andrew dodson

I’m thinking about doing something crazy.

Canceling my cable and internet service at home.

Yes, I told you it was crazy.  Maybe it’s not so crazy to cancel cable.  But, how could a web designer cancel his internet service at home?  How could someone, like me, that loves the internet get rid of it at home?

Two reasons:  idolatry and money.

Over the last couple of months, I’ve started toying with this idea.  Far too often, the television and internet get in the way of doing so many other things in my life.  Most often, they get in the way of my time with God.  Too many days and evenings have been wasted away by watching show after show, or a ball game, or spending far too much time on Facebook, Twitter, or reading all of my favorite blogs.  All the while, I’ve “not had time” to read the Bible that day.  Cable and internet have become idols in my life.

In a lesser sense, too much cable and internet has not allowed me to do other important things:  exercise, read books, practice drums, get things done around my apartment, get outside on a nice day, or spend time with family and friends.

On top of all of this, canceling cable and internet would save money.  Specifically, around $75 per month.  Who doesn’t want an extra $75 per month?

It’s not like I’d never get to use the internet again.  There are two or three free wi-fi hot spots within walking distance of my apartment.  There’s Panera and other places that offer free wi-fi.  If I really needed to use the internet, I’d have plenty of options.  I can also do simple things from my phone.  The bottom line is, I think I’ll be alright.

What will I do in place of cable?  I’ll watch local stations if I need to, or pop in a DVD.  I don’t watch any shows regularly, so I don’t anticipate missing cable.  Until UK basketball season begins, at least.

This week, I’ll begin the experiment.  I won’t use cable or internet at my apartment unless I absolutely need them.  If I can go two or three weeks without them, I plan on canceling both services.  I’m looking forward to the challenge!

Don’t worry, Tim.  We’ve all been there.  Not long ago, back in 2004, I was a pro-Windows, pro-PC guy.  I didn’t see what the fuss about Apple was all about.  PCs were cheaper and usually had more bells and whistles than Macs.  In the MP3 player world, I had a Creative Nomad that was 20GB and worked perfectly – even looked a lot like an iPod.  Then, I started working at CLS – an all-Mac facility – and started seeing what the fuss was all about.

Today’s post over at Challies talks about the process a lot of PC users go through in their switch to Apple.  Along the way, he talks about people like me:

What I’ve come to realize is that I don’t dislike Apple computers. No, I just dislike the people who use them! I’ll grant that there are some exceptions, some people who are humble Mac users. But far too often I’ve come across these Mac apologists, the kind who feel the need to disparage all things Microsoft and to boast in their own superiority. They are the ones who make you feel like you’re missing out, like you’d be so much better and more popular if you’d just become part of the in-crowd.

Plain and simple – everyone should use a Mac. They just make life much easier.

My iPology :: technology :: A Reformed, Christian Blog.

What the Web knows about you.

(ht: Challies)

I give up. I’m going to learn Flash.

I’ve resisted to this point. Why? Well, it’s not really standards-compliant. Meaning? Not everyone can view flash on websites. By saying “not everyone,” my not-so-scientific percentage would be, maybe, twenty-five percent. Mostly, the type of people that use the web for informational purposes and don’t care to download all the latest, wizz-bang plug-ins and features for their browser. Some might read this as “older folks,” but you didn’t hear me say that. I just don’t like making people that want to view my sites download something to view it correctly. Is that so bad? I’ve always said if the day came that Flash came installed on every browser 100% percent of the time, I’d gladly learn Flash.

It’s been all-the-rage in the internet world for several years now, and the rage continues to grow, it seems. Nearly ever web design job I’ve found on the web requires Flash experience. Everyone wants animation, videos, fade in effects, motion graphics, and other fancy features that only Flash seems capable of producing.

So, it seems I just need to give in and start learning it. I’ve done a few tutorials, and yes, it’s cool. It’s neat. It’s fun. But, it can also be way-overdone on a lot of sites. My hope is to learn to apply Flash – a.) only to sites that require Flash, and b.) in a tasteful way. Okay, I might break rule “a” every now and then.

Bottom line is this – if I’m trying to do web design full-time, I need to constantly learn new things, whether or not I like the new things personally. It’s the only way I can survive as a hopeful freelancer. So, getting BADmedia off the ground is kinda like going back to school at the same time. Except, this time, I’m the teacher and the student, sort of (with some help from the internet and books).

I’ve become a huge fan of storing a lot of documents with Google Docs. As I’m sure is the case with anyone, I have a habit of printing out articles that I find online and reading them while I’m away from my computer. After a while, I throw away the print out. Later, I wished I still had the article to read again. Enter Google Docs. Now, I’m able to either copy and paste from the web into a new Google document, or, if it’s a PDF or Word file, I can upload it into my Google Docs.

Another way this is effective for me is that I use at least three different computers on a regular basis (desktop, laptop, and computer at work). Since all of these have a web connection, I can pull up my documents at any time for reference, editing, sharing, and more. There is also a feature to view your documents offline. Say, if I’m using my laptop and there is no wi-fi available, I can still pull up my documents, edit them, or do whatever needs to be done. Once I have an internet connection again, it will sync with my online Google Docs to keep everything organized and up-to-date.

The sharing feature is very useful for groups that need access to documents that are always up-to-date. Businesses, churches, and other organizations could benefit from this feature, I would think.

There are other ways to keep track of your documents. Using a USB jump drive alleviates the need for an internet connection. But, you have to hope that you always keep up with your jump drive – I’ve certainly put mine through the ringer several times. I just think using a web-based solution for document storage is easier to maintain.

I’m often asked what type of software I use to create my websites, logos and the like.  Everyone knows I’m a Mac guy, and they assume I use the Adobe Creative Suite.  Not so fast!  Assumptions can sometimes be wrong.

Yes, I’m a Mac guy.  Love ‘em.  Used a PC for years before finally using a Mac at work.  Hands down, Macs are far better machines.  Trust me.  PC users are scared to switch because they’re afraid a Mac can’t do what a PC does.  Wrong.  Not only can it do everything a PC does, it can do it better and you won’t be pulling your hair out all the time.

Anyway… on to the real topic.  What software do I use?  My general rule of thumb is easy – find something that does what I want for free.  The glory of humanity is this – there are people willing to donate their time and effort and ability to create a nice software package for free.  This is called Open Source.  When I simply can’t find a good open-source (free) program, I find one for cheap.  I try to keep my overhead as low as possible.

General Graphic Art

For my general designs, this is where I don’t skimp.  I use Adobe Illustrator a lot.  I’m currently looking into open source programs (Inkscape), or cheap programs (Vector Designer) for my vector art needs.  Until I decide if those programs are viable, I’ll use Illustrator.

Photo Editing / Raster Graphics

Photoshop?  No.  I use Gimp.  It’s a wonderful, free program.  For all of you out there using pirated versions of Photoshop because you can’t afford to buy it yourself – please try Gimp.  There IS a learning curve, but it can do everything Photoshop can do.  I’m very impressed with it.  Not to mention, it’s more streamlined that PS and runs much faster on my computers.

Web Editing – HTML

These days, I don’t do a whole heck of a lot with HTML.  When I absolutely have to code something with HTML, I use Nvu (there is also a version called Kompozer).  It gets the job done and is free.

Web Editing – PHP, XML, General Coding

I’ve fallen in love with Smultron.  A free, powerful text editor that plays nicely with PHP, XML, CSS, and HTML files.  A nice, multi-purpose program.

Web Editing – CSS

There is a free solution here that some people might enjoy.  Simple CSS.  I’ve tried it and it does get the job done.  But, it has some quirks that I don’t like.  So, I use CSSEdit.  It’s not a free program, but is in the “affordable” bracket.  It’s a pretty slick program.

Wordpress

These days, I design all of my sites around Wordpress.  I love the ability to maintain my sites from any computer with an internet connection.  There is a learning curve to designing custom themes, but once you figure it out, it’s a breeze.

Word Processing

Sometimes, clients send me Word documents with their content.  Mac does have a version of Microsoft Office, but it’s not cheap.  So, I use NeoOffice to read Word & Excel files and more.  A truly wonderful, free word processing program.  They are constantly updating it and improving its features.

So, there you have it.  If you’re looking to save some money, but still be productive, I strongly suggest looking into open source options.  Small businesses, schools, churches, governments, civic groups and non-profits could benefit greatly from saving money and using these types of programs.  You should at least look into them and give them a chance.

Not really a music specific post today, but more of a gear post.

Over the last few years, I’ve used several audio interfaces with my computer.  When at home, I mainly need a good, solid interface that will let me mix anywhere from two to thirty-two channels without any hassle.  To be specific, an interface that worked well with my Mac mini and Tracktion.  I don’t do a lot of recording at home, so having multiple inputs (XLR, MIDI, etc.) isn’t an issue.

I’ve settled on a Behringer FCA202 FireWire interface.  Yes, a Behringer product.  A lot of people bash them, but when it comes to bang-for-your-buck, there’s no better.  I’ve owned several of their products and never had any real complaints.  The FCA202 is a very simple firewire device – two 1/4″ inputs, two 1/4″ outputs, a headphone jack and two firewire ports.  That’s it.  A negative of this interface is no XLR or MIDI inputs.  But, if you want to upgrade your computer’s sound card (using a factory sound card for pro audio applications is not recommended) for a cheap price ($80), I highly recommend this card.  It’s also extremely compact, making it a great, portable unit.  I often throw this in my laptop bag to work on audio projects on the go.

The main issue I ran into using other units dealt with audio dropouts, pops, clicks, and more noises.  For some reason, a couple of units would only briefly work with my setup before the audio would drop out.  But, I would expect more from $200-600 units, so this was disappointing.  The FCA202 performs much better with my setup.  The units that didn’t perform as well included an Edirol FA-101, Alesis MultiMix 8 FireWire, and a PreSonus Inspire.  They all resulted in glitches while I tried mixing a project.

I can’t verify if this product would work well with a PC, or another Mac setup that differs from mine.  It does work great with my iBook G4, though.  If you have a 6-pin FireWire port on your computer, the device can be bus-powered (no power adapter needed).  Looking through reviews on Musician’s Friend shows there are issues if you try to use it with Vista (but, what else is new?  The surprise would be if it WORKED with Vista!).

If you’re in the market for a great little (affordable) audio interface, and if you don’t need XLR or MIDI inputs, I highly recommend this unit.  Combine this with GarageBand on a Mac and you’ve spent $80 to start recording your ideas and more.

Wednesday is generally for random blogging around here. I’m taking some liberty today and passing it off as random blogging. Have you all tried iGoogle and the rest of Google’s way cool features yet? I’m pretty convinced that Google has a plot to take over the world, and so far, they’re succeeding.

I just started using iGoogle today, and it’s slowly becoming an idol in my life. I will likely have to repent from spending too much time on it. See, I’m a big geek and iGoogle is like a geek’s playground. It’s basically a home page that is fully customizable to suit your needs and tastes.

Next up, I started using Google Calendar today. I try to keep a good, accurate calendar and agenda each week. But, I use several computers, a cell phone and other gadgets, so I always feel like I have my dates, to-do’s and appointments in several places and they’re never all the same. With Google Calendar, I can set up reminders via email and text messaging, have a daily agenda emailed to me each day, share my calendar to my multiple computers via iCal, and always be synced up.

Google Reader seems to be a pretty cool answer for keeping up with all the blogs I visit. I’d been using endo for a couple of weeks, but – once again – I have to have multiple copies on multiple computers and they’re never in sync. I can now just log into Google Reader on whichever computer I’m using at the time.

I try to stay pretty organized and all the features that Google offers seems to meet my needs. At minimum, I can centralize all the information in which I need access.

There are times when I reflect back on the good old days. The times I spent trying to figure out DOS & Windows 3.11. The countless freezes and reboots from a PC with 32MB of RAM, made by a company that has been non-existent for years (Packard Bell). Ah, yes, those were the days. Now, I’ve stepped over to the Mac world and have no regrets. For all of you PC-users out there, I wanted to post this blurb that gives evidence to the like-ability of Macs.

This comes from Mars Hill Church’s Codex blog:

At Mars Hill we’ve been running with Dell and Apple hardware since I started on Staff. I made a change shortly after I began work here to allow people to purchase either Dell or Apple if they had a preference. Previous to that time the Apple hardware was for the most part limited to the domain of the Worship & Productions departments. Before providing that choice our desktop environment was running about 90% Dell and about 10% Apple with the Apple people almost entirely working in creative departments. 2 years later, we are approaching 60% Dell and 40% Apple. The most intriguing part of this has been the “switchers” the people who are transitioning from Dell to Apple.

How many users have we switched? Around 10 – 12 people depending on how you decide who represents a true switcher. Not huge numbers in a microcosm of nearly 100 staff. Some of you doing the math at home you are wondering how I arrived at 60/40 when so few have made the change to Apple. We’ve been hiring a number of people recently who haven’t switched but just chose to start work as Apple users displacing the percentage of windows users. How many have switched back to Dell/Windows? Zero. Our user base is changing and the culture of computing with it.

If you’re in the market for a new computer, please check out Apple. It’s well worth the look, in my opinion.

If you play music, record music or just listen to music, you’re indebted to Les Paul.  I bet you didn’t know that.  Les Paul is one of the most innovative musicians and recording engineers of all time.  Innovations in electric guitars and tone?  Thank Les Paul.  Sound-on-sound and multi-track recording?  Thank Les Paul.

Apple Pro has a really interesting article on this still-living, still-working-at-ninety-two genius.  Feel free to also read his Wikipedia entry.  Thanks Les!