OS X ain’t Perfect
September 17, 2011
So, I’ve been really busy will this whole college thing. It’s been almost 3 months since I’ve started, and while I don’t have anything to write about on the subject of Full Sail, I do have a little something to say about Mac OS X..
This has been my first real experience with a Mac. I’ve been using Ubuntu exclusively since late 08′, so I automatically started comparing OS X to the current version of Ubuntu, 11.04, which some complain has borrowed too much from OS X.
“Zoom” Button
In Windows, Ubuntu, and most other desktop environments their is a “Maximize” button on each open window.
Whenever this button is pressed, the window it is attached to will fill the entire screen. When pressed again, the window returns to its original state.
This is consistent. While not all windows you encounter will have the maximize button, when they do it works the same way, every time.
How does this work on OS X? Mac has something different located in the same place, called the “zoom” button.
From what I’ve understand, it depends on the app. Some, like Finder (Mac’s file manager) use the zoom button to mean “resize just enough to fit entire folder’s contents with the least amount of scrolling needed”. Other apps, such as the built in calculator app or iTunes, use the zoom button as a “change view” of sorts. Pressing zoom while in iTunes transforms the large catalog viewing interface into a small widget-sized window. The calculator uses the zoom button as a toggle for the different kinds of calculators.
This is very nice and all, but how are you supposed to know? By experimenting or by reading the manual? Neither should be necessary for standard apps.
This is but one complaint. I have several others. 
But don’t get me wrong. I like allot of stuff about OS X too! I think Ubuntu would gain allot by looking at some of the best OS X has to offer.
Comments (0) | Tags: Apple, Computers, Linux, Mac, Open Source, OS X, Programs, Ubuntu, UI | More: Uncategorized
New (Old) Wallpaper – Simple
July 28, 2011
1920x1080
I was just digging through my “Wallpapers” folder and came across an old one I must have made several months ago.
I made this around the time I first learned about HSV Noise in Gimp. This was my first real experiment with it. I thought I ought to share it.
Enjoy.
Comments (0) | Tags: Design, GIMP, Wallpaper | More: Wallpapers
An Update on My Life
July 04, 2011
I’ve Started College!
I’m not really going to go into too much detail, but I still wanted to share what I’ve been doing for the past few months.
I’d been thinking for several months of the possibility of skipping the 12th grade, getting my GED, and going ahead to the college I’ve been looking at since I was 10*, Full Sail University.
And I finally did it last month. I got my GED and enrolled in Full Sail’s (online) Graphic Design Bachelor of Science degree.
I started this past Monday!
Full Sail has this thing they call LaunchBox and, well… Here’s how they describe it:
Project LaunchBox is a Full Sail initiative that provides – at a deep, institutional discount* – all Full Sail students with powerful Apple technology to help them create music, film, games, animation, and design projects.Project LaunchBox complements Full Sail’s programs by providing students with access to a complete mobile studio for use throughout their school career and after graduation. With Project LaunchBox, students of all levels will be able to utilize their own personal MacBook Pro notebook computer loaded with Apple’s complete line of creative software tools, as well as degree specific sets of pro-level applications.
With this unique combination of professional software and hardware, Full Sail students now have uninterrupted access to the tools they need. This mobile studio also allows them to have their portfolio conveniently at their fingertips at all times.
So, I was required to get:
- MacBook Pro 15″, 2.2ghz i7, 4gigs of RAM, an AMD graphics card with 1gig of RAM
- The entire Adobe Master Suite CS5.5
- Final Cut Studio
- Microsoft Office for Mac and iWork (bleh to both. I installed LibreOffice and haven’t had any problems yet)
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It’s Dangerous to Go Alone…
May 05, 2011
I had this idea for a wallpaper while I was in the shower the other day.*
This was originally posted on my (now deserted) deviantArt page. I thought I’d bring it here for those who found my blog when searching for “Christian Wallpapers”.
I’ve made many more wallpapers since this was posted on deviantArt (October 4, 2009). Maybe it’s about time I share them. 
(This is an edited screenshot from “The Legend of Zelda” for the NES, for those non-gamers out there.)
Comments (0) | Tags: Christianity, Video Games, Wallpaper | More: Wallpapers
Life Lesson Learned
April 27, 2011
Let’s make a list.
What promises have I made on this blog? And what happened to them?
- Review Miro and Flock? Didn’t do it.
- Read entire Bible and share favorite verses? Got 3 books in.
- NaNoWriMo? Set word count really low at the last minute and rushed the ending. (I’d still like to polish it and release it.)
- Build a computer for 16th birthday? Nope. Waited until my laptop died last September before I bought a Dell XPS9100.
- “Project 365″? Gave up about a month into it.
- Post at least once per week? That was almost three months ago.
What lesson have I learned?
I shouldn’t announce crap I know I’m not going to follow through with.
Comments (0) | Tags: Random | More: Uncategorized
A New Year, And With It, Some New Promises (To Break)
January 02, 2011
Well, not much at all has been posted here this last year. In fact, I really haven’t been as active on the internet. I only posted twice on this blog, and I only uploaded 35 photos to flickr vs. the 53 photos I uploaded in 2009.
But I’ve got several New Year resolutions that I think I can actually achieve this year.
I’d my like my friends to hold me accountable for them, just encase I start to burn out.
Project 365
Ever heard of this before? It’s where a photographer takes at least one picture every day for a year. I’ve been told it’s a very good way to grow as I photographer and several friends have done it and recomend I do it too. And I am!
I’ve been disappointed with myself and how little I’ve been uploading to flickr. I try not to share anything but what I think is worth sharing, but sometimes I wonder if I set that bar too high. This challenge will force me to post photos, whether I like them or not.
Blogging
Another personal challange I’m giving myself is this:
Post atleast once per week!
Yep, this blog is actually going to be worth reading with topics such as:
- My workflow with digiKam and RawTherapee
- Indie game reviews
Wait. That’s just two…
But trust me, more will come! And I’d appreciate any comments and recommendations on both my writing and the topics.
This is going to be an interesting year.
Comments (2) | Tags: Photography | More: Uncategorized
The Purpose of Twitter
July 01, 2010
Some use it to post “status messages”, descriptions of what they’re currently doing. Others (like me) use it like a “micro blog”, a place to post thoughts too small to warrant a full blog post. Then some have gotten creative, using it for sharing haikus, alerting people, and even writing full novels.
Now, I bring this all up because I want to know, what do you use twitter for? Does twitter have a solid, fixed purpose? Or is it just a blank slate for others to interpret their own use? Will twitter continue to be a venue for expression and discussion of import matter? Or will it turn into nothing but a public facebook?
I’d like to hear your opinion.
Sorry if this all sounds like a slurred mess… I just wanted to post something and I had been thinking about this recently. My next post will either be about my new mytouch slide or, if this gets some comments, if it really is worth using a FOSS alternative to twitter (identi.ca) if no one will see what you have to say.Comments (2) | Tags: Random, twitter, Websites | More: Uncategorized
New Photos, Fixing a RRoD’d Xbox, and Building a Computer
March 17, 2010
Dude. It’s been three months since I last Blogged!
And I told my self I wouldn’t start doing that again… 
So, let’s begin.
Photos from My Trip to the Zoo
My homeschool co-op all went on a trip to the Zoo. I haven’t usually been one for Zoos… But now that I have my camera I was all ready to go! 
RRoD’d No More!
Right before Christmas, my dad’s Xbox 360 (a premium 360 from 2006) finally RRoD’d (Red Ring of Death, named after the glowing red ring on the front of the console). After replacing it with an Elite model he gave me the dead corpse, telling me that if I could get it to work I could keep it. And so I did, by fallowing this video guide!
So now I’ve been playing Blue Dragon.
Building my First Desktop
The 18th will be my 16th birthday, and to celebrate I’m building my first desktop! And it shall involve:
- An AMD Phenom processor (most likely quad-core)
- A decent nvidia graphics card (at least 512mb of vram)
- A hard drive at least 500GB
- Ubuntu Linux 9.04 64-bit
And more…. or less. I’m still choosing parts.
Once I do get the parts I plan on photographic and blogging the building process. So be looking forward to that.
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Firefox Open Video Issues
December 11, 2009
Ever since I started using Firefox 3.5, I have had issues with pausing and then unpausing HTML5 powered videos. I did all sorts trouble shooting, trying to find the source of the problem. I tested my Firefox, with and without certain add-ons, and our family’s other computer (which also runs Ubuntu). Same problem there too … My Dad suggested it might be an Ubuntu issue, and I was starting to think so too. But after going back and forth with the dudes over at #firefox, it turns out this is a documented bug with Firefox.
A part of me is happy that it’s not Ubuntu/Linux’s fault, but the other side is disappointed that Firefox 3.5 shipped with such a huge bug … 
EDIT: Yeah, just now fixing this. As those in the comments said (months ago) these issues were fixed with 3.6…. Which was months ago…
Yes, I’m lazy.
Comments (3) | Tags: Bugs, Computers, Firefox, Linux, Open Source, Programs, Ubuntu | More: Uncategorized
This Blog isn’t Dead!
November 27, 2009
Boy, has it been awhile! I’ve meaning to write a new post but either I’ve been too busy or I end up forgetting to.
So maybe I should catch you up to speed.
Marathon: Better then Halo
I’ve recently started playing the Marathon Trilogy of games. It’s like Halo, but with an even better story line! And Doom 1 like graphics. Though there are some great HD texture mods for all three games. Also, its got some great online deathmatch maps!
Go here to get it for Linux, Mac, and Windows.
Also, I’ve made some great replacement icons for each game. I may or may not be putting them here…
NaNoWriMo
I decided to do NaNoWriMo for the first time with the support of my friends at my homeschool co-op. I had originally set my word count goal at 25,000 words… But then I went down to 15,000 words. Here I am with only 820 words and 4 days to finish…
If and when I finish it I’ll be putting here under a creative commons By license for all to see.
So be looking forward to that.
