I disagree. You say Maya and Max == feature bloat, but I would say that Blender == feature anemic. To me, feature bloat implies that ill-conceived features were added during development. Maya is a deep program, but the features work WELL. How is that "feature bloat"?
Maya has a lot of power, but Alias|Wavefront has done a great job of organizing the user interface. And if you don't like it, the UI is changeable in MELscript. You could probably make it work like Blender if you really want.;)
I do think Blender has its place, but I think that for what it can do, the UI makes each task more difficult to do. I'd love to maybe see a branch of Blender with a different UI.
Finally, I sometimes suggest Blender to 3d newbies, but I usually offer it as an alternative. It has a decent feature set, and it's free, but as I said, the UI leaves much to be desired.
Please. Look at how much Max copies Maya. Don't tell me that copying the UI elements would result in a lawsuit. If that were true, many other open source projects would be in court for UI issues.
The funniest things that I hear are similar to "nobody is forcing you to use Blender." Yeah. I know that cuz I don't use it. I'm just expressing my opinion that its UI needs a lot of work. And sure it's open source, and I could change it to be what I want, but it's not worth the effort.
Naw. I come from the "more powerful != more complicated ui" crowd. The way Maya is arranged with nodes (Hypergraph), easy key commands (QWERTY), customizable UI (MELscript), and natural UI metaphors (sculpt with Artisan) makes it a superior user experience. It's neatly organized and logical, yet it's a powerful program that enables the artist. I feel closer to the work in Maya; I feel like I'm punching cards in Blender.
And you can defend Blender all you want, but I think that it's safe to say that Maya is more popular despite costing thousands of dollars. Why? Because Maya is much more powerful than Blender and is easier to grasp.
Uhhh finally, you brag that you make good amounts of money... tell me, what 3d production house do you work for using Blender making any kind of decent cash?;)
Anybody checked out the OpenGL Shader Language? Is it like HLSL (same syntax as Cg)? I've been learning Cg, and I have to say that I like it... I'm kinda hoping developers will standardize on Cg.
Re:Enough with the goddam 'K' names
on
Kroupware Komplete
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· Score: 0, Troll
I don't know why, but Mozilla loses its startup settings every once in a while. I can't seem to replicate it very consistently, but it happens about once a week or so (random times of the week). It was so bad that the email client was starting to become unusable for me; however, I found that if I restarted Mozilla, it was fine. Weird bugs like this are what kills Mozilla for the business. And yes, I've reported this bug.
I used to work for a 3d company on that street, and lemme tell you, it was hard to tell clients where we were located ("just get off on Big Beaver exit 69"). Yeah. Thankfully I don't work there anymore.;)
Ah yes, the Danger Sidekick. It's a very nice gadget, but I wouldn't buy one. The reason isn't because of the unit itself (quite nice actually), but because of T-Mobile's horrible coverage AND ridiculous plan (at least around Pasadena, CA). The plan only allows 200 voice minutes (plus 1000 weekend minutes). 200 minutes? I use that up in less than a week. And T-Mobile won't allow you to add minutes yet. Unless you use the bulk of your minutes during the weekends, I'd go with another product/plan. Otherwise, be ready to be raped by T-Mobile.
My only beef with the previous post is that IMHO Macs are somewhat lacking for 3d work. The hardware just isn't keeping up, and the 3d performance is a wee bit sluggish. We have a few Macs around, and while I love Macs for 2d work, really a PC would be a better choice for 3d work.
However, if you do end up going with a Mac (or already have one), great packages like Maya and Lightwave are available.
I also used to do this for a living, and I can tell you that there's no reason to avoid Linux if that's already the platform she's used to. It's used in many professional studios, and I hope the previous post didn't make you think that it's any less effective as a platform.
The best advice I can give for a 3d newbie is to try to find people who are nearby and accessible. Look for user groups and attend them. What program you use is less important than the concepts learned. When I started out, I asked countless questions from more experienced users (still do), and I'll always be indebted to them.
I'd look at the free version of Maya or GMAX. Those other programs are fine (Blender, etc.), but it may be hard to find support even from other users. There are plenty of Maya user groups for example, and if she can stick it out and learn it, she'll be rewarded. The free version of Maya used to have really annoying watermarks in the OpenGL viewports, but I believe the new version tones it down.
If you don't mind shelling out a few, Hash Animation Master is an unbelievable package for the price.
Right, I understand that these are HMD's (I did try it out as I stated before). The problem is that the helmet is a soft mounting. If you bounce at all, it's still out of focus.
The problem that I have with their technology is that it seems to have a very narrow range of focus. Unless you're pretty still, it's out of focus. Unless there is some way to really anchor this unit to your head (like maybe some surgical implants!), I'm not really interested.
My experience with Ricochet was entirely positive. Sure, my DSL line can pull down webpages two seconds faster, but with Ricochet I can access the internet from the corner bookstore. In Detroit, the coverage was actually quite good (at least up in Troy and Rochester where I lived and worked), and the 128K speed was fine because it was mobile. There was a network started in Salt Lake City (never officially launched), and I was able to use it for about a month before it was shutdown. I really, REALLY hope SLC will have Ricochet service again soon. I would gladly pay the same price I did before they shutdown.
BTW, the Olympics were a riot (no pun intended)! Most fun I've had in quite a while.
... are free. I can read a dead-tree book for hours, but trying to read off of a monitor is so tiring that it's usually a last resort. I agree with the other post that I like being able to put notes in the margins, highlight passages, etc. And IMHO I think there is something about having a tangible object that you can't replace.
However, eBooks are useful at times. If they include added chapters I'll download them. And I like being able to search eBooks. Sometimes it's faster than using the index or scanning through a hundred pages. So how about this: why not offer both? Bruce Eckel has many of his books available online as well (Thinking in Java, etc.). The online version usually has typo's corrected, and that's useful especially in a computer book.
It's called the T9 keyboard I think. There was a PDA way back called the HP Avigo that used it. It was never very popular on that PDA, and eventually somebody wrote a pen-based input method for it. IMHO it's great for cellphones because of the infrequent need to input lots of text. On a PDA, I prefer either handwriting recognition or an add-on keyboard.
The Gadgeteer did a review of a T9 product. Look at the table with their speed results.
Not only are these Linux handhelds competiting with the Palms and Pocket PC's, but they're competiting with each other. What are you going to do when you want applications? Is anybody going to support each of these platforms? Don't get me wrong, I like the options available. But I kinda hope in the 2nd generation (or 3rd if you count the Agenda as 1st gen) there are some standards (QTopia vs. X Window System vs. microWindows).
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I disagree. You say Maya and Max == feature bloat, but I would say that Blender == feature anemic. To me, feature bloat implies that ill-conceived features were added during development. Maya is a deep program, but the features work WELL. How is that "feature bloat"?
;)
Maya has a lot of power, but Alias|Wavefront has done a great job of organizing the user interface. And if you don't like it, the UI is changeable in MELscript. You could probably make it work like Blender if you really want.
I do think Blender has its place, but I think that for what it can do, the UI makes each task more difficult to do. I'd love to maybe see a branch of Blender with a different UI.
Finally, I sometimes suggest Blender to 3d newbies, but I usually offer it as an alternative. It has a decent feature set, and it's free, but as I said, the UI leaves much to be desired.
Please. Look at how much Max copies Maya. Don't tell me that copying the UI elements would result in a lawsuit. If that were true, many other open source projects would be in court for UI issues.
The funniest things that I hear are similar to "nobody is forcing you to use Blender." Yeah. I know that cuz I don't use it. I'm just expressing my opinion that its UI needs a lot of work. And sure it's open source, and I could change it to be what I want, but it's not worth the effort.
Naw. I come from the "more powerful != more complicated ui" crowd. The way Maya is arranged with nodes (Hypergraph), easy key commands (QWERTY), customizable UI (MELscript), and natural UI metaphors (sculpt with Artisan) makes it a superior user experience. It's neatly organized and logical, yet it's a powerful program that enables the artist. I feel closer to the work in Maya; I feel like I'm punching cards in Blender.
;)
And you can defend Blender all you want, but I think that it's safe to say that Maya is more popular despite costing thousands of dollars. Why? Because Maya is much more powerful than Blender and is easier to grasp.
Uhhh finally, you brag that you make good amounts of money... tell me, what 3d production house do you work for using Blender making any kind of decent cash?
Anybody checked out the OpenGL Shader Language? Is it like HLSL (same syntax as Cg)? I've been learning Cg, and I have to say that I like it... I'm kinda hoping developers will standardize on Cg.
I think it sounds too much like "Crapware". ;)
Are you anywhere close to Pasadena? I'll come a runnin'. ;)
I don't know why, but Mozilla loses its startup settings every once in a while. I can't seem to replicate it very consistently, but it happens about once a week or so (random times of the week). It was so bad that the email client was starting to become unusable for me; however, I found that if I restarted Mozilla, it was fine. Weird bugs like this are what kills Mozilla for the business. And yes, I've reported this bug.
There's a book out on Squeak. Kinda spendy, but worth every penny.
I used to work for a 3d company on that street, and lemme tell you, it was hard to tell clients where we were located ("just get off on Big Beaver exit 69"). Yeah. Thankfully I don't work there anymore. ;)
If there are any lawyers, can you tell us what can be done in the future to prevent a RAMBUS type of deception?
Ah yes, the Danger Sidekick. It's a very nice gadget, but I wouldn't buy one. The reason isn't because of the unit itself (quite nice actually), but because of T-Mobile's horrible coverage AND ridiculous plan (at least around Pasadena, CA). The plan only allows 200 voice minutes (plus 1000 weekend minutes). 200 minutes? I use that up in less than a week. And T-Mobile won't allow you to add minutes yet. Unless you use the bulk of your minutes during the weekends, I'd go with another product/plan. Otherwise, be ready to be raped by T-Mobile.
My only beef with the previous post is that IMHO Macs are somewhat lacking for 3d work. The hardware just isn't keeping up, and the 3d performance is a wee bit sluggish. We have a few Macs around, and while I love Macs for 2d work, really a PC would be a better choice for 3d work.
However, if you do end up going with a Mac (or already have one), great packages like Maya and Lightwave are available.
I also used to do this for a living, and I can tell you that there's no reason to avoid Linux if that's already the platform she's used to. It's used in many professional studios, and I hope the previous post didn't make you think that it's any less effective as a platform.
The best advice I can give for a 3d newbie is to try to find people who are nearby and accessible. Look for user groups and attend them. What program you use is less important than the concepts learned. When I started out, I asked countless questions from more experienced users (still do), and I'll always be indebted to them.
I'd look at the free version of Maya or GMAX. Those other programs are fine (Blender, etc.), but it may be hard to find support even from other users. There are plenty of Maya user groups for example, and if she can stick it out and learn it, she'll be rewarded. The free version of Maya used to have really annoying watermarks in the OpenGL viewports, but I believe the new version tones it down.
If you don't mind shelling out a few, Hash Animation Master is an unbelievable package for the price.
Well, when these guys began working on it (January), Blender wasn't opensource, was it? Wasn't it *just* released?
Uhhh, "a far more expensive Indy"? When was the last time you checked out SGI equipment? I can't remember the last time I saw one of those.
Right, I understand that these are HMD's (I did try it out as I stated before). The problem is that the helmet is a soft mounting. If you bounce at all, it's still out of focus.
The problem that I have with their technology is that it seems to have a very narrow range of focus. Unless you're pretty still, it's out of focus. Unless there is some way to really anchor this unit to your head (like maybe some surgical implants!), I'm not really interested.
My experience with Ricochet was entirely positive. Sure, my DSL line can pull down webpages two seconds faster, but with Ricochet I can access the internet from the corner bookstore. In Detroit, the coverage was actually quite good (at least up in Troy and Rochester where I lived and worked), and the 128K speed was fine because it was mobile. There was a network started in Salt Lake City (never officially launched), and I was able to use it for about a month before it was shutdown. I really, REALLY hope SLC will have Ricochet service again soon. I would gladly pay the same price I did before they shutdown.
BTW, the Olympics were a riot (no pun intended)! Most fun I've had in quite a while.
You can use the PC Card modem with an iPaq.
Didn't BT just lose another case?
More? Wow, it seems like there are TONS of those. If you do some searching on Amazon, you'll find plenty.
Check out this. It's one of many.
There are a few books that cover these, but I haven't been pleased with them. I've seen too many 3d models with great structure but horrible textures.
And lighting is a lost art. Difficult because of the subtlety needed, lighting can really add so much to a 3d scene.
... are free. I can read a dead-tree book for hours, but trying to read off of a monitor is so tiring that it's usually a last resort. I agree with the other post that I like being able to put notes in the margins, highlight passages, etc. And IMHO I think there is something about having a tangible object that you can't replace.
However, eBooks are useful at times. If they include added chapters I'll download them. And I like being able to search eBooks. Sometimes it's faster than using the index or scanning through a hundred pages. So how about this: why not offer both? Bruce Eckel has many of his books available online as well (Thinking in Java, etc.). The online version usually has typo's corrected, and that's useful especially in a computer book.
It's called the T9 keyboard I think. There was a PDA way back called the HP Avigo that used it. It was never very popular on that PDA, and eventually somebody wrote a pen-based input method for it. IMHO it's great for cellphones because of the infrequent need to input lots of text. On a PDA, I prefer either handwriting recognition or an add-on keyboard.
The Gadgeteer did a review of a T9 product. Look at the table with their speed results.
Not only are these Linux handhelds competiting with the Palms and Pocket PC's, but they're competiting with each other. What are you going to do when you want applications? Is anybody going to support each of these platforms? Don't get me wrong, I like the options available. But I kinda hope in the 2nd generation (or 3rd if you count the Agenda as 1st gen) there are some standards (QTopia vs. X Window System vs. microWindows).