Well here it is, the last day of 2007 and I thought it would be a good idea to write a post. Posts have been sparse over the holidays but that will hopefully be changing. Since stepping on this soapbox in June I have posted 43 times, although it doesn’t seem like it. It has been enjoyable sharing some of the things that I am passionate about or that interest me. It’s been a cathartic experience getting some of these things off my chest.

I want to thank the people that have stopped by to read my ramblings and I hope to see even more people happen by in the new year. I’m still finding my voice in this whole thing and I want for it to be interesting.

In 2008, there will be some changes here that I think will be good. First off, these pages will become the main entry for defycreative.com. I will be moving everything there and have defycreative.com/blog forward to that page for those that might have it bookmarked. I had always expected to have the main site be somewhat of a separate entity that directed visitors to all my endeavors but it just make sense to use WordPress to manage it all. Along with the move will be a redesign of the site. Yes, I’m making a lot of work for myself.

If that weren’t enough, THERE’S MORE! There will be more activity on the much neglected Defy Creative Showcase front. In addition, there are some other goodies that I’m not going to tell you about just yet. After all, I’ve got to keep you coming back for more.

JM

written by JM

I just want to take a minute and wish everyone a Merry Christmas…so there, Merry Christmas. Enjoy some time with your family, friends or all of the above. Most of all, let’s remember what this day is all about. God bless.

JM

written by JM

So recently I began working on a new 24″ iMac and it’s a beauty. Truly a mouth-watering machine. Not long after getting it I noticed an irregularity in the screen. Some quick tests confirmed that I had a gradient that went left to right, light to dark respectively. I hop on Apple’s forums to investigate further and sure enough, others were having the same issue.

After some soul-searching, I decided to let it go. I know, I know…how could a designer put up with such a problem. The fact is, when looking at an image of just about whatever, you can’t tell. Only solid colors. At least in my case. Now comes word that Apple has locked the discussion forum about this particular issue. Shame shame Apple. This is not the first time that something like this has been done, but it still stinks. As far as I know they haven’t responded in any way to the issue other than this.

I don’t buy into the argument that the iMac is a consumer machine. At one time, yes, it certainly was. Now, iMacs are as capable at doing the heavy lifting of print publishing and even some video work as a traditional “workstation”. If something is wrong, it’s wrong regardless of how a product is positioned in the marketplace.

I love Apple products and will continue to, but this is just sad. Shutting up faithful customers will not be a lasting solution to any problem.

JM

written by JM

Heh, this is great. NBC is now providing their programming to SanDisk Corp, via their Fanfare service. NBC, USA, and Bravo programming will be available in January. It seems that NBC is willing to release content to anyone who will take it as long as it’s not Apple. Mind you none of the other “services” allows you to do anything much with this content outside of your computer. Those that do offer an experience that no one would want I would imagine.

JM

written by JM

It’s early. As I write this, it’s 3:28 am. Oh, 3:29. I know not why I am not staring at the back of my eyelids. Oh how I wish I were.

So, after saying a prayer (waking up for no apparent reason just might be God’s way of saying, “Hey, talk to me.”) and being fully awake at this point, I began to surf the internets. Hitting my usual sites of interest, I found myself at Apple’s movie trailer page…I know, big surprise. There I see the “poster” for a new film called Purple Violets.

Purple Violets is from actor/director Edward Burns and marks a first for iTunes and even the movie industry. It is the first feature film with a real budget and REAL actors that is premiering exclusively in iTunes. This I have to say is very cool. I expect that after some time the film will be found in limited release on the big screen. For now however, something different is being tried.

This could be a new way to build a buzz for a smaller independent film that most people might not have come across their radar. It could be a test for a new distribution model. It could be a message to the movie studios that “Filmmakers don’t need you to release their films”. Finally, it could be all three.

It really seems like the perfect kind of film for this kind of experiment. It is a character-driven story and not a special effects extravaganza that would require a big screen to get the full effect. Likely this movie will be consumed on a computer desktop, iPod/iPhone, or for some on their TV. Until HD quality is available to the masses for download, this is likely the kind of movie that would get this treatment.

I haven’t seen the movie yet. I plan on checking it out if for no other reason than to support a new way of doing things in the movie industry. Hopefully we’ll see more of this kind of thing in the future.

JM

written by JM