#skynet-solutions

[skynetsolutions]

Stationary pad in OSX

Recently I had a mysterious problem with duplicate files being created when I double click them to open. It also happens when I right click and open with and it seems to happen to photoshop files only. Stationary pad is an old Macintosh option that is still lurking around. This allows the file to be duplicated when double clicked and open up the duplicate for you to work with therefore leaving the original file as a template. So how do you remedy this action? Simple. Open a finder window and right click an effected file. Then select 'get info' and this window will open. Or you can find and highlight the file in finder and press command+i to 'get info'.....gotta love those hotkeys!

Make sure that this box is unselected and the mysterious file duplication problem is solved. I hope that this post may help someone else in the future that is encountered this issue.

Source: Skynet Solutions

By: Clint Smith

[skynetsolutions]

Picturing the Future: The Lytro Camera

The Lytro camera and its technologies are revolutionizing the world of photography. This new camera is almost 4.5 inches long and 1.6 inches in height and width, and it shoots in mega-rays rather than megapixels. As a result, this camera creates "living images," referring to the fact that you can snap one photo with everything in focus and then later on change the focus and depth of field. It allows you to create a whole series of photos from one captured image because of the ability to choose the focal point. It takes the photo instantly because it has no need to autofocus, and it only has two buttons and a zoom slider. Lytro also provides a free desktop app and a free online service where you can upload, manipulate, and share your photos. The camera is rechargeable and can hold up to 750 photos. Although, with every revolution, there can be some downsides. The quality of the images are somewhat mediocre and wouldn't be ideal for printing enlargements. There is also no flash, no external memory, and exposure is difficult to control. However, the Lytro camera is still the most innovative technology in the photography world today. Having the ability to change the focus in an image with the click of a button would probably make the most influential photographers in our past shake their heads. I believe that this camera is merely the beginning of the future of photography.

Source: Skynet Solutions

By: Sarah Powell

[skynetsolutions]

Fontstruct.com: the Latest in Type Design

Fontstruct.com: the Latest in Type Design

 I have recently come across an exciting new innovation in typography design: Fontstruct.com. This is a website that allows the user to create his or her own fonts with a special program developed by FontShop (a font retailer). As the site says, "FontStruct lets you quickly and easily create fonts constructed out of geometrical shapes, which are arranged in a grid pattern, like tiles or bricks." When finished, the user has the option of submitting it to the gallery, where many other users' font designs are available to be downloaded. It is free to create an account, and all the typefaces can be used in any application.

I have already created an account and tried it out. It is really easy to use, and the amount of possibilities is staggering; it is amazing what can be achieved with the aid of a computer. In the last few decades, technology had made design more and more accessible, and Fontstruct.com is certainly a fine example of this. Designing an entire typeface is no longer a tedious, time-consuming process. And, as the site's gallery clearly indicates, accessibility gives rise to infinite creativity.

 You can check it out for yourself at www.fontstruct.com

Source: Skynet Solutions

Author: Alisha Ruskey

[skynetsolutions]

The 3 Keystones of a Programming Language

Computers by and large have advanced rapidly in the last decade: Smaller transistors, better fabrication capabilities, newer technologies for storing and transmitting data, and many more such advances. Though these advances are great, they are forever tied to the chief driver of innovation of them all: programming languages. Without steady advances in programming languages, the achieved technical prowess of such machines would be for naught. But what is a programming language and what are the 3 keystones of programming languages? In this article, we'll explore the definition of a programming language, as well as the 3 keystones of programming languages. A programing language is defined as: "an artificial language designed to communicate instructions to a machine, particularly a computer. Programming languages can be used to create programs that control the behavior of a machine and/or to express algorithms precisely." - Source: Wikipedia Now, as succinct as that definition was, I'll provide you with a more conventional definition: A programming language is how you tell a computer to do or perform an action. This action could be something as simple as printing the words "Hello World!" on your screen, or as complex as listing every one of your friends on a social network, how you know them, and when you added them. The core premise of a programming language is telling a computer how to do something. From their modest beginnings, computers were designed to make tasks for their human creators easier and faster. Though the tasks given to computers are often mundane and boring, that doesn't mean the person giving the tasks must be equally so. The challenge and excitement of programming languages lies not in the number of languages known or bells and whistles (features) used, but in the innovation of how the computer is instructed to perform a task relative to the efficiency of instructions given. You certainly could write an application that uses every known programming language, but would it be as efficient as the same program written in only one language? Would it also perform the most amount of work with the fewest instructions? Probably not, but therein lies the challenge and fun of programming languages! Now that we know what a programming language is, we may begin discussing the 3 keystones of programming languages. PHP, Java, ASP.Net, Ruby, Scala, JavaScript, just to name a few but they each share these 3 keystones. - Means of expression - each one of these languages has a way to create simple things within them. Strings(Text characters.), Integers (Numbers), Variables (Things whose value can change). The list goes on and is only limited by our imaginations. - Means of combination - each of these languages has a way to combine primitive expressions to form more complex ideas. You can add a string to another string, thus making an even longer one. You could even add, multiply, divide, or subtract two integers to create a new one whose value was held in a variable. - Means of abstraction - each of these languages has a way to abstract, or make unknown the inner and sometimes minor details of itself - suppose you wanted to know the result of a simple equation. You already know to create the numbers (primitive expressions), and to perform operations on them (means of combination), but what if you needed to perform this equation multiple times with different numbers? It would be unnecessarily tedious to type and re-type the same equation over and over again, but the key lies in using abstraction. In each of these languages, you are able to create a "function" that accepts "parameters.” The neat thing is that instead of having to type each equation, you merely pass the different numbers to the "function" as "parameters" and the programming language handles the rest! Though there are as many languages available to use as the day is long, they all adhere to these 3 keystones. Despite the naming conventions, performance, or features, if you are able to understand and take to heart these 3 keystones, you will be well equipped to accept the challenge of, and revel in the fun of any programming language. We've covered quite a few intensive topics in this article so for now, I'll leave you with only this: "Stay hungry, Stay foolish"

Source: Skynet Solutions

By: Jevarlow Boykins

[skynetsolutions]

Unwanted Emails and Notifications From Facebook

A friend recently complained to me about all the annoying emails she kept receiving from Facebook (mainly FarmVille). I'm sure we have all heard similar complaints. So here is a quick blog about how to stop the spam from harvesting insanity.

First, let's stop the emails which is pretty simple to do. First, obviously, log into Facebook. All the way to the right, there is a down arrow you will need to click on, then click Account Settings. On the left menu, click the Notifications button. On this page, you will be able to personalize what notifications that Facebook will email to you. This won't stop you from being notified on Facebook. You will still get all the normal notifications that you would previously have gotten, however you will not get the emails. Check the boxes you want to receive emails for, and uncheck any boxes you don't want to receive emails for. Personally, I unchecked every box, and I just visit frequently. While still on this page, you can easily click the Apps button, and then delete any apps you have installed that you don't use. You can also click on the Mobile button to set up or turn off Mobile Alerts.

Next, let's block some apps. If you don't want to know about it every time Polly Peaches harvests her garden, or if you are tired of getting asked to help some mafia clan, this is for you. Start by clicking the Facebook icon at the top left hand corner to get to your newsfeed. Now scroll down just a bit. On the left menu bar, there will be options like Favorites, Groups, and Apps (you may need to click the "more" icon to open the full menu.) Under Apps, there is an Apps and Games option. Simply click this option, and there will be invites from friends. Now hover your mouse over an invite, and an X will appear at the top right of the invite. When you click the X, it will change to show that you have hidden the request, but it will also offer you an option to "Block the Application" or "Block all Requests" from the person that sent you the invite. I usually just block the app not the person, but if you have that one friend that tries every app and always sends you requests, you might think of "Blocking all Requests from Polly Peaches." Then a "Block App" pop-up will appear. Click okay, and you're set! You won't be invited, contacted, or notified about that pesky app anymore. Your friend will not know that you blocked them or their apps.

If you decide later that you want to try out a blocked game, you can find it in this same place. There are options for apps your friends are using, new apps, and "recommended to you" apps. You can also manage blocked applications by going to the same right drop-down and clicking Privacy Settings, and then clicking on "Manage Blocking" next to "Blocked People and Apps." You can now unblock any apps or people you have blocked requests from.

This whole process can take a little while, but it is definitely worth it.

(Source: Skynet Solutions)

By Ryan Williams

[skynetsolutions]

Michael Bierut of Pentagram in Tulsa

This past week I was lucky enough to go and hear one of America's top graphic designers speak in my home town of Tulsa. Art Directors Club of Tulsa and the Philbrook Museum of Art were responsible for bringing such an established person to come and speak.

Of course once I heard he was coming to town, I was on the bandwagon and very anxious to hear his lecture. I have always liked his snarky character and down-to-earth responses in numerous interviews, magazine articles, and videos such as Helvetica.

He started off by mentioning how nice our venue and surrounding areas are, stating “If I was giving this speech in New York, we would be in a dark and dingy old warehouse or building. You have it so nice out here, great lighting, high-res projector...” Micheal was more humble than most people would imagine. In fact, he mentioned his first kiss, which was his wife and high school sweetheart, and he quickly spout out the exact date and time of the event.

One of the portions of his speech I valued most was his sharing an experience with a difficult client. It was one of those “I got this!” moments when they landed the identity process for New World Symphony. In his mind, he had the solution already planned out. Everyone in the office agreed that it was a great identity solution and was sure that the client would love it. Michael, of course, displayed these proposal identity graphics to us, and they were indeed, very elegant, precise, and perfect logo solutions. But, as we all know, it does not matter how awesome, balanced, or aesthetically perfect a design is UNLESS the clients loves it themselves. This was the case for MANY revisions until some many moons later when he received an email from the client. This photo email was a picture of the client's desk with six post-it notes attached. Each post-it note had a very simplistic line drawing of his vision of the identity. Like most designers, this was a little difficult to accept on a Friday afternoon after trying for weeks to gain an inch on this project. It greatly discouraged Michael Bierut. He mentioned going home and talking with his wife, and he said his left-brained wife just couldn’t understand why it was affecting his overall mood throughout the weekend. We all, of course, could relate and shared a laugh. He went on saying that, “Isn't it funny how people can look at other people's professions and say, I can do that, there is nothing to that.” He backed up this statement by relating his late Friday post-it note email to the job of being a Symphony Conductor. “That looks easy; anyone can wave a stick around!” Michael went on to show us the art and precision of a conductor, and how the manuals and form of a conductor are not to be discounted. “There is a lot of process, practice, and study that goes into being a conductor.”

Coming back to work on Monday, Micheal expressed that maybe he was looking at it too selfishly and should consider another point of view. That client is super busy yet had taken the time to sketch, to the best of his ability, a concept of the logo. The client wants it just as bad as Pentagram wants to finalize its identity. So Micheal started considering his conductor research and the six post-it notes to make connections and similarities. Carefully inspecting the six line drawings, Micheal derived a perfect connection from the client drawings, music, design, and Symphony Conductor and finally delivered a winner to the client. It can be seen here:http://www.nws.edu/ The client really wanted a connecting acronym with the three letters NWS. Micheal mentioned that the conductor manual gave some insight on the shape and formality of the design. It was “like the end of a conductor wand leaving traces in the air.”

I guess the moral of this particular section of his talk was that research is key, as well as keeping your pride aside, and be willing to step back and consider several points of view.

Hearing someone as established as Micheal Bierut and Pentagram having clients send them example ideas on post-it notes make me, as well as every designer at the lecture, sigh with relief. Everyone is human, no one is perfect, and patience is perseverance.

I was lucky enough to sit very close to the front in the main lecture hall; there were so many people that they used another lecture hall with live video/audio feed to accommodate the extra people. I was also lucky enough to get a signed poster that he designed for the event. Can you tell what it says?

(Source: Skynet Solutions)

By Clint Smith

[skynetsolutions]

Making the web Bot Friendly

Why should you help out web bots trying to scrape your data? Most users try to make their websites easy for search engines to crawl, but search engines usually only care about words and cache the entire page. There are other bots that look for specific data based on patterns it can find. Most of these bots get a bad reputation since you mainly hear about them when one gets in trouble for stealing email addresses that users leave openly on their website. Some users can get crazy and lock up all sorts of information bots would love, (including Google), such as user pages that hold information like post counts, game scores, or other statistics that can be used.

Making your HTML readable for web bots is generally easy. Most times you already iterate the data and put it in a way web bots can traverse it. We should always use plenty of “ID” attributes to clearly identify parts of the web page. This is especially important if you are not iterating data, like a user page, where you do a query at the top and place all the data appropriately. If none of the user profile has an id or another distinguishable feature, it might be difficult for web bots to find appropriate data. Also, make sure items are separate from their labels. Putting them next to each other can make it difficult to parse; a separate tag and the same parent is ideal.

Web APIs are also a great way for bots to use your data. Most sites already have RSS feeds for bots and users to use freely. Some sites even allow bots to freely use their site search engine, others ban it due to possible abuse. Since APIs like this are easy for bots to parse and less data is sent out, it can help both the website and the bot. If you make some sort of API, make sure all important information can be obtained from it.

(Source: Skynet Solutions)

By Blaine Schmeisser

[skynetsolutions]

Is Tulsa Tech Fest for designers?

I attended the Tulsa Tech Fest, or TTF for short, for the first time this year, and from a designer's perspective, it was a little disappointing. However I would like to say that I fully support TTF and plan on going again. It's a good cause and a great annual event to have in Tulsa; I strongly advise everyone to attend. I was geared up on Friday to take two morning Photoshop classes. I was a little leery at first with the title 'Tips and Tricks' and with the teacher being over 60, and rightfully so. As I walked by large and very packed classrooms on the way to my class, my anticipation grew. Upon reaching my classroom, I saw that only 5 other people were awaiting the instructor. The class was eventually canceled due to technical errors.

My second class (in the same room with the same teacher) was the next morning. She also walked in late, dragging in her laptop which too had it's own set of problems. She was barely able to finish her mask tutorial before the class period was over. This was geared more to hobbyists, not professionals, as far as design is concerned.

It's well known that TTF is geared more towards developers, but I hope over time that it will also be home for designers as well. There are plenty of volunteer opportunities, and with fests being held all over the country, there is surely a place for you to offer help. We should all help to support the cause and expand it's efforts.

(Source: Skynet Solutions)

By Clint Smith