So Macromedia Flash was the new kid on the block back in 1999. Start the Flash revolution! I wish I could find the old flash video, it was really pretty good. Now we have Silverlight by Microsoft! Just another download for you to install. Let’s take a look at some of the products being created:
and Google Street View.
So I need a new cell phone but need to justify spending an extra 5-6 bucks a month. What services are reptative at the moment? An extra hosting account! I’ll just run it at home & save 7 bucks a month which will be sent over to my cell phone bill =P
I haven’t done much work with Indesign in awhile so when given the assignment of creating a definition for the term Luddite, I thought it would be a good opportunity to refresh myself. Below is a thumbnail that links to the pdf and a partial view of the project using Indesign.
Environmental advances in technology often come with added cost. Laggards with their used cars do less harm than buying a new Prius. I know, the Prius owners couldn’t stop themselves. *duck* Environmentalists are asking us to consider our eco-footprint and the impact that creating our products have on the environment. Its not just the disposal of the product but its also the byproducts from the creation itself. The Detroit Rouge Rive is a perfect example of the environmental damage from creating new products but you wouldn’t know it from this postcard! One of the plants from the complex is blow it.
But look at the new kid on the block! A printer with reusable paper! Beware of sticker shock though.
Every now and then you find someone who has really put some effort into a site. Not just copying and pasting from 4 or 5 different sites to portray originality but someone who really takes the time and effort to put some content on the internet. The article, “Color Theory for Designer, Part 1” gives us color theory with websites and magazine layouts as examples. If I were still teaching Graphic Design, this would be my new applied guide for colors to students. Color wheel pro would still be used for its quick and easy list of color meanings.
I seem to be finding myself making more and more unusual file conversions as of late. This particular one had to do with a recorded distance education presentation.
It was originally recorded and streamed using Microsoft Media Server which packages its streaming data in a .asf format. These files play fine using Windows Media Player but pose a little bit of a challenge when the instructor wishes t
o upload the video for later viewing. We chose KSUtube for the sharing program which uses a version of Adobe Flash server. This is really nice because it has a file size limit of 1 GB over YouTube’s 100 meg. Unfortunately, files in .asf format are not on the menu and recommended techniques did not work so I had to hunt down a conversion program.
I finally came across Total Movie Converter. This is a free download or purchase for $30. I didn’t read into it much, just downloaded, ran and converted. The first conversion was to a .avi file which failed to play back. The second attempt was to a .wmv which did play back but had extremely low quality results. I was able to get a hold of an original copy but was still in the .asf format and the conversion quality was the same. The woman speaking looked to be in the witness protection program.
Here’s something I threw together for one of my courses. The actual assignment would have taken me 15 minutes so I did this instead. I think it came out pretty good, maybe 8-10 hours of work.
11×17, 150 dpi, created with photoshop. The background is wood sample (google images) with a brown grosgrain ribbon (some fabric website) with a grey tweed fabric (some other fabric website). The background is what really makes the whole thing work and provides a small suspension of disbelief. The images have had a billion filters put on them with some other schnazzy effects. What’s really interesting about it is that since the size is gargantuan, you have to zoom in (ctrl+ or ctrl & mouse wheel) which uncovers some interesting browser behaviors. See, I sliced it up with photoshop so when you click on one of the 5 primary images it’ll pull up a new tab (or window depending on your puter) using a feature called ‘zoomify’ which is built into CS4. In firefox, if you open a new tab, it remembers your zoom actions (annoying) but IE shows white lines where your slice lines are at but keeps the new tab data separate. Both have their pros and cons and it just reiterates the need for these companies to stop trying to corner the market on browser functionality. annoying to say the least.
So, you really want to start shopping online? Ebay isn’t cutting it for you? Craigslist is so, shall we say, local?
http://www.crazedlist.org/ is your answer. But to get it to work you will have to modify some of your settings in firefox. Don’t want to regedit? try this one out in your address bar. about:config
You will have to hunt down the setting for network.http.sendRefererHeader and mod it to 1 instead of 2. change it back when your done if your paranoid like that. there’s also an RSS feed option if youd rather.
This will be an ongoing post building up as a reference for comprehensives. Piece of cake. Not an exhaustive list but one of personal interest.
Robert Gagne – Instructional Design Heavy Weight
Lev Semyonovich Vygotsky - Major contributor to modern constructivism & sociocultural theory. Founder of the “Zone of Proximal Development.” The “swim to me idea” where you move just far enough away so the students will come to the next level.
Jean Piaget - Name kind of says it all. The Psychology Of Intelligence and his other texts are available for free download through piaget.org.
Here are the final drafts of “Penny’s Holiday” The dark green is the final draft. I believe that the green text version has a better color selection and placement of Penn’s eyes. That’s Yuki in the background. Click thumbnails for full versions
