Even though the main focus of the website is graphic design, there will be areas that will also help answer some basic Mac OS X questions for those who are new to Apple computers and the Mac operating system.

If you have a graphic desogm or OS X question, or if you have a problem that you need help solving, please email me your question at jaugustine@rubberspark.com, and I will do the best I can to help you solve the problem.

sincerely,

Joseph Augustine

Have me build your file!

Hard drives crash sometimes and when they do, it sucks. And if you don’t have all of your files backed up, it really, really sucks. All of your hard work, your designs, your applications, emails … gone. You might be able to pay somebody to retrieve them for you, but that’ll cost money and time. If only you’d backed up your files …

INSURANCE

Backing up your files is crucial. Think of it as insurance. Really, really important insurance that you only pay for once, which is the cost of an extra hard drive. I tell you this from experience, and the experience taught me a valuable lesson: Back up your main hard drive regularly.

If you’re already backing up your files, then good for you. You’re doing the right thing. But if you don’t, then go buy an extra hard drive right now and start backing your stuff up.

The external/extra hard drive you use should be double your regular hard drive space. That way you won’t have any problems with the your backup software halting a backup session because of lack of space. You can also use it as a scratch disk, which comes in handy when working in Photoshop.

SCHEDULE IT

Most hard drives come with backup software, and Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard has a program called “Time Machine” that you can use to backup your files.

I’ve scheduled the software to backup my work folder every night and my system and applications every month. That way if my main hard drive crashes, I can work off of the backup hard drive until my other hard drive is repaired.

Loading the OS X on your hard drive is a good idea too, as you can use it to boot up your system if anything goes wrong with your regular hard drive, or if you need to run any repair programs on your main hard drive.

IN THE END …

Having to buy an extra hard drive and set it all up may seem like an inconvenience, but if your main hard drive ever crashes, you will feel some relief knowing that all of your files were backed up.

Thanks to the internet we can send files quickly to the printer or client via ftp. But sometimes the files become quite large when combined, even when zipped. Here’s a great trick I’ve learned that will help get those file sizes down, which means less uploading time.

If you’re creating your layout in Adobe Illustrator, and the image you’re placing in the layout is large, let’s say it is 45” x 12”, 300dpi, and cmyk. That image would be 185 Megs when open and about 44 Megs saved as a jpeg. And when you save your Illustrator file with that image in it, the Illustrator file size becomes just as big as the image file size. Even zipping these files doesn’t reduce the file size much. The time it takes to upload a file this size sometimes takes too long. How do you get the file size down will keeping the high-resolution? Here is what you do:

If your image is created from a high-resolution (300dpi) layered Photoshop file, flatten the file, change the resolution to 72dpi and save it as a jpeg. Place the jpeg into your Illustrator file (make sure to link it, not embed it), and save the Illustrator file. You’ll notice the file size of the Illustrator file is a lot smaller when saved with a low-resolution jpeg linked to it.

Now, go back to your psd file, flatten again, but don’t change the resolution (keep it at 300dpi) and save it as a jpeg with the same name as the low-resolution jpeg. This jpeg and the Illustrator file you saved before are the files that you will zip and upload to the ftp site. The uploading time should be relatively short compared to the time it would take to upload the files had you saved the Illustrator file with the high-resolution file in it.

When the printer downloads the zipped files and opens up the Illustrator file, it will link to the high-resolution jpeg you’ve sent with it because it is saved with the same name as the low-resolution file. The file size was kept small, the upload time was short and you’ve met your deadline!

When you sit down at your computer, you want to focus all of your energy on creating great design. These tips will help you become more efficient on the Mac, meaning more time spent creating, and less time spent troubleshooting. 

Tip #1: ADJUST YOUR MOUSE TRACKING

With the larger size of displays nowadays, moving the pointer from side of the screen to the other can involve moving the mouse until you run out of mouse pad, move the mouse back and keep it up until you’ve reached the area of the desktop you were headed for.

The problem is that the default setting on the mouse tracking, which is how fast your pointer moves on the screen, is set in the middle; not too fast and not too slow. But having it set in the middle is still too slow. Open up your “System Preferences” control panel and select “Keyboard & Mouse”. This is where you set the mouse tracking all the way to the right, the fastest setting. It may take awhile to get used to the new speed of your pointer, but you’ll soon find that you need to use a lot less mouse moving on your mouse pad to get things done.

Tip #2: BUY A MIGHTY MOUSE

When the Mighty Mouse first came out I was against the little roller ball located on top. I didn’t think I needed it. And then I had to use one. When I got my new G5, it came with a Mighty Mouse, so I had no choice but to use it. Now, whenever I get on a computer with an older mouse I get frustrated because I don’t have the scrolling capabilities I have with the Mighty Mouse.

It takes some time getting used to it, but once you get the hang of it you’ll be thankful that you have one.

Tip #3: USE THE QUICK KEYS

What are “Quick Keys”? Quick keys are key combinations that execute an action that you would normally do by moving the mouse around to a menu, selecting the appropriate action and letting it happen. By using quick keys you become more efficient on the computer. I’m not sure if people just don’t know about them, or they aren’t comfortable using a keyboard, but it pains me to see someone using the mouse to do something as simple as quitting out of a program when they can make two key strokes and get the job done a lot faster.

The best way to learn quick keys is to use them. Yes, practice makes perfect and the more you use them, the more you’ll use them: they will become second nature. A link to most OS X quick keys can be found here, and most programs have quick keys for most of the programs menu actions. In Adobe Illustrator you can even “program” your own quick keys. I found this especially helpful with such actions such as “Place” when placing an image in your layout.

Tip #4: ORGANIZE YOUR FOLDERS, AND LABEL FILES

Your office has file cabinets to store important documents. Your desk has trays that hold documents you’re currently working on. Your computer should be as organized. Make folders, and name them accordingly. Your “Work” folder should have individual folders for your clients. In those folders should be individual folders for the projects you’ve worked on or are currently working on for that client.

Name your files with names that reference the project you’re working on. Create a name-filing system that gives you the information you need to find your work, which helps remove the chance of you saving over important files. This will save time and frustration when searching for important files and will help you reference those files in the future if need be.

Tip #5: CLOSE THE FONTS YOU AREN’T USING

Fonts are great, as they add feeling to your layout. But they sometimes bog down your system. Purchase a font utility program such as Suitcase Fusion. By using this program you can organize and open only the fonts you need. It also comes with a program called FontDoctor that will reorganize your fonts into individual, alphabetized folders for easy referral.

Tip #6: BACK UP ALL OF YOUR FILES

Nothing’s worse than having your hard drive crash and all of your work is gone with it. It rarely happens, but it does happen. Having your work and system backed up is a life saver and great insurance in case something like that happens.

I would suggest purchasing an extra external hard drive, such as the Lacie 500 GB. It comes with back-up software that will designate what folders to back up, and when to perform the back ups. I set mine to back up my system once a month, and my work folders everyday. That way if my hard drive crashes, I can pull everything off of my back up drive and all is well.

Tip #7: SAVE OFTEN

Sometimes programs crash. Sometimes you close a document and hit the “Don’t Save” button instead of the “Save” button. And then all of the work you’ve done for the past hour is gone. Use that thumb and index finger and hit the apple key and “s” key to save your work. And do it after every round of actions you perform on your document. Illustrator has multiple undos and Photoshop has the “History” palette. Do it until it becomes second nature and you’ll never have to worry about losing that awesome illustration you’ve spent the past hour creating.

Hopefully these tips will help you with your workflow and relieve you of some of the frustrations you’ve experienced in the past. If you have tips of your own, please feel free to leave them in the comments section.

If you’re a Mac owner, you’ve probably heard the comment “Apple Computers are so expensive!”

And they’re right. Apple Computers are expensive. At the time, a Mac Pro costs about $2,299, and that’s not including a 23”display, which costs an extra $900.

The thing is that even though Apple Computers get faster, have more memory and hard drive space, they stay the same price. Sometimes the price is even cheaper than it was on the previous models.

The G5 I bought two years ago cost me $2,500. It had a Dual 2.3 GHz, with 512 megs of RAM and a 250 gig hard rive. Today, for $2,299 I can get a G5 Mac Pro with 2.8GHz Quad-Core Intel with 2GB RAM and a 320GB hard drive. That’s $200 less, yet it’s faster, has more memory and more hard drive space.

And the OS X is getting better with every evolution. Sure, there are crashes every now and then. But it’s nothing like it used to be five years ago. The interface is better and there are so many added extras that cater to everyone’s inner techno geek.

Technology costs money and if you want a great computer for doing any kind of graphics work AND that looks cool, well, then you’re going to have to spend the money. Apple Computers has changed the way their computers work and look, and it’s all been for the better.

With the introduction of the iMac, and the much needed redesign of the iMac, more people than ever are purchasing Apple computers. Not only has it been the computer for graphic artists, it has become the “cool” computer to buy the family. With programs such as iMovie and iDVD, the average person can become their own production studio, creating family movies on the fly and burning them to dvd to present to the family, or send to grandparents to see their grandchildren.

One other benefit to owning an Apple computer is that even though the one you currently own is a little slower than the current models, you can always sell it to someone for a couple hundred dollars.

And as your computer depreciates, like a brand new car driven off of the lot, if it still works, it’s still worth something. And that something is a couple hundred dollars off of the new Apple computer you’ve had your eye on. Now, go to MacMall and buy that new compter; they’ll give you a GREAT deal.