Here are some goodies (and one question) for my fellow geeky buddies!
Facebook Privacy :: ReclaimPrivacy.org :: If you’ve been concerned about your Facebook privacy / security, this is a great tool. It’s a little “scanner” web application. You drag the link to your bookmarks, load your Facebook page, then click the button. The scan & data are stored ONLY on your computer, and no-one else will see it. It shows in green / yellow / red what settings may be a privacy concern for your personal tastes, and it gives you options to fix them accordingly. I have a few friends who, in the past week, have deleted their Facebook accounts because of privacy concerns. Understandable. But for those of you, perhaps like me, for whom Facebook is the only means of keeping in touch with far-away relatives, this could save you from losing that connection. Have you tried this app? What did you think?
Typeface :: 
Font Family “Otari” :: via Smashing Magazine who says “Otari is vibrant and contemporary, but serious and built to last. Its character shines in display type, but doesn’t interfere at text sizes. Otari Bold Limited is available for free download.” Me likey. It’s in that class of hybrid fonts that aren’t quite serif or sans-serif. And I definitely like it in all caps. Have you found any super cool fonts lately that you can’t wait to share? Cool article: Becoming a Font Embedding Master. Thanks Snook!
Mixtape Revisited :: The SUCK UK USB Mix Tape is yet another gadget I am currently drooling over but will never buy. I was the mix-master queen in my day. Two words: Beastie Boys. “The once ubiquitous audio cassette tape might have died eons ago, but the spirit of the mixtape has lived on till today as the symbolic gesture of curated musical affection. SUCK UK presents the mixtape with the facade of yesterday’s tape format with the hidden technology of a USB stick hidden inside for easier playback.The 128MB USB memory stick will hold about 2 hours of mp3 tunes, which is the same amount your old Maxwell 120 minute dual side tapes would hold.”
HTML5 and CSS3 :: Oh good grief, I won’t even start posting links. Hit up Zeldman and/or get A Book Apart. But you already knew this. I’m stoked. You?
A Question for You: Jeremy has been trying to objectively evaluate the e-reader vs iPad situation (with my vascilating opinions & input). The Barnes & Noble “Nook” is out of the running; it has a screen “flicker” at each page turn which would drive him batty. So it’s Kindle vs iPad.
- Kindle pros: price, access to the massive Amazon e-bookstore, smaller
Kindle cons: not backlit, can’t hold it & test it in person - iPad pros: access to both the iTunes bookstore and the Kindle/Amazon bookstore via the free Kindle app, it is backlit, larger
iPad cons: price price price price price price price. also: price.
I know it’s a very “individual decision” based on ones needs & reading style. Jeremy likes reading in bed & on the couch at night, backlighting is thus a large concern. And his tastes in books are definitely more obscure & non-fictional, so the Amazon library is much more appealing. All of this seems to point to iPad, but MAN… it’s SO DARN EXPENSIVE. Do you have any input on this?
I officially give Taylor Brown, the lead software architect, at YNAB: “You Need a Budget” a gold star!
My boyfriend & I have been researching budgeting softwares (beyond the usual scope of Quicken & the like). We found the website for YNAB software and their philosophy made a lot of sense for my lifestyle. I downloaded the trial, and was really loving it. The concept is like dividing your money in envelopes, with certain amounts alotted for utilities, transportation, savings, etc. The user interface is designed around a clearly explained method, there are no superfluous widgets & add-ons to clutter the dashboard, and it was easy to use “out of the downloaded box”. They offer free, live online classes. 
They have a user forum that bubbles over with giddy debt-free YNAB zealots who answer every question they can. I was getting those warm software fuzzies.
By day 3 of my trial download, I was feeling all empowered & wanting to budget everyone’s budgets.
So I purchased a license to YNAB.
Enter: Taylor.
As soon as my paypal transaction went through (and I jokingly typed in the “How did you hear about us?” field, “My brilliant boyfriend!”), I immediately received an actual, person, not automated email from Taylor. He introduced himself, and wanted to personally thank me for purchasing the software. And said that my boyfriend must be brilliant for recommending YNAB. Funny guy!
Jeremy & I were cracking up at this point. I emailed Taylor back and thanked him… and then did The Most Annoying Thing In The World. I asked if he could wave his magic wand & add in Feature XYZ. Now, I’ve lead enough web and software development projects in my day… I know how different kinds of architects react when asked for a new feature (especially after the latest & greatest version has just been released). Taylor was the extremely gracious kind; He responded with “That exact feature is going to be in the iPhone app we’ve just submitted to Apple!”
YNAB is the kind of speciality software I love: It does what it says & does it well. And it is build & supported by people who care enough about new customers to email them personally!
(BTW: This totally makes up when I sat fuming in a hot stairwell in India, attempting dozens of times to reach customer support when my iPhone AT&T service had been mysteriously disconnected. BTW, the irony: I was in India and couldn’t reach tech support. I finally got ahold of a human being… a South African living in Nebraska).
We all know Etsy.com is one of my favorite places to shop – I love buying one-of-a-kind, handmade things. Here are some useful and fun finds to make your office or cubicle feel more homey, or to show off your geek pride. Ain’t no shame in it!
 Felt Fabric Storage Bin Made by FreshStudio. She has a bunch of different patterns & styles – how cute would 2 or 3 of these look on a cubicle shelf? They’d brighten the place up & hide the mess. Yeah I’m a packrat, so I live by the “decorative bin” approach to life. |
 The Freakin Never Ending To Do List Made by FinchAndHawk. This snarky notepad won’t get your list done any faster, but it’ll at least make you laugh. |
 “A New Day” Photograph Print Made by ZuppaArtista. If you hung this in your office, it would be like taking a little vacation every time you look at it. This fabulous L.A. photographer chick has a great way of capturing a moment so that you feel like you’re there… I can almost smell the salty Pacific air. |
 Dry Erase Wall Calendar Made by SimpleShapes. Applied directly to the wall, this calendar can be wiped off & reused each month. I can picture this in a home office, or in a cool graphic design studio. Isn’t that the life?! |
 Rounded Felt Mouse Pad Made by FeltPlanet. No more icky, thin, plastic mousepads.. this is thick and soft Merino wool felt. Pick from 23 colors. Swanky. |
 Smiley Face Coffee Cup Cozy! Made by MouthyMitts. Okay, it doesn’t GET any cuter than this. Forget the little cardboard sleeves.. get your own reuseable coffee cup cozy with an adorable emoticon smiley face. Freaking cute. |
 Computer Power Tie Tack Made by CreativeDexterity. For your favorite computer man… because he’s got the power. (Yuk yuk yuk, I know, that was lame). |
 OMG Necklace Made by JL67. Yeah, this little sterling silver pendant is, like, oh my god, like, way too cute not to post. like, shyeah. |
 Wood iPhone/iPod Docking Station Made by Woodtec, this docking station is made of real cedar. “Reconnect with nature as you charge your apple devices.” I really want this. |
 Super Mario Bros hard drive Made by 8BitMemory, this classic video game cartridge contains a 640GB external harddrive! They have different game cases & hard drive sizes available. Old School Geek! |
 Ima.Mac.Girl Laptop Sticker Decal Made by LanaKole. Your MacBook needs some love, and LanaKole has tons of awesome vinyl decals for ya! |
 Darth Vader Laptop sticker Decal Made by LanaKole. Your MacBook needs some love, and LanaKole has tons of awesome vinyl decals for ya! |
 Mini Thank You Card Set Made by MailboxMemories. I had a boss who taught me how much a handwritten thank you note can mean to a client or coworker. There are some things that just don’t translate as well in an email; so keep a little stock of thank you cards in a drawer. You will absolutely make someone’s day! Talk about good office karma. |
 Live Moss Terrarium with Gnome Made by MissMossy. Do plants die in your care? Are the flourescent lights making you forget about the natural world outside? Get a little moss terrarium! They’re cool, they’ll bring some nature indoors, and they’re pretty much impossible to kill. Really. Spritz it with water once a month. Done. Cool! |
I have a folder/file structure I like for organizing my photos. When I import a new batch to LR3, I choose “add” in the import window so that my photos stay where they are & aren’t moved or copied into the LR structure. Everything works fine.
I’d like to move some of my older folders/projects to an external hard drive, but still have them show up in my list of folders/projects. I also believe that the thumbnails of these images should still exist (for catalog purposes) even if the external HD is disconnected.
My question is this: What is the process for moving my photos to an external harddrive, in a folder structure of my choosing, and keeping the “link” to them in my LR catalog?
Can I simply move the folders to my new HD, then go into lightroom & click something to “repoint” to a new source folder?
The develop edits I’ve made to these photos are no doubt stored elsewhere in the “catalog”. How can I ensure these changes follow my photos once they’ve been moved?
This will be my long-term workflow: keeping only the most recent shoots on my mac, and then migrating them all to my external HD for storage. But I’d like to retain links to all of them for catalog reference.
I know this is a very specific question, and I hope it’s not confusing. My googling has come up with very general results, or it is assumed that my photos have been moved into LR (which I haven’t done). ANY ADVICE IS GREATLY APPRECIATED!
You’re just cool like that. Maybe you’ve got a tricked out Mac or Windows 7 at home. You’ve got the slickest smartphone with apps that do everything but make you coffee (although it can probably pre-order you one at Starbucks). And now you’ve got a rockin little netbook everywhere you go, to bridge the gap.
Or maybe you see no reason to pay thousands of dollars for ANY of the above, and you rock your netbook everywhere you go with everything you need at hand. You make the most of your money & just cut to the chase.
Either way, you always get questions and admirations when you pull the little baby out of your bag or purse. But you and your netbook compadre’s know the truth: Netbooks have limitations. So what’s a netbook rockstar like you to do? I’m in the same pickle, and have made some progress on my own. I also just read The Definitive Guide to Making the Most of Your Netbook (by Lifehacker, of course). And decided to run with a blog post, and am trying to keep it in the “layman” category. I leave hardcore, Yoda-style-geekery to my well qualified friends.
For me, it boils down to 3 universal limitations:
Little netbook, little ram, little harddrive: Get your google on. Replacing/upgrading the ram and harddrive in netbooks is often as easy as “unscrew tiny screws, take out old hardware, put in new hardware, screw tiny screws back in.” Well… that’s the gist of it anyway. There are mighty forums for every make & model – do a little googling to find out what type of ram you should use, and some advice from people who have gone before you. I’ve always found great deals on both ram & harddrives at NewEgg and TigerDirect.
Some of the itty-bitty netbooks with “flash” harddrives may only have a few gigs, the equivalent of a USB flash drive, and can be a little trickier. If dealing with computer guts makes you queasy, look into a service like DropBox or JungleDisk (my favorite). You’re used to storing your files on your harddrive, but these services are like having a “harddrive in the sky”. It looks & acts just like a folder, but the files don’t take up your valuable space. Even if you don’t have a netbook, this is a great way to backup your files. Your netbook could fall from your perch atop an elephant ride in Kenya into a muddy lake, but your files are still warm and cozy online.
Applications, Bloatware & Bandwidth-Hogging websites: Bloatware in laymans terms is “All that crap that comes installed on your new computer that you’ll never use or want.” To strip this gunk out, I’ve personally used CCleaner and recommend it, and the Lifehacker article recommends one called “DeCrapifier”, which I’m sure is great as well. Assess EXACTLY what you’ll be using your netbook for, then get rid of the rest. There are even special netbook versions of some applications (like browsers).
“Selecting applications for a netbook is a lot like packing for a camping trip. When you pack for a camping trip you select things for your pack that are efficient and lightweight versions of things you use every day at home, and you also pack things that are distinctly related to camping that you’d never use at home.” (Lifehacker article)
There are also netbook-friendly versions of some websites that are often “heavy” when it comes to bandwidth. YouTube is a huge bandwidth sucker, so they’re starting up “YouTube Feather“.
Battery Life: God I wish I had an answer. I have a Lenovo S-10 and it pulls a whopping 2 1/2 hours of battery life. What’s a girl to do? If you have any advice, please comment!
Artsy, Geeky & Photo(y) web coolness, compiled especially for you. Yes, you. You’re just special like that.
Make Your Own Gummy Candy: No longer must you search high and low for the elusive gummy bear. No, dear friends. No more venturing into the woods to find his hidden lair, risking life and limb.
Gentlemen of Bacongo: Incredible. As reviewed by Maggie York-Worth in Cool Hunting: “Photographer Daniele Tamagni’s new book Gentlemen of Bacongo captures the fascinating subculture of the Congo in which men (and a few women) dress in designer and handmade suits and other luxury items. The movement, called Le Sape, combines French styles from their colonial roots and the individual’s (often flamboyant) style. Le Sapeurs, as they’re called, wear pink suits and D&G belts while living in the slums of this coastal African region.” … “Sapeur Michel comments on the strange combination of poverty and fashion, “A Congolese sapeur is a happy man even if he does not eat, because wearing proper clothes feeds the soul and gives pleasure to the body.”
NPR Tiny Desk Concerts: You, and your favorite artists, are now liberated from the concert arena hype and overpriced tickets. NPR brings you mini, impromptu “concerts” – intimate and unplugged – by a tremendous range of talented artists. Andrew W.K. like you’ve never imagined him, playing beautiful classical piano. Zee Avi, the youtube darling, playing her guitar and singing in her unassumingly brilliant way. The perfect website when you’re sitting at your office desk, munching on your sandwich and want to drown out the world for 15 minutes.
There is No Fall: Fear, Terror and the Psychology of the Mortal: Who better to learn a lesson about methods to overcoming fear than from a world-class rock climber? “There is no fall” doesn’t of course mean that you will not fall, but that the fall doesn’t enter your mind and that focus then becomes on what is immediately in front of you.” Brilliant, right?
Etsy Stalker: You’re either cracked out on Etsy – jonesing for your next organically grown, handmade, soy-based scented candle fix – or you’re not. If you are, Etsy Stalker should be a regular hit for you.
18% grey t-shirt: Photographer? Better yet… assistant? This “inside joke”, 18% grey t-shirt will give you instant street-cred. Or at least prove your sense of humor. There’s even one with a full Macbeth card on it!
and finally (you know I had to go here…)
