Buying a Secondhand Macbook, in detail

By tim | Published: February 15, 2010

Macs rock.  Here is an update of my previous post on buying secondhand now covering hardware differences, where to buy in Australia, Applecare warranty, and why they hold their value.

I’m a big fan, because its the very best way to recycle, and its cheaper!  I’ve had really good experiences, having bough a Powerbook secondhand, sold 2 macs to friends, and advised several other friends on satisfactory purchases.  I’ve covered everything that comes to mind, and included links to more information where relevant. Read More »

Posted in Hardware | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

Photoshop Precision: Avoid blurring your image

By tim | Published: February 9, 2010

This is the second article in the Photoshop Precision series.

Photoshop sometimes appears to blur objects, lines or images.  This could be due to rounding, or losing data after transforming a layer.  Read on for best practice in resizing images and creating vector shapes, and come to grips with the way Photoshop displays your document. Read More »

Posted in Tutorials | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Photoshop Precision: Aligning guides to the Pixel Grid

By tim | Published: February 2, 2010

Precision is totally possible with Photoshop: here are some ways to set up your document to ensure that it is as crisp as your intention!

When designing websites, I find it useful to set the Ruler Origin to the top left of the main content column, so that the dimensions shown on the ruler relate to elements that I will code, rather than to the page background, which can vary greatly in size.  Following are some tips for using the ruler, its origin and guides.  Using grids can be handy, especially if you like to use a system such as the ‘960 Grid System‘,  which makes it simple to layout a page by defining blocks and gutters, as occurs in print. Read More »

Posted in Tutorials | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Social Media shoots Bangs out of obscurity

By tim | Published: December 3, 2009

Last year I helped Bangs, an up-and-coming rap artist, set up his own WordPress site while working with him at the Artful Dodgers Studios, Gateway.

Bangs, through his Facebook promotion, the ineffable wonders of global buzz, and 1.1 million views on youtube, is in the right place at the right time, and surfing a wave of global interest that could go anywhere, or nowhere… Read More »

Posted in In the Media | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

The Social Media Revolution

By tim | Published: August 17, 2009

Just the pace of this brilliant video is overwhelming: it does a great job of conveying the staggering pace of social media adoption worldwide.

Another clip really worth checking out is Kevin Kelly speaking at TED.com; he points out that the web is only 5000 days old!  His predictions for the next 5000 days are thought provoking. Read More »

Posted in In the Media | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment