TAGENIGMA LLC

Click thumbnails to view each of my older project videos or check the [Demo Page] for more demos. Check out the [Sector13] section for the most recent cool stuff.

You will need Adobe Flash Player 8.0+ to view these videos.

[starmap3d.avi] (4.4M) /
[Demo & Source] (404k)

[nehe_contest.avi] (4.2M) /
[Demo & Source] (817k) / [Details]

[gdc_contest.avi] (2.6M) /
[Demo & Source] (519k)

[3danimation.avi] (2.4M) /
[Source] (962k)

[tagml.avi] (3.8M) /
[Source] (HTTP)

Occasionally when working with the web you may need to UTF8 encode something you are working on. Here’s a little snippet that shows how to UTF8 encode in C#.

String script = "A string that I need to UTF8 Encode!";
if(script == null || script.Length == 0)
return "";
System.Text.UTF8Encoding newUTF8Encoding = new System.Text.UTF8Encoding();
System.Text.Encoder newEncoder = newUTF8Encoding.GetEncoder();
Int32 encodingLength =
newEncoder.GetByteCount(script.ToCharArray(), 0, script.Length, true);
Byte[] encodedScript = new Byte[ encodingLength ];
newEncoder.GetBytes(script.ToCharArray(), 0, script.Length, encodedScript, 0, true);
String uft8Script = "";
foreach(Byte b in encodedScript)
{
uft8Script += "&#"+(Int32)b+";";
}

[MS Channel 9] gave an excellent presentation of this months preview of the Avalon CTP. After taking [a more indepth look at the team], I was able to gather enough information to download the CTP. I plan to immediately take a look at the sample code and jump right in. The installation process was simple. Now on to trying a program referenced in the videos called [Zam 3D ™].

Installing the latest version of Mono (mono-1.1.6-3mdk.i586) was as easy as “urpmi mono”.

[root@athelo tgraupmann]# urpmi mono
To satisfy dependencies, the following 4 packages are going to be installed (28 MB):
libgdiplus0-1.1.5-1mdk.i586
libmono-runtime-1.1.6-3mdk.i586
libmono0-1.1.6-3mdk.i586
mono-1.1.6-3mdk.i586
Is this OK? (Y/n) y

See [this story] for more detailed information.

[Easy Urpmi] is the best way to install packages on Mandrake Linux/Mandiva Linux. Running ” urpmi ” as root in the console automatically finds and installs all the dependencies for a particular set of packages. It already saves me hours of time by getting and installing all the binary packages that I need in an instant.

Tonight I installed Mandrake Linux 2005 LE (the product of the Mandrake Linux and Connectiva Linux merger). The process went smoothly.

I then got my Mustek 600 III EP Plus parallel scanner working by following [these steps].

Need to browse Linux partitions from Linux? Try [Explore2FS]

If you have OS X and hit the F9 key, it auto arranges and scales all your open windows so that they all fit on the same screen. This feature is called Expocity. And Apple provides the [source code] to this awesome feature!

Apple calls it Expose and provides a QuickTime movie to demonstrate [the feature].

I finally ordered a [this laptop] from [http://www.ibuypower.com] and I can say I’ve been impressed every day and would recommend it for others.

Here are the specs:
Battalion 101 SC-Turbo ($2,969.00)
Case ( Battalion-101 SC-Turbo 17″ 16:10 Wide Screen WSXGA 1680×1050 LCD TFT Notebook w/Li-Ion Battery, Universal AC Power, Deluxe Carrying Case Original Metallic Silver/Black 2-Tone )
Flash Media Reader/Writer ( Build-in 7-in-i Media Card Reader/Writer [Notebook] )
Carrying Case ( Free Delux Carrying Case )
Processor ( [Socket-775] Intel® Pentium-4 Processor 630 [3.0GHz, 2MB Cache, 800MHz FSB, 64-Bit + HT Ready] )
Operation System ( MS Windows XP Professional Edition )
USB Port ( Build-in 4x USB 2.0 Ports [Notebook] )
Memory ( 2048MB(512MB X4) DDR2-533 PC4200 [Notebook Memory] Major Brand )
Video Card ( User-Upgradable Mobility 256MB nVidia 6800 Go PCI-Express Video )
IEEE-1394 Fire Wire Card ( Build-in 2x IEEE-1394 Firewire Port [Notebook] )
USB Flash Drive ( None )
Hard Drive ( 80 GB 5400rpm ATA-100 Super Slim Notebook Hard Drive )
2nd Hard Drive ( None )
MP3 Player ( None )
TV Tuner ( Build-in TV Tuner with Remote Control [SC-Series] )
Video Camera ( Build-in Digital Web Video Camera )
Raid Configuration ( None )
CD-RW/DVD-RW Drive ( 8x Dual Format/Double Layer DVD±R/±RW + CD-R/RW Drive [SC-Turbo] )
Headset ( None )
Sound Card ( 3D Premium Surround Sound Onboard )
Fax Modem ( Build-in 56K V.92 Fax Modem [Notebook] )
Wireless Network Adapter ( [FREE] Wireless LAN Wi-Fi 802.11g 54Mbps Mini-PCI Module )
Network Card ( Build-in 10/100/1000 Network LAN [Notebook] )

Somebody on the Pricewatch forums mentioned that you can build custom laptops thru [http://www.coboc.com].
[http://pctorque.com] known as Sagar notebooks carries similar inventory to to Alienware.
[http://alienware.com] has highly recommended – high performance gaming laptops, yet slightly overpriced.
[http://falcon-nw.com]
[VoodooPC]
[DELL] is a well known corporate supplier, unfortunately they carry many overpriced products.

Get the Clevo SATA drivers [here].

[The manual]

I am not sure what the [maximum memory] could be.

Here is another [telescopic movie #2] added to the [timelapsed movie folder]. I focused on [the farthest tree I could find] while it’s still cloudy. I’m putting in a request for [some clear sky].

Two important links for intense 3d software:

[NVidia Cg Toolkit]

[OpenGL Extension Registry]

[QuickTime SDK]

I hooked up a QuickCam Express USB Camera up to my Tasco Luminova telescope using rubber bands.

The tricky part was taking off the cover, taking off the lens cover, and connecting the lens to a 20 mm lens with a few rubber bands. I’m running GQCAM on Mandrake Linux 10.1, with the timer taking pictures every 1 minute through the telescope. Every picture is now auto posted on the Internet. Now let’s hope for some clear night weather.

Here is the first [telescopic movie] converted from an image sequence to a quicktime movie.