http://www.spoono.com/ News and updates about design and programming. en-us Copyright 2000- Spoono LLC http://backend.userland.com/rss webmaster@spoono.com webmaster@spoono.com 60 Dakota
But this post isn't about me, it's about you! We here at Spoono want to know your plans for the year, your goals, and your resolutions. Life truly is what you make it, with everyday we live we learn, and with every bit we learn, we grow.

So head over to the forums and tell us what you think of 2008; what do you see yourself doing this year!]]>Dakota
Happy Holidays!

With Love,
The Spoono Team]]>Dakota
Firstly be sure to check out the precision detail of these art pieces created from nothing more than paper thin, well, paper! The artist is Petter Callesen, and he is definitely worth a look.

When you're finished there prepare for the most detailed sculptures you may ever see in your life! Ron Mueck is a hyper-realist sculptor, and that's no exaggeration. Creepy, grotesque and beautiful. There is no doubt that you will be impressed.

If you're interested in seeing how Ron actually makes his work come to life, check out this video clip documenting each part of the journey.]]>Dakota
The Go MediaZine has quite a few fresh tutorials ranging from sports branding, ornate lettering, animating spray paint and even creating comic book style designs. Be sure to bookmark their site for future tips and tutorials from the experts at GoMedia. ]]>BrianSpoono Forums have returned to their former glory. Hopefully this time around, we will be able to protect against the problems the forums were riddled with in the past.

Another bright note for everything Spoono is that we have gotten some much needed help to run our web hosting operation. Going forward, Akash and I will be completely removed from everthing related to hosting. This should finally allow us to spend some of our free time on Spoono rather than managing hosting customers. It's a big relief, and we are looking forward to sprucing things up around here.]]>pixelbud
If you are like me, you enjoy some great tunes while working. Unfortunately, I can't have my entire iTunes library with me at work. Slacker is a great online radio service. To make it even better they have produced a portable player that will let you listen to the service anywhere, even without Internet access.

Another interesting prospect is the Sansa TakeTV Video Player. This device allows you to drop video files onto it and then plug it up to your TV. Then using its built in remote browse your files on the big screen.

The Apple Store for Mexico just recently launched. I believe they are giving away a free MacBook and iPod Nano a day. Its also cool to compare prices there vs. the states.

And speaking of Apple and the music industry, check out this great article from Mashable, Jermaine Dupri is a Corporate Tool. He is convinced that iTunes is the enemy, "All it’ll take is for Warner Music to say, 'You know what, I’m with you,' for us to shut ‘em down. No more iPods! They won’t have nothin’ to play on their players!" Right...

Tidbits & Lifehacks:
• Mac or PC? - Awesome music video.
• $85 in DC - Why didn't I think of this?
• Recover saved passwords - Firefox addon.
• foamee - owe someone a beer?

Tutorial & Article Resources:
• Sticky Tape Photoshop Brushes - Spoon Graphics
• Creating seamless patterns in Illustrator - Veerle's blog
• Illustrator pen tool exercises - Veerle's blog
• Creating a Leopard folder in Illustrator - Veerle's blog

Mac Apps & Addons:
• iChat Matte 2.2 - Tone down those ichat bubbles.
• Chax - Best ichat enhancer, now Leopard ready.

]]>pixelbudIQzone lets you do. Not only are they a classifieds site but they distribute your ad to other sites as well. Nicely done.

One of the most powerful articles that has changed my life to be more productive is from 43 Folders called Inbox Zero. It shows you how to get your Inbox to zero messages and keep it there. 37 Signals has also applied this to paper mail.

Qwizzy is a new web 2.0 site that allows you to have Q&A and FAQ threads to post on your blog or website. Also works with the major social sites. You can read my review here for more information.

Quick News at a Glance:
• Apple says ... iPhone ... Hack Away!
• Fox still loves iTunes. Bad NBC!
• Steve Jobs sick of the cellphone industry?

Tutorial & Article Resources:
• Photoshop Secret Shortcuts - WebDesignerWall

Tidbits & Lifehacks:
• iTunes everywhere with Amazon S3
• Download Full iTunes Artwork
• HOWTO: Rebate Whore.
]]>Brian
At one point, all of our servers were down, and several of them were completely wiped clean of all hosting files, including everything for Spoono and Spoono Host. Thankfully, we have backups taken on August 18 for all customer accounts that we have been able to restore. The majority of our client accounts are up and running. The main exception are the accounts on the Blueberry server. We have a DNS issue with this server that I do not believe can be resolved until our domain registration account with eNom is unfrozen. Due to the necessary staff not working weekends, we'll have to wait until Monday to get this resolved.

We greatly appreciate your business and will look to get all accounts restored as soon as possible.]]>Tiki
All you have to do is create a unit, with a short story or biography, with game-related stats, must accompany artwork (mandatory), describing the character and it's life in the StarCraft world.

You can find more information about the contest at the ArtCraft Contest #1: Unit Design thread.]]>pixelbudhistorical talk yesterday in an interview at All Things Digital. As well as an interview with Steve Jobs and the future of Apple.

Also in the Apple world, iTunes Plus (iTunes link) has been recently launched which is basically EMI's library of music DRM-free which means it can play on any AAC supported MP3 player and on an unlimited amount of computers. Finally. Apple TV is now playing YouTube videos which was announced yesterday at All Things Digital. Steve Jobs called Apple TV "a hobby" which to me means he is trying to build a new market as they did with personal media players (iPod). Which means even more good things to come.

Interesting new items with Google lately. Google Gears is an application that allows offline use of their web apps. They have also added facial recognition to their image search recently. Google Maps Street View and Mapplets is a detailed entry by Google Blogoscoped about the new features of Google maps: 360 degree street level views and and easier way to make "Google Maps mashups". And according to Gizmodo, Google Maps street view found E.T.

Tutorial & Article Resources:
• Where Our Standards Went Wrong - A List Apart.
• 9-5 Thing of the Past - excellent.
• 34 Places to Get Design Inspiration - well done.

Tidbits & Lifehacks:
• How to send email to a phone - nice reference.
• Top 15 Google Street View Sightings - fun times.
• FF Shortcut - retrieve closed tabs.
]]>TikiThe Armory is a new website dedicated to finding the best and latest information on Sc2. With a new community, much can happen. So why not help the Armory out by joining in on the fun! Starcraft II Armory]]>pixelbud
Thanks guys for an awesome 3 years!

And I look forward to many more to come.
]]>pixelbudGoogle Apps has matured recently and now is split into two categories. Google Apps, as it was, and now Google Apps Partner Edition The difference is it " lets ISPs, portals, and other service providers offer their subscribers powerful Google applications. "

Risk is for Losers is a good look at Google's new Universal Search, why they did it, how it will benefit, and why Microsoft buying Yahoo will be even better for Google. Google has also expanded even more with their Google Book Search. Now it indexes millions of books and divides it up into Full Text, Limited Text, and then if does not have content can show you where to buy or the local library of where you can check it out. Picasa has also recently updated allowing you to create nice little Flash slideshows to place on your blog or web site.

Tutorial & Article Resources:
• Pattern/silhouette - PS Tutorial

Tidbits and Lifehacks:
• 15 Coolest Firefox Tricks Ever - optimize baby!
• MacBook Mini 2008 - Ultra portable.
• Better Gmail - Firefox extension.
• gSpell ( Mac ) - Spell check with Google
• Remove - Your Phone Number from Google
• Wordpress theme generator
• The Geekster Moleskine - Portable HD]]>pixelbudsearch engine land has written an excellent, detailed article explaining the new changes and what is to come. Expect a blending of listings from news, video, images, local and book search engines, and more. The new version works for those using the English version of Google and then they will expand from there. For more search items to come head on over to Google Labs and check out Experimental search. The best keeps getting better.

Upon browsing the net this morning, I stumbled upon, Fonthead Design which looked vaguely familiar. Then I browsed to their Freeware Fonts section and realized, "Wow! I remember this. I used 'GoodDog Cool' back in 1999." Good times! So enjoy the free fonts from the early years of my web design career.

Web Design & Development Resources:
• Google Webmaster Central - Site status, sitemaps, blog + more.
• Google Code Search - public source code.
• Stockvault - Free stock photos.
• FlashVillage - Free flash templates.
• Urbanfonts - Free fonts.

Tidbits & Lifehacks:
• Google Extensions - For Firefox.
• Google Music Trends - GTalk User Music.
• GOOG411 - Free 411 from Google.
• Google Product Search - Goes Mobile.
• Google Trends - Popular searches.
• I Chat, Therefore I Am - Almost creepy.
]]>pixelbudT-Mobile is offering free messaging today as a way of helping everyone "stick together" on Mother's Day. Also, remember to say hi via Skype as well.

10 Totally Digital Mother's Day Gifts is a great article written by a friend of mine about last minute Mother's Day gift ideas. And when I mean last minute, I mean last minute. Happy Mother's Day everyone!

Tidbits and Lifehacks:
• menuism - find something to eat. web2.0 said so.
• MailTemplate ( Mac ) - Handy and productive.
• Delivery Status - Great widget for OSX.
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