RTB

Red Bull, Congradulations! WCC!

2010-11-11T14:56:00.000+08:00

After 4 years of hard working, Red Bull Racing, finally, got their first World Constructors’ Championship. Congratulations, Red Bull!

The Brazilian GP was not as brilliant as Korean GP. It was sunny in San Paulo and that means the race will be not so uncertain because of the weather. But after all, this race was not boring too much.

The final result is as follows:

Pos  Driver        Team                       Time
 1.  Vettel        Red Bull-Renault           1h33:11.803
 2.  Webber        Red Bull-Renault           +     4.243
 3.  Alonso        Ferrari                    +     6.807
 4.  Hamilton      McLaren-Mercedes           +    14.634
 5.  Button        McLaren-Mercedes           +    15.593
 6.  Rosberg       Mercedes                   +    35.300
 7.  Schumacher    Mercedes                   +    43.400
 8.  Hulkenberg    Williams-Cosworth          +     1 lap
 9.  Kubica        Renault                    +     1 lap
10.  Kobayashi     Sauber-Ferrari             +     1 lap
11.  Alguersuari   Toro Rosso-Ferrari         +     1 lap
12.  Sutil         Force India-Mercedes       +     1 lap
13.  Buemi         Toro Rosso-Ferrari         +     1 lap
14.  Massa         Ferrari                    +     1 lap
15.  Petrov        Renault                    +     1 lap
16.  Barrichello   Williams-Cosworth          +     1 lap
17.  Heidfeld      Sauber-Ferrari             +     1 lap
18.  Kovalainen    Lotus-Cosworth             +    2 laps
19.  Trulli        Lotus-Cosworth             +    2 laps
20.  Glock         Virgin-Cosworth            +    2 laps
21.  Senna         HRT-Cosworth               +    2 laps
22.  Klien         HRT-Cosworth               +    6 laps

It is interesting to see that the pole position holder Nico Hulkenberg ended his race at the 8^th position. In fact, I prefer to give this phenomenon an explanation that FW32 is not powerful enough.

A historical day of Red Bull Racing-Renault

Every one of RBR was too exciting to remember their biggest threat: Fernando Alonso, the leader of Drivers’ Championship.

But it doesn’t matter, Red Bull harvested, finally.

We can still remember the weak team called Spyker-Cosworth owned by Ford. In 2004, when Red Bull Austria decided to stop the sponsorship of Sauber and bought Spyker. In 2006 they also decided to purchase another team Minardi. Nearly all the people thought that Red Bull will not be as smooth as in WRC in the field of F1. Because the brilliant teams all come from the manufacturers like Ferrari and McLaren. But Red Bull stuck on this sport and in 2006, they found someone to change their position.

That guy was Adrian Newey, the top designer of F1. On this planet, only one guy can do better than him, but that man is a legend and now he has retired—Rory Byrne, the former chief designer of Scuderia Ferrari, and the designer of invincible F2002 and F2004.

So, after 4 years of hard working, Newey finally got the key to the victory, his brilliant talent finally changed the map of F1.

In season 2009, RB5, without DDD, without KERS, could catch up with incredible BGP001 which was equipped with DDD and totally wiped F60 and MP4-24 which equipped with KERS. This phenomenal season of Red Bull totally shocked the audience and the other constructors, a new era had come.

2010, they got it.

But it does not mean the end of the war, Fernando Alonso still leads the board.

What can they do, please pay attention to the final round of this season—Abu Dhabi GP.

Another thing is very interesting. If Mark Webber got the 1^st place, he will be only 1 pt after Fernando, which meas a great convenience to the pursuit of WDC, but RBR did not use the team order. So, Ferrari, don’t be evil, the motto of Google should be learned by Domenicali.

Ferrari: Still hold the advantage

Although Fernando Alonso only got the 3^rd place, he still leads the board of WDC, which means he is in great advantage in the pursuit of WDC in Abu Dhabi.

Started at the 5^th place, and behind Lewis Hamilton, everything is not so smooth. Especially the engine catastrophe—this word may a bit exaggerative. But Fernando Alonso must take care of his engines carefully, very much. That’s the reason of his bad FP performance. He gave up further FP because of the engine.

Since the competition will continue in Abu Dhabi, Fernando will not be too worry about it.

Another interesting thing is that, if Mark get the 2^nd , Seb get the 1^st and Fernando get the 5^th in Abu Dhabi, they will have the same pts.

Williams: the first pole in the recent 2 yrs

No one expected that Nico Hulkenberg would got the pole.

The fact is that, Williams has not got pole in the recent 2 years since the retire of Ralf Schumacher. But Nico Hulkenberg broke it yesterday.

He was faster than any one on the track for over 1 sec. That was phenomenal because there’s no doubt that RB6, F10, MP4-25 and even W01 and R30 are much faster than FW32, but Hulkenberg got it. It totally shocked me, I admit. Hulkenberg is really performance perfectly in that qualification.

Nealy all the posts about the qualification of Brazilian GP used the word “surprisingly”. Yes, this young German driver has never so good on the track.

But in the race, things were different.

The 4 drivers behind him were all WDC pursuits, they are equipped with strong engines and powerful vehicles.

Sebstian Vettel the 2^nd , Mark Webber the 3^rd , Lewis Hamilton the 4^th and Fernando Alonso the 5^th. Just in the start lane of Interlagos Circuit, a terrible pressure towards Hulkenberg started.

Even before the 1^st courner, Seb got Hulkernberg and before 3^rd courner, Mark did it. Then, Nando and Lewis. Unfortunately, Lewis made a mistake and Fernando got him in the 4^th courner. 1 lap later, Fernando Alonso got Hulkenberg.

This was inevitable, I thought.

Hulkenberg made himself one of the top drivers in the GP.

The championship pursuit: still not certain

Who will be the WDC of this season?

Weirdly, it is still uncertain, like season 2008. But remember, in 2008, there are only 2 WDC pursuits—Felipe Massa and Lewis Hamilton. But this year, there are at least 4. The map of F1 WDC pursuit is still full of uncertain.

So, see you in Abu Dhabi.

Crazy Weather, Crazy Race: Belgian GP

2010-09-07T14:49:00.002+08:00

With the changing weather, the Belgian GP turned out to be a breath-taking GP and series of events happened one after another. Like the Belgian GP several years ago, today's race is still astonishing.

Track Review: Spa-Francorchamps

Spa-Francorchamps Circuit is admired by lots of top drivers including Michael Schumacher, Kimi Raikkonen and Ayrton Senna. Although Raikkonen was not here this year, the Belgian GP 2010 is still a classic.

This circuit is the longest on in the calenda and that make the GP only last 44 laps. The 7km long circuit is built among the mountains in the southen Belgium. This is regarded as one of the most important circuits nowadays.

The most famous place of the circuit is the Eau Rouge Chicane, where the driver will experience the 5G of acceleration. After the Eau Rouge, there can be a 24-seconds full power straight lane and that is perfect for the functioning of F-Duct. Then, the Les Combs Chicane starts the complex 2nd section, where there are full of fast courners one after another.

The 3rd section is mainly made up with fast lines and two slow courners: Bus Stop Spoon and after the starting grid, there is the La Source Hairpin.

This time, the comette widened the grass land on the left of La Source because they believe that they can be used to improve the speed when reach Eau Rouge and influence the position before Les Combs, just like Raikkonen did last year. This kind of behavour is no longer allowed this year.

Statistics

After an astounding GP, the result came out as this:


Pos   No   Driver   Team  Laps   Time/Retired   Grid   Pts
1  2  Lewis Hamilton  McLaren-Mercedes  44  1:29:04.268  2  25
2  6  Mark Webber  RBR-Renault  44  +1.5 secs  1  18
3  11  Robert Kubica  Renault  44  +3.4 secs  3  15
4  7  Felipe Massa  Ferrari  44  +8.2 secs  6  12
5  14  Adrian Sutil  Force India-Mercedes  44  +9.0 secs  8  10
6  4  Nico Rosberg  Mercedes GP  44  +12.3 secs  14  8
7  3  Michael Schumacher  Mercedes GP  44  +15.5 secs  21  6
8  23  Kamui Kobayashi  BMW Sauber-Ferrari  44  +16.6 secs  17  4
9  12  Vitaly Petrov  Renault  44  +23.8 secs  23  2
10  15  Vitantonio Liuzzi  Force India-Mercedes  44  +34.8 secs  12  1
11  22  Pedro de la Rosa  BMW Sauber-Ferrari  44  +36.0 secs  24  
12  16  Sebastien Buemi  STR-Ferrari  44  +39.8 secs  16  
13  17  Jaime Alguersuari  STR-Ferrari  44  +49.4 secs  11  
14  10  Nico Hulkenberg  Williams-Cosworth  43  +1 Lap  9  
15  5  Sebastian Vettel  RBR-Renault  43  +1 Lap  4  
16  19  Heikki Kovalainen  Lotus-Cosworth  43  +1 Lap  13  
17  25  Lucas di Grassi  Virgin-Cosworth  43  +1 Lap  22  
18  24  Timo Glock  Virgin-Cosworth  43  +1 Lap  20  
19  18  Jarno Trulli  Lotus-Cosworth  43  +1 Lap  15  
20  20  Sakon Yamamoto  HRT-Cosworth  42  +2 Laps  19  
Ret  8  Fernando Alonso  Ferrari  37  Accident  10  
Ret  1  Jenson Button  McLaren-Mercedes  15  Accident  5  
Ret  21  Bruno Senna  HRT-Cosworth  5  Suspension  18  
Ret  9  Rubens Barrichello  Williams-Cosworth  0  Accident  7

In the qualification in Saturday, Michael Schumacher was pushed back for 10 positions because of the rude defence in Hungarory GP against Rubence Barichello. But he managed to ended his race at 7th position.

The great moments

Barichello's terrible 300th GP

Because of the bad start of Mark Webber, he dropped to 6th nearly immediately. The terrible start gave great chances to the drivers behind him. But the weather is so strange that some parts of the circuit are raining but the others are dry. At the end of the fist lap, Barichello badly hit into Fernando Alonso and retired. Alonso managed to go by back to the track and join the race again.

That means, Barichello's 300th GP, ended in less than 1 lap.

Vettel: Bad Luck with me

Vettel is not in fortune today.

Because of the bad track condition caused by the sudden rain, his car went out of control and hit in to the radiator holder of Jenson Button's MP4-25 and give Jenson a retirement. He was told to make a drive-through.

Some 20 laps later, his car wiped Sutil's car's front wing into craps. His rear left tyre was blown. He had to make a pit stop again.

Fernando Alonso is not in status today

Fernando Alonso started his race at 10th position and once he went to 8th. But his race was not good at all.

At last, his car went out of control and crash into the wall. The suspension was ruined. His car was just on the track and that start the SC, just several laps to the end of the race.

Hamilton: 5mm to RET

During lap 32, it started to rain.

McLaren decided to confirm the weather and told Lewis to hold for a lap.

Just in that lap, his car went out and was only 5mm to the wall when he successfully turn the car back to the track.

I have to say, he was really lucky.

The Age of Red Bull(In Qualifications)

2010-08-18T03:09:00.003+08:00

There have been 3 GPs and during all those qualifications, Red Bull Racing catch all the pole positions, which is really astonishing.

Yesterday, on the Catalunya Circuit, two bulls push ahead and got the 1st and 2nd grid, easily.

Mark Webber was really fast, he was 0.8 seconds ahead of Lewis Hamilton, who will start the race at the 3rd position.

Another piece of news came from MGP. Michael Schumacher beat his teammate Nico Rosberg for the first time this season. He got the 6th grid, 2 positions ahead of Nico Rosberg.

The Return of Turbo Charger in 2013?

2010-08-18T03:09:00.001+08:00

According to the intelligence from Pitpass, Formula 1 is seriously considering to change the power pack of F1 into 1.5L, turbo charged, L4 engine.

To many Formula1 fans, the “turbo-charged times” between 1977 and 1988 was the most brilliant age in the history of F1. The ultra-fast speed pushed F1 to the top of motor sports.

But over 1100 horse powers made the beast to fast and dangerous. FIA started to apply technical restrictions to turbo charged engines and finally in 1989 turbo charger was banned.

But 21 years later, when the motor sports pay attention to the ecological problems, the constructions and engine manufacturers have started to discuss the possibilities of 1.5L L4 turbo charged engines’ return to F1. It is believed that it can attract more sponsorships and what’s more, some large automotive manufacturers will be persuaded to attend to F1.

Most of the constructors support this decision while the most in-fluency team Scuderia Ferrari go against turbo charger.

A Beautiful Memory—GP Australia

2010-08-18T03:08:00.001+08:00

Compared to the boring GP Bahrain, yesterday’s race could be called a classic.

Because of the small rain on the morning yesterday, the Albert Park Circuit was a bit damp and cold. It was a bad news for the drivers but a good news for us Formula Fans, because the race would be unpredictable.

Result

Classified

Pos  Driver        Team                       Time
1.  Button        McLaren-Mercedes           1h33:36.531
2.  Kubica        Renault                    +    12.034
3.  Massa         Ferrari                    +    14.488
4.  Alonso        Ferrari                    +    16.304
5.  Rosberg       Mercedes                   +    16.683
6.  Hamilton      McLaren-Mercedes           +    29.898
7.  Liuzzi        Force India-Mercedes       +    59.847
8.  Barrichello   Williams-Cosworth          +  1:00.536
9.  Webber        Red Bull-Renault           +  1:07.319
10.  Schumacher    Mercedes                   +  1:09.391
11.  Alguersuari   Toro Rosso-Ferrari         +  1:11.301
12.  De la Rosa    Sauber-Ferrari             +  1:14.084
13.  Kovalainen    Lotus-Cosworth             +    2 laps
14.  Chandhok      HRT-Cosworth               +    4 laps

World Championship Standings, Round 2

Drivers:                    Constructors:             
1.  Alonso        37        1.  Ferrari                    70
2.  Massa         33        2.  McLaren-Mercedes           54
3.  Button        31        3.  Mercedes                   29
4.  Hamilton      23        4.  Red Bull-Renault           18
5.  Rosberg       20        5.  Renault                    18
6.  Kubica        18        6.  Force India-Mercedes        8
7.  Vettel        12        7.  Williams-Cosworth           5
8.  Schumacher     9
9.  Liuzzi         8
10.  Webber         6
11.  Barrichello    5

Teams& Drivers

Red Bull Racing-Renault: Totally Tragic

During the qualification on Saturday, Red Bull prooved that they are one of the best constructors among the teams currently on the track. Sebstian Vettel hold the pole position while his teammate, Mark Webber, got the 2nd place in his homeland.

But their luck during the race was extremely bad. The brake system of Vettel’s car failed in lap 27. His car rushed into the sand pit and got stuck. It was the 2nd time he retired from a race for mechanical problems in this season. Of course you should remember that there are only 2 passed races of Season 2010. We have to say that Vettel, please belive in Brother Spring!(A popular joke in CN, the guys who believe in Brother Spring, well, what I mean is Yuchun Li, will have the best luck).

Though driving in home GP, Mark Webber did not maintain the advantage over the others during the race.

1 lap after Jenson Button changed his tyres, Webber decided to run on a set of soft tyres. But it was too late. Red Bull’s strategy was completely wrong. Especially when Lewis was on his personal showcase.

When Webber came out from the pit, he started his painful fight against Lewis, until the crash in the last 2 laps.

Luckily, both of them stuck on the race. But Webber made another mistake again—there were only 1 lap left, he ran to the pit and changed the front wing. But on the contrary, Hamilton finish the race 6th with a terribly damaged front wing and slightly damaged right rear suspension.

McLaren-Mercedes: celebration!

Jenson Button prooved that his last world championship was not just because of a fast car with his victory in Melbourne.

He chose the 1-pit-stop strategy, and ran on a set of soft tyres for 51 laps! It was totally unbelievable! Parly because of the relatively low track temperature but Button’s skills to protect the tyres are more important.

Jenson was not only lucky but capable.

Jenson Button's Win

But on the contrary, Lewis Hamilton, although with astonishing performance yesterday, he got only 6th, with heavily damaged front wing and right rear suspension as a result of the crash with Webber.

Maybe influenced by the ticket on the Saturday, Hamilton was far away from fast enough during the qualification. His start position was only 11th.

Then his personal showcase started. He over take on after another and he was the 3th in lap 32 and tried to challenge the position hold by Robert Kubica. But he failed because of the perfect defense of Kubica.

Though he was not on the winners’ platform, he still gave as an unforgetable race.

Scuderia Ferrari: a wise choice

Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa was not so friendly.

In lap 18, Felipe Massa met with some troubles with his rear suspension or tires. His rear tires were flipping badly and it cause some troubles to his lap time.

Fernando Alonso, was just as amazing as Hamilton. He had a terrible start and in just several seconds, his position dropped from 3rd to 22nd. It should be admired that he did not give up. After a series of crazy taking-overs, he was just behind Massa, who was struggling the bad conditions of his car.

Generally, Massa should let Alonso take his position. But he did not. This behavior was badly unwelcomed by the fans.

I was glad to see that Alonso did not try to compete with Massa. Instead, he stay behind and defend Hamilton for Massa. With his efforts, Ferrari got a 3-4 win, and still lead the construtors’ championship board.

Mercedes GP: Noting…

A 6-7 qualification again.

Except for the damage Michael Schumacher met in the start, nothing to say… really nothing.

GP Malaysia: will it be still a shock?

I really hope so.

After a boring start of Season 2010 in Bahrain, we finally come up with a wonderful race. Then what will GP Malaysia look like?

The answer is very simple: wait, just 1 week.

After the Bahrain GP

2010-08-18T03:07:00.000+08:00

The first race of Season 2010, Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix, was on last weekend.

Although the IPv6 connection was not as fast as before, I stuck on the race, for 2 hours. After 49 laps of racing, the result is double red vehicles– Scuderia Ferrari got a 1-2 win, finally.

In fact I used to guess that Nico Rosberg would win. But after the qualification, the prediction had been in vain. Sebstian Vettel got the first pole position this year. Filipe Massa the 2nd and the 3rd is Fernando Alonso.

But in the race, I have to say, it is really…Mmm…BORING. QUITE BORING.

Formula One used to always made me excited. I like the roaring of engines and the feel of speed. What’s more, the astonishing strategy, just like what Ferrari and Michael Schumacher did at the GP France of Season 2004.

Nothing was found in GP Bahrain of Season 2010.

The final result was as following:

1. Alonso Ferrari 1h39:20.396
2. Massa Ferrari + 16.099
3. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes + 23.182
4. Vettel Red Bull-Renault + 38.713
5. Rosberg Mercedes + 40.263
6. Schumacher Mercedes + 44.180
7. Button McLaren-Mercedes + 45.260
8. Webber Red Bull-Renault + 46.308
9. Liuzzi Force India-Mercedes + 53.089
10. Barrichello Williams-Cosworth + 1:02.400
11. Kubica Renault + 1:09.093
12. Sutil Force India-Mercedes + 1:22.958
13. Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari + 1:32.656
14. Hulkenberg Williams-Cosworth + 1 lap
15. Kovalainen Lotus-Cosworth + 1 lap
16. Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari + 3 laps
17. Trulli Lotus-Cosworth + 3 laps

It is a pleasure that after several year of “RED DOOM”, double red cars are seen, finally.The 1-2 win is a good start for S.F..

Scuderia Ferrari: No Pains No Gains

It was an exciting day for the Tiofsis all over the world. After the painful season 2009 and the terrible failure of F 60, Stefano Domenicali made a wise decision last year. S.F. stopped the improvement of F60 and took all the strength in developing a competitive car for next season.

It is a bad news for the drivers, especially for Kimi. Before he goes to WRC he had to leave a pitiful season for his fans. But the result is acceptable. S.F., finally got a beautiful 1-2 win on the opening ceremony of Season 2010.

That’s it.

Ferrari's 1-2 Win

I do not know what’s Michael’s feelings. After all, he was used to be always on the top, accompanied by Rubence Barichello.

After all, Ferrari got what she wanted last year. Domenicali achieve the victory with a cost of half a season.

But problem still existed. Filipe Massa’s car got some trouble during the race.

McLaren: Still Influenced by MP4-19/20

The design of MP4-25 is revolutionary. And the performance during the winter test is amazing. The speed is just awful. When he took over Vettel, although Vettlel’s car has some problems with its exhaust system, the difference of speed was astonishing.

But it was a tragedy when Lewis Hamilton reported that his car has something on the rear. That means except Mercedes GP, all the top constructors has one car running on the track injured. But the real tragedy is that Mercedes GP did not got a good result .

Lewis Hamilton finally got the 3rd while Jenson Button got only 7th. That’s just explain how Jenson got the WDC last year–a good car is the point, compared to his skill.

McLaren Pit Crew

It is reported that when Lewis was informed that he would start the race at 4th he said that he was “astonished”. Well, it seemed that he did not have so much confidence on MP4-25.

I’m impressed that the Team Pricipal Martin Whitmarsh pointed out the race was lack of attraction. This is a piece of really objective comment.

Mercedes GP: You Let Me Down

Before the race, I made a prediction that Mercedes GP would win the race. That’s because Nico Rosberg was the fasted in free practice. Although Nico is called “Practice Prince”, well, I think that’s because for a long time, Williams is not a competitive team. But this time, Mercedes has one of the best cars.

I believe in Ross Brown. But he had not recognized it yet.

Nico in the race

Then… What was about Michael?

In fact, well, although I am a Tifosi, Michael Schumacher did got the 6th, 44s behind Fernando.

It is not a performance of the king of F1. But you should recognize that he is 41 years old. It is his victory that he came back and successfully finished the race. What’s more, he got some points. That’s enough. DO NOT GIVE SO MUCH BURDEN ON HIM.

In fact Michael himself was very happy and satisfied with the result.

Michael Schumacher after the race

The new constructors: Painful Memories

Only 2 T127 cars finished the race in the new constructors. HRT, BMW Sauber and Virgin were all DNF.

It is a pleasure for Tony Fernandes. Although without any points.

Most of the problems are about the engine. I do not know whether Cosworth still has the ability to develop a Formula 1 engine.

I still remember the golden days when Cosworth DFV ruling the race. But this year, it seems that Cosworth is absent-minded.

HRT DNF

How to save F1?

When I watch the race, I communicated with some fans in a chat room of Sina F1. They all said that they were a bit sleepy.

No strategies, no take-overs. The drivers just run one lap after another on the track. Just like what does F1 like in the eyes of a F1 rookie.

The 1-stop rule was a sleep bomb. The technical standard make it quite difficult to take over, just like the report from Michael.

New rules or some changes on rules should be made to stuck the audience. Or the race will be really in danger. After all, the audience is the meaning of the existence of F1.

20 Years of Adobe Photoshop

2010-08-18T03:06:00.000+08:00

Photoshop has been a part of every web designer’s life since they picked up their first mouse.

On February 10th, 2010, Photoshop turns twenty. To mark this anniversary, we’ve come up with an article that takes you through the evolution of Photoshop from its modest beginnings as a bundled program sold with scanners to its current version.

For each version and major feature listed, we couldn’t help but think “did Photoshop ever exist without that feature?”.

Some of the minor details are fun too, such as the one-liner Easter Eggs that Photoshop developers hid in some versions and the fact that the most current versions of Adobe Photoshop CS are equipped with anti-counterfeiting measures for multiple world currencies.

Please join us in thanking the Knolls and Adobe for making all of our lives more awesome, every day.

Photoshop: Origins

One of the most impressive things about the company is the fact that one gifted family, consisting of an engineering prof, a PHD engineering student, and a talented special effects whiz working at Industrial Light and Magic came up with the core idea of Photoshop.

Thomas Knoll, the PHD student, is still heavily involved with Photoshop years later.

Glen Knoll was a college professor with two sons and two hobbies; computers and photography.

He had a darkroom in his basement, and an Apple II Plus that he was allowed to bring home from work.

Thomas Knoll adopted his father’s photography habit throughout high school, while his brother, John Knoll, purchased one of the first Macs available to the public.

Fast forward to 1987: Thomas Knoll was a PHD student studying Engineering at the University of Michigan. His brother was working at Industrial Light and Magic.

Thomas Knoll wrote a subroutine for a program to translate monochrome images on his monitor to grayscale.

The successful subroutine led Knoll to create more and very soon he had a number of processes for achieving photographic effects on digital images.

After his brother John saw what Thomas was doing, he recommended that Thomas turn what he was doing into a full-featured image editor.

The combination of Thomas’ programming abilities with John’s pragmatic design background led to a collaboration between the two brothers to develop more processes and improve on the initial application.

Even though the process led to interruption in Thomas’ thesis work, the brothers released “Image Pro” in 1988.

John suggested that they begin to sell Image Pro as an application.

Within six months, the brothers had a partnership with a company that manufactured scanners, Barneyscan.

They purchased 200 copies of the program to ship with their scanners.

They called on Supermac and Aldus, but were turned away at both, a move that Aldus would come to seriously regret.

Shortly after, the Knoll brothers struck gold when they won over Adobe management with their product, and formed a licensing partnership with Adobe that was to launch their software and Adobe into the stratosphere.

In February of 1990, Adobe 1.0 was released.

This video, shot in January of 2010, is a great interview with John Knoll about the early days of Photoshop:

Photoshop Through the Years; Version Changes

We’ve included major changes within each version and some minor ones. This is meant to be a fun stroll down memory lane rather than a complete version catalogue.

If you have a particular version change that got your hackles up or a feature that you’d to mention, feel free to add it to the comments section.

1990 – Photoshop 1.0

John Knoll, Thomas’ brother, wrote “special effects” for the program which were frowned upon by Adobe staff as being too “gimmicky”. Thomas and John found a way to sneak them into Photoshop as plugins, giving rise to what is now a huge cottage industry in add-ons to the popular program.

John and Adobe staff constantly pushed Thomas to make improvements until the final product shipped.

The first version of the Photoshop splash screen features just four Photoshop programmers. In subsequent versions, more and more names are added to the list. In more recent versions, a limited number of Adobe VIP’s appear in the splash screen.

1991 – Photoshop 2.0

Photoshop 2.0 included the Path feature, which allowed users to trim around an object easily and to save that path for future use. This feature was added by a second engineer, Mark Hamburg, that Adobe hired to work on the application.

Up until 2.0, Thomas Knoll was the only engineer working on it. Adobe called Mark the “Path Man”. 2.0 also featured rasterizing for Illustrator files, support for CMYK colour which led to widespread Photoshop adoption by the printing industry, and the Pen.

Photoshop 2.0 also required 4 megabytes of RAM to run rather than 2, which really helped program stability.

Photoshop 2.5, released in 1992, was notable for being the first release for the Windows operating systems.The code had to be completely changed in order to accomplish this goal which meant that the first effort was slow going.

16-bit file support and palettes were added to this version as well. The initial Windows release had a “memory bug”, a bug which actually saw Mark Hamburg offer to make house calls. The patched version was released as 2.5.1. Filters got their own menu in 2.5 as well. The workspace shot below is of Photoshop 2.5 for the Mac.

1994 – Photoshop 3.0

The big story for Adobe Photoshop 3.0 was layers. Layers were and are a lifesaver for any marginally complex design.

Prior to their introduction, designers would save different versions of designs so that they could go back and grab them if needed; layers made this practice redundant.

Layers are individual slices of the image that go together to make the final “sandwich” of the image. Different images, such as those used in the image above in the 3.0 splash screen, are assigned their own layers, making it easy to work on those images without tampering with other areas of the image.

Thomas Knoll, the original creator of the program, was responsible for their development. Other engineers made improvements in the program’s performance with Power Mac chips and bringing the Windows version up to the same level as the Mac version. Tabbed palettes also had their debut in 3.0.

Adobe engineers included Adobe Transient Witticisms (ATW) with this version. They were little Easter Egg funny one-liners that would appear only when you pressed obscure combinations of keys.

1996 – Photoshop 4.0

Adjustment layers and macros were the two most notable features of Photoshop 4.0.

Adjustment layers allow the designer to apply one effect to a group of layers. Macros, or actions in Photoshop speak, allow you to map a series of commands to one command. This allows you to perform the same operation in much less time if you have a bunch of images to work on.

The most important change to 4.0 was the unification of the user interface with other Adobe products, a feature which Adobe has stayed consistent with right up to present-day incarnations of the program. This meant a less steep learning curve for Adobe products, a blessing for those who got their start with Photoshop 4.0.

Loyal users of Photoshop were not amused with the redesign, the common question from the community being “Why did you break Photoshop?”.

1998 – Photoshop 5.0

The two most important features released with 5.0 were editable type and the ability to undo actions multiple times in the “History” palette.

Previous versions of Photoshop allowed text to be added, but the fuzzy rasterized type didn’t make for pretty magazine mastheads or decent web menus. This was a huge step forward. Multiple undos via the History palette were very helpful, especially since designers were starting to use the new Adobe tools for increasingly complex designs.

Color Management made its debut with 5.0. Like other major changes to Photoshop, it was greeted with equal parts of praise and condemnation. It allowed colors to be managed natively within the application rather than relying on third-party tools that had been used, a huge improvement.

However, it also automatically converted the colors when opening files, a “feature” that engineers quickly eliminated after multiple user complaints. The magnetic lasso tool debuted in 5.0, making selecting areas of an image to work on much easier.

1999 – Photoshop 5.5

Photoshop 5.5 featured the huge time saver, “Save For Web”. This feature allows those who choose it to save the image in a preset specifically designed for web use which allows the user to adjust image quality to achieve a smaller image.

Version 5.0 had failed to take the Web into account with all of its other major feature changes on the table. It was also bundled with ImageReady, a standalone program that was purpose-built to edit web graphics.

Most of the features of ImageReady were later incorporated into the full version of Photoshop and the idea of a simpler program was reborn eventually in the form of Photoshop Elements.

2000 – Photoshop 6.0

The layer styles panel made working with layers even easier in Photoshop 6. Vector shapes were also added in this release; the ability to draw vector shapes such as arrows into a bitmap was lauded by users.

There was also a new custom shapes palette that allowed the user to draw using vector shapes rather than just using lines. Text could also now be typed directly onto a picture, rather than being typed first into a text box.

Multi-layer functions made their first appearance with version 6.0. The Blending Options dialogue was also introduced which made blending various elements of an image much easier. 6.0 separated the crop tool from the marquee tool, making it that much easier to get to this commonly used command.

2001 – Photoshop Elements

With the increasing complexity of the tools available to users, Photoshop was risking losing a significant market share that didn’t understand or need some of its more advanced tools.

In order to combat this, they released Photoshop Elements in 2001. The new product was a success, and designers continue to recommend it to clients for simple image resizing and other non-design tasks.

While its current interface, shown below, isn’t intuitive for those trained in traditional Photoshop, it is highly usable and labeled clearly for the average user. If there are any problems with it in terms of functionality, the simple answer is to upgrade to the full-featured Photoshop.

2002 – Photoshop 7.0

Version 7.0 introduced the healing brush and text that was fully vector-based. More importantly to veteran users, it introduced a new file browser that let designers easily pore through folders to find the graphics that they wanted.

Files within a folder could be renamed using Batch Rename, plus a bunch of other helpful commands that made working with a high volume of files much easier.

Workspaces could also be created and saved, allowing you to save your file locations and groups for future use.

The brush palette also featured a number of changes, including the new healing brush tool, patch tool, and the ability to create custom brushes. Spell check and a find/replace feature rounded out the updates to the text tool.

A number of enhancements were also included for web use, including the addition of rollover effects for images and a web gallery feature.

One of the most important upgrades was under the hood; 7.0 was optimized for use with Mac OS X, virtually eliminating crashes in the middle of working on large files. The tool presets palette let users program presets for commonly performed tasks, increasing efficiency.

2003 – Photoshop CS

Photoshop CS was the first to employ the CDS (counterfeit deterrence system) which recognized and refused to allow duplication of paper currency.

Scripting support for various web languages, including JavaScript, was also new to this release.

Layer groups were introduced with this version, which allowed various layers to be grouped together for effects to be applied to some and not others.

Improvements to the File Browser made images easier to work with, and the 16-bit and better large file support made CS much easier to work with for designers who constantly worked with larger images and photographers.

2005 – Photoshop CS2

The red eye removal tool, previously exclusive to Elements, was popular enough to make an appearance in the core version of Photoshop. Smudging options and the ability to select multiple layers also added to the functionality of Photoshop.

The Vanishing Point tool allowed users to edit images in perspective. The largest moment of panic when upgrading to PS2 came for most when they tried to find the Paint Bucket tool, which had been classified under the Gradient tool. There were other significant changes to the UI that prompted one writer to put out this “Where’s My Stuff?” column.

Layers and the layers palette were other areas of note. The “links” column was removed because CS2 included a link button rather than the small chains beside each layer. The “Smart Object” feature was introduced, which allows the user to scale a layer up without significant loss of quality.

2007 – Photoshop CS3

A faster load was probably the most noticeable feature of this 2007 release. It included fine tuning to a number of its existing tools rather than focusing on new ones.

The most notable new feature was graphic optimization for mobile devices, a feature which many web designers focusing on mobile design were thankful for. This version also saw significant feature updates to Adobe Camera RAW, a Quick Select tool, alterations to core commands like Brightness and Contrast and Black and White conversion.

CS3 shipped in Standard and Extended editions. The Extended version was intended for high end video and scientific users. Improved performance for Intel-based Macs significantly improved the speed of Photoshop, while Windows users also enjoyed performance upgrades. The new Quick Selection tool put the rest of the selection tools in Photoshop to shame with easy object selection with one or two strokes.

Cloning became easier in CS3 with the birth of the Clone Source palette which increased the options available to the Clone Stamp tool in an easily accessible palette.

2008 – Photoshop CS4

The smoother pan and zoom allowed for fast drill down on the areas of an image that you wanted to look at. Prior to this, there was a lag time of a few seconds (depending on your system) if you wanted to zoom in or out on an image.

The Masks and Adjustments panel was added, making working with masks easier. CS 4 also dealt with edges on masks more effectively. Colour correction took a huge step forward with this release.

The user interface was significantly simplified in CS4. The support of tabbed documents made it much easier to use and the main tools were added to the title bar for easier access. Quick access for common actions was made available in the panel area.

Where Are The Knolls Now?

Thomas Knoll
Thomas was the lead developer of Photoshop right up until CS 4. He now leads up the Camera Raw plugin for Photoshop, which allows Photoshop to develop a smooth handshake between different models of camera raw image formats.

John Knoll
John is still employed by Industrial Light and Magic as a Visual Effects Supervisor. He was the Visual Effects Supervisors for the recent efforts on the first three Star Wars prequel films. He also supervised work on two Star Trek movies, Star Trek episodes, and the Pirates of the Caribbean movies.

Glenn Knoll
Their father is a teacher at the University of Michigan in the Engineering Department.

Let’s all get together to wish Photoshop a Happy Birthday!

Source: www.webdesignerdepot.com

Tears down...

2010-06-10T23:29:00.000+08:00

Blogger came back after a 2-year block in China.
During this tough days, I have to write in blog.com.
But now, it's time to come back.
Good Luck!

Blog in the wall

2009-06-18T18:26:00.000+08:00

It has been several months since the Blogger is blocked in China. I wonder why this harmless site was GFWed.
I don't think users of blogger will be easily taken advantages of. In fact most of the people who do not know the truth, they will never use this international BSP, They are using sina, sohu, baidu because they never know what does freedom means.

Fuck GFW

2009-06-09T17:36:00.000+08:00

Yes, I've got mad.
I don't know how to say.
Somthing is trying to control our minds and turn us into stupid things.
Harmony, a funny word in China.

Go Ahead, Rockets!

2009-05-05T13:28:00.003+08:00

Yes, They won today.
Houston beat Los Angles. 100:92. Lakers used to be the leader all the season. But unfortunately, in the 2nd round of the playoffs, facing a "weak" team, they lost the game.
All the game, Artest played an important role. And Yao is the leader of all the team. In the 4th Quarter, Yao's left knee was hit by Bryant. After a short rest he came back to the field and get 6 points in the rest of the game.
At last, Bryant seemed to be crazy. In fact Bryant was trying his best to stop Rockets' attack. But in vain. The excellent defence was the key to success. Defence was what Rockets is good at.

OK, I will pay attention to the next game---- May 7th. I will wait and see the Rockets to challenge the limits again.

Shopping

2009-05-02T23:02:00.005+08:00

I have to say that I'm so poor: two of my three shirts were worn as well as one pair of my shoes.

So, I think it is time for me to buy some clothes and shoes, although I'm not interested in it at all.

Yesterday afternoon I try to find some time to go out. It's in the national holiday to celebrate International Liberation Day(I really wander why we are having rest in this "Liberation Day")

Wudaokou is not far away from our school. It seemed that it's a good choice for me.

3 hours later, a pair of shoes and a shirt. Nike and Adidas.
David and SK-2 said that the shirt is in the style of 20 years ago. Yes... I promis that the shirt is a classical design of Adidas, and quite familiar with the one I wear that day. But I like it without any reasons.

Windows 7 Ultimate 7100RC in Evaluation

2009-04-29T00:27:00.002+08:00

Today I installed the new-released Microsoft Windows 7 Ultimate 7100RC.
As a release candidate, Build 7100 has most of the features which will appear in Windows 7 Final Release.
I think MS will freeze the code of Windows 7 soon. That's a good news.
But like most users who are hezated in switch to Windows 7 or not, My primary problem is to solve the software capacity in Windows 7.
In Windows Vista, the following problems have been discovered:

1. Rhinoceros will flash into black screen when you move your mouse quickly in the design area, when the Aero Glass is on.

The problem has been solved by swithing to XP capacity mode and turn advanced input service off, and the most important, turn Aero Glass off. Maybe the WPF with DirectX has influenced the performance of some graphics softwares.

2. Autodesk 3Ds Max 9 cannot run in Windows Vista as well as Windows 7.

3Ds Max 9 only support DX9. But unfortunately Windows Vista only support DX10.

In the upgrade 3Ds Max 2008, Autodesk only added DX10 support into 3Ds Max 9. So installing 3Ds Max 2008 is the only choice.

3. Autodesk Alias has some problems.

Only Alias 2009 SP1 is regarded as the first version of Alias which support Windows Vista officially. But in fact some versions can run on Vista, including the older version 13.0.

==========XP Mode in Windows 7==========

I'm glad to hear that XP Mode will be included in Windows 7. In fact it is the application of virtualizaion. The system virtualize a surrounding of Windows XP in Windows 7 to allow the users run applicaions which only support Windows XP.

But you must know that the performance may be poor. The system, in fact, is the combinition of VitrualPC and the installed Windows XP in the vitrual machine.

It seems funny that in Technet.com Microsoft suggests the users to install an anti-virus software and firewall in the virtual machine to prevent the interception of virus and crackers.

==========XP or 7, it's a problem==========

Upgrade Windows or not. You must have a solution.

Global Digital Library by United Nations

2009-04-22T12:14:00.003+08:00

Today the UNESCO released the Global Digital Library, a collection of some pieces from the libraries all over the world.
We can find nearly all the useful data here. But some files are not completed like Yongle Dadian. It only collect 170 pages from the great book written in Ming Dynasty.
There are still a lot for me to explorer.
The address of the library is :
English: http://www.wdl.org/en/
Simplified Chinese:http://www.wdl.org/zh/
It is recommended to visit it with browsers with Gecko or Webkit. Internet Explorer is not the best choice. Sometimes it can not be visited with IE.

The Upgrading Softwares

2009-04-16T23:53:00.002+08:00

I have to say that the software's' upgrading is toooooo fast!
Today I saw the release of Unigraphics NX6. Just several days before I got to know that Autodesk has upgraded its all product into code name 2010---AutoCAD 2010, Alias 2010, Revit 2010...... OMG.
I used to read an article about how the software upgrading so frequently. The reasons are so interesting:
The interests of software companies and hardware companies. Their guilties lead to this situation. Only by upgrading software frequently can the companies get more money. The customers also enforce it.
In fact the different versions of software are too little. And most of the new features sometimes are not useful. For example the 3D illusion of Adobe Photoshop CS4. I don't think it a break-through feature, Most of the work can be done by some professional renderers like VRay.
There are also some problems---- the support of system.
This is a major problem facing the professional computer users like industrial designers and server administrators. So Windows XP has such a long way to go. The system is so natural that the solution is a complete one and most of the companies rely on it.
The reason why Windows Vista can not reach the height of XP is it. The matual solution based on XP is important to the steaty of the professions. For examples, for the industrial designers, lots of software cannot run on Vista (perfectly): Alias, 3Ds Max and Rhinoceros.
This is it.
So sometimes the customers do not need to follow the steps of the software companies so closely because there is no need.

Terrible Reports

2009-04-06T21:47:00.002+08:00

It's incredible that Ergonomics need to write experiment reports!!!
And what's more I chose a huge theme: the work surroundings of FlankerD.
And now I have written over 6k words and there's no obvious tint that it will come to an end.
OMG....

NCRE-3, hehehe....

2009-03-29T21:26:00.003+08:00

I hear that they nearly cry when going out of the exam room.
There's nothing I can do... I did not sign up for the NCRE this month, my challenge will come in Sep.
My subject is network, not database. Maybe it will be easier. Just maybe, maybe......
There's one chance to resign for the exam for free. Maybe Mr. Z will take the exam with me this Sep. hehehe....
OK, Ok the joke has ended. I want to discuss about the meaning of NCRE.
Everyone knows that the students who are not majored in information technology are just requested to pass NCRE-2. Of course NCRE-2 is so easy that nearly all the college students can pass it. But are the higher level NCRE exams must?
I think not.
NCRE, after all is just some basic knowledge of computer, including NCRE-4. The professional IT exams are MCSE, Adobe Certicificated Planar Designer Exam and so on. But I can see that only a few college students take part in the exams, on the contrary, NCRE, as a kind of national certicification, is always hot.
The keyword is "national". The certicification is released by the goverment so the power is higher than those released by the companies.
In fact not. The NCRE is a method to popularize computer technology and education. It is not faced to the education system but not the market.
But, as college student, our destination is surely market--competition in the market and companies. So, getting only national certicifications is not enough, commercial certicification is the most powerful.
My target is MCSE. A hard exam. I hear that taking this will cost a lot but I think pay some money and strength to get a certicification is a good deal.
But, my primary target these months is NCRE-3 Network in Sep. so I have to handle it first.

MSTC

2009-03-23T23:49:00.005+08:00

==========About MSTC==========
This blog is about my xperience in MSTC(Microsoft Technology Club).
In order to expand the impression between the college student, Microsoft Reserch Asia sets some MSTCs in some Chinese universities such as BUAA, HIT and BTU. They are all colleges good at science and engineering.

The purpose of MSRA is clear: to enlarge the influence in colleges and attract more talented students.

BUAA is inlcuded and its MSTC is special--MSRA is just at the south gate of BUAA, and the chairman of BUAA MSTC is derectly hired by MSRA--This is the only one in China.

I, am a member of BUAA MSTC in Media Department.

In fact MSTC is different from the other students' clubs in BUAA. It's free to be a member of it and you can accept the high quality instruction and plenty of chances to communicate with stuff in MSRA. Of course if you can make friends with them it will be easier to be hired by MSRA.
Of course this blog is not an advertisment, but I really like this club.
==========About My Life and Job==========
I am now the assistance admin of Media Department of MSTC. I was promoted to this place this month. This is the first time I entered the administration layer of the club.
So I become busier this semester. Luckily my burden in classes is much easier.
The rules in MSTC is not strict but not too lazy. Everyone is working hard--The slogan is "Work Hard, Play Harder!"
This is a style. A kind of life style. Just like the stuff in MS and Google, you can work on the way in which you feel convenient. In fact it can get higher efficient to drive the hole corporation forward.
My main job is photographing-- of course it is.
Although I am not professional enough but I can do better than those who did not accept professional trainings and special theories.
==========Design in MSTC==========
My majour is far from developing but I am interesting in it. So I can combine my profession with MSTC Project, UI design is fit for me.
I used to join a group which is concerntrated in Silverlight. I worked as designer.
I wonder whether there is some MSTC in foreign colleges.
ARE THERE?

Tom Clancy's H.A.W.X.——A new challenge

2009-03-21T22:27:00.004+08:00

I want to say that it is not easy to download a HAWX from the emule. The speed with my low ID is not satisfactory(PS: compared to the speed of our FTP).
But it is done after all.
Ubisoft is a company which is good at developing military games. The Tom Clancy series is a number of military games including End War, Rainbow Six and so on. They are all classics, and a myth in the gamers' mind.
This new game, H.A.W.X., which meas High Altitude Warfare, is different from the others in the Tom Clancy series, because it's not FPS, RTS but a aero battle game.
Aero battle game is different from flight simulations such as MS Flight Sim, but a kind of game which are good at rendering the tense atmosphere in the battle field. They are not realistic but HOT.
In fact I have to express my thanks to Ubi and the developing team. The configuation of HAWX is really great!
My laptop has a graphics card of 8600 M GT, but it can run the game in a high performance smoothly. So I decide to play it.
But on the other hand, Lock On is still my favorate! Because of the reality of the LOMAC. I want to say that I have not found a flight simlation game which is as good as LOMAC.
There are two screen shots of HAWX and Lock On

Another one is the Lock On

Obviously the image quality of LOMAC is lower than that of HAWX, but I prefer LOMAC to HAWX.
There's no answer, just like a Chinese writer says love does not need any reasons.
That's it.

The passion of programming

2009-03-19T10:55:00.003+08:00

Last semester the teacher of theoretical mechanics raise a problem--solve the simplification of force system with a program.
I built the frame several months ago, but at last I did not continue the work because of some reasons.
Yesterday my network at the dormitory break down so I decide to do something else to kill the time.
The project is the best choice.
I built the program from last night to this morning, in fact it is a hard work. But I like programming as well as the happiness of solving problems.
This is a challenge and I will always try to overcome it.

The last battle

2009-03-13T10:42:00.002+08:00

Yes, our last game will come soon.
Our target is Class 11.
It may become our last game because the difference of power and the numbers of players.
But obviously there's noplace for us to hide.
Let's go and face the storm.
Engage!

Hm...It's a bit difficult

2009-03-11T11:52:00.002+08:00

Rhinoceros is really hard to handle. I built a flash light all the morning but after all, there's some bugs.
The model is filled with holes!
The model should be smooth surfaces but there's a tiny hole...
Though the hole is not so big to be seen at a shot but if you try to render the model the hole is so obvious and the design draft will be a failure.
Then... I have to congratulate the designers in the field of mechanic engineering that their job is so easy--all the bodies are in regular shapes, you are luky...
From a industrial designer.

I'm tired

2009-03-07T13:15:00.000+08:00

We lost the game.
But we beat ourselves.

Poisonous！！！！！！

2009-03-03T13:46:00.002+08:00

Why we must use so dangerous chemicals?
The answer is so simple: to make some models.
OMG...
That's the reason why we must use silicon and...
Wait... Silicon is not dangerous but another one called double particle resin is not so friendly. It's impossible to take the subway with it. The guard is not stupid.
So we have to called the provider to send the meterials to our school. That means another ￥50 in the cost.
It is not so easy.

Long time no see

2009-03-02T22:09:00.002+08:00

These days, I am busy, bery, very busy.
There's a rendering image in Photoshop to do, a mouse to model. And, what's more, some assignment.
=====================================================================
Sentou Yousei Yukikaze's BDRip came out in emule, I think it a good idea to download them, although the speed is not fast at all.

Why does the so-called committee so greedy?

2009-02-25T14:03:00.002+08:00

Yesterday, the score of CET-4 came out. But as an official committee which govern the CET, the CET committee did a ridiculous thing--it threw the score query to a commercial website called 99sushe.com.
Yes, that's what it had done.
An education governing unit made a commercial agreement with this website. In China it's normal because the government did a lot of commercial events in these days. I have to say that if this website is a ordinary site which post our scores with clean hands, I have nothing to say. But this site in fact is a damn shit!
At first the site made me sick--in the right of the controls there is a huge ad. Even lager than the control box for us to ask for scores.
OK, for my score, I entered my code and then the check characters.
A long time to wait for the result start.
The system starts to count down 15 seconds.
I feel strange--the net work is so slow?
OK, I check the source code.
OMG……there's a control to count 15 seconds. Yes, its a fault "count down".
The purpose is obviously-- beside the "time", there is a text box which is waiting for you to enter you QQ, then, you will be the user of the site.
In fact it's collecting our information illegally.
OK, I have passed the controls and accept the string.
It seems that my score is not too bad, 595.
Unfortunately, on the right side, there a three "messages" for me. Of course they are just bitch!
CLICK it, the damn register page came out.
Such a dame website can be the "official site" to get you CET score, can you believe?????

Present Techniques

2009-02-23T16:41:00.002+08:00

As you see, it's a terrible subject. Last semester I tried my best to render vehicles and got 83 points in the final exam. Of course it's better than the computer graphics.
This semester, the dream male start again. As you can preview that the subject will be more difficult now. Despite the drawing by hand but computer aided rendering. For example Photoshop and 3Ds Max with VRay.
Though I used to use Photoshop and VRay before but this time I have to be professional. Being professional is always DIFFICULT. That's what I'm afraid. Just like programming, you can write some small programs to solve small problems. But one day when you try to develop a enterprise administrative system you will find that you know nothing.
This is what I'm facing now. Though I used to use VRay, Rhinoceros and even Alias Studio but everyone knows that it's simple, very very simple--just use extrude, blendsrf, filletedge and so on. Some advanced techniques are still out of my control.
I can model a flash drive or a cellphone, but facing a vehicle, I feel that I am a complete rookie.
I attended the Alias Group in QQ, I got to know there are a lot of genius in my age. They can use Alias Studio, such a difficult software in an easy way. They can use Alias to model a vehicle easily. This is a kind of pressure for me, in some meanings.
We all appreciate the genius but ignore the hard workings after them, in fact, I'm on this way.

Quarrels

2009-02-20T00:34:00.002+08:00

I think it interesting to post articles in CB.
Someone post a passage in the visitors' interaction session.
I hold the viewpoint that if there's opinions there will be quarrels. It's a good way to compare the viewpoints from different people and try to improve my brain.
What's more, it's xtremely important to a designer because I will have to combine different thoughts together and finally find a solution, I have to have this kind of ability.

Modeling Day

2009-02-17T22:20:00.004+08:00

Tomorrow--maybe crazy.
In the morning is CAID(Computer Aided Industrial Design), maybe using Rhinoceros and 3Ds Max, or perhaps something others. But I wish not Alias Studio because I had not handle it... it's too difficult.
And in the afternoon the Model making(of course with plastics, gypsum, sludge and so on.
Used to try modeling(Rhino+MAX).
I made three pictures tonight. Upload.

At last…I'm here

2009-02-16T20:02:00.004+08:00

The winter holidays were over and I came to school again. In fact it's the first day I spend in classrooms. In the morning Ergonomics and in the afternoon Performance techniques.
After a winter of sadness maybe I can forget those unhappiness with work. It's time to face the challenges in the new semester.
I have to say that the subjects are sometimes boring, especially some scientific ones but after all it's a good way to improve the marks by handle them well. This education system is really evil!
Her new semester will start in Feb. 23, exact a week after me. This time she will have to come to Beijing alone. Wish her safety. I do not want her being hurt again.
=====================================================================
In the afternoon I went to recharge my account for web service in the dormitory with David(in fact I prefer "Big Stomach"), I used to think that the Web Service Center will be work till 6 p.m. but finally I found it wrong. We were 10 min. late.
Dv was with his laptop, so you can imaging his face.
I wonder how the stuff in the WSC work, the web service of our classroom would be stopped in the end of Jan. but in fact it's still running.
After all I am looking for the end of our service because we can switch to international service instead of national service. As industrial design students it's important to pay attention to the trend from the designers in the foreign countries. It's possible for me to go over the CERNET and click on some foreign sites, but the speed is too poor to download anything.
If we talk about GFW... What will it be? It's a bit sensitive in China, I don't want to be attentioned by the gov.
====================================================================
It's a long time since the last time I play with my camera. The chance will be less and less, as well as my free time. This is the reason.
I receive some comments for my photos in Panoramio, I submit some of my photos to the contest. It sounds ridiculous because many of them are professional photographers and I am just a amatuer. But I like it.
The first comment I received is about the photo on which she stood with his work--a snow man. It was taken last year when my hometown was troubled by the heavy snow. At that time we can face with each other happily but now...
But at last I'm in BUAA and ready to handle the bad environment-- heavy school works, the jobs in MSTC, the complex programs to attended the Party, and the most serious-- the school with only a little girls... OMG...
====================================================================
Maybe tomorrow will be new...The subject is a bit troublesome--Probability and Statistics. Long time not to touch mathematics. Good luck for me... If I can handle this trouble easily...

In Chinese 设计师眼中的“手机之争”

2009-02-15T14:04:00.003+08:00

每天逛CB已经成了必修课，我注意到一个现象就是几乎每次有关于手机的新闻出来，下面几乎就是一片关于手机的争吵之声，哪个平台好哪个平台差，莫衷一是，关于手机平台的争吵很正常，但是我也注意到一个不是很Harmonious的现象就是，很少有人能够客观、公正地评论一个平台，往往带有很大的主管和情绪色彩。
那我作为一个设计师，虽然主攻方向不是手机而是UI和Web设计，但是毕竟我是搞设计的，最重要的一点就是：面向用户。下面就是我眼中的一些常见的手机平台的分析，我说过我的评价观点重在客观，也许X粉或者Y饭或者Z油看着会很不舒服，但是我要说的是一条任何一个设计师都很明白的道理：世界上不存在完美设计的产品，包括一些神话一般的设计。

一、Symbian：面向大众，易用为先

Symbian事实上已经归诺基亚管理，所以分析Symbian的时候不能不提到的一个大厂就是诺基亚。所以，下面分析的基本上就是诺基亚。

诺基亚作为世界上最大的移动通讯设备厂商，占有约40%的市场份额，这与其全面的产品线以及高度的易用性是不可分割的。

我们分析一下诺基亚的产品线，不难发现从最低端的黑白屏手机到高端的N系列再到奢侈品系列的8系，其产品线之广是任何一个厂商所难以抗衡的，当然如此长的产品线的后盾就是Nokia强大的研发实力，从最低端的产品到最高端的产品都能够得到充足的开发资源，如果没有这种底气，铺大产品线很有可能导致企业的灭亡，而诺基亚则充分发挥了自己的长处——资金和研发，在各个层次的产品上都能够取得领先的优势。就算是不能取得第一的地位，也能够保证是位居前列，这就是诺基亚的强大之处。
其次是简单易用。诺基亚普通手机的功能很简单，就算是N系列，默认情况下功能也不复杂（和Windows根本没法比）。虽然功能不多但是足够满足普通用户需求。也正因为功能不多，所以上手非常容易。举个例子，去年七月份笔者的多普达卡槽出现故障维修去了，为了应付没有手机的艰难日子买了个诺基亚的 n5000，恰逢老父的手机坏掉了，等笔者拿到修好了的多普达之后就把n5000给老父用，结果他在没有说明书的情况下自己摸索了半个小时就会用了。这也说明了一个问题，大部分非智能型的诺基亚手机完全可以不看说明书就能掌握其基本使用方式，所以诺基亚能够打下广泛的基础。

但是诺基亚是不是完全没有缺点，不可能。详情参见本文第一句刷红的话。早期的诺基亚产品设计是极为单调的，所以有一段时间摩托罗拉可以超过诺基亚，因为 Moto可以提供更多的设计风格以供选择。然而现在却完全掉了个个，设计上Moto远远落后于诺基亚。市场上更是被诺基亚远远甩在身后。这是诺基亚曾经的问题，但是现在，在高端市场上，诺基亚显然不是很吃得开，没有在主流市场上那么威风，原因就在于诺基亚的“草根风格”，Symbian系统的可扩展性不如 Windows Mobile，开发环境也远远不如Windows Mobile。所以在软件数量上，Windows Mobile可以遥遥领先于其他任何一个平台。对于有程序设计基础的人而言，自己设计一个WM软件并不是非常复杂的事情，用Visual Studio 2008就可以实现，所以，Symbian系统的可扩展性不如WM，而其他方面：娱乐应用有iPhone，邮件处理有RIM，它们在自己的领域内都要强于诺基亚，而对于高端用户群来说，往往有某一种特性是他们比较看重的，这样全面发展却全面平庸的诺基亚往往得不到高端用户的青睐。

注明一下：高端用户并不是指有钱的，更多的时候是指有较高技术和知识水平的用户。当然往往这种用户也不缺钱。另外Symbian现在算是诺基亚的，还是不要把两者分开看待。

Symbian主要面向用户：几乎全部，尽管也有不少精英不买帐

二、Windows Mobile：高效管理，无限可能

首先说明一下：我的手机就是基于Windows Mobile的多普达，各位可以就这一点向我开炮，但是我仍然保证会说出WM的缺点。

微软在手机市场取得的成就也是有目共睹的，其最有力的武器就是Windows Mobile。Windows系统最大的优势就在于广泛的软件支持。说起这个特点，本来最有发言权的应该是Palm，但是很明显的一个问题是Palm系统市场占有率节节下滑，现在已经远远不及Windows。

WIndows广泛的软件支持源于微软在开发环境方面的努力。从Visual Studio 2005开始，Visual Studio就可以直接用于开发基于Windows Mobile的程序，VS2005里默认支持到WM2003SE，而2008里已经默认支持WM5，通过Simulator的ROM升级和下载SDK等方式可以支持到6.1。我想每一个学过程序的人都会用VS，而事实上我们可以使用VB、C++、C#等多种语言来开发WM程序，这就比Symbian系统要先进一个等级。事实上我敢说微软的移动设备程序开发环境是最好的。

另一个特点就在于和WinPC的优秀的兼容性。安装ActiveSync和Outlook之后，手机和电脑在很大程度上可以说是“不分彼此”了，这对于走到哪儿电脑跟到哪儿的技术狂而言是非常方便的。

另外，Windows Mobile的管理能力也是非常强大的，事实上WM系统内执行短信、联系人、日历等功能的软件是Outlook，在PC平台上Outlook作为非常著名的个人信息管理软件，其便利程度时有目共睹的，WM很好的继承了其管理功能强大的特性。

但是WM的占有率和以诺基亚为首的Symbian集团是无法相提并论的，WM的种种特点注定了它只能面向一小部分人。

首先就是对硬件比较挑剔。WM的硬件要求高出Symbian一大截，再加上微软高昂的版权费用，所以WM手机价格都比较高，同时带来的也有巨大无比的耗电量（大约WM平台的耗电量是最大的了）。这是WM手机市场占有率低最直接、也是最致命的一点。WM的定位很明显就是中高端，它没有“低端”的概念，而恰恰低端市场的规模远远大于高端市场，所以WM的市场占有率低也不奇怪，不过这未必是坏事，生产WM手机的厂商往往都比较专业。比如HTC，其产品绝大多数都是WM平台，它拥有非常丰富的WM设备设计、制造经验，全球90%的WM设备均由HTC直接生产或者代工。

其次就是狭窄的市场定位。SmartPhone的定位还略微广泛，PPC的定位几乎是牢牢锁定了高端商务市场。绝大多数的PPC手机都是长这样：硕大的屏幕和少得可怜的几个按钮，厚重的机身、硬朗的线条、黑色或者银色占主导的色调等等，这一切都说明了其身份。因为这些特点，我们在PPC用户群里很少见到女性，当然部分厂商也已经意识到这一问题，开始设计一些比较轻薄、线条比较柔和、色彩多样的手机，但是仍然是不能从根本上改变WM手机这一狭窄的市场定位。

最关键的还在于功能繁多，但是使用复杂。很难想像一个不会使用电脑的人能够将WM的功能发挥到极致。这对很多用户而言是极为不友好的！

而且WM从Windows那里也继承了一个很不好的东西，那就是系统组件之间的高耦合度带来的管理困难，WM系统需要像PC Windows那样定期清理系统垃圾、注册表垃圾，甚至系统崩溃之后恢复也是相当麻烦的一件事，这一点和Symbian的便利形成了鲜明的对比。

Windows Mobile主要面向用户：商务管理人士（不是有钱的“老板”们！）、喜欢“折腾”手机的各位技术狂

三、Mac：影音娱乐，创新时尚

我想设计界几乎没有一个人不认识iPhone，IDEA金奖产品，更没有人不认识苹果、Jonathan Eve、Frog Design、IDEO这些如雷贯耳的名字。Apple的工业设计堪称传奇，包括iPhone，不可否认，iPhone是一个革命性的产品。所以在手机市场上论单个型号的销量，大约是iPhone遥遥领先。

iPhone的成功，最大的一点就在于苹果强大的品牌号召力。在IT界，苹果的用户大约是最忠诚的。这是苹果的成功之处。而苹果做到这一点的关键在于个性。这里的个性不仅指苹果满足了用户想用上有个性的产品的需求，也指苹果自己保有了一份独特的个性。在一堆笔记本里苹果的产品总是很显眼，这得益于 JonathanEve的设计理念。这种理念和风格，也成功的应用到了iPhone上面，从而使iPhone背负上了苹果深厚的文化内涵。这是别的手机所做不到的。

不可否认，iPhone的设计是极为成功的，与大部分WM手机不一样的是其优雅而又不失活力，不仅仅在外观设计上，UI也是如此。设计上的成功说明了一个问题，就是设计者对产品定位有着一个明确的认识，同时对用户的忠诚度有充足的信心，正是这些因素，导致了iPhone这样一款充满冲击力的产品的诞生。

设计上的创新当然是一个重要的因素，技术上的创新也是必不可少的，否则就成了花架子。首先就是iPhone具有和iPod那样的媒体管理和播放功能，所以，它在媒体管理与播放上具有先天性的优势，这一点其他任何一个手机平台都不能望其项背。其次，重力感应、Multi-Touch等多种技术的加入，使其在用户体验上具有当时无可比拟的优势。以上种种特点造就了iPhone的成功。

不过iPhone的缺点和优点一样明显。说起来又要扯到苹果的设计思路了。苹果的设计最重要的一个特点就是独特，独特到影响其通用性。当然现在或许好一些，但是苹果的通用性仍然不够。这种独特说明了苹果设计思路的矛盾之处：优秀的设计风格，却又有很多用户用着不方便的地方，而“易用性”却恰恰是工业设计的根本所在，比如新款MacBook Pro不能换电池。所以用苹果的很多都是艺术家或者平面设计师，苹果赖以成名的工业设计领域里，工业设计师们却更倾向于使用IBM的 Intellistation或者SGI的工作站，而仅仅将苹果的产品作为自己的案例来分析。这种思路就一直延续到iPhone的设计中，比如著名的不支持复制粘贴。很可笑的是有苹果的忠实用户竟然声称这是“没有用的功能”，我更愿意说这叫自欺欺人，不过这也从另一个层面上说明了苹果用户的忠实度。

另外其软件安装方式也昭示了其封闭性，AppStore应该是苹果的原创发明，苹果这么做的本意是吸引更多的开发者（特别是自由开发者）进驻AppStore，但是事实证明，AppStore提供的软件数量和互联网上庞大的WM、Symbian软件库根本无法相比。

至于iPhone久久未能进入中国，这里不仅有苹果的原因，也有很大一部分是中国移动的原因，这里的原因就比较复杂了，故不再分析。

iPhone主要面向用户：“潮人”，追求时尚的年轻人（像笔者这种生理年纪不大心理年龄快进棺材的不算）

四、Palm：一代经典，谋求重新崛起

Palm是最早的智能手机系统，也是从一开始就是面向移动设备开发的嵌入式系统，所以其拥有很多优于其他手机系统的特性。

Palm是比较适合于手机使用的系统，兼顾了Symbian对系统环境的低要求和WM的强大功能，而且，它的历史最为悠久。这些注定了Palm会拥有一批人数不多却非常固定的用户群。同时，Palm巨大的软件库也是一个很重要的保障。

说到Palm阵营的设计，窃以为还是比较经典的。我们在分析设计案例的时候，由一个非常经典的案例就是Treo的移动设备。其设计流程堪称经典，所以很多高校里都有拿过Treo的那款手机当设计案例进行分析的，当然包括我在内。

至于其劣势，就在于网络应用和多媒体应用。这是两个硬伤，也正是因为这两个硬伤，Palm撞到了网络功能、娱乐功能强大的WM、iPhone、RIM这些后辈枪口上，最终慢慢失去了往日的辉煌，尽管Palm新系统在这些方面已经有了不少转变，要挽回失去的江山，还是要一定的时间的。

Palm的主要面向用户：PalmOS老用户、商务管理人士

五、RIM：邮件当道，喜忧参半

奥巴马的BB可以说让BB的爱好者们扬眉吐气——美国总统用的就是RIM！

RIM最强大的就是邮件功能。不过这个本来是最强大的长处却也是最要命的地方：SP不支持，再强的邮件功能也出不来。RIM已经正式进入中国，但是看中国移动提供的BB套餐，动辄上千元的服务费，又有多少人能够轻易用的起呢？这究竟怪谁，列位心里有数。

至于其他功能，并没有像邮件那样非常著名的，表现中规中矩。

RIM主要面向用户：管理人士（显然奥巴马算是），邮件狂人，当然前提是口袋充裕，如果你打算用行货的话。

六、Linux/Android：开源元老与新秀

相较于Windows，Linux和Android的最大特点就是免费。所以在价格上可以省下系统费用的差价。

但是Linux的应用软件不够多，Android就更少了。就表现看，Linux中规中矩，不像上面的各种系统，都能挖出一大堆话题。至于Android，毕竟它还太年轻，还有很长的路要走。

Linux/Android主要面向用户：绝大多数人

好了，分析完了。那现在就站在用户的角度看看究竟用什么样的手机平台。

普通老百姓用个诺基亚普通手机就足够了，Linux难度算是比较大的了，但事实上更多的时候这个群体是被MTK方案占领了的。

技术狂当然要选可定制性高的，诺基亚能够选的是智能机平台，但是更好的选择是WM。

管理人员，包括商务管理人士和行政管理人士，一般而言WM、Palm、RIM都是不错的选择，看具体需要哪方面的需求。

潮人当然除了iPhone别的一概看不上眼了。

以上算是我作为一个设计师的眼光，当然可能和列为作为用户的眼光略有不一样，但是可以肯定的是，客观性应该是能够保证的。

That's all. Thanks for your support.

I have no enough time to translate this article into English. So I choose to copy and paste from my documents.

An interesting post……

2009-02-15T12:56:00.003+08:00

It's my first time to post a passage in cnBeta.com, the address is www.cnbeta.com/articles/77092.htm,
I have to say that the post is beyond my expectation. At first I just write this article to explain my opinions towards the quarrels in CB and analysis the phenomenon in the viewpoint of a industrial designer. PS: I wrote this in my winter holidays to handle my free time...
After I got to school I send this to cnBeta.com and the next day the article was accepted.
In the afternoon I Google the title of the article and found the passage was excerpted by several sites...
I think it a little achievement.

Anyway, the old golden days has passed away

2009-01-30T14:37:00.000+08:00

Just like the title, I have nothing to say.

Leaving

2009-01-16T19:29:00.002+08:00

The time to go home is coming. I always have a strange feeling when going home, on the train.
The spring transportation is always terrible in China. I want to buy two tickets but obviously impossible.
I have to go through some relationships to get two tickets for me and my old classmates. But there's no doubt that struggling to the railway station will be a tough trip.
I always want to know why there's no spring transportation in the foreign countries. Maybe not. Only the Chinese will come back to their homes to spend their spring festival, NO WONDER how far away. I don not know whether this is good or bad, But I think this is why the Chinese have great power.

A New Day Has Come

2009-01-15T19:01:00.002+08:00

No wonder what the result is, the exams were all over. Now, a new day has come.
In the private classroom of our major, all my classmates are watching movies or playing games now. In fact after the passed week under high pressure, we all need a good relax. But some of my exams are obviously broken down. English is not well enough as well as the physics. I thought I can rush for the 90 before the exams. But the truth is only 85. The electronic circuit, which I had never reviewed, I got 94.
I thought the physics contest did not help me too much although I got the second prize in Beijing area. Maybe the 6th teaching building of Tsinghua University is not propitious for a student majored in industrial design.
But after all the exams-- disturbing exams are all over. Today I went through two mechanics courses--mechanics of material and engineering mechanics. The two courses are in fact similar to each other. Mechanics of materials is more difficult because it's for the students majored in mechanics. The issues is unexpectly easy to handle. But the engineering mechanics is a catastrophe-- it was much more difficult and complex than the mechanics of material. I wonder why??
The winter holidays will be depressed days.
I feel depressed, too.

I wanna SPEED

2009-01-11T12:40:00.006+08:00

As the title of my blog, speed is one part of my life. Of course I do not have a driving license so the only way is to experience speed in front of the screen.
In my computer there are three RAC games, they are Need For Speed 9 Most Wanted, EA Grand Prix Formula 1 2008 and Live For Speed.
I used to play NFS 12 Undercover, in fact I think it is not bad, at least not as bad as some of the websites' description.
I think the NFSMW is too successful and I can say that it terminate the life of NFSUC directly. Because the story of NFSUC is similar to that of NFSMW so the players compare NFSUC with NFSMW unconsciously. As one of the most successful NFS in history NFSMW is so difficult to be beaten. The failure of NFSUC is obviously.
In the NFS series I like NFS 5,6,9 most. I used to buy NFS 7 Underground but soon I felt regret--it was not exciting enough but I wonder how it been sold so many units.
NFS6 is good enough, maybe the cars in NFSHP2 is the most exciting--series of top cars in the world can be found in the game including McLaren F1, Ferrari F50, Porsche Carrera GT, Ferrari F360 Spider and 550 Banchetta Pinifarina...... They are all good, exciting cars. Although conpared to NFSMW the cops is stupid(really STUPID), I like it very much. The advantage beyond NFSMW is that you can play the role of cop. In NFSMW you can drive Rhino, a kind of heavy turbo SUV belong to the police but you are still a illegal driver.
5 is a history of Porsche. No wonder how the people and experts comments on this company, I have to show my respect towards it. In fact I want to be a vehicle designer and Porsche is a great company in automobile designing. The German style is very obvious--logical and functional. Compared to Ferrari's Italic style which shows the spirit and passion, Porsche is more low-pitched but it can win so much respect, it is a glory of a century company.
The driving style of NFS5 is exactly professional, every thing in NFS5 is close to the reality--tires, hanging and body. The damage is also important in this game. So when playing NFS5, wariness is badly needed.
But in front of Live For Speed and EA F1, NFS is just a piece of cake. LFS and F1 are the most professional RAC games I have ever seen. In fact they are simulators of driving just like Lockon.
Live For Speed is a simple but at the same time complex game. The game does not need a cool computer to drive, just a normal one with a compact graphics card will work. But the joy of driving is wonderful! You cannot drive as crazy as in NFS but the feelings of reality is a great shock. If you can play this game well then congratulations you can try to get a sport driving license.
EA F1, there's no doubt that it's the most professional RAC game in my computer. The cool formula 1 cars and great scene of the tracks are quite impressive. But the formula 1 rides with over 900 HP engine is a monster, it's difficult to control them well and of course choosing a good teammate is important. You can try to rush for the final championship for your self and for your team.
GRID is a good game I used to hear that, but my computer is poor...maybe I have to choose another one to have a try.

My work hit something

2009-01-10T23:34:00.000+08:00

This photo is taken in July, 2008. it's interesting that when I want to take this photo, the guard of Beijing Olympic Tower(the office of Beijing Olympic Committee) looked at me for over 1 minutes. I was so afraid...... I'm not a terrorist...
After all, as a amateur photographer, I have to face this problem for many times.
This summer vacation I worked as a volunteer of Beijing Olypic Games. My job is to record the volunteers' lives, with my digital SLR but one day I came up with another volunteer. At that time I　was trying to fix my image window, I WASN'T taking photos. But he think I was, so a misunderstanding start...
Obviously the conflict was settled successfully.
But I just want to say being a photographer is relly difficult......

Exams--Deadly

2009-01-10T23:02:00.000+08:00

The exams in BUAA is really miserable, especially in exam weeks--we have to try to go through several exams in two weeks. But this year is different, because of the Beijing Olympic games this semester has only 18 weeks, in normal semesters there's 20 weeks. So the TERRIBLE result is that we have to go through 6 exams in a week!!!! So the life is different, I creat this blog with exams, exercises surrounded.
Maybe just like a word in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy--"That's life."
So the life cannot be changed, I have to change myself. With my computer playing Radetzky-Marsch of Johan Strauss Jr. I started to work for my theoric mechanics-- the most difficult course this sermister. Luckily it's an optional course.
OK, in order to handle the English exam next Monday I have to continue my endless exercises.
See you next time.--MAYBE NEXT SEMESTER.

In fact I'm not a blogger

2009-01-10T22:30:00.000+08:00

Of course i'm not a blogger. In fact I'm just a student in China. That's sound interesting that I choose blogspot.com, a foreign blog service to write blogs. I have a small personal website in China but I'm too busy to update it. I think a fast, simple blog service is what I want. Of course it's important to be international.
So I choose to write my blog in blogspot in English to make you--maybe you are not Chinese--to understand my ideas more easily.
OK.
The first module in my blog is the photos in my picasa web album. You can choose to visit it.
Good luck to you, my friend.