Lesson 1 - intro
Vector Graphics
Adobe Illustrator is a program primarily used to create what is often called "outline art." Examples of outline art are everywhere: think of a typical company logo, or a starburst shape in an advertisement, or a technical drawing, or the customized lettering on virtually any commercial product. It is...
Introduction
There are many reasons why DVD authoring is growing rapidly in popularity. Standalone "set top" DVD players are exploding in popularity, thanks to declining prices and an abundance of movies available in this high-quality format. And DVD recorders, too, are dropping in price, to the point where they are not much more than a...
A Social Phenomenon
Although I generally resent reading hype from journalists announcing that this-or-that has "finally arrived," I'm tempted to claim as much for the digital camera, after a couple of events this month convinced me that these devices are now far ahead of their film-and-processing-centric brethren in terms of serving...
We welcome your questions on hardware and computers. The following Q&A addresses the topic of hardware upgrades for PCs and Macs, including topics such as RAM, CPU and motherboard upgrades.
Buying or upgrading a computer is, of course, one of the most challenging aspects of computing in general. Is it powerful enough? Will it become obsolete...
Aug. 14: Microsoft has issued an alert on its MSN Messenger site about a new virus known as the Choke worm that arrives as an EXE attachment during an IM chat session with an infected user.
Aug. 7: Microsoft has released a free tool that cleans up problems caused by the Code Red II worm. Find out more about the Code Red II Cleaner and...
Server and Client
At the 1999 Worldwide Developers Conference, Steve Jobs, Apple's interim CEO, and Avie Tevanian, Apple's senior vice president of Software Engineering, gave developers an overview of Apple's software "roadmap," including the first in-depth look at Mac OS X, Apple's next-generation operating system.
First out of the gate...
Introduction
Even before their June 23rd announcement by Apple (following a widely reported leak the previous week!), it was well known that the next generation of Power Macintosh computers would be based on the PowerPC 970 chip. This IBM-developed chip, which Apple calls the G5, is much more powerful than the chips referred to as G3 and G4. In...
"Video post" effects can be applied to your scenes to enhance their visual appearance, as the before and after images to the right demonstrate. Max includes a number of Lens flare, Glow and brilliance effects that can be added to a scene -- even one you've already rendered. Indeed, video post production is akin to audio studio production...
New handheld units from Palm spinoff
Handspring, Inc. on Sept. 14th launched Visor, the first in a new family of expandable handheld computers. In a separate announcement, Handspring also introduced its Springboard platform, calling it "a breakthrough technology that brings ultimate simplicity to software and hardware expansion."...
Flat panel displays are coming down in price, and may reach parity with CRTs sometime in 2003, according to analysts. This section follows important developments in this emerging market. Look for frequent updates and product reviews as this market matures.
CRT or LCD
There are several good reasons to consider an LCD Flat Panel display (and a few...
Introduction
P2P, or peer-to-peer networks, are often used to share files with other users. Some people use them primarily as a way to find and download MP3 or movie files; others use them as a way of finding software programs, system updates or documents. In each of these areas, the potential for copyright infringement exists -- please be mindful...
Emulate This!
Emulation software (and, in a few cases, supplemented with hardware) are available that can, with varying degrees of success, allow you to run programs designed for one type of computer on another. Here are a few of the ones we were able to track down recently.
For Windows PCs:
Palm Pilot emulation: homepages.tig.com.au/~sydney/...
The next generation of motherboards is upon us and, as usual, it’s the manufacturers, dealers and the early adopters who will be forced to uncover some of the glitches inevitably encountered when one is first on the block.
A good place to start is with mention of the reported incompatibility between the Pentium III and the Intel 810 chipset...
Easter Eggs: About This Computer
Command + click Mac OS logo = launch the default Web browser, go to Apple's Mac OS 9 web page.
Option = About the finder - a colour photo of the Apple campus, and scrolling credits that fade in.
Command+Option+Control = About the Mac OS 9 Team - a full-screen slide show with icons and credits that fade in and out...
Emulate This!
Emulation software (and, in a few cases, supplemented with hardware) are available that can, with varying degrees of success, allow you to run programs designed for one type of computer on another. Here are a few of the ones we were able to track down recently.
For Windows PCs:
Palm Pilot emulation: homepages.tig.com.au/~sydney/...
Cubase users rejoice: This is the upgrade you've been waiting for
Product: Cubase VST 5.0 (5.0r4 is the latest official Windows release; 5.0r1PB1 for the Mac is in "public beta" testing.)
From: Steinberg
Web: www.steinberg.net
Price: Various.
For: Win95/98/Me/2000, PPC Mac (a "Carbonized" version for Mac OS X is promised as a...
The Macintosh includes a utility called 'Stickies' which many Apple owners use very successfully as they might a Post It Note, attaching reminders, to-do lists and other free-form data to their desktop. And yes, there are equivalent programs for Windows.
We've seen commercial software from the makers of Post-It Notes that behaves more or...
Cash-rich with over US$1 billion in revenues after its best year ever, ATI has announced what it calls the world's fastest graphics accelerator. Now sampling, with OEM and retail shipments due in December '98, the company says its Rage 128 delivers a four-fold improvement in overall performance, compared to its previous top-of-the-line chip, the...
Product: DirectX 8.0
For: Win95, Win98, NT4, Window 2000.
From: www.microsoft.com/directx
Price: free
Pros: generally good game compatibility, enables new features in some graphics cards
Cons: Gains seen in 3D performance during the beta cycle have mysteriously vanished in the final release, leading some to wonder if the software has some...
Real-time effects options enhance Apple's "prosumer" video editor
Introduction
Final Cut Pro, as noted elsewhere on this site, is Apple's award-winning professional video editing, effects and compositing software for broadcasters, educators, web producers and professional videographers. It's a full-featured program designed -- and priced...