My first foray into the world of icon design comes in the form this replacement icon set for the Mac-only iPod transfer utility, Senuti. This huge set contains icons matching all recent iPods from the Shuffle to Full-Size iPods.

Download Senuti Icon Pack for Mac

• Supported Operating Systems: Mac OSX (.icns format, Windows .ico coming soon)
• License: Freeware for commercial and non-commercial use
• Contents: 5th Gen Full-Size iPod (black, white); 6th Gen iPod Classic (black, silver); 1st Gen Nano (black, white); 2nd Gen Nano (black, silver, blue, green, pink, red); 3rd Gen Nano (black, silver, green, blue, red, pink); 2nd Gen Shuffle (silver, blue, green, pink, orange); 3rd Gen Shuffle (silver, blue, green, red, purple) and two General Use Senuti Icons (Notes & Click Wheel)

Visit my profiles over at Interfacelift or DeviantART!

I recently discovered that InDesign CS3 has extended a feature present in the CS2 version. In the previous version of ID, you would place a PDF and choose the pages you wanted to place. When placed, a link to the file was created and it was treated just like any other image (meaning you couldn’t edit the PDF contents within InDesign). This feature has been expanded upon greatly with the latest incarnation of ID by allowing the placing of other InDesign files (.indd). This works better than the PDF placement because now, with the addition of importing multiple images at once, you can place multiple pages without going to the File>Place (or Cmd+D) over and over.

This feature would be useful anytime a larger project is divided into smaller parts and separated into multiple ID files. I recently have been working at a promotional products company who creates a yearly catalog. The catalog is divided into multiple sections (folders of files) and each section is split into even more InDesign files. Each section is then printed and bound separately. To expedite printing, you could create one master ID file for each section with the entire section laid out in one file. What’s great about this feature is that when any placed ID file is modified, the master layout with the placed pages will automatically update the linked file, just like an image. When viewing the Links panel, all pages and images are listed. You can choose “Edit Original” on any pages or image linked to a placed page. It’s pretty slick when you start using it.

A word of caution, since ID must load all the pages you want to place into memory, the initial Place command can seem slow (this could have been unique to my machine or the company’s network so your milage may vary). Once the loaded cursor appears though, you can drop, drop drop until all chosen pages are placed in the new document. Also like images, the pages come in at 100% so no scaling or box creation is necessary.

If you found this tip useful, post a comment telling other readers how you implemented it and whether or not it increased or decreased the production process.

Sure, I’ve gotten annoyed by the eyesore of Leopard’s new Stacks feature. Looks like a jumbled mess and since the icons change based on the contents, it’s hard to tell the Stacks apart if you have multiple Stacks without constant icons. I briefly read over the modified date hack to keep a constant icon and it seems like a hassle. I wanted something quick and easy to implement so I figured out a better way. Here’s an easy tip for creating a static icon (or custom icon) at the front of the Stack.
Myself, I have four Stacks in the Dock: /Applications, Utilities, Documents and Downloads (pic 1).

When clicking on the Stack, I think the trick becomes pretty clear, as seen here
(pic 2).

This trick is simply achieved by creating a folder within the folder you intend to use as a Stack and change its name to a space character. After that, just do a Cmd+I (Get Info) on the icon you’d like to use, select the icon, copy it (cmd+c) then Get Info again on the new folder and paste the icon onto the existing folder icon. Voila! new constant icon (pic 3).

The only drawback here is you can’t sort the Stack by anything except “Name” because it will obviously sort to whatever matches that criteria. I prefer sorting by name anyway so this works out great for me and I hope it works for you too.

Every damn post or review I read states something about the iPhone’s non-removable battery. I have had my LG Chocolate phone for over a year and I have NEVER replaced the battery. I don’t know anyone who carries a spare battery with them. My girlfriend (who just bought the iPhone yesterday) and I have wall and car chargers for our phones. If you charge the battery you won’t need a spare. If there’s a problem with the iPhone’s battery it’s COVERED UNDER WARRANTY. Take it in and have it repaired or replaced. Apple is fantastic about hardware repair and support. The battery thing isn’t an issue and should not be used as a “competitive feature” other phones have over the iPhone. Seriously.

I keep seeing it on the internets, this is Verizon’s “iPhone killer”. Please, not even close.
I am currently a VZW customer who’s stuck with the original LG Chocolate (vx8500) and dissatisfied more every day. It’s not a bad phone, it just doesn’t suit my needs anymore. I have grown to need a full (qwerty) keyboard, a bigger screen, full HTML web browsing and a better camera. I am willing to pay for these features. Since I am locked into a contract for another year, I am looking at paying full retail price for ANY device I want. When the phone’s price becomes a non-issue, the playing field levels out considerably when comparing devices, regardless of carrier.
This is my personal review and partial rant about the new LG Voyager (vx10000) and Verizon. Weighing in at $469 retail, it doesn’t offer much outside of looks that other, less attractive devices like the Samsung i760 do for slightly more money without being crippled by the always disappointing Verizon interface.

The Voyager does a good job in the looks department, it’s not a bad looking phone overall with gloss black and chrome trim, large front screen and a big keyboard. The branding is muted, small and stamped in chrome, similar to the original chocolate. Most LG devices are nice to look at, which is what initially roped me into the Chocolate, my first non-pay as you go phone. It stole enough look from the iPod to make it alluring. Same deal with the Voyager, steals enough of the iPhone’s simple visual design to warrant an immediate comparison. However, the front screen is smaller than it could have been, same with the second screen once flipped open. The front screen could have stretched farther, north and south, gaining about another inch of screen real estate. Inner screen could have been a tad wider also. Both screens are low res. I’m supposed to watch video and surf the net on this thing? Hey Verizon, bump up the number of pixels!
The overall size is smaller than I expected. It looked much bigger in photos I had seen. Then there’s the weight, it’s extremely light, which to me, makes it feel cheaply made. My chocolate phone weighs more than the Voyager and it’s tiny! The Voyager is strong on looks but skimps on quality of build parts.

The Voyager could have been all that without treading into smartphone territory, big touch screen, 2 MP auto-focus camera, html web browsing, full keyboard, mobile tv, music & movie playback and function as a mass storage device but no Verizon drops the ball again.

The touch screen is nice but it’s a gimmick. Same tired VZW UI, menus, and options. There is a virtual keyboard but you only see it when using the web browser, you can’t use it to write text messages. I have this giant screen and I have to use an alphanumeric keypad unless I open the phone? At least make using it an option.
The HTML web browser is decent but sluggish and I can live without Flash. No java since the phone runs on BREW, which sucks. Pages render s-l-o-w-l-y and navigating by dragging your finger is a joke since the phone takes at least a second to move the page after dragging. Drag, wait, drag wait. No thanks. After adding a full HTML browser seems like a waste when you have to switch to “optimized web” in order for it to perform reasonably well. Oh, and it’s EVDO is the slower Rev.0. Why no Rev.A? I have a side business selling online so more and more, internet access becomes important but I’m not ready for a (usually ugly) PDA with a slew of features I’ll never use.
Adding VCast for unlimited data is a must to get the full functionality out of this phone but it adds MobileTV. I haven’t tried this but it seems interesting. The camera is a mediocre 2 MP with slow auto-focus. For being a flagship phone, this thing should have had 3MP minimum AND a flash. The physical keyboard is similar to the enV but I like the rubber coating present on the Samsung i760 keyboard.

Expandable memory up to 8 GB microSD is nice but means I have to spend MORE money for moderate storage (internal 184 MB doesn’t cut it for a media-centric device). A better Mobile Email app is nice but I would prefer to install Mobile Gmail. Oh, Verizon phones don’t do Java, guess I’m out of luck.

In conclusion, the LG Voyager may be on a decent network and look nice but it’s a half-hearted attempt at capturing a burgeoning US market that wants more out of their phone without jumping into PDA/smartphone territory. LG needs to stop buckling to Verizon and crippling their phone to the point where they are practically useless for anything except making phone calls.

After seeing earlier today that Samsung’s recent F700 is coming to VZW under the model number U940 (it’s crippled too with a 2 MP camera instead of the original 5 MP or even later 3 MP, probably VZW’s awful UI instead of the slick Croix interface.. WTF?!?!) I will probably hold out for that phone and see if it improves in any of the areas where the Voyager has failed.

People like(d) to complain about the iPhone’s price but when you’re in a spot like me and forced to pay full retail so you don’t have to get another contract, the iPhone doesn’t seem so expensive anymore. Add to the fact that and SDK will be out for the iPhone in February 2008, this is just the beginning of what the iPhone is capable of offering customers. More and more it seems the iPhone is a platform and not just a phone/iPod. It would be nice if the big carriers (I’m looking at you, Verizon!) would learn to get out of the phone makers’ way so we could see some truly innovative devices hit the US market.

Update: Link to contract PDF has been fixed!
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Contracts are an integral part of any freelancer’s toolkit. Below, I’ve posted a good beginner contract in non-editable PDF form which will serve as the base for my own. Startup graphic designers, web designers and programmers should all have one before dealing with their first client, many don’t know where to begin when writing one. The PDF I’ve posted should give you a good jump-off point to draft your own, inserting your own logo and information then have it reviewed by a local laywer, for touching up any legal details specific to your city or state.

Freelance Starter Contract

Post inspired by the recent article on Web Worker Daily titled
“Web Worker 101: 7 Business Basics”.
The tips are wise but there isn’t a link or suggestion on where to find a good, beginner contract or template so I have provided one here covering proposals, estimates, production, invoices, basic copyright, scheduling, payment and more.

So I attended the Pittsburgh visit of the Adobe AIR (adobe integrated runtime) Bus Tour tonight (posted late, happened on Aug 17). I missed most of the opening keynote, walking in on the last 15 minutes. Right after, they moved into the first of several evening lectures. During the first two or three I felt exhilaration, getting ideas and inspiration to dive into a new web framework. How couldn’t I after being greeted with a goody bag containing a CD of Flex Builder 3 Beta 1 and other SDKs, two PDF O’Reilly AIR reference books and a load of examples, one print copy of the O’Reilly books “AIR for Javascript Developers Pocket Guide”, 40% off my next O’Reilly purchase, 3 FREE months of Media Temple hosting and up to $129 off the full event pricing for Adobe’s MAX conference in Chicago when they’re launching AIR 1.0?

I was meeting a friend at this event but he eventually didn’t make it, thanks to being stuck late at work (till 11pm!). As the night wore on and we came up on the first break I came to a harsh realization.. I was in over my head. I’ve been seriously struggling to learn ANY programming language and getting besieged with ActionScript and JavaScript jargon, I could feel the floor sinking like quicksand. I didn’t want to leave, hell, they were giving away a copy of CS3 Master Collection! How couldn’t I stay for that?

I didn’t win it.
Boo!

This AIR seminar got me pumped though so it’s tempting to jump ship again for Flex and AIR. Initially, I was bummed when I went home. Programming seemed so hard and they covered material so quickly that I felt lost after the first hour. Most of the attendees are already programmers, they already get it. Thinking about the whole talk the next day got me thinking about WHY I wanted to program at all. I really like desktop apps and really like the Mac way apps work but web developers are always in demand and I felt that would give me more job options. AIR bridges that gap between the desktop and the web. In fact, it bridges the Mac/Windows divide as well.

The lecture “Building your First AIR App with Flex” is really cool. It showcases the ease of building the app base in Flex, creating your UI and adding some functionality with Actionscript.
Later on Kevin Hoyt re-built all the apps with HTML and Javascript to show off the flexibility of AIR for both Flash/Flex and HTML/Javascript developers.
Go watch all the onAIR videos posted to date.

AIR actually works a lot like the guts of OSX which runs on Core Data, Core Image, Core Audio & Core Animation. Common frameworks that all apps can take advantage of thereby saving the programmer time and allowing he or she to focus on how to make the app BETTER instead of just making it at all. After 10+ years there doesn’t seem to be anything like that in any version of Windows. AIR fixes that enough that an indy developer could build true cross-platform apps that look and work great, finally bringing some of the Mac class over to Windows.

Switched to a new theme on my site, Simplicity by Karsten Kuhnen. It’s a german language theme which I have converted to English. I’ve posted the English version of it here. Should this upset Mr. Kuhnen, please send me an email (or post a comment) and I will remove it.

[update: June 29, 07] Mr. Kuhnen has approved my distribution of his theme in English, which I appreciate. I have made tiny modifications to the theme such as changing the font of headlines and subheads to a Georgia, a nice serif font, leaving the body copy and menus in Verdana. I feel it helps set them apart more to the viewer. I will be tweaking the theme more and updating the file.

Download the English version of Simplicity Dark.