Gaming

The so called “Golden Age” of arcade games reached its peak in the early ‘80s. During this time, a number of new genres was established, & many new genres were established, &many new innovations in graphics technology were taken place.
Computer gaming didn’t happen until 1982 when two machines were released specifically for gaming the commodore 64 & the ZX spectrum. Initially, the low image processing quality & graphics capabilities of computers limited the types of games released for home computers. These limitations gave rise to text based adventure games. Games such as adventure & Zork established this genre for consoles & P.C.s.
In 1980, a game called Mystery House was published for the Apple-II. This game has a distinction of having been called the first graphic adventure for home computers.
In 1983, SuperSet Software created a text-based computer game called Snipes. This game, played over a network, was designed to test a particular network. And that led to an invention that brought about a big change in the network capabilities in the machine; today Snipes is officially credited as being the original inspiration for Novell Netware.

Internet gaming took off only after first person shooters came into vogue. Games such as Quake could be played over the internet (or any other network) & this increased the popularity of these games as well as other online multiplayer games. Multiplayer capability is now the norm in all FPS & RTS games. Online gaming also includes a genre called simply ’Internet Games ’.

Action Games

As the name suggests, action games have everything to do with fighting, guns, killing bad guys & saving the world. Action also happens to be the most well-known of all genres and the most controversial at the same time. While gamers & developers go gaga over the latest action games, they also come in for a lot of flak from the media for promoting violence. The action genre has many sub-genres. A few of them are: a) FPS: Probably the most famous of all genres. FPS stands for First Person Shooter. It places you in the boots of the main character of the game. And only lets you see the game from his point of view. This gives you the feeling of actually being in the game. The FPS genre can be further sub-divided into the following:

1. Stealth: These games are based on the ability to sneak around without being seen by opponents. They are different from traditional FPSes because they place more emphasis on sneaking around rather than on an all-guns-blazing approach. 2. Old School: These feature the run-and-gun type of game play. Action in such games is fast paced, with tons of enemies. 3. Tactical: These games place emphasis on tactics, strategy & teamwork. In many ways, these are the exact opposite of the run-and-gun type of games. 4. Military/War: These are military games, based on the art of war. Examples are- The Medal Of Honour series and Call of Duty. As the player, you are placed in various war missions, which may not enable you to single-handedly save the world, but are nonetheless important in the ultimate outcome of the war. 5. Survival Horror: These is a relatively new sub-genre in FPS gaming. Here, the player is placed in a scary situation. Usually involving ghosts or monsters; the sole objective of the game is survival. Naturally, the basic game play consists of running and gunning, but puzzle-solving elements are also usually built into the game.

b) TPS: TPS stands for Third-Person shooter. Games in this category are similar to FPSes in most aspects, except that instead of giving you a first person view, it places you ‘outside’ the body of your character. c) Platform: This genre consists of games where the player has to move around on, or jump to and from, a number of platforms. At the same time, one also has to fight enemies and collect objects to successfully complete the game.

Strategy

Strategy games place the spotlight on the player’s thinking & decision-making abilities. That’s why some people call strategy games “the thinking man’s game”. The strategy genre can be further sub-divided into: a) Puzzle: Puzzle games involve solving puzzles, which could involve logic, pattern recognition, and strategy. These games are extremely popular because of their simplicity and ease of use. Tetris, Minesweeper and Solitaire are examples of puzzle games. b) RPG: RPG stands for Role-Playing Game. They generally involve long, intricate plots with an emphasis on character development. As the game progresses, the characters gain various abilities & can achieve feats. The gamer has to choose which feats to acquire so as to complete the game. c) Real-time Strategy Games: As the name implies, the action in such games takes place in real-time—that is, the state of the game is constantly changing. Hence the player has to always be on his toes and keep modifying his strategy to match changing environments. These are known as RTS games In short, and have become extremely popular today. d) Board Games: Board games are simply digitized versions of classic board games. Games such as backgammon, chess, and checkers have all been made for computers, as you’re probably aware. e) Sims: ‘Sim’ is short for ‘simulator’. Sims are simulator games that usually put their focus on strategy.

Adventure

Adventure games are characterized by exploration, puzzle solving character interaction & emphasis on narrative. Games belonging in this genre have fantasy, horror, mystery as well as comic elements in them. The standard adventure games died out when 2D was replaced by 3D. Today, most adventure games are a mix of a number of genres. For examples, Prince Of Persia: the sands of time is a mix of action & adventure elements, with a third person view. There are exceptions, though. Games such as Myst continued to be popular even in the 3D era. But the fact remains that adventure games are no longer major players in the gaming industry.

Simulators

Simulators are games that focus on accurately recreating a real life situation in as possible. Realism is the most important factor here, with every attempt made to make the game as true to real life as the software and hardware can allow. The craze for realism has been taken to incredible levels today, with some games to realistic that they can be used to train professionals in their respective fields! This genre is sub divided into: a) Flight Simulators: Flight simulators, obviously, try and re-create aircraft and their controls. They attempt to copy the controls found on an aircraft-commercial or otherwise-as well as the difficulty in actually flying one. Microsoft Flight Simulator is an excellent example. b) Racing Simulators: Racing simulators are based on accurately re-creating racing environments. This category includes not only car races, but virtually any kind of race, take boating, for instance. The most popular games in the sub-genre are naturally of the car racing variety, with games based on F1 and rallying among the most popular. c) Combat Simulators: These take the realistic elements of simulators & adapt them into a combat style game. Here, defeating your opponent in the ultimate objective, but it can only be done if you have a good knowledge of how to operate the machinery the gamer is given, in realistic condition. d) Sports Simulators: The objective here is very simple- to recreate the playing condition of a particular sport in the most realistic way. Of course, that’s easier than done! Sports simulators tend to be the most difficult to make, with a lot of effort going in to make them realistic, without making them confusing or unwieldy for the gamer.

MMOG

MMOG stands for massively multiplayer online game. Online gaming has really taken of at present, with broadband internet becoming a reality for a large number of people. Not only do we have the (usually online) games where a few players take on each other, we now have MMOGs, where thousands player can be online simultaneously in a simulated environment.
The most popular MMOG are::
a) MMORPGs: MMORPGs (Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games) are the most popular types of MMOGs. They follow the client server model, where the gamers running the client’s software is represented in the online world they inhabit via an avatar. The online world is hosted on a server that is usually owned and by the game’s publishers. The most popular MMORPGs are Ever Quest-II, World of War Craft, The Matrix Online, and Star War Galaxies. India, too, has been bitten by the MMORPG bug with Ragnarok being popular among Indian gamers.
b) MMOFPS: this is a massively multiplayer version of the traditional FPS. Although the idea of having thousands of gamers online in an FPS game sounds enticing, it has proven to be difficult to it into practice. One major problem has been the fact that, by the very nature, the games require fast reaction times; thus, hosting a server in a centralized location means increasing lag times for gamers around the world, there by rendering the game unplayable.
c) MMORTS: The third & probably least popular category of MMOGs is the MMORTS, where RTS stands for Real Time Strategy. Once again, it incorporates the offline elements of a regular RTS & adapts them for online play with thousands of gamers.

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Can You Deliver IT as a Service?

The IT industry has worked toward a vision of delivering IT as a Service for years. But until a recent convergence of events, true success has remained an elusive goal for many companies. Today, unprecedented economic pressure for new models of doing business and the maturity of virtualization technology are accelerating the adoption of cloud computing. Solutions for turning IT into a service are now both more accessible and more affordable.

If you are downloading music, buying airline tickets online, participating in a social network, or using hosted e-mail, chances are you are one of more than one billion users already accessing IT services Some of the world’s best known brands have built their cloud offerings .

IT as a Service can help you:

• Be more responsive to customer needs.
• Deploy new services quickly.
• Capitalize on a new business model.
• Expand or contract IT resources quickly and for less money.
• Move IT from a capital to an operating expense on a metered basis.

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how to be an animator ?

There are a number of different career paths for animators. We often think of animators as the talented artists who create the cartoons we love, either for film or movies. Animators continue to work in these areas, but increasingly, many are employed creating animated graphics for a variety of projects.

This can include websites, online advertisements and video games. Animators can find full-time employment with movie or television production companies, with advertisers, web design firms, video game companies or with animation firms. Free lance work is another option for animators, particularly those specializing in web animation. Most entry-level positions will require an animator to have a bachelors degree in a related field such as fine arts or media. There are a number of animation schools that offer course work specifically in computer animation and associated technologies. In addition, a strong portfolio of work, which a training program can help you to develop, is an essential part of landing a job in computer animation and becoming an animator.

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What Hackers Know About Your Network - That You Don't!

Whether you call them hackers, crackers or cyber criminals doesn't matter. What does matter is whatever you call them - they're looking for a way into your network!

You may not realize it but hackers are scanning your Internet connection looking for an opening.

What will they do if they find one?

They'll launch an attack against that opening to see if they can exploit a vulnerability that will allow them to remotely execute some commands thereby giving them access to your network.

But it all starts with scanning your network.


Automated Tools Are a Wonderful Thing

Cyber criminals don't scan each individual network on the Internet one by one. They have automated tools that randomly scan every IP address on the Internet.

Hackers aren't lazy people - just very efficient. And very intelligent.

The tools they use can be preloaded with a range of Internet addresses to scan. As this tool finds an Internet address with certain openings it produces a list of the address and the opening.

This list is then fed into another tool that actively tries to exploit that opening with various programs. If no exploit works, the hacker's program moves on to the next potential victim.

When you see the scanning activity in your firewall logs, you'll know where you're being scanned from and what they're trying to target. Armed with that data your security person should check to see if you're running software that uses that port and if it has any newly discovered openings.

If you are using software listening on a scanned port and there is a patch available, you should have that patch applied immediately - because the hackers may know something you don't. It's been our experience that many businesses patch their Microsoft Windows software but rarely do they check for patches for all the other software used in the business.

As stated, you'll see this activity in your firewall logs - that is, if someone is actually reviewing your firewall logs.

Oh, my firewall has logs???

However, when most business owners are asked about their firewall logs, the typical response is usually something like, "Oh, my firewall has logs?"

Yes, all firewalls produce log files. Most of them only show what's been blocked, which is like showing pictures of all the thieves that are in prison, while the bank down the street is being robbed.

Wouldn't you want to see all traffic? This produces more work, but if your firewall only logs activity it knows about, you're security is totally dependent on the ability of your firewall and the way it's configured.

Many firewall companies want to reduce their number of tech support calls. Their business model revolves around having tech support available, but in the process they're also seeking ways of reducing the number of times people call in.

This isn't necessarily a bad thing, but when their products have fewer features, thus fewer benefits as a result - that is a bad thing.

Most firewalls designed for the small business market lack features that most small businesses would benefit from. Many of them have all the technical buzzwords like "deep packet inspection", "spyware prevention", "intrusion detection" and many others, however they don't go into the level of detail needed to be effective.

First, many firewalls that are "designed" for small businesses start with companies that have 100 - 250 users. These might be considered small businesses by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, but for technology purposes companies of this size have their own IT staff (96% do).

Not just one IT person, but an IT staff which means that someone is probably responsible for security. If not, they'll have someone train them in the proper setup, installation and monitoring of security appliances.

The businesses we consider small have anywhere from 3 - 50 PCs. The companies at the higher end of this scale might have someone dedicated to handling IT issues. But this person is usually so inundated with PC support issues that they have little time "left over" to effectively monitor firewall logs. Toward the lower end of this scale, they usually have either an outside person or firm responsible or they have an employee who "is pretty good with computers" who has other responsibilities as well.

Rarely will these small businesses have someone watching the firewall logs on a consistent basis. Someone might look them over if there's an issue, but these logs rotate when filled so the valuable information might be lost before it's ever reviewed.

And that's a shame.

Without reviewing the logs you have no idea what or who is trying to get in with which or what.

An Example Log File
Let's review some logs.

This happens to be a log from a client. The columns are labeled accordingly. This report has been cleaned up to make it easier to explain and understand.

Date Time Source IP Source Port Destination IP Destination Port
06/18/2007 12:04:03.416 218.10.111.119 12200 55.66.777.1 6588
06/18/2007 12:16:05.192 41.248.25.147 4925 55.66.777.1 5900
06/18/2007 13:08:02.256 218.10.111.119 12200 55.66.777.1 6588
06/18/2007 13:22:10.224 58.180.199.163 4637 55.66.777.1 2967



What is this showing?

Well the first source IP (Internet) address is from Heilongjiang, a province in China. The destination is our client (mangled to protect the innocent) but the important data is the destination port. That identifies what they're looking for.

Port 6588 can be a few different things. They could be scanning for a Trojan that uses that port. If their scan responds with the typical response of the remote access Trojan, they know they've found an infected system. Port 6588 can also be a proxy server (which we won't describe here) with a recent bug. This bug makes it easy for a hacker to exploit thereby giving them remote access to the system running the proxy server software.

The hackers system will tell them what service is listening on port 6588 so they know what tools to use to attack that port.

The second line in our log file above is from Africa. Port 5900 is VNC which is used by many, many system administrators to remotely connect to a system to perform maintenance on it. This software has had a few exploits and one just last year allowed the attacker to have remote control of the system with VNC installed without having to crack any passwords!

Line 3 has our friend from China back trying again. Same port. They must be trying a few exploits against this port. Maybe they know something that the general security community isn't aware of yet.

On line 4 in our logs we see a new IP address in the source. This one is from Korea but notice it's scanning port 2967. This happens to be the port that Symantec's Anti-virus software listens on for new updates. There is a known exploit which allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via unknown attack vectors. When hackers find this port they know exactly what exploit to try.

In other words, the security software that is designed to protect systems is actually a way in for hackers due to a software bug.

It could be that there is a new "hole" in Symantec's software that hackers know about but Symantec doesn't. The previous hole was patched so either the hackers are looking for yet unpatched Symantec software or they know of a new hole and are looking for ways to infect them.

Without reviewing your logs you have no idea what is trying to get into your network.

Without a properly configured firewall, this type of attack would surely get through. This happens to be a firewall we configured so we know of ports like this and we blocked outside access because this client does not use Symantec products.

When talking security with a business owner I always ask, "When was the last time your network was scanned for openings?" They usually respond with, "Never". To which I reply, "Oh you're wrong there. You've been scanned, you just don't know by who!"

Regular scans of your network show you what the hackers are seeing of your network. It's a simple process and should be performed at least once a month. The results should be presented to you in a very readable, understandable report.

What to Do Next

The first thing you should do is check your firewall to make sure it's logging all activity.

Then, your job is to start reviewing the logs either everyday or at a bare minimum, once a week.

Some routers have the firewall "built-in". I've often found these are very limited in their ability to protect. Even more limiting is their logging functionality. Typically these devices will only show what's blocked.

Often these router/firewalls have the option to have the logs emailed to someone when they're filled up with entries. This is a nice option as you can have them directed to someone who will (should) review them in detail and notify you of any entries to be concerned with.

If your firewall doesn't provide the level of detail described in this article, you should seriously consider upgrading. You can keep your existing router just turn off the firewall feature and buy a dedicated firewall.

Then you'll know what the hackers know about your networ

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Wealth Building Basics

Learning to build wealth requires one to learn to be counter-intuitive. Building wealth is not about pushing and dodging the thrusts of others. Sure that is one way to push (pun intended) ahead but, in the end, it leaves one cold and alone. Of course, you cannot be one who is constantly pushed either. Doormats seldom build significant wealth on their own. So what is the answer. If I can't push and I mustn't cave in to the bully what can I do?

The answer is really quite simple. Not only is it simple, it has been around foras long as man has thought about his place in the universe. The ancient Hebrew Sage Hillel told a follower who asked him to explain the whole Torah while standing on one foot, "What is hurtful to you you must abstain from doing to another. That is the entire Torah. Go and learn." The Koran teachers, "One cannot call himself a Muslum until he recognizes the needs of others before the needs of self." Jesus preached, "Do unto others as you would have others do unto you." What is common to these ideas is one simple concept. Success comes to those who recognize they are not alone but are obligated by some force to step outside of their own ego to be of service to others.

Being of service is an important concept. If you serve others without the anticipation of return, if you give a gift without expecting a gift in return, you will be amazed at how quickly the benefits will pour in. The Native Americans of the Northwest honored another by giving away all of their possessions. The giver was always rewarded for his selfless action by being presented by more than he ever gave away. But there was no expectation that there would be any community reciprocation.
Being of service will not produce immediate results. Because you refer business to someone there is no guarantee that business will be referred back to you. What is certain, however, is that if you have built a network of people that you are referring business to, like the potlatch of the Northwest, you will reap far more than you invested in the process.

This process takes patience. But anything worth having is worth investingtime and effort into developing.

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Aircraft for the Armed Forces

The wars of today would be imaginable without the use of military aircraft. Of course, no country can go to war armed with only one type of aircraft. Every nation must invest in different kinds of aircraft ranging from fighter aircraft, bombers, and tankers to observation balloons. Each of the different kinds of planes has a separate role to play. And each of these roles is as essential as the next.

While looking at airplanes for defence purposes, one finds that many of the aircraft are multi-functional. For instance, the F-4 Phantom is not only a fighter-bomber. It is also used for the purpose of reconnaissance. It also plays the additional roles of CAS and ECM. Moreover, if such an aircraft seems to fall too expensive, there are several other military aircraft to bolster a nation's defences. For instance, the American F/A-18 Hornet is great as a fighter plane and also as a striker.

There are a few basic categories of military aircraft. These include fighter planes, ground attack aircraft, tankers, bombers, and trainers. Apart from this, aircraft are also used for transport, observation, and surveillance. Fighter aircraft are designed to attack. As a result, they are speedy and easily-manoeuvrable. In the modern world, air superiority is the factor that decides the fate of military conflicts. Thus, most nations invest in fighter planes because their ability to win wars is well-known.

However, fighter planes alone cannot win wars. Ultimately, it has to be a team effort. That is where ground attack aircraft such as the F-104 enters the picture. While the fighter aircraft spearhead the attack, ground attack aircraft strengthen the defense. These planes are also known as tactical fighters. They are put into action at the head of the battle and are armored to protect the pilot against the fire of small arms.

Other military aircraft include bombers, tankers, and trainers. Bombers, as the name suggests, are designed to drop bombs on ground targets. The A-10 Thunderbolt is an example of a bomber that attacks tactical targets. Tankers are used to refuel other aircraft when their fuel gets exhausted. There are also a number of aircraft known as trainers. These are used to teach pilots about flying, navigating, and aiming their weapons. In addition to these we have the aircraft that are used purely for transportation and those that are used to observe military activity on the ground level. Defence without aircraft is no longer an option.

Source:Free Articles

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Virtual Reality

At first, Engelbart's ideas were dismissed, but by the early 1960s other people were thinking the same way. Moreover, the time was right for his vision of computing. Communications technology was intersecting with computing and graphics technology. The fi rst computers based on transistors rather than vacuum tubes became available. This synergy yielded more user-friendly computers, which laid the groundwork for personal computers, computer graphics, and later on, the emergence of virtual reality.
A natural consumer of computer graphics was the entertainment industry, which, like the military and industry, was the source of many valuable spin-offs in virtual reality.

A goal of scientific visualization is to capture the dynamic qualities of systems or processes in its images. In the 1980s, borrowing and as well as creating many of the special effects techniques of Hollywood, scientific visualization moved into animation. In 1990, NCSA's award-winning animation of smog descending upon Los Angeles influenced air pollution legislation in the state. This animation was a compelling testament of the value of this kind of imagery.

But animation had severe limitations. First, it was costly. After months of elaborate computer simulations, the smog animation itself took 6 months to produce from the resulting data; individual frames took from several minutes to an hour. Second, it did not allow for interactivity -- that is, for changes in the data or conditions governing an experiment that produce immediate responses in the imagery. Once completed, the animation could not be altered.

Scientists wanted interactivity. So did the military, industry, business, and entertainment. The demand for interactivity pushed computer visualization to the limits, towards virtual reality.

Source: http://archive.ncsa.illinois.edu/Cyberia/VETopLevels/VR.History.html

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Computer animation

Computer animation (or CGI animation) is the art of creating moving images with the use of computers. It is a subfield of computer graphics and animation. Increasingly it is created by means of 3D computer graphics, though 2D computer graphics are still widely used for stylistic, low bandwidth, and faster real-time rendering needs. Sometimes the target of the animation is the computer itself, but sometimes the target is another medium, such as film. It is also referred to as CGI (computer-generated imagery or computer-generated imaging), especially when used in films.

To create the illusion of movement, an image is displayed on the computer screen and repeatedly replaced by a new image that is similar to the previous image, but advanced slightly in the time domain (usually at a rate of 24 or 30 frames/second). This technique is identical to how the illusion of movement is achieved with television and motion pictures.

Computer animation is essentially a digital successor to the art of stop motion animation of 3D models and frame-by-frame animation of 2D illustrations. For 3D animations, objects (models) are built on the computer monitor (modeled) and 3D figures are rigged with a virtual skeleton. For 2D figure animations, separate objects (illustrations) and separate transparent layers are used, with or without a virtual skeleton. Then the limbs, eyes, mouth, clothes, etc. of the figure are moved by the animator on key frames. The differences in appearance between key frames are automatically calculated by the computer in a process known as tweening or morphing. Finally, the animation is rendered.

For 3D animations, all frames must be rendered after modeling is complete. For 2D vector animations, the rendering process is the key frame illustration process, while tweened frames are rendered as needed. For pre-recorded presentations, the rendered frames are transferred to a different format or medium such as film or digital video. The frames may also be rendered in real time as they are presented to the end-user audience. Low bandwidth animations transmitted via the internet (e.g 2D Flash , X3D) often use software on the end-users computer to render in real time as an alternative to streaming or pre-loaded high bandwidth animations.

For more on Animations please do visit http://www.ani2pix.com or Virtual Information & Communications

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Business simulation

Most business simulations are used for business acumen training and development. Learning objectives include: strategic thinking, financial analysis, market analysis, operations, teamwork and leadership.

Scenario simulations

In a business game or business simulation game, a scenario is played out in a simulated environment and the learner or user is asked to make decisions on how to act in the simulations. Often multiple choice alternatives are used and the scenario is played out following a branching tree based on which decisions the learner makes. Throughout or at certain intervals feedback is provided. These are similar to role-play simulations.

Numeric simulations

A numeric simulation can mimic a whole company on a high level or it can be more detailed and mimic specific organizational units or processes. In a numeric simulation the learner or user makes decisions by pulling levers and dialers as well as through inputting numbers. The decisions are processed and the outcomes are calculated and shown in reports and graphs, eg. price and volume as well as number of employees can be decisions and the outcome can be viewed in e.g. an income statement, a balance sheet and a cash flow statement. Feedback is given throughout the simulation or at certain intervals, such as when a year has passed. Many numeric business simulations include elements of competition against other participants or against computer generated competitors.

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"We need to recognise game dev as creative industry"

http://www.virtualinfocom.com/training.html
I really feel we're at this strange point at the moment where I meet so many incredibly talented people who are frustrated with what they're doing That's really confusing - how can so many great people be unhappy? But then you look at the top 20 games, and you see that a lot of them are the same - there's a real disconnect there.

He encouraged creative people who have strong ideas to be motivated enough to take risks, and passionate enough to convince others of their vision.

"Try to find anyone you can who shares the same vision as you. If there aren't any, consider doing it as a side project on your own. Great artists put themselves into their work, and we need to do the same - and the only way to do it is to be passionate about what you're doing. In the end, it's really down to the creative leaders in studios to allow risks to be taken."

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