Technology

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Update: Windows on OS X & Using Type 1 Fonts on a Mac.

2013.05.28

Thanks to all who responded about running Windows under OS X. You all came back with the same answer: Parallels. This was handy, since I already had a Parallels license kicking around.

So, I installed Parallels, and installed Windows 7, and then went to Adobe InDesign CS6 from my Adobe Creative Cloud subscription. (For those who don’t know, Adobe has an “app manager” that you use to install the various Adobe Creative Cloud apps. So, first you install this Adobe Air app, and then, using the Adobe Application Manager, you’re able to install things like InDesign and Photoshop and Acrobat Pro.)

This is where the plan went off the rails.

It seems that, in their attempts to fight piracy, Adobe’s gone a wee bit over the edge, and has essentially broken the Adobe Application Manager when it is run (at the very least) on a Windows Parallels instance. After the installation failed for me (repeatedly), I searched the interwebs, and discovered that I wasn’t alone. Many others were reporting the same problem with the latest AAM.

Well, that sucked. I was on a tight deadline, and since the only reason I needed a Windows machine was to use some Type 1 fonts provided to me, I set off in another direction. With the help of G and a handy piece of software called FontForge, I ended up being able to use the Type 1 fonts natively under OS X, which solved all of my problems without requiring a virtual machine, or Adobe’s broken application manager.

So there.

Technology

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Ask OSX Geeks: Windows under OS X? (Or, converting Type 1 fonts to TTF / OTF.)

2013.05.10

Yeah, there was so much wrong with that sentence, but hey.

For typographical reasons (read: fonts), I have need to run Adobe Cloud under Windows on a Mac running Mountain Lion. (Well, I could run Adobe Cloud on an actual Windows box, but I don’t have one, hence the virtualization.)

The last Windows with which I am at all familiar is XP, which is … creaky, but will (I think) do what I need to do. What experiences have you all with running more modern Windows on a Mac? And via what mechanism? (I’m a fan of Parallels, but am willing to hear other options as well.)

Alternately, can anyone point at a reliable way to install Type 1 fonts on a Mac? 🙂

I know, I know, I don’t ask for much. But I have faith in my geeky friends.

Love, meri

Lazyweb, Technology

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PSA: Get TiVo Desktop before it goes *poof*.

2013.05.07

The good folks at Tivo are discontinuing the PC version of TiVo desktop, and you have until June 5th to download it. Unlike the Mac version, the PC version will actually let you transfer shows from your TiVo to your PC. (The equivalent can be achieved on the Mac using a couple of small apps, or via Toast Titanium, but not via anything made available for free by TiVo.)

Anyway, I thought some of you might want to know about this while the software is still readily available.

Media, PSA, Technology

Ask LazyWeb: Another InDesign question for you all.

2013.05.02

Since you were all so incredibly helpful with the first InDesign question (no, seriously, you were), I thought I’d try again.

I may have need to convert a bunch of QuarkXPress files to InDesign. I know that InDesign itself can mostly handle import, but I want the best possible conversion, since it’s gonna be my job to make sure the InDesign output matches the XPress source exactly.

Have any of you ever played with any of the conversion tools? In particular, I’m thinking of Q2ID for CS6. But, if any of you have any better ideas (or cheaper ideas!), I’m all years.

Lazyweb, Technology

Ask LazyWeb: InDesign Experts Edition: Complex hyperlinks and exporting to PDF.

2013.05.01

Greetings, all!

I know that there might be one or two other InDesign experts out there reading this, and I figured that, instead of polling individually and perhaps missing other closet experts, I’d post here.

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Design, Lazyweb, Technology

Nifty command line tool of the day.

2013.04.02

I’m putting together a web site which needs to have a portfolio of images on it. I want to do the standard thing where you have a thumbnail, and then click for the full sized image. But creating thumbnails is a pain in the ass, so I was looking at ways to do it in bulk, or at least to script it.

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Technology

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Finger Bindings

2013.04.01

(No, this is not about some S&M practice you never knew I was into. Sorry. That’s a whole ‘nother blog. (KIDDING!) This is about typing. More specifically, this is about typing in text editors.) (Also, if you’re not a UNIX / vi geek, this whole post will probably mean nothing to you. You have been warned.)

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Technology

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Ask LazyWeb: WordPress to Google+ integration?

2013.03.21

Greetings, all,

I know there’s got to be a solution to my problem out there, and I know I have some WordPress geniuses reading this, so I figured I’d ask.

Whenever I post here on ESK, my posts are automatically posted to Facebook and LiveJournal. I would like to find something similar for Google+. (I’m still trying to get the hang of Google+, but it seems to be the platform of choice for some people I really like, so it’s probably worth the effort on my part.)

I have attempted to use WPGplus, without any luck. If it weren’t for the fact that I’ve seen random posts seeming to indicate that this is possible, I’d say it wasn’t, since I don’t think Google has exposed that in the API.

Thoughts?

Lazyweb, Technology

Ask LazyWeb: Post Google-Reader world?

2013.03.14

As you all know by now (because I’m always the last one to find out these things), Google Reader is going away. Now, I rarely use Reader directly, but all of the RSS clients I’ve used in the last couple of years have used Reader as their backends.

So now I ask you, dear Interwebs: What are you going to do after July 1st? How are you going to get your RSS fix? More importantly, how are you going to get your RSS fix across all of your devices without re-reading / re-marking articles?

My wishlist is pretty simple, I think: web interface, iDevice (iPhone, iPad) interface, ability to keep everything in sync.

It’s almost enough for me to want to set up my own RSS aggregator, which is just dumb. Save me from my own stupidity, please, and help me figure out a better solution.

Annoyances, Lazyweb, Technology