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3D Animation Software

3dTotal.com

StopMotionMaker - $160 program

Blender [W] is free, and qualifies as a CAD program; uses Python [W] for embedded scripting.

• download
• documentation
  online wiki version
• education-help - tutorials - getting acquainted with the user interface
• Gen3 tree tutorials at blendernewbies.com - introduction to architecture modeling at wiki.blender.org
• Examples: Elephants Dream [W]
• Blender Necessities:
  Microsoft Visual C++ 2005 Redistributable Package [download]
  Python [W]; [ Download Python]
  Python Scripts [download]
  Yafray [download]; [wiki]
• Blender Links:
  Community at Blender
  BlenderNewbies at BlogSpot
  BlenderUnderground - video tutorials
  FeebleMind.org (for tutorials)

Luxology's modo [W] costs $800 and runs on both Windows and Mac

CAD

Computer Aided Design, or CAD [W]; the most popular example would likely be the non-free AutoCAD [W] and 3DS MAX [W] by AutoDesk.

Object Oriented Graphics Rendering Engines

OGRE [W] is free; examples: Ankh [W]

Ogre Links:

• Installing an SDK

Ogre Necessities:

• DirectX End-User Runtimes (Nov 2007) Redistributable

Elephants Dream

3D Desktop Environments (experimental)

Examples of 3D Desktop Environments:

• Project Looking Glass [W] by Sun (of Java fame)
• SphereXP

Using search, you can find these related topics on this site: Computer-Aided Design (CAD) and Graphical User Interface

Project Looking Glass Demonstration

Gaming & 3D Worlds

Creating 3D Virtual Worlds and Games

Best Next Generation Game:

• Gears of War [W] - only complaint: game is too short, due to the non-BluRay disc that XBox 360 uses; built with UNREAL Engine 3.0 [W], which is licensed by Epic Games; the cost of licensing Engine 3 has not been made public, but -- in Unreal Terms -- it costs $350,000 for one of the available Unreal Engine 2 platforms, plus US $50,000 for each additional platform. A royalty of 3% is due on all revenue from the game

Contact Bill Gates thru his LinkedIn.com profile

Free 3D Game Development Tools, Engines [W] and Software

• List of Game Engines - Wikipedia Entry - DMOZ Entry
• 3D Game Studio - Wikipedia Entry
• Irrlicht Engine, a free/open-source 3D engine - Wikipedia Entry - Blender - [W]
• Byond Software Suite for Creating and Playing Online Games - Wikipedia Entry - Dream Makers game development
• Renderware [W]

First-Person Shooter Engines [W]

• ProQuake - Wikipedia Entry

3D Virtual Reality Platforms

• Active Worlds [W] uses Renderware [W] - object creation and VRML [W] (virtual reality modeling language; example: Flux [W]) free downloads - Flux Studio documentation - browse examples - and now its successor, X3D [W]; other rendering engines: Direct3D [W] is the graphics API for XBOX 360, and OpenGL developed by Silicon Graphics.
• Second Life [W]

Scene Graphs [W]

• Open Scene Graph - 3D Graphics Toolkit
• Java 3D

Create your own 2D games

• AGS - Adventure Game Studio - by Chris Jones - a freeware tool for creating text-based games
  Read Wikipedia Article
  AGS Official Home Page

Best 2D Games of All Time

1. Secret of Monkey Island [W] [MIwiki.net]
2. Kings Quest IV: The Perils of Rosella
3. It Came From The Desert
4. Shadow of the Beast
5. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade

Other Noteworthy 2D Games

• Loom [W] - has such beautiful music (Tchaikovsky)
  ...can now be played on a variety of different platforms using ScummVM [W]
  Loom at Salikon.dk - Download VGA version at Salikon.dk - Get Steem Engine, the Atari emulator

An up-to-date list of all the items need to build your own PC can be found at MySuperPC. This piece of a list was parsed from their page:

1. Case and Power Supply - Antec Sonata III with 500-Watt power supply - [$129.99 at Amazon]
2. Motherboard (AMD Socket AM2) - ASUS M2N32-SLI Deluxe Wireless Edition - [$184.99 at NewEgg]
   or ASUS M2N-SLI Deluxe AM2 NVIDIA nForce 570 SLI MCP ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail [$134.99 at NewEgg]
3. CPU (processor) and Cooler (fan) - AMD Athlon 64 X2 6000+ AM2 with Fan - [$156.99 at NewEgg]
4. RAM (memory) - Crucial Ballistix 1024MB PC2-8500 DDR2 (for AM2) - [$51.99 for 2GB Kit at Crucial Memory] [$97.99 for 4GB Kit at Crucial Memory]
5. Video Card - XFX PVT84JUSD4 GeForce 8600GT 256MB 128-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail - [$99.99 at NewEgg] [More Video Cards at NewEgg]
   or XFX PVT86SWML4 GeForce 8400GS 256MB 64-bit GDDR2 PCI Express x16 HDCP Ready Low Profile Ready Video Card - Retail [$69.99 at NewEgg]
6. Monitor - Dell E198WFP 19-inch Widescreen Flat Panel LCD Monitor - [$184 at Dell Monitors]
   or the Dell E207WFP 20-inch Monitor w/ .258 mm pixel pitch at Wal-Mart (online only) for $248.88 (navigation: home page > electronics > computers > monitors > $200 to $250); the E207WFP is $229.00 at Dell.com; monitor reviews at cNET - 3000:1 contrast ratio
   LG L1933TR-SF Silver 19" 2ms(GTG) LCD Monitor 300 cd/m2 3000:1 - Retail [$200 + $14 shipping at newegg.com]
   Acer AL2216Wbd Black 22" 5ms Widescreen LCD Monitor with HDCP support 300 cd/m2 700:1 - Retail [$230 + $15 shipping at newegg.com]
7. Operating System - Windows XP Home Edition Upgrade with Service Pack 2 - [$98.99 at Amazon]

Total: $873 to $952 ($689 to $768, without monitor)

• Homebuilt Computers [W] - White Box (computers built with off-the-shelf parts) [W] - Build Your Own PC [Dmoz]
• Build Your Own Computer - buildyourowncomputer.net - NewEgg.com
• ASUS - USA - ASUSTek Computer Inc.
• ASUS AMD Motherboard ($134) at NewEgg.com [offer expires 3/31/2008]

Buying a Computer

Getting the most bang for the buck:

• Best Budget Desktop Reviews at ConsumerSearch.com
• TechGuy Forum Post

DVD Burner Reviews at Consumer Search: [March 2008]

• Samsung SH-S203B SATA DVD Burner ($40); or, Samsung SH-S203N SATA DVD Burner [firmware, user manual], with LightScribe monochrome label-printing ($45)
  troubleshooting the SH-S203N burner; no problem with AMD processors
  Buy Samsung SH-S203N at Newegg.com
  4-Pin PC Power to SATA Converter Cable ($2.99) at newegg.com
  Getting Windows Media Player crashes; a link at Microsoft; but maybe I need to make sure I've got DirectX 9 installed first (before I do what Microsoft suggests; it's be nice if either Microsoft or Nero or Samsung could analyze my system and install the necessary patches to correct the problem. You could also try this Yahoo! Search for nevideo.ax download. I eventually found the fild NeVideo.ax in the Program Files folder, under Common Files > Ahead > DSFilter. I just rename the file to NeVideo.ax.old. I didn't come up with this idea all by myself; I owe a debt of gratitude to PapaJohn.org; here's the page I visited: Movie Maker 2 - Issues - 1.
• Lite-On LH-20A1H IDE DVD Burner ($35)
• Plextor PX-810UF External DVD Burner ($140)

Laptop Computers

• IBM Thinkpad - IBM - W - Removing and installing memory - Memory DIMM of FRU type 19K4653 may be unsuitable memory for A22M for machine type 2628 - Memory for A22M - memory at Crucial - Lenovo - Backup battery removal instructions for a22m - the right battery - Battery Specialists - CR2032 - Actual order page
  http://www.ibm.com/
  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ThinkPad
  http://www.lenovo.com/

Drivers and Firmware Upgrades for HP LaserJet 2420d Printer

The following illustrates how frustrating my road to success was, as I attempted to negotiate the HP site to find my driver and firmware upgrades:

• HP.com
• HP Software and Driver Downloads
• Driver Listing for HP LaserJet 2420d
• HP Search Results for "Printing in Signatures"; correct result on this page: Can driver do 'signature' pagination
• New HP Search: Signature Pagination
• HP Universal Print Driver Defined
• What is PCL6 at HP.com forums
• Selecting the correct printer driver at HP.com
• Firmware update page at HP.com
• More on upgrading firmware on LaserJet at HP.com <- this is the right page. What follows is the text from that page, in case they some day pull the plug on the page:
  HP LaserJet 2400, P3005 and 5200 Series Printers - How to Upgrade Firmware Using a USB Connection
  The following describes how to upgrade firmware in the LaserJet 2400, P3005 and 5200 Series Printers using a USB connection only. To send the firmware upgrade via USB, you will need to know the name of the computer the printer is connected to, and the printer will need to be shared. To find out the name of your computer:
  1. Click the Start button, Programs, Accessories, System Tools, then choose System Information.
  2. You will find your computer’s name in the right window-pane next to System Name.
  3. Write down this name as it will be needed later. To share the connected printer:
  1. Click the Start button, Settings , then choose Printers (“Printers and Faxes?? on WinXP).
  2. Right click on the printer you need to send the upgrade to and then choose Sharing.
  * On WinXP, if you encounter the following link “If you understand the security risks but want to share printers without running the wizard, click here.??, click the link.
  * Select “Just enable printer sharing?? and click OK .
  3. Select Shared As: (“Share this printer?? on WinXP) and type a name for the share.
  4. Click Apply and write down the share name as it will be needed later. To send the firmware upgrade using a USB connection:
  1. Go to a DOS Command Prompt and locate the directory where you saved the firmware file. (To open a Command Prompt inWindows 2000 or XP, go to the Start button, then choose run, then type CMD and hit Enter, in Windows 98 or ME, go to the Start button, Programs, Accessories, then choose MSDOS Prompt). This will bring up a small black screen as displayed below:
  2. If connected to a USB port, Type: copy /b filename \\computer name\share name (for example, copy /b ozfw.rfu \\computer1\printer).
  3. Press ENTER .
  4. The control panel displays receiving upgrade followed by performing upgrade . The download may take several minutes.
  5. The control panel displays processing job.
  6. The download is complete when the printer reboots and "READY" message is displayed on the control panel.

• .htaccess comprehensive guide - password generator at Dynamic Drive
  - htaccess tricks by corz.org
  http://www.javascriptkit.com/howto/htaccess.shtml
  http://tools.dynamicdrive.com/password/
  http://corz.org/serv/tricks/htaccess.php
  http://corz.org/
• Apache HTTP Server - W
  free software, open source web server
  http://apache.org/
  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apache_HTTP_Server
• Bit Torrent - W
  peer-to-peer file distribution protocol
  http://www.bittorrent.com/
  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bit_torrent
• Checksum - Read the Wikipedia Article
  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Checksum
• chmod W & File System Permissions  W
  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chmod
  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Permissions
• Database Security  W
  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Database_security
• Naming a File (Windows)
  http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa365247.aspx
• HTML - hyper-text markup language W
  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HTML
• http - Hypertext Transfer Protocol W
  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypertext_Transfer_Protocol
• https vs. http  W
  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Https
• icons  W
  see IconsReview.com, which has a huge list of icon collections
  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Icon_%28computing%29
  http://www.iconsreview.com/
• Kernel - memory -  W
  computer science
  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kernel_%28computer_science%29
• LAMP - Linux, Apache, MySQL, PHP -  W
  referred to WAMP, when used on a Windows computer system
  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wamp
• MD5 Checksum  W
  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MD5
• MIME  W
  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MIME
• OPML - Outline Processor Markup Language - W
  XML format for outlines; can be used to import or export a list of links; it's an option in WordPress Blog CMS
  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OPML
• Parse Tree [W] - How to Create a Parse Tree at Crummy.com; new page with downloadable software: Beautiful Soup; old page name: How to Use Beautiful Soup
  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parse_tree
  http://www.crummy.com/
  http://www.crummy.com/software/BeautifulSoup/
  http://www.crummy.com/software/BeautifulSoup/download/2.x/documentation.html
• Permalink  W
  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Permalink
• POP - Post Office Protocol  W
  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Post_Office_Protocol
• SMTP - Simple Mail Transfer Protocol  W
  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simple_Mail_Transfer_Protocol
• spaceball.gif - flickr photo download at infosnel.nl - right-click beside image, view file page info, media, scroll through file list, look for static
• SSL - Secure Sockets Layer  W
  AKA TLS - Transport Layer Security
  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secure_Sockets_Layer
• URL - Uniform Resource Locator -  W
  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uniform_Resource_Locator
• Vanity Domains  W
  AKA Subdomain
  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vanity_domain
• White Paper  W
  read the part in Wikipedia about Commercial White Papers
  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_papers

searchable words: file naming file name maximum length recommended file name lengths when running Windows XP

Graphical User Interface (GUI) [W]

You may also be interested in this article: Graphical Keyboard Interface at Mozilla Labs.

C

Microsoft Visual C++ [W] and C# [W]; will also need Microsoft Windows SDK (Software Development Kit) [W]; obtain the XP-compatible version at Microsoft; all of these "Visual" line of products support rapid application development [W]. Free version: C++/Visual C++ express edition (Microsoft Visual Studio Express) [W].

Microsoft Silverlight [W] - similar to Adobe Flash [W] and JavaFx - is a rich internet application [W], bringing improved interactivity to web sites.

Java

Java Tutorials: Freewarejava.com - Mando Martis - Chapter One

Java (Sun) [W], also referred to as Cross-platform Embedded Application Software, is a programming language. OpenOffice.org software makes extensive use of Java Runtime - Java Programming Language (not to be confused with JavaScript) [W] - Official Developer Site - Java Runtime Environment (aka Java Virtual Machine) - [W] - Swing - [W] - a widget toolkit for Java, providing a graphical user interface. Suggestion for programmers: Get Java Online Training.

Write your AJAX applications in Java and Google Web Toolkit converts this to browser-friendly HTML and JavaScript, which allows you to add drag and drop functionality to your website. Get either Eclipse (IDE - integrated development environment for software) [W] or Swing [W] for Java.

Their Scene Graphs [W] entry: Java 3D [W], which is defined as being a 3D application programming interface. Java3D projects: Project Wonderland, a 3D scene manager, aka a Toolkit for Building 3D Virtual Worlds (an experimental technology).

Lisp

Lisp [W] is the second oldest high-level programming language (only Fortran is older) and has distinctive, fully parenthisized syntax.

Perl, Python and Ruby

• Perl [W] is a dynamic programming language
• Python [W] is a general purpose, high-level programming language
  Download Python
• Ruby [W] is a dynamic, reflective, general purpose object-oriented programming [W] language; developed in Japan

All three have been lumped into the same category by Wikipedia.

PHP

PHP [W] is a scripting language, orginally designed to create dynamic web pages; it's still commonly used for server-side scripting (to run queries on databases), but can be used from the Command Line Interface (CLI) or in stand-alone graphical applications. It's the most popular module running on Apache servers.

Wikipedia lists PHP in two categories: Web Application Frameworks [list: W] (alongside Java, Javascript, Perl, Python, and Ruby) and Programming Languages [comparison: W] (with the likes of C, Java, JavaScript, Lisp, Perl, Python, Ruby and Smalltalk).

Smalltalk

SmallTalk [W] is a class-based object-oriented programming language, where an object is always an instance of a class. GNU Smalltalk [W] is a free software implementation of Smalltalk-80.