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- June 4, 2005
Solopreneurs
June 4, 2005Read moreJeff forwarded me this advice for solopreneurs, which is a list of 10 things one must do to be…successful? I’m not sure. The takeaway, though, is the term “Solopreneur”, which the author says is a buzzword on the upswing in the Blogosphere. What’s a Solopreneur? Essentially, a solopreneur is a one-person business., but he writes further:
I consider myself to be a reluctant, yet committed Solopreneur. Reluctant in the sense that I would rather be collaborating with other like-minded people instead of slogging along solo. But committed in the sense that I am compelled to continue slogging along solo until I can actually find some other like-minded people […]
Yes. That’s what I’m talking about.
- June 3, 2005
On The Road Again
June 3, 2005Read moreIt’s been a nutty week, filled with preparations for an upcoming pitch meeting I’m attending in California for a few days. It’s been a while since I’ve had to do it; forgotten how much work it can be, so I’ve had not very much time to myself to blog or even play World of Warcraft. Making up for this overall gruntness of the week was an acquaintance’s fantastic birthday celebration dinner at Cuchi Cuchi in Central Square. Also, I got to make a cool birthday present and deploy a “stratagem” of the Amelie style. Anyway, I’m in Louisville, Colorado for Luke’s wedding. I get to hook up with Sunil and Eugene…it’s been years since I’ve seen them. Well, with the exception of Eugene at Mark’s Wedding last year.
- May 31, 2005
Two Ways, One Lane, Rock Out
May 31, 2005Read moreI’ve been thinking yet again about what it means to start a practice, talking with several successful friends who have gone through the cycle a few more times than I have.
The question of the hour: Why start a business in the first place? I’ve heard two reasons. (more…)
- May 27, 2005
Control Two Computers from One Keyboard/Mouse
May 27, 2005Read moreWhen you have several computers running all at once, you end up with a desk cluttered with multiple mice and keyboards. Invariably, you’re going to grab the wrong mouse or type on the wrong keyboard. Annoying. So short of building a custom multi-keyboard stack rig, or suffering from the inelegance of a KVM switch, you can use Win2VNC to control two computers from one mouse and keyboard. I have a Windows and Mac on my desktop, and I can smoothly move my mouse cursor from one machine to the other. It’s magic!
Win2VNC is a modification of a regular VNC client, which normally is used to control computers that you can’t necessarily see. To do that, it copies the contents of the screen of the remote computer to your screen; if you’ve used Window’s Remote Desktop capability, it’s the same idea. Win2VNC just does away with the screen copying (it’s not needed, since you have the other computer right in front of you), and adds code to seamlessly track the mouse as it enters/exits different screens.
It mostly works…you have to remember that the ALT key maps to the COMMAND key on the Macintosh, and that copy/paste is therefore ALT-C/ALT-P instead of CTRL-C/CTRL-P. You also need to run a VNC Server on the remote machine; for the Mac I’m using OSXvnc under Mac OS X 10.4.1 Tiger. There’s a small bug in it in which you have to write-protect the app to prevent it from corrupting itself (
cd /Applications; chmod -R 555 osxvnc.appor something similar). And sometimes copy/paste breaks…it may be related to this apparent bug with the Mac VNC Server.Still, it rocks. If you used the KVM switch solution, you would have to press a button to switch from one computer to the other. With Win2VNC, you just move the mouse cursor off one monitor, and it appears on the other. It’s more much natural.
UPDATE: I just read about a commercial product called Multiplicity from StarDock Software. The professional version can manage more than two computers, which would rock. At the time of this writing (11/30/05) there is no Mac OS X client, though one is in development
- May 26, 2005
Blank Label Comics
May 26, 2005Read more
I read about Blank Label Comics on PVP, and I like the idea behind it. From their press release:
Blank Label Comics proudly announces a new approach to self-publishing for cartoonists. Blank Label is a cooperative group of cartoonists who are helping one another succeed as independents. These six cartoonists, previously hosted at Keenspot, are banding together for cross-promotion and advertising. Each is using his proficiency in a particular aspect of the cartooning business to help the others — who are doing the same in return. […] Blank Label will not compete with online syndicates such as Modern Tales and Keenspot. It is a small group of cartoonists with similar goals, using individual strengths to help one another reach those goals.
Awesome.
I’d like to pursue something similar with New Media, or whatever it is that I actually am doing: a weird blend of programming, project management, computer graphics, and mentoring. Really, I just want to do things that kick ass, support the things my friends and I believe are important, and stay as independent as possible to pursue that. Do it well, inspire your audience, and stay true to your self.
In my mind, making money is something that should be in service to those goals, so I’m thinking more about how to structure my practice more tightly along revenue-generating lines. Independent cartoonists band together for success
