Wesimation Blog

Just quickly jumped onto the computer with excitement and joy to wish everyone around the globe a Merry Christmas on behalf of the whole Wesimation Team. I wish I could present you all with an animation gift but things havn’t been going so well with other things and so on.

Also just for Christmas if you donate using our PayPal donation system we will donate 50% or more to the less fortunte e.g. Charities, World Vision, etc (Applies to the December 25th only). This is to ensure that we do everything we can to spread joy and happiness to everyone we can around the globe.

 Merry Christmas,

 The Wesimation Team

Ubuntu is distribution of an operating system called Linux which is built mainly for server based software. For Linux there are heaps of distributions such as Red Hat, Fedora, etc. However Ubuntu is one of the most used and widely spread distribution for Linux. Now having been a Windows user since I was born, I thought to myself, “Hey, why not try a different operating system” and since I did not have enough money to buy a MacBook Pro I decided to take the free option, Linux.

Linux is an extremely light weight operating system and is mostly used in servers. While being a Windows user it is hard to adjust to the typical Linux conditions and environment as instead of using a GUI (Graphical User Interface), Linux allows for a more command approach which is typing little snippets of code into the terminal to get the software to work the way you want it to. This offers the user a fast and speedy approach to get things done, however it requires the user to remember more functions and commands in order to use the operating system effectively. The Ubuntu distribution comes with a lot of pre-packaged software, so if you have a slow internet connection I recommend ordering the Live CD which is free of charge but can take about three weeks to recieve in the mail. If downloading is an issue and you don’t have the patience to wait for the Live CD to arrive you can download a lite version of Ubuntu called xUbuntu, it is exactly the same but it comes with smaller pre-packaged software and is still quite useful. Ubuntu is excellent for low spec. servers or computers if you have the patience to get it installed.

On my first install of the Ubuntu distribution, it completely stuffed up my computer until I reformatted the computer. After reading heaps of guides, documentations, wikis and asking friends, I finally installed Ubuntu with everything I wanted on it. I recommend you use the distribution on a useless computer before you install on a real server/computer, this is to eliminate errors and to learn the way of using Linux. Also Ubuntu does not require a hardcore system unlike Windows, currently I am using a Pentium Celeron, 384MB RAM and a Geforce 2, I have been using this for a few weeks and it is working like a charm. Ubuntu at the moment is only using 180MB of RAM where as Windows would have been using about 350MB of RAM, for some people this may not seem like a big difference but for this crap server it makes a huge difference.

 Summary: Ubuntu is wonderful for low spec servers or computers but there is a huge learning curve if the user has not used Linux at all before. I would highly recommend installing on a useless computer before implementing it into your solution or production server/computer. I will have to give Ubuntu Linux Distribution a 4/5 rating since it has such a huge learning curve and if only it had an excellent GUI to go with the terminal. We can only hope and pray for it in the next version of Ubuntu Linux Distribution.

Official Ubuntu Website

High School Musical 2 Official Website

High School Musical is back with a number two on the end and with more swing in some of the songs which is what makes High School Musical 2 ever so different from the original. The movie starts off by showing how much everybody loves summer and how important it is to get into a good college by taking up a summer job. Of course like any other film there are obstacles that arise during the movie; in this case it is the horrible, self -centred and rather childish Sharpay Evans (played by Ashley Tisdale). Although she wanted to experience her summer with Troy Bolton (played by Zac Efron) she didn’t realise that the whole wildcat team would follow, one by one she plans different schemes to get alone with Troy Bolton and one by one the plans fail. Now that is the basic story of High School Musical 2, however I still believe the film was a disaster.

High School Musical the first one was a television movie was one of the most watched premieres on the Disney Channel (it is said that 200 million people watched it). With being such a success it went onto becoming a stage version, a concert tour and an album which was the 2006 number #1 CD. The problem with High School Musical 2 is that any three year old could tell that High School Musical 2 was lip-synched from beginning to end which is what Walt Disney intended to do for some reason, possibly because the cast can’t really sing. This could also be so it encourages viewers to sing the songs for themselves in a future karaoke version. However lip-synching isn’t a problem for a Disney film it’s more the fact that the lip-synching was out of synch most of the time! Another problem with the film is the fake tans; most of the lead characters have a noticeable golden-orange tint which isn’t really a good role model for younger kids. With these two problems aside, I fear my biggest problem with the movie is that the acting is quite random and not entirely professional even from Zac Efron, of course this could be a problem with the script or director, however as an actor I believe they could all do a bit better.

 Summary: I believe that in this world that most sequels are a lot worse than the original and just shouldn’t be made! Hopefully in High School Musical 3, the directors go for a more professional and natural approach to the film. In the film the songs are excellently composed and I hope they keep the composer for the future project. This film was a disappointment and I have given it a 3/5 star rating. Good Luck with High School Musical 3! 

World In Conflict is a new RTS (Real Time Strategy) Game which delivers intense action and coordinated team play while being in a war the world feared most, a show down between the Soviet Union and the United States. Generally I tend to steer away from RTS games as they bore me to hell, however this game is an exception as it is not your typical every day RTS. This game uses a more flowing RTS game style as you call in re-enforcements while raiding your next village or objective. The developers of World In Conflict have obviously worked a while on the graphics as they seem to be extensive and really realistic, which is not common in an RTS game.

You might be wondering at this point, what exactly is World In Conflict about? Well World In Conflict presents a chillingly authentic Cold War scenario where the Berlin Wall never fell. Created by Cold War authority and best-selling author Larry Bond, the story begins in 1989 as the Soviets, fearing certain collapse, boldly advance into Europe. NATO responds in force only to be met on a second front — a full-fledged invasion of the American homeland. Players take on the role of field commander, leading the era’s most powerful military machines in the campaign to retake America’s cities and suburbs.

 Summary: War Of Conflict has amazing graphics for the style of game play while being able to run on a reasonable computer and has a fantastic story line based on the Cold War. I will have to give this game a 5/5 star rating as it is simply the best RTS game I have EVER seen. If you want to see if your computer can handle this amazing game simply look at the system requirements below posted for your convenience.

System requirements:
OS: Microsoft Windows XP/Vista.
CPU: 2.0GHz Or Higher, 2.2GHz For Vista, if dual-core: Any Intel or AMD
RAM: 512MB, 1GB for Vista.
Disc drive: DVD-drive
Hard drive: 8GB or more.
Video: 128MB video RAM Direct X 9.0c Compatible. Note: ATI Radeon 8500, 9200 & Nvidia GeForce 4 MX Not Supported.
Sound: Direct X 9.0c Compatible.
Multiplayer: Cable, DSL or Better.

World In Conflict Official Website