“Can you read that? Can you? I can’t read that!  How do they expect senior citizens to read print that small?”

That was how my father greeted me on a recent Sunday morning as he sat down to read the Cleveland Plain Dealer.

Newspapers are cutting corners in order to reduce print costs.  Newspaper pages are getting smaller and narrower.  With less print space to work with, they shrink things to try and squeeze it all in.  And this includes moving to a smaller typeface.

Unfortunately, when they do this they shortchange their most devoted readers, senior citizens.

However, technology is offering a solution.  Tablet devices can access newspaper web sites, video, breaking news, and other content. And I’m sure many readers of the Georgetoon blog do so from a tablet device!

Plus, tablets have that little added feature of being able to enlarge text making iit easier to read.

Now, the two tablet devices that most people point to are Apple’s i-Pad and Amazon.com’s Kindle. Both are terrific devices and offer many features and bells and whistles.

But the new kid on the block is the HTC Flyer 3G / WiFi HotSpot / GPS / 5MP / 7 Inch Tablet Device

Why do I like this tablet so much? Well it uses the Android Operating system. And anything based on Linux has gotta be great! It’s the perfect size making it highly portable. It also offers an optional stylus pen for writing and note taking directly on the tablet surface!

Linux, cutting edge features, and a terrific design make it a winner. so much so, that the HTS Flyer recently made Time Magazine’s list of gadgets to get dad for Father’s Day!

Check out this terrific video review, then decide for yourself.

Slow Down, Summer! by georgetoon
Learn ways to make money as an artist on Zazzle.

It’s been some time since I’m created a new T-shirt for the ‘ol blog!

Since summer is almost here, I thought it best to celebrate the sunshine season with this terrific T-shirt featuring the snail character from my comic Strip George.

It reminds us how fast summer can pass.

So, let’s all slow down a bit, take it all in,  and and enjoy the warm days nights of summer!

There’s plenty of summer ahead of us.  Let’s not rush through it.

Remind yourself (and others) to “stop and smell the summer” by grabbing and wearing the new Slow Down, Summer! T-shirt available now in the Georgetoon store!

My new favorite song. Enjoy!

A screen shot of using Scribus to edit my feature "George's Word Ladder."

This past week, I found myself on the road and away from my studio.  It was just for the day, but I needed to get some work done on my comic features.

Luckily, I’m running Linux on all my computer systems.  I run it on my studio desktop, my notebook, and my large (and slightly older) 17-inch laptop.

Now, here’s the neat thing.  Because all three systems are hooked into the same Linux repository,  I download and install identical software programs. (Note:  I’m running the same Linux distribution on all computers.)

Whenever there’s an update to the Linux OS, all three get updated at the same time.  No matter which system I boot, my operating system and software are all the same across the board.

So, to use last week as an example, I was able to take my digital artwork and load it onto my notebook.   While out on the road, I was able to use Scribus and Gimp to work on my comic game panel feature George’s Word Ladder. Scribus and Gimp are the same versions  (1.3.9 for Scribus and 2.6.11 for Gimp) I use on my desktop system.  So there’s no problem with compatibility.  I can create my document in Scribus, save it, and move it to my desktop system and open it there if I need to do additional updating.

Linux is free, stable and secure. It’s immune to Windows viruses and malware.

Once you have Linux, you own Linux!  You can install it on every computer in your household.  Simply update your Linux systems at the same time and you’ll always be compatible with whichever system you choose to use.

Get Linux.

My local Sheetz! A great place to stop and visit!

Sheetz is my new favorite place to go for coffee, gas, fast food, and other stuff!

I love this place!  It’s always clean, always open, and always friendly.  And did I mention that it’s open 24/7/365?

The prices are reasonable and they have just about anything you need.

The real highlight, however, is their terrific made-to-order food system.  You just walk up to a touchscreen menu and start building your own sandwich, snack or meal! The touchscreen is an entire food menu at your fingertips!   And you can order whatever you want at any time of the day.  Want breakfast at 11 P.M.?  No problem!

The food is delivered quickly and made to your exact specifications.  It’s brilliant!

Sheetz also has a take home menu here.

When you get a Sheetz Card, you qualify for instant discounts.  They call them Rewardz.  You can get them right there,on the spot.  Or, you also build them up for future freebies.  For instance (as the folks at Sheetz say), “When you buy a bunch of something, we’ll throw in a free one every so often.”  So, for every ten coffees I buy, I get my 11th coffee free!  I love coffee!  And Sheetz coffee is always freshly brewed.

Here’s the really neat part about having a Sheetz Card.  About once a month, Sheetz emails you and lets you know that your card has been loaded with a free promotional item.  It could be a free drink, a pound of Sheetz coffee, or sandwich.  Just drop into Sheetz, grab the item, show ’em your card (let ’em swipe it), and you’re good to go.

If you’re on the road or on the go, Sheetz is the place.  (Check out the Sheetz YouTube channel.)