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Here is a compiled list of digital photography related software you can find in the market today.

Alteration of photos/graphics

Irfan View - Free and simple program. With this program not only can you change the way your graphics look but you can also create slide shows, cut and crop your graphics and convert your graphics and more. Ideal for batch processing.

Kodak EasyShare Software - A popular software program for editing, sharing and printing your pictures is the new which makes it even easier to organize, print and share your digital pictures.

ImageForge - ImageForge is a freeware image editor with painting and editing tools. Allows you to import images from scanners and digital cameras, apply special effects filters, and create photo albums and slideshows. Although this is teaser program for the shareware ImageForge PRO, it's probably a few steps above Microsoft Paint.

VCW Vicman's Photo Editor - This award-winning graphic editor offers a variety of painting and editing tools and features including a text tool, gradients, selections by color or region, color replacement, editing in any scale, special effects and so on. This free version is an enticement to upgrade to the Pro version for $29.95 US, so you can expect to put up with nag screens.

PhotoFiltre - Although it's fairly limited in features, PhotoFiltre offers a simple, but elegant user interface and a lot of one-click image adjustments, filters, and effects. There is a built in image explorer panel for visually navigating your file system, basic drawing, painting, retouching and selection tools, and batch processing capabilities.

Ultimate Paint - Ultimate Paint is available in both shareware and freeware versions for image creation, viewing, and manipulation. It has been designed to be fast and compact, and if you're familiar with the old Deluxe Paint program from Electronic Arts, Ultimate Paint is said to be very similar. The freeware version is an older release of the full-featured shareware product.

Picasa - Picasa is free software from Google that helps you instantly find, edit and share all the pictures on your PC. Every time you open Picasa, it automatically locates all your pictures (even ones you forgot you had) and sorts them into visual albums organized by date with folder names you will recognize. You can drag and drop to arrange your albums and make labels to create new groups. Picasa also makes advanced editing simple by putting one-click fixes and powerful effects at your fingertips. And Picasa makes it a snap to share your pictures you can email, print photos home, make gift CDs, instantly share via Hello, and even post pictures on your own blog.

Sherif Photo Plus - Serif has long been giving away previous versions of their software to entice users to purchase the current version. Currently you can download a completely free, fully-functional version of PhotoPlus 5.5, or order a CD and pay only shipping costs. PhotoPlus 5.5 features an export optimizer, editable text, image slicing and image maps, selection tools, smart shapes, and image enhancement tools.

Pixia - This is the English version of a popular free painting and retouching software that originated in Japan. It features custom brush tips, multiple layers, masking, vector- and bitmap-based drawing tools, color, tone, and lighting adjustments, and multiple undo/redo. Like many freeware editors, there is no support for saving GIF format. Also available for many other languages. http://park18.wakwak.com/~pixia/download.htm

ADG Panorama Tools 5.0 - This program lets you from a series of photos quickly and easily generate, edit & embed publish 360 degrees interactive panoramic composition on the Web. ADG Panorama can be viewed through ADG Java Viewer 4.0 that eliminates any plug-in installation and gives a platform independent use on the Internet.

Make 3D images from 2D graphics! - PhotoModeler Lite is a program that allows you to extract measurements and 3D models from photos. To use it, you simply need to take several photos of a scene or an object and open them in the program. Then mark each photo with the mouse, tracing and tagging features of interest. The program combines the photos and locates the marked features in 3D, and then creates 3D points, 3D lines, surface meshes, and cylinders. These may then be exported in DXF, 3DS, and VRML formats. Don't worry if you don't quite understand it, the included tutorial will help you through each step.

Picture Shark This program allows you to "stamp" visible logos or text on their image files. Features include: Wizard-like interface, making it easy to use; the ability to create real watermarks; the ability to choose transparent color, opacity, position and much more; a "feather"-feature to make the edges between the stamp and the picture smarter; very fast (processing hundreds of pictures each minute); support for different output formats and quality settings; and WYSIWYG preview-mode for all settings. http://www.picture-shark.com/index.htm

This article is prepared by Christy Berger who writes for PrintCountry.com. A longer version of this article can be found at Digital Photography Printing Software Review .Main resource of this article is Epson Photo Ink Cartridges & HP Photo Printer Cartridges.

Hello friend. Ever wished you could drive the cars the way we do it in the real world? Here I will give you a brief guide for building a steering wheel which has got not just a steering brake and gas pedal, but a Clutch, and yeah a gear box too. It wont cost you more than $10, if you have the most essential tools readily available like saw, screw driver and the like.

It's not only damn cheap, its very much like the same gaming / racing wheel that you purchase for 100+ dollars. The only major difference is that our gaming / racing wheel has got no force feedback mechanism. Its no big deal unless you are a very serious gamer and has got enough money to spend on a Logitech G25 or the like. Here go the highlights and features that the gaming / racing wheel you build will have

Steering wheel with around two full rotations (720 deg) in both directions as in a real car

Separate Gas, Brake and Clutch pedals

A gear box with sequential shifting

Constructing the Steering wheel:

Fetch a plastic / PVC pipe of 2cm diameter (approx) and length 80cm (approx). Light up a candle and heat the pipe from one end to the other end. While heating, slightly bend the tube in increments so that when the whole length gets heated and bent, it takes the shape of a gaming / racing wheel, with open ends. Now heat one of the open ends of the pipe and push it on the other end, so that the ends overlaps and the pipe closes into a wheel. Let it cool. Now wash the pipe and dry it with a towel. Apply super-glue to the joined ends to strengthen the bond.

Take a plywood piece of length 20cm and width 5cm and place it at the center of the wheel. Use M-seal or any similar hard mass forming adhesive (used in plumbing) to fix the plywood to the ends of the gaming / racing wheel.

Constructing the Steering Base:

Now that the gaming / racing wheel has been made, lets build the steerings base. Take a card board box of approx 30cm x 20cm. Make sure that the box is firm enough. Now take two metal pipes (aluminium preferably). The larger pipe should have around 3cm diameter and the smaller one having 1cm diameter. The larger metal pipe should have a length not less than 20cm and the smaller pipe should have a length not less than 30cm.

Make a hole at the center of the box and pass the larger pipe through it so that only 1/3rd of it remains outside. Place the pipe slanting slightly upwards. Fix the pipe on to the box using the hard adhesive (Mseal). When the adhesives cures, you can pass the smaller metal pipe through the larger one attached to the box. Attach the smaller pipes outside end to the wheel's plywood base. Now you should be able to rotate the wheel freely on its base. If the rotation is not smooth, you can put more adhesive and file it up near the contact points where the larger pipe meets the smaller one.

Building the steering wheels Internal Assembly:

For constructing the steering wheels internal assembly we need a few more components. We need a 10K potentiometer and a pair of gear wheels. The 10K POT you can purchase from any electronic spare parts shop. The gear wheels you can either purchase or get from some old toys. The gear wheels should be such that one is at least four times larger than the other, but at the same time their teeth should couple well.

The large metal pipe extends to about half of the boxes inside. Cut plywood pieces and fix them on to the box using adhesives to support the metal pipe very firmly. The plywood has to be extended to the other end so as to support the potentiometer. The smaller gear wheel has to be mounted at the end of the small metal pipe (passing through the large metal pipe). A thin but strong metal rod can be made hot and pierced through the gear wheels other end so as to act as a pivot. This pivot rod should extend out through the other side of the box. The potentiometer needs to be mounted on the plywood using metal braces. The larger gear wheel has to be glued to the handle of the potentiometer.

Solder a pair of wires to the POTs terminals (center terminal and either of the other). Once the smaller gear wheel is fixed, we can align the larger one so that the teeth are coupled properly. First rotate the larger gear in both directions and find the approximate center position of the potentiometer. Keep the potentiometer at that position. Now adjust the plywood pieces used as support so that the teeth of both the gear wheels are aligned for a proper coupling. They should be tightly coupled. Using sponges below the base plywood support, can give adequately pressured coupling between the teeth.

In order to give the steering a spring force to keep it centered, attach a pair of rubber bands to the pivot that protrudes out of the other side of the card board box.

Building the Pedals:

All the three pedals of the gaming / racing wheel are identical. A 50cm x 30cm plywood piece will be needed to make the pedals base. Three 10cm x 10cm plywood pieces are required for making the pedals. Also three 10K potentiometers, small hinges and three 10cm long thin rectangular wooden bars are needed.

Place the pedals using a hinge to a base plywood piece. Attach one potentionmeter to the hinge of the three pedals, so that when the hinge rotates, the potentiometer also gets rotated. Attach a rubber ball below the pedal so that it provides a spring action. Solder wires to the potentiometer.

Building the Gear box of the gaming / racing wheel:

For building the gear box, you would need a sufficiently large and stable card-board box. (Go for a plywood box if you can afford it). Make sure that the box has sufficient height so that the gear knob will be at a comfortable position when you start racing. Also get a handle like thing (old joystick handle) to act as the gear knob. You need to make a small rectangular slit on the cardboard box for the gears metal stick to slide up and down in it. Attach two metal plates at the top and bottom ends of the slit so that when the gears metal stick touches it when you shift up or down, they act as switches.

Use a thin metal pipe as the gear stick of the gaming / racing wheel and attach the gear knob on top of it. Provide a hole in the gear box for taking in the wires, if your joystick handle has buttons on it.

Provide sufficient support to the gears shaft at the bottom and arrange rubber bands or spring mechanisms to keep it centered.

Steering Wheel Interconnection:

The steering wheel that we build is basically a joystick and hence it connects to the game port of your computer. The gameport has a 15 pin D connector and is located at the back side of your system (mostly near the audio jacks). The pin diagram of the gameport you can find in my websites detailed step by step tutorial to build the wheel. (My website address you can see the the references section or in the authors details)

You need to buy a male gameport connector (DB15 male) to plug into the female connector present at the back of your cpu. The joystick (gameport) interface is a very simple - to - implement interface which houses a few switches and axes. All you need to do is connect your potentiometers to the axes X1, Y1, X2, Y2 and switches to S1, S2, S3 and S4. See the table given to the left. The variation in potentiometers when you turn the wheel or press gas pedal will be measured by the game port and can be used to control your game. You can assign the axes of the gaming / racing wheel and configure them using the windows control panel.

Switches S1, S2, S3 and S4 can be used for connecting to gear up, gear down, horn and hand brake switches respectively. When you shift the gear shaft up, the metal comes in contact and switch gets closed. Similar is the case with the other switches. +5 is nothing but the 5V dc that is available from the game port and G stands for ground.

Configuring the Steering wheel:

The first step is to assemble the three units of the gaming / racing wheel together. Mount the steering unit on to your PC table. Keep the pedal on the floor and the gear box to your side. Connect together the units to the gear box using connectors (relim connector or the like). Connect the 15 wire cable with the male DB15 connector attached, to the gameport at the back of your computer. Once the position is set well, we can proceed to configure the steering wheel in Windows.

Open Control Panel in Windows and open the Game Controllers. This brings up the Game Controllers dialog box. Please note that the steps being mentioned vary in different versions of windows. Hence illustrative diagrams are not given.

In the Game Controllers dialog box, click on Add. This brings up the Add Game controller dialog box. Click on Custom. In the dialog box that appears, choose Race Car controller. Choose the Axes as 4 and Buttons as 4. Enter a name of your choice in the Controller Name field and click OK. Now the new controller should be displayed in the previous dialog box. With the new controller selected, click OK.

If the device works fine, the game controller dialog box will display OK beside the controller's name. If anything went wrong, a 'Not connected' status will be displayed for the device. If that is the case, read the section in the yellow box below. If the gaming / racing wheel is working well, click on Properties button, with the device selected. This brings up the Testing and calibration dialog boxes. If the wheel is not centered in the test area, go to Calibrate and follow the instructions to complete calibration.

Original article can be read at: http://sajuonline.com/articles-4-geeks.htm

(My website http://www.sajuonline.com also provides comprehensive and step-by-step tutorials on 3DS Max and comprehensive articles on Technology, Spirituality and Relationships)

Animation software make ease to a novice to expert animator to make animations. The features are very flexible and user-friendly for animator. The online help guides to the user at any point of time while operating the software. The software should run in a specified computer machine. There are separate software for 2 dimensional (2D) animations and 3 dimensional (3D) animations. There are lots of animation software are available in market. Many open source animation software are widely published and available for a trial use for certain period. If a user likes it for further use can purchase from the builder.

2D Animation Software Features:

Creating Content feature offers intuitive and easy-to-use to animators for your story. In addition to onion-skinning features, a customizable grid and auto gap-closing helps to the animators. Automated lip-sync saves time for creative minds that offers fully automated lip-syncing capabilities.

Building a template Library for organizing, saving and re-using all of your assets and animations with template library is easy to use and can contain all kinds of media files like movies, photo collections, artwork from leading software packages including SWF, AI, PDF, JPEG, PSD, TGA and GIF file formats.

Animating Elements make the animation process as easy as 1-2-3. The transform tool allows the user to animate motion, scaling, rotation and skewing using automatic key frame insertion into the time line.

Scene Layout can be taken only seconds to populate a scene with templates by using drag-and-drop and scene planning tools. Create Camera Moves in a virtual 3D environment to set the action. Drop Shadow feature adds astonishing special effects to scene. Create convincing animation special effects with ease no matter how complicated the animations are.

Publish or compiling creates high quality animation for the Web, PDAs, iPods, cell phones, TV, HDTV and including SWF, AVI, QuickTime, DV Streams, image sequences and more.

Standard Computer System Requirements from 2D Animation software:

For Macintosh the specification are Power Macintosh G5, G4 (Minimum), or Intel CoreTM processors Mac OS X v10.4.7, 512 MB Ram (or bigger), 256 MB (or more), 120 MB of available hard disk space, 24-bit color display, with 64 MB (Recommended)or 8 MB (Minimum) video RAM, capable of 1024x768 resolution.

For PC System specifications are 800 MHz Intel Pentium III processor (Minimum) with Microsoft Windows XP or 2000, 512 MB Ram (Recommended), 256 MB (or more), 120 MB of available hard disk space, 24-bit color display with 32 MB Video RAM or more, Capable of 1024x768 Resolution.

3D Animation Software Features:

3D Modeler, TrueType font support, Import and modify file formats, Export .3DS files, Built in 3D Object browser, Jointed character editor, Morph targets, Renderer for high quality, production quality images, Create 3D scenes and animations and output .AVI movie files, .JPG and .BMP images, Supports textures, bump maps, soft shadows, spotlights, fog, and much more, Texture support for .BMP, .GIF, and .JPG format files, Scripting language etc.

Standard Computer System Requirements from 3D Animation software:

Windows NT4, Win95, Win98, WinSE, Win2K, or WinXP, OpenGL accelerated graphics card with full ICD support, (ala GeForce), 64 MB memory, 128MB recommended, or 256MB if you use WinXP, 300 MHz Pentium, 5MB disk space.

Some popular animation software:

Ulead Animation, Ulead GIF Animator 5, CoffeeCup Animation Software, CoffeeCup GIF Animator, CoffeeCup Firestarter, Firestarter, Reallusion Animation Software, Effect3D Studio, 3D Max, Toonboom Studio, Macromedia Flash.

Shakir A is an independent writer on Interactive Marketing, Animation Movies, Cartoons and other related topics for Internet marketing, PPC, SEO, SEM, Online Marketing. Currently writing more and more for AniBoom.Com http://www.aniboom.com/?ad=articleyedoll

We are all aware of the energy crisis that we all are facing today. This is due to our ever depleting energy resources. Well, if you thought that the earth was a hollow shell encasing liquid oil, and that we would have a never ending supply to cover our energy needs for a further thousand years of home electricity, you would be very wrong. The price of oil is so mercurial that it would be unwise to trust it, so in the end it is up to you to save yourself from this blistering pocket pinch. And the only way to do that would be to buy a home wind generator.

The advantages of having a home wind generator are many; not only do you get reimbursed by the state, but the utility company will also pay you lavishly for the amount of extra electricity you can generate. Yes, you'll actually get paid by the government and the company who used to bill you every month to have one of these! It is even really easy to buy spare parts and assemble one yourself, and yes this is pretty easy - contrary to what you may think. There are about thousands of American families who use home wind generators, and this is a healthy solution of keeping the air clean and free of pollution. Solar and wind power is a very cheap and environmentally friendly commodity, so you definitely do not have to worry about receiving any more of those dreaded monthly bills for electricity.

You might be thinking of avoiding all the hassle and buying a generator rather than building it yourself. Well, be warned. You will have to shell out a thousand of dollars to buy a generator. It is better to spend only $200 to build one. Again, it is very easy. However, before you start putting on your overalls, getting out your toolbox and getting down to work, it is important that you have some idea of the cost benefits involved. Moreover, your wind generator will need a lot of space and height for its tower and blade parts. You also have to ensure that the place where you are setting up the generator has a good supply of wind blowing, so that you can produce electricity in abundance. So, get yourself a home wind generator, and breathe in the clean air of relief, both in savings and your family's health.

Live, longer, happier and for less money in a wind power home using a Home Wind Generator All you have to do save hundreds of dollars per year is Click Here

People are searching for ways to reduce their electricity bill. There is something you can do to reduce your costs.You can easily create your own power. Creating electricity is not difficult when you know how. Solar power and wind power are two ways to help average people save money and energy easily.

DIY (do it yourself) solar panels are becoming more popular. These panels can be installed very easily with the use of kits that can be found on the internet and in some cases in home improvement stores have been known to also have these kits available. These kits are also reasonably priced.
DYI solar panels have the same concept as the commercial solar panel, but with a design that homeowners can install without having to use professional assistance.

Windmill energy is an alternate source of energy. Wind energy can be used right away and can also be stored in a tranformer. A windmill works by catching the wind in the blades and transferring the energy to an electric cable that leads to a transformer. Benefits of wind energy is it will save you money on your bills, you can combine it with solar power and depending on where you live you can recieve tax credits or credits from you power plant.

Other ways to save:
1. Don't use the air conditioner it you really don't need it. Set the temperature to a comfortable level and leave it there. Staying consistant will help save.
2. Do full loads of laundry. Part loads mean more loads and more energy and money.
3. If your not using if turn it off. This could be a light, a tv or a computer even.
4. Invest in energy saving products. Appliances and even smaller items can make a big impact.

Saving energy can be easy, from switching light bulbs, doing full loads of laundry or dishes to installing systems to help create energy. It can all be done by you.

For more information visit: http://jmeneely-savingenergy.blogspot.com

Washington Nationals' Alfonso Soriano refused to play the outfield recently and ran into some trouble from take-no-nonsense manager, Frank Robinson. Soriano eventually relented when he received bad press and knew that Nationals' upper management would look for ways not to pay him. That woke up Ol' Alfonso.

When the common person hears such utter nonsense it makes him want to scream. Soriano is paid an absurd 10 million dollars per year to hit a ball. A person making $50,000 per year would have to work 200 years to make what Soriano makes in one year. A little unbalanced to say the least. Thus, when the pampered player makes a stink about playing another position, huge groans come out from the populace. Play the darn position!
Barry Bonds is making a run for the home run title. Of course, pressing allegations of massive steroid use by Bonds and many other players dampens this quest. Basically, he became a better home run hitter the older he got. He also got much bigger in every way, right up to head size. To pretend he will be the "champ" when he most likely breaks this record is a sham. He could hit a million homers; it is still a bogus title for him.

As usual, the fan gets hit for it in every way. True, many fans turn these people into god-like when all they do is hit and throw a ball. But the assault on the senses of the fan continues. More money is put out to pay for guys who have less and less respect. They pray to "the green." Bogus agents who pimp themselves out to the highest bidder make the most ridiculous excuses for their clients.

Sometimes just seeing a high-school game without all the scamming is a great thing. It is just the game. No agents and no lying. No hulking monsters going bald at young ages with bad attitudes. Just the darn game.

Robert Carberry is a freelance writer from New York.

Role playing games give people the opportunity to entire a world that is completely different from out own, with its own set of rules and often filled with a number of fantasy characters. This allows them the chance to escape and have an adventure, which is something that is appealing to a great number of people. Indeed, it is often the biggest draw into playing a role playing game in the first place. One of the aspects of entering this fantasy world, however, is forming a character to play. This character is someone who will fit into this special world with its special set of rules, and will often have a specialty within that world. Usually the game will provide a certain number of character types for a player to choose from. These are characters who come with a basic set of tools and skills which are suited to their role within the game.

Besides this basic set of tools and skills, however, players are given a lot of room to develop their character and what they might become. Normally, a player can give their character any name that they might desire as well as a personal history. Then, as play of the game commences, a personality might start to form. These characters can be played in any way that the player might wish, being overly friendly and bubbly or gruff and rude. The purpose of having a character in this role playing game is to provide someone for the player to identify with and to explore this new, fantastical world with.

Players are able to give their character more than a name and a personal history, though. As the game progresses, they can teach their character new skills and magic. They can earn upgrades for the tools of the character and find them better weapons. As they progress through the game, they can become more proficient with their fighting techniques and become a stronger warrior overall.

Characters within the game can develop partnerships with other players; sometimes even relationships can brew. The world created within a role playing game is nearly a self-existing entity and while it is fully dependent on the people playing within it, the world can often be built to such a degree that it can be run as its own plane of existence.

People can feel very close to the characters that they come to develop. More than one character is usually developed by long-term players of a role playing game. Often, when new players come to join a game, veteran players will make a new character so that they can be on the same level as the newer players, not leaving them to be at violently different skill levels than the rest. Therefore, one player may end up controlling any number of characters within a role playing universe. However, they are most often connected the closest to one specific character that they have spent a great deal of time on and feel a special connection with. This character can be like a second skin to them, giving them a nice place to escape from the real world into.

Victor Epand is an expert consultant for board games, chess boards, and dungeons and dragons miniatures. You will find all these things and more if you visit used board games, chess boards.

Spring has sprung here in South Africa and my garden is bursting back into life. On a beautiful sunny day I decided to meet my daughter in the Botanical Gardens for the most pleasant of days browsing through trees and plants from all over the world in the most glorious of surroundings. Daughter of mine, being of artistic bent travels with pencil and sketchpad and had a ball sketching away at the interesting plant life.

Then at the weekend as fate would have it there was a HUGE Spring Flower Show at the local mall. That was just delightful - the funniest was a dog made of chrysanthemums but the best for me was a huge balancing floral interpretation of "Bold and Distinctive."

What must have been very difficult and was done in such a masterly fashion was to interpret a painting in flowers! I really enjoyed seeing how this was done as usually we artists interpret nature not the other way round...

All in all now is a great time to do a spot of botanical art work, painting or sketching and South Africa has an abundance of fascinating plant life to inspire anyone from the finest of artists to those who enjoy more chunky palette knife work there is something there for all tastes. Vincent van Gogh summed it up very well with this advice "It is not the language of painters but the language of nature which one should listen to; the feeling for the things themselves - for reality - is more important than the feeling for pictures."

FLOWER OF THE MONTH

Victorian botanical collectors must have rejoiced when they went to South Africa for they certainly took large amounts of plant material back to Kew Gardens in London, England in the nineteenth century and much of this genetic stock from the flora kingdoms of South Africa has since been hybridized into many varietals to suit every climate around the world producing many of the common garden plants that you will probably see in your country today..

One of these plants, which is the international flower for August, is the Gladiolus, from the Latin word for a sword and part of the Iris family. Gladiolus vary from very small, fragrant spikes to spectacular giant flowers. The South African species were originally pollinated in by-gone eras by long-tongued bees, but nowadays sunbirds, moths and long-tongued flies do the business. The gladiolus also attracts butterflies so not only can an artist get the opportunity to paint a charming flower but also the flitting butterflies.

You too can enjoy a botanical drawing frenzy in South Africa

http://www.paintingholidayskzn.com
I was an infant teacher for 25 years. When I relocated to South Africa, I ventured into Internet marketing following my interest in art, and as I wanted to share my lovely new environment with artists around the world so that they might enjoy painting it's beauty. South African Painting Holidays was born and keeps me happily employed now.

3D Modeling is the creation, manipulation, and storage of geometric objects to represent objects that are all around us or virtual objects. The process begins with the use of specialized 3d software. The 3D artist develops a mathematical, wireframe representation of the object using specialized software. The final product is called a 3D model.

The 3d modeling process for 3D computer graphics is similar to sculpting. During this process geometric data is manipulated and prepared manually or automatically. There are three methods for creating and representing a 3d model. They are: polygonal, NURBS, and Splines and Patched.

Polygonal uses vertices that are connected to form a polygonal mesh. Because they are polygonal, curved surfaces are approximated by using many small flat surfaces. The vast majority of 3D models today are built as textured polygonal models, because they are the most flexible and quickest for the computer to handle. Polygonal 3d models can be categorized as high polygonal and low polygonal models depending on the density of the polygonal mesh. Low poly 3d models are preferred for 3d games and simulations as they tend to require less computing power.

NURBS 3d modeling uses NURBS surfaces. NURBS are truly smooth surfaces, not approximations using small flat surfaces, like polygonal. They are best suited for complex forms and organic modeling. NURBS surfaces are defined geometrically by spline curves, which in turn are influenced by weighted control points. The curve follows these weight control points, so increasing the weight of a point will pull the curve closer to that point and vice-versa.

Splines and Patches 3D modeling depend on curved lines to define the visible surface. When using this method the 3d modeling stage consists of shaping individual objects that are later used in the scene. There are a number of techniques including: constructive solid geometry, implicit surfaces, and subdivision surfaces.

Modeling can be performed by means of a dedicated 3d software program or an application component or some scene description language. In some cases, there is no strict distinction between these phases; in such cases modeling is just part of the scene creation process.

Complex materials are modeled using particle systems. A Particle system is a mass of 3D coordinates which have points, polygons, texture splats, or sprites assigned to them. Materials that are modeled using particle systems include smoke, blowing sand, clouds, and liquid sprays.

Once the 3d model is done, the 3D artist may begin the process of 3D rendering for visual representation in 2D or use the 3d model for an animation. Also, the 3D model can be used for other applications including computer simulation of physical phenomena. The 3d model can also be physically created using 3D printing via rapid prototyping techniques. When 3d printing is used, the 3d object is created connecting layers of cross sections of material.

Flat Pyramid
2711 N. Sepulveda #233
Manhattan Beach
California 90266 USA
Phone: 310-697-3740
Fax: 310-697-3774
Email: info@flatpyramid.com
3D Model Website

The very first skateboards were invented in the late 1940s. Back then many kids ran around on scooters, but these were expensive and although popular not all kids could afford them. Some of those kids who could not afford scooters simply destroyed their rollerskates and nailed the wheels onto pieces of wood. They also nailed a piece of wood to the front of this which was used as a handle. I guess most of these kids were not excellent carpenters and these handles probably fell off pretty quickly, thus many kids end up riding around on just the wood and wheels.

Surfers took up skating when there were no waves to surf on, and as a result of this commercially made skateboards became available in the 1950s.

Skateboarding is now one of the fastest growing sports in the world. Competitions are held on a regular basis in almost all countries, and attract hundreds of both amateur and professional competitors. These competitions are generally held in custom-built skate parks which can now be found in most major towns and cities. As a result of this increase in popularity special shoes and clothing have been made solely for skateboarders.

There are basically two different types of skating, street skating and ramp skating.
Street skating, obviously is carried out on the streets, but can also be carried out pretty much anywhere where the surface is flat and smooth, such as car parks and schools.

Skate parks are custom-built for all the different types of skating. The services are all smoothed, generally made from concrete or wood. They are filled with various types of obstacles that the skaters can use tricks, grinds, and flips.

An extreme form of street skating is called skateboard racing. This involves riders racing each other down winding and often extremely steep roads. This can be extremely dangerous at speeds of over 65 km an hour have been reached.

The two most popular forms of ramp skating, are on vert ramps, or mini ramps. There are also quarter pipes and other shaped ramps. Vert ramps are generally about three to 4 m high and have a section of vertical transition at either end. Only experienced skaters should attempt to ride one of these. Mini ramps are obviously much smaller and are easier to ride on, and this is where many skaters learn to ride before moving on.

Skateboarding can be a dangerous sport, however if you follow these simple rules you will keep yourself and others safe:

1) always learn your basic moves on flat and safe ground
2) keep in control of a skateboard at all times
3) always wear a helmet, wrist guards, and knee and elbow pads
4) never skate alone in case of accidents
5) keep all your skateboarding gear well maintained

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As more and more audio recording is done with computers, the need for easily connecting instruments and other equipment to it has increased. Whether you can't (or won't) open your computer to install hardware (such as a PCI card) or you need portable recording, a USB audio interface can fulfill that need in an external unit with nothing but a USB connection to your computer.

We've found the three best USB audio interface units that sound great and have plenty of all the necessary inputs and outputs. Each of these units will produce quality recordings with low latency due to using the fast USB 2.0 connection and supporting the highest bit rates and frequencies, with lots of inputs and controls to not limit your recording. Here is our best USB audio interface review...

M-Audio Fast Track Ultra 8R Review

Description: 24-bit/96kHz professional audio on all I/O simultaneously. High-speed USB 2.0 interface. Comes with MX Core DSP technology. Monitor with effects while recording. Flexible channel routing options. Expands DSP mixing interface to 16 x 8. 8 preamps with award-winning M-Audio Octane technology. 8 XLR/TRS combo jacks for mic or line-level inputs. +48V phantom power. 20dB pad on each preamp. Signal/peak LED indicator lights. 2 front-panel 1/43 instrument inputs. 8 balanced TRS analog outputs. 2 analog inserts. S/PDIF digital I/O. Built-in 1 x 1 MIDI interface. 2 independent headphone outputs with individual volume control knobs. Rugged, lightweight metal chassis. Full ASIO 2.0, WDM, MME, Core Audio support. Compatible with most major audio production software. Dual headphone amp with two completely independent headphone outputs.

The M-Audio Fast Track Ultra 8R is the overall best USB audio interface. It's simply the best value for the money, with lots of high-quality inputs and outputs and plenty of controls. This portable and rack-mountable unit has eight quality mic/line inputs for recording up to eight sources simultaneously that will sound great and have a clear signal. The USB 2.0 connection isn't USB 1.1-compatible, but that isn't even an issue because recording via the outdated USB 1.1 has too much latency and should be avoided anyway. While the Fast Track Ultra 8R can't be bus-powered, that shouldn't be too much of an issue because it's not designed to be mobile anyway.

Pros: Octane preamps sound great and produce a clear signal. Lots of inputs and outputs. Inputs are hybrid XLR/line. Simple and clean interface easy to read and use. Solid construction with logical input arrangements (controls in the front, inputs in the back). Useful MX Core DSP software is included.

Cons: Can't be bus-powered.

Hey what about the M-Audio Fast Track Ultra and TASCAM US-1641? How do the stack up to the M-Audio Fast Track Ultra 8R? Visit our site to find out and to read our full Best USB Audio Interface Review

There are many social networking sites around which you can join. But if you want to start one on your own for a select group of individuals, you can make one yourself and the only thing you will need is open source software.

Open source software for social networking is free. It can be downloaded into your computer and then set up in a matter of days or weeks. To help you get started, here are some of examples which you can try out.

Pligg is an open source content management system. Its features include individual profiles, multiple authors, article rating, private messaging, advanced comment system, RSS feeds as well as the ability to import it as new articles, module system, smarty templates, spell check, support for multiple languages, live Ajax newsfeed and a URL blocklist. For you to use this, you will need PHP and MySQL.

Next is NewsCloud and from the name itself, you can already tell what it does and that is gives you the news. It doesn't always have to be about current events happening around the world but other matters which revolve around your life which you choose to write about. You can even join discussions with other readers.

What distinguishes Drupal from the other content management systems around is that members get to vote on the articles posted there. It supports a wide variety of websites ranging from corporate brochures, community driven websites and personal blogs.

Dating sites have also used open source software for social networking and one example is Dolphin by Boonex. This program has been around for 6 years, used by more than 20,000 websites and has over 100,000 downloads. Those who made it say that it can do just about anything and the only limitation is in your imagination.

Most of the open source software programs for social networking so far are free. One that charges is PHPizabi but despite that there are still people willing to use it. Some of its features include being able to access it through your desktop, communicating with friends in the chat room and maintaining a contact system.

From dating, we move on education and one open source social networking program used by universities worldwide is Elgg. The reason why they use it is because members get to create their own profile and customize it to their own preferences. It also has comprehensive administration tools and applications so you can store files and create or participate in a forum.

Mugshot allows members to post pictures, music and videos. The designers are proud to say that while majority of the open source social networking programs are open source for only the client, theirs is also for the server. You can get updates from other sites and upload it here by choosing the web version or the downloaded version.

As you can see, there many open source software for social networking. You might think why create one when you can use one of the more popular ones like MySpace, YouTube or Linkendin and the best answer to give is that it is yours. Surely you have seen some flaws in many social networking sites and wish they could improve. Instead of wishing and praying, you could take action on your own and maybe become better than them in the future.

LCD TVs provide you with very clear pictures. Crystal clear if we may say. It also has high resolution. Its design is glossy and stylish. The entire sleek and trendy look of the LCD TV will be destroyed if you will put in a substandard TV stand. Stands for LCD TVs come in various shapes and sizes. They may be made out of materials like wood, metal or fiberglass. It may also come in various finishes such as lacquers or wood enamel.

The first thing to bear in mind when buying a stand for your LCD TV is to know whether it will be able to support the weight of your television. Most television manuals indicate the weight capacities. Do not be carried away by the size of the stand. Even though a stand may look big, it does not follow that it can bear the weight. It depends on the material from which your stand is made of.

The next thing to consider is the space. If you have a large room, you might opt for a stand with a swivel. In this way, you can turn the television in any direction so that it can be seen from any angle in the room. Take note of the distance of the stand from the wall if you plan on getting a stand with swivel because it might end up hitting the wall instead. Stands that have wheels and casters are also available which allows you to transfer your LCD TV from one room to another.
Choose a design of the stand which will go accordingly to the decoration of the room. Stands made of wood are best suited for those room with traditional. For contemporary designs, metal and fiberglass will be a better match.

LCD TV stands may cost from a hundred to a thousand dollars depending on its design. You may also want to contact a carpenter to have a stand specifically made to suit your taste.

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You did your research, shopped around and finally picked up the HDTV of your dreams. Now what? Other than watching Blu-ray and upscaled DVDs, what else can you do? We're going to run down some HDTV programming options that you might be interested in.

Let's start off with antenna broadcasting. It's free, if you get a decent signal, the picture is very clean and every HDTV since March 2007 has a built-in HD tuner. I would first try to use the antenna you already have in your house. If that fails to deliver a decent signal, I would then start looking for an HD optimized antenna. Consult online or with your local HDTV expert for advice.

Unless you live in an rural area, getting over the air HD shouldn't be a problem. All of the major networks broadcast in HD. With a few minor exceptions, most of the programming line-up for these networks are in HD.

Most HD broadcasts are in 1080i format. The rest are in 720p. Video experts will say that 720p is the better format. Unlike 1080i, each frame of video is displayed in one pass so the end result is a smoother picture. 1080i will have a higher resolution but that's about it.

For cable HD access, you'll need a tuner box or a CableCard. Either can be acquired for a small fee. Sometimes it might even be free. it all depends on your cable provider and the region you live in.

For paying your monthly cable bill, you can get a good selection of basic and pay channels in HD. As with almost anything subscription based, it's all obviously dependent on how much you're willing to spend.

Thanks to MPEG-4 technology, satellite providers can offer more HD channels than cable. This also means that you'll probably have to get a new satellite decoder box if you want to enjoy these HD channels. Fortunately, the providers are willing to give discounts to help ease this transition.

If you happen to live in an area that Verizon services, you might want to find out if you're eligible for Fios. This a high speed optical technology that can be used for internet access and tv. Think of it as something similar to cable, except it's delivered over an optical line.

Satellite is the current winner right now. They offer the most HD content and their DVRs tend to be an upgrade from what's offered with the cable companies. I believe that's how things will be for the near future. Other technologies might gain favor further out in the future like IPTV. But as of right now, it's too early to tell.

Mike Okada contributes to Home Entertainment Reviews This site specializes in reviewing all things related to home entertainment equipment