Compare Suite: Files And Folders Comparison Tool (Read more...)

One common task that most of us need to do is to compare the content of files and folders, to know what was added or modified, when, and how. Compare Suite is a software that helps you to do this.

The usefulness of this kind of applications is proved, for example to compare a backup copy of a folder of previous versions of the software that you're developing or a previously stored version of your website. The application can compare these folders and show the differences visually, if there's some.

For programmers and webmasters, this is a very useful utility, but also for designers, and for everyone that uses to save copies of his/her work and want to know what was added or changed.

Compare Suite supports lots of file formats, such as Rich Text Format, Rar, Pascal files... It can also compare open office documents (Word, Excel, etc), and many more.

And now, in version 6.0, it can also synchronize directories. Synchronization is useful when you have a folder for backups that you want to update often: just run Compare Suite to do this, and save time and work.
Folder synchronization can also be configured to merge the different contents , not only synchronize.

It is specially useful to activate the background coloring for folder comparison, so you can notice the changes quickly. In addition, a different icon is shown for modified or deleted (or non existent) files or folders.

Another feature: document audit, that can be configured  to choose what changes will be applied or not, in plain text files.

File comparison can be done by different criteria, for example, by keywords used, or by characters or words.

http://www.comparesuite.com/

MixED Meeting: ABNet, February 6 (Read more...)

In a previous article I show you the video of Erny's Matrix, that showcased a gallery of worlds made with VRML.

MixED is now focusing on showing some galleries that are already on the Internet and you can see also another galleries on their site, like the one that Raging Storm did. Read also the interview. Here's a video of his project, and you can check others in MixED's site.

MixED will also host a meeting on ABNet, on Friday evening, February 6, 2009. ABNet is an alternative free client and server solution for multiuser VRML worlds, developed by Rick Kimball. Don't Miss it!

MixED has provided instructions about ABNet that you can check here.

Free High Resolution Textures (Yes, For Commercial Usage Too) (Read more...)

CG Textures is a resource where you can find many high quality textures in big sizes, FOR FREE. You're allowed to use them in renders, games, or any project.

The only thing that you can't do is to re-distribute them. You may use them for commercial and personal projects.

This is important: you can use them in commercial projects, but not in Open Source projects because the licenses are not compatible.

There's a daily quota for download that is rather high (15MB), and is reset each day. You can also become a member and have a bigger quota and access to bigger texture sizes, and sky panoramas up to 15000x3800 pixels.

http://www.cgtextures.com/

3D Models, Embedded Anywhere on the Web (Read more...)

Montreal, Quebec; January 28, 2009 – Spread 3D art across the internet: having become the destination site for 3D artists looking to show off their artwork in 3D, Presto3D.com extends these frontiers by allowing 3D previews to be embedded anywhere on the web. 

Like on YouTube or many other websites, anyone can embed a preview of a 3D model on any website or blog.  The preview will appear just as it does on Presto3D.com, and contain links back to other work by that artist.

“This will be an excellent tool for 3D artists to get their work out there, across the web. Artists can show off their 3D artwork in 3D on their personal pages, and have a direct link to where interested clients can buy their work.”
-Joshua Koopferstock, Marketing Coordinator of Feeling Software

The new embedding feature is available in the latest update to Presto3D.com, released today.  An example of an embedded preview can be seen at www.ENLIGHTEN3D.com.  Artists may choose whether or not to allow previews of their models to be embedded.

Presto3D can be visited at www.presto3d.com.

About Presto3D.com:

Presto3D.com is a marketplace for digital 3D models.  Models can be submitted for sale by anyone, and are sold royalty free, with the artist earning a commission on each sale.

About Feeling Software:

Feeling Software, founded by brothers Christian and Guillaume Laforte in 2005, is specialized in 3D graphics software and computer vision.  Prior to creating Presto3D, Feeling Software completed contracts for industry leaders such as Google, Adobe, and Sony in the field of 3D graphics.

http://www.FeelingSoftware.com

ReactionGrid And Their Retro Fright Nigths (Read more...)

ReactionGrid is an OpenSim grid. For those not familiar with OpenSim, it is similar to Second Life.

ReactionGrid is having a big growth in the last times, and uses to host many events for businesses and software developers.

But for all publics, they also host the Retro Fright Night, a very fun event that consists in watching movies together in-world, and throwing tomatoes at the screen and making comments.

The next movie will be House on Haunted Hill (1959), with Vincent Price, and will be on ReactionGrid - Tarzan Sim. Check the event on the Association of Virtual Worlds:

http://network.associationofvirtualworlds.com/xn/detail/2008361:Event:111392

It will be on Saturday Jan 31 on ReactionGid Tarzan Sim 4pm PST - 7pm EST - Midnight GMT.

If you are on the Association of Virtual Worlds, don't hesitate to join ReactionGridizens, the group for all the citizens of ReactionGrid:

http://network.associationofvirtualworlds.com/group/reactiongridizens

News Machine Gun: OpenSims List, Zork Returns, And More (Read more...)

Brainstorming Tool In OpenSim
Virtual Worlds News has published a very interesting article about the use of OpenSim for Brainstorming. Here you can see a video showing the analyzed tool:

Make your themes for iGoogle
Now you can have iGoogle customized with your image and colors. Google Operating System has published an article that is worth reading on editors to customize iGoogle. Anyway, you can also use the default tool.

Openlife will have currency
Openlife, alternative to Second Life, will also have a currency. Read it on MetaverseJournal.

List of OpenSims
With the emergence of so many OpenSim grids, we may need a list to find them all. Here's one, maintained by Mo Hax, and that will be worth following, as he will update it constantly to keep track of the existing OpenSim grids.

Moondus video preview
This is a video-preview of Moondus 3D TLC, the new Immersive Internet Platform for Training, Learning & Collaboration, that has been published recently. Definitively worth watching if you're on these issues.

Zork Returns
The old adventure game returns as a browser-based MMO. Read this article, and visit the game's website to sign for the beta.

Kambi VRML Game engine
Kambi VRML Game Engine continues improving and now includes demos for ambient occlusion and shadow fields in the engine sources. If you didn't, have a look to our interview to its creator and look the screenshots and videos.

12 Sites To Find Java Code Examples (Read more...)

This is a collection of some useful sites that you may not know. They contain code snippets and may help in coding and learning Java.

Photo by fleurdumal71

RoseIndia
http://www.roseindia.net/java/
Perfect for beginners but also contains advanced Java lessons, tutorials, and lots of code examples and complete small programs.

Java-Examples
http://www.java-examples.com/
Helps understand functionality of various Java classes and methods as well as various programming techniques in a simple way. You just search for the Java class you want the example for.

Snipplr
http://snipplr.com/
Public source code repository that gives you a place to store, organize and share code snippets with other programmers.

Leepoint
http://leepoint.net/notes-java/index.html
Lots of very well written tutorials covering many Java topics with code examples.

StackOverflow
http://stackoverflow.com/
Collaboratively edited question and answer site for programmers — regardless of platform or language. Of course, Java is one of those languages.

Photo by Cockneck

Dzone Snippets
http://snippets.dzone.com/tag/java
The Java section of Dzone Snippets. Dzone is a social site for developers, the best out there for us.

Codase
http://www.codase.com/
A source code search engine. You can select on which programming language you want to search.

Koders
http://www.koders.com/
Search engine for open source and other downloadable code, that contains over 1 billion lines of code within its repository.

ByteMyCode
http://www.bytemycode.com/tags/tag/Java/
Social site to share code, with a Java section, amongst many other languages. Users vote the best ones.

Sun Wiki
http://wikis.sun.com/display/code/Home
The Sun's Java Wiki that contains lots of code examples.

JavaDB
http://www.javadb.com/
Provides source code examples in the Java language as well as other Java specific resources.

JavaFAQ
http://www.javafaq.nu/java-example.html
A very big portal for Java that has examples for many packages and classes, organized in search engine and in a directory.

And A Bonus: KodeJava
Lots of Java examples.
http://www.kodejava.org/

Free 3D Viewer And Converter (Read more...)

Biturn is a lightweight tool for viewing 3D models in many popular file formats like OBJ and LWO, DirectX, and many others like Milkshape, Truespace, Rhinoceros, Blitz3D, Halflife, Quake...

Sometimes one needs a fast way to preview and browse your 3D models. This little freeware program is a good solution for visualization and conversion.

Biturn is free, and you can get it here. It can also convert between formats, and rotate and zoo the object to watch it better.

Biturn has solved my needs of a lightweight 3D viewer for my OBJ models, and is really simple to use.

Here's a screenshot of Biturn showing one of the fishes of Toucan Virtual Museum:

Of course, there may be other alternatives, some free and others commercial and affordable. Feel free to suggest yours.

Erny At MixED (Read more...)

MixED has featured the works of some popular and skilled VRML builders, including Erny.  Here's the video of his stunning Matrix. Entering Erny's Matrix of worlds is something that no one should miss.

If you don't have the Blaxxun plugin for VRML, you can get it in Revemonde. Read this article.

Here is one of the materials published in MixED, a video of the Matrix:

Don't miss watching Erny's page on MixED, and also all the other sections, all of them full of interest. MixED is showcasing most of the most remarkable activity of VRML worldbuilders, and becoming a reference point for us.

Nurien Software Secures Additional $10M in Series A-1 Funding (Read more...)

Nurien Software, a leading developer and operator of social networking and online gaming services, today announced that it has closed US$10 million in Series A-1 funding from four leading U.S. and China VC firms: Northern Light Venture Capital (NLVC), Globespan Capital Partners, New Enterprise Associates (NEA), and QiMing Venture Partners.

Nurien will use the funds to advance the development of its unique social networking platform and to expand its online gaming offerings. In a new category of social networking services, Nurien’s platform allows users to express themselves and interact with each other like never before. Users can create one-of-a-kind 3D avatars and objects, share photos, videos and messages; and also participate in social applications created by Nurien including Mstar (music and dance game), Runway (fashion show application), and QuizStar (casual online game) all within their own 3D rooms. Launches are planned for international markets in 2009.

"We’ve seen great responses from beta users over the past few months, longer log-in times and a perfect balance of female and male players unseen on most other platforms.
We’re excited to be moving into 2009 with backing and support from such top-tier investors. With the funding, we’ll be able to perfect our platform and bring on more content, game and customization features in the next year.(...)
Nurien is in a unique position to revolutionize social networking as we know it today. We’re excited going into 2009."

Taehoon Kim, co-founder of Nurien Software.

Nurien is a new virtual worlds platform that makes intensive use of Nvidia Geforce 8 Series to show stunning avatars, animation and graphics.

Founded in 2005, Nurien Software is a leading developer and operator of next-generation social networking services and online game service platforms. Nurien Software enables users to truly express their individual identities by offering powerful user-created 3D objects and avatars that interact and network amongst each other via virtual worlds and the web. Additional information about Nurien Software can be obtained at www.nurien.com.

Here's a promotional video of Nurien:

Twinity Screenshot Tour (Read more...)

Twinity is growing day by day, and keeps a very active agenda of events, in which you can participate and take part in the virtual life of this universe.

Twinity purpose is to become a mirror world that simulates the real world, with sceneries that will eventually replicate all the biggest metropolis in the Earth.

These are some screenshots that I took while roaming through one of the welcome areas.

Don't hesitate and go to try Twinity. You'll find many things to do, and great opportunities to have fun with the many inhabitants of this virtual world.

  
Twinity is full of warm details

The entrance area uses to be full of newcomers, and is a great place to meet people 

The clouds and the sky 

Twinity client software can record video and take screenshots

Stunning effects of sunlight

Sun rays over us all, while looking at help screens

They felt much better when they saw that I was alive :)

The event calendar of Twinity uses to be full. You'll always have things to do

View of one of the buildings

The Three Web3D Portals (Read more...)

Web3D Consortium: The Consortium developed both VRML and X3D languages and supports great tools like Xj3D, has support forums that are really worth joining. Hosts all the official docs for the language specifications and showcases the most remarkable works based on X3D.


Web3d France: The community of French VRML and 3D artists is really big. For that, it's not strange at all that one of the best resources for Web 3D is totally in French, and it's Web3D-France. Contains tons of resources in French to learn and master VRML and X3D.


Mac Web3d: Mac users can get informed about all the available software, resources and everything that is built for Macintosh that has something to do with the Web 3D.

Where to sell your 3D models (Read more...)

Here you are some places in which you can sell the 3D models that you have built, and get some $ back for your effort.

The 3D Studio
The3dStudio.com is one of the most veteran and largest 3D resource sites on the Internet, in which you can buy and sell many kinds of things that every 3D modeler needs.

Renderosity
Renderosity is the ultimate resource for 3D artists. Here they can find all kinds of textures, 3D models, brushes for Photoshop...
The prices are cheap or reasonable, and the volume of traffic is high, so if you offer quality models you will surely get your reward.
The submissions are approved by hand, one by one, so all the content reaches high quality.


Presto 3D
Presto3D is a marketplace for 3D models that was already reviewed here in Hiperia3D News, and has a great respect for creator's rights.

Flat Pyramid
It has 3D Models, Tutorials, 3D Plugins, 3D Software, Textures... And you can sell all these kind of things here.

Pycomall
Customers can purchase 3D Models, Flash Sources, Web Templates, Vector Art, Logos, Icons, Art Sources, Ebook, Mobile Contents, Software or any type of digital content. And you can publish your digital content of all these types and make money.

TurboSquid
TurboSquid has over 1.5 million registered users, and a huge collection of 3D models, that have been downloaded more than 14 million times.

The Rebirth Of Lively (Read more...)

Lively, that has officially disappeared, has returned, in the shape of a Newlively.

I knew this through Len Bullard's blog. Lively users may be happy because some people have created a Lively clone, that tries to be as much similar to it as possible.

Not sure of the legal implications that this may have, or if Google may be against this (Newlively may have to change their name, logo and colors in some future), but for now this is a great news for Lively users.

In their FAQ, they say:

(...) "we have only achieved implementing the main functions of Lively. These functions enable users to create their own rooms, to purchase household furniture to decorate their rooms, to choose an avatar and to change their clothes" (....)

It seems that these are days of rebirths, first the Blaxxun Outers, and now Lively.

So here it is: http://www.newlively.com/

Web Discoveries (Read more...)

I think we could start the new year sharing some good things that I've found while browsing, so this is better than just saying "happy New Year".

A 3D Desktop For Your PC
3DNA Makes possible for you to have a 3D desktop, that is like a virtual world with links to your applications. There is a freeware version and a paid version that is inexpensive (only $29.99).

Share Your 3D Models
3DVIA is a website in which you can share your 3D models under Creative Commons licenses. There are more than 6,000 models.

Chatbot That Learns
This site contains many chatbots that learn as you talk with them.

Reduce Firefox Memory Usage
This is an effective tutorial to reduce the use of RAM memory by Firefox while keeping the performance. I use it in all my computers. Follow it without making mistakes and you won't repent.

Cross-post Your Koinup Pictures To Flickr
If you are user of Koinup, you can follow this tutorial so when you upload pics there they are also automatically sent to FLickr.

Who Is Like Your Avatar?
Second Arts did an interesting experiment posting an avatar to a service that compares faces. Do the experiment with yours, and you'll get surprising results.

The 3D iPhone
MarketSaw already introduced us to some real 3D applications on the iPhone, and you should not miss this other revolutionary system to watch real 3D on the iPhone without any special glasses.

Paint Your 3D Models
This is a video tutorial that shows you how to paint the 3D models that you did with Shapeways.

Community For OpenLifeGrid
You should check this community for the enhance of the OpenLifeGrid, that is becoming an excellent resource: OpenLife Xchange.

Augmented Reality Video Playlist 
Gaby K. Benkwitz, Metaverse Evangelist, owns a very interesting augmented reality video playlist in YouTube. All of the videos are worth checking. Here's an example:

Online Whiteboard
Dabbleboard is a virtual whiteboard that requires no signup to test and is free. Fun to use. It allows online collaboration.

Philip Rosedale Talk
This is a 28 minutes talk in which Philip Rosedale shares his thoughts about virtual worlds and Second Life. I found it in Second Life Arts.

Process Explorer
This is a good tool for advanced users. It identifies running processes in your Windows PC better than the default, so you may know when a strange application like an adware or similar is running.

Twitter From Second Life
Use Twitter from inside Second Life using this great free script, that you can customize to your needs.

Second Life Map
This is a giant map of Second Life watched from the sky. You can zoom a bit just clicking a sector. It's fun to search for your home island.

Cooliris: 3D Web Gallery
Turns your browser into a 3D browsing machine, so you can explore photos and videos in a 3D gallery.

 

Tutorials For Blender
I found this collection of excellent tutorials for Blender. If you like this application, don't miss the book by Alan Brito.

Why PS Home Makes The Difference
This article enumerates the reasons why someone may find attractive a platform like PS Home, plus links useful resources to read and watch more.

Just Leap In In Public Beta
Virtual Worlds News just published this. Here you are an opportunity to test this new platform and see if it fits your needs.

Myrl Connect
Myrl Connect is a lightweight application that allows you to link up your avatar with your Myrl web profile. Each Virtual World has a specific application. If you're in Myrl, don't hesitate to test it. If you're not... why? I can't believe it... Go, go, join now. And get the app here.

Rebirth For Your Blaxxun Worlds (Read more...)

The community of Revemonde, that hosts many of the worlds of the best VRML worldbuilders, offers a free server to which you can connect your worlds, and take them online again. This server has been called Outside.

http://outside.revemonde.net/

As the Blaxxun free test server was taken down and no one knows if it will be ever be working again, Outside has come to generously replace it.

To connect your world, you just need to edit the first lines in your .bxx file:

server outside.revemonde.net
port 4000

In the main page of Outside, you can also explore other worlds, access the forum, and download the Blaxxun Contact client software.

Freebies For January: Theater For AW, Michael And Victoria For Poser And DAZ Studio (Read more...)

Free Theater For ActiveWorlds
MaxPoly of Virlands Systems offers you a theater for ActiveWorlds, so you can organize theatrical productions with ease. You can check the free product here.

DAZ's Michael And Victoria 4 For Free
These two top models of the virtual are now free. Michael 4 is known for being the most versatile male model for Poser and DAZ Studio. Victoria 4 is the top model of this kind of applications.

Both are free in their base versions, as well as DAZ Studio, a program that is similar to Poser, and was already mentioned in our list of freeware applications for 3D.

You can use these free models to render digital art works.

Jamendo, Music For Your 3D Worlds And Projects (Read more...)

Music for your web page, commercial or personal project, and virtual world, for free, as long as you recognize the authorship.

You may have noticed that there are some minor changes in our sidebar and articles. One of them is the addition of a text that says "Listen to Ehma music while you read" just below the categories that are shown under the title.

That text link opens a Jamendo music player that plays an album (15 court-metrages) by Ehma, the artistic name of the compositor Emmanuel Codden, who releases his works under Creative Commons License for commercial or personal usage.

There are many authors in Jamendo. Most of them release their music under CC license for personal use, and others also for commercial use.

If the CC license doesn't allow commercial use, you, as user, can copy these albums for free, download them, distribute them... and if you're a musician, make your own versions. The only requirement is that you recognize the author linking to them, or showing them in some way.

If the CC allows commercial use, you may incorporate these musics in your commercial products, videos, presentations, etc., as long as you recognize the author in a visible way.

Another use of this resource offered by Jamendo is to use these music as background soundtrack for your virtual worlds or for virtual jukeboxes. Just be sure to add a link to the Jamendo profiles or web pages of the musicians, and a sign or notice somewhere that shows that they're the authors.

A Bunch Of Brainy Sites (Read more...)

These are sites that are named "brainy" because they make you think about things that are unusual, exciting, or just plain fun for all those who enjoy squeezing their brain mass. These are my top 5:

A VR Geek Blog: This blog shows the experience of its author testing, using and geeking with virtual reality gadgets and machines. A real vision of virtual reality from inside.

VRoot: A blog that focuses strongly in virtual reality and brings you the most geeky news about it, so you read the vanguard in these technologies.

TerraNova: A really brainy site whose main virtue is to provoke debate amongst its readers and collaborators. All those who publish articles there are very reputed people in the virtual worlds and multiuser games business.

Enlighten3D: An expert blog on the topic of computer vision and 3D graphics, always full with thrilling articles that will make you think.

RealityPrime: Avi Bar-Zeev has sixteen years professional experience in 3D entertainment and visual simulation, and blogs his reflections about many interesting topics, enlightening our minds.