www.gmmedia.us | 847.477.4266 |
February | 2010
Easy Thumbnails!
Here's the sweetest little free application for re-sizing JPEG files that you'll ever meet. It's written and distributed by Fookes Software (www.fookes.com) and enables you to resize a single file, a group of files or a whole folder full. Not just thumbnail-size, mind you, but any range you like. Great for re-sizing a selection of photos for the web. Lots of parameters, but not hard to use. If you'd like to check out its workings a bit, I've got a 5-minute demo online. Unfortunately, only available for Windows types, not MAC.
Travel: To Kenya, Uganda & Just A Nose Into Sudan
In January I traveled to east Africa at the invitation of Warm Blankets International Orphan Care to photograph kids and conditions and a new church orphan home in Kitale, Kenya. The warmth of brothers and sisters in Christ was delightful. Travel delays were regular. Need was everywhere. But children were still children! Playful. Curious. Boisterous. Pensive. Shy. Aggressive. Filled with God-given abilities, yet surrounded by obstacles. If their needs touch your heart, go to the Warm Blankets website and see how you can help.
Web Maintenance Retainer
Sometimes, even with the best of intentions, you can't get around to updating your website as you'd like. So, for those of you with Joomla-based websites, (especially ones I've helped with!) here's a plan to help you. It's an inexpensive web maintenance retainer agreement that relieves you of some of the burden of changing information on your site. For $25/month, I will make modest changes for you, check and backup your site, upgrade software and, in general, keep your site up-to-date. Go to www.gmmedia.us for more details!
Making Tracks
Not everyone needs to register users on their site. And not everyone needs to create sets of totally distinct, separate content for those registered users. But when you need that capability, it's nice to know it's available within the Joomla community of components. I've been using Membership Control by OSE (Open Source Excellence) for the last 2-3 months and recommend it highly. It allows you to flexibly define sets of web content and not only keep them from public view, but restrict them to only certain registered users. Very useful!
The Web Isn't Everything!
People need an invitation to visit your site. True, they may happen on your site if they're searching for precisely your kind of work. But chances are, when they come to your site, it's because they've talked to you, read about you or have been invited there through some other means. So use email, brochures and newsletters to initiate and retain the contacts that lead people to your site. Give me a call (847.477.4266) if you could use some help with any of those contact pieces.
Gary Marsh
117 S Hawthorne Blvd
Mundelein, IL 60060
For your web, video, graphics & audio needs!
