181
December Madness 2 / Re: SOCIAL, Round 3: SMNetwork vs Pinterest
« on: Dec 08, 2014, 12:06 am »
Note: per IDMC ruling, I am benched for this particular match.
News:
14 Jan 2021: Happy 21st birthday, SMNetwork! I replaced the old broken mobile theme. -K
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182
December Madness 2 / SOFTWARE Round 3: Photoshop vs. Filemaker
« on: Dec 08, 2014, 12:05 am »
The first two rounds of the Software division have focused on apps that are easy to use for beginnners. They also offer a gradual learning curve to get you into advanced work pretty quickly. Round 3's competitors offer no such gentleness: it's mastery or bust. This is the battle of the connoisseur executables: Filemaker and Photoshop.
Filemaker/Database
The mention of the word "database" can strike fear in the heart of digital newbies. However, true masters of Filemaker and other database systems will tell you that there is no substitute when it comes time to organize data. Spreadsheets and documents are great for small shows and single productions, but when you're dealing with enormous casts, multiple drafts and scattered sites the Stage Management pros turn to databases. Filemaker Pro has been the mainstay of the SM database community for years. Other options exist in the form of MS Access and any number of SQL flavors (MySQL, MariaDB, Oracle, PostgreSQL, etc).
Photoshop
The logical folks will lean towards the databases, but for the creative/image folks its Photoshop all the way. The many-layered monster and its baby brother Elements have found their way into pop lyrics and traced their pen tools around political controversy. The learning curve for true excellence in Photoshop is just as steep as that of Filemaker - perhaps moreso. However, other graphic editors on team Photoshop include GIMP, Paint.net, Pixlr and even editor emeritus MS Paint. These make it somewhat easier to get your art on without an art degree.
Cast your vote for one of the big boys and help us decide who goes on to the Sweet Sixteen! Voting closes at midnight EST on the night of Dec 10.
Filemaker/Database
The mention of the word "database" can strike fear in the heart of digital newbies. However, true masters of Filemaker and other database systems will tell you that there is no substitute when it comes time to organize data. Spreadsheets and documents are great for small shows and single productions, but when you're dealing with enormous casts, multiple drafts and scattered sites the Stage Management pros turn to databases. Filemaker Pro has been the mainstay of the SM database community for years. Other options exist in the form of MS Access and any number of SQL flavors (MySQL, MariaDB, Oracle, PostgreSQL, etc).
Photoshop
The logical folks will lean towards the databases, but for the creative/image folks its Photoshop all the way. The many-layered monster and its baby brother Elements have found their way into pop lyrics and traced their pen tools around political controversy. The learning curve for true excellence in Photoshop is just as steep as that of Filemaker - perhaps moreso. However, other graphic editors on team Photoshop include GIMP, Paint.net, Pixlr and even editor emeritus MS Paint. These make it somewhat easier to get your art on without an art degree.
Cast your vote for one of the big boys and help us decide who goes on to the Sweet Sixteen! Voting closes at midnight EST on the night of Dec 10.
183
December Madness 2 / APPS Round 3: Clock vs Evernote
« on: Dec 08, 2014, 12:04 am »
Welcome back for round 3 of the Apps division! Your favorite mobile apps are duking it out to see who goes on to the Sweet Sixteen as we continue into the second week of December Madness!
Clock
It's the app that singlehandedly obliterated the wristwatch... CLOCK! As the first thing you see on your phone, it's easy to forget that the Clock is also an app. Digging into its functions you can usually find countdown timer, alarm and stopwatch functions. The stage manager's role as time keeper has made the stopwatch an iconic badge of the industry. (So much so that it's been my avatar here on SMNet for the ENTIRETY of its existence!) Are stage managers willing and able to discard their stopwatches in favor of this mighty widget? Can the Clock app manage to trump its tough opponent, the versatile and fancy Evernote?
Evernote
Hailing from Redwood City, CA, Evernote turns your pocket notebook into a digital, shareable compilation. Jot down notes, clip web pages, make checklists, share them with individuals, groups or the whole world. Sync them between your devices. A healthy pile of extensions integrates Evernote into other apps, allowing it to serve as a backup location/collator for shopping lists, text messages and voicemails.
Two strong competitors: one simple, one very complex. Which will survive round 3? We'll find out at midnight EST on the night of Dec. 10!
Clock
It's the app that singlehandedly obliterated the wristwatch... CLOCK! As the first thing you see on your phone, it's easy to forget that the Clock is also an app. Digging into its functions you can usually find countdown timer, alarm and stopwatch functions. The stage manager's role as time keeper has made the stopwatch an iconic badge of the industry. (So much so that it's been my avatar here on SMNet for the ENTIRETY of its existence!) Are stage managers willing and able to discard their stopwatches in favor of this mighty widget? Can the Clock app manage to trump its tough opponent, the versatile and fancy Evernote?
Evernote
Hailing from Redwood City, CA, Evernote turns your pocket notebook into a digital, shareable compilation. Jot down notes, clip web pages, make checklists, share them with individuals, groups or the whole world. Sync them between your devices. A healthy pile of extensions integrates Evernote into other apps, allowing it to serve as a backup location/collator for shopping lists, text messages and voicemails.
Two strong competitors: one simple, one very complex. Which will survive round 3? We'll find out at midnight EST on the night of Dec. 10!
184
December Madness 2 / Re: December Madness 2: Digital Boogaloo (Starts 12/1/2014!)
« on: Dec 08, 2014, 12:02 am »
And there's the whistle for the end of round 2! What an exciting match this was!
The apps division was a close race for the first three quarters, with Video Phone and Google Drive within one point of each other the whole way up. Today the odds tipped in favor of Google Drive, which trounced Skype/FaceTime/Hangouts to win it 17-12.
Over in the software division, bookmaker favorite Excel wrote a tidy function to seal Acrobat in a pine box. Despite some solid cheering on the part of the PDF fans, the powerhouse from Redmond cleaned up 23-9.
However, I'd say the most heated battle went down in the fourth quarter over in the Social division. For that we head over to Maribeth with the wrap up.
The apps division was a close race for the first three quarters, with Video Phone and Google Drive within one point of each other the whole way up. Today the odds tipped in favor of Google Drive, which trounced Skype/FaceTime/Hangouts to win it 17-12.
Over in the software division, bookmaker favorite Excel wrote a tidy function to seal Acrobat in a pine box. Despite some solid cheering on the part of the PDF fans, the powerhouse from Redmond cleaned up 23-9.
However, I'd say the most heated battle went down in the fourth quarter over in the Social division. For that we head over to Maribeth with the wrap up.
185
December Madness 2 / Re: SOCIAL, Round 2: Twitter vs. Tumblr
« on: Dec 07, 2014, 11:40 pm »
I hope you guys continue to come out for the other matches. However, if you want to mark your calendar for the Facebook/Tumblr showdown, the match will run from 12/15 through 12/17.
EDIT: Also, props to the "SMblr" brigade for our best day for new member registrations in over a year. Hope all 8 of you have fun around here.
EDIT: Also, props to the "SMblr" brigade for our best day for new member registrations in over a year. Hope all 8 of you have fun around here.
186
December Madness 2 / Re: SOCIAL, Round 2: Twitter vs. Tumblr
« on: Dec 07, 2014, 10:56 pm »
SMblr vote surge for Tumblr courtesy of this: http://smblrsunite.tumblr.com/post/104641250228/smnetwork-december-madness
187
December Madness 2 / Re: SOFTWARE Round 2: Excel vs. PDF
« on: Dec 06, 2014, 02:24 am »
PDF is definitely the underdog here. Even so, it's a testament to how strong it has become over the past few years that it's actually registering some hits against Excel in a stage management vote-off. This match isn't neck-in-neck like Drive/Skype, but it also isn't the rout I feared it might be at the outset.
188
December Madness 2 / Re: WEBSITE, Round 2: Doodle vs. Web Calendar
« on: Dec 06, 2014, 02:22 am »
I have to say, when I picked Doodle for the opening roster I wanted to draw more attention to it, but I didn't think it would actually register any votes. I'm pleased to see it's actually nabbed a couple of points on the board.
Out of curiosity, since it's such an underdog, would one of the folks on team Doodle be willing to step up and explain why they chose it?
Out of curiosity, since it's such an underdog, would one of the folks on team Doodle be willing to step up and explain why they chose it?
189
December Madness 2 / Re: APPS Round 2: Google Drive vs. Video Phone
« on: Dec 06, 2014, 02:21 am »
We've gotten 5 more votes since your post, Maribeth, and the two competitors are still only 1 point apart. This is a very exciting match! After the crowd response to the Word/Browser match earlier in the week I'd have thought Drive had this buttoned up. It looks like the three point team of Skype, Facetime and Hangouts is giving Drive a serious workout!
190
Students and Novice Stage Managers / Re: Invaluable Advice
« on: Dec 05, 2014, 04:36 pm »
Fine to use my post above. Agree with Maribeth, best to PM folks for permission.
191
December Madness 2 / Re: SOCIAL, Round 2: Twitter vs. Tumblr
« on: Dec 05, 2014, 02:38 am »
I have to say that based on the stats a huge number of new SMNet members can be attributed to just a few mentions on Tumblr. I haven't seen that kind of influx from any other source in recent memory.
192
December Madness 2 / Re: APPS Round 1: Dropbox vs Text Messaging
« on: Dec 04, 2014, 01:22 am »
Hope you got your vote in under the wire, BayAreaSM. This was a VERY close match!
193
December Madness 2 / Re: December Madness 2: Digital Boogaloo (Starts 12/1/2014!)
« on: Dec 04, 2014, 01:22 am »
I should mention that the current version of the Bracket has been added to the first post in this thread. I'll update it regularly as rounds end/begin with the latest winners.
Also, if you want to put December Madness in your calendars, new rounds will begin on Mondays and Thursdays through Christmas. The semifinals will start on Christmas Day and run for a week to ensure your family has a chance to catch you at voting and consider you odd.
The finals will begin on New Year's Day and will also run for a week.
Maribeth, I think folks were right and AEA Docs got a bad seed this time around. Maybe we can have a losers' runoff at the same time as the finals, bring back the two teams that got the fewest votes for a rematch. Give it at least a shot at some sort of prize, eh?
Also, if you want to put December Madness in your calendars, new rounds will begin on Mondays and Thursdays through Christmas. The semifinals will start on Christmas Day and run for a week to ensure your family has a chance to catch you at voting and consider you odd.
The finals will begin on New Year's Day and will also run for a week.
Maribeth, I think folks were right and AEA Docs got a bad seed this time around. Maybe we can have a losers' runoff at the same time as the finals, bring back the two teams that got the fewest votes for a rematch. Give it at least a shot at some sort of prize, eh?
194
December Madness 2 / APPS Round 2: Google Drive vs. Video Phone
« on: Dec 04, 2014, 12:04 am »
Your opinions on the true core role of the stage manager may take a hand in what wins the match before you today. Those who favor the organizational aspects of the job may lean towards Google Drive, while those who value communication as the central factor will consider Video Phone as their better aid. I'm sure both of our teams are very aware of the stakes as they take the court today.
Google Drive
Combining a moderate office suite (previously called Google Docs) with cloud storage, Google Drive is the Swiss Army Knife of online editing. The question is, does the wonder from Mountain View spread its talents too thin? The editing capabilities of the individual Google Drive pieces are mediocre in comparison to more fully-fledged desktop applications. However, you get what you pay for and Drive is free, portable and makes collaboration relatively easy.
If the browser/word processing match from earlier in the week is anything to go by, Google Drive will be a top contender in this round, and possibly through the entire tourament. However, all that hope will be for naught if it can't hold its own against a very valid competitor...
Video Phone
There's three major players in the video phone category - Skype, FaceTime and Google Hangouts. All three offer similar capabilities - use your web connection to talk with others in real time, with a facecam option built-in.
Stage managers working with remote production teams and touring technicians will be most reliant on video phone - here on SMNet it's been mentioned as a way to allow remote designers to "attend" run throughs and production meetings. Old school TV shows predicting the future made video phones out to be the top of the line for "futuristic" technology.
Are we living in the future? Is this technology a satisfactory stopgap until flying cars finally make it to mass production? We probably won't answer these questions here, but we can at least figure out if it's more useful than Google's offering.
Poll remains open through midnight at the end of December 7, EST.
Google Drive
Combining a moderate office suite (previously called Google Docs) with cloud storage, Google Drive is the Swiss Army Knife of online editing. The question is, does the wonder from Mountain View spread its talents too thin? The editing capabilities of the individual Google Drive pieces are mediocre in comparison to more fully-fledged desktop applications. However, you get what you pay for and Drive is free, portable and makes collaboration relatively easy.
If the browser/word processing match from earlier in the week is anything to go by, Google Drive will be a top contender in this round, and possibly through the entire tourament. However, all that hope will be for naught if it can't hold its own against a very valid competitor...
Video Phone
There's three major players in the video phone category - Skype, FaceTime and Google Hangouts. All three offer similar capabilities - use your web connection to talk with others in real time, with a facecam option built-in.
Stage managers working with remote production teams and touring technicians will be most reliant on video phone - here on SMNet it's been mentioned as a way to allow remote designers to "attend" run throughs and production meetings. Old school TV shows predicting the future made video phones out to be the top of the line for "futuristic" technology.
Are we living in the future? Is this technology a satisfactory stopgap until flying cars finally make it to mass production? We probably won't answer these questions here, but we can at least figure out if it's more useful than Google's offering.
Poll remains open through midnight at the end of December 7, EST.
195
December Madness 2 / SOFTWARE Round 2: Excel vs. PDF
« on: Dec 04, 2014, 12:02 am »
It's the orderly vs the chaotic in this matchup, as boxy Excel takes on the flexible Acrobat in what is likely to be a tight matchup.
Excel/Spreadsheet
Excel and Word are the Venus and Serena Williams of this tournament: great individually, better together. Word faced a tough game against the Web Browser's strong defensive line earlier in the week. If Excel takes this match it will have to face off against its sibling in the sweet sixteen. For now though, it must focus on taking out Acrobat.
Excel courts stage managers with its fondness for putting info in nice neat boxes. It backs up its aesthetics with math wizardry that makes it a go-to tool for time calculations. Will it be enough to hold its own against the PDF?
Acrobat/PDF Readers
Adobe Acrobat was long despised for its long load times and massive memory usage. That was then. Nowadays PDF has become the universal format for static document exchange, ensuring that resumes and production documents look the same on every computer that opens them. The Office suites' steps to making PDF generation easy has gone a long way towards spreading the popularity of PDF. Meanwhile, competing PDF readers with lightweight footprints such as Foxit Reader have forced Adobe's hand to slim down Acrobat Reader to fighting trim.
Stage managers, only one of these two excellent teams will continue to the next round. Will it be brother vs brother in the sweet sixteen, or will the two e-script powerhouses face off? It's time for you to decide.
Poll remains open through midnight at the end of December 7, EST.
Excel/Spreadsheet
Excel and Word are the Venus and Serena Williams of this tournament: great individually, better together. Word faced a tough game against the Web Browser's strong defensive line earlier in the week. If Excel takes this match it will have to face off against its sibling in the sweet sixteen. For now though, it must focus on taking out Acrobat.
Excel courts stage managers with its fondness for putting info in nice neat boxes. It backs up its aesthetics with math wizardry that makes it a go-to tool for time calculations. Will it be enough to hold its own against the PDF?
Acrobat/PDF Readers
Adobe Acrobat was long despised for its long load times and massive memory usage. That was then. Nowadays PDF has become the universal format for static document exchange, ensuring that resumes and production documents look the same on every computer that opens them. The Office suites' steps to making PDF generation easy has gone a long way towards spreading the popularity of PDF. Meanwhile, competing PDF readers with lightweight footprints such as Foxit Reader have forced Adobe's hand to slim down Acrobat Reader to fighting trim.
Stage managers, only one of these two excellent teams will continue to the next round. Will it be brother vs brother in the sweet sixteen, or will the two e-script powerhouses face off? It's time for you to decide.
Poll remains open through midnight at the end of December 7, EST.