Monthly Archives: May 2007
A Green(er) Apple
May 31st, 2007 by Kelly Guimont
As Amanda blogged last month, Apple didn’t do so hot in a report (pdf download) put out by Greenpeace ranking electronics companies on their “green”ness.
Well recently Steve replied to some of the charges against Apple by “some environmental organizations”. I know there is probably a certain amount of spin in this article, but if the facts are what he says they are, it sounds like Greenpeace some environmental organizations were looking for ways to harsh on Apple.
I thought it was interesting to read this article, but more importantly, this is the second time some sort of letter/announcement/statement from His Steveness has been posted on Apple’s site and I’m not entirely convinced that Hot News is the place to put it. Why not give him his own place to put rantings and such? CEOs from other companies are bloggers too so why not give Steve his own blog?
And while you’re at it, acknowledge the Apple Fanboys/girls at the same time. Call it The Stevenote.
Adobe Creative License Conference Tour
May 30th, 2007 by Jim Kidwell
There are six remaining stops on the Adobe Creative License tour, with the next one happening at the Adobe mothership in San Jose this Thursday.
In addition to the slew of information about CS3, Adobe has added a number of cool freebies that you get for attending the conference.
- A free 1-month subscription to Lynda.com training
- $200 off admission to the Adobe MAX conference in September
- $400 worth of onOne software
Sounds like they’re also giving away some other prizes at the event, but I’m not privy to the full details (some premium-level CS3 licenses perhaps? Oh, if only we were so lucky.)
Adobe is also hosting a number of lunchtime roundtable discussions on topics of “special interest.” As I understand, these topics can be anything of your choosing, so if you have a topic that you’d like to submit for consideration, shoot off an email to kmcnamar@adobe.com with the details with your ideas.
Here’s a quick list of the remaining dates.
Two-day Conferences
- Los Angeles, Renaissance Hollywood Hotel, June 19-20, 2007
- New York, The Waldorf-Astoria, June 25-26, 2007
One-Day Conferences
- San Jose, Adobe Corporate Headquarters, May 31, 2007
- Toronto, The Carlu, June 4, 2007
- Boston, Hynes Convention Center, June 12, 2007
- Seattle, Adobe Systems Incorporated, June 14, 2007
For registration, more info and such, check out the following:
http://www.adobecs3conference.com
The agency I most want to meet (this week)
May 29th, 2007 by Amanda Paull
No suspense here. It’s Dresser Johnson. I was introduced to them about 2 years ago thru the ‘car art’ of Kevin Dresser, one of the partners. Then it seemed like they started popping up everywhere.
First- they were recognized for designing the hand-style typeface for Typecon 2005. Earlier this year there was that feature article in HOW’s Typography Issue. But mostly what intrigues me is the work itself- oh, and the bunny cam (you just have to see it for yourself.) Their typography work extends into every possible industry. (personally, I love the Radio City Music Hall sample).
Got a favorite firm (today)? Tell me. If I connect with them, I’ll send you a Brooklyn Bunny T. Yes, for real.
20 questions with Doug Henderson
May 25th, 2007 by Jim Kidwell
Doug Henderson is the resident code slinger for our website, Extensis.com.
In an effort to breathe some new life into our standard “20 questions” feature, I asked Doug to formulate his own questions & answers. And while he didn’t necessarily embellish the answers to some of his own questions, you’ll definitely get to know Doug from the questions that he asks himself.
- Has your favorite color ever changed?
No. It has always been a blue-purple. - Can you learn anything from staring at eggplant?
Not so far, but i won’t be discouraged from this daily vigil. - Which character in a TV show would you like to play and why?
Ninja Warrior is my favorite new show. 100 contestants try to prove themselves on a physical challenge obstacle course. It looks like fun. - Do you have any major or minor claim to fame?
I have a minor claim to fame in that I co-founded the Hair of the Dog Brewing Company after home-brewing for about 15 years. I was also a beer judge during this time. - Can you debunk any myths?
No, sadly not. I leave that to the professionals. - Why are so many people upset at Pluto being ousted?
I think it must have to do with memorizing the planets and how unsettling new information is to people. - Who’s the most famous person(s) you have ever met? (limit 3 per customer).
I met Donald Knuth at Stanford University and ended up working on a font project with him. I met Edward Teller (father of the atomic bomb) while driving the VIP shuttle in Berkeley. And, I met Carlos Santana backstage at the Greek Theatre in Berkeley (i drove his band members to the theatre). - You gonna eat that? (favorite sin food).
Yes. It used to be Top Ramen and now it is Cheetos. - Your favorite dish to cook?
Has to be either BBQ ribs or matzo ball soup. - Why aren’t you reading more?
It’s a time thing, though i did just finish a multi-volume series by Robert Jordan (The Wheel of Time). - What’s the best foriegn film you have seen lately?
Les Choristes (2004) was great. - What do you consider courageous behavior?
When someone reaches far outside their comfort zone to speak up against injustice or hatred. - Do you have any non-dirty jokes to share with us?
No, unless there is drinking involved and then it becomes a sliding scale. - Will it rain tomorrow?
No. - Have you ever lived alone?
No. Home, college, with roommates and then with my wife and kids. - Do you snore?
How would you know (you were asleep at the time)? I used to. Then I stopped. But my wife would tell me that I did. - Cat or dog person?
Dog person, although currently we have only a cat. - Your favorite website?
Hmm, either boingboing.net or http://www.homestarrunner.com/sbemail.html (strong bad’s email).
Sobering is truthout.org - Did you ever wish you were an astronaut?
Nope. - Do you play any musical instruments? (air-guitar doesn’t count).
No, only a small amount of drumming with a large amount of beer.
Suitcase Fusion tutorial videos – Managing system fonts & Cleaning up your font library
May 24th, 2007 by Jim Kidwell
It’s time for the next two installments In our continuing Suitcase Fusion tutorial series. These next two videos deal with two very important issues in font management – managing system fonts, and how to cleaning up your dusty old font library.
Suitcase Fusion Tutorial #5
Managing system fonts
Suitcase Fusion Tutorial #6
Cleaning up your font library with Font Doctor
Click here to download the Font Management in Mac OS X Best Practices Guide PDF mentioned in Tutorial #6.
Font Managment Best Practices at the InDesign Conference in NYC
May 24th, 2007 by Jim Kidwell
During the first week of June, Extensis Systems Engineer, Randolph Hernandez will be presenting a seminar on Font Management Best Practices in Mac OS X at the Adobe InDesign Conference in New York City.
If you’d like to attend the conference, we’re able to pass on a discount code that will get you $100 off a two-day, three-day or platinum level conference pass. When registering, use the discount code: EXT07ID to apply the discount.
The conference is from June 4-7 at the Fashion Institute of Technology. Randolph will present the Best Practices session on June 5th from 8:30-9:00 in the Conference Center.
For complete details and registration information, check out the conference site. Hope to see you there!
Working at Extensis – new opening
May 23rd, 2007 by Jim Kidwell
Extensis is a great place to work. We’re a fairly small company with a stable crew of people who like to have fun while we get the job done. To help keep our crew of wily engineers, marketing folk and salespeople in check, we have a great finance team.
Right now, we’re looking for a Senior Accountant to join that team. If you’re interested in the position, check out the full job description on our site.
National Design Awards- no big surprises
May 23rd, 2007 by Amanda Paull
I always enjoy seeing what ‘professionals’ think is good design. It also introduces me to up-and-coming stars in their space that I’ve never heard of.
The Nation Design Awards come from a rather credible source- the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum (somehow connected to the Smithsonian). Admittedly, some of these winners are too predictable. Case in point: VP of the design team at Apple, Jonathan Ive, won in the product design category. Culture-defining work, to be sure, but hardly a shocking win. Adobe Systems won for Corporate Achievement, presumably linked to the CS3 launch. (Note: the site also shows their HQ building with the semaphore art.)
But I’ve mentioned the product design (and marketing) for Method products in the past. And I am pleased to see that the designer for their packaging, Karim Rashid, is a finalist in that same product design category. Give them a look.
Win a Free Full Pass to the 2007 HOW Design Conference
May 22nd, 2007 by Jim Kidwell
That’s right, we’re giving away a full pass to the 2007 HOW Design Conference (a $995 value!) to a lucky winner. All that you’ve got to do is answer the following question:
“Why should I get a free full pass to the HOW Design Conference?”
Since this is a highly creative conference, we’ll be judging entries based on their creativity and the originality. Your entry can be basically anything creative and digital – a sonnet, video, audio, poster design, business card, custom font, PDF, etc.
The following prizes will be awarded to the top winners:
1st Prize
One Full Pass to the 2007 How Design Conference.
2nd Prize
One copy of Extensis Portfolio 8
3rd Prize
Extensis T-Shirt and Journal
To enter the contest:
Shoot us an email containing your entry to blog (at) extensis (dot) com.
Please feel free to attach your creative content. If your creative entry is placed online, for example as a YouTube video or custom website, this is acceptable, yet we must be notified of your entry via email for your entry to be considered valid.
Contest Entry Deadline – May 29th, 2007
This is a short and sweet contest. We want to make sure that the winner has time to make travel arrangements if necessary.
Note: Conference pass winner is responsible for all transportation to and from the event as well as lodging and other expenses while attending the event.
Extensis releases Adobe CS3 plug-ins and software update
May 22nd, 2007 by Jim Kidwell
Today we released free plug-ins for Suitcase Fusion and a free update for Suitcase for Windows that provide the world’s most advanced font activation and deactivation for Adobe® Creative Suite® 3 documents. I’m happy to say that we’re first font management company to release plug-ins designed for and tested on Adobe Creative Suite 3.
The Suitcase Fusion plug-in ensures that any time users open an Adobe Illustrator® CS3 project; the exact fonts are automatically and accurately activated or deactivated. The Suitcase for Windows product update works with both Adobe Illustrator and Adobe InDesign® CS3 applications. These auto-activation plug-ins utilize our patented Font Sense™ auto-activation technology, allowing you to work fluidly with fonts in CS applications across platforms, and eliminate potential font problems before they occur.
The free plug-in and update are available now for download from the Extensis website and support the Suitcase Fusion and Suitcase for Windows products.
Suitcase Fusion Plug-in
http://www.extensis.com/en/support/product_support.jsp?id=100026
Suitcase for Windows Update
http://www.extensis.com/en/support/product_support.jsp?id=300005
Currently, the plug-in and update are English language only. We will release French, German and Japanese downloads soon after Adobe Creative Suite 3 is available in these languages. Additional free plug-ins for other products in the Extensis font management family for both Illustrator CS3 and InDesign CS3 software will be released in the near future.
