Blogging on the Fly

When I started blogging over 4 years ago I actually did the majority of my blogging on a Mac G3 laptop.  It was equipped with Photoshop CS and iPhoto so I basically had everything I needed to blog anywhere I could plug into an internet connection.  I was somewhat limited because I didn't have an Airport card but for most of our get aways and traveling I usually managed to get a connection.  Back then motels were equipping their rooms with ethernet and DSL connections and an extra cable got me connected when staying overnight at any of our kids houses.  About a year after starting blogging I upgraded to a slick iMac with dual core with both Mac and Windows operating systems.  I love my iMac and it is equipped with everything I need to use for blogging.  When I'm away from home I use my husband's laptop (Windows XP) and the iPod Touch for transient type of blogging.

Blogging on the fly means you learn to be quite versatile at not only what OS you are using but also what programs you are using. There may even be times when you end up blogging from a public library where you aren't even using your own equipment but with a bit of pre-planning it is all workable.  This laptop does not have Photoshop but more importantly it does not have Photoshop set up the way I have customized it for the Mac which means I don't have a lot of the specialty fonts or custom made brushes I'm used to working with.  I downloaded a copy of Photoshop Elements 8.0 to evaluate but it is nowhere near to my beloved Photoshop CS.  However, free trial versions of familiar software is an excellent way to get what you need for a short period of time away from your regular blogging environment.  There is also completely free photo editing software like GIMP.  I think the biggest problem I came across while blogging on the fly was with Safari as it just seriously messed around, froze up, crashed and honestly I was ready to give up all together.  I did a disc clean-up, defragged, upgraded to Safari 5.0.2, and things improved from there.  My gosh I forgot how much work maintaining Windows was!  I managed to get TweetDeck set up on the laptop fine but of course didn't write down my custom colour scheme so am looking at some horrible colour settings.  Then there is my photo downloading program.  I'm using PhotofunStudio from the disc that came with my camera instead of iPhoto.  

Blogging on the fly means a lot of times blogging in unfamiliar software environments that can be time consuming and frustrating.  At the same time this offers a learning experience that in itself ads to your blogging knowledge base.  What's really neat about blogging on the fly is anytime you have a few free minutes you can easily blog.  Even if there isn't an internet connection you can be working on draft posts while sipping on your favourite drink sitting on the beach listening to the sounds of the ocean.  You can easily be blogging anywhere you can take your laptop or mobile device.  Ideally you can synchronize your laptop to your main computer or at least copy the files  like custom graphics and image editing software from the main computer to your laptop so you have them to use wherever you are blogging from.  You can also upload your edited images to a flash drive or a photo hosting website (eg. Photobucket) if you won't be using your own computer.  Apparently there is a new Photoshop available for the iPhone as well.  So have fun exploring blogging on the fly!

Garden Gnome
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