Arranged from most recent...

• Jaguar Special Edition - InkWell and Quartz Extreme (8-24-02) Joel introduces you to handwriting recognition and Jaguar's new and improved graphics engine.
• Taking the Plunge: OS X in the Academic Computing Lab Part 2 (8-23-02) Joel has found a few minor incompatibilities with NetInfo and some applications in the lab. This week, he'll share some of these issues.
• Taking the Plunge: OS X in the Academic Computing Lab (8-16-02) Joel takes the next big step... moving a Mac lab entirely over to OS X.
• Classic or Clunker (6-14-02) I had the complete displeasure of having to boot into OS 9 recently, and I could not believe the thought that flashed into my head after about 5 minutes. What a piece of junk.
• Changing the Nature of the Game (5-24-02) Joel muses on the nature of freelancing, and whether it has a positive or negative impact on the design profession.
• no Power Mac (5-10-02) Pop quiz, hotshot. The end of the semester is near, you have a client project coming due, a massive identity rollout for your University to help engineer, 110 majors freaking out about final projects, an Advertising Campaign team about to give a presentation in competition, a school newspaper needs to be gathered from the server and published, and a ton of other stuff that I can't remember. The lights go out. What do you do?
• Am I Cool Yet? (4-12-02) In the face of a looming deadline and a column/review stranded in a computer at work, Joel watches TV and ponders the great question - what makes something cool, and how do I get there?
• It's the Little Things... a Photoshop 7 Preview (3-22-02) Joel Davies. Anyone who has had a meaningful relationship can tell you it's the little things, the minor details that make the relationship special. It's really the minor details that make Photoshop 7 a worthwhile upgrade.
• The Right Tool for the Job (3-22-02) Joel Davies. For the last few months, people have been saying that Photoshop 7 is the magic key that will unlock OS X for the masses. Wrong. The magic key is likely Quark - and it doesn't deserve the honor.
• Don't Point and Shoot Yourself (2-14-02) Moving beyond the technical... how to turn your photography into something special.
• The Marriage of Form and Function - This blessed event took place at MWSF 2002, and Steve was the best man. Apparently, no jacket or tie was required.
• Brand X - Using Illustrator 10, Joel takes you through the steps for creating a logo.
• Saving Private Jobs - Can B.J. Blazkowicz (hero of Return to Castle Wolfenstein) save the day?
• 10.1 Steps to Mac Salvation - The following ten (point 1) items are steps Apple needs to take to finish The World's Most Advanced Operating System. I have to warn you - after trying to use 10.1 in a design environment, I'm a little frustrated.
• In Search of... With all the hubbub about 10.1, why can't the I seem to find it? Maybe they should have named it Cheshire instead of Puma...
• Megahertz Myth - Well, when it comes to explaining the Megahertz Myth, its all Greek to me.
• Return to Grace Part Three — Salvation (with the arrival of my new Quicksilver) (8-17-01) Joel Davies. Finally, Joel finds salvation from the Dark Side when his QuickSilver arrives! Hi ho QuickSilver, and away!!
• iMaculate Conception: Return to Grace Part Two — Return to the fold Joel's journey from the Wintel world is hitting steam as he gets his dirty little fingers (he's an artist!) on a BW G3, iMac and Pismo. But will it last or will the Dark side overtake him?
• Return to Grace Part One — Seduction to the Dark Side Joel starts a series on how he almost, almost that is, lost his soul.
• Aqua Velvet: The conversion of an OS X Skeptic and Wintel heretic While not exactly in love with Wintels, Joel needed them for cross-platform work. But after OS X, he's done with them, forever!
• Identity Crisis Joel Davies, starts his "iMaculate Conception" with a look at branding and corporate identity. So how does Apple measure up when it comes to these?
• Flower Sour Joel is not a big fan of the new imacs. But at leats he has ideas for what could change.
• Design Matters Joel is a designer. He only wishes that there were a lot more of them out there because bad design is all around us.
• Confessions of a Technology Addict and OS X Hey Steve, feed the monkey! Nurse, this patient needs an injection of aqua, stat!
• Care and Feeding of Your Graphic Artist/Designer™©®: A Guide for Civilians What you need to understand if you ever hire a grahpics designer.

The iMaculate Conception is a column that will explore art, design and aesthetics in general from the point of view of an avid Mac user. As Mac users, we already appreciate the value of good design - Joel Davies will use this basic understanding as a launching point to explore aesthetic issues and fire off the occasional foaming-at-the-mouth rant.

Joel lives with his wife Meg and their weimaraner Demolition Derby in the Midwest. Joel runs the Graphic Design program at a top ranked, Midwestern Jesuit university and is President of the state chapter of the American Institute of Graphic Arts. Meg, who recently earned her MBA, is a financial guru who cancels out Joel's total lack of business savvy.

Joel holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts from a fine Jesuit University, and a Master of Fine Arts from Indiana State University. He has a small freelance design studio (himself) that produces illustration, multimedia and web projects for a variety of local and national companies. Joel actively produces digital artworks on his trusty 400mHz Pismo PowerBook (named "Brimstone"), and longs for a monstrous G4. In the summer months, he can be found working in local parks with Brimstone and a Wacom tablet. His work explores the relationship between science and religion, and is shown in local galleries when it's not traveling the academic circuits. The work is entirely produced on the Mac before being printed on canvas for display.

Joel has been using Apples since his dad (A Physics/Computer Science Professor) brought home an Apple II when Joel was in grade school. His design labs sport nearly 40 iMacs and blue and white G3s, which Joel feeds a steady stream of students daily. His class load currently includes Computer Graphics and Illustration, Web Design and Multimedia Design.

When not producing artwork, freelance design or lecture notes, Joel enjoys playing computer games, basketball, boxing, reading and running around with the dog. He also bowls for his department bowling team, which he considers a form of performance art. As the worst bowler in the league, he enjoys wild displays of celebration for any ball that makes it down the lane. Joel is currently thinking that he is the only bowler that has written or spoken about himself in the third person, a dubious honor that is usually reserved for professional football and basketball players.

joel@applelust.com