LostInTheText.com » Rants and Raves – Personal

Great free programs that no computer should be without

Ryan Bishop — Sat, 25 Jun 2011 00:49:54 +0000

1. Microsoft’s security essentials
This freebie from microsoft (weird concept, huh?) provides an exceptional level of anti-virus protection, in a mostly efficient form that doesn’t lag your system like some of its competitors.

2. Malwarebytes’ Anti-Malware
Viruses aren’t the only threat to your average PC. Malware is a prominent and growing threat to the security of the web as a whole. Take a look at Malwarebytes’ Anti-Malware software to round out your computer security programs.

3. FireFox
Let’s face it – Although it had its hay-day in the formative browser war years, Internet Explorer hasn’t quite kept up with the speed and web standards (With the exception of IE 9 to come). FireFox is a palpably quicker, W3C-compliant browser that offers a great deal of customization, plugins, and tabbed browsing. It will also run along side IE, making it easy to try on the side.

4. GIMP.
Ok, so the name isn’t exactly P.C., but GIMP (which stands for “Graphical Image Manipulation Program”) is a great free graphics program with a diverse range of features and effects. It’s a good middle ground between the limitations of the classic MS paint, and the expensive industry-leader Photoshop.

First Day back to College

Mon, 23 Aug 2010 05:42:02 +0000

Well, it’s officially the first day back to college. Though I don’t have actual on-campus classes until tommorow, it’s a great moment to reflect that it’s one foot back on the right path. As they say, today is the first day of the rest of our lives, and it marks the first stretch down a long path of academia, and with any luck a big step towards independence and a great career beneficial to humanity.

Back to college

Fri, 20 Aug 2010 00:09:40 +0000

Only 3 more free days, then it’s back to the college grind.
It’s been several years, but with a new epiphany of going into the biotech field the excitement has definitely sunk in. There is a world of opportunity for invention and improvement in the field, as we’ve only really scratched the surface of what science can offer humanity. I hope to one day truly make a difference in the field, and make the lives better for many.

HTML 5.0 – The shape of things to come

Fri, 23 Apr 2010 05:32:06 +0000

Even though it hasn’t even left the finishing room floor at the W3 organization, HTML 5.0 is shaping up to be a force to be reckoned with for interactivity on the web. The lines between operating system and web browser will be blurred, as the features and functions of each merge to the point of overlapping. HTML 5.0 will make it possible to drag files from your desktop to web-based SAAS (Software as a Service) installations, while taking social networking elements in whole new directions. Rich media will get the run of the land, so to speak, with fewer design limitations. Features you normally use an application for will grow increasingly web-based, and the UI possibilities for web designers are almost unimaginable. For the technically-inclined, HTML 5 will also provide much more seamless integration with APIs, with inherent scripting.

Features of HTML 5, a brief summary:

drag and drop through standard markup (not using a library, like jQuery, or flash’s functionality)
some deprecated tags will be removed, like the font tag and center tag (or others that can easily be done with CSS)
breakages will be treated much more gracefully than the HTML 4.+ browsers
the doctype will be much, much shorter (. That's it.)
HTML 5.0 aims to reduce the need for external embedded media, instead offering design options for inherently embedding items)

Some Extra Links

Epiphany

Ryan Bishop — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 09:11:19 +0000

Sometimes in life, we’re given brief glimpses of the path we should be on. For me, that moment happened a few weeks ago, as I was in the midst of a career crisis. I had long been searching for a better calling than web design, in both a humanitarian and financial sense. That moment, I chose Biotechnology, with the goal of continuing my education into the area of cognitive science to study sensory perception and cognition.

New, Improved Resume’

Ryan Bishop — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 10:35:54 +0000

I’ve completely overhauled my resume’ to include more recent experiences and an updated skillset. You can download the PDF, or check it out at the resume page.