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Messages - GeoPappas
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51
« on: February 21, 2011, 18:39 »
52
« on: May 23, 2010, 06:28 »
I also use SyncBackSE (and have used it for many years). It has loads of features, one of which is the ability to save versions. While this feature obviously uses more space, it is worthwhile for some documents. They also have a free basic version (SyncBack) that you can try out. You can find more info here: http://www.2brightsparks.com/syncback/compare.htmlhttp://www.2brightsparks.com/syncback/sbse-features.htmlBut with any backup strategy, you need to ask yourself what are you trying to protect against. For example, if your hard drive fails, then having another hard drive with a copy of your data would be a good solution. But what happens if someone breaks into your residence and steals your computer equipment? Or you have a fire? Or a flood? Or a lightning strike hits? You need to figure out what you are trying to protect against first, and then come up with a solution for each scenario. I also thought of doing more than one back up in the 2TB unit, perhaps even having two partitions in it. Is there any advantage? Is it possible to have a hardware failure in one partition while the other is unharmed?
No. While technically it might be feasible to recover a single partition, it would be extremely expensive. From a practical viewpoint, once a drive fails, it isn't worth trying to recover.
53
« on: April 30, 2010, 17:37 »
Is DT dying?No, in fact they seem to be growing (according to Alexa.com):  Are you receiving a smaller share?Probably!
54
« on: April 13, 2010, 06:31 »
OK, after some tabletop tests it seems that the "ONE SHOT" mode is reliable. The focus takes place more or less under the exact spot selected and doesn't change when the camera is moved. But it does consider an area somewhat surrounding the actual dot, presumably because the tiny area of the defined focus square is often too small to use just by itself. Maybe if I try to position the model's eyes or lips right under the dot when focusing.
You might want to try and switch the metering mode to spot or partial. This will reduce the amount of area in focus and therefore should help with focusing on your selection.
55
« on: March 17, 2010, 07:13 »
The only way to see if a submitter spams the library with many similar images is to look at their downloads per image ratio. Which we all know DT displays even on the member's profile page. So why not use that as the criteria instead to determine upload limits? Would make more sense to me.
Totally agree with you Elena
I also agree that it would make a lot more sense to base upload limits AND acceptance rates on an artist's DPI. Buyers are the ultimate judge of an artists's work. And if buyers are purchasing an artist's images, then DT should increase their upload limits and allow them more freedom in their submissions. During my last batches of uploads, I received multiple rejections for submitting an image from another angle when I only had one or two others online. And it seemed like every time I was submitting a batch of images, I was receiving silly rejections and had to contact DT to have them take a second look. That is very frustrating when I see other members adding dozens of the same shot and getting them all accepted. If you choose any of the largest contributors and then look at a specific model, you can find literally hundreds (and sometimes thousands) of images with a specific model. For example, if you search for the girlfriend of a certain high-profile contributor, you will find almost 2000 images of her on DT. Why should one artist be allowed to submit thousands of images of the same person, when others are only allowed to submit a few (especially if they have a higher DPI)? As I stated, I am not against allowing multiple images, just as long as they are selling.
56
« on: March 11, 2010, 11:55 »
You probably already know this, but just in case... If you plan on installing a 64 bit O/S, then you will also need to install 64-bit applications as well (otherwise you won't see much difference at all). If you run 32-bit apps on a 64-bit O/S, the apps will continue to only see 2 GB of RAM (the limit for 32-bit apps). Adobe Photoshop CS4 does provide a 64-bit version of their app, but it seems that many plugins don't have 64-bit support yet. I'm not sure of the other Adobe apps. You can read some more info on Adobe Photoshop CS4 and 64-bit here: http://www.earthboundlight.com/phototips/photoshop-cs4-64bit-32bit.htmlAlso, you want to make sure that you get 64-bit versions of all of your drivers. Finally, there is no upgrade path from 32-bit to 64-bit, you will need to do a complete reinstall of the O/S and all of your apps. Hope that helps...
57
« on: March 11, 2010, 08:27 »
Two thoughts:
- Why so much memory? Are you running a 64-bit O/S? You are probably already aware of this, but just in case you aren't - a 32-bit O/S is only capable of using up to 4 GB RAM. And while a 64-bit O/S can use more, the app also has to be designed to use more memory as well. What apps are you thinking will use so much memory?
- Why a quad core? Once again, an app would need to be designed to use multiple cores in order to take advantage. Most apps do not take advantage of multiple cores. What apps are you thinking will use the multiple cores?
Also, if you are interested in using a multi-core - Intel is supposed to launch a new line of 6-core and 8-core CPUs later this month. So you might want to wait for the announcement. The announcement might also bring prices on other CPUs down somewhat.
And AMD is coming out with 12-core CPUs as well.
58
« on: March 08, 2010, 17:21 »
It has taken me well over a year to get to about 3,500 "paid" downloads. To get to Emerald status, I need about 22,000 more paid downloads.
If I had 3,500 paid downloads a year, it would take me another 6 years or so to reach Emerald. But since my portfolio has grown each month, I should estimate based on the current level. If I have about 550 paid downloads per month now, and assuming some conservative but steady growth over the next few years, I might still not see the Emerald level for about 4 years.
You are assuming that they don't move the bar again 
59
« on: February 26, 2010, 14:01 »
Part of the problem may be that on DT phrases have to be added as separate words. I recently had an image of a Water Machine with a Coin Slot flagged for the keywords Slot Machine.
Yes, it probably did come up in a search for "slot machine" and didn't belong there, but words "machine" and "slot" were both legitimate words just the same. I can't see an easy fix for this type of thing short of a CV like Istock's.
The funny thing is that they used to allow compound phrases, such as "slot machine", in their keywords, but they decided to get rid of them (for some reason). I used to think that the ability to add compound phrases was one of the reasons why DT had a great search engine, because when you searched for "slot machine" you would most likely end up with images of a "slot machine".
61
« on: February 17, 2010, 18:38 »
There seems to be a food theme here. Hmmm....
62
« on: February 17, 2010, 18:23 »
Maybe they thought it was a cup of tea? 
63
« on: February 11, 2010, 08:41 »
Why should you care?
- They offered a 50% royalty.
- They allowed you to opt out of subs.
- They didn't have the take it or leave it mentality.
- They were one of the fastest growing stock sites.
I'm sure there are other reasons, but that is what I could think of off the top of my head.
64
« on: February 10, 2010, 18:36 »
It isn't the whole East Coast.
The snowstorm from last week mostly affected VA, PA, and NJ. NY wasn't affected much at all by last week's snowstorm.
Today's snowstorm is affecting a little more - from VA to MA.
So, while there might be some people that can't make it to work in those states, that is only a small percentage of the total U.S. population.
65
« on: February 10, 2010, 11:25 »
And what about 3D video???
66
« on: February 09, 2010, 08:11 »
It is now Day 9 since this issue started - and still no word!
67
« on: February 05, 2010, 07:37 »
It is now Day 5 since this issue started - and still no word!
68
« on: February 04, 2010, 18:17 »
Or just hope that the whole thing just blows over or is overcome by other news...
It won't __ because we won't let it will we?
I, for one, hope that FT will rectify the situation in an acceptable manner (and soon). I think that it is extremely unfair of them to raise costs to the customer without passing the appropriate share to their contributors.
69
« on: February 04, 2010, 17:14 »
isnt standard procedure for this type of situation
put out statement / press release saying "sorry, we are working on it, just give us a little bit of time."
let things calm and cool down (lots of people wander off quickly)
put out another statement saying "how hard business is / tough market / recession etc, we really value the customers etc (or contributors), and we are working to fix it, here is an (ambigous) solution with lots of spin and buzz words that commits nothing and has loose timeframes...
sorry cynical day today...
Or just hope that the whole thing just blows over or is overcome by other news...
70
« on: February 03, 2010, 15:16 »
...
Meanwhile, over on Istock, all exclusives are enjoying an increase in their commissions of about 50%.
Yep, we're laughing all the way to the bank!
I'm not sure if you are serious, but just in case you are... As artists, we shouldn't be heckling other artists when something bad happens to them. This shouldn't be an issue that divides artists, but rather one that unites artists. Because I am sure that there will be a day when IS will do something that won't be for the benefit of the artist. But if you were saying that in jest, then forget what I just said. Party on
71
« on: February 03, 2010, 11:41 »
I'm pulling out. Do you know if we have to delete the images one by one or can you request they delete the whole port?
As has been suggested previously, I would make sure that you (politely) let them know why you are leaving them. Nothing speaks louder than an unhappy customer (or supplier in this case) that is willing to take action.
72
« on: February 03, 2010, 11:29 »
I went exclusive at IS in August 2008 after nearly 4 years as an independent. I still have my accounts at DT, SS, StockXpert, BigStock. As long as the images are not for sale, it doesn't matter how they got that way.
If the agency was questionable (I had an account at Albumo which I closed before going exclusive) I'd remove the images if I could just because I wouldn't want to worry where they'd end up. But the SS feature to disable a portfolio is perfect. They suspend your account after a few months (so you can't upload) but support will happily unsuspend it for you if you e-mail them.
DT is a pain in the butt because you have to delete one by one and they refuse to do it in batch, but all you can do there is disable them - there is no delete button.
Thanks for the info jsnover.
Just one question: Is contacting DT to close account worthless?
I don't know if it's worthless, but lots of people have tried it and been told "no".
You could always try and see if you get a different answer...
I would suggest that anyone that contemplates disabling their account at DT contact them to (politely) let them know that it would be highly appreciated if they had an easier way to disable an account. While I understand that they are trying to discourage people from disabling an account on the spur of the moment, they need to understand that there are people who have pondered going exclusive for long periods of time and will now have to disable 100s (if not 1000s) of images one at a time.
73
« on: February 02, 2010, 18:25 »
sorry to hear fotolia is screwing you guys ....again
its the same thing with the agency every time and they will continue to do it
its one of the main reasons i went exclusive - bc having to deal with the issues of bad companies sucks
i hope you guys sort it out soon and you get your monies
Please be aware that this is not just a problem with FT, since I can guarantee that the rest of the industry is watching very closely (as they do in all of these matters). If this issue doesn't get sorted out properly, then I can guarantee that other agencies will follow suit quickly.
74
« on: February 02, 2010, 16:10 »
Income reported on a 1099 should only include money that you have actually received during the calendar year. But it seems that a few sites don't understand this and will include money on a 1099 that you have accrued (but that hasn't been paid out before the end of the year). For example, you might make $X dollars in December, but that money will probably not be paid until the following year. In that case, the 1099 should NOT include that money. According to the IRS, 1099-MISC forms are to be reported on a cash basis (as opposed to an accrual basis), which means that amounts are only to be reported that have actually been paid out (via check, PayPal, etc). I spoke to an IRS representative on the phone to confirm this. The IRS rep confirmed that a 1099 MISC should be reported on a cash basis and pointed me to IRS Code 1.6041-1(h). IRS Code 1.6041-1(h) states (available at http://www.taxalmanac.org/index.php/Reg._1.6041-1 or http://law.justia.com/us/cfr/title26/26-13.0.1.1.1.0.5.92.html): "When payment deemed made. For purposes of a return of information, an amount is deemed to have been paid when it is credited or set apart to a person without any substantial limitation or restriction as to the time or manner of payment or condition upon which payment is to be made, and is made available to him so that it may be drawn at any time, and its receipt brought within his own control and disposition."Hope that helps.
75
« on: February 02, 2010, 13:21 »
Lisa:
On StockXpert, it states:
"All StockXpert members can transfer their remaining credits to iStockphoto. StockXpert credits will be honored 1 for 1 at iStock.
Click this link to iStockphoto and follow the instructions to transfer your credits."
IMO, I would wait until the last day (02/11) to transfer funds (just in case there are a few sales in the last few days and it is a one-time offer).
NOTE: I just clicked on the link provided by the StockXpert website and it didn't work. It sent me to the IS home page.
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