Game Developers Conference in SF

This is a graphics heavy post. Rob is on his travels again...

Up bright and early today to catch the 6:20 am flight out of Humberside Airport for San Francisco. It's a tough life. But mostly OK, right up to the point where I tip wine all over my travel documents on the plane. I also managed to fill one of my shoes with the drink of the chap sat next to me. I offered to let him finish it off from there, but he demurred.

So it was a squelchy walk through Homeland Security and into the land of the free. I had a plan to buy an 80 Gbyte Zune. I bought a little (30G) one last year, and I liked it so much that I planned to get another one as soon as we arrived. Bad things plans. They let the gods know what you are thinking of doing..... The first blow was that my favourite shop in SF, Comp USA, was closing. Really closing. I could have bought a yard of shop counter if I'd wanted, but no Zunes. After some research I've discovered that these devices are pretty darned popular over here. Everywhere I've tried so far has been out of stock. Derek and I went for a walk to find BestBuy, we didn't find the shop, but I took the big camera, and grabbed some snaps.

Funny thing photography. I've got a little camera that will take great photographs just by pointing it in the general direction of the scene and pressing the button. The big camera is a bit more tricky. However, once you have taken the picture and spent some time in Photoshop you can come up with some really nice results.

I just like the car

..and another car

..and a fire engine

I think their turn lights are broken

Lovely colours

..what happens if you point a wide angle lens up in the air

Fine Diner

More pictures tomorrow, or today, or whenever.

Durham Daytrip

Went up to Durham today to see Number One Son. All seems to be going OK. I took the big camera and lens, in search of happy snaps.

Birds on the roof

Against the light

Durham Indoor Market

On the way back we stopped off to see Number One Daughter in York...

Lovely sunset

XNA Fun and Games in Dublin

We were up bright and early for a "Breakfast Round Table" discussion with academics from all over Ireland about the teaching of XNA and Computer Science.

Some of the delegates had got up at scarily early hours to travel here and take part. Once I got over the disappointment that the table wasn't actually round a great discussion was had. It was interesting to hear how the computing scene in Ireland is not that different from the UK.  Quite a few places are getting their students to write games as part of their teaching, others are starting game development courses. At Hull we have been doing this for a while, and so I delivered a bit of insight into how we make things work. And gave the book a good plug.

Then the student presentations started. Due to popular demand we were running two tracks and so everyone gave their sessions twice.  I took some pictures of the audience looking happy at the start of my sessions (I always take the pictures at the start, in case it all goes horribly wrong).

The audience for session 1

The first session went really well with a great audience. Then I staggered out of the lecture room and into the second session.

The audience for session 2, how they appeared at the start....

However once I got the laptop working on the projector things settled down a bit and I was able to focus on the job in hand....

Another superb audience.

I had another great session with these folks, and then it was off to the airport for a flight back to Hull.

The XNA European tour goes on tomorrow to Vienna. You can find out how they are doing on Charles Cox's blog here.

Micro Framework Fun and Games

Today Dave Baker and I strutted our Micro Framework stuff in front of our TechEd audience. Someone had rather kindly told Dave that "He must be mad to present with Rob". If I had a pound for everyone who has said that.....

We had some very nice toys to show off

The talk went very well, in spite of the fact that I told my favourite and second favourite jokes. I'm saving my third favourite for the talk tomorrow. We gave away a bunch of T shirts, a copy of the book and a complete development kit, so there were some very happy delegates. We had loads of questions, which I reckon is a good sign.

At the start of the Dave and Rob show

After the talk I headed off to "Ask the Experts" and spent a happy ninety minutes admiring all the new .NET Micro Framework platforms that seem to have appeared since I last looked, and meeting up with Roger and Colin, who had come al the way over from Seattle to run some porting classes and talk to delegates.

The way that Microsoft are prepared to send over the people who actually make their stuff always amazes me. Delegates can actually talk to the programmers who actually make the products they are working with. It must be hugely expensive in time and effort, but I'm jolly glad they do it.

Sunny Barcelona

Had a nice flight out to Barcelona this afternoon. Paid the "Tall Persons Tax" to get a seat with leg room and the flight was fine.

This isn't Spain, I took it at the airport in Leeds

The conference starts tomorrow. We are on at just before tea.

Hornsea Sunday

Today was a nice day. And we had a birthday to celebrate. So it was off to Hornsea Mere for a baked potato. And cheese.

It was very windy. But there were a few brave folk out in yachts

Then we went onto the front for donuts (forget your Crispy Cremes, these are the real deal - and six for a pound). And of course amusements....

Winning big at penny falls (you can actually see the pennies falling)

One of my ambitions, which looks like it might end up being thwarted by big city developers, is to visit Coney Island in New York. Hornsea is a bit like this I think with some amazing attractions. Including the "New Super Palmist".

The machine went up and down my hand and then printed out a very accurate assessment of my character....

I think that pretty much sums me up.

If you live in Hull you really should go to Hornsea.

Back in Hull

And so I am back home. I love the way that as you get closer to Hull the roads get that bit quieter, and the traffic reports of jams around the rest of the country have less and less meaning. And now I have my nice fast broadband connection (rather than climbing a hill, holding the phone above my head and waiting for a single bar of signal to appear).

But the holiday was fun though. I bought a Ferrari for five pounds. It turned out to only have three wheels, but I have plans to stick the missing one back on. I saw some stunning art, had a conversation with a horse (although it was a bit one-sided) and met up with the oracle pig again. Who turns out to be called Esmerelda. I also read some exciting books, one even had pictures in. Of which more later.

Oh, and I took the camera.

What a pity that mobile tower isn't my carrier.....

Sewerby Park Bank Holiday

We are becoming creatures of habit. Perhaps it's our age. Anyhoo, just like last year we went off to a place near Bridlington, Sewerby Park. It is a big country house, with lovely grounds, just by the side of the sea. There is a tiny zoo, pitch and putt golf and some wonderful walled gardens.If you live in the area you should/must go there. Just like last time they were doing Roman re-enactments. Just like last time I took my camera.

Any parent will be familiar with this domestic scene.

Add your own caption here

My money is on the blokes on the horses

They can do gardening here. Oh yes.

Butterfly

Boat

Bridlington bay

Antique Bondery

We got off the boat at 8:30 this morning. That's the only snag with the mini-cruise, it ends at a most peculiar time. Anyhoo, we got some almond croissants on the way home (breakfast of champions) and had a most restful day.

In the afternoon we went out to Beverley and had a look in the antiques centre there. If you ever go to the town you must take a look. It is a bit like a mini-museum where you can buy stuff. Although it is rather upsetting to find things that you had as a kid being sold of as antiques.

They had a James Bond Goldfinger Aston Martin, in its original box. I had one of those. It came with a henchman that you could shoot out of the roof using the cars ejector seat. Needless to say, my henchman vanished quite soon after I got the toy. The one in the museum was not only as shiny as new, but it also had henchman and everything. Mind you, you've got to feel something for a kid who got a toy like that and then doesn't seem to have played with it. I ended up using mine to see how far I could flick a Malteser with the ejector seat roof. Great stuff.

Promiscuity in Amsterdam

After rising bright and early we set off from Europort to the city. I don't know Amsterdam very well and there were some places I wanted to visit. Fortunately I had a plan.

I was going to use my Nokia 770 (a neat little web-terminal thing that I bought cheap a week or so ago) and its matching sat-nav, which was fully loaded with Netherlands maps and had all my destinations carefully favourited. All I had to do was kick the thing into life when we arrived and never be lost. Well, that was the plan.

On the bus as we approached the city I fired up the 770 and the GPS device. Because of the rather stupid software it seems you have to pair the GPS device and the 770 each time you try to use it. On first attempt the navigation software found a Bluetooth device called "Dave" and then crashed. After a reset, and with the faint inklings of foreboding I tried again. This time I found a veritable plethora of Bluetooth partners who all wanted to talk to me. One was called "Land Rover". I looked out of the bus window and sure enough, there it was in the traffic alongside us. Of course the GPS device was nowhere to be found.

By now we had arrived at our dropping off point. My plan was to add this as a favourite so we could easily find our way back to the bus, but things were not going well. The GPS device finally paired with the 770 and told me I was standing in a canal before losing the signal. Not good.

I tried to find my favourites and set the destination, but of course I couldn't see the screen in daylight and the stylus was a pain to use. By now the patience of number one wife was starting to fray a bit. We started walking in order to try and get a better signal and now the direction indicate pointed back the way we'd come and it started to rain on the screen. So that was game over for Mr. Satnav. As I put the whole thing back in my pocket I heard a muffed "At the next intersection turn left.." We bought a map (price 2.5 euros) and used that very successfully for the rest of the day.

The good news is that the GPS device happily paired with my Smartphone and works a treat with Live Search (but I was not going to pay roaming GPRS prices to find my way around Amsterdam).

I'm going to upgrade the Nokia software first chance I get, with a bit of luck this should improve things.

Of course, I'd taken the cameras.

Early morning ships

Actually, these are made of wood

satnav, pah!

Beer marketing with horses

Canal mural

Multi-storey bike park

Container stacking

Industrial Skyline

Down the decks

There are more pictures on Flickr.

Update on 2007-08-22 08:46 by Rob

I think I may have been a bit harsh on the 770 SatNav. Everything happened in the order I described, but I don't think you have to do the pairing thing every time. I tried it again and it just worked.

Testing with Live Search navigation on the Smartphone has left me thinking that for foot navigation a GPS is not as good as for car. In a car the software knows that you are on a road, and can make deductions using direction of movement about where you are.  The fact that you are moving at speed probably helps remove some of the noise from the location values. On foot things get a lot more tricky, particularly if there are buildings around which block the signal.  Having said all that, if I go anywhere in the UK I will now take the GPS puck along with the Smartphone, and probably the 770 as well.

Night Boat

Tonight finds me on a boat on the way to Amsterdam. P & O do these wonderful little min-cruises, which for only slightly more than the cost of a return ticket to London will put you up for two nights on their luxury ferry and take you to Amsterdam for the day to boot (or should that be clog).

Anyhoo, we set sail tonight and, in spite of poor weather, spirits are high.

View of the estuary

Leaving port

We are to be up bright and early tomorrow (5:00 am)...

Last Imagine Cup Pics

These are the last few pictures that I've just pulled off the camera. Korea seems an awfully long way away now, even though it is really less than a week.

 
On the way to the airport. Not sure what the red stuff is

Lottery burgers. Guess which one is for the Microsoft person....

Profitable Lies

Today was the say that we had to leave "Planet Imagine Cup" and return to real life. Many thanks to Microsoft for setting up and running this amazing competition.

We got to the airport at just the right time. Found the just the right queue for just the right flight. And were told that the plane was just full. Apparently Air France use this novel technique where they sell more tickets than there are seats on the plane, on the rather strange theory that there are people out there who would spend one and a half thousand pounds on a journey and then not turn up to take it.

The charming lady at the desk told us that this would mean that either:

1. We would have to travel on a different plane and arrive later (bad)
2. We would travel on the same plane, but in business class (very good)

At the time of telling, the story sounded like a good deal. All we had to do was not make a fuss and return in forty minutes to find out which of the two options were ours. So we went off in search of breakfast and returned all hopeful to find out if it was smoked salmon and posh seats all the way back.

It was not. It was a different flight and later arrivals. By now of course it was impossible to change things, but we were offered some cash compensation and a chance to use the business lounge while we waited for our later plane.

I had the feeling that we had just been "handled" and that the mythical business class upgrade was exactly that. Never mind though, there was still the comfy chairs and free WIFI at the airport to look forward to, to say nothing of the wodge of euros that would soon be ours. Except they wouldn't let us into the lounge...

After a bit of a fight, we got in, connected to the WIFI, had a free drink and a bun and waited for our flight. We were considerably cheered when one of the VIP judges turned out to be on our flight too. If it's OK for him, it's fine for us.

We ended up using Air Korea, who provided excellent customer service and the best range of on-flight entertainment I've ever seen on a plane (even though I watched "Wild Hoggs", which I now know is a move best avoided). And I had leg room.

We got in precisely ten minutes later than our original flight and two of us managed to get our compensation euros as well (although because of another piece of daftness from "La Premiere Airline Francais" one of our party missed out on the cash).

Then it was a mad dash across town to miss the next train back. I finally got into the house at 11:15 after 25 hours traveling. I think I'll sleep tonight..

Seoul Shopping

I feel rather bad about this. Rather than attend the World Fair part of the Imagine Cup awards I instead snuck out and took a trip round Seoul. I'd checked that I wouldn't be needed for anything, and it is rather unlikely that I will get to this wonderful city again in a long while, so it was into a taxi and off to the shopping district.

Taxis in Seoul are ace. They are very inexpensive and very efficient. Some of their drivers can speak English too, which is nice. And they have air conditioning, which is all important.

So, all we had was two bits of paper. One had the name of the shopping district written on it, and the other had the name of the hotel written on it. Both of them contained the only Korean language that we had on us. But at no point did this seem a problem. The sun was out, the people were friendly, and away we went. Of course I had both cameras, and of course I took loads of pictures. Most of them will be up on Flickr later, for now here are a few choice snaps.

We found this little market square area. This is the layout of the stalls.

Then we found ourselves in a video game arcade. This was tucked away in a side street. Even so there were plenty of machines.

Single player

This guy was seriously good

Draw your picture, take a call. That's multi-skilled...

The old and the new

Side street

After spending a few hours happily wandering around and steadily accumulating bits and bobs we found another taxi, gave the driver the other piece of paper and headed back to the hotel. I've got some pictures of the trip, which will appear later.

By the time we got back it was pretty dark, but the air was clear and so it was time to take some night views.

The view from the 11th floor

...and another.

Seoul is wonderful. If you get the chance to go, just go. And take me along too...

Update on 2007-08-13 07:51 by Rob

I've been thinking about this post. I'm wondering if it makes me seem more brave/stupid than I actually am. We did go off without much backup, but we had made sure that people back at the hotel knew where we were going and when we were due back. We also made sure that all the taxis that we took were proper ones, stayed in sight of each other and never strayed too far off the main streets.  My impression is that Seoul is no more dangerous than any big city, but that is not a reason for taking undue chances.

The Power of W

I'd never heard of W hotels before I came to Korea. I have now. This place is amazing. I could (and probably will) devote an entire post to my room. I've no idea how I managed to merit such lavish accommodation, but since it will probably never happen again, I'm making the most of it.

On the way to breakfast you pass this "wooden video wall". A camera in the middle grabs a video frame which is then used to orient thousands of little wooden blocks to show the picture. It does work, and the blocks make a super trickling noise as people walk past and the picture changes. I want to build one.

This is the view from the hotel restaurant. I suspect it looks even better by night. Say hello to Dennis and Nannette.

These are made of logs which have been sliced and fitted together to make art. Amazing.

Sometimes it feels like you've strayed onto the set of a sixties spy movie.

The lift has these amazing hanging lights. They are red when you are going down....

...and green when you are going up.

I'm sure I could get tired of living here. Maybe in 100 years.

Culture vs Gadgets

After lunch, and an ice cream, we set off on the next stage of our trip, which was a cruise on the Han river.

All aboard

Apartments

The captain, looking cool in white gloves

This bridge has a name, but I've forgotten it
Do I get any marks for composition?

Once we got off the boat we headed for a market street.

The pastel umbrellas are Imagine Cup students. Bless.

At this point I'm ashamed to say that I deviated a little from the enlightened path of culture when someone mentioned leaving the tour and heading for the electronics district. I'm afraid that I weakened and we headed off for the nearest subway station.

Route Planning

Hmm. Or we could just buy at the window...

Thank heavens I didn't pack my heels..

Not our train.

Tube travel

branded handrail

Now this is what I call a subway station

On the way to the mart

Mobile phones anyone?

Pink is the new black

Component heaven

Gadget happy team

People in Seoul are very obliging. I got the camera out and the guy in the booth instantly struck a pose.

Indeed it is

There is a Marks and Spencer coming soon...

Obligatory taxi shot

... and when we arrived

We found this amazing Italian place for tea. With the most wonderful artwork on the walls.

..and the calzone was wonderful too

Finally we got a taxi back to the hotel (taxis are amazing value here) and staggered into bed.

Greetings from the Future

It is now Wednesday morning. Except that it isn't where you are reading this. Probably. Because of the time difference thingy I find that I'm in tomorrow, whereas the readers of this might blog not be. Until you  catch up of course.

Very confusing, and yet somehow appropriate for Korea. I've had time to take a few happy snaps around the place.

Korean ganja fizzy grape juice.....

...with Korean ingredients (I wonder which one is sugar?)

the longest bar in South Korea. So they say.

Future phone, and a more traditional one

What we are here for

We are going out today (or is that tomorrow) for some culture. I hope that too much doesn't rub off on me. I'll post some more pictures from the future later.

Imagine Cup Update

Korea is an amazing place. I know we are getting 90% posh hotel and 10% Korea, but it is still amazing. Tomorrow we take a break from the competition and go for a look around Seoul, so that will be a chance to try and see what the real place is like.

For me, formal involvement in the Imagine Cup 2007 is pretty much over. Today, after a very intense but hugely enjoyable set of judging rounds I've completed my duties. In all I've sat through 22 team presentations, and I've enjoyed every one. I've a whole bunch of comments for each team and I plan to go round and try to have a chat with each at the World Fair at the end of the week.

Sadly,"The Seedlings" are also out of the competition. I've not seen their final presentation but I do know how hard they have worked and how much they put into their entry. Very well done guys for getting this far. It is a perhaps a bit of a cliche to say that "Nobody leaves the competition empty handed" but, in terms of the value of the experience and the way that having taken part in will change their lives, I reckon that for the Imagine Cup it is definitely true.

"The Seedlings" - Master of Complications all

I've got a garden shed full of respect for you guys, and your mentor from Black Marble, Robert Hogg. (You must come round and get it soon - I can't reach the lawn mower).

Jetlagged Software

I'm trying a new trick to deal with jetlag. The name of the game is "get enough sleep to stay sane". This means that if I find myself wide awake at, say 2:00 am in the morning, the trick is to go with the flow, work on something for a little while and then go back to bed.

Snag is, this means that I need something to do in the time. So I've decided to start writing silly software in this situation. I've written a daft little application that I'm now using in Korea on the wonderful Smartphone (which gives me another advantage for the device - if I find something I need to make it do, I can just write a program).

You can find out more here.

Note: I nearly bought "jetlaggedsoftware.com" to go with the product but in the end I backed off. Perhaps I'm (gulp) growing up....

Imagine Cup 2007 Launch

I feel a bit of a fraud. I'm here at the Imagine Cup Finals in Seoul, in the poshest hotel I've ever stayed in (the room itself is worthy of a whole bunch of pictures - and it will get them) and all I have to do is watch some student presentations and write down how good I think they are.

I was lucky enough to go to the world finals last year in India, and they were incredible. The place and the people combined to give a once in a lifetime experience. And here I am again in the same position, but as a judge this time. I wonder if this means I'm getting two lifetimes?

We given a warm welcome when we arrived and that has continued right through the day. The organization has  been faultless and, like last year, everyone you meet is determined to do everything they can to make this a special occasion.

Imagine Cup 2007 Welcome Reception

Things got formally under way with a welcome reception. Joe and the rest of the team set the scene for the next few days. Wednesday looks like a particular highlight, with all kinds of cultural events planned, ending with dinner with the mayor.

Joe Wilson gets the party started...

 When a student competition is invited to eat with the mayor of a city of over 10 million you know you are in the middle of something special.

Competition proper starts tomorrow, with teams from the 100 countries taking part getting down to the serious stuff. The Seedlings will begin their progress through the Software Development Challenge with a presentation tomorrow.