One of the first things i ordered when I got here was a new laptop and camera bag. I had it all picked out already, but I thought I would be able to find a store here that had it in stock. Nope.
This bag is by the company Tenba, and it made to hold a 15 inch laptop and a camera with accessories. It has a heavy-duty, padded shoulder strap, a padded compartment for the laptop, and a removable, padded insert for the camera. The back is also padded for your hip's comfort. It comes in many stylish colors, though my choice was plum. When I first pulled it out of the box, I thought it was really heavy and was dismayed. Since then, I've gotten used to it and enjoy being able to drag lots of expensive things with me, without fear of them being damaged. I haven't taken advantage of all the pockets yet, with one exception. The front, left pocket is designated for the cell phone. It is one of the few carrying-things I have that doesn't immediately eat and disappear my phone!
On another technology note, this is the first animated gif I have made with Photoshop CS3. Animated gifs are falling by the way-side (where is that, exactly?), but I do like them for their kitschy, instant gratification. CS and CS2 came with a wacky software called ImageReady, meant for optimizing graphics for the web. It also made animated gifs, which is all I used it for (I used the "Save for Web" option in Photoshop for optimizing, and never saw another need, although I know there were). I even included it in my Digital Imaging and Web Design courses. Some of my flash students scoffed at it at first-- "why would anyone make those instead of just using Flash?" But they saw the light once they made them. They're fun! It's like using glue and crayons and scissors when you know you could be using markers and laser-cut punch-outs.
Anyway, CS3 has decided ImageReady was extrenuous and most of its features could be integrated into (eaten by) Photoshop. There is a new "Animation" window to accomplish this, and like ImageReady, you save a PSD version for editing, but like Photoshop, you simply use your "Save for Web" option to make the gif. It's so easy!
That's all for now. You know, this is the first thing I have ever written online that resembles a "review." Perhaps it is influenced by a certain company (who sells camera and computer equipment-- I do shop there) emailing me today and asking to put an ad on my site. My site could make money? Neat! My site would no longer be art and just be like all the other sites out there? Hm. Maybe I am too attached to the starving artist motif.
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