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Tuesday 31 January 2012

3 more unknown facts about starwars

these are 3 more facts i've found about star wars that you probably didnt know. if you want me to continue posting, then subscribe! :)

1. John Dykstra and the FX team invented a great deal of technology including the now vastly used, motion-control camera to match motion of object to camera. Also used were traditional stop motion techniques, as well as rotoscoping (using mattes). In particular, if you have an old copy of the film on VHS, you can see the traveling mattes around the ships.


2. After the trilogy came out, and years before Parts 1-3, there was an allegedly accurate treatment for what the next film would be, floating around. It detailed how Vader became Vader, as well as the events leading up to “A New Hope”. One of the minor elements, was the “13 year old Correllian Cabin Boy” on Captain Antilles’ ship. This alluded to Han Solo being there before the events of “A New Hope”, which luckily did not get included in the new films, as it really wouldn’t have made sense. Too much coincidence – does everyone have to know everyone?
3. David Prowse, a weightlifter from Bristol, played the role on screen but the voice was that of James Earl Jones. He was so convinced the film would be a flop, he refused to allow his name in the original credits.


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1,000 views!

thank you everyone for getting me up to 1000 views! it means a lot and i hope i get many more views to come :)

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once again, thanks!

3 unknown facts about the original star wars trilogy

1. Lucas got the idea for Chewbacca one morning in the early ’70s while watching his wife, Marcia, drive off in her car. She had their Alaskan malamute, Indiana, (the name sake for Indiana Jones) with her. Lucas liked the way the large shaggy dog looked in the passenger seat so he decided to create a character in the film that was a cross between Indiana, a bear, and a monkey.


2. Due to the limited budget the American cast members and crew (including George Lucas) all decided to fly coach class to England, rather than first class. When Carrie Fisher’s mother Debbie Reynolds heard about this she called George Lucas, complaining about how insulting it was for her daughter to be flying coach. Carrie Fisher was in the room with George Lucas when he took the call, and after a few minutes asked if she could talk to her mother. When George Lucas handed her the phone she simply said, “Mother, I want to fly coach, will you fuck off?!” and hung up.


3. While Lucas was influenced by the huge number of “Buck Rogers” reruns he watched while developing Star Wars, a much bigger influence comes from work of Akira Kurosawa. Much influence comes from the film, Hidden Fortress, as well as many of the characters from Seven Samurai. Just about every character Toshiro Mifune plays is Han Solo, and check out the little Yoda-looking dude!

Monday 30 January 2012

VST: Itchy overdose suite

I was browsing VST's the other day, when i came across a pack of VST's known as ITCHY. I noticed that they were free and first thought 'nahhh these arent going to be any good!' but what do you know? they really are.

This pack of vst's pretty much have you covered for the synth side of drum n bass or dubstep. it includes:
- PUNCH
- RESONANCE 
- SEISMIK
- SKYSCRAPER
- SUBBSONIC
- WONKEY

personally, i love Resonance. It partly automates the wobble bass for you, which can come in very useful for beginners. There are also a lot of presets, meaning that you could play around for ever.
Wonkey already comes with a 'wobble' preset, meaning that you just have to tweak around with the octave and speed of the wobble if you're a beginner.
Punch is basically a bunch of bass lines, most of them are pretty good and suite almost any sound.

I've included a link to where you can download this, so please remember too:

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Sunday 29 January 2012

iPhone 5 production rumours

when i read this article about the iPhone 5 rumours, i though to myself: thank god there isnt another iphone 4s coming out! a step in the right direction i think.

so according to 9to5mac, the 'iPhone 5' could be nearing completion. which means that it could be somewhere in summer that we see these incredible devices hit the shelves. 
The sample devices have a 4 inch screen, and are about half the thickness of the iphone 4!

not much more to say really

thanks :) and remember to comment rate and subscribe!

Saturday 28 January 2012

has technology gone too far?

in this post, i'll be explaining how i think technology has gone too far. Yes, it may have made life a lot easier in certain aspects - but what happened to the 'good old fashioned' way?

so lets start with the positives. firstly, it has made everything in life a lot easier. i'm quite interested in DJ'ing and lets just say that when this it started you needed a hell of a lot of equiptment, but now i can do it all from my laptop with simple things such as a DAW. this has made things a lot easier and cheaper (considering you can download these things illegally) also, you used to have to go out and buy CD's, but now, you can download the file with the song in. this means that certain resources dont get wasted to make the packaging or equiptment.
with things like Bluetooth, it means that you dont have the hassle of unravelling cables, with the same quality of sharing the information or file. i remember when i was 11, and all you had to do was download a song from somewhere like Beemp3 and you could send the song to anyone via bluetooth. oh, those were the days.
technology has also made keeping in contact friends a lot easier. first there was mobile phones, now there's mobile phones - with the same capabilities as a computer. there's also social networking. with hundreds of millions of people keeping in contact with things like Facebook and Twitter, communicating has never been so much easier.
travelling has also become much better thanks to technology. whether you want to drive more economically or faster - technology has enhanced everything. you have cars that can partially drive themselves, cars that can go as fast as a planes take off speed and many other things.

now, there's one thing that over shadows everything. and that thing is the amount of electricity that all of them use. yeah, there are ways of making all the technology use less... but the matter of the fact is that  more and more people buy high tech stuff, meaning that we consume more and more fossil fuels every day. at the moment, the world uses more than 90 million barrels of oil a day - expected to go up to 120 million by 2050. we've already reached peak oil, and the invention of sustainable bio fuels is slow.
everyone is also getting lazier with all of the tech. more and more people shop online instead of walking to the shops. what happened to the experience of shopping? wasnt that enough?
so, whether you think im right or not. everything im saying makes sense. the question is, what do we do?  there isnt anything really. theres no proper way of finding anything that will sustain the electricity hunger that we have.
after looking this stuff up, i prefer the old fashioned way. even if it means more work.

Saturday 14 January 2012

How star wars changed the world



Worlds with Double Sunsets Common
After discussing his future plans with his Uncle Owen, Luke Skywalker leaves the Lars Homestead and heads towards the vista to watch the twin suns of Tatooine set while he reflects upon his destiny. © Lucasfilm Ltd. & TM. All Rights Reserved.
CREDIT:
It's been more than 30 years since "Star Wars" first exploded into theaters, but the swashbuckling sci-fi films from writer-director George Lucas have left a legacy no other blockbuster has surpassed.
Increasingly, the impact of "Star Wars" is not limited to pop culture or even world politics. As science and technology advance, the world is little by little growing more and more like that galaxy far, far away.
A taste of the science fiction franchise's impact is landing in Orlando, Fla., this week, where devotees from around the world are expected to congregate for theStar Wars Celebration V convention. The four-day convention runs Thursday through Sunday at the Orange County Convention Center.
The cultural influence of the six "Star Wars" films, plus the novels, comics, television shows, games, toys, spoofs and documentaries linked with "Star Wars," is such that, in the 2001 United Kingdom census, some 390,000 people stated their religion as Jedi, making it the fourth largest religion surveyed. Just last month, members of the performance art group Improv Everywhere filmed themselves re-enacting Princess Leia's capture by Darth Vader on the New York subway, and the automotive navigation systems company TomTom recently made "Star Wars" voices an option for its GPS devices.

"Star Wars" also has had more-subtle influences on Hollywood. It pioneered the modern special effects blockbuster as well as the modern movie trilogy, leading the way for "Lord of the Rings" and "The Matrix," among others. It also showed that merchandising can make even more money than the movies do ? the deal that "Star Wars" creator George Lucas made with Pepsico over merchandising rights for the prequel films was estimated to be worth roughly $2 billion.
New Age thinking
In the year "Return of the Jedi" first came out, "Star Wars" unexpectedly became drafted into a high-tech controversy in a real and different kind of war ? the Cold War.
The Strategic Defense Initiative, created by Ronald Reagan in 1983, aimed to use ground- and space-based lasers, missiles and other weapons to help protect the United States from attack by nuclear missiles. Critics derisively referred to it as "Star Wars." Reagan himself may have drawn upon "Star Wars" for inspiration when he dubbed the Soviet Union "the Evil Empire," echoing the use of "evil Galactic Empire" in the opening crawl for the first film six years earlier.
A stranger link to "Star Wars" lay in the New Age ideas that U.S. Army Lt. Col. Jim Channon had for a "First Earth Battalion." As detailed in the book "The Men Who Stare at Goats" and fictionalized in the film of the same name, the U.S. military researched the idea of super-soldiers they called "Jedi warriors," who could, among other abilities, adopt cloaks of invisibility, pass through walls, precognitively sense knowledge of the future and, yes, kill goats and others just by staring at them.
As outlandish as those notions were, the advance of science and technology are increasingly producing inventions that, intentionally or not, recall the films.
During election night in 2008, CNN famously ? or infamously ? presented correspondents and musician will.i.am as "holograms" much like in scenes from "Star Wars," complete with partial translucence and a glowing blue haze around them. CNN political correspondent Jessica Yellin even noted, "It's like I follow in the tradition of Princess Leia." (In reality, these were "tomograms," made by capturing images of a person from all sides, reconstructing them with computers and displaying them on screen.)
On a more serious note, bionic hands like the ones sported by heroes and villains in "Star Wars" are now finding use by amputees. Indeed, during an NPR interview earlier this month concerning a man with a bionic hand, his daughter noted: "Darth Vader just pops into my head. And so does Luke Skywalker, 'cause they both have robotic hands."
Weapons and robots from "Star Wars" are making their way into real life, as well. A Hong Kong company recently made an ultra-powerful handheld laser that looks like a lightsaber?Walking robots resembling the giant AT-ATs that Imperial forces used to attack rebels are being developed for the military to carry equipment where conventional vehicles can't go. The U.S. Army's Future Soldier Initiative went as far as to draft plans for armor that looked much like what Imperial stormtroopers wore, although in light of the probable cost, they face an uncertain future.
Even the Death Star is beginning to appear, albeit in far miniaturized form. ?At this year's Technology, Entertainment and Design conference in February, Nathan Myhrvold, former chief technology officer for Microsoft, demonstrated a "Death Star" bug-zapper designed to use lasers to shoot down mosquitoes in flight. The hope there is not to crush microscopic rebels, but to help prevent malaria. This means if all goes well, a future influenced by "Star Wars" could go on to save millions of lives. May the Force be with it.

Thursday 12 January 2012

digg or reddit?

two really good places for submitting links from your blog, website etc. but which one is the best?

well, you have to take certain things into account. like:

who are you aiming your blog at?
are you trying to monetise?
what topic is your post?

digg is a much easier site to navigate and post on, plus there is less tracking, meaning that spamming is much easier, which is great for hits. the navigation is easy, you can find what you want, where you want in a matter of seconds. but then again, i suppose you can on any posting website, right?
it's also got a facebook style 'wall' type system, to ensure that you can see all of the posts, and it's much easier to post on.

now, reddit. This site is much better for views, purely because if you know which forum to post it on, you'll have hundreds - if not thousands of hits within the hour. although, this site is much harder to navigate and to share your posts with other sites. for instance, if they think you're spamming, they'll basically block you and not have the decency to tell you. like i did, EVEN WHEN I WASNT SPAMMING! and if you keep putting stuff from the same link up, you'll get messages telling you to put other stuff up. Most people on this site are just advertising! i dont see the problem if the information is valid.

So, in my opinion.. choose digg. much easier to communicate with people, much easier to make your posts go viral and they're much easier on you - but if you want a site which will give you hundreds or thousands of hits in a matter of hours, choose reddit. the choice is yours.

Tuesday 10 January 2012

Razer Project Fiona concept hints at power of portable Windows 8

wow! was just looking at this, it looks like a really good concept. check it out for yourself!

http://ces.cnet.com/8301-33374_1-57355660/razer-project-fiona-concept-hints-at-power-of-portable-windows-8/?tag=mainMedia%3bhighlights

linkbucks - really the best site for making money?

as you can probably see before you see this post, I had an ad from linkbucks. true, this thing makes you money just from putting ads on here ( unlike adsense, which requires the ads to be clicked) but does it really make you THAT much money?
well, no. not exactly. infact, the most you can get for one click is somewhere around $0.0025 which is barely anything in comparison to googles 36p.
but then if you think about it, if you have many followers or have a good flow of views coming into your site, you're gonna make a LOT of money.
An actual drawback is that it's something like $1 for 1000 views, meaning that you have to have money to make money. but in all fairness, you can make about $4 if the right countries are clicking.
so lets answer the question. is linkbucks the best? the answer is no. not if you're site is bad and hasnt got a stream of viewers. is adsense better? same again really. my advice? get a YouTube account and start making some video's. my friend is making nearly £800 a month off of it! jeez. anyway, add me on youtube: mattben139 

Thanks, Ben.


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Tuesday 3 January 2012

Is 2012 going to happen?

Thanks to Stephen Hawking we now know that a black hole exists in the centre of our galaxy, the Milky Way. On December 13th 2012 the Earth will come in to perfect alignment between the sun and the centre of the galaxy, this much is true. This alignment will cause the earth to be affected by additional gravity, this is also true. So the theory goes that the additional gravity created by the alignment will knock the earth out of it's orbit, and possibly into the path of a comet BOOM!! There you have your end of days theory.


But the problem with this theory is that the amount of extra gravity that the earth has will be minuscule. plus, this has happened every deceomber 21st for centuries. So that theory goes out the window.


the next theory is the pole shift theory. Apparently the North and South poles are going to shift, and it's going to be dramatic. The last pole shift was about 780,000 years ago and have intervals of about 300,000 years
Such event could really disrupt our planet that’s true. Imagine the North pole and South pole swapping places: Telecommunications, animals, humans, etc. would all be affected and it would be a really important change. There’s only one thing you need to consider… I’ve read in a lot of different places that a polar shift is going to happen on December 21 2012 and it is totally false:
Polar shift is a process that roughly takes 5,000 years to complete and doesn’t start on a specific date and time. The real truth is that nobody knows when the next one is due.


Another Theory is the Mayan calendar. apparently the Mayan calendar ends on december 21st 2012, which is completely false aswell. The Mayans believed  that december 21st is the end of a cycle, not the end of the world. This is because december 21st is the date that the sun aligns with the centre of the milky way, for the first time 26,000 years. So this prophecy is false aswell.


So, I hope i havent been biased or anything but I have given clear evidence that 2012 wont happen. If you want to go into more detail, go to this site:
http://www.dailycommonsense.com/2012-explained-why-it-shouldnt-be-feared/
This is where i got my evidence from. Thanks for reading!

Monday 2 January 2012

easy ways of making money!

http://83424618.linkbucks.com

Want to make money fast? read on...

Now, I know you probably think this is all a massive spam or something, but it really isnt. I promise you right now. This is one of the most easiest and legit ways to make money, you can get me blocked on any forum or site you're on if you dont believe me. I will admit, that i get about 10% of about anything you earn, but it doesnt matter! because some people can make up to about 1000 USD a day just by doing this!
like i said, if you think im lying... report me or whatever. but i'm being serious. just look at my friends statement just from this:


Now click the link at the bottom and dont forget to comment, rate and subscribe

thanks,
Ben :)


http://www.linkbucks.com/referral/455429

Sunday 1 January 2012

Real life lightsabre!


Wicked Lasers have done it again…
1W Laser
 Known by many as THE place to buy lasers online, they have released their latest creation yet, which is light-years ahead of the competition. If you are looking for the most powerful laser on the market, then the S3 Spyder III Artic Pro is what you’re looking for.

 Made from 6061-T6 Aircraft-Grade aluminium this powerful laser has a 5mm beam  diameter… you can actually see the beam…even in broad daylight!

 Finished in a Mil-Spec Type III hard anodized in black, the 1W laser is scratch resistant. 

 Warning: 
Even though this powerful laser has been approved by the FDA, the 1000Mw output  power is extremely powerful. So powerful in fact that it can burn skin as well as other objects…


200 views on my blog!

thanks everyone! next target is 500!

so please remember to comment, share and subscribe.

Thanks!

Ben

Iphone product 'siri' swears at a 10 year old boy


Apple's Siri voice assistant app is in hot water after reportedly verbally abusing a child who was playing with a demonstration iPhone 4S handset.
Ten year-old Charlie Le Quesne was testing the device at a Tesco store in Coventry when his mother claims he asked Siri how many people there were in the world.
The normally perfectly-mannered app said in response: "I'm not sure what you said there, Shut The F**k Up, You Ugly T***"

Going rogue?

However, it's unlikely that Siri has suddenly decide to go rogue on inquisitive children.
It appears that some smart Alec simply changed the username associated with the phone to the offending seven words, so believes it's addressing a person.
However, Charlie's mum is still fuming and expressed her anger to theCoventry Evening Telegraph.
"It's verbal abuse," said Kim Le Quesne. "Charlie was with his dad looking at the phones. We can't believe the filth it came out with.
"He showed my husband what the phone had said to him and my husband found the store manager and said 'it shouldn't be saying that'."

Still on display

Kim's anger was only enhanced when she returned to the store the next day only to see that the same iPhone 4S handset was still on display.
Tesco has said A statement said: "We have arranged for the handset in question to be sent for diagnostic testing and we will investigate this issue as a matter of priority with Apple."

Best Earbuds to buy

Earbuds are commonly issued as freebie headphones with portable players, but higher-performance earbuds can offer sonic performance that rivals full-size headphones. Their tiny earpieces rest on the outer ear or need to be inserted into the ear canal. Ultracompact and lightweight, earbuds are the most portable of all headphones, and they can provide moderate to excellent isolation from external noise. They also offer little to no interference with earrings, glasses, hats, or hairstyles.

Klipsch image S4 In-Ear Headphones (Black) Editors' Choice - Klipsch Image S4 In-Ear Headphones (Black)Klipsch Image S4 In-Ear Headphones (Black)



price - $59.95 - $79.99

Shure SE425 sound-isolating earphones

Shure SE425 sound-isolating earphones
price - $294.00 - $299.99

Etymotic hf5

price - $97.23 - $149.99


For many more reviews on these headphones, go to www.cnet.com. They have ratings, full reviews etc. I just put the top 3 on here so that you got a rough idea.

remember to comment, subscribe and share!


Thanks, Ben.