Digital BW, The Print

>I am going to jump in here and offer a "saner" perspective? I remember
>reading many years back about computers and the incredible speed with which
>they did their jobs, were going to free us from the shackles of our
>miserable existence. Well, as most of you have noted it just ain't true.
>Flash forward to maybe ten years later, and I was fascinated by an article
>(I don't remember by whom or where), in which the author had researched
>thoroughly and pointed out that the "computer revolution" had indeed chopped
>10%, maybe 20%, maybe even 30% of the time required to do a task, but
>frequently the time was cut away from the middle of said task. In other
>words, you started at 1:00 p.m and finished at 2:00 p.m. but there was a
>6-18 minute "gift" in the middle . . . what do people do? The majority sit
>and stare at their screen bitching about how "slow" the computer is.
>Productivity is at the same snails pace as it was years ago. If your
>computer is slowing down while you wait for a conversion or a rendition or a
>print, pick up the f***ing mop and clean your studio. Lick and glue some
>envelopes. Return some phone calls. Dust and clean your equipment . . . this
>is TIME, and should be used productively, not sitting on your fat butt and
>bitching that MS or someone else isn't doing enough for YOU. Do it yourself.
>
>Honestly . . . if the print takes five minutes instead of two, does that
>make a real difference in your business? Not unless you are a real
>incompetent leaving everything until the last minute. The same for scans and
>renditions . . . there is ALWAYS something else you could be doing, but as
>an incompetent it is so much easier to shovel the "you know what" somewhere
>else.
>
>Paul Aparycki
>  
>

Are you just being silly, or are you actually serious? If you've ever 
worked on large files in PS before, you know that what we are talking 
about is an extra 20-90 seconds for some operations (for example, it 
takes my machine about 60 seconds to complete a crop on a 500MB file).. 
There's no 6-18 minute "gift" of time here. It's that everything takes 
an extra few seconds. That time, with all due respect, isn't usable. You 
can't turn around and do something else without seriously lengthening 
the time it takes to finish the editing job. If I turn around and start 
filing, it'll be 20 minutes or more before I get back to the edit, which 
will have been sitting waiting for me for 19 of those minutes.

Get a grip, and stop cursing at me.
--
Hogarth Hughes