the weblog of m.kelley

Citrix is interesting. I’ve been trying to get the Mac client to work, so I won’t have to boot up VirtualPC, every time I want to send an email. But like a lot of programs, they just seem to make it more difficult for Mac users. The interface is completely different and has different labels for what each bit does as opposed to how the PC client is worked out. I do like the fact that there is a WInCE client and a Linux client too. Part of wanting to get the Mac client going, is that Win98 is crashing bad in VirtualPC. I think it’s just the flakyness of Windows98, but might be wrong. Too many BSODs and too many hard crashes. The Mac has been very stable, almost as stable as my Win2k system at home. Stababiliy among OSs is almost a non-issue for me. Windows normally doesn’t crash on me, Macs are stable and Linux is too. Whenever someone mentions OS stabability, like how x is superior to y because it crashes 18 times a day, I just tune them out. Stabability also depends on the system it runs on.

My office is a wreck…I have boxes from new systems and boxes from new programs around, my notes are a mess, and I haven’t even started this week’s folder. I keep all memos and meeting notes in a weekly folder. New Week New Folder. If I had the budget, I would also have a CD-R of everything for that week too. I think after the ball this weekend, I can get everything straight around here.

Did I mention that UMAX’s support really sucks? I have a new Powerlook 1100 that says everywhere that it will work on OS 8.5 and up. I have 9.2.2 and I even looked on their website for information. Nothing. The scanner is plugged in, but isn’t seen by the computer. So after spending about an hour looking through their support site, I called the number included with the scanner. *bonk* “We’re sorry, the number you’re trying to reach has changed or is no longer in service”. So I go back to the website to get a number. So now instead of a toll-free call, I have to call their long distance number. I call and choose what I need to choose and I get disconnected not once, not twice but three times. I finally try again and get through and I wait….and wait……….and wait…………..and wait…………………..and wait. Then I put that on hold and dial on my other two lines. Go back to the first one and wait……….and wait…………….and wait. I was on hold for and hour and fifteen minutes. The guy was ok and I tell him my info only to have him say….”Oh it will run on OS9.2, but you have 9.2.2 and none of our scanners will work on 9.2 or OSX”. The website says nothing to the sort. So, I’m looking for a good Epson and I’m marking UMAX off of my recommend list and ranking them with KDS. For a company that gets a lot of business from Mac users, this just sucks. OSX I can understand, but OS9? damn.

I’ve been toiling in webdesign land for a good part of the week. I think I have a winner on the new site I’m working on and hopefully others will think the same way. I have some good words for Photoshop 6, better than I was originally saying. I think now I can update my home system and not look back. I have one other site going live that isn’t as good as I wanted, but deadlines pressed.

I also got my desktop replacement today…a PowerBook G3 Wallstreet. Nice system with 160mb of ram and a 20gb hard drive. These machines are built like tanks. to add RAM, you pull two levers that eject the battery and CD, and then you pull two spring-loaded levers inside those expansion bays to release the keyboard. Remove two screws and you have access to the hard drive, memory, and CPU. I’m going to eventually move everything to this machine. A RAM upgrade is soon and I need a new battery. This is the nicest laptop I’ve had and a lot nicer than any other Mac I’ve had. Great system, OSX capable, and runs really well. It really is a lot faster than the 604-based PowerPC systems. I need to rebuild the system, with a small (3gb) Linux partition. I want to really try a PPC Linux on here, probably Mandrake.

via Human For Sale. I’m the 17th most expensive human today…

Out of many trite and just plain bad posts about Apple, this one possibly explains the Mac/Windows/Linux battle better than anything I’ve read before. It’s simple and easy to understand.

RU In a Band? You really need to read, Moses Avalon >>Confessions of a Record Producer. I’ve been in way too many bands that dealt with scuzy people. This site helps.

Computers are like cars. Some people just love to tinker with them for fun, rebuild and work with old ones, and get very “excited” at having the fastest one around….grunt like Tim Allen. I’m not that great with cars. I can get under the hood and do minor things, but otherwise it goes to the shop if needed. With computers, I love working with all of the electronics, swapping chips, building, painting, etc. Computers are the HotRods of the 00′s.

The whole ideal of having to get a brand new computer is just a joke. You can go on ebay and pick up a simple computer for less than $50 bucks. I would at least buy a nice monitor, used, new, doesn’t matter. Get your local computer geek or company (*cough* riv@ *cough*) to set the system up for you. These older systems are about 4 years old and can handle internet, email, chat with no problems. I still like my 333 system and even like my 150mhz Mac. Getting a new computer is about up there with vanity. I’m not a flashy person, loud, not flashy. I drive a simple beat-up Jeep, live in a modest apartment, and use a computer based on a Case from 1993, Motherboard from 1995, and a CPU from 1998. This system does all of my graphics, design, and even games. The only time it’s pushed is when I try to run a brand new game like Flight Simulator 2002. I don’t play too many games, so I don’t need a new system. Sure, I love the new system at work, but does it do anything that my old system doesn’t or can’t? Nope. It does it faster, but not any better or more stable.

This is my first ever journal entry composed in BBEdit. since, I’m making the move to MacOS, I decided to get acquainted in some of the features. I tried SimpleText, but I really didn’t like using it. I don’t have a copy of MacWord, so I decided to go BareBones…or BBEdit. Right now, the only thing I am lacking is a CSS editor for Classic. At work, I’m using TopStyle in VirtualPC that saves back to a file on MacOS. I can update in real-time, but I get an occasional bad crash in VPC/Win98 and that slows me down. TopStyle is a great program and if I can’t find a good MacOS clone of it, then I might…might just code css in BBEdit. I now want to just have MacOS tools, using Windows for browser testing and (at work) email. [mk: i'm using the lite version of BBEdit 6 and someone emailed me that the full version has CSS support.]

I still like my Mac. Fast. The tech who set it up, knew it was fast, but didn’t know how fast until he saw me working in Photoshop 6.1, with Dreamweaver and VirtualPC going and rendering effects in Photoshop. This system just rocks. I think that the system that’s a step up from this one would be just plain scary to work with. If this system is hella cool and fast on a 933 with half a gig of ram, imaging a dual 1gz with the same memory. I would hope that OSX would do that system justice.

The Little OS

I finally received my new Mac at work. It’s a smooth Apple PowerMac G4 933 Quicksilver. With 512mb of RAM and a 60gb hard drive it really rocks. It’s running OS9, not OSX, and it just screams. I’m using VirtualPC 5 and it screams too. I don’t feel any slowdown when I use the VPC system. I also got a 19″ LCD Monitor and it too is cool. It’s nice being able to spread out your work on a huge screen and to do work in one OS while updating in another. If I could actually afford this as a home system, it definitely would be worth it. I have my normal tools, Dreamweaver, Fireworks, and Photoshop in addition to InDesign, Illustrator, and Acrobat. All of my Office programs are running off of Citrix. I boot into VPC, click on the little Citrix icon and I’m able to get OfficeXP like I was on a real wintel desktop. I had Photoshop, Dreamweaver, and VirtualPC open at the same time and it all worked fast. I’m now sold on new systems…with lots and lots of memory. Add a half a gig to a system and it should just rock. I wasn’t too sure about the speed, I remembered working on the G3 450 at my old job and the new system is a lot faster.

Ziggy finally got back from the Vet. She’s hurting and I really wish the original owners declawed her when she was younger. It’s a lot harder on the cat when they’re 2 and a half and over 8 pounds. She has been hiding under the couch and bed and I was really amazed when we couldn’t find her and she was in another room. She can still get around but hurts. It will be a while before she jumps back up on our bed.

I finally got my Jeep back. They had to replace the two exhaust brackets and the catalytic converter. It almost took two weeks (parts being sent and being wrong), but it runs better than she did. Gonna take the Jeep in for a tune-up this weekend and perhaps get her running better than when I bought her.

Niki also took Ziggy in today for a shot/Check-up and to get her declawed. We bought a little travel cage for her and a nice padded bed and left those out overnight. She slept in her bed all night and didn’t disturb me or Niki. Ziggy wasn’t too happy about being in the cage. I wouldn’t be too thrilled about it either. Niki called a few minutes later and all I heard were loud meows, just sounding sad. Maybe she won’t try to kill us once she gets back.

I’m out sick today, I think I caught the cold that Niki had all last week. So, I called in sick. I’m bored and trying to do some work here, just so I won’t be behind tomorrow. I was dragging around Monday and Tuesday, but I did get a css version or two of the new site together. But being sick and dragging doesn’t help me. I have an early meeting tomorrow and maybe I can feel well enough to go to it. I’ve been staying up late, not eating good, worrying about “things” and since I wasn’t around people for two months, my immune system is down and I’ve been fighting one bug or another for the last month. So I expect this cold to hit, kick my butt, and leave soon. Gotta find a new doctor anyways.

I wonder is Apple has the same policy?

via ev: Losing your job becasue of a weblog.

What Makes a Good Web Design? via /. ….amen