Welcome to our Blog

Hello this is your captain speaking, not to say that I'm steering the ship. I got two cool partners on this blog. Our blog of course is related to technology and advances in the field. Our goal is to keep you informed and maybe teach you something from time to time. We got Robert who works mainly on technological advances that you should hear about. We also have the pleasure of having Kaycee showing of all kind of tutorials so you can do cool things on the computer pertaining to digital media. Finally our blog has Nicholas who keeps up with gaming technology, gaming business and all the rumours that you want to hear. There are already interesting posts that you can read on the blog. I hope you enjoy your stay.

"Throw in a picture" says Robert.

"Cool" says Kaycee

"Fine" says Nicholas

Source:Waffle

How to make a sticker ☺

1. Go to File> New to create a new file put in the size of the work you want I’ll go buy 500x500 px

2. Select an “Ellipse Tool” (If it doesn’t show up hold on to the rectangle tool and the ellipse tool will show up

3. Select a foreground colour you want your sticker to be for me it would be navy blue

 4. Press “shift” on your keyboard and make a circle

 5. Click the “effect button”  on your layers panel and click “stroke”

 6. Set up the size and colour of an outline as you like.

 7. Click “Inner glow” change the setting as mark in this picture, but change the colour to any colour that is slightly darker than your original sticker. Press OK

8. In your layer panel drag the circle layer to this button “" to copy the layer (shortcut is ctrl+J or command+J on mac)

 9. Press this button “ ” to create new layer

10. press the eye button to hide one of the layer

 

11. press shift while selecting the copied layer and the new layer that press Ctrl+E or Command+E on mac to merge the layer

 

12. Use the “polygonal lasso tool”and make a selection around the corner of your sticker

13. Click Edit>Cut or use to shortcut ctrl+x or command+x on mac to cut it

14. Press shift+ctrl+v to place it in place

 15. Press ctrl+t and then rotate and adjust the part so it could look like this

16. Now you’re done your sticker but you can go to the next step to decorate it

17. On the layer panel press  to make a new layer between the part and the sticker

18. Use the “type tool” to type down anything and adjust it. Then press press ctrl+enter or command+enter on mac to finish it

 

 19. Press the effect button  on the layer panel and add an effect to the text, have fun with it! Here’s what I used.

20. Add a few pictures and you’re done!

Are Computers Taking Over?

A new study from Oxford has revealed that nearly half of the jobs in the USA could be given to computers.  This will strongly affect people who work manual labour, but it does not stop there.  It's possible that computers will start to take over in two different ways.  The first one being that computers replace people in departments like administration, office support, logistics, etc.  The second way people could be affected depends on how well engineers can utilize computing problems related to perception, imaginativeness, and social understanding.

In this study, nearly 1000 jobs were looked at.  These jobs were then categorized based on the likelihood that they could be replaced with a computer.  There were some low risk jobs, such as therapists and social workers. However, there were more high risk jobs like telemarketers and library technicians.

Those people who have higher skilled jobs that require social interaction are likely safe.  No need to worry about computers having emotions and advance artificial intelligence, Skynet has not been created yet.  However, people working in fields that only require simple, repetitive tasks may have trouble finding work.  This can be especially a problem for teenagers and young people looking to find their first job.  A lot of people choose manual labour for their first line line of work, but that field can be exclusive to machines in a decade or two.

With a new era of technology rapidly evolving and improving, will good old-fashioned people be left behind? For more information, visit http://www.gizmag.com/half-of-us-jobs-computerized/29142/

- Robert

Dark Souls 2: Prepare to Die Again

Considered one of the brutally hard games of the generation, Dark Souls will be getting a sequel on next gen consoles. Even more exciting is that it's been announced that it will be optimized for PC gamers. Beloved by fans for its use of difficulty and story, the game is clouded with speculation. The main love for the game comes from the feeling of player after overcoming difficult situations. Controversy was sparked when one of the designers told fans that they will make the game more accessible to players. Fans thought that this meant make it easier on players. After some confusion its been announced that the fans should not worry the game will just explain things to new players and stay just as hard as the last game.

To talk technically about the game, Dark Souls 2 still uses the Havok physics en6gine. No surprise there. A couple gameplay videos have come out and many fans have been nice enough to analyze them for us. The AI of the enemies are supposed to be much more advanced. The attacks are not as telegraphed as they were before. If you dodge a swing too early the giant monster will correct the trajectory of the club. The lighting looks beautiful. In one scene of the gameplay a fire is lit in a dark room and and light fills the room so naturally that it's beautiful. There was a point where a keen eyed fan spotted that just passing an enemy without attacking. The hit-boxes are programmed so accurately that they detect a blade hitting another running past it. In addition to all this cool stuff it has been rumoured that the game has dynamic weather and seasons.

No game has ever seen such polish.

Dark Souls 2 will be coming out probably next year on next-gen hardware. Never have I been so excited to lose at a game. Over and over and over and over and....

-Nicholas

Source: From Software, IGN

The Success of GTA V

Grand Theft Auto 5 come out literally this month and its the latest buzz in the gaming world. It has already made a billion dollars within the first two weeks. In the video game world this has never been seen before. What's even more interesting is the fact that this video game made 5 times more money than the average blockbuster. But what makes Rockstar's newest installment considered a masterpiece by everyone.

For one Rockstar has a completely new engine that pushes hardware to the limit without causing any flaws in the game. The first thing I noticed was the lighting of the game. From the first mission I thought the game looked gorgeous. In GTA IV people looked very blocky and fake. In 5 everyone looks different and very realistic. Where GTA IV was set in a gritty dense city GTA V is set in a sunny world with many environments to explore. The map is now at least 5 times bigger with 5 times the amount of things to do. Where GTA IV portrayed a living city, GTA V portrays and complex world. For that reason alone this game could be considered the best ever made.

With GTA there has always been controversy. From the first game, to Hot Coffee, to the most recent installment parental groups have always criticized Rockstar for influencing the minds of children. To put it to rest let me say this game is not meant for children. Although I am under that recommended age I don't feel that my innocence has been lost. When people analyze the game's story and themes they can see that this game is very much a parody of American culture. From the worship of celebrities, to Government secrecy, to the millennium generation and even Violent videogames this game parodies them by making them over the top and funny.

Rockstar has made some of the best games of all time. The company has never been one much for boundaries, whether technologically or socially. The game will certainly live on in history and in the gaming community for years to come. Imagine their success and then think about the fact that the multiplayer isn't even out yet. Everyone thought this game wouldn't do well because its the last of the generation but it did so well that I can't even imagine how well it will do when re-released on next gen consoles.

I can't put the game down. Just slip food and water under the door. Thank you.
-Nicholas Kosovic

Source: Rockstar games.