All the icons are done, and sent out! If you ordered an icon and have yet to receive it, please contact me: paul@dv-graphics.com
The order page is still closed, but I don't think for too long. I just have a few other things I need to work on before re-opening to the insanity.
I suppose it's only fair that I provide an update, right?
So to repair my old G4 would have been $700...and that may not even be the actual fix. So repair was pretty much out of the question. I mean, I could get a nice stop-gap MacMini for the same price or less.
So what to do?
Well, I could get the MacMini, except:
-It can't do dual displays
-It can only handel one hard drive (internal)
-It's intel (I need Adobe CS2 and After Effects, and my Final Cut is not eligible for cross-grade).
I could also get a G5, except:
-The configuration I'd really need is about $3000
-It's "last years technology"
-The Mac Pro had just been announced and the G5 seemed just silly now
So yeah, I figured the best thing to do was consider the old G4 officially retired and just invest into a new "workhorse" machine. I went to the 5th Ave store and picked up:
Quad 2.66 Mac Pro with a 250 gig HD, 3 gigs of ram and superdrive.
With my education discount, it wasn't too much more than an older G5 with MUCH lower specs, so I did pretty well.
***
"But wait, didn't you just say you can't go intel because you need CS 2?"
-Yes, but, after reading some reviews and benchmarks, I figured it would be OK, because: Even under Rosetta, the Quad Mac Pro still runs most CS 3 apps faster than my old Dual G4. The key apps, like Photoshop, Illustrator and After Effects (surprisingly enough) all run without any noticable glitches. And once CS3/AFX 8 come out, this thing is going to SCREAM.
***
I'm awaiting bluetooth and airport modules (they didn't have them in stock), I ordered a secondary 320 gig HD for backup, and I have my old G4 HDs sitting in Firewire cases for a combined 1TB of storage. The Superdrive I had in my G4 (An 8X DL deal that I got online) was easily installed into the lower bay on the Mac Pro...So very little is being wasted from the old machine.
When I got back to the apartment, I was able to get all of my data off the old G4 boot drive onto the new Mac Pro drive- After a bit of messing around with permissions (Migration Assistant didn't want to transfer anything correctly, so I opted for the scarier "Log into Root, transfer data yourself and correct the permissions later"). Everything was up and running in about 3-4 hours. I spent the evening making sure everything was working as it should, and installing the new Final Cut Studio (I need it).
The next day, got right back on track and immediately completed and sent out some icons. And that's what I've been doing. Each night, I've been sitting down and completing as many as I can and sending them out right away. I've got a LOT done, and they're all being sent out ASAP. I'm confident all pending order will be completed by the end of this week.
Here is a list of pending orders, listed by initials:
KCT
MW
MT
NM
CG
SD
AEC
None of those orders contain multiple icons, so things will move very quickly.
Whew. Ok. I think that's everything.
So I have been able to recover all the orders- So if you haven't yet resent your image, you don't need to now. However, my computer situation is still dismal- So things are SLOW. AND on top of things, I'm moving into a new apartment on Sunday. I'm really failing as a human right now- Forget about businessman.
I REALLY appreciate the kind emails and infinite patience people have been sending my way. In the coming weeks, as I (hopefully) improve my computer situation and get settled into my apartment...things will clear up.
In the meantime, I have closed to orders...to prevent and even further backup.
Below is a list of orders I am currently working on (listed by orders initials):
TL
MS
DM
EA
KM
KCT
JB
MW
MT
NM
CG
SD
AEC
IMPORTANT, PLEASE READ:
So last night my computer bit the big one. It seems the logic board, video card and main hard drive all died. It's a big inconvenience...But not the worst thing that could happen. I have several backup HDs with most of my data- My last backup was July 11th, so that's where I'm starting off again. Luckily the ONLY thing I'm working on during this summer is Iconize Me...I don't have any big projects lost.
So what does this mean? Well, right now I'm working on my powerbook- hooked up to a larger display so I don't strain anything. I have my July 11th backup connected to that- everything seems to be fine...But this is where you come in.
Any order placed AFTER JULY 11th is LOST. I will be going through my PayPal records and seeing how many of them I can recover without having any of my customers be bothered. Essentially, if you placed an order with a URL- I can recover it. If, however, you emailed me the photo, I will require you to email the photo again. If you'd like to do so before I contact you- feel free: paul@dv-graphics.com Just include a copy of your PayPal transaction number.
Now, aside from recovering lost orders, I am significantly slowed down in my work because of this. I know a lot of orders are already delayed...and this will only make things worse. I apologize. The majority of this is beyond my control. If you don't mind waiting, I assure you, everyone who has ordered an icon will get it completed. I just cannot quote a time frame right now. If you are not comfortable with this, please let me know and I will issue a full refund, no questions asked, and your order will be cancelled.
IMPORTANT, PLEASE READ:
So last night my computer bit the big one. It seems the logic board, video card and main hard drive all died. It's a big inconvenience...But not the worst thing that could happen. I have several backup HDs with most of my data- My last backup was July 11th, so that's where I'm starting off again. Luckily the ONLY thing I'm working on during this summer is Iconize Me...I don't have any big projects lost.
So what does this mean? Well, right now I'm working on my powerbook- hooked up to a larger display so I don't strain anything. I have my July 11th backup connected to that- everything seems to be fine...But this is where you come in.
Any order placed AFTER JULY 11th is LOST. I will be going through my PayPal records and seeing how many of them I can recover without having any of my customers be bothered. Essentially, if you placed an order with a URL- I can recover it. If, however, you emailed me the photo, I will require you to email the photo again. If you'd like to do so before I contact you- feel free: paul@dv-graphics.com Just include a copy of your PayPal transaction number.
Now, aside from recovering lost orders, I am significantly slowed down in my work because of this. I know a lot of orders are already delayed...and this will only make things worse. I apologize. The majority of this is beyond my control. If you don't mind waiting, I assure you, everyone who has ordered an icon will get it completed. I just cannot quote a time frame right now. If you are not comfortable with this, please let me know and I will issue a full refund, no questions asked, and your order will be cancelled.
Think your Iconize Me! icon is hopelessly tied to your computer screen? Not so! Take a cue from Peter from New Zealand and set it free! Not only did he manage to get his icon on a mug, but also some postage stamps!
