Friday, February 26, 2010

Gypsy and Design Studio Pros and Cons by Pam (BugBytes)



Today, I have a guest author from the Cricut Message Board! It's Pam (Bug Bytes) and she is an authority on all things Gypsy! Her blog, The Bug Bytes, is a veritable resource for the Gypsy user. There are loads of free files, information and videos. Pam always shares her knowledge and love of the Gypsy on the Cricut message board and on her blog. She is so kind and friendly - always willing to go that extra step to help others, share and inspire. She is also part owner of another fabulous blog called Tuesday Treats, where weekly, there are projects shown made with the Gypsy that include tutorials. Be sure and check that out also! Thank you so much, Pam, for writing this up for Obessed with Scrapbooking! Here's Pam with a write up on Gypsy pros and cons:

Hello everyone,
My name is Pam and some of you may know me from the Gypsy Message Boards by my MB name, thebugbytes. I do have a blog by the same name - The Bug Bytes.

When Joy invited me to write a little something about the Gypsy and include the link to my articles in my blog I was ….. Thrilled… Well that seems such a mild word to describe what I felt. Those who know me – do know how I regard these calender girls –they are Superstars in my book. Thanks Joy for this “20 mins of fame”.

So here I go…grab a coffee and some munchies – to keep you awake and hmmm – just in case wear a seatbelt so that you do not hurt yourself if you do nod off.

I got my Gypsy during the launch. Well… suffice it to say – I was not thrilled then. I also, without knowing better at that time, linked my cartridges which made it returning it back not an option. It did not come with a manual at that time and the electronic version in the G was useless too. It did not have all the features it was supposed to have and had tons of bugs (what a pun). You can just imagine the frustration all we initial buyers would have felt. It was then when one of my friends asked me should I buy the Gypsy that I wrote my first article – pros and cons of gypsy – you can find the original link here -
Pros and Cons of the Gypsy.

Down the line I did update it and you can find that link here:
More Pros and Cons after Update 0158

I used to spend a lot of time at the MB. Initially we learnt from each other. I started keeping my blog as a log of the G J (gypsy Journey). So if you are interested in the progression, you can read my early posts. It may in a jiffy help you to while away your time in case you have forgotten to check your books out from your library ;). Or maybe it can answer some of your questions on Gypsy as these are topics that touch on some of the questions commonly asked in the MB. A little while later when the topic came up to compare Gypsy vs Cricut Design Studio I wrote another article in my blog and the MB. Here’s that link - Design Studio versus Gypsy

Instead of rewriting all these again here I thought it would be better if I just answered in a nutshell a Question –Why should I buy a Gypsy?

Note the word used here is I. So please do make your own informed decision after sufficient research. Never hurry and impulsively buy (Gosh, I hope my hubby doesn’t read this as he knows I am impulsive. But in my defense I do some research before buying! )

Biggest advantage in having a Gypsy is of course that now Mac users (providing they have the right compatible OS) have the power of welding and designing their creations rather than sticking to the basic cartridge images.

Since I am a windows user, to me, the main advantage in having a Gypsy is portability. So easy to slide it in your purse and design anywhere. You will not believe the places I have taken this and designed… if you can call what I put on the virtual mat as that LOL.

Whereas in design studio – you have to be tied to your computer and even if you have a laptop you cannot carry it as easily wherever you go. This feature alone has made a huge difference in the way I design (again that word). I have started using my cricut more now.

Second thing is no more lugging cartridges (provided they are linked). Just take the Gypsy – for when cutting with the Gypsy you do not need the cartridge in the cricut (Note: The cartridge should be linked and secondly the cricut becomes a slave and it’s controls will not work – so no auto fill feature , fit to page etc) . You might have to make arrangements for referring to the creative feature keys (like which button is the shadow feature etc) as right now it is not in the Gypsy keypad overlay.

To me the biggest plus in Gypsy– hands down this wins in my book – is the group feature. This allows us, as the name suggests, to group things together – like making a set and then do a single action on it. I can group everything and in one go, if I press cut and paste, everything will be pasted together. CDS (Cricut Design Studio) users will definitely see the benefit in this one. Although CDS pastes it in exactly the same spot, you have to select each and every single image and then paste it in. Of course, one more big thing in favor of the Gypsy are the 2 wonderful cartridges that come pre-loaded – Gypsy font and Gypsy wanderings - which will I don’t think will ever come out in cartridge form.

You can share and use gypsy files (not cut files as they have to be converted with paid version of CDS) and many generous people do share their wonderful files which saves you time of recreating. Thank goodness this feature was added in later updates.

But the downside to the Gypsy is that you have to link the cartridges to be able to cut from it and once linked the cartridge cannot be linked to another Gypsy (no it will not get erased when linking – you still can use it as a standalone) and legally cannot be sold unless you sell it with the Gypsy itself. If you do not want to link, there is a workaround for windows users (who also have paid CDS) and many do use it this way, in that you can design with the G and then convert the gypsy file to cut file (cds file) and cut with the Cricut Design Studio (Note: you have to plug the cartridge in and there is some bugs while converting like multipage dump and slanting and skewing reset which needs to be fixed a little before cutting). Also, the Gypsy does not have the hide contour feature still. Again, windows users (having CDS) can follow the same procedure as above for getting use of that too. Unfair advantage for windows users isn’t it?

So, if I do not want to lug my computer and cartridges, I don’t mind linking cartridges and want to have ease of design, don’t want to use the hide contour feature much and want the two wonderful cartridges then I would choose Gypsy over CDS. If you are a Mac user then the point is moot and of course ;) best of both worlds – have both. Cost wise if you find a good deal then you can get the Gypsy for lots lesser nowadays and when you add the price of the two cartridges to it then that factor (again in my view only) should not enter in (Not counting the rewards as it keeps varying). So these are the salient points. Many other points I could think of are covered in my original article.

Before I take your leave - I know some of you will have a burning question in your mind to ask me curiosity and all that – So I’ll answer (really, really hope that hubby does not read this) – yes I do have the G, the CDS , SCAL and now Make the Cut. I do need one of the last 2 (not both but could have stuck to one – I know) to cut many of the images I need of my culture.

So that’s it folks. Do take a look in my blog, The Bug Bytes for details and even there I might have forgotten some points and plain don’t know some more – so I try to add/edit when some stuff pops up in my brain and would welcome suggestions from you for the latter – so do drop in to my blog to say Hi. If you are still awake, here’s a huge Thanks and a virtual Hug from me for sticking on.

…… Sincerely Pam

Subscribe to Obsessed with Scrapbooking to learn more about ways to use the Cricut in your scrapbooking!
Share/Save/BookmarkAdd to Technorati Favorites

22 comments:

  1. Joy, Thank you so much for having Pam on your blog. She is just as you said one of the most knowledgable and a top "Go-To" person on all things Gypsy. Even more, she is as you said, one of the sweetest and most helpful people out there--she has the kind of heart that always goes the extra mile. Oh, did I mention she has a great sense of humor too. I have a Mac and am sooo thankful to have a Gypsy now--can weld, group, etc. But am more thankful for sharing folks like you and Pam who teach us and make using the Cricut and Gypsy so much more fun.
    Grammy GG

    ReplyDelete
  2. Great article PAM!!I have the "G", now you need to do an article on SCAL & Sure cuts alot. Enable me why I need one of these.....LOL

    ReplyDelete
  3. GREAT article Pam!!! You know I love my Gypsy Woman and think everyone should be as lucky as we are to own one of these wonderful "must have" scrapping tools. We all love you and your attitude about helping when needed by everyone. Thank you!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Thanks for taking the time to do this article Pam, and thank you Joy for inviting her to your blog. hugs

    ReplyDelete
  5. Pam, thanks for your article. I'm heading to your blog...I'm sure I'll learn lots about my Gypsy.

    ~Sharon/4kids4

    ReplyDelete
  6. Pam, even I already read your articles on your blog I read them again here to refresh my memory again and I did not fall asleep but enjoy your humor. Virtual hugs back to you~

    ReplyDelete
  7. thanks for the info bug.

    chriswooten57
    mcwooten1999@carolina.rr.com

    ReplyDelete
  8. Joy, thanks for having Pam on as a guest. I have both cds and my Gypsy Girl. I like them both, but I think I love my Gypsy Girl the best. Pam, thank you for sharing with us here! :)

    ReplyDelete
  9. Your guest had some great info. I am still in the mode of not doing much with my Gypsy. I almost think why did I buy it? Glad you have all the information. I hope I can be very creative with the gypsy.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Very informative article, but still can't justify spending the money, enjoy my cricut without it. Thanks, gloria

    ReplyDelete
  11. Thank you for your hard work of the pros and cons of gypsy and DS. I've just started using DS, maybe when I grow up I will get to use the gypsy! :o)
    liz
    lizspaperloft.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  12. It's a great article. I'm still holding at build 155 I think. I'm an upgrade chicken lol.

    ReplyDelete
  13. I always love reading Pam's views on the G. So it is great to see her writing on your blog Joy!

    ReplyDelete
  14. cool that was good thanks Joy. and thanks Pam

    ReplyDelete
  15. Thanks so much for sharing this info. A lot of us can't afford every new thing that comes out and it is so helpful when people like you help us by listing the pros and cons!! Thank you again!

    ReplyDelete
  16. Grest post! Now I going to add Pam's blog to one of the blogs I follow. I also have the CDS and Gypsy. I haven't used the CDS very much because I don't like to always being attached to the computer, but I love the Gypsy. It has enhanced the use of the Cricut Bug, so I love using it.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Thanks for sharing your thoughts on the gypsy! You brought up points I wouldn't have thought of considering re the linking of cartridges.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Thank you all for your kind words and patiently reading my writings. Thank you Joy for having me on your blog as a guest. It is truly a honor and a great pleasure.

    ReplyDelete
  19. Joy-Thanks so much for allowing Pam to write for you on the Gypsy. I went to her blog to read her MB post and have decided that there are pros to my Gypsy that I don't yet understand or am using to the fullest so am contacting her for advice. Thanks for the connection!

    ReplyDelete
  20. THINK I WILL CONNECT TO HER BLOG TODAY AND STAR READING EVEN MORE TO FULLY LEARN TO USE MY NEW GYPSY AND CDS.... THANK U FOR THIS CONNECTION....

    ReplyDelete
  21. Would love to win, enjoyed the article. Love your videos.
    Thanks
    angela young
    angeladyoung618@yahoo.com

    ReplyDelete

Thanks so much for commenting! I love to hear from you!

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.

Copyright

Unless otherwise stated within the post, this is my original work. Please feel free to use as inspiration for your own personal use, but do not use for publication, contest/message board entries, or to sell. If my work inspires a work of your own, please give credit by posting a link to my blog. Thank you! MyFreeCopyright.com Registered & Protected