Create a Sleek Illustration that Fades from Line Art to Color

Author: Gavin Steele

In this tutorial, you will work with a few images you chose and you will create a nice looking illustration. The idea behind this illustration was to create a war between reality and line art. I tried to make this one simple, but at the same time to make it look good. I hope you enjoy the tutorial and try it with your own tools and stock – Constantin

This is how the final image will look like!

Click for Large view. File size 6MB. 2200×3000 Poster Resolution

Read more for the video tutorial:

YoutubeGet v4 9 6 WinAll Regged-CRD

Posted by dot

Interesting little program was released a few hours ago that i have just seen. I usually download YouTube clips with a firefox add on then use a seperate program to convert them (If needed), but YouTube get lets you download and/or convert YouTube clips all in the same program which could be handy.

YouTubeGet is an all-in-one software designed to make quick and easy work to download YouTube videos and convert them. Offering a multitude of methods to acquire the video,this application has all the power you need while still remaining small and easy to use. After downloading videos it will auto convert FLV files to MP4, 3GP, AVI, WMV, MOV etc. Soon, you can see YouTube videos on your MP4 or Cell phone.

Release Name: YoutubeGet.v4.9.6.WinAll.Regged-CRD
Size: 4.61MB
Links: NFO - Official Site
Download: Direct

Windows 7 explained in seven sentences

Pushed for time? Get the Windows 7 skinny without the fat

Windows 7 Milestone 3 was shown off today at the Professional Developers Conference in Los Angeles and we’ve already nabbed a copy for a hands on Windows 7 review.

But if you just want the details in an ultra-fast read, then here’s what you need to know in seven quick sentences.

1. Windows 7 doesn’t have the big architectural changes of Vista – or the compatibility problems – so all your stuff that works with Vista should work fine with Windows 7.

2. Windows 7 doesn’t nag you like Vista does – many notifications are banished to a control panel, you get to approve icons before they show up in the system tray and you can choose which UAC prompts you want to see, or turn them off altogether.

3. Windows 7 uses Jump Lists to put what you’re most likely to want to do at your fingertips by showing recent and frequently used documents, so if you click Internet Explorer in the Start menu or taskbar you can view a list of recently visited websites, for example.

4. Windows 7 makes home networking easier with a feature called HomeGroup, which offers a simple wizard-driven approach to network connections and file and folder sharing, while it also makes it easier to get connected to Wi-Fi or 3G networks, by using a menu that lists all the access points that pops up right from the system tray.

5. Windows 7 won’t feature Windows 7 Ultimate Extras (they’re dead!), or the native Vista accessories that are duplicated as Windows Live tools – stuff like Mail, Photo Gallery, Messenger and so on will be downloadable in ‘wave three’ of Windows Live.

6. Windows 7 will run faster than Vista, according to the Windows Performance team, which says that “if a system runs Windows Vista it should run Windows 7 faster and a notebook that runs Vista should get better battery life on Windows 7″.

7. Windows 7 will run happily on netbooks, according to Microsoft’s Steven Sinofksy, who says the Windows 7 team is “really quite pleased internally with performance of Windows 7 even on what we today consider to be low-end netbooks; the ones that run with an Atom processor, the ones that have a gigabyte of RAM.”

Got a bit more time and want to read our full Windows 7 review? Go for it, it’s got a lot more info in it you should know about.

Source: Techradar

Recently Discovered Viruses

Virus Name	Date Disc.	Type / Sub-Type	DAT ver.	Risk for Home /Business
Generic PWS.y!BECB677F	10/17/2008	Trojan / Password	5407	Low / Low
PWS-OnlineGames.a!004815F5	10/17/2008	Trojan / Password	5407	Low / Low
W32/Autorun.worm.gen!8245B440	10/17/2008	Virus / Generic	5407	Low / Low
FakeAlert-AB!B576DA69	10/17/2008	Trojan / -	5407	Low / Low
Generic PUP.x!06F91978	10/17/2008	Program / -	5407	Low / Low
Generic.dx!F6618B9F	10/16/2008	Trojan / -	5407	Low / Low
MWS!98015935	10/16/2008	Program / -	5406	Low / Low
MWS!48D94CA6	10/16/2008	Program / -	5406	Low / Low
Generic PUP.x!950EAFC0	10/16/2008	Program / -	5406	N/A / N/A
Generic PUP.x!92773562	10/16/2008	Program / -	5406	N/A / N/A
Generic PUP.x!736F1308	10/16/2008	Program / -	5406	N/A / N/A
Generic Downloader.x!68E386BD	10/16/2008	Trojan / Downloader	5406	Low / Low
Boaxxe.dll!D4188E19	10/16/2008	Trojan / -	5406	Low / Low
Boaxxe.dr!40694005	10/16/2008	Trojan / Dropper	5406	Low / Low
Generic.dx!CD049814	10/16/2008	Trojan / Generic	5406	Low / Low
FakeAlert-XPSecCenter!CFAEA0D9	10/16/2008	Trojan / Generic	5406	Low / Low
PWS-OnlineGames.cp!111BCBED	10/16/2008	Trojan / Password	5406	Low / Low
PWS-Mmorpg.gen!4FE0A1BA	10/15/2008	Trojan / Password	5406	Low / Low
Tibs-Packed!ADC6C5FC	10/15/2008	Trojan / -	5406	Low / Low
PWS-OnlineGames.ce!E8A7A7BB	10/15/2008	Trojan / Password	5406	Low / Low
PWS-OnlineGames.ce!22353348	10/15/2008	Trojan / Password	5406	Low / Low
PWS-OnlineGames.ce!D9A46EC7	10/15/2008	Trojan / Password	5406	Low / Low
PWS-Mmorpg.gen!91308C55	10/15/2008	Trojan / Password	5406	Low / Low
PWS-Mmorpg.gen!351EF365	10/15/2008	Trojan / Password	5406	Low / Low
PWS-OnlineGames.ce!CD2B6E97	10/15/2008	Trojan / Password	5406	Low / Low
Generic PWS.y!702E3B7E	10/15/2008	Trojan / Password	5406	Low / Low
PWS-OnlineGames.ce!FCF03F37	10/15/2008	Trojan / Password	5406	Low / Low
PWS-OnlineGames.bj!2373039E	10/15/2008	Trojan / Password	5406	Low / Low
PWS-OnlineGames.ce!8392C2FB	10/15/2008	Trojan / Password	5406	Low / Low
PWS-OnlineGames.bp!B44E313E	10/15/2008	Trojan / Password	5406	Low / Low

Google Android: Kill switch done right

Nancy Gohring from Computerworld was first to stumble across the revealing lines in the terms of service agreement for Android market. Located in the “About” section of the Android software on T-Mobile’s G1 phone, she found the following section:

“Google may discover a product that violates the developer distribution agreement … in such an instance, Google retains the right to remotely remove those applications from your device at its sole discretion.”

Of course, users should be worried at any time when someone else “retains the right” to access their phone without explicit permissions by you, the device owner, and remove or alter components. However, compared to Apple’s accidentally discovered kill switch, the Android version has subtle, but significant differences. The information of its existence is not withheld and Google will refund the money spent on removed application, according to Gohring.

Google also states that applications may be removed if the developer distribution agreement is violated and the company withdraws a previously granted license agreement to the Android developer platform. That will be the case if a developer “breaches” the license agreement, if “Google is required to do so by law”, if Google or the developer loses the rights to SDK components such as API, if Google “decides to no longer providing the SDK or certain parts of the SDK to users in the country in which you are resident or from which you use the service”, or if Google cancels its Android efforts.

Contracts are typically made for bad times and there are certainly risks for developers, especially if Google is in a dispute with a potential component (API) provider. However, if an application in fact is removed from user phones, chances are that it is based on a breach of the Google Android license agreement. And that license agreement follows common terms of software development kits.

However, Google prohibits developers from loading “any part of the SDK onto a mobile handset or any other hardware device except a personal computer, [combining] any part of the SDK with other software, or distribute any software or device incorporating a part of the SDK.” And, rightfully so, Google is concerned about the privacy of data and may consider illegitimate or irresponsible treatment of application user data a breach of contract:

“You agree that if you use the SDK to develop applications for general public users, you will protect the privacy and legal rights of those users. If the users provide you with user names, passwords, or other login information or personal information, your must make the users aware that the information will be available to your application, and you must provide legally adequate privacy notice and protection for those users. If your application stores personal or sensitive information provided by users, it must do so securely. If the user provides your application with Google Account information, your application may only use that information to access the user’s Google Account when, and for the limited purposes for which, the user has given you permission to do so.”

Kill switches are integrated for such cases and may turn out to be a useful tool to protect the privacy of users and prevent or limit damage. There are good reasons for such a technology and it is common sense that the existence of such a mechanism is disclosed properly. Apple should use Google’s approach as a good example.

Source: TGdaily

Sonic Studio introduces media server Amarra

Sonic Studio has demonstrated its new Amarra music server at the Rocky Mountain Audio Fest in Denver. Amarra is a FireWire-based media server handling PCM audio with up to a 192KHz bitrate that uses a Sonic Studio soundBlade derivative on the software side. The Amarra technology is similar to what is used to produce CD master files, promising audiophile-level music playback. It uses hardware side processing for sample-rate adjustments, equalization and volume control, and the server will integrate with both iTunes and Mac OS X.

Future Amarra features include a hardware-based digital crossover, NoNOISE II software for repairing archive and vinyl recordings, bit-perfect CD ripping, DSD playback and six-channel surround sound. The new server will be in stores soon, and pricing has not been announced.

Source: Electronista

Motorola Krave ZN4 review roundup

We had a feeling we’d get a mixed bag of reviews as soon as we first saw the Motorola Krave ZN4 — it’s one of those love it or hate it type things, you know? In some cases, reviewers chose to focus on the positives, noting that it was cute, unique, a good music player and a phone that would last and last without a recharge. Another batch of critics couldn’t hold back the whip, pointing out that it lacked WiFi, packed a lackluster browser, included yawn-worthy software and offered a keyboard that was “straight-up awkward.” As expected, overall ratings hovered between just below average to just above average, and it seems this phone will be exactly what you make it out to be. Moto fans will likely have plenty to cheer about, but those without a dog in the fight may want to give the writeups below a more thorough glance before dropping $149.99 and agreeing to a super-sized 2-year commitment.

Main Source: Engadget

Other Sources:
Read – PC Magazine
Read – PhoneScoop
Read – Laptop Mag
Read – DigitalTrends
Read – CNET

Obama’s ads in Burnout video game

Video gamers who have recently played the racing game Burnout Paradise may find it offers more than a high-speed driving simulation: advertisements for Senator Barack Obama’s presidential campaign, above, have begun appearing in the game. Players of Burnout Paradise who are connected to the Internet are also connected to an in-game system that allows real-life sponsors to place advertisements on billboards and other surfaces in its digital world. Jeff Brown, vice president of communications at Electronic Arts, which publishes Burnout Paradise, said Mr. Obama’s campaign had purchased ads to run in the Xbox 360 version of the game, which he said is most popular among male players ages 16 to 30.

The EA representative said that the ads would appear in only 10 different states, most of them contested battleground states. Paradise City residents in Ohio, Florida, Iowa, Colorado, Indiana, Montana, North Carolina, New Mexico, Nevada, and Wisconsin are being targeted by the campaign. In the 2004 presidential election, all of those states except Wisconsin went to Republican incumbent George W. Bush. Mr. Brown said Senator John McCain’s campaign had not purchased in-game advertisements, but added, “There’s still three weeks before the election.”

Adobe starts shipping Creative Suite 4

Adobe Systems announced late Tuesday that it had begun shipping Creative Suite 4, its bundle of professional graphics and media applications. The launch, which Adobe described as the largest in the company’s history, includes updated versions of Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, Flash, Dreamweaver, Fireworks, Contribute, After Effects, Premiere Pro, Soundbooth, OnLocation, and Encore. Four different flavors of the suite are available with prices ranging from $1,699 to $2,499. Adobe continues to improve integration among the applications.

After Effects, for example, can import Photoshop 3D layers and export content directly into Flash. Options for working with high-definition video and mobile content expand too, with support for the latest formats as well as for making Adobe AIR applications.Adobe also started distributing new version of Flash Player 10. This version of Flash, which Adobe launched in a beta version in May, includes support for custom filters and special effects, native 3D transformation and animation, advanced audio processing and GPU hardware acceleration, Adobe said. It also includes a new text engine aimed at providing designers and developers with more text layout options.

Stealth Semantic Startup Raises $8.5 Million, Won’t Tell Us Anything

by Mark Hendrickson

I had a phone call late last week with a semantic startup called Siri that was spun out of SRI International (the birthplace of the computer mouse and the LCD screen, among many other important technologies). Most startups are willing to talk about their products “off the record” but this one wouldn’t divulge much beyond the fact that they’ve raised $8.5 million in Series A funding from Menlo Ventures and Morganthaler.

What we do know is that the company was incorporated in December 2007 with the goal of commercializing aspects of the CALO cognitive learning system, which receives heavy funding from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, a supporter of research in a broad range of technologies that could potentially benefit the Department of Defense.

From the sound of things, Siri’s 19 developers – mostly engineers who count Yahoo, Google, Apple, Xerox, Nasa, and Netscape as their former employers – have been working on a system that will use artificial intelligence to automate many of the tasks that people currently have to conduct manually online. The founders describe themselves as out to change the fundamental ways that people use the internet.

All of this sounds very high and lofty, and we won’t know for sure whether this is all hot air until we actually see a product. But the company is very concerned that existing companies (Google, Microsoft or Apple, perhaps?) might seek to copy their ideas – hence the tight-lipped secrecy, which is expected to remain the status quo until the first half of 2009.

Until then, you can check out the startup’s teaser website which, appropriately enough, is located at stealth-company.com.