Though we're not professional artists or even students, we decided to try Corel's new Painter 2015.
This is a program that has been around for decades and is used by professionals to turn photos into artwork as well as design original art for ads and games. Reviewers are nuts about the new brushes, which can create special effects like smoke, pixels, color shifts, etc., as you paint.
The program costs $429, which is expensive for someone who just wants to dabble, but if you upgrade from an older version -- even going back to Painter 7 from 12 years ago --it's $229. We saw Painter 7 selling for $20 on eBay, so you can certainly save a few bucks this way.
Before you upgrade, you might want to try out an older version of Painter. Get the feel of what it can do, learn the tools and rules. Later versions add more tools, but they may not be tools you care about. This is true of almost all programs, by the way: Just because something is out in a new version doesn't mean it's a better version for you; it may, in fact, even have new problems.
Best of all, older versions have tutorials on YouTube or Lynda.com, but we couldn't find any video tutorials for the latest version of Painter. Lynda.com has great ones for the previous version, Painter X3. If you do go with the latest version, make sure you check Painter 2015's system requirements. We fell far short on this one and were surprised.
Bob's Windows XP machine couldn't run it. Neither would Joy's 2-year-old Windows 8 PC, an all-in-one from Hewlett-Packard that froze every time we tried to run the program. It turns out that HP went cheapo on us (and a few million other customers) when they built the system. They used an AMD processor that is normally used for so-called netbook and notebook computers -- low end and limited. So even in a relatively new HP Windows 8 computer, we couldn't run Painter 2015.
Since we found the program complex, we would definitely like to have some video tutorials. Users can run a free trial of the program at Corel.com. You also should compare it with ArtRage, which is $50 for Windows or Mac and $5 for the iPad, which is also out in a new version.
Baby Cam
We've looked at a lot of security cameras, but the $129 Baby Cam from TRENDnet.com is the simplest we've seen.
It's slightly smaller than an average person's hand and can be placed on a surface or stuck on the wall. It records sound and can take video in normal light or in darkness using infrared. Users can watch the video feed live from a Web browser or an app available for Android or iPhone. Users can choose to have video clips emailed on a regular basis.
We were impressed with its infrared night vision. Pictures were quite clear even in complete darkness from up to 16 feet away. And a built-in speaker and microphone allows two-way audio communications from a phone, tablet or computer. Check the YouTube video.
Internuts and Music
• On YouTube, do a search on "Evolution of Music." It starts in the 11th century and moves through the 16th century on to the 1920s, '30s, '40s and today. We noticed that almost half of the four minutes involves music from the 1990s on. This video has been viewed more than 45 million times.
• "The Evolution of Dance," also on YouTube, features an average guy doing all the dance steps of the late 20th century. It's been viewed more than 277 million times -- and the crowd goes wild!
App Happy
• Weird but True! from National Geographic. It's a free kids app for iPhone/iPad/iPod that lets you in on some of nature's strangest secrets. Like: Cheetahs can change direction in midair while chasing prey. Or so they say.
• Tinderbox HD by AutoDesk is a free puzzle game for iPhone/iPad/iPod for teaching basic engineering concepts. Build outrageous machines or download popular inventions.
Converting PDFs
A reader asked us to find a free program to convert a PDF (portable document format) into a Microsoft Word document. We like Nitro PDF.
Most people use Adobe Reader to open PDFs, which are documents that retain their original look (such as formatting and illustrations) no matter what program they were created with. To convert a PDF back into a Word document is usually done with a costly program like Adobe Acrobat. But we've had no problem with the free PDFtoWord.com, made by Nitro PDF.
We tried it with a complex calendar full of colorful icons, and it worked well. The converted file is emailed to you seconds later. They also offer free conversion to Excel files at PDFtoExcelOnline.com.
Books and Sprites
• Build iOS Games with Sprite Kit, by Jonathan Penn and Josh Smith, $34 from PragProg.com. It shows users how to make games for the iPhone and iPad. Users learn how to build two games that are fun: One is a pinball game and the other a version of Asteroids.
This isn't an easy book, so if you want to build some interesting games using "sprites," there are other places to go: If you do a Web search on "sprite games" you will find instructions and simple games from Microsoft and the UCLA computer department.
Sprites, in computer talk, are small clusters of anywhere from two to 16 pixels that define an object that can be moved independently on a screen background. They can be programmed to explode when contacting other sprites or release other sprites, like missiles to blow apart asteroids.
Early games like those from Atari, Apple and Commodore often used sprites that could be controlled by the mouse as they appeared to move across a scrolling background. Sometimes the background itself could be a large sprite, adding complexity. Early games might have two to eight sprites. As processing power increased, small game machines like the GameBoy Advance were able to handle 128 sprites at once, keeping track of their locations, movement and special characteristics.
Users can download ready-made sprites for a game at many sites on the Web; just search for "game sprites." Of course, that's just the beginning; users still must design the game, even as they also look at sample games others have designed.
Bob and Joy can be contacted by email at [email protected] and [email protected].
SundayMonday Business on 09/01/2014