Sunday, May 20, 2012

The Portfolio of Rex Barkdoll, Web User Interface Developer

Why I buy Mac

Mac, Why I love it, Why I choose it by Rex Barkdoll

My cousin recently asked one of her techie friends and me about buying a new computer. He responded first, being a PC guy, and backed the purchase of a Dell, Windows laptop. While I understand his suggestion and fully support someone buying a Windows PC (especially with the advent of Windows 7), I thought about why I like buying Macs.

While Macs are a bit pricier, I think you get a far better product. With the advent of the App Store any limitations Macs used to have when interacting with Windows computers are gone. Since I've had my first mac (I'm on my second and will continue to buy them, as will my fiancé), I haven't had to worry about viruses unless I went out and found them, I've been able to find all the software I need at generally a cheaper price than Windows AND if I buy through the App store, all the updates are taken care of for me so I don't have to spend valuable time reminding myself to find them.

Critics will tell you that viruses are coming for the Mac because it's beginning to take more market share and they're right. Macs will start to encounter more viruses, however, it should also be noted that attack vectors are changing and the days when the operating system was the best method for hacking a person is becoming antequated. These days, targeted attacks that focus on tricking you (by sounding like they're from your friends and colleagues) are being employed because they're much more effective and have higher returns.

I also feel that I'm happier on a Mac than on a PC, and that my day to day experience is much better. The graphics are more enjoyable (from icons to applications) and we have multi-touch track pads which make the whole experience much more interactive. This could just be Apple's marketing getting to me, but I don't think so. I really feel like I have a better, more intuitive experience. As I'm writing this, I'm in the middle of the Steve Jobs book by Walter Isaacson and though I see how truly flawed Steve was, I also see that his ability to focus on the user experience of the product has led to an amazing and rich environment which I appreciate every day. I don't feel limited, I feel enabled.

One of the barely mentioned, but greatest benefits is that if I have a problem with my computer, I can take it to a Mac Store and they have secret, but general orders to be as helpful as possible so long as you're nice. Sometimes even making minor repairs for free. On top of that, now that they're using aluminum cases, I haven't had any problems from picking up and setting down my computer throughout the day. (my PC laptops used to bend a bit and that was never fun)

I'd say, if you want a great experience, go with a Mac. If you want a PC because that's what you're used to and you want to continue having the same experience you've always had, go with the PC.

There's not much difference in terms of capability on the desktop environment and I will do everything I can to stop the Mac vs PC religious wars because they're stupid. If someone wants to buy into one environment or the other, that's their choice and it should be respected. I choose Mac because of the reasons above and that's my choice. I use a PC at work and have no complaints. I used to mod my PC and Linux computers but I haven't tried to do that for quite some time and I think, because I've gotten out of that Mod'er mentality, Mac has suited me just fine.

Choose what's right for you and let it be. That's my two cents.

~ Rex

Mac pic found here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/clanlife/5120207745/

A Bit of Boarding

I have learned the secrets of manipulating time!

I've been wanting to get back into film for quite a while. I did some when I was in university, but it wasn't what I'd call fantastic. Being under the gun for finals, with a bad case of senioritis didn't help, nor did my SD Flip cam when I was trying to do Keying (removing a green screen). Fortunately, I was able to buy a Canon T3i recently and have been reveling in DSLR goodness ever since.

A Bit of Boarding See the Video

To quote my friend Bruno, "Apparently when you take a picture with a really expensive camera... it comes out as a really great picture!" I'm still trying to develop my eye and learn how to take a great photo, but I've got the basics down and I do seem to have improved since getting my T3i. I'd definitely recommend a DSLR for anyone interested in learning photography either as a hobby or a profession. Snapsort.com really helped me choose when I was looking around. My personal choice for the T3i was the 60fps (frames per second), 720p filming capabilities. I really wanted to play around with slow motion and make some beautiful footage with Twixtor, a plugin for After Effects which attempts to make up for not actually shooting 1,000 frames per second.

When Andrew said he was game to do some filming, I didn't know what kind of footage we'd get, espeically with a long board (usually when you see slow motion, it's at a skate park with regular skateboards or BMX bikes). Many of the shots in the intro and outro in A Bit of Boarding, I lucked into and was very fortunate to do so. In post, I realized that I should have had the camera rolling a lot more, but when you're on a family Reunion, you have to save space and battery so I was erring on the side of caution (a good thing too for the shots I got later). I've taken both factors into account and will definitely be getting much more B-roll in my next movie (using Bokeh photography).

For those film critics and experts out there, this was my first time really playing with Twixtor and attempting to do slow motion. You'll notice in the shot from which the image above is taken, that the immediate area around Andrew is very distorted. I didn't have much control over this and it's something I'm going to read up on in the future (learning more tricks to boost Twixtor's performance). The particles in the last slow motion scene when he breaks through the time barrier (assuming it exists) were created in Particular. The blue energy surrounding him is also Particular particles, but they have a vector blur applied to them, making it look more like an organic mesh he's flowing through.

The music is all thanks to Kevin MacLeod of Incompetech.com. He's an awesome guy because he puts up royalty free music on the internet for nearly anyone to use so long as they give him credit. If you'll excuse my soap box for a second, I'd like to briefly say how much I appreciate this gesture and attitude. My culture and the culture of the generations coming after me will be heavily interested and invested in being able to remix and re-use things that already exist. Our laws and society need to change to be more accepting of this culture and to protect it from the large companies who weild patents and copyrights like ancient weapons in an arena. Kevin, I've used your music in a few projects and it has always accented my films perfectly. Thank you and thanks to any one else who opens their work up with a Creative Commons (or similar) license.

Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy(ed) A Bit of Boarding.

Rex

A Note Of Thanks To Adobe

Many people have a love/hate relationship with Adobe and its products. While I sympathize with every one's troubles (Flash and "secure" are two words that don't go in the same sentence sadly), this brief post is a note of thanks to Adobe.

Dear Photoshop Team,

Thank you for creating Content Aware Fill. Everyone has been impressed by it and stands back in awe at the miracles it performs. While I worry for my (future) children and their reality (what will be real and what will be created, i.e. Orwell) today, at this very moment I don't care. Content Aware Fill just went from a theoretical and magical tool which I saw demonstrated in videos and on stage, to a real, live tool which saved my bacon. The image wasn't hard to work with like your demonstration images, but I was under a lot of stress and pressure to get a quick change done in an important document and Content Aware Fill did what would have taken me hours and much cursing under my breath to complete with the same quality.·

It wasn't much, it wasn't super impressive, but it was enough. I'm extremely grateful to all of you. It is my sincere wish that the rest of humanity uses this tool for good and I look forward to using both Content Aware Fill and the rest of the Adobe suite for many years in the future.·

Sincerely,

Rex Barkdoll, a tired, yet satisfied and utterly happy customer.

PS: Thanks to the After Effects and Premiere teams too. They (and Photoshop) get the most of my love, though I use most of the rest of the suite too with great appreciation.

Nice Little Mentions

Rex Barkdoll and Kevin Siembieda at Palladium Books June 4. 2011

Rex Barkdoll, the chief architect behind Palladium’s new website, visited the Palladium offices for the entire week. He came in Tuesday and left Sunday morning. He got to meet the Palladium staff plus Mark Dudley, Thom Bartold and Matthew Clements. Rex, Wayne and Thom worked on ironing out website bugs (most of them resolved by the time you read this), plus Rex and I plotted out future plans for Palladium Books, the website, Twitter, videos on YouTube and many other things. We also talked about game design, Palladium history, movies and other ideas and fun stuff. As I wrote in my Murmur, everyone took an instant liking to Rex. He is one of those people who reaffirm your faith in humanity. He’s young and vibrant, filled with ideas and dreams, and has the talent to make them a reality. Best of all, he’s a good person and a great guy.
- Kevin Siembieda, Palladium Books | June 9, 2011 Weekly Update

Wow, It's been a while since I've posted. But it sure is nice to have a great mention from one of my all time Heroes and Mentors, Kevin Siembieda. I got to spend a whole week at Palladium Books after Memorial Day 2011 and it was such a blast. I can't wait to get the chance to go back and have tons of fun with the guys again. I know I sound like a fan boy and that's because I am. But I'm also being honest when I say that the staff at Palladium Books is one of the best groups of people I've ever known. They're really good human beings.