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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