Ustream - stream TV of your events

Ustream TV is an incredibly useful app to stream live TV from your event. It's free accessible and takes care of all of the technical details so that you can concentrate on content. Plus, there are lots of cool live web cam applications to watch. Head over to ustream and check it out.

As always, I would love to hear your ideas and input.
phree

Who Registered MY Name As THEIR Domain?!

Ever wonder who owns a domain and when it's up for grabs?

Stop wondering...

http://www.who.is/


NOTE: On certain domain registration sites, after you check the availability of a website, a bot automatically registers it. That's why you'll see so many domains owned by hosting companies. You are then forced to "make an offer" on the domain by "hiring a broker". In the end, you pay for the service to buy the domain and then pay more than necessary for the domain. I register my domain through dreamhost (my hosting company) and haven't had a problem.

Scripting... isn't that just for programming geeks?

Silly cg artist. That's why you can't figure out why your software package won't 'work'.

The attitude that artists only make art is NOT embraced by lead cg artists. Maybe you do feel that you don't need to get a basic understanding of scripting (which is just a simpler version of programming) simply because you, "Just want to animate." Maybe that'll get you by. But do you really want to be so clueless about your tools? Every good painter knows how to use their brushes, pigments and surfaces. Can you honestly say you know how to use your software?

There are lots of resources to give you a basic idea of how programing works. That's easy to find. What isn't always so easy is finding out exactly how scripting helps you - the artist. Here's a short list of the benefits:

1. Trouble Shooting: When you understand what's happening 'under the hood', you'll be able to more quickly figure out exactly what's causing your current issue and fix or work around it. Example: You hit the "make pretty" button and nothing happens. You look in the script editor and see an error message that alerts you to the fact that you did not have an object selected to be 'made pretty' (it says something crazy like, "invalid input argument; operation failed"). You select an object, hit the button and now have 'the pretty'.
   
2. Automation: Making the computer do what is was designed for - let you be lazier more efficient. Have the software do more of the boring and/or repetitive tasks while you spend your time improving the mood of your shot. Examples: preparing characters for export to a game engine, building rigging elements you frequently use, creating automated secondary motion for tentacles, etc.
   
3. Consistency: When you script a task, you know you'll get the same result every time. This also helps to reduce human error. Example: You have scripts that build rig setups on the bones/joints you created. You don't have to spend time checking if the 291 controller objects are named correctly before passing the asset off. You can now leave work in time for your hot date AND not have your teammates later punch you in the throat for delaying the last shot for "The Land Before Time 17".
   
4. Extensibility: Sometimes the tool you need hasn't been made yet or doesn't work the way you need it to. You can often make it yourself. Additionally, you have more control and understanding of the tool, so modifying or re-purposing a part of it becomes a very appealing option.
   

Q: "Hey, I don't do 3d. This is worthless!"
A: Motion graphics artists sometimes need to write expressions for animating certain elements. They also occasionally need to duplicate a layer 243,917 times, change each new layer's overlay mode to something unique, and then derive the name from that overlay mode setting, etc. You can automate both of these silly task lists (as long as your software supports scripting). I'm willing to wager that if you started looking through this glorious world view, you'll find all sorts of ways to make your workload lighter, productivity faster and output quality higher. :D

Q: "But.. PHOTOSHOP doesn't support scripting?!! Oh, nos!"
A: You are not not not correct. Please check the first two links below, dear friend.

Further reading:

• http://www.tutorialized.com/view/tutorial/Photoshop-scripts-An-introduction/12077
  
• http://www.kirupa.com/motiongraphics/ps_scripting.htm
  
• http://www.xsibase.com/forum/index.php?board=26;action=display;threadid=16336;start=0
• http://www.bernardlebel.com/tutorials/learnscriptingxsi.htm

Fix Your Gadgets, MAC XP, ipod, etc

If you own a computer and other gadgets, then you have to visit the following sites for cool fix it and mod advice:

1. Mac Fix It (http://macfixit.com/).
   
2. Fix my XP (http://fixmyxp.com/). Also check out their list of freeware too.
3. Finally for more ipod juice and to fix the Ipod check out crunchgear.com
   

That's it for now...
phree

Use File Hippo to get cool utilities

File Hippo is a cool download site that allows you to get updates for quality utilities. You can filter for freeware or non beta items only. If you're into system maintenance (especially for PC), this is the site for you.

Quicktime Player Quickness

As a media artist (especially animators) you often find yourself scrubbing through sections of movies many, many times to review your work. Quicktime works very well for this purpose and is my current player of choice (I also dig the VLC player, since it can play DVDs and is free to the masses).

The shortcuts/features I find myself using most...

Drag the in and out points to the area of a movie to review and use these shortcuts to quickly replay the footage:
Enter or spacebar : Plays if paused; pauses if playing
Ctrl + Alt + right arrow key : Jumps to end of movie or end of selection
Ctrl + Alt + left arrow key : Jumps to beginning of movie or beginning of selection
Left or right arrow keys : Step back or advance one frame

More shortcuts...

http://images.apple.com/quicktime/pdf/QuickTime7_User_Guide.pdf

Learn everything with MIT's Opencourseware

Ever wish you'd taken a class that wasn't offered or convenient during your college career? Well MIT has the ultimate answer in that it publishes over 600 courses offered at its posh Boston campus. Want a course in programming or algorithms, check out the Electrical Engineering and Computer Science department or the Science and Technology courses. For the record, MIT publishes the syllabus, assignments, exercises, etc., but you would still have to buy the books required to learn the material. Since it is all accessed free, you won't receive credit, but it's all about the knowledge anyway. So get out there and have fun!

Learn C++ & Java from the Master

My programming gurus led me to this source a few years back and I heartily recommend the following resource for anyone who wants to learn C++ or Java. Bruce Eckel's "Thinking in ..." series is by far the best resource I've found for someone who wants to learn to think like a programmer.

Check out his site @ http://mindview.net where he gives free PDFs of Thinking In C++ & Thinking in Java

What is Tech Tips & Lifehacks?

This is Dr. Bowser's way of posting links and reviews of cool downloads, productivity tools, tech gadgets/news. By trade I am a philosopher and teach @ the college level. I also design networks for education and small business clients. Thus, the tech recommendations herein come from friends, students and surfing to find the stuff that can make life more enjoyable and less complex. Enjoy...