One amazing thing I have seen is an MPEG by NaN called "diditdoneit.mpg". It was made in '98 or '99 to showcase everything that blender could do. It is unfortunately a 36Mb download, but it's definitely worth it if you really want to see what it can do.
The MPEG is available at the FreeBSD blender mirror site, or if not you can find it at ftp.blender.nl, but please, be nice, because I don't think they want their little IAE connection to be slashdotted by people d/ling 36Mb files!!
There are many things wrong with the design of the iMac and it's peripherals. I use one nearly every day, so I do have the experience to make these judgements.
Part 1: The MouseMouse Button Issue.
For fine graphics work, the mouse is imprecise at best, being small and totally symmetrical, and having virtually no momentum of it's own. Using the MacOS interface with only one mouse button requires you to constantly use meta-keys for functions that could easily be controlled with a multi-button mouse. An example of this could be making a new folder in Finder. You must hold the control key down while you click, otherwise nothing happens. Within some smarter programs, such as (dare I utter the words) Internet Explorer, clicking and holding the mouse button, after a delay, will pop up the same menu as if you had Control-clicked. This could easily be implemented on the desktop, but has it? I don't think so. Aqua, despite its wonderful looks, has very few real interface usability improvements (I have used OSX DP4, briefly (until it crashed)).
Part 2 : The Keyboard Issue.
The keyboard supplied with the iMac and new G4 machines appears to me to be perhaps the same size as that on the iBook, with a fancier case around it. It certainly feels like a laptop keyboard, which therefore makes it really useful for typing Masters Degree Theses on. Trying to speed up your interaction with an advanced program such as Photoshop by using the many available keyboard shortcuts (because you can only do one thing at a time with the mouse), also results in a range of frustrating consequences.
The keyboard is missing several keys which I use frequently, such as the End key, the Delete key (the key on an iMac keyboard labelled Delete is actually a Backspace key. Surprise!), and the Insert key. Duplicating the OptionAlt and Control keys on the right hand side of the keyboard would also be very useful.
Part 3 : The BoxMonitor Issue.
Ergonomic reasearch done over many years (in general) tells us that the ideal position for a computer usage is to have the centre of the screen just below eye level, and the deskkeyboard at a height where the user's elbow rests comfortably on it when the lower arm is horizontal and the upper arm is vertical. If you are unlucky enough to have to use an iMac, this can only ever be achieved by using a special computer desk, or chocking the boxmonitor up with a couple of telephone books. Of course, in an institutional environment (such as a university), this will never be done, so students end up hunched for hours in bad postures caused mainly by the computers they are forced to use.
Part 4 : The only good thing about the iMac.
For their size, the speakers (by Harman Kardon) are excellent!
There is a very cool little perl script called CookieJar which can be run on your host and used as a proxy to block all sorts of web junk, including cookies, Java, Javascript, banner ads in general, AND the infamous BLINK tag.
It can be configured to deny connections to any host or url you want, as well as a load of other things.
I have it running on my P133, with 56Kb dialup line, and there is very little browsing performance drop. I am normally browsing through 3 Netscape windows at a time, and some hosts are a little slow anyway.
The perl script will fork when it reaches a preset level of connections, and uses around 2.4Mb of memory for each process, so it's not small, but does the job very well.
Slashdot Mirror
The MPEG is available at the FreeBSD blender mirror site, or if not you can find it at ftp.blender.nl, but please, be nice, because I don't think they want their little IAE connection to be slashdotted by people d/ling 36Mb files!!
Part 1: The MouseMouse Button Issue.
For fine graphics work, the mouse is imprecise at best, being small and totally symmetrical, and having virtually no momentum of it's own. Using the MacOS interface with only one mouse button requires you to constantly use meta-keys for functions that could easily be controlled with a multi-button mouse. An example of this could be making a new folder in Finder. You must hold the control key down while you click, otherwise nothing happens. Within some smarter programs, such as (dare I utter the words) Internet Explorer, clicking and holding the mouse button, after a delay, will pop up the same menu as if you had Control-clicked. This could easily be implemented on the desktop, but has it? I don't think so. Aqua, despite its wonderful looks, has very few real interface usability improvements (I have used OSX DP4, briefly (until it crashed)).
Part 2 : The Keyboard Issue.
The keyboard supplied with the iMac and new G4 machines appears to me to be perhaps the same size as that on the iBook, with a fancier case around it. It certainly feels like a laptop keyboard, which therefore makes it really useful for typing Masters Degree Theses on. Trying to speed up your interaction with an advanced program such as Photoshop by using the many available keyboard shortcuts (because you can only do one thing at a time with the mouse), also results in a range of frustrating consequences.
The keyboard is missing several keys which I use frequently, such as the End key, the Delete key (the key on an iMac keyboard labelled Delete is actually a Backspace key. Surprise!), and the Insert key. Duplicating the OptionAlt and Control keys on the right hand side of the keyboard would also be very useful.
Part 3 : The BoxMonitor Issue.
Ergonomic reasearch done over many years (in general) tells us that the ideal position for a computer usage is to have the centre of the screen just below eye level, and the deskkeyboard at a height where the user's elbow rests comfortably on it when the lower arm is horizontal and the upper arm is vertical. If you are unlucky enough to have to use an iMac, this can only ever be achieved by using a special computer desk, or chocking the boxmonitor up with a couple of telephone books. Of course, in an institutional environment (such as a university), this will never be done, so students end up hunched for hours in bad postures caused mainly by the computers they are forced to use.
Part 4 : The only good thing about the iMac.
For their size, the speakers (by Harman Kardon) are excellent!
It can be configured to deny connections to any host or url you want, as well as a load of other things.
I have it running on my P133, with 56Kb dialup line, and there is very little browsing performance drop. I am normally browsing through 3 Netscape windows at a time, and some hosts are a little slow anyway.
The perl script will fork when it reaches a preset level of connections, and uses around 2.4Mb of memory for each process, so it's not small, but does the job very well.
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