unimatrix

For windows users, great tool. But I don't see the .7z format replacing the defacto standards of .zip or .tar.gz anytime soon. For starters, OSX & XP both have the ablity now to create .Zip's with the click of a mouse. .Zip can be unpacked by a number of applications on every platform. I find often times if I'm sending a .Zip it's not because files need compression, it's because I need to send multiple files. .Zip is extremely convenient for that purpose. I deal with Lightwave, which a lot of European model makers in particular, tend to package things as a .Ace or .rar file instead of just using plain ole .zip. They may have their reasons, but it makes it damned annoying having to have a half dozen applications. (Although Stuff-it seems to handle most things for the Mac). Same with .Tar.gz, it's not a common extention nor particularly easy to deal with for Windows users. That's why I don't use it for most files unless they are designed specifically for an *iux enviroments. For the most part I'm sticking with .zip because people know what it is and usually have a program to use it.

Want to know what would happen if that rock hit earth? http://impact.ese.ic.ac.uk/ImpactEffects/ They have a handy online calculator for neat stuff like this. Also there are several online to see what would happen if you detonated a nuke at x yield at y altitude. Anyway, fun stuff to play with there if anyone has a few minutes to waste on it.

It may be true that Vista will be more of a resource hog than XP, but that's the nature of every OS and system. You start simple then start adding, and adding, and adding, and adding, and...well you get the point. I mean look at Slackware 2 and most main stream distros today. I think I got Slackware to run on a 386 more than ten years ago (might have been a 486) with 4MB of Ram and a 500MB HDD. I don't think I could do that today with any main stream distro today even to just load a shell enviroment. Same with with OSX. Every year get a new OS, every 4 years get a new computer to run it on. I'm just glad to see the Mac Mini's at $600, pretty cheap to use and toss every couple years. Or now days, use and then add to the Xgrid until it dies.

As someone that spent a couple years in marketing, this is one of those fun work diverseion you talk about around the water cooler for ten minutes, then go back to work. Frankly it doesn't mean much compared to things like market cap (actual est. material value of the company). Branding really does matter in most inelastic consumer items, but tends to be rather segmented. Drinks, branding is often everything. When people think about your industry, companies want you to think about their brand. Sometimes, though, this can backfire as everything in that arena is known by its generic name (diloutes trademark). For instant: Xerox Machines (photocopier whether made by Xerox or someone else), Klennex (any tissue [get me a kleenex]), and bandaid are the usual examples. However, let's say when I go to the bar and want a beer what do I choose. When I think beer, I think Budwieser (US). Why? Well I live in St. Louis...so my choices are: Bud, Bud Light, Bud Select, and Michalob. Or take a soft drink in any given state below I-70 is referred to simply as "coke" regaurdless whether it's Dr. Pepper, Pepsi, or Coke. When you think soft drink, Coke wants you to think and say Coke. Branding is important in IT as well. Anyone here ever heard the phrase, "No one got fired for buying IBM"? Or anything HP: good quality, but expensive. (I'm thinking older HP test equipment, not their computer business). Branding is one of those quality marketeer lingo for: We want people to think about us. Problem is thinking about us is not the same as buying from us...marketing people often get the two confused.

Tetris...number of math classes I spent playing that game on my HP48.....Also I loved the Xwing series of games for the PC.

Truespace has been long supported by Blender. Since atleast 2000. I am a frequant poster over at blenderwars.com.

GIMP Fireworks is now owned by Adobe and it will either be bundled as a lightwieght web graphics editor with Dreamweaver or just killed to stop a competing product with Photoshop. That being said, Photoshop is gold to me, but I use it on an ongoing basis professionally, and I don't have to pay for it.

2 hours of video from our big broadcast cameras can take up 30GB of data in raw format. On some of our documentry projects at work is nothing for it to take upwards of 80 - 100GB worth of footage until it is edited down. This is why we have over 11TB of storage space. We've spent well over $350k in the last three years buying storage to store our video project. If we could cut that down and store on 1 - 3 dics...that is going to save us a hell of a lot of money in the long run. We could store our entire SAN in a small shipping box. Not only that, but we don't have to carry expensive maintaince contracts and would save a few thousand dollars a year on utilities. Any idea how much it costs to cool a 3500 Square foot room full of servers? It ain't cheap. So while you talk about games not needing them now, this technology is NOT aimed at the gaming industry. The gaming industry just happens to be able to use the same format as we in the video production business. This technology is mainly aimed at us. While you don't see Beta in the homes, you still saw beta machines in every major video production companies and television studio in the country. Most of those older big shoulder cams...yeah, they all shot in BETA. Even if we buy burners at $1500 for each format, considering our average project costs $130,000 now, that's small change. So we'll burn in DVD, HD-DVD, or Blu-ray when the tech becomes available. So you can complain about cames not needing that much all you want, that's fine. But remember that even Gates once said "Computers will never need more than 640k of ram"

$1,838,046 - that was my total. Granted in the next couple years, I'll be getting both my JD and Phd....so my stock should rise. Shame I want to waste all the education by becoming a diplomat....

You know, it's gotten to the point now where I really don't care too much about games anymore. Mainly because no one is creating games that I like to play. Growing up I loved flight sims and space combat games. The last great space combat sim was Freespace 2. Great game, but didn't sell. Before my PC finally died (I run on Macs because I work with FCP and Lightwave) I was still playing Falcon 4.0 (I paid $15 for the game in 1998/9), Xwing Allinace, and FreeSpace 2. The other of genre of games I liked were "tactical" games. In particular the Clancy Rainbow 6 series and the first Ghost Recon series. There was some skill and thinking involved, just not run around and blow people up. Online play was fun, for the most part, too. I have a PS2 with the following games:Ghost ReconGhost Recon: Island ThunderStar Wars: Battle FrontNeed for Speed IIWhen Rainbow 6-3 game out on the consoles, the game just didn't seem right compared to the PC. There was little customization, and the game felt too arcadish like all the other FPS games out there. Felt more like I was playing Rambo, not the more realistic approach that was part of PC games. Same thing with Ghost Recon 2. I hated it. Felt like I was playing an arcade shooter. The Ports of the PC version of Ghost Recon to the PS2 seemed to play much better and felt more realistic than GR2. When Falcon 4.0 Allied Force was released last year, I almost bought a new PC just to play it. But saving for grad school was more important. Once Battlefront II reaches $20, I'll buy, but still that game is more fun to play with friends. Bottom line, these games that are released today just don't interest me that much. They aren't titles I want to play. I'd love to see a new F-15 or F-22 accurate flight sim. Or one where to you could fly the Eurofighter or even the Rafle.

The era of flights sims has passed. There are a few hard core fans left. There was an enhanced version of Falcon 4.0 released last year by Atari. This was basically Falcon 4.0 with updated graphics, more campaigns, and the working dynamic campaign engine. It is a very detailed game though and if you fly it on advanced mode could probably qualify in the real F-16.Seems when Microprose got bought out and shutdown, the era was over. Today the computer is mainly seen as a FPS and RTS platform. I've been hoping for a couple years for a new space shooter, like Freespace or the Xwing series, to reemerge, but so far nothing has come out. I've been thinking about getting a new PC just to play Falcon 4.0: Allied Force. I'd have to dust off the old Black Hawk digital and hope the new computers still come with a game port. Still, last time I was in Best Buy I noticed they only had one joystick. I remember when they used to stock six or seven different models.

Gensis - Orginal version, not the sleeker oneSega CD - CR-Rom expansion for the GensisPlaystation 2 MiniAnd that's it.I think I have a whopping 20 games for the Gensis (although I recently found and purchased the last version of "sega hockey" for the Gensis at a used game store. Gensis still works, I still have game pads (bought 4 about a year before they became hard to find and still have 2 in the boxes) My friends and I still play sega hockey from time to time. PS 2 Game list:Ghost ReconGhost Recon: Island ThunderSOCOMSOCOM IIStar Wars: BattlefrontStar Wars: Battlefront III've started working part time from home. I worked for 5 years with a video production company that does sales and training videos for businesses and some broadcast work. We've recently expanded into a new field (well me and two others from the company with their seed money and equipement) and I edit two projects a month while in Law School. So between first year Law studies and work, I get maybe the half a suday afternoon each month that I do laundry to sit down and play the PS2.

PHP is the best choice as far as programming languages go. Having developed and deployed a version of the text based games based on the Promisance game language in the past: you may want to evaluate PostgreSQL as your database choice. Now I was using the MySQL 3.x series of databases when I ran my games up until some early versions of 4.x. While the database is great for most web applications, like content management systems or anything running a large number of SELECT statements, I found that MySQL hiccupped more than I would have liked. What MySQL lacked was the ablity to lock tables and rows. If there were a lot of users (say 400 online at one time), people trying to access the same information could cause the whole thing to crash thanks to corrupted data. Now those features are available in the newer versions of MySQL, but PostgreSQL already had those features and they were well tested in production enviroments. I got a version of Promisance recoded to use the PostgreSQL database, but my laptop's Logic board fried and Apple cleaned the HDD when I sent it in. My Fault for not keeping a CDR backup or another copy online. (Although in defense of Apple, I got a new faster Combo drive and OS 10.3 for free [hence why the drive was wiped])

Linux can be had in minutes if the system isn't configured correctly. *iux's are harder to gain control over, but not impossible. Even OpenBSD can be had. Any machine attached to a network can be hacked no matter the OS. The only OS that I has never been "offically" hacked would be Cray and AIX. I'm willing to bet that there are agencies out there that can take down either of those two platforms if they wanted. One reason why you don't hear the same rambling about Linux is that if a problem is found with say, Red Hat, then those not using Red Hat say: "Well that's with Red Hat...I run Slackware you poor fools". And even then the term "hacked" can mean a lot of things without mention of specifics of how it was done.

For future reference points for folks, might want to consider buying the SAMS FreeBSD book. Last version I own covers the 5.x series and comes with a single FreeBSD disc to conduct a basic install onto most system. Installing FreeBSD does not take 3 discs, just disc 1. Typically the other discs contain the actual ports system and sometimes might have some really odd device drivers. But mainly all the drivers and core functions you'll need (like X11 & KDE) are including on disc 1. Now if you do not have access to a high speed internet connection, then you will want to purchase or have someone download all the ISO because your going to need them. FreeBSD works best when it has a fast connection to the internet. For a light FreeBSD install, grab the ISO to disc 1 and install normally. Hopefully you've got all your hardware detected. Persionally, I keep a coupleolder jumper ISA (not much use anymore) and PCI 10Mbs ethernet cards around just incase. Once the primary installation is set, it is time to get to know cvsup and the ports system. By default Apache is installed, but now you need PostgreSQL, Python, PERL, PHP, and MySQL. Go in to usr/bin/ports/ type ls now see all those directories? Each is an appliaction that has basically an automatic installer. What is even better is that it searches out, finds, and downloads EVERYTHING you need to get that package to work. PHP needs the GD library? Then the install scripts goes through a list of mirrors, finds the package, downloads, it and then continues with the PHP installation. You want MySQL then do this:type: cd /usr/bin/ports/mysql and then hit returntype: make && make install and then hit return Sit back and let the Ports system do its job. It downloads everything it needs and then installs the package. By doing it this way, you really save in download and set up time because your downloading only what you need and by default, the ports tree searches for updates and fetches the latest version of mysql and installs. So you installed FreeBSD 5.2 and want to up grade to 6.x.Just type CVSUP and let the system go fetch the latest stable kernal build and install. You can also update the ports system in a similar fashion too. We have one database server in the office running on a dual Pentium Pro 200 system. It has an uptime of over 6 years now and it's running FreeBSD 3.4 still. It is the only non-macintosh system left other than the two Windows boxes we keep just because. FreeBSD is still my fav. server operating system on the market today. Unlike Linux, BSD is more standardized and has been far easier to maintain and manage thanks to the ports tree. For the longest time the ports system was the only way I ever got PostgreSQL to actually intall without issue.

Depends, are you going to be using the system for gaming or 3D rendering? With rendering, your better off getting a decent primary box with the best video card you can buy and a couple gigs of ram even if it doesn't have the latest and greatest processor. Spend about $700 for this unit. Then buy as many computers with 512MB of ram as you can, install BSD/Linux, and use as a rendering cluster. You can get decent rendering units for about $300 each and can buy at least 5 such units. 3D modelling is more about video card. Rendering is all about CPU speed and RAM...more to do with CPU speed. RAM helps to a point.

Funny, most people that have coded for the financial world usually pick PostgreSQL because it handles triggers, functions, and some other features that really make it nice in that area.

It's been about a year since I last did anything with PostgreSQL. I saw it was offered here and decided to attempt and deploy Drupel 4.7 Beta on PostgreSQL just because. When in phpPgAdmin I noticed something funny. I created by database username_cms then a user (username_bxg) with a password and assigned that user to the database username_cms. When I logged into phpPgAdmin, I did so using my standard cPanel login. Nothing strange. I loaded the sql.pgsql file into the database, created the fuctions and other fun advanced stuff, exited. I set up the connection string with Drupel and it won't connect. Drupel uses a rather odd connection string like this:pgsql://username_bxg:password@localhost/username_cms Well when I goto http://forums.xisto.com/no_longer_exists/ (my site) I get a cannont connect error. I went into phpPgAdmin, logged in under the username_bxg account and the username_cms database DID NOT appear. Logged out and then logged back in using my cPanel info and then the database appeared and I could add/drop/add/select to my hearts content. So I created another user account for PostgreSQL this timed named username_pgadmin with a different password. Assigned that user also to the username_cms database, but met with the same results both logging into phpPgAdmin AND when trying to reset the settings for Drupel. My question is, is there something goofy with the PostgreSQL setting on gamma? It's running on port 5432, but I can't seem to connect and I've run through my troubleshooting basics. Since I'm getting the "Connection refused" error, I don't think it is with Drupel 4.7-Beta 4 either.

Create two accounts: one that has administraive privlages, another that is just a basic users account. Then always log in as the user account unless you need to install updates or a new program. By default, user accounts can read files from other accounts, but cannot write to them.

I work around 3D Animation for a living. (lightwave 3D and Blender 3D). I don't do the modelling. Getting better, but far better for me time wise to spend the $150 per model and download someone else's highly detailed and textured model and get to the animation part. In fact, the real difference in modelling comes from those that can texture and those that can't. I am in that latter catagory. Anyway:Robot: CoolHouse: Roof needs to be retextured. Notice how it is going in one direction and then shifts 90 degrees in the other part. Is is seam there in the 3D model that the texture is following. Double check UV settings or Ortho, or Global, or however else Cinenma 4D handles textures. (on a side note, I have Cinema 4d for OSX-Intel at work to test out and play with. First non-apple software to ship for OSX-Intel). Also on the windows...something isn't right there with Index of Refraction settings. Either that or Anti-Alaising passes need to be kicked up a notch. One of the too. Then with the ground...might want to consider a static particle setting to create more realistic looking grass. If it takes a $$$$$ plug in for Max or Cinema, consider geting Blender (free & Opensource https://www.blender.org/) and searching the forum at eslyiun.com to find the static particle library to create realistic looking blades of grass or hair and then composite the shots together. Save as a TGA in blender and MAX then use photoshop to edit out the alpha channel. That's my $.02.

There have been viruses for macs for years, even Mac OS X. You just don't hear much about them. Anyone running a large number of macs, like we do at work, usually has antivirus. I used to get it at home with the .Mac account, but they dicontinued it a couple years ago. We run Norton at work. The reason why Mac viruses tend not to spread as fast as Windows is because the vast majority of computer users are using Windows. So when you start a virus, when it spreads to everyone in an address book chances are 8/10 of those people the virus is sent to are other windows users. Conversely on the Mac side of things, if the virus was sent out, most likely 8/10 users it was sent to would be windows users that wouldn't be affected. Now I say that just based on the fact that 80%+ of the worlds computer has windows of some type installed upon it. The one thing that tends to skew things a bit is that Mac users tend to interact with more mac users on a regular basis. If your a Mac user, chances are 6/10 people on your address list are using macs. Yeah, it's kina weird like that with the whole cult of mac. (which a social impact study should be made sometime about Mac users. so any socialolgy grad students out there, get an iBook and then goto coffee shops and see how other Mac users will come up and just give you the "what's up?" nod and act like they;ve known you for a decade.)Like any virus, real or computer, it spreads only if there are enough hosts to continue to propagate it. With windows, there are just so many more units and most of them not updated with security or AV software on a regular basis that they thrive. Although even this is not as bad as it once was as consumers and corporate IT people have become aware and started to take more precautions against it. The fact of the matter is: there are just fewer Macs and I think security through obsecurity is a big part of it. If Apple continues to gain market share, then it may become a bigger issue. Still the facts remain that Unix as an architecture is more virus resistant, but like any computer OS, it is not virus nor hack proof. OpenBSD isn't even hack proof...That's my thoughts on the subject.

For most webbased Content Management systems, I like MySQL mainly because it is the most widely supported database. Forums are a toss up with PostgreSQL usually edging out. MySQL was build around doing fast select quries and does that extremely well at the expense of some higher level features. Now MySQL has those higher level features, but raw performance is a little less. Conversely PostgreSQL has gotten faster over the years and has all the bells and whistles you'll find on more advanced DBS's such as Oracle or DB2. For a corporate level: you use what database your accounting software is designed for, end of story.

Hmmm...wonder if it's a race between MS Vista and OS 10.5 to see who gets released first. And as far as I know, Apple isn't due for an OS release this year other than 10.4-Intel.

Hello Newton 2

Even without a "cure" the scientific and medical comminties have turned HIV/AIDS into more of a Chronic illness than the death sentence it once was, at least for those living in the West with ablity to afford the drugs. However, the best defense against AIDS in reducing the numbers of new infections has been education and awareness. I'm enough of a libertarian that those that were infected through blood transfustions or other means beyond their control...this is great news. Those that contracted the desease through poor personal choices, especially after all the attention and awareness about HIV/AIDS and other STD's. I'm far from being a bible thumbing person and even from the perspective that the Bible might not be the "literal word of God", there are reasons why the Old testament has rules about avoiding pork and rules on moral bahavours that come from public health awareness. Funny how they kinda figured this out a couple thousand years ago and yet today we like to dismiss those people as "not as enlightened" or "not as smart" as we are. They might not have had hybrid cars, but those people weren't idiots.