Times are tough, and the economy has been in a years long slump that isn’t showing signs of improving in the immediate future.  Many independent, freelance graphic artists are struggling to find work, and with Adobe’s award winning CS5 with Photoshop costing so much money, even professionals are looking for a viable alternative to the software that has become the industry standard in graphic design and photo editing.  Photoshop, when purchased alone, can easily set you back $699 USD.  When purchased with the entire creative suite, that’s going to cost about $1,299.  If you are a freelancing graphics professional and in need of software since you don’t have access to Photoshop through a corporation or other workplace, you still have to possess the right tools if you do want to attract clients and crank up your income.  Have you considered trying GIMP?

Meet The GIMP

Recently, my graphics designer friend “Todd” left the security of his full time job as a graphic designer for a corporation.  He left a company that he loved working for, and that provided him with a working area complete with a top of the line Mac Pro, three Apple monitors, and unlimited use of the entire CS5 suite, including  Adobe Photoshop.  When he migrated to his new town, he found work with a local newspaper, but was dismayed to learn that they used GIMP instead of Adobe Photoshop.  GIMP (the GNU Image Manipulation Program) is an open source, free program that can be used without limitations and is compatible with Photoshop plugins, but Todd didn’t know that.  All he knew was there was no Photoshop, and he believed there would be a sharp learning curve for this other program.

He isn’t alone.  A lot of people are completely unaware of the GIMP and its capabilities as a professional image editing program.  Downloading GIMP on a Windows, Mac, Unix, or Linux system is easy.  The thing that throws most people off at first is the way it looks:  the GUI just isn’t that beautiful.  But beauty is more than skin deep, especially when it comes to GIMP.  The real beauty here, besides the price, is that all of the power tools you are used to using with Photoshop and the Adobe Creative suite are all right there for you.  Any tools you can’t immediately find can be downloaded as add-ons and plug-ins.  There are many tutorials available on YouTube that can assist anyone in making an easy transition from the familiar (and expensive) Photoshop to GIMP.  The open source community is strong and thriving, and GIMP continues to evolve.

For more information, visit http://www.gimp.org/.  You’ll find a helpful community of developers and artists who are ready to help you out.  And if specific tutorials are what you’re after, visit Alex’s Gimped! Gimp Tutorials blog.

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This was a great week, for many reasons.  For one thing, it was my first full week with the new iPhone 4S.  I managed to eke out a quick review within hours of its unboxing, then went on to review the Splash Masque screen protectors I decided to use on it, which I snagged for a real bargain at Amazon.com. I also recovered rather rapidly from what I thought was going to be one of the worst colds I’d ever come down with, and lived to see my 43rd birthday on Thursday.

Oh, and I can’t forget to mention the 8gb memory upgrade I put into my mid-2009 Macbook Pro (Unibody 15″, 2.53ghz Intel Core 2 Duo, NVIDIA GeForce 9400M, 250 gb Fujitsu SATA disk) — still a formidable machine by all current standards.  Save one.

Enter: The Elder Scrolls V, Skyrim

It was also Skyrim week, for those of us of the gamer persuasion.  I used to have a really nice, top of the line HP notebook that I’d bought during a feverish bout of curiosity about Windows Vista, and shortly thereafter, Windows 7.  I’m an old school geek who used to work on the bench putting systems together, so it’s understandable that even though every product in my house is “Made by Apple in California” (as Siri likes to say when I ask her where she’s from,) anytime something new comes out on the other side, including new Linux distros that have managed to get much attention, I get an almost physically painful urge to test it out.  Plus, there were a few games I wanted to try: notably, the Elder Scrolls series.  My HP was easily able to handle them at the time, although if I still had it today it would fail miserably at Skyrim;  it had trouble with Oblivion.

After I’d had my fun with Windows and Ubuntu Linux, and the HP had outlived its usefulness for my gaming needs (I was still playing World of Warcraft, which does perfectly well on a Mac) I passed it to a relative who still adores it. There are no more non-Apple computers in this house.

Now, before you suggest I run out and buy an XBox or PS3, don’t.  The only console game system I ever got into was Nintendo, because I loved The Legend of Zelda series and the Mario Brothers games, and you couldn’t really get those anywhere else.  I prefer PC gaming.  I need the keyboard controls, the editor tools, and that up close and personal feeling you get from hacking .ini files when the situation calls for it.  To me, the idea of playing a game as noble as Skyrim on any console is heretical.  Also, I don’t have a TV in my game cave, and the one in the family room is strictly off limits for anything but Wii Fit.

My Options

So this leaves me in a bit of a situation.  First, my Macbook Pro, for all its power and speed, simply does not meet the recommended requirements for this game.

• Windows 7/Vista/XP PC (32 or 64 bit)
• Processor: Quad-core Intel or AMD CPU
• 4GB System RAM
• 6GB free HDD space
• DirectX 9.0c compatible NVIDIA or AMD ATI video card with 1GB of RAM (Nvidia GeForce GTX 260 or higher (i.e GTX550Ti); ATI Radeon 4890 or higher).
• DirectX compatible sound card
• Internet access for Steam activation

It doesn’t have a graphics card that could pull it off. And even if I used a Wineskin or Cider wrapper (IF there were currently a port available, which there isn’t) DirectX 9 kills it for me.  It just isn’t going to happen, and Bethesda has no plans of bringing this to the Mac, and I have to accept that.

My only option would be to buy a Windows laptop that meets those specs.  I can’t buy a desktop unit because honestly, I have no room for something like that in my personal space.  I’m an aesthetic minimalist, and the idea of a big black box with wires is about as appealing to my soul as day old oatmeal on a stick.  But wow, doling out bucks for a Windows machine — JUST (and let’s be honest, it really would be JUST) so that I could play a video game seems excessive.  Granted, laptops meeting the above specs can be found fairly inexpensively (I saw one for less than $600 at BestBuy) but still, ya know?

So, what would you do in my situation?  Just not play Skyrim?  Maybe accept Blizzard’s invitation to return to Azeroth for a while?  Or, I could try getting into the Dragon Age series, which I’ve heard is pretty good but never messed with. Seriously, what would you do?  I want your opinion.

 UPDATE:  a Wineskin wrapper was made available this evening (after I had purchased Windows 7 from Best Buy but not yet opened it) so I gave it a try and here is a video of Skyrim running on my MBP

First, Some History

For the iPhone 4, I began with the Zagg invisibleSHIELD, hoping to go for a minimalist option that wouldn’t degrade the new iPhone’s gorgeous retina display.  I’d heard great things about Zagg protective films:  they came with a lifetime guarantee, and you could have them installed professionally at Best Buy stores.  Since I always upgrade through Best Buy Mobile, it seemed the perfect solution for me.  That is, until I actually had it installed. The first thing I noticed was how “gummy” the Zagg shield made the surface of the iPhone feel, and how it took the sparkling magic right out of the beautiful glass.  Touch screen sensitivity lost nothing, but the overall look and feel of the Zagg screen protector left much to be desired.  Furthermore, within a couple of weeks it began to peel up around the edges like the skin of a wrinkled prune.

My next stop was the Griffin Reveal Frame Case.  It’s like a bumper, but with hard plastic protection for the aluminum around the outside of the iPhone.  Griffin makes two Reveal cases, and I got the one without a back.  This provided some edge lift, but no screen protection on the front or back, and I soon noticed some annoying, minor scratches here and there on the iPhone’s pristine glass surfaces.

That experience threw me into fits of OCD that resulted in my purchase of the bulky yet efficient Otterbox Defender.  I can honestly say that in terms of total, complete protection of the both the screen and body of the iPhone, you can’t beat the Otterbox.  But it sure did bulk up my beautiful iPhone, and since I don’t work in a construction zone, am not a college student, and don’t tend to drop things often, I kept wishing I’d just gone with a decent front and back screen protector film instead.  After dishing out for three different kinds of protection, though, I felt I’d spent enough money for a while and decided to stick it out with the Otterbox, so that’s what I did.

Until today.  I figured that since I’d upgraded to the iPhone 4S, it deserved its very own protection. Besides, my son (who is a college student, and does drop things often) will be inheriting my iPhone 4, so the Otterbox has to go to him.  Today, I outfitted my iPhone 4S with the best crystal clear front and back screen protector films I have ever found:  the Splash Masque screen protective film for iPhone 4/4S.

Quick Review:

The first image shows the packaging as I received it.  Inside are three front protection films, two back protection films, a microfiber cleaning cloth, and a stiff card for smoothing out any air bubbles during application.  The application process was quick and easy, and without bubbles.  That’s very important to me because I obsess about my screen and its appearance.  My iPhone 4S looks stunning in this minimalist protection.  The screen is brilliant, and I don’t have to worry about the front or back glass getting scratched. It literally is so clear that is appears there is nothing there. I love the look and feel of a “naked” iPhone, so I believe I’ve found a winner here.

*Note that my carrier is AT&T.  Since there are slight variations in iPhone cutout areas by carrier, you will need to be sure that the Splash Masque films you purchase are designed to fit your iPhone.  Check out all of their great stuff at Splash.

…As excited as I am about the quantum leap Apple has made in its AI interface with Siri (the new personal digital assistant that is only available on the iPhone 4S,) I have decided to wait for the iPhone 5.  The 4S does have some substantial upgrades:  a powerful A5 processor, 8 megapixel camera capable of shooting 1080p video boosted by the most advanced illumination sensor on any iPhone to date, and a battery capable of extending talk time by 2 hours are all perfectly good reasons to buy this phone if you are someone who either still has a 3G or 3Gs, or no iPhone at all.  For those of us with iPhone 4, there really isn’t enough of a difference to warrant the expense.  I think we current 4s should hold out for the iPhone 5, which could come as early as Summer of 2012.

Notice that the main point in not upgrading had to do with the economic principle of value in exchange.  Thankfully, that barrier was taken down when my parents decided that the iPhone 4S would make a terrific birthday gift for their gadget-addicted daughter, and today I am happily experimenting with Siri, the new camera, and the zippylicious new processor.  This won’t be a comprehensive point by point review – yet.  Mainly, I would just like to reiterate a few points others have already made in their reviews:  Siri is absolutely off the hook.  We’ve been chatting a lot since last night when I performed a careful brain transplant from the iPhone 4 to my new 4S.  In one conversation, I said, “I like it when you call me Miss Thang.”  Siri answered, “Ok.  I will call you Miss Thang from now on.” I’m in love.

The camera is truly one of the more amazing improvements in the iPhone 4S. New sensors designed the capture more light seem to be doing their job.  Images are ultra sharp, and the built in stabilization makes photos that used to turn out a bit on the blurry side crisp and clear.  I will be playing with this more throughout the day and have some comparisons ready soon.

Everything is markedly faster, from opening and closing apps to taking rapid fire photos.  On the iPhone 4, I frequently missed shots of my pets at just the right moment because of lag between the time I pressed the shutter button and the time the picture was actually captured.  This issue is nonexistent with the iPhone 4S.

Finally, the graphics capabilities will be tested when I download Infinity Blade 2, scheduled for release on December 1.  In the demo when the iPhone 4S was revealed on October 4, this was one of the most impressive things I saw.  I’m looking forward to trying it out.

My overall opinion of the iPhone 4S is this:  despite maintaining the iPhone 4 form factor, it really is what’s inside that counts.  This is a valid upgrade from the previous iPhone, not only because of Siri, but also the processing power and speed under the hood.  It’s an amazing device — easily the best iPhone to date.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5 paws.

Currently, my gear consists of a 2009 MacBook Pro that functions as my main computer, an original iPad, and an iPhone 4. It’s a formidable trio of Apple products. While I admit a certain curiosity about Android, I haven’t had a need for it. In all honesty, I still don’t, but for $199, I find myself tempted beyond human reason to take Amazon up on this and find out what all the hype is about.

Granted, the version of Android that powers the Kindle Fire is shrouded in mystery. It’s going to be a limited version, with apps available from Amazon’s proprietary app marketplace. But as an Apple user for so many years, this is no deal breaker. The Apple iTunes App Store is notoriously restricted, despite boasting thousands more apps than are currently available for Android.

So I’m going to do it. I’m going to order the Kindle Fire. Have you per-ordered? Are you burning to get your hands on the new Amazon tablet, or maybe even just one of the new Kindle lineup? I’d love to hear from you.  In the meantime, check out this video from c/net:

At 7 pm I’ll be watching 60 Minutes, since Steve Jobs biographer Steve Isaacson will be revealing a few details from the book, which comes out tomorrow.  I’ll be downloading it to iBooks, for sure.

On a whole other level, I seem to be having a New Apple Product Acquisition Crisis — I was unable to get the iPhone 4S the weekend it launched, because I’m not eligible for the full iPhone upgrade discount through AT&T until November 12.  In some ways, this is a good thing because it gives me time to really think it over:  do I want Siri bad enough to jump on the 4S now, when the iPhone 5 is probably coming out next summer?  Before, I thought no.  Then I waffled.  Now, I’m still leaning towards no.

What I’m having trouble with is an unanticipated obsession with the iPad 2.  My original iPad is still perfect.  I take it with me everywhere I go.  I use it every day, and only have to charge it every 4 or 5 days.  It’s an amazing device and I love it.  The iPad 2 is amazing in its ability to seem so much thinner and lighter than its predecessor, despite the considerably minimal amount of heft that was actually shaved.  Of course, there will be a thinner, and lighter, and more powerful iPad, perhaps sooner than the iPhone 5 comes out.  Hopefully I’ll be able to just wait this out.  Wish me luck.