HOW TO: Combine Facebook and Twitter for Live Chat

There aren’t a lot of solutions that connect Facebook friends to Twitter followers. In general, these two groups are separate, but there a lot times where we want to bring them together – i.e. to chat about a new business idea. When you have a group, you want to create a chat, but getting people from both sides together (and spreading the word about it) isn’t easy.

Enter SavorChat. Created by Marc Stedman (a co-founder of Savor the Success), the new social media discussion tool is the one of the most elegant group chat solutions we’ve ever come across. Its selling point? Facebook () friends and Twitter () followers can chat with each other seamlessly. Try it out for yourself in Mashable’s SavorChat.

First, its core feature: you can log into the chat either via Facebook Connect or Twitter OAuth. This simple and elegant solution works almost seamlessly. Once you’re logged in, all your chat updates will have your profile picture and an icon indicating whether you came from twitter or Facebook. Clicking on the picture takes you to a person’s profile page.

As a room creator, you have a lot of control over the room’s feel. Primarily, you can set set a chat duration and, best of all, you can set a Twitter hashtag that will be tweeted out anytime someone tweets fro mthe room. You can choose to send any of your chat updates via the microblogging tool by clicking a simple checkbox.

We’re fans of anything that better connects people across the web. Alone, the chat interface is great, but its integration with both Twitter and Facebook gives it a personal feel and make it accessible to practically everyone on the web. Now when you want to chat with Facebook and Twitter friends, you’ll have a quick and easy solution.

Via Mashable

PhotoSketch Launched with 30 Day Trial

PhotoSketch by Brainstorm Technology LLC is now available with a fully functional 30 day trial version available for download. PhotoSketch is a Google SketchUp plugin that enables the user to model 3D urban structures directly from photographs. It is aimed at architects, designers, and entertainment content creators allowing a new approach to create lightweight 3D models of existing buildings.

Sure you can model direct onto photographs already in SketchUp and indeed that is the basis of a lot of the models currently seen in Google Earth. Where Photoshetch seems to differ is the ability to determine camera positions and extract and match geometric features derived from a collection of overlapping photos of an urban scene.

Head over to http://www.brainstormllc.com/ for the download.

Via DigitalUrban

A World in HDR: Book on HDR photography coming soon

A World in HDR: It’s a 216-page book that should be everything you have been waiting for. The vast majority of the book is select pieces from the portfolio along with extended descriptions, tips, and more information about how the photo was achieved. The second part of the book contains the HDR Tutorial along with a few bonus steps to help you get extra oomph in your creations!

Pre-Order Now Available!

The book is now available for pre-order. It will be out at least a month before Christmas, although the exact street date depends on the publisher, Peachpit / New Riders.

Read More at stuckincustoms

My Digital Art

Kangana Ranaut

An artistic impression of Kangana Ranaut: A bollywood actress.

More of my digital art can be viewed HERE.

Whitianga Photos

A few months ago I went to Whitianga, a place located in the Coromendal peninsula, New Zealand. Above are some of the photos that I took particulalrly of the natural landscapes of Whitianga.

Photos can be purchased and printed on canvas or other mediums. Just contact me if interested.

Microsoft Unveils Energy Management Software

Google has been releasing information on their smart meter management software called PowerMeter little by little, but we've yet to see a fully-completed product.  Microsoft is hoping to steal some of their thunder by releasing a beta version of their energy management software, Hohm, this week and, at least appearance-wise, it has Google beat.

The web-based software allows users to monitor and control their energy use by logging into the Hohm website with their Windows Live ID and zip code.  Based on that information, the software makes estimates of their home energy use and allows the user to enter specific information by answering any or all of 180 questions, with each answer making the numbers more accurate.

So far the software is only available for use by a few utilities - Xcel Energy, Sacramento Municipal Utility District, Seattle City Light and Puget Sound Energy - with more in line to start using it soon.  If you happen to live in one of the areas serviced by the list above, your energy use information will be even more comprehensive with historical data available from the utility.

The software will be smart meter-compatible as soon as any of its utility partners begin using them.

Eventually, the software will be used in connection with electric vehicle charging and grid demand management, but those more delux features will likely come with a price.  Microsoft has made clear that this software is a product like any other they've created and as it's further developed, cost will start being a factor.  For now, at least while it's in beta, the energy managment tool is free.

via Ecogeek and Earth2Tech

World Builder: the Next Generation of SketchUp

The short film below could be "the SketchUp of the future."

The man in the film wants to build a virtual world for the woman he loves, and the way he creates it is very similar to how you'd do it in SketchUp. He starts with simple boxes, adds details like doors and windows, applies colors and textures, brings in some shadows, etc. Flowers and trees are a little more challenging at the moment in SketchUp, but maybe future versions WILL be this easy. Enjoy!

Via 3dvinci

See the steps to model for Google Earth

If you've wondered what the process really looks like for getting a 3D model into Google Earth, you should check out this new video (also included below). You'll see a building created from scratch in SketchUp, pushed up for review, and placed in Google Earth for all to see. It's soup to nuts. The building is very simple and the reference photos are great for modeling (if I do say so myself).

This video provides step-by-step directions describing how to use photographs, Google SketchUp, Google Earth, and the Google 3D Warehouse to create and upload a model for consideration in Google Earth's 3D Building layer. Check it out when you have a chance.

Via Google

Take your 3D with you

Google just released a new feature in the Google 3D Warehouse that enables anyone to embed an interactive view of any 3D Warehouse model on a webpage or blog. Here's an example:



Here's how it works:

You've probably seen these two buttons on a model's details page:


The "Link" button shows you the URL for the current page. The "Include" button expands to look like this:


If you've ever embedded a YouTube video on a web page, this should be familiar to you. You'll select the type of embed (a static image, a 3D view, or a view using the Google Earth plugin), copy the HTML, and paste it into your site. This Help Center article contains more details.

Via Google

EVOGRID Visualisation

Rammy Elsaadany, a Masters of Architecture student at the Bartlett school of architecture, has just completed a collaborative film with Bruce Damer about the proposed EVOGRID project.

The film connects together a simplified version of the scientific narrative and also a conceptual development of what could possibly happen once the EVOGRID project is established. Rammy used a variety of techniques to achieve this film, including 3d modeling, compositing, and green screen. The software used includes 3D Max, After Effects, Premiere and Sound Booth.

See http://www.evogrid.org/index.php/Main_Page for more info - we really like this, its up there with some of the best work we have featured here on digital urban.

Take a look at Rammys YouTube channel for more work, he is currently working as a freelance so if any of you out there need one of the best new urban animators do get in touch with him.

Via Digital Urban

Revit to Microsoft Project Connector Released

A new release of the BIMjet Connect software was released this week. The Connector provides a bi-directional link between Microsoft Project and Autodesk Revit platforms. Enabling Architects and Contractors  to schedule complex BIM models for 4D visualization and construction scheduling.

Via Blgsim

XBox 360: Project Natal - Potential for Architectural and GeoVisualisation

Microsoft has announced the new Natal motion controller fro the XBox 360 at this years E3 conference. Natal is a small, device that sits underneath the screen and senors the users movement, completely eliminating the need for a controller.

This offers huge potential in the world of Urban visualisation, both in the professional realm and for communicating geography and architecture to a wider audience.

Game engines and gaming devices offer a lot of potential for visualisation and simulation and with Natal that has just got more interesting.

Via Digital Urban

Microsoft reinvents Live search as ‘Bing’

So far through the last year, Microsoft has been mostly criticized for making products and releasing services which were either poor in quality or of no customer value.

Live search by Microsoft remains the top candidate in that case, which promised to provide a search engine as better as Google but failed miserably in achieving a user-following like Google did. But perhaps with Microsoft's new search engine called Bing, the scenario might change.

Bing is the final version of the long-in-alpha new search engine by Microsoft codenamed Kumo which we reviewed earlier this year and to be honest, its intelligent and also pretty amazing.

According to the press-release by Microsoft:

Bing is specifically designed to build on the benefits of today's search engines but begins to move beyond this experience with a new approach to user experience and intuitive tools to help customers make better decisions.

Bing definitely helps in improving the customer-experience by providing data in the most organized manner. As soon as one passes on a query, it is processed and the results are displayed much like in the same format as Google, but Bing takes the edge when it comes to the organization of these results.

Results are organized into links, images, videos, maps and Bing is smart enough to give you a preview of these results even in case of videos.

Also, being new, Bing has a definite advantage over Google as it is immune to black-hat SEO techniques like keyword stuffing so the results are more relevant and up-to-date. Moreover, Bing has support for aspect-oriented queries such as weather, location etc.

As it seems, Live search is right now redirecting to Bing and soon will act as a portal all to Microsoft Live services. So to test out Bing, head over to the Live search website.

Via Sizlopedia

Open .Docx files online with Google Docs

Google Docs serves as a great alternative to native OS word processors like Microsoft Office and OpenOffice but with only one limitation until now, the inability to process .Docx file documents.

However, with the recent addition of new file formats to the list of support ones in Google Docs, users will now be able to not only upload and process .Docx file documents but will also be able to upload and process .xlsx spreadsheets with Google Spreadsheets.

The .Docx format was introduced by Microsoft in Office 2007 as a standard XML file format to store the data of any document, spreadsheet or presentation and is hereby the most-commonly used extension for documents.

Having the ability to now upload and process these files through Google Docs will allow users to make use of the cloud services in a better way and keep their documents safe and synchronized wherever they go.

To upload, simply select the file document and Google Docs will automatically detect the format, upload it, convert it and display it.

For more convinience, you might want to try out the .Docx to .Rtf converter.

Via Sizlopedia

Drag and drop your models with Creator

Esperient Creator is an interactive 3D application-authoring tool, that provides a WYSIWYG approach to creating interactive 3D applications. It's compatible with Google SketchUp and integrates right into your workflow. John D'Amours, President and Founder of Visual Training Solutions, uses Google SketchUp and the Google 3D Warehouse to create or find content. He then brings that content "to life" with Esperient Creator. He says, “SketchUp provides some great home furnishings, accents, and even unique materials and textures that can easily be modified and brought to life in RH and Esperient Creator. This is extremely useful for creating 3D instructions for improvement projects around the house, employees, and even marketing and communication tools. You never know what you’ll find in the Google 3D Warehouse…I always check there first.”

Check out this video that highlights a number of workflows using Google SketchUp and Google 3D Warehouse with Esperient Creator.

Via Google Sketchup Blog

Microsoft officially announces the Zune HD

Lately a lot of rumors have been surfacing on the Internet about a new HD device named as Zune HD.

However, this is no longer  a rumor anymore as Microsoft has officially announced the new Zune HD portable media player in a press-release.

The new Zune HD becomes the first ever Zune to feature a metallic surface and a touchscreen. Below is a detailed list of all the features and specifications for the new Zune HD.

• 3.3 inch Capacitive Touchscreen
• Metallic body in black and bronze
• A resolution of 480x272
• Multitouch input
• HD radio and video
• Full-screen Internet browser
• WiFi and accelerometer

Looking at the features one can definitely believe it to be hell of a device, and also the first ever portable media player to include HD radio which streams songs at a much better quality than traditional radio.

Although a head to head comparison with the iPod Touch tells us that Microsoft might not trying to be too innovative with the Zune HD. Also the device is supported to sync and work with only Windows PCs which is ironic in the sense that Mac users wouldn't really consider buying a Zune.

The Zune HD will only be available in the US, unlike most other portable media players which are available worldwide. More details on the hardware, availability and price will be released by Microsoft soon.

Via Sizlopedia

New Cadyou.com Model & Texture Search

Tom of cadyou.com has created a new 3d model and texture search application that searches 13 sites for models and textures.

The search returns thumbnail links of the models and textures, and has some great sorting and filtering options.

Give it a try - it works well, looks nice, and is a real time-saver if your searching assets.


Via sketchup plugins

Modelur - a SketchUp tool for parametric urban design

MODELUR is a sketchup plugin  for parametric urban design that enables:

 

• rapid design of built environment,
• quick response to changed conditions of planned site,
• automatic change of built environment,
• quick creation of different variants of urban design solution,
• avoiding mistakes issued by wrong building articulation and
• continuous supervision of achieved urban control values.

Read More

Below is a video showing the application in action:

MVRDV vision for Grand Paris 2030

This animation presents MVRDVs vision for Greater Paris 2030. The project Paris Plus petit by MVRDV in collaboration with ACS and AAF is one of ten proposals by international architecture and urbanism teams to envision the future of the French capital and its vast agglomeration. The urban challenge has been commissioned by Nicolas Sarkozy, President of France.

Paris Plus stands for more: more ambition, more optimism, more density, more efficiency, more ecology and more compactness. Greater Paris needs a strong combination of responsibility and ambition to continue its development, to ensure its consistency and to develop a cohesion that can build a base for a collective enterprise to solve its problems, to enlarge its presence and attractiveness, to create an even more remarkable, exemplary city.

Read More

Via architecturemnp

Google Announces First Round of PowerMeter Partners

Most ecogeeks have been anxiously awaiting updates on Google's smart grid technology, the PowerMeter, which will allow homeowners to track and manage their energy use on their iGoogle homepage and, according to one Google employee who saved $3,000 in one year, significantly lower their energy bills.

Many other smaller companies have been developing energy management software too, but we all know that Google has a track record of being a game changer and their addition to the market could allow us to see a huge increase in smart meter users and, hopefully, major gains in home energy efficiency.

Read More

Via EcoGeek

frank lloyd wright: from within outward exhibition opens at the guggenheim, nyc

Fifty years after the realization of frank lloyd wright’s renowned design,
the solomon r. guggenheim museum is celebrating the golden anniversary
of its landmark building with the exhibition frank lloyd wright: from within outward,
co-organized by the guggenheim foundation and the frank lloyd wright foundation.

the exhibition which opened on friday brings together sixty-four projects designed
by one of the most influential architects of the 20th century, including privately
commissioned residences, civic and government buildings, religious and performance
spaces, as well as unrealized urban mega-structures. presented on the spiral ramps of
wright’s museum through a range of mediums; including more than 200 original
frank lloyd wright drawings, many of which are on view to the public for the first time,
as well as newly commissioned models and digital animations.
it will be on view until august 23, 2009.


entrance into the exhibition


entrance into the exhibition


'from within outward' exhibition throughout the various levels


model of the gordon strong automobile objective, sugarloaf, maryland, 1924 -1925
image © designboom

the gordon strong automobile objective was conceived by frank lloyd wright
as a project for businessman gordon strong to provide views on the summit
of the sugar loaf mountain and serve as an objective for short motor trips.
the spiraling roadways, cantilevered to allow full views, were supported by
a vast dome 150 feet in diameter. under the dome wright proposed a planetarium,
to be surrounded by a circular gallery containing aquaria and natural-history exhibits.


model of the gordon strong automobile objective, sugarloaf, maryland
image © designboom


model of johnson wax headquarters, 1936-1939
image © designboom

the johnson wax headquarters was built with over 200 types of curved red bricks
and used glass tubing in its interior. perhaps one of the most known sections of
the headquarters isthe 'great workroom' , an open area with no internal walls
constructed with steel reinforced 'lilypad' like columns.


johnson wax headquarters - 'great workroom'


solomon r. guggenheim museum, new york, new york, 1943 - 59, perspective.
ink and watercolor on art paper
© 2009 the frank lloyd wright foundation


edgar j. kaufmann house,'fallingwater', mill run, pennsylvania, 1934 - 37, perspective.
graphite pencil and colored pencil on paper.
© 2009 the frank lloyd wright foundation


unity temple, oak park, illinois, 1905 -08, perspective.
ink and watercolor on art paper
© 2009 the frank lloyd wright foundation


herbert jacobs house #1, madison, wisconsin, 1936 -37, perspective.
colored pencil and sepia ink on paper
© 2009 the frank lloyd wright foundation


the living city (unbuilt project), u.s.a., 1958, perspective.
graphite pencil on paper.
© 2009 the frank lloyd wright foundation

Via Designboom

Theo Jansen: The art of creating creatures

Artist Theo Jansen demonstrates the amazingly lifelike kinetic sculptures he builds from plastic tubes and lemonade bottles. His creatures are designed to move -- and even survive -- on their own.