Updates > Update Archive > Detailed Changes 2007

Previous detailed changes to AbleStable during 2007

Recent changes to AbleStable made over the year 2007 are listed below. Maintenance entries are in black text, new content is highlighted:

• Sister Site Close To Launch: work is well underway to launch creativeiworld the new sister site of AbleStable. creativeiworld lets anyone who has produced original work publish their blog and express their creativity. All for free! creativeiworld is distinct from AbleStable's Directory which provides a listing of creative professionals. In contrast, creativeiworld will be open to anyone who wishes to join.
• New Column: The Creative and Artistic Director: The Creative Director oversees and co-ordinates branding and advertising campaigns from the ground up through to publication. In the performance art world the equivalent role is that of the Artistic Director whose purpose is not about the presentation and branding of a product or service, but about making aesthetic choices and defining the artistic direction of a performance. This column describes these roles and considers their common ground.

New Content: November 2007

• New Column: Money and the Vocational Artist: Distinguishing the vocational artist from the ego centric self-absorbed art practitioner is at times difficult. The vocational artist need not be poor though they are often unwealthy for they place the importance of their vocation above commercial gain. In this column I set out why supporting the vocational artist is crucial to society, and how one might judge the genuine vocational artist from the pretender.
• New Arcade Game: FlashTrek: The first in a series of arcade games based on StarTrek developed by Vex Xiang. Pilot your ship on a mission to reclaim the Alpha Quadrant from the Dominion. Upgrade to new starships as you defeat enemy ships, run trade missions, and liberate star systems and earn prestige.

New Content: October 2007

• New Column: The Tyranny of Homework: The volume of homework for children has steadily increased over the last fifty years and is now assumed by many as a requirement of an effective educational experience. In this column I argue that homework is a powerful negative force that discourages curiosity, creativity, and self-reliance.
• Forum Update: AbleStable's Forum, a context to exchange ideas and messages about creativity, aesthetics, and the creative process, returns after the server migration.
• New Logic Game: Gateway 2: The second version of this excellent Flash game presents intriguing and complex puzzles that require careful thought to unlock different gateways on your journey through an often quizzical landscape.
• New Mailing List Service: AbleStable's News Update is now delivered by iContact. AbleStable retains complete control of the list, and subscribers enjoy significant improvements in the quality of the subscription service including full anti-Spam compliance and RSS archival feeds.
New Server: AbleStable has now moved server location from the UK to the US with significant improvements in site delivery. If you notice a broken link as a result of the migration please report the problem.

The new server provides far greater reliability, faster download speeds, and far more flexibility from the server side which will allow AbleStable to grow and develop services into the future.

New Content: September 2007

• New Column: Time and Creativity: Time defines our experiences and yet we understand so little of what time is. Does the pressure of getting things done in a limited time stimulate or stifle creativity? When we have little time to ponder, to take in what is happening, has happened, will happen, the desire to be creative hightens, and yet when we have time on our hands, the ability to create often runs dry. Is clock time the best time for the artist within? or is the absence of a sense of time the only time when inspiration bites?
• New Logic Game: Gateway: developed by Anders Gustafsson this excellent Flash game presents intriguing and complex puzzles that require careful thought to unlock different gateways on your journey through an often quizzical landscape.

New Content: August 2007

• Competition Winners: the winners of AbleStable's 2007 "Freedom" Competition are announced. David Woolbrook's "Netting on the Teign" enjoys first place, with an anonymous "FreePlay" entry being highly commended. Next years competition is on the theme "Looking Up" and is open to all visual artists, writers, designers, illustrators, and photographers.
• New Column: Snap Happy: A recent trip to the Brecon Beacons in Wales rekindled my passion to take photos. It was a trip to the Welsh mountains in my mid teens that kick started my love of photography. I'd set out with a cheap plastic camera and promised myself that if I came back with some snaps I was happy with, I'd invest in a camera that would allow me to explore the medium further. I was fortunate that the landscape was so powerful that even a novice would return with some great images - I was hooked.

New Content: July 2007

• New Column: The Need To Make: During my holiday in Sidmouth, a beautiful town that nestles within the Jurassic cliffs of Devon, I spent many hours gathering objects I found on the beach and made a stone circle. I reflect on my need to do so, and the enrichment this process brought me.
• New Creative Plaything: QGoo: a simple online creative activity that lets you manipulate the source image by selecting a tool and dragging your mouse. There are a number of source images to choose from.
• New Game: Gravity Launch: Launch your rocket then touch down safely on the orbiting space stations using the controls and the gravity of the Earth and Moon. Progress through five ever more difficult levels until you reach the ultimate challenge.

New Content: June 2007

• New Column: The Ethical Robot: The acceleration of robotic technology is upon us. Mass robot manufacture will spawn an explosion of creativity and design, and the building of robots will become a major economic and cultural force in the lives of those who live in the richer nations of the world. As the main safeguard for any intelligent being are its ethics, we better start thinking about what happens when, as is inevitable, robots begin to exhibit signs of intelligence, powers of reason, and in the not too distant future, emotion
• New Exhibition: Ethical Robot: The age of the robot is close at hand. The exhibition Ethical Robot raises questions about our attitudes, behaviors and actions towards what may be a new race... The first release of the Ethical Robot exhibition is designed to provoke interest and thought. The present exhibition is a shell that will house many more articles and pages that will be investigated by the Ethical Robot.
• New Game: Frog Crossing: Adult frogs are characterized by long hind legs, a short body, webbed digits, protruding eyes and the absence of a tail. One thing you will not learn in Wikipedia however is that a frog is also extremely clever. They do not carry ray guns to disintegrate oncoming traffic and must rely on their swift thinking and fast jumping to prevent an otherwise very squishy end. Enjoy this three level frogger-like game developed by Dinis Carvalho.

New Content: May 2007

• New Column: Good Taste, Bad Art: The cooperative senses of taste and smell provide pleasure and warn of danger. Their impact in the arts is less significant however as compared with the dominant senses of sight, and hearing. This column investigates the importance of taste and smell in the context of creativity, and aims to shed light on these senses which seem confined to our primal sensibilities.
• New Forum: the New Forum at AbleStable aims to encourage dialog on a range of topics relating to creativity, aesthetics, and the creative process. If this modest forum proves popular, it's possible it may be expanded with a more sophisticated model.
• A major review of all members at AbleStable is underway. Any Member profiles without appropriate contact information will either be amended if possible, or removed from the directory if no email address or website is provided. This review will maintain the integrity and quality of the directory.
• The homepage has been updated. With fewer and lighter graphical elements, and reduced page content. The purpose of AbleStable should be clearer for first time visitors.
• New Freeware: Starter by CodeStuff has an easy to understand interface and allows the novice computer user to simply and quickly select or deselect items that start up with Windows. This can be a very useful program as some programs and processes start which cause problems, or unnecessarily place a burden on your system.

New Content: April 2007

• New Column: Ten Good Things. The fiftieth column at AbleStable presents ten great works: Contact; Crash Bash; The Koln Concert; Biscuits; El Coronel No Tiene Quien Le Escriba; Rembrandt; The iPhone; The Tate Gallery, Saint Ives, Cornwall; The Internet; and The Earth.
• New Freeware: DTaskManager by Dimitrios Coutsoumbas significantly improves upon the Task Manager that ships with Windows, and has a great array of features that relate to seven areas of your computer and network operation. DTaskManager allows the user to monitor their computer and network activity, and to take actions like suspending processes, ending tasks, and restarting your computer when programs freeze.

New Content: March 2007

• New Column: The Never Ending Draft: Software development is often perceived of as less creative and less "artistic" than many other creative activities. The never ending draft that defines the working practice of the software developer provides an insight into both the creative process, and differences in how our creativity finds its expression.
• New Freeware: OverDisk by Elias Fotinis gives a very fast view of how your disk space is being used. See how much free disk space you have on any Windows recognizable disk with this excellent utility program.
• New Game: Asteroids: enjoy a challenging version of the classic game Asteroids by Ben Sigelman. This online game at AbleStable replaces "Trekkieroids" which proved problematical for many new browsers.

New Content: February 2007

• New Column: The Final Draft: The drafting process produces work which is far more likely to stand the test of time. Whatever creative activity you are engaged in, the continuous refinement of ideas and technique is what will set you apart from the crowd. There are however areas of creativity whose products require continuous updating. When do you stop trying to make your work better? How do you know you have completed the final draft?

New Content: January 2007

• New Column: Killer Gaming: The Instinct of Aggression: A good computer or console game is wholly absorbing. Whether you're a newbie or an old hand, playing a game can transform your place of being. Good games require the right balance of challenge and reward. Some pander to our thirst for adventure and mystery, others to our ego, competitive spirit, or aggression. I ponder on when a game crosses the boundary from being a positive force to a negative one...


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