Archive for Graphics

vgordon | April 26, 2013
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Tech Tune-up: 50 sites (Part 1)

Here are the 25+ sites that I presented at the Tech Tune-up on 4/24/13.   Michael Fitts will be posting his list as well. Hope you enjoy visiting these sites! — Valerie Gordon

p.s. Do you have suggestions on other types of fun classes you’d like to see at Lister Hill?  An Evernote Users Group?  Lifehacker Happy Hour? Productivity Tips & Tricks?  Post your comment here or send a suggestion to vgordon@uab.edu

Tech Tune-up:  50 Sites (Part 1)

Productivity

  1. TechLister http://www.lhl.uab.edu/tech/
  2. Profhacker http://chronicle.com/blogs/profhacker/
  3. Study Hacks: http://calnewport.com/blog/
  4. Becoming minimalist http://www.becomingminimalist.com/
  5. Yarny: https://yarny.me/

Plus old favorites: Lifehacker: http://lifehacker.com/ & Zenhabits: http://zenhabits.net/

Home & Garden

  1. Apartment Therapy: http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/
  2. Gardenista: http://www.gardenista.com/
  3. A way to garden: http://awaytogarden.com/
  4. Ikea hackers: http://www.ikeahackers.net/
  5. Take them a meal: http://takethemameal.com/

Plus old favorites: Houzz http://www.houzz.com/ & design sponge http://www.designsponge.com/

More design

  1. Polyvore www.polyvore.com
  2. The sartorialist: http://www.thesartorialist.com/
  3. I love typography http://ilovetypography.com/

Travel

  1. Road trippers https://roadtrippers.com/
  2. Birmingham Library Pinterest Page http://pinterest.com/bplonline/
  3. Storyverse  https://www.smalldemons.com/
  4. IMDB: Downton Abbey: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1606375/

Plus old favorites: AirnBnB  https://www.airbnb.com/ & Yelp http://www.yelp.com  & Tripadvisor http://www.tripadvisor.com/

Explore

  1. Open Culture http://www.openculture.com/
  2. Sulia  http://sulia.com/
  3. What NYPL is reading: http://pinterest.com/nypl/what-nypl-is-reading/
  4. Allmyfaves.com http://www.allmyfaves.com/

Plus old favorites:  Stumbleupon http://www.stumbleupon.com/ & reddit http://www.reddit.com/

Smile

  1. Catalog living http://catalogliving.net/
  2. Zoo borns http://www.zooborns.com/
  3. Soulpancake  http://soulpancake.com/
  4. Funny or Die: http://www.funnyordie.com/
  5. LetMeGoogleThatForYou:  http://lmgtfy.com/
Category: Fun, Graphics, LHL Resource, Productivity, Social Media, Uncategorized |
vgordon | March 29, 2013
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Tired of the same old type?

I’ve been fascinated with fonts for a long time. Long ago, I was actually a fan of Comic Sans, something most people won’t admit in public. (Read more on the font that everyone loves to hate.) Since then my taste in type has improved. I dream in Helvetica and speak in Century Gothic. I’m fond of Modern type but allergic to Jokerman. For my birthday, my husband ordered this book for me and I was happy!

graph1graph2

Are you tired of the same old type? Wish you had some new fonts to spice up your documents? Visit fontsquirrel.com, dafont.com and fontspace.com to find a wide variety of retro, script, decorative or contemporary fonts. Be sure to read the fine print about how these fonts can be used.  Want some more inspiration?  Check out these blogs: You the Designer, I love typography, and From up north.

Wish you knew more about type? Find some (80, to be exact) great tutorials on typography at Creative Bloq including A Crash Course in Typography by Cameron Chapmon and Principles for Combining Typefaces. The examples of successful design are especially helpful.

Want to see how much you’ve learned? Try the Font Game (available for iPhone and iPad for $1.99) or I Shot the Serif (free online). Let me know how well you do!

Category: Free, Graphics, Uncategorized |
Lisa | March 19, 2013
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Blender! Create in 3D!

Want to learn how to make 3D computer graphics and animations but think the software needed is too expensive? Meet Blender.

Blender is an open-source 3D computer graphics software product. Using Blender you can create animated films, all sorts of visual effects, interactive applications and even video games. For instance, Blender was used to create the animation below.

Steps of forensic facial reconstruction of a mummy made with Blender. From Wikipedia.

If you already use another animation software package the Blender interface may slow you down some since many of the commands have keyboard short cuts rather than contextual menus (this is improving however). But if you think you want to try out making animations, 3D images, or games you can’t beat Blender’s price, features, or community. Further, the popularity of the program is growing. You can even become a certified Blender trainer! The Blender website offers all sorts of information about the program including a quick reference, tutorials, a user manual, FAQs, demos, a discussion list, and examples of all sorts of projects.

There is also a very good book, just published, that covers using Blender with GIMP by Ben Simonds entitled Blender Master Glass: a Hands-on Guide to Modeling, Sculpting, Materials, and Rendering.

Blender is cross platform meaning that is runs on a variety of operating systems including both Windows and MAC. The program has reasonable hardware requirements but this is a graphics program so you will need to make sure you have a decent graphics card that conforms to OpenGL specifications.

Overall, the program was easy to install and together with the above mentioned book and other resources anyone should be able to create really cool stuff. If you decide to give Blender a whirl I’d love to hear what you think about it.

Category: Free, Fun, Graphics, MAC, Uncategorized | Tags: ,
Pat Higginbottom | January 16, 2013
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New Year’s Resolution Class: Get Organized!

If you attended the class, I hope you enjoyed it and will comment if you have additional tools to recommend.  If not, at least you can browse this list of links to find some things to help you get organized.

Track your to-dos:

Plan your days:

Go paperless: Evernote (really, what else is there….)

Save stuff to read later:  Pocket

One password to rule them all:  LastPass

Always find your files:  Dropbox

Keep track of your spending:  Mint

Shut out distractions: Stay focused for Chrome, LeechBlock for Firefox, Mindfull Browsing for Safari

Find your photos: Picasa,Flickr, 1000memories

Take good notes: Simplenote

Figure out what’s for dinner:  Evernote Food, Pinterest

Follow your favorite blogs: Google Reader, Flipboard

Automate routine tasks:  IFTTT

Wake up early:  wake and shake alarm

Hold yourself accountable: Stikk

Get rid of all those rewards cards:  Keyring

Learn about new tools:  Lifehacker, Tech Lister, PC Magazine’s Get Organized Series

Category: Free, Fun, Graphics, Productivity |
Fitts | November 25, 2012
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Free You Tube Downloader

Free You Tube is freeware for downloading and converting video. It downloads video from You Tube converts video to the standard formats for cell phone (3GP); Windows Media Video (WMV); Xvid MPEG-4 (AVI); iPad, iPhone; PSP (MP4) & iPOD (MOV), and also plays back videos in a very basic player. This software is 100% free to use and is guaranteed not to contain any spyware, viruses or any other kind of malware.

Why would one even want YouTube Downloader? Well I am glad that you asked as there are many practical applications with this tool including but not limited to:

You want to view the video on a mobile device or phone such as an iPod, iPad, iPhone, MP3-player, MP4-player, Zune, PSP

You have a slow internet connection or you’re viewing HD video, which causes buffering delays while streaming video.

You’re only interested in a specific part of the video and you’d like to cut out any parts you don’t need.

You want to make sure you don’t lose the video when it’s removed or altered by YouTube or by the author.

So how does You Tube Downloader Work?

Step 1: Start YouTube Downloader

Start YouTube Downloader by clicking the desktop or Quick Launch shortcut. The main window should then appear.
Download YouTube videos


Step 2: Choose a video to download

Enter a YouTube URL (for example “http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j7gK3W9yg60″) choose an output format and the preferred quality of the video, then click “Download”. The application will now proceed to download and convert your video.
Downloading a YouTube video


Step 3: Finished!

As soon as YouTube Downloader has finished processing the file, you can open it using your favorite media player and you can then play the downloaded and converted file.

Category: Free, Fun, Graphics, Mobile, Productivity, Social Media, Uncategorized, Windows |
Pat Higginbottom | November 1, 2012
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Snapfish

I probably take more photos now than ever.  The camera on my phone is better than the digital I own and it is always at hand.  Plus the dog is so cute….

Anyway, I take a lot of pictures but I miss having, holding, looking at physical pictures.  We used to go to such trouble to get photos developed because that was the only way to see them. Now we see and share so much more easily yet I still miss printed photos.  In fact, some co-workers think my kids are toddlers because I don’t have any recent snapshots of them in my office.  This brings me to Snapfish.  You can use many online vendors to get photos printed but Snapfish has a lot to offer.  You can use it to:

  • upload from your computer, camera or phone
  • import from Flickr or Facebook
  • store photos and video
  • do basic editing
  • sort by date or content
  • share in a variety of ways
  • order prints or other photo items

Not all of these services are free, regular 4 X 6 prints are 9 cents each for example.  They have a huge selection of photo items to order, from jewelry to water bottles.  You can even upload photos of your kid’s art and have items made.  I have some fun new ideas for Christmas now.

Lastly, I was asked about a good tool for gathering and sharing photos within a group for an event.  Say, you had a party and lots of people took photos and you wanted to collect them all in one place to share.  In Snapfish you can create a private group room with a specific url and page theme and invite people to join you.  This feature alone makes it worth having an account I think.  In short, Snapfish is a great photo saving and sharing tool.  I was impressed by all available features.

 

Category: Free, Fun, Graphics |
Pat Higginbottom | October 15, 2012
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1000memories

I taught a class on different imaging tools and apps last week so I’m going to follow up here with more information than I could include in the session.

The first things I want to cover are 1000memories and the ShoeBox app.  1000memories is a website for storing photos, either those born digital or scanned copies of old photos–though actually it is also good for or programs or ticket stubs or any other paper keepsake.  You organize items into Shoeboxes–just like in the top of your closet–but in this case you can easily add metadata (tags) and share them with family and friends.

I love this idea!  Even more interesting to me though is the scanning app for iPhone and Android: ShoeBox.  Download the free app, set up an account and  use your phone to scan those old photos right into 1000memories.  You can do some minor editing, add names, places, etc and select the appropriate shoebox.

I love that if you can’t answer all the questions about a photo, you can send the question to someone else.  Maybe your brother remembers where you were when you fell in that creek that time.  Even though we have a scanner right here, this is SOO much easier that I’m sure I’d get more old photos saved this way.

The scanning worked pretty well on my Droid Bionic.  The biggest problem is that my old photos don’t lie flat so they look a little funny.  Squished in a scanner would be better in that regard.  I found that upload from my phone was pretty quick and easy.

Some more great features:

  • Shoeboxes can be private or open for anyone to view
  • Photos can be copied into more than one Shoebox
  • Once posted you can share your photos on Twitter, Pinterest or Facebook
  • Easy to upload photos from your computer or import from Instagram, Facebook or Flickr

And it is all FREE.  They do seem to be working toward a fee version with additional features/storage (?) but for now, it is all free and very easy to use.  Highly recommended!

 

Category: Free, Graphics, Social Media |
Pat Higginbottom | August 17, 2012
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Impress your friends with String

I have to admit I have no idea how to create a virtual reality app.  It is unlikely that I will ever figure it out.  But that doesn’t mean I can’t have fun playing with String.  String is an iOS app that you can use to power augmented relaity apps on your iPad.  And it is COOL.  String is free and you print the Powered by String images, point your camera at the image and enjoy!

Want to see?

So augmented reality is when you overlay something virtual on top of something real.  Watch this:

So, download String and meet Dave the Dragon and Proto!

Category: Free, Fun, Graphics |
Lisa | July 19, 2012
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Firefox Extension: Rainbow Color Tools

If you are new to Web development you might not know that there are a number of Firefox extensions that can make your life a whole lot easier. One is Rainbow Color Tools. I love this extension! It is easy to use and keeps me from having to hunt through CSS or other files in an attempt to find the information about the color of something I like. Once installed the extension is readily available in Firefox.

Rainbow Color Tools

The tool has four choices each with different features. First, the Analyzer gives you the website’s color scheme from the site’s images and CSS files. For instance, this is what I get for the Lister Hill site.

Rainbow Color Tools

All you do is hover over the color block for which you are interested to see the information about that color. The extension also allows you to copy or save the information (when you save the information it becomes part of your Library see below).

The HSV color picker has to do with Hue, Saturation, and Value. This can really help you get the right tone and depth of color. I don’t often need this feature but it is excellent for getting your color a shade or two lighter or darker for fancy mouse-overs and such.

Rainbow Color Tools

I use Inspector most. If I see a color I like all have to do is select Inspector and hover over the color. Then when I click the mouse button that HEX code for that color is saved and I can paste it wherever I need it to be.

Rainbow Color Tools
When you save colors they are placed in the Library with all the information you need to keep track of your colors.

Rainbow Color Tools

This is such a small little program but it has saved me so much time and even if you aren’t a Web developer there are all sorts of Firefox extensions that may make your life just a little easier. If you want to find out go to https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/.

If you are a Web developer you may also want to check out the Firebug and Web Developer extensions. If you are already using a Firefox extension let us know which ones!

Category: Free, Graphics, Productivity |
Lisa | May 1, 2012
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Optimizing Images for the Web

Ever tried to open a PDF and have it take FOREVER? Do you still encounter images that slowly load? I am often surprised by the number of folks that still don’t know how or why to optimize images when they want to post them to the web.  Images for the web (and documents for that matter) have very different requirements than images meant for commercial publishers.

Optimizing is a very important step in publishing materials to the web. The short version is that computer monitors and most normal office printers are only going to display or print at a certain resolution anyway. So you are sacrificing storage space and the reader’s time by leaving the images uncompressed without making any difference in how the images appears to the reader.

There are lots of good tools for compressing images but if you are a PC user and have Office you already have one of the easiest to use.  Microsoft Picture Manager allows you to easily batch edit photos for compression in addition to cropping, rotating, adjusting color, etc. I sometimes like to print my photos to give as gifts or hang on my own wall and sometimes I like to play with the different features in Photoshop. That means I have my camera set to take pictures at a high resolution so when I post them I need to make sure they are optimized for the web. In my below example I am using a picture I took in Georgia.

The original image is almost 9 inches by 7 inches and is 1.93 MB. Now I could define the size I want the image to display on the screen using width and height attributes in HTML but the image would still be huge. It would take up storage and it would load slowly.

So let’s optimize it using Picture Manager.

The first thing I am going to do is add a picture shortcut from the menu on the left.

Now from the menu on the right I am going to choose Edit Pictures. This will give me the options of resizing and compressing the photo. It is important to realize these two things are different.

Let’s look at resize on the Edit Pictures menu first.

I’m just going to choose a predefined size (Web-Large 640 x 480 pixels).

Be sure and note what the original pixel size was and hit OK then save. Just doing this took the file size from 1.93 MB to 225 KB.

Now let’s try the compression.

If I choose compress for web it takes the image size from 1.93 MB to 91.5KB!!

Remember that you should also compress images that you are placing in PDFs AND that PDFs should be compressed as well!

Category: Graphics, Productivity, Social Media, Uncategorized, Windows |
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