Well today really is my last day of placement! I can't believe how fast 40 weeks has gone by. From now until I finish I shall consider myself a proper member of staff and as such I feel I deserve a payrise and a bigger desk...?
Last two days have been pretty slow however. The myBU stuff is just tinkering really. Copy one item, delete another. Create a folder here, pop a link in it. It's pants. Easy pants too. I want to be working on a project again!
I've also finally managed to get a decent stripped down copy of Windows running as my secondary OS on my laptop. Dedicated to Steam of course. I've also got a virtualised version within Ubuntu now using VirtualBox. Works really well, it's just a shame it doesn't have USB support and everything I've tried so far hasn't worked. Still, I'll keep looking. Maybe I'll get Didi to have a look when he gets back from his placement. I also have Lucy Lui as my wallpaper looking rather seductive. She is hot as hell. I would certainly like to meet Miss Lui!
Showing posts with label virtual. Show all posts
Showing posts with label virtual. Show all posts
Tuesday, 20 May 2008
Wednesday, 5 March 2008
Of Sketching and 3D
Not much has happened since my last post. Still waiting to find out the details of my new tasks. I have, however, found out the true extent of what it is I am supposed to be taking on from someone else. A lot more than I was originally told. A lot of stuff I am also pretty uncomfortable taking on. But you don't want to hear about that. You want to hear about what I've been sketching. In 3D.
Google Sketchup. Wow. I'd heard about it before and seen a few of the 3D models people have created using it and put onto Google Earth. But I didn't realise how simple it is to use. It really is fantastic. In one day I've learnt how to do a fair amount in it and also built (almost finished) a house as well. All the small things they have put in it to make it easy and quick to use is just outstanding. Some ideas can be a little odd to get used to, especially if you have used other 3D programs before. But it's got an extremely easy learning curve so you can pick it up in no time.
The amount of detail and what you can create with it is excellent. There are also plenty of ready build components (by the community) that you can download from the Google "3D Warehouse" such as sofa's and chairs and cars and all other manner of things.
If you haven't tried Sketchup then I highly recommend you do, even if you aren't into CAD or 3D modelling. Just try it. Make a 3D model of your monitor just to try the program, it's simple amazing!
By the way Google, you can pay me if you like for brown-nosing Sketchup so much.
Why am I trying it out though? Because you can map photos to the models you build and thus Andy is hoping we can build some 3D, photorealisticly textured models to use in our virtual projects. I just love playing with it!
Google Sketchup
Google Sketchup. Wow. I'd heard about it before and seen a few of the 3D models people have created using it and put onto Google Earth. But I didn't realise how simple it is to use. It really is fantastic. In one day I've learnt how to do a fair amount in it and also built (almost finished) a house as well. All the small things they have put in it to make it easy and quick to use is just outstanding. Some ideas can be a little odd to get used to, especially if you have used other 3D programs before. But it's got an extremely easy learning curve so you can pick it up in no time.
The amount of detail and what you can create with it is excellent. There are also plenty of ready build components (by the community) that you can download from the Google "3D Warehouse" such as sofa's and chairs and cars and all other manner of things.
If you haven't tried Sketchup then I highly recommend you do, even if you aren't into CAD or 3D modelling. Just try it. Make a 3D model of your monitor just to try the program, it's simple amazing!
By the way Google, you can pay me if you like for brown-nosing Sketchup so much.
Why am I trying it out though? Because you can map photos to the models you build and thus Andy is hoping we can build some 3D, photorealisticly textured models to use in our virtual projects. I just love playing with it!
Google Sketchup
Tuesday, 11 December 2007
Of Helicopters and Quiet Fronts
Above is a photo of my new private helicopter. Oh yeah. She's impressive. I'd say the engine had about... 0.0001 BHP! haha. Air Hogs Havoc Helicopter. Brilliant little bit of kit. I highly recommend to anyone. There are plenty of clones, this is one of them. The original "palm-heli" being the Picoo Z (can be found on Firebox.com).
Been pretty quite at work past couple of days. Everything is winding down for Christmas really. Just been a touch ill however. Got a bit of a sore throat. Andy is still feeling a little ill as well. Seems to be spreading. Mwahahahaha.
So I've just been thinking about all the virtual stuff we are working on at the moment. Playing with ideas in my head. Sleeping on them and the ones I remember tend to be the ones that may work best. It's a good philosophy. Ooo get me I didn't need the spell checked to spell philosophy!
Beard Watch Update: It's been shaved! The beard is all but gone! I guess the orders were given for a trim. We shall see how long it takes for the next set of orders to filter down from command. At the end of today it will have been two days since the last set.
Wednesday, 24 October 2007
Of Fools and Disappointment
First, let me get the disappointment out the way. We can't get hold of a Surface machine. Damn shame! Still, the multitouch meeting I had on Friday went really well and we are all defiantly looking forward to working together on it. As it allows us to put together plenty of material through the final year student (Tim) ready for looking at doing a proper research project on it next year. So I should still get to play with some homebrew multitouch stuff this year!
On to fools. There are many of them. Some were gathered in the meeting I have just come back from. Andy and I were demoing the Virtual Sports Centre we have been building to the sports lecturers. By 'we' I mean 'me' (Sorry Andy :p). There are a couple of them that think it's a great idea and hopefully they grasp what it is we are trying to do. Which is give them another tool to teach with that promotes independent learning in not only a visual way but contextual (in a virtual world sense) as well as begin to link the different subjects under Sport together. More so than what happens now.
However. The previously mentioned fools... oh dear God. Narrow minded are not the words. They couldn't grasp that we want to provide a tool that allows students to see more than just their field of learning. To allow them to see across different subjects, to relate and see how what they are learning applies across many different things. We got asked questions like "Well what can we do in this that we can't in blackboard?"... how about everything we've just shown you. They think that just because that they can upload their own files to blackboard and link it to what the students can see it compares to the dynamic system we demoed today. Er... no I don't think so. They also seemed to think that we are developing this tool because we don't think they communicate or use blackboard as their sole teaching tool. No. We are developing it to aid in the teaching of students. We are developing it because at some point Virtual Learning Environments like blackboard are going to evolve in to a visual area more than the point and click text and folder based... thing that it is. We are going one step (or more) than the game is at the moment. Unfortunately some of them seem to be under the impression that blackboard will get features like this and that this will happen soon. A system where you have to pay over a grand just to have a collapsible directory tree put in and has only just allowed for things like Blogs and Podcasts will not be getting functionality like that any time soon.
On to fools. There are many of them. Some were gathered in the meeting I have just come back from. Andy and I were demoing the Virtual Sports Centre we have been building to the sports lecturers. By 'we' I mean 'me' (Sorry Andy :p). There are a couple of them that think it's a great idea and hopefully they grasp what it is we are trying to do. Which is give them another tool to teach with that promotes independent learning in not only a visual way but contextual (in a virtual world sense) as well as begin to link the different subjects under Sport together. More so than what happens now.
However. The previously mentioned fools... oh dear God. Narrow minded are not the words. They couldn't grasp that we want to provide a tool that allows students to see more than just their field of learning. To allow them to see across different subjects, to relate and see how what they are learning applies across many different things. We got asked questions like "Well what can we do in this that we can't in blackboard?"... how about everything we've just shown you. They think that just because that they can upload their own files to blackboard and link it to what the students can see it compares to the dynamic system we demoed today. Er... no I don't think so. They also seemed to think that we are developing this tool because we don't think they communicate or use blackboard as their sole teaching tool. No. We are developing it to aid in the teaching of students. We are developing it because at some point Virtual Learning Environments like blackboard are going to evolve in to a visual area more than the point and click text and folder based... thing that it is. We are going one step (or more) than the game is at the moment. Unfortunately some of them seem to be under the impression that blackboard will get features like this and that this will happen soon. A system where you have to pay over a grand just to have a collapsible directory tree put in and has only just allowed for things like Blogs and Podcasts will not be getting functionality like that any time soon.
Wednesday, 17 October 2007
Of Swish and Script
Been completely forgetting to blog recently. Really bad of me as I'm using this as my log book for work placement! Ah well.... not much interesting has gone on recently!
So what's happened in the past week or so? Not much. More myBU problems, more admin work and not a lot else! So not had anything to blog about really. All interesting things have happened in the past couple of days.
First, Andy and I have set up a meeting with a HCI (Human Computer Inter(face/action)) teacher here at BU as she has a final year student working on multitouch displays. So hopefully we are all going to work together on that. The really cool thing with that though is that Linda Hole (the teacher) is actually meeting up with Microsoft at the end of the month about multitouch. So I may even get the chance to work with MS on this! So I'll defiantly blog about that after the meeting.
Other than that I've been working on the Virtual Sports Centre again. Starting to look pretty good now. The preloader was giving me problems until I decided to do it all a different way. Originally I wanted separate files that got loaded into one main one and have them all preload at the start. However, I couldn't get that to work so I'm doing it a different way which is to have the separate files load only when they are called. Which to be honest, is a better way of doing it as not every user is going to want every part of site. So they will only load what they need.
Just need to get hold of a few photos so that I can create the virtual environment now.
So what's happened in the past week or so? Not much. More myBU problems, more admin work and not a lot else! So not had anything to blog about really. All interesting things have happened in the past couple of days.
First, Andy and I have set up a meeting with a HCI (Human Computer Inter(face/action)) teacher here at BU as she has a final year student working on multitouch displays. So hopefully we are all going to work together on that. The really cool thing with that though is that Linda Hole (the teacher) is actually meeting up with Microsoft at the end of the month about multitouch. So I may even get the chance to work with MS on this! So I'll defiantly blog about that after the meeting.
Other than that I've been working on the Virtual Sports Centre again. Starting to look pretty good now. The preloader was giving me problems until I decided to do it all a different way. Originally I wanted separate files that got loaded into one main one and have them all preload at the start. However, I couldn't get that to work so I'm doing it a different way which is to have the separate files load only when they are called. Which to be honest, is a better way of doing it as not every user is going to want every part of site. So they will only load what they need.
Just need to get hold of a few photos so that I can create the virtual environment now.
Thursday, 13 September 2007
Of Flash and Virtualness
As mentioned previously, I'm currently developing a virtual sports center in Flash. Yesterday I got a quick and dirty mock up done. Doesn't look pretty and has hardly any functionality in it for the time being, but as a quick demo to people I think it will work fine. If people like the idea then I'm going to scrap it and start over. Need to try and get access to a 3D program however so I can render some scenes for it. Shame I can't do it all in Flash so it's vectored, would make life a little easier. Still, I should be able to get some nice images done for the project!
As for 3D, I've been taking a look at Swift 3D. It's a 3D rendering program for Flash application. But some of the 3D models, etc that have been done in it are outstanding! It outputs in both vector and raster and is also capable of photo-realistic images. So with any luck I'll be able to get hold of a copy and produce some great 3D content for the VSC.
After another mini brainstroming session with Andy we decided that, at some point, we'd like to end up with a game-esque style interface. A main window showing you what room you are in, a minimap to allow quick navigation (while still be able to navigate in the main window). An info box giving a brief description of room and finally a box that displays the information you click on in the main window. So for example, you could click on a notice board in the main window and it would display the info contained in the notice board just below in a little box.
We are also going to look at controlling the content via XML documents that are imported into Flash at runtime. This means that the entire VSC can be kept up-to-date without editing the Flash at all. Hopefully we will be able to put a PHP backend somewhere to allow the creation/updating of the XML documents so that anyone can add new/edit information.
All in all it sounds like a great project to work on and something to write my dissertation on when that comes about!
As for 3D, I've been taking a look at Swift 3D. It's a 3D rendering program for Flash application. But some of the 3D models, etc that have been done in it are outstanding! It outputs in both vector and raster and is also capable of photo-realistic images. So with any luck I'll be able to get hold of a copy and produce some great 3D content for the VSC.
After another mini brainstroming session with Andy we decided that, at some point, we'd like to end up with a game-esque style interface. A main window showing you what room you are in, a minimap to allow quick navigation (while still be able to navigate in the main window). An info box giving a brief description of room and finally a box that displays the information you click on in the main window. So for example, you could click on a notice board in the main window and it would display the info contained in the notice board just below in a little box.
We are also going to look at controlling the content via XML documents that are imported into Flash at runtime. This means that the entire VSC can be kept up-to-date without editing the Flash at all. Hopefully we will be able to put a PHP backend somewhere to allow the creation/updating of the XML documents so that anyone can add new/edit information.
All in all it sounds like a great project to work on and something to write my dissertation on when that comes about!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
