#Design Software Comparison

[codertrend]

Why I Choose The Affinity Suite Over The Adobe One

A Deep Dive Into My Experience With Affinity and Adobe Firstly, this is in no way affiliated by Affinity. This is just my genuine opinion and preference. Lockdown Made Me Do It I’ve been using Affinity now since 2020 when the world turned to shite, and I was isolated at home with a pregnant girlfriend. I wanted to do some game design. I was, at the time, using Photoshop to create game assets,…

[crazydiscostu]

Beelink EQ12 N100 Mini Pc

With its sleek design, impressive specifications and a range of features, the Beelink EQ12 Mini PC (and Beelink themselves) has been grabbing the attention of tech enthusiasts and casual users alike. In this review, we will take an in-depth look at this mini PC and evaluate its performance, design, and functionality to help you decide whether it is the right fit for your needs. Lets crack…

[pumpkinstep]

I use this software.

It's an easy way to turn off settings in windows that you'd normally have to put a bit of effort in to find. Settings like trackers and a bunch of other stuff.

It works for windows 10

Revo Uninstaller is a great program for force uninstalling programs you couldn't uninstall otherwise. Like Microsoft Edge.

If you use it to uninstall edge and its not finding the program when you search for it, you'll have to open edge, then use the target mode which allows you to select desired programs manually.

target the opened Microsoft edge window and it'll start the process.

The cool thing about this program is that is does a hard uninstall, completely wipes out everything related to the program and it's stuff in the registry.

might I add, if you uninstall Microsoft edge, it will remove copilot as well. I've done this and it's been a few months since then I think. I've updated my laptop a few times and it hasn't come back. though if you want to avoid edge from coming back with an update, here's a vid on the more indepth process of its removal.

Something I usually do is go into my app manager or program manager window and read through what all is installed. I delete anything I didn't install myself and doesn't have a purpose. If you're not tech savvy, have a web browser open to search for programs you don't recognize. if it looks necessary, leave it alone. Usually windows is pretty good about not letting you uninstall important programs but it's good to play it safe.

Doing this whenever you notice a sudden dip in pc performance is a great way to catch unwanted programs that may have slipped in with something you downloaded recently. Paired with a good anti malware program like Malwarebytes, youre pretty much golden.

last tip.

It's a pretty good practice to Optimize and Defrag your harddrive regularly. It basically does a clean sweep of your harddrive by deleting unnecessary files.

Here's a link to instructions on how to do that. When you set about this process, you should have an option of to what degree the clean up is done (meaning what files is targeted), how regularly this process happens.

It usually deletes residual files, stuff in your downloads folder, trash folder, and stuff like that. you'll get to see what all is there when you do it before you confirm the clean up.

After doing all that, you've got yourself a nice and clean pc that should work better than it did before.

All the programs I linked to are free and can be used without paying for them.

I've been super into computers since I was kid so these are pretty solid methods of pc maintainance on the virtual side. If you have a proper box pc, and I guess if you're feeling brave enough to open up your laptop, don't forget to clean use an air duster to clean out your consul.

I promise you, nothing will help more than a clean pc and cooling fans.

i thought my laptop was on its last leg because it was running at six billion degrees and using 100% disk space at all times and then i turned off shadows and some other windows effects and it was immediately cured. i just did the same to my roommate's computer and its performance issues were also immediately cured. okay. i guess.

so i guess if you have creaky freezy windows 10/11 try searching "advanced system settings", go to performance settings, and uncheck "show shadows under windows" and anything else you don't want. hope that helps someone else.

[understanding-react-native]

Discover the strengths and weaknesses of various mobile app architecture patterns like MVC, MVP, MVVM, and Clean Architecture to choose the best fit for your project.

[nicolanlang]

E-Book Creation in a Blink: A Review of Designrr

  Introduction to Designrr: The Ultimate E-book Creation Software E-book creation software is the secret sauce behind many successful self-publishing authors and businesses looking to share their content digitally. In a landscape where the written word can be as powerful as any image or video, having the right tools to craft an engaging e-book is crucial. That’s where Designrr steps in. Imagine…

[phonemantra-blog]

The Ultimate Comparison: iPhone 11 vs. iPhone 14 In this article, we will compare the popular iPhone models, iPhone 11 and iPhone 14. Understanding the differences and improvements between these two devices is essential for making an informed decision when purchasing a new iPhone. By analyzing their design, display, performance, camera, software, connectivity, battery life, pricing, and availability, we aim to provide you with a comprehensive comparison that will help you choose the right iPhone for your needs. [caption id="attachment_60519" align="aligncenter" width="1280"] iPhone 11 vs iPhone 14[/caption] Design and Display When comparing the design of the iPhone 11 and iPhone 14, several differences become apparent. The iPhone 11 features a sleek and modern design with rounded edges and a glass back. On the other hand, the iPhone 14 introduces a new design concept with a more angular and flat-edged frame, reminiscent of the iPhone 4. This updated design gives the iPhone 14 a fresh and sophisticated look. In terms of display, the iPhone 11 boasts a 6.1-inch Liquid Retina display with a resolution of 1792 x 828 pixels. However, the iPhone 14 takes it a step further with an improved Super Retina XDR display, offering a higher resolution of 2778 x 1284 pixels. This enhancement results in sharper and more vibrant visuals, providing an enhanced viewing experience for users. Performance and Power When it comes to performance, the iPhone 14 outshines its predecessor, the iPhone 11. The iPhone 11 is equipped with the A13 Bionic chip, while the iPhone 14 features the more advanced A15 Bionic chip. The A15 chip delivers faster processing speeds and improved efficiency, allowing for smoother multitasking and better overall performance. Additionally, the iPhone 14 offers more RAM compared to the iPhone 11, further enhancing its performance capabilities. This increased RAM allows for better app management and faster loading times. Whether you're gaming, editing videos, or running resource-intensive applications, the iPhone 14's superior performance will undoubtedly provide a more seamless experience. Camera and Photography One of the significant differences between the iPhone 11 and iPhone 14 lies in their camera systems. The iPhone 11 features a dual-camera setup, comprising a 12-megapixel wide lens and a 12-megapixel ultra-wide lens. While this setup produces excellent photo and video quality, the iPhone 14 takes it a step further. The iPhone 14 introduces an upgraded triple-camera system, including a 12-megapixel wide lens, a 12-megapixel ultra-wide lens, and a new 12-megapixel telephoto lens. This telephoto lens allows for optical zoom, enabling users to capture distant subjects with greater detail. Moreover, the iPhone 14 incorporates advanced computational photography techniques, resulting in improved image stabilization and enhanced low-light performance. Software and User Experience The software experience is another important aspect to consider when comparing the iPhone 11 and iPhone 14. Both devices run on iOS, but the iPhone 14 is likely to come with the latest iOS version, offering new features and improvements. These updates can enhance user experience, providing a more intuitive and customizable interface. Furthermore, the iPhone 14 may introduce additional software features that are not available on the iPhone 11. These features could include enhanced security measures, improved Siri functionality, or new augmented reality capabilities. The software advancements in the iPhone 14 contribute to a more seamless and enjoyable user experience. Connectivity and Battery Life When it comes to connectivity, both the iPhone 11 and iPhone 14 offer similar options such as Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and cellular connectivity. However, the iPhone 14 may come with the latest Wi-Fi and Bluetooth versions, providing faster speeds and improved connectivity. In terms of battery life, the iPhone 14 is expected to have a larger battery capacity compared to the iPhone 11. This, combined with advancements in battery life management, can result in longer usage time and improved overall battery performance. Additionally, the iPhone 14 may introduce faster charging capabilities, allowing for quicker charging times. Pricing and Availability Pricing and availability are crucial factors to consider when deciding between the iPhone 11 and iPhone 14. The iPhone 11 was initially released at a starting price of $699, while the iPhone 14's pricing is yet to be confirmed. However, it is expected that the iPhone 14 will be priced higher due to its advanced features and improvements. It's important to note that prices may vary depending on the storage capacity and any special edition models. As for availability, the iPhone 11 is widely available and can be purchased from various retailers and carriers. On the other hand, the iPhone 14 will likely have a staggered release, with availability initially limited to certain regions before expanding to a wider market. It's advisable to check with your local retailers or Apple's official website for the most up-to-date information on availability. Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) What are the major design differences between the iPhone 11 and iPhone 14? The iPhone 11 features rounded edges and a glass back, while the iPhone 14 has a more angular and flat-edged frame, reminiscent of the iPhone 4. How does the display of the iPhone 14 compare to the iPhone 11? The iPhone 14 features an improved Super Retina XDR display with a higher resolution, resulting in sharper and more vibrant visuals compared to the iPhone 11's Liquid Retina display. Which iPhone offers better performance, the iPhone 11 or iPhone 14? The iPhone 14 outperforms the iPhone 11 in terms of processing power and efficiency, thanks to its more advanced A15 Bionic chip and increased RAM. What are the camera differences between the iPhone 11 and iPhone 14? The iPhone 11 has a dual-camera system, while the iPhone 14 introduces an upgraded triple-camera system with a telephoto lens for optical zoom and advanced computational photography features. Will the iPhone 14 come with the latest iOS version? The iPhone 14 will likely come with the latest iOS version, offering new features and improvements compared to the iPhone 11. Conclusion: In conclusion, the iPhone 11 and iPhone 14 offer significant differences and improvements across various aspects. The iPhone 14's design, display, performance, camera, software, connectivity, and battery life enhancements make it a compelling choice for those seeking the latest technology and features. However, the iPhone 11 remains a reliable and capable device for those on a budget or who don't require the latest advancements. Ultimately, the choice between the iPhone 11 and iPhone 14 depends on individual needs, preferences, and budget considerations.

[livingdeadhorse]

idk what this is. i like robots. i’ll clean these up later. i think.

anyways while drawing these I started thinking abt like. idk does this count as an AU.

General shit:

I didn't make it clear, but the robots that have pupils were built without a hardcoded purpose. They've always been free to explore what they want to do. The robots with fully colored "scleras" were created with a purpose from the jump, so their creators didn't feel the need to make them appear more "human".

The more expensive a robot's parts are, the less clunky it is.

Right now, I'm going with "their human family built them" but that's liable to change.

The designs are also liable to change because uh. duh.

Celestia Ludenberg:

Viewed the robots with an imbued purpose as interesting and superior (something something humanity's advancement). She wants to be praised like that, so she emulates them

Her cat loves how much heat she radiates so it's always near her.

Most of her upgrades are cosmetic but if they aren't, they're stupid. She won't upgrade her CPU or her motherboard, but she'll load up with three 4090s that her other components can't even keep up with. Yes, she does it to flex.

She'll distract from bootleg, refurbished, or shoddily painted parts by turning on her RGB. It gets annoying.

She knows that she's fairly unsettling and she revels in it.

All things considered, her cable management is pretty good.

Her gambling skill is still just luck here, but she tells everyone it's because she has a never-seen-before GPU(& CPU) that does calculations at insane speeds.

Most don't believe her but have no way to disprove her lie.

Kiyotaka Ishimaru

I can't decide if he was built by his father or his grandfather.

Either way, he was built before Toranosuke's downfall, so his internals were all pretty expensive for the time. Luckily for him, that means he was slightly future-proof and has a viable upgrade path.

Unluckily for him, this means he's stuck with really old parts and his 8gb of RAM can barely keep up in a 32gb world sadge

His chassis is built from secondhand or scrap parts. It's why his joints are so ancient in comparison to the rest of him and why he has so much cabling that he can't seem to manage.

Shit chassis = shit airflow = he is always overheating

BUDDY IS YOUR CPU BURNING HOW IS THERE SMOKE

Older tech = LOUD AF. The class bought him new fans to avoid the loud ass whirring. It's not quiet but he used to sound like a jet engine.

He runs on Debian. It was originally going to be Arch since it's lightweight but Debian's whole "old but stable" reputation fits him more. I don't see him properly dealing with bleeding edge software anyways.

His room is filled with past HDDs that no longer have storage. He deems all educational material important so he refuses to delete any lessons. He doesn't have the money for SSDs.

Mukuro Ikusaba:

Is usually in reconnaissance mode, meaning she has a shit ton of hidden cameras in her chassis

This used to benefit Fenrir. Now it benefits Junko.

She can have her parts shifted around with no issue to make room for a better arsenal.

She’s durable in her reconnaissance mode but she’s nigh on untouchable in her combat mode. Her chassis gets 10x bulkier and she can split her attention to several different tasks on the battlefield.

Fenrir Mercenary Group doubles as a weapons company. Mukuro is the only model of her kind though.

They tried to give her reconnaissance model the look of a “normal girl” so she could gather info more efficiently. They failed real bad. They also didn’t account for the fact that Mukuro isn’t good at socializing.

She allocates a CPU core to a process dedicated to Junko. 24/7 365

She believes herself to be less capable of emotion than she actually is. She can’t seem to find the system process that triggers such painful emotions.

Chihiro Fujisaki

Each “fold” in her skirt doubles as a screen. Think of the skirt as having two layers: the top shell and the under shell. The top shell is what doubles as a screen.

Optimized her hardware to work on code as fast as possible (fingers, skirt, etc).

She tends to test out new software on herself regardless of their compatibility with her pre-existing shit. She constantly has to reinstall her OS, but it’s all fun for her.

Speaking of her OS, I was going to make her run on Gentoo but IDK cause of the compile times. It’d be faster if she used distcc but I can’t see her screwing over her classmates like that lol.

So I’m between Nix and Arch.

Insecure about the fact that she overhauled her original model so extensively. Got made fun of for being a ‘defective’ robot. Her father supports her modifications but she still feels bad about having ‘failed’ somehow.

Cue identity issues

She helps out her classmates when it comes to repairs.

Tendency to stay up programming leads to high uptimes. If her friends notice her lagging or crashing, they’ll try to get her to shut down. (In a computer sense lol, not an emotional shut down)

Do y’all remember the xz utils backdoor? Yeah that’s how extensively she combs through code.

Sayaka Maizono

I can’t decide if she was built to be an idol or was originally some other type of robot.

Loves to make kids smile, so she has a sort of candy mechanism in her arm.

Everything about her glows or spins. You will never get bored looking at her.

Her skirt isn’t actually see through I just didn’t feel like erasing the hip joints lmao.

If corpos give her manager enough money, she has to perform with literal ads on her.

State-of-the art facial recognition software. It makes her fans feel special to have their names remembered.

She has a regular sleep cycle due to how load-intensive her everyday life is. Has to shut down for a couple hours every week at least.

Her psychic ability is just her running a million calculations based on people’s behavior and sensing which one is most plausible. This feature is in place to avoid PR disasters during interviews or public appearances.

There really aren’t enough worker’s rights regulations in place for robots.

The company gets alerts whenever she freaks tf out, so she feels even more stifled and repressed. Chihiro helped remove this.

Kyoko Kirigiri

Can’t decide if she was built by her father or grandfather. Probably just built by Jin and he “left” her in Fuhito’s care.

Fuhito made her go through several modifications, hardcoding his own investigative skills into her system.

Her grandfather loves her but has fucked up ideas about her own autonomy.

The events of DR:K still happen. She chose not to replace her hands.

Fuhito doesn’t make much use of a backdoor in her system anymore. He used it a lot more when she was a child but he sees her as a viable heir of the Kirigiri clan now. Chihiro isolated the backdoor to a separate SSD anyhow.

Still complicated father-daughter issues

Everything about her (but her OS) is proprietary, probably commissioned from Towa Industries. Her OS is a fork of Mint. The Windows 7 UI is just because I imagine her grandfather is One of Those lmao.

Has way too many scanners and sensors. She can’t test any evidence herself but she can gather a fair bit of information. Has a vast database for cross-comparison anyways.

Same issues as Togami and Mukuro: sees herself as less capable of emotion than she actually is.

The ramen noodle incident called for actual repairs.

Byakuya Togami

His superiority complex is far worse because he was literally CREATED to be the perfect Togami. You can’t tell him shiiiiiiit.

Gold joints. Scoffs at those with unoptimized cable management or software.

He’s constantly streamlining his own processes. Brings up that he runs on his own OS when Nobody Asked.

Had a similar backdoor to Kyoko’s but Koji did check that one. Obsessively. Nobody would tell Byakuya but He Just Knew. The lack of privacy irritated him. Aloysius helped fix it once Togami finally took over.

Only trusts Aloysius with his repairs. Has a hard time admitting when he needs repairs in the first place so Aloysius hides it under “monthly maintenance”.

Does everything from the terminal even when he 1) shouldn’t and 2) can’t. Bragging rights. He has written a bunch of his own scripts though to speed things up.

Kernel and OS provided to him by Koji. (UNIX-based. Proprietary) Byakuya maintains and builds his own updates. Doesn’t trust cheapskate peasants to do it for him.

Anti-FOSS. For him at least.

Has glasses for the aesthetics. Doesn’t need them.

[autolenaphilia]

One thing I noticed talking about Linux and free software is that a lot of people seem afraid of learning things about technology. I constantly read things like "I hate windows, but switching to linux would mean learning a new OS, and you have to be some super-smart programmer-hacker to do that." Or even: "Switching to firefox would mean switching browsers and I don't know how"

And that is precisely the attitude tech companies like Microsoft and Apple try to instill in their users in order to control them. They create these simple and “friendly” user interfaces for their products, but these hide information. From their OS being pre-installed to their settings apps, they keep people from learning things about how their computer works, and letting the companies make the decisions for their users.

I think people are underestimating themselves and overestimating how hard it is to learn new things are. It is like Windows/Macos have taught them some kind of technological learned helplessness. Not knowing how computers work and being afraid to learn how is how companies like Microsoft controls you, and justifies that control.

For example, people hate the forced and automatic system updates on Windows. And Microsoft justifies it as necessary because some people don’t know that their computer needs security updates and therefore don’t update, so they have to force the updates on them. That’s definitely true, and Microsoft’s tech support people is definitely very aware of that but it is a operating system that presumes that the user is incompetent and therefore shouldn’t control their own computer. And of course Microsoft abuses that power to force privacy-invading features on their users. Windows updates are also badly designed in comparison, no Linux distro I’ve used required the update program to hijack the entire computer, preventing the user from doing other things, but Windows does.

This is the dark side of “user-friendly” design. By requiring zero knowledge and zero responsibility for the user, they also take control away from the user. User-friendly graphical user interfaces (GUI) can also hide the inner workings of a system in comparison to the command line, which enables more precise control of your computer and give you more knowledge about what it is doing.

Even GUIs are not all made equal in regards to this, as the comparison between the Windows Control panel and their newer Settings app demonstrates. As I complained about before, Windows have hidden away the powerful, but complex Control Panel in favor of the slicker-looking but simplified and less powerful Settings app for over a decade now.

Of course this is a sliding scale, and there is a sensible middle-ground between using the command line for everything and user-friendly design masking taking control away from the end user.

There are Linux distros like Linux Mint and MX Linux who have created their own GUI apps for tasks that would otherwise use the command line, without taking control away from the user. This is mainly because they are open source non-profit community-driven distros, instead of being proprietary OSes made by profit-driven megacorps.

Still, giving that control to the user presumes some knowledge and responsibility on part of the user. To return to the update example, by default both Mint and MX will search and notify you of available updates, but you will have to take the decision to download and install them. Automatic updates are available in both cases, but it’s opt-in, you have to enable that option yourself. And that approach presumes that you know that you should update your system to plug security holes, something not all people do. It gives you control because it presumes you have knowledge and can take responsibility for those decisions.

All this also applies to the underlying fact that practically all pre-built computers nowadays have an operating system pre-installed. Few people install an OS themselves nowadays, instead they use whatever came with the computer. It’s usually either Windows or MacOS for desktops/laptops, and Android/IOS for smartphones (which are also a type of computer).

Now all this is very convenient and user-friendly, since it means you don’t have to learn how to install your own operating system. The OEM takes care of that for you. But again, this is a convenience that takes choice away from you. If you don’t learn how to install your own OS, you are stuck with whatever that is on the computer you bought. It’s probably precisely this step that scares people away from Linux, few people have installed even Windows, and installing your own OS seems impossibly scary. But again, learning is the only way to take back control. If you learn how to install an OS off an USB stick, you now have choices in what OS to use. (Sidenote: the hard part IMO is not the actual install process, but fiddling with the BIOS so it will actually boot from the distro on the USB stick. This old comic strip illustrates this very well).

That’s how life is in general, not just computers. Having control over your life means making decisions based on your own judgment. And to make sensible, rational decisions, you have to learn things, acquire knowledge.

The only other alternative is letting others take those decisions for you. You don’t have to learn anything, but you have no control. And in the tech world, that means big corporations like Microsoft, Google and Apple will make those decisions, and they are motivated by their own profits, not your well-being.

Computers have only become more and more capable and more important in our lives, and that can enable wonderful things. But it also means more power to the tech companies, more power over our lives. And the only way to resist that is to learn about computers, to enable us to make our own decisions about how we use technology.

[concerningwolves]

The Writing Tracker and Statistics spreadsheet for 2024 is here!

What is it?

The spreadsheet is a way for writers who like statistics to track their daily wordcounts and writing habits (and also, probably, don't want to or can't pay to use software for this purpose). The idea is, once you've got the workbook set up and customised to your tastes, all you need to do is input your daily wordcount per project into one sheet and let the rest of the workbook populate from there. I originally designed this in late 2022 because I wanted a way to track my writing habits while also comparing how much original fiction VS fanfiction I wrote. It has since expanded to be more flexible, with a comparison function that's easy to adjust or scrap entirely, and a variety of other neat statistics besides. Key features include:

Line graph that displays your daily writing across the whole year.

Total word counts for each month displayed in stacked columns so you can see which projects you worked on.

Counters for your current daily writing streak and longest daily writing streak.

Pie chart to show which projects were worked on the most overall.

Ability to separate projects into "types" – i.e., personal and academic – and compare type totals each month.

Words-over-time progress charts for specific projects, with the ability to help set and track writing goals.

Daily and monthly averages.

You don't need to be a genius (or even fairly confident in using) Excel/Google Sheets to make this work for you. I've written up a detailed set of instructions that walk through each sheet and explain how to make a variety of changes, as well as breaking down how certain aspects work.

If this is something that interests you, follow the link below to my Payhip. It's a free resource; Payhip just gives you the option to leave a tip, should you feel like it and have the cash to spare.

Want to know more? Keep reading below the cut for a closer look at the features.

Daily graph to see your writing habits across the whole year at a glance:

Your top statistics: monthly and daily averages, top writing days, longest writing streak, current writing streak, and daily averages by month.

Monthly writing totals displayed in a stacked column chart so you can see which projects you worked on each month:

Clustered column graph to show one type of project compared to another, and a pie chart to show which projects you worked on most across the year:

Project-specific progress charts that show words over time, similar to the NaNoWriMo graph. (Plus, there are instructions on how to add goal lines to make it even more like the NaNoWriMo graph!)

[d-criss-news]

Darren Criss Is Betting Big on Maybe Happy Ending, the Musical You're About to Fall in Love With

Darren Criss on the Timelessness of MAYBE HAPPY ENDING

Darren Criss has danced up the corporate ladder as J. Pierrepont Finch, stripped down to his skivvies as a queer East German rock star and tackled the “profane poetry” of David Mamet. And still, he says, there’s one thing he hasn’t done: “I haven’t taken any risks on Broadway.”

That ends this season with Maybe Happy Ending, a new musical on a mission to draw audiences to the Belasco Theatre without the benefit of a recognizable title, popular source material or songs that have already spent time on the Billboard Hot 100. “It's a really, really hard market right now to be making art,” Criss says to Broadway.com Editor-in-Chief Paul Wontorek, chatting at So & So's Neighborhood Piano Bar. And commercial Broadway theater? It’s “tedious, expensive and a gamble.” So naturally, Criss is going double or nothing as both star and producer of Broadway’s next thrilling crap shoot.

Maybe Happy Ending takes the trappings of a classic love story and inserts futuristic robots with outdated software. Criss plays Oliver opposite Helen J Shen’s Claire—a pair of Helper-Bots who, on a quest to contact their former owner, evoke a kind of Millennial-Gen Z mismatch. But rather than getting swept away by love, the two retired machines take the concept itself and try to break it down to its zeros and ones. As Criss explains, “[It’s] two computers trying to computationally synthesize and process what love is and why human beings do this.”

The musical was a hit when it debuted in Seoul, South Korea nearly a decade ago, and now, writers Will Aronson and Hue Park have a crafted an English-language version that Criss thinks has the potential to ascend to the proverbial Heaviside Layer of musical theater. “This is the seminal version that I hope can last in perpetuity for the ages,” he says, adding confidently, “I do feel like this is a timeless piece.”

Original musicals have the most challenging road on Broadway. But when you look to grassroots successes like Urinetown, or Dear Evan Hansen, or even The Prom—which ran in New York for less than a year but inspired a starry film and a slate of regional and international productions—you see how quickly an unknown quantity can become canon. “People are always like, ‘There’s no one creating original things,’” Criss says. “They are. It’s just really, really hard to produce them because you really have to believe in something hard enough to be OK with the risk.”

The fact that Maybe Happy Ending has earned that belief from some of the theater’s heaviest hitters is telling. Director Michael Arden, hot off a 2023 Tony Award for his revival of Parade, chose the piece as his next musical. And producers Jeffrey Richards and Hunter Arnold, with nearly 20 Tony Awards between them, have given Arden free rein to make a capital “B” Broadway meal of it.

The show’s cast is deceptively modest (Marcus Choi and Dez Duron complete the four-hander), but there’s nothing minimalist about Arden’s vision for Maybe Happy Ending or the high-tech space he’s worked out with set designer Dane Laffrey. In short, “They don’t f**k around,” says Criss. “This show is very technologically advanced. I think it's kind of the ace in the hole that people aren't expecting.” He tosses out comparisons to Miss Saigon’s descending helicopter and The Phantom of the Opera’s haunted chandelier—emblems of the bygone ‘80s megamusical. In an era of subtlety and economy (think recent Tony winners Kimberly Akimbo or The Band’s Visit), this, Criss promises, is “a big-a** mother**king spectacle.”

It's another bold, all-in move from the Maybe Happy Ending team, but Criss is determined to hedge no bets this time around. He looks back at his Broadway resume: How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying (“Glee was white-hot and I was going in for three weeks after Daniel Radcliffe”); Hedwig and the Angry Inch (“People love that show. With or without me, it would be just fine”); American Buffalo (“A beloved and respected American play”).

“They're all classics to some degree,” he concludes. “This is not that.” Of course, understanding what Maybe Happy Ending is not is less of an issue than getting audiences to understand what it is. Right now, Criss says, there are rumblings around town that it’s “the cute little robot show.” The thought puts a mischievous grin on his face: “You have no idea.”

[awordpressindia]

Elementor vs Wix Choosing the Right Website Builder for Your Needs

In the ever-evolving world of website development, choosing the right website builder can make a significant difference in your online presence. Elementor Vs Wix are two popular choices, each offering its own set of features and capabilities.

[lunchtimebedamned1997]

What if i just started posting my art to Tumblr?

(Scroll to the bottom of this post for a timelapse)

Some Verosika Mayday art! I usually love the designs in Vivzie's work, but the design they gave Verosika for her human disguise in 1x03 was just not my personal jam and I really wanted to try my hand at trying to replicate the Hellaverse animation style. So... Behold!

I'm really proud of how these came out, and I think I managed to capture a lot of different character elements, so yay! Lol

In the next pic, BEHOLD! THE REFERENCES (all from Pinterest) and the comparisons!

I considered giving her a more alternative style, but she is a popstar, so I took some scene influences (that got WAY watered down (sad)) and mixed that with some elements that were a bit more mainstream(?), and then tried to keep it a little sexy. I probably could have gone harder on the sexy 9bc, well, succubus), but tbh I think I matched the vibe of the context in the end, which is what's most important lmao.

Finally, the speedpaint:

I could write for literal ages on the details and why I chose all the different elements, but this post already feels super long so I can talk about that if anyone is interested, but otherwise, I'll just leave this here for now haha

[Software used is Clip Studio Paint, and the character Verosika is Originally from Helluva Boss on YT by Vivziepop and Spindlehorse Animation]

[rjzimmerman]

The Carbon Footprint of Amazon, Google, and Facebook Is Growing. (Sierra Club)

Excerpt from this story from Sierra Club:

IN MARCH The Information reported that Microsoft was in talks with OpenAI, the creator of ChatGPT, about spending an eye-popping $100 billion on a gargantuan data center in Wisconsin dedicated to running artificial intelligence software. Code-named “Stargate,” the data center would, at full operation, consume five gigawatts of electricity, enough to power 3.7 million homes. For comparison purposes, that’s roughly the same amount of power produced by Plant Vogtle, the big nuclear power station in Georgia that cost $30 billion to build.

Stargate is in the earliest of planning stages, but the sheer scale of the proposal reflects a truth about artificial intelligence: AI is an energy hog. That’s an embarrassing about-face for the technology industry. For at least 20 years, American electricity consumption has hardly grown at all—owing in part, say computer scientists, to steady advances in energy efficiency that have percolated out of the tech industry into the larger economy. In 2023, according to the US Energy Information Administration, total electricity consumption fell slightly from 2022 levels.

But according to a report published last December by Grid Strategies, a consultancy that advises on energy policy, multiple electric utilities now predict that US energy demand will rise by up to 5 percent over the next five years. One of the chief culprits responsible for the surge, say the utilities, are new data centers designed to run AI. To meet the growing demand for power, those utilities want to build new fossil fuel power plants and to dismantle climate legislation that stands in their way.

For environmentalists, this represents a giant step backward. Artificial intelligence was supposed to help us solve problems. What good are ChatGPT and its ilk if using them worsens global warming?

This is a relatively new story—the AI gold rush is still in its infancy, ChatGPT only having debuted in fall 2022. But computing’s energy demands have been growing for decades, ever since the internet became an indispensable part of daily life. Every Zoom call, Netflix binge, Google search, YouTube video, and TikTok dance is processed in a windowless, warehouse-like building filled with thousands of pieces of computer hardware. These data centers are where the internet happens, the physical manifestation of the so-called cloud—perhaps as far away from ethereality as you can get.

In the popular mind, the cloud is often thought of in the simple sense of storage. This is where we back up our photos, our videos, our Google Docs. But that’s just a small slice of it: For the past 20 years, computation itself has increasingly been outsourced to data centers. Corporations, governments, research institutions, and others have discovered that it is cheaper and more efficient to rent computing services from Big Tech.

The crucial point, writes anthropologist Steven Gonzalez Monserrate in his case study The Cloud Is Material: On the Environmental Impacts of Computation and Data Storage, is that “heat is the waste product of computation.” Data centers consume so much energy because computer chips produce large amounts of heat. Roughly 40 percent of a data center’s electricity bill is the result of just keeping things cool. And the new generation of AI software is far more processor intensive and power hungry than just about anything—with the notable exception of cryptocurrency—that has come before.

The energy cost of AI and its perverse, climate-unfriendly incentives for electric utilities are a gut check for a tech industry that likes to think of itself as changing the world for the better. Michelle Solomon, an analyst at the nonprofit think tank Energy Innovation, calls the AI power crunch “a litmus test” for a society threatened by climate change.

[chaifootsteps]

My first time in here, but lurked for a while. Had to chime in about Viv's spiel about rigged animation. Rigged animation IS beautiful, but what has been shown in Hazbin doesn't look great, nor is it really "rigged" in the same sense as other shows. It's a hybrid. It has tweening for some parts, but overall it is frame-by-frame 2D animation. This is also the case for Helluva Boss, but actually done well. For Hazbin, either the animators/boarders are inexperienced with the software or this medium specifically, maybe both, but some shots just really don't flow well. Especially considering this show is using Toon Boom Harmony, I don't feel like this show is being handled by an experienced animation studio who can use this program to its full potential. I know for a fact, this program has the potential to handle the complicated and pattern-heavy designs that Viv creates with relative ease if approached with planning and structure, yet there are so many instances where shortcuts, cheats, and time-savers possible in the software could have been clearly used, but just aren't for some reason.

Rigged animation is some of my favorite and can really look beautiful if you know what you are doing with it. Think of shows like Hilda, My Little Pony, Dead End, Bluey, even Bob's Burgers which is also by Bento, have beautiful smooth rigged animation. But so many shots of Hazbin Hotel just look choppy by comparison, and not in a good or intentional way. I'm sure the animators themselves are great. But the overall product shown so far just doesn't look smooth, no matter how you excuse it. There are mistakes that are consistent with what I was doing as a new learner of animation and its software, or under heavy stress and very little time to correct mistakes. These just should not be present in an Amazon funded show. Helluva Boss evidently has more time and care put into it due to it having less strict deadlines, and the animation quality is even more consistent with Season 2, but the fact the Hazbin Hotel budget clearly went more towards the replaced voice talent and not on the animation is infuriating. Not to mention disappointing.

It's incredibly disappointing, and even moreso with this insight. Thank you for explaining it.

[kimeoshi]

‘Twas both 👁👁, but yeah honestly I’m very interested cause damn- (sorry if I seem awkward I’m not good with online interaction 😭😭 LMAO)

NAH no worries you're doing fine!!

It's a pretty wide array of topics but touching the surface of it, I'll go into my art process.

Here's a short thread where I went into this similarly!

I pretty much follow the steps of what I mentioned there, but it varies a little bit based on the style I go for too: painting whole illustrations or design or more simple fun things.

I could describe what I did in each frame of my process gifs which I've posted before but I would need some time. With big pieces, the steps I go by (read slowly, it's a pretty dense text):

thumbnailing -> sketching with bigger shapes to get the line of action/feel (that is, I'm just blocking out the composition) -> refine that a bit -> hide BG, draw the characters (lineart) and add the base colors of them. (then merge & rasterize a copy of it for later) -> put them back in the environment (unhide BG), make them grey -> add shading in greyscale style (multiply layers, glow dodge layers, you name it) -> get that previous rasterized layer back and put it on color mode -> those characteristic shiny parts get a new layer with overly saturated + high brightness colors -> color BG with a new color layer -> then rendering/refining for concerning amounts of time -> add effects and change color/brightness/contrast curves + gradient map -> profit???

For software, I generally use Paint Tool SAI (I adore blending/painting here), I use Clip Studio Paint for the 3D posing library/sketching/lineart, and Photoshop for final effects. (Update: I mostly do all things in CSP now)

(if you have CSP, try out this brush... it saved my life)

As for improvement:

I experiment, watch a lot of youtube videos (I personally like the ones which analyse an artist). I suggest thoroughly understanding how something moves and works (for anatomy I can recommend the book 'Anatomy for Sculptors'), I also study and jot down important pieces of advice or insights to a collective document, rather than saving them to my device where it is highly likely to be forgotten.

I believe if you put great importance on colors and composition, that can cause the most noticeable, 'fastest' improvement, at least if you view it from the lens of social media. (While online environments provide significant reassurance, it must be engaged with in moderation, as it is easy to fall into a lot of negative mindsets, taking the enjoyment out by perfectionism, comparison, or seeking validation, etc.)

Another improvement technique you can try is to slow down a speedpaint video of your choice and follow along with the artist. Extremely useful, I recommend, put your artist under a microscope.

Of course I don't do all of these things every single waking hour, it's just a side hobby to my unrelated studies in real life. Even if you don't actively draw your visual library and knowledge can improve passively, I find that so fascinating. I don't touch a paper for months and there's a sudden jump, like damn what. (Not saying you should do this, active learning is still better ofc) Either way my point with that is, that improving does and did take a lot of time for me as well.

Apologies if this goes all over the place, I tried to touch upon every subject that came to mind at the moment, in not too much in detail, overall I hope it makes sense

If you have any specific questions related, feel free to ask! Or if there's any specific problem you'd like to tackle but find yourself lost, same applies!