The Hardware:
Dell Inspiron 5000 Series 15" Gaming 5577 laptop
- 8GB RAM
- 512 GB Samsung SSD 850 Pro
- Intel Core i5-7300HQ CPU @ 2.50GHz
- NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050
- Intel HD Graphics 630
- NVIDIA Virtual Audio Device
- Intel Display Audio
- 1080P Display, but, I use an external monitor...
& the Peripherals:
- Samsung HDTV Television (do NOT buy a Samsung HDTV)
- Epson Perfection v37 Scanner
- Logitech K310 Keyboard
- External HDD
Gateway ID49C07u laptop
- 4GB RAM
- ADATA SU650 120GB SSD
- Intel Core i3-350M
& the Peripherals:
- Vizio HDTV
- Bluetooth adaptor
- Rocksoul Bluetooth keyboard
- Microsoft Bluetooth mouse
Still need a MacBook Pro...
- This space reserved for specs (when I get one).
Cameras:
- Google Pixel XL
- Samsung Galaxy Note 3
- Samsung Galaxy S3
- DXG HD Video Camera
The Software:
Operating Systems:
- Windows 10 Professional
- debian linux 9.5 (loaded)
Mobirise Free WYSIWYG Website Builder Software
- Mobirise is an excellent place to start for WYSIWYG website editing using mobile-first responsive design straegies that are optimized for Google's web search. Mobirise is also great to wireframe design for website developers. This easy-to-use free website builder offers a growing library of modern design content blocks which can be used either partially or in full for every website developed through the builder.
- Mobirise is a free download available for Windows, Mac & Android.
- Mobirise also has a healthy forum for help, support and to trade tips.
Adobe Dreamweaver
- I use Dreamweaver for custom pages, editing code, spell checking, adding non-standard web page designs in a different web script applications and site features, to manage the files, photography and graphic images. This is a great web design and development tool for any web professional.
I am currently using Deamweaver CS3, which still works relatively well on Windows 10, but some strangness was introduced in Windows 7. You can still get a legit old copy, but most sales on eBay are fraudulent and may contain viruses, trojans or malware, hence I am linking to the most current suscription model above which always stays updated. The last DVD version was Dreamweaver CS6, that also shipped with Creative Studio 6, but I can't even find that one on DVD anymore.
Adobe Photoshop
- There is no other photo & image processing software on the planet it's equal, save for Adobe Photoshop Lightroom. All website logos and design element graphic images have been processed through Photoshop for the best compromise of quality and file size, though I will admit quality is my most important concern (as it would be for any artist).
The title link offers the newest Creative Cloud subscription model which. I would be wary of buying an older version of Adobe Photoshop anywhere but through Adobe (especially online), however, at this writing Amazon does have the DVD version of Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 6 still available, should you need a Mac/PC version with DVD installer. The catch is that the DVD version is no longer supported or updated and if you need the latest camera drivers, CC is your best option. - Filter Forge has been a staple Photoshop Plug-In (and stand-alone program) in my toolbox as far back as I remember. I have 2 lifetime licenses (one for me, personally, and one for my business). You can not only use it to easily manipluate images or add effects, you can use it to create images, even seamless tile backgrounds for wallpapers, photo background effects and website backgrops.
Shotcut
- Free, open source, cross-platform, simple, no frills, straight-forward, easy-to-use cross-platform video editor. Major features include support for a wide range of formats (no import required meaning native timeline editing) and Blackmagic Design support for input and preview monitoring, with resolution support up to 4k HD.
- Shotcut is a free download and supports Windows, Mac and Linux platforms.
- Shotcut has many helpful tutorials and video "how-to" clips available online.
FontStruct
- The Fontstructor is a very capable free online tool for creating modular vector TrueType fonts (and is also capable of creating pixel/bitmap TrueType fonts). The Fontstructor editor is fun and can even be used as an easy font prototyper for the powerful Mac-only font creation application package, Glyphs.
- FontStruct is a great modular font design community where you can build your own original fonts, clone other fonts (that use the a license which makes them clonable), share what you have done with the community, get tips, and learn from each other. I still use this service for fonts that don't require bezier curves. I am already posting some freeware fonts that I have made in the FontStructor editor.
FontForge
- I grabbed the old i3 Gateway laptop that just never ran Windows 7 right, I reassigned a new, small SSD drive (that I bought for a different project) to it and exchanged the system drives, then installed debian liunx on it. After installing FontForge, I really love it. I recommend anyone else with an old spare PC or Mac that they no longer use to install a Linux distro, and then install FilterForge.
- Even though there are ported versions of FontForge (for Mac & Windows), I tried them a few times before and they were never stable. But it runs great on Linux (where it was developed). I will be posting fonts that I have edited further and enhanced with FontForge, and hopefully some new creations.
Calligraphr
- Although I am just playing with ideas here (as of this moment), I have used previous versions of this online tool (myscriptfont) and liked it. What you do is download a set of font worksheets and fill them out (pencil, felt-tip, pen & ink, brush, etc...). Both my Scurry font and my Milton Serif Bled Medium version 4 font were hand lettered and then scanned, uploaded and converted into fonts using the predecessors to this sytem.
Fontlab TypeTool with the ScanFont plugin
- This is similar to the online tool, Calligraphr (just above), but you use your own scanner and work within TypeTool to edit the features as you want/need them.
Fonts & Typefaces
This website makes use of the following SIL Open Font Licensed freeware fonts:
Artwork Elements & Artistic Touches
Although I try to use my own art, photography & design works as design elements and artistic touches through-out this website, there is no denying that I appreciate the work of the masters who have inspired and even influenced who I have become. Just as I am not going to only showcase my fonts and photos here, I will feature CC0 (Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication) licensed digital artworks of the masters and even try to also incorporate them within the design of the website as elements of it.
This was not actually the plan, but as an artist and a fine art major at Augustana, the news of the existence of such CC0 fine art materpeices saved in high resolution digital media requires I allow the posibility to include such works into the site and its design, somehow.
More stuff (too much) to list. So obviously, more yet to come...
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