IN COMPUTER SOFTWARE

Ibm Rational Functional Tester

2009-02-26T05:15:00.000-08:00

Rational® Functional Tester is an automated, functional testing and regression testing tool.

Provides testers with automated testing capabilities for functional testing, regression testing, GUI testing and data-driven testing.

* Provides testers with automated capabilities for data-driven and keyword testing
* Offers testers a choice of scripting language and industrial-strength editor: Java in Eclipse® or Microsoft® Visual Basic .NET® in Visual Studio .NET - for test authoring and customization
* Supports custom controls through proxy SDK (Java/.Net)
* Provides definition and creation of automated keywords that can be leveraged by both manual and automated functional tests
* Includes ScriptAssure™ technology and pattern-matching capabilities to improve test script resiliency for frequent application user interface changes
* Supports version control to enable parallel development of test scripts and concurrent usage by geographically distributed teams
* Provides automated testing, functional testing, and regression testing of Web-based. .Net, Java, 3270 (zSeries™) and 5250 (iSeries™), Siebel, and SAP ®applications

Operating systems supported: Linux

QACampus evolved from the need of a center, which caters to all needs of students interested in software testing as well as working professionals related to software testing.

Our founders - some of the brightest minds from the industry recognized that the rapidly changing technology landscape would require people to learn new skills or continuously enhance their skills in software testing to sustain and grow faster in the industry.

QACampus is committed to its role in helping individuals or corporate in areas of software testing through its innovative programmes and outstanding faculty.

All the courses in QACampus have been constituted towards the needs of industry. While we will continue to emphasize academics, we are also aware that our customer; the individual student; will demand competencies that enhance employment and livelihood opportunities. Clearly the perspective will be to continuously demonstrate the academic as well as the cost benefit outcomes of the course options.

Top Tips on How to Save Money on Your Software Spending

2009-01-18T01:02:00.000-08:00

Here are tips on how to cut your software spending.

Don’t Buy Software Suites
Don’t buy a software suite thinking that you may need to use some of the programs in future. For example, if you’ll only be using Microsoft Word, don’t buy the Microsoft Office suite. Only buy software you need in the here and now.

Don’t Buy a Computer with Preinstalled Software

If you’re in the market for a new computer, don’t buy a unit with preinstalled software unless you really need it. Why buy a new computer with Windows Vista when you already have a licensed copy of Windows XP? Recently, many users bought computers with pre-installed Vista only to have them uninstalled from their computers and revert to Windows XP.

Use What is Already in Your Operating System
If you want to edit a video, try using Windows Movie Maker first. If you want to write a letter and nothing more, try Wordpad. If you want to crop a picture, don’t go out and buy Photoshop. Try Paint. Explore fully the programs already in your operating system and ask how you can put them to full use.

Use Freeware Alternatives

Before you go out and buy an expensive piece of software, ask whether there’s a freeware alternative. If you plan to buy Photoshop, why not consider GIMP? If you plan to buy Camtasia Studio, why not consider Freez Screen Capture? If you need Microsoft Office, why not try Open Office? Don’t fall for hype. More often than not, freeware alternatives can perform as well as paid versions. Check out freeware forums and reputable websites for advice on suitable freeware alternatives. You can find plenty of tutorials over at Youtube to help you use the freeware programs.

Use Trial Versions

If you are only going to work on a short-term project, say for a week or two, seek out fully-functional trial versions of the software you need. Cutting-edge software like Dreamweaver, Camtasia Studio and Photoshop have 30-day trial periods.

Use Free Old Versions

If you look around a bit, you can find software companies giving away old versions of their software for free. Serif, for instance, gives away five fully-functional previous versions of their software.

Do You Really Need The Latest Version

If you’re considering purchasing the latest version of a software, ask yourself whether you can buy a previous version that meet your needs. More often that an older version will do the job. Check out Amazon and eBay for earlier versions of the software you have in mind. If you look carefully, you can really land a bargain.

Check Out Your Licenses

Some software licenses allow you to install programs in more than one computer. What’s the point of purchasing an extra license when you need only one? Also companies like Microsoft have provisions for academic and domestic licenses which cost lower then retail licenses. For instance, if you have a child studying full-time, you qualify.

QuickBooks Simple Start

2009-01-18T00:59:00.000-08:00

Are you still using pen and paper for your accounting? Or have you never progressed beyond spreadsheets? If that’s so, it’s time to change. And change isn’t going to cost you anything as far as QuickBooks Simple Start Free Edition accounting software is concerned. QuickBooks Simple Start saves you time as you need only to enter your data once. With a few clicks of your mouse, you can generate the accounting report you want.

Haven’t used accounting software before? Wondering whether you can cope? Not to worry because QuickBooks has an easy guide on how you could put together accounting transactions. With the help of QuickBooks, you can create invoices, prepare cost estimates for your customers and even take care of your sales and tax reporting.

You’re put through a quick interview after you launch QuickBooks Simple Start. This is where you set up important information pertaining to your business. There are instructional videos to give you a good grounding before you start with the software. A visual guide helps you find a specific type of transaction and points you to which category you ought to put it in.

Where do you put invoices, sales or deposits? The visual aid points you towards `Money In.’ Similarly, expenses, refunds and checks will go under `Money Out’. The `Get Started Now’ feature on the start page gives you adequate guidance. If you are lost, there are tutorials to help you along.

The software is primarily designed for entrepreneurs who are first-time accounting software users. As such it takes out advanced features which may confuse the small businessman. With Simple Start you can undertake trouble-free accounting for years. As your business expands and your accounting needs become a little sophisticated, you can upgrade to the Pro version which allows you to easily transfer data from the Simple Start version.

As with any free software, there are limitations. QuickBooks Simple Start is not compatible with Microsoft Excel. You would have to upgrade to QuickBooks Pro to enjoy the integration feature.

Please also note that you will not be able to import accounting data from the Pro version into QuickBooks Simple Start. Maybe this is the developer’s way of encouraging the use of the paid version.

Also, if you are thinking about managing inventory, Simple Start will not do it for you. That’s the province of the Pro version as well.

But then QuickBooks Simple Start has enough features to aid your business. One cool feature worth mentioning is integration with Google services to promote your business online. You will be linked, for instance, to Google Adwords, an effective pay-per-click advertising program to draw visitors to your website. The software will also link you to Google Maps where your business listing will be put on map form in the Maps website.

Another advantage of using the QuickBooks Simple Start free accounting software is you will have records that are up-to-date and easy to understand by an accountant, should you decide to use the services of one.

So, why don’t you give QuickBooks Simple Start Free Edition a try? Your business will have nothing to lose from its use.

Six Time Saving Firefox Extensions for Bloggers

2009-01-18T00:58:00.000-08:00

This article looks at some sought-after, time saving extensions for bloggers who use the open source Firefox web browser.

comments
Sometimes as a blogger you visit other blogs and leave comments. One reason is to get a backlink to your blog. The other reason could be that you want to maintain a presence in a high-traffic blog. There is a possibility that your comment could spark off more comments than for the blog post itself. coComment helps you keep track of responses to your comments on other blogs or websites. Among the blog services supported are WordPress, Blogger, Flickr and Typepad. An envelope on the taskbar means there has been responses to your comments.

Session Manager
Session manager is a handy tool for bloggers who do much research over the Net and fear losing their research sources. It restores web pages you you accidentally close or when your computer crashes. This is handy especially when you’ve trouble recalling website URLs you’ve recently visited. With Session Manager you can easily access all the windows and tabs that have been closed.

Resizeable Textarea
This extension would be helpful for bloggers who make frequent postings at forums. Some forums have small textarea boxes for posting. That’s fine if you post a few lines. For longer posts, you would have to scroll up and down to preview your post. Resizeable Textarea eliminates this inconvenience by allowing you to resize most of the textareas in forums.
Copy Plain Text

This is a handy extension for bloggers who frequently copy and paste text from web pages into Word or other Office applications. When you do that, the pasted document comes with the formatting of the original document. To avoid this you would paste it on a Notepad before copying and pasting it into Word. With Copy Plain Text you have the option to copy a text selection minus the formatting by just a right click of your mouse button. The text pasted will follow the formatting in Word.

Copy as HTML Link

This is another handy tool a blogger can’t do without. If your blog posts contain a lot of links to relevant websites, all you have to do is choose a keyword in the destination web page and turn it into a clickable link. Select the text you wish to make an HTML link, right click your mouse and choose Copy as HTML Link and paste it to you clipboard and you’ll be ready to use it in your blog in the HTML or code mode.

Picnik

What if you need to capture a web image for use in your blog and do some basic editing? This extension allows you to import an image into Picnik where you can resize it while maintaining the aspect ratio.

by Kumara Velu

Firefox Extensions for Your Workplace - The Top 5 Picks

2009-01-18T00:57:00.000-08:00

Here are some Firefox extensions that may come useful in a workplace environment

Page Title Eraser
This Firefox extension helps protect your privacy at the workplace by hiding the titles and the icons of opened tabs on your browser. All you have to do is right click on the desired page and select `hide title.’ Also you can set the desired text to appear on the tabs.

IE Tab
Although Firefox is the browser of your choice, there may be instances when you need to view a web page over Internet Explorer. This is especially so when you’ve designed a web page and would like to see how it’s displayed in Microsoft Internet Explorer. Also this extension will come in handy when you need to view web pages optimized for Internet Explorer. You don’t have to look for the IE icon and click on it. Just right click on the page and choose `open the link in IE tab’. With this extension, you can easily revert to Firefox after viewing a page in IE. You also have the option to set the URLs you always want to be opened in Internet Explorer.

URL Fixer
Are you a bad speller? Do you make mistakes when typing in web addresses? URL Fixer will aid you the next time around when you misspell .com, .net, .org, .edu, .gov, .mil, .aero, .biz, .coop, or .info. It will also correct htp to http. You can either right click on the address bar to choose the auto-correct mode or opt for `ask for confirmation’ before correction.

Download Statusbar

Annoyed with the Firefox Download Manager popping up every time you need to download a file? Download Statusbar allows you to place your download progress bar on the unused area of Firefox’s taskbar. In this way you don’t need to open a separate window to monitor your download progress. You can also configure it to emit a sound when download is complete. For Windows 98SE users you have the benefit of enjoying the Windows XP taskbar version. Download Statusbar is among the best Firefox extensions created.

Need quick answers on a topic or a keyword you’re curious about? You would thank yourself for installing the Answers Firefox extension. The extension links you to Answers.com where facts, definitions and other useful information await you. This saves you the time you’ll usually spend using your search engine to find answers to important queries.

Just press the Alt key and click on the desired word or keyword phrase and you’ll be directed to Answers.com. You could also select the word and right click and choose `Look Up in Answers.com’.
To open your query in a new tab, press the Ctrl and Alt keys together and click on the desired word. To open in a new window, press the Ctrl and Shift keys and click. This extension is extremely useful when you need to find quick answers to topics or keywords not adequately explained on a web page.

by Kumara Velu

How to Manage Your Firefox Extensions Quickly and Easily

2009-01-18T00:56:00.000-08:00

Not many can resist the temptation of downloading and installing the dozens of cool, Firefox extensions. There just seems to be one extension or other to enhance your web surfing experience or to provide shortcuts to web-related tasks.

Then there comes the day when you find that you have too many extensions in your system. This article will suggest software solutions to manage your extensions. However, before we go there, it would be wise to take stock of your extensions and decide which you no longer use and go on to uninstall them. This is the first step towards the process of simplifying the management of your Firefox extensions.

You can uninstall extensions in two ways. The first is a direct and simple way. Go to Tools on the menu bar and choose Add-ons. You will see a list of your extensions. Click on the extension you wish to remove. The Uninstall button becomes visible. When you click on it, the extension is removed.

However, not all the extensions can be removed using this easy method. Some Firefox extensions install themselves in the Program Files Folder of the Windows operating system. In order to remove them, you would have to follow the same route as when you uninstall software.

Choose Control Panel from your start menu and once you’re there, choose the Add/Remove Programs icon. Locate the extension in the displayed list and remove it.

Now that you’ve removed the unwanted extensions, you’re ready to look at software solutions which you can use from time to time to better manage your extensions. But brace yourself, because you have more extensions to install.

When you install too many Firefox extensions, your status bar becomes cluttered and the text area is minimized to be of any real use to you. To restore the space for the text area you can install Statusable. What this extension does is create an additional status bar to provide the text area with better visibility.

SearchPluginHacks
Have you installed too many search plug-ins when you need only one? Or have you found a latest plug-in that overshadows all other similar plug-ins? SearchPluginHacks easily removes unwanted search plug-ins.

Organize Status Bar
Is your Firefox status bar packed to overflowing? Do you need to organize the numerous icons displayed there.
Go to Tools – Add-ons – Extensions and install Organize Status Bar. Then you just have to select an icon and move it up or down with the move feature located to your right
FEBE (Firefox Environment Backup Extension)
You may have painstakingly acquired your Firefox extensions over a period of time. If you want to have the same extensions in a different computer then you can use FEBE.

FEBE backs up your favorite Firefox extensions in such a way that you can install them in a different computer easily. The extension also backs up your themes, bookmarks, preferences and even your whole profile. It also issues backup reminders if you choose to back up your extensions periodically.

by Kumara Velu

Free Video Converter That Handles Formats That You’ve Never Heard Of

2009-01-18T00:55:00.000-08:00

Time was when only a limited number of video formats were available. Think of MPEG, AVI or MOV apart from some less popular ones like WMV and Real Video. However, the proliferation of mobile devices and the popularity of streaming video have given rise to the need to convert video to ever-increasing newer formats.

What is demanded of the modern-day video converter is not only the ability to convert video for viewing in the living room, but also for playback on the PC, over the Internet and also on mobile devices.

If you’re seeking a suitable software to take care of your video conversion needs, you should seek one that handles all the major popular formats and even the less popular ones, including proprietary formats. This is important so that you could avoid installing different programs for different video conversion needs and crowd your Program Files folder.

You may think such a software will cost you a bomb. The good news is you can have one at no cost. The said software is Quick Media Converter. This is clearly a software that gives the big boys a run for their money. It has won a five-star rating in most of the renowned software download sites.

This converter is a boon to the no-budget or low-budget enthusiast who undertakes digital video and audio projects. As one experienced user puts it, “It handles file formats I’ve never heard of before.

The visual quality of the interface rivals that of paid software. The icons of popular video formats are laid out prominently on the interface for fast selection. It means that you have just got to select one of the icons to get started instead of using the drop down menu.

Among the popular formats listed in icon format for quick selection are QuickTime, Divx, VCD, Flash, DVD and PSP.
The first good visual impression created will spur you to explore the program further.
You will discover that Quick Media Converter handles such input as well as output formats as 3GP, FLV, AVI, MP4, H264, WMV and PSP among many others. There is also good audio support for popular and proprietary formats.

If you anticipate trouble using the software, don’t worry. The developer’s site provides useful video tutorials to give you a feel of using the software. Among the topics covered are conversion of FLV to QuickTime, FLV to iPod and even TS to DVD MPEG. More tutorials are available at the site’s help and support forum.

Quick Media converter does a little more than your usual video converters. One impressive feature is its ability to record Web Cam video which is then converted to AVI. You can even use the built-in SWF producer which converts the file to streaming flash video that can be shared over the Internet.

All in all, you will have nothing to lose if you have Quick Media Converter installed in your computer. It will surely see to most of your video conversion needs without having to install additional programs.

by Kumara Velu

Free DVD Copy Software

2009-01-18T00:54:00.002-08:00

With the advent of the Digital Video Disc (DVD), movie watching and storing was changed forever. No longer would the contents of personal movie collections become degraded like they eventually did on VHS tapes, at least not for a long time. Sure, recordable DVD’s eventually lose their magnetism just like most other media of this nature. But the beauty of digital recordings is that you can keep making copies of them forever without any loss in picture or sound quality, due to their nature as digital data.

Many music collectors do just that with their CD collections, thanks to freely available software such as Windows Media Player that will “rip” songs off of a CD onto a person’s hard drive. He can then make a backup copy of his CD in case the original is lost or damaged, or even copy the songs to a different device such as an iPod a type of MP3 player so he can listen to his collection on the go. This capability has been around for years and is very well known, although not without controversy. Some maintain that even making backup copies of songs violates copyright law and should not be done, but that hasn’t stopped millions from doing it.

Much less well known is the ability to copy DVD’s the same way. It is not quite as easy to rip a movie from a DVD, however, as it is to copy a song from a CD. To begin with, movie producers long ago found a way to introduce “copy protection” onto their recordings. This technology dates back even to the VHS days, and makes it difficult to copy a movie from one tape or disc to another, as the end product will often come out scrambled without somehow circumventing the encryption.

Software makers have indeed figured out how to get around the copy protection, but users should be cautioned that “there is no free lunch,” to use the old adage. There are many websites out there that advertise free DVD copy software, but from reading the comments posted by people who have tried to use these programs, many will surreptitiously install spyware onto your computer. Still others do not work as well as advertised.

I tried one such example after seeing a posting on YouTube by a user who demonstrated how to use the software. I installed the program onto my computer, and it did not install any malware onto my computer that I noticed. The problem was that after three days of trying, I was no closer to copying a DVD than before I downloaded it. The software simply did not work. I went online and researched it further, and found out that many other users were having the same problem I was, and there didn’t seem to be any solution.

My only recourse was to spend $30 on a commercial version, and it worked like a charm from the moment I installed it onto my computer. So, my advice is that if you want to avoid a lot of aggravation and maybe some spyware to boot, spend a little bit on commercial DVD copying software and avoid the free ones. There’s still a chance you could get something for nothing in this arena, but odds are you’ll just end up with a big headache.

by Geoff Vaughan

Free Software Alternative to Dreamweaver

2009-01-18T00:54:00.001-08:00

Let’s face it, most people that are making web pages these days are novices. They don’t know how to program. They want to get started in web design, but don’t want to shell out too much money while they are learning. The two major webpage editors out there are Dreamweaver and Microsoft Expression Web. Neither of these are free, and are out of most people’s budget range, especially in these hard economic times.

But like almost all programs available, there is an alternative. And the free open source html editor of choice is NVU. NVU (”New View”) is a What You See Is What You Get Editor (WYSIWYG). What this means is that you can make a web page without knowing a bit of code, which makes it easy for anyone to publish a webpage.

NVU supports Windows, MAC, and Linux and here are some more of its features:

WYSIWYG Editor - Easily turn images and design into web code
Integrated web file management
Easy widget maker
Advanced handling of forms and templates
Tables and abilities to integrate advanced code such as javascript, php, and more
Visual code editor for easy changing of code snippets
Actively being developed

The only downside to NVU is it was an abandoned project for some time, leaving it out of date, despite the fact that it has much more powerful and better code than Microsoft Frontpage, the predecessor to Expressions Web. Luckily, a new owner has picked up the project and is actively promoting and developing the software, so it is only a matter of time before this great web editor is up to par with the other commercial editors.

One more feature is if you purchase webhosting or domain registration through them and Dotster.com, not only do you get 15% off but 5% of the purchase goes to the NVU project to continue its support and make it better.

In conclusion, NVU is a great product for the new user, but more advanced users will probably want to move up to Dreamweaver or Expressions Web, because they have more advanced features.

by Pug Smelters

Free Software Alternative to Photoshop

2009-01-18T00:53:00.001-08:00

One of the biggest and best photo editing and graphic design software is Photoshop. But with a price tag of $699, most people can not afford it. Thankfully a dedicated few have created The Gimp.

Gimp is a graphic design software just as efficient and reliable as Photoshop, but with a much better price tag: free! Just a few of its features include:

Customizable interface
Photo enhancement
Color palette
Stock and custom brushes
Digital and photo retouching
An array of tools like stamp, shapes, brushes and more
Support of hardware including pressure sensitive drawing tablets
Wide support for most file formats
Support on most operating systems such as Linux, Windows XP and Vista, Mac, FreeBSD and Sun

Some limitations are: it is not quite up to par with the new Photoshop CS4, but it’s only a matter of time that the dedicated folks at GIMP include all the features. I would compare GIMP to somewhere between CS2 and CS3. Still very, very powerful. Will do more than expected for most casual users, most professionals agree it is a good software choice.

The only other drawback are that things are slightly different than Photoshop as far as controls go. It may take the user some time to adjust to doing things a little different if they are migrating from Photoshop. But! BUT! Another user has created the GIMPshop, which has all the features of The GIMP, but all the features you are familiar with in Photoshop.

Final conclusion: If you are a casual graphic or photo editing user, GIMP is the way to go. It will save you time and money. Most professionals can also use GIMP with no lack in productivity and quality. The only ones that should go to Photoshop CS4 are those that require the “latest and greatest” or are required to use it for work.

by Pug Smelters

The Best Free AntiVirus Software

2009-01-18T00:52:00.000-08:00

It is hard to find a truly free antivirus software program. Every antivirus, spamware, malware, spyware software out there gives you a free edition, but the free edition does not fully protect you from the bad guys on the internet, unless you actively use it. Basically the difference between their free and paid versions is the free version means you must manually scan your computer everyday, and the paid version will do this automatically. The paid version will also act like a watch dog, with real time scanning and protection of the computer.

The problem with these paid versions are they are popular, so popular that the hackers out there quickly find exploits in the antivirus software and can actually infect you without you even knowing it. One time I was hit with a logic bomb, a type of virus that lays dormant until you perform an action. In my case I uninstalled Net Nanny (because it didn’t work), and instantly my computer was infected with a nasty morphing trojan virus that could only be fixed with a fresh reformat of the hard drive (meaning I lose all my software).

To our rescue comes ClamWin, a truly free antivirus software that is proactive. Ever since I got infected with the logic bomb I’ve been running ClamWin, and feel fully secure and protected. The software is updated daily, works on Windows 98 through Vista, and has some of the following features:

High detection rates
Scheduled scans
Automatic updates to the Virus database (updated daily)
Standalone virus scanner and right-click menu integration to Microsoft Windows Explorer
Removes infected email attachments immediately

So if you are looking for a free alternative to AVG, AdAware, and the million other antivirus software out there claiming to be free, but not living up to the hype, then you should definitely check out ClamWin.

by Pug Smelters

Free Software Alternatives to Internet Explorer

2009-01-18T00:50:00.000-08:00

It’s well known that the number one used browser in the world is Internet Explorer, which is essentially free since it is bundled with Microsoft Windows. There are many problems with this Internet web browser, however. Since Internet Explorer is the most widely used in the world, it is the most likely browser to be targeted by hackers, malware, and spyware. These malicious users know of security exploits in the browser that they manipulate to make your life miserable. The other problem is that Internet Explorer is slow to load, and there is less customization than free open source web browsers.

Here is a list of the best web browsers out there. The list is short, but that’s because you really don’t need to look elsewhere for a browser.

1. Mozilla Firefox

Firefox is the second most used browser in the world and for good reason. It’s open source, has tons of addons, is more secure, faster and more reliable. Best of all, as you guessed it, it’s free. My favorite features are the side search bar that allows for quick searching of my favorite sites including Google, eBay, Yahoo, Wikipedia and more. It also has “addons” which are like widgets that make your browser experience more fun. Want to know the weather in your area? Grab a weather addon. Want to download YouTube video? Grab the DWhelper Addon.

2. Opera

Opera, which I use for the most secure web browsing, is my favorite choice, but not necessarily the best browser. It has less features than Firefox, and sometimes has bugs especially when dealing with Flash or Javascript, but overall the browsing experience is great. I love their landing page when you first open it; it brings up small screens of your favorite sites that you can go to quickly at a click of the button. It also has a quick search bar, and many great features. It is less popular than Firefox, but that can be a good thing especially when you have security and anonymity in mind.

3. Safari

This is Apple’s web browser and I will not go into too much depth here. It is better than Internet Explorer, but not as good as Opera or Firefox. Unless you are on a Mac, I recommend going with one of the others.

In conclusion, Firefox or Opera should be your first choice in Internet browsing, Safari a near second, and Internet Explorer should not be touched except in the most dire situations.

by Pug Smelters

Free 3D Modeling, Animating, and Rendering Software

2009-01-18T00:49:00.000-08:00

Blender 3D is one of the most impressive open source, free programs on the internet. It has established itself as a program that is used by professionals and rivals all the major 3D programs available on the market. With all of the same tools as the “big guys,” it thrives beyond them with its large user base, great tools, free documentation, tutorials, forums and customer support, and just an impressive program that creates professional quality animation for free (minus your time and effort of course!).

This program can replace most, if not all, of the following programs: Maya, 3D Studio Max, Mudbox, Lightwave, XSI, Zbrush and more. These are great programs but I will explain why Blender could possibly replace these as the “3D Standard” in the future.

My large claim could happen because Blender is an All-in-One 3D graphics powerhouse. It provides modeling, animating, rigging, lighting, texturing, rendering, video game creation, scripting and more all in one program. It seems like so much stuff would clutter the system down with too many tools, but that is not the case. I have both experience with Blender and Maya. My experience is that I can do things in Blender twice faster than Maya. Maya is clunky. Every time you have to go to a menu to open up a new menu to execute a command, and it has no shortcuts. Blender has shortcuts for just about any command you can think of, plus you can create a shortcut key if you need it.

The user interface seems daunting at first, but becomes very intuitive as you learn its ins and outs.

Some of its features include:

Modeling, rendering, texturing, animating, rigging and more in one program
Python scripting and execution
Game editor
Plugins
Great user base and support
Plenty of how-to’s, tutorials, documentation
Forums where you can chat and discuss issues with others
Intuitive graphic interface
Clay like modeling
And more - There are too many features to list. This program is a true Open Source Powerhouse

In conclusion I highly recommend this software for the beginner and professional. Not only will it save you THOUSANDS of dollars, but its quality is just as high, has a faster work flow and provides all your 3D editing needs in one software package.

by Pug Smelters

Defense Department Computers Attacked by ‘Malware’ Strike

2009-01-18T00:47:00.000-08:00

Concerns were raised by a malware strike that recently hit combat zone computers in the U.S. Central Command that oversees the wars in both Iraq and Afghanistan. The strike is thought to have come from within Russia; however this has not yet been confirmed by the Defense Department.

President Bush was briefed by top senior military leaders this week concerning the severe and widespread electronic attack on Defense Department computers. Strong concerns were raised among commanders about the computer incursion and its potential implications for national security.

The extent of the damage inflicted by the attack on the military networks could not be commented on by Defense officials; but they did say that the latest attack struck hard against the U.S. Central Command computers that coordinate U.S. strategy in Iraq and Afghanistan. The attack also disrupted at least one highly protected classified network.

Even though government officials are withholding many sensitive details, the obvious implication is that computer warfare could one day be used to undermine the military.

Military electronics experts could not give the exact source of the attack, but it has been reported by Reuters that a confidential source says the malware strike was significant enough to attract the attention of the top brass at the Department of Defense.

The Defense Department is no stranger to attacks on their computer system by malicious hackers, computer viruses, and worms. But officials are allowing that this most recent attack involved a piece of particularly malicious software, or “malware,” that seems to have been specifically designed to target US military networks.

Deteriorating relations between Washington and Moscow makes it a difficult time to discuss the suspicions of Russian involvement. The U.S. recently began to negotiate plans to develop a missile defense system in Europe and the Russians have expressed strong disapproval for the idea.

There have been growing concerns of cyber-attacks from other countries too, especially China, as well as attacks from individual computer experts. For example, last summer electronic attacks were launched against government computers in Georgia. Russia has denied any involvement in the attacks but it has been confirmed that the attack came from somewhere within the Soviet Union.

Agent.btz, as the invasive software is known, has been circulating in civilian computers for months. But only recently has it affected the Pentagon’s network. It has not yet been determined if the cyber-intrusion is the same as the one that has affected other computer systems.

by Jon Mercer

Robot Musician is Programmed to “Jam”

2009-01-18T00:44:00.000-08:00

A researcher at Queensland University in Australia has succeeded in creating a musical robot capable of improvising, or “jamming” along with any music it is exposed to. The robot, nicknamed Jambot, can improvise melodies and rhythms to accompany other musicians or backing soundtracks.

But to call Jambot a robot is really not very accurate. It is actually a software program which analyzes musical compositions and can provide an accompanying solo part, backing track or even drum and percussion solos to complement the arrangement.

The software is still autotype, but Toby Gifford, the Ph.D. candidate who invented Jambot, plans to develop a commercial version of the program next year. Gifford envisions a more user-friendly but powerful version of the software, which could be used to create a fuller sound for small bands, or improvise interesting melodies and counter melodies in the recording studio.

Jambot is said to be a significant step forward in the area of software audio perception. The program uses a unique algorithm to follow along with any music that it “listens to.” Jambot can also recognize pitch and tempo changes in real time, so it is not likely to get lost in the middle of a song, no matter how complicated the composition

But one of the most ingenious aspects of the software is a proprietary algorithm that analyzes incoming music and identifies the style, pitch, rhythm and tempo almost instantaneously. This audio detection algorithm potentially has lots of other uses, including voice to text, language translation and accessibility software for the disabled.

But the big question on many people’s mind is how does it sound? So far, there have been very few public performances by the Jambot, but musicians and music technology experts have praised the software for its accuracy in identifying what it hears, and “intuitively” adding to (or jamming along with) the composition.

While Gifford admits that the algorithm is not perfect (yet), he claims that the Jambot produces musically appropriate contributions, and sees great potential for the software as a learning, production or performance tool.

Among Jambot’s strong points is it’s ability to detect higher pitched and percussive instruments with a great degree of accuracy. This could potentially be very useful for DJs working with highly percussive dance music, or also in recording studios to accurately track and keep time while recording.

It will be interesting to see what types of musical uses are created for the Jambot. Who knows, perhaps soon we will see an entirely new genre of music developed using the jamming software?