Hey, hows it going?
Hey yeah It's been good. How have you been? How's the computer science scene?
its been pretty good. I just found out I didn't do so well on one of my tests. Haha But thats the life of a college student. Haha
Aww sorry about that man. That's the worst feeling.
Its ok, you win some and you lose some. I have a B in that class now. I was just certain that I had aced the test. Thats the weird part Oh well... I got my test back so now I can review and ace the final! Hows your classes going?
Yeah I'm not exactly a straight A student so you'd probably think I'm doing horrible. What's the lowest grade you've ever got for a class?
This would be the lowest grade I would have gotten. Im not necessarily straight a's but I try to get good grades for scholarships and stuff Its really hard to get them. Do you have suggestions for getting scholarships?
I've never gotten a scholarship. Do you get like 1/4 tuition scholarship for your grades?
no I get half right now I was kind of close to full tuition, but that is just crazy hard to get to That just means you have no life outside of school and you are just doing homework. I have a job, and I like to have a little fun. Haha
That's awesome that you get that good of grades though. I bet it puts a ton of pressure on you to do well.
Ya, it does. Like when I found out that it dropped me to a B I was super devastated Its just nice having a little extra cash to do things that I want to do sometimes. With just a part time job, its hard to pay for tuition, housing and fun. So the scholarship takes care of one of those. Haha
Totally. How long do you think you'll realistically be able to keep the scholarship. Like do you have a bunch of hard classes you still need to take in future semesters that u sually kill everyone's GPA?
Actually, im taking them all right now. That one class that my grade just dropped in is one of the harder classes. Or so Im told. Just because of the giant leap in knowledge I have a couple hard classes, but I figured I kind of wanted to get them out of the way so that I could enjoy college even more. Like next summer, I think, should be a little more fun, just because they are classes that I really want to do.
That's awesome. You can do it!
And after that, is when I get into animation classes for the emphasis, which Ive been looking forward to for a long time What major are you in again?
So are you into anime?
I have really bad memory I think its cool, but Im more into the 3D graphics side
I'm in PDBIO.
Oh, ya, thats right. I just forget a ton of things Maybe one day my memory will get better one day. Haha Any suggestions to getting it better?
They say it's all about spaced repetition. But it takes time and dedication. You totally don't have to remember my major though.
Ya, thats what I hear Oh, well, its cool to remember all the things that you possibly can in everything. For instance, I really stink at names too! The only thing that I can remember are sometimes
ankiweb.net is a flashcard service that helps with spaced repetition if you're interested.
when there is something that stands out as really unique Oh, I should check that out. I also stink at remembering terms of vocabulary and things like that in classes So I think I might really check that out Is AnkiWeb like a quilt? quizlet?
Yeah it would be helpful for remembering things that were at the beginning of the class.
I have no idea why quizlet spell checks to quilt oh, gotcha!
Anki isn't as pretty as quizlet but it's similar except it reminds you to keep studying your notecards.
Oh, gotcha, that makes sense. That is kind of what I need.
It automatically calculates when it thinks you know something good enough and it'll push back the reminders.
Hmmm.... Thats pretty interesting. So its like a smart Quizlet
Yeah. Do you run linux?
Yeah I like it. What about you?
Is it frustrating? No I just stick to old Bill Gates stuff.
A little at times but I'm sure you could handle it Windows is cool too I use Ubuntu as it is pretty user friendly
I thought ubuntu was a font!
Haha. It might be but it's an os too
How many operating systems are there?!?
Well... there are a ton. Probably countless because there are some being made everyday. Linux comes in a lot of different versions. Like Ubuntu There are mainly three OS's that people use though, Windows, Mac, and Linux. Although, saying linux is an OS is like saying have a hamburger patty makes a hamburger it does, but really its all the other stuff that people put on Linux that make it more of an OS
Oh interesting I had no idea. Have you made stuff for it?
For instance, you might have heard of Fedora(not the hat), Ubuntu, Mint, RedHat, and more, but they are all just different Linux operating systems. No I don't really do a ton of development for Linux, although, that would be cool. I just mainly like to use it because its faster, and I host a server using one because its a little more reliable I make stuff on it though, like my 3D art. Maya, and Blender both run pretty well on Linux In fact, I think that the industry uses Linux machines. Like at Pixar. At least thats what our professor said. He used to work there
Wow I had no idea about this stuff. So they have to make these new operating systems to fill the special needs of random companies and industries?
Sometimes, not really though. The operating systems like Linux are really nice because if someone or a company needs something changed at a very low level of the operating system they can Where as some operating systems like Mac and Windows have a lock down sense to them, that they don't really want you to be able to change the operating system. So, with linux, generally there are developers that make operating systems off a base Linux and then change it to what they think would be nice for users, then the user says, I love this and hate this, and they can change it to be their own Its highly customizable
So is this what you want to end up doing with your career?
I want to do stuff with 3D animations. It would be cool to program, but ultimately in the end I want to create 3D art on the computer. Sounds pretty fun to me All this other computer science stuff is just an added bonus of things that I still like to do
Oh that's right. Sorry I forgot. So you don't want to work for like a movie studio or anything?
I could work for a movie studio if they did Visual Effects like the computer generated stuff that they put into movies. Thats really what I like to do. Like in Marvel movies, when you see something that you know isn't real, but looks like it is
So do you have to be a really good artist and stuff to do that?
Somewhat... I am decent at art, but I feel like my 3D art is a lot better than my 2D stuff. I still look at the computer as just another medium for creation of art, but I enjoy the computer side of art more for some reason. Maybe its just because its so forgiving, and I don't feel pressured of mistakes or anything
Yeah I think that's so cool. Do you still have to apply to the animation program and stuff or are your animation classes not part of that program?
Ya, I still have to apply this December, for the animation emphasis part of computer science, and the classes are all part of the program Its almost like getting the best of two worlds that I love to do. Computer Science, and animation. If I ever get bored of one, I can just start doing the other. haha I actually don't know if thats how it works in the industry, but for right now, thats kind of how im treating it
That's cool that you have so many options. So you shouldn't be worrying about money since you'll be able to make so much once you get a job right?
You would think. Haha. Im not sure. But the money scene I don't think will be too much of an issue. The real benefit of it though, is the fact that I really like what I will be doing It just seems like there are just so many people out there that just don't want to have to go to work, and I think this is one way to minimize that a little
That's awesome. How do reduce eye-strain when you're on a computer so much though??
I honestly havent had too much of that issue. Im not sure though. Except when working on the computer never work with the lights off. I have found that for some reason with the bright screen and dark surrounding it can really hurt your eyes
Oh that's a good tip. Do you wear glasses?
Nope, hopefully, I won't have to. I hear that computer screens are really bad for eyes thogh though
I feel like my eyes are getting tired all the time and I'm not even a computer science guy so I got lots of love for you guys.
Haha, I don't really know why but computers do seem to have side effects of hurting eyes, but it seems like people have attributed it to them. The only time it hurts my eyes is when its dark and using a bright screen. I don't know though
I wonder if wearing sunglasses helps. Like it's just so bright that if you could just filter some of it out it would probably help a ton.
Maybe, ive never really thought too much about it. But that could possibly work. Do you wear glasses?
Nope. But I've never gone in and gotten checked so maybe I should get them. I feel like some people just would never know if they never had an eye exam or something.
Thats probably true. Thats probably where im sitting honestly. Although, I do pass the eye check that we have to pass to not have glasses on your drivers license. haha
Oh yeah I forgot about that test. But what if there are like some things that are blurry for you but everyone else can see fine. It'd be like seeing for the first time.
Ya, I have thought about that before, what if I really do have issues with my eyes, but I just don't know. Especially when 4K TV's came out, I was a little panicked, because I don't notice a large difference. But then I put on glasses from someone else, and it just makes it worse, so I don't know.
Yeah me too! I'm bugged that they say 4K is supposed to look more real than real life but it just looks like a normal TV still.
Ya, unless you get really close to a huge TV there are just so minimal differences in quality. Haha I do think that DVDs and Blurays have a little bit of difference, but even that is just minimal
Is the difference that there's more pixels?
In 4K TVs there are more pixels, but with the normal TVs there is already so many that I think its a minimal difference. With DVD's there is a difference in the resolution of the film. Honestly jumping from 720  to 1080 or so is a noticeable difference, but the TV thing, I think is more of a marketable thing. Just to say that they have the best TV out there
Do you like OLED tvs?
Ive never really used one. Right now at our apartment we only have just a 28 inch flat screen normal TV But it does the job What about you? Do you like them?
I think they're cool. I really want an OLED phone. I bet they save lots of battery and don't hurt your eyes as much.
Really? Whats the difference? Do they not use as much power or something?
I think the main difference is that on normal screens the backlight is separate from the pixels and it's always on even if the whole screen is supposed to be black. In OLED each pixel is its own light source and it can turn off the pixels when they're black.
Oh, that is true, the lights are always on with normal LED. That makes a lot of sense. Thats why sometimes you can notice if your TV is on and its just on a black screen. Its just a very dark gray So OLED probably gets richer blacks too then. Probably like the old Plasma screens used to but LEDs last longer and save a ton of power
Yeah I think so. If only they weren't so expensive though.