Garmin Flight Glass

Garmin’s new GTN 750 Trainer app for iPad 2

DEC 28, 2011 aviation gps, garmin, gps navigation, gps software, ipad

This is one of the ways Garmin is still staying relevant when every single smartphone on the market offers practically free GPS navigation. Stand alone automobile navigation is not their only market. They’ve got aviation too. Just recently they announced a new app for the iPad 2 called GTN 750 trainer. Pilots can now train on the ground, and practice basic operations of Garmin’s new all glass GTN aviation systems.

GTN 750 Trainer app allows pilots to pan the map, enter waypoints into the flight plan, load airways, graphically edit flight plans, radio tune and more. It even has hi res terrain maps, worldwide NavData, and simulated traffic targets and simulated XM weather data for a more realistic experience. Some other options include TAWS-B audible alerts, transponder control and remote audio processor control, and other demo settings that lets users to simulate flight scenarios by changing altitude, speed, location, etc.

$25 is small price to pay to get your training while still safely on the ground.

Related posts:

Garmin GTN 650 and GTN 750

MAR 30, 2011 aviation gps, garmin, gps navigation

I think Garmin is doing a good job focusing in markets other than just end-consumer vehicle navigation. They have really great products for avionics. They just announced the GTN 650 and GTN 750 which are panel mounted touchscreen avionics units. They are certified and ready to fly GPS/NAV/COM systems that provide graphical flight planning with victor airways and high-altitude jet routes, remote transponder, remote audio control (750 only), SafeTaxi and electronic chart capabilities (750 only).

Apparently the GTN 650 and 750 are the first touchscreen avionics certified for general aviation aircraft. The biggest difference between these two models and the previous (430W, and 530W) is the screen size. GTN 650 has a 4.9″ screen giving 50% more area, and GTN 750 has a 6.9″ screen which is twice as much screen space.

The interface with the new GTN’s is also greatly improved. They have a shallow menu structure, audio and visual feedback, finger anchoring bezel, but still support the old knob’s for the most basic tasks such as setting a route, and changing COM frequencies. Other features includes enhanced situational awareness with built-in terrain, mapping and obstacle databases, high resolution presentation of the surrounding area, and even a built-in terrain elevation database that shows color-coded alerts when potential terrain conflicts are ahead.

You can also extend the features of Garmin GTN 650 and GTN 750 by adding sensors, XM WX Satellite Weather, lightning, and traffic system inputs.

Both units are approved for a long list covering most Part 23 fixed wing aircraft. They already started shipping. How much?
GTN 650: $11,495
GTN 750: $16,995

Related posts:

1. Garmin Nuvi 650
2. garmin nuvi 750

Interfacing

The following formats are supported for connection of external devices: NMEA 0180, 0182, 0183 (versions 1.5, 2.0, 2.3, 3.01), ASCII Text Output, and Garmin proprietary formats for connecting to a Mode S transponder for TIS data, and to a Garmin aviation
NAV/COM radio.

The following are the Approved Sentences for NMEA 0183, version 3.01 output: 

GPRMC, GPGGA, GPGSA, GPGSV, GPGLL, GPBOD, GPRTE, and GPWPL. The following
are the Proprietary Sentences for NMEA 0183, version 3.01 output: PGRME, PGRMZ,
PGRMM, and PGRMH.

General Interface Setup

The Interface Setup controls the input/output format used when connecting the unit
to external devices.

Selecting an interface:

1) Press the MENU Key twice to select the Main Menu.
2) Turn or move the FMS Joystick to select ‘System Setup’, and press the ENT
Key.
3) Turn or move the FMS Joystick to select ‘Interface’, and press the ENT Key.
4) With the Serial Data Format field highlighted, turn the FMS Joystick to
select the desired Serial Data Format.

Serial Data Formats:

• Garmin Data Transfer—the proprietary format used to exchange data with a PC or
another Garmin GPSMAP 695/696.
• NMEA In/NMEA Out—transmits NMEA position, velocity, and navigation data.
• Aviation In—the proprietary format used for connection to a Garmin panelmounted
GPS receiver. This eliminates the need to enter the destination on both
units.
• Aviation In/NMEA & VHF Out—receives aviation data and transmits out both
NMEA data, at 9600 baud, and VHF frequency tuning information to a Garmin
Nav/Comm radio.
• TIS In—receives TIS data from a Garmin Mode S transponder or other compatible
device.
• TIS In/NMEA & VHF Out—receives TIS data and transmits out both NMEA data, at
9600 baud, and VHF frequency tuning information to a Garmin Nav/Comm radio.
• None—provides no interfacing capabilities.

Advanced NMEA Output Setup

If interfacing the GPSMAP 695/696 with another piece of equipment (such as an
autopilot), the unit needs to be set to output NMEA data. If the NMEA output mode is
set to ‘Fast’, the unit will output a minimum number of NMEA sentences at 1-second
intervals. If the NMEA output is set to ‘Normal’, the unit will output a greater number
NMEA sentences as 2-second intervals.

Top Sellling DLSRs Nikon D3100 #1

Photosynth

One Billion... Yikes

6.8 Million Android And iOS Devices Were Activated on Xmas Day, 242 Million Apps Downloaded
ERICKSCHONFELD




It was a very Android and iOS Christmas. Mobile apps research form Flurry released estimates on how many Android and iOS devices were activated on Christmas day, as well as how many apps were downloaded. On a combined basis, 6.8 million devices were activated, up 353 percent from the 1.5 million average activations a day over the first 20 days of December. And that number from 2.8 million combined activations on Christmas, 2010, the previous record.

Flurry doesn’t break out the split between iOS and Android. But you can triangulate the numbers with other publicly available stats. Android chief Andy Rubin recently noted just before Christmas that Android activations surpassed 700,000 a day. So that leaves between 700,000 and 800,000 a day for iOS devices (iPhones iPads, and iPod Touches), roughly speaking.

The big unanswered question is whether that 50/50 split continued on Christmas Day, or whether one OS or the other prevailed as the choice Christmas gadget gift. My guess is that Android was beating iOS in total daily activations up until Christmas, but the pull of Apple’s marketing might have evened things out on Christmas Day.

In terms of apps, a record 242 million total apps were downloaded across both platforms, a 125 percent jump from the daily average earlier in December. Last Christmas, the number of combined downloads was 150 million.

Flurry expects a billon apps to be downloaded between Christmas and New Year’s Day.

Dell's Android Phone goes DoD

Pentagon Okays Android … Sort Of

from All Things Digital by John Paczkowski

Android has made its first inroad into the Department of Defense. And while it’s not much of one, it is a start.
In its latest Security Technical Implementation Guide (STIG), the Pentagon okayed Android 2.2 for use on Defense Department computer networks, but with a number of caveats and limitations.

First, Pentagon approval doesn’t extend to all devices running Android 2.2. In truth, it covers just one: Dell’s Venue smartphone (it would have covered the Streak tablet, as well, had the company not binned it). Second, classified information cannot be transmitted to or from it. Third, any Web browsing done on the device must be conducted via a DOD proxy server. And finally, access to Android Market has been restricted.

So, if you’re a DOD employee hoping to kill some off-hours time with a game or two of Modern Combat on your work-issued Venue, you’re out of luck. And if you happen to own a different-model Android phone, you have no hope of getting it on the DOD’s network — for now, anyway. Devices manufactured by HTC, Motorola, et al, aren’t covered by the STIG.

So, as I said, this isn’t much of a step forward for Android, though it’s a step just the same. One version of the OS is now okay for use by DOD employees, which is more than you can say for Apple’s iOS operating system, which has, so far, been approved only for testing and pilot projects.

An Android Grad?

Introducing Android Training

from Android Developers Blog by Tim Bray

[This post is by Reto Meier, Android Developer Relations Tech Lead. — Tim Bray]

Today I’m thrilled to announce the beta launch of Android Training — a collection of classes that we hope will help you to build better Android apps.

From designing effective navigation, tomanaging audio playback, to optimizing battery life, these classes are designed to demonstrate best practices for solving common Android development problems.

Each class explains the steps required to solve a problem, or implement a feature, with plenty of code snippets and sample code for you to use within your own apps.

We’re starting small and this is just the beginning for Android Training. Over the coming months we will be increasing the number of classes available, as well as introducing over-arching courses and sample apps to further help your development experience.

Helping developers build great apps is what the Android Developer Relations team is all about, so we’re excited to see how you use these classes to make your apps even better.

We’d love to know what you think of these classes, and what classes you’d like to see next

ArcGIS for FREE! But does it read and write KML?

Dec. 15, 2011, 2:47 p.m. EST

ArcGIS Runtime SDK for Android Now Available

Extend Your GIS to a Wider Audience

REDLANDS, Calif., Dec. 15, 2011 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- Today, Esri released the ArcGIS Runtime Software Development Kit (SDK) for the Android platform. Available at no cost from the Esri Resource Center, ArcGIS Runtime SDK for Android enables organizations to build and deploy powerful geospatial solutions that extend GIS to a wider audience via Android Market.

Esri designed the SDK to use web services available from ArcGIS for Server and ArcGIS Online. Users of the platform can access dynamic, tiled, and image map services; overlay graphics; search and identify features; locate addresses; collect and update data; and perform GIS analysis. Developers and Esri partners can also use the SDK to create custom mapping applications for both internal and external use. 

ArcGIS Runtime SDK for Android is delivered via an Eclipse plug-in and contains

Native Java libraries

Integrated documentation, sample applications, and templates

Conceptual and reference guide help

Community resources including code galleries, forums, and blogs

To download or get more information about ArcGIS Runtime SDK for Android, visit the ArcGIS Resource Center.

NetFlix Dashes to a Future

Netflix Sees Cost Savings in MPEG DASH Adoption

For a company like Netflix, the ability to serve one format to all devices would be a great benefit.
By Troy Dreier
Posted on December 15, 2011

"The biggest advantage to us of a standard like MPEG DASH is that everything can be encoded one way and encapsulated one way, and stored on our CDN servers just once. That's a benefit both in terms of saving our CDN costs from a storage perspective and a benefit because you have greater cache efficiency," said Mark Watson, senior engineer for Netflix.

Watson made his comments in a red carpet interview at the recent Streaming Media West conference in Los Angeles, shortly before taking part in a panel on the MPEG DASH specification (which, at the time, had yet to be ratified). MPEG DASH would be a great help to Netflix, he said, because then it could avoid saving several different copies of its entire movie and TV show library.

While there are several different profiles defined in MPEG DASH, Netflix will use the on-demand profile, Watson said, because all of its online content is on-demand. Between the two types of stream segments defined -- MPEG-2 Transport Streams and fragmented MP4 files -- Netflix sides with fragmented MP4. It works well for adaptive streaming and is simpler, he offered.

Netflix, Watson said, contracts with multiple CDNs and allows the client devices to determine which works best for them at any time. The company is also sensitive to the amount of traffic it's putting across networks.

"We are working directly with a number of different ISPs to help them deal with this traffic we're creating and come up with solutions that can be beneficial to all of us," said Watson.

The biggest challenge facing Netflix is the Internet itself, since there's no way to guarantee the traffic conditions. The best the company can do, Watson said, is try to adapt.

"The range of different things that happen, from users' home networks and competition on the home network, through the access network, all the way down to the data centers that the CDNs have, it's just enormous the number of different things that can happen. Making sure that the algorithms can cope with that and that everybody gets a good experience is one of the harder parts of the delivery piece," Watson said.

MPEG DASH Specification is Ratified and Streamlined

An MPEG meeting in February will further shape the spec as it moves to general adoption.

By Tim Siglin
Posted on December 14, 2011

The Motion Pictures Experts Group (MPEG) announced last week that the DASH specification has been ratified as a standards-based way to move forward with dynamically adaptive streaming over the HTTP protocol. The DASH specification was approved by 24 national bodies from across North America, Europe, and parts of Asia.

MPEG-DASH, now know as ISO/IEC 23009-1, was frozen technically in August 2011, and ratified by the national bodies prior to MPEG 98 (the 98th meeting of MPEG) held in Geneva, Switzerland, which wrapped up on December 2.

According to a presentation by Thomas Stockhammer of Qualcomm, "editorial updates during MPEG#98 and processing at ITTF [are] such that expected publication of standard in March 2012".

Publication by ISO as an international standard "will take place shortly" according to a press release issued after the close of MPEG 98 in Geneva. Now that DASH has been ratified, at least in its first version, already-high interest is growing as to the companies that will implement the standard. At the Streaming Media West show in early November, a standing-room only crowd listened to members of theMPEG-DASH Promoters' Group espouse the key benefits of DASH and its interoperable potential.

One of those promoters was Akamai's principal architect for media engineering, Will Law, who also replied to a recent commentary by StreamingMedia.com's editor-in-chief, Eric Schumacher-Rasmussen.

"DASH's promise is not an all or nothing proposition," wrote Law in the comment section of the Unified Format or DASHed Hopes commentary. "Today vendors are faced with HLS, HDS, SmoothHD, RTMP, RTSP choice for delivery and support."

"If DASH could help reduce this down to HLS and DASH," wrote Law, "then the convergence that that offers, while not 'total', is none-the-less desirable and beneficial at all levels of the media chain -- encoders, distributors, and playback clients."

The promise of DASH to potentially wean down all dynamic adaptive delivery via HTTP to two types of stream segments -- multiplexed streams using MPEG-2 Transport Stream (TS) or elementary streams using fragmented MP4 files (fMP4) -- is what most interests those on the Promoters' Group.

Another commenter pointed out that the choice is really between the profiles made possible by DASH, namely live and on-demand profiles using fMP4 and those using Transport stream "as DASH/TS and HLS are practically identical in terms of file format."

Even though both DASH's TS profiles and HLS use similar M2TS segments, the differentiating factor is the use of a proprietary manifest file in Apple HLS (known as an .m3u8 file) and an standards-based XML-based manifest file in DASH (known as an MPD or Media Presentation Description file).

"Even just the XML-structure of the DASH MPD offers significant advantages over the limited functionality of M3U8 playlists," wrote Alex Zambelli, Microsoft Media Platform evangelist, in a claim we'll explore in more detail in a future article.
The Future of MPEG DASH

As for next steps in the progression of DASH, three things are in play: first, some additional work will be done on the specification -- set to be addressed prior to the next MPEG meeting, held in San Jose, California, in early February 2012 -- to clarify language in a few areas. In addition, the need for interoperability testing is key missing link as companies begin to build DASH-compliant players capable of playing any or all of the DASH profiles.

Finally, the move to adopt the common file format (CFF) and common encryption schemes must also be completed, the latter providing a multi-DRM (digital rights management) solution in line with the one adopted by the Digital Entertainment Content Ecosystem (DECE) for UltraViolet.

Some work needs to be done here, too, as not everyone's a fan of the five-pronged DRM approach first espoused by DECE for UltraViolet and later adopted by MPEG for consideration as its unified DRM scheme.

On a previous article about DASH ("What Is MPEG DASH?"), highlighting the five DRMs that include Adobe Flash Access, Microsoft Play Ready and an open-source DRM scheme called Marlin, Christopher Levy of BuyDRM.com noted his opinion that the market is only going to accept one DRM scheme.

"Standards are great but the market is going to define where we are all 'going' in the future," wrote Levy. "The studios won't define it alone. The CE manufacturers won't define it. Consumers wont define it. Technology companies won't define it. "

Levy went on to say that Marlin is "dead" and that PlayReady is the DRM scheme that will dominate the market.

"Marlin's not going anywhere," wrote Levy. "Sony dumped it for PlayReady. Sure, FreeVu and Canvas are looking at it. Meanwhile BBC and British Telecom are going with PlayReady. Marlin has no support in the open market. There aren't free video playback platforms like the Microsoft Media Platform available for content owners or licensees to build upon that include Marlin."

Qualcomm's Stockhammer notes, in his presentation, that the "parallel approval process for extensions to ISO Base Media File Format (ISOBMFF) to support DASH 14496-12/AMD 3 and the Common Encryption scheme (IOS/IEC 23001-7)" are forthcoming.

For more on MPEG DASH, view Qualcomm's presentation slides (PDF) from just prior to ratification or this technical whitepaper from Iraj Sodagar of Microsoft, written for the IEEE Computer Society

That is a lot of french fries...

Navy to Demonstrate Biofuel Use During Exercise

from Armed with Science by Julie Weckerlein

Who knew algae-based fuel and fuel made from used cooking oil and non-food-grade animal fats could work together?

The U.S. Navy will employ such a biofuel blend to power aircraft and most vessels participating in a maritime exercise that’s slated to be conducted near Hawaii next summer, senior officials told reporters recently.

Navy Secretary Ray Mabus and U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack held a conference call with reporters to discuss a contract the Defense Logistics Agency announced last week for 450,000 gallons of biofuel that will power a Navy carrier group during a maritime exercise next summer.


U.S. Navy photo by Chief Mass Communication Specialist John Lill

The contract is the largest government purchase of biofuel in history, and provides $12 million to suppliers Solazyme and Dynamic Fuels LLC, a joint venture of Tyson Foods, Inc. and Syntroleum Corporation.

Solazyme’s biofuel is algae-based, Mabus explained, while Dynamic’s is made from used cooking oil and non-food-grade animal fats.

Use of fossil fuels “is a very real threat to our national security, and to the U.S. Navy’s ability to protect America and to project power overseas,” Mabus added.

To read more, click HERE.

High Def POV Stereo with better Camera

Using VIO POV HD Action Cameras for Recording 3D Video

from 3D Vision Blog by Bloody

If you thought that you can use only the GoPro HERO or HERO 2 action cameras together with the GoPro 3D HERO system or maybe alternatively use the Drift HD Action Camera with MIO 3D for recording 3D video with a compact solution and in extreme conditions, then you should be aware that there are other alternatives as well. One such interesting alternative is the VIO POV HD action camera, a similar solution to the others already mentioned, but with slightly different approach and some extra features. The VIO POV HD camera uses a separate module containing the lens and the sensor (camera head) connected with a cable to the long main body of the device, it appears to be more rugged and also offers some interesting and more advanced features compared to the HERO and Drift HD cameras… but all that also comes with a higher price.




As with the other action cameras, using VIO POV HD also requires you to pair two of these cameras together and have them synchronized in order to get the two separate views required for the 3D video you are making. On the image above you can see roughly what are the sizes of the camera head of the VIO POV HD, so that you can get an idea how you can pair two of them in a stereoscopic 3D rig. The largest size is the front part of the camera head has a diameter of about 38 millimeters, so the minimum interaxial distance you can get by pairing two of these heads is going to be around 38 millimeters. It is up to you to make a custom mount that will hold the two camera heads together and maybe will also allow you to easily change the interaxial distance.




The VIO POV HD action cameras come with a wireless remote control that can be used to start/stop recording video on single as well as multiple cameras at the same time (works with more than two cameras as well). The thing you need to do is first make sure what is the channel number at which the remote control is set to operate at, there is a dial inside the remote that can be used to select from 10 available channels. Then you need to set the channel of the wireless remote inside the configuration of the two cameras that you are going to use for recording 3D video, you can find the option in the Settings menu of the device under Remote ID Channel. Make sure that both cameras are set to use the same channel and that the channel is the same that one of the wireless remotes is set to operate at, you can easily test if everything is properly working if both cameras start/stop recording at the same time. As usual with this type of synchronization of two cameras using a remote control to trigger them together you should expect some slight drift in the synchronization, but you should be able to fix that in post most of the time.
- To check what are the current prices of the VIO POV HD action cameras…

Related posts you might be interested in:

• More JVC GS-TD1 3D Camcorder First Impressions and a Sample Video (2)
• Ztring Theory – An Experimental Stereoscopic 3D Short Film (14)
• YouTube’s New Support for 4K Video Resolution Means Better Stereo 3D (6)
• YouTube 3D Video Creator For Making 3D Videos Available Online (2)
• You’ve Never Had it So Good Stereoscopic 3D Video (4)

PhotoSynth Tester - Uluru

Silverlight 5 +1 Accerates your 3D and H.264 - maybe Micorsoft actually pulled it off?

“Technology solved the problem of information scarcity, the disadvantages of which were obvious. But it gave no warnings about the danger of information glut, the disadvantages of which were not seen so clearly, the long range result – information chaos.”

“The world has never before been confronted with information glut and has hardly had time to reflect on its consequences.”

—Neil Postman, Technopoly (1992)http://cadmaps.com/gisblog/

Open Sensor Web - can smell be far behind?  Some thing special for all your GEM types...

WMS from Bing... about time?

XML in GIS

Silverlight 5 Beta was released into the wild at MIX 11 a couple of weeks ago. This is a big step for mirror land. Among many new features is the long anticipated 3D capability. Silverlight 5 took the XNA route to 3D instead of the WPF 3D XAML route. XNA is closer to the GPU with the time tested graphics rendering pipeline familiar to Direct3D/OpenGL developers, but not so familiar to XAML developers.

The older WPF 3D XAML aligns better with X3D, the ISO sanctioned XML 3D graphics standard, while XNA aligns with the competing WebGL javascript wrapper for OpenGL. Eventually XML 3D representations also boil down to a rendering pipeline, but the core difference is that XNA is immediate mode while XML 3D is kind of stuck with retained mode. Although you pick up recursive control rendering with XML 3D, you lose out when it comes to moving through a scene in the usual avatar game sense.

From a Silverlight XAML perspective, mirror land is largely a static machine with infrequent events triggered by users. In between events, the machine is silent. XAML’s retained mode graphics lacks a sense of time’s flow. In contrast, enter XNA through Alice’s DrawingSurface, and the machine whirs on and on. Users occasionally throw events into the machine and off it goes in a new direction, but there is no stopping. Frames are clicking by apace.

Thus time enters mirror land in frames per second. Admittedly this is crude relative to our world. Time is measured out in the proximate range of 1/20th to 1/60th a second per frame. Nothing like the cusp of the moment here, and certainly no need for the nuance of Dedekind’s cut. Time may be chunky in mirror land, but with immediate mode XNA it does move, clicking through the present moment one frame at a time.

Once Silverlight 5 is released there will be a continuous XNA API across Microsoft’s entire spectrum: Windows 7 desktops, Windows 7 phones, XBox game consoles, and now the browser. Silverlight 5 and WP7 implementations are a subset of the full XNA game framework available to desktop and XBox developers. Both SL5 and WP7 will soon have merged Silverlight XNA capabilities. For symmetry sake XBox should have Silverlight as apparently announced here. It would be nice for a web browsing XBox TV console.

WP7 developers will need to wait until the future WP7 Mango release before merging XNA and Silverlight into a single app. It’s currently an either/or proposition for the mobile branch of XNA/SL.

From a mapping perspective the fun begins with this solar wind sample. It features all the necessary models, and shaders for earth, complete with terrain, multi altitude atmosphere clouds, and lighting. It also has examples of basic mouse and arrow key camera control.

Fig 4 – Solar Wind SL5 XNA sample

This is my starting point. Solar Wind illustrates generating a tessellated sphere model with applied textures for various layers. It even illustrates the use of a normal (bump) map for 3D effects on the surface without needing a tessellated surface terrain model. Especially interesting is the use of bump maps to show a population density image as 3D.

My simple project is to extend this solar wind sample slightly by adding layers from NASA Neo. NASA Neo conveniently publishes 45 categories and 129 layers of a variety of global data collected on a regular basis. The first task is to read the Neo GetCapabilities XML and produce the TreeView control to manage such a wealth of data. The TreeView control comes from the Silverlight Toolkit project. Populating this is a matter of reading through the Layer elements of the returned XML and adding layers to a collection which is then bound to the tree view’s ItemsSource property.

Nikon WIreless Imagery

• Wireless transmitter for D3, D700 and D300 allows WiFi remote operation (with optional Camera Control 2 software) and image transfer (with FTP software) or wired Ethernet connection
  
• Transmission Range: Transmission range when wireless LAN is used is approx. 590 feet (IEEE 802.11b/g) or 850 feet (IEEE 802.11a). (Varies according to transmission conditions.)
  
• WiFi Support: Supports wireless LAN conforming to IEEE 802.11b/g, IEEE 802.11a (WiFi a/b/g), and wired LAN conforming to IEEE 802.3u (100BASE-TX) and IEEE 802.3 (10BASE-T).
  
• Image Transfer mode: Images stored in a memory card and those just taken can be transferred and saved on a computer or FTP server.
  
• PC mode: With Camera Control Pro 2 (optional), camera settings can be controlled and images taken can be transferred and saved on a computer.
  
• Nominal Data Transfer Rates: IEEE 802.11a 54M/48M/36M/24M/18M/12M/9M/6M (bps) IEEE 802.11g 54M/48M/36M/24M/18M/12M/9M/6M (bps) IEEE 802.11b 11M/5.5M/2M/1M (bps)
  
• Supports wireless LAN conforming to IEEE 802.11b/g, IEEE 802.11a, (WiFi a/b/g) and wired LAN conforming to IEEE 802.3u (100BASE-TX) and IEEE 802.3 (10BASE-T).
  
• Power Requirements:: EN-EL3e battery (sold separately) and MH-18a charger for EN-EL3e battery or AC Adapter EH-6 (sold separately).
  
• Transfer Modes: Ad-hoc mode enables peer-to-peer connection of a WT-4A and a computer or FTP server. Infrastructure mode enables connection via an access point.
  
• Thumbnail Select mode: Thumbnail images can be displayed on a connected computer, and selected images can be downloaded and saved.
  
• Printer mode: JPEG images stored in a memory card can be transferred to a printer connected with a computer.

Take Control of Your Photography—Remotely:Using the included USB or Firewire cable and/or optional WiFi adapters for select models, Nikon Camera Control Pro enables you to capture unique images no matter what the subject.

LiveView support: Live previews direct from the camera are supported on the D3, D700, D300 and D90 when this feature is enabled. See what you are about to shoot!

Improved graphic user interface: A simulated (camera) LCD panel on the computer screen performs the same function as the camera’s viewfinder display which has been modified to be consistent with those used in the latest cameras for smoother operation.

Picture Control Utility: In certain Nikon digital SLRs such as the D3, D700, D300 and D90 customized image adjustment, including tone compensation curve data, can be saved to tailor the camera’s behavior to the photographer’s vision, improving efficiency when using multiple cameras at the same time.

Compatible with WiFi operation: In addition to supporting USB cable connections, Camera Control Pro offers compatibility with the optional wireless transmitter models WT-2a, WT-3a and WT-4A. When attached to a digital SLR, the WT-2a, WT-3a and WT-4A enable remote shooting and setting via a wireless LAN over WiFi.

Compatible with Nikon's Image Authentication Function: Image data can be transferred and stored without affecting the authentication function.

Supported Cameras:
D3, D3X, D3S, D2Xs, D2X, D2Hs, D700, D300, D300S, D200, D100, D80, D90, D70s, D70, D60, D50, D40X, D40, D7000, D5000, D5100
* The D1X, D1H, and D1 not supported on computers with Intel CPUs running Mac OS X ver.10.3.9

RAM (Memory): 256MB or more (512MB or more with Windows Vista) , 768MB or more recommended.

Hard Disk Space: Requires 1GB or more for running.

Monitor:
1,024 x 768 pixels or more
24-bit color (True Color) or more

Interface*: USB: Only built-in USB ports supported
IEEE 1394: Only OHCI-compliant boards supported

SONY NEX New Glass 18-200mm

TAMRON ANNOUNCES THE 18-200MM F/3.5-6.3 DI III VC (MODEL B011), TAMRON'S FIRST HIGH-POWER ZOOM FOR SONY'S NEX-SERIES MIRRORLESS INTERCHANGEABLE-LENS CAMERAS

Innovative lens is lightweight, compact, and features a striking new form factor with two color options to suit the NEX design.

December 8, 2011, Commack, New York ― Tamron Co., Ltd., a leading manufacturer of optical equipment, announced the introduction of an exciting new lens, the 18-200mm F/3.5-6.3 Di III VC (Model B011). The new high-power all-in-one zoom lens is designed for the Sony NEX (E-mount) series of interchangeable-lens, lightweight and compact digital cameras. Tamron, the zoom lens pioneer, brings 19 years of high-power zoom lens development technologies to this new product. The lens will begin shipping in the U.S. December 15, 2011.

With the 18-200mm Di III VC (Model B011), Tamron has created a high-power all-in-one zoom lens that is compact and lightweight, featuring a 62mm filter and weighing only 16.2 oz., while at the same time delivering superlative image quality. This compact size lets users easily shoot across an extended range - from wide-angle to full telephoto - with just one lens. The focal length coverage is 18-200mm. Converted to the coverage of the 35mm format, this is equivalent to a range of 27mm wide-angle up to 300mm full telephoto. This allows the user to easily take wide-angle shots of expansive landscapes and powerful telephoto images that enlarge the details of distant subjects-all with one lens. In addition, by setting the lens at the telephoto end (200mm) and moving in to the minimum focus distance of 19.6", flower petals, jewelry and other small objects can be shot as expanded close-ups.

Product Features- 

Compact and lightweight

The high-power 18-200mm all-in-one lens is a lightweight and compact zoom weighing 16.2 oz. with a 62mm filter, designed for exclusive use on the E-mount lens system on Sony's NEX series mirrorless interchangeable-lens cameras.

Built-in stabilization enables easy handheld shooting from 18mm wide angle to 200mm full telephoto

Equipped with Tamron's acclaimed VC (Vibration Compensation), and thanks to its light weight and compact size, this lens allows easy handheld shooting of sharp images with no camera shake over a wide range of settings, from everyday snapshots to memorable travel scenes.
Stepping motor adopted for the AF drive, a construction that accommodates contrast-detection AF and shooting video

The AF drive has a stepping motor that is optimal for the Contrast-detection AF system employed by NEX series cameras. This also gives the drive a quieter operation, which is ideal for shooting video in which voices are recorded. In addition, ease of operation is enhanced with the Direct Manual Focus (DMF) function, which allows the user to make fine manual adjustments after initially focusing by AF.

Striking appearance worthy of the NEX series design.

The metallic lens barrel exterior is available in two colors: black and silver.

About the stepping motor

The B011's autofocus mechanism uses a stepping motor that is an ideal match for the Contrast-detection AF system used in Sony's NEX series cameras. The stepping motor's actuator allows finely tuned control of angular rotation,
and since it drives the focusing mechanism directly without an intermediate reduction gear, it also provides superbly quiet performance.

About the VC (Vibration Compensation) system

Tamron's VC mechanism employs a three-coil system, whereby three driving coils activate the shake-compensating VC lens group electromagnetically via three steel balls. The VC lens elements are held in place only by contact with the steel balls, achieving smooth movement with little friction. This provides a stable viewfinder image with excellent tracking performance that eliminates the blur from handheld shots for cleaner, crisper shots.

About the new VC mechanism (moving coil system)

Tamron's conventional VC (Vibration Compensation) unit has a moving magnet system with heavy magnets in the vibration-compensating lens. However, the new VC mechanism adopts a lightweight moving coil system that reduces the load on the drive system. This allows the drive to be operated with smaller coils and magnets, reducing the weight and size for the entire VC unit. In addition, improvements to software and other elements of the VC mechanism used in the 18-200mm Di III VC have made the mechanism even quieter.

PGE a Pipeline Corridor Monstor

Between the Poles

December 08, 2011

AU: Optimizing the information flow from designers to construction to records

One of the major challenges facing the world's utilities is one of data management, optimizng information flows that involve multiple divisions within a utility. I have blogged about this challenge on multiple occasions (here, here, here and here).

The basic process for designing, building and operating and maintaining a utilities network is essentially the same the world over and involves a cumbersome, inefficient, paper-based process. Designers or planners create the initial design, called a construction drawing. Construction crews, often comprised of sub-contractors, build the facilities using paper construction drawings. During construction, the drawing may be marked up or redlined to reflect changes in the original design. After construction is completed, the construction drawing, now referred to as an "as-built", is forwarded to the records department. The records department redrafts the as-built into the permanent records database, which is maintained as the company's record of its network infrastructure.

The records database is used for a variety of activities such as reports about the network requested by the regulator or by management. For work relating to connecting or disconnecting customers to the network, adding new services, repairing or replacing network facilities, the records department is responsible for preparing facilities maps to assist field staff. The symptoms associated with this process are as-built backlogs stretching from months to years, high error rates, and data quality. Inaccurate and out-of-date records reduce the productivity of field staff and even impact safety, the primary concern of all gas and electric utilities.

Pacific Gas and Electric

Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) is one of the largest combined natural gas an electric utilities in the U.S. PG&E is based in San Francisco and serves 15 million people, about half of California's population.

Steve Parker, EO Mapping Manager at PG&E, gave an insightful presentation at Autodesk University about the information flow challenge that PG&E is working to resolve, optimizing the flow of information from designers (Estimating), through the people who build the facilities (Construction) to records (Mapping). As Steve expressed it their goal was to minimize the effort required to capture the true representation of the final installed assets by capturing the pertinent data into PG&E systems as early in the workflow as possible, in other words, to make it easier to share graphical information between Estimating, Construction, and Mapping. Complicating issues include the lack of defined and enforced standards for network documentation (records). Though it sounds simple, changing this process is an incredibly difficult undertaking because it affects a lot of people and involves changing business processes that date from Thomas Edison. As Steve said, "We are going to make history".



Eliminating redrafting

The most critical business process improvment is pre-posting designs directly into the records database, rather than redrafting the information from paper as-builts. If as-builts come back from the field with redlines, all that needs to be entered into the records database are the redlines.

The direct benefit is eliminating the as-built backlog, with the important benefit that the records database is more uptodate. Another benefit is fewer errors, because data is captured electronically rather than being manually redrafted from paper as-builts.

Aging workforce and productivity

Another major benefit is improved efficiency and productivity. PG&E, like many other utilities, is facing the challenge of anaging workforce. For example, Steve said that half of PG&E's mappers are eligible to retire right now. Streamlining information flows by eliminating paper helps both designers and mappers to be more efficient and takes a lot of repetiive drudgery out of the process.

Eliminating paper maps

Another important benefit is that it enables PG&E to get away from paper maps. An advantage of electornic maps is that they can provide information in real-time. Secondly, it means that printing 80,000 maps periodically is no longer necessary with savings of upto $8 million per year.


Posted at 02:38 PM in Data Quality, Electric Power, Mapping Applications, Natural gas, Sharing Spatial Data, Shrinking workforce, Utility Solutions | Permalink

SONY 28Mp Nex 7

 

Sony begins shipping NEX-7 after Thai floods

Sony has issued a statement that it will begin shipping the NEX-7 in limited numbers this month. Flooding in Thailand had forced the company to shut down production lines and delay the launch of its new flagship mirror less camera. Sony’s announcement that it will ship the device to customers who pre-ordered it before the end of the year confirms reports that it had resumed production in mid-November.

SONY Nex 7 Review by dpPreview

"Sony USA is happy to announce that limited quantities of the new NEX-7 camera will begin shipping to pre-order customers this month. Overall production capacity remains restrained as a result of the recent floods in Thailand, but we’ve made significant progress recovering our manufacturing capabilities and supply chain. We’re continuing to aggressively pursue all efforts to restore full production capability of the NEX-7 and other affected models," reads a statement issued by the company.

The NEX-7 incorporates a 24.3-megapixel sensor and a 1024x768 OLED-based eyepiece. Sony had planned to begin shipping the compact interchangeable lens camera in November. It will retail for $1,349.

Read more: http://www.electronista.com/articles/11/12/08/sony.begins.shipping.nex.7.after.thai.floods/#ixzz1fzHkLV2v