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This site features several of my hobbies, but my main focus is on Weather, Astronomy, and 3D Environments.
Weather has always been a hobby of mine since I was about 7 years old. When I got a little older, I remember having a Lionel Weather Instrument set (neon lights on a cardboard display panel) and the plastic wind direction and anemometer that my dad helped me put together and wire. I also remember having to count how many times the neon light at the center of the display panel flashed in 30 seconds, then had to look on a chart to get the average windspeed. In addition, a sling psychrometer was used to get the web bulb reading... Geesh.. seems like just the other day. Now I have a Wireless Davis Weather Monitor II up on a light pole in the parking lot, and am even doing streaming video for this website, along with using software like Digital Atmosphere and Interwarn which download raw weather data from the NWS computers. Makes things so much easier than the years before computers.
Astronomy as also been a hobby of mine. I remember having a 2 1/2 inch Refractor Telescope back in the late in 1972 and looking at the sun with a solar filter, the moon, and some planets like Jupiter, Venus and Mars.
In 1976, I purchased a 5 inch Celestron for $595.00 and was able to see much more like the Great Nebula in the constellation Orion (M42), and the Andromeda Galaxy (M31). There is a section in this website that contains some pictures I took using a 35 Milimeter Camera mounted on the Celestron with a 5 minute exposure on the image of the Northern Sky. A built-in clock drive kept everything centered. Some of the pictures are quite interesting. Click on the "Astronomy" button in the menu above to view these images.
Virtual World Creation is a relatively new hobby that I got into back around the year 2000/2001. The 3D Virtual Worlds here, were created using Adobe Atmosphere 1.0 as well as Pelican Crossing's "Blink3D" in 2006.
Even though the Atmosphere Worlds are featured on this site, Adobe as discontinued the program as of December 2004. Therefore, any visitor who likes what you see and wishes to obtain Atmosphere, cannot do so as Adobe is no longer selling nor developing the software. You may visit some atmosphere worlds by clicking on the "Adobe Atmosphere" button in the menu at the top. Atmosphere worlds work with Windows 98 or higher, but you must have Internet Explorer Version 6.0 or higher. Netscape or any other browser was never supported by Adobe Atmosphere.
Blink3D: I refer you to www.pelicancrossing.com if you are interested in 3D Virtual Reality. They have developed a program package similar to Atmosphere, but with broader features. It is called "Blink 3D", and is currently at Version 1.0. The software is now for sale at the pelicancrossing website.
First off, you will need Windows XP or XP Pro to run the Builder or even access the content. I have not been able to access content using windows 98 on my older laptop. Check the pelican crossing website for the System Requirements before you download anything. They do have a trial version that will work for 30 days, but once that time is up, the program will not run. You will have an option to purchase if that is your choice. Personally, I have been very impressed with the product, and am also very pleased with it.
The standalone player and browser plugin are available for free and may also be downloaded from their website, and may be freely distributed.
(Note: I have no business affiliation with pellicancrossing, but simply point you in that direction if you are interestd in 3-D web content. I am however a member of the Blink3D Public Forum.)
I have yet to find anything that compares or even comes close to the now defunct Atmosphere, but pellicancrossing's project is the closest that I have seen to compare with Atmosphere.
Blink3D is very easy to use, and has chat and shared objects capabilities. The content is easily created and saved to the .env format and is encrypted. The chat server uses the xmpp protocol, and is quite simple to setup. I have created a tutorial and it is available on this website.
You may download your own free Wildfire version from Jive Software at www.jivesoftware.com. The software is Open Source, and at this time, I think it is called by another name. You may have to search their site, or simply browse around. This is what I did. If you want the free version, make sure you choose the correct link. Otherwise, if you are not careful, you may find yourself purchasing this without really wanting to.
You can run the server on your XP machine as long as you have a DSL line with a static IP Address, or cable internet access that allows you to run servers on your own computer system. Check with them to be sure your service account is the type that allows you to do this, otherwise, you will violate their Terms of Use policy.
There are 2 test worlds that I am experimenting with in the Blink3D section of this website, as I learn to use this program. Blink3D is also capable of importing models created in other 3D programs such as Blender, DeleD, Max, etc.
I run my own Wildfire chat server on my XP Pro System, so these environments are chat-enabled. The Blink3D plugin will automatically download and install on your Windows based computer. Simply click on the menu button "Blink3D" to access the page containing the 3D content.
Remember, you must be running Windows XP and have Net 2.0 and DirectX 9 installed to be able to install the builder (if you choose to purchase it from pelicancrossing), or the Trial Version itself, and to install the free standalone player and the Browser Plugin to view the environments.
Contact Information: Contact@jfdhobbies.com
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