Comic on Possible Haitus (Yay Adobe!)

[Turnsky]

Yeah I've seen these kind of issues before. Although this seems like an intersection of unlucky software and hardware problems.

I'll be donating tomorrow.

I should note, this kind of DRM stuff is part of the reason I've been using Linux - the other part of the reason is that my Win2000 CD can't install on large Hard drives.

I've found GIMP (100 percent free) to be a nice replacement for many functions in Photoshop, though I have no idea what functions Mab would be using that may or may not exist in GIMP.

-Seth

Please, can we not turn this into a Linux vs Microsoft Discussion, let alone a GIMP vs Photoshop, those things rarely go well... AT ALL.

it really does sound like your system's about to crap out Amber, either way, i hope the best for ya, even if i cannot help at this juncture right now. 

[Tapewolf]

What will be interesting is when the Krita port to Win32 is completed.  While it won't be a full 1-1 replacement for Photoshop, it does seem to have mimicked the user interface (to the point at which I can't use it effectively, just like the real thing) so might be handy at a pinch.

On a more practical note, I - and others - might be interested to see the contents of Amber's event log.  Certain kinds of hardware and software failure will leave traces in it.

In the Control Panel, choose Administrative Tools -> Event Viewer.  Right-click on 'System', and save the event log to a file.  Put that on the website somewhere we can get at it, and maybe it'll give us an idea of what's going on.

Another idea is to run memtest for an hour or so and see if it finds anything (e.g. if it's a memory-based issue).
That can be found here:  http://www.memtest.org/

[PencilinHand]

While I do agree that Linux and Gimp are nice(I am a Gimp user), I also think it would be counter productive to start a discussion about the pros and cons in this thread.


The issue is Amber's computer curling into the fetal position.

I would bet 2 to 1 in my favor that I could fix or accurately diagnose what the issue is over the weekend if I had my hands on it(what can I say, it is a hobby of mine)....but Amber and her computer are a thousand miles away in another country(well, several hundred at least)!

And seriously, Amber, you seem to have no luck with computers.  How many have you gone through in the last 5 years?  I am typing on the same one I have had for the last ~5 years. 

In my experience, at least on the hardware level, I don't usually have failures except only very rarely(had 1 hard drive and 1 stick of ram go bad this past Christmas, but that was it).

Any software problems are almost invariably my fault, due typical to my fiddling a little too much with the settings of some software.


Tapewolf:  The event log probably would be useful(why didn't I think to ask for it...).

I am not sure how technically confident Amber is as memtest can seem a bit daunting if you haven't used it before.  But memtest is the best way to see if it is a memory(errors sequentially or in the same spot after a loop)/memory controller issue(randomly occurring errors).

[Cvstos]

Fear not Amber, you are not alone. A friend of mind has managed to crash a calculator before!

All I did was try to divide by zero.....under water.....

(seriously, how DO you "crash" a calculator?  tear out the batteries?)

He found a way.

[Tapewolf]

(seriously, how DO you "crash" a calculator?  tear out the batteries?)

Holding down multiple buttons simultaneously will often generate invalid logic combinations which will cause them to behave strangely.
Also, partially covering the solar cell (if your calculator is so equipped) can reduce the voltage to threshold levels which will result in data corruption and often a lockup.

I have a speaking clock which has often been known to do strange things.  The Christmas when I got it, we had a lightning storm.  Since it is battery-powered, that's probably just coincidence, but there you go.  There was a power surge which crashed my computer (a BBC Micro at the time), so I sat down to read.  From out of the blue, the clock uttered the words "Three, oh, oh, teen."  I grabbed it - the display at the bottom was blank.

Asking it the time when it is low on power can be interesting as well... as with the calculator, it can get confused about the logic levels and you end up with data corruption.  For such a reason it once got stuck in a loop saying "It's twelve oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh" until I took the batteries out.

I have also managed to crash my tape deck (the one in my signature).  Unplugging the remote control while the system is running, will cause the CPU to lock up.  I guess you are not supposed to do that.

[llearch n'n'daCorna]

Might be worth getting out the universal boot cd and running memtest86 over the machine.

If it comes up with some of the memory being duff, you can start removing one at a time (or two, if they're installed in pairs) and seeing if you can locate which chip is busted.

If you do that, it might all magically start working again...

[Jack McSlay]

while it seems possible to do the kind of coloring amber does using free tools, switching softwares because of a DRM glitch seems overkill. I still say crack the f****** thing until an official solution pops out.

What have you done?!?!

Amazingly true. I'm an artist but thankfully I also irradiate a proggrammer's aura which negates the effect completely

[Amber Williams]

Typing from the husband compy, this weekend looks to be a wierd one.

Status Update:  From what I am gathering...either from deduction and from other peeps commentary is that the problem is looking to be twofold and a mix of probably both some hardware going bluggy and the registry going wonky.(possibly from the hardware going buggy) so the priority is going get the computer working without issues first, then deal with the software.  Cause it makes no sense trying to fix the Adobe situation if the glitchy hardware may just rebugger it up.

I will likely be taking the compy in to a place tomorrow. Its a good place, not corporate owned and the guys know what they are doing so odds are they will do a full checkover and give a complete what-need.

BEST CASE SCENARIO:
I am expecting the graphics card, the power supply, and possibly one or two other things need replacing.  More than likely they are going to reinstall windows and do something to try to fix the registry and if that repairs, its possible that may handle the adobe problem.

Either way its looking like my actual files are still ok so whatever is wonking, it isn't eating my stuff.  But yes, I have all my art files backed up on CD so if in case of bad, I will be able to restore all them.  But my poor game files are gonna take the brunt...not that I have been able to play a computer game on this thing in months....

WORST CASE SCENARIO:
Total system wipe and I will have to reinstall everything.  Which is gonna suck cause like all geniuses...all my cds are somewhere in a little box in Indiana most likely and it would prolly take a week+ to get them up here. So its more than likely I will either have to rebuy (again) things like Photoshop...or I just finally give the finger to Adobe and go the pirates life for me.

All in all, I am not fully sure what to be expecting...
I will update more on the situation come Monday and when I get word from the guys over what is going on. 

Either way...I am still really sorry this sort of dropped out of the blue.  It looks like I wont be getting tacos afterall. X_x

[Jairus]

All in all, I am not fully sure what to be expecting...
I will update more on the situation come Monday and when I get word from the guys over what is going on. 

Either way...I am still really sorry this sort of dropped out of the blue.  It looks like I wont be getting tacos afterall. X_x

Well, that all sucks. Good luck with everything, Amber! And we don't blame you for this, really we don't: it's just a bunch of things that went bad fast, it's not your fault. Here, have a hug.

... We need a taco smiley so Amber could get a taco.

[ShadesFox]

You're going to have to reinstall everything.  I've done these things before.  GIve up trying to salvage Windows at this point.

[Tapewolf]

Urk.  The Registry truly is the Achilles' heel of Windows.  Here's hoping it makes a swift and relatively painless recovery.

[llearch n'n'daCorna]

You're going to have to reinstall everything.  I've done these things before.  GIve up trying to salvage Windows at this point.

Sadly, this is probably the case.

I'd say ask someone to look into posting you your cds now, rather than monday. At least get it in train, as it were.

If nothing else, if they locate the cd's and can read off the photoshop number off the back, you might be able to find a copy of the same cd in the place where you're taking your machine, and install with your key. Possibly...

[Amber Williams]

Sadly, this is probably the case.

I'd say ask someone to look into posting you your cds now, rather than monday. At least get it in train, as it were.

If nothing else, if they locate the cd's and can read off the photoshop number off the back, you might be able to find a copy of the same cd in the place where you're taking your machine, and install with your key. Possibly...

Unfortunately, it isn't simply that easy.  My mom recently moved house and so I am not even 100% where the cds are or if I lent them to a friend and forgot because this was all over 2 years ago when done.

So I highly doubt I would be able to find them in a short time much less get them sent up here.  More than likely I will simply just attempt to repurchase windows and look into rebuying the programs one by one.  Which really isn't all that much. The only real baddy is Photoshop itself...

[llearch n'n'daCorna]

Ah.

Sucky. :-/

[Dagardo]

Ah.

Sucky. :-/

So very 

[Amber Williams]

I have on transit Photoshop 7.  Worst case I go back to using that for an indefinate amount of time.  It isn't like I have been using the amazing powers of CS2 to their full potential.

Course ugh...I am going to lose my filter programs. Which is going to make Fi's glow a helluva lot more tricky.

I guess I can always rebuy Eyecandy and such...but bleh. I swear next time I get cds like this I am just going to put them in a black box or something.

Anyways, for those wondering this is the place I will be taking my compy: http://megacomputer.ca

[Turnsky]

I have on transit Photoshop 7.  Worst case I go back to using that for an indefinate amount of time.  It isn't like I have been using the amazing powers of CS2 to their full potential.

Course ugh...I am going to lose my filter programs. Which is going to make Fi's glow a helluva lot more tricky.

huh, always thought you used a layer style for Fi's glow..

[Amber Williams]

huh, always thought you used a layer style for Fi's glow..

Nah. I tend to only use that for the text bubbles. For some reason it never looks very good when I tried to use it on Fi.

[Gamma]

Hmmm.... Well you already gave your money for those programs. So technically you would not be pirating in the sense you never gave them proper compensation.
If you indeed do need to acquire these programs from bittorrent then I suggest using Peer Guardian to help hide your traffic. Also if needed I can provide an invitation to Demonoid for a more secure set of torrents.

While the pirates life isn't free from possible capture it's darn tempting. I fear for some people, they do this and fill 500Gb drives in a week. My friend is probably gonna get picked up in a month for overdoing it.

[Howl]

Well, easiest way to keep updating would to just have the comics in Black and White until you can color them, then upload them again in color when you can do so.

[Dagardo]

Well, easiest way to keep updating would to just have the comics in Black and White until you can color them, then upload them again in color when you can do so.

I agree . Amber can upload them however she did with her computer since she draws them by hand, and since shes using her hubby's computer, the way she uploads shouldn't have to change... I think.

[Turnsky]

huh, always thought you used a layer style for Fi's glow..

Nah. I tend to only use that for the text bubbles. For some reason it never looks very good when I tried to use it on Fi.

well, i guess you do learn something new every day.. 

as with Photoshop 7, it's not too far removed from the CS series, particularly CS1, To be honest, i'm having trouble getting used to CS3 =p

(on an unrelated note, i still envy how you draw wings >.> )

[Lorien]

  Poor Amber, its not fair at all.  And don't worry, you're not a hack, you've just been betrayed by your own machine.
I know you lasso and color as part of your arting for comics... have you tried other programs?  I find Sai to be pretty good, but I'm not sure if it'd do what you need it to.
Good luck regardless. >_<

[Pheonix-IV]

Is it just me or did the donations hit over $1300 in less than 12 hours?

I'm clearly in the wrong buisness.

[Dagardo]

Is it just me or did the donations hit over $1300 in less than 12 hours?

I'm clearly in the wrong buisness.

No, it isn't just you. The donations did hit over $1300 in less than 12 hours, either that or were both just crazier than the rest of them. 

[llearch n'n'daCorna]

Is it just me or did the donations hit over $1300 in less than 12 hours?

I'm clearly in the wrong buisness.

It's not that you're in the wrong business. It's that Amber is very very good at hers.

Take Turnsky, for example. If he put up a wallpaper war, he'd probably get something like "almost but not quite enough to pay for making the war image in the first place" - and he's not the worst of webcomic authors by a hell of a long way.

Amber is in a very very select group of webcomic artists who can make a living doing what she's doing. Lots and lots and lots of people are failing at what she's doing. (And, to give fair reasoning, she's not succeeding all that well, either. The reasons for that are manifold, and not to be gone into here.)

Also bear in mind that the strips that Amber does, she gets paid, on average, something like $3-5/hr for doing. On average.

Often it's worse.

[Turnsky]

It's not that you're in the wrong business. It's that Amber is very very good at hers.

Take Turnsky, for example. If he put up a wallpaper war, he'd probably get something like "almost but not quite enough to pay for making the war image in the first place" - and he's not the worst of webcomic authors by a hell of a long way.

In the webcomics world money is the "would be nice" part of the job, if you're in it for the money, you're clearly in the wrong line of work.. truth be told i've had readers go to bat for me now and again, During my power supply troubles, for instance.. it's not a lot, granted, but it's enough to keep me going just that little while longer.. To be fair, if i -did- make any money out of Foxfire, it'd all go to the bills, i prolly wouldn't profit any at all, really.. I envy Amber to some degree because of her success, and i wish her all the best because of it.

i should try a 'wallpaper war' one day, but given the nature of my comic, i'm not sure how that'd work..

[Dagardo]

It's not that you're in the wrong business. It's that Amber is very very good at hers.

Take Turnsky, for example. If he put up a wallpaper war, he'd probably get something like "almost but not quite enough to pay for making the war image in the first place" - and he's not the worst of webcomic authors by a hell of a long way.

Amber is in a very very select group of webcomic artists who can make a living doing what she's doing. Lots and lots and lots of people are failing at what she's doing. (And, to give fair reasoning, she's not succeeding all that well, either. The reasons for that are manifold, and not to be gone into here.)

Also bear in mind that the strips that Amber does, she gets paid, on average, something like $3-5/hr for doing. On average.

Often it's worse.

Exactly, cause you have to have a helluva lot of good to make a living off of a web comic. Amber seems to be doing OK by herself (what with the wallpaper wars an such), and she also has whatever her husband brings in.

And if I may ask, why does this song seem to keep me in a state of depression? And why do I like it?

[Jack McSlay]

the way I see it, given amber's income is not steady at all, and usually makes at best around 1000 a month (exceptions when she says she'll be on hiatus if money/computer problems are solved) I don't view it really as a good business, altough an good side job if you are able to manage it while doing a more steady-income work

[Pheonix-IV]

I assume you do actually realise that was a joke.