Arranged Delirium

I finally got to see the concluding film of the Harry Potter series last week - very well done. I was particularly pleased with the storytelling, even if it departed from the text - that was a hard story to tell visually and they did a great job of it. On a related note, this October will see the release of a new web presence for the potter books. What is most exciting though is that they ebooks will be released DRM-free. That means I can read them on any device I choose (Apple, Amazon, or Android, etc.) without having to go through the labor of stripping out the DRM before I can move the files around. This is the way it should be!

The incremental upgrade fo the Adobe products has seen a lot of debate - and at times, I think the question of whether one needs to invest is a good one. I’d say that its a very good investment for anyone using CS4 or earlier versions, but questionable for folks who already have CS5. One notable exceptions though includes InDesign 5.5 which sports some new features that make life a bit easier for folks creating electronic publications. There’s a handy MacWorld article that lists the primary features. This version of the software makes creating publications for the iPad or in the EPUB format easier. That’s of significant interest to me, given my own mobile application development - this software takes some of the hassle out of that process - especially if you already have your content in InDesign format.

I’ve been using Google+ for a while now. I have to say, I really like it a lot. It’s a good replacement for Facebook for me. I was skeptical when I first read about Google’s initiative to go social - especially following their blunder with Buzz - but it seems that they have learned from those mistakes and done a good job of implementing a valuable service. If you’re not already familiar with it, you can learn more at this Geek.com article.

There are things I like and don’t like about it, but overall I give it two thumbs us - let me know if you want an invite. What I like most about it is that Google seems to get the desire of the community for some semblance of privacy. I actually think I can post some material and delete it effectively in the future. I like the idea of circles, which makes it much more easier to organize relationships. I’m also a big fan of the integration available since I also use Gmail, Calendars, and Docs. Its very nice to be able to access multiple tools through one location, when they are the tools I use every day.

My only real gripe is that I’d like to see an text-based messaging system that is integrated into Google+. There is chat and a good video conferencing tool, but I’d like to be able to send messages akin to email without having to go out to Gmail and mail someone. Such messaging is really the only thing I miss from Facebook. Which is of course the item that I am most pleased with! I can now easily abandon Facebook. I’ll likely keep a pointer there for a while, but I’m happy to leave - Facebook never cared about privacy or user preferences. This why it consistently make mistakes, said they weren’t mistakes, then apologized and changed things anyway. Google seems smarter: able to make mistakes, learn from them, and produce something that serves their purposes but also serves the user base.

PS: I think it’s open to everyone now…

I inadvertently stubbled across a meme this week as I was developing some imagery. I’d been working on some ideas I’ve had about breaking the rules of landscape photography by creating some vertical compositions and I developed this shot of a double rainbow:

Of course, this lead students to point me toward the Double Rainbow phenomenon on YouTube. Its over a year old now, so I’m late to the party, but I thought I’d link to it here in case you’ve missed it too:

This eventually led to the Double Rainbow Song (now available on iTunes):

...as well as various other parodies, such as the Actress Monologue:

Apparently I’ve been living under a rock. But the sad thing about this is that seeing a double rainbow is really a very cool thing. Or better yet - a triple rainbow! I’m pretty sure though that a triple rainbow would have sent YosemiteBear into such fits of apoplexy, that he likely would not have survived the experience.

Everyone knows about everyone’s love/hate relationship with Facebook. But here’s evidence of my most recent frustration:

They’ve abandoned the post button. This really speeds things up, since now you just need to hit enter to post your statement. Whew! It’s a good thing no-one actually ever uses enter for anything important…like, say, a line break or new paragraph? I suppose this is a lame attempt to be more like Twitter?

Interface Fail.

Addendum: I have been taken to school. Apparently a paragraph break can be accomplished via the Shift + Enter combo. Did I miss a visual cue or something? Well, at least its the same approach that every other software interface uses…Oh wait. It’s not.