Thanks goes to Penny for the awesome photo!

There is a whole album of cheesy rock songs like this one in the works, here’s a sneak preview for those who give a crap. Jai and I wrote this song in 2004. It’s about Baya, who was still in Kristii’s belly!

A Bigsby B7 tailpiece! HOT!!

Seymour Duncan P90s. Sweeeeet!

Every time I listen to José González’ accoustic solo album Veneer I hear these awesome drum beats in my head because the man has very good rhythm. So I went ahead and recorded some drum tracks over it – here’s the results. I had planned to do the whole album but I don’t have time for that, just got thru the first three. Enjoy!

1 – Slow Moves – José González

2 – Remain – José González

3 – Lovestain – José González

Disclaimer – Please don’t sue me. I’m not distributing this or claiming ownership, just sharing with friends. All credit goes to the man himself, please buy his album if you like it. If you are listening to this with a laptop or mobile please do it justice with a pair of headphones. All music sounds shyte thru tinny speakers.

Symbolic Studios will cease operation.

Prospects: Please consider employing the fantastic services of IVT – integrated online business systems.
Existing clients: I am able to offer support in my spare time but no new projects please! Thank you for your business.

Minimalist design works for some, the simplicity of providing only the bare essentials can be intriguing and prompt enquiries. On the other hand, a deep site that contains every little piece of information about your business can become an informative and useful resource. What site features would engage your visitors? There are many design tactics and functions that, when used appropriately, will help captivate your audience.

There are several answers to this question depending on who’s asking. Here’s a great generic response – open source allows freedom of choice.

Some consider open source a philosophy, others consider it a pragmatic methodology. One way to explain open source is by using keywords to describe what it isn’t: Proprietary, corporate, bias, exclusive, binding, restricted, etc.

Take operating systems for example. The most popular operating system is made by the Microsoft Corporation. Although their product is great in many ways, it is far from open source. Remember the little box that you ticked when installing Windows? That was their End User License Agreement, a contract that makes you vulnerable to the keywords listed above. Essentially, even though you paid for it you do not own it, in fact in many ways they own you!

Think about it – Most computers are sold with Windows already installed. Would you have chosen Windows if you were ever offered a choice? The answer might be yes for familiarity’s sake, like most of us you may have become dependent upon Microsoft and therefore prone to another vastly dominating corporate agenda.

Alternatively, open source software is made freely available and the code is also yours to build upon. The introduction of the GNU/GPL licensing method 25 years ago encouraged users and developers all over the world to build vast community support networks around new collaborative projects. Popular open source software projects include Mozilla Firefox (web browser), OpenOffice.org (alternative to MS Office), Linux (operating systems) and Joomla! (website content management system)

… They’re all free of course!

As a web designer/developer I benefit from and contribute to open source projects in many ways. The services I provide include customising software for my clients whilst giving them the same freedom that open source offers me – reputable packages backed by vast support networks to assist in their site’s administration, complete control of their entire website (and its code) and providing a flexible platform from which to expand and grow with their business.

I use a free open source Linux operating system called Ubuntu. Try it out. Liberate yourself!