I updated SilverFast (EpsonIT8) to 6.6.1r1 at work this morning. Adobe Photoshop CS3 would not start after the update, quitting when it got to “Scanning for plug-ins.”
A quick review of the Photoshop plug-ins folder revealed the culprit: the SilverFast update had placed a file in the Import/Export folder called “SilverFast (EpsonIT8_CS3).plugin alias” alongside the alias that had been there before, “SilverFast (EpsonIT8).plugin”. Removing this new alias solved the problem. SilverFast works just as it used to from the “Import” submenu in Photoshop.
(This is using Mac OS X 10.5.7, Photoshop CS3 10.0.1 and SilverFast Ai 6.6.0 or something similar updated to 6.6.1r1, on a late model Mac Pro. Not sure if many SilverFast updates do this, or just this one, but I have updated SilverFast before without having this problem.)
“When asked about whether he ever considered moving RIM to Silicon Valley, [co-founder of RIM Michael] Lazaridis said: ‘I had to have this company next to University of Waterloo and Wilfrid Laurier, a university down the street, because I knew that we needed to draw this talent to grow. There’s something about having the proximity to the students and university in terms of brand awareness. In fact, when we first leased our building here right next to the university, we could put a sign up, and I remember they were asking, “Do you like this sign? Do you like that sign?” I said, “Actually, I don’t care about that. What’s important to me are the signs on the back of the building… All I want is the students to know where the building is.”‘” [Grid7 - Build something. BIGGER. - FAW #10: Mike Lazaridis of Research in Motion, via Slashdot]
This whole interview with Mike Lazaridis of Research in Motion hits some really good points. I love my neighborhood here for many important personal reasons. But Laziridis provides a reason that makes sound business sense and had crossed my mind, but I hadn’t thought out thoroughly. Locating near a school (especially this one) provides a great talent base that doesn’t have a lot of professional experience. That means they don’t expect to make a lot of money and have some potentially revolutionary ideas. The kids with the collection of fancy internships, which I’ve had a few of myself and I think are probably overvalued by most employers, will be welcomed by large businesses. Those round pegs left over are a volatile but potentially very valuable resource for the entrepreneur…
The other things that Laziridis talks about (including the importance of shop class) are worth thinking about too. The NYT magazine excerpt from University of Chicago PhD holder Matt Crawford’s forthcoming book Shop Class as Soulcraft put a lot of things that I’ve been thinking since before high school into words. I am at a time in my life when I have the freedom to make some outlandish choices.
Time to start a(nother) business.
“UNPRECEDENTED PERFORMANCE: Nothing we had before ever worked this way.”
Rediscovering the classics (and making them useful to us in our everyday lives).
