How-To Sites

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100 Amazing How-To Sites to Teach Yourself Anything

Learning new skills and expanding your knowledge doesn’t have to cost you an arm and a leg. There are loads of free resources on the Web that can help you find instructional videos, tutorials and classes to learn a wide variety of skills from fixing basic car problems to speaking another language. With 100 sites to choose from, you’re bound to find something here that will help you learn just about anything you could want.
General Tutorials
These sites offer a wide range of tutorials and videos.

1. Expert Village: One of the biggest how-to sites on the Web, this site is home to hundreds of thousands of videos on an infinitely broad spectrum of topics.
2. LearnThat.com: With categories like business, finance, home repair, and computers and tech, this site has plenty of classes for avid learners.
3. Koonji: With tutorials that are extremely easy to follow, this site will make it simple to learn just about anything.
4. SuTree: Whether you want to learn new skills or share some of your own, you can do both on this video how-to site.
5. VideoJug: With great videos on topics as diverse as doing well on the SAT and knitting a scarf, you’ll be able to find just what you’re looking for here.
6. FindTutorials.com: This huge collection of tutorials contains listings for education, hobbies and DIY projects around the house.
7. TrickLife: Want to make your life better? This site is home to numerous tutorials to help improve your home, your body and your personal well-being.
8. Instructables: This site offers a wide range of video tutorials where users can showcase all their valuable skills.
9. MyTutorials: Search through the tutorials on this site to find just what you’re looking to learn.
10. Tutorial Ninjas: From investing to getting healthy, you’ll find loads of tutorials here.
11. Hodder Education: Check out this site for a range of self-learning opportunities in sports, music, health and more.
12. Sofia: Promoting free sharing of intellectual assets, this site offers several free courses in programming, typography and geography.
13. I Can Learn Anything: Pay this site a visit to get access to a wide range of social learning resources.
14. Wikiversity: With over 10,000 free learning resources, you’ll find tons of great instructional materials here.

Around the House
Want to know how to fix that broken cabinet or hang up some great wallpaper? These sites are all about helping you learn how to fix things around the house, on your car or even learn a new hobby.

15. Make Magazine: If you’re looking to turn your old laptop into something cool, or find new and inventive ways to spruce up your home, you’ll find loads of ideas on this site.
16. What the Craft: With a little instruction from this site you can create hand-tailored clothes or great new pillows for your couch.
17. Skillvids: Save money on costly home repairs by learning how to do them yourself on this site.
18. Jonko Online Auto Repair: Here, you’ll find some instructional help on fixing all the little things that can go wrong with your car.
19. DoItYourself.com: Whether you’re trying to sell your home or manage your finances, you’ll find some helpful guidance here.
20. Fix Expert: Learn some of the basics of car maintenance and repair from this site.
21. Easy2DIY: Want to know how to lay carpet? Fix your leaky dishwasher? You’ll find that and more here.
22. Free DIY Tutorials: Visit this site to learn how to construct a range of sewing and crafting projects.
23. The Bicycle Tutor: Why pay someone to fix your bike when you can do it yourself? This site can teach you how.
24. Grovetech PC Repair and Maintenance: Check out this site to learn how to do some basic PC repairs like adding additional RAM and cleaning off all those nasty viruses.
25. ReadyMade: This site can help you learn to build things you never knew you could do on your own.
26. Hack a Day: Embrace your creative side with these hacks that help you learn to reuse the junk around your house in cool new ways.
27. Howtopedia: With loads of tips on how to make your DIY projects greener, this site will help you make your home and the earth a little better at the same time.

Business and Management
If you feel like you’re seriously lacking on business and management skills at work, no need to worry. These sites can help you learn the basics and get your career on track.

28. KnowThis?: Boost your marketing skills by taking one of the tutorials offered through this site.
29. Leadership Training Tutorials: Like the name suggests, these free tutorials are all about helping you bring out your leadership skills.
30. Laynetworks: Those who want to learn more about great management skills can find tutorials galore here.
31. Website 101: If you’re an entrepreneur who doesn’t know much about running a business online, this site is home to loads of tutorials that can help you understand what it takes to establish a great web presence.
32. Business Tutorials: Whether you want to start your own business or need a little guidance once you have, this site will provide all kinds of helpful tutorials.
33. Passion for Business Learning: Learn more about business skills from management to finance on this site.
34. Business Balls: While the name might be silly, the site offers some serious advice and information on improving management and business skills.
35. ComputerWeekly: Those in the IT field should take advantage of this site’s free weekly webinars to stay up-to-date on the latest information and developments.
36. TechOnline: Designed with electronics professionals in mind, this site has dozens of great tech-focused tutorials.
37. Change Management: Here you’ll find instructional materials to improve your skills in leadership and management.

Language and Writing
Those who want to learn a new language, improve their writing skills or just learn more about literature will be well-served by these instructional sites.

38. BBC Languages: With numerous languages to choose from, this site offers visitors some really valuable free language learning materials.
39. Project Gutenberg: Catch up on reading the classics with the free e-books offered here.
40. Teach Yourself Japanese: Whether you’re learning for business or pleasure, this site offers all kinds of resources for Japanese language learners.
41. Literature.org: The extensive library of free material on this site makes it cheap and easy to read up on just about any subject.
42. Bibliomania: With free books and study guides to go along with them, you’ll not only be able to read the classics but get help understanding them as well.
43. LookLex: Here you’ll be able to learn the basics of the Arabic language with free audio tutorials.
44. American Sign Language Browser: If you’ve ever wanted to learn ASL you’ll find a number of resources here that can get you started.
45. Learn Spanish: As one of the most widely-spoken languages in the world, there’s no better time than now to start learning Spanish.
46. Writer’s Resource Center: This site is home to loads of support and information on writing better fiction.
47. Paradigm Online Writing Assistant: Need some help writing? You’ll find instructional articles here.

Technology
These tech-focused sites offer help to both technophiles and beginners alike.

48. actDEN: Never learned how to use Microsoft Excel? Now you can with free tutorials on this site, offering education on a number of computer programs.
49. How-to Geek: From setting up to fixing problems, this site will help you learn to get your gadgets up and running.
50. W3Schools: Learn just about anything you could want to know about Web design and development from the large number of tutorials on this site.
51. KillerSites: Here you’ll find loads of free info on web design and hosting.
52. Productivity Portfolio: Are you really not good with technology? Here you’ll find tutorials designed just for you, with simple 5-minute lessons on the basics of programs like Outlook and Firefox.
53. Tweako: This site is home to numerous tutorials focused on technology, programming and the net.
54. Vista4Beginners: Many people find Vista hard to navigate, and if you’re one of them you can find help on this site, filled with great tutorials.
55. Digital Arts: From tips on using Photoshop to what it takes to make great web designs, this site will help you embrace the creative side of technology.
56. InPictures: With tutorials that come complete with visual representations of how to do everything, this site is perfect for the visual learner.
57. N Design Studio: This site is focused on Dreamweaver and Illustrator, providing a wide range of tutorials.
58. NetTuts: Check out this site if you’re in need of a little help with a web development project or want to learn more about programming on the internet.
59. Geekpedia: Here you’ll find tutorials on just about every programming language you could want to learn.
60. MuppetLabs: Programmers and aspiring geeks alike can find numerous tutorials here on languages like C++ and Perl.

Math
Many people struggle to understand mathematical concepts. These sites offer help and instruction no matter what level you’re on.

61. S.O.S. Mathematics: Check out this site to find tutorials and worksheets to help you learn more about math and get a little practice applying it.
62. MathVids: If you’d rather learn from videos, the instructional ones provided here will be helpful to you, offering explanation of a wide variety of math issues.
63. Math Cracker: Get a little help on math subjects from the basics of algebra to the intricacies of calculus with a variety of helpful tutorials.
64. Real World Math: Think your math teacher was full of it when he said you’d actually use the math you’re learning? This site applies all kinds of math to real situations, making it easier for many to see how it might be valuable.
65. Math for Morons Like Us: Even the smartest people can sometimes forget their multiplication tables, but if you feel especially weak in math you may want to check out this site. It breaks down even complicated ideas into easy to understand lessons.
66. Math.com: With some great tools and a variety of tutorials on algebra, geometry, trigonometry and more, this site has loads to offer learners.
67. MathTools: If you’re using MATLAB you can get some information on how to better use the program and understand what’s going on with these free tutorials.
68. Paul’s Online Math Notes: This professor wants to help you learn math, and offers notes, lessons and more.
69. Visual Calculus: The modules on this site are designed to help you see visually how calculus works, an easier way to learn for many who struggle to understand abstract concepts without illustration.
70. PurpleMath: Visit this site to find notes, tutorials and lessons on a variety of math subjects.

Science
Learn more about the amazing world around you from its chemical makeup to the processes going on in your own body with these helpful sites.

71. The Chem Team: Learn the basics of chemistry with the tutorials and lessons provided by this site.
72. Get Body Smart: With interactive animations and activities, this site makes it fun to learn about how the body works inside and out.
73. The Physics Zone: You can get a better grasp on concepts like magnetism and motion with this site that offers instruction on the theoretical and mathematical aspects of physics.
74. The Life Wire: Here you’ll find a number of animations and tutorials that are designed to help you learn more about biology, even the stuff that may have confused you before.
75. Geology Rocks: The earth may seem like a stable, static entity but it’s always changing and moving. Check out this site to learn more about these processes and the ground under your feet.
76. NASA: If Earth isn’t your thing, take to the heavens with videos, photos, articles and podcasts all about the stars, planets and what lies beyond.
77. Inner Body: Check out this site to learn a bit about the circulatory system and find out just how that cheeseburger is clogging your arteries.
78. Exploratorium: Also called the Museum of Science, Art and Human Perception, you’ll find lessons here on everything from how music works to the effects of global warming.
79. Science A-Go-Go: This site is a great place to learn about the latest and greatest scientific discoveries. You can take to the discussion forums as well if you’d like to debate any topic.
80. The Why Files: If you’ve ever wondered why or how a news story about science is true or want to learn more about everyday science, check out this site.

Creativity
These lesson-filled sites offer a chance to learn more about art, music and digital creativity.

81. Berklee Shares: Here you’ll get access to loads of free Strobist: Check out this blog and its tutorials to learn the basics of lighting in photography.
82. Teoria: On this site you’ll find a number of music-related tutorials and lessons to help you better understand music theory.
83. Digital Arts: Need a little creative inspiration? This site can help you out and help you better learn to use your digital art tools.
84. PSDTUTS: Whether you use PhotoShop to touch up your drawings or to make completely digital works of art, you’ll find helpful tutorials here.
85. Photography Mentor: Join this site to get educational videos for your computer or iPhone to learn more about digital photography.
86. E-Chords: The video tutorials on this site can help you learn to totally shred on the guitar or bass.
87. DrumBum: If drums are more your style, these tutorials and lessons will help you master a variety of types of music.
88. Music Theory: Ricci Adams teaches the basics of music theory and notation with lessons and tutorials on this site.
89. Computer Music Products: Want to make and distribute music right from your computer? This site can teach you how.
90. Duey’s Drawings: If you’ve always been envious of those who can draw and paint, give this instructional site a visit for lessons on how you can improve your skills.
91. Video-Tutes: Learn a number of useful things about shooting and editing videos from the instructional tutorials on this site.

History
Expand your knowledge of the past with these history sites that contain info, photos and lessons on numerous topics.

93. Archive.org: With links to information on the history of music, documents and even the Internet, this site is a one-stop-shop for learning.
94. Library of Congress: With numerous digitally archived photos, documents and manuscripts, as well as a few wholly online exhibits, you’ll find a wealth of great information on this site to help you learn about American history.
95. The Rosetta Project: No matter what language you want to learn about, still spoken or long dead, you’ll find its history and loads of information about it here.
96. Digital History: This online project offers users a wide range of digitized historical information to make learning easy and fun.
97. U.S. Census Bureau: Get the stats on just about everything you could want to know about Americans on this site.
98. Biography: Learn a little more about the people who have shaped the world we live in today with the information from Biography.
99. Artcyclopedia: Wanna know a little more about the history of art? You’ll find information, photos and resources galore here.
100. History Channel: Even if you don’t have cable you can watch videos, engage in interactive programs and read all about world history on this site.

Heralding Secure Builds

Here is how to leave a build out in Second Life so that it cannot be altered:

ANTI-TAMPERING

 The Second Life "default permissions" that you see when you rez a new prim to Second Life are a good starting place. 

in Edit Window General Tab:  

Not Shared with group
Not Allow any to move
Not For Sale

 You can alter these for various reasons, but then you need a secure build, one that cannot be tampered with, revert these settings to default for all prims and objects in the build.

 Next owner permission don't matter for objects not for sale, but best to leave them restricted until you decide to sell your build. If you do make your build "For Sale", make it a "copy" sale so the original stays in your possession and where it is.

in Edit Window Object Tab:

Not Physical
Not Locked

The one change that can make your build MORE secure than the default settings is Locked.  when an object is locked, you can not edit your object until you un-check "Locked" for that object.  If you gave edit permissions (more on this below) to friends or a group, they still cannot edit your locked build.

In your Friends Window, 

one last default is that none of your friends has modify rights on your objects.  You alone can give or remove this right for them. You can see who has this right on your friend list in most viewers.  It's a simple matter to de-select anyone who should not have that right.  Be stingy with with it.  Even if there is someone you want to have that right, you can LOCK any of your builds so that no one can modify your build: not you, not your friends, not your group members, not until you UNLOCK it.

BULK EDITING BUILDS

First, these setting help you edit much quickly, even with large builds with multiple objects and unlinked prims:

• Check "Select only my objects" in your Tools Menu so you can't select other people's objects. 
• Choose a draw distance large enough to make your whole build visible to you in you Preferences window Graphics tab.
• Un-check "Limit Select Distance" in your Advanced Menu so you can select any objects that you can see, even if they are more than 65m from you.

 How To Select Multiple Items video from http://vimeo.com/31667862

Open your edit window Crtl-3 and left-click hold and drag the yellow selection box over an area to select all the prims in the area.  This selects much faster and securely than shift-clicking them one by one. 

Now you should see an edit window reading "Multiple Selections" with owner named you.  Now, with just a singe click, you can set perms and many other parameters of the all the selected prims at the same time.

Revert to these secure settings named above: 
Un-check "Share with group", "Allow any to move" and "For sale"
Un-check "Physical"
Last, check "Locked" so that you yourself cannot change the build by accident.

Now close your edit box and check your work.  Get a clever friend to see if they can move your things.  Rejoice if they cannot.




Last, SL can fail you when regions go down, return times expire, parcels can change group permissions, or you can click something you didn't mean to, like "temporary" and you can lose your work.  The remedy:

Save often.  Back up often

• Save copy to your inventory.
• Give a full-perm (copy, modify, transfer permitted to next owner) copy to another account
• Use a back-up feature that some viewers offer to put builds on your own hard-drive.

Immortal Herald

While "Blackdog Ashbourne" isn't a well known avatar in RP circles, his "Empower Magick" Hud is gaining users and notice from competitors across Second Life.  In an unusual marketing standard, updates to the Magick hud are free to users for life.  Updates occur every few months, with not just more spells and effects added, but features and interface improvements based on customer feedback.

 Now, on the heels of that product, Blackdog  is wrapping up a public beta test of a new RP HUD called "Empower Immortals".  The website blurb I first encountered reads:

Empower Immortals

Immortals walk among us!
You may have reached this page by receiving an Awaken or Feed request from an Immortal.  If so, click here for information on what it means to roleplay with Immortals and how to opt out if you do not want to receive further requests from them, or read on to learn more about the system.  This system is currently in Beta testing, with a release planned mid 2013.
In this Second Life Role-Playing system, get the HUD, choose your species, select your abilities and begin the adventure!  There’s a lot more than Humans, Vampires and Lycans out there.  Fae, Dragons, Angels, Witches, even Gods, Devils and Demons to name but a few.

The game doesn't work on you if you don't opt-in.   The opt-out system is rather simple: a TP, touch a prim at the home store (where the game itself has been disabled) and the none of the players can target you.  While looking into it, I  I caught the usually pixie-looking Blackdog in a few quiet moments to do this interview, continued by e-mail and copied here.


Arth:   Another vampire HUD?  Why develop "Empower Immortals"?
BDA:  I was approached by one of my "Empower Magick" users who wanted a "better vampire HUD", since the current offerings didn't meet their needs.  It seemed like a great opportunity to go a step further - there's a lot more than Humans, Vampires and Lycans out there and the existing systems don't support them.  So we've done it in a way that supports Vampires, non-vamps who like to role play with Vampires whilst maintaining the integrity of who and what they are (e.g. Fae, Angels, Witches - you name it) and even made it relevant to those who don't like Vampires and want to be able to deal with them as an equal when they encounter them.

Arth:  What issues did the players have with the other vampire systems in SL?

BDA:   Well, the main objection was having to pay to play.  We've designed Immortals so that once you purchase the system, it is complete and self contained.  All of the items you need to go with it are available for free.  You don't pay for Vitae, which is the life force that fuels Immortals - Vampires think it's in the blood, whereas an Angel may consider it to be Eternal Light.  You don't pay for refilling limited attacks.  You don't have to buy the extra RP items, such as Gems to store Vitae or Cages to hold souls - these are all available for free.  Over time, third party providers may well sell special versions of these and we don't object to that, but there will always be a free version available.

Another of the guiding principles we were requested to follow was that the system should not encourage groups to have their members gather so much of this or that in order to remain members.  So souls in our system have no value other than sentimental.  It's all about the Vitae, which can be obtained for nothing.

Once we decided to have the system support so many different species, the limited choices available in the current systems turned out to be another objection people had, they just hadn't mentioned it until we suggested it.

We were also asked to include as many of the relevant special effects as possible - animations, sounds, particles - all of which are used for turning, changing or the various other functions the system provides, so that people didn't have to go and buy something else to get the effects they want.  This is a tough one, but we've built the system in a way which means people can customize a lot of it and make it work just the way they want.
 
Arth: There is also the issue of  Vampire systems (like Progeny and Bloodlines) being treated as a banning offense on many sims because they see the systems harassing and spamming non-players.  Will Empower Immortals be any different?
BDA:   It sure will be.  The systems you've mentioned come under attack either because they prompt for permission, or because they don't, so it's one of those things where you can't please all the people all the time.  Our approach has been to not prompt people who are already using the system and ask those who aren't for permission before acting upon them.  Since this can still be contentious, we've also allowed land owners to control the system's behaviour, or even whether it's allowed, by adding a short string to their parcel description.  In addition to that, individuals can opt-out of the system entirely without having to purchase anything, simply by clicking on a crystal in our store.  They will then never be prompted again and are "off limits" to all Immortals RP.  Similarly, if they want to play along for free, they can opt-in in a similar manner.  That gives them access to our website and lets them choose their species, without having the full experience available when purchasing a HUD.  For many who just want to RP with Immortals, that may be all they want.

Arth:   Will owners of your "Empower Magick" HUD have any advantage in "Immortals"?

BDA:  Immortals will be available as either a standalone HUD or a module that Empower Magick users can load into their existing HUD.  It works with Empower Magick, but it is in no way required that you have them both.  One doesn't really have an advantage over the other and we've made sure that owners of other spell HUDs aren't disadvantaged, but the two do work nicely together as you'd expect from two products made by the same people.

Arth:  How did you settle on the name "Immortals"?

BDA:  We wanted a name which encompasses Vampires as well as the various other species that the system supports.  Even Humans are powerful in this system, so it needed to be a term that set them apart from the mundane, rather than anything specific to a particular class or species of character.  Of the many attributes which define Vampires, the one which seemed to cover all the other "Specials" that the system supports was immortality.  Even a human may be elevated to Immortality, allowing them to deal with Vampires on their own terms.

Arth: When and how did you begin the actual work on the Immortals HUD?
BDA:  The initial request came through on 3 June 2012 and I cut the first line of code on 9 June 2012.  Since I take a very collaborative approach to the work I do, I started out by consulting with my closest advisers from Empower Magick, some of whom are Vampires, then extended it to a small group of core Vampire RPers, those who RP with them and more importantly, those who have absolutely no interest in Vampire RP.  By the end of June, we had our first design and a prototype HUD up and running.  It's been through a lot of changes and refinement since then, of course, but the core is much the same.  Of course, I had the advantage of having the Empower Magick base to build on and it really accelerated our ability to get this up and running fast.

Arth: So, after a year of development and play-testing, what happens next?
BDA:  We want to see the system run for a good time with no changes.  We're already locked down to "bugfixes only".  We'll need a little time to work on packaging and marketing and we're still considering sales models - in-world only, marketplace, only from other Immortals who are prepared to train those they sell to - but however we do it, it's not far away now.  After that?  Well, we're very much driven by the requests of the users of the system.  As you noted with Empower Magick, where we have the same approach, this resulted in quite frequent updates adding new features in its early days.  I'd expect Immortals to go along similar lines.  Although it's had a good soak during Beta and that resulted in a lot of improvements, we already have quite a store of requests and great ideas which we had to refrain from implementing to ensure stability as we prepared the system for release.  The sky and the imagination of our team and the community of Immortals is the limit.

Arth:  Blackdog, thanks for taking the time to chat with me. Good luck with your release.  

You can visit the store to find out what's happening, and get some freebies at Blackdog's Smallhaven sim.

How I write.

When composing lectures or posts like this, it is at least a six step process for me.

The first is to listen to what others are asking to find topics. Often I have simple short answers and direct references with easy links.  When there are deeper and more interesting ideas unexpressed,  I gather together the knowledge and wisdom and ideas needed to answer the questions fully.   Then everything gets bound into a single document with little organization, just an olio of ideas.  Often things stay in this way for a long, long time until a delivery time and date is chosen.

The first draft can be very very long and repetitive, but it's taking my scroll of notes, copying it, and thinking about an organizational pattern that is suitable to the material.  Then it's shuffle the information around into an order that might work as a lecture or essay. 

After that at-least-third draft by now, the chore is to consider exactly who and when the information is to be delivered and what illustrations and examples to include for those who might have interest and tailoring the material for them, looking for references and citing what I find.  Now it is close to a final form, and it's copy it all again, and go thru for grammar, spelling , brevity, consistency and all those other things scholars honor.

Now, often the same material might work for two mediums, say a lecture in Second Life and a ethereal scroll(-ing webpage) online.   Then it's construct each format for its medium. In Second Life, in example, I can use objects in illustration, but not in a scroll(-ing webpage). Conversely, I can use images freely in scrolls, but not so easily in SL.

When making both a lecture and a scroll, I will prepare for a lecture by constructing a draft but not publishing the online page.  Then, at lecture time, I copy and paste from my scroll draft copiously.  During the lecture, I often receive insight and questions from the attendees that crystallize important points, or tell me what points need exposition, clarification or example.  I quickly provides those on the fly during the lecture slot if I can.  Then, after the lecture, those additions and amendments get edited into the scroll draft, and finally, the scroll can be released.  This page is an example of such a scroll: 
http://aulethesmith.blogspot.com/2012/08/a-history-of-elvish-weaponry-part-1.html

I could make illustrated classroom books like this one about Sheriwood in Second Life with book writers, but I dislike that medium due to the handling of images and loss of copyable text.  To compress data and image for a "page" degrades both the image and the text some, making the text non-copyable into other media (a good idea sometimes, but not always) and the information available only in this very specific context:

• computer on, in SL viewer, 
• logged into that account, 
• object rezzed, 
• camera oriented, and 
• little distraction  

That is a bit hard to achieve, compared to

• computer on
• browser open, 
• web page loaded

Often, when I find such things as images or note cards in SL, I will, with the author's permission only, mirror the book to a blog post like this: 

http://aulethesmith.blogspot.com/2011/05/how-to-create-rp.html

Multi Chan Hax

This is a mirror post of Mistress of Design's Random Rambling, Tips and Tricks advice on skin and clothing template tools forSecond Life. I'm exploring using it with Gimp per

Multi Chan Hax is all kinds of Awesome!

Multi Chan Hax is all kinds of awesome!!!

Why is Multi Chan Hax all kinds of awesome? Because it gives Second Life clothing and skin creators a whole range of different template layouts to choose from! With Multi Chan Hax you are no longer limited to texturing the standard head/upper/lower UV layouts.

“A mapping channel is basically UV data. It’s how a 2d texture gets translated onto the geometry of a 3d model. What MultiCH does is give Photoshop the ability to translate a texture to and from any single combination of the channels.”

This type of feature is usually limited to 3d software but Multi Chan Hax manages to blur that line and make the same features available in a 2d image editing programs. How cool is that?! For anyone who has ever complained about wanting a different layout to texture, this is basically the answer to your prayers! All you need is the MCH filter and the MCH files and you can make something respectable in less than half the time it would take to manually match it up pixel by pixel.

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Before you get too excited there are a few things I should mention. Multi Chan Hax is a 32bit Photoshop filter so it won’t be available from the filters menu if you choose to run a 64bit executable of Photoshop. Multi Chan Hax is also limited to Windows, so Mac and Linux users are out of the loop.

The Multi Chan Hax filter works with any program capable of loading the 8bf filter format so that means a handful of programs other than Photoshop should be able to make good use of it. PaintShop Pro is one of them and GIMP can too, with the help of a PSPI which is a GIMP plug-in that runs 3rd-party Photoshop filters, such as this one.

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If you want to follow along you will need to grab a few things:

Chip’s Templates or Robin’s Templates

Multi Chan Hax- Filter

Multi Chan Hax- Files

Flaming Pear’s- Solidify filter

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PhotoShop Plug-In Translator for Gimp

MultiChan Hax- A Temporary New Home

March 21, 2012

Earlier this week the TechSlop wiki went down and it might take a while to be sorted. Abu Nasu has graciously allowed me to host the MCH filter and files on his behalf until it’s fixed.

I’ve managed to grab a copy of the MCH Repository page through googles cache system which means I can leave the details and description to The Master himself.

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MultiChan Hax Filter

You will need to install this filter into Photoshops plugins directory before you can use the files below.

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SL_legpatternwerapfull01_c2

Designed for creating patterned stockings. The ratio is 1:2, so watch out for that. (This is the filter used in the two-part MCH video)

SL_mucho23chans

One day I got into the mood to do a bunch of mapping channels. So I did a bunch of channels. Some head shots, legs, torso stuff, and things. Can’t say for sure what all of channels are what because I didn’t take any notes on them. However, I do remember a few. The very first channel is all head, upper, and torso with each tucked away in a corner. Channels 21, 22, and 23 are the individual head, upper, and torso chunks.

SL_legsx2

Contains two different MCH files for legs. One of the MCH files in this rar was used in Map Chan Hax Leg Seams. The other one is more like the default mapping and may be more intuitive.

SL_shouldersx2

Contains two different MCH files for working with the shoulder areas. One has 2 channels and the other has 3.

SL_head02

This is the MCH file that is almost identical to the one used in the Multi Chan Hax Head tutorial.

SL_jacketwaist01

A quick little ditty for matching upper and lower for the jacket layer. Designed for documents with a ratio of 2:1, so start with 1024×512 or so. The upper will be on the left and the lower will be on the right. After that, chop it out and go. There are two different seam channels that are very similar. One has the front in the middle and the other has the back in the middle for full wrap-around goodness. Didn’t cover the entire jacket layer, but I did get the bulk of the seam between upper and lower. I used the default female mesh and that had some effect on the operations. Should be okay to use for male design, but I haven’t tested it specifically for male distortion

SLarm_female_c6a

Description: Several mapping channels for working with the female arm.

SLarm_male_c6a

Several mapping channels for working with the male arm.

SL_skirt01_c3

Really quick cylindrical mapping channel for the SL skirt. Quick as they are, they work uber dandy for SL skirt seams.

SL_maletorsoplanar01

Real quick planar mapping on the male torso. No arms, no legs, or head. Just quick planar on the front and back of the male torso. The first channel has the default mappings, and the second channel has the planars. The second channel is mostly like the first, but the back is extremely lower. I could have laid second over the first, but that would lead to confusion. With the back extremely lower, easy to see which channel you are looking at with a glance. Should be pretty decent for placing logos and similar on the front and back. Remember that the mapping is planar and thing will distort as the 3d mesh curves around.

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Thanks for posting, Claire!

the Game of Bumps

Children's games often train skills of coordination and speed. This is "tag", re-invented for Second Life as a simple and fun way to master control of your avatar in active areas.

BUMPS

The Basic Rule: When "it" bumps you, you have to bump someone else, then say you did so in chat to make someone the new "it"

Object: to avoid being bumped by and therefore becoming "it". As "it", to accept the role in chat and then bump another and announce who the new "it" is in chat.

Equipment: any area roughly 40m across. It need not be utterly clear of obstacles nor fully delineated.

Players: any number greater than two.

Preparation

The group chooses a player to be the first "it". Traditionally, this role belongs to the player who suggests the game or whoever was "it" at the end of the last game.

The players choose an ending time of the game. All players are prohibited flying in the game.

Suggested: Each player opens the "Bumps, pushes & hits" window in the "help" menu, so one can see who made contact with oneself, or wears a script that tells when such things happen.

Optional: Each player can activate a radar or a map, either thru a viewer or a HUD (like Mystitool), so one might see who is close and who is not.

Playing Bumps

~ "It" chats a sentence saying "I am it".
~ "It" attempts to physically bump another player by avatar.
~ Other players move inside the playing area to avoid "it".

~ When "it" actually bumps another, their hit windows will confirm it.
~ "It" must chat, by any sentence he chooses, the name of who he bumped within hearing (20m) of the one he bumped.
~ Others and "it" may move and repeat that that idea until:

~ The one bumped acknowledges "it" in chat.
~ He or she becomes the new "it" and play continues as above.

Ending the game.

Anyone may, but the person who suggested the game must announce in chat "5 minutes left", "one minute left", "ten seconds left" and "Good Game."
The last "it" loses the game, but that hardly matters, does it? Now enjoy sharing what happened.

Irregularities:

"It" crashing appears to others as "it" disappearing, or going motionless. When this happens, or "it" must leave for a while, the others should gather in the center of the playing area and choose a new "it". Traditionally, "it" is assigned to the one who bumped the crashed "it" or the first "it".

Being "Out of Bounds" incurs no penalty because it isn't much fun. One should simply return to the playing area directly when discovered out of bounds. One can still bump or be bumped while out of bounds.

One can quit the game by going out of bounds and stating "not playing" as often as needed, but it is bad manners to re-enter the game after quitting.

When flying is noticed, the one flying should immediately return straight to the ground with "page down" only. If "it" is under the descending flyer, the bump counts and may be called. If "it" is the flyer, no bumps need be acknowledged until "it" lands and spends 10 seconds motionless.

Missing chat: One may, if bumped, accept "it" before the old "it" announces one was bumped, but it's better to remind the old "it" he or she needs to announce who was bumped. Handle someone not replying to a chatted bump after several chats as "it" crashing.

Players joining mid-game can learn the basic rule as they play if others guide them thus: When "it" bumps you, you have to bump someone else, then say you did so in chat to make them the new "it".

Strategies,
with links to more complete player guides:

The real object of the game is to improve the players ability to move, chat, and view the world screen in rapid succession. In more detail:

To move, use the keyboard arrows (or ASDF if your chat is closed) alone or in combination with shift and/or your mouse. To activate running, use Menu/World/Always Run, or Ctrl-R toggle.

Views include the default view where you see your avatars back, mouse-look where you see thru the avatars eyes, and custom focus views. Try using mouse-look (activated by mouse-scrolling your view into your avatar's head or pressing M with chat closed) and regular view (activated by escape key or M in mouse-look) and Custom focus. Each one of these might be preferable to you at different times, and each allows different custom options.

Chatting begins in mouse-look with the Enter key, then type your chat and press Enter again to send. If out of mouse-look, click your chat window, then type your chat and press Enter to send. If you can see another player's name-box floating over their head, they can hear you in regular chat. If the name-box has dimmed to invisibility, they are out of normal chat range, and you must move close to them or send a "shout" (using control-Enter). One can repeat the last thing said with control-up (ctrl-↑) then pressing Enter.

Game Variations:

~Voice can make an easier game if all have voice on and use it instead of chatting who bumped whom and who is it.

~Automating bumps would make an easier game if each player wears a scripted object that says bumps in chat, so "it" need not chat the bump. The new "it" must still chat that they are "it" unless all wear a script that keeps track of "it" by chat, float text and/or particle emission.

~RSVP: whenever anyone chats your name (or a reasonable facsimile thereof) in your hearing, by itself or in a sentence, you must immediately chat a reply. This will leave you unable to move until you have completed your chat, and vulnerable to bumps.

~No tag backs, where "it" may not bump the person who bumped him or her, works best in a group larger than five.

~No running creates a slower-paced game; shrink the playing area to 25x25.

~Flying, when allowed and encouraged, is best played in a thick 40x40x40 box.

~ Rezzing. For an advanced group, encourage players to rez barriers in the playing area. Owners of the items may move, delete or change their own barriers at any time, of course. Simplest to allow only creating and editing non-scripted, non-physical default prims during the game, but the group may choose to allow anything, including scripted or physical items to appear and disappear.

Have Fun

Fair warning: in many areas, bumping another avatar might be grounds for a complaint to the management. Don't play Bumps in busy, public areas where non-players may get you in trouble.

Mental Feng Shui

Regardless of all the reasons why this is a bad chain e-mail, I actually like what it has to say:


ONE. Give people more than they expect and do it cheerfully.

TWO. Marry a man/woman you love to talk to. As you get older, their conversational skills will be as important as any other.

THREE. Don't believe all you hear, spend all you have or sleep all you want.

FOUR. When you say, 'I love you,' mean it.

FIVE. When you say, 'I'm sorry,' look the person in the eye.

SIX. Be engaged at least six months before you get married.

SEVEN. Believe in love at first sight.

EIGHT. Never laugh at anyone's dreams. People who don't have dreams don't have much.

NINE. Love deeply and passionately. You might get hurt but it's the only way to live life completely.

TEN. In disagreements, fight fairly. No name calling.

ELEVEN. Don't judge people by their relatives.

TWELVE. Talk slowly but think quickly.

THIRTEEN! . . . When someone asks you a question you don't want to answer, smile and ask, 'Why do you want to know?'

FOURTEEN. Remember that great love and great achievements involve great risk.

FIFTEEN. Say 'bless you' when you hear someone sneeze.

SIXTEEN. . When you lose, don't lose the lesson.

SEVENTEEN. Remember the three R's: Respect for self; Respect for others; and Responsibility for all your actions.

EIGHTEEN. Don't let a little dispute injure a great friendship.

NINETEEN. When you realize you've made a mistake, take immediate steps to correct it.

TWENTY. Smile when picking up the phone. The caller will hear it in your voice.

TWENTY- ONE. Spend some time alone.

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