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Ann The Gran Community

Beautiful people who make beautiful things.

The Computerist

May 2010 - Posts

  • A terrific freebie and a wonderful cost saver

    I would read more if I could find the time. Since I have found “Books Should Be Free” I felt I could listen when I was embroidering or relaxing in the evenings.

    This site has public domain audio in MP3 which is iTunes playable. You can take them with you or listen from your PC. Of course, iTunes is a free program from Apple. You can do a lot with iTunes, such as listen to free Podcasts, Movies and Books. Of course, there are also rentals and purchases of some of those items as well.

    Speaking of saving money, if you have a membership any place in this world, you know that memberships do have their rewards. If you are a member of a discount club, you can go there to get 2 items and spend $100. (You probably know who that is - - I won't mention names, but the initials are Costco.) If you are a member of a fraternal order, you can enjoy the friendship of like-minded people.

    Benefits for AnnTheGran site members are abundant, and significantly more are available for members of Ann's Club.  I am going to recap some of them because long time members can forget all the perks too.

    The site membership is free and only takes a few moments. The site has clear and concise policies concerning your information. The policy states that your information will not be sold or rented to other groups. Read it if you feel that other sites have not been honorable with your information.

    Becoming a site member allows one to join in interesting discussions and contribute thoughts as well as photos.

    Registration is simple, quick, and easy. You may opt to receive the newsletter lets you know about sales, new items, and blogs to name just a few of the benefits. Naturally, you can opt out of the newsletter at any time.

    And, despite registering, you still can be online, without signing in, thereby still being ‘anonymous' if you choose.  

    The membership in Ann's Club is 14 cents per day for 2 years, or 28 cents a day for 90 days.

    Exclusive benefits for members of Ann's Club: (I am estimating what I save on these)

     

    My savings for the past year

    1 Adhesive med tear away

    19.00

    1 Adhesive WSS

    20.00

    1 Textured Nylon Cut

    15.00

    Peggy’s Stitch Eraser

    5.00

    Composition Software

    30.00

    Bonance (alpha)

    12.25

    Carnation (alpha)

    10.00

    Murphy (alpha)

    10.00

    Total Savings (one year)

    121.25

    Annual Membership Fee

    59.99

    Net Savings

    61.26

    (Does not including free designs, discounted designs, Phrase Pack, Digitizing Services)

    Then I conducted a test. I selected 3 different stabilizers from AnnTheGran, totally at random. I went on the Net to find similar stabilizers, again selecting site at random. My results were quite interesting.  For one thing, everyone packages differently. So, I determined the actual cost per square yard and these are my results:

    Stabilizer Type/per square yard:

    AnnTheGran

    Others

    Medium Tear away

    1.741

      2.666

    Medium Tear away Adhesive

    4.909

    10.472

    Water Soluble

    3.709

    10.472

    I found two sites that do have annual fees, one is $80 and the other is $65 (including 30% off stabilizers and some supplies). Both sites give you all the 'free designs' you want. Be sure what you are getting for your money, I would encourage you to check out The Avid Embroiderer's Blog (me) which touches on quality of designs.  

    If you are not a Club Member yet, give it a try.

  • Two More Really Terrific Free Software Programs

     

    The following tips can be used for both Windows XP and Vista.
    Operating systems vary, if in doubt, check with your provider and/or technical support.

    I had a lot of difficulty with my Adobe Reader recently.  All things considered, it was a very bad situation and I wanted to drop kick the entire program out of my laptop.

    After working with a technician at HP for too long, he suggested that I try "Foxit Reader."  After downloading this free software, all my issues disappeared.  I cannot say it enough, a problem that persisted for 6 weeks was gone and I was so elated.  And, to add joy to the situation, it is faster than Adobe!

    Here is a portion of a review from the site and if you want to read the remainder, check the download site:  

    Reviewed by: Seth Rosenblatt on December 08, 2008

    To put it gently, Adobe Reader is a real pain in the hindquarters. It's monstrously large, slow to load, and includes many features most users will hardly ever need. Foxit PDF Reader 3.0 kills the bloat and throws in some useful features, such as multimedia support and content-sharing options, while still allowing you to quickly access your PDFs.

    Believe me, Adobe may have the lion's share of the Internet's pdf documentation, but that does not make it the best. 

     

    My second ‘find' is a really full featured photo editing software.  There are a number of good ones on the Net, but this one has several advantages, the best of which is that you DON'T DOWNLOAD IT AT ALL.

    You use it on the Internet, so it does not add a zillion new files to your already overcrowded hard drive.  

    Techies have believed for some time that eventually no one will have software on the computers in the future.  There are several reasons for that:

    • Software has become more and more complex and ‘bloated' (where did I just hear that term?)
    • Software always has a quirk or two (just ask Microsoft. . . ) that have to be patched or repaired. Doing it on the Internet will benefit all users at once.
    • You will still "buy" the use of some software, you just won't have it on your pc.

    There are other good reasons, so try to keep an open mind, because it is in the future - date unknown.

    My new recommendation is Aviary.  The features of this program are so very lengthy, that even if you are not looking for a new photo program, you will want to look at what is available.  You may find something you cannot live without; maybe your software has it too, but you have not yet discovered it.

    I am going to be doing some tutorials on this software for your use with embroidery in mind.  So, you have a project, but you cannot seem to get a good photo of it, I am going to (attempt) help you share your photos and/or projects.

    Here is one thing that I will be teaching and working on:

    Addi and Cameron Diaz

    Here is Cameron Diaz admiring my granddaughter Addi enjoying the very last kernel of corn.  Obviously, this is my first attempt and it leaves a lot to be desired, but there was a lot to understand and I am pleased with my first layer project. 

    Learn about layers and what they can do for your photo.  Learn about how to make your photo seem 3D.  I hope you will join me, because I cannot wait to make interesting photos.

    For more ideas on how to take a great photo check these out: Party Tips and Tricks,  Composing a Photo and Resizing a Photo.

    Check out the Catalog Xpress, the best design organization program on the market AND, it is 50% off.  Support where you learn.

    These layered projects will be especially great for you who are Scrapbook Fans!

     

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