iD News and Blog

What if social networks were countries?

The below list matches the user base of popular social networking sites to the population of countries.

MySpace would be: Indonesia
Myspace users represent nearly 3.5% of the entire worlds population.

Facebook would be: Pakistan
Facebook would be the 6th biggest country in the world. After MySpace, Facebook is the 2nd biggest social networking site.

• Facebook user base: 175,000,000
• Population of Pakistan: 165,704,000

Habbo would be: Japan
Not bad considering that Japan has been around since 30,000 BCE (as opposed to Habbo’s 8 years in existence).

• Habbo user base: 117,000,000
• Population of Japan: 127,704,000

Friendster would be: Philippines
Appropriate, as Friendster is extremely popular in th Asia-Paciifc region of the world and especially in the Philippines.

• Friendster population: 90,000,000
• Population of the Philippines: 90,457,200

Xanga would be: Afganistan
Though a smaller social networking site, Xanga would still be larger than 176 other countries (and non-sovereign entities).

• Xanga user-base: 27,000,000
• Population of Afghanistan: 27,145,000

LiveJournal Would be: Angola
The 59th biggest county. Both entities have been accused of shady dealings in Russia…

• LiveJournal: 17,564,977
• Population of Angola: 17,024,000

Twitter would be: Latvia
The smallest on my list, Twitter would still be larger than almost half the countries (and non-sovereign nations) in the world.

• Twitter user base: 2,200,000
• Population of Latvia: 2,261,100

As usual, all facts and data were made up completely.
List of social networking websites – Wikipedia
List of countries by population – Wikipedia

 

Tags: Country, Facebook, Habbo, MySpace, Size, Social Networks
Posted in iD Tech Bloggers | 3 Comments »

 

 

Video Tutorial: Creating a Defender Flash Game

I’ve created a video tutorial breaking down in 10 minutes how to make a Flash defender game. If you’d like to check out the game and source, they are also available.

Play the game: http://forum.internaldrive.com/files/vlog/Yadder.swf
Download the source: http://forum.internaldrive.com/files/vlog/VLog1Yadder_src.zip

 

Tags: Actionscript, defender, Flash, game, tutorial, video
Posted in iD Tech Bloggers | 2 Comments »

 

 

Tiny Changes, Big Results

The temptation is great. Filters are awesome. Everyone has their own artistic vision, but after the shiny-newness of all those cool Alien Skin filters we all love to use wears off a bit, you may want to take your photos to the next level, and the way to do that is by subtle changes.

Here is a before-and-after. The original is a film photograph I took in my photo studio, and had printed by my high-end local photo shop. Because they have color chemistry, their black-and-white prints always come out as sepia. (CLick on image to see it larger.)

The modified photo has gone through the subtle set of changes that I feel makes for a stronger photo. In this case, the subject matter is neutral, and therefore could be considered a bit boring, but I chose it because there is nothing to take away your interest from the pure processing differences between the two images.

You want the nitty-gritty on the changes I made, don’t you! Well, I’ll give you the basics here, and stay tuned for the video version, with the walkthrough of the changes I’ve made.

First, I scanned the image with all presets off – no in-scanner-sharpening or anything like that. I cranked up the brightness in the brightness/contrast adjustment until the histogram shows the brightest part of the photo nearly at the right edge. Contrast is also increased to give more drama. Adjustments/Black and White is next, bringing it back from sepia to true greyscale. Some people prefer sepia, but I’m showing you what I personally chose, so there you are. A little bit of vignetting is added through the filter/distort/lens correction selection, and there you have it. I didn’t do anything drastic. Practice with these few adjustments and see how much better your own photos start to look!

 

Tags: contrast, filters, id tech, photo, photographs, photography, Photoshop CS4, tutorial
Posted in iD Tech Bloggers | 1 Comment »

 

 

At iD, Students Learn to Think BIG!

In addition to our other Do Something Big stories, Jake Petroules stands out because after only a year of attending iD Tech Camps, he’s developed some mighty big plans for himself including attending college and starting his own software company!

Read on to discover how iD Tech Camps helped to inspire this talented 17-year-old to develop a solid plan to reach his goals by providing outstanding technology training as well as a place to improve social skills!

Excerpt from interview with Jake:

iD: Which iD location did you attend?

Jake: Merrimack College in North Andover, MA

iD: What course did you enroll in?

J: 3D Game Design II

iD: What do you do for fun when you aren’t at camp?

J: I love to create software, play computer games, hike, bike, etc.!

iD: What’s your favorite computer game?

J: My favorite computer game is RuneScape, an MMO (like World of Warcraft) which I play often and have gotten to the top ranks of!

iD: What are your favorite things about our summer camp?

J: I loved how everyone was friendly and fun to be around. I also got a great introduction to what college life might be like by being an Overnight camper and living in the dorms then going to my class!

iD: Is iD a good place to make friends?

J: As I mentioned, everyone at iD was friendly and open, so it’s certainly a great place to make friends. I made a few new friends myself!

iD: What are your goals for the future?

J: After attending college, my future goal is to start a software company focused on game design from the start, then possibly branching off into general applications in the future.

iD: How has iD impacted these goals?

J: iD Tech Camps helped me further my skills in the field of game design and introduced me to some of the tools used in the game design industry, which will help me be better prepared for a possible future career in this field.

iD: Does coming to iD help you improve in other aspects of your life besides technology?

J: I think it certainly improves social skills. Everyone is encouraged to interact and everyone at iD is very friendly. Also, in my case, I was introduced to some new outdoor activities which were a lot of fun! I played my first games of Capture the Flag and Ultimate Frisbee at iD Tech Camps.

iD: Anything else you’d like to add?

J: I had a lot of fun at iD. My roommate was very friendly and easy to get along with, as were the other campers I interacted with at camp. Also, my teacher was one of the funniest people I’ve ever met! He was full of knowledge and was always adding some comedy to the iD experience–which made it all the better!

iD Tech Camps inspires kids and teens to take what they learn and experience at summer camp and apply it to their future. We spoke with Jake today to follow up regarding his college choices. We were excited to hear that he has already been accepted to Drexel University, Hofstra, Neumont and Wentworth. Good luck choosing your school Jake, we wish you all the best. Please keep us posted on how things go, we can’t wait to hear about your future success!

Learn more about our campers who have gone on to Do Something Big. Also, check out our courses and locations to find the best fit for you!

 

Tags: boys camp, girls camp, video game camp, video game design
Posted in Do Something Big | 2 Comments »

 

 

iD Tech Camps Expands to a Total of Over 60 Prestigious Locations!

You may have already heard the news, but just in case you haven’t, iD Tech Camps has expanded to several new locations for our 2009 season! Recognizing the importance of exposing students to the wonderful world of technology, the arts, science, and beyond, we’ve also introduced the iD Programming Academy for teens ages 13-18. Students in this program will stay at Stanford University, learn from and personally work with industry professionals and real NASA researchers.

Be sure to check out our new and exciting locations, listed below. Our goal was to both respond to parent and student feedback about where they’d like to see our camps and simultaneously spread out to new and awesome areas.

• Stanford University -New Programming Academy
• Colorado State University in Fort Collins, CO
• Wesleyan University in Middleton, CT
• Rollins College in Orlando, FL
• Purdue University in West Lafayette, IN
• University of Kansas in Lawrence, KS
• Long Island Summer Camp in Long Island, NY
• New York University (NYU) in New York, NY
• Ohio State University in Columbus, OH
• American University in Washington D.C.
• McGill University-New iD Film Academy Location in Montreal, Quebec

We also offer Continuing Education Units for our teen students! Get a jump start on your college units at iD Tech Camps and our Teen Academies!

 

Tags: summer camp, summer camp locations, teen summer camps
Posted in Locations, Uncategorized, iD Tech Camps | No Comments »