This is a different twist on it but I think there is a market for custom textures. I see requests many times for materials that fall outside the stock variety. FormFonts has a wonderful selection but often I see people creating items that because of the brand, carry special proprietary textures, not always available on-line. I know I have to create many custom textures. There is often just a subtle difference between a stock material and the original but the branding requires that it be exact. Often I think it would be nice to just call someone, send them a snapshot and a spec and get them to build it. I have grown to enjoy making textures but I think I am in the minority.

Great idea! It's yours!

You can't spell and neither can anybody else.
S-ketchup is something to put on a grilled cheese sandwich.

I have a 22 year old forest cat. She talks. She has about a 20 sound vocab that serves her well. She has emotions/feelings like everyone else.
You know there are some countries that outlaw the dismemberment of plants, trees because they respect their right to live.
Interesting how some have evolved and others have not.

If you ever thought you would like to eat a cat, google "cat conversation" watch the video. It should change your mind.
here---->> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z3U0udLH974

Nice job, looks great. I've found that if you paint the duct and the bulkhead the same color as the wall it seems to fade into the background. Nice thing about a model, it just takes a second to make changes and have a look.

@unknownuser said:

So, if someone would be kind enough to shine a light on this subject and/or could tell me why and how to [easily ] use CSS for the layout of my website I would be thankful!

I can't find any good reason for you except from the origins of CSS itself. Its contemporary use is fading.

Many specifications maintained for use by WC3 have come and gone in the last 20 years. CSS is just one of thousands that is evolving in its application (or lack of application) in concert with other available design, mark-up and development methods.

When CSS first arrived there was a desperate need to consume large amounts of content with page layout. A new information age was in the throws of infancy and the corporate world (slow to take up the challenge) rushed to publish its collateral information for the entire world to see. The stake holders also thought they should maintain a connection between the published collateral they owned and the new web content. The ability to stream text into formatting for either media from a single configuration file was a blessing. ( As it turns out that type of massive streaming of data between media type is today practically non existent.)

back to the web....
As a result IE and Netscape shot ahead with quite a technical leap to accommodate many somewhat desperate objects such as multi format images, then scripts, embedded objects and formatting elements for presentation. At the time graphical design tools, layout tools and code editors were very primitive. You could imagine that maintaining all of that code, which also in its nature carried a mass of repeated tagging information, could become very time consuming. This kind of redundancy could surely create a performance loss on the client as well.

There is no doubt there needed to be a standard not only for the purpose of page layout and construction but as well for the better development of browser interpreters as many early, serious http applications of the server-page method failed at the client. Clients themselves where still evolving and as a result their behavior was hard to predict and standardize.

Times have changed. The computer you are using has a processor that is 100 times faster than the fastest available when CSS arrived. That gives the browser interpreter some real horsepower to gobble code. The browser software itself is almost unrecognizable as compared to the day CSS was introduced. Browsers where pretty dumb just a few years ago. Now they are elaborate powerhouses able to read and interpret many heterogeneous code methods and code objects. The botts have become very massive and complex as well and find CSS an assist but not a necessity for document identification, parsing and interpreting.

Repetitive design elements and need for global formatting changes are now being accommodated within design tools by Microsoft and Adobe and many other small independents like Homesite as well as great free scripting tools like Notepad++. The arguments for CSS are not as relevant in the context of available technology.

I can't point you to a good CSS tool that doesn't cost money and unless for hobby, there is no neeed to play with CSS. You are best to find a good page dev tool that looks after the base CSS for you or a provider that suplies tools and web space that is inspected and modified behind the scenes.

@unknownuser said:

Thirdly, what happens if you want to change a bit of the layout? Are you then going to go through every single page again, changing every single table to follow the change?

In an environment where there is very dynamic content the need to make global changes to formatting is becoming more and more mute. Most large scale page factories are changing formating in a very subtle and iterative fasion as the content itself changes or by applying parcing utilities that read the design changes and update the CSS.

If you are the creator and owner of your page it is becoming more efficient to have a third party look after your browser compatability issues. For example, Yahoo Sitebuider allows you a graphical interface to your design view, manages your css requirements with out a hint of it being present, inspects your code for compatability, checks your code in and out effortlessly.
For about 10 bucks a month you get all the space you could ever use and 24/7 response from your server. There is a codeless solution to frames/scripts/tables/ad-ons such as my sql, forums, blogs, live calendars, forms both mail and sql. The databases are optimized by the yahoo team so there is no maintenance. All the ad-on features have an installer to get you started without any mistakes...your only concern is style and content. The "as you see it" editor allows copy forward features, copy in place, and global copy of navigation elements virtually rendering the effectiveness of global CSS to the background.

I believe that Google may have a similar set of tools although I never hear about them.

I don't pay attention to politics anymore and I don't vote.
(and yes I have heard many times you can't change anything unless you vote)

@unknownuser said:

the same group that cranks out hundreds of new laws

These guys can do what ever they want and it doesn't seem to have an impact on anything. Make laws or break laws, they have no influence and have never changed anything in my life time. The legislature is the longest running soap-box that exists and it is full of real bad actors that pay their way into the spots to carry out self serving programs. Thank God they are all toothless or life would be very miserable.

ps:just adding a little heat to the thread!

@unknownuser said:

I remember many moons ago when I was a newbie, I would have loved to see more help regarding ruby's.

Good idea! I think this feeling may be compounded these days. If you were to ask people how often they load a ruby and it fails i think you would find an interesting response. I place some blame on the developers as there doesn't seem to be a universal installation method. Even though the rubies are normally destined for the plugins folder I believe that the developers should be packaging there work with proper installers (please!!).

Sorry to slide so far off topic. I appreciate your proposal for tutorials. Thanks!!

Wow great stuff!! thanks!! I'm finding my IE browser is having a struggle with the formatting of your new pages. Some parts aligning out of sight and other layers overlapping. Don't panic as it could be my own browser configuration. I will try opening it on some other clients.

Show us what you need and I am sure a solution will appear.

@unknownuser said:

I'm getting close to buying a new camera and leaning towards a Panasonic DMC FZ 28. What do you think?

Nice camera although for another 100 you can buy a real reflex...i.e. nikon d-40 or equiv. canon.
The panasonic doesn't have manual (mechanical) stops. Or at least there is no mention of it in the specs. As it is not a reflex camera I would assume that there are no stops. This would not be suitable for your HDRI work.

ps: great shot of the boat!

Unloaded your rar into SU7 plugins....nothing!. Not surprising, I find that 2 out of 3 free rubies just don't work on first try.
I wish the ruby community would buy themselves installer software and use it when there are other files or folder dependancies.

There are many ways to do that...best if you show a picture of the shape you are trying to make.

Before I waste any of your time I will build a reasonable sized model with detail and see how it goes. I will for sure try the batch mode as well. Thanks Al!

Yes I have pro 6 and there is no way I am going to remove it to install free SU7. To many hints from others re licencing issues. Haven't got the patience to deal with the muddle over re-installing pro-6.

I'll just wait until I'm ready to buy pro7.

Thanks Al. I gave it a try. It set up ok and rendered a few small objects quite well. I then tried a few warehouse models but anything but the smallest scene just stops at the collecting faces stage. I am using SU7. I have a dual core with 2 gig, 2ghz processors, 256 meg video.

I find that GE and SU7 are having a struggle working together.
I have tried the upgrade but got this:
That put a quick end to the adventure.

Wow! foot in mouth Fooled me!

Hono - You have just traced the outline of the building....the perspective is just the same.? Too many beans in your coffee?