Creative Fuel

New Post in Class

2006-03-28T18:17:00.000-08:00

I showed you all Blogspot and it was amazing.

New Contribute Articles on DMX Zone

2006-03-21T13:30:00.000-08:00

For those of you curious about Macromedia Contribute, I have just completed a couple articles for DMX Zone.

So what does this two-part series on setting up and administering a website using Dreamweaver and Contribute contain?

Part one details 1) Why Contribute may (or may not) be a good choice for your website; 2) How to setup a Contribute-enabled site in Dreamweaver; 3) Tips for trouble-free Dreamweaver Templates and CSS; and 4) Other tips to get your Contribute-enabled site started with minimal hassles.

In Part 2, we’ll discuss how to setup the site in Contribute, create users or groups with specific permissions and get users connected to the site.

An upcoming article titled Using Contribute will focus on the specifics of editing existing pages, creating new pages, reviewing and publishing pages. The article will be a good overview for site designers and developers and can be given to site editors for more detailed information on how to get the most out of Contribute.

Hands-on with new Intel Core Duo iMac

2006-03-07T09:00:00.000-08:00

I just helped someone setup their brand new iMac, sporting the fancy new Intel Core Duo processor. In my limited time working with it I was impressed. We didn't run into any problems and the system seemed quite snappy. I would still be curious to hear how professional software (Photoshop, Final Cut, Dreamweaver) runs on this new platform.

All of the native software runs great. The only 'old' software we tried that used Rosetta technology to work with the Intel hardware was Microsoft Word. It seemed to run plenty fast. We also installed an Epson printer and Qwest DSL and didn't run into problems with any of it. I was pleased with how easy it was to setup the DSL Gateway and configure it on the Mac. I was a little concerned we'd run into a bunch of incompatibilities.

I was pretty disappointed with the DSL performance. I've used Comcast Broadband Cable service for years and I hate paying around $60/month just for internet service, but that's the only option for me. After using the Qwest DSL just a bit I realized that the Comcast service is much faster.

Just for fun I went to Apple.com and looked at the Quicktime movie trailers. I tried the new Doogal trailer (we won some passes to watch it later this week). It took a bit to get some information in the buffer. Once I started playing it, the buffer couldn't keep up. When I got home, I tried the same thing using my Comcast connection. It started playing immediately and the buffer had downloaded the entire file in just a few seconds. There was never a stop or stutter. Now, I have had some minor problems over the years with Comcast, but it certainly seems to be the fastest way to get online around here.

New Intel Macs now shipping

2006-02-21T12:52:00.000-08:00

There are now two styles of Apple Macintoshes shipping with a new Intel architecture inside. Ahead of initial estimates (though not really that surprising), the new laptop MacBook Pro and the new Intel iMac were announced at MacWorld in January. Both models are now shipping and we'll soon get to read some hands-on reviews. I'm helping someone set-up their new iMac next Monday, so I'll have my own hands-on experience and I'll be sure to let you all know about it.

I don't expect any major changes, after all it's still a Mac and the software interface is still the same. The new Rosetta technology is supposed to transparently translate software to work on the new chips. I'll be most curious to see how it really performs with software like Photoshop, Dreamweaver and Microsoft Office. Early reports state that it runs fairly well, if not especially fast.

It will likely be another year before we have native 'universal binaries' for the Intel chip for Adobe's software lineup. So for most of you, this means you should probably wait a bit for the initial bugs to be ironed out before jumping in feet first. You will likely not see a large improvement until this new Adobe Super-Mega Creative Suite 3 shows up with new versions of the usual Adobe and former-Macromedia titles.

If anyone out there already has their hands on one of these new machines, please post and let us know what you think. I am especially curious about performance and the possibility of getting one laptop that I can dual-boot in Windows XP and Mac OS X. That would be cool! (and maybe worth $2000+)

New blog for Creative Fuel

2006-02-21T11:53:00.000-08:00

Welcome to the new blog site for Creative Fuel. For those who already know about Creative Fuel (http://www.creativefuel.org), welcome to this new venue for information relating to graphic design of all kinds. For those of you new to Creative Fuel; Welcome! I have attempted to assemble a number of useful links, including news, reviews, recommended books, videos, software and equipment for print and web designers.

I will attempt to post here frequently as new items of interest come up. A lot of interesting things have been going on in the industry lately and it looks like 2006 will have a number of major events take place.

Look for posts about things like the new Intel Macs, the upcoming Windows Vista operating system, Quark 7, Adobe Lightroom vs. Apple Aperture, the continuing saga of the Adobe/Macromedia merger and more.

creativefuel.org is primarily visited by students from the University of New Mexico and Santa Fe Community College, where I teach a number of graphics, design and web-related classes, but there are an increasing number of visitors from around the world. Your questions and comments are greatly appreciated and I will respond personally and/or in a post as appropriate.

See you real soon!