My New Job Requires me to Learn More About Photoshop

Recently I started working for a company which requires me to use Photoshop.  Thanks for my time at ECPI University learning how to edit in Photoshop and using Photoshop on my own time, I was more than qualified to perform my current job’s tasks.

                 Photoshop Creative Suite 6

Photoshop CS 6 is the current version of of the Adobe Creative Suite (“CS” stands for “Creative Suite” in case anyone is wondering) series.  Often I find that companies I try to get a job at or colleges like ECPI University are using the current versions or at least a version close to the current version of Photoshop CS6.  Coming from a Computer Information Science major I had to learn Photoshop in order to pass my graphic and web development classes.  Photoshop is a powerful image editing software I have come to love over the years.

I have used it for cropping out images in a magazine and transferring those images to a website’s layout , making dark pictures lighter, and creating and coloring cartoon characters for a client or for myself.  For those that already have Photoshop CS5, I understand not willing to upgrade to the current version of Photoshop CS as there are only a few differences such as a nice black interface,  the ability to search layers, and some improved tweaks to some tools (like the crop tool).  You can also click here for more discussions on the improvements of Photoshop Creative Suite 6 over previous versions.

I admire people who can learn Photoshop CS6 on their own but I needed some assistance to make the software less intimidating   I learned to be comfortable with Photoshop in general through Photoshop Creative Suite 6 Classroom in a Book.  Without that book I would be lost.  Please click here for more information on the book.

My Website: Of Electronics and Software

Hello everyone.

Sorry for the absence   Apparently Google's automatic spam detectors thought that my blog was a spam blog.  I am happy to have this blog again and to tell everyone that I now have a website.  So if this blog goes down again, you will know that you can find me on http://ofelectronicsandsoftware.com/ , my website.

My website is about my expirences with various electronics and software such as laptops, Apple products (like ipod touches), and apps.  As for this very blog, I will keep this blog and try my best to keep the blog more focused on electronics or software.  There will be no more reviews on books and video games.  For the video games, there is one of my other websites http://ofanimeandvideogames.com/ .  I review video games, anime, and manga on that website.

My Electronics and Software website

My Anime and Video Games website

How to Make, Market and Sell Ebooks All for Free by Jason Matthews

As a little girl I used to dream about seeing my novels in a bookstore. As I got older, I wondered what was my chances of having my books appear on a store's bookshelf? What was the odds of my manuscript never getting approved by any of the publishing houses I sent my manuscript to? Will I get enough rejection letters to cover up the walls in my room? I know getting manuscripts approved these days is a nerve wracking task that takes a lot of time, perseverance, and effort.

With the help of the Kindle, Ipad, and other mobile devices, making and selling ebooks has become a lot more appealing. Future independent authors such as myself do not have to go through publishing houses, waste a ton of paper, or try advertising my book to deaf ears in a bookstore. How to Make, Market and Sell Ebooks All for Free by Jason Matthews is an absolute guide for authors who want to go the electronic route

I like how Matthews explains the struggles he had trying to sell his printed novels in stores, getting rejected by publishers and agencies, spending a ton of money on TV adds; only to get no profit back. The indie author explains that marketing electronic books is a whole lot cheaper than trying to get a book in a bookstore. All of his tips are thoroughly explained step by step and nicely organized with bold letters here and there to emphasize the importance of some resources.

Matthews also stresses the importance of organization and suggests that the reader types down the various websites, editing software, website creation tools, and other resources listed through out the book. Since I have not finished writing my first ebook, a few of the sections have not applied to me yet. Jason does suggest that his book should be read first and followed step by step later, or the reader can read his book one step at a time at his or her own pace.

So far I have become more organized and motivated to finish my ebook. In a few weeks from now I will have my website and blogger for my future ebooks ready (the link will be posted here).

Games for Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day everyone. I wanted to suggest two games for people to play on Valentine's Day; rather alone or with their special someone.

Number one on my list is The Sims 3.

The Sims 3 has always been about imagination and filling fantasies: creating dream houses, perfect families, and even obtaining a job for a while without the threats of being laid off. A player can also create their ideas of a dream girl or guy or even recreate their special loved one in the Sims. Of course life in the Sims is not entirely realistic (with vampires and ghosts running around). With the expansions packs the player can have their sims go to night clubs in The Sims 3 Late Night , mix love potions in Sims 3 Supernatural, and give birth to an alien baby in Sims 3 Seasons if the player's sim is male.

The second game on my list is Catherine for the Playstation 3 and Xbox 360.

In this game the main character Vincent is stuck in a bind with two women in his life: his long term serious girlfriend Katherine who is talking about marriage and a younger, carefree, loose woman named Catherine whom he had an affair with. While having to deal with the fact he had an affair, at night time Vincent has nightmares where he must solve puzzles by pushing blocks in order to reach an escape or else he will end up dead in real life. This game is not only creative but also a perfect game to get a little insight as to how your loved one thinks. Will your love one pick the serious Katherine or the loose Catherine? What answers will your loved one pick when him or her is faced with questions about love, dating, or life in general? Couples can also spend time taking turns on the puzzles or giving advice on how to finish each puzzle. There is a two player mode available upon completing game where a couple can either work together or against each other.

If one player games does not sound appealing then there is always the Xbox 360 Kinect where there is a plethura of games couples can play together such as Kinect Sports

The One Book Which Started it All

On my last post, I said that Barnes N' Nobel barely had the books I wanted. The one that started my obsession for buying books online was the Indie Game Development Survival Guide by Charles River Media Game Development.

I want to become an indie game developer someday and how the path to becoming one is difficult or daunting to most people. I felt this book was necessary as a guide for any serious indie game developer to read at least once or twice in their lives. The book helped me understand the passion I needed, the attitudes of most (not all) indie game developers, what software I could use, how to make a game design document, funding, and how to work with people on my team. Of course I am alone when making games so not all the chapters, such as the one on teamwork, in the book applied to me. I found myself skimming through the teamwork chapter due to its long length but others might read that chapter with more attention. After reading this book I felt like had a clearer understanding of how to go about planing the development for my games, advertising, and finally making my games for people to play.

I brought this book a long time ago when the book was only 40 dollars. The book is so popular that the price keeps rising and I do not remember ever seeing this book in a store. Those who really want to make video games on their own should buy this book while it is available on Amazon and not priced at one thousand dollars because the price keeps rising.

The Online Obsessed Introduction

Hello everyone and welcome to TheOnlineObsessed. Throughout the years I have come to love shopping online. I have to give many thanks to Barnes N' Noble for not having any of the books I wanted, the rude people who I have bumped into in crowded stores, and the customers who loved holding the line up by grabbing an item with no tag. Now I do not hate people; I just prefer to spend my time off the computer, hanging out with friends or working in an office. I also do not buy everything online. You will not see me ordering food, clothes, or drinks from an online store. The things you will see posted on this blog are things that I have brought such as books (mainly how to books), video games, and some electronics.

One such electronic I brought from amazon almost one year ago was the pink ASUS laptop I am typing on right now. For anyone who is curious as to what this laptop looks like, the image is right below this paragraph. I love the pink, the material, the large amount of gigs I have, and the smooth keyboard. This laptop was a nice replacement for an old TOSHIBA laptop. At the time I brought the pink ASUS laptop the thing was 600 dollars and now the price is much lower on Amazon. People who are looking for a new laptop and happen to love the color pink would love to buy this laptop. If they don't love pink then the laptop is also comes in blue, green, yellow, red, black, and white.