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Frequently Asked Questions and Other Information About Kate.net
Thank you for visiting Kate.net! Below are answers to some of the questions I receive about the site and some other basic information. Click on an item in the menu to jump to that section more quickly, or just scroll down and read through the page.
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General Information About the Site
About My Dogs and Cats (in My Wallpapers)
Wallpapers, Screensavers, Other Site Features
About the Site
Is Kate.net run by a company?
Nope. It's just my personal site.
What's your name?
Kate (really)
Are you Kate Winslet? (Yes, I get this question.)
No, sorry.
Are you Kate (insert last name of any other famous "Kate" here)?
Nope.
Is this site geared toward kids? Is it a child-friendly site?
No, actually, it's just a general interest site for wallpapers, screensavers, and other materials I create. I do create and post a lot of materials that are used as resources by parents, grandparents, teachers, schools, and others, but my site, itself, is intended to be used by those over the age of 13. I also have lots of links to other resources on the web, and I cannot guarantee the appropriateness of their content for a given age.
Why did you create this site?
I started the site as a hobby, and I enjoy creating wallpapers and providing other materials on the site that are of use to others. It's very rewarding to hear and know that people, whether at home, at work, or in schools, are enjoying the site.
How can I contact you?
You can reach me via my Contact page.
Do you have a newsletter? Is it free to sign up?
Yes, I sure do, and yes, it is free. I've just begun to send out a quick update each day that I have uploaded new content, not to exceed one update email from me per day (previously I was sending out newsletters maybe once a month). The update is pretty straightforward and just lists all the new wallpapers, screensavers, and other new features created for and posted on the site since the previous update. If you'd like to sign up or learn more, please visit my Mailing List page. You can subscribe or unsubscribe at any time.
Can I get even MORE frequent updates about what's new on Kate.net?
Yes. I list each new wallpaper, screensaver, or other feature on the Kate.net home page under "What's New" as soon as it's created and uploaded, so you can check the home page. AND, I'm also now on Twitter, and I post about new items immediately once I put them on the site. See below for more info. about Twitter.
Are you on Twitter?
Yes. Twitter is a free service which allows you to "follow" people to receive short posts about what's going on with them. I only use Twitter to notify people of a new wallpaper, feature, etc., as it is uploaded to the site, to give information about my ability to make updates, or to reply to comments or questions about the site. So don't worry, there won't be any posts like, "I just had lunch, and now I'm going to take a nap," to wade through! You can set up a free Twitter account and follow me ("katenet") to get faster notification of site updates. As with the newsletter, you can "follow" or "stop following" me at any time.
Are you on Facebook?
No.
Are you on MySpace?
No.
About My Dogs and Cats (in My Wallpapers)
What type of dog is Lucky?
While I don't know his exact lineage since he was a stray that I rescued, he appears to be mostly Chow Chow. The veterinarians think he is probably a mixed-breed, albeit mostly Chow. He has the stereotypical Chow fur, tail, and black tongue, but he does not have the stereotypical sort of pushed-in furry face. He loves chewing on stuffed dog toys. His mission, typically, is to try to "kill" the squeaky in the center as soon as he receives a new toy.
What type of dog is Gidget?
Gidget is another Chow Chow-mix, although she doesn't look as much like a Chow as does Lucky.
She has a thinner frame, longer nose, and some darker fur that shows up here and there.
Her tongue has some black patches and spots, but is not all-black. She is another stray I found about 4 years after I found Lucky, and it just turns out that they ended up "matching," strangely enough! She actually didn't look red at all when I found her, a small puppy running alongside a busy road. Her coat changed from more of a fluffy, Shepherd-like coloring to red as she got to be a few months old. Strange, but true. She loves chasing tennis balls and will bark at pretty much anything, including the wind, even though she's not a small dog. Not that there's anything wrong with that (the being a small dog part, not the barking at the wind part).
What about Sam, your Yellow Lab? Why don't you make wallpapers with him anymore?
Sam is sadly no longer living. As he grew older, he developed cancer. He lives on in our hearts and through my wallpapers. I stopped making wallpapers of him when he passed away. He was such a sweet dog.
And Jet? Your Black-Lab-mix?
Jet is also sadly no longer alive. He was born in 1992. He, too, passed away from cancer. Jet LOVED every person and animal he saw and would practically drag me (sometimes literally) to see everyone we came across during walks. He was one of the earlier dogs on the Internet to have his own home page starting in 1995. In the 90s, Jet's page was featured in the net Magazine (which is no longer in circulation). Jet also lives on in my heart.
What about your cats? And why don't you have more wallpapers with (your) cats in them?
I also have 2 cats: Harry (short for "Harrison") and PC. They are actually featured in a select few of my wallpapers. They were both "rescues," also. I don't feature them in my wallpapers as often because (a) PC is somewhat reclusive and won't sit still for pictures very often, and (b) the kinds of holiday-related garb that I usually use to dress up my dogs for photos is too big for the cats. Plus, even though Harry is very outgoing, he doesn't like being dressed up. He's a cat. Go figure.
Do you have any birds, hamsters, fish, turtles, etc., you can make wallpapers of?
No, sorry, the only other members of my family are of the two-legged variety, and they don't want to be in my wallpapers -- although if I am in proximity to any such animals (as listed in the question, that is) anywhere else, I will try to get photos of them.
Wallpapers, Screensavers, Other Site Features
Where do I find instructions for installing or deleting your wallpapers and screensavers?
You can find answers to technical questions like those on my Wallpapers and Screensavers FAQ page.
Do you create all the wallpapers, screensavers, etc.?
All of the wallpapers and screensavers on my site were created by me. They are all original designs, Copyright © Kate.net (me), and available exclusively at www.kate.net. If you find them anywhere else, someone stole them from my site. (Please let me know if you do find them used anywhere else, whether modified or not, as it's illegal.). On the site I also feature original artwork in the form of printable coloring pages, by talented artist and friend of mine, Ji Shin, whom I commissioned to create the pages. These are available exclusively on and are also Copyright © Kate.net. Ji can be contacted for illustration work at antesfosse //at// gmail //dot// com.
Are your wallpapers (etc.) copyrighted? Can I use them?
My site and all content is Copyright © Kate.net (me) unless otherwise noted. Individual elements that I may incorporate into my graphics are copyright their respective creators and are used via license or permission. Please do not use my works for any other purpose in any other format, whether in part (i.e., parts of it or modified) or in whole. If you have any questions, please contact me.
How do you make your wallpapers? How do you create your calendar wallpapers?
I use Adobe Photoshop to create all of my wallpapers and graphics. I lay out the calendars in Photoshop as well. If you're interested in creating your own wallpapers and/or calendar wallpapers, pretty much any photo editing or graphics program can be used, including, but not limited to: Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Photoshop Elements, GIMP, Corel Paint Shop Pro, etc.
What camera do you use?
I've used a Canon Rebel XTi (400D) digital SLR for the past couple of years, although some of my older wallpapers (well, and even some of the current ones) use photos from my older, non-SLR digital camera. I dream of owning a Canon 5D Mark II one day, but I still have a lot to learn about photography.
Do you accept suggestions for wallpapers, features, etc.?
Absolutely. While I don't have time to reply to or use all suggestions, I certainly take them into consideration and file many away for the future when I may have time to work on them. Sometimes, as much as I'd like to do something specific, I just don't have or can't find the resources to do what is requested -- either because of time constraints or because of the lack of raw materials (e.g., the subject material to take photos of, or royalty-free photos I can incorporate into my designs). For example, if someone requested I make wallpapers with photos of volcanoes, and I have no access to volcanoes (which I don't) and/or I can't find any good volcano photos online that I can purchase or use royalty-free to incorporate into my wallpapers, there's no way I can really accommodate the request, unfortunately.
Why don't you have any wallpapers for or featuring (insert name of holiday, event, animal, object, etc.)?
(See also the previous item.) While I would love to be able to add (insert name of holiday, event, animal, object, etc., here) wallpapers, I am just one person, working on my site as I get spare time, so it's difficult to cover every topic possible. It is not and has never been a full-time activity for me, although if you are a long-time visitor to the site, you will have noticed that over the past year and a half, I've been spending much more time on the site, adding lots of new wallpapers, new sections, and new features. I hope to continue to increase my time spent on the site. So, for the most part, I concentrate on the so-called more "major" holidays, and will be expanding upon some of my very rudimentary starts at everyday "life events," in addition to adding new categories as I have time.
Why do your monthly calendar wallpapers have 3 months on them?
I personally prefer to have just one month on a calendar wallpaper, but many people have written to say that they enjoy having also the previous and next month's calendars on the wallpaper. So, I've added them, although, again, I find that they take up a lot of the wallpaper's "real estate," and apparently cause much confusion, as explained in the next item below -- not to mention trying to make sure your eyes glance at the proper month when there are 3 up there on the screen at once. But, I am always happy to entertain suggestions, thus I've started adding the other months on the calendars.
Why do your monthly calendar wallpapers sometimes have the current month and then the previous month and then the next month? Or, why do some of your monthly calendars start with the previous month?
On most conventional wall calendars, the current month is the main calendar, with the previous and next months shown smaller somewhere within the current month's calendar. So, same basic idea. I'll create the calendar wallpaper to showcase the current month, but then include the other 2 months below the current month. I have received several emails from people who are confused by this, thinking that, in fact, the months should be all in a row, in order. This defeats the purpose of having a current month calendar to make it easy for people to realize which month they're supposed to be looking at, but as a result, I started to make the calendars in order of the months. Now, I am receiving emails from people who are confused why, for example, when it is April, the calendar wallpaper has "March" first. I am not sure I can win this one. *Sigh.*
Update: I posted a poll inquiring what everyone's preference is regarding calendar wallpaper layouts (one month only, current month larger with smaller previous and next months below, or 3 months in a row with current month in the middle), and the majority of people responded that they'd prefer to have the current month larger above with the previous and next months below. I've decided to do make most of the calendar wallpapers in that format, yet throw in a few of the other two formats as well, letting the particular image guide me regarding the best placement for the months.
If you have any other questions about the site, feel free to contact me. Again, thanks for visiting!
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