I spoke at the London Titanium Meetup last month on how you can incorporate and build a Twitter app using oAuth libraries into a Titanium Mobile project.
The talk went well and I’m sharing the slides with you here:
I’ve been working hard on a Titanium Mobile project this year for Multizone Ltd.
A series of apps really, a utility app in essence to help bridge public engagement with local policing activities.
Resource links for the London Titanium presentation on Weds 29th June.
Ketan Majmudar is @ketan on twitter
All photos from presentation by myself
The SCI-FI-LONDON App is available from Apple’s AppStore.
For more information on the Surrey Police app – please look at www.multizone.co.uk
I finally got to visit the home of the British Codebreakers at Bletchley Park. Part of a joint venture between the Berkshire BCS and Reading Geek Night, where a coach of us travelled up to Milton Keynes on Sunday morning to visit the site.
Entrance to Bletchley Park
I have only ever heard about the place in reputation, through the movie Enigma, and more recently, through the hashtag #bpark on twitter. So to be a visitor and have a tour guide was a real treat.
Not only was this a place where important messages were intercepted and decoded during the war, but it was also pivotal in the development of modern computing. Bletchley Park therefore also the houses the National Museum of Computing.
After some complementary teas, our tour and began and the rich history of the site began to unfold. We were treated to the real actual replica of the Bombe used in the movie as well as a working replica, this was the machine created to decipher intercepted messages. We also saw a working Colossus computer used to help in breaking cyphers, it was kept under wraps for many years, even after the war.
Working Replica of the Bombe
Much of our tour consisted of the history and development of the technology used in helping break the codes that were intercepted during World War II, and how the centre operated.
Part of the exhibitions houses a memorial slate sculpture of Alan Turing as a reminder of all he contributed to our society. There are video documentaries, historic memorabilia, film clippings enigma machines and so much more.
Slate Sculpture of Alan Turing
I took a bunch of 3D images whilst there, but am still working through converting them into anaglyph images (that can be seen with red/cyan specs)
Group Picture in 3D Anaglyph
In the mean time I have 50 or so pics from my visit on my flickr site
One of the highlights involved a short journey back in time through the history of computing and real life class rooms of BBC B Microcomputers, a real treat for me as it was the computer I grew up with. All-in-all an amazing day, and so much more to see. I will have to visit again, as there is just too much too see.
Please support Bletchley Park by visiting them, its a superb day out, great for geeks, families and historians. You can find them on twitter @bletchleypark
It seems like the wait is over. Finally the disappearance of the old Tron Classic DVD seems to be over. A Remastered High Definition Blu Ray release is imminenet (April 2011) – along with a slew of TRON: Legacy bundles.
The marketing here as usual is out there to tempt and to confuse the public. There are so many different packages.
Tron Legacy (3D Blu-ray + 2D Blu-ray) w/ Digital Copy
TRON 2D Blu Ray/TRON Original Blu Ray
Tron Legacy (Blu-ray + DVD) [2010]
And i’ve also seen a Special Collectors Cube Box set that contains the Comic Prequel and some other collectibles.
I love the idea of the Double/Triple Play sets, you get the High Def & the Standard Definition versions, the ultimate flexibility. However, it looks like i may well get the Double Pack purely to get my hands on the TRON in High Definition, for the cost of a sale price Blu Ray at £17 you can’t go too far wrong. Even though Legacy isn’t ever going to be a cult classic. It set a benchmark in pushing the SFX envelope.
Also it seems to also be an interesting shift in promoting 3D Blu Rays whilst not penalising those who haven’t upgraded. There has to be a stronger system of releasing 3D titles to the public, and this might see the start of a new trend. Tying 3D discs to hardware manufacturers sucks, and is outright stupid for takeup of a new technology. The second issue is, we need strong titles and better 3D movies being made. However TRON wasn’t bad in 3D, although it probably needed to be seen in an IMAX to get the true/full potential of its use. Perhaps some lessons can be learnt here.
TRON: Legacy & the original TRON can be pre-ordered via Amazon/Play/HMV now.
Disney Family have a series of printable craft kits with a TRON-esque theme to them:
All kits are linkd as PDF files on this page: http://family.go.com/disney/pkg-disney-character-fun/pkg-everything-tron/
You can print out and make 3D models of 3 types of lightcyles, recognizers and a whole bunch of other kits to keep you (i mean your kids) busy and immersed in the TRON vibe.
The lightcyle models look quite detailed and will need some patience to complete I imagine.
Thanks to @bleedingcool on twitter
I was let loose in the Kitchen over the xmas holidays. So the two main recipes I tinkered with were:
Vegan French Toast & Marinade Tofu slices (recipe coming soon).
The French toast was more a whim for breakfasts as we stayed over at my mums, and the Tofu slices were to accompany our veggie xmas dinner.
So I did some google searches and then modified the recipes that I came across:
Vegan French Toast cooking on a pan
Creates a vegan (egg free) mixture for 4 pieces of toast, great for a fried breakfast.
20 min
Mix all the ingredients together in a bowl and whisk thoroughly, make sure the banana is fully mashed. Use a fork or an electric whisk. It should be gloopy, no too thick though.
Dip a piece of bread into the mixture, one at a time then turn over, let it soak on each side for about 30-40 seconds, then place in another bowl propped up by a fork to let the excess mixture drip away. I usually cook one piece whilst another piece is soaking and ready for cooking.
Fry each dipped slice of bread on each side until golden all over ina frying pan. I use 1 tbsp oil for each piece of bread, serve with maple syrup or whatever you like!
This is a pretty spoiler-free review.
It’s been 22years since a movie that came from Disney inspired me at the possibilities that computing technology held for the future, not just in movies, but in the “Real World” too. That movie was of course TRON.
TRON: Legacy (the sequel to the original 1982 Cult classic) In Cinemas December 17 in Disney Digital 3D and IMAX 3D. It’s also generated quite a bit of buzz around itself.
Ever since the concept clip leaked at ComicCon a couple of years ago, the world gasped and held a breath in anticipation. It was going to be in 3D too, then we heard Daft Punk were attached. wow.
There is a lot riding on the movie, light cycle pun intended. Its a glorious digital visual treat, with a gorgeous and stunning world portrayed on screen. It’s fast paced and will have you sucked into the digital world. The sound track really works well too. It is a movie that you should definitely get into the cinema’s to watch. 126 minutes whizzed by.
TRON: Legacy
I recently attended the TRON Night at the BFI IMAX last month & it revealed some more of the real world scenes and a few of the Grid scenes, basically taking the trailer and showing more of those scenes, without spoling too much. It left me optimistic and excited. Yet I am finding it hard now, not to notice flaws in the whole thing after seeing it in its entirety .
I watched the presentation in Dolby 3D, which I find doesn’t work as the best digital 3D system out there. I much prefer RealD as a 3D delivery system.
I’ve seen 3 trailer / teaser previews of this movie so far in 3D – in RealD & IMAX 3D – I was absolutely blown away by the 3D effects in the RealD 10 min preview I saw. And the IMAX was pretty good. The whole movie preview in Dolby 3D didn’t come close. I was in a prime position, but its a massive theatre. The size of a cinema screen and your position within that can have a huge effect on the 3D experience. (always sit middle and towards the middle to back of an auditorium).
There were some very interesting 3D moments during the film, but feel that there was too much of a safe call on a lot of the shots, this could be down to that face that I wear glasses and I don’t think Dolby 3D works best for us. Yet it could have been filmed this way, or perhaps it was a judgement call on the final edit. The 3D aspect aside, the visual texture is stunning and superb, and is certainly something special. I would see the movie just for this alone.
LIght Cycle Concept
The light cycle & disk battle scenes are truly amazing, in terms of choreography and lighting, the effects just ooze sexiness. But I wanted and expected more out of it.
Jeff Bridges and Olivia Wilde both stood out particularly for me and should be especially proud of the work they put in to the movie. On whole the whole TRON team have created a very special movie indeed.
I’ve felt a little let down though that it fails to reach the OMG – WOW status. It certainly came close. Some poor editing choices and a couple of very confusing moments in the storyline, that could have been easily resolved with some extra dialogue OR more careful editing. I read the prequel comics and it explains a huge amount. But some quick edits and assumptions are made during the film, that leaves you thinking …. huh? I don’t think a majority of people will be this critical of the movie, but I do wonder, people get paid to make sure these get ironed out.
There are key moments during this film where the script looses its way, now, this could have been lost in the editing room. Its hard to say. But its these little things that make the difference between good and great.
Daft Punk’s soundtrack added a huge element to the movie and is pretty darn hot. There is so much that I actually do love about this movie, but the euphoria I should be feeling seems to have got lost in the postal system somewhere, that feeling like you’ve lost something. What happened ? It’s hard to tell who makes the calls and shots on big budget movies like this. Needless to say, it will do well, the merch will sell and I will go and see it again. Their job is done. But it should have blasted the bits out of me on all levels. Maybe too much emotion on the Users and not enough spent on the Programs perhaps.. who knows. Maybe a directors cut DVD/Blu ray might surface and patch the bug, but the gridbugs seem to have run amok somehow.
TRON: Legacy Film Still
TRON: Legacy was a fun ride to be had by TRON fans and newbies alike. You should definitely carve out some time to go and see this in 3D, but it, only just, fails to shine brighter than the amazing lightcycle jets do.
But in the words of Marty McFly “You’re Kids are gonna love it”
TRON fragmentation detected ….
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