Journal 50: November 30

It's ridiculous how the Internet seems to be a place for people to live vicariously. There are so many people who are thoughtful and polite in the "real world" and obnoxious and snobby online. It can be entertaining to see this sometimes, but more often than not it's just annoying. I guess it is just the way people are, though. When they don't have actual contact with the people they're communicating with, they feel free to say what they want. It's the same way with telemarketers. This is an annoyance of mine, so I'm hoping I haven't written a post about it before...

Journal 49: November 30

I tried out a new MacBook Pro this weekend. I really love it. It's got an even sturdier aluminum frame than my PowerBook, but it's much lighter weight. It's eight times faster than my current Mac, and has 11 times more memory(40 times the current amount of memory left on it)! It's got six times the amount of RAM, too. Not to mention the latest version of OS X, so I can actually run programs made in the last three years. Between my tax rebate and increased hours at work this semester (maybe a little too increased, but we'll see), I should be all ready to go by the time Snow Leopard comes out. That means my Little PowerBook That Could will have to hang in there a bit longer. That shouldn't be a big deal, considering I have no technology-related courses this coming semester. But I really look forward to using Photoshop and Dreamweaver at home. It'll also be nice to have all my music on my laptop, instead of freeing up memory on my external hard drive. That kinda got old.

Journal 48: November 30

One thing I'll be trying to figure out after this class is Javascript. I know it can't be too hard, and it's something that seems very useful in a lot of instances. Of course, I'm not planning any elaborate Javascript intros or anything like that, but it's something I know I could put to good use on a site. I look forward to using it in the future, and I think Javascript knowledge can really help me in Advanced Web Authoring.

Journal 47: November 30

Although I've progressed a lot in the last 15 or so weeks, there are still some confounding aspects to Web Design. Try as I might, I simply can't figure out how to make my site work equally on every browser. Heck, I can't even get it to work properly on one browser. I mean: the text color and site structure work great on Safari, but the text size and music player are skewed; the music player works great on Firefox, but the structure and text color don't; nothing at all works on Internet Explorer. What in the world? I've done everything that I possibly can here, and it's not working out! It would on a Safari/Firefox hybrid, though...

Journal 46: November 30

As the semester winds down, I've been thinking about just how much of a difference this Web Authoring class has made in my general everyday life. I don't look at the Internet in nearly the same way as I used to; I look for design practices and anomalies, unique structures, color schemes... and then I look at the content. I didn't know what any of that stuff was a semester ago. Of course, my whole day isn't spent online (though it's getting closer). But even when I'm away from my computer, I am noticing things that I could incorporate in design: colors, users to keep in mind and ideas for content. It's as if I've found a new aspect to the world I've never been exposed to.

Journal 45: November 9

It amazes me how much thought is out there on the Internet. Until I took this class, I took Web design for granted and only focused on content. Yes, I was amazed at the amount of content, and the quality of a lot of it. But I never noticed the huge world lurking beyond that little aspect of it. The form of presentation is just as important as the work it displays. In fact, the ideas out there for such presentation are just as good, if not better, than the featured content. I mean, sites like imeem, iTunes, Lala, eMusic, and Rhapsody feature so much music. But the ways they deliver that music are groundbreaking. They are so streamlined and user-friendly. To think of those kind of ideas takes so much intelligence and attention to detail, not to mention hard work. Sites like Facebook seem like everyday things now, and are largely taken for granted. But ideas like that are profound, and the ways the are implemented and presented are amazing. The Internet is truly a form of art that isn't nearly as appreciated as it should be.

Journal 44: November 9

Photoshop is one program that had a reputation I could never understand until now. It was used in my Journalism classes back when that was my major, so I have tried to use it before. But the thing is, because of the classes I was in, and the program's name, I only assumed it was for photos. And, yes, it worked well for retouching pictures, but I've used other programs for that, too. I guess I thought Photoshop was just an expensive way for obsessive photographers to tweak their work. But that all changed this week. I realized that it can also be used for designing. And lots of designing it can do. In fact, it seems like Photoshop is an essential program to have if I want to work with Web sites in the future. I can make my own logos and pictures. That means I don't have to rely on clip art. Yes, there is a lot of clip art out there, but it's not guaranteed to look good with my Web site. I can use Photoshop to insure that any of my images do work. Cool!

Journal 43: November 9

Okay, so MSU's Angel site could really use some redesigning. It's clunky, slow, and unreliable. I can never find where I need to go on it, and I swear some of my class pages change all the time. One of my professors has been trying to get grades updated this week, but Angel isn't posting the changes. It's a really frustrating system. Blackboard was used by my previous college. It is far superior to Angel. It's designed well, and I never noticed errors. Yes, MSU has provided a superior education, but I just wish its implemented technology would reflect that. Of course, redesigning Angel is too large a project for anyone in WRA 210, but the school should at least look into getting some more help in fixing the site.

Journal 42: November 9

Even though I never thought I would get to this point, I'm starting to be able to type in only code, without depending on Dreamweaver's views of what I'm designing. I remember in my earlier readings, people talked about using Notepad to design with HTML. I thought that was funny back then, but it makes sense now. I find it distracting to constantly watch how things look when I'm designing. I guess this is a good sign. Not only am I learning a lot, but I'm getting more confident, too.

Journal 41: November 9

I'm wondering how I can use my other blog to get me more attention. I wanted to use it to get more stuff for my portfolio, but I'd kind of like it to get attention, too. I've heard of several Web magazine authors wh0 got jobs that way, and I think I could do that, too. I use the blog address in my signature on a message board site I participate in, but other than that, I have no exposure. I have heard of people downloading programs that consistently access the site, allowing for maximum Googleability. Maybe I could do that. I suppose the best way to do this is to make good connections and hope they recommend me.

Journal 40: November 9

One thing I want to learn this year is how to write computer code. I've noticed that a lot of Web sites seem to go beyond HTML, CSS, and Javascript. I think that I could make really good sites with that kind of knowledge. Yeah, I know more knowledge is better, but I feel like HTML and CSS are almost common knowledge, the way they are talked about online. Granted, I'm not going into Web design, but I do want a leg-up on the competition for writing jobs when I graduate.

Journal 39: November 9

I'm wondering if we are near the end of desktop computers. I mean, laptops are just as powerful now. And much more versatile. Yes, desktops are ideal for school computer labs. And offices. But, really, nearly everyone owns a laptop now. At least most business people and students. Heck, MSU requires students to own one. So even the places that make sense having desktop computers could get by without them. I, for one, won't really miss them.

Journal 38: November 9

With my site progressing, I'm starting to wonder what will happen to it after I leave MSU. I mean, I would love to keep and update it after I graduate. But it's saved in my AFS space and hosted by MSU's Web site. I guess that means if I want to keep it, I'll have to pay for hosting. I know I had free domain hosting for a Geocites I had when I was in high school (I had my own .com), but that expired after a year and wanted payment. I may have to look into free or cheap hosting again in a couple years.

Journal 37: November 9

I'm still not sold on my Web site for my final project. I mean, the design is fine, the content is fine, I'm happy with the ideas for it. It's just the color scheme that's bothering me. My favorite color is orange. I think it's a fairly warm, inviting color. It represents individuality, hard work, and it's pleasant to look at as long as it's not too bright. But I don't know if everyone agrees on those things. Orange also looks like Halloween when paired with black, which is not okay 364 days of the year. It's too bright for white text, looks bad with red text, etc. Basically, there are very few colors that will work with it in a color scheme where orange is the background. Pretty much purple, blue, and green. Now, I don't really care for the color purple. Blue is great, but people could easily get the text confused with links. That leaves green. A green and orange color scheme looks really good. For the non-colorblind. Oops. I guess that's one of the prices to pay for maximum accessibility.

Journal 36: November 9

I'm a little stuck on a decision I'm trying to make.

My poor little computer is starting to die. Of course, it still runs. It just runs a little slow, simple tasks it used to perform give me the Spinning Pinwheel of Death, and some of the not-so-technological aspects of it (the latch, battery) are starting to cause trouble. Also, I'm going to purchase Dreamweaver and Photoshop before my senior year, so I can take Advanced Web Authoring without having to go from my apartment to a computer lab every day. There's no way my Panther OS X will survive these kind of programs if it can't even run iTunes consistently anymore. Oh, and I have under five gigs of memory left on my hard drive and a full external (deleting my music collection is not an option). Basically, it's time for a new computer.

So I've decided on getting a Macbook Pro. It's the new version of the durable computer I've had since late 2002/early 2003, and I'm hoping for similar luck this time. I mean, if I get four years out of my next one, I'll be more than happy. If I get six years, like I did with my current one, I'll be overjoyed. I think it just might work out again.

Here's the deal... It would be wonderful, but not necessary, to purchase the notebook next semester. I can get away with waiting until the summer if my PowerBook holds out, but I'm not sure if that will happen - again, it's starting to die. But it looks like Apple is coming out with a new version of OS X (Snow Leopard). Of course, its release date hasn't been announced, and bloggers are saying it should be at least the second quarter of 2009. Normally, it should seem obvious that it's worth waiting for. Except that I'd be getting the first version of Snow Leopard. That means glitches galore. Should I wait even longer, and put off taking Advanced Web Authoring until Spring 2010? Should I purchase it next semester and use the last version of Leopard? Should I take the risk that the first version of Snow Leopard won't have too many glitches, and that simple update downloads will suffice?

It's kind of giving me a headache.

Journal 35: November 9

I make it sound like CSS has been perfect for me in my previous post. Let me assure you, even though CSS has been easier than I expected, it's also presented its share of problems. For example, I've been stuck for a couple weeks on a fairly major issue concerning its implementation. It seems certain aspects of my Web site don't translate across browser platforms. Equally frustrating is the fact that everything works as it should in Safari, but is messed up in Firefox. That's just backwards.

But, try as I might, I'm not able to fix these little problems. I've coded everything correctly in CSS, and then coded it to do the exact same thing in HTML, just to make sure everything is as it should be. It's still wrong. And frustrating.

Journal 34: November 9

I recently completed a few lessons in CSS. It used to be something that scared me: HTML was hard to learn and I wasn't sure if I could handle new code so soon. After the past couple weeks, things aren't so daunting. Sure, it's new code - it's just not that hard. It's also very easy to make a CSS template for your site. It allows the author to only need to consult one style sheet for design issues. Even though I didn't foresee it happening this way, I'm still spending significantly more time on my HTML pages than my CSS ones. I consider this to be a good thing.

Journal 33: November 9

Okay, I've gotten past the temptation to create a bad Web site for a final project. How is this? Well, in my attempts to make a good site, things have gone wrong and made it bad anyway. Considering the amount of effort I've put into it so far, it's frustrating to have such things happen. I think that flushed the temptations out of my system.