Tutorials – Page 5836 – Blancer.com Tutorials and projects

Quick Tip: Setting up an HDRI using Vray for Maya

In today’s Quick-tip tutorial, Edgar Mihailov shows artists new to Maya, and/or it’s relatively new Vray plugin, how to utilise High Dynamic Range Images (HDRIs) to illuminate your scenes, providing realistic reflections in the process. HDRI is now a standard across almost all rendering software and it’s an extremely useful thing to learn how to use!

Hi everyone! In this tutorial I will be showing you how to first enable Global Illumination (GI) within your scene, and then we’ll add an HDRi map using Vray for Maya. I will be using Maya 2011, but the process is extremely similar in some of the older versions of Maya (up to a point of course!) This tutorial is intended for people who are new to Vray itself, or just the Vray for Maya plugin.

I can’t actually share the HDR image I use in the tutorial, however there are a reat many places on the web where you can download free HDRIs to use in your scenes (though please always be aware of commercial restrictions.) A great website for free HDRi maps is http://www.openfootage.net/, but I would advise you to buy at least one good HDRi map pack, as they are typically of higher quality and allow you to achieve the results below in your commercial projects.

Step 1

For the purpose of this tutorial I made this very simple scene. It’s essentially just a sphere, a plane for the floor, and a cross shape (which is nothing more than an extruded cube). Although simple, this will be more than enough to allow us to correctly set up our HDRI, and clearly see the results.

Step 2

Before we can start we first have to make sure that the Vray plugin is loaded. To do this, click Window on the top menu bar, and then hover your cursor over Settings/Preferences and a menu will pop up. Once it’s opened, choose the very bottom Plug-in Manager.

Step 3

Maya’s Plugin Manager menu will appear. Scroll all the way down to the bottom and make sure that vrayformaya.mll is checked as Loaded. If you do a lot of work with Vray, you might want to check Auto-load as well, which will make the plugin load up everytime Maya starts.

Note : If you don’t see a vrayformaya.mll entry in the list, make sure you have installed the plugin correctly. If you reinstall the plugin, make sure you restart Maya before re-checking the Plugin Manager.

Step 4

Now we have to switch our rendering engine to Vray. To do so, switch to the Rendering menu-set (by using the dropdown menu underneath the File and Edit menus on the top bar), then go to Render > Render Using > V-Ray.

Note: You can also see here the other renderers you have access to on the system. By default, Maya comes with Maya Software, Maya Hardware, Maya Vector and Mental Ray – all of which are covered heavily in the documentation.

Step 5

After that is done we have to go in and set up our materials. Go to Window > Rendering Editors > Hypershade to open Maya’s main material editor/creator.

Step 6

In the image below you can see the Hypershade. On the right are the 3 existing material nodes in the scene, and on the left is a list of all of the material nodes you can create. We want to create a standard Vray material, so click twice where it says “VRay Mtl” to create two materials. As you do this, the new materials will pop up in the right hand side of the Hypershade. For this tutorial only these two materials will be needed.

Step 7

Now double-click on one of the materials that we just created to open up the Attribute Editor. (This may appear as a floating panel, or docked to the right hand side of the main window.) In the Attribute Editor go to the Reflection section and change the Reflection Color to white by sliding the slider all the way to the right. This makes the material fully reflective – it is essentially now a mirror. We don’t need to alter the other material as the standard settings will do for this test. Whilst I won’t name the materials here, I strongly advise you to give each material a descriptive name if you’re putting together a complex scene.

Note : If the Attribute Editor doesn’t open, click once on your new material and hit CTRL+A to open it.

Step 8

To apply our new materials to our objects, hover your cursor over the material in the right side of the Hypershade, hold down the middle mouse button, move your mouse over the object you want to apply your material to, and then release to apply it. Using this method, I applied our mirror material to the sphere object, and the other default grey material to the floor plane and the cross object.

Step 9

Now we have to change our render settings and add in our HDRI. To do this, go to Window > Rendering Editors > Render Settings

Step 10

We’re now going to enable Global Illumination, a key part of making the HDRI work as it allows us to take into account any light coming from our environment within the scene. Switch to the Indirect Illumination tab and make sure that the first check box is turned on to enable GI. For this simple test I’ll leave the rest of the settings at their default values, but you should feel free to experiment. For instance, the Primary Bounces Multiplier can be increased to brighten up a dark scene, which can be useful for some HDR images.

Step 11

In order to use an HDRi map for our overall lighting, we have to switch to the VRay tab and tick Override Environment. If we were to do a test render now, the scene would be a light blue color instead of pitch black. That blue color is coming from the GI texture swatch as shown in the image below. This is where we’re going to need to add in our HDRI.

Step 12

Before we can do that however, we have to create a material for our HDRi map. So head back into the Hypershade (Window > Rendering Editors > Hypershade) and click the Textures tab as shown at 1 in the below image. We need to create a File texture to load in our HDRI, but it might not be easy to find in the list of available materials/textures. To speed up this process, type File into the search bar shown at 2 in the below image. This will quickly allow you to find a specific texture node. Once done, click once on the File node shown at 3 – it should appear in the right hand side of the Hypershade.

If you have stuff in your “Work Area”, click the eraser icon to clear it.

Step 13

Click once on the new File node to select it and hit CTRL+A to bring back the Attribute Editor. Once there, click on the folder icon next to Image Name and navigate to/select your HDRI map. It might take a while to load depending on the speed of your computer and size of the map.

Step 14

Now open both the Render Settings window and the Hypershade window side-by-side. Just like when we applied the materials to our objects, we need to hover over the HDRI File node in the Hypershade, hold down the middle mouse button, move the mouse over to the black swatch next to Background Texture and then release. Maya will automatically add the File texture into this slot for us. We now need to repeat this process for the GI texture, Reflection texture and Refraction texture slots.

Note: Ideally you should use a low-res, slightly blurred version of your HDRI in the GI Texture slot, as it provides much smoother lighting throughout the scene. The 3 other slots should all use the high-res version.

Step 15

You may notice that you can now see your image in the main viewport. If it looks as expected feel free to skip this step, however if your HDRi map is rotated sideways you may need to do the following…

Go back to the Render Settings, and in the Environment tab click where it says Edit UV Placement. As all of our maps are using the same file, altering one UV Placement affects all of the maps, however if you’re using multiple maps you would need to repeat this fix for each one of them.

In the Attribute Editor, change the Vertical rotation from 0 to 90, which will rotate our image map 90 degrees, hopefully lining it up straight! If it’s still not straight, feel free to change the number until it looks correct.

Step 16

Our materials and HDRI are now all in place so it’s time to render! From the top menu, go to Render > Render Current Frame.

Step 17

Once completed, your render should look something like this. Now go and experiment with different HDRIs to see the wide range of results you can achieve! If you have any questions feel free to leave them below. Thanks!

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Introducing the Tuts+ Marketplace – Making Premium Accessible to Everyone

We’ve just launched the Tuts+ Marketplace, where Premium quality tutorials – both from our Tuts+ Premium program and from unaffiliated authors – are available to purchase individually. Our Tuts+ Premium program will still stay exactly the same – you’ll get all the same things, for the same price. But now, non-members will be able to purchase selected Premium tutorials on a one-off basis, without a Premium membership.

Hey! Look for this link!

So far we’ve added nearly half our Premium tutorials to the Tuts+ Marketplace, and will be adding more over time. To find out if a Premium tutorial is available for sale on the Tuts+ Marketplace, look for this link:

Q + A More Information

Here are answers to some of your likely questions about the Tuts+ Marketplace. Please read through these, and if you have any more questions they may be answered in the special edition podcast Introducing the Tuts+ Marketplace (with me and Sean Hodge as a special guests hehe). If not, leave a comment!

Listen to the podcast!

QWhat does this mean for Premium members?

That it’s a lot easier to see the value you’re getting as part of Premium. With files on the marketplace priced between $3 and $7, your Premium subscription gives you access to thousands of dollars worth of files for $9 a month. Premium will still work exactly the same and cost the same – so you’ve got nothing to worry about! The marketplace is more for people who aren’t Premium members, and for those who want access to user-submitted tutorials that aren’t available as part of Premium – or anywhere else.

QWhat will be sold on the Tuts+ Marketplace?

We’ve seeded the site with our Tuts+ Premium tutorials, but anyone can submit a tutorial for sale on the Tuts+ Marketplace. If it’s ‘Premium’ quality, it will be accepted. Eventually, the marketplace will be filled with tutorials you can’t find anywhere else.

QWho benefits from the Tuts+ Marketplace?

If you only have time to go through 1 or 2 Premium tutorials a month, or only want to pay for the Premium tutorials you need, the Tuts+ Marketplace is perfect for you. You can purchase tutorials on a one off basis, and files are priced between $3 – $7.

As the marketplace grows, authors will come in from elsewhere to sell their tutorials. There will be high-quality tutorials on the Tuts+ Marketplace that you can’t get anywhere else, so if you love learning from great tutorials, you should keep tabs on the Tuts+ Marketplace.

If you go through lots of Premium tutorials, the Tuts+ Premium subscription is better value for you. The option that’s right for you will depend on your needs.

QWhat categories does the marketplace cover?

We currently host the following categories, and will be expanding our selection over time:

Design
Web Development
Audio & Music
Multimedia
Video
3D Graphics
Photography
Mobile Development
Business
eBooks

Forums Have your say!

Because the Tuts+ Marketplace is built on our Envato Marketplaces app, we have dedicated Forums. Head on over, sign up for the marketplaces, and tell us what you think of the Tuts+ Marketplace.

Send Gmail Reminders to Yourself and Others with Boomerang

If you’re anything like I am, then you often find yourself checking email late at night, but you’re hesitant to actually send emails at that hour lest you give clients the impression that you have no life and they can always expect an immediate response from you. Or maybe you have a set of recurring emails that you’re often forgetting to send.

Enter Baydin’s Boomergang for Gmail (it’s also available for Outlook).

Developed by Baydin Software and currently in Beta, this handy little plugin works in Firefox and Chrome, allowing you to control when you send and receive Gmail messages. I scored an invite code, and so far I’m pretty impressed overall.

There are already a few similar products available for Outlook, but Boomerang integrates almost seamlessly with Gmail (I say almost, because sometimes the extension inexplicably wouldn’t show up in my Gmail account). No need to log into a separate website, like some of the other services I’ve tried, and you can yank an email before it goes out if you change your mind. You can also edit emails before they go out, but that gets a little messy, because then Boomerang can’t find the message you’d scheduled, and you’ll need to schedule it again.

Here’s how to schedule an email for sending later:

Type up your email in Gmail and press “save.”
Click Boomerang’s “Send Later” button.
Pick the date and time when you want your message to go out.
Presto! Boomerang automatically sends your email through Gmail when you want it sent. You don’t even need to be at your computer.

And here’s how to receive an email at a later day and time (for instance, if you don’t want to be distracted by a certain email thread, you can essentially press the “snooze” button):

Open that email message and click Boomerang’s “Recieve Later” button.
Choose the day and time when you want it to pop up your in-box again.
Boomerang archives that message and gives it the “Boomerang” label in case you need to find it before then.
At the appointed hour, your message gets moved back to your inbox, marked as unread and starred so you can’t miss it.

Since Boomerang is still invite-only, we only hope that Google will take the hint and add these features to Gmail themselves. Baydin is also working on other features for Boomerang, including support for Gmail in languages other than English and for multiple sign-in Google accounts.

What do you think? Have you tried Boomerang or similar services? Did you find it useful?

Data Backup and Sync Strategies #3: Why You Should Use Dropbox

Dropbox isn’t a new entrant to the backup and sync scene. It’s been sometime since it was introduced, and has already received rave reviews and accolades from various technology sites and journals.

I knew about the tool since the day it came into existence. But I didn’t jump on the opportunity to try it out. That was probably because I had my own backup and sync system which included various tools, and I was quite satisfied with that. Hence I didn’t feel the need to try a new data backup solution.

But the other day, I decided to finally check it out. It was when, at Guiding Tech, we were working on an article on getting started with Dropbox. And boy, was I impressed! The tool has some seriously cool features and I found myself regretting the decision of using it so late.

So, if you are using any other backup and sync tool, or method, it’s time you keep it aside for a moment and take a look at some of the features of Dropbox , which, in my opinion, make it the best personal data backup and sync solution.

Simplicity

Yes, Dropbox’s simplicity, right from their site’s design to the way the tool works, is probably the most amazing feature. The entire backup and sync process is easy to understand and implement.

Multi-Platform

Yes, it works on Windows, Mac, Linux, and even on mobile phones. It has got cool apps for iPhone and Android too.

No File Size Limits

You can backup and sync files of any size and any type with Dropbox. The cool thing is that when you make changes to a file and then add it again to your My Dropbox folder, it only syncs the changes made, thereby making sure that it doesn’t eat up your bandwidth.

Easily Share Data Privately or Publicly

This is one of my favorite Dropbox features. It makes sharing incredibly easy. You can create a shared folder and give access to selected people. And there’s a public folder where you can put a file and create a public link to that, which could then be shared.

Undelete files and Restore Previous Versions

So you’ve deleted a file by mistake and now you need it back. No worries. Dropbox lets you undelete files that were added to it. You could also undo any changes made to a document and restore it to its previous version.

Excellent online dashboard

Dropbox boasts of a really nice online dashboard which lets you search for files in your backup, make changes to them, share them and even create photo galleries from the photos you’ve got in your backup.

Work on Files Offline

If you are not connected to the internet and working on a file that’s backed up to Dropbox, when you come online it gets synchronized automatically.

Sudden Connection Drop Creates No Problems

I have tried some online backup solutions in the past which would go haywire if your internet connection drops suddenly, and resume the upload from the very beginning when the connection is restored. Imagine if it was a 100MB file and the connection dropped at 80%. It would be frustrating, right? And it doesn’t make it any better if you’ve got limited bandwidth. With Dropbox this won’t be a problem. It resumes uploads right from the point where the connection dropped.

Set Bandwidth Limits Manually

In one of the points above, where I talked about file size limits, I mentioned that it only syncs the changes and saves the bandwidth. If bandwidth is an issue then you could also set limits manually in the tool.

Great Set of Addons and Third-party Tools

The good thing about a tool that works well and becomes popular is that a community of users and developers work altruistically to add features to the tool and make it better. Same is the case with Dropbox. You’ll find a huge list of Dropbox addons to choose from. And when it comes to third-party tools and other tips, there’s no scarcity of them either.

In fact, you’ll be surprised to see the kind of things Dropbox is capable of. Here are some tools and tips which are my personal favorites.

1. Use Dropbox as the ultimate password syncer

2. Easily sync a folder outside My Dropbox

3. Sync Firefox With Dropbox

4. 15 Awesome Dropbox Tips and Tricks

There are many more such Dropbox tricks and tools available.

Decent Free Plan

And finally, Dropbox has a pretty simple pricing structure too – 2GB for free, 50GB for $9.99 per month and 100GB for $19.99 per month. Getting 2GB worth of storage and all the features of this tool for free is pretty good in my opinion.

Have you tried Dropbox? Do you prefer using any other tool? Share your opinion in the comments. And stay tuned for the final article in this series that’ll talk about backup and sync tools for your mobile phone.

100 Stylish Examples Of Fashion Photography

Fashion photography is a genre of photography devoted to displaying clothing and other fashion items. It’s often an incredibly experimental medium, and results in innovative and high-concept photography. Today we’ve collected a range of stylish and beautiful examples of fashion photography, and a few tips to help you shoot your own fashion images!

Stylish Fashion Photography Examples

LJ Fashion

Roberta Lapertosa

Fashion

another fashion shoot

Evolution

Machicao Couture

Storm is comming

Nasr III

Dark Romance 48

Paris

Fashion

PennysDayBook

Vintage Fashion

Queen Of Summer 3

Fashion Week Shots

Asymmetric Button Cardigan 6

Spigoli

Fashion 2

Nordic Fashion

Hair Photography

FLAMBOYANT

Mind Controlled

fashion village

sky is over 2

Metal Gear Fashion

fashion village 3

Tanya

Averil

Sini

Fashion

I am art!

Silence

fashion in the dessert

sirs of fashion

Istanbul Not Constantinople

batik central java

sand i’m in love

fashion village

hide & seek

Fashion

edison

Tin foil dress

Fashion Check

Underneath the Sky

New Age

Alesandra

fashion

Kadri Pie

Heidi

Dark Romance

BRAD II

Grunge

fashion photo

The World Is My Studio

Monica y Alejandra

Amazon in the Future

Lady in red!

Once upon a time

colour

Marcelo

Fashion Asia

Cosplay

Fashion Asia

hudson fashion 1.1

Ingrid

Laugh…

B79

old school pose

Alice

Kim

Fire?

Granoff VII

Michael

Sailor Spread 05

Development

magie.femELLE

Lost in time

NightElfs

Jardin

Buranovo Ethnic Tunes

Nothing Redundant

Indonesia

VIE PRIVEE

High life

LULU

collection

Eva Culture Look Book

LOST IN TIME

BRVA – 05

Under the Net

Beauty magazine

Whatever I am GOOD

Ethno

Avtandil & Marita

Other Resources & Tutorials

I imagine that by now you’re wanting to read more about how some of these effects are created, and whether you have the kit to re-produce this type of image at home.

Fashion photography often requires quite a bit of equipment, and lots of time dedicated to practice and shooting. We’ve gathered a selection of tutorials below that should help you get on the path to shooting stunning fashion images in no time!

Have you captured any of your own fashion-style images? I’d love to see them. Feel free to share a few links in the comments below!

Introducing the Tuts+ Marketplace – Making Premium Accessible to Everyone

Hey! Look for this link!

Q + A More Information

Listen to the podcast!

QWhat does this mean for Premium members?

QWhat will be sold on the Tuts+ Marketplace?

QWho benefits from the Tuts+ Marketplace?

If you go through lots of Premium tutorials, the Tuts+ Premium subscription is better value for you. The option that’s right for you will depend on your needs.

QWhat categories does the marketplace cover?

We currently host the following categories, and will be expanding our selection over time:

Design
Web Development
Audio & Music
Multimedia
Video
3D Graphics
Photography
Mobile Development
Business
eBooks

Forums Have your say!

Because the Tuts+ Marketplace is built on our Envato Marketplaces app, we have dedicated Forums. Head on over, sign up for the marketplaces, and tell us what you think of the Tuts+ Marketplace.

Introducing the Tuts+ Marketplace – Making Premium Accessible to Everyone

Hey! Look for this link!

Q + A More Information

Listen to the podcast!

QWhat does this mean for Premium members?

QWhat will be sold on the Tuts+ Marketplace?

QWho benefits from the Tuts+ Marketplace?

If you go through lots of Premium tutorials, the Tuts+ Premium subscription is better value for you. The option that’s right for you will depend on your needs.

QWhat categories does the marketplace cover?

We currently host the following categories, and will be expanding our selection over time:

Design
Web Development
Audio & Music
Multimedia
Video
3D Graphics
Photography
Mobile Development
Business
eBooks

Forums Have your say!

Because the Tuts+ Marketplace is built on our Envato Marketplaces app, we have dedicated Forums. Head on over, sign up for the marketplaces, and tell us what you think of the Tuts+ Marketplace.

Notre Dame embarks on a paperless course with iPads

The University of Notre Dame‘s yearlong study of eReaders in academics is starting the school year with a bang — a course that will use the iPad as the only textbook students need. The course is entitled Project Management, and each of the 40 students enrolled will be given an iPad to use in lieu of textbooks. The students will be encouraged to integrate their borrowed iPad into their life by syncing their iTunes library, games, and anything else they would like, and to report their findings.

Project Management is a required undergraduate course for students majoring in Management Consulting, IT Management and Entrepreneurship as part of the management curriculum of Notre Dame’s Mendoza College of Business. Participants will come from a wide variety of orientations including: Business, Law, IT, Arts and Letters, Press and Institutional Equity. After the six-week course, the iPads will be given to another set of students and the second group will be studied through surveys, observations and interviews.

Corey Angst, the course professor, makes the important point that the iPad will not be considered a thing unto itself, but rather one piece of of an ever increasing toolkit of resources that students will add to throughout their coursework and their lives. Therefore the study will start out as a consideration of eReaders, but organically morph into the discovery of other uses of iPads and other such devices.

There will be wiki-based discussions about what the students have found to be useful and to share their discoveries with others in the class. It’s quite exciting to see this sort of research being done and I’m sure that the results of this (and other studies yet to come) will make major inroads into a wide range of fields including: business, sociology, IT and literature, just to name a few. You can follow the progress of this study on a blog that has been set up for just this purpose.

TUAW Notre Dame embarks on a paperless course with iPads originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 31 Aug 2010 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Rumor: New iPhone 4 handset at the end of September

Honestly, I don’t even believe this one, but it’s our responsibility as an Apple news site to keep you updated on the latest rumors, so here you go: A Mexican tech site is reporting that a Telcel executive says there will be a new version of the iPhone 4’s handset released as soon as the end of September.

Marco Quatorze, Telcel’s Director of Value Added Services, says that the iPhone 4 will soon go on sale in Mexico with the same hardware as everywhere else, but that as of September 30th (which is purportedly when the free case deal ends), Apple will be releasing brand new hardware for the phone that will fix the seam in the outer band that causes reception issues.

Anyone who’s been paying attention to the issue knows that story’s full of holes — not only does Apple already consider the whole “Antennagate” issue solved, but it’s extremely improbable that they’ll update the hardware so soon and for that reason. It’s much more likely that the company would just extend the free case program rather than update the hardware before the planned cycle. Plus, as we heard from Apple specificially, “Apple has not made an announcement regarding iPhone 4 pricing or availability in Mexico.” ~~Let’s get the phone on sale before we start talking about updates.~~*

It’s possible that this is just an error in translation. If you want to get a little paranoid, we might even guess that Mr. Quatorze is trying to keep Mexican customers from buying another cellphone, hinting that there are better phones coming just around the corner. Either way, we’re only posting this rumor here for due diligence — it’s extremely unlikely we’ll see a new iPhone 4 in just over a month.

*As noted in the comments here, on the iPhone 4 Mexico post and on Apple’s own site, the iPhone 4 is available in Mexico, but Apple has yet to provide us with an actual statement to that effect.

[via MacRumors]

TUAW Rumor: New iPhone 4 handset at the end of September originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 31 Aug 2010 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Roku cuts price of media players in possible anticipation of new Apple TV

Maybe it’s coincidence, but probably not. On the eve of a rumored announcement of an updated US $99.00 Apple TV, Roku has cut the price of its media players. The standard definition model has been slashed $20 to $59.99, and the high definition model has been trimmed by $30 to $99.99.

The Roku hardware supports 50 different channels, including Netflix and Vimeo, with no PC or Mac connection needed. Apple is expected to announce a revamped Apple TV, rumored to be called the iTV. It may be built on iOS 4, which would allow many of the iPad and iPhone apps to be run on it.

Of course no one knows for sure what Apple will announce tomorrow, but it’s not uncommon to see price cuts from competitors just before Apple makes its plans public. If you’re set on buying an iTV, you’ll obviously want to wait until Wednesday’s show, but if you’ve had your eye on a Roku, saving a few extra bucks is never a bad thing.

TUAW Roku cuts price of media players in possible anticipation of new Apple TV originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 31 Aug 2010 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Mooncharge solar charger for iPhone 4 won’t charge via moonlight

solar charger For many people on the go, a full charge on their iPhone just isn’t enough to get them by. Oh sure, they could hunt around for a standard wall outlet or plug into their laptop, but that’s not always possible. So, they might carry a portable battery pack, like the splash Intense. But for green-minded folks, maybe something more sustainable?

The Frostfire Mooncharge is a solar-powered, portable charger for your iPhone 4 that attaches directly to the back of your device. Fully loaded up with the power of the sun (or via USB), it will power your iPhone for an extra 315 hours on standby and provide up to 27 additional hours of music, 10 hours of video, and five hours of talk time. From no charge at all, 20 minutes of sunlight will fill its battery pack to provide five extra minutes of calling or 50 minutes of standby power.

A few negatives for this device, right from the start, are: 1) it appears extremely bulky, and there’s no reported weight for the device, 2) its name is sadly misleading, and therefore 3) we have to leave our caves and brave daytime sunlight to take advantage of its full potential.

[via MacStories]

TUAW Mooncharge solar charger for iPhone 4 won’t charge via moonlight originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 31 Aug 2010 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Found Footage: The iPad Orchestra

The iPad is gaining a solid reputation as a musician’s infinite instrument, and nothing demonstrates this better than this video of The iPad Orchestra by Alex Shpil.

Four musicians, all using the Seline HD app on amplified iPads, play a piece called “Sweet Dream” composed by Ilya Plavunov. The quartet consists of cello, flute, violin, and clarinet. The result is… magical.

Thanks to Toyo for the tip!

TUAW Found Footage: The iPad Orchestra originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 31 Aug 2010 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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In Brief: Hurricane for iPhone on sale

As the Atlantic storm season heats up and US East Coast residents warily eye Hurricane Earl’s projected path, the team at Kitty Code has put their flagship iPhone app — Hurricane 3.3 — on sale for US$1.99 through September 5. The separate iPad version, Hurricane HD, remains priced at $3.99. We’ve checked out both the mini and mega versions previously.

There are scores of hurricane-related apps on the store, so if the Big Kahuna isn’t to your liking you have some other options too. Stay safe!

TUAW In Brief: Hurricane for iPhone on sale originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 31 Aug 2010 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The silly season: No Comment on The iBottleopener

Now I’ve seen everything. To give lie to the meme that there’s an app for that, perhaps a new and upcoming meme will be that there’s a case for that.

The iBottleopener (US $19.99) is a case for an iPhone 3G or 3GS that has a bottle opener on the back. The video, that you’ve probably just seen, sets a new standard for cheesy adverts. The tagline of the ad campaign is “a party in your pocket.” At least they didn’t use “a party in your pants,” which shows that the manufacturers do have a modicum of restraint.

I’m sure that The iBottleopener is the perfect back to school gift for any college student. And iPhone 4 owners won’t be left out of the party, or the pants for that matter, since a case to fit the newest iPhone is on its way.

For adding a beery note to your iDevice lifestyle, this case deserves a hearty No Comment.

Thanks Zack (I think) for sending this in.

TUAW The silly season: No Comment on The iBottleopener originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 31 Aug 2010 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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TUAW’s Daily App: Plex

Plex’s big tease last week turned out to not be an Apple acquisition, but instead a big release, of both a rewritten Mac client to keep all of your media together in one place, and also a brand new iOS app, available now on the App Store for $4.99. Sure, the app’s a little pricey, but if you use the new Plex as your media center, it’s actually a must buy — not only does it work as a remote control, but you can actually stream media from your Plex library directly to your iPhone or iPad from wherever you are.

And with a little more tweaking (you need to have the server running and know how to set up port forwarding on your router), you can even stream Plex content out over 3G, so no matter where you are with your iOS device, you can watch anything stored on your Plex install. Now that’s pretty cool.

The latest version of Plex is available as a free download from the website, and the app itself is available in iTunes for US $4.99. We Mac users have always been spoiled with terrific media management software, and Plex is another great solution.

TUAW TUAW’s Daily App: Plex originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 31 Aug 2010 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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