Virtual Environments for Collaborative Visualization and Experimentation.

Saint Paul College

progress on Java tutorial

Posted Fri, 02/26/2010 - 12:00 by Sue

This week I finished module 4 "Class Design" and the first of three lab exercises associated with that module.  I seem to have gotten bogged down in the second exercise, and can't start on the third till I get the second one to work.  As the example gets more complex, it gets harder for me to isolate problems while debugging.  This skill alone is important for me to learn, and it's vital to master the content of this module, too.  I've sent myself an email with the NetBeans source code and the workbook and labfiles PDF's attached so I can wor

tutorial progress 2

Posted Fri, 02/19/2010 - 12:00 by Sue

 Finished module 1 on "Java Technology" last week and spent this week on module 2, "Building Blocks of Java Programming Language."  I've finished the first section of module 2, "Identifiers, Keywords, and Types," but am still working on the lab exercises for the "Expressions and Flow Control" section.  I'm hung up on the AdvancedLoopProject and will finish that over the weekend.  I think it will be easier to keep track of the nested loops after I've taken some time away from it to clear my head. 

Rendering Tools

Posted Fri, 02/19/2010 - 10:00 by Josh
Rendering is the process of generating a photo realistic images from a 3d model.  Rendering tools are used on models produced in Blender, Maya, Max, and pretty much any other 3d graphics program. Many applications will have their own proprietary rendering tool built in, but the external rendering tools that were built to do nothing but render can achieve better results.

Sirikata

Posted Fri, 02/12/2010 - 18:06 by Josh

Skindigo: The Indigo Plug-in for SketchUp.

Posted Fri, 02/12/2010 - 12:28 by Josh
Indigo Renderer

Indigo Renderer has a plugin for Sketchup that can turn your model into a realistic image that is nearly impossible to distinguish from a photographic image.  There is a free version with limitations and also an expensive version.  The limitations: Size is limited to 0.7 megapixel, or 1000x700 pixels, a watermark in the corner. 

tutorial progress 1

Posted Fri, 02/12/2010 - 12:00 by Sue

This week I finished the AdvancedLoopProject, thus finishing module 2 "Expressions & Flow Control;" worked through the entire module (including lab exercises) of #3 "Creating Arrays;" and started on module 4 "Class Design."  On Friday, we attended a presentation by Minneapolis public schoolteachers who teach digital photography &/or digital audio &/or digital video.  They will be working with Warren on using 3D virtual worlds to teach math, in order to give their (high school) students the math skills they'll need to meet state stan

Google, the ISP?

Posted Wed, 02/10/2010 - 16:29 by Josh

Google is planning to offer a broadband service capable of 1-gigabit-per-second data transfer rates.  It will be an experitmental service available only in select areas.  It is about 83 times faster than a Comcast broadband connection, to give an idea of speed.  This would open up a lot of doors for streaming media and higher quality interactive entertainment, (virtual worlds/mmo).

getting into the game

Posted Sun, 02/07/2010 - 21:26 by Pheej

Gametrailers.com is a great video game community for beginners and expert to interact with. There are interviews, upcoming games, surprise miscellaneous from fans, and most importantly Retrospective aka the past. I would like the group to take a look about War of Warcraft Retrospective.   

Webkit: Google Overtakes Apple

Posted Sun, 02/07/2010 - 11:43 by Josh

According to the Washington Post Google now contributes more to Webkit than Apple does.

Webkit is the open source browser engine that is used by Google Chrome, and Apple Safari.

Game Engines

Posted Sun, 02/07/2010 - 11:20 by Josh

The game development website called DevMaster.net has a listing of game engines, some of which are free, open source, or educational in nature.