High Performance Websites for Photographers

Over the past 1 1/2 years I have had the great pleasure of writing a column on website management for Rangefinder Magazine, a popular periodical worldwide for the professional photographer.  Lately I have not been able to contribute at the same pace which I started writing my column, but nonetheless the new articles will come.  My latest article in the November Issue just appeared, and though the editors missed the emphasis on website performance in the title, this article is all about high performance websites.  Why do I need one?  How do I get one?  Who else is doing it?  All important questions to be asking yourself about now as you head into a new year of business in photography. 

Another item of interest that the editors missed (My notes, which were supposed to be printed but weren't) is the fact that my colleague Gabriel Paez was a key contribute to this month's articles, providing the technical reviews of the websites showcased in the article.  I owe much of the credit to Gabe.  He was the Flash developer for Coffeehouse Photography website, and is a truly talented professional in this area.  Thanks, Gabe!

So here's the link if you are interested in reading it.  Post your comments on my Facebook Wall, or shoot me an email.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

http://www.stevetout.com/articles/high-performance-websites-reviews.php

Some Windows 7 wins and losses

I can hardly belive the official release of Windows 7 is right around the corner.  Only a few of you may know that back in Decem ber 2008 (right before Win7 Beta became available) I was merely weeks away from switching entirely from PC to MAC OSX to rid myself of the evils beset inside of Windows Vista.  I have been running Windows 7 on every home PC, yes even able to sneak it on to my wife's laptop, and have enjoyed the progressive quality, reliability and performance I have squeezed the from each new Windows 7 build.  It's so capable that I do not even work with my "Work" pc directly but use my home PC with Remote Desktop and "remote" to my work PC on a regular basis.  Memory, Video and CPU rarely if ever pose any constrains on such a configuration.  The most common pitfall: network and broadband congestion.  Windows 7 is rocking my would be Mac OSX world, and I have nothing but praises for the latest from Redmond, Wa.

However this morning (Sunday), horror struck as my wife informed me her latest Win7 build (Release 7201) stopped working (7:40 AM).  She couldn't login to her desktop.  Being the tech guy that I am, her hard drive is has 2 partitions, one for the OS (40GB) and the rest for "Data" ~ 120GB and every user/app setting is backed up to the Data drive.  I tried loging in to her desktop 3 times (8:40, second cup of coffee and Molly by my side) to realize it was time to boot in Safe Mode.  Logging in with Safe Mode I found 1.) Windows Media Player netowrking service consumes a lot of network and CPU bandwidth once enabled and 2.) Network share of a nearby (Win7, of course) PC in Sleep mode caused boot delays.  Still after disabling Startup programs in the boot menu, I was unable to boot up properly. (9:30 AM)

Windows 7:  Fools game or Mastermind of time management?

Today was a tricky one to have troubles with a PC. I had a flight to catch (which I missed) at 4:24, had to leave home by 2:00 in order to catch the flight, although post July 4th traffic would kill off any such aspirations.  Also I was informed of a honey-do list that included A.) Fix the back door from opening so Molly could not escape, B.) Fix the teeter swing in back yard C.) Get milk, and D.) Pick up prescriptions, and most important E.) Fix my PC, even if it requires installing "With Windows 2.0... I don't care what version of Windows!!!" I could have hyperventilated with all that was to be accomplished by 2:00.  Windows 2.0 honey?  C'mon, I don't have a copy of that anymore, that would require a tript to my friend Doug Dayton's house (Microsoft's 169th employee and Windows OEM Sales Guru) and there's just not enough time for that (10:30).

Kicked off file system restore.  Took a shower and finished packing.   Attempted "Repair PC" option from Boot menu.  Started new Windows 7 Install (10:45) which finishes in near record time thanks to streamlined install process.  Reviewed USB ports (drivers) and installed programs post install before heading to Fred Meyer (11:30).  Installed MS Money and Office 2010 Tech Preview.  Started Windows Backup (11:45) and went to Fred Meyer.  Returned (12:15) backup complete, yay!  Next time this restore process will only take an hour or less.  Stopped for awhile and to have lunch with Molly and Cami. Chicken sandwich.

Wow!  How could this happen to me on the day like this, little would I know it would only get worse in Tacoma Narros toll traffic *sigh* and so continued restoring Cami's Laptop with all personal files by 1:30.  Forgets to install Pidgin, so she takes upon herself to install it herself (bless her) so we can chat on IM tonight from my hotel room.  It seems as though 98% of reinstall and restore tasks are complete (still need to fine tune network share, wake on lan, install Java and Business Accounting, and a few other small items...) so a sigh of relief.

It's beautiful outside although clouds are flying high Cami and I go outside and lay on the grass and talk about the weekend, our rental in Oregon, and how nice it would be to have our own home here (in Washington).  I take mental notes about packing cell phone battery charger, medications, and throw on a quick deodorant before heading out the door.  Sends text to Cami (to her fresh Windows 7 PC) from my phone while driving.  Whew, everything is okay!!!

Did Windows 7 just save my day and avert a disaster of the most extraordinary kind? 
Someone is lucky that Windows 7 is so amazing, or that she has an engineer as a husband!  :)

Happy Monday!

P.S. What went wrong with Win7 in the first place?  I'm not convinced that it was Windows fault since it's running fine on another laptop and a home built PC, and take more issues with the hack jobs that Sony did when coming up with Drivers for Vista, and of course there are no new drivers for this Windows 7, and Sony just expects you to run Vista Home for the rest of its life.  Anyways I'm suspicious of the Sony drivers, which I had uninistalled after installing them before.  So moral of the story is, Sony laptop owners beware.  I always seem to have most issues with drivers for Sony products whenever any configuration outside of the shipped OS is used.

Favorite Win7 Performance Tips

My favorite Windows 7 tips from Maximum PC

http://www.maximumpc.com/article/features/25_most_popular_windows_tips

http://www.maximumpc.com/article/features/21_steps_make_your_pc_betterfasterstronger

Windows, security and success as a photographer

Thanks for all the kind feedback about the latest Rangefinder article on securing your images for online portolios and online proofing. 

Frequently in interviews and computer science classes the rhetorical question gets asked, "Would Windows be so successful if it was more secure from the start?"  I think that's a great question, one deserving more contemplation rather than declaring abolsutely whether it's true or not.  If Windows was more secure, would it have been user friendly enough for adoption by the masses?  (UAC annoyances anyone?)  Of course now that Windows is on practically every desk and lap in the world, there is a bit more to worry about if we don't address the security issues.

Now, I wonder if there are any parallels to the way photographers share their images online.  What is there to be afraid of?  Are you afraid of the embarassment that others will poke fun that your work isn't relevant or compelling?  Are you afraid that someone might get away without paying for a couple hacked up 5x7 prints?  Are you afraid that your clients will get mad if their images are passed around online without their permission? 

Well then, start by addressing all your fears one by one instead of going the opposite extreme and locking them down tight.  Stop using gaudy borders and don't watermark your images to death.  Take away all of the distracting elements and let a person focus on the quality and crafstmanship of your photography.  Go to a couple workshops to improve your digital imaging or photographic skills and get yourself inspired!  Make sure your clients know in advance that you own the copyright to your images (of them) and that you may at your own discretion use the work in a public forum for portfolio and publicity of your photography business.  Restrictions in usage rights due to model release and negotations for privacy should be an exception rather than the rule if you are to keep your business moving forward.  Because if you can't show your work, you can't sell your services as a photographer.

So lighten up on your heavy handed use of watermarks and JavaScript to lock down your images. Really spend the time to think about how you can turn your strategy upside down by creating business oportunities through the way your images are displayed and shared online. 

Securing Images Online (For Photographers)

Here's a little somthing for all my photographer friends and Profitable Website Management fans out there.  I took a couple months break from my regular column for Rangefinder Mag. but I'm back, and this time I have combined two subjects near and dear to me, a smashup if you will.  Web security, web management and photography websites.  So in my June column I dive into some issues facing pretty much every working photographer today who takes their business online.

Here's the link for ya.  (It links to the Rangefinder article, so you can trust where the PDF link comes from.)

http://www.stevetout.com/articles/web-security-for-photographers.php

Special thanks to contributing photographers who graciously allowed me to use beautiful images from their portfolio.  Kenny Kim, The Photographers, Cheryl Savan and Corey Hilz. 

Also, stay tuned, as I am currently collaborating with an Sr. Flash Developer with guru status on the Top 5 performance grading criteria for Flash Websites for photographers, and with evaluations of some of the top vendors specializing in websites for photographers.  You'll have to wait for further details. :P

I hope you enjoy.  Please feel free to leave your comments on the article here in my blog, or you can share your horror stories with me at HowSecureAmI@stevetout.com.