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11/27/11 - Continued

Still working on this completely new version of the site using Webplus X5. I still think it may be the best one!

11/9/11 - Complete conversion

Just working on a completely new version of the entire site using Webplus X5, it is awesome/easy/robust. Dreamweaver was overkill, the version I was using (v3) was a bit dated, and I needed a new version… so… investigated/tried many other tools, Webplus X5 seems to be the one. Also spend too much time review photo display managers/tools, ended up just using the one that came with Webplus, plus a few tweaks for pic frames, etc. Webplus seems to let you spend way more time with content, than with HTML tweaking (as was the case with Dreamweaver). Also, plan to get rid of my old host company (Aplus), they seem to be having real troubles with keeping state-of-the-art tools, and with some mobile site security, although their tech support is still indeed great (at least for me).

2/5/11 - Starting up again, again... and again

Wow, I did not realize it had been so long since an update. I got the web host updated (it almost expires :(). Now updating all the CSS. Look at switching web design software, but this Dreamweaver CS3 seems to work fine... will probably get CS5 for fun.

7/1/08 - Starting up again, again...

Not much time to do this web stuff with the soundproof window work going on (and, ok... yes, also some extreme Halo interference). Have had some significant page relation and Flash link problems (such as relative links). But, then Aplus.net (website server provider) tech support and Adobe user group came through taught me the errors of my ways (it seems to be working now). I anticipate things will go a lot smoother now (yeah, right).

7/1/08 - Starting up again...

It is hard to believe it has been a year since the last time I really worked on this. Back at it a bit now... still a lot to learn about Dreamweaver and CSS.

6/25/07 - Photo tools (still), also a quick/dirty version

Continued with photo tool investigation. Still like Picassa 2 a lot) for organizing and non-destructive editing. Now I just use it for exporting thumbnails, then put on web page myself so it is totally customized with CSS and Dreamweaver. I still like JAlbum, but not enough control, may go back to it later. I put some old photos of studio on the studio page. Need some newer ones. Also, did post a huge page of local photos on the Employees page.

6/25/07 - Photo tools

I finished researching photo library tools that export libraries to a webpage. There are a lot of them! The requirements were: 1) easy to use client side non-destructive editing features; 2) exports to html (not Flash); 3) shows thumbnails and a bigger picture on the same page; 4) allows users to click, see, and save the original sized photo so they can zoom in to see pieces of it, and so they can send it in to make a photo paper quality print; and 5) have a way for users to upload shared photos to the page. I decided on three tools pieced together, all were free. I do have the latest version of PhotoShop, but that is tedious and overkill for these requirements.

I chose Google Picassa2 for organizing and non-destructive editing that exports corrected (e.g. rotation, colororing, red eye repair, batch auto contrast and color, etc.) in the original photo size. I chose JAlbum "MoreSimple" "Black CSS" to create the webpages (it has many cool templates and links to thumbnails, bigger on same page, and original. Tech support at JAlbum had to send me an update of this template because it would not load. JAlbum has great/fast tech support, incredible for a free program!). Then, instead of using an online shared photo library, I decided to simply have people email me photos. That way, I can fix and sort them with others of the same time. If that becomes overwealming, I will go with an online shared library.

The process is: 1) use Picassa to put pictures into an album in the right order (independent of files dates, because some are scanned and so have the wrong file date), 2) fixe red eye, lighting, etc. with Picassa, 3) export "original size" "maximu quality" corrected image to new folder (doing that also saves with a new date so they are properly sorted in the next step), 4) Use JAlbum, or something, to create webpage.

6/16/07 - More website creation tools

It seems such a short time ago I began experimenting with Adobe (aka Macromedia) CS3 Design Premium (Photoshop, Illustrator, Dreamweaver, Flash, Fireworks, Bridge, Version Cue, etc.) products to create a web site. Until now, I was still on a big learning curve with Dreamweaver (DW) and CSS. To keep with what seems the current guidelines for webmasters, I still think DW/CSS is the way to go, without table or frames, and with Flash being used only sparingly for things that do not really add any value (e.g. they are just fun).

The DW forum is great for answering questions; there is a lot to learn from folks there. There is also somewhat of a learning with Version Cue (VC), but Bridge is very easy and very useful for organizing content. Both come with Adobe CS3. However, bridge is very buggy, it just exits on its own, but online updates seem to be getting better. On the other hand, VC is not intuitive at all, it is slow, and I believe I do not need it since I am the only webmaster of this site. Although VC does help with backups, I find that Genie-Soft Backup Manager is a better way to go for backups (I am a beta tester for them, they fix things when I suggest updates, so I cannot pass up using that one).

With CS3, I also have Photoshop and Illustrator, but those are overkill for my web needs, so I will simply use Fireworks for graphics. That is, I will use DW8, Bridge, Flash, Fireworks (graphics), and Genie-Soft. It is time to get to work with content.

5/19/07 - Website creation tools

Big learning curve for me with Dreamweaver (e.g. CSS, templates, tags such as Div, centering, pads, etc.), Spent a couple of hours at Adobe Dreamweaver forum, and that helped a LOT to fix some problems I was having. The most wasted time was finally figuring out div tags with a Margin 0 auto would center containers... I sure wasted a lot of time trying to figure that out. Decided follow all the current best practices and use only HTML with CSS. That is, will use (no tables, no Spry or Ajax, but will maybe use a few database things for passwords and counters, but that is it. Well, I will of course have to break the "do not use Flash" rule a bit for some occasional non-added-value animation since I did not want to make is so I wasted all that time learning Flash and making Flash movies. By the way, it sure helps to learn HTML and CSS by putting Dreamweaver in Split view to see both the HTML code and the WYSIWYG page. Lesson learned, should have listened to “DM's” advice a long time ago (e.g., I should have “bit the bullet” and bought a good Macromedia - now Adobe - application to do all this).

5/13/2007 - Did some work

Then, switched everything over to Adobe (CS3 Dreamweaver, Flash CS3, etc.). These are MUCH better to work with. I did spent too much time on the logo and buttons while learning CSS, Dreamweaver, etc. (new Flash does not have much of a learning curve compared to the old Flash).

12/30/2006 - Tools

Trying out several tools... currently settling on Web Easy Pro (even tried Power Point 2007... it won't open a link to a new instance, which to me is required. Flash would be great... but... don't have the time... Also, last night (and early this morning) wrote the background theme for this page... hope to get it on here soon.

2/28/2006 - A lot to do

Got a version of the web site working, still a lot to do. Also, working day and night to get the latest gear from Christmas set up in the studio. We finished a demo to try it all out. So far, so good. Thanks to all those who have help so far (and there have been a lot of you). By the way, I am using Aplus for web hosting. Although they cost a couple of buck more per month than some of the cheaper hosts, they are there 24/7 with online chat technical support that is awesome. I would rather pay the couple of extra bucks for real-time right-now technical support.

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