1. TIFF (also known as TIF), file types ending in .tif
TIFF stands for Tagged Image File Format. TIFF images create very
large file sizes. TIFF images are uncompressed and thus contain a lot
of detailed image data (which is why the files are so big) TIFFs are
also extremely flexible in terms of color (they can be grayscale, or
CMYK for print, or RGB for web) and content (layers, image tags).
TIFF is the most common file type used in photo software (such as
Photoshop), as well as page layout software (such as Quark and
InDesign), again because a TIFF contains a lot of image data.
2. JPEG (also known as JPG), file types ending in .jpg
JPEG stands for Joint Photographic Experts Group, which created this
standard for this type of image formatting. JPEG files are images that
have been compressed to store a lot of information in a small-size
file. Most digital cameras store photos in JPEG format, because then
you can take more photos on one camera card than you can with other
formats.
A JPEG is compressed in a way that loses some of the image detail
during the compression in order to make the file small (and thus
called "lossy" compression).
JPEG files are usually used for photographs on the web, because they
create a small file that is easily loaded on a web page and also looks
good.
JPEG files are bad for line drawings or logos or graphics, as the
compression makes them look "bitmappy" (jagged lines instead of
straight ones).
3. GIF, file types ending in .gif
GIF stands for Graphic Interchange Format. This format compresses
images but, as different from JPEG, the compression is lossless (no
detail is lost in the compression, but the file can't be made as small
as a JPEG).
GIFs also have an extremely limited color range suitable for the web
but not for printing. This format is never used for photography,
because of the limited number of colors. GIFs can also be used for
animations.
4. PNG, file types ending in .png
PNG stands for Portable Network Graphics. It was created as an open
format to replace GIF, because the patent for GIF was owned by one
company and nobody else wanted to pay licensing fees. It also allows
for a full range of color and better compression.
It's used almost exclusively for web images, never for print images.
For photographs, PNG is not as good as JPEG, because it creates a
larger file. But for images with some text, or line art, it's better,
because the images look less "bitmappy."
When you take a screenshot on your Mac, the resulting image is a
PNG–probably because most screenshots are a mix of images and text.
5. Raw image files
Raw image files contain data from a digital camera (usually). The
files are called raw because they haven't been processed and therefore
can't be edited or printed yet. There are a lot of different raw
formats–each camera company often has its own proprietary format.
Raw files usually contain a vast amount of data that is uncompressed.
Because of this, the size of a raw file is extremely large. Usually
they are converted to TIFF before editing and color-correcting.
Most of this info is courtesy of Wikipedia, which is a great place to
read more about all 5 file types.
Saturday, 15 September 2012
Wednesday, 12 September 2012
Principles Of Animations
1. SQUASH AND STRETCH
This action gives the illusion of weight and volume to a character as
it moves. Also squash and stretch is useful in animating dialogue and
doing facial expressions. How extreme the use of squash and stretch
is, depends on what is required in animating the scene. Usually it's
broader in a short style of picture and subtler in a feature. It is
used in all forms of character animation from a bouncing ball to the
body weight of a person walking. This is the most important element
you will be required to master and will be used often.
2. ANTICIPATION
This movement prepares the audience for a major action the character
is about to perform, such as, starting to run, jump or change
expression. A dancer does not just leap off the floor. A backwards
motion occurs before the forward action is executed. The backward
motion is the anticipation. A comic effect can be done by not using
anticipation after a series of gags that used anticipation. Almost all
real action has major or minor anticipation such as a pitcher's
wind-up or a golfers' back swing. Feature animation is often less
broad than short animation unless a scene requires it to develop a
characters personality.
3. STAGING
A pose or action should clearly communicate to the audience the
attitude, mood, reaction or idea of the character as it relates to the
story and continuity of the story line. The effective use of long,
medium, or close up shots, as well as camera angles also helps in
telling the story. There is a limited amount of time in a film, so
each sequence, scene and frame of film must relate to the overall
story. Do not confuse the audience with too many actions at once. Use
one action clearly stated to get the idea across, unless you are
animating a scene that is to depict clutter and confusion. Staging
directs the audience's attention to the story or idea being told. Care
must be taken in background design so it isn't obscuring the animation
or competing with it due to excess detail behind the animation.
Background and animation should work together as a pictorial unit in a
scene.
4. STRAIGHT AHEAD AND POSE TO POSE ANIMATION
Straight ahead animation starts at the first drawing and works drawing
to drawing to the end of a scene. You can lose size, volume, and
proportions with this method, but it does have spontaneity and
freshness. Fast, wild action scenes are done this way. Pose to Pose is
more planned out and charted with key drawings done at intervals
throughout the scene. Size, volumes, and proportions are controlled
better this way, as is the action. The lead animator will turn
charting and keys over to his assistant. An assistant can be better
used with this method so that the animator doesn't have to draw every
drawing in a scene. An animator can do more scenes this way and
concentrate on the planning of the animation. Many scenes use a bit of
both methods of animation.
5. FOLLOW THROUGH AND OVERLAPPING ACTION
When the main body of the character stops all other parts continue to
catch up to the main mass of the character, such as arms, long hair,
clothing, coat tails or a dress, floppy ears or a long tail (these
follow the path of action). Nothing stops all at once. This is follow
through. Overlapping action is when the character changes direction
while his clothes or hair continues forward. The character is going in
a new direction, to be followed, a number of frames later, by his
clothes in the new direction. "DRAG," in animation, for example, would
be when Goofy starts to run, but his head, ears, upper body, and
clothes do not keep up with his legs. In features, this type of action
is done more subtly. Example: When Snow White starts to dance, her
dress does not begin to move with her immediately but catches up a few
frames later. Long hair and animal tail will also be handled in the
same manner. Timing becomes critical to the effectiveness of drag and
the overlapping action.
6. SLOW-OUT AND SLOW-IN
As action starts, we have more drawings near the starting pose, one or
two in the middle, and more drawings near the next pose. Fewer
drawings make the action faster and more drawings make the action
slower. Slow-ins and slow-outs soften the action, making it more
life-like. For a gag action, we may omit some slow-out or slow-ins for
shock appeal or the surprise element. This will give more snap to the
scene.
7. ARCS
All actions, with few exceptions (such as the animation of a
mechanical device), follow an arc or slightly circular path. This is
especially true of the human figure and the action of animals. Arcs
give animation a more natural action and better flow. Think of natural
movements in the terms of a pendulum swinging. All arm movement, head
turns and even eye movements are executed on an arcs.
8. SECONDARY ACTION
This action adds to and enriches the main action and adds more
dimension to the character animation, supplementing and/or
re-enforcing the main action. Example: A character is angrily walking
toward another character. The walk is forceful, aggressive, and
forward leaning. The leg action is just short of a stomping walk. The
secondary action is a few strong gestures of the arms working with the
walk. Also, the possibility of dialogue being delivered at the same
time with tilts and turns of the head to accentuate the walk and
dialogue, but not so much as to distract from the walk action. All of
these actions should work together in support of one another. Think of
the walk as the primary action and arm swings, head bounce and all
other actions of the body as secondary or supporting action.
9. TIMING
Expertise in timing comes best with experience and personal
experimentation, using the trial and error method in refining
technique. The basics are: more drawings between poses slow and smooth
the action. Fewer drawings make the action faster and crisper. A
variety of slow and fast timing within a scene adds texture and
interest to the movement. Most animation is done on twos (one drawing
photographed on two frames of film) or on ones (one drawing
photographed on each frame of film). Twos are used most of the time,
and ones are used during camera moves such as trucks, pans and
occasionally for subtle and quick dialogue animation. Also, there is
timing in the acting of a character to establish mood, emotion, and
reaction to another character or to a situation. Studying movement of
actors and performers on stage and in films is useful when animating
human or animal characters. This frame by frame examination of film
footage will aid you in understanding timing for animation. This is a
great way to learn from the others.
10. EXAGGERATION
Exaggeration is not extreme distortion of a drawing or extremely
broad, violent action all the time. Its like a caricature of facial
features, expressions, poses, attitudes and actions. Action traced
from live action film can be accurate, but stiff and mechanical. In
feature animation, a character must move more broadly to look natural.
The same is true of facial expressions, but the action should not be
as broad as in a short cartoon style. Exaggeration in a walk or an eye
movement or even a head turn will give your film more appeal. Use good
taste and common sense to keep from becoming too theatrical and
excessively animated.
11. SOLID DRAWING
The basic principles of drawing form, weight, volume solidity and the
illusion of three dimension apply to animation as it does to academic
drawing. The way you draw cartoons, you draw in the classical sense,
using pencil sketches and drawings for reproduction of life. You
transform these into color and movement giving the characters the
illusion of three-and four-dimensional life. Three dimensional is
movement in space. The fourth dimension is movement in time.
12. APPEAL
A live performer has charisma. An animated character has appeal.
Appealing animation does not mean just being cute and cuddly. All
characters have to have appeal whether they are heroic, villainous,
comic or cute. Appeal, as you will use it, includes an easy to read
design, clear drawing, and personality development that will capture
and involve the audience's interest. Early cartoons were basically a
series of gags strung together on a main theme. Over the years, the
artists have learned that to produce a feature there was a need for
story continuity, character development and a higher quality of
artwork throughout the entire production. Like all forms of story
telling, the feature has to appeal to the mind as well as to the eye.
This action gives the illusion of weight and volume to a character as
it moves. Also squash and stretch is useful in animating dialogue and
doing facial expressions. How extreme the use of squash and stretch
is, depends on what is required in animating the scene. Usually it's
broader in a short style of picture and subtler in a feature. It is
used in all forms of character animation from a bouncing ball to the
body weight of a person walking. This is the most important element
you will be required to master and will be used often.
2. ANTICIPATION
This movement prepares the audience for a major action the character
is about to perform, such as, starting to run, jump or change
expression. A dancer does not just leap off the floor. A backwards
motion occurs before the forward action is executed. The backward
motion is the anticipation. A comic effect can be done by not using
anticipation after a series of gags that used anticipation. Almost all
real action has major or minor anticipation such as a pitcher's
wind-up or a golfers' back swing. Feature animation is often less
broad than short animation unless a scene requires it to develop a
characters personality.
3. STAGING
A pose or action should clearly communicate to the audience the
attitude, mood, reaction or idea of the character as it relates to the
story and continuity of the story line. The effective use of long,
medium, or close up shots, as well as camera angles also helps in
telling the story. There is a limited amount of time in a film, so
each sequence, scene and frame of film must relate to the overall
story. Do not confuse the audience with too many actions at once. Use
one action clearly stated to get the idea across, unless you are
animating a scene that is to depict clutter and confusion. Staging
directs the audience's attention to the story or idea being told. Care
must be taken in background design so it isn't obscuring the animation
or competing with it due to excess detail behind the animation.
Background and animation should work together as a pictorial unit in a
scene.
4. STRAIGHT AHEAD AND POSE TO POSE ANIMATION
Straight ahead animation starts at the first drawing and works drawing
to drawing to the end of a scene. You can lose size, volume, and
proportions with this method, but it does have spontaneity and
freshness. Fast, wild action scenes are done this way. Pose to Pose is
more planned out and charted with key drawings done at intervals
throughout the scene. Size, volumes, and proportions are controlled
better this way, as is the action. The lead animator will turn
charting and keys over to his assistant. An assistant can be better
used with this method so that the animator doesn't have to draw every
drawing in a scene. An animator can do more scenes this way and
concentrate on the planning of the animation. Many scenes use a bit of
both methods of animation.
5. FOLLOW THROUGH AND OVERLAPPING ACTION
When the main body of the character stops all other parts continue to
catch up to the main mass of the character, such as arms, long hair,
clothing, coat tails or a dress, floppy ears or a long tail (these
follow the path of action). Nothing stops all at once. This is follow
through. Overlapping action is when the character changes direction
while his clothes or hair continues forward. The character is going in
a new direction, to be followed, a number of frames later, by his
clothes in the new direction. "DRAG," in animation, for example, would
be when Goofy starts to run, but his head, ears, upper body, and
clothes do not keep up with his legs. In features, this type of action
is done more subtly. Example: When Snow White starts to dance, her
dress does not begin to move with her immediately but catches up a few
frames later. Long hair and animal tail will also be handled in the
same manner. Timing becomes critical to the effectiveness of drag and
the overlapping action.
6. SLOW-OUT AND SLOW-IN
As action starts, we have more drawings near the starting pose, one or
two in the middle, and more drawings near the next pose. Fewer
drawings make the action faster and more drawings make the action
slower. Slow-ins and slow-outs soften the action, making it more
life-like. For a gag action, we may omit some slow-out or slow-ins for
shock appeal or the surprise element. This will give more snap to the
scene.
7. ARCS
All actions, with few exceptions (such as the animation of a
mechanical device), follow an arc or slightly circular path. This is
especially true of the human figure and the action of animals. Arcs
give animation a more natural action and better flow. Think of natural
movements in the terms of a pendulum swinging. All arm movement, head
turns and even eye movements are executed on an arcs.
8. SECONDARY ACTION
This action adds to and enriches the main action and adds more
dimension to the character animation, supplementing and/or
re-enforcing the main action. Example: A character is angrily walking
toward another character. The walk is forceful, aggressive, and
forward leaning. The leg action is just short of a stomping walk. The
secondary action is a few strong gestures of the arms working with the
walk. Also, the possibility of dialogue being delivered at the same
time with tilts and turns of the head to accentuate the walk and
dialogue, but not so much as to distract from the walk action. All of
these actions should work together in support of one another. Think of
the walk as the primary action and arm swings, head bounce and all
other actions of the body as secondary or supporting action.
9. TIMING
Expertise in timing comes best with experience and personal
experimentation, using the trial and error method in refining
technique. The basics are: more drawings between poses slow and smooth
the action. Fewer drawings make the action faster and crisper. A
variety of slow and fast timing within a scene adds texture and
interest to the movement. Most animation is done on twos (one drawing
photographed on two frames of film) or on ones (one drawing
photographed on each frame of film). Twos are used most of the time,
and ones are used during camera moves such as trucks, pans and
occasionally for subtle and quick dialogue animation. Also, there is
timing in the acting of a character to establish mood, emotion, and
reaction to another character or to a situation. Studying movement of
actors and performers on stage and in films is useful when animating
human or animal characters. This frame by frame examination of film
footage will aid you in understanding timing for animation. This is a
great way to learn from the others.
10. EXAGGERATION
Exaggeration is not extreme distortion of a drawing or extremely
broad, violent action all the time. Its like a caricature of facial
features, expressions, poses, attitudes and actions. Action traced
from live action film can be accurate, but stiff and mechanical. In
feature animation, a character must move more broadly to look natural.
The same is true of facial expressions, but the action should not be
as broad as in a short cartoon style. Exaggeration in a walk or an eye
movement or even a head turn will give your film more appeal. Use good
taste and common sense to keep from becoming too theatrical and
excessively animated.
11. SOLID DRAWING
The basic principles of drawing form, weight, volume solidity and the
illusion of three dimension apply to animation as it does to academic
drawing. The way you draw cartoons, you draw in the classical sense,
using pencil sketches and drawings for reproduction of life. You
transform these into color and movement giving the characters the
illusion of three-and four-dimensional life. Three dimensional is
movement in space. The fourth dimension is movement in time.
12. APPEAL
A live performer has charisma. An animated character has appeal.
Appealing animation does not mean just being cute and cuddly. All
characters have to have appeal whether they are heroic, villainous,
comic or cute. Appeal, as you will use it, includes an easy to read
design, clear drawing, and personality development that will capture
and involve the audience's interest. Early cartoons were basically a
series of gags strung together on a main theme. Over the years, the
artists have learned that to produce a feature there was a need for
story continuity, character development and a higher quality of
artwork throughout the entire production. Like all forms of story
telling, the feature has to appeal to the mind as well as to the eye.
Tuesday, 11 September 2012
IPAD VS KINDLE?
Let's get it out of the way up front: The new iPad and theKindle Fire are two completely different beasts. It's almost pointless to do a general side-by-side spec comparison without considering the varying needs of different tablet users. For some, the budget-friendly, reading-centric Kindle Fire will be more than enough. For others, though, the genre-defining iPad will be the obvious choice. So let's take a look at the various factors to consider when you're looking for your next tablet:
SpecsHardware isn't everything. That said, the new iPad absolutely creams the Kindle Fire in a strict spec comparison. Not everyone needs Apple's dual-core A5X processor with quad-core graphics. After all, the dual-core 1GHz TI OMAP4 processor in the Kindle Fire is no slouch. A tablet's screen is one of its most important features, and the iPad's ultra-sharp 9.7-inch 2,048-by-1536-pixel Retina Display can't be beat. But what if you want to slip your tablet into your jacket pocket? The Kindle's 7-inch (1,024-by-600-pixel) display makes it a lot easier to tote, but it also limits your screen real estate.
Both tablets offer unlimited cloud storage for their respective eco-system content, so internal storage may not be a huge factor, but it's worth considering if you want to load your own content. The Kindle Fire offers 8GB, while the iPad comes in 16, 32, and 64GB capacities. Neither, however, supports microSD or any other storage expansion options.
As far as connectivity, the new iPad offers 4G LTE compatibility, which gives it an edge over the Kindle Fire, but don't forget that there are plenty of solid and affordable mobile hotspot options that will bring the same capability to Amazon's Wi-Fi-only tablet. Both tablets are 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi compatible, but only the iPad supports AirPlay and Bluetooth—this is especially important if you want to stream music or videos wirelessly to your compatible speakers or HDTV.
If, for whatever reason, you want your new tablet to replace your digital camera, then the iPad's new 5-megapixel camera will be a big factor. The Kindle Fire lacks a camera for stills or video, but the general usefulness of tablet cameras is still up for debate. Battery life will likely be longer on the iPad too, but that's because it's a bigger tablet that can house a bigger battery.
Advantage: Apple. The new iPad packs a vastly superior screen, 4G LTE compatibility, more internal storage, and more wireless connectivity options. Amazon did not skimp on components in the Kindle Fire, but it still cannot compete with the new iPad on a strictly hardware level.
Software and AppsThis is not your standard iOS vs. Android showdown. The iPad runs Apple's iOS mobile operating system and has access to the Apple App Store. The Kindle Fire uses a heavily modified version of Android 2.3 Gingerbread, which makes for a smooth, simple, and intuitive interface that is drastically different than the stock Google software. With those changes, though, the Kindle Fire also loses the Android Market (now rebranded as Google Play). You can, however, install your own APK's onto your Kindle Fire with the right tools, opening up the possibility to get nearly any app available in Google Play. The Amazon Appstore is perfectly capable too, with thousands of choices, but it can't compare with the more than 170,000 native iPad apps in the Apple App Store.
It's hard to argue with the simplicity and elegance of Apple's iOS. Android has made significant strides, but still lacks some polish—especially in older flavors like Gingerbread and Honeycomb. Amazon's reimagined Android is undeniably smooth and easy to use, but it also loses some of that customizability that makes Android so attractive in the first place.
Advantage: Apple. Android is fine, and Amazon really did a lot to make it painfully clear what to do with the tablet. However, iOS is still the more polished, intuitive, and feature-packed of the two
Monday, 10 September 2012
Apple to kill off the 3GS
Apple has decided to kill off the iPhone 3GS and make its iPhone 4 the
entry level phone after the iPhone 5 comes out.
In the UK that will mean that the 8GB version of the iPhone 4 will be
your cheapest way into Jobs' Mob's walled garden of delights.
According to the Daily Telegraph, the iPhone 4 will probably be given
away with £20 per month contracts instead of the 3GS.
The iPhone 3GS is one of Apple's longest serving models. It hit the
shops in June 2009 and is still fairly common. It remained fairly
popular mostly because of technology problems with the iPhone 4
including the famous "will drop your call while you hold it to your
ear" feature and the requirement to have a rubber band wrapped around
it.
There will be an interesting bottle neck coming up for Apple after the
iPhone 5 comes out. It will be the first to sport a new mini-sim but
it will also have some plugs which will make a lot of old accessories
out of date.
It is still not clear if the iPhone 5 will run in the UK using full 4G
capabilities.
The new gear is expected to go on sale in the week of 21 September, so
if you want a cheap way into Apple land then you will have to buy a
3GS fairly soon.
entry level phone after the iPhone 5 comes out.
In the UK that will mean that the 8GB version of the iPhone 4 will be
your cheapest way into Jobs' Mob's walled garden of delights.
According to the Daily Telegraph, the iPhone 4 will probably be given
away with £20 per month contracts instead of the 3GS.
The iPhone 3GS is one of Apple's longest serving models. It hit the
shops in June 2009 and is still fairly common. It remained fairly
popular mostly because of technology problems with the iPhone 4
including the famous "will drop your call while you hold it to your
ear" feature and the requirement to have a rubber band wrapped around
it.
There will be an interesting bottle neck coming up for Apple after the
iPhone 5 comes out. It will be the first to sport a new mini-sim but
it will also have some plugs which will make a lot of old accessories
out of date.
It is still not clear if the iPhone 5 will run in the UK using full 4G
capabilities.
The new gear is expected to go on sale in the week of 21 September, so
if you want a cheap way into Apple land then you will have to buy a
3GS fairly soon.
Saturday, 8 September 2012
Oracle told to pay Google a cool million
Oracle has been told to write a cheque to pay Google more than $1.3
million which is the cost of trolling the search engine for its use of
Java in Android.
Oracle sued Google in August 2010 alleging widespread infringement of
Java-related copyrights and patents in Android and hoped that the
judge would award it $6 billion.
However, Judge William Alsup of US District Court in Northern
California was a programmer and actually knew more than a lot of what
Oracle's lawyers did about coding. The case was thrown out and there
was a small matter of Google's legal costs to work out. Google said it
wasted $4 million in the case, but Alsup thinks that Oracle should pay
$1.13 million of that.
According to Groklaw, Alsup wrote in his court order that Oracle
recovered nothing after nearly two years of litigation and six weeks
of trial. Oracle initially alleged infringement of seven patents and
132 claims.
Each claim ultimately was either dismissed with prejudice or found to
be non-infringed by the jury. Oracle also lost on its primary
copyright claim for Java APIs.
Even as the company's patent allegations disintegrated, Oracle fell
back on an "overreaching" and "somewhat novel" theory of copyright
infringement to bolster its case, Alsup growled. In otherwords Oracle
continued to display trolling behavior even after it was clear it had
lost.
However Google did not get everything because many of the item-line
descriptions seemingly bill for 'intellectual effort' such as
organising, searching, and analysing the discovery documents," Alsup
wrote.
Apparently some of the cash Google wanted was for "meetings" which
everyone knows are a complete waste of time but people like managers
believe are vital.
Oracle is still trying to appeal the court case findings, but it is on
the back foot at the moment.
million which is the cost of trolling the search engine for its use of
Java in Android.
Oracle sued Google in August 2010 alleging widespread infringement of
Java-related copyrights and patents in Android and hoped that the
judge would award it $6 billion.
However, Judge William Alsup of US District Court in Northern
California was a programmer and actually knew more than a lot of what
Oracle's lawyers did about coding. The case was thrown out and there
was a small matter of Google's legal costs to work out. Google said it
wasted $4 million in the case, but Alsup thinks that Oracle should pay
$1.13 million of that.
According to Groklaw, Alsup wrote in his court order that Oracle
recovered nothing after nearly two years of litigation and six weeks
of trial. Oracle initially alleged infringement of seven patents and
132 claims.
Each claim ultimately was either dismissed with prejudice or found to
be non-infringed by the jury. Oracle also lost on its primary
copyright claim for Java APIs.
Even as the company's patent allegations disintegrated, Oracle fell
back on an "overreaching" and "somewhat novel" theory of copyright
infringement to bolster its case, Alsup growled. In otherwords Oracle
continued to display trolling behavior even after it was clear it had
lost.
However Google did not get everything because many of the item-line
descriptions seemingly bill for 'intellectual effort' such as
organising, searching, and analysing the discovery documents," Alsup
wrote.
Apparently some of the cash Google wanted was for "meetings" which
everyone knows are a complete waste of time but people like managers
believe are vital.
Oracle is still trying to appeal the court case findings, but it is on
the back foot at the moment.
Microsoft Windows 8 is less user friendly
While Windows 8 appears to be great touch-friendly tablet software, it is starting to look like it is as user-friendly as a Great White Shark to ordinary PC users.
Former Xerox PARC researcher Usability expert Raluca Budiu of the Nielsen Norman Group told Laptop magazine that the new OS is less user friendly than its predecessors.
She said that the design Vole used does not make sense for PCs and has the potential to confuse desktop users and slow them down.
While there are things that you can do more easily in Windows 8, such as share a news story through email or with friends on Facebook, these are not the sort of things people do most often on a PC.
It is looking like Windows 8 is optimised for content consumption rather than content production and multitasking. But content consumption is better done on tablets and phones while production and multitasking are still best suited for PCs.
Microsoft appears to have ignored that fact and gone entirely for consumer use.
She said that the learning curve for Windows 8 going to be steep, particularly after Windows 7. The duality of Desktop-Metro is likely to confuse at least some of the users.
The concept of giving priority to content is not suited for the larger non-touch screen of most PCs or laptops. Many apps waste a lot of space for huge images and give little space to text.
Hiding controls to give priority to content may make sense on mobile, where screen space is so limited, but is nuts on a large screen, especially if users have to work harder to access hidden features.
For example if you are in Windows 8′s desktop environment and want to launch a new desktop application, you must return to the tile-based Start screen to click a shortcut.
So getting rid of the start menu is probably the daftest thing as it means that you have to go through all sorts of rubbish to get your software running.
Facebook green lights marketers to use whatever data they have
Mark Zuckerberg's inflated experiment in monetising data harvesting, Facebook, has taken another step down the rabbit hole. Now it will open up its database to marketers who can use personal information that they have accrued, such as phone numbers and email addresses, to find potential customers.
Facebook's clause is that the company must already have some of that personal data on their records, or, as AllThingsDigital puts it, Zuckerberg is enabling marketing departments to hunt down customers, present or prior, on the social network. Advertisers will be able to use the data to stalk people across the network as soon as next week.
This poses some niggling questions. Anyone with a telephone will understand that, even with opt-out services to hide your number from the public record, all it takes is for one unscrupulous marketer to get their hands on it and it becomes public domain for the cold callers and scammers.
Hidden in terms and conditions of countless email sign-ups or member sites are clauses that say they may pass over information to relevant third parties, with your consent, upon joining.
Sometimes this is as easy to do as accidentally leaving a box un-ticked on a sign-up form, others pass and sell data without an obvious record. To opt out of such services is the receiver's responsibility, not the sender's.
Of course, Facebook has had its fair share of criticism flung its way, and it claims that advertisers must have the permission of their customers for using that data before they can go ahead and track them. The question lies in when consent is muddied or hidden.
Army of the future: Soldiers will be able to run at Olympic speed and won’t need food or sleep with gene technology
Tomorrow's soldiers could be able to run at Olympic speeds and will be
able to go for days without food or sleep, if new research into gene
manipulation is successful.
According to the U.S. Army's plans for the future, their soldiers will
be able to carry huge weights, live off their fat stores for extended
periods and even regrow limbs blown apart by bombs.
The plans were revealed by novelist Simon Conway, who was granted
behind-the-scenes access to the Pentagon's high-tech Defence Advanced
Research Projects Agency.
With a budget of almost $2billion a year DARPA, established in 1958
after the USSR's first successful space mission shocked America, has a
goal of maintaining U.S. technological dominance on the battlefield.
Among it's many ambitious projects, the agency is working on an
exoskeleton that will allow soldiers to run faster and lift prodigious
weights. But its most controversial work involves genetic
modification.
DARPA is working on triggering genes that will make soldiers' bodies
able to convert fat into energy more efficiently so they are able to
go days without eating while in the warzone.
With plump soldiers able to go on deployment for days living just off
their own body fat, that would free up space in their kit bags
hitherto used for ration packs.
Mr Conway's new thriller, Rockcreek Park, is based on the premise that
a body with extraordinary qualities is discovered in Washington DC.
After his visit to DARPA, the former infantry officer told the Sunday
Express: 'It's all about improving the efficiency of energy creation
in the body.
'Soldiers would be able to run at Olympic speeds, carry large weights
and go without sleep and without food.'
Washington's military scientists are also hoping to work out how to
trigger cells to regrow limbs for soldiers maimed by enemy bombs and
landmines.
With well-documented cases already of young children regrowing fingers
severed in accidents, DARPA is throwing significant sums at research
to identify the physiological trigger and activate it in adults.
One area of success has been in shutting off the trigger of sleep. A
drug was tested on U.S. Army helicopter pilots that enabled them to
stay up longer than 40 hours, with their levels of concentration
actually improving after nearly two days without rest.
It is hoped to replace the amphetamine-based drugs that have
previously been used to keep servicemen alert during operations.
They had been found to affect decision making and had been blamed for
errors in judgement that had led to many so-called incidents of
friendly fire.
Professor Joel Garreau of Arizona University confirmed that DARPA was
experimenting with turning fat into energy. 'Finding that metabolic
switch would wipe out the £40billion diet industry in a heartbeat,' he
added.
The plans are just the latest seemingly madcap schemes dreamed up by
DARPA – which is known as the U.S. military's 'mad scientist' wing.
Earlier this year it emerged that the agency was funding research into
contact lens-mounted displays that could focus information from drones
and satellites directly into soldiers' eyeballs, and helmets that
could enable troops to communicate telepathically.
DARPA projects are often oddball technology, but it also has a history
of far-sighted technological leaps. It invented the first virtual
reality devices, and one of the precursors of the modern internet.
Source: Daily Mail
able to go for days without food or sleep, if new research into gene
manipulation is successful.
According to the U.S. Army's plans for the future, their soldiers will
be able to carry huge weights, live off their fat stores for extended
periods and even regrow limbs blown apart by bombs.
The plans were revealed by novelist Simon Conway, who was granted
behind-the-scenes access to the Pentagon's high-tech Defence Advanced
Research Projects Agency.
With a budget of almost $2billion a year DARPA, established in 1958
after the USSR's first successful space mission shocked America, has a
goal of maintaining U.S. technological dominance on the battlefield.
Among it's many ambitious projects, the agency is working on an
exoskeleton that will allow soldiers to run faster and lift prodigious
weights. But its most controversial work involves genetic
modification.
DARPA is working on triggering genes that will make soldiers' bodies
able to convert fat into energy more efficiently so they are able to
go days without eating while in the warzone.
With plump soldiers able to go on deployment for days living just off
their own body fat, that would free up space in their kit bags
hitherto used for ration packs.
Mr Conway's new thriller, Rockcreek Park, is based on the premise that
a body with extraordinary qualities is discovered in Washington DC.
After his visit to DARPA, the former infantry officer told the Sunday
Express: 'It's all about improving the efficiency of energy creation
in the body.
'Soldiers would be able to run at Olympic speeds, carry large weights
and go without sleep and without food.'
Washington's military scientists are also hoping to work out how to
trigger cells to regrow limbs for soldiers maimed by enemy bombs and
landmines.
With well-documented cases already of young children regrowing fingers
severed in accidents, DARPA is throwing significant sums at research
to identify the physiological trigger and activate it in adults.
One area of success has been in shutting off the trigger of sleep. A
drug was tested on U.S. Army helicopter pilots that enabled them to
stay up longer than 40 hours, with their levels of concentration
actually improving after nearly two days without rest.
It is hoped to replace the amphetamine-based drugs that have
previously been used to keep servicemen alert during operations.
They had been found to affect decision making and had been blamed for
errors in judgement that had led to many so-called incidents of
friendly fire.
Professor Joel Garreau of Arizona University confirmed that DARPA was
experimenting with turning fat into energy. 'Finding that metabolic
switch would wipe out the £40billion diet industry in a heartbeat,' he
added.
The plans are just the latest seemingly madcap schemes dreamed up by
DARPA – which is known as the U.S. military's 'mad scientist' wing.
Earlier this year it emerged that the agency was funding research into
contact lens-mounted displays that could focus information from drones
and satellites directly into soldiers' eyeballs, and helmets that
could enable troops to communicate telepathically.
DARPA projects are often oddball technology, but it also has a history
of far-sighted technological leaps. It invented the first virtual
reality devices, and one of the precursors of the modern internet.
Source: Daily Mail
Friday, 7 September 2012
JPEG or PNG
you can save an image in PNG, JPEG, GIF and dozen other formats. I
have a detailed guide on choosing file formats for your images but if
you still feeling confused, this slightly exaggerated comic courtesy
Louis should help you pick the right file format.
Which File Format Should You Choose?
The help manual of a popular screen capture program offers the
following suggestions
GIF format is limited to 256 colors and is a lossless compression file
format, a common choice for use on the Web. GIF is a good choice for
storing line drawings, text, and iconic graphics at a small file size.
PNG format is a lossless compression file format, which makes it a
common choice for use on the Web. PNG is a good choice for storing
line drawings, text, and iconic graphics at a small file size.
JPG format is a lossy compressed file format. This makes it useful for
storing photographs at a smaller size than a BMP. JPG is a common
choice for use on the Web because it is compressed. For storing line
drawings, text, and iconic graphics at a smaller file size, GIF or PNG
are better choices because they are lossless.
George adds – "JPEGs are for photographs and realistic images. PNGs
are for line art, text-heavy images, and images with few colors. GIFs
are just fail."
Randall Munroe at xkcd and Matthew Inman at Oatmeal mostly use PNG for
their web comics while Hugh MacLeod at GapingVoid uses the JPEG file
format for his cartoons. Also note that the image illustration above
is in PNG format.
have a detailed guide on choosing file formats for your images but if
you still feeling confused, this slightly exaggerated comic courtesy
Louis should help you pick the right file format.
Which File Format Should You Choose?
The help manual of a popular screen capture program offers the
following suggestions
GIF format is limited to 256 colors and is a lossless compression file
format, a common choice for use on the Web. GIF is a good choice for
storing line drawings, text, and iconic graphics at a small file size.
PNG format is a lossless compression file format, which makes it a
common choice for use on the Web. PNG is a good choice for storing
line drawings, text, and iconic graphics at a small file size.
JPG format is a lossy compressed file format. This makes it useful for
storing photographs at a smaller size than a BMP. JPG is a common
choice for use on the Web because it is compressed. For storing line
drawings, text, and iconic graphics at a smaller file size, GIF or PNG
are better choices because they are lossless.
George adds – "JPEGs are for photographs and realistic images. PNGs
are for line art, text-heavy images, and images with few colors. GIFs
are just fail."
Randall Munroe at xkcd and Matthew Inman at Oatmeal mostly use PNG for
their web comics while Hugh MacLeod at GapingVoid uses the JPEG file
format for his cartoons. Also note that the image illustration above
is in PNG format.
Microsoft Surface
Microsoft Surface – A Windows 8 Tablet
The Microsoft Hardware unit has so far limited itself to designing
keyboards, mice, and other computer accessories but this is probably
the first time that they have designed a consumer computer tablet
in-house. The build quality of existing Microsoft hardware is
top-notch and if the press photos are any indication, the new "Post
PC" device should be no different.
The details are too thin to compare this Windows 8 tablet with the
iPads and the Galaxy Tabs but few things stand out.
Unique features
The Surface tablet runs on Windows 8 and hence you should be able to
use any of your existing software on the tablet.
The included USB port will help you connect devices – like the
external hard drives, USB microphones, digital cameras, or USB modems
– without requiring "special" accessories. The touch cover (image)
doubles as a keyboard with a built-in track pad.
Pen Input for Handwriting
The tablet editions of previous versions of Windows had excellent
handwriting recognition capabilities. The Surface Tablet ships with a
pen and features "palm block" meaning when the pen tip is touching the
screen, it would ignore the touch of the palm and the fingers. Surface
could turn out to be a great writing device albeit less heavy.
Availability
Microsoft says that Surface would be made available around the same
time as Windows 8 so the release date is likely to be October or
November this year. The units will initially be sold only in the
Microsoft Stores in U.S. and there's no word on pricing yet.
The Microsoft Hardware unit has so far limited itself to designing
keyboards, mice, and other computer accessories but this is probably
the first time that they have designed a consumer computer tablet
in-house. The build quality of existing Microsoft hardware is
top-notch and if the press photos are any indication, the new "Post
PC" device should be no different.
The details are too thin to compare this Windows 8 tablet with the
iPads and the Galaxy Tabs but few things stand out.
Unique features
The Surface tablet runs on Windows 8 and hence you should be able to
use any of your existing software on the tablet.
The included USB port will help you connect devices – like the
external hard drives, USB microphones, digital cameras, or USB modems
– without requiring "special" accessories. The touch cover (image)
doubles as a keyboard with a built-in track pad.
Pen Input for Handwriting
The tablet editions of previous versions of Windows had excellent
handwriting recognition capabilities. The Surface Tablet ships with a
pen and features "palm block" meaning when the pen tip is touching the
screen, it would ignore the touch of the palm and the fingers. Surface
could turn out to be a great writing device albeit less heavy.
Availability
Microsoft says that Surface would be made available around the same
time as Windows 8 so the release date is likely to be October or
November this year. The units will initially be sold only in the
Microsoft Stores in U.S. and there's no word on pricing yet.
Wednesday, 5 September 2012
Cotton t-shirts could soon charge electronic gadgets
Mechanical engineers are working on how to turn the material in a cotton T-shirt into a source of electrical power.
Xiaodong Li, from the University of South Carolina, envisions integration of the cell phone and just about every electronic gadget into our lives.
In fact, Li sees a future where electronics are part of our wardrobe.
"We wear fabric every day," Li said.
"One day our cotton T-shirts could have more functions; for example, a flexible energy storage device that could charge your cell phone or your iPad," he said.
Starting with a T-shirt from a local discount store, Li's team soaked it in a solution of fluoride, dried it and baked it at high temperature. They excluded oxygen in the oven to prevent the material from charring or simply combusting.
The surfaces of the resulting fibres in the fabric were shown by infrared spectroscopy to have been converted from cellulose to activated carbon. Yet the material retained flexibility and could be folded without breaking.
"We will soon see roll-up cell phones and laptop computers on the market," Li said. But a flexible energy storage device is needed to make this possible," he said.
The once-cotton T-shirt proved to be a repository for electricity. By using small swatches of the fabric as an electrode, the researchers showed that the flexible material, which Li's team terms activated carbon textile, acts as a capacitor.
Capacitors are components of nearly every electronic device on the market, and they have the ability to store electrical charge.
Moreover, Li reports that activated carbon textile acts like double-layer capacitors, which are also called a supercapacitors because they can have particularly high energy storage densities.
But Li and Bao took the material even further than that. They then coated the individual fibres in the activated carbon textile with 'nanoflowers' of manganese oxide.
Just a nanometer thick, this layer of manganese oxide greatly enhanced the electrode performance of the fabric.
"This created a stable, high-performing supercapacitor," Li said.
This hybrid fabric, in which the activated carbon textile fibres are coated with nanostructured manganese oxide, improved the energy storage capability beyond the activated carbon textile alone.
The hybrid supercapacitors were resilient even after thousands of charge-discharge cycles, performance didn't diminish more than 5 percent.
"By stacking these supercapacitors up, we should be able to charge portable electronic devices such as cell phones," Li added.
The study has been published in the journal Advanced Materials.
Future Inventions
UNDER SEA RESORT
L Bruce Jones is a submarine inventor who designs and sells private luxury submarines.
Following in the footsteps of his rocket scientist father, and his grandfather who invented self-elevating jack-up rigs and created the world's first containerized shipping company; Bruce has invented the world's first undersea resort.
Accessible by two elevators from the surface, the resort is being built on the seabed surrounding a private Fiji island in the South Pacific.
The underwater facilities will include 24 luxury state rooms, a restaurant and bar, library, conference room, wedding chapel, underwater spa, and the ultra-luxury Nautilus Suite with stunning undersea views.
Tuesday, 4 September 2012
How to Turn an Everyday MacBook Air Into a Professional-Grade Powerhouse
Replace Your MacBook Air's Guts Note: Apple stated to us that
replacing the stock drive in a MacBook Air is a warranty violation.
OWC disputes this, saying that the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act protects
consumers who undertake parts replacements of this type. Greg Maxson
Since I travel constantly for work, swapping my bulky MacBook Pro for
a half-the-weight MacBook Air changed my life. Ultra-thin laptops like
the Air—not to mention phones, tablets and iPods—come equipped with
solid-state, or flash, memory, which writes data on tiny transistors
rather than bulky spinning disks like conventional hard drives.
Flash-drive speed varies widely, and the Air's stock drive, though
zippier than a regular hard drive, isn't the quickest, so it's not
optimal for jobs such as pro-level video or photo editing. When I
learned that memory manufacturer Other World Computing had begun
selling gum-stick-size flash drives, I decided (against Apple's
wishes) to replace my stock drive and conduct some performance tests.
It turns out that the company's drives are, as promised, very fast. I
found that its 240-gigabyte 6G model runs about 35 percent faster than
the Air's stock drive [see findings at bottom of post]. There's also a
3G, which is nearly as fast as the 6G and is available in a
480-gigabyte version that dwarfs the Air's 256-gigabyte capacity,
allowing me to store my entire music collection.
Changing the drive is easy. It requires little more work than
unscrewing the laptop's back panel. But it isn't cheap—right now the
480-gigabyte drive costs about as much as a new Air. That's a level of
storage available only with a much heavier (and more expensive)
MacBook Pro, though, and the prices should quickly drop. OWC also
sells an enclosure ($70; MacSales) that lets users repurpose the
original drive as an external storage device.
ADD A NEW DRIVE TO THE MACBOOK AIR
Difficulty: Easy
Time: 10 minutes
Step 1: Clone the stock drive onto the OWC drive with a tool such as
SuperDuper, available for free.
Step 2: Turn off the Air. Remove the 10 screws holding the back panel
on using the supplied screwdrivers.
Step 3: Lift the battery connector to detach it. Remove the single
screw holding the drive in place.
Step 4: Pull the drive out of its slot and insert a new one. Reassemble.
Step 5: Turn on the laptop to confirm that the new drive is
functioning properly.
PERFORMANCE COMPARISON
Stock drive
Geekbench score: 3,176
Opening a 348MB Photoshop file: 17.6 seconds
Importing a 739MB file into iMovie: 1:30.2 seconds
6G OWC drive
Geekbench score: 5,516
Opening a 348MB Photoshop file: 11.5 seconds
Importing a 739MB file into iMovie: 1:21.6 seconds
replacing the stock drive in a MacBook Air is a warranty violation.
OWC disputes this, saying that the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act protects
consumers who undertake parts replacements of this type. Greg Maxson
Since I travel constantly for work, swapping my bulky MacBook Pro for
a half-the-weight MacBook Air changed my life. Ultra-thin laptops like
the Air—not to mention phones, tablets and iPods—come equipped with
solid-state, or flash, memory, which writes data on tiny transistors
rather than bulky spinning disks like conventional hard drives.
Flash-drive speed varies widely, and the Air's stock drive, though
zippier than a regular hard drive, isn't the quickest, so it's not
optimal for jobs such as pro-level video or photo editing. When I
learned that memory manufacturer Other World Computing had begun
selling gum-stick-size flash drives, I decided (against Apple's
wishes) to replace my stock drive and conduct some performance tests.
It turns out that the company's drives are, as promised, very fast. I
found that its 240-gigabyte 6G model runs about 35 percent faster than
the Air's stock drive [see findings at bottom of post]. There's also a
3G, which is nearly as fast as the 6G and is available in a
480-gigabyte version that dwarfs the Air's 256-gigabyte capacity,
allowing me to store my entire music collection.
Changing the drive is easy. It requires little more work than
unscrewing the laptop's back panel. But it isn't cheap—right now the
480-gigabyte drive costs about as much as a new Air. That's a level of
storage available only with a much heavier (and more expensive)
MacBook Pro, though, and the prices should quickly drop. OWC also
sells an enclosure ($70; MacSales) that lets users repurpose the
original drive as an external storage device.
ADD A NEW DRIVE TO THE MACBOOK AIR
Difficulty: Easy
Time: 10 minutes
Step 1: Clone the stock drive onto the OWC drive with a tool such as
SuperDuper, available for free.
Step 2: Turn off the Air. Remove the 10 screws holding the back panel
on using the supplied screwdrivers.
Step 3: Lift the battery connector to detach it. Remove the single
screw holding the drive in place.
Step 4: Pull the drive out of its slot and insert a new one. Reassemble.
Step 5: Turn on the laptop to confirm that the new drive is
functioning properly.
PERFORMANCE COMPARISON
Stock drive
Geekbench score: 3,176
Opening a 348MB Photoshop file: 17.6 seconds
Importing a 739MB file into iMovie: 1:30.2 seconds
6G OWC drive
Geekbench score: 5,516
Opening a 348MB Photoshop file: 11.5 seconds
Importing a 739MB file into iMovie: 1:21.6 seconds
Sunday, 2 September 2012
Online Video Tutorials
There are variety of websites which provides online tutorials .But they may hefty fees from you.
Below i am providing a website which provides videos on every branch of engineering .
Programming tutorials are also there .You can even download the videos for free.It is the best source of learning. If you live in a remote area then the videos are very helpful as it may not be possible to seek some professional. The website contain videos from all subjects.
The following are the list of websites from which videos can be downloaded
1. http://www.nptel.iitm.ac.in/
2.http://freevideolectures.com/
Below i am providing a website which provides videos on every branch of engineering .
Programming tutorials are also there .You can even download the videos for free.It is the best source of learning. If you live in a remote area then the videos are very helpful as it may not be possible to seek some professional. The website contain videos from all subjects.
The following are the list of websites from which videos can be downloaded
1. http://www.nptel.iitm.ac.in/
2.http://freevideolectures.com/
Saturday, 1 September 2012
Electronic Pills - Collecting Data Inside The Body
After years of investment and development, wireless devices contained in swallowable capsules are now reaching the market.
Companies such as SmartPill based in Buffalo, New York and Israel-based Given Imaging (PillCam) market capsules the size of vitamin tablets.
These pills contain sensors or tiny cameras that collect information as they travel through the gastrointestinal tract before being excreted from the body a day or two later.
These new electronic inventions transmit information such as acidity, pressure and temperature levels or images of the esophagus and intestine to your doctor's computer for analysis.
Doctors often use invasive methods such as catheters, endoscopic instruments or radioisotopes for collecting information about the digestive tract. So device companies have been developing easier, less intrusive ways, to gather information.
Digestive diseases and disorders can include symptoms such as acid reflux, bloating, heartburn, abdominal pain, constipation, difficulty swallowing or loss of appetite.
"One of the main challenges is determining just what is happening in the stomach and intestines." says Dr. Anish A. Sheth, Director of the Gastrointestinal Motility Program at Yale-New Haven Hospital.Doctors can inspect the colon and peer into the stomach using endoscopic instruments. But some areas cannot be easily viewed, and finding out how muscles are working can be difficult.
Electronic pills are being used to measure muscle contraction, ease of passage and other factors to reveal information unavailable in the past.
Sources: givenimaging.com smartpillcorp.com
Google Car
Image flying to Las Vegas and embarking from your plane at the airport. While waiting to pickup your luggage, you telephone for a cab. Then, you collect your luggage, step outside and your car arrives. But there is no one driving it.
A voice from the car greets you as the trunk opens. The car politely asks you to place your luggage in the trunk.
The back door opens and the car asks you to get in and fasten your seat belt. "Where would you like to go?" asks the car. You respond with the hotel name. "We'll be there in 15 minutes," says the car as it moves away from the curb and drives itself to your destination.
Welcome to the Las Vegas of the future.
Nevada has become the first state to approve driveless cars by accepting an application for the Google car to drive on it's roads.
Bruce Breslow of the Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles, also revealed a special license plate for driveless cars.
The plate will display an infinity symbol, which according to Breslow is a symbol that best represents this futuristic technology.Nevada defines driverless cars as using "artificial intelligence, sensors and global positioning system coordinates to drive itself without the active intervention of a human operator."
Owners of a Google car or similar driveless cars will need to obtain a special driver license and comply with specific regulations. For example, the cars must be equipped with smart boxes and owners will be responsible for how the car functions.
California, Hawaii and Florida are also considering similar legislation for driverless cars.
Source: dmvnv.com
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