Tag: software

Miscellaneous Happenings

Posted on October 14, 2007 in Perishable by Jeff Starr

Many changes around here lately — new styles, new software, new hardware, and a whole lot more. I will be covering several of these items in greater depth in future posts, but for now, here is an overview of some of the recent happenings unfolding here in Perishable land..

New Mobile Styles

I finally took the time to throw down some tuff mobile CSS styles for Perishable Press. Before, the site was virtually impossible to use via mobile devices because of the comprehensively applied screen styles, which completely overwhelm the screen real-estate and system resources of the average mobile device. The new styles are clean, lightweight and minimalistic. If you have mobile access, please drop by and share your experience with us. Even better, if you are able to capture screenshots, send ‘em along with your system stats and I will include them in an upcoming article focusing on the new styles.

Bad Behavior Upgrade

After streamlining the mobile CSS styles for Perishable Press, I discovered that mobile users were not able to leave comments on the site. After investigating the mysterious “Precondition failed” error associated with each mobile comment attempt, I traced the issue to an older version of Bad Behavior. After upgrading from version 1.2.4 to the currently fresh version 2.0.10, the “Precondition failed” error was resolved and mobile commenting was enabled. Next time you are in the mobile neighborhood, drop a shout and check it out ;)

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Dazzle, Marvel and Wonder

Posted on March 3, 2007 in Graphics, Pleasure by Jeff Starr

One of our favorite command-line screensavers, DAZZLE is a two-dimensional kaleidoscopic program featuring a timeless display of perpetually evolving psychedelic viewscapes. Users may interactively manipulate over thirty image-creation algorithms, or set the program to automatically generate hours of dynamically morphing displays of colorful patterns and geometrically complex graphics.

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Install Windows 98SE and Windows XP Pro on Sony Vaio PCG-F430

Posted on December 30, 2006 in Technology by Jeff Starr

Recently, I had the opportunity to completely reformat the 5.58GB hard drive on my trusty Sony Vaio PCG-F430 laptop. During the process of reformatting, I decided to install both Windows 98 Second Edition and Windows XP Professional on a partitioned C drive. Additionally, I needed to establish a wireless connection to the local network. The entire process consumed around five hours and required plenty of research, analysis, and patience. Upon completion, the project proved quite beneficial, as I now enjoy the benefit of a Win-98(SE)/Win-XP(SP2) dual-boot, wirelessly networked laptop. This article outlines the entire process and will benefit anyone attempting a similar operation..

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Launch Multiple Programs with One Click

Posted on November 28, 2006 in Technology by Jeff Starr

Speed up your workflow by launching your favorite programs in one click using batch (.bat) files:

  1. Create a folder and add shortcuts to your favorite programs.
  2. Rename the shortcuts so that each consists of a single word.
  3. Create a text file and change the name to something.bat.
  4. Right-click on the .bat ("batch") file and select "Edit".
  5. Emulate the following template according to your specific programs.
rem   comments should begin with rem
rem   note: this file launches all of my favorite apps!
rem   note: replace the names below with your own..

@echo off

   start %SystemRoot%\system32\cmd.exe
   start firefox http://google.com/
   start dreamweaver
   start photoshop
   start winamp
   start notes.txt

@echo on

That’s all there is to it! Of course, there are many other neat things you can do with batch files, but we leave that for you to discover elsewhere. You may want to create additional batch files for various kinds of work. For example, you could create one batch file for web-development apps, another for graphic-design apps, and so on. All shortcuts and batch files may be placed in the same folder. Then simply customize shortcuts to your various batch files and use them to consolidate your quick launch and clean up your desktop!

Epson Slide Scanning

Posted on October 30, 2006 in Technology by Jeff Starr

The Epson Perfection 1260 Scanner is equipped with an external lamp adapter that enables the scanning of slides. To use this feature via Photoshop, follow this procedure:

  1. Remove scanner lid and plug in the adapter
  2. Restart the computer and open Photoshop
  3. Click on File » Import » EPSON TWAIN 5..
  4. From the Document Source drop-down menu, select Color Positive Film (TPU)
  5. Set the resolution to 2400dpi, which is equivalent to an image that is approximately 10″ x 6″
  6. Set other settings accordingly
  7. Place slide in the adapter
  8. Pre-scan to check positioning
  9. Highlight scan area accordingly
  10. Scan it!

References

Online Color Resources

Posted on October 16, 2005 in Websites by Jeff Starr

Color References

Color Schemes

Color Charts

Color Pickers

Color Tools

Testing Color and CSS

Color Theory

* Denotes new(er) entry.

Online Service Essentials

Posted on September 17, 2005 in Websites by Jeff Starr

Essential Online Services for Website Developers:

Speed Tests

Network Tools

Optimization Tools

Blog Related

Proxy Surfing

Online Validators