The Art Institute Online Student Community

Apple has released a beta application dubbed “Boot Camp” that will officially allow owners of the new Intel-powered Macs to boot Windows XP. This opens up a whole new market for Apple as their hardware will now run Windows XP and Windows-based applications. As a developer/designer I am often switching between my Mac and PC to test out designs, scripts, etc to make certain they look and work the same on both platforms. I also use applications that either run on just a Mac or a PC, but now I can have the best of both worlds…on one computer!

This is a huge move by Apple that is certain to appeal to many people that haven’t gotten their feet wet with Macs yet. The word on the street is extremely positive as well as Apple stock is currently up 9% today as of this writing with almost double the volume that it normally has in a single day.

Here are some links to other articles about Boot Camp:

• http://www.appleinsider.com/article.php?id=1650
• http://www.tuaw.com/2006/04/05/apple-to-pc-manufacturers-and-windows-its-on/
• http://www.tuaw.com/2006/04/05/the-real-reason-behind-apples-boot-camp/

Apple also mentions this on the Boot Camp page about running Windows XP on a Mac:

Word to the Wise
Windows running on a Mac is like Windows running on a PC. That means it’ll be subject to the same attacks that plague the Windows world. So be sure to keep it updated with the latest Microsoft Windows security fixes.

In other words…Apple isn’t going to help you deal with the junk that infects Windows computers…you’re on your own! Enjoy!

Welcome to the completely redesigned Art Institute Online Student Community. This is a student community that is not affiliated with The Art Institute Online, but has been developed for the students by the students as each and every article that is posted will be created completely by a student of The Art Institute Online. There are categories of articles that fit practically any field of study and lifestyle, so take a look around as you are sure to find tons of useful information within this site. Some of the highlights are:
–> Continue reading ‘Welcome to the New Art Institute Online Student Community’

Have you ever needed to create a Word Document or PDF, but were on a computer that didn’t have Word or Acrobat? Well, if you have an internet connection, you’re in luck! AjaxWrite is a website that allows you to create a Word Document with practically all of the same types of formatting and tools that is available in Word. It’s quite amazing what is possible using Web 2.0 code and a little imagination. I played around with the website for a bit and saved both a Word Document and a PDF and they opened up perfectly on another computer with all of the proper formatting! That’s pretty impressive and incredibly useful if you find yourself without Word or Acrobat.

Check it out at http://www.ajaxwrite.com .

Another aleternative for creating Word documents, PDFs, and others for free is Zoho Writer. Either one will do the job.

I admit that I have been out of the video game loop for the last couple of years as I’ve been working and going to school so much that I haven’t had time to sneeze. I came across this video today though that I had to share. It’s for a new game called Cell Factor that will be coming out in 2007 for Xbox 360 and PC. What is sweet about it is that it uses AGEIA physics which adds so much realism to games with the ability to completely interact with practically everything. See some boxes you want to blast into the enemy? No problem. See a flag that you want to shoot holes through or just rip to shreds just because you can? Go right ahead. The detail and physics that AGEIA brings to the table is simply amazing and will open up a new world of computer gaming. Just check out the video below of Cell Factor in action.

If you want to read more about AGEIA physics and Cell factor, here is a great link with some more info:

http://www.firingsquad.com/features/ageia_physx_press_conference/page2.asp .

If anyone has any other links or info to share, please do in the comments below!

A few years ago I played a computer game called “Unreal Tournament” regularly and ended up playing a match against someone at a LAN ( www.lanwar.com ) that ended up being a fairly big deal. In order to make the match more interesting to show people, I took the highlights from it and turned then into a music video. I wasn’t the first person to do this, but I had a ton of people asking how I created a music video out of computer game clips, so I created tutorial on how to do it back in 2003. The tutorial became very popular around the world and led to many incredible videos being made out of games. This gave me an idea for my final project in Interactive Authoring II at The Art Institute Online.

–> Continue reading ‘Create Music Videos from Computer Games’

Many of you are either running websites or about to get started as you move closer to graduation. More than likely, you will come across a point in your career where you will look to utilize some form of advertisement on your websites. It could be for the extra revenue or the added value that targeted ads bring to your viewers…either way, this article will tell you exactly what and what not to do when getting started in website advertisements.

Most of you know that this site has been somewhat a labor of love for me since January of 2004 with little-to-no compensation to keep it up and running. In order to continue to provide this source for the students I had to implement some form of advertising and/or affiliate marketing. I chose to go with Google AdSense as they seemed to provide the best and most relevant ads for content, which would create a win/win situation as users would get quality, related content while also helping to keep this site alive. I was completely new to the world of AdSense, but in a month’s time I learned so much…and you’re about to dramatically benefit from it. So let’s assume you’ve just setup an AdSense account and are ready to roll. Let’s break down the tips to help you succeed.

–> Continue reading ‘The Best Tips for Getting Started with Google AdSense’

I came across this site that has some amazing 3D art painted on sidewalks.  Check some of these out!

–> Continue reading ‘Incredible 3D Art on Sidewalks’

If you’re anything like me, you don’t have time to hit 1 for English, 2 for customer support, 1 for hardware, 2 for laptops, 2 for blah blah blah….just give me a human! Automated phone systems have taken over our lives and and stolen a lot of our time. Fortunately though, there is a way around it! A database is available at http://gethuman.com/us that lists exactly how to reach a human at practically every major company in America. Some examples are:

• Sallie Mae ‑ Student Loans 888‑272‑5543 Don’t press or say anything.
• Apple 800‑275‑2273 Press 000; if virtual rep answers, say “operator.”
• Dell 888‑560‑8324 Press 00 at each prompt.
• Amazon.com 800‑201‑7575 Don’t press or say anything.
• Cingular Wireless 800‑331‑0500 Press *## at each prompt.
• Verizon Wireless 800‑922‑0204 Press #00 or enter phone # then 0 4.

Sliced bread doesn’t have squat on this!

Core77 has put together a great way to scan through portfolios of students of various art schools. As you can imagine, The Art Institutes International is well represented as you can see in this tag cloud below with the second most portfolios of any school:

–> Continue reading ‘Great Collection of Student Portfolios’