Mageia's Magical Movement

Category: LinuxWhy did Mageia shoot up the charts in Distrowatch?   Now, before making anything else out of this, Linux users out there already know (or should know) that Distrowatch isn't all that accurate in terms of gauging a Linux distribution's adoption. It just tracks user interest, nothing more and nothing less. However, there's no denying that the increase in ranking of Mageia is suspiciously similar to the rise of Ubuntu-upstart...

Read More

Apps for Technical Writers - iPod Touch Edition Part 1

Most technical writers will create their  HTML, PDF, XML, and EPUB documents on a desktop, laptop, or netbook then test them with popular browsers and viewers available on their Mac, PC, or Linux OS.  There's no arguing, however, that the majority of most digital documents today are consumed on a smartphone or tablet running either iOS and Android.  Take a ride on the subway or visit any international airport...

Read More

Apps for Technical Writers - iPod Touch Edition Part 2

Category: Techwriter   Technical writers probably have their own favorite reference material ready on their mobile devices. I like keeping a digital copy of Chicago Manual of Style and Microsoft Manual of Style handy on my iPod Touch as well as various ebooks for XML, HTML5, and Docbook. However, iTunes has an infinite number of useful apps for technical writers from all industries. Some of my more practical selections...

Read More

Spider-Man: The Legend Begins Anew

Curt Connors (the Lizard) in ASM#313. Art by Todd McFarlane.   With the Amazing Spider-Man succeeding fairly well despite being a reboot and jostling for attention against the Avengers and Dark Knight Rises, old Spidey fans can still repeat the classic line from Amazing Spider-Man #300 with writer David Michelinie:   "The Legend begins anew!" from ASM#300 (1988) with art by Todd McFarlane   &nb...

Read More

The Art of Spider-Man (circa 1970-1990s) Part 5

*In celebration of the 50th anniversary of Spider-Man and the release of the new Spider-Man movie, this blog will intermittently feature a month-long series of Spider-Man articles. The author was an unabashed fan of the web-swinger from the early 1980s and although gave up on the Marvel character in the mid-1990s, follows his adventures to this day. Prepare for some hardcore fanboy opinions! **To check out covers, story titles,...

Read More

Managing your Digital Comic Books using Comic Rack

Categories: Techtoday   With Avengers, Batman, Spider-Man, and a host of other superheroes proving that comic book stories and characters aren't passé, isn't about time you tried out digital comic books? And if you were ahead of the game and started accumulating manga or Marvel comics, then you should consider organizing them.   The press and the Internet is so focused on the "app" phenomenon for Android and iOS that users...

Read More

Ode (dirge?) to Netbooks Part 2

Category: Techtoday   6. Bigger hard drive space - Tablets are great for reading and for watching videos, but even with expandable memory, they can't top the standard 500GB of HDD installed on a netbook. Call me traditional, but I don't like depending on the cloud, what's with problems with security and the limitations of wireless data transfer. Plus, I can't afford a data plan anyway. There's something about an old-fashioned...

Read More

Ode (dirge?) to Netbooks Part 1

Categories: Techtoday   Yes, the netbooks will eventually go the way of the dinosaur.  But ask any 8-year old about dinosaurs and they'll tell you dinosaurs are pretty cool even if they are extinct.  I feel the same way about my secondary system, an ASUS EEEPC 1000H that was part of the first generation wave of netbooks released a few years back.  Today, everyone craves a tablet, but if I was going to teach Linux...

Read More

Adobe InDesign CS6 Review: From Print to Tablet/Smartphones Part 2

3. Liquid Layout is probably the most useful feature for writers who find themselves now producing documents that go beyond the static PDF or print. It's an improvement over Layout adjustment, where the document adapts to the new layout/dimensions you need. That said, I haven't tested how efficient it actually does this though I did get mixed results with a fairly basic layout. One thing I would like to warn users about when using...

Read More

Adobe InDesign CS6 Review: From Print to Tablet/Smartphones Part 1

Category: Techwriter   Adobe InDesign is probably Adobe's third most popular Creative Suite product, behind Photoshop and Illustrator. Like most Adobe products, InDesign has legions of genuine and pirated users who nonetheless worship the product as much as Apple fans pray to their iPads every night.   So, as an InDesign user, should you empty your wallet or beg your technical department to upgrade your version of InDesign...

Read More

The Art of Spider-Man (circa 1970-1990s) Part 4

**To check out covers, story titles, and credits to comic books mentioned in this article, visit Spiderfan.org, one of the oldest and most reliable Spider-Man sites on the Internet.   Spidey teamed up with Ghost Rider when GR was still cool. -Art by Todd McFarlane (SM#7)   8. Alex Saviuk (Web of Spider-Man #60-onwards 90s)   Alex Saviuk is an odd choice for being included in a list of definitive Spider-Man...

Read More

If I was at the San Diego Comic Con . . .

Category: TechtodayComic Con is like any electronics show  in the world. Booth Babes can pass for sexy cosplayers  any day.  The smell of latex, Revlon, and sweat is as addicting as newly designed silicon, plastic, and steel. The enthusiasm of the fans is palpable. There are plenty of electronics and gadgets on site (though in Comic Con most of them don't work . . . like that lightsaber that guy is toting). Fans, from Twilight...

Read More

How Linux and Mac OSX made me appreciate Windows 8

Category: Techtoday   At my office, Mac OSX and Windows 7 is the operating system of choice. At home, my primary machines have been running on Fedora/Mandriva, openSUSE and Ubuntu for years. After running hours of testing on an updated official build of Windows 8, I've realized that after using Linux and Mac OSX for so long, Windows 8 is definitely bringing something new to the table, bad press or not.   A cliche? It...

Read More

Top 5 Useful InDesign tools for Technical Writers

Category: Techwriters   Everyone has their favorite Adobe InDesign tool or feature. Visit any tutorial site on any Adobe product and you'll have rabid devotees ready to tear you a new one for declaring a different favorite tool.   This short list is a somewhat mundane but practical selection for technical writers, especially if you're using a WYSIWYG approach to authoring using Adobe InDesign. It's almost a prerequisite...

Read More