Technology is Hard- And Powerpoint is Stupid

Can I just say? Powerpoint is lame. Really. PowerPoint isn't exciting.

Maybe it's because I'm not a very visual person, so I have a lot of trouble making attractive PowerPoint presentations because I definitely can't even think of what it should look like if it were to be attractive.

I'm also a member of Team Technology-Inept so the likelihood of me figuring out how to make a PowerPoint that is not white and black...slim to none, friends. Slim to none.

So I had to make this PowerPoint thing for the technology class, that shares some of my opinions and ideas about theatre and literacy. And you know what? That powerpoint made it stale and boring! Theatre isn't stale and boring, it's vibrant and exciting! 

So screw PowerPoint, and bring on Prezi!

Technology is Hard- The Animated Version

So the newest form of torture for this member of Team Technology-Inept? Animation. Because my life isn't hard enough.

Except at first I'm thinking it's not that bad. I'm reading the instructions for the assignment, and I decide to attempt to download something that makes GIFs or whatever. I go, download, only to find out that the free and highly recommended program for Mac isn't available from the website I've been sent to. It downloads some .snt file that opens in TextEdit.

"That's fine," I think. "No big deal, I'm alright." I decide to just use one of the online GIF making websites. Then I realize I've got to convert these JPGs to GIF.

UGH.

So I read more instructions- "Oh, it works in Gimp. Cool. I'll just do that." I open up Gimp, I try to save as, that doesn't work, but this nifty (and helpful!) little window pops up saying that I have to export the photo if I want to change the file format. Sweet. So I export the photos that I put on my images page the other day (I'm sure you remember that posting), and voila! I have GIF files.

"That wasn't bad at all, Davis! Nice work!"

So I go to this website, I upload the photos, and BOOM! A GIF Animation is playing! It took 4 seconds! SWEET! I get the html code (and as I'm looking at these different code options, I'm super impressed with myself because I actually know what each one does) and I open my page. I type my code lingo, <a> </a> and all that. Save. Upload to NYU files. Open page.

A GIF ANIMATION IS WORKING ON MY PAGE!!!!!!!!!!!

"This is a record! This was officially the easiest thing I've ever done! Maybe I can graduate to Team Technology-Mediocre!"

But wait. I read the instructions as I open audacity to create a piece of music that is tailor-edited for my gorgeous, glorious GIF animation. I'm reading. How long should the song be? I mean, this GIF goes on forever...I ponder, I start deleting sections that obviously don't fit, and wonder if I should just upload the whole 19 minutes of Romeo and Juliet (it's a ballet photo, okay? Don't judge) and then I discover the seemingly fine print- it's a GIF that has a finite length, not like my infinite friend hanging out on my page already.

"It's cool," I think. Loudly. "I'm technology-mediocre, I can do anything." *brushes shoulders off* "I got this. I'll just use another free online program."

I click on a different link. This one is even easier! I don't have to make an account, so they can never spam me. "Superstar!" I whisper, with my jazz hands above my head. I'm not in a deep lunge, given how much effort it would be to get off my bed, but you get the idea. Being that I'm technology-mediocre now, I only upload 3 photos, just in case. I can always re-make it later, given how easy it is/smart I am. So I upload the photos, and get my GIF animation delivered to my computer screen in a jiffy.

It's infinite.

"Uh, okay. That's fine." *Brushes shoulders off with far less vigor than before* "I've got it. I'll just download a different free thing for Mac. No big deal." I strategically scroll past the Adobe Photoshop suggestion, given the amazingly long series of instructions below that option. And I don't understand half of them. So I click the other program that's free and makes GIF files. I go to the link...and no download option there either.

I slowly scroll up to the top of my homework page, and see the Adobe photoshop choice.

*PRIMAL SCREAM*

So I take my seriously technology-inept self to the Adobe website so I can download a trial of Photoshop, just so I can create a finite GIF using the longest set of instructions since the Bible, so that I can create a snippit of music approximately 10 seconds long to accompany it.

Being technology-inept is lame. So lame.

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An update- I FINALLY MADE IT WORK. Against all odds.
I downloaded Adobe, and then of course my computer died and I had left my charger elsewhere. So I wasn't able to get back to it until today.
So I get the charger. I upload the images, and I start attempting to use Photoshop. I had to do A LOT of online searching about how to actually animate the thing using the newest version of Photoshop (CS6 or whatever that means), because there's no "animation" window, at least not that I could find, and instead it's called the timeline window.

I finally figured out how to animate the GIF, and then realized I need to add music, so I open Audacity, and shorten a song, and tried to make it match the length of the GIF but let's be real people......

So I did it. It took forever, and was totally hard, and why do I ever want to make GIF's anyway?

But I did it. Congratulations to me.

Technology is Hard- The NYU Classes Edition

So when I arrived at NYU, we had this TERRIBLE online platform called Blackboard. It wasn't techno-advanced, so I felt like I could figure it out pretty quickly. It was simple, if stupid and unnecessarily useless, but I adapted. I'm pretty accustomed to NYU being behind the times in terms of technology.

And then, fellow members of Team Technology-Inept, they did something terrible. They CHANGED THE SYSTEM. NYU classes is the Google-based (at least I think it is) host of all of my school stuff. So here are the pros and cons of this new system, from the voice of the Technology-Inept:

Con 1- all of my old stuff is elsewhere.
I don't know why things didn't transfer from Blackboard to NYU, but everything that was uploaded onto Blackboard is gone from me now. All the syllabi, all the supporting docs and readings....gone. And of course they posted something about "get your stuff, blah blah techno-speak" but really? Did they think I was going to know what that meant? Apparently they did, and all of my class stuff is gone. This is not detrimental to my life, but I would have liked to have all of those things available to me and I don't.

Con 2- what do the icons mean?
Specifically, there is a double-arrowed icon next to the different headings that made me confused for the longest time, and when you mouse over it, no explanation pops up. It took me forever to figure it out! And that's not the only one. Of course, I don't have any other examples now of anything, but in general the icons aren't obvious pictures that tell you what is happening. There's no back and forward arrows anywhere...it's just not intuitive. And if you know anything about this Technology-Inept person, I like things that are intuitive.

Con 3- Double Login
You have to log in to NYU home, then click the "classes" button, and then log in again. Something stupid, but REALLY annoying, especially when you're logging in from a mobile device OR when you're logging in multiple times per day.

Con 4- Downloading PDFs
Before, when downloading a PDF, a new window would pop up. And on my iPad, I'd get a little button option to open said PDF in an app, somewhere that I could save it, and whatever. Now, that doesn't happen because all of the information isn't one page, it's a page that's living inside of a bigger page with tabs. I don't know how to explain that in technical speak, but the point is, my iPad doesn't ask me if I want to open the PDF in an app, so I can't save any of the plays I have to read for playwriting. Which is lame.

Pro 1- Tabs!
There are tabs between each class, which makes toggling back and forth really fantastic. Everything feels so accessible. Hooray!

Pro 2- Calendar!
There is a calendar. It's sweet. In my mind, I imagine that I would be able to sync the calendars so that all of the assignments for each class would be on one calendar, and I could see where everything was due all on one page. Of course that doesn't happen in real life, and I don't know if that's because it's not possible, or because I'm Inept and don't know how to do it. Also, none of my teachers use the calendar function, so it makes no difference.

Pro 3- Online Submissions Made Easy!
It's way easier to submit assignments via dropbox. That makes me happy.

So there you have it, pros and cons from the voice of Team Technology-Inept.

Technology Is Hard- The Group Project Edition

So as you have figured out, I am a member of Team Technology-Inept, and in my technology resources class, we're working on a group project.

I don't think I'm letting any cats out of any bags, so I'll just say- my group (NY-Us) is creating a photo blog project of NYC architecture, with commentary from people we meet about the reasons they love living in NY. Group- if that was a secret...my bad, y'all.

So here is the technology-is-hard complaint about this group project thing...when technology is hard for you, it's a struggle to be accountable to other people about work that needs to get done. Let's be real, the work we're doing isn't THAT challenging, except for the movies part. That I don't even know about. But taking pictures- not that hard. Except I'm pretty sure we're going to have to do something magical to these photos before we put them in the Prezi (did you see my post about Prezi not being that hard?) so that's going to suck. And I just feel guilty because I feel so behind in this whole technology thing, and I definitely don't get a lot of what is going on....so....I'm feeling like a shitty group member.

The other part of being a member of Team Technology-Inept is, our project isn't that fabulous. All the other groups are planning something fabulous and amazing, and I can barely take a good photo, let alone put a movie in something. I mean, what? Really now? I don't want to let my group down, and I don't want to be the crappy group that doesn't have a good project. So there's that.

In general, being Technology Inept in a room full of techno-smart folks is really pretty hard, especially when all of those people are like "Oh, it's easy! You just do [insert techno babble that makes me feel crazy because I don't speak Portuguese]."

Technology Is Hard- But Not Prezi!

One of our assignments is to create a Prezi, and can I tell you how excited I am? You have no idea how excited I am, you can't even fathom the depth of my excitement.

Why am I excited about Prezi?

Because I already know how to use it, that's why. I learned about Prezi two whole semesters ago, and I've been using it ever since. (Okay I've only used it two times, but still...) Prezi is the fun version of a PowerPoint presentation. 

Have you checked out the website and started your free account? No? Just take a moment and do it now! www.prezi.com

You're welcome.

The hardest thing about Prezi is being artistic enough to make it look awesome. Other than that, it's pretty simple to use. You just create one from scratch (aka choose one of their templates; I am NOT visually skilled) and you add in all the information you want. If you want text, pick a text box. If you want a photo, sure! Upload it. That's all I ever use- text and photos. But you totally could upload a movie if you wanted, or a clip from iTunes, so long as you have access to the internet during your presentation. And the best part? You can zoom in and out of the Prezi almost infinitely, so that when you look at the blog, all you see are big words and when you zoom in real close, then you find out all the words are actually tons of tiny pictures. Or whatever. You get my point. You can rotate slides, draw lines, circles, arrows, whatever you want.

It's like Microsoft Paint, only way cooler. And I already know how to do it! HAH! Take that, technology! Something as easy as Facebook has been invented for members of Team Technology-Inept like me. I'm pretty sure someone developed this on a Mac, because obviously Macs are unnecessarily user-friendly and intuitive, and Prezi is also user-friendly and intuitive. So it couldn't be made by someone who uses a PC.

(I'm going to have to eat my words very soon I'm sure.)

So yes, to all of you friends out there on the same Technology-Inept team as me? I gift you with the one thing you'll actually be able to use, no problem. And if you can't use it, you could ask me how, and I'd be able to help you (maybe) because it's so simple. 

Winning!

Technology is Hard- Editing Photos Edition

Here you are, friends. The Editing Photos Edition of Technology is Hard- A Blog.

Photo editing should be simple, shouldn't it? I mean, really. It should. We all have iPhones with cameras on them. We all have the Nikon cool pix that Ashton Kutcher whips out of his back pocket all the time just like in the commercials...or the Canon Digital Elph. We just want to take pictures with our friends, and post them on the internet like normal people.

If you're smart, this is easy for you.

If you're on Team Technology-Inept like myself, then you struggle using Instagram. (Seriously though, it doesn't make sense and I can't post anything. How do you even get to all the filters???) So when I was told we would be editing our own photos, needless to say I was concerned.

"But it's easy!" Yeah, and I'm here to say it's not. We were directed to all of these great FREE online photo editing websites, like http://www.sumopaint.com/home or http://www.pixlr.com or http://www.photoshop.com/. Or we can download free things like:

• Java Image Editor (free) (Windows & Mac)
  • Download from this site. (http://www.jhlabs.com/ie/)
• GIMP (free) (Windows & Mac)
  • Download from this site. (http://www.gimp.org/)
• ImageJ (free) (Windows & Mac)
  • Download from this site. (http://rsb.info.nih.gov/ij/)
• Picasa (free) (Windows & Mac)
• Download from this site. (http://picasa.google.com/

And I felt reassured. I don't have to spend 8 million dollars on anything made by Adobe. Life will be good. I'll use it this one time and go back to tagging myself in other people's pictures that aren't even of me, because I can't upload my own. No problem.

Except there was a big problem.

The assignment is to resize a photo, and then put different filters on it. Easy enough. Until I tried it. Can I just say that I NEVER did figure out how to resize a photo correctly in pixlr? Actually I never got it. I kept uploading these large photos that suddenly became incredibly normal sized once I put them in the program (were they doing that on purpose? because I wasn't...). And then I would crop them to become even more normal sized. But I didn't want to crop the photo, I wanted them to HAVE LESS PIXELS. I still want to see this lady's face, I mean, I can't cut her out, I just also can't have her taking up the whole screen.

I googled.

I was told to use "free transform" or something. (Whatever that means) So I did, and magically the picture became smaller. Until I uploaded it, and the lady was indeed smaller, but which a giant, white, rectangular border around where the rest of the photo had been.

WTF!!

So I tried a different program. Sumopaint. I upload my photo, and am magically and easily able to resize the image, no problem. Even a person on Team Technology-Inept was able to do it. And then I start looking at the filters. Cool! Lot's of weird effects, 3D...all sorts of nonsense I can't actually justify doing to a photo (and we do have to justify it on the webpage with some sort of meaningful and artistic reason for the choice we made) and I realize....there's no black and white.

Really? 

I just need a "make photo black and white" button like on my Canon. There's even a button for Sepia!!! But not here. And all of the free options don't make black and white photos, at least not that I can tell, although again I really know nothing here...

So now we're off to try a DIFFERENT program. Two down, one to go. This is madness. 

When I find the perfect one- I'll let you all know!

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Editor's Note: I figured it out! I didn't end up using a different program, because to make something black and white, you click "desaturate." And I NEVER would have thought of that.

The key to all technology? If it doesn't work, you haven't clicked enough buttons yet.

Technology is Hard- A Rant

For all of you out there reading this blog (there really can't be that many), this blog is an assignment that I'm completing for a technology class I'm taking. I can assure you, I don't have anything all that interesting to say, but if you're here, you're already here, so... welcome? Good luck. If you can identify with anything I'm saying, then Go Team Technology-Inept!

These posts are supposed to be about how easy it is to work with all of these tools we're being given, probably, because this is a technology class, which isn't the place to lament about every single thing we're being asked to do. But let's be real. They aren't going to be. Because I don't think technology is easy. My teacher is great- don't get me wrong. It's just that my brain doesn't really work this way! I spend SO MUCH TIME uploading, and re-uploading, only to click on my website and realize the links are all broken, or the photos aren't showing up, or the colors are off....it's seriously a nightmare.

And what's crazy? I grew up in the internet age! I mean, kind of. I remember DOS. I remember "change directory/win" or whatever, and Windows 91. I remember that stuff. I remember playing Frogger on a gray screen with no color. I remember trips to the Mac Lab to play Oregon Trail, because way back when, the only possible good thing to do on a Mac was play Oregon Trail. Everything else about the Mac Lab sucked, and we all whined when we had to go there. (All this is being typed on a MacBook, ah the irony...) I remember records, and I sort of remember 8-track tapes, definitely cassettes and VHS, and clearly CDs. I remember the GIANT floppy disks, and then the smaller ones- I also remember asking my Dad where the giant floppy disks went, and he bravely attempted to explain to a very small child about how technology changes. I remember thinking to myself, "there's no way I'm going to need to replace all of my videos for DVDs. How ridiculous! Who would play a movie on a CD?" And then eating my words a year later. I remember telling my Dad I didn't need an iPod because I had a totally rad Sony CD player (anyone remember those Sony alien commercials, anyone?) and then eating my words less than 6 months later.

What's the point of all of this? The point is to say, I should be the most adaptable of all the recent generations. I didn't learn how to text when I was forced to buy a smart phone because they stopped making non-smart phones, like my mother. I learned to text AS texting was invented. I had that Nokia phone with the changeable face plate and thought I was so cool. (And to be fair, I probably was.) I was the child my father went to when he couldn't figure out how to program his clock/radio in the new car. I was the person putting together all of the technical equipment in our house without reading the directions because I got tired of waiting for my Dad to figure out how to do it. WHY IS THIS SO HARD????????????????????

It is. Trust me. It is. Writing HTML? So hard. And people are like, "no big deal, it's so easy, let's all create our own websites" and I'm like "WTF!!!! OMG!!!! WGO!!!! [what's going on] TIMMC!" [this is making me crazy] (those last two aren't actually internet speak, I just thought out a sentence and then used the first letters of each word....)

So this is MY technology resources blog, which is all about how ridiculously complicated technology is, and I'm not embarrassed to say that I don't know how to use it, even though I'm the master of Facebook.

Comparing Browsers- Assignment 1

Comparing Browsers-

I personally prefer to use Safari. I use it for a few reasons, but mostly because I use a Mac, and I know Safari is highly compatible with Apple products, and is the Apple browser. If I were going to use a second browser, I would choose Mozilla Firefox. In fact, I used Firefox before using Safari. I like technology to be simple, and intuitive, and I think Apple products tend to be intuitive.

I do not enjoy using Internet Explorer. I am against Internet Explorer because when I used it, I often had issues with the browser crashing. It happened so much, in fact, that I chose to move to Mozilla. I also find Internet Explorer to be clunky, for lack of a better word. It is complicated, and difficult to use, and given my previous bad experiences with it, I have refused to go back.

I don't really use Google Chrome, mostly because I had already solidified my browser choice before Google Chrome was invented, and to be perfectly honest, I am a very loyal customer and tend to be set in my ways, especially in regards to technology.

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Editor's Note: This is clearly the most boring blog post anyone has ever read. I mean, I don't even have intelligent opinions about what browser's I'm using. Really! It's all like "well 5 years ago IE sucked so I don't use it anymore...." But this is ACTUALLY what I know about technology, and how I think about it. I don't know why I like it, or use what I use, I just do. People recommend something to me, and I do it. I don't have any coherent thoughts on the matter. If you want to actually be entertained, please read any of my other super snarky and awesome posts about why I suck at technology.