Always been my terrain gen of choice

  Always been my terrain gen of choice and a new version is out and the price is slashed, Terragen has been updated to version 2.1. Faster, better raytracing along with reduced render times, new shaders, UI improvements and various fixes.

   Terragen™ 2 is a powerful solution for rendering and animating realistic natural environments. Create entire worlds from your imagination, or import real world terrain datasets and use Terragen 2 to create the most realistic visualisations possible. You control the weather, landscape, rivers, lakes and oceans, suns, moons and stars. With Terragen 2 you have complete control over the shader networks used for terrains, textures, micropolyon displacements, clouds and object distributions. You can reorganise the planetary shading pipeline to suit your goals. Place grass and trees wherever you want, as well as other objects in OBJ format that you can model in third party software. It's easy to find great plants and objects modelled by other Terragen users or elsewhere on the web.

   Terragen is not a game engine; it has a sophisticated film- and broadcast-quality renderer and procedural modelling tools designed so that you can create the most realistic images possible without taking a photograph. Nor is it a general-purpose 3D program designed to render everything. We have dedicated more than a decade to specialising in algorithms that simulate skies, outdoor lighting, terrain textures, and to render extremely large and detailed terrains. Terragen 2 puts those algorithms in your control. When you need CG environments that don't look CG, Terragen 2 will help you get there. If you want to go beyond reality, Terragen 2 is a toolbox with infinite possibilities.

Terragen 2 makes this possible with the following features and benefits:

    * Hybrid micropolygon renderer optimised for large displacements and very large landscapes.
    * Render entire planets, sweeping vistas, tiny rock gardens, or anything in between.
    * Export high resolution objects from displaced surfaces.
    * Import 3D objects for rendering.
    * Render millions of plants and other objects using instancing. Billions of virtual polygons are handled with ease.
    * Add multiple heightfields, textures and displacement maps to your scene.
    * Georeferencing options; automatic georeferencing for properly formatted GeoTIFF files.
    * Procedural terrains that can span an entire planet.
    * Apply almost "infinite" fractal detail to terrain and other objects.
    * Overhanging terrain using procedural displacements, image-based displacements, or imported geometry.
    * 3D painting of colours and masks that can control almost anything in the scene.
    * Photorealistic atmosphere and sunlight.
    * Volumetric clouds or fast "2.5D" clouds.
    * Global illumination, multiple scattering in volumetrics, full light interaction between volumetrics and surfaces.
    * Production quality anti-aliasing and motion blur that renders quickly and efficiently.
    * High dynamic range output; generate photorealistic environment maps and IBL sources.
    * Node graph editor for ultimate control over shaders and textures.
    * Flexible planetary shading pipeline.
    * Animation of almost any parameter with the optional Animation module.

Check it out here

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Paint.NET 3.5.2 released!

  January 4th, 2010 - Paint.NET v3.5.2 released, this update resolves some feature disparities in the Text tool between GDI (XP) and DirectWrite (Win7/Vista). It also improves overall performance, as well as the correctness and quality of the Move Selected Pixels tool, the Image->Resize function, and the Hue/Saturation adjustment.

About

   Paint.NET is free image and photo editing software for computers that run Windows. It features an intuitive and innovative user interface with support for layers, unlimited undo, special effects, and a wide variety of useful and powerful tools. An active and growing online community provides friendly help, tutorials, and plugins.
It started development as an undergraduate college senior design project mentored by Microsoft, and is currently being maintained by some of the alumni that originally worked on it. Originally intended as a free replacement for the Microsoft PaintsoftwareAdobe® Photoshop®, Corel® Paint Shop Pro®, Microsoft Photo Editor, and The GIMP. that comes with Windows, it has grown into a powerful yet simple image and photo editor tool. It has been compared to other digital photo editing software packages such as



What's new in Paint.NET v3.5.2:
   All font face variants (e.g., Arial vs. Arial Narrow) are now available with the Text tool in Win7/Vista with DirectWrite.
Bitmap font types (e.g. Courier, Terminal, Fixedsys) are now available with the Text tool in Win7/Vista.
Fixed some bad text kerning with the Text tool at small font sizes when antialiasing was turned off.
For the Image->Resize function, the quality, correctness, and performance of Bilinear and Bicubic sampling modes have been improved. Super Sampling also has some performance improvement.
Improved the rendering quality for the Hue/Saturation adjustment. Also made a new icon for it.
Fixed many subtle rendering issues with the Move Selected Pixels tool. These were apparent when flipping or rotating a selected area.
Fixed: The Line/Curve tool was applying pixel snapping to the curve nodes, which caused lines to "bend" when using the Shift key to constrain the angle.
Fixed some extraneous CPU usage related to unnecessary or redundant thumbnail updates.
Fixed a few dialogs that looked wrong with Aero glass with Remote Desktop or Virtual PC.
Fixed a nasty memory leak with Flatten followed by Undo.
Fixed some issues related to effects that took awhile to cancel. As it turns out, drag-and-drop was enabled at this time, which easily lead to crashes or hangs.
Some Win7 systems could not detect that .NET 3.5 SP1 was installed, even though it was. A fallback detection function has been added.
For plugin authors, the Effect class now has a pollable IsCancelRequested property. This can be used to improve responsiveness for expensive OnSetRenderInfo() implementations which are otherwise non-interruptible. For plugin authors, the Surface.FitSurface() method is now optimized to use multiple threads, which improves performance.

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Simple, Hassle-Free 2D Drawing Software

  Ideal for quick design work, Project Cooper* sketching software enables you to draw accurate, detailed plans and layouts to scale using simple 2D drawing tools, predrawn symbols, and sample drawings. Because the software produces files in one of the most widely used design formats, it’s easy to share your drawings with clients, architects, and other project partners.

  Specialty Contractors: Make a Good Impression
Instead of delivering hand sketches, use Project Cooper to present your ideas in a clear, professional way. See how in these videos:

• Create precise drawings—Draw to scale using simple drawing tools and icons.
• Get noticed—Share drawings with nearly everyone.
• Get started—No training required.

  Architects: Cut Down on Rework
Ask your colleagues to use Project Cooper so you can include their drawings in your designs and cut down on rework. See how in these videos:

• Import Project Cooper DWG files—Compatible with AutoCAD and Revit® software.
• Recommend Project Cooper—For when AutoCAD is too much.
• Start sketching right away—No training required.

Check it out at the Autodesk website

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Go Daddy

Website: GoDaddy.com Inc.
Excellent - Overall Rating
Excellent - Hosting Package
Very Good - Ease of Use
Excellent - Support and Service
Excellent - Site Creation Tools
Excellent - Server Access
Very Good - Marketing Tools
Very Good - Reporting and Statistics

 

If you have watched any television within the past five years, odds are you are familiar with Go Daddy.  When it comes to web hosting services, you will have a hard time finding one that's more popular.  Their competitors might offer bells and whistles they don't have, but they lack the exposure to compete with Go Daddy as far as popularity goes.  Luckily, their service lives up to the hype.  They offer a variety of web hosting options, different packages and countless additional features, making them a great option for hosting a personal or small business website.  They're a great web hosting service that is easy to setup and use and has competitive rates and valuable add-ons.

Standout Features

    * Several complex email hosting options
    * Advanced web design assistance
    * Unparalleled security and privacy settings
    * Detailed business solutions section



Hosting Package:   Excellent

   Go Daddy doesn't offer much in terms of storage space and monthly bandwidth with their Economy Plan.  Most websites likely won't outgrow its 10 GB in storage space and 300 GB in monthly bandwidth.  However, those numbers don't leave much room for ambitious pursuits.  Plus, you have to purchase at least 3 months of this plan right out the gate, which is about the time it takes for a site to expand beyond the limitations this plan imposes on it.  When you attempt to upgrade your options, you have the choice of the Deluxe or Unlimited plans.  The Deluxe Plan offers much more as far as features go, but there are still limits when it comes to storage space and monthly bandwidth.  Most users might not have any use for features that don't have any limits, but I see them as helpful.

   When a website becomes more popular than the bandwidth they're allowed, it often experiences extended periods of downtime.  The Internet is unpredictable.  Your website could be wallowing in the depths of internet obscurity one day and on the front page when someone enters a keyword attached to your website into Google the next.  You never know what's going to happen.

   You could always go with their Unlimited Plan, which offers unlimited disk space and monthly bandwidth, but comes with a $14.99 per month price tag.  Plus, three features in this plan have limits for some reason: FTP users, number of email addresses and total email storage.  Most users probably see the name "Unlimited Plan" and think all of the features with numbers attached are going to be unlimited, but that's not the case here.  You could get a lot of mileage out of the Unlimited Plan.  Unfortunately, the price tag puts it out of reach for most beginning website entrepreneurs.

Ease of Use:   Excellent

   You will find that the services Go Daddy has to offer are easy to use, but they require patience at times.  For instance, expect long waiting times for requests (such as the installing applications or setting up databases) made on your hosting account.  Many users might have an issue with this flaw because their visitors demand new and fresh content without having to wait for it.  This wait time is understandable though.  When your service is as popular as the one Go Daddy offers, your servers are going to get overloaded every so often.  It's inevitable.  They should get more powerful servers to eliminate these delays.  Luckily, Go Daddy's popularity has remained consistent over the years, which means they're a solid option in the web hosting world.  There are some things that are so minor that you should look past them, but are still worth looking into.  This is one of them.

Support and Service:   Excellent

   Go Daddy has a variety of help and support options available, and they’re accessible all of the time. The online support forum and FAQs section are well organized and contain a wealth of knowledge for beginners and advanced users alike.

   Go Daddy service representatives can also be contacted on the phone or through email. Go Daddy is a large company with several thousand users, so personal help would be expectantly slower than other sites. However, Go Daddy’s support team is quick to respond, and the expected response time for emails has significantly decreased since our last review.

Site Creation Tools:   Excellent

   Go Daddy helps beginners easily set up their site, and includes additional tools for advanced developers to work with. Go Daddy also offers a variety of professional site building services and designs for additional fees. Regardless, all Go Daddy solutions support several programming languages. The plan we reviewed supports CGI (Python and Ruby), PHP, Perl, ASP, MySQL, ColdFusion, and FrontPage extensions.

   Most functions within the Account Management tool are similar to other control panels. In addition, with GoDaddy.com you can perform account management tasks, email management, web security, database setup and management, and manage statistic tools.

Server Access:   Excellent

    Go Daddy has a ceiling when it comes to how many different FTP accounts you can have.  Even if you were to enter into the Unlimited Plan, you would still have to deal with the fact you can only have 50 different users with FTP accounts.  Again, most websites aren't going to exceed 10 FTP accounts, let alone 50.  However, most websites don't include FTP accounts.  For example, a site with a lot of different contributors, such as a blogging site, is going to run into a problem with this limit.  They could send their content to a supervisor of some kind, but that would overload the supervisor.  Adding all of the users to the FTP would free up the supervisor's workload, allowing them to focus on other pressing matters.  This is another minor issue that shouldn't scare you away from using their services though.

Marketing Tools:   Excellent

    Go Daddy leaves marketing tools out of its web hosting plans.  It does offer them in a different section of the website, which took a little investigating for us to find.  Their rates are pretty reasonable with the highest level plan (Premium) costing about $2.77 per year.  Sites who want to ambitiously market their site through email are going to have to expand their efforts on their own once they hit their 5,000 emails per year limit.  This service appears to occupy most of the price for the Deluxe and Premium plans.  The problem with emails is you might end up with 5,000 people who look at your site once and then go on to the next one.  You aren't going to turn everyone who goes to your website into a lifetime visitor.  Everyone has different tastes and your website only caters to a special section of them.  You have to cast your net much wider and wait for the one-timers to drop off, leaving you with the folks that are always going to come back for more.

Reporting and Statistics:   Excellent

   Every plan Go Daddy offers includes the option to look at site statistics and raw access logs.  They don't provide much information beyond that, such as what data analysis program they use and what you can do with the access logs.
Summary:     Go Daddy is a worthy competitor and worthwhile web hosting service. They provide all the essentials and then some, complete with secure facilities. The setup process is straightforward, and Go Daddy has an option for all levels of management, from beginner to expert. Though not as complete as a couple of our other reviewed web hosting services, Go Daddy has what it takes, and is definitely a great option.

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   Piracy and intellectual property theft are on the rise. Small businesses in the U.S. are especially vulnerable, in part because they usually are not well-versed in how to protect themselves, according to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. The problem has become so severe that the agency established an intellectual property Web site for small businesses to brush up on this critical area.

   The World Intellectual Property Organization defines intellectual property as "creations of the mind: inventions, literary and artistic works, and symbols, names, images and designs used in commerce." There are two categories of intellectual property. One includes patents for inventions and trademarks, while the other covers copyrights for literary and artistic works that help protect your intellectual property.

   You can protect your intellectual property in the United States if you register for patents, trademarks and copyrights with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. This is protected by federal law, and the agency is dedicated to fighting intellectual property crime inside and outside of the United States.

   The U.S. and other governments have had difficulty fighting piracy beyond their borders, but the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce urge small business owners take steps to safeguard their intellectual property globally by seeking protection in the form of trademarks and copyrights. There are three discrete types of intellectual property, with differing means of protection.

• Patents give companies or individuals full rights over their inventions inside the United States. Patented inventions cannot be sold, created or imported by others while protected. They must be considered useful and will not receive patent protection if they are known to already exist or are in use by others in the United States or elsewhere, according to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

   If the inventions were written about in a publication in the United States or any other country, the patent likewise will be rejected. In the U.S., patents generally are good for 20 years. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office strongly advises that inventors use attorneys when applying for patents. Patents must be applied for in each country.

• Trademarks give owners exclusive rights over their business names, logos and other symbols. These symbols and words must be used for commercial purposes to qualify for trademark protection. Registration is not necessary for protection in the United States, as some trademark protection is provided when businesses begin using their names and symbols. Registration is, however, the best way to protect your intellectual property.
• Copyrights protect original works of authorship, according to U.S. copyright law. You gain rights simply by creating materials, but if you want to officially copyright your materials, including music, art and writings, register with the U.S. Copyright Office. Your writings can be unpublished and still be protected.

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