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Velocity Micro rolls out T30 Italia laptop, Vector Campus Edition desktop
As anyone that's been to a mall recently is no doubt well aware, the back-to-school season is upon us, and so is the usual batch of hardware aimed directly at students (and their parents). Among the latest is a pair of computers from Velocity Micro, including the T30 Italia thin-and-light laptop, and the Vector Campus Edition desktop. Those opting for the$999 laptop will get a 13.3-inch display, a 1.3GHz Pentium SU1400 processor, 3GB of RAM, and 120GB hard drive, all wrapped in a 0.8-inch thick casing "inspired by the rolling curves of fine sports cars." The desktop, on the other hand, is your usual blue LED-lit fare, and starts at $899 for a Core i5-750-based system with NVIDIA GeForce GT 220 graphics, 4GB of RAM, and 1TB hard drive.
EVE Evolved: Corporate Infiltration for fun and profit, part 2
end-legacy-contents -->Planning the dirty deed: Once you're in the corp, you absolutely must
EVE Evolved: Corporate Infiltration for fun and profit
Of all the EVE Online stories I've heard over the years, none have impressed and inspired me as much as those detailing a well-planned corporate heist. These aren't your run-of-the-mill contract scammers or corp hanger thieves. A professional corporate spy can earn the deepest levels of trust, destroy a corporation from the inside out, rob its members of their most prized possessions and then disappear without a trace. They're the people that pull the strings of war in the background, pitting alliances against each other to meet their own ends. The Guiding Hand Social Club's famous 2005 heist remains to this day possibly the single most impressive story in EVE history and serves as a benchmark of value and style for a heist that has seldom since been matched.When I'm not busy writing about EVE or running sleeper anomalies with my buddies, I find myself delving more and more into the dark side of EVE. From wormhole piracy and courier contract theft to full-blown corporate infiltration, this year has bestowed on me a great deal of experience in the dirty underworld of EVE. In this article, I explain how to infiltrate a corp successfully and capitalise on the opportunities it throws at you.
Lineform 1.5.1 is out: TUAW readers can save $30
It's been a while since Freeverse's vector application, Lineform, got an update. Lineform 1.5 came out in January 2008, but the Apple Design Award winner has remained unchanged since then. That's not a bad thing; as we've mentioned in the past, Lineform is great vector program. But it's always nice to get new features. Freeverse has just released Lineform 1.5.1, fixing some bugs and adding some new treats for users. Here are some of the highlights: Improved gradient behavior -- you now have more control over your gradients. Improved performance with multiple objects on a canvas Undo now includes the function name, so you can see what you are undoing New Lineform Clips available in the Media Browser. That last item is actually pretty great. Lineform now comes with a bunch of vector clips in various shapes and symbols that you can drag into your documents to use as they are, or edit. You can also add additional vector clips to save and use later. When Robert did a faceoff amongst low-cost vector apps, he commented that having more shapes would be a good addition to Lineform. Lineform now has pre-built polygons and star shapes that can be simply dragged into your project. Plus, Lineform continues to support SVG, PDF and EPS formats and it's easy to apply non-destructive filters to your projects. The guys at Freeverse were also nice enough to extend a $30-off coupon code to TUAW readers! Enter tuawlineform151 when ordering at Freeverse's site and you can score Lineform 1.5.1 for just $49.95. $50 for a vector app that is as powerful and easy to use as Lineform is really, really hard to beat. If you want to give it a trial before buying, you can download it free and use it for 30 days. Lineform now requires OS X 10.5 (previous versions did run on Tiger) and it is a Universal Binary. Existing users can install this free update either by using the built-in update check or downloading the DMG from Freeverse.
VectorDesigner updated to 1.4.0
TweakerSoft has updated VectorDesigner to version 1.4.0, which includes user-definable templates, multiple point selection in path editing, and fixes a few minor bugs. VectorDesigner is a simple vector drawing application for illustrations and designs that can be scaled to any size. I reviewed VectorDesigner in May as part of a faceoff among low-cost vector design apps. VectorDesigner did very well in our tests, narrowly edging out competitor EazyDraw. VectorDesigner 1.4.0 is a free update for registered users, and $69.95 for new users. It's universal binary, and Leopard is recommended. [Via prMac.]
TUAW Faceoff: Low-cost vector design apps
While I'm not a hard-core professional illustrator or cartoonist, I do use vector design tools almost every day. Designing logos, playing with type, and creating quick layouts are things every vector design tool should do well. Adobe Illustrator CS3, of course, is the 800-pound gorilla in this field, and it's my tool of choice. But there are plenty of people who don't need the extensive functionality that Illustrator provides. Plus, Illustrator is something of a resource hog (right now, it's using 176MB of real memory and 1.21GB of virtual memory on my system). Today, I'm going to review four leaner, lower-cost (or free) options from four high-powered indie Mac developers: DrawBerry, EazyDraw, Lineform, and VectorDesigner. Unlike Illustrator, all of these use Mac OS X's built-in Core Image foundation, which makes them very easy to compare to each other. It's high noon for vector apps, after the jump.
Lineform 1.5 update lost in the Macworld shuffle
Chalk this one up to bad press release timing: we neglected to note the release of a major update to Freeverse's Lineform vector art application, announced on January 14 (otherwise known as Steve's Eve). The new version includes full Leopard support and adds hooks for drawing tablet pressure sensitivity, plus many smaller feature and performance updates.Lineform 1.5 is $79.95 either direct from Freeverse or in convenient boxed form via Apple or Amazon. The 8.1 MB demo is downloadable as well. If you're a forlorn Freehand veteran or facing off sticker shock for Illustrator, take a look.
Vector dis 590 PND makes FCC appearance
Nothing too spectacular here, but those looking for a bare-bones GPS from a little-known manufacturer could soon be able to get their fix in the form of the Vector dis 590, which just made its all-important trek through the FCC. According to the manual, this one (which appears to be a rebadge of the Royaltek RNS-3200) boasts a 4-inch touchscreen, along with maps courtesy of NAVTEQ, an SD card slot for expansion, the usual array PMP functions, and built-in Bluetooth for some hands-free calling. You'll also apparently be able to get optional RDS-TMC traffic data, and optional "FM radios," which we assume means an FM transmitter. Of course, there's no word on pricing or availability, so you'll just have to contain your excitement until this one gets official.
iSlayer - Vector, Bitmap, and Resolution Independence
Dashboard developer iSlayer has posted an interesting article examining the implications resolution independence (a new feature in Leopard) will have on icon design. Even before the issue of resolution independence, UI designers have been in two camps regarding the use of bitmap vs vector files for icons. It is in the nature of vector images to scale, but things get a bit out of proportion and wonky- looking after a while. Bitmap images can be tweaked to a designer's heart's content, but that means they have to produce a different image for each possible eventual icon size. iSlayer breaks down the deeper pros and cons of each format, including resource usage and if there is really a need for such high resolution interface components. Definitely a must read for those in, or interested in Mac interface design.
