Handheld Photoshop

Photoshop Express has been available on the iPad and iPhone for a while, but it didn't have all the features of the full program. Yesterday Adobe demoed a full version of Photoshop on the iPad. This didn't necessarily mean a ton to me at first, because I don't have an iPad. But then I started thinking about how this could develop, which is exactly what the Gizmodo article talked about. Check the full article on Gizmodo for a more in-depth explanation. Basically they are saying this is just the start of a new era in computers. These new hand-held and touch-pad computers can make it more intuitive to use certain programs, making us more productive. The way computers and programs are evolving, this really does look like the start to the future of technology. Hopefully someday in the future I'll have my own hand-held touch-pad computer to edit my photos on site, or work on the go. It's a nice thought, at least.

Here's a video of the demo that shows some new features:

Portal 2

 Ever since completing Valve's Portal and listening to GLaDOS sing "Still Alive" I've been pumped for the sequel. With the brilliant dialogue, innovative game play, and fantastic story line, how could you not? And guess what? Portal 2 is scheduled to come out next month!

An adorable new trailer was just released. View it below.






I found the video on Kotaku, and if you head over to Portal 2's offical site you can find more information, including other trailers, and even some game play footage. It seems to follow along with the first game's great dialog, game play, and story line, and adds in some bonuses such as new characters, new science-y tools, and cooperative multiplayer. This is a huge plus for me because multiplayer is my favourite way to play games!

Needless to say, this is definitely something I'm looking forward to!

My Website: Dorky Dino

Logo © Brandi Miller

I now have my own website! It can be found at dorkydino.com! What is this all about? Here's a little background information. Towards the end of our college career we are required to do a big project for The Honors College called an honors project. The student gets to choose their own project, and if it is approved, they take a semester to work on it, and will receive a final grade from a mentor. For my project I decided to start my own business! I am a graphic design major, and I wanted to do something relating to that. I decided to use the skills I've learned in college to design cute characters and have them printed on a variety of products. I will be selling these products online through my website.

Image © Brandi Miller

Getting the site up and running was a huge step for me. I designed the entire thing myself and had to learn new software to be able to create it. Please look around and check back for updates! I am working on the products and hope to have them up soon.

I was also selected to present my findings at the 2011 Scholars Symposium.

Video Games Not Linked to Violence (for once)

Image via ICGamers

I'm sure you've all heard of tons of studies and statistics about how video games are linked to violence and depression. However, most of these studies don't actually take everything into consideration. In my mind questions always arise about whether or not the correlation actually implied causation. Meaning, just because there is a correlation in the statistics, does that necessarily mean one caused the other? And even if it does, how do we know which came first, the chicken or the egg? (Or in this case the violent behavoirs or the video games?)



Comic via xkcd

Recently a study was done that actually evaluated both violent media, and personality features. The paper was titled "Personality and media influences on violence and depression in a cross-national sample of young adults: Data from Mexican Americans, English and Croatians" and was written by Christopher J. Ferguson.

Basically, the study showed that after a personality profile was taken into account there was no longer a correlation between video games and violent behaviors or depression. This was something previous studies failed to take into account.

An article about this study can be found at Kotaku, and it has some more information about it.