In our search to find a way to record our video, our group first opted to try to use the screen capture program Jing, to capture our video. While Jing works exceptionally well at screencaping, it doesn't do very well at taking videos, framerate suffers the longer you record for and when I used it to record a test video of about 15 seconds, the framerate was unbareably low. Second I tried using a program called camstudio. This program proved much more useful than Jing for capturing videos. While the framerate was still a little jerky, it was nowhere near the poor quality of Jing. Our script was also finalized at this time, as well as our deciding of each group members role in the production.
Mike - Cameraman/Scriptwriter
Debbie - Character/Scriptwriter
Brendon - Editing/Character/Scriptwriter
John - Character
Vanessa - Character
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Second Life Phase Two (II)
One of the first things I did when trying to come up with a story was looking up already made ones on youtube. At first I was a little overwhelmed at the complexity of some of the videos I was watching and began to wonder if we could possibly make something as such in such a short period of time. Moving on from this, the group began our task of coming up with a story.
Continuing from our previous idea of walking through the house, we decided to have ourselves lead through the house by one of our avatars, and be killed off in typical horror movie fashion as we progressed. In the end, noone would be left alive and our undead avatars would dance the monster mash. Now that a story has been formulated, the most difficult part, filming and editing it needs to be done.
Continuing from our previous idea of walking through the house, we decided to have ourselves lead through the house by one of our avatars, and be killed off in typical horror movie fashion as we progressed. In the end, noone would be left alive and our undead avatars would dance the monster mash. Now that a story has been formulated, the most difficult part, filming and editing it needs to be done.
Second Life Phase Two
During class time, my group decided that we should start working on our project rather than just playing around as we had in the last class. However, after a short time, we all ended up doing our own thing, exploring the virtual world. During my own exploration, I came across several Halloween themed areas, my favorite being a theme park with rideable rides.
After searching for a while, our group came up with a few areas which we decided we would use in our project. The main area of interest was a haunted house that contained scenes from several horror movies including The Ring, The Shining, and Jaws. At first we discussed simply walking through the house, but as our group leader pointed out, we needed a story.
After searching for a while, our group came up with a few areas which we decided we would use in our project. The main area of interest was a haunted house that contained scenes from several horror movies including The Ring, The Shining, and Jaws. At first we discussed simply walking through the house, but as our group leader pointed out, we needed a story.
Second Life Phase One (II)
After getting used to how to control my avatar and configuring him to look how I wanted, I decided it would be a good idea to learn how to move quickly from place to place. After messing around with the controls for a while, I learned that you can teleport to various areas in the world by using the world menu and clicking where you want to teleport. This makes it exceptionally easy to explore the world in a timely manner.
As I explored the world, I came across a number of areas that were restricted due to my "maturity rating". I can only imagine what kind of...activities occur within such areas but I'm not about to spend real money to find out if I'm right or not. Furthermore, you can spend real money to obtain money in the virtual world, something I can't imagine ever doing. I find it extremely hard to believe that anyone would spend real money on a game like this, but I suppose if it's an option, and the game remains (for the most part) free to play, someone must be paying.
As I explored the world, I came across a number of areas that were restricted due to my "maturity rating". I can only imagine what kind of...activities occur within such areas but I'm not about to spend real money to find out if I'm right or not. Furthermore, you can spend real money to obtain money in the virtual world, something I can't imagine ever doing. I find it extremely hard to believe that anyone would spend real money on a game like this, but I suppose if it's an option, and the game remains (for the most part) free to play, someone must be paying.
Second Life Phase One
In class everyone created avatars in the virtual world Second Life. In the virtual world you can interact with numerous areas, encompassing anything from haunted houses to nightclubs, to seaside getaways. Inhabiting these areas are users from all over the world.
The first thing I did when entering the virtual world was learn how to control my avatar. This was fairly easy thanks to the easy to follow and readily available guides found throughout the area in the virtual world where you start out. I also found out how to change my characters basic appearance like the size and shape of their various body parts. I had fun with this and made my character as ugly as possible.
The first thing I did when entering the virtual world was learn how to control my avatar. This was fairly easy thanks to the easy to follow and readily available guides found throughout the area in the virtual world where you start out. I also found out how to change my characters basic appearance like the size and shape of their various body parts. I had fun with this and made my character as ugly as possible.
Monday, October 25, 2010
Managing Your Messages
As you receive more and more emails, the need to have some form of organization will become apparent. Thankfully, most email clients have a number of tools you can use to help keep track of things in an orderly fashion. In this blog we'll be using Windows mail as our example client.
Now that you have decided to take on the task of organizing your messages, you must first create groups to sort them into, called folders. Once they are created you can name them, usually something general yet meaningful, so that you can easily find a particular message in them. To begin, right click on the Inbox folder and select the New Folder command. You can now enter a name for the folder and select it's location, in this example we are placing the new folder inside the inbox folder.
In order to move a message from the inbox into the subfolder we just created, click the message you desire to move, and drag it to the folder you wish for it to reside in. When you open the folder, the message will now be displayed inside it. Clicking back to your inbox will verify that the message is no longer displayed there.
One of the useful features of Windows Mail is that you can instruct it to organize messages automatically base on a message rule. For example, you can have messages from one or more particular contacts be delegated directly into a specific folder. To set up message rules, click the Tools command, highlight Message Rules, and click New Message Rule. In this dialog box, you can select the conditions and set the actions to be taken when messages fall under a certain rule.
When organizing your messages, you will no doubt come across messages you no longer need. In order to delete such a message or messages, simply select them and press the delete button. You could also highlight them and press delete. Once deleted, messages will be moved to the Deleted Items folder. Items in the Deleted Items folder can be moved from the folder into others. Once they are deleted from the Deleted Items folder however, they are gone for good.
Another useful feature of Windows Mail is its ability to flag and watch messages. Flagging messages that require attention in the future is extremely useful in that it keeps you from forgetting to respond or perform actions dictated in a message. Oftentimes, many messages will be sent in conversation, to watch mark these as such, select the message, click Message on the toolbar, and click Watch Conversation.
A final useful feature of Windows Mail is the ability to sort messages by priority. Mail allows you to assign a Low, Normal, or High priority level to your messages. By default, all messages are Normal priority. When using High priority, a red exclamation mark will appear next to messages marked as needing immediate attention.
Now that you have decided to take on the task of organizing your messages, you must first create groups to sort them into, called folders. Once they are created you can name them, usually something general yet meaningful, so that you can easily find a particular message in them. To begin, right click on the Inbox folder and select the New Folder command. You can now enter a name for the folder and select it's location, in this example we are placing the new folder inside the inbox folder.
In order to move a message from the inbox into the subfolder we just created, click the message you desire to move, and drag it to the folder you wish for it to reside in. When you open the folder, the message will now be displayed inside it. Clicking back to your inbox will verify that the message is no longer displayed there.
When organizing your messages, you will no doubt come across messages you no longer need. In order to delete such a message or messages, simply select them and press the delete button. You could also highlight them and press delete. Once deleted, messages will be moved to the Deleted Items folder. Items in the Deleted Items folder can be moved from the folder into others. Once they are deleted from the Deleted Items folder however, they are gone for good.
Another useful feature of Windows Mail is its ability to flag and watch messages. Flagging messages that require attention in the future is extremely useful in that it keeps you from forgetting to respond or perform actions dictated in a message. Oftentimes, many messages will be sent in conversation, to watch mark these as such, select the message, click Message on the toolbar, and click Watch Conversation.
A final useful feature of Windows Mail is the ability to sort messages by priority. Mail allows you to assign a Low, Normal, or High priority level to your messages. By default, all messages are Normal priority. When using High priority, a red exclamation mark will appear next to messages marked as needing immediate attention.
Monday, October 18, 2010
Communicating Online Through Email
Email is one of the most common means of transmitting information between people in today's world. The main benefits of email are its speed of delivery, its low cost, accessibility, convenience, and ease of use. When sending an email, the first thing one must know is the email address of the recipient. Each address is unique to its user and so extra care must be taken when entering the address of a recipient. An email address is composed of two components, a user ID and a host name. The user ID is a unique identifier of the recipient; the MBOLDT in mboldt@gmail.com for example. The host name is the name of the server where the email accoutnt is located; the GMAIL.COM in mboldt@gmail.com.
An email client is a program that is used specifically for the purpose of creating, sending, and receiving emails. Examples of email clients include Microsoft Outlook, Windows Mail, Windows Live Mail, Opera Mail, and Mozilla Thunderbird. On top of creating, sending, and receiving messages, most email clients include ways to organize received and sent messages in files.
In order to initate the creating of an email, first you must open your client. Once the program has been opened you must select "create new message", "compose mail", or something to that effect, the exact wording varies depending on the client.
In order to send an email, one must understand the functions of the tools available.
When one has finished filling in the necessary fields, clicking the "send" button will whisk the message away to its destination. Clicking "save" will save it in a folder for future sending or editing. "Discard" will delete the message.
One of the interesting features of most email clients is their ability to allow the user to include a signature at the end of their emails. In order to add a signature in gmail, from your inbox you click the "settings" link. From their scroll down until you see a text box marked "signature". Type the desired signature text in the box and hit save. Now any message you send will feature your signature at the end.
An email client is a program that is used specifically for the purpose of creating, sending, and receiving emails. Examples of email clients include Microsoft Outlook, Windows Mail, Windows Live Mail, Opera Mail, and Mozilla Thunderbird. On top of creating, sending, and receiving messages, most email clients include ways to organize received and sent messages in files.
In order to initate the creating of an email, first you must open your client. Once the program has been opened you must select "create new message", "compose mail", or something to that effect, the exact wording varies depending on the client.
One of the interesting features of most email clients is their ability to allow the user to include a signature at the end of their emails. In order to add a signature in gmail, from your inbox you click the "settings" link. From their scroll down until you see a text box marked "signature". Type the desired signature text in the box and hit save. Now any message you send will feature your signature at the end.
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
My Major and Future Plans
My Major
My major is the web development track of Digital Media. Thus far I have taken courses in Javascript, (x)html, and CSS. I will hopefully be taking classes in my final semester on C++ and Flash as well. I hope to make a living designing websites for people.
How Can Technology Help or Enhance It?
Using the material learned so far in this class I plan on making better use of my time when searching for information and using screen captures and markups to greater effect in order to give clients more control over specific fields and areas of their sites. Furthermore, I hope to learn more about RSS feeds and how to integrate them into websites in order to make sure my clients stay up to date on what is going on with their sites.
My major is the web development track of Digital Media. Thus far I have taken courses in Javascript, (x)html, and CSS. I will hopefully be taking classes in my final semester on C++ and Flash as well. I hope to make a living designing websites for people.
How Can Technology Help or Enhance It?
Using the material learned so far in this class I plan on making better use of my time when searching for information and using screen captures and markups to greater effect in order to give clients more control over specific fields and areas of their sites. Furthermore, I hope to learn more about RSS feeds and how to integrate them into websites in order to make sure my clients stay up to date on what is going on with their sites.
Thursday, October 7, 2010
Media Searches and You!
One of the most useful features of search engines are their ability to search for media such as video and photos. This is especially useful for use in projects or papers that require pictures or videos because it allows the user to quickly and easily find material that they can integrate into their projects. It is important to note that when using material from the internet it is imperative that one cites where they got it from.
To begin searching, simply direct your browser towards your favorite search engine. In this example the engine is Yahoo. To search for images on Yahoo, simply click the "images" tab, type what you would like to find pictures of, and either hit enter or click the search button. For videos, click the "more" tab. A dropdown menu will appear and from it you can select "videos" amongst a host of other options. Click "videos" and type your criteria followed by enter or a click of the search button.
After searching for IMAGES, you will be taken to a page displaying the results of your search. You can enlarge any of the results simply by clicking them. On this page there are also a number of tools you can use to refine your search. At the top of the page, directly under the search box, there is a button marked "filters". Clicking this will bring up a menu listing various filters to narrow down your search results.
Below the filters button, related search items will be listed for your consideration.
Video search results will be displayed in a similar fashion. The only difference is that the refinement tools will be optimized for video. You will be able to narrow video results down by length for example.
To begin searching, simply direct your browser towards your favorite search engine. In this example the engine is Yahoo. To search for images on Yahoo, simply click the "images" tab, type what you would like to find pictures of, and either hit enter or click the search button. For videos, click the "more" tab. A dropdown menu will appear and from it you can select "videos" amongst a host of other options. Click "videos" and type your criteria followed by enter or a click of the search button.
After searching for IMAGES, you will be taken to a page displaying the results of your search. You can enlarge any of the results simply by clicking them. On this page there are also a number of tools you can use to refine your search. At the top of the page, directly under the search box, there is a button marked "filters". Clicking this will bring up a menu listing various filters to narrow down your search results.
Video search results will be displayed in a similar fashion. The only difference is that the refinement tools will be optimized for video. You will be able to narrow video results down by length for example.
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
Searching the web and you
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