Link to all screenshots: http://sdrv.ms/159OnMc
A few samples are below. Click on them to see the full-size original screenshots.
Link to all screenshots: http://sdrv.ms/159OnMc
A few samples are below. Click on them to see the full-size original screenshots.
From a feature perspective there are a couple of nice improvements since ArtRage 3.5.5 but nothing major. Having said that let's look more closely.
The Application icon has received a minor tweak. The screenshot below is from the Windows 8 Start Screen with ArtRage Studio Pro 3.5.5 on the left and ArtRage 4 on the right. Apparently they've dropped the “Studio Pro” from the name.
Overall Application: ArtRage Studio Pro 3.5.5
Overall Application: ArtRage 4
The overall interface hasn't changed. You may notice though that some icons look a bit different.
However ArtRage 4 does have a special interface activated via View > Workbench Mode
The Workbench Mode is a minimal interface with a thin strip of tools at the top.
You can access all the brushes by click on the crush icon.
Clicking on color square yields special color picker.
I was already very please with ArtRage's minimal UI and easy-to-access fullscreen mode, so this Workbench Mode isn't that interesting to me.
If you want to see it in action, there's a YouTube video available of someone walking through some more UI changes and new feature
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Tobias Hutzler - BALANCE from Tobias Hutzler on Vimeo.
]]>First open any explorer window. For example below is a folder in my local SkyDrive. Then click on the File menu in the upper left hand corner.
The first think you'll notice is that has a useful frequent places list.
To launch CMD.EXE:
To Launch PowerShell
But be aware of which folder CMD.EXE or PowerShell will be started in.
You can see thay the explorer window is open D:\saveenr\skydrive\Public
If nothing is selected as shown below
Then clicking on File > Open Windows PowerShell will start the PowerShell session in current location (D:\saveenr\skydrive\Public)
However, if something is selected, for example the Visio folder then the PowerShell instance will start in that folder (D:\saveenr\skydrive\Public\Visio)
It even supports multi-select – if multiple folders are selected, then multiple PowerShell instances will be launched
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Get the original VSDX file here: http://sdrv.ms/YbO8Mx
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The primary functional difference in the Art Pen is that it measures Rotation while the Grip Pen does not. In case you are wondering what is different physically – I have provided some photos below.
First, this is the package it came in.
Just in case there is any doubt about which version I purchased…
Ok, here is the Art Pen:
It's hard to detect any immediate difference, so let's bring up a Grip Pen to compare.
The Grip Pen is at the top, the Art Pen at the bottom. You can see that Art Pen's the tip and nib look thicker. The bottoms are a couple of milimeters further down the shaft of the pen. The body seems very slightly thinker. The eraser end has no detectable difference.
Now look at the pen stand and nibs. Art Pen nibs are on the left. Grip Pen nibs are on the right.
This was the biggest surprise. The nibs are quite different.
So what about using the Art Pen?
Yes, can apps (I tried with ArtRage) take advantage of the Art Pen's rotation – though you may have to tweak the brush settings to get this to happen. Otherwise, for my use the pens really don't feel any different at all either in terms of ergonomics or expressive ability. However, keep in mind that I am a casual digital painter.
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It turns out this is very easy to force Windows 8 to only launch IE in Desktop Mode.
First, enter Desktop Mode (Windows-D) and Launch IE from the taskbar. If you don't have an IE icon in your taskbar, then click Windows-R which will launch the Run Window, then type iexplore as shown below.
Once IE launches, click on the Tools Icon (the gear) on the top right and select Internet Options.
In the Internet Options dialog, go to the Programs tab and under Choose how you open links select Always in Internet Explorer on the desktop and press OK.
And you are done. Now you'll always see IE launch in desktop mode – even if you click on the IE Icon on the Modern/Metro Start Screen.
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In C# you will be used to the following code failing
void foo()
{
Console.WriteLine( somevar );
}
The reason it should fail is simple: somevar hasn't been defined anywhere.
The nearest equivalent in PowerShell does not fail!
Write-Host $somevar
By default, undefined variables are treated as null. As you can imagine this leads to some hard-to-find bugs. But there is good news. You can force PowerShell to treat this as an error by using the following cmdlet.
Set-StrictMode -Version 2
Now, if you run the script below;
Set-StrictMode -Version 2
Write-Hos $somevar
PowerShell will complain with a message saying that “The variable $somevar cannot be retrieved because it has not been set”
In general, I always use Set-StrictMode –Version 2 for my scripts.
How many times will the following loop in C# get run?
for (int i=0;i<9;i++)
{
Console.WriteLine( 1 / 0 ); // that’s right: divide one by zero
}
In the C# world we know that we’ll enter the loop only once. Execution will be halted because of the divide-by-zero.
But equivalent loop in Powershell gets run 10 times! Because by default errors don’t cause PowerShell scripts to terminate.
foreach ($I in 0..9)
{
Write-Host 1/0
}
What will happen in this loop is that PowerShell will attempt the loop all ten times!
This behavior can be quite useful in some scripts, but will certainly be surprising for most developers.
Fortunately we can tell PowerShell to stop by using $ErrorActionPreference. Just set its value to “Stop”
$ErrorActionPreference = "Stop"
In the script below, the loop and the script will halt on the first divide-by-zero.
$ErrorActionPreference = "Stop"
foreach ($I in 0..9)
{
Write-Host 1/0
}
Watch it here: http://www.michalevy.com/gs_download.html
(But here are some screen captures anyway)
