W.E.B

Animated movies are breaking barriers to blur once concrete lines

noreply@blogger.com (Kimeshan Naidoo) — Tue, 25 Sep 2007 21:40:00 +0000

Animation has come leaps and bounds since it came of age when Toy Story captivated younger audiences throughout the world. Animated movies are going from strength to strength with each new release. Unrealistic and flawed animation which occured in early movies are non-existent. Computer animation software or technology in general have changed so quickly and vastly that a blur between animation and traditional movies is becoming possible. Scenes that were once simple and bleak have evolved into breathtakingly detailed skylines, lush greenery and character movements and facial expressions are tenfold more realistic than they used to be. In fact, if animators wanted, they could create a animation that would be hard to differentiate between real life and computer pixels. The only plausible factor holding them back is time constraints. Each frame which last for only tenths or hundreths of a second can take hours to design as every pixel is perfected.

Over the past 4 or 5 years, animated movies like Finding Nemo, Shrek, Incredibles and Cars have had greater impact in the box office that traditional movies. Dreamworks and Disney Pixar lead the pack by far but other studios are joining the evolution of animation . Sony Animation is one example of change in focus in the movie franchises ,as even the ubiquitious Japanese electronics giant wants a slice of the profits that animated movies are racking in exponentially.

"Change is nature" as is proclaimed in Pixar's latest installment, Ratatouille, by the unlikely hero which is a rat. Change is the best word that can describe what is happening in the industry. Instead of targeting only younger audiences, animations are more family oriented so that children, teenagers and even adults enjoy it. Storylines which were once the cliched good guys verses bad guys battle, have morphed into deeper, allegorical plots with characters that are complicated and show real life feelings and latent characteristics which unfolds progressively with the story.

After mentioning all these changes, it must be concluded that fortunately the primary reason that pioneers like Walt Disney had for making animations, which was for it be a moral allegory for the youth, is still present and is still inevitably the crux of most stories.

Asian rivals to square up in T20 final

noreply@blogger.com (Kimeshan Naidoo) — Sun, 23 Sep 2007 13:42:00 +0000

India superbly beat Australia by 15 runs in a pulsating match at Kingsmead, to set up a dream inaugural Twenty20 Cricket World Cup final against arch rivals Pakistan. Living in Durban and a mere thirty minutes away from Kingsmead, I watched in awe as India found momentum in the tournament and knocked out South Africa and Australia within three days. Like the other 20000 strong crowd at Kingsmead on Saturday night I was hoping for the champions to go home. It was a great night for cricket in general as it ended Australia's dominance in all forms of the game and India, for once, didn't let down more than a billion avid cricket fans back at home.

For the last decade cricket has been slipping in the ranks of world sport and this is largely due to the unprecedented dominance of Australia in all forms of the game. Winning three ICC cricket world cups in a row, holders of the Champions trophy and easily the No.1 test side, cricket was becoming a formality where Australia comprehensively won virtually everything. The game needed something fresh, something new, something big...and up stepped the inaugural T20 world cup in South Africa.

It was the traditional 50 over format reduced to 20, the result: more 6's and wickets, less block shots and low totals. It was the kind of revolution the sport needed. It raised the bar in innovation and entertainment to higher than anyone could have dreamt. The tournament is a huge success and fittingly ends with a ripper of a match tomorrow, as India and Pakistan square up at each other again! Judging from the last time these two bitter rivals met, we're in for a cracker of a match!

OLPC Project

noreply@blogger.com (Kimeshan Naidoo) — Mon, 30 Jul 2007 16:03:00 +0000

The OLPC (One Laptop Per Child) project was started a long time ago and after a long, extensive R&D period, the new concept is ready to permeate the youth of developing countries around the world. The aim is not to provide cheap laptops to children but instead to revolutionise the way the next generation of children collaborate, design, think, create and explore the very art of learning. Instead of forcing children to learn tedious tasks such as using office software, this laptop is designed with a totally different but great concept in mind. The laptop features a button that allows children to see the source code of the program and thus explore and build their own programs. It features a interface like no other, purely simple and logically built from the eyes of a child that has never laid eyes on a computer before. It features wi-fi to enable children to network and share work amongst themselves.

A surprisingly dazzling array of technical features are crammed into this green wonder-box that also stylishes integrates wi-fi antennas and a comfortable handle for children to carry with. A camera, a full rubbery keyboard designed for children's hands for easy typing, LCD screen, 1GB expandable flash memory and data ports are further packed into the waterproof and dustproof plastic case that I'm sure will be a great companion to millions of children eager and hungry to learn and explore a whole new world.

The brilliance of this concept doesn't end there either. The features mentioned are just the hardware features and the tip of the iceberg. Software included, just to name a handfull, encompasses a PDF and eBook reader, games, a word processor,a web browser and the millions of open source software available for free. As it manages to remain almost insanely simple but yet amazingly sophisticated and high tech at the same time, it ultimately serves as a tool that will enable millions of children to express their feelings, unleash their spirits and vigoriously stretch the priceless thing called "imagination".

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

noreply@blogger.com (Kimeshan Naidoo) — Thu, 26 Jul 2007 20:21:00 +0000

Now that the anticipation and excitement surrounding the release of the final Harry Potter is over, and most people have read it, it's time to reflect. Firstly, I'm sure that all those readers who have been reading the series from the beginning were really joyed to see that the book was dedicated to them. I'd also say that most of us finished the book with a mixed assortment of feelings. Amazement, joy, depression, happiness, sorrow, satisfaction and even sadness were some of the feelings that I succumbed to after closing what is to be the last installment of perhaps the greatest series of all time.

Only J.K Rowling's writing and Harry Potter could cause such a varied assortment of feelings to felt by millions simultaneously. One thing that I certainly didn't remotely feel was disappointment. I could have never imagined a better way to finish the series. After Half-Blood Prince most of us thought it was impossible for Harry to survive, yet again J.K proved us all wrong by engineering a plausible, happy and perfect ending to a truly magical series.

As if that wasn't enough, there is still so much more we can take from the book and the series as a whole. Most importantly the allegorical moral lessons that are littered throughout the series. It shows how courage, love and a zest for "the greater good" can let us achieve anything. How death is just a new challenge. How great a value a pure heart has and most of all how good will always triumph over evil when love is present. It shows us that impossible is nothing. J.K Rowling showed us that by just using our imagination, we can captivate millions ,generate billions, and influence young minds positively thus contributing to a better future. It is for this reason, that her books will always be read, re-read and discussed by future generations to come.

Control of the information age

noreply@blogger.com (Kimeshan Naidoo) — Sat, 14 Jul 2007 06:45:00 +0000

Social networking sites like Myspace and Facebook have taken online stalking to whole new level. Want to contact any person in the world? Just google their name and more than half the time you would at least discover their e-mail address. Better still you might even find their Facebook or Myspace profile and then everything about that person is in front of you, at your disposal. Like many things on the web, social networking is also a double edged sword. It is a great idea and gloriously demonstrates the unlimited power of the web but certainly has it's drawbacks. The most obvious is the hackneyed debate surrounding privacy issues.

As Google continues it's unrivalled dominance of virtually every aspect of the web, whether it's video sharing, blogging or online collaborating, the search king has infinite control over the exabytes of data available on the web. Of course Google shares continue to sky rocket and is undeniably the hottest tech company at the moment but this sort of insurmountable control over the Information Age is certainly not a good thing for the general public. Luckily for us, the possiblity of Google becoming a Pravda-like force in the world is unlikely as so far the search giant has restrained from being controlled by the American government and rightly refuses to hand over private search data.

Hopefully as Google continues to expand it's portfolio by making new aquisitions, it is able to handle the pressure and stand up to the government for the sake of us and the web.

Fifa World Cup 2010

noreply@blogger.com (Kimeshan Naidoo) — Mon, 09 Jul 2007 00:04:00 +0000

Just launched a new website. Contains all things Fifa World Cup 2010 due to be held in South Africa. It's going to be the biggest show on earth ever held on the African continent. Being proudly South African I created and published this website as a contribution to the country as I hope it positively advertises the country and shows the rest of the world that we can do it.

It is a invaluable resource for tourists or for millions of football fans contemplating coming to South Africa to watch the tournament. Stadium information, maps, galleries and informative content about the tournament is all neatly woven into a crisp icy grey-blue gradient interface that makes it a wonderfully easy website to browse.

Right now the rest of the world has already written us off and countries like our rivals Australia are preparing contingency plans as they laughably assume we cannot undertake such a task. Let's prove them wrong! I feel it should be every South Africans duty to contribute to the success of this event no matter how small it is. Come three years time, all eyes will be on the southern tip of Africa and let's make what they see a spectacle to remember! Visit the website here or copy the full link into your browser:

http://www.fifa2010.co.nr/

Wimbledon- Federer wins again

noreply@blogger.com (Kimeshan Naidoo) — Sun, 08 Jul 2007 23:23:00 +0000

For the 5th successive time Roger Federer has clinched a Wimbledon title, equaling the legendary Bjorn Borgs record. In fact I was pretty depressed because, like the majority of the Wimbledon crowd, I was backing clay master Rafael Nadal. The 21-year old Spaniard is improving on grass increasingly swiftly and took the game into the fifth set and could so easily have clinched the title. The game lived up to the classic everyone was anticipating and kept the audience on edge for over three hours. Nadal is untouchable on clay and I predict soon he will be a king on grass as well judging from today's display. On the other hand, credit must be given to Federer who fought back after the thumping he was dealt in the fourth set. To win five Wimbledon titles in as many years is no ordinary feat and he is undoubtedly the No.1 player in the world and at the age of 25, he could become the greatest player of all time.