Category: Information Technology

After I left my magnanimous former employer, I was out access to Photoshop. Now, I suppose I could manage with the Vista built-in tool, or Picasa. But I’m not one to do things the easy way. I chose to mess with Gimp, the illustrious open source image editing tool. More specifically, especially since I have a PhotoShop background, I went with Gimpshop, which gives me a Photoshop-esque experience. Better, I suppose, than downloading CS3 from bit torrent or something. Though I’m not a power user, I find the thing quite nice. Some day, I hope that I’ll be able to turn the most grotesque face into a supermodel. We all have our dreams, eh?

I spent a good chunk of my day, yesterday, on a skills inventory for a temp firm. Now, some would hate this. I, however, actually enjoy this. These give me some great insights into the job market’s software needs and expectations. Also, as someone who tries hard to be cutting, if not bleeding edge, I always tend to be well ahead of the curve. There were only a few areas I didn’t know strongly, particularly with the Office suite. Of course, I hold myself to a high standard here. Not knowing how to code a macro in Word 2007 bugs me. I know how to get to that screen, but it’s different enough from 2003 (where I haven’t coded a macro in years) that I was puzzled how to actually code the thing.

I’ve been wondering these past few days whether the iPhone’s huge array of applications will be THE driving force for it. Or, on the other side, whether the seeming dearth of them for the Blackberry might keep folks away. Will the average user be satisfied with a few key apps, or will they be swayed by the masses available for the iPhone? I’m not sure, myself. The main things keeping me away from the iPhone are the lack of a keyboard (I’m just not convinced that the touchscreen is that grand – know too many people who hate it) and not being able to swap out the battery.

For those put off by the price, here’s an option for you: the Peek. A pretty basic device, but should really help move people into the mobile email space. If they allow apps to be developed it would be a solid game changer. We’ll see.

I have explored computers deeply, I guess. I have studied Unix, FORTRAN, COBOL, and C. Just as importantly, I know what all this stuff is, which makes me a bit geeky. However, it was never my passion. All the way back in junior high, when I made a great deal of noise about wanting to work for NASA and build robots, I would read Plato, Campbell, ''The Beother's Karamatsov'', ''The Scarlett Letter'', ''The Red Badge Of Courage'', and such. Geeky, perhaps, but not of the same venue. Only rarely, and with effort, did I read sciencey text.

My main passions, as defined by what I love to read in my free-time. Would be poetry and History. My interest in Computer Science, et al, is much more linked to power and, more recently, money. A desire to prove people wrong about me, to prove my intelligence also drove this, and it's lingered way too long as a psychological subtext.