Chrome and Windows 7 64-bit

I've been a big fan of using Google Chrome on Windows. The Mac beta is also coming along nicely (with the exception of how it runs Flash slowly). I've had to switch back to Firefox after switching to a Windows 7 64-bit system. Using Chrome will freeze the entire system, requiring holding down the power button to restart. After Googling (how ironic) I found this is not a new issue. Shame on Google for taking so long to resolve such a nasty bug.

Bits of Blender #44 - Explosions

A quick tip on using the explode modifier in Blender. Blender 2.49b.

Bits of Blender #43 - Force Fields

A quick tip on using force fields in Blender. Blender 2.49

Bits of Blender - #42 Soft Bodies

Richard and I have just completed another episode of Bits of Blender. This one is on soft bodies in Blender.

YouTube
blip.tv
vimeo

We now show up in the search in iTunes. You can search for "Bits of Blender" or "Nyquist Art + Logic" to find the Bits.

Bits of Blender #41 - Snapping Tools

Richard and I have just released another episode of Bits of Blender. This episode is on Blender's snapping tools.

We now have a channel on blip.tv as well. Blip is higher quality than YouTube and allows you to subscribe to it via iTunes.

blip.tv
vimeo
YouTube

Bits of Blender #39 and #40

My boy, Richard, and I have come out of a long hiatus. We just made two new episodes of Bits of Blender. We're getting back into the swing of things so pardon any rough edges. We're doing some things a little differently, the biggest change is we now publish at at higher resolution. I am also (finally) giving Vimeo a try (I've had an account forever but hadn't taken the time), they look so nice there.

For those of you not familiar with "Bits", it is a set of casual tutorials done by my 10-year old and me. We do them both for fun and to serve as a video reference of many Blender features. We're warming up so we are ready for 2.5. These cover in 2.49b. Enjoy!

Bits of Blender #39 - Environment Maps

YouTube

blip.tv
vimeo


Bits of Blender #40 - Making a Lego Head
YouTube

blip.tv
vimeo

iCrash

I have a first generation iPhone. For a long time, whenever I put my iPhone on my dock, iTunes would launch and freeze. It was very frustrating. On a couple of occasions I searched for solutions, finding none that worked for me. Each update to iTunes I hoped would correct the problem.

I had a workaround. If iTunes was already running, then it wouldn't crash when the iPhone was connected. It was not a desirable work around because I don't want iTunes running all the time. It was a drag having to remember to launch iTunes each time before connecting the iPhone.

I'm running Vista, and I my periodic searches (when frustration would peak) I noticed that Mac users also had similar problems. A few months ago, playing with my settings, I discovered how to prevent it from crashing iTunes (and went on my happy way, neglecting to blog on it). The solution was simple, turn off "Automatically sync when this iPhone is connected". It's not an ideal solution, but it fits my workflow very well. I don't need to sync the phone every time I connect it, so as long as I remember to do it once in a while, I'm good. Since most of my important info is kept "in the cloud", syncing frequently is not a necessity.