Synfig, for those who don’t know, is a vector 2d animation program that was designed for professional use, abandoned, then open-sourced. It seemed to sit there for a while, gaining little improvement (probably because the volunteer coders were fixing bugs, not adding features) but it’s really coming along now, and seems stable enough for me to use for a lot of my projects.

Unfortunately, Synfig still doesn’t support adding sound to the timeline, so you’d have to use a cue sheet or something similar to time lipsync movements so that actually match up with an external audio track. Lack of sound support is a big deal for me, though I understand that it will take a lot of work for them to implement.
Sound assumedly used to work in Synfig, but very poorly so using a proprietary and (now) depreciated library.

That said, sound isn’t too big of a deal. Remember that 20 years ago nearly all animation was done by hand, so all lip syncing was done by counting out the number of frames. Lip-syncing in Synfig is still easier than it would have been back then.

The other program I stumbled across is Animata. From it’s website’s description:

Animata is an open source real-time animation software, designed to create animations, interactive background projections for concerts, theatre and dance performances.

Go to the website and check out the videos on it’s front page. Then check out the tutorials over here. Pretty cool, huh?

The main problem I can see with Animata is that, as they say, it’s real-time and designed for live performances. There doesn’t seem to be a way to save an animation as a video file or as a string of still images. I haven’t played around with the program yet, but I’ll bet you could use CamStudio or some equivalent to record the animation off your monitor and save it as a video. I don’t know how good the quality would be, but it could work.

There you have it, two cool animation programs to play with if you’re so inclined. Unfortunately I can’t at the moment, I’m still too engrossed with Blender to even think about digging into another app.

For now, anyways.

Lark

Hey, it least he didn’t call proponents of copyright reform radical extremists, then blatantly lie about it, as Canada’s heritage minister did (and oh yes, he did call them radical extremists, as the end of the linked article points out, it’s on tape).

No no, our VP simply chose to blatantly lie about the damage and impact of file sharing, trying to make it sound like something dangerous and violent–evil, really, when in fact it’s something that is mostly harmless (“Downloads have an effect on sales that is statistically indistinguishable from zero.”) and largely blown out of proportion–the actions of both sides, file sharers and the RIAA, are more misguided than anything else.

Perhaps more on this later, I’ve got a rant brewing, but whether it gets posted or not only time will tell.

Till then,

Lark

My current twenty-something inch computer monitor has an aspect ratio of 16:10, and it isn’t advanced enough to perform any kind of scaling. That means it doesn’t work with my Playstation 3, which outputs a 16:9 aspect ratio. A bit of the image is lopped off of one side.

Why don’t I just plug my PS3 into a tv? Because the tv in the living room of my new place already has a PS3, an Xbox 360, and a Wii hooked up to it. I’m sure there’s a HDMI slot available for my PS3, I just doubt there’d be an available time slot where I could play it on that tv.

I was thinking about getting an HDTV for my room. Oh, but I can’t do that, I’m broke.

A much smarter decision would be to buy a LCD computer monitor that will support my PS3′s aspect ratio (I will point out that supposedly the Xbox 360 handles a 16:10 aspect ratio just fine, but as I don’t have one I can’t confirm that at the moment).

So I’m looking at monitors, and saw this one on sale (until the 9th):

That’s the Acer B233HUbmidhz, in case the link doesn’t work once the sale is over. The sale isn’t the important part, though it is a decent sale. The point is, as the above image shows, this monitor comes packaged with every single kind of cable it would need.

Audio cable (it has speakers)
USB cable (it can act as a USB hub)
VGA cable (as if)
DVI cable
Power cable (duh)

I just felt like that’s worth mentioning, since most manufacturers of televisions and other high-definition devices (ahem PS3 ahem) don’t see fit to provide a $6 HDMI cable. Well here’s a $270 (retail price) monitor that comes with every single cable you might need.

Acer, you are awesome. I will probably buy this monitor, partially because it has all the cables, partially because it’s getting great reviews, and partially because it has better-than-HD resolution and I’m running out of annoying things to brag about.

Lark

Here’s the usual disclaimer: I have no affiliations with any other sites. No referral bonuses, no commissions. No money is put in my pocket from mentioning anything like this.

I’m a pretty self-important consumer.

Let’s look at gaming. I own a PS3. I want to purchase an Xbox 360 soon, I wouldn’t mind owning a Wii, but I like PC gaming best. I can play PC games anywhere I have a computer. I can use nearly any input I want–Xbox controller, PS3 controller, keyboard and mouse, classic gamepad, joystick, etc.

For a while it was enough for me to say that if a game wasn’t coming out for PC, I wouldn’t buy it. In truth, there are enough good games out on PC to keep me occupied for years. Eventually games like Uncharted 2 came along to make me finally buy a console (the PS3 being a Blu-Ray player I could stream files to from my PC helped make that decision, too).

I still have a bit of a chip on my shoulder. I was considering not buying Red Dead Redemption because it came out for 360 and PS3 but not PC. I probably will buy it soon, but why isn’t it out for PC? I’m sure it will be in a few months, just like GTA4 was, but it’s still a letdown.

And look at this. Earthworm Jim HD, a remastering of the Sega Genesis game, is coming out soon. And what is it coming out on? DS, Wii, PS3 and Xbox. Also iPhone and Palm Pre. No mention of PC? It’s literally coming out on every available platform except for PC? I really hope that’s an oversight. If it isn’t coming out for PC, what the fuck?

Analyzing myself, it seems I’m okay with system exclusives. Well, I’m not happy about it, but I understand why some games only come out for PS3 or 360–because Sony or Microsoft courts developers and gives them more assistance or better deals if they’re developing exclusive titles. That’s what I’m assuming, anyway.

I really resent cross-platform games that don’t come out for PC. Why? Why not release a game for PC? Don’t you want my money? Maybe developers are (wrongly, I think) worried about piracy. Maybe they just can’t afford to develop for a third platform. I don’t care, it makes me angry regardless.

I know, I know, it’s all supposed to be about the game, right? If the game’s good enough, then I should get it on whatever platform I can. From that perspective, my insisting that every game come out for PC–and refusing to buy some games that look cool only because they’re not available for PC–does make me feel like a bit of an asshole.

And this PC semi-restriction isn’t my only rule.

I also put a blockade on certain DRM restrictions. If there’s a 5-machine activation limit, I probably won’t buy the game (but 4 activations a month or something like that I’m fine with). I certainly won’t buy any Ubisoft games if they keep that ridiculous always-online restriction in place.

If the game requires me to use a Games for Windows Live account, I probably won’t buy it. Why? It’s annoying. G4WL games tend to have online matchmaking instead of dedicated servers. Saved games don’t work right if I re-stage my computer and simply copy my saved games back into their old directories. I had to edit save files with a hex editor to get my GTA4 saves to work on a fresh windows install, and it still doesn’t work properly (there is the occasional error message).

I mean really! I was using the same G4WL login and everything, but I still had to hack my own saved games like I was cheating or something, just to get functionality every non-G4WL game has. Does Microsoft just not give a shit or what?

I’ve recently realized that I have another hurdle game developers must jump over if they want my money. I probably won’t buy a PC game unless it’s available on Steam. Yep.

If you’re even a semi-regular visitor of this site, you have probably realized I’m a Steam fanboy. I admit it, I love Steam. I’m not a dick about it, some people think Steam is malware just as bad as I think G4WL is, and I can understand their criticisms. I agree that it was a dick move for Valve to require Steam in order to run CD-based versions of the Orange Box on their PCs. For me though, Steam is a great service and the Steam client is a great all-in-one store/library/social application.

The saving grace of Steam, for me, is it’s intelligent DRM. You can install your games on as many PCs as you want, but you can only be logged into one PC at a time–therefore your games can only be played on one PC at a time. It’s simple, it’s logical, and I have no problems with it. Developers can add more strict DRM on if they want, although many don’t, and if the developers allow it you can also set up Steam to play games while offline if you don’t have a regular internet connection.

The main reason I will only buy a PC game on Steam is because all my other games are on Steam. What, I want to have three clients open in order to see what games I have available? One library for all my games, that’s how I want it. Steam got to me first, so that’s what I’m using. Simple as that.

Some people are nervous about putting all their games in one library, because if the service ever goes down, all their games will be inaccessible. I can understand their worries, but I don’t share them. I have all my games backed up. If need be, I’m sure I could download a crack or something to play them without Steam. Also, of all the online distribution platforms out there, Steam is the least likely to fail in my opinion. Some might say G4WL would be the least likely to shut down, but Microsoft has shut media services down in the past, leaving all it’s users with a bunch of DRM-protected files they’ve paid for but can no longer use.

Split/Second is the most recent example of my asshole-ness. It’s coming out on PS3, 360, and PC. But it’s not available through Steam. They’ve said they have no plans to release it through Steam (actually they said they have no plans to release it through “Stream”, was that a fingers-crossed sort of maneuver? Doubtfiul.). I’d like to play the game, it looks awesome. I won’t buy it if it’s not on Steam though, and I certainly won’t buy it on a console if it’s available on PC (I have to support my PC brothers, of course). It all puts me in a weird quagmire where nobody wins.

I don’t win–I can’t play the game.

The developers don’t win–they’re not getting my money.

And what did the exclusive really gain Split/Second’s developers? There were a lot of people in the Steam forums who, like myself, wanted to buy the game but won’t unless it’s through Steam. I really wonder, did they get anything out of this exclusivity or do they just care that little about the PC market?

You know what? I hate exclusives. I hate console exclusives, I hate pre-order exclusives, I hate store exclusives. It’s people trying to earn themselves more money at the cost of our choice.

Exclusives are tolerated in spite of the fact that I don’t know one gamer that hasn’t been adversely affected by them in some way. I completely dislike them, and I dislike them just as much when Steam is the exclusive seller.

DIGRESSION: Exclusive “Bonus” DLC:

There’s really no reason to buy a game at GameStop instead of Walmart or Newegg.com, so they have to try to muscle their way in, and it hurts us twice–it forces us to buy something where we normally wouldn’t (for instance I avoid GameStop because they’re notorious for selling new games opened, sometimes missing DLC codes), and usually different stores have their own exclusive “bonus” content, so even if we play their game we consumers end up missing out on some content.

I can do without Split/Second. Blur is on Steam. Don’t freak out, I know they’re not the same game. Oddly enough, I didn’t even know Blur existed until people suggested it on a Steam forum post about Split/Second’s D2D (Direct2Drive, a competing online game store) exclusivity. That’s right, I found out about Split/Second’s direct competitor Blur, which even released on the same day, by researching why I couldn’t buy Split/Second where I wanted to buy it.

Had Split/Second been on Steam, I would probably be playing it right now, and I still might not know that Blur even exists. I’m definitely going to buy Blur, by the way. For PC. On Steam.

Do you think anyone’s learned any lessons from this? Doubtful, but luckily for all of us there are enough great games on every platform (and in every store) that it matters less and less each day. The same way I could shrug off Ubisoft’s ridiculous new DRM by just resolving to play the hundreds of other great games in the world instead, I can ignore all these exclusives by turning to something else, very possibly their slightly smarter (and more available) direct competitors.

Lark

Here’s an explanation of a new type of phishing attack. Basically a tabbed malicious page can tell when it’s not in focus, and when you’re not looking it will change itself to look like a familiar login screen, Gmail for example.

Distracted users click over to that tab, assume they left Gmail open and enter their credentials without thinking about it.

So why am I not exposed? Or as exposed? 2 reasons:

1) I use No Script, the Javascript and Flash blocker for Firefox. You can block or unblock sites. I have Google unblocked, so if I got a notification that Java or Flash were being blocked that would be a helpful yet easily missed clue that I’m not on the site I think I am.

2) I use an in-browser password management plugin. If my user name and password aren’t already entered in the form (and it wouldn’t be because the domain has to be right for them to enter information), I’ll know something’s up.

Three password management plugins I have used (and like):

Xmarks – it’s decent, I currently use it for bookmark syncing but not password, though I have used it for pasword syncing with no trouble. Xmarks also allows you to view open tabs on other computers a la Weave.

Mozilla Weave – for Firefox only, it syncs passwords, bookmarks, open tabs and history. I stopped using it as it would regularly lock up my netbook during it’s scans/syncs.

LastPass – A fairly secure (I hope) password safe that works with most major browsers, and there’s a bookmarklet to use in browsers that don’t support it.

The sad thing is, I’ve written a lot of posts for this site, they’ve all just been scrapped or left unfinished.

You’d think my traffic stats would be dwindling after this long a period without updating, but not so. They’ve dwindled slightly, but not significantly. Kind of dissolves any motivation to update for the sake of updating.

I’ve stalled out a bit due to a project I’m working on, which itself has stalled out due to being away from home for a few weeks.

Case in point, finally got down for the day, was hoping to get some work done, and just got called away to do something else.

More posts hopefully coming soon,

Lark

I’ve thought about finding a jacket and sewing a pocket into it large enough to store a netbook. I’ve thought about cutting into old jackets so I could run headphones from a breast pocket up to the collar through the inside of the jacket, so I didn’t have to mess with the cord getting in my way, or not being able to find the inside of my ear buds.

So I just saw this article on The Consumerist. About a vest with a pocket inside that the iPad could fit inside. That alone piqued my interest.

So I wandered over to SeV, aka SCOTTEVEST’s website. They don’t just have vests, they have full line of clothes–jackets, shirts, pants, etc. The vests and jackets I looked at have big, (iPad-sized) pockets and lost of smaller pockets for other things.

They call it travel clothing, I just think it’s a convenient-yet-inconspicuous way to carry a netbook around with me. I haven’t bought one yet, though I’m going to order a jacket either tonight or tomorrow. I’m really curious how the weight of a 2lb netbook will be distributed. Probably not too uncomfortable, if at all.

Not only do they have jackets with large pockets for large things, their jackets and vests also have Velcro loops to use running ear bud cables up to the collar. Even better, they say every pocket has a hole at the top of the lining, so you can actually run wires inside of the jacket–though I’d imagine anything thicker than a headphone wire might bulge out suspiciously.

As I said, I’m planing on buying one of these very soon, I’m really curious about the fit once weighted down.

Once I get it in the mail, I’ll try and make a full review.

Till then,

Lark

FULL DISCLOSURE: Sometimes I gush over new or newly-discovered products and services. I know that can make it seem like I’m trying to promote them, but in reality I just have a large well of unbridled enthusiasm for cool new or newly-discovered products and services. I have never taken any money from anyone to talk about a certain product or service. It’s possible some services I talk about may show up on Google Ads in the sidebar, but if/when that happens I have nothing to do with it, and I am completely unaware of it (when I’m logged in as admin I can’t see the ads).

I had my choice of a few netbooks, and I could have waited a bit for the for T101MT, but I didn’t. Why not? Let’s compare:

On aesthetics, the T101MT wins hands down. The back of the screen is glossy, but the bezel and the area around the keyboard are flat. A great improvement over the T91MT’s full glossy finish. I’d rather had a flat finish, the flat, angular 701 is still the snazziest of the Eee PC line in my opinion, but my 901 is glossy, I’ve learned to live with it.

They both have the same screen resolution, though the T101MT’s screen (and keyboard, I’m assuming) is 1″ bigger diagonally.

Battery life? T101MT says 6.5 hours, T91 says 4. Both probably even out around 4 hours. The T101MT has a removable battery. Another win. However, I plan on buying an external battery that also has USB-out, so I can charge my laptop and phone on the go with minimal cords and wall plugs, so it’s not a big deal.

The T91MT has Windows 7 Home Premium. The T101MT will have two models, one with Win7 Starter, and one with Home Premium (and more RAM and possibly a better processor). The cheapest model is estimated to be $500. Windows 7 Starter is crap, and doesn’t have and multitouch functionality (just single-touch), so it’d cost about $80 on top of that $500 to upgrade to Home Premium. Who know what the higher-end model will cost. I don’t know if the T91′s price will drop, or if they’ll stop making it so it’s price will rise, but either way it’s cheaper than the T101MT will be with the Win7 upgraded included.

CPU. The T101MT has a newer, faster processor. The T91MT has an older processor but I’m told it has a better graphics chip than then the T101MT does, even handling HD video better than the T101MT. A bit surprising, but I heard it from a trusted source so I’ll take it as true.

Some people have reported the T91MT is sluggish. I’m planning on putting a fresh install of Windows 7 on the T91MTimmediately, I’m told that speeds it up quite a bit.

Webcam. Both models have a crappy .3 megapixel web camera. No, not ’1.3,’ just ‘.3′. Shameful. Just shameful.

Both have resistive multitouch screens–I’ve heard they’re decent for inking. What’s really great, some apps for the T101MT happen to work on the T91MT as well, adding global palm rejection, among other things. This in particular makes the T91MT a more viable candidate than it was.

So T101MT has better looks, a removable battery, and a faster CPU.

T91MT is cheaper, has a better graphics chip, is 9″ (a form factor I’m used to, but I’ve resigned myself to jump on the 10″ bandwagon eventually), and my heart.

Also, a long time ago I swore I’d buy one.

Really they’re very similar, almost nearly the same device. One’s an inch bigger. The difference in processor speeds probably won’t make that much of a difference in the real world. I do love a flat finish…oh well.

Could I sand down a glossy finish and end up with a flat one? Could I? Hmm…better not.

Lark

-Interestingly, the T91MT got crap publicity and the T101MT is getting quite a lot. Can you guess why? Most articles mentioning it are speculatively comparing it to the iPad. Tech bloggers love talking about the iPad.

-Lots of these people are confused as to whether or not the T101MT has a resistive (pressure-sensitive) or a capacitive (detects human touch) touch screen. One site even said it has a “capacitive resistive” touch screen. I’m pretty sure this confusion comes out of the T101MT being multi-touch. You can have resistive multi-touch, people!!! It’s not even that uncommon. The more recent Toshiba Gigabytes, the Viliv S10 Blade, and the Asus T91MT all have resistive multi-touch screens.

Capacitive screens tend to be more responsive and take a much lighter touch than resistive screens. On the other hand, capacitive styluses aren’t that great, and if you want to do any “inking” you’d want an active digitizer first (like a Wacom pad built into the screen), but after that the next (and far cheaper) choice would probably be a resistive touch screen.

Just wanted to tack on those additional observations,

Lark