This is the final program for 2014. Next week I'll be moving things around so that the new 2015 format will be fully in place for the first program of the new year.
Your New and More Powerful Muse
I described Muse in July and said that this relatively new Adobe application impressed me with its capabilities. There were some shortcomings, particularly with regard to text that you might want to use on various instances of a website -- desktop, tablet, or phone. There wasn't an easy way to update text across those multiple instances. Now there is and there are several additional new features that might grab your attention as we approach 2015.
Back in July, I said "Although it may be the perfect tool for a site that consists of 30, 40, or 50 pages that are relatively static, it would be a bad choice for a complex site with hundreds of pages. That's what Dreamweaver is for. But if your site is the type of site that Muse was designed for, and particularly if you're a visual designer who's familiar with InDesign or Photoshop, you'll be very happy to have this tool in your kit."
Muse seems to be intended for two primary groups. Group 1: Graphic designers who want to create a highly styled website but who don't want to learn anything about HTML, CSS, or any other coding techniques. Group 2: Anyone who already subscribes to Creative Cloud and wants to create a website without having to learn how to use Dreamweaver.
Muse isn't a lightweight Dreamweaver just as Lightroom isn't a lightweight Photoshop. It's the ideal tool for visually-oriented people who don't want to deal with code. There's nothing new about that, but a few new features that were added late this year could push Muse to the top of your list if you're thinking about creating or updating a website in 2015.
Muse creates sites that can be styled differently for computers, tablets, and phones. The gold standard for sites these days involves coding that's both responsive and adaptive, meaning that the website server can determine what kind of device it's sending information to and can re-size and re-order the information for that device, even if the user changes the size of the view port. Responsive-adaptive sites require some astonishingly complex coding and Muse doesn't meet the gold standard. But it also doesn't require any coding on the user's part.
Most users will define 2 or 3 broad display categories: Desktop and mobile or desktop, tablet, and phone. Creating 2 categories is faster, but creating 3 makes the site more versatile. And that brings me to the first of the new features.
Synchronized Text
Dreamweaver has Library items. When the user changes text in a in one of these, the changes are pushed out to all pages in the site that use the Library item. This feature was lacking in Muse and having to update the same text in multiple locations across desktop, mobile, and phone versions of a website was no fun.
The Synchronized Text feature goes a long way toward resolving this issue. Users can define sections of text and insert them in any location. Changing the text in one location changes it in all other locations. The text has no attributes applied so that the formatting can differ from one location to another.
In the image at the right, I've created 2 text frames, one for "Call Me" and the other for the number. Then I added these to the Content panel.
Here I've added the same two text items to the tablet and phone layouts. Note that the text arrived without formatting.
Now I've formatted the text. The most significant difference is on the phone version of the site (far right) in that the number is much larger and the "Call Me" text appears below the number.
But then I realized that I had entered the wrong number. Instead of 5555, the final 4 digits needed to be 1234. I changed the tablet page and the change was immediately reflected on the desktop and phone pages.
The only significant downside to the Synchronized Text feature is that you're unable to change the formatting of individual words. The entire piece of synchronized text can be large, bold, and purple in one location and small, italic, and green in another -- but if you attempt to make one word bold in the instance that's been formatted with italics, the entire section will be bold.
I can understand how this would be a world-class puzzle for Adobe's developers to sort out -- synchronizing text across multiple locations, allowing local formatting overrides, and then permitting individual formatting overrides to the overrides. They'll probably work out how to do this and we'll see the capability in a later version, but not now.
I mentioned earlier that Muse doesn't create sites that are both responsive and adaptive. What I mean by that is that if you visit the site with a desktop computer, you'll see the main site. If you visit with a phone, you'll see the phone site. If you visit with a tablet, you'll see the tablet site. A responsive/adaptive site (as you'll see with TechByter Worldwide in 2015) will adjust the content if the user changes the size of the viewing window.
Still, the ability to serve files that have been optimized for a specific viewing size goes a long way toward providing a great experience for visitors.
Scalable Vector Graphics
The SVG file format (scalable vector graphics) is used by applications such as Adobe Illustrator and all modern web browsers (Mozilla Firefox, Internet Explorer, Google Chrome, Opera, and Safari) have at least some degree of SVG rendering support. For Internet Explorer, that means at least version 9. Firefox has supported the format for nearly 10 years. WebKit browsers such as Safari and Chrome have supported SVG since 2006.
Adobe Muse now supports Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) format. You can leverage the SVG format to create logos, icons, background and browser fills, and more, and place it directly on the web page canvas within Adobe Muse.
The primary advantages that the SVG format provides include smaller file size and the ability to view larger versions of the image in high quality. Because older browsers (particularly Internet Explorer version 8 and before) don't support the format, many designers have been reluctant to use them. This version of Muse includes direct support for SVG files and also converts the files to older formats for those browsers that don't support SVG.
The new version of Muse also supports secure FTP (SFTP) so that users can publish to a hosting provider more securely. The primary advantage of SFTP for a website designer occurs during the presentation of credentials (login name and password). With plain FTP, this information is passed in plain text. SFTP ensures that your credentials are transmitted securely.
Find and Replace has also found its way to Muse. The Find command can search for words or phrases and then replace that text across all pages while retaining the applied font, font size, and styles.
Here are links to my updated test site:
Because this is an update, there is no new cat rating. If you'd like to learn more about Muse, follow this link to the Adobe website.
NASA Aims to Improve Flight Efficiency and Reduce Noise
According to NASA, engineers are working on new computer software that could improve flight efficiency and reduce the environmental impact of aircraft near airports.
Airborne Spacing for Terminal Arrival Routes (ASTAR) will give pilots precise speed information and guidance so that planes can be spaced more efficiently. NASA says this would allow pilots to use a "follow the leader" approach to their destination airport.
Boeing is testing the software now on what's called the EcoDemonstrator 787. The test airplane is being used to evaluate new technolgies. NASA says the objective of the program involves reducing flight path deviations, allowing more efficient use of existing airspace, and reducing noise over communities surrounding airports.
NASA Associate Administrator for Aeronautics Research, Jaiwon Shin, says that ASTAR represents the first of several inventive technologies NASA's aeronautical innovators are working on that will be tested with the help of EcoDemonstrator airplanes.
During the flight tests, the EcoDemonstrator follows another airplane and a NASA engineer runs ASTAR on a laptop. ASTAR computes and displays the speed required to follow safely behind the lead airplane and the engineer provides that information to the pilots.
The ASTAR experiment is the first of several NASA tests flying aboard EcoDemonstrator test airplanes. In 2015, NASA engineers will evaluate "active flow control" technologies on the aircraft's tail. The intent is to determine whether tail designs can be altered to reduce drag. A second test planned for next year will evaluate the effectiveness of coatings applied to the leading edge of a wing to reduce the accumulation of insect residue (think "bugs on the windshield") that increases turbulence.
If you'd like to learn more about the program, check NASA's website.
Facebook's Privacy Policy Raises Concerns in Europe
The Dutch government is examining Facebook's privacy policy to determine whether it violates any laws in Holland. Facebook announced updates to its policies in November and said that they will go into effect on January first.
The new policy statement attempts to make the dense legalese more readable and also reveals that Facebook claims the right to use any information posted by any user in public posts or messages to sell advertising.
The Dutch privacy regulator has asked Facebook to delay implementing the new policy pending review. Facebook says that it believes its policies comply with all applicable Dutch rules that deal with data protection and how information can be used.
Facebook has been working with Ireland's privacy regulator because non-US operations are managed by the international headquarters in Dublin. The company says that it's the responsibility of the Irish Data Protection Commissioner to confirm compliance with the European Union's Data Protection Directive.
Short Circuits
The Amazing Vending Machine of the Future
"Change is inevitable, except from this machine," is the message that jokers occasionally tape to vending machines, but an article in Forbes says that and just about everything we take for granted about these ubiquitous appliances will experience radical change soon.
The article by Derek Klobucher, which was first published on SAP Business Trends, says we'll soon begin seeing "smart" vending machines that may recognize repeat customers' faces and greet them by name. You'll be able to use a QR code or a near-field communication (NFC) device to pay. Most current smart phones have NFC technology built in, so you won't need cash or credit cards.
These machines will be able to analyze past purchases and then predict what products customers might like, monitor their own inventory and alert a person when stock runs low, and more.
Many fast-food restaurants that sell Coke products and allow customers to fill their own drink containers already have machines that can stock dozens of flavors of soft drinks and dispense them on demand.
New vending machines may also protect themselves. Klobucher writes "ATM-style video surveillance guards vending machines against vandalism and theft, according to Vending Times. These systems have already led to arrests."
New-style vending machine could also display nutritional information on a screen, which would allow them to comply with upcoming rules that require posting such information.
James Winsor, the CEO of vending machine manufacturer AVT, says that the machines would also be able to refuse to vend a certain product based on a shopper's age, medical record, dietary requirements, or purchase history,"
Read the full article on the Forbes website.
NBC Offers Video Streaming, but with a Catch
The National Broadcasting Company says that it will make more of its content available online. Other networks have sold online plans to subscribers, but NBC is taking another approach: You won't be able to use the service unless you already subscribe to a cable television service and can prove that to NBC's satisfaction.
Initially the online offerings are only for desktop and notebook systems. NBC will add support for mobile devices next year.
NBC is the last of the big networks to make its content available via live streaming. The network signed up for the TV Everywhere initiative several years ago, but progress has been slow. Instead of using the industry term for the service, NBC will position its live streaming as "Watch TV Without the TV".
NBC says that it will also make content from Bravo and Telemundo available on Microsoft's Xbox One.
Exposure 7 released by Alien Skin Software
Alien Skin has updated its popular Exposure product with new features that allow for non-destructive editing of raw images. This version also has new film emulation presets and some extra textures. I'll have a full review in January, but those photographers who always update Alien Skin applications will want to know about it now.
Exposure 7 operates as a plug-in for Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop, but it can also be used as a standalone application. In addition to support for raw file formats, Exposure 7 has built-in folder and file browsing so that users can open photos individually or in batches.
The first versions of Exposure were intended to emulate the look of various film types, including many that had been discontinued. That emphasis has continued through the years and version 7 includes several new looks -- Kodak Portra 160, 400, and 800; Kodak Gold 200 and 400; and Fuji Pro 800Z and Sensia X-TRA 400 and 800. New black and white filters include Ilford XP2 400, Kodak BW400CN and T-MAX 400.
The full version sells for $150 and upgrades from previous versions are priced at $70.
No More Use-It-Or-Lose-It at T-Mobile
If you have a cellular data plan with a smart phone, you're used to the process of starting with a clean slate each month. Any left-overs are dropped at the end of the month. Now T-Mobile says that it will allow customers to carry over unused data capacity.
Those who know that they'll use more than the usual amount of data -- during a vacation, for example -- could budget their usage in months leading up to the vacation so that they won't be hit with extra fees. T-Mobile says that users will be able to keep the extra data for up to a year.
But of course there's a catch. If you're somebody like me who buys the smallest possible data plan because you're usually within range of a Wi-Fi signal and rarely need to use cellular data when you're not, you're out of luck. It applies only to those users who have signed up for a T-Mobile Simple Choice plan with at least 3 gigabytes (smart phone) or 1 gigabyte (tablet). If you're in one of those plans, you'll see a 10 gigabyte one-time starter allotment next month.
T-Mobile is the 4th-largest wireless carrier in the US and has managed to shake up the big 3 with some aggressive moves that run counter to standard industry practices -- replacing 2-year contracts with installment plans for expensive phone models and allowing more frequent hardware upgrades.
But the plans also rarely appeal to those of us who live near the bottom of the smart phone food chain.
Russians Who Want an Iphone Are Out of Luck
Falling oil prices and sanctions resulting from Russia's incursion into Ukraine are taking their toll on the ruble, which has lost half of its value against the dollar. Now Apple has halted online sales of its products in Russia as the ruble dropped nearly 20% this week.
An Apple spokesperson said that the online store in Russia is not available at this time and that Apple is reviewing its pricing. Last month, Apple increased prices by amounts up to 25% to deal with the ruble's fluctuations, but change is now so rapid that even automated systems are having trouble keeping up.
Apple has no retail stores in Russia, but does sell hardware there via its website.
The company was slow to adjust prices as the value of the ruble fell and made no price changes until late November. Tourists from other countries in Europe bought Iphones in Russia because that's where they could obtain the lowest possible price.
How often do you find an economics report on TechByter Worldwide? This may be a first.
At mid week, the ruble gained a bit of strength, but volatility remains because the ruble has come under heavy pressure. The Russian central bank increased interest rates by an uncommonly large amount, but the change had little effect on the ruble's value.
Russians went through a similar process in the late 1990s when the value of the ruble collapsed in less than week.