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Author Topic: Random musings.
LDWriter2
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Man I think you have more problems than most people with the internet. My wife is almost as bad. She has more problems in a week than I do in a six month. And she doesn't have iTunes or AOL.

If you have a back up device-flash drive, Disk, hard drive-try writing directly to the device.

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babooher
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Robert, have you thought about using Google Docs (or Drive) as a place to store writings while you're working out hardware problems? Security to me means diversity. I save on hard drive, flash, and in the cloud.
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Robert Nowall
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I've got my documents file backed up onto an HP 32GB flash drive right now...near as I can tell, the documents stayed on my computer despite it all, but I've been too busy fiddling with my computer to access them. (My iTunes is backed up on first-of-the-year DVD disks. Also an iPod, but I don't know if you can reverse the flow of info with that.)

(Downloading also involved a lot of stuff I really didn't need, but haven't had time to "thin out" and delete. Took about an hour and a half.)

I thought there was an issue about ownership of what you store with the Cloud and Google Docs...we were discussing it awhile back somewhere round here, but I may have misremembered matters.

Right now I'm using AOL 9.0...I was using 9.6, and liked that (especially its ability to open multiple sites in one browser), but that disappeared and seems to be no longer available...I downloaded 10.1, but that has a lot of pecularities I haven't yet worked through. There's a 9.7 that does seem to be available, and I may grab that---sometime soon.

I'm thinking of getting a laptop and writing with that...but I like my ergonomic keyboard and don't know if I can get one with a laptop...anybody know the answer to that?

Alas, the rest of my life intrudes, even if I am on a three-week vacation. I've got to get ready to go out and weedwhack and mow the lawn...I hope I don't have as much trouble with that as I have with my computer...

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LDWriter2
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Good you had things backed up.

But doesn't AOL have tech support?

As to the keyboard I think I've heard you can, or be able to use a different keyboard. That would be a little hard if you have to take it places but that could be worked out.

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Robert Nowall
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I queried AOL about a couple things but have yet to hear back---at this point, I keep it 'cause of my established online identity and e-mail address.

I think I'm gonna get that replacement computer tower after all, maybe later today. Too many freezeups, too many sites that won't load properly...me with no idea what to do to correct it...best to start over, I think. Big inconvenience...and the hardware itself is about, oh, seven years old and I've replaced all the peripheral equipment along the way. So what if it's somewhat obsolete in these latter days.

See y'all on the other side---through my dinky Nook Color, if nothing else.

*****

Actually, I've long thought of getting a laptop in addition to my regular computer---I can afford both, and, way back when I worked on a little portable one-lung word processor, I could lay down and type on it in bed---if I went for a laptop, I can do that, which might improve my word output, maybe.

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LDWriter2
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If you can afford the laptop think about a iPad with a keyboard.
I know someone with both and last time he said anything he loves it, even takes it with him to writing meetings. It's a cordless keyboard as I recall and you can get a stand to hold the iPad. Of course that might be hard while laying in bed [Big Grin] but still something to think about.


BTW I can't do that, I move around too much. I read on the bed but I end up on my back holding the book up, kinda hard to do that with a laptop. [Smile]

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Robert Nowall
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Well, I did it. Bought a new computer. Plugged in all my old stuff, and went from there. I'm still feeling my way through the new stuff and the new layouts---I guess I'll have to download a proper AOL program again, too, 'cause I haven't yet found one on the computer---but I made it here, at least for right now, and was able to log in and type this out. Further details as they emerge.
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Robert Nowall
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One thing I can't find on the screen---the off-switch. Ah, well...I know where the computer keeps its power cord...
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Robert Nowall
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Found the off-switch...but my computer does not seem to have the Microsoft Works word processing program my files were all done in. So I'm done in till I can see what I can download.

Some of you guys have said, off and on, a lot of harsh things about Works. (I thought of several when I realized it wasn't there.) Any more opinions? Alternatives?

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Grumpy old guy
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Robert, try Open Office, it'll read and save in most file formats--even Apple, or is that Mac?

Phil.

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Robert Nowall
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Trying to figure out which new program handles word processing has eluded me. Word? Excel? Office? Something else? Or is it some word processing program bundled with one or all of 'em?

A brief foray to check out what was in an office supply store was somewhat alarming. I guess these days you don't by a box with the disks in it...you just buy a card with numbers on it and then download it at home. Well, I figure I'd just do it directly, if at all...

Worse comes to worse, I'll find a space for my old computer and just use that...but I'd rather much use this one...

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rcmann
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You have an almost dizzying array of word processing choices. I recommend getting several and trying them all, until you find one that you like.

Microsoft works is, or was, essentially a stripped down version of Microsoft Office. It was designed for systems that had limited resources and/or users who had limited budgets. Microsoft Office will do everything that Works would do and a hell of a lot more besides. Perhaps too much more. Microsoft Office is THE industry standard for office software, in just about every industry in the world. MS Word is the word processing program, but it's all a bundled package.

You can purchase the latest version if you want. I personally have a copy of Office 2003 that my daughter gave me (she upgraded and a got the leftovers). It reads every file format I have tried, with no problems at all. You can find copies online, or in thrift stores/flea markets/etc. for fairly cheap. Or comparatively cheap anyway.

There are two open source alternatives that are both very popular. The original one is Open Office. It was started by Sun Microsystems several years ago as a deliberate smack in the face at Microsoft. They wanted to produce an office suite that would do everything MS Office would do, and offer it for free. Simple inter-company command attack. The results were less than stellar, but it worked.

Eventually Star put their office suite on the internet as an open source project. Open source means that anyone in the world who wants to can tinker with the source code and make modifications. There is no proprietary barriers. It is free software in the truest sense. Not only can you use it any way you please, you can re-write it, re-package it, re-name it, or whatever the hell you want as long as you provide proper documentation of where it came from and include reference to all the people who came before you in the project. In principle it's kind of like posting fan fiction to a free site and turning the crowd loose with it.

Anyway, Sun Microsystem's office suite became Open Office. Open Office took off like a rocket. partly because every hacker on earth relished the challenge (ok, not every hacker, but thousands of them), and partly because a lot of major corporations liked the idea of getting a fully functional office suite for free, instead of paying Microsoft millions of dollars everything they had to upgrade.

Eventually the project split, due to arguments over project management style.

Now there are two major branches. One is the original Open Office. The other is called LibreOffice.

At the moment, LibreOffice is getting the most attention and the biggest donations because it had drawn the hi-powered talent away from Open Office. It upgrades frequently.

Open Office recently received a major donation from IBM in the form of its own office suite, which is being integrated directly into Open Office.

Thing is, both OpenOffice and LibreOffice use each other's files, and trade information back and forth. best option if to pick one and ride with it. OpenOffice is more stable, LibreOffice is more current.

Another Word Processing option that I like is called RoughDraft. It's a pure word processor, designed by a writer for writers to use. It lacks many bells and whistles, and it only saves in txt or RTF formats. But it offers other advantages that I personally like.

Beyond that point, god help you. There are hundreds of them out there. All free. Google and dive in.

Two other programs deserve mention. One is called Scrivener, and it's designed to expedite the organization and composition of novels and screenplays. It's cheap, and its available for both Windows and Mac. Another one is yWriter5, it does the same thing that Scrivener does, and it's free. You might want to look at them. Despite advertising, neither of them are worth a fart in a windstorm when it comes to word processing, but they are both useful if you are the kind of person who likes to have help keeping their thoughts organized. I don't use them. I prefer the cluttered shoebox method. But to each their own.

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Robert Nowall
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Thanks for the concrete information, rcmann...one of my main concerns is the ability to open and work with the files I've created already. (Tried opening what I've got on WordPad and NotePad---no good at all.) Probably I'll go with familiarity and the current Office program.

(Also I miss Microsoft Works Calendar---I print up a page with a month on it and note my literary activities as I go along. If I can do that with something on this computer, I haven't yet figured it out.)

(Also also...I bought a "Windows 8 For Dummies" book yesterday, but haven't yet thumbed through it. I downloaded an AOL program to function here...but I don't want to mess up my computer with too much clutter. It's working so fast and so well right now...)

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rcmann
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MS Office has a calender. Somewhere. Older versions had something called Outlook. What they call it these days is beyond me.
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Robert Nowall
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Well, I went with familiarity, and bought and downloaded Microsoft Office (Home and Business), which has Word, which can open my old programs so far.

One thing, too: Now I know why the computer was relatively cheap compared to my previous computers---nothing is loaded on it. I had to put AOL on it, as well as Office. I'll have to put any games I want (like Solitaire) on it, as well as iTunes when I get around to it.

Ah, I remember when I bought my first computer...I went out pricing word-processing programs, not realizing for a couple days that they were already on my computer. Now the exact reverse is true---I expected them to be on it and they weren't.

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LDWriter2
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Here's an interesting question from Google+

AmyBeth InvernessMay 10, 2013 - Discussion
SciFi Question of the Day: Which JJ Abrams production could be improved by replacing the entire cast with the characters from Peanuts (AKA Charlie Brown and Snoopy) and who would play which parts?

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Robert Nowall
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Here's something---not about my computer problems---but odd enough in itself.

I've got a quirky memory that plays tricks on me. The other night, in one of those before-I-fall-asleep moments, I was thinking about my current story, and I remembered I had sent a story out just a few weeks ago. You guys might remember me agonizing about it here and there, how I was held up for a long time by not coming up with some lyrics for a song in it, that I'd been working on one version or another of it for some ten to fifteen years.

Well, I remembered the story, and that I'd submitted it---but, for the life of me, I couldn't remember its title or what it was about. Odd, huh?

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LDWriter2
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I've have similar memory problems.

Just the other day I completely forgot that I sent a story to DailySF. I sent a new one and the next day received a rejection. I thought boy that was very quick but it turned out to be for a different story. Once I sent in a while back. Somehow I forgot to list it in my files.


And a month or five weeks ago I could not recall which story I sent in for Q1 at WotF. Not the title, nor what it was about. The only reason I remembered the writer was because it was me.

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LDWriter2
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I could use some info and decided to place the request here since hopefully it will only a take a post or three.


Does anyone know a good solid African last name? Maybe from one of the nations you don't hear about much.

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Rolag
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LDWriter2 wrote
SciFi Question of the Day: Which JJ Abrams production could be improved by replacing the entire cast with the characters from Peanuts (AKA Charlie Brown and Snoopy) and who would play which parts?

I haven't seen all his work. How about Super 8?

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Robert Nowall
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Re: African last names. I checked out http://namesite.com/ which seems to have a selection, organized by ethnicity, country, or the alphabet.
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LDWriter2
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quote:
Originally posted by Robert Nowall:
Re: African last names. I checked out http://namesite.com/ which seems to have a selection, organized by ethnicity, country, or the alphabet.

Thanks, I saved the link, but I didn't find a way to see if a name is first or last.
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Rolag
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LDWriter2: Re African last names, how about Effanga or Akingbola? Saw them in the credits of a TV show.
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LDWriter2
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Finally remembered to respond.

The names sound good to me --you know what country they are from?

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KellyTharp
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LD - I just googled baby names african and this is just one of the web sites. Lots and lots of names here - boys and girls. Have fun. KT

http://www.babynames.com/african-baby-names.php

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Rolag
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LDWriter2, ref African names - I think Effanga and Akingbola are both Nigerian names.
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Badger
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LDWriter2: I'd recommend just picking a suitably lesser-known African country and then googling their football (i.e. Soccer team.)

For example, here's the Benin team:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benin_national_football_team

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LDWriter2
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Just spent half an hour or so on my Nook even though it wasn't planned. There is a Reader thread here somewhere but I don't want to spend the time looking for it.


Anyway, I wanted to upload--or is that share--Dr. Bob's book he was kind enough to send me. I used a magic trick and transformed into a PDF file and wanted to see how it worked on the Nook. To do that I have to hook my Nook to my computer. (Hmmm, maybe not but more on that in a minute). So everything went fine but it didn't show up on my "shelves" So I turned off the Nook, waited a few second turned it back on. Still not in the right place...other PDF files just showed up there. So I went looking for it, while looking I found two other files I had forgotten I had. One was a E-book written by someone here. I was suppose to read it and make a review, I forgot but I wouldn't have been able to find it anyway. Now it's on my shelf. '

I also found an E-mail app. I had planned on getting one they suggested, but I can't remember actually doing it but there was one. Wow, so I spent some time setting up two of my E-mail accounts. Now is when I explain the comment about more on that in a minute. Just thought, if I can read and send E-mail I should be able to download files from said E-mail. I need to experiment with that and see if it works and how it works if it does.

Oh, I found Dr. Bob's novel and placed it on one of my shelves. I can open it even though instead of scrolling sideways I have to go up and down. And I have enlarge the print too. So I can read his novel even though not quite as easily as with the usual novel files.

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Robert Nowall
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I found I liked looking at Internet Fan Fiction---my own and others---on my Nook Color. But the main site I looked at is now dead and gone (after about fifteen years of furious activity), and, though they're available elsewhere online, I haven't gotten them.

I wouldn't mind having my own literary efforts (fanfic and regular) directly on my Nook Color without having to go online through it, but, as you might gather from my recent posts about my computer problems...I don't have the slightest idea of how to go about it.

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rcmann
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There are programs available, free, that will let you duplicate a web page onto your hard drive. They are almost all designed to be idiot-proof.

I will refrain from offering suggestions or pointing you to any specifics. Sometimes it is legal to do this, sometimes it is not. Again, I refrain from commenting further.

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LDWriter2
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While writing a story I realized something I didn't know-not about writing in this case. Did the space shuttle have any designations? I mean a name or number for the whole group. Something like the Starhawks or P-51 mark threes.

There was a new shuttle they were testing--they almost made it into construction, as far as I could tell they only needed a test flight in space but they canceled it before that. It had a number, I forget what is was at the moment even though I still have pictures of its first atmospheric flights but I would have to find them. You could say there goes a P-*** shuttle or maybe even a mini shuttle. But as far as I can ever recall hearing there was nothing for The Space Shuttle.

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Robert Nowall
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Space Transportation System, or STS for short. Individual flights had their own numbers---STS-1, STS-2, and so on---and not always in sequence.
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LDWriter2
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Thanks,


But does that mean some time in the next fifty to a hundred years looks out a porthole and says "Hey, that's a mock up of an original STS?"
Or "Space holes, after that resurgence of the STS design every ship out there looks like one."

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kmsf
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Would it be cool to have your character wonder aloud with a companion? Still remember watching it piggy-backing on a 747 over the pool on a summer day in Fairfax, VA. 1978. I'll never forget the thought that, "Thank God we can still do *something* right in this country." A nice shot in the arm for the country IMHO.

I can confirm the missions were designated as Robert described. Not sure of the designation of individual shuttles, though.

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LDWriter2
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We've a couple of right thing since, not as many as we used to but still some.


Anyway, I'm working on learning how to Indie publish. Some people say it's easy but so far they seem to be hiding the instructions from me.

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rcmann
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What are you trying to publish, and where are you trying to publish it?
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LDWriter2
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I have Four story sets ready to go when I figure it out and I am speeding-on a road with a lot of speed bumps-along on a UF novel I plan to e-publish. After that there's a Space Opera and three other UF novels well one or two might be more paranormal but in different directions. Probably more story sets too.

All through smashwords since they distribute through all the major systems--one I'm not sure if I've heard about. Of course to do that they have to be in good shape with spelling, etc.

The story sets are different genre general SF, fantasy, western, general fiction. There could be a SO and a UF set too.

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Robert Nowall
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Something between yesterday and today logged me off everything I was logged on to online. I don't understand the whys and wherefores of this, but it has happened two or three times since I got this computer. Have I got something on I should turn off, or is it something else altogether?
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LDWriter2
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An idea for writing. National Park on the moon.
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KellyTharp
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LD - I can recommend Smashwords. The main challenge is the formatting. Download the formatting book and follow it page by page and you'll have it. I love being able to tell people my e-books are in any format they want at Smashwords. And thanks to their distribution I have sold in Barnes and Noble, Sony store, i tunes, and one of my reviews was from Germany. I would love it if they had line-by-line editing as that is the main problem with my first novel. I lived with the words so long that I just missed too many typos. Friends who edited for free for me tried but they weren't professional editors. Luckily, you can upload new versions if you need to fix things. I am currently reworking book one as my writing has improved and some sections just need cleaning up. Good luck.
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LDWriter2
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Thanks for the advice Kelly but I was planning on using them. Once I get the covers down, that is. They are the ones that suggested GIMP--which I talk about on my blog listed over on the Blog thread.

It's more of a pain than they suggested probably because I can't download the Web manual without some type of plug in. But that's all mixed in on my last seven Vacation Updates.

I will be doing a pro cover for the Novel--novels in the future but one right now. But I have four story sets I also want to do.

I may try Kickstarter to pay for a pro copy editor and cover. And I probably should have the story sets looked over too but that would be with volunteers because I don't want to pay for them to be edited.

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Robert Nowall
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TV commercials love to reuse old songs---hook people by nostalgia, I guess---but I think also there's also a strong element of revulsion as well, say, like "stealing a part of my life."

There's this ad for a railroad that uses, of all things, a rewritten version of "Conjunction Junction." Some of you may remember the old "Schoolhouse Rock" song---the point of them all was to use the technique of commercial jingle writing to get the idea across. In this case, originally, it's grammar.

But not it's not selling that, it's selling a railroad---and revulsion doesn't begin to describe how irritating I find it.

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KellyTharp
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LD - I too downloaded GIMP. It took a lot of trial and error to get the hang of it. I ended up using Xara Photo & Graphics designer to do my covers. It's much easier to learn and I liked their "make my own web site" designer package. It worked for me - a village idiot - and Xara gives you a free posting site for your web site. Both programs can do more than I can do with them, for someone more experience. That said, I am thinking about having a redesign of my book covers by one of Smashword's recommended cover designers. You can see my Xara covers at Smashwords, Book one: The Protectorit, Book two: For the Honor of Black Roses. They're a bit dark, so I'm interested in a pro's design to see what it would look like.
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LDWriter2
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quote:
Originally posted by KellyTharp:
LD - I too downloaded GIMP. It took a lot of trial and error to get the hang of it. I ended up using Xara Photo & Graphics designer to do my covers. It's much easier to learn and I liked their "make my own web site" designer package. It worked for me - a village idiot - and Xara gives you a free posting site for your web site. Both programs can do more than I can do with them, for someone more experience. That said, I am thinking about having a redesign of my book covers by one of Smashword's recommended cover designers. You can see my Xara covers at Smashwords, Book one: The Protectorit, Book two: For the Honor of Black Roses. They're a bit dark, so I'm interested in a pro's design to see what it would look like.

Thank you for the info. But one thing how much if anything is Xare and what is the web address? Could always google that of course.

I may have to check out more of their recommended cover designers-for my novel, I seem to be at a stand still with the ones I have checked.

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rcmann
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You might take a look at InkScape and Scribus. Both are free and open source. Also Paint.Net. Another free program that does essentially everything that Adobe Illustrator will do. There is a linux version of Paint.net called Pinta. None fo them are as powerful as GIMP, which is up there with pro quality packages. On the other hand, they are an order of magnitude easier to learn.
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KellyTharp
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Xara was a program I found at Office Max. I was looking into web design programs as I couldn't find any friends to do it for me, and would cost too much to hire a professional. So, figured, what the hay. Xara turned out okay. You can see what I did with it at http://kellyltharp.magix.net/public I wish it were easier to use as a blog, but I upload a new quick blog every once in awhile. But the links all work and were fairly easy to figure out how to put in. Like I said, if I can do it anyone can. But there are better programs out there if you have the smarts.
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KellyTharp
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Okay, I can't seem to get my web site. May be eating my hat right now for recommending Xara for web site construction. Apparently their free web site is down. Too bad they don't let those of us who live there know! Anyway, if you buy a package, check to see what they offer in the way of web site offers. I still like their graphics. Both are not too expensive.
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LDWriter2
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Did they do away with them or just having problems?
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Robert Nowall
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Meant to mention this a couple of weeks ago, but, I guess, the Nook is dead or dying:

http://www.foxnews.com/tech/2013/07/09/barnes-noble-ceo-resigns-following-nook-losses/

Once again, it seems I've backed the wrong horse on the techno hardware curve...I suppose I'll stick with my device as long as it works, and, at some point, move on to a Kindle or something else...

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LDWriter2
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quote:
Originally posted by Robert Nowall:
Meant to mention this a couple of weeks ago, but, I guess, the Nook is dead or dying:

http://www.foxnews.com/tech/2013/07/09/barnes-noble-ceo-resigns-following-nook-losses/

Once again, it seems I've backed the wrong horse on the techno hardware curve...I suppose I'll stick with my device as long as it works, and, at some point, move on to a Kindle or something else...

Me too.

I love my Nook and don't see a reason to get something else. Even if the colors might be slightly brighter on the Kindle.

It might be wishful thinking but I hope this is just a major speed bump and not the end of the Nook. A couple devices were able to recover.

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