I subscribe to a lot of groups in Second Life so I can get notification of upcoming events. One thing I’ve noticed is that some people write more effective group announcements than others. Here are some tips for writing your event announcement in a way that will encourage more people to attend.
Source code is a computer file that contains a set of instructions that tells the computer what to do.
Source code is written in one of many “computer languages”. A computer language is an artificial language that allows people to write instructions in a way that they can understand, yet still easily convert the instructions to “machine code” that the computer can understand. A special kind of program that converts source code to machine code is called a “compiler”. Some languages convert source code to an intermediate form and execute it a little bit at a time, instead of converting the entire source code file in advance. A special kind of program that does this instead is called an “interpreter”.
New to 3D? Make sure you know which axis is “up” with this primer on 3D coordinate systems. (more…)
If you want to excel as a 3D artist, one of the best things you can do is to learn how to draw.
Most experts recommend gesture drawing and life drawing as the most important exercises. I’d agree, and I don’t think you can ever get enough practice at either. Even if you don’t think you are any good at it, you should still do it. Drawing is an important exercise in “visually dissecting” an object. It’s not about what goes on the paper; it is about learning to be observant.
In 1936, Alan Turing conceived of a machine that helped lay the groundwork for modern computing. These extremely simple machines, dubbed Turing machines, are in theory able to simulate the logic of any known computer that can possibly be constructed. While Turing originally conceived of his machine only as a thought exercise and never constructed it, it is possible to build and program a simple version of Turing’s computer for only a few dollars worth of basic office supplies.
This is a fun afternoon project for all ages, and a great way to introduce both kids and adults to the fundamentals of computer programming.