Google SketchUp makes modeling easier

Google SketchUp makes modeling easier

(Credit: CNET Networks)

Long before I got into the business of writing about tech and Mac stuff, I worked with 3D graphics on Macs for my father’s visual analysis firm. We were hired to create 3D models of architectural projects and superimpose them on photographs of a proposed site to study how a project would look before it was built and how it would affect its surroundings.

Create complex room layouts. You get bonus points if you recognize this living room.

(Credit: CNET Networks)

Some of our clients wanted to make the project look nice for city officials so it would get approved by city planning departments, while others wanted to prove that the new project would obstruct the views for several homeowners in an effort to block the project. Either way, this meant that I spent a lot of time on a 350MHz blue-and-white G3 Mac (lightning fast!) using 3D graphics software, figuring out how to create models of houses, buildings, wineries, and even county dumps.

Once I started as the Mac guy at CNET Download.com, in addition to all the other exciting software I learned about, I was also introduced to several new and different types of 3D graphics programs. One that caught my eye right away for its unique process for creating 3D models was SketchUp. With this program you can sketch (in a manner of speaking) in three dimensions and extrude your outline to create 3D models instead of connecting vertices like in the old ray trace apps we used when I worked for my father.

You can even place your own models in Google Earth.

(Credit: CNET Networks)

Pretty quickly, Google snatched up this innovative program and offered the app for free. Just updated today, Google SketchUp is made for those who like to tinker with 3D graphics and bring their ideas to life on their Macs. If you’ve got a home-building project you would like to see before you build it, or just want to create cool stuff in 3D (including building models you can see in Google Earth), we highly recommend this free program. Google SketchUp is also available for Windows.

Source: www.download.com

Fix for XP sessions that don’t close properly

Earlier this week, I described some Registry tweaks that force Windows to shut down faster. Another weapon in the fight against interminable shutdowns in XP is Microsoft’s User Profile Hive Cleanup service, a free download written by Robin Caron.

Some programs and services don’t release their connections to Registry keys when a user logs off. This can cause problems when the person tries to log onto another PC connected to the same company network, but mainly it just adds to the time it takes XP to shut down.

Before you can download the program, you have to let Microsoft validate your copy of Windows. (The program also works with Windows 2000 and Windows Server 2003.) To install the program automatically, you have to have a copy of Windows Installer 2.0 on your system. Otherwise you can install it manually: Open a command prompt (Start > All Programs > Accessories > Command Prompt), type cd \program files\uphclean, press Enter, type uphclean -install, and press Enter again. The program will start automatically the next time the system boots. Type exit and press Enter once more to close the command-prompt window.

Bonus shutdown-troubleshooting tip
The other day I decided for no good reason that it was time to update my 6-year-old XP system’s video driver. I just happened to be visiting my display adapter’s entry in Device Manager (right-click My Computer, choose Manage > Device Manager, double-click the entry under Display adapters, and select the Driver tab) and noticed that the driver was almost 5 years old. The fact that the adapter itself was 6 years old never crossed my mind.

(Quick aside: Is six years about as much useful life as you can expect from a PC? This system has been through the ringer since I use it as one of my test machines. But I’ve got two radios that are more than 20 years old, and they work just fine. Still, it may be time to retire this graybeard before it retires on me.)

I checked the vendor’s download site and saw that the company recommended a replacement driver for that ancient model. The lure of free software was irresistible.

After I downloaded and installed the new driver, everything seemed to be working just fine, until I shut down Windows. That’s when the PC restarted unexpectedly. I recognized this as a symptom of trouble, and sure enough, when Windows reloaded it ran a disk check. Though the check didn’t indicate any disk errors, I was warned that Windows had recovered from a “serious error.”

I started the troubleshooting process by stopping the automatic restarts: Right-click My Computer, choose Properties > Advanced, click Settings under Startup and Recovery, and uncheck Automatically restart. The next time I shut down I saw the blue screen displaying the error codes. A Web search of the code confirmed my suspicions, though a bad video driver was only one of several possibilities as the source of this error code.

Uncheck ‘Automatically restart’ in Windows XP’s Startup and Recovery dialog box to view the error code causing the shutdown problem.

(Credit: Microsoft)

Using XP’s Roll Back Driver option didn’t fix the problem, so I chose Uninstall instead. The next time I restarted XP, it started at the video adapter’s lowest resolution, but after I readjusted it to the previous setting, the display appeared unchanged. When I reopened the display adapter’s entry in Device Manager, it was back to the original driver version, but the shutdown error disappeared, and Disk Check didn’t run the next time XP started.

Like they say, don’t try fixing what ain’t broke.

Monday: backup online for free.

Source: www.download.com

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