Michael's personal timeline, a place to collect and share things from Michael's life.
Created by spexfox on Jun 23, 2008
Last updated: 03/30/10 at 03:44 AM
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The way past dead zombie!
I know. I’ve been very neglectful in posting to my blog. Mostly due to server moves and being busy with other things. Not to mention I just haven’t had much to post about recently.
The good news is I certainly haven’t given up on my mod project. I still plan on creating my little class-based shooter but I will probably take in more influences from the Sonic comic book series by Archie Comics. After all, being the longest running comic based on a video game means there’s a ton of content to work from, right?
In light of that, I’ll need to do some re-thinking to build the mod with this extra influence. In the mean time, this blog needs a facelift. I’d rather not use a pre-made theme for my personal site when web design is one of my strongest skills!
Oh! Lastly, the image here comes from a guy named Kim Lang on 365characters.net, trying to keep his drawing skills sharp with a character a day. Good luck Kim!
http://www.thebyrus.com/?p=44
Stealth Camera model for SatAM Source Mod.
Stealth Camera as it appears in Sonic SatAM
Above is a 3D Model I’ve been working on for a Source engine mod based on the Sonic SatAM cartoon series. I never thought it was given enough justice though there is still a comic book series running strong!
For comparison, there’s an image of the Stealth Camera as it appears in the show. You can click the image of the model to get a much bigger view.
Update: Check after the break for a textured version. (Yes, I know I’m not the best UV-Mapper/Texture Artist).
http://www.thebyrus.com/?p=34
Stealth Camera model for SatAM Source Mod.
Stealth Camera as it appears in Sonic SatAM
Above is a 3D Model I’ve been working on for a Source engine mod based on the Sonic SatAM cartoon series. I never thought it was given enough justice though there is still a comic book series running strong!
For comparison, there’s an image of the Stealth Camera as it appears in the show. You can click the image of the model to get a much bigger view.
http://www.thebyrus.com/?p=34
These days more and more games for the PC release tools so players can create their own content. There are a lot of engines to choose from but it can be hard to say which is perfect. Actually, none are perfect in reality. It all depends on your experience, who you’re trying to reach, what you’re trying to do, what kind of mod your making, and a number of other possible factors.
Since there are so many engines though, I couldn’t cover them all here. Nor could I do so fairly since I don’t have experience with every engine out there. So to keep things simple I narrow it down to two popular engines and ones that I personally think are very nice and capable; Epic’s Unreal Engine 3 and Valve’s Source Engine.
As you can probably tell by my Steam-based Wordpress theme, I’m a bit of a Valve fan. I’ve enjoyed Steam’s services for a long time as well as Valve’s games. They’ve always kept themselves to a pretty high standard and let their games bake to perfection, even if it means waiting longer then most people would like. There’s no doubt that Source has been used to build some very solid games and as such can be just as good a platform for a mod. In fact most games that run on Source from Valve have their origins as Half Life mods using the older GoldenSource engine. So how does Source hold up?
Resources
First and foremost, you’ll need to make sure that your engine of choice has good resources for learning how to use it. In the case of the Source engine, not only are resources plentiful, but they are also very centralized. Valve made a smart decision by opening the Valve Developer Wiki. By giving modders a place to freely edit and add information it’s become pretty much the only place to find Source information. At the very least, it’s the first place anyone looks. This in addition to numerous tutorials that can be found on other sites like FPSbanana means you’ll be learning Source in no time.
Usability
That being said, Source runs a bit on the old-school side when it comes to its development tools. Remember Source started development as far back as when Direct X6 was standard and as such, its structure is a little on the old fashion side. This means there’s a chance you’ll be working with some command line tools and be editing various files with a text editor for configurations and other definitions that Source relies on. On the other hand though, having somewhat of a legacy style means Source relies on familiar ways of doing things. Taking this familiarity with modders who are experienced allows great leverage of the engine’s capabilities. And if you aren’t experienced, the resources shown in the previous section will certainly help you get there.
User Base
Nobody wants to make a mod when nobody’s going to own the game for playing it in the first place. Or just as bad, no one typically downloads mods for their game. Luckily Valve tries to cator to the modding community because that’s practically what their entire development team is composed from. The ability to modify Source games is available in very small forms (custom content for already existing games) to large-scale forms (downloading total coversion mods strait from Steam itself). This and the age as well as popularity of Half Life 2 (the bases for Source mods) means there will be plenty of people who can play your mod and will be willing to download it since the Source community generals looks to mods in every day use for extending content.
Capabilities
There’s no denying that Source engine games look pretty slick. Textures are sharp, the shaders are pretty extensive, and the post-processing effects are plentiful. HDR is also a standard part of the engine and thanks to its well thought out modular nature, Valve continues to extend Source’s capabilities over time to keep it up to par with today’s “next generation” games. Still, it does show its age at times as does the previously mentioned development style. But if you’re clever enough, you probably won’t have trouble making your mod look brilliant under Source.
Future Potential
As I mentioned earlier, Valve looks at the modding community it nourishes in order to find talent for their own company. Counter Strike, Team Fortress, and Day of Defeat were all Half Life mods that Valve thought were so good, the creators should be given jobs at Valve to make their mods into retail games. Should your Source mod hit it big (like Garry’s) then you could end up becoming the next Valve employee with an innovative idea and the passion to make it work. As for the future potential of the engine itself, it seems that every time Source starts to look a little dated Valve manages to push it a step further ahead just in time. Left 4 Dead’s amazing improvements in both visuals and AI will be carried over to the engine pretty soon. So if Valve continues this pattern of updating the engine (which is easy thanks to its modular nature) as it releases new titles and delivering these upgrades to modders then the future is looking bright and well rendered. You can even base your mods on the Source SDK Base which allows your mod to use the latest public (or beta) build of Source to keep it updated.
The Unreal engine has become widely renown as one of the most commonly used commercial engines available. It’s had a legacy of looking pretty and keeping things simple as well as giving birth to a fairly strong modding community. The third installment of Epic’s engine delivers some amazing visuals that truely embrace the idea of what next-generation graphics can bring and builds upon its easy-to-use tools to make them even easier and expand its rich feature set.
Resources
Although Unreal has had a pretty strong modding community in the past, Unreal 3 has skipped out a little this time. The reason isn’t entirely known, but not many PC gamers have tried to push the U3 engine for modding. As a result of this, there aren’t many learning resources for Unreal 3 modding available. What few sites I have found that sound comprehensive are unfortunately dead now, leaving most of the learning on Epic’s official documentation site. There is, however, a pretty useful Unreal Wiki which documents a lot of information across multiple versions of the engine (with 3 included). Although it’s not quite as extensive or popular as Valve’s own wiki, it is a good resource and can put you on the right track.
Useability
This is probably where the U3 engine best excels. Epic’s gone through a lot of work to make their tools easy to use and have passed that on to modders with the latest edition of UnrealED. I used UnrealED for about half a semester and within that time, created nicely functioning levels with great features, lighting, atmosphere, and gameplay withing one to two weeks of creation time each. Needless to say, that’s pretty quick for an engine someone’s never used. But the UnrealED Editor is not just a map editor, but also an editor for a number of the engine’s components. This includes the new drag-and-drop material builder and scripting engine which works in a similar fashion. Personally I think newer engines are going to start pushing their tools to this type of standard if they wish to compete in the age of user-generated content. That includes Source or whatever else Valve produces next in their engine line.
User Base
As I said earlier, Unreal 3’s engine has sadly suffered from a lack of attention in the modding community. I think it’s possible that the engine is just too demanding even on high-end computers to make it an easily accessible game for both modders and average players. Though the tools may be easy to use, they’re only a waste of time if no one is around to play your mod. It’s actually pretty disappointing to search through Unreal custom content sites and find barely a handful of custom models when the engine’s previous iteration has tons of content available. On the positive side though, the PS3 version of Unreal Tournament 3 allows for user-created content and is somewhat more popular than the PC. Of course this does mean you’re limited to custom content though rather then total conversion mods though.
Capabilities
Daaaaammmnnnn. This engine is pretty! There are more shaders, effects, physics, and animation features then you can shake a very nicely rendered, bump mapped stick at. Though the engine can be quite demanding, one could call it rather efficient given just how pretty games based on U3’s technology can look. If you have any questions about how good a U3 game can look, take a glance at Gears of War 1 and 2. They’re claimed as the prettiest games you can find anywhere. Taking these amazing graphics with the ease-of-use built into UnrealED means your mod will be looking slick in no time.
Future Potential
Even though it may not be the best place for finding mod users, Unreal 3 is used extensively within the professional industry these days. If you wanted to get a head-start in becoming a professional, having Unreal 3 work will likely help flesh out your portfolio. Where as doing great Source work could get you hired at Valve, good Unreal work could get you hired at a number of places. As for the ability to expand and grow, the engine will likely remain pretty static for a while. At least until an entirely new version of the engine comes out which could be a while. However if it’s true that many people don’t pickup Unreal 3 because of the system requirements, it could become much more popular in the near-future when more people have powerful machines (along with a cheap price tag on the game due to age.) Unfortunately banking of a sleeper-hit is a bit of a gamble so you’ll have to think carefully about that.
So how do I choose?!
Which engine you use will depend on a few things. For one, if you’re inexperienced and just want to mess around without worrying if your mod gains heavy popularity, you can go with Unreal 3. As long as your computer is capable of running it, it’s a good choice for a first-time modder who still wants to challenge themselves when it comes to learning the ropes. However if you’re looking for a mod with more immediate potential, then Source is probably your best bet. Granted you should either have some experience or education in what makes games tick and be willing to keep documentation open and available for reference if you want to take full advantage of Valve’s brain-child. Once you can get the Source engine purring for you though, it should run for a nice long time and get plenty of use.
Generally speaking, I think the Source engine is the better choice here. Though it may be somewhat harder to go with, there’s no denying that Source can still look very pretty, could have surprising new future features, and gives you great potential for success as a mod or even in helping you succeed personally. Just keep in mind that whichever engine you pick you should make sure that your mod is a good idea in the first place. It won’t matter which engine you choose if you have a badly planned mod after all.
http://www.thebyrus.com/?p=9
These days more and more games for the PC release tools so players can create their own content. There are a lot of engines to choose from but it can be hard to say which is perfect. Actually, none are perfect in reality. It all depends on your experience, who you’re trying to reach, what you’re trying to do, what kind of mod your making, and a number of other possible factors.
Since there are so many engines though, I couldn’t cover them all here. Nor could I do so fairly since I don’t have experience with every engine out there. So to keep things simple I narrow it down to two popular engines and ones that I personally think are very nice and capable; Epic’s Unreal Engine 3 and Valve’s Source Engine.
As you can probably tell by my Steam-based Wordpress theme, I’m a bit of a Valve fan. I’ve enjoyed Steam’s services for a long time as well as Valve’s games. They’ve always kept themselves to a pretty high standard and let their games bake to perfection, even if it means waiting longer then most people would like. There’s no doubt that Source has been used to build some very solid games and as such can be just as good a platform for a mod. In fact most games that run on Source from Valve have their origins as Half Life mods using the older GoldenSource engine. So how does Source hold up?
Resources
First and foremost, you’ll need to make sure that your engine of choice has good resources for learning how to use it. In the case of the Source engine, not only are resources plentiful, but they are also very centralized. Valve made a smart decision by opening the Valve Developer Wiki. By giving modders a place to freely edit and add information it’s become pretty much the only place to find Source information. At the very least, it’s the first place anyone looks. This in addition to numerous tutorials that can be found on other sites like FPSbanana means you’ll be learning Source in no time.
Usability
That being said, Source runs a bit on the old-school side when it comes to its development tools. Remember Source started development as far back as when Direct X6 was standard and as such, its structure is a little on the old fashion side. This means there’s a chance you’ll be working with some command line tools and be editing various files with a text editor for configurations and other definitions that Source relies on. On the other hand though, having somewhat of a legacy style means Source relies on familiar ways of doing things. Taking this familiarity with modders who are experienced allows great leverage of the engine’s capabilities. And if you aren’t experienced, the resources shown in the previous section will certainly help you get there.
User Base
Nobody wants to make a mod when nobody’s going to own the game for playing it in the first place. Or just as bad, no one typically downloads mods for their game. Luckily Valve tries to cator to the modding community because that’s practically what their entire development team is composed from. The ability to modify Source games is available in very small forms (custom content for already existing games) to large-scale forms (downloading total coversion mods strait from Steam itself). This and the age as well as popularity of Half Life 2 (the bases for Source mods) means there will be plenty of people who can play your mod and will be willing to download it since the Source community generals looks to mods in every day use for extending content.
Capabilities
There’s no denying that Source engine games look pretty slick. Textures are sharp, the shaders are pretty extensive, and the post-processing effects are plentiful. HDR is also a standard part of the engine and thanks to its well thought out modular nature, Valve continues to extend Source’s capabilities over time to keep it up to par with today’s “next generation” games. Still, it does show its age at times as does the previously mentioned development style. But if you’re clever enough, you probably won’t have trouble making your mod look brilliant under Source.
Future Potential
As I mentioned earlier, Valve looks at the modding community it nourishes in order to find talent for their own company. Counter Strike, Team Fortress, and Day of Defeat were all Half Life mods that Valve thought were so good, the creators should be given jobs at Valve to make their mods into retail games. Should your Source mod hit it big (like Garry’s) then you could end up becoming the next Valve employee with an innovative idea and the passion to make it work. As for the future potential of the engine itself, it seems that every time Source starts to look a little dated Valve manages to push it a step further ahead just in time. Left 4 Dead’s amazing improvements in both visuals and AI will be carried over to the engine pretty soon. So if Valve continues this pattern of updating the engine (which is easy thanks to its modular nature) as it releases new titles and delivering these upgrades to modders then the future is looking bright and well rendered. You can even base your mods on the Source SDK Base which allows your mod to use the latest public (or beta) build of Source to keep it updated.
The Unreal engine has become widely renown as one of the most commonly used commercial engines available. It’s had a legacy of looking pretty and keeping things simple as well as giving birth to a fairly strong modding community. The third installment of Epic’s engine delivers some amazing visuals that truely embrace the idea of what next-generation graphics can bring and builds upon its easy-to-use tools to make them even easier and expand its rich feature set.
Resources
Although Unreal has had a pretty strong modding community in the past, Unreal 3 has skipped out a little this time. The reason isn’t entirely known, but not many PC gamers have tried to push the U3 engine for modding. As a result of this, there aren’t many learning resources for Unreal 3 modding available. What few sites I have found that sound comprehensive are unfortunately dead now, leaving most of the learning on Epic’s official documentation site. There is, however, a pretty useful Unreal Wiki which documents a lot of information across multiple versions of the engine (with 3 included). Although it’s not quite as extensive or popular as Valve’s own wiki, it is a good resource and can put you on the right track.
Useability
This is probably where the U3 engine best excels. Epic’s gone through a lot of work to make their tools easy to use and have passed that on to modders with the latest edition of UnrealED. I used UnrealED for about half a semester and within that time, created nicely functioning levels with great features, lighting, atmosphere, and gameplay withing one to two weeks of creation time each. Needless to say, that’s pretty quick for an engine someone’s never used. But the UnrealED Editor is not just a map editor, but also an editor for a number of the engine’s components. This includes the new drag-and-drop material builder and scripting engine which works in a similar fashion. Personally I think newer engines are going to start pushing their tools to this type of standard if they wish to compete in the age of user-generated content. That includes Source or whatever else Valve produces next in their engine line.
User Base
As I said earlier, Unreal 3’s engine has sadly suffered from a lack of attention in the modding community. I think it’s possible that the engine is just too demanding even on high-end computers to make it an easily accessible game for both modders and average players. Though the tools may be easy to use, they’re only a waste of time if no one is around to play your mod. It’s actually pretty disappointing to search through Unreal custom content sites and find barely a handful of custom models when the engine’s previous iteration has tons of content available. On the positive side though, the PS3 version of Unreal Tournament 3 allows for user-created content and is somewhat more popular than the PC. Of course this does mean you’re limited to custom content though rather then total conversion mods though.
Capabilities
Daaaaammmnnnn. This engine is pretty! There are more shaders, effects, physics, and animation features then you can shake a very nicely rendered, bump mapped stick at. Though the engine can be quite demanding, one could call it rather efficient given just how pretty games based on U3’s technology can look. If you have any questions about how good a U3 game can look, take a glance at Gears of War 1 and 2. They’re claimed as the prettiest games you can find anywhere. Taking these amazing graphics with the ease-of-use built into UnrealED means your mod will be looking slick in no time.
Future Potential
Even though it may not be the best place for finding mod users, Unreal 3 is used extensively within the professional industry these days. If you wanted to get a head-start in becoming a professional, having Unreal 3 work will likely help flesh out your portfolio. Where as doing great Source work could get you hired at Valve, good Unreal work could get you hired at a number of places. As for the ability to expand and grow, the engine will likely remain pretty static for a while. At least until an entirely new version of the engine comes out which could be a while. However if it’s true that many people don’t pickup Unreal 3 because of the system requirements, it could become much more popular in the near-future when more people have powerful machines (along with a cheap price tag on the game due to age.) Unfortunately banking of a sleeper-hit is a bit of a gamble so you’ll have to think carefully about that.
So how do I choose?!
Which engine you use will depend on a few things. For one, if you’re inexperienced and just want to mess around without worrying if your mod gains heavy popularity, you can go with Unreal 3. As long as your computer is capable of running it, it’s a good choice for a first-time modder who still wants to challenge themselves when it comes to learning the ropes. However if you’re looking for a mod with more immediate potential, then Source is probably your best bet. Granted you should either have some experience or education in what makes games tick and be willing to keep documentation open and available for reference if you want to take full advantage of Valve’s brain-child. Once you can get the Source engine purring for you though, it should run for a nice long time and get plenty of use.
Generally speaking, I think the Source engine is the better choice here. Though it may be somewhat harder to go with, there’s no denying that Source can still look very pretty, could have surprising new future features, and gives you great potential for success as a mod or even in helping you succeed personally. Just keep in mind that whichever engine you pick you should make sure that your mod is a good idea in the first place. It won’t matter which engine you choose if you have a badly planned mod after all.
http://www.thebyrus.com/?p=9
I gotta say, I’ve been impressed with Big Stage’s technology. Though it’s still in beta and has had its fair share of hickups, it’s finally starting to get into a solid, working state. At least for me. What you see up above is the results of 3 photographs of my face and some settings for the glasses, hair, and of course background on BigStage’s site.
http://www.thebyrus.com/?p=6
Welcome to TheByrus. My name is Michael Cormier and well…let’s see…I’m a college student and I’m starting to do some serious work in my carrier. So I thought it’d be a good idea to get a site up so I can post my work for the world to see and hopefully enjoy.
So what can you expect from this site? Well I’m currently majoring in Game Programming but my range of skill is well beyond programming alone. I’ll be posting work I’ve done in projects such as:
Web design
Web programming/scripting
Game Modifications
->Unreal 3 Maps, Materials, Textures, and Other Modifications
->Source Engine Maps, Materials, Textures, and Other Modifications
Retro Game Modifications and Reverse Engineering
Programs
->Source code for said programs (usually)
->Explanations of program engineering
http://www.thebyrus.com/?p=3
After several hours of work, I finished the enemy list.
I have seen part of the “world 1″ animation over 100 times. It is etched into my brain forever.
This was tedious work, but i did it.
All 255 of the enemies [some placeholder] Listed in a document
ka-enemies
An interesting one is byte EB, which seems to be an [...]
http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Thebyrus/~3/479047129/
http://www.last.fm/music/Queen
http://www.last.fm/music/Queen/_/Don%27t+Stop+Me+Now
I’m Mike’s partner in time crime, Pozeal. Before starting up this small project with Mike, I had been hacking KA’s GFX, hoping others would find something. Now I strive to discover KA’s secrets. Well now that introduction is over with, here’s some more values for RAM we’ve found.
0×000de0
Kirby’s item held/power use?.[get hit after changing to [...]
http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Thebyrus/~3/478011129/
Right so welcome to my blog! Here are a few little RAM locations for Kirby’s Adventure. Hopefully more progress can be made soon. Most of these variables were found by Pozeal but some of these were found by or assisted in being found by me.
0×00004e
Current power card shown
0×000045
current FG set loaded
0×000056
current secondary FG set loaded
0×000083
current [...]
http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Thebyrus/~3/477226601/
http://www.last.fm/music/%22Weird+Al%22+Yankovic
http://www.last.fm/music/%22Weird+Al%22+Yankovic/_/Your+Horoscope+for+Today
Queen RadioCreated By: miccormi
http://www.pandora.com/?sc=sh36402386214579013
Do my eyes deceive me? Or is that truely what I think it is? Did the Starcraft 2 beta get leaked? Is it official testing? Or am I so lucky that I added someone to my friends list on Steam that’s a Blizzard employee? Yes, I know a lot of people will say this could easily have been photoshoped. But this is %100 authentic - swear on my mother’s grave.
http://thebyrus.com/?p=22
An interesting thing I noticed the other day - Apparently when you Shift-Tab through the Steam Chat overlay in some games that can use it, it will corrupt video memory and cause your chat overlay to be come textures in the game. Above is a gallery showing off an example of this glitch. Remember you have to Shift-Tab rather quickly to make the glitch happen. Below is a video and screen-shots of the glitch in action.
http://thebyrus.com/?p=16
This is a glitch that occurs from Steam's chat overlay. If you load most games through Steam, you can use the Steam Chat overlay (Shift-Tab) to talk to friends through Steam. It seems though, that if you rapidly switch this overlay on and off while a game is loading textures, it will accidentally overwrite those textures in video memory, causing your chat windows and overlay to BECOME the texture in the game. The easiest example is here in Spore Creature Creator, but it works in many other games. This includes Team Fortress 2 or other Source games. Try it while loading a level.
Author: SpexFox
Keywords: Spore Glitch Steam Community Shift Tab Video RAM VRAM
Added: June 23, 2008
http://youtube.com/?v=dmB_ygl8SI0
Steam Chat Overlay Glitch
This is a glitch that occurs from Steam's chat overlay. If you load most games through Steam, you can use the Steam Chat overlay (Shift-Tab) to talk to friends through Steam. It seems though, that if you rapidly switch this overlay on and off while a game is loading textures, it will accidentally overwrite those textures in video memory, causing your chat windows and overlay to BECOME the texture in the game. The easiest example is here in Spore Creature Creator, but it works in many other ...
From:
SpexFox
Views:
3130
11
ratings
Time:
00:27
More in
Science & Technology
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dmB_ygl8SI0&feature=youtube_gdata
Steam Chat Overlay Glitch
This is a glitch that occurs from Steam's chat overlay. If you load most games through Steam, you can use the Steam Chat overlay (Shift-Tab) to talk to friends through Steam. It seems though, that if you rapidly switch this overlay on and off while a game is loading textures, it will accidentally overwrite those textures in video memory, causing your chat windows and overlay to BECOME the texture in the game. The easiest example is here in Spore Creature Creator, but it works in many other games. This includes Team Fortress 2 or other Source games. Try it while loading a level.See higher quality screen shots on my blog: http://www.thebyrus.com
From:
SpexFox
Views:
2256
8
ratings
Time:
00:27
More in
Science & Technology
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dmB_ygl8SI0
In My LifeThe BeatlesAlbum: Rubber SoulStation: With A Little Help From My Friends RadioFavorite Created on: June 20, 2008
http://www.pandora.com/music/song/beatles/in+my+life
Viva La Vida RadioCreated By: miccormi
http://www.pandora.com/?sc=sh28497782374132549
http://www.last.fm/music/Subliminal+Labs
http://www.last.fm/music/Subliminal+Labs/_/Skate+or+Die+Subcrunch+OC+ReMix
http://www.last.fm/music/DJ+Cyker
http://www.last.fm/music/DJ+Cyker/_/Chrono+Trigger+SchalaAncients+OC+ReMix
http://www.last.fm/music/djpretzel
http://www.last.fm/music/djpretzel/_/King+of+Fighters+98+Ghetto+Recursive+OC+ReMix
http://www.last.fm/music/djpretzel
http://www.last.fm/music/djpretzel/_/King+of+Fighters+%2798+%27Ghetto+Recursive%27+OC+ReMix
http://www.last.fm/music/Sadorf
http://www.last.fm/music/Sadorf/_/Ecco+2%3A+the+Tides+of+Time+Medusa+Mix+OC+ReMix
http://www.last.fm/music/S%7Cr_NutS
http://www.last.fm/music/S%7Cr_NutS/_/High+Above+The+Sky
If you have sharp eyes and watched the new Team Fortress 2 Trailer, “Meet the Sniper”, you may have noticed the Pyro weilding a non-standard weapon. I gotta say, it makes me damn gitty to see it too. The picture is after the break if you don’t want to spoil it for you.
Looks like some kind of grenade launcher! Hot damn!! I can’t WAIT to get my hands on this thing! Spread the glorious news - the Pyro will no longer be useless! =)
http://thebyrus.com/?p=14
Today, Mozilla set out to set world record history by launching its Firefox 3 web browser with a big event - Firefox 3 World Record Download Day! Naturally, I was excited for this right off the bat because I personally LOVE Firefox. So the day came; today, June 17, 2008. I opened up my browser (You guessed right, Firefox) and went to the download page to find what you see above. Sadly, it looks like Mozilla forgot to beef up their servers enough for this big event. Either that or they did boost their servers but still couldn’t handle the load (I wouldn’t be surprised).
However, there is good news. If you need to download the browser, FTP access still works. You can get to the browser download here:
ftp://mozilla.isc.org/pub/mozilla.org/firefox/releases/3.0/win32/en-US/
And thanks to labnol.org for finding this FTP link.
EDIT: Never mind. It turns out that’s actually the RC3 version after all.
Related articles
Today is Firefox download day. Will it hit 5 million? [via Venturebeat.com]
Firefox 3 Available for Download on Mozilla FTP & Web Servers [via Labnol.org]
http://thebyrus.com/?p=12
http://www.last.fm/music/Coldplay
http://www.last.fm/music/Coldplay/_/Viva+la+Vida
http://www.last.fm/music/Coldplay
http://www.last.fm/music/Coldplay/_/Viva+La+Vida
http://www.last.fm/music/Gorillaz
http://www.last.fm/music/Gorillaz/_/Dare+%28Junior+Sanchez+Remix%29
http://www.last.fm/music/Gorillaz
http://www.last.fm/music/Gorillaz/_/DARE+%28Junior+Sanchez+remix%29
http://www.last.fm/music/Gorillaz
http://www.last.fm/music/Gorillaz/_/DARE+%28Junior+Sanchez+Remix%29
http://www.last.fm/music/Coldplay
http://www.last.fm/music/Coldplay/_/Viva+la+Vida
http://www.last.fm/music/Coldplay
http://www.last.fm/music/Coldplay/_/Viva+La+Vida
http://www.last.fm/music/Gorillaz
http://www.last.fm/music/Gorillaz/_/Dare+%28Junior+Sanchez+Remix%29
http://www.last.fm/music/Coldplay
http://www.last.fm/music/Coldplay/_/Viva+la+Vida
http://www.last.fm/music/Coldplay
http://www.last.fm/music/Coldplay/_/Viva+La+Vida
There’s no doubt about it - the iPhone 3G is looking good to people who’ve been wanting an iPhone, but can’t pull together the money for it. A %50 price drop is ambisious and down-right unexpected from Apple. I for one am really happy they chose to do this though, and I’m sure many other people are as well.
So this brings up a debate for myself. Should I get an iPhone 3G? I can already say that right now, I don’t need it with a phone plan. I’d likely just buy it and use it as a mobile device like my iPod Touch right now. However, the iPod Touch lacks a microphone and speaker. That means with the iPhone, I could easily use it as a VoIP phone on WiFi until I choose to get a full data plan with a provider - meaning I can get all the features of the iPhone and unlimited voice on the cheap side (much like I mentioned two posts back). It also has a nice digital camera and I currently lack one. The only thing I need to know (like everyone else) is will the hardware in the iPhone 3G be different enough that it can’t be jailbroken [right away]? What about using iPwner or WinPwn to crack it open? I think once I know the answers to these questions, I’ll make my decision.
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http://thebyrus.com/?p=11
With A Little Help From My Friends RadioCreated By: miccormi
http://www.pandora.com/?sc=sh26644495395973957
Across The Universe RadioCreated By: miccormi
http://www.pandora.com/?sc=sh26643468898790213
Ave Maria RadioCreated By: miccormi
http://www.pandora.com/?sc=sh26217373783288645
I tend not to give music enough credit in my life. The truth of the matter is music is very important and inspiring to me. I care about music so much these days, that when I’m listening to music at home I prefer the pure, natural quality of vinyl records.
So this service comes along called “Muxtape” that lets you upload [up to 12] songs into a personal online playlist that you can share with the world. It sounded boring to me at first, but then I gave it a try. I have to say, it’s very simple to use and fun to try and put together a good mix of songs on a playlist. I put mine together in a way that tells a story. At least, that’s my intent.
You can check out my Muxtape page HERE.
http://thebyrus.com/?p=10
I was trying to find a way I could get a very cheap phone plan on Skype and use it anywhere I go as well as give me all the rich, “internet anywhere” features that are so handy to have these days. What would this mean? Well, it would mean finding a phone with an unlimited data plan that runs Windows Mobile so it can use the Skype client. (Well, perhaps it doesn’t NEED to be Windows Mobile, but it’d be preferred)
After a little research I found what might be the most perfect phone plan ever if you want unlimited data and voice on the cheap side. It requires this:
The Sprint “Basic Power Vision Access Pack ($15/month)
A Sprint phone capable of using this service over a 3G network (I’m going with the PPC-6700)
A Skype “Unlimited US & Canada Plan” ($2.95/month)
Skype for Windows Mobile (Free!)
Combining all these things, you’ll pay about $18 a month for an unlimited data, web browsing, and voice plan as well as the added benefit of having the same Skype number at home and on your mobile PLUS the additional features of Sprint’s Power Vision plan. Of course, if you wanted to go all out you could purchase the $25/month plan from Sprint and get all those other tasty features they offer without any limits.
The only thing that could get in the way of this plan is if Sprint offers the ability to buy ONLY their Power Vision plan without any additional packages being pressed on for more money, etc. Besides that, getting a phone capable of running the Skype client is the only other hurdle. The phone mentioned above can be bought for a decent price on eBay (the PPC-6700) but there are likely some cheaper phones that could work as well.
UPDATE:
Unfortunately, this plan is not possible. However, Sprint does offer a 30/month data plan. It looks like the best solution out of all others now.
More Information:
Spint PPC-6700:
Sprint PPC-6700 Demo Page
Sprint Power Vision Services:
Sprint Power Vision Service Information
Skype Subscriptions:
Skype US/Canada Subscription
Skype for Windows Mobile:
Skype for Windows Mobile Information
http://thebyrus.com/?p=9
What you see here is a re-designed cover to the famous album by Michael Jackson entitled Thriller. I recently started listening to it with the released 25th aniversary album. With final projects starting to come up, I was inspired to create this for a Photoshop & Illustraitor
The reason I created this was not just because I felt Thriller was a great album. Looking upon the original cover didn’t give me the sense of what I was about to listen to when it came to the title song. It featured a clean, good-looking Michael Jackson from back in the day laying across the cover in an empty space with “Thriller” written in a signature, hand-written The colors were mainly gold and black, with White on Michael Jackson’s outfit itself.
Looking at this cover says “you’re about to hear Jackson’s best album” but it says little about the title song itself. With my re-design, I decided to change that. It’s very obvious at first glance my cover has a dark and “goulish” theme - much like the song on the album does. I created a simplistic design with few colors so that:
It could be created effectively in Illustraitor - a program I was attempting to get a stonger handle on
Fewer colors would mean bolder changes in tone to create details, making edges clean and stand out
The cover features only red and black colors schemes. In fact, it mainly uses %100 black and %100 red values for its colors. This only changes for the background text, featuring the rap done by Vincent Price in the title song repeated. Having the words there gives the viewer something more to look at in my opinion, and makes it more fun to observe after to spotting the details - such as the “Raptor Hands” silluet on the back cover.
“Thriller” (c) 1982 Michael Jackson, Epic Records, “Thriller” Re-Design (c) 2008 Michael Cormier
Celebrate the 25th Anniversary of Thriller on the official Michael Jackson Website
http://thebyrus.com/?p=8
Hello there nobody! Since I’ve just started posting there’s likely no one looking at this right now, but just in case, check this out:
I’m selling quite a few things on eBay before I move. So please, check out my items! They MUST go by May 3rd!
http://search.ebay.com/_W0QQsassZspexfox
http://thebyrus.com/?p=4
Michael Jackson RadioCreated By: miccormi
http://www.pandora.com/?sc=sh16251104036383557
Heavy Weapons Guy DJ's to the TF2 Sparta Remix. Here's the original song's creator:Keaton
http://www.youtube.com/keatonkeaton999
Author: SpexFox
Keywords: Heavy Weapons Guy Team Fortress TF2 Sparta Remix DJ Disc Jockey
Added: March 8, 2008
http://youtube.com/?v=nIWc69wMlvw
Heavy Weapons Guy DJ
Heavy Weapons Guy DJ's to the TF2 Sparta Remix. Here's the original song's creator:Keaton
http://www.youtube.com/keatonkeaton999
From:
SpexFox
Views:
377
10
ratings
Time:
01:01
More in
Comedy
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nIWc69wMlvw
Heavy Weapons Guy DJ
Heavy Weapons Guy dj's to the TF2 Sparta Remix. Here's the original song's creator: Keaton www.youtube.com
From:
SpexFox
Views:
599
15
ratings
Time:
01:01
More in
Comedy
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nIWc69wMlvw&feature=youtube_gdata
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