Digital Editing for Amateurs
25 June 2009
Though digital photos are now du jour, strong Photoshop skills still elude most folks. Fortunately, there are several free alternatives for fun altering, cropping, and sharing, so you don’t need to memorize every new psd tool to create your own smiling masterpiece.
Here are some fun sites to explore for your next pixilated piece de resistance:
BeFunky
Warning: this could be addicting. Manipulate your pics quickly and effortlessly.
PicArtia
Did you ever want to make your own photo mosaic? Now you can.
Photo505
Put your best friend’s smiling face on a billboard overlooking the superhighway. Or use another template; there are plenty to choose from.
BigHugeLabs
If you have nothing to do for the next year, including eating, sleeping, or seeing another living human, then check out the huge assortment of games and photo manipulation programs on this site.
Poladroid
Just because Polaroid Film’s out of the picture, it doesn’t mean that you have to stop pretending.
Play the Piano with Norah Jones
17 June 2009
Ever want to play the piano but never find the time for lessons? Video sharing sites like YouTube offer virtual lessons for beginners and seasoned players alike, so you can hit they keys after the rest of the world’s hit the hay.
YouTube offers an almost never-ending supply of piano, guitar, and even harmonica lessons for the musically inclined. Though the lessons aren’t always organized or in-depth, they do offer plenty of tips. Don’t like the instructor? Simply switch to someone else.
What if your piano instructor was someone used to traveling across the globe, giving radio interviews, and playing in front of thousands of fans at sold-out concerts? Apple’s Garage Band ’09 goes beyond free videos on YouTube and offers instructions from the pros for a small fee. You can learn how to play “Roxanne” by Sting or “Thinkin’ About You” by Norah Jones.
So the next time you get the urge to take up the keys after midnight, try a virtual instructor…. And say hi to Nora, won’t you?
Gifts for Dads & Grads
10 June 2009
With couch cushion diving an Olympic sport, we took it upon ourselves to foray into the Interweb in search of cheap gifts for Dads and Grads. Our selection process involved two simple factors: 1) how cheap is it? and 2) do we want it so badly that we could buy it right now?
Grads:
Personal Soundtrack T-Shirt
Yes, your grad can now hook an iPod up to their favorite shirt. They can also make use of the 20 preset sounds that come with the remote.
Goldfish Training
OK, this won’t help new grads get new jobs, but… it just might. Who wouldn’t be impressed by a fish that can dunk a ball, go through hoops, and fetch?
Threadless
T-shirts from Threadless are practically guaranteed to be Grad-pleasers.
Dads:
Winewoot.com
If Dad likes his Vino as much as… ok, if he really likes vino, then Wine.woot might be your way to go.
Coffee of the Month
For the discerning coffee padre, try some Fair Trade Joe. Every month he’ll get a new style of brew.
FTC Cuts the Line
9 June 2009
The FTC last week cut the line on Pricewert, LLC, one of the leading US based servers for malicious software, child pornography, and harmful, criminal content like botnet command and control servers, illegal online pharmacies, and other scams.
Pricewert LCC’s servers were located in San Jose, California, but the business is registered in Belize and several employees are believed to be from Eastern Europe.
In order to gather enough evidence to pull the plug, a group of leading security experts came together, including Nasa’s computer crime division, Symantec, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, Spamhaus and the Shadowserver Foundation.
Go here for more information.
Budding Artist? Check Out These Free Tutorials
3 June 2009
For budding eArtists (photoshop, illustrator, anything with pixels), there’s a plethora of free tutorials on the web designed to lead you from scribbles to chiaroscuro (and back to scribbles, if you choose). We looked into a few of the tutorial sites out there, and bring you the best in our search. Watch out: it’s easy to spend entire lunch breaks exploring the articles out there.
Design Musings
Simple lessons brought to you by a self-styled “Design Muse”.
psdvibe
Want to create a simple website layout? Get some handy advice here.
Web Design Ledger
If you’re into the nitty-gritty, like which fonts to go with which designs, these tutorials might point you in the right direction.
1st Web Designer
These tutorials can show you how to whiten teeth, brighten eyes, smooth out skin, and basically shave a decade from your face.
