Learning Three.js: The JavaScript 3D Library for WebGL - Book Review

This week I have been reading Learning Three.js: The JavaScript 3D Library for WebGL a huge and amazing book...402 pages...and that's where I have a problem with it...

Let's be clear...the book for me...it's a Three.js bible...I believe everything single command is included...and that can be overwhelming if you're trying to learn Three.js...I would honestly would prefer a book with some real life examples instead of one that gives everything that can be done...as that for sure...comes next...

Anyway...if didn't have it...I would buy it again...it's one of the best references for a language that I have ever read...and it has tons of examples...even a Github account -:) Learning-Threejs

Three.js is very and extremely powerful...and runs on a browser! So for me it's a must learn...but of course...I'm going to look for other books on the subject before I read this one again...

Sorry if this is a short review...but...I'm still overwhelmed by it -:(

Greetings,

Blag.

Development Culture.

Ball Drop! - The Game

Today...with a lot of happiness and pleasure...I'm releasing my very first Flare3D and Leap Motion powered Flash game called Ball Drop!

Packed with 3 levels...the idea behind Ball Drop! is to guide the ball through the slopes (the must turn red) and drop it into the box...simple but fun...

Of course...it only works with the Leap Motion controller...so if you don't have one...go and buy it -;)

Comments are always welcome...

Oh...by the way...you can download it from here...Ball Drop!

Greetings,

Blag.

Development Culture.

Cinder Creative Coding Cookbook - Book Review

Ok...sometimes I have a lot of time and I'm a really avid reader...also...for this particular book I haven't tried all the examples one by one...but that's just because I wanted to share my review with the community...

So...I just finished reading Cinder Creative Coding Cookbook...and I must say...the book is simply awesome!

I love Cinder...I can't denied that...but after reading this book...I love it even more...

First things first...this book is about useful recipes...so it's full of examples with documented source code and easy to follow explanations...but...it's not for newbies...I would say...get comfortable with Cinder...then read this book...and then fall in love with Cinder...

The chapter about Image Processing is simply superb...with Cinder build-in functions, OpenCV and Cairo integration just won my heart...with the recipes...you can even build your own...let's say...rustic face recognition app...

The chapter about Particle Systems is another gem that deserve to be mentioned...

The chapters about 2D and 3D graphics is really well documented and full of fun experiments...

And to end with a golden touch...Microsoft Kinect and QR Code integration...are just amazing...

This book is 352 pages! So you can expect thousand of recipes with the most diverse and cool outcomes...

The authors really made my day with this one -:)

And BTW...something that I think is worth mentioning...is that the book is focused on both Windows and Mac users at the same time...so no one is left behind...Ok...maybe Linux users...but...Cinder doesn't exist on Linux...so no harm done...

Greetings,

Blag.
Development Culture.

Cinder - Being Creative Coding - Book Review

I just finished reading Cinder - Being Creative Coding a small but nice book about Cinder.

The book starts with an introduction to Cinder, which is always nice if you're new to Cinder...then it uses some of the examples bundled with Cinder but without giving too much detail about them...and there's were I have some complains about the book...

If you're going to use examples from the Cinder installation...you could at least try to explain them instead just showing a little bit of code...otherwise...just show the images and that's it...

Anyway...I really like the chapter about image manipulation as I did something nice like this -;) Blag's on fire!

Also the video and audio chapters were really good...but...keep in mind...this book is for newbies...and nothing more than newbies...if you have some Cinder experience I wouldn't really recommend this book...even when it has some nice things that I wasn't aware of...it didn't make it a real bargain for me...

The 3D chapter was nice as well...but a little bit short...and I think that many things were left out...

The book could have been way much better if they author had included a couple of projects to be developed along the book...as the examples are very simple...

Next time I will read and review "Cinder Creative Coding Cookbook". Hopefully...that one will be better...

Greetings,

Blag.
Development Culture.

Amazon fireTV - First Thoughts

On Wednesday, April 04 I got an email from Amazon telling me about the Amazon fireTV...I heard something about it some time ago but totally forgot until I get that email...

As I truly love Amazon, my first thought was "I need to buy it"...and my second thought was "I need to wait for it to arrive"...gladly...being an Amazon Prime Customer...it arrive as quickly as expected...

The Unboxing

It was a nice a pleasant experience -:) The box came with my Amazon fireTV and my Amazon Basics HDMI cable...that I order separately...

It amazed me the fact that the fireTV is just a small and flat black box...well...I have never used Roku, Apple TV or Chrome Cast...so what should I know?

The Remote is really nice, compact and with buttons enough to make life simple and easy...it also comes with Speech Search...which I need to say...either my English sucks or the Speech Search needs a lot of improvement  -:(

The Installation

Installation was really a snap...hook it up to the power outlet...plug in the HDMI and enjoy...I didn't even need to read the manual -:P

The first time running

First thing...it's update...so the fireTV will give the latest software available...that will take no more than a couple of minutes...

Once your fireTV is ready to run, you will a nice video showcasing the goodies of the...fireTV of course -:)

I have read that some people complain about this video...but actually I found it funny, short and educative...also...it only runs once (unless you want to see it again)...

The Performance

So far...I have tested on two TVs...the one in the living room where the WIFI is and my room...in both places it worked perfectly fine...great speed and performance for Netflix and Amazon Instant Video...also...the interface is cleaner and easier to browse...actually Netflix seems to look better and more organized here...

Verdict after a couple of days

Well...only a couple of days has happened...but...I totally love my Amazon fireTV...it even come with games! Come on! You can see Minecraft showing up...after some more time...I will be able to give a better review -;) Stay tuned!

Greetings,

Blag.
Development Culture.