Shadow Blaze Games
Gaming, Technology and MSP News
Internet Explorer 9 Platform Preview #4
Aug 22nd
Now, let me tell you… I’ve never liked Internet Explorer. I don’t even need to mention IE6 – we hear about it all the time. Then there’s IE7 and IE8 which always felt slow and full of memory leaks (I have a habit of leaving browsers open, and I don’t appreciate them slowly making their way up to 2 or 3GB of RAM over the course of 6 hours). Eventually, I made my way to Firefox which I loved at first due to just how customizable everything is, but over time, I found there weren’t really any add-ons I needed (other than ad blockers). Plus, for whatever reason, I started getting attacked by more memory leaks (which I now direct my blame at the Flash plugin, but why weren’t these leaks cleaned up even after closing the hosting tab?). Right now, I’m absolutely loving the speed and simplicity of Chrome, at least that was until I stumbled upon a link to the IE9 test drive site and thought I’d give it a shot.
At first glance… just wow. Seriously, I invite you all to check it out for yourself. Granted it’s not a full feature browser, but just looking at what it’s able to do gave me something to think about. A lot of the benchmarks are… interesting… to say the least. I’m sure they’re all things we’d see on the internet regardless, it’s just interesting to see Microsoft making them. I’d love to see the discussions going on in the board room, especially for my first example:
| Hamster DDR | |
 | … of course being a DDR/Stepmania addict, I had to pick this first… and play it… extensively, though it acts only as an example of what the engine can do. It might have actually been a game if it were on beat or have any reason to have the music there other than to give an excuse to have a dancing hamster. Still, my Stepmania mindset kicked in and I ended up getting to Level 18 before failing due to boredom and inner rage at the dancing figure before me. Then I tried the same program in Chrome and it was completely unplayable. Time to kick out some more updates, Google. |
| SVG-oids | |
 | Next came SVG-oids: Asteroids with SVG. Simple, right? Shoot asteroids, dodge rocks, loop around the screen and explode without respawns. I stumbled trying around to find the respawn key and then.. wait a sec… what’s that in the corner… oh no… |
And thus returns the demonic paperclip from Office hell. Yeah, I wanna write a letter… I wanna a letter asking Microsoft to remove all traces of your pitiful irritating existence, and I don’t need any help from you! Ahem… moving on… |  |
| Tweet Map | |
The third app I checked out was Tweet Map. Pretty simple, when new tweets occur, they’re updated on this worldwide map. It works very well and is quite fluid, but it performed just as well in Chrome. Not showing much off here. |  |
| Potato Gun | |
 | What did you do to Mr Potatohead?! |
| Sun Spider Benchmark Results | |
Now, here is a chart I just love. Not because it shows IE9 having Javascript performance comparable to all the top browsers, but because it shows just how terrible IE8 performed (check the left most bar). Still, with IE9′s new level of performance, it might show a bit of hope for IE catching back up in the browser race. |  |
Summary
Well, all the tests were made/selected by Microsoft, so we have no way of knowing they haven’t just rigged them to show us what runs best or if IE9 actually has some hope. But what we do know is that on these tests IE9 performs considerably better than Chrome (and I’m assuming Firefox as well) and the platform is still under development. Hopefully we’ll be seeing some more features to come and a bunch of sites to take advantage of them. My only concern is that it won’t take long for Firefox and Chrome to catch up with any new advancements made (due the wonders of open source development), so even if IE9 takes the lead at release, will it be able to maintain it? Only time will tell, but here’s a shout-out to Microsoft for staying in the race and throwing out a few innovations of their own.
Microsoft Student Portal
Aug 21st
Wow, 4 posts in one day (Edit: this one crossed midnight, dang) – well I told you guys I had a wave of knowledge to share.
Microsoft has been so kind of gather a bunch of different links together in one central Microsoft Student site. Honestly, there are so many links here that half of them are still quite new to me, so for this post we’re going to explore the site together.
The main focus of our landing lies on the student discount window, and I’m already being blown away at first glance – Windows 7 Pro for $29.99? That’s a really nice deal. Moving on….
Let me point out the amount of categories this site offers. From software and discounts to careers and Xbox. It wasn’t until I took a quick glance through them that I realized how much stuff Microsoft really offered students.
Software
All the major Microsoft products each have their own page linked from here, and… hey look at that, I just learned about a new Microsoft student service, Live@edu. There is also a link to my all-time favorite Microsoft site, Dreamspark. It hosts all sorts of programming tools and server OSes you can download with minimal hassle and zero cost, just by having a high school or university e-mail. I believe I’m currently using three products I obtained from there, and I never would have gotten into Xna game development without it.
Discounts
Here we see several discount sites. If there’s a Microsoft product you need – be sure to check them out and save some of that precious money which will be going straight to school (right, guys?)
Learn
Now this is pretty straight forward. It’s all about certifications and tutorials. Don’t get cocky – there’s always new stuff that can be learned. Why else are we in school?
Career
We got some new links here to help you figure out what you wanna do, how to get there and help you find a job. The essential stuff.
A Good Cause
Here’s a category I’m rather pleased to see Microsoft putting up. We got the Imagine Cup that I talked about before in a previous post, plus a few causes Microsoft’s actively supporting. Be sure to give some support, yourself!
Fun Stuff
Xbox, Zune, Games for Windows, and all those other fun little Microsoft things. I find they’re always running some sort of Xbox contest so be sure to check this often (unless you don’t want to win free stuff).
Tech Student
Oookay, gotta admit… I don’t understand the point of this tab. Just seems to be a repeat of links from the other tabs. Next~!
Communities
This is something I’ve been looking for for a while. It shows all those secret Microsoft Student Facebook and Twitter accounts. There’s also a link to Student Tech Clubs which is a great way to advertise stuff like student clubs within your school, but I don’t see it getting much use in NB just yet. Who knows though, maybe it’ll catch on.
International
Just a simple page to help you find your local version of the site. The basics.
Anyway, this post has taken a lot more time than I thought it would because I found myself getting caught up in an endless chain of links while exploring the site. Simply put: the site has a bit of everything for everyone, and it’s definitely a great place to frequent. Plus, you’ll probably get lost in the amount of sites Microsoft runs if you don’t have a map (hey, I know I did). There’s also a few handy feeds at the bottom of the page to keep you up to date with the latest posts, but I think they should be emphasized more. Their current placement makes them seem they were just an afterthought for the site.
I’ve rambled on enough. Check out the site, and happy exploring!
Go DevMental
Aug 20th
You’re probably hearing about all the major events going on for the IT and gaming crowds such as E3, Gamescon and Tech Days. Wouldn’t it be awesome if there was a conference set up just for us students at a rate we can actually afford? Well we’re in luck because not only has one come, but it’s completely free to attend.
Go DevMental will be taking place in several locations – the first of which is in Vancouver on Sept 14 and the last in Calgary on Dec 14. Regardless of where it’s taking place, the event lasts from 6:30pm to 9:30pm.
Now I’m going to hit you with the downside right up front. The closest Go DevMental to us is in Halifax. That’s going to be the selling point for most people, but if you got the time and a way to head up there to attend, this is definately something you wouldn’t want to miss out on.
Now for any readers outside of the NB area, feel free to check out Go DevMental for dates and locations nearest to you.
There are four 45-minute events that will be taking place, but sadly you’ll only be able to attend two of them. For your first session, you have the choice between Windows Phone 7 Application Development and WebMatrix. The second session will be between Windows Phone 7 Game Development and Silverlight Animations. Basically, it comes down to phone development, or web development. I’d personally love to attend all of them, but as you can see from this blog, website design is definately not my forte.
A last minute note to faculty members: you’re all invited and encouraged to attend the event yourselves. It’ll also be ending with an open-discussion 30 minute session just for you guys.
Head on out to www.godevmental.ca for more info and to register for the event.
I’ll be trying my best to make it to the Halifax Go DevMental, and I hope to see a bunch of you there. Spread the word!
Imagine Cup 2011
Aug 20th
Think you got what it takes to make a difference? Got a passion and inspiration for helping others? Well here’s your chance to put your skills to good use. We’re not talking about just your school, or your town. We’re talking big; on a global scale. A competition of hundreds of thousands of students across over 100 countries.
Still interested? Good. You may just be one person, but an idea can go quite the distance when it’s broadcasted to the rest of the world. Let’s face it; there are some big problems out there– education, environment, health care, poverty and hunger, just to name a few, but we believe you can do something about it. The idea is to prove that technology can solve some of the world’s toughest problems. How do we do that? Well, the solution is entirely up to you, and your imagination. You are the world’s next generation of leaders. As you look at the road ahead, your relationship with technology enables you to dream in ways we never have before and literally change the world.
Microsoft created the Imagine Cup nine years ago with the idea that students can do just that. What begins with a burst of inspiration and a lot of hard work can become a future software breakthrough, a jump start for your career, or a flourishing new industry. The Imagine Cup invites you and other students from around the world to learn, collaborate and change the world by applying your imagination, your passion and your creativity to technological innovations.
The Imagine Cup spans one year, beginning with local, regional and online competitions. The finalists go on to attend the Worldwide Finals held in a different country every year (this year being held in New York City, USA). The competition brings students together, motivates the competitors to give it their all, and provides opportunities to form friendships that last well beyond the competition itself.
Learn all about the Imagine Cup and the four primary types of competitions (Software Development, Game Development, Media Development and Embedded Development) at www.imaginecup.com. Also be sure to register. Don’t worry, this doesn’t sign you up for the competition (though it’s the first step if you want to), but what it will do is keep you informed of all the latest Imagine Cup news.
Best of luck!
Welcome (SBG & MSP Introductions)
Aug 20th
Welcome everyone to the new Shadow Blaze Games blog.
What is Shadow Blaze Games?
SBG is a group of friends from several areas across Canada. We work on projects, play games, argue about MMOs and find ourselves doing random stuff… pretty much on a daily basis. Eventually, this blog might attract multiple people from the group to speak their mind about their particular interests, but for the time being, it’s going to be run by me (Brandon Smith).
Who am I?
Well other than being the current head of SBG (though it was actually founded by myself and an ex-member), you’ll probably hear my name once or twice… if you live in New Brunswick. Though only being in my second year of university, I’ve had over eight years of programming experience and have recieved several awards for my progress. In all honesty though, that means absolutely nothing, so lets try this again.
I’m the guy who’s going to be updating this blog with tidbits of gaming and tech news from around the web. Hopefully if I keep it entertaining, you’ll keep coming back to check for new content. I’m also the Microsoft Student Partner for the University of New Brunswick, Saint John. This is a special little role that I’ll be playing and will involve it’s own fancy little paragraph.
What is a Microsoft Student Partner?
Before you ask… no, I’m not an employee or hired by Microsoft in any fashion. Instead, I act as a type of ambassador between Microsoft and Students. There are a dozen or so MSPs across Canada and countless ones across the world. As it stands, however, I believe I may be the only MSP in New Brunswick, so I’m going to try to expand the amount of schools I can cover via this blog. We’ll be bringing you the latest news from both Microsoft and the tech world in general as well as info on local events (mine will obviously focus around NB), but this is only one side of the coin.
As an ambassador, we also want to hear from you guys – the students. If you have an opinion about whatever I’ve written about, whether you disagree with my opinion or just want to share a thought or two about the topic – feel free to add a comment. If there’s some amazing technology coming out that you think I’ve missed, be sure to let me know via twitter or e-mail. I’m always willing to listen to feedback about both Microsoft technologies and my own blog, but all I ask is that you try to keep it civilized people. I don’t want to start whipping out the moderator hammer. This place is about free student expression.
On a last note – you might see me posting in the Microsoft Student Canada blog in the future as well. If/when I do, I’ll always include a link here so you never have to miss out on my extraordinary writings (haha).
Stay tuned, got a bunch of info coming your way.