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30/09/2001 - The first version of my showcase application for my new set of OpenGL user interface components called 'customGUI' has been released today.  All the details and screen shots are on the new project page that I made earlier today.  'customGUI' is my second major project for this site, the first was 3D boids. Additionally you can expect a new release of the boids simulation quite shortly, as I'm currently implementing some enhancements for the BBC's Natural History Unit.  This means it could end up going on TV!  Inline with these changes will be some modifications to the landscape's tower colouring, as a mark of respect to the victims of the recent terrorist attacks on America. 15/07/2001 - Version 0.82 of the 3D boids simulation has been released today.  The most noticeable enhancement is the new high performance timing, additionally to this a few other minor things have been improved like the V-formation behaviour and the frame-rate regulation.  More details on the enhancements can be viewed in the version information.  See the difference when you download the latest version from the 3D Boids web page. 14/06/2001 - The Java 1.1 Z-Buffer applet has been optimized.  Its performance has tripled, which is quite astounding really!  To achieve this, many classes were rewritten and several popular line algorithms were benchmarked.  Overall, it has turned out to be very worthwhile, leading to the feasibility of some further development with Java 1.1 applets. 22/04/2001 - Version 0.8 of the 3D boids simulation has been released today.  The most important enhancements are the improved camera control, V-formation behaviour and frame-rate regulation.  The other enhancements can be viewed in the updated version information.  But most of all, visit the 3D Boids web page to download and run the latest binary. 12/03/2001 - Wahey!!  10,000 hits reached on the counter today!! 04/03/2001 - An update on the current state of progress at the moment.  I've been working quite hard on the next version of my boids simulator.  And it has come a long way from what it was back in version 0.7.  Included today in the boids project web page are some new screen shots of the forthcoming release, in addition to this I've also been updating the version information text file to give more details of the enhancements as they come through. 21/01/2001 - Instead of spending time producing effects with my new Java 1.1 vector classes, I thought I would go just one more step further and produce a software Z-Buffer.  The implementation of this new class into the previously existing classes needed some extra work.  For instance a new algorithm for drawing 3D lines using the Z-Buffer for pixel reference, had to be devised.  Unfortunately, on completion it was decided that the whole thing was too CPU intensive.  Java 3D offers a much better solution to this problem, with OpenGL hardware acceleration. 31/12/2000 - It's been a while since the last update, but it doesn't mean that nothing has been going on.  Quite the contrary.  All three of the Java 3D applets have had an update providing some much needed user interaction to them.  Now they do much more than animated GIFs.  You may have also noticed that this index page for my site is a bit more presentable.  I've improved the use of colour, opting for a minimalist approach.  Additionally on this page is a new improved starfield applet.  It's so much more than just a starfield now, its based on a nice set of classes that I've designed and implemented for 3D vector graphics.  They may prove to be very useful, as visualization tools for future work.  Included in these classes is a set of classes for making some 3D vector text.  This text can be transformed in the usual ways to make some stunning effects! A couple of new links have been added to the main links page.  The first one is to John Glen's International Recipe Book, if you have a look at his site you will see that he has catered for some famous people!  The other link I've added is to Simply Organic, they are a well established online supermarket for organic shopping.  They can deliver anywhere in the UK, on the day of your choice.  If you've ever wondered what online organic shopping is like, give SimplyOrganic a try.  I'm sure they'll impress you.  Anyway I wish all my visitors the best for 2001 and may we all have another successful year together. 22/10/2000 - On the Java 3D side of things, I've enhanced my colour mapped surface applet to handle some user interaction, via the keyboard and mouse.  It works very nicely and demonstrates the great potential for future Java 3D development.  Additionally I'd like to provide a handy link to All-Formats Computer Fairs, well worth checking out if you're into computer fairs in the UK. 28/08/2000 - A couple of new links to other sites has been added today.  On the organic side of things a new company called Clearspring has been linked.  They sell Organic and Macrobiotic products.  On the programming side of things, I have added a link to Terry Welsh's Really Slick Screen Savers site.  He programs some of the finest OpenGL screen savers going. 16/07/2000 - The boids project has now been converted to use the industry standard OpenGL graphics API.  This has resulted in a MASSIVE performance gain, in some cases over 12x the previous frame rate.  You can freely download it from the project web page. 02/07/2000 - I'm quite pleased to announce that I've been busy for the past four weeks converting the 3D Boids project to OpenGL.  Oh Yes!  And guess what, it performs up to 10x faster.  To help achieve this feat, the MFC Document View architecture has been utilized.  Which gives a better object oriented design, with a more even distribution of code.  Conversion work is almost complete, but I'm going to take my time before finally releasing it, so I can get into my new job.  In the meantime, I would be happy to send some pre-release samples out to anyone who's interested. Last but not least, I'd like to inform any organic shoppers out there of a really good new company.  It's called the Organic Marketplace and their new site is well worth looking at. 03/06/2000 - Phew! I did my last exam at University yesterday, it has been a tough week, hopefully things have worked out though.  Now I'm free to do more of my own thing, so you can expect some more updates now.  With better, faster stuff in the pipeline. 15/05/2000 - The 3D Boids project has been officially submitted today.  The full Visual C++ source code is now included in the download, from the project web page.  Feel free to experiment with it. 18/04/2000 - The 3D Boids project has had a performance update and now stands at version 0.54.  The code that generates the landscape has been simplified and optimized, producing a worthy performance increase of up to 33%. 16/04/2000 - Some screen shots have been added to my Java 3D colour mapped surface applet page.  They detail the steps taken in the production of the applet. 12/04/2000 - News today of a new online organic shop that has been launched in the UK called OrganicOxygen.com.  It features organic food, drinks, toiletries and cosmetics with secure internet ordering. 11/04/2000 - The end user documentation for the 3D Boids project has been produced.  It is in a HTML format and is now included with the latest downloadable version of the simulation from the project web page.  This now fully completes the project! 04/03/2000 - Version 0.53 of my 3D Boids project is now available for download.  It has had a multitasking overhaul and some minor bug fixes.  You should now find that it performs very well in 9x as well as NT. 03/03/2000 - A portal page to my VRML town has been added with some screen shots and a list of the incorporated features. 25/02/2000 - I have decided to improve the format of my front page, this is an effective design and helps you find what I have updated more easily. 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