarding the near sub-human intelligence that it just plain isn't interesting. Who the hell fixes the cars? How do they DRIVE the cars? They have enough trouble with menial tasks that it makes no sense that the society in the movie actually survives.
That, and the inane love story reminds me of Adam Sandler movies.
I'm with you. The movie is worthless as commentary. Give me A Clockwork Orange, or Soylent Green any day.
The older software will be your best bet - why? Many places still use older versions of the industry standards. It wasn't until recently that my place of employment upgraded to CS2 on every primary production machine - some machines still had Photoshop 6, and I think we've got one with 5.5 still that some sales reps use (this is at a newspaper). Second, the UI will still be relatively uniform and familiar in subsequent versions.
It sucks, but better to teach them something they are more likely to encounter in some version or another. Don't hesitate to introduce them to open-source alternatives, but keep in mind that they will rarely be used in a professional environment (cue flames here - I'm an open source user myself, but I have yet to encounter any place that uses The GIMP in any sort of professional high volume production)
Those of us who deal with a fear of needles welcome tech like this with open arms. I had some rough experiences as a child (we'll leave it at that) which has made it difficult for me to handle any sort of needle - I can't even watch it on TV. It doesn't really hurt much at all, but the act of getting punctured by large needles (any needle I can see and feel the tip on is large to me) makes me stress out like nobody's business.
Then you have to deal with needles that have been used (but sterilized) that have burrs on the end. Those hurt.
Quite a while back there was a big stink about kids hurting each other in the name of the Power Rangers. I think that's what pushed them back into some subtle obscurity, unlike what they were when they first came out.
I'm assuming that you are probably just talking about the freely available typefaces that come standard, but as far as typography goes, most of these fonts really don't stand out very well. I use the Adobe OpenType library of fonts (I'm a professional graphic designer), and there are some seriously beautiful (and readable) fonts in the collection. Adobe Casion, Garamond (although it's quality is beginning to diminish in my opinion), and more.
Candara itself feels like a very poor implementation of a lightly serifed typeface - Trebuchet MS was actually a very nice, very readable font in my opinion. Tahoma wasn't horrible, either. Cambria and Constantia are both certainly usable - decent kerning, and the italics are attractive. Corbel looks like a very nice replacement for Verdana, but I'm not a fan of the oblique version. Consolas? Not enough definition in the oblique and bold variants.
Then again, aesthetics in typography tends to be a more subjective field than a practical field. We can gauge popularity (Helvetica, especially the condensed versions, are still widely used, as is Akzidenz Grotesque, along side newer typefaces such as Frutiger and Univers), but it is always tough to place a solid pin on it's timelessness until it has been established (much like the case for Helvetica, which is somewhere around 50 years old now, and is still used in newspapers and magazines everywhere).
Fair point. A number of people I associate with have subscriptions (yes, some have multiple) to eMusic, however. It isn't as unknown as it once was - just the fact that Winamp users are greeted with it upon install is enough to establish it a little more than some places.
Slashdot Mirror
Seriously? Ok, lets break this down.
Said person is addicted to game. Why is he addicted? Presumably, because the game is fun (well, to him; I personally found it just "ok"). So, because the game possesses such a great deal of entertainment, he spends most of his waking hours with it.
Sounds like there's a bit of a disconnect. The idiot isn't addicted to the game, he's addicted to the departure from reality and responsibility... AKA, he's a child.
Ok, that's a bit harsh. There is such a thing as internet addiction, supposedly, and I'm sure it can extend to video game addiction, however, I would say that the problem is less so the game and more so the reason behind pursuing it: not finding regular life enjoyable enough to actually go through the motions.
My next question is this.. How in the hell could he AFFORD to play it that much? I mean, you've also got to be able to afford Cheetos and Code Red to fuel those... 11 ####ING HOUR GAMING SESSIONS? Jesus.
This guy has more problems than your average /.er.
(I'm the Systems Manager for a local newspaper, and also had to deal with administration of local forums) Even in my smallish town, the trolls are quite able to get around IP bans and more (many are still on dialup, but we have had some utilize proxy services, or SOCKS proxies - I knew I shouldn't have written that guide a few years back :P). Beyond that, we also get trolls who aren't even living in the area anymore.
As far as the rubber room, while it's a good idea, many papers don't have staff capable of developing systems like that, and are using CMSes not developed in-house. Hell, many small papers don't even HAVE a "web guy/gal" to manage the site. Still, it is feasible that it would function well once implemented.
We use OO.o when someone sends us OO.o files, but otherwise, we use the MS Suite for so much as is that we can't justify switching without some rethinking of our process for certain dept's work. Not to mention the fact that re-training staff would be a mindblowing headache that we're just not equipped for. We're a daily paper, so every day is full, and we use that time to the best of our abilities (and then some - I'm actually doing some coding for work on my day off :)).
MS Word (not my choice) and Textpad (we're a Mac shop, and once again, not my choice :)).
I work in the newspaper industry - first as a graphic designer/web dev, and now as systems manager. I grew up on OSS, and learned the Adobe suite later on.
I try to regularly check up on how OSS is doing regarding my industry, but sadly, it IS lacking. We require so much in the industry, even beyond the obvious stuff (excellent type support, CMYK support, etc). For instance, our RIPs (raster image processors, taking the digital art and burning it to film) require specifically prepared PDFs. We print to postscript files and run them using a specialized preset in Adobe's Distiller to make our PDFs.
As well, we also frequently have to work with artwork provided by clients using a variety of software; not just Adobe, but Publisher generated, and more. Also, we use a software/database combo that allows us to integrate storage of photos, articles, and page layouts, with a slew of features that streamline our work to an extreme (which uses MySQL, though).
There ARE some great open-source programs out there; I love RAW Studio for processing raw photo files. Gimp works fine for web graphics, but I hesitate to use it for print processing just because Photoshop gives us such a great level of quality control and color processing in the CMYK environment.
The problem with this is the fact that it would greatly affect businesses who rely on mail services. No mail on Thursday means no bills going out, no checks coming in, etc. Also, that means people who get newspapers delivered via mail route (yes, they do that - I'm systems manager at a small locally focused paper that is doing quite well) will have to skip a day. Of course, if we lose Saturday, we lose a day, too. As far as receiving packages go, I always have mine shipped to work, anyway, so I don't have to worry about being there to sign for it.
For general design, GoMedia's 'zine is great. http://www.gomediazine.com/
I don't read many web design blogs anymore, but Web Designer Depot isn't bad. http://www.webdesignerdepot.com/
Even better, Script & Style: http://scriptandstyle.com/
Also, Usability Post: http://www.usabilitypost.com/
For typography, I Love Typography is an incredible blog. http://ilovetypography.com/
..to the professional designer. I myself had one of my previous website designs featured somewhere around a year or so ago, which was certainly flattering, but ultimately, I really felt that SM has fairly low-quality content, hacked together into massive link lists quite often. Beyond that, a large portion of the work that is posted is HIGHLY sub-par - take, for instance, the monthly desktop wallpaper features.. Seriously, it's like some of these people just learned photoshop (and yet, the community seems to love every single one of em', and if ANYBODY voices a sincere criticism of the work, they're an asshole).
Not to say it's completely without value, but there are a number of other options available for anybody interested in web/graphic design that are of a much higher quality. Would I pay for a SM book? Hell no. I hardly glance at the website anymore.
The bulk of what you learn in that class you will end up using in some practical sense, especially algorithms, if you have no prior study of such. Plus, discrete math (to me) was a more enjoyable subject.
I can't stress Isaac Asimov enough. He's got a broad range of material, from the depth of the Foundation Series, to his short stories ("I, Robot", not to be confused with the movie) which are approachable to a wide audience. I was introduced to Asimov in High School, and am still an avid (re)reader of his works.
Since we've got licenses for it at my day job, I use it as my preferred webdev/design IDE. It works fairly well for that sort of thing, but it's a bit of overkill for me (I'm not working on collab projects). Of course, I hand code everything. I'll say this much; it's a fast, responsive IDE regarding its UI, code highlighting, and more. When I'm doing my independent work, though, I usually use Geany for my coding, since it's multiplatform.
As a CMS, yeah, it's not very widely used anymore; why would someone use it, with so many CMS options available? A web based system is much, much more efficient, especially regarding cost. Anything that requires a software client, especially anything which requires paid licenses, is just asinine, in my professional opinion.
Seems Sassy Water and the Flat Belly Diet (I'm not even going to honor any links on those with a click to find out what they are) are beating out the frozen Zune. I guess people are finally realizing that their tech-centric lifestyle is leading them to not consume enough.. sassy water.. and they need to flatten their bellies.
I own a T400, and think the keyboard is actually pretty good. Haven't had a problem with it yet. What specifically does your relative say about the keyboard?
It used to be argued that serif fonts were more readable than sans in print, but recent studies have shown that it likely isn't the case. Things like x-height, width, weight, letter spacing, etc have more bearing than serif or not. (I work at a newspaper that still has a print following, and also do independent design).
A coworker of mine tried the stuff once. Said it works for about 30 minutes, then the headache will be back. I haven't been arsed enough to try it myself to see if he was just succumbing to the hype or not..
The choice is obvious.
built a gaming PC for a guy who had serious anger management issues. Caught him punching his CRT once. Lucky he hasn't busted it yet.
Side note - That was a REALLY cheesy arrangement of Mason William's "Classical Gas" in the background. Sounds much better with classical guitar leading it.
I can't believe that all these people REALLY go for this movie.
There are so many asinine holes in the logic regarding the near sub-human intelligence that it just plain isn't interesting. Who the hell fixes the cars? How do they DRIVE the cars? They have enough trouble with menial tasks that it makes no sense that the society in the movie actually survives.
That, and the inane love story reminds me of Adam Sandler movies.
I'm with you. The movie is worthless as commentary. Give me A Clockwork Orange, or Soylent Green any day.
The older software will be your best bet - why? Many places still use older versions of the industry standards. It wasn't until recently that my place of employment upgraded to CS2 on every primary production machine - some machines still had Photoshop 6, and I think we've got one with 5.5 still that some sales reps use (this is at a newspaper). Second, the UI will still be relatively uniform and familiar in subsequent versions.
It sucks, but better to teach them something they are more likely to encounter in some version or another. Don't hesitate to introduce them to open-source alternatives, but keep in mind that they will rarely be used in a professional environment (cue flames here - I'm an open source user myself, but I have yet to encounter any place that uses The GIMP in any sort of professional high volume production)
Those of us who deal with a fear of needles welcome tech like this with open arms. I had some rough experiences as a child (we'll leave it at that) which has made it difficult for me to handle any sort of needle - I can't even watch it on TV. It doesn't really hurt much at all, but the act of getting punctured by large needles (any needle I can see and feel the tip on is large to me) makes me stress out like nobody's business.
Then you have to deal with needles that have been used (but sterilized) that have burrs on the end. Those hurt.
Quite a while back there was a big stink about kids hurting each other in the name of the Power Rangers. I think that's what pushed them back into some subtle obscurity, unlike what they were when they first came out.
I'm assuming that you are probably just talking about the freely available typefaces that come standard, but as far as typography goes, most of these fonts really don't stand out very well. I use the Adobe OpenType library of fonts (I'm a professional graphic designer), and there are some seriously beautiful (and readable) fonts in the collection. Adobe Casion, Garamond (although it's quality is beginning to diminish in my opinion), and more.
Candara itself feels like a very poor implementation of a lightly serifed typeface - Trebuchet MS was actually a very nice, very readable font in my opinion. Tahoma wasn't horrible, either. Cambria and Constantia are both certainly usable - decent kerning, and the italics are attractive. Corbel looks like a very nice replacement for Verdana, but I'm not a fan of the oblique version. Consolas? Not enough definition in the oblique and bold variants.
Then again, aesthetics in typography tends to be a more subjective field than a practical field. We can gauge popularity (Helvetica, especially the condensed versions, are still widely used, as is Akzidenz Grotesque, along side newer typefaces such as Frutiger and Univers), but it is always tough to place a solid pin on it's timelessness until it has been established (much like the case for Helvetica, which is somewhere around 50 years old now, and is still used in newspapers and magazines everywhere).
reminds me of this delightful comic courtesy of Achewood.
-WFLSame here, basically. I set my white balance manually before the shot, though, so I get a close approximation in my previews (I shoot Raw + SHQ JPG).
Fair point. A number of people I associate with have subscriptions (yes, some have multiple) to eMusic, however. It isn't as unknown as it once was - just the fact that Winamp users are greeted with it upon install is enough to establish it a little more than some places.