Archives for April 2020

The Rise of Zoom

April 23, 2020 by Zoomy Muhammad

By Daniel Amador

I am sure you have heard about the communications software called Zoom. Ever since this Covid-19 pandemic began, people all over the world have started using it. It was mainly meant for conferences and meetings, but people also use it for random parties, birthday parties, classes for school, and even weddings!

The funny thing is, many people had never even heard of Zoom until this pandemic. Why is that? Who created Zoom? How did Zoom get so popular so fast? Why is it just mainly Zoom and not other softwares like Skype? Are there any problems with it? For the answers to these questions, you will have to continue reading.

The creator of Zoom is a man named Eric Yuan. Zoom was founded, surprisingly, 9 years ago, in 2011. Its headquarters are in San José, California.

How did Zoom get so popular so fast? When I did a bit of research about it, I couldn’t find any official answers, But I have some theories as to why that may be the case: Zoom is unlike almost all other communications softwares.

1. It is practically limitless how many people can be on one call at the same time, and there are even different ways to see all the people on the call, for example, there is gallery view, where you can see everyone in little boxes without scrolling down unless there are a lot of people, and speaker view, where a big box of the current speaker is displayed, and a few smaller boxes of other people on the side.

2. On Zoom you can do something called “screen share” that allows people to see your screen if you want to show them a video or if you want to search something up. You can also do “whiteboard” and it will allow you to draw things that everyone else can see.

3. There are also virtual backgrounds that you can get from your photos or that are already there, you can rename yourself so people know who you are or aren’t, and there is even a chat!

4. It is pretty easily accessible, and it is free (mostly).

Are there any problems with it? Yes. One of the problems is that it is sometimes static-y and kind of hard to hear music. But those are just small problems, here are the big problems:

Zoom was sharing and selling users’ info (without users’ permission) with Facebook, and there has now been a lawsuit filed against Zoom for these accusations (more about this one https://www.distractify.com/p/zoom-hacked-lawsuit).

Zoombombing is one of the worst problems of them all. Other people can actually hack into your call and chat and interrupt it and wreak havoc, by either sharing random or bad images, using bad language or just making a lot of noise and feedback. And since Zoom is so easy to access, it is also not too hard for experienced hackers to hack into your web camera!

Now, I am not saying all this to try and scare you out of using Zoom, infact, I might suggest it since it can be very useful. I am just telling you to be very careful when using Zoom as it is a previously unknown software that is now exploding in popularity. It’s important that you know the risks of using software like this, as it is just as important to keep yourself safe online as it is outside. Especially now as people everywhere are relying on technology to keep in touch and keep busy.

Why The Hobbit Failed 2: Bad CGI

April 1, 2020 by Luke Fisher

Welcome to part two of a multi-part article series based around Peter Jackson’s Hobbit trilogy.

In the first part of this series I talked about how the dwarves were interchangeable and only one or two (save Thorin) were necessary to the plot. In this one I’m going to talk to you about the bad, no, appalling, CGI used throughout the entire Hobbit Trilogy. Don’t get me wrong. I am a fan of visual effects just not the way they are used. Like Cristopher Nolan believes, if you can do it practically then do it. CGI is just one tool in a filmmaker’s toolbox, not a must-have that you need in every single scene.

The biggest example of this is the CGI Orcs and Goblins to the practical makeup and costumes of The Lord of The Ring’s Orcs. Which of the two do you honestly think looks more realistic? The Uruk-Hai on the left or Azog on the right?

The reason why these bad visual effects are so much worse is because they are featured VERY prominently. Take Azog for example. in the first movie of the trilogy, he is in it for over ten minutes and he is the main villain of that film. Why don’t I tell you what makes his face bad? the first big issue with him is his lighting. His face almost always has a strong white light shining on it from at least one side. The issue with this is that this character is the only one getting this light. Any real elements (or even some CGI ones) have no light shining on them making Azog feel out of place and unnatural.

The other main issue with his face is that it feels very glossy. In order to make a computer-generated face look real is to add texture, shadow, and stretching. For texture, you need to give the face all the fine details like skin stretching, dirt, and little scars.

Take a look at this and tell me if this looks physically possible.

Visual Effects are meant to suspend the disbelief of the viewer and bring them into a fantastical world. These horrendous effects pull the person watching the movie out of the story. See you in the next part!

CoronaVirus Part 2: Current Times And What To Do

April 1, 2020 by Zoomy Muhammad

By Daniel Amador

As of Friday the 20th of March, the Mayor of Chicago and Governor of Illinois announced that the State of Illinois will be on shelter-in-place at 5:00 on Saturday the 21 of March, though they were already urging people to stay at home anyway.

What this order means is that you can not go to work unless your job is that of an essential supplier. For example, a cashier at a supermarket, security guard at a supermarket, a police officer, and, of course, a medical professional . You are also not allowed to use public transportation unless you have a letter from the government allowing you to, and you cannot go to a public playground. You wouldn’t be able to anyway, they are all closed. But you CAN take a walk outside if you do not touch anything, and you are allowed to go to the store when you need to (and to those dog-lovers, you are allowed to walk your dog; they cannot carry the virus).
But enough about rules and restrictions, here are five good ideas of what to do, and other things that may help you in this time:

You’re not alone. Remember, this is worldwide! More than 100 countries have at least 1 confirmed case, and millions of people are quarantined too. Also, every state in the US now has at least 1 confirmed case.
Just do what you do. As homeschoolers, we (generally speaking) normally stay at home most of the time anyway, so just do what you normally do! Read a book, do some homework (remember, we were still given homework in some classes), watch a movie, play LEGOs… I am sure you can think of something.
Make a movie or write a book. Throughout my life, I have always been making movies (or videos) or writing comics and stories. Use a device to record, grab some prompts, and invite siblings to help, and get creative. And for writing a story or comic, it is not that hard to get started; all you need is an idea in your head and a way to write it out.
Go to your basement or work area and create! As some of you may know, I have been involved in creating several cardboard arcade businesses, and not just in ODE, so I would recommend trying to build a cardboard arcade game or two. I would suggest using hot glue above any other connecting material. You could also try to build something out of wood and nails, carve something, or maybe just any other kind cool contraption!

I hope these things will help you through this shelter-in, and here is a poem I wrote about this epidemic; it may not be the best, but I hope you enjoy it: