Comic-Con 2009 Photos

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I’ve never read many comics but this year I trekked down to San Diego with some friends and saw the Comic-Con event for the first time. It was a good time. Everyone was very nice and all were proud to show off their costumes. I’ve let my Flickr stream die so here are some pics of interest.

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“So Say We All!”

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Lou Ferigno would not look at me no matter how much I asked.

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I was 8 when Star Wars first came out. You don’t let that stuff go easy.

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Beware! Corellians shoot first.

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Original Tron Costume.

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There is nothing shy about the people who dress up at Comic-Con. They are really in their element.

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Not sure who they are but they really liked posing.

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Even Trekkies must eat.

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Is it just me or does Batman look like he is enjoying this?

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I found Waldo!

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This is just wrong.

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Pixelmator Review

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A lot of Mac photographers remember that Adobe took a long time to get Elements on the Intel platform. In that void several independent competitors appeared. I started using Pixelmator shortly after it came out and it has quietly replaced Elements for me.

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Pixelmator is a $59 pixel pushing beast. It uses your graphics card and makes quick work of most common graphics tasks. Pixelmator delivers many (but not all) of the core features of Photoshop in a better, and more Mac friendly, interface. The general layout is very similar to Photoshop. It even recognizes most Photoshop keyboard combinations. It uses a dark grey interface similar to Apple’s Pro applications that is easy on the eyes.

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Pixelmator ships with tools, masks, layers, and several useful image filters. I primarily use Pixelmator with photographs and there is the usual assortment of levels, color curves, balancing and other photography tools. I really liked the way it renders gradients in real time. I, frankly, don’t need a lot of tools as Aperture has become so robust. When I do need to roundtrip to an external editor, Pixelmator is usually enough.

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Having used Pixelmator for some time, I’m also impressed with the slow march of new features the developers are releasing with each new update. They are not throwing in the kitchen sink but instead spending time on UI design and polish with each new feature.

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Once your image is done, you can easily export the usual formats including PSD, TIFF, GIF, JPEG, PNG, and PDF just to name a few.
While Pixelmator most certainly is not Photoshop, it is feature rich and a respectable competitor with Photoshop Elements. In my testing, I found Pixelmator easy to use but with fewer bells and whistles than Elements. At a fraction of the cost of Photoshop, you really can’t go wrong with either application. Regardless, the Mac polish and excellent interface make Pixelmator the winner for me. For $59, it takes care of all of my imaging needs. You can download a free trial from pixelmator.com.
You can listen to this review on Surfbits MacReviewCast #218.

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Thoughts on the Future of Microsoft Office

There is a lot of news about recent developments on the Microsoft Office front. Microsoft has a beta of Office 2010 in circulation and Fortune Magazine is reporting there will be an online version available for free.
I know a lot of people think Microsoft would be crazy to offer any version of Office free. I think Microsoft would be crazy not to have a free version. While at first glance, Microsoft appears to have a stranglehold on the office productivity suite game, that position may not last forever. There are several reasons why this should change.

1. Cloud Computing and Online Applications.

While Microsoft has been happily filling enterprise orders, Google (and a slew of others) have released free online applications that have all of the functionality most mere mortals require from Microsoft Office. Did I mention it is free and online? That means users can easily access their data from anywhere.

2. Office Has Competition (Sort of).

On the Mac there are a variety of alternatives to Microsoft Office. I think the development of so many alternatives on the Mac is a primal, almost baked into our DNA . Mac users and developers remember the days when Microsoft held the future of the Mac platform in its hand with the decision to keep (or drop) Office support. Microsoft knew it. Apple knew it. Microsoft even flaunted it. Nobody wants to go back there.
This is, of course, an unrealistic fear in this day. Apple has its own iWork suite (superior in my opinion) and the Apple developer community has grown it’s own fantastic alternatives. I’m not familiar with the landscape on the PC side but OpenOffice comes to mind as another multi-platform competitor.

3. The New Workforce.

Kids these days. There is an entirely new generation going through school that is not as sold on Microsoft Office as mine was. Just like my generation displaced WordPerfect with Word, the next generation could very easily displace Word with something like Google Docs.
While I use components of Microsoft Office pretty regularly, it is only when I must. I’ll take Pages over Word any day and when it comes to presentation work, you’ll have to pry Keynote out of my cold, dead hand. Of course, I’m a nerd and think way too much about these things.
For people that have a more balanced set of priorities, they’ll use whatever comes on their machines. That is why it is ultimately Microsoft’s game to lose. There are some very smart people at Microsoft (and some very dedicated Mac geeks in the Mac Business Unit). I’m sure they see the writing on the wall and they will adapt. However, the days of competition crushing dominance are over for Microsoft Office.

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Main Menu 2.0 Released

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Dare to be Creative today released MainMenu 2.0, an update to its system maintenance utility for Mac OS X. I used to be a regular user of this application in the Tiger days but am interested to see 2.0. MainMenu allows users to clean up their Mac, improve system performance and free up hard disk space from their system menu. The new version offers an enhanced user experience, including an animated system menu icon, and Growl notifications to inform when tasks complete. The new version also now includes a license fee, $20. I may be reporting back on this one.

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Sena Corsa iPhone Case and Giveaway

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When looking for style and protection for my iPhone, I didn’t need to look far. Sena Cases is a small company that distributes high quality leather cases worldwide through the Apple Store and other retailers. They also just happen to be located about 15 minutes from MacSparky headquarters. Putting local nepotism aside, Sena makes beautiful iPhone and iPod cases.

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I am reviewing the Sena Corsa case designed for the iPhone 3g and 3gs. This case is extremely slim but still affords your phone necessary protection. It is made of Napa leather to the precise dimensions of the iPhone. It is lined on the inside with velvet to protect your phone and has several small holes in the bottom so you can hear the speaker.

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This case provides such a tight fit that getting your phone out could be extremely difficult. Sena solved this problem with a pull system. There is a small leather tab on your case that connects to a ribbon of sorts under your phone. When you pull the tab, your phone pops up. It sort of reminds me of a magic card trick I once saw.
This minimalist case comes in a variety of colors an can be purchased directly from Sena for $40. They have a several other quality leather cases in just about any configuration you could want. Check it out.

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If you would like your very own Corsa case, gratis, you can enter the MacSparky Corsa giveaway. The nice people at Sena gave me a turquoise/black Corsa case to give away. If you would like to enter, send an e-mail to me at david@macsparky.com with the words “Sena Case Giveaway” in the subject line. I will then pick a random winner next week. Please only one entry. If you are outside the United States, I will require you to pay shipping. Good luck!

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