Site Credits
Here is a taste of the software and hardware that goes into keeping the LearningUkulele.com up and running with constantly adding new information and features.
Software Used for This Site
Here is a list of the current and past software that I use or have used over the last twenty plus years for developing my sites, lessons, books, scores, etc....
Starting on an Apple Macintosh II and Aldus PageMaker way back in 1987. I've used a lot of different software applications, hosting services and Apple computers over the many years to bring this site to life and keep it running. Actually been through the following DTP programs: Aldus PageMaker, Quark XPress, and now Affinity Publisher.
Since September 2020, I have been exploring using Linux as my Daily Driver
with Pop!_OS from System76 and have a Thelio desktop computer as my Linux Daily Driver.
. This is a fantastic computer built in the USA and did I say it's fast and has more power than the iMac I have and at half the cost. 2021 Update: Been using Pop!_OS on the Thelio for all things except to what is directly related to the publishing part of Curt Sheller Publications. The software that is not as feature rich on linux is for the Desktop Publishing (DTP) part of Curt Sheller Publications — the Books and PDF files.
2021 Update
After 30 plus years of using a Mac, ALL development is now on Pop!_OS , a System76 Thelio desktop computer, and the NEW System76 Launch Keyboard . It's faster and was half the cost of the new iMac I bought early 2020.
And, I never hear the fan on the Thelio. On the iMac, it goes on when nothing is going on and throttles the CPU back, so you don't get the performance that you paid for. Linux and the Thelio are very liberating.
The only real piece that I still do on a Mac is the Curt Sheller Publications books and lessons content.
LearningUkulele.com is a Hand-coded Site
From hand-coding my original GuitarResources.com (1987) and JazzGuitarResources.com (1992) sites with BBEdit v3 , hosting on ItsAMac.com (MacHighway.com) to the current Laravel sites using Sublime Text and Sublime Merge on both my Mac and Thelio computers. I have been hosting the sites on DigitalOcean with admin and deployment using GitHub as well as Laravel Forge to manage the servers. I've come a long way with the “LearningUkulele.com” site — the ever-evolving site.
For figuring out what pages of the site are the most popular and visited (don't know who or collect any personal information), I currently use Plausible.io . Trying to stay off google.
Here is all the software, hardware, and gear that goes into making LearningUkulele.com site possible.
For Desktop Publishing Needs (DTP) and Graphics
Finally, off all Adobe products and their subscriptions. Using Affinity Publisher, Designer, and Photo for all my lessons, books, and the like and moving most other activities to the Linux and Open-source software. Affinity Publisher is the third DTP application that I've used: Aldus PageMaker, Quark Express and now Affinity Publisher.
Here is a list of software and hardware I use and have used over the years.
Affinity
Driven by photographers and designers from the outset, Affinity is the new name in high quality, next-generation creative apps for professionals (Design, Photo, and Publishing). Conceived and developed by a passionate team of artists and programmers, Affinity gives creatives exactly what they need for the highest quality artwork, photos and designs—accurate, high quality tools in fast, innovative, reliable apps with flair.
Apple, Inc.
Released with much fanfare in January of 1984, the Macintosh was the first affordable computer to include a Graphical User Interface. It was built around the new Motorola 68000 chip, which was significantly faster than previous processors, running at 8 MHz. The Mac came in a small beige case with a black and white monitor built in. It came with a keyboard and mouse, and had a floppy drive that took 400k 3.5in disk the first personal computer to do so. It originally sold for $2,495.
Bare Bones Software, Inc.
BBEdit is a text editor originally developed for Macintosh System Software 6 and now for Mac OS X. It is made by Bare Bones Software. BBEdit is not a word processor, meaning it does not have text formatting or page layout features. BBEdit’s audience includes programmers and web designers.
HyperCard
Go my start with HyperCard and it “was” (sadly no more), the most fun program I ever had. I made more money off the Mac because of that program and had a MAJOR career shift because of it. Great stuff!!! Just like a gateway drug it was a gateway programming language and lead to C++ and some really cool stuff.
Laravel - The PHP Framework for Artisans
Laravel is a web application framework with expressive, elegant syntax. Laravel attempts to take the pain out of development by easing common tasks used in the majority of web projects, such as authentication, routing, sessions, and caching. Laravel is built on top of several Symfony components, giving your application a great foundation of well-tested and reliable code.
MacHighway
MacHighway is a web hosting service designed by Mac users for Mac users. MacHighway understands that there is a significant number of Mac users who need quality web hosting. Too many web hosting companies believe that the Mac platform is not worthy of support and altogether disregard the Macintosh enthusiast. That’s where MacHighway comes in.
2019/2020 Update: Hover for domain services, FastMail for mail, DigitiaOcean for hosting with Laravel Forge for managing deplymony. Sorce code management with git andfGitHub.
MuseScore
MuseScore is a scorewriter for Windows, macOS, and Linux, comparable to Finale and Sibelius, supporting a wide variety of file formats and input methods. It is released as free and open-source software under the GNU General Public License. MuseScore is accompanied by a freemium mobile score viewer and playback app, and an online score sharing platform. The makers of MuseScore claim that it is the world's most popular notation software.
PHP: Hypertext Preprocessor
PHP is a widely-used general-purpose scripting language that is especially suited for Web development and can be embedded into HTML. If you are new to PHP and want to get some idea of how it works, try the introductory tutorial. After that, check out the online manual, and the example archive sites and some of the other resources available in the links section.
System76
System76 is an American computer manufacturer based in Denver, Colorado, specializing in the sale of notebooks, desktops, and servers. The company supports free and open-source software, offering either Ubuntu or their own Ubuntu-based Linux distribution, Pop!_OS, as the preinstalled operating system
Hardware and Services Used for Site
Still have all but the Mac II. The computers are used for everything from programming, music to all the book publishing needs.
My progression of computers over the years. Still have an SE 30 at home to run HyperCard and will set it up at Funky Frets Music Store one of these days for fun. Actually, still have G4 and G5 &msdash; but the Macintosh II above. And, almost forgot a couple of MacBooks floating around — one with Pop!_OS installed. Also, a Compulab fitlet , a fanless mini PC running Pop!_OS (Linux) at home. And for 2020, a System76 Thelio running Pop!_OS as well, next to the Mac at the music store, basically the Curt Sheller Publications, World Headquarters ;-).
Computer Gear for Sale
Here is some former computer gear the is just not being used and is for sale. Save at least half of what you would have to pay for new.
Mechanical Keyboards
- * Keychron K2 Wireless Mechanical Keyboard (Version 1) * RGB Backlight Aluminum Frame, Cherry Red MX Switches, $49 plus shipping * (NEW $89)
- * Keychron K2 Wireless Mechanical Keyboard (Version 2) * RGB Backlight Aluminum Frame, Cherry Red MX Switches, $59 plus shipping * (NEW $89)
* I have the Original boxes for the keyboards. Checkout the Keychron link below for more information and full specs.
These are great keyboards. I'm just not using them anymore, since I got the System76 Launch keyboard(s). They both need goo homes. The only difference, externally I can see between the two are the extendable legs in the back to change the degree of incline.
Apple, Inc.
Released with much fanfare in January of 1984, the Macintosh was the first affordable computer to include a Graphical User Interface. It was built around the new Motorola 68000 chip, which was significantly faster than previous processors, running at 8 MHz. The Mac came in a small beige case with a black and white monitor built in. It came with a keyboard and mouse, and had a floppy drive that took 400k 3.5in disk the first personal computer to do so. It originally sold for $2,495.
Released with much fanfare in January of 1984, the Macintosh was the first affordable computer to include a Graphical User Interface. It was built around the new Motorola 68000 chip, which was significantly faster than previous processors, running at 8 MHz. The Mac came in a small beige case with a black and white monitor built in. It came with a keyboard and mouse, and had a floppy drive that took 400k 3.5in disk the first personal computer to do so. It originally sold for $2,495.
Shure Microphones and Audio Electronics
Shure Incorporated is an American corporation originally founded by Sidney N. Shure in Chicago, Illinois in 1925 as a supplier of radio parts kits. The company became a consumer and professional audio-electronics manufacturer of microphones, wireless microphone systems, phonograph cartridges, discussion systems, mixers, and digital signal processing. The company also produces listening products, including headphones, high-end earbuds and personal monitor systems.
Shure Incorporated is an American corporation originally founded by Sidney N. Shure in Chicago, Illinois in 1925 as a supplier of radio parts kits. The company became a consumer and professional audio-electronics manufacturer of microphones, wireless microphone systems, phonograph cartridges, discussion systems, mixers, and digital signal processing. The company also produces listening products, including headphones, high-end earbuds and personal monitor systems.
System76
System76 is an American computer manufacturer based in Denver, Colorado, specializing in the sale of notebooks, desktops, and servers. The company supports free and open-source software, offering either Ubuntu or their own Ubuntu-based Linux distribution, Pop!_OS, as the preinstalled operating system
System76 is an American computer manufacturer based in Denver, Colorado, specializing in the sale of notebooks, desktops, and servers. The company supports free and open-source software, offering either Ubuntu or their own Ubuntu-based Linux distribution, Pop!_OS, as the preinstalled operating system
Keychron
Keychron was formed in 2017 by a group of keyboard enthusiast who has extensive experience in keyboard manufacturing. The group consists of designers, marketers, and production experts. Our core team members, Will Ye has 9 years of experience in keyboard production and related businesses and Sven Zhu has 10 years of experience in industrial design. We’ve dedicate ourselves to creating the most sophisticated mechanical keyboard with a minimalist design. And registered as Middle Bridge Ltd in Endeavour House 3rd Floor, Coopers End Road, Stansted, CM24 1SJ, United Kingdom.
Keychron was formed in 2017 by a group of keyboard enthusiast who has extensive experience in keyboard manufacturing. The group consists of designers, marketers, and production experts. Our core team members, Will Ye has 9 years of experience in keyboard production and related businesses and Sven Zhu has 10 years of experience in industrial design. We’ve dedicate ourselves to creating the most sophisticated mechanical keyboard with a minimalist design. And registered as Middle Bridge Ltd in Endeavour House 3rd Floor, Coopers End Road, Stansted, CM24 1SJ, United Kingdom.
Site Access Plans for LearningUkulele.com
Forever Access - With Forever Premium Access, you get ALL the benefits of a Premium Access Subscription such as Unlimited 24/7 access to ALL lessons, downloads, songs, play-along jam tracks, videos, email access to Curt, resources, related assets, and ALL books by Curt as FREE downloads. Pretty much everything on the site, and NEVER worry about a subscription or surprise payment again. And jump the queue for responding to any questions.
If you're anything like me (Curt) and getting Subscription overloaded with everything and everybody on-line wanting money from you once a month — I'm with you. For like-minded individuals, this forever plan is a pay once, and you're done.
The price for Unlimited Forever access is right around the cost of a few months of private lessons. I can guarantee there is more than enough material on-line to keep you busy for a long, long time. And, you get all of my books for FREE. That alone is more than the cost of this plan.
Basic Access - A limited selection of basic lessons — ( currently over 140 ) and 100+ songs for ukulele as well as basic general music reference material — Completely FREE — Simply Register/Signup. HOWEVER - I've been doing ukulele and LearningUkulele.com since 2003 and probably have given too much away already - as reflected in my income from the site in relationship to the time spent on the site. So help support this site and its continued development by signing up for one of the below Premium Access Plans or buy a few of my books. - Thanks, Curt
NOTE: Each higher access level includes ALL the benefits of the lower levels. Private Lessons include all the benefits of a Premium Access Plans as long as you remain a student on the schedule.
Just browsing over both books, they look fantastic! I'm a guitarist and uke player for over 25 years and was thinking about writing a ukulele book but you've already written what I think are the best, most comprehensive and thorough books I've ever seen for the instrument. I just might end up buying every book you've written and I'll be giving my highest recommendation for your books to my friends and students. Thank you so much for taking the time to write such great books! — Peter Rhee
Aloha, Curt, All I can say is WOW! What you have accomplished is simply incredible! All the best — Glen Hirabayashi, The Aloha Boys
Folks, if you haven't stopped by Curt's site, do so right now! ..And get his books, they are fantastic. This guy knows his stuff and is able to pass it along too. — Alan Johnson Proprietor, The 4th Peg
I can highly recommend Curt's Uke books — I have four of them and they are excellent. — fatveg — Portland
Thanks for visiting and checking out the site!
Original Curtie Animation from 1987 for my first web site on a Macintosh II. 34 years ago. Man, does time fly.
“Built for myself (Curt), and sharing with the `Ukulele community!”
LearningUkulele.com has one of the largest collections of lessons, songs, and TABS, Luthiers, ukulele builders, ukulele festival and club information, and, ukulele links on the web. I’ve been on the ®Internet since the early 1990's and This site just never stops growing!!!
Content is added and updated almost daily - so check back often. I really do need to get out more ;-)