If you haven't, go take a look at the screenshots in the article. Scroll up there, click on the link, and scroll down the page a bit.
Seen them? Good. They demonstrate one thing very effectively: no matter what rendering engine you use, good art direction trumps technology, every time.
These games are using "cutting edge" technology, and the article blathers on about how ray-tracing allowed them to use ridiculous amounts of triangles and have "complex lighting and shadows." But they look like crap.
Contrast this with games like Twilight Princess, Super Mario Galaxy, Ico, Shadow of the Colossus, and Rez. All of them use rasterization on hardware between two and eight years old, but they look fantastic.
Star Wars VI used computer graphics for the hologram of the Death Star in the briefing room of Ackbar's frigate. The Graphics Group division of Lucasfilm would go on to develop the CGI effects for Star Trek II: Wrath of Khan, before being bought by Steve Jobs and becoming Pixar.
The other obvious downside is that it is hard to model organic objects using such techniques. Ever tried to model a human face procedurally?
All of the earliest 3D renderers (the stuff Lucas Arts developed for Star Wars, whatever they used for the Light Cycles in Tron) used combinations of geometrical primitives as models. They moved to tessellation because most of the things you want to model in movies and video games do not lend themselves to procedural definition very well.
Their food isn't just lying around. They have to spend the majority of the day hunting/searching for it. Then they need to prepare it, which may involve skinning it (no easy task). Then it's cooked and eaten. They probably sleep on the ground, and have no amenities like AC, showers, reliable clean water, deodorant, or medicine.
No matter how unsatisfying modern day-to-day life can be, it doesn't make that sort of lifestyle doesn't look very appealing to me.
There's no indication in the article that any code or algorithms will be released. They're just talking about it on a very broad, conceptual level. The headline and summary are quite misleading.
A better way to phrase my post would have been "If they think he has an unfair advantage, why aren't they getting their legs amputated?"
I don't think anyone seriously thinks he has an advantage - he's a full second slower than the qualifying time. This is one case where a disabled athlete, who would normally only be able to compete in the special Olympics, is close to or at Olympic level. He didn't get his legs amputated - he was born without fibulas - it was something completely beyond his control. He's risen to a world-class level in spite of this. Why not let him compete?
It's funny you say that, because Pollock's paintings have a very high fractal dimension, unlike similar drip paintings made by other artists (or kindergartners).
Anyone out there that thinks the apple cheap notebook is still to come? You realize you just used "cheap" and "Apple" in the same sentence, right?
In all seriousness, my suspicion is that Apple was interested in getting involved with OLPC for PR reasons. Get a boat load of free publicity by joining a high-profile, altruistically oriented project, with the added benefit of exposing thousands of children to OS X. Granted, most of those children will probably never have the resources to buy an Apple machine later on, but increased mindshare never hurts.
Without those perks, it doesn't seem likely to me that they will introduce a small, low-margin laptop to compete with the Eee. Keep in mind that if OLPC accepted their offer, Apple would only bear the cost of adapting OS X to the machine, not building it as well. Since they make most of their profit on the hardware, OS X sales are almost immaterial - an R&D cost factored into the price of the machine - so donating a light version to the OLPC project wouldn't cost them much in terms for the publicity gained. Introducing a low-margin, Eee-esque machine has a heftier cost without as much gain.
Full disclosure: I use a Mac as my primary machine, though I dual-boot OS X and Ubuntu.
Font Forge is a complex program with a moderately steep learning curve. This website aims to help someone who simply wants to create a unique font for light personal use. That person probably won't take the time to learn Font Forge.
What I have in mind is simple vector outline support, with a Postscript/Illustrator/Flash import function, and maybe a few templates (generic serif, generic sans-serif) to start from. That would greatly expand the capabilities of the site, without requiring much more effort on the part of the user than it does now.
About 10 years ago, when pixel fonts were all the rage. If you didn't check the site out, it allows you to create fonts in a NxN grid, using predefined primitives (circles, stars, rounded corners, etc). Not a whole lot of variety possible. If they came up with a vector-based online font creation tool, that would be something I could get excited about.
It is my understanding (from watching some of the GDC videos) that in the later stages of the game, the creature editor is replaced with a unit/building editor. It seems like you will be able to continue to create custom content throughout the game - they've just focused on showing off the creature editor thus far.
I find it hard to believe that people do not fat in space. Flatulence comes from a build up of gasses in the intestines, not the stomach. Things are moved through the intestines by muscle contraction, not gravity, so it seems unlikely that it would function differently in null-G.
Of course, a few words from anyone whose actually been to space would clear this up quickly. Are you listening, NASA? Inquiring minds wish to know!
I think this is overestimating the importance of a computer to the average person. For people like you and me, wearable HUD systems sound really cool. The average person, who views the computer as just another tool, will be much less willing to don equipment just to use one full time.
What are the advantages of 24/7 computer access? Ability to quickly find information, and ability to work, at all times. I don't see the average person purchasing and using wearable computer systems for these two benefits.
Where I see ubiquitous computing going is in the direction of small, networked devices, that grab information and share it seamlessly. Take out your cellphone/pda and it'll have information on the groceries running low in your fridge (if you're near your preferred grocery store), the bus times of the buses that run through the nearest bus stop (if you're near one you've taken before), a reminder that the library books you put in your bag when you left the house still aren't returned (if you're near your usual library), etcetera. Information which is relevant to your context, without you having to search for it.
However, when you need to use a computer to work, I still see the desktop (or a laptop) being the thing you'll use, for the foreseeable future.
While embedded devices will be nice for grabbing information on the fly, or for integrating computers with other activities, I don't think laptops and desktops are going anywhere. When doing work such as coding, writing, graphics, etc., people are still going to want a nice big display, full keyboard, and a chair to sit down in.
FTFA:
Walt Disney Animation Studios will offer "The Princess and the Frog," a musical set in New Orleans, in the traditional hand-drawn format for release for Christmas 2009.
I learned that shooting as many buffalo as possible wasn't worth it, because I could only carry 250 pounds of the resulting 20,000 pounds of meat back to the wagon.
The Unofficial Apple Weblog reports that the new SDK is available, which should rescue any iPhones or iPod Touches from the Pink Screen of Death.
It's surprising to see Apple drop the ball like this. You should probably post a new SDK before the old ones expire and prevent developers from working. This is an amateur mistake.
In my experience, with OpenSSH on and an app with moderate network connectivity (e.g. Tap Tap Revolution, IRC, AIM) running, my iPod Touch's battery will deplete itself in 3-4 hours of use.
I clicked No as well, and I kept getting it. It seems I am not the only one to have this problem. Might have something to do with my iPod being jailbroken.
Slashdot Mirror
If you haven't, go take a look at the screenshots in the article. Scroll up there, click on the link, and scroll down the page a bit.
Seen them? Good. They demonstrate one thing very effectively: no matter what rendering engine you use, good art direction trumps technology, every time.
These games are using "cutting edge" technology, and the article blathers on about how ray-tracing allowed them to use ridiculous amounts of triangles and have "complex lighting and shadows." But they look like crap.
Contrast this with games like Twilight Princess, Super Mario Galaxy, Ico, Shadow of the Colossus, and Rez. All of them use rasterization on hardware between two and eight years old, but they look fantastic.
Star Wars VI used computer graphics for the hologram of the Death Star in the briefing room of Ackbar's frigate. The Graphics Group division of Lucasfilm would go on to develop the CGI effects for Star Trek II: Wrath of Khan, before being bought by Steve Jobs and becoming Pixar.
Ever the more reason to never give up Firewire until they pry it from my cold, dead fingers.
The other obvious downside is that it is hard to model organic objects using such techniques. Ever tried to model a human face procedurally?
All of the earliest 3D renderers (the stuff Lucas Arts developed for Star Wars, whatever they used for the Light Cycles in Tron) used combinations of geometrical primitives as models. They moved to tessellation because most of the things you want to model in movies and video games do not lend themselves to procedural definition very well.
You don't invoke Rule 34, the same way that you don't invoke the laws of phycics. It just is
Not if you want both an intact pelt and good meat. Takes even longer if you're doing it with primitive tools instead of sharp knives.
Their food isn't just lying around. They have to spend the majority of the day hunting/searching for it. Then they need to prepare it, which may involve skinning it (no easy task). Then it's cooked and eaten. They probably sleep on the ground, and have no amenities like AC, showers, reliable clean water, deodorant, or medicine.
No matter how unsatisfying modern day-to-day life can be, it doesn't make that sort of lifestyle doesn't look very appealing to me.
There's no indication in the article that any code or algorithms will be released. They're just talking about it on a very broad, conceptual level. The headline and summary are quite misleading.
A better way to phrase my post would have been "If they think he has an unfair advantage, why aren't they getting their legs amputated?"
I don't think anyone seriously thinks he has an advantage - he's a full second slower than the qualifying time. This is one case where a disabled athlete, who would normally only be able to compete in the special Olympics, is close to or at Olympic level. He didn't get his legs amputated - he was born without fibulas - it was something completely beyond his control. He's risen to a world-class level in spite of this. Why not let him compete?
If they think he has an unfair advantage, why don't they get their legs amputated, too?
It's funny you say that, because Pollock's paintings have a very high fractal dimension, unlike similar drip paintings made by other artists (or kindergartners).
The robots made the paintings, but who built and programmed the robots?
What is the artwork - the paintings or the robots?
In all seriousness, my suspicion is that Apple was interested in getting involved with OLPC for PR reasons. Get a boat load of free publicity by joining a high-profile, altruistically oriented project, with the added benefit of exposing thousands of children to OS X. Granted, most of those children will probably never have the resources to buy an Apple machine later on, but increased mindshare never hurts.
Without those perks, it doesn't seem likely to me that they will introduce a small, low-margin laptop to compete with the Eee. Keep in mind that if OLPC accepted their offer, Apple would only bear the cost of adapting OS X to the machine, not building it as well. Since they make most of their profit on the hardware, OS X sales are almost immaterial - an R&D cost factored into the price of the machine - so donating a light version to the OLPC project wouldn't cost them much in terms for the publicity gained. Introducing a low-margin, Eee-esque machine has a heftier cost without as much gain.
Full disclosure: I use a Mac as my primary machine, though I dual-boot OS X and Ubuntu.
Font Forge is a complex program with a moderately steep learning curve. This website aims to help someone who simply wants to create a unique font for light personal use. That person probably won't take the time to learn Font Forge.
What I have in mind is simple vector outline support, with a Postscript/Illustrator/Flash import function, and maybe a few templates (generic serif, generic sans-serif) to start from. That would greatly expand the capabilities of the site, without requiring much more effort on the part of the user than it does now.
About 10 years ago, when pixel fonts were all the rage. If you didn't check the site out, it allows you to create fonts in a NxN grid, using predefined primitives (circles, stars, rounded corners, etc). Not a whole lot of variety possible. If they came up with a vector-based online font creation tool, that would be something I could get excited about.
It is my understanding (from watching some of the GDC videos) that in the later stages of the game, the creature editor is replaced with a unit/building editor. It seems like you will be able to continue to create custom content throughout the game - they've just focused on showing off the creature editor thus far.
I find it hard to believe that people do not fat in space. Flatulence comes from a build up of gasses in the intestines, not the stomach. Things are moved through the intestines by muscle contraction, not gravity, so it seems unlikely that it would function differently in null-G.
Of course, a few words from anyone whose actually been to space would clear this up quickly. Are you listening, NASA? Inquiring minds wish to know!
I think this is overestimating the importance of a computer to the average person. For people like you and me, wearable HUD systems sound really cool. The average person, who views the computer as just another tool, will be much less willing to don equipment just to use one full time.
What are the advantages of 24/7 computer access? Ability to quickly find information, and ability to work, at all times. I don't see the average person purchasing and using wearable computer systems for these two benefits.
Where I see ubiquitous computing going is in the direction of small, networked devices, that grab information and share it seamlessly. Take out your cellphone/pda and it'll have information on the groceries running low in your fridge (if you're near your preferred grocery store), the bus times of the buses that run through the nearest bus stop (if you're near one you've taken before), a reminder that the library books you put in your bag when you left the house still aren't returned (if you're near your usual library), etcetera. Information which is relevant to your context, without you having to search for it.
However, when you need to use a computer to work, I still see the desktop (or a laptop) being the thing you'll use, for the foreseeable future.
While embedded devices will be nice for grabbing information on the fly, or for integrating computers with other activities, I don't think laptops and desktops are going anywhere. When doing work such as coding, writing, graphics, etc., people are still going to want a nice big display, full keyboard, and a chair to sit down in.
They share only a title in common. Up is about a man who attempts to fly to South America to fulfill a promise to his late wife.
FTFA: Walt Disney Animation Studios will offer "The Princess and the Frog," a musical set in New Orleans, in the traditional hand-drawn format for release for Christmas 2009.
I learned that shooting as many buffalo as possible wasn't worth it, because I could only carry 250 pounds of the resulting 20,000 pounds of meat back to the wagon.
Damn was it fun, though.
The Unofficial Apple Weblog reports that the new SDK is available, which should rescue any iPhones or iPod Touches from the Pink Screen of Death.
It's surprising to see Apple drop the ball like this. You should probably post a new SDK before the old ones expire and prevent developers from working. This is an amateur mistake.
In my experience, with OpenSSH on and an app with moderate network connectivity (e.g. Tap Tap Revolution, IRC, AIM) running, my iPod Touch's battery will deplete itself in 3-4 hours of use.
I clicked No as well, and I kept getting it. It seems I am not the only one to have this problem. Might have something to do with my iPod being jailbroken.