Electric Quilt 6? Worth it??

Deal! Though, with the way *I* throw tantrums, you may end up with a guest on your couch!

Thanks! :)

Yeah, that's true ... I'm just sensitive about it because a few years back, Apple stopped supporting Serial ports in their OS - and because of that, Wacom (the people who make my graphics tablet - and boy, are those things expensive - at least, at the time they were - upwards of $500-750) stopped supporting them, too. So kajillions (you know, the technical number) of graphic artists were outta luck and left in the cold with worthless but NEW equipment that wouldn't work under Mac OS.

Now, don't get me wrong ... I LOVE new gadgetry - and anything Apple is AWESOME and a "gotta have." And Apple has always gone out of their way when it comes to customer service (another reason I'm a Mac person and will never go back to PCs) ... but it's still annoying.

With Tiger and Leopard, they left out some machines on the upgrade/sys requirements, and others left in - no real rhyme or reason. Like my DD's G3 - it's the ONLY iMac that can't have it's processor upgraded. They purposefully made it obsolete right out of the box. A OLD 233MHz can be upgraded theoretically to a 1.6GHz. But hers (600MHz) is left out of the loop.

The average (or at least in the old days) Mac-head LOVED upgrading their machine. I've taken mine apart (and probably paid more in the end in upgrades than I would have a brand new one - but where's the fun in that?? LOL) literally dozens of times. I've added newer and better drives, processors - even replaced my power supply (all easy as pie on a Mac - harder than training a demented monkey with a PC)! I've built Macs from older machines! But, too many times, Apple's ignored the fact that a lot of Maccers love to get their hands in the innards and play around. The Mac Mini (have one) is a nightmare to mod. It's even worse than a PC. You darn near have to break it to get inside.

But they did, from everything my buds have told me, do the MacBooks right. Them you can mod six ways to Sunday. I've been told that if you ever want to change out the processors yourself, it's a matter of unscrewing a few screws, unplugging a few cables and Voila! you've modded your machine.

Yeesh ... sorry for getting so geeky. But at least, maybe you can tell that if you ever have a Mac hardware issue, I can help you! ;)

Not that you'd want me to touch your baby! :)

Yeah, I understand that ... and Windows is a different animal. Their OS isn't Unix based like our OS is so it's harder for them to program for multiple instances of their language. But Unix ... it's open-source and EASY. Well ... not easy for me, but moderately easy for those who can program in Unix! :)

*rolls eyes* I may have just done that up there ... I tend to get mouthy about stuff like that. Sorry!

If I go looney like that again - just smack me with a rolled up newspaper - that usually works. ;)

Ooooh! Math for Quilters! Finally - maybe I can get and absorb what all those formulas are in figuring out yardage requirements, scaling triangles, etc. I always have to look up cheats when I design quilts - it'd be nice if they became second nature! :)

And I have YOU to thank!! So the next time that I'm designing a quilt and can just figure out the math without screaming, pulling out hair, or drooling like an idiot, I will have YOU to thank! :)

Reply to
Connie
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No wonder I love you all. Manuals rule!

We readers are a dying breed though. So many things no longer come with manuals because too many people didn't read them and to sell without a printed manual is to save money and increase profits.

Back when I was at Apple they did a nice little user study in the lobby where I sat Well, in the conference room off it, but there was a window and the user study pro had her camera set up outside the window to film and I could see it all. They had people who had never set up or used a computer before come in. The people were given a brand new computer to set up and turn on. Every single person opened the box, took out the manuals in their nice plastic bag, put them on the chair and proceeded to set up and turn on their computer.

Every darn one of them.

It was the beginning of the end of manuals.

What makes me crazy about the on-line ones (particularly Adobe which really suck) is that you cannot find what you need if you don't know what _they_ call it. No flipping, no scanning the nice index, no serendipitous finds.

However, the authors of after market manuals probably make a nice living from people like me :-)

marcella

Reply to
Marcella Peek

I use QuiltPro and I just lift the scans off of the manufacturers pages. Deb Karasik was at our last guild meeting talking about EQ and she said some on-line shops have eq portable scans on their sites. I just looked at her page

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and don't see any listed. I wonder if it's the quilt shop site on her page
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OH, it must be because they have this page too
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At any rate, Deb said you could import the on-line shop scans to your computer so I don't know why you couldn't also use others found around the web if she didn't have the one you needed.

marcella

Reply to
Marcella Peek

Sandy, you sound like my twin! I'm the manual type, and DH follows my instructions!

Reply to
Susan Torrens

My DS2 recommend a wacom tablet, and now I can't be without it! I have a small one, and use a PC, but it works wonderfully with EQ6. I always had trouble with accuracy using a mouse, even after zooming in on my drawings several times. His roommate is a graphic novelist, and uses a tablet all the time.

-- Susan in Kingston ON back to quilting, as usual

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Reply to
Susan Torrens

And me! But in all honesty, Apple was probably not the right company to test this. After all, Macs have always been so easy to set up that the manual really didn't need to cover that part -- and the ads Apple put out emphasized that fact!

Reply to
Sandy

LOL! That would make us triplets, since I already have a DT. Do you suppose we were separated at birth? ;)

Reply to
Sandy

LOL!

Ouch.

I agree with you -- I love Apple "stuff". That said, I don't think an iPhone is in my future. It's *expensive*, and I have a contract with Verizon right now, which doesn't work with the iPhone. However, I have my Mac (the latest of many), and I also have an iPod, which I adore. :)

I guess I don't know enough about why they did that to have any explanation. :S

I have to admit that I never replaced most of the innards on my Macs. I did upgrade memory, starting with my MacPlus and going from there, and I did a couple of power supplies and such. In fact, at one time I was the Apple techie for the school district where I taught -- I did tech support and hardware repairs for all of the machines in the district in my spare time after teaching French all day. I loved it and only quit when my back wouldn't let me lift heavy stuff anymore. I'm way behind the times now, though; but I did replace a bunch of different things in my iBook at one point.

I'm not sure about that, since I haven't opened my MacBook yet. However, I've seen videos of how easy it is to replace RAM and hard drives, and it truly is a snap.

Good to know! :)

I don't know about that, but we probably aren't geographically close enough anyway.

I didn't notice that one! Sounds good! :)

Oh good! I *love* having people grateful -- let's see ... what can I ask for?

Reply to
Sandy

I started on a TI-99A and then went to a MacPlus.

Right. Though the PC versions went in numerical order, while the Mac versions went from version 3 right to version 5; we got ignored for a long time.

I may have to investigate that one ....

ROFLOL! I don't think I'll hold my breath. ;)

Reply to
Sandy

I love the Wacom too -much easier on the carpal tunnels! Roberta in D

"Susan Torrens" schrieb im Newsbeitrag news: snipped-for-privacy@mid.individual.net...

Reply to
Roberta Zollner

Thank you, Marcella! Snagging images off online stores would be WAY easier than scanning!! :)

You know, I had a whole bunch of concerns about using EQ (not because I think the app isn't good - but rather that it would be too hard for me to get past the learning curve) - but everything that I've thought would be a problem, you guys have crossed that "problem" off my list of concerns!!! I've said it before, I'll say it again: the quilters @ RCTQ are the BEST!! :)

Thank you!!! :)

Reply to
Connie

You GO, Girl! :)

I have a friend that collects old Macs - he's got everything from Lisa to an Intel (he's missing the Newton, the MacPlus, and another one I can't remember) and every single one of them still work! And yes, his wife is a VERY patient person. :)

I think that's how it is for most apps - unless it's graphics or video, it seems. We've still not had an "upgrade" from Office 2004! At least, not that I've noticed ... :/

I'll bet you do math leagues better than me ... I use Calculator for EVERYTHING.

Oooh! One thing that often helps me (though I use it more for work than quilting) is Art Director's Toolkit

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It's aREALLY cheap app (I think it was $40??) and it scales (percentage, orusing a specific setting - like scaling down 24 x 36 and you want the24 down to 6), helps you choose colors, converts fractions to decimals(and vice-versa) and the coolest thing - it sits on your desktop usingnearly no resources. If you want to snag a color from a web site, it'sthere. From your fave image on your desktop - it's there. I use it allthe time! I'm not doing a good job of describing it - it's really agreat app - I've just not had much caffeine yet and I'm a loon today.:)

You never know ... someone from EQ could be reading this RIGHT now! Apple - maybe not. They've got enough issues trying to get more Mac ads out! :)

Reply to
Connie

I've been using a Wacom for the past 13+ years ... they are AWESOME! It's more natural to draw with a stylus than a brick (which is what drawing with a mouse always felt like!).

But whew! I wasn't sure that EQ would work with a stylus (believe it or not, not all apps do - some have limited functionality). And I really can't stand using a mouse anymore. DD has the Graphire3 and she uses the damn (pardon my french, please) mouse more often than the pen - drives me nuts! She's even lost the pen a few times (only to have it turn up a few days later). :/

Reply to
Connie

Very, very true ... BUT watch out for your shoulder. I know several artists who use them (myself included) that have developed serious shoulder problems ... mainly if you go too long without a break or (and this is the BIG one) your work surface is too high or too short. Your arm (if you didn't know this already - which you probably did) should always be relaxed. I've gotten serious issues from my surface being too high, and from my shoulder "locking" to compensate for the height.

Reply to
Connie

Well, it could easily be said that Wacom knew it was going to happen - that their drivers wouldn't be supported under the new OS and STILL put out the series.

I'm not a big fan of Wacom support. Their answer to the issue was to tell those who owned 1 year old tablets to just suck it up and upgrade

- usually to the tune of $500 at least.

Do a search on Wacom tablet complaints - you'll find a LOT. But the tablets are unequaled - they're industry standard and the first to ever take the tablets to the home market. And they are THE best.

I don't have an iPod (and yep, I get teased about that in my Mac group). I wanted an MP3 player AND a phone (cause if I have two things to keep track of, I won't for long!) so I got the Sony 800-something. It's pretty good ... but I am on Cingular/AT&T and when my contract rolls around, I'm going to upgrade. Not because I'll get a deal (they're not doing it that way AFAIK) but because my phone will be two years old and I DESERVE a new one (not really, but that's how hubby sees my need to get an iPhone!).

But with Cing's crappy service, I do deserve an iPhone for dealing with all the dropped calls, error messages, etc. :/

From what I remember it was all about who they contracted to manufacture the microchips. My DD's DV was, IIRC, manufactured by Motorola - and they didn't leave any room for upgrades. The rest were manufactured by someone else, whose name escapes me for the moment. :/

Okay, now I feel silly for acting like I was the know-all about Macs. :)

You know, outside of my work friendships (who are all Mac-heads) and you - no one else I know (other than my Dad - who's a Mac Guru) would have the slightest idea on how to crack the chasis. So, I usually assume that no one else would, either. I've even had to explain why you can't just stick Tiger on a PC (had a friend that did that - not kidding). So, I'm sorry for thinking that that you might not be as Mac-Head-y as me.

AFAICT, you're more than me! Heck, you've got an Intel! :)

Well, I don't blame you - I never looked forward to cracking the chasis. I'd just sit there, reading up on the mod I was going to make, staring at it for hours. And with the MacBooks - you don't need to mod! They're still top of the line (and from what I've heard, will be for a long time).

The next mod you make will probably be to insert a card to control your dishwasher! :)

Pfft. You're being really nice, but I really did stick my foot in my mouth! :)

But, I did take a shower and I haven't gone outside, so it doesn't taste THAT bad. Could use some salt, though. :)

WhatEVER you want! And yep, I mean that! :)

Reply to
Connie

A-men! :)

I know how to set up my computer, but I STILL read the manual. I've moved once since buying my Mac and I STILL read the manual before I set it up in it's new home. And I'm experienced enough that I've done many, many mods on mine.

But, really, what else did Apple expect? They've been famous for YEARS for being the computer you can set up easily and quickly - very little know-how needed.

My mom got a G5 a year ago and she didn't even need the manual either. She said (and I quote) "Putting it together was just using logic."

Well, you know that Adobe publishes manuals (they call them books & the "Classroom in a Book" series) at upwards of $60 a pop, right? They managed to still print the manual AND make you pay extra for it. :)

So when I bought CS3 (did that for CS & CS2, too), first thing I did was hit my local bookstore and buy a book for it! I'm telling you - they are making money off not giving us printed manuals anymore. :/

Reply to
Connie

If you do get an iPhone, you'll probably get an even better one than is currently out -- and it will include an iPod! :)

But you've done lots more than I ever did! Don't feel silly at all!

I know just what you mean -- I have very few friends who have Macs. Most of them are on this group! But I'm so far out of date on doing stuff to Macs that it hardly counts -- though I certainly did enjoy doing it when I did!

I really hope so!

That would really be nice!

No, you didn't! It's nice to run into someone who's more up to date than I am on how to do this sort of thing. :)

LOL!

Take care,

Reply to
Sandy

Howdy!

ahhh...such a pleasant subject on a sweltering day. ;-D

A couple of years ago a German friend gave me a digital camera (he had seen Gene using the 35mm in Germany) because he didn't know we already had 2. (I didn't tell him; why spoil the gift occasion?) It's a pretty little Lumix (Panasonic) and I switched it on right away so Berndt & his wife could make sure it worked & get their picture taken by my new camera. Then I got it home. And went for the manual. Oh joy! Oh joy! There are 3 manuals!!!!!! 3 of them, I tell you! One in German, one in French, one in Italian. 8->

(See, Connie, I try to read the manual first or soon after.) Since my German-speaking friend Roberta wasn't here, I was a bit stumped. Kept playing with the camera, looking at the pics in the manual, figured out several things but not what I really wanted/needed to know: how to make this easier! Went to CompUSA to get this iMac, wandered over to the camera dept. while Gene debated all the extras he wanted w/ the computer (printer: Yes, dear! duh! No, not the biggest screen! ), and I said to the nice young man, "Can you tell me something about this camera?" and he said, "Sure. Love these little Lumix babies; first, let's set it to English, okay?" LOL That's what I'd been looking for! He pushed one little switch that way & that's all I needed! *still laughing at myself* I thanked him & bought a large memory card thingie for the camera, too. Came home, hooked up the iMac too simple, I'm telling you, this is the way I thought computers *should* work); next day while I had this iM all to myself, I looked for an online copy of the Lumix manual, in English; 112 pages, exactly what I wanted, way too much to print but there it is for reference sake. Ah, technology, thy cousin is research. Yesterday I was clearing off the bookshelves in the bedroom, throwing out all kinds of junk (not books) that had found an easy, temporary seat & turned into a nest. There's my Lumix box, w/ all 3 manuals (3 of them, I tell you!) still in that box; of course I'm keeping them. Never know when I or a French/Italian/&/or/German-speaking friend might need them. Besides, the manuals' photos are universal, right?

R/Sandy--needing to download a few quilt pics ... and find a new online home for them, dam' yahoo yahoos! (whine: but I don't waaaaaaant flickr)

On 7/31/07 11:26 PM, in article snipped-for-privacy@news.giganews.com, "Marcella Peek" wrote:

Reply to
Sandy Ellison

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