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5/12/97 The Inner Outpost Post VOL 2 Issue #17
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In this Issue
trueSpace3
KnowMadz Map
Marketing
Irish Fest
In Memorandum
Notes from you
And don't forget
Tech Tips

"Nothing's impossible, simply impassible."
~Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland

This past week we have spoken to several people interested in small site hosting on the Inner Outpost. They have all said that the newsletter has peaked their interest. They are in process of getting their material together and we will be getting the ball rolling in the next few weeks. We are happy to receive such positive response from all of you out there. As we have grown in abilities and services it has been wonderful to see that your interest and support has also grown. We want to thank you for the success that this newsletter has been so far. Keep on reading because there is sure to be many more wonderful and interesting things to pass along.

Top of the News

trueSpace3
On Thursday we received an early release of trueSpace3, the most recent of Caligari Corp's modelling programs. Most important for our own use is the ability to create on-line worlds using VRML 2.0 standards. Other features include inverse kinematics, which allows for more realistic animation of a moving object's joints particularly useful for animal and machinery models, also physical properties which allow objects to react to gravity and wind based on their material properties of elasticity, mass, and friction. This will enable a more natural look to animation and bring life to our VRML worlds taking greatest advantage of VRML 2.0 capabilities. Understanding that few viewers at this time are capable of seeing VRML 2.0, our conversion will be gradual. But we feel that the ability to see a moving world and for a person to interact with the world will bring new meaning to interactivity on the Internet. Modeling capabilities will also be enhanced with this release as we are given greater control over the shape of objects and become less reliant on the cube, sphere, and cone. We have also gained the ability to "paint" a texture or color directly onto objects giving the surfaces of our model's added dimensionality. We look forward to bringing these capabilities to you. Stay tuned for updates on our site and information on how you can get the most out of your visits.

Featuring...

KnowMadz Map
One of the most visually interactive of pages designed by Qru Studios, The KnowMadz map is an amusement park of Internet technologies. Based on the concept of a links page, the map brings you to all of the sites explored by The KnowMadz. But it does much more. Clicking on the ticklish sea monster not only brings you to the Auntie Productive League, but just hovering over him makes him giggle and squirm! This is only one of the many wonderful sprites that are there for you to play with. Children and adults alike can get several minutes, if not a good hour, of fun on this one page alone. But be wary oh ye impatient ones! The many small graphics and animations by Tate Madler may take a minute or more to download. It can however be experienced with almost any browser capable of JavaScript, an otherwise common technology. Have fun and explore with more!

On the LAN
Restructuring
In the past month Qru Studios has expanded the scope of the services we offer. This has created a need for new promotional materials that include all of the new features and services now offered. This new material will be mass produced for general distribution. Until now our material focused specifically on high-end corporate design and was targeted more for an elite group of clientele. Recently we have recognized the need for more general offering of services and have responded to meet the needs of our new market. Material will include information about The Inner Outpost, hosting for domains and single pages and design services and techniques available from the Qru.

New York Branch?
Noah Simon, our Media Consultant, has taken assignment on an upcoming CD-ROM called Virtual Hospital for a pharmaceutical company in New York City this summer. The experience will enable him to use his cutting edge capabilities in Internet technologies while keeping on top of new advances in the medical as well as CD-Rom Authoring environments. Having a member in New York will keep us in touch with a greater number of people and contacts that would otherwise be somewhat detached from the office here. He will be able to market our hosting and design capabilities and even tackle a few projects directly to potential clients in New York. With our intranet in best form ever the telecommute to stay in touch with goings on here is just a mouse-click away.


On the See
Banner on the See
Throughout the course of this week we will be designing and posting a variety of new banners in the Inner Outpost. These will emphasis popular areas of qru.com and several new single page clients recently posted. While finishing the designs we do not have any new ones up at this time, by Monday night you should be able to see at least two new banners in the Outpost. Several more banners will be posted in the following days. If you are not familiar with our banners they are used to bring the visitors of The Inner Outpost to featured sites of our patrons and other interesting places. For a limited time these banners are free with single page sites. Only $10 a month for outlinks.

Client Side
Irish Fest 97
The complete schedule for Chicago Gaelic Park's Irish Festival has just come in. This three day extravaganza includes concerts, contests, food and even a petting zoo, but why tell you here? In the next few days even more details will be posted in their site for the world to see. If you have plans to be in the Chicago area over Memorial Day weekend this is an international event for the whole family. You can visit their web site to find out times and details!

Modeling Wiggles
With our recent upgrade to trueSpace3 we have begun utilizing and testing the new tools and capabilities. We have already blown walls across the screen, dropped inner tubes down stairs, created science fiction looking machines and interactively edited their mobility, but we have been able to "glom" primitives together to make softer and subtler shifts in surfaces. As test subjects, models of Wiggles and Dr. J are being created for possible use with Adore-A-Pet, Ltd.'s site upgrade. Implementation could included such things as animations of the two on the web site with long term possibilities of a VRML world containing them. We would like to take a moment to extend a thanks to Adore-A-Pet for their individual avid interest and support of our pursuit of this new and experimental technology.


In Memoriam
On Friday morning Kristine Cole, mother of David Cole, unexpectedly passed away. Her passing has had a profound effect on all of us at Qru Studios. Kristine was always there for us with advice and encouragement even when the rest of our parents did not fully understand what we were up to here. We know that her encouragement and faith often gave David hope when things were most difficult. With her influence, he has accomplished many great things and shared the rewards with all of us. Kristine Cole will be greatly missed by all of us here at Qru Studios as well as the many other places and people touched by her life.

Notes From You
"The information [in the newsletter] was very interesting and informative. I will be sure to pass it along to some people I know who may be interested."
~Carol Ann Jones, Lyric Opera of Chicago

We are constantly updating our site or developing our skills in a new technology. The best way to stay informed is to check out our newsletter every Monday. If you want to receive Qru's News right in your E-mailbox each week sign up on our mailing list

© Qru Studios Incorporated 1997