Quickie: Tips to make Photoshop love you more

March 2, 2010

So recently on GraphicRiver, a forum thread came up that basically outlined the following: “PHOTOSHOP IS SO SLOW WHY GOD WHY?” In further investigation the author did admit he had some aging hardware, which really should be addressed.

For those of us – myself included – that cannot simply afford to drop good coin on a 9-dimensional quantum quad core extreme dx processor, 5 gigatonne atomic video card, and RAM the equivalent size and girth of China, we have to make do with what little things we can.

In this case I’ve come across a selection of little tweaks you can do to speed up Photoshop. Maybe not by a massive amount, but when you’re used to 10 seconds of lag, taking a couple seconds off that can make a huge difference. To your sanity, and to the survival of you and those near by.

And so I’ve opted to take them from that forum and post the tips here, complete with screenshots. I apologize in advance as these screens are done on my mac. The concepts should still be the same though.

Useful (mostly free) Mac Stuff

July 9, 2009

I’ve been using a MacBook for almost a year now – 10 months, but who’s counting – and I’ve come to appreciate the small section of Mac apps that are easy on my wallet. More so as I’m a poor student, any useful programs that I can use and not cost me money?

Perfect.

So without further delay, here is my giant list of (mostly) free mac apps.

Technology that Works: Dropbox

January 19, 2009

I’m a little late with this, but the joy of the Internet is that someone out there doesn’t know about what I’m talking about yet. I’ve been using Dropbox since the last day of their private beta. As soon as I had invites to give, they went public and my chance to look ahead of the curve went up in a tiny cloud of blue smoke.

Regardless, since using Dropbox I can only say that it does everything perfectly. If ever you could have a backup system for the lazy, the inexperienced, or the uninterested this would be it. I know that casts an odd light on Dropbox, but trust me when I say that it is probably the single most impressive piece of software/service that I have ever installed. I’ve commented on using Dropbox before, but now I’m going to get into it with more detail.

360 Degrees of Failure

January 6, 2009

I’ll preface this by saying that since getting my XBox 360, I’ve been enjoying it thoroughly. It works fairly well, It’s shiny, I can now play games from my bed, it treats me nicely. I know a lot of people will hate on me for getting a 360, what with the red ring of death issue, blah blah blah. I’ll say now that the Wii needs elbow room, the PS3 has absolutely nothing on it that I want to play (that’s a lie, Little Big Planet interests me greatly) and I don’t feel like having to repeatedly upgrade my computer just to play games that almost always come out for a console. I’m going for the hassle-free approach.

The irony in that statement will become apparent as you continue to read. It blows my mind how much effort and extra money all of this cost me.

Also it should be mentioned that the span of all of the following events took place over a week and a bit, because I was only at my home for about two days over the entire time-line.

An exercise in customer satisfaction

September 18, 2008

I joined a gym, and for a while I went there. I worked out at their facilities and found them clean, and brimming with machines and weights in which to sculpt my body. I used their exceptionally clean and well kept bathrooms and facilities. The staff was always courteous, the lighting great, the music well selected, and the food offered was healthy and scrumptious. They even had a clothing store where one could buy stuff 30% with the membership card, and a day car for those who dragged their children around.

All in all, a fantastic experience from a customer point of view. Everything scored 7/10 or higher (more often higher). So why am I angry with this chain? They dropped the ball in a key area: my leaving.

General Improvements

September 4, 2008

Holy hell, a personal post! You know what that means everyone: Corey doesn’t have anything specific to write about, but is guilt-ridden enough to write something in an attempt to rid himself of the self-loathing that he’s now feeling.

Thankfully, I’ve got enough random crap to talk about, that it will actually seem like I’ve somehow planned this post. I should at least be able to get back to my regular schedule for posting stuff now that I’m in school (somebody quote me on this when I’m studying my brains out and abandon the schedule once again.)

Side note: Do you say “skedual” or “scheduel”? I found that after watching far too much Doctor Who over the years that I’ve been converted to saying “scheduel” instead of skedual.” Ruined me, I tell you.

Deezer vs. Last.fm

August 11, 2008

I’ve found myself using online music sources when I’m not around my home computer or too lazy to plug in my iPod. I’ve found myself going between two different programs: Last.fm and Deezer.com.

Both have pros and cons, and I felt that it’d make a good article to compare my findings and contrast the two services. I’m not going to gives scores, because comparisons like this are subjective. I’ll let the readers come to their own conclusions.

My new MacBook is so… white

July 31, 2008

Seriously, it’s so white that it actually seems to give off light itself. It stands out so harshly against the rest of my room because it looks so clean and minimal. It’s like a work of art sitting on top of a rubble pile in Chernobyl. It’s so clean and pristine that I feel like I’m sullying it every time I lay my grubby fingers on it.

Some of you may be wondering why I’d now be a Mac owner. Those of you who know me know that I’ve never been a fan of Macs generally speaking. I find them overly simple, their mouse scares and distrubes me, they have some extra keys, and Mac users tend to be just so damned snooty. Have I sold out?

Designapalooza – Part Seven

June 5, 2008

This is the seventh and final part in an ongoing series of articles that depicts my process to becoming a graphic designer. I will reiterate that this is not a sure-fire guide on how to become one, but merely my process which I am sharing to the general public.

Though this is the last article of this particular series, trust me when I say there will still be many more.

9Rules Broke the Rules

May 26, 2008

So I’m making this post while blatantly aware that some of my readers will probably have no Idea what I’m talking about. If you’re one of those people, just nod your head and pretend to listen.

Setting up the scene

A while back I came across a little website called 9rules. As it turned out 9rules was very much similar to Digg.com, Design Float, Mixx, and so on. It was a social hub where ideas were exchanged, participation was rewarded, and all was well. Somewhat of an opportunist, I took advantage of 9rules and their content submission to help my site gain some popularity (I’m sure I gained nothing from it) by submitting my design-related posts to their ever-flowing river of content.

I admit that this is a bit dubious in nature, but it is a white hat way to get your name out there, and that’s something I’m still working on doing. Hate me if you want, but that’s what I used it for. I regret that a little in retrospect, because they had a good community, and I chose to throw my stories into the pile instead of participating and making it better.

The lamenting has a point, so stick with me.

My thoughts on Ubuntu

February 25, 2008

I’ve never really used a Linux system before. I used Redhat in college for a semester, but considering I almost failed that class, it is safe to say that my knowledge of the free OS(es) is limited. Ubuntu was brought to my attention by my friend and technological superior, Bart. Intrigued by this user-friendly OS I decided to give it a whirl.

Respect the Process, Damnit

February 14, 2008

I went to college.

Shocking, I know. I did though, and on the lovely diploma that I earned and gently stuffed in a drawer somewhere it says that I am both a computer programmer and a systems analyst. What that means is not only am I (supposedly) competent at coding solutions, I am also (apparently) competent at looking at a system and figuring out how things should work.

I always chuckled in my Analysis classes. “Come on, this is all common sense!” I would proclaim. I took what the teacher said for a grain of salt and left it at that.

Obligatory Macworld Post

January 18, 2008

Yeah, I’m aware that everyone and their mother has probably talked about this by now (it has been at least 24 hours; a lifetime on the internet) but like every other tech nerd on the planet, I half-feinted work as the live feeds came rolling, or in many cases crashing, in.

I could talk about everything that happened, but that would be retarded. This is my overview and so I’m going to talk about the things that interested me the most.

Designapalooza – Part Six

January 16, 2008

This is the sixth part in an ongoing series of articles that depicts my process to becoming a graphic designer. I will reiterate that this is not a sure-fire guide on how to become one, but merely my process which I am sharing to the general public.

More learning

This is a continuation from the fifth portion, because had i combined them the article would never be read through fully. They’re long people, I can’t help that. Well yes I can, but I refuse to censor myself. Here I will continue to explain to the best of my ability questions that I had asked way back in the first part of this series. Let’s continue.

Designapalooza – Part Five

December 19, 2007

This is the fifth part in an ongoing series of articles that depicts my process to becoming a graphic designer. I will reiterate that this is not a sure-fire guide on how to become one, but merely my process which I am sharing to the general public.

Don’t Freak out.

Now for the section that makes or breaks a would-be designer. Realizing that you know nothing about design. Everyone hits this when they start, and it’s nothing to be ashamed of. Have you ever shown someone some of your work and when asked why you did what you did, you responded with something like “because it looks cool”? Believe it or not, this is not a valid explanation for artwork. Well okay, sometimes it is but most of the time, this is the stamp of an amateur, or someone who knows how to use a program.

Let me stress now that knowing how to use a program in no way dictates your understanding of design.

StartupCamp Toronto: Thoughts

December 10, 2007

Recently Bart and I went to StartupCamp Toronto, a venue for new Canadian startups to demo what they’re strut their snazzy new 2.0 projects, and seek input (if they want) on what they’re trying to accomplish. Five companies demoed their wares, the highlights amongst them being Defensio, CakeMail, and Investmate. It was really interesting to see how different companies set about accomplishing their dreams. I wish I could post pictures I took, or give you a blow by blow of what went down, but I didn’t have any of the tools to do so with me. I will note that it took place about 200 metres from Corus Entertainment at No Regrets (which is as sexy a lounge as I’ve ever been in). The entire event was put together by the great folks at StartupNorth

Designapalooza – Part Four

December 3, 2007

This is the fourth part in an ongoing series of articles that depicts my process to becoming a graphic designer. I will reiterate that this is not a sure-fire guide on how to become one, but merely my process which I am sharing to the general public.

Mess around.

In this section I’m going to be fairly resource-heavy, and hope that it helps some people out. When I say ‘Mess around’ what I mean is literally get your hands on some of the tools you know you’ll be using, and go to town. If you don’t know what tools you are going to be using, do some research. Check out those schools I talked about previously, and find out what software they’re going to be using. Dig around a little to see what others in the field tend to use. Since I’m trying to get into graphic design, I know that my primary tools will most likely consist of the Adobe family, though I will also give an honourable mention to 3Ds Max, Maya, and ArtRage 2 (if you want to have some really impressive paint effects).

Designapalooza – Part Three

November 26, 2007

This is the third part in an ongoing series of articles that depicts my process to becoming a graphic designer. I will reiterate that this is not a sure-fire guide on how to become one, but merely my process which I am sharing to the general public.

Self-education in the workplace

I admit this part is properly inaccurately named, since it really bleeds into other posts that I will be making in the future. Therefore I shall clarify: this article relates to actions you can take to get yourself educated while you wait for your school of choice to accept you, job-wise.

Designapalooza – Part Two

November 23, 2007

This is the second part in an ongoing series of articles that depicts my process to becoming a graphic designer. I will reiterate that this is not a sure-fire guide on how to become one, but merely my process which I am sharing to the general public.

Choosing a school

As stated, this is a difficult section to write because a lot of this comes down to the personal feelings of the person.. I’ll do my best, but in the end it is obviously up to you. Having said that, I will pass on my own thoughts on the subject, as they have been fresh in my head for a while now.

Designapalooza – Part One

November 21, 2007

Recently I’ve made it an active mission of mine to learn more about design. I’m not talking about what colours go well together, or what Web 2.0 looks like when dissected into XHTML valid bites. These are a part of design to be sure and things that should be given at least a passing thought, but not what I’m talking about. One of my life goals is to become an honest-to-God graphic designer. Anyone who has talked to me in the past year or so will tell you that this was something I’ve wanted to do. But going along with an earlier post I made, I’m trying to make it happen for myself. Hell, I will make it happen for myself. I’ve gone about this a couple ways, and I felt that I would share my scheming with the internet. Probably not my brightest idea, but whatever. I’m a fan of open information.

Overtime is evil

November 14, 2007

The more I try and read what others are saying on the world wide interweb, the more I realize that there are a lot of people out there who are a hell of a lot smarter then myself. Jarkko Laine is one of those people. While looking around his site, I found what is deemed a “popular article“. The title alone got me to read it (Never Work Overtime Again) and after reading it I can honestly say that he nailed it perfectly. Nothing could be done to improve the statements made therein.

SharePoint 2007: Thoughts on Branding

November 9, 2007

I’ve started to read RSS feeds related to art and design. Considering it’s the field I wish to get into, I figured it to be a good move. Our designer at work has about 50 more then I do (I’ve only started so this is a given) and he linked me to a post on Cameron Molls website. I’ve read through it at least twice now, and to be honest: it’s pretty true. Now I’m going to make my own comments on the subject as best I can given my job, the work I do, and the firing I would receive if I gave away anything. Thankfully, I think I can do so here. If not… well if anyone knows a good programmer/designer job… well you get the idea.

Fingers Crossed!

“Put it in your face, dollar”

October 21, 2007

Hello one and all, I hope you’ve been keeping well! I’ve been pretty mentally exhausted all week but I still managed to keep the content rolling out. I’ve even managed to start a new book (already 160 pages in) and actually do a bit of writing (another chapter ‘done’) and generally getting some tasks out of the way. It’s been a productive, but exhausting week. So much trekking around, it’s insane.

Free progams that I haven’t removed and are therefore useful.

October 16, 2007

That’s right, a hyper-typical post about all the free programs I use on the computer to make life lazier more efficient! I figured every information blog (or any site attempting to be one) requires at least one of these a year. It really makes me wonder what programs I will amass in the next 365 days. In any case, here we go!

Technology, Upgrades, Updates

October 5, 2007

If anyone’s been watching this site in the past little while (I’m sure there’s gotta be at least 1 out there) they may have noticed a whole bunch of weird things going on with the site. I assure you they are all for the better. Since I’ve had such a heavy swing of reviews (it’s not purposely done, I just watched a bunch of movies and read a book within the same 3 days) I decided I would switch it up a bit.