Beta Testers...Soarin is ready for testing!

(*Click the image above to see it larger.)

Today on June 26, 2014 Themagical team is happy to announced to the beta testers that Soarin Simulation is now ready for testing!

We've gotten the 'all-clear' from Josh for beta testing as the staff made sure it was beta testing quality.

From this stage, the beta testers will be testing on their devices to make sure Soarin simulation works smoothly as it would be running on a computer.

Also it they will be required to send their feedback on the simulation experience and any bug issues or glitches that they may run into.

Once we receive their feedback and bug reports, we'll run through more additional tests to make sure all bugs are taken care of.  The more people testing, helps us to find more bugs to make a bug free simulation experience on all platforms.

To follow on their experience, they will be using the hashtag #SoarinSim in social media outlets like Facebook, Twitter, Google+, etc...  

Finally, we feel once all the testing is concluded and confirm it has met all simulation quality standards we'll release Soarin to the general public.

We are excited for this and we can't wait to release Soarin for all to enjoy real soon!

Until Then,

Reighard

Join our conversation, use the hashtag #TMNewSim

Twitter Update: New Simulation ??!

Hello Friends!

I've got great news for you!  I guess I got the 'green light' from Martijn (Founder/Webmaster/Simulation Creation) that I can announce on our blog.

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  Twitter Update Stats: (Twitter.com/Themagical) 
* As of 03.11.2013 EDT (GMT -5 hours)

- "Busy weeks, but managed to work on a new project, already implemented some basic animations. Release still Q4 (hopefully)"

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 ::Confused??::

Now many of you are asking yourself "Wait a second....!? I thought you were already working on another simulation?? What happened to Test Track simulation, wasn't that next on the list?" etc....

Ok, ...Ok.  Let me explain.  Martijn and the team look over the many suggestions you've have asked us in the past and still currently via email, facebook and twitter.

We have placed those into consideration and made an "OFFICIAL" list that we want to do right after the launch of an simulation.  With that in mind, we pick the best simulation that we think the community and people of the internet would enjoy playing (also for hours on end! LOL!)

Let's tackle some questions you've could be asking or about to email us.

Q 1) I thought you were already working on another simulation???

A 1) Yes, we are currently working on one already which is Soarin.

Q 2) What happened to Test Track simulation, wasn't that next on the list?

A 2) Yes it was. But due to the high demand of the 'Steel Force Simulation' progress, we had to focus on all our energy on completing this simulation for our partnership site 'dorneyonline.com' .  From this, we didn't make any progress on development since it was ONLY in "Blue Sky Phase". 

Q 3) What does this "Blue Sky Phase"?? You keep on telling us this for a long time.

A 3) 'Blue Sky Phase' or the word 'Blue Sky' is a term that the Disney Imagineers go through every single time when they start on a new project(s). During this phase, the sky is the limit. There's no such thing as bad ideas, by which these ideas help on how to bring the story to life through the blend of creativity and technical know-how.

Q 4) Have the 'beta testers' got a sneak peak at this new simulation?

A 4) At this time of writing this could change. I haven't gotten word from Martijn to disclosed this to our 'e-lite beta testing group' as of yet. So the best answer is 'no' for the time being.

Q 5) Does this mean that 'Test Track' won't be the next one after Soarin?

A 5) As I mentioned before in a previous post, Test Track will be stand-by mode until Martijn comes back from his vacation this summer to Walt Disney World.  He will be riding the new updated version of the ride to fully experience it and as well feel what direction should the simulation be by version 1.0 or 2.0 .  You can read our posting about the 'stand-by delay' of Test Track here. 

Q 6) I notice Q4 release (hopefully) for new simulation. What does "Q4" means?

Q 6) Q4 represent an industry standard when it comes to business model's projections, special announcements, product releases, etc... 

There's 4 quarters that the business industries follow: Q1, Q2, Q3, Q4.  Each quarter represents several months of the whole calendar year as follows:

Q1 (First Quarter):  January, February and March
Q2 (Second Quarter): April, May and June
Q3 (Third Quarter):  July, August and September
Q4 (Fourth Quarter): October, November and December

More information on how these quarters are represented, click here!

::Closing Thoughts::

Still got questions for us?  Email us at: sdt@themagical.nl

I'll answer the best of my ability that I can (with permission of course by Martijn) on your questions you may have.  If I feel your question is much needed to be shared to our community readers, I'll post it up on my next posting.

We feel that there may be some disappointment among you.  Please understand this was based on Martijn on the direction he feels about Test Track at the park, so he can experience the ride for himself.

We'll leak more details, so STAY TUNED!

Until Then,


Reighard

Tweet Meet? Would you be interested?

Tweet Meet? Would you be interested?

It's been several years we've been thinking about this concept for a long time but its been pushed to the back burner to work on other project that we are working on.




Today I was just sitting down at my computer and asked up Tijn about the idea if we get some feedback of our community to see if they were interested of doing our first ever tweet meet?

He said, 'I'll post it as a poll and we'll see what response we'll get.'

If we get a great number of responses and feedback from all of you, maybe we can make it happen and not only to meet up but as well do fun 'magical' stuff too!

What's your thoughts?

Vote today and leave a comment below, we'd be happy to hear what you guys think!

VOTE HERE: www.themagical.nl

Thanks,


Reighard

Email: sdt@themagical.nl

Steel Force Sim Tweet Update

Hey Everybody!

It's been a long time since we've talked about any new information related to the Dorneyonline.com Simulation updates!

The webmaster/founder of Themagical.nl posted some interesting tweets recently and I thought I would keep you posted on the current status of the 'Steel Force Simulation' updates.


Steel Force Simulation Twitter Update Stats: (Twitter.com/Themagical)
* 2 days ago of 11.27.2010 EST (GMT -5 hours)

- Finally fixed the problem, new queue gates are working, so the queue can be modified #SFsim. Good night everyone, heading for my bed

- My bad, found it: cannot use a name for a movie clip when it's the same as the object in the library, not that unlogical...

- puzzled: why can the name of a movie clip not contain a number if there are functions defined into it? Just wondering why.

- Flash continues to bug me today, still thinks that a function is no function, even I have written it the right way :(

We are looking forward to start the beta testings so you can enjoy this before we release the simulation for the public to enjoy!

If you haven't emailed the simulation development team to try the beta testing of Steel Force once we announce it, please send an email to sdt@themagical.nl, with your name, user name account from either Themagical.nl or Dorneyonline.com website and email address.

Until Next Time!


Reighard

Steel Force Simulation Tweet Update

Hey Everybody!

It's been a long time since we've talked about any new information related to the Dorneyonline.com Simulation updates!

The webmaster/founder of Themagical.nl posted some interesting tweets recently and I thought I would keep you posted on the current status of the 'Steel Force Simulation' updates.


Steel Force Simulation Twitter Update Stats: (Twitter.com/Themagical)
* 12 hours ago of 11.26.2010 EST (GMT -5 hours)

- Sometimes I'd wish days could last longer, so i'd had more time to work at the #Themagical #sims. Especially testing takes a lot of time.

- And the weather system of the #SFsim needs some animations and additional effects.

- 2Still 2 major point for the #SFsim: queue system and operation schedule, both are working but need to be tweaked..

- Again spend some time yesterday, preparing the #SFsim for the beta tests, still looking into some small issues, which have to be fixed

We are looking forward to start the beta testings so you can enjoy this before we release the simulation for the public to enjoy!

If you haven't emailed the simulation development team to try the beta testing of Steel Force once we announce it, please send an email to sdt@themagical.nl, with your name, user name account from either Themagical.nl or Dorneyonline.com website and email address.

Until Next Time!


Reighard

Be Protected from Twitter-like Phishing Scams with Internet Explorer 8

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Over the weekend, a widespread phishing scam hit Twitter where users were lured in through bad links via Direct Messages that ultimately let spammers take over their Twitter account.

Once the spammers take over a person’s Twitter account, they send out mass Direct Messages to all of that person’s friends on Twitter. Some of you may have been impacted by this, and I know some of my friends were as I received some of these spam Direct Messages from this phishing scam. If you receive a Direct Message from someone that has the message of “lol, this is you” that offers a link to a website called “bzpharm” – do not click the link. Email the person that sent you that Direct Message and let them know their account has been hacked and that they should change their Twitter password. Here is a good article on what to do if your Twitter account has been hacked or you suspect it may have been hacked.

These types of phishing scams on popular social networking sites like Twitter highlights that the threat landscape continues to evolve – and at a rapid pace. Social networks open up more opportunities to deliver malware and phishing scams to people who it looks like you trust.

These types of phishing attacks also serve as a good reminder that it is extremely important to have a modern browser like Internet Explorer 8 to help protect you from spammers. In the case of this weekend’s phishing scam that hit Twitter, there were two ways Internet Explorer 8 helped alert people to the threat.

When I clicked on the link I received via a Direct Message from a friend on Twitter whose account was hacked that said “lol, this is you” this screen appeared in Internet Explorer 8:

Based on this screen, I totally knew something was very wrong with this link. There are a few things to pay attention to here. First – the real domain is in dark black in the address bar. I may have thought I was being directed to Twitter.com based on the URL in the message, but with this it is clear that the real URL is “bizpharma.net” which was *not* where I thought I was going to. This is a great example of a common technique phishers use to trick people with a formula of “siteyoutrust.phishingsite.com” betting that people will see the site they trust first and feel safe.

By highlighting the real domain in black in the address bar and making it stand out from the rest of the URL, Internet Explorer 8 makes it clear you’re on a site you may not know.

The other way that Internet Explorer 8 tells you something is wrong is hard to miss – all that red! It’s like Red Alert from the Starship Enterprise. Except that we aren’t dealing with Klingons here. This is the SmartScreen Filter in action as seen with the huge red screen and big red shields with Xs on them. The role of the SmartScreen Filter in Internet Explorer 8 is to keep a comprehensive list of sites that are suspected of malware or phishing attacks and alert people to the potential danger in a way that’s very clear and easy to understand.

The SmartScreen Filter is super effective, making Internet Explorer 8 the best browser at protecting people from malware and phishing attacks.

Seeing that some of my friends were hit by this phishing scam on Twitter over the weekend, I thought it would be a good idea to remind folks on how a modern browser like Internet Explorer 8 can help prevent having your Twitter account taken over by spammers.

Internet Explorer 7.0 has the same feature but under the name called "Phishing Filter". Once enabled, you'll have the security of protecting you from major fraud websites that could be trying to steal your money, identity, credit cards account numbers, etc....

To enable this feature in IE 7 (Internet Explorer 7), go to the toolbar on the far right. Click 'Tools'. A drop down menu will appear, go to where it reads "Phishing Filter". Click "Turn On automatical website checking....".

This phishing filter comes with a tool where you found a fraud website and comfirms its not a real website, you can submit it to Microsoft and by the partners along with Microsoft can help you and others stop this website from fooling many other people on the web.

Phishing: To request confidential information over the Internet under false pretenses in order to fraudulently obtain credit card numbers, passwords, or other personal data. the practice of luring unsuspecting Internet users to a fake Web site by using authentic-looking email with the real organization's logo, in an attempt to steal passwords, financial or personal information, or introduce a virus attack; the creation of a Web site replica for fooling unsuspecting Internet users into submitting personal or financial information or passwords.

Source: http://windowsteamblog.com/blogs/windowsexperience/archive/2010/02/22/be-protected-from-twitter-like-phishing-scams-with-internet-explorer-8.aspx