Mathew Steel

So today I ordered my first PC (I've stuck to laptops my whole life) it's a nice rig. AMD Processor with a turbo boost of 4.1GHz, 8GB of RAM and a single Nvidia GTX 960 graphics card all for just ?500 (including the rest of the components of course, not including any monitor). But along my adventures of searching for a PC, I decided to take a look at the very high priced PC's, not with any intention of purchasing them, but just to see what they came with (because I'm a little nerdy like that). I noticed a lot of computers had dual GTX 980 graphics cards or even quad GTX 980's. So I wondered, what are the benefits? Can you set more than one GPU to run a certain application with double the power? Does it allow you to set 1 to the application and keep 1 spare for background programs? Or do the 4 GPU's give you nothing but bragging rights and the authority to say the very enjoyable and impressive sentence, "I have quad core Nvidia GTX 980 GPU's?" :D EDIT: I don't know why I didn't google this to begin with. For those of you who are wondering. This page is pretty clear on the benefits of dual GPU's - http://lifehacker.com/5994276/is-it-worth-it-to-run-two-graphics-cards-in-my-gaming-pc

YESTERDAY(S) TECHNOLOGY Routers and Modems - A common misconception A lot of people often misuse the terms, router and modem. Most people think they are the same thing and tend to swap between terms when explaining something related to modems or routers. This however, is not right. They ARE in fact two different things and hence I decided to make this my next post. A router: A router is a small box that allows multiple devices to join the same network. Most modern routers offer wireless connectivity as well as Ethernet ports for wired connections. While connecting to a router provides access to a local network or LAN, it does not provide access to the Internet. A modem: A modem is a device that provides access to the Internet. A router must be connected to a modem to allow devices connected to the modem to access the Internet. Most routers are connected to modems via a specific Ethernet port. A modem connects to your ISP (Internet Service Provider) which typically provides either cable or DSL Internet service. Cable modems have a coaxial connection, this connects to a cable port on the wall. DSL modems have a telephone connector, or an RJ-11 jack, which connects to a telephone socket on the wall. Perhaps you all knew this before reading my post, perhaps some of you didn't. Regardless, hopefully you learned something new by reading this :)

I went ahead and made a different cinematic and am keeping the one I spoke about for another time. The music I used was "Ash - The Secession Studios." I'd be happy to link you guys the video, but I'm unsure if posting it here would count as advertising, I don't want to break the code of conduct. If I can't, I'd be happy to send the link through a private message to those who wish to see it :)

I've done the first part, yes. I'm not currently on my laptop right now so I can't share it with you. I will do so when I get home.

Perhaps I should have mentioned, I wanted something more modern. The songs you mentioned are great songs but for the theme I want, not so fitting. Thank you for your reply either way :)

My youtube channel is based on cinematics and server trailers etc. Meaning I need music. The right music, which I'm struggling to find alone. This trailer is a war trailer. I need music that starts off slow and subtle and then suddenly changes the tempo and bass making it much more powerful. I intend to purchase the music (if it isn't free) and in no way do I intend to break copyright laws on the music. If it helps, here is the trailer script: A man in civilian clothing running through the war torn streets (first person). Heavy breathing to add effect. A quick cut to a camera view following the movements of the man. *Crossfade* First person. High ranking swat officer and the rest of his squad in the back of an armoured swat vehicle. Gives the squad a mission briefing. As the briefing continues (SOUND ONLY), the video cuts to the civilian being surrounded by armed soldiers. Helicopters and armoured vehicles around them for a better atmosphere. *BANG* *Cut to darkness* *Silence and darkness for 2-4 seconds* *BANG* *Music tempo and bass increases* Soldier helicopters and cars travelling along the same route. Camera view. Front view. Vehicles pass the camera. Camera follows until field of view ends. The rest is a secret :P Hopefully you guys can help me out, if not, I'll resort to using one of the pieces I found :)

I'd like to let everyone know what's happening. You may see that I still post on the forums etc but may not see much content being posted here. The reason simply is content, I don't want to share information on topics that I think are irrelevant or uninteresting. I'm working hard to gather lots of new things to post, so be sure to keep checking :)

"You're right, we need to stay calm and keep optimistic" Goodman and Sir Lloyd walked back inside, sharing a nervous laugh as if to remain unnoticed or out of the ordinary. The two sat down at the tables, faces with no expression. The group remained silent for a few seconds, until Sir Lloyd placed the scroll in the centre of the table. Every member gazing at it, unsure whether to touch it, as if it were sacred.

"Is it true? Perhaps it was a mere bluff, perhaps for ransom?" Sir Lloyd felt faint, the Duke was the only person who was there for him in his time of need. "We must tell the others, we're clearly not safe here, we need to pack up and move soon, without bringing too much attention to ourselves."

Upon hearing Goodman's unique accent and tone, the rest of the group, sitting inside the Inn, made eye-contact with each other. "There's no doubt about it, that was Goodman. He doesn't sound very impressed" Sir Lloyd announced. He watched the rest of the peasants around him, waiting for a reaction. There was no reaction. They were all too drunk and loud to notice a thing. "In no way should we compromise the mission, but I feel one of us should go and check" Sir Lloyd suggested, upon receiving a subtle nod from each member of the group, Sir Lloyd rose from his seat. He said firmly but not too loud, "I think we left it in the wagon, allow me to go and see gentlemen" tapping Sir Loring's shoulder to give away a friendly atmosphere to the bystanders. Sir Lloyd made haste opening the Inn door. "Goodman?" he whispered.

TODAYS TECHNOLOGY Steel Ships and Sea Mines The H.M.S Defender is part of the new generation of Royal Navy ships. It is an incredible piece of engineering, it can seek out a small drone at a 40km distance, it's capable at tracking 2000 targets at once. It's a destroyer and it's meant to defend itself and the rest of the fleet, by taking out missiles before they even get close. Like all ships, it has a design flaw. Which is the material it's made of, steel. If you take that much metal and put it to a big magnetic field (the earths) as it sails around. It's going to start being detected, by magnetic sea mines (which were developed during WWII). Nowadays you use complicated degaussing equipment on board a ship. So, what if you needed a ship, which had the objective of clearing mines. You'd need to get close enough to see them, without setting them off. So comes H.M.S Middleton, a hunt class mine countermeasures vessel. It's able to do it without the mines detecting it and detonating it because it's made of glass-reinforced plastic. It's just a plastic boat. Seems the saying "keep it simple stupid" has a totally new meaning :) (A photo of H.M.S Middleton)

Something I've always thought that would make game graphics much better and although it is a small thing, is different faces. For example, for each troops there are 4-5 different available faces, just to make the game seem more alive. I feel as if it's repetitive and simple with the same face, but that's just my opinion :) The game itself looks great! :P

I myself use Vegas Pro 11. I make a lot of game cinematics and Vegas pro has so many different features and it's easy to learn. I think it all comes down to preference :)

That's really appreciated Chris, thank you! :) TODAYS TECHNOLOGY The Driverless Cars of Greenwich These driverless cars have been tested in Greenwich recently. So far, they have been a great success. With a few problems like not working in heavy snow etc, the car still manages to perform greatly. Although not very fast, they are very safe for a prototype. Here are some pieces from an online article about these cars: "An autonomous shuttle traversing the North Greenwich plaza beside O? Arena will mark a small but significant step on the way to what ministers and engineers hope will be a safer, less-congested, driverless future." Business secretary Vince Cable said the trials, backed by ?19m worth of funding from the government, would keep the UK at the cutting edge of automotive technology and should bring more highly-skilled jobs to the UK. ?The projects we are now funding in Greenwich, Bristol, Milton Keynes and Coventry will help to ensure we are world-leaders in this field and able to benefit from what is expected to be a ?900bn industry by 2025,? he said. This was only a short topic but it's something to think about. Do you think it will be as successful as they anticipate? If done correctly, this could lower car accidents, lower the speed of global warming and quite frankly, be a cool thing to see :P

Glad you enjoyed it :) I'll get a new one tomorrow :D

TODAYS TECHNOLOGY Flickery Night-time Smartphone Video Footage Excuse the long title but this is an interesting topic I feel you guys might not know. So here we go. If anyone here has ever filmed in Europe with a smartphone under artificial light, or seen a video that has been filmed in those conditions, you may notice flickery footage. You may see black lines rolling down the video footage continuously. This is caused because the U.S power grid and the EU power grid run at different speeds. The EU power grid runs at 50Hz (50 cycles a second) meaning the alternating current in the wires switches direction x100 a second. 50 cycles back and forth. Meaning all the lights dim x100 a second. It's not enough for you to see with the naked eye, but the camera will pick it up. This isn't a problem as long as the camera runs at the same rate as the light. Unfortunately, some smartphones, for example the iPhone is an American phone and so runs at the same rate as the American power grid, which runs at 60Hz. So American TV runs at 30 or 60FPS (Frames Per Second). If a camera is recording at 30FPS, but the light is pulsing at 50Hz, the two are out of sync, meaning sometimes you get light and sometimes you get dark. The rolling effect occurs because of rolling shutters on cameras. All modern cameras (unless extremely advanced) record/capture a line at a time, scrolling down. Meaning the pixels in the top line of the picture would have been captured a fraction of a second before the pixels in the bottom line of the picture. This of course means through the whole image you will be seeing different times. Since we already understand that because of the desync in light and camera, we will sometimes see light and sometimes see dark, this causes the camera to do the same. Of course the easy way to fix it would be for Apple to have a 25FPS option. I myself, don't see that happening any time soon :P

Upon noticing the barkeeper's cleaning technique, Sir Lloyd turns to the group. "I've seen higher hygiene in a pig sty" Minutes of eating and drinking pass by. "What's our next move gentlemen?" Sir Lloyd asks.

I've been really busy these last two days and so haven't made any new posts. I'll update this thread later with 2 new topics if I get time. If not, I'll post 2 tomorrow :)

TODAYS TECHNOLOGY Fibre Optic Cables Although these cables first started being developed in the late 1970's, they never truly flourished until recently. A fiber-optic cable is made up of 100 or more incredibly thin strands of glass or plastic known as optical fibers. Each one is less than a tenth as thick as a human hair and can carry 10 million telephone calls. Fiber-optic cables carry information between two places using entirely optical (light-based) technology. All sorts of data is sent through either ultra-violet or infra-red lighting. Since the glass/plastic blocks the light escaping, the light is manipulated into reflecting from one side of the surface to the other, all the way to the receiving end. These cables are also a lot safer. Data interception is much more difficult. Instead of being able to connect a device straight to the cable (like you can with copper cables) you would have to cut through the wire in order to gain information. While fibre optic cables certainly have disadvantages, such as being much more expensive and not being able to send data in all directions in one go (like with micro waves). The pros beat the cons in my personal opinion. When it comes to broadband speeds. Fibre optic is much faster. Although home fibre optic cables are connected to a mast which send the rest of the data with copper cables, most schools or companies have fibre optic cables leading all the way to the BT tower in London. Meaning the cables are far more efficient. In fact, this is how the fasted internet speed was achieved, as seen in an earlier post of mine :D

Indeed, I too found this strange that it was powered by batteries! Shows how far we've advanced :D

Apologies for the late post, hopefully this will make up for it :D YESTERDAY(S) TECHNOLOGY The First Commercial Games Console The Magnavox Odyssey was the world's first commercial home video game console. It was first demonstrated in April 1972 and released in August of that year. The Odyssey was designed by Ralph H. Baer, assisted by engineers William Harrison and William Rusch. They began around 1966 and had a working prototype finished by 1968. This prototype can be seen at the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American History in Washington, D.C. Like all other video game consoles, the Magnavox Odyssey is a digital console. However, like all consoles up until the eighth generation, it uses analog circuitry for the video output because televisions of its era were analog. Additionally, it featured an analog game controller. The system could be powered by six C batteries, which were included. An optional A/C power supply was sold separately. The Odyssey uses a type of game card, that inserts into a slot similar to a ROM cartridge slot. Here are just some of the games available with the Magnavox Odyssey: - Analogic 3 - Baseball 3 - Basketball 8 - Brain Wave 3 - Cat and Mouse Now, in the 21st century we have consoles over x8 more powerful than that one, and computers even more.

That is interesting :D I was looking for something similar to add :P thank you!

YESTERDAY(S) TECHNOLOGY The Light Bulb The electric light bulb was not invented until 1879 by Thomas Alva Edison. It revolutionised the world and almost every household has one. Without light bulbs the world wouldn't be how it is today. Hospitals, houses, shops, cars, planes, almost anything electronic has some form of light. Imagine a place without light bulbs, sure maybe in the day you could cope, but during the night, we'd have to rely on fire or starlight to see (unless of course, you eat a lot of carrots :P) It's not only the obvious things. From light bulbs we have been able to create computer screens, televisions, torches. Not only useful items, light bulbs are used as design. Computers, Halloween lights, Christmas lights or maybe just in your garden to make it look fancy. This wouldn't be a technology thread without the technological facts behind it, so here we go. An incandescent bulb uses heat caused by an electrical current. When electrical current passes through a wire, it causes the wire to heat. The wire, or filament, gets so hot that it glows and gives off light. I feel like we underestimate the power of little things like the light bulb. I also feel like without these little things, we wouldn't have all these amazing things we have today. If you want to get really dark (no pun intended :D) we wouldn't even have Stronghold Nation! Thank you for reading :)

Congratulations @Crusader1307 well deserved my friend! :D The new yellow username looks great too ;)

TECHNOLOGY INSIGHT Faster Internet Speed Late last year, BT and Alcatel-Lucent achieved the fastest ever broadband speed of 1.4TB per second during a field test in London. This is the equivalent to 44 average size HD films being downloaded in a single second! The test was between BT Tower in central London and BT's research park in Adastral Park, Ipswitch, that's a distance of 410km, using fibre broadband cables but increasing the efficiency of data transfer speed by 42.5%.