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Post by urbancinderella on Feb 1, 2006 6:30:52 GMT
Please, stop me if this scenario sounds all too familiar. You’re walking around a corking scene, a beautiful lake maybe, with an immensely dramatic fold of fog gliding over it. You let off a few rounds, and when you review them what do you see? A foreground as vibrant as your younger brothers pet fly and as under-exposed as a piece of black card all this while the sky is often as under-exposed as the yeti and has as much detail as a BBC weather report. The reason is fairly obvious- the sky is much lighter than the dark ground thus rendering it impossible for the camera to expose both shadow and highlight details accurately. It’s surprising how many people do not expect this result because they see a perfectly balanced scene themselves. Well, to inform you now, this is a nightmare to sort out on the P.C. If the colours are burnt out, then there is no way you can retrieve them. However there is one way that you can solve this, but it requires a tripod or something to keep your tool perfectly still. Once you have your equipment set up as you like, you’re ready to get perfect exposure. What we are going to do is take two individual photos with different exposures on each object. First we take a photo of the sky, perfectly exposed (read article one to find out how to do this) and then we take a second with the ground with great exposure. And you’re done with your camera! Next comes the P.S work. So, now we are out of the bitter wind and back in the comfort of our own home with a nice mug of hot chocolate (this is a must if you want to get great results…I swear) and the fire burning, it’s time to log on and get editing! First (and most obviously), we need to open both shots in Photoshop. Once we have them both open the fun begins. Step OneIf you have both open, copy the one with nice sky into the other images canvas. We then need to apply a layer mask. Do this by going into your layers palette and selecting your top layer. Once you have done this, click on the “add new layer mask button.” Step TwoOnce you have done this, select your brush tool (b) and make sure that your brush is set to black and a rather large size with 0% hardness. Once you have done that make sure that the white box next to the top layer is selected. If it is, paint over all of the bits you don’t want! The good thing is, if you make any mistakes all you need to do is paint over in white and the image becomes visible again. Once you have finished you should have a fantastically balanced shot! Now then, maybe it needs a bit more tweaking. First and most important step: get yourself another hot chocolate, as you’re going to need it! Back? Good. Now you have got your image in two layers…but you won’t need it like that for much longer. First, save the .psd then press “ctrl + e” to merge the layers. Once we have done that, go to the little image to the right of the add layer mask button that we used before, from the drop down list choose levels, now here comes the fun stuff. I am going to teach you what the levels palette it! First of all study this little levels map I have made. Levels mapOver the next month you can study that, because that’s the end of my article for this month. Next month, how to use levels and more! Enjoy.
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Post by urbancinderella on Feb 1, 2006 6:31:29 GMT
This month, it was quite hard for me to decide who to interview for the Coder Highlight because of a recent influx of codes. I would like to honorably mention Todge and Wonder. I hope to include the two of you in future editions of the Herald. Name: Ross McLellan Age: 17 (Almost 18) Sex: Male Favorite Website: ProBoards Support
Tell us about yourself. What are some things you like to do, what sports do you enjoy? Well I'm just a normal guy really. I live in a quiet town just outside of London (that's in the UK) with my mum, dad and two cats. I'm now in my final year of full time education, in just a few months I'll be looking for some form of employment. So if anyone has any job offers, do let me know . When away from the computer I enjoy cycling, but that's only when it's dry and not too cold, it's especially nice up in the woods when very few people are around. I also use to play table tennis at a near-by club but that's stopped since I've begun concentrating on my exams, I wasn't really that good though, I had never even one a game. Really it is school work that takes up most of my spare time (other than coding). I've taken a lot of coursework orientated subjects with a total of 6 modules of coursework to do, 3 of which I still need to finish by June.
What college do you attend? It's not really a proper college to be honest. It's more of a college within a school. Anyway, it's called Rydens.
What is your favorite part of college? The "Study Periods", especially when there's not much studying to do. It's great to be able to just hang out with friends and not have to worry about anything.
What is your favorite subject at college? Do you particularly like the teacher or what you are learning in that subject? I suppose I would have to pick Math. The teacher is absolutely excellent and really helps us understand what we're actually learning (that's opposed to the teachers who teach you how to pass the exam and nothing else). I'm also one of those weird people who enjoy doing math...
What in your life has most influenced you online? That's quite a hard question actually. I suppose it would be my location. When I first started going online it was because all my friends live miles away and with no means of transportation that meant that evenings on my own were long and dull. So I eventually ventured online, I found ProBoards, and I decided to start coding; the rest as they say, is history.
What part of your online life and most influenced your real life? I think it would be the stuff I have learnt online that has most influenced my real life. I didn't realize at the time but learning to code and giving general support has really helped improve my IT skills. For one unit of coursework we had to do (web design), I ended up teaching the class more than the teacher.
I understand you frequent many Proboards, which one would you say is your favorite? Undoubtedly the Offical Support Forum. And I would have said that even before becoming a moderator there I just find it's got a good atmosphere.
Where and when do you get the ideas for your codes? Most of my ideas come straight out of the code request board. But I do occasionally have random ideas just pop into my head from nowhere. If I knew where they came from, I'd visit there and get some more.
Do you prefer answering code support questions, making your own codes, or filling code requests? I'm quite happy doing any and all of those really. Code requests can get frustrating after a time when it's always the same things being requested over and over again. But then when doing my own mini-projects I tend to get bored and give up on them half way. So I suppose that leaves Code Support as my favorite.
What would you suggest new, aspiring coders do to make themselves better coders? I would suggest that they first grasp the basics; HTML, CSS, that kind of stuff that's easy enough to learn but is the building blocks for advancing. I would also strongly suggest that they ensure anything they code is neatly spaced, easy to read and generally looks nice. I know it sounds stupid but if you post a code that looks good then you're more likely to be taken seriously than if you post something all on one long line. Oh, and one more bit of advice would be to use those who you look up to for support, they can help you improve your coding but only if you ask.
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Post by urbancinderella on Feb 1, 2006 6:31:50 GMT
It's been quite a few months since I've done anything for the Herald, so I thought I'd help out. Anyways, this month we'll be looking at prototypes. First off, I'd like to apologize for not knowing much about these, I'm basing this off of what I can come up with. Because I don't know much about these, we'll be using a small part from Peter's outerHTML for Mozilla code. Node.prototype.getAttributes = function(){ var attStr = ""; if(this && this.attributes.length > 0){ for(a = 0; a < this.attributes.length; a ++){ attStr += " " + this.attributes.item(a).nodeName + "=\""; attStr += this.attributes.item(a).nodeValue + "\""; } } return attStr; } Let's break it down. Node.prototype.getAttributes = function(){The red Node tells us that this will be dealing with node objects. Now, I believe this also works for Strings. The blue prototype simply tells us we're dealing with a prototype. The green getAttributes is what we want to call our prototype when we call upon it. Finally, the darkred function(){ is how we define what getAttributes does. Since getAttributes obviously has to return something, we need to set up a string to collect everything. For this, we simply set the variable 'attStr' to be blank. var attStr = "";Alright, so now we need to make sure we have an object used and make sure it has arrtibutes. if(this && this.attributes.length > 0){ Now that we know if the object has attributes or not, we need to loop through them and return them and their values. A simple for() loop will work just fine. for(a = 0; a < this.attributes.length; a ++){ attStr += " " + this.attributes.item(a).nodeName + "=\""; attStr += this.attributes.item(a).nodeValue + "\""; } This simply loops through the names of the attributes, and returns their values. For our last bit, we just return our string and close the function. Node.prototype.getAttributes = function(){ var attStr = ""; if(this && this.attributes.length > 0){ for(a = 0; a < this.attributes.length; a ++){ attStr += " " + this.attributes.item(a).nodeName + "=\""; attStr += this.attributes.item(a).nodeValue + "\""; } } return attStr; } Here's an example to get the attributes of this div. <div id="MyDiv" align="right" style="display:none;"></div>We'd use this to get it's attributes. document.getElementById("MyDiv").getAttributes(); This would give us these. id="MyDiv" align="right" style="display:none;"I know this is basic and somewhat lacking in information, but hopefully this will give you a grasp on where to start. Just practice it.
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Post by urbancinderella on Feb 1, 2006 6:32:05 GMT
I have been looking for a way to use instant messaging without having to use a standalone program. At first, I tried some AOL programs- but they were not very good and not compatible with MSN or Jabber. I was recently sent a link to a web service for this very problem. It is called Meebo; it is a Web 2.0 application allowing for communication via AOL Instant Messenger, Yahoo Instant Messenger, Jabber/GTalk, and MSN Instant Messenger. At first, I was skeptical of it, but I found that it is an amazing application. First of all, it uses javascript to create a beautiful GUI and desktop setting. It comes with a fully capable buddy list, which is able to maximized/minimize with the usual Window glyphs. It displays your buddies with a display icon and if they are away or busy. You are able to remove or add buddies with the click of a button. The buddy list displays your buddies in the usual group format, with the total users in the group next to the name. Signing on and off is just as easy. It also allows for a full away system, coming with presets for sleeping, “brb,” busy, away, invisible, and your own customized messages. One thing I was unable to figure out was the ordering on the contact list, with varying orders- going from MSN, to GTalk, to AIM, and also out of alphabetical and availability order. When hovering an AIM contact, it shows their screen name, warning level, and how long they have been online; it also shows the usual MSN contact info for MSN. For GTalk, it shows their email, status, and name. Before I had even received an instant message, Meebo was looking great. The first message I received was from "meebo Blog," this was just an un-returnable message showing the newest post on the Meebo Blog. The message window used the same GUI as the buddy list. I sent a message to someone, and it came up with full formatting tools: bold, italics, underline, color, and font face and size. The color box was a 4 x 4 box of colors, which was desperately in need of titles to help me understand just what color I was selecting (I am mostly color blind). The font list has many fonts, including Arial, Comic Sans, Georgia, Helvetica, Tahoma, and Verdana- among many more. I hope to see a background color feature in the future. My message was sent and came out with a formatted timestamp, my username, and my message. It also showed when my contact was typing and if he was away or available. One thing to take note of is the privacy of this service. Meebo uses secure encryption with 1024-bit RSA keys and specifically showing you when and what it is encrypting. The most amazing part about Meebo is that it is only in alpha stages and already quite incredible. If I was not using Adium, possibly the best open source instant messenger out there, and was using the default AIM or MSN client, I would definitely consider switching. Like every other beta, Meebo still has its bugs to iron out, including layering issues and some features that should be implemented, such as allowing groups to be added or deleted. Overall, I would give Meebo 3 out of 5 stars, mainly because of the competition it will need to overcome with the computer application versus Web 2.0 application. Some other reasons are the bugs, but I can see big things happening for Meebo. I hope you all keep your eye out and your mind open to applications like Meebo.
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Post by urbancinderella on Feb 1, 2006 6:33:57 GMT
I am one of those people who carry my iPod everywhere and often use the FM tuner when I am bored with my current music. The problem is that when you are listening to the radio and find a song you like, the only chance you have of finding out what song it is you were listening to would be to either write down some of the lyrics to later google (That is, if the RIAA doesn't start shutting down lyric sites) or for the DJ to say the name of the song after it is over. Of course, this varies from the DJ and I have heard DJ's who talk during the song about random things, comment on the song during it, and ones that don't talk at all. This can cause many music dilemmas and that is where Tunatic comes in. Tunatic is an application for both Windows and the Mac that uses microphone input to find the name and artist of a song. This is great because I have a boom-box within a few feet from my computer, mainly because I do not really like internet radio. Most applications like Tunatic use line-in input, which means that they do not get interference from you talking or other noise, but boom-boxes and other stereos without line-out are screwed. While Tunatic is not completely one-of-a-kind, I think it is the first properly implemented search engine for music out there. WildBits, the company that provides Tunatic, also offers an application called Tunalyzer (Only for the Macintosh). This is the equivalent of site crawlers and goes through your computer looking for music not in the already huge Tunatic database. Tunalyzer uses the honor system in meta data, meaning if I use Tunatic with improper meta data, it could annoy many people searching for a certain song when Tunatic comes up with a totally different song. Tunatic also allows the use of line-in input for sound coming from within your computer or for line-in connections. I decided to put Tunatic to the test and the results were quite good. I used a normal radio and some random stations for the results. Cigarettes - Fort Minor: 26 seconds My Humps - Black Eyed Peas: 33 seconds DOA - Foo Fighters: 35 seconds American Woman - The Guess Who: 22 seconds Twisted Transistor - Korn: 23 seconds This Love - Maroon 5: 16 seconds Float On - Modest Mouse 25 seconds Original Of The Species - U2 9 seconds Pain For Pleasure - Sum 41 Not Found Such Great Heights - The Postal Service 11 seconds For the most part, Tunatic was able to get the name of the song within a short period of time. One of the things I noticed about finding the music was that it had to be louder than I usually listened to music, the closer to the middle of the song, with a lot of lyrics and vocal range, usually returned the fastest results, and that Tunatic was able to determine most common songs and some more obscure songs quite quickly. Tunatic is a great application and I know I will leave Tunalyzer open in my spare time. One of the disadvantages Tunatic does have over the method of remembering the lyrics is that you don't have to be on the computer when you are listening to the song. All in all, I would rate Tunatic 4 out of 5, mainly because there are a few issues it has with the speed of finding the song, but it consistently almost always correctly specified the correct song.
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Post by urbancinderella on Feb 1, 2006 6:34:13 GMT
Last month, Squall went over compiling and installing software via the make command. Though his article went in-depth, one of the details not included was a list of the disadvantages of using make. A common disadvantage is that make often has dependencies on other pieces of software. While we are on the subject of make- a few months ago, GNU released a program called "GNU Source Installer." It is a quite useful piece of software, even while still dependent on make. Nowadays various distributions of Linux have tried fixing the issues of dependencies. Red Hat came up with RPM (Red Hat Package Manager). The user would download a file with the extension of ".rpm". That would contain all of the details of file location and which files were needed to install it. Unfortunately, even these dependencies would have their own problems to be dealt with. Fixing this usually means downloaded another RPM file. Debian came up with an answer to the various problems caused by RPM by creating apt (Advanced Package Tool.) This was basically the exact same thing as RPM except that it would automatically download the dependencies for the software. It also allowed for easy installation via apt-get, which would download and install the package and dependencies specified. Simply typing in apt-get install kde would download, build, and install the KDE desktop. Apt is still one of the most popular ways to build and install software. It single-handedly made Ubuntu famous when they made Synaptic- which was just apt with a good-looking GUI.
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Post by urbancinderella on Feb 1, 2006 6:34:43 GMT
What is Blu-ray?Who developed it?- Apple Computer, Inc.
- Dell Inc.
- Hewlett Packard Company
- Hitachi, Ltd.
- LG Electronics Inc.
- Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.
- Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
- Pioneer Corporation
- Royal Philips Electronics
- Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
- Sharp Corporation
- Sony Corporation
- TDK Corporation
- Thomson Multimedia
- Twentieth Century Fox
- Walt Disney Pictures
- Warner Bros. Entertainment
[/ul] What will Blu-ray be used for?How much storage capacity will they have?As you can see, Blu-ray is expected to replace all current forms of optical media. It will obviously be backwards-compatible with DVD and CD players, so everyone doesn't have to go out and buy a $500 BD player just so they can use them. I'm looking forward to being able store 14,000 songs on one BD. Perhaps the BD player will function somewhat like an mp3 player, with the sort functions and all. Only time will tell.
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