I tried Blender briefly years ago, but haven't tried it recently. That said, I use the keyboard heavily for my Maya work, same with all other 3D apps I use and have used, save trueSpace years ago. In fact, with the exception of very rarely used tools, every tool in my tool chest of apps is basically initiated with a keystroke.
modo and silo have well done UIs. As does Mudbox. I was able to jump into all 3 with no problem. And before you say they're not major tools, I suggest you look around. A lot of work may be done in Maya, 3DS, etc, but a lot of modelers are moving to specialized apps for modeling. The thing with 3D modeling is it's still partly a technical exercise and not solely an artistic endeavor.
Maya's UI isn't too bad - after some heavy customization. Any one who uses such a program for a living really needs to invest some time to customize their UI if they want to get the most out of their chosen app in terms of productivity.
Sorta OT, but I'm a huge fan of modo's UI. Very customizable, and I was able to jump in and start working almost immediately. It only took me about a week to ditch Maya in terms of modeling and focus solely on modo for modeling for work projects. Further customization of the UI (hotkeys, pie menus, etc) has further increased my productivity. 301 has a few bugs, but it's not too bad.
Along the same lines of needing skill, talent, etc:
I'm a modeler and texture artist. I would never dream of being able to recreate LOTR quality effects on my own - I'd need animators, compositing artists, etc. It's pretty hard for an amateur to put together, and manage a team of highly skilled artists. This is where the studios have the advantage - they can hire and manage specialists in each field.
Jupiter is almost nothing but gas (at least what's visible to us) and yet we were able to witness the impacts and effects. Not only that, but Jupiter is pretty far away. The whole thing wasn't exactly a non-event. Average Joe-Six-Pack may not have cared too much, but it still made the news on a regular basis around the time of the event. My guess is an asteroid impact on Venus would punch a hole through it's atmosphere and scar it, and while a crater on the surface may not be visible (in the visible spectrum), we'd probably learn quite a bit regardless.
But thank you for pointing out the difference between a democracy and a republic. To quote the GP (or whatever) "This Slashdot mentality of "This money is mine, and the government is just stealing it!" is just elitist dismissal of democracy, because you think you know better how money should be spent than your community." - It's not an elitist dismissal of democracy at all. It's exactly what a democracy is. If we were a democratic society, we'd have every right to say how our individual tax dollars should be spent. However, we're a republic, which means we essentially put our faith in our elected leaders to decide how to best spend our money.
not really, whether or not the population of users outside of windows is ever high enough to allow such a virus/trojan to spread. I've seen plenty of sober people pass along viruses/trojans.
I used/learned Photoshop in high school (graduated in 2000). My point is, if you want a job now, then knowing the industry standard tools is important. However, if you're in high school, and just learning, the tools you're using still may be in use in the industry later on.
Seriously, the key is to know the ideas and fundamentals first, and the tools second. It's in one's best interest however, to learn the industry standard tools. You can't necessarily know what tool is going to be the standard in 5, 10, 20 years, but that doesn't mean you should ignore the current standard. As the standards change, so should you. Yes, Photoshop has vastly changed since 3.0 or whatever version it was back when I was in high school, but you know what? The core concepts and ideas are the same. Many of the tools are the same.
I have no idea, as I've seen conflicting reports, but are MS still taking a loss on the actual production on each machine? Not counting R&D, warranties, etc, is MS able to sell the consoles for more than the materials and manufacturing costs yet? I know that's only a small part of the story, but I'm wondering how much the actual production process has been refined.
I haven't used the Gimp in years, but I can see it be using to teach the ideas. While it may not have the same exact tools and features, if it can be used to teach the ideas and concepts, it might be a viable alternative.
That said, given that PS is THE standard in the industry, I would say it's best to teach with it. Not only can you teach the theory behind everything, you can also teach the program they'd actually be using. People here on/. may not like to hear it, but the Gimp is NOT a viable alternative in the industry, so knowing a specific program is almost as important as knowing the theory and ideas.
Note that I said energy density. This takes into account the volume, and cell phone batteries are rather small. So a cell phone battery will have a lot less energy than a grenade, just because it is smaller. Looking at: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5c/Musee-de-lArmee-IMG_1039.jpg - it seems the volume of explosives in a hand grenade is rather small too. Granted, I'd assume most cell phone batteries are smaller, but would it be safe to assume it would only take 1/2 the explosive force of a grenade to break ribs and the spine?
Your comment made me remember a quote I saw in an IRC channel one time that might have been the geekiest of all time. I don't remember it word for word, but it involved comparing C3PO and R2D2 to vi and emacs.
Thankfully, I was on dialup at the time and got dropped before I had to witness what ensued.
Despite the fact I've used tablets almost as long as I've been doing CG, I *STILL* have a hard time with certain angles, curves, etc. This is where drawing direct on screen would be nice.
Interestingly enough, I just started doing some design ideas (for fun, not work) for an ideal tablet for art uses:
http://www.eidetic-3d.com/wip/tablet_003.jpg (Shows modo, a 3D app, but I'd use a tablet more for 2D stuff)
Just something I quickly worked up, and not too keen on the webcam overlapping the screen. (the idea was to always have some kind of system tray/dock visible, while still mainting 16x9 (or 10) for the work area, but I've since dropped the idea for the next render). I just want something like this basically for digital sketching/drawing on the fly, as well as digital paintings. The buttons and slider bars on the side would be programmable for each app, and are just temporary placeholders for now - I'm redoing the entire model. Most importantly, the thing would have to have the power to be able to handle fairly large, multi-layer images in PS without hiccuping too bad. However, possibly conflicting with the whole power thing, is the size factor. I'd want something portable enough that I wouldn't feel like I had to lug it around. To me it's kind of like comparing a nice SLR/DSLR to a compact point and shoot. On one hand, you have the power and control with an SLR, but on the other hand, you can't easily slide one in your pocket, and vice versa with a compact point and shoot.
And now for some more on-topic rambling:
We've seen in the past with the iPod that Apple aren't necessarily the first to the market with a given product, or even in terms of innovation, but at least with the iPod, they were the first to really get it right. By that I mean, there may be better players out there, but Apple had the best package overall, especially marketing. About 3 or 4 years ago I bought an iRiver, because it had a color screen, supported more formats, had line in/out (not just a headphone out) whereas the iPod lacked all these at the time. That's not to say the iPod was a bad player, and in fact it catered to a larger market than people like me. When my dad wanted to buy my mom an MP3 player for a gift, I had him get an iPod. I didn't have much experience with players other than Apple and iRiver products, but I knew the iPod would work well with my mom. Where am I going with all this? Well, I hope that even if Apple doesn't make a tablet that satisfies all my needs, someone else may see the opportunity to cater to a niche market. Hopefully, if Apple can generate enough buzz for tablets in general, it'll make them more desirable to the average person, and other companies will try and release their own products, hopefully leading to more variety, innovation, one-ups-manship, lower prices and in general be good for the consumer.
George W. was also an alcoholic and drug abuser for most of his adult life which also calls in to question his stability. Hey, being an alcoholic or a drug user takes commitment!
Can you explain to me how it's different because it forms a V-shape? Maybe it's something really obvious I'm just not getting, but I thought the problem was that either way, the body is "in the middle", and suspended between the upper and lower most points of the body.
Why not just "print" it upside-down, laying on it's back? How does this solve the problem? The specific object in question was a spider. A spider in which the legs extend above and below the torso and head. In other words, if you flip it upside down, the "knees" of the spider become the feet.
Road Runner (Time Warner) here caps out at about 12mbps. When I tried a free month of their small business package, it capped at around 17-18mbps, and that was for lower tier services. They claim 8 and 15 mbps for the services I've tried, yet I was seeing higher. I believe they offer up to 20 or higher for more expensive packages.
It would seem obvious that "living humans" would also include children, regardless of what position they're in or whether they happen to be behind or in a seat that will be essentially invisible to such detectors.) So does this mean I can't just take the dead hooker out of my trunk, throw her in a hot bathtub for awhile, and get away with using the HOV lanes?
I use modo almost exclusively for work. It's still a growing app, so sometimes I have to jump back to Maya, but I will often go weeks without needing it. I mostly do print based ads, so I really don't need to animate. modo currently lacks rigging and whatnot, but it's absolutely great for just about everything else, and at what I found to be a great price point.
But who won the "Award for Outstanding Achievement in the Field of Excellence"? Why, Calc of course, for it's work in the feature length production, "Open Office".
Slashdot Mirror
I tried Blender briefly years ago, but haven't tried it recently. That said, I use the keyboard heavily for my Maya work, same with all other 3D apps I use and have used, save trueSpace years ago. In fact, with the exception of very rarely used tools, every tool in my tool chest of apps is basically initiated with a keystroke.
modo and silo have well done UIs. As does Mudbox. I was able to jump into all 3 with no problem. And before you say they're not major tools, I suggest you look around. A lot of work may be done in Maya, 3DS, etc, but a lot of modelers are moving to specialized apps for modeling. The thing with 3D modeling is it's still partly a technical exercise and not solely an artistic endeavor.
Maya's UI isn't too bad - after some heavy customization. Any one who uses such a program for a living really needs to invest some time to customize their UI if they want to get the most out of their chosen app in terms of productivity.
Sorta OT, but I'm a huge fan of modo's UI. Very customizable, and I was able to jump in and start working almost immediately. It only took me about a week to ditch Maya in terms of modeling and focus solely on modo for modeling for work projects. Further customization of the UI (hotkeys, pie menus, etc) has further increased my productivity. 301 has a few bugs, but it's not too bad.
Along the same lines of needing skill, talent, etc:
I'm a modeler and texture artist. I would never dream of being able to recreate LOTR quality effects on my own - I'd need animators, compositing artists, etc. It's pretty hard for an amateur to put together, and manage a team of highly skilled artists. This is where the studios have the advantage - they can hire and manage specialists in each field.
Jupiter is almost nothing but gas (at least what's visible to us) and yet we were able to witness the impacts and effects. Not only that, but Jupiter is pretty far away. The whole thing wasn't exactly a non-event. Average Joe-Six-Pack may not have cared too much, but it still made the news on a regular basis around the time of the event. My guess is an asteroid impact on Venus would punch a hole through it's atmosphere and scar it, and while a crater on the surface may not be visible (in the visible spectrum), we'd probably learn quite a bit regardless.
May I nominate Mayor McCheese?
Only terrorists hate Rainbows and Sunshine. 9/11.
But thank you for pointing out the difference between a democracy and a republic. To quote the GP (or whatever) "This Slashdot mentality of "This money is mine, and the government is just stealing it!" is just elitist dismissal of democracy, because you think you know better how money should be spent than your community." - It's not an elitist dismissal of democracy at all. It's exactly what a democracy is. If we were a democratic society, we'd have every right to say how our individual tax dollars should be spent. However, we're a republic, which means we essentially put our faith in our elected leaders to decide how to best spend our money.
They are geared towards the professional home user...
Professional home user? How do I get such a job? I'd love to get paid for downloading porn, playing video games, and generally being lazy.
Try the veal, tip your waitress, etc, etc.
I used/learned Photoshop in high school (graduated in 2000). My point is, if you want a job now, then knowing the industry standard tools is important. However, if you're in high school, and just learning, the tools you're using still may be in use in the industry later on.
Seriously, the key is to know the ideas and fundamentals first, and the tools second. It's in one's best interest however, to learn the industry standard tools. You can't necessarily know what tool is going to be the standard in 5, 10, 20 years, but that doesn't mean you should ignore the current standard. As the standards change, so should you. Yes, Photoshop has vastly changed since 3.0 or whatever version it was back when I was in high school, but you know what? The core concepts and ideas are the same. Many of the tools are the same.
I have no idea, as I've seen conflicting reports, but are MS still taking a loss on the actual production on each machine? Not counting R&D, warranties, etc, is MS able to sell the consoles for more than the materials and manufacturing costs yet? I know that's only a small part of the story, but I'm wondering how much the actual production process has been refined.
I haven't used the Gimp in years, but I can see it be using to teach the ideas. While it may not have the same exact tools and features, if it can be used to teach the ideas and concepts, it might be a viable alternative.
/. may not like to hear it, but the Gimp is NOT a viable alternative in the industry, so knowing a specific program is almost as important as knowing the theory and ideas.
That said, given that PS is THE standard in the industry, I would say it's best to teach with it. Not only can you teach the theory behind everything, you can also teach the program they'd actually be using. People here on
Looking at: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5c/Musee-de-lArmee-IMG_1039.jpg - it seems the volume of explosives in a hand grenade is rather small too. Granted, I'd assume most cell phone batteries are smaller, but would it be safe to assume it would only take 1/2 the explosive force of a grenade to break ribs and the spine?
Your comment made me remember a quote I saw in an IRC channel one time that might have been the geekiest of all time. I don't remember it word for word, but it involved comparing C3PO and R2D2 to vi and emacs.
Thankfully, I was on dialup at the time and got dropped before I had to witness what ensued.
Despite the fact I've used tablets almost as long as I've been doing CG, I *STILL* have a hard time with certain angles, curves, etc. This is where drawing direct on screen would be nice.
Interestingly enough, I just started doing some design ideas (for fun, not work) for an ideal tablet for art uses: http://www.eidetic-3d.com/wip/tablet_003.jpg (Shows modo, a 3D app, but I'd use a tablet more for 2D stuff)
Just something I quickly worked up, and not too keen on the webcam overlapping the screen. (the idea was to always have some kind of system tray/dock visible, while still mainting 16x9 (or 10) for the work area, but I've since dropped the idea for the next render). I just want something like this basically for digital sketching/drawing on the fly, as well as digital paintings. The buttons and slider bars on the side would be programmable for each app, and are just temporary placeholders for now - I'm redoing the entire model. Most importantly, the thing would have to have the power to be able to handle fairly large, multi-layer images in PS without hiccuping too bad. However, possibly conflicting with the whole power thing, is the size factor. I'd want something portable enough that I wouldn't feel like I had to lug it around. To me it's kind of like comparing a nice SLR/DSLR to a compact point and shoot. On one hand, you have the power and control with an SLR, but on the other hand, you can't easily slide one in your pocket, and vice versa with a compact point and shoot.
And now for some more on-topic rambling: We've seen in the past with the iPod that Apple aren't necessarily the first to the market with a given product, or even in terms of innovation, but at least with the iPod, they were the first to really get it right. By that I mean, there may be better players out there, but Apple had the best package overall, especially marketing. About 3 or 4 years ago I bought an iRiver, because it had a color screen, supported more formats, had line in/out (not just a headphone out) whereas the iPod lacked all these at the time. That's not to say the iPod was a bad player, and in fact it catered to a larger market than people like me. When my dad wanted to buy my mom an MP3 player for a gift, I had him get an iPod. I didn't have much experience with players other than Apple and iRiver products, but I knew the iPod would work well with my mom. Where am I going with all this? Well, I hope that even if Apple doesn't make a tablet that satisfies all my needs, someone else may see the opportunity to cater to a niche market. Hopefully, if Apple can generate enough buzz for tablets in general, it'll make them more desirable to the average person, and other companies will try and release their own products, hopefully leading to more variety, innovation, one-ups-manship, lower prices and in general be good for the consumer.
I don't get it.
Can you explain to me how it's different because it forms a V-shape? Maybe it's something really obvious I'm just not getting, but I thought the problem was that either way, the body is "in the middle", and suspended between the upper and lower most points of the body.
Road Runner (Time Warner) here caps out at about 12mbps. When I tried a free month of their small business package, it capped at around 17-18mbps, and that was for lower tier services. They claim 8 and 15 mbps for the services I've tried, yet I was seeing higher. I believe they offer up to 20 or higher for more expensive packages.
I use modo almost exclusively for work. It's still a growing app, so sometimes I have to jump back to Maya, but I will often go weeks without needing it. I mostly do print based ads, so I really don't need to animate. modo currently lacks rigging and whatnot, but it's absolutely great for just about everything else, and at what I found to be a great price point.
I'm all about musikcube
Very lightweight, and fast, but unfortunately Windows only. Highly recommended though.