Software Talk

Steam

For all you PC videogamers, Steam is probably a familiar name. For as long as I can remember, Steam has been providing multiplayer support for many first person (and more styles, nowadays) shooters like Counter Strike and Day of Defeat. Throughout the years, Steam has evolved into a respectable game distribution system.

From what I can remember, Steam was originally a somewhat clunky program. There were days when key generating programs allowed multiple accounts to be activated (and, subsequently, banned for hacking in Counter Strike). There was only support for Windows, and I spent many great hours in LAN games with my friends. Fast forward a few years, and Steam really started getting things together. Instead of having a single key to activate Steam, installation and activation became free, and games were put on sale through the store. Compatibility moved to Macs. Good stuff happened.

Steam has been great for indie game developers. The distribution is simple, and exposure through Steam can help devs get their product seen, and if the game is good, everything else falls into place. Steam has also offered great deals throughout the years, and equally fun prize systems (like the prizes this Christmas). The only way things could get better is some games were free. Which happens occassionally. I just turned on Steam and downloaded a game to play free for a while. I got Portal for free (a great game). I bought most of my games at a thirty percent or more discount. Skyrim, anyone?

Eclipse - Software Development

If any of you have tried to do some Android development, you are probably familiar with Eclipse and the Android Software Development Kit. I was originally not a fan of Java, and I had more than mild discomfort when I learned Android's SDK is build in Java. But it wasn't too difficult to learn the basics of Android's platform, and once I got hooked into Eclipse, I started to lax my opinion of Java itself. Part of that reason was Eclipse. This development software addressed some of the problems I have with Java.

I don't like to remember too many words. As a developer, that can become quite problematic, especially when I have to remember all the variables and function calls and libraries and header files that I have named. What's worse is having to remember everyone else's function calls and libraries and class names. That's where software like Eclipse is handy; whenever I start to type a class name, Eclipse tries to help me out as best it can. If I forgot to include a library and I use a class from that library, Eclipse tells me. When I initialize a class and try to access a class function, Eclipse gives me a list of all the possible functions and variables, and cuts them down as I keep typing; I love that.

I wouldn't start coding with Eclipse, because I wouldn't start with Java and having to do all that memorization can be useful at first. But I do wish I had known about Eclipse when I had to code in Java for some class labs; all my forgetfulness wouldn't have been such an issue.

The Browser Takeover

Google Calendar

When I first heard about Google's Chromebook, I was more than a little skeptical. "I use my laptop for way more than just the browser!" I thought to myself, foolishly. More recently, Chromebook debates can still get me a little heated, but I have come around to something the Chromebook thrives on: Web apps.

Web apps may never replace all user applications, but there are certain apps that even I, Web app skeptic extraordinaire, am starting use. Google Calendar is one such app that has caught my attention. I'm not much of a calendar guy, but I am unorganized and lazy. Let me explain:

I am unorganized. How a calendar helps me here should be obvious enough, but Google offers solutions to more than just the unorganized individual; Google helps unorganized groups of people "get their stuff together." With the ability to view or edit other Google Calendars, you can see all the times your friends are throwing parties or when certain employees have shifts. Here are a few tips for sharing with others:

1) If you are sharing with a collective group of people, set up a Google account for the group, and share with everyone through that account. This will keep everyone from having a jumble of work schedules on their Calendars.
2) Invite people to events when you create them in Google Calendar by adding their emails in the edit event page. Or, you can set them all in a contact group to make things easier.
3) In the Shared Settings, you can allow others to edit your own calendars.

I am lazy. I have a laptop, but I don't like to carry it everywhere. But the Internet is almost everywhere! With all my business right there on my Google Calendar, I can pop onto a public computer and know exactly when that important interview begins. Brilliant!

Create Photo Panoramas For Free With Hugin

It's free, open source, and available for Windows, Mac, and Linux

When I was a kid, and photography involved actual film, I loved creating panoramas. I would take a picture - turn slightly - take a picture - turn slightly, until I had caught the entire scene. Then when the photos came back from the photo lab, I would carefully tape them together with Scotch tape on the back.

How times have changed!

There are a lot of software solutions for creating panoramas out of digital photographs, a process often called "photo stitching." My favorite of these is Hugin, and not least because it is both free and open source, as well as being available for Windows, Mac, and Linux systems.

My computer is a little on the "old and creaky" side (as am I, as you can probably tell) and I have learned to work slowly with Hugin. It involves a lot of processing power in its various steps. If I try to move too quickly, or toggle away to something else while it is processing, it is liable to lock up. If this happens on your system, don't worry - you can still use it - you just have to give it some breathing room.

The basics of Hugin are simple. You give it a bunch of photos, it stitches them together with magic, and then it creates a panorama. The available options are numerous, and I have to confess I have not explored any of them.

To begin, you must take your photos. I find that this works best if I use a tripod, or at least set my camera atop a stationary object. Hugin also needs a certain amount of overlap to do its thing. I strive for 25-30% overlap from one picture to the next. You can do several rows of photographs to capture the scene vertically as well. Hugin will automatically stack them for you.

When you open Hugin, the Panorama Stitcher window will automatically pop up. To begin, click the button marked "1. Load images…" If your computer is awesome, you can select all of your images. My computer is not awesome, so I start by selecting the first two images.

Next, click the "2. Align…" button, and let it do its thing. The panorama will be built in the window behind this one. After these two images have been stitched together, click the "1. Load images…" button again and choose your third image. Repeat until it has all of them.

Once your panorama has been built, click the "3. Create panorama…" button to save the final version. Tada!