Great task management software for organizing your to do lists.

I've been looking for a good solution to organizing my to do lists for all the different projects I'm active on. ToDoList by AbstractSpoon appears to be the solution I was looking for. I needed something that would allow me to quickly organize my tasks and then focus on what needs to be done. This tool really makes that easy to do and it's FREE open source :)

ToDoList can minimize to the system tray and be recalled at any time by assigning a hotkey to the application. I set mine up to use Ctrl+Alt+A to restore the application from the tray icon. Making an easy to use tool that you can reference at anytime during the day. There are also alarm settings for due dates on tasks, but I've never really worked that way. I tent to just assign priorities and also tag which tasks I need to get finished today. Then using a filter to narrow what tasks need to be handled right now. When you have the task list filtered and you create a new task it automatically assigns fields the same values as the current filter. Making it easy to add tasks for a current project or sub-task.

Plug-ins allow the application to be expanded by other developers. I've found the ToDoList works fine out of the box as is, but there is a calendar plugin that I've been thinking of giving a try. ToDoList can also import data from other task managers such as Outlook and Microsoft Project.

Some of the user interface features that I like are:

• View tasks in either a tree structure with sub-tasks or linear list organized by sortable options.
• Easy but flexible filtering options let you quickly customize status, category and priorities.
• Quickly add tasks or sub-tasks with little effort.

Overall I've been using this task manager for about a month without any problems, and recommend it to anyone looking for an easy and flexible replacement for Microsoft Outlook or Microsoft Project.

Hilarious character rig done in Maya

I don't think I've seen a character rigging demo that made me laugh before, but this one is awesome.



This character rig was created for the MEINDBENDER. You can read more about it over at CGSociety.

Project Offset demonstrates some amazing real-time 3D animation!

Project Offset is a development team purchased by Intel that is creating a real-time 3D engine with a visual quality similar to feature film CGI. I've spent a few years working in the gaming industry both as a 3D animator and software developer to appreciate the technical achievements these guys are making. The environmental effects and rendering quality is amazing.

They've release a trailer demonstrating some dynamics and shows some of the rendering abilities of the game engine.



There's more to see at their website's media section. Be sure to watch the dragon video. Remember, it's all real-time in game CGI.

Facebook releases HipHop to run PHP as native C++

You can now compile your PHP into native C++ code to run on Linux servers. There have been a few C based compilers for PHP in the open source market, but this is the first time a compiler that has been proven on one of the worlds largest PHP websites. Right now Facebook is feeding out 400 million page views using HipHop and they claim to have reduced CPU usage by 50%.

I've spent some years developing on the Java platform and investigated native compilers for that language. It tends to open up the doors for arguments about performance issues with the interpreted language compared to native C code. Having wasted my time arguing the positive points of Java with C++ developers. I can assure you that most people don't pick scripting languages for performance.

Caching is an often overlooked optimization technique. While most developers know what it is there are few that implement it, and unless you designed your web application to use it. It's very difficult to enable caching later in the development cycle. I prefer to develop web applications with the caching features enabled so that I can see where it breaks.

Native C run-time of PHP code would improve the performance of generating web pages. In a world quickly turning to real-time information caching is becoming an ineffective optimization tool

Be sure to check out HipHop for PHP.

Negative Reactions to Autodesk 3ds Max XBR

Recently Autodesk has been posting videos of upcoming features for the next release of 3ds Max, and the responses from users has been mixed. While the features they're adding look like well deserved improvements. It does seem like Autodesk has no self control in user interface design. Each new feature appears more alien to 3ds Max and just highlights how outdated the rest of the application has become. They also demonstrate Autodesk's ability to copy ideas from other companies rather then innovate and create new technology.

One user's comment from YouTube addresses the issue well. "I have to agree that this new interface is very poor. Try stepping back and looking at the problem as a whole solution, rather than throwing new things at it and making the picture even worse"

Some of the other comments are more negative and can't be repeated on my blog.

It's still early to tell what the next release for 3ds Max is going to be like, but it does appear that they are just adding features and not really addressing the underlying problems of the application. Users learning the application will become confused by the lack of consistency in the user interface, features with misleading labels (i.e. a particle system called Snow that isn't anything like snow) and the countless third-party plug-ins that feel alien in design when you use them.

Developers have been receiving negative feedback about XBR over at Autodesk's official blog.

They are also getting negative feedback over at YouTube about XBR.

Let's hope that Autodesk wakes up and starts cleaning up the application.

Google Launches Powerful Mobile Shopping App for Android

I don't have an Android phone as my BlackBerry has been doing me just fine, but this new application from Google seems to be a killer idea. You can scan bar codes, take photos or speak into the phone to find comparison price information on products. So if your on the go shopping and need to verify a good deal, then this makes that task real easy. Would love to give this a try someday.

To read more about the Google App or watch the YouTube demonstration, then follow this link to Google Model Shopping App for Android.

BOXX announces render farm on wheels!

Yes, it's a render farm on wheels. You can roll it around the office! I love the idea behind this product. Most 3D animation studios are less then ten people is size, and something like this is perfect. You could put this thing in the closest and pull it out when you need to ramp up your rendering power. It's ideal for studios with limited space or don't have a dedicated data center with cooling units and sound proofing.

I've been having my eye on a blade server from IBM but now this one is on my wish list for possible in-house rendering needs. Now which arm and leg should I sell to buy this thing?

Check out the new RenderFarm On Wheels (ROW) from BOXX.