Category: Code

[ZBrush] and [Modo] have teamed up on a [GoZ] feature so you can quickly move your geometry and materials between GoZ apps like Maya, Modo, and ZBrush.

[Ubuntu] was much easier to get the network working this time around. I ended up using NDIS to install the windows drivers for my [Netgear WN121T] using the driver links in this [post]. Painless.

I had to stop the x-server to install the [NVIDIA] drivers with “sudo /etc/init.d/gdm stop” [source].

[Mania Drive] is a great way to test if 3D is working after installing the video drivers.

To install [VMWare] download the bundle and then follow [these community steps].

[ISO Recorder] is a free tool to burn ISO images to CD and DVD, rather than having to pay for Nero or CD Creator.

I found two pod casts that I’ve started to listen to. 1) This Week in Photography and 2) [PhotoFocus]. I just search on iTunes to find them (which is not easy or quick).

You can get a Northwest Forest Pass for $5 online at the [US Forest Service] in the passes and permits section which allows parking at trail heads in Snohomish County. In my case I wanted the [Annual Northwest Forest Pass] which you can buy online and get by mail.

Linae picked up a [Canon PowerShot SX200 IS]. The camera doesn’t look too popular, but it could just be a new camera model.

The NVIDIA 8600 GTS (s) in my [Quad-core] just burned out again for the 3rd time. I need to find a more reliable graphics card that I can leave on all the time. I’ve changed the motherboard to a [P5N-D].

I’m going to replace the power supply with a [Thermaltake W0106RU 700W Complies with ATX 12V 2.2 & EPS 12V version SLI Certified 80 PLUS Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply – Retail] and replace the graphics cards with [EVGA 512-P3-N973-TR GeForce 9800 GT 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card – Retail ].

[SpeedFan] is apparently an application that can read your computer’s fan temperatures.

Forum: [post]

[Meetup] lets you manage groups and RSVP to your group events. They have an [api] so that applications like [iMingle] can manage events, comments, and RSVPs. The API does not provide access to [private groups] if you don’t belong to them. Location data may not be available which cripples the app, so you may have to submit location data to [Skyhook Wireless] which provides location data for the iPhone.

[DrawLogic reviews Silverlight 3 – Beta] is planned to have shader model 2.0 support, but it is not GPU hardware accelerated. Suggested alternatives are: [Papervision3d], [Away3d], and [Sandy].

[Papervision] – performance is [too slow] to be ideal. PapervisionX due out later is based on the Flash 10 APIs aims to have better performance. [API]

[Away3d] – boosts good performance with a 100k [cached] triangle scene. [API] [examples]

[Sandy] – does not offer hardware acceleration [API] [examples]

[Torque3d] – [api] [blog] [forums] [videos] [videos] [albumbs] [videos] [wiki]

[Gimp] has a preference accessed by (edit->preferences) that allows you to save your window layout. That way each time you open Gimp, everything is laid out how you want. This is especially useful if you have multiple monitors.

Linae picked up a [Canon PowerShot A1000 IS] to replace our [Olympus Stylus 800] which has problems opening. This is in addition to our [Canon EOS Digital Rebel XTI]. According to the Flicker camera finder, each camera has different memory cards and the [Canon PowerShot A1000 IS] is less popular than the [Olympus Stylus 800] and [Canon EOS Digital Rebel XTI].

The Canon PowerShot A1000 IS, was not very durable and had to be returned.

I needed to paint a photo on a flat projection of a cube to achieve a 2.5D effect. Luckily Modo has a tool called Image Ink .

Forum: [post]

[AGEIA PhysX] is now free for commercial use. The free version is binary only hosted by NVIDIA (acquired AGEIA). The source for the engine is a mere $50k.

[Just Dave] has written a GeekLog to WordPress converter that I may be able to run on my site to convert to WordPress.

According to the Unity Community, the Unity Editor works with the [iPod Touch]; as shown by this .

Forum: [post]

Check the [Modo Reveal Page] on April 10th to see the latest announced features in Modo 401.

When installing [VMWare Workstation] be sure to run the setup as administrator. Otherwise it does not install properly.

I made a few alterations and built [the desk] that I designed in Modo.

Forum: [post]

Oddly, video conferencing has sparked some interest in how to properly light the room before you call somebody. With raccoon eyes, it looks like you haven’t slept in days.

Forum: [post]

[Unreal Tournament 3] has a new update that enables a cool Juggernaut mode. Fill up the Titan bar and activate the “Titan” key and your player grows to monolithic size +1, +2, and +3. In Titan mode, the camera switches to a Gears of War – 3rd person perspective letting you rapid fire homing missiles and shock rifles. I find the capture the flag mode fun for about 30 minutes before the game gets repetitious. That’s the fun part of the game. The unfun part is that all the servers use bots that look like players. I like playing against people not AI.

[Dark Messiah Might and Magic] is a fun single player game for a change, which combines FPS and RPG elements. Leveling is based on objective completion, rather than monster killing similar to Dungeons and Dragons Online. I got stuck a few times, be thankful for [YouTube walkthrus]. Dark Messiah uses the Half-Life 2 Engine, which makes accurate physics more enjoyable. The multiplayer version of the game is completely different, and I didn’t find it fun at all.

[Beyond Good and Evil] is a 3rd person perspective adventure game. Unfortunately, it has too many visual artifact bugs to be considered playable. It’s somewhat amusing to see character’s eye balls popping out as the characters move. I think the animations may have not been rigged correctly.

[FarCry 2] doesn’t live up to the hype. The opening drive around scene is too long. And then if you try going in any direction other than the defined area, you pass out from Malaria. When you pass out you start back at the safe area, your car magically transported with you, and you have to fix the car’s engine again for the 14th time with a lug wrench. This game is visually good, but it’s not Crysis. You can’t shoot down trees. You can’t shoot enemies in key areas. Basically unrealistically, you have to shoot rebels 12 times in the foot, arm, head, or whatever to take them down. So the physics is just meh. The multiplayer component doesn’t work at all for me. I get a punk buster communication error when I attempt to join. I’m not impressed. Crysis had multiplayer issues until the sequel came out to be fair.

Seneca recorded an amazing video for [Lux Tv] that shows how to remove the perspective from a photo. Essentially the photo is flattened for use as a texture in 3d models.

[Windows Powershell] for Vista 64-bit just became available as an optional Windows Update. It must’ve been a silent release. I didn’t see any news about it in the popular blogs.