Camera Area Networking... time has come

Consumers want connected cameras

from (title unknown) by Paul Worthington

Nearly 75 percent of smartphone users who also take digital photos or shoot digital video would be “somewhat” or “extremely” interested in the ability to wirelessly transfer photos or video from their digital camera to their smartphone, InfoTrends reports.

Furthermore, 68 percent of those respondents said that having that ability would actually cause them to use their digital camera more, the research firm adds. “Many consumers own multiple photography devices and the ability to easily transfer content between these devices will help encourage the viewing, sharing, and printing of photos from both connected and non-connected devices.”

InfoTrends’ Smartphones, Tablets, and Connected TVs: Changing the Digital Imaging Landscape report analyzes findings from a survey of over 1,300 U.S. consumers about their use of smartphones, tablets, and connected TVs for a variety of business and recreational tasks.

Apple knows where you are as well as alot of others as well?

Hackers Obtain Millions of Apple Users' Information From FBI Laptop

By Will Oremus

 | 

Posted Tuesday, Sept. 4, 2012, at 10:42 AM ET

Every Apple device has a unique identifying number. A hacker group claims the FBI has been compiling a database of those numbers, perhaps to keep tabs on users.

Screenshot / WhatsMyUDID.comThe hacker group AntiSec claims the FBI has compiled a database of 12 million Apple UDIDs—the unique numbers that identify every Apple device, including iPhones and iPads—many of them complete with the device owner's personal information. To prove it, the Anonymous-affiliated group on Monday published one million of the IDs, along with the type (e.g. iPhone) and name (e.g. Jane Doe's iPhone) of each device. In a post accompanying the data dump, the group says it withheld other personally identifying information, including names, mobile phone numbers, and addresses. There's no indication that bank account numbers or passwords were included.

During the second week of March 2012, a Dell Vostro notebook, used by Supervisor Special Agent Christopher K. Stangl from FBI Regional Cyber Action Team and New York FBI Office Evidence Response Team was breached using the AtomicReferenceArray vulnerability on Java, during the shell session some files were downloaded from his Desktop folder one of them with the name of "NCFTA_iOS_devices_intel.csv" turned to be a list of 12,367,232 Apple iOS devices including Unique Device Identifiers (UDID), user names, name of device, type of device, Apple Push Notification Service tokens, zipcodes, cellphone numbers, addresses, etc. the personal details fields referring to people appears many times empty leaving the whole list incompleted on many parts. no other file on the same folder makes mention about this list or its purpose.

The group suspects the FBI was using, or planned to use, the information to track Apple users. The FBI has yet to comment on the apparent breach, and it's unclear how it obtained the Apple IDs.

In a twist, the agent whose laptop AntiSec claims to have hacked appeared in a 2009 FBI recruiting video, urging hackers to join the bureau as cybersecurity experts. To AntiSec, which views cybersecurity experts as, essentially, tools of The Man, that makes him an ideal target.

Meanwhile, some security researchers are pouncing on Apple for hard-coding unique identifiers onto every device in the first place. In a post titled, "The UDID leak is a privacy catastrophe," security consultant Aldo Cortesi catalogs several of his own past blog posts warning about the potential for the device numbers to be misused.

Wondering whether your device was among those compromised? The Next Web has built a quick tool that lets you check whether your UDID matches any of the one million that AntiSec included in its data dump. The Next Web assures users that it isn’t storing the numbers they enter. You can find your UDID by following the easy steps outlined here. (Note: Even if yours isn't a match, it could still theoretically be among the other 11 million that AntiSec says it has but didn't publish.)

Wikipedia Photo Competition

Wikipedia Mounts Massive Monthlong Photo Competition

from All Things Digital by Liz Gannes

Hungry for more freely licensed photographs of notable places to illustrate entries on Wikipedia, Wikimedia is holding a gigantic photo competition.


Lasting the month of September, ”Wiki Loves Monuments 2012” is “expected to be the largest photo contest in the world by a wide margin,” according to the Wikimedia Foundation.

About 25,000 images have been uploaded since the contest kicked off on Saturday.

This is the third year of the competition, though the first was only in the Netherlands, and the second in Europe.
Last year, 5,000 volunteers uploaded 168,000 photos. Perhaps most excitingly for the project, 80 percent of the contestants had never contributed to Wikipedia before.

This year, 30 countries are participating, including the U.S. for the first time. Each country’s winner will compete for the international grand prize of a trip to Wikimania in Hong Kong next year.

To help inspire and solicit uploads, Wikimedia built an Android app that maps nearby monuments and accepts contest entries.

Pocket Thermal Imaging... AR-FLIR by Hopeless?

This add on device is still a bit in the AR domain but apparently it does work... looks to be a $150 feature add but apparently will provide an open-source code solution?  Seems pretty darned cool to me.  Rob Hopeless is the wizzard -

Paper Maps - Right?

Paper maps are shown the door in GPS era

Published: July 4, 2012 9:29 PM
By BARBARA RODRIGUEZ  The Associated Press

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Of the more than 35 million Americans expected to travel by car this Fourth of July, a good chunk will probably reach for technology before they're tempted to unfold -- and in a tradition that used to bind Americans as tightly as a highway cloverleaf, try to refold -- a paper road map.

Websites like MapQuest and Google Maps simplified trip planning. Affordable GPS devices and built-in navigation on smartphones downright transformed it -- and transportation agencies around the country are noticing, printing fewer maps to cut department costs or just acknowledging that public demand is down.

The drop in sales began around 2003, when affordable GPS units became the go-to Christmas present, said Pat Carrier, former owner of a travel bookstore in Cambridge, Mass.

"Suddenly, everyone was buying a Garmin or a TomTom," he said. "That's the year I thought, 'Oh, it's finally happened.' "

Transportation departments around the country are in the middle of readjusting their spending amid times of falling revenue, and paper maps could be on the chopping block, said Bob Cullen, spokesman for the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials.


In Georgia, officials are printing about 1.6 million maps to cover a two-year period -- less than half of what they were printing a decade ago. In Pennsylvania, where officials say public demand has gone down, about 750,000 maps are being printed -- way down from more than 3 million in 2000.

Officials in Oklahoma and Ohio also say map printing is down, and Washington state discontinued them altogether by 2009 because of budget shortfalls.

But in other states, printing has remained steady because maps remain popular at visiting centers. Officials in Connecticut, Mississippi and Nebraska say printing has remained the same.

The Paper Map Era is Over

from James Fee GIS Blog

Not that I needed to tell you, but paper maps are a dying breed:

Transportation departments around the country are in the middle of readjusting their spending amid times of falling revenue, and paper maps could be on the chopping block, said Bob Cullen, spokesman for the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials.

I mean who really wants a paper map other than neck beards (I know who you all are)? Plotters are already the dot matrix printer of our times. They’ll stick around until they break or need more ink toner, then the plug will be pulled and we can all move on. My first job in the industry was “Plotter Operator”, don’t let that be your last.

Take one last picture with your plotter and toss it out the door

Silverlight for Andorid and iPhone? Sort of?

http://geeknizer.com/silverlight-iphone-android/

Forget Flash, Silverlight is coming to the iPhone.

Even though Flash was self-sufficient, Microsoft developed Silverlight to create it’s own market. But it was  never as portable as Flash, but the horizon seems to be changing. Microsoft already announced Silverlight for Symbian and iPhone seem to be the evident, though from Microsoft’s rival.

With Moonlight, Novell’s open source, cross-platform Silverlight implementation, inherits XNA and .NET support thereby making it possible to run Silverlight apps on iPhone and even Android.

This is the same technology that enabled Microsoft to demo the same game and evidently the same code — running on Xbox, Windows 7 and Windows Phone 7. And now Novell will make it possible to run the same game  on the iPhone.

Novell is doing this without any pushes, approvals from Microsoft, obviously as Microsoft can’t restrict an Open Source project. No wonder, Microsoft might even be working on a Silverlight implementation for iPhone — perhaps Novell is taking the lead and showing off their superiority.

So when is it coming? As for the thing we heard from Technologizer, it’s as early as this Monday (tomorrow). This will enable Microsoft Xbox 360 games to be run on iPhone, Android as native apps.

Read more: http://geeknizer.com/silverlight-iphone-android/#ixzz24rpiD4Dh

SONY ActionCam - Kicks GoPro to the Dust?

 

Discover your sense of adventure with Wi-Fi enabled wearable Action Cam by Sony

29 August 2012

Ultra-compact Full HD video camera for extreme sports and point-of-view shooting

• Ultra-compact, wearable Full HD camcorder
• Capture all the action with 170° wide angle Carl Zeiss® lens
• High quality images even in low light condition with Exmor R™ CMOS sensor
• SteadyShot™ image stabilisation cuts blur for smoother footage
• 2 types of HD slow-motion modes (4x/ 2x) make your action more dramatic
• Control the camera from a smartphone or transfer footage to your smartphone via Wi-Fi (Wi-Fi model only) Wi-Fi : IEEE 802.11b/g/n(2.4GHz band)
• Shoot in snow or down to 60m with supplied waterproof case
• Memory Card Slot : Memory Stick Micro™ and Micro SD/SDHC compatible
• HD Output : HDMI Out (micro)
• USB Port(s) : micro-B/USB2.0 Hi-speed (mass-storage)
• BRAVIA® Sync™ : Yes
• Microphone Input : Stereo Minijack
• Video Format : MPEG4-AVC/H.264
• Video Resolution : 1920×1080/30P (HQ), 1280×720/30P (STD,SLOW,SSLOW), 680×480/30P (VGA)
• Movie Recording Rate(Average Bit Rate/VBR) : HQ:Approx.16Mbps/SSLOW:Approx.24Mbps/SLOW:Approx.12Mbps/STD:Approx.6Mbps/VGA:Approx.3Mbps

 
Share via Connected Phone/Tablet

Wi-Fi®-enabled mobile phones and tablets running the free PlayMemories Mobile™ application3 can pull optimized movies and photos from the Sony® HDR-AS15 camera without requiring a special cable. Once copied, you can use your available 3G and 4G cell networks to upload your memories and share them via email or social media networks.
Wherever life takes you, get a thrilling first-person viewpoint with new Action Cam from Sony.

Weighing just 90g with supplied battery, ultra-compact HDR-AS15 Action Cam shoots detail-packed Full HD video, whether you’re hiking, biking, snorkelling, surfing or sky-diving.

If you don’t have a smartphone, or if the idea of using WiFi to connect to a remote viewfinder isn’t your thing, then Sony has a very different LCD solution for you. For $100 bucks, Sony has plans for a Handycam Adapter that works with the Action Cam. This Adapter is essentially a case with a rotatable, 2.7-inch LCD on its side. You slip the case around the Action Cam, fit a connector into the Sony-proprietary port on the bottom, and the Action Cam magically turns into a traditional (and very small) Handycam. We actually think this accessory is kind of cool, and it certainly addresses a number of the issues GoPro has with its stationary LCD BacPac accessory that fits on the back of the Hero camcorders.
Fix Action Cam to your cycling helmet or board with the supplied adhesive mounts that press easily to smooth or curved surface. Alternatively, wear Action Cam with an optional Waterproof Head Mount kit. Then just press the large, fumble-free Record button to start ‘hands-free’ shooting.

The sensitive Exmor R CMOS sensor inside Action Cam lets you shoot crisp, low-noise video footage in almost any light, from dawn until dusk.

The high quality Carl Zeiss® Tessar® lens gives an ultra-wide 170° angle of view for a thrilling sense of your surroundings – from ski slopes to mountain trails. For more comfortable viewing when you’re back home, SteadyShot image stabilisation helps keep footage clear and judder-free while you’re negotiating potholes or a tricky mogul field.

There’s a choice of five video record modes, from highest-quality Full HD 30p to VGA for extra-long shooting times. Two special slow-motion modes (4x and 2x) make it easier to analyse a golf swing or watch a BMX stunt in detail.

Action Cam comes supplied with a tough waterproof case for shooting in rain, snow or at depths right down 60m. It’s also ideal for shrugging off dirt and dust if you’re battling through a muddy trail route. Optional extras available from launch include a handlebar mount, a wearable headband, and a waterproof head mount kit for fans of cycling, hiking, surfing, wakeboarding and other marine sports.




The range of compatible accessories is expected to grow further over time. A tilt adaptor will give more options to angle the camera up or down for a different viewpoint, while Handheld Grip with LCD Screen unit adds a camcorder-style screen for monitoring and reviewing shots. There’s also an anti-fog sheet to stop condensation build-up and a Replacement Door Pack that offers different housing door options for improved picture or sound quality if you’re shooting underwater.

The camera’s memory card slot accepts Memory Stick Micro™ (M2) as well as Micro SD/SDHC (class 4 or higher) type cards. Just pick the card type that’s most convenient for you.

Install the PlayMemories Mobile app (Android or iOS) on your smartphone or tablet and transfer videos directly from Action Cam via Wi-Fi. The free app also lets you control Action Cam remotely from your mobile device.

The new HDR-AS15 Action Cam from Sony is available in Europe from mid-October 2012.

The compact and rugged Sony HDR-AS15 HD Action Camcorder with WiFi is designed for point-of-view (POV) shooting during action sports including skiing, snowboarding, skateboarding, surfing, motocross, skydiving, mountain biking and other outdoor adventure sports. The lightweight, wearable action camcorder weighs only 3.2 oz (90 g) and it supports up to Full HD 1920 x 1080p video recording at 30 frames per second (fps). It also supports other shooting modes including a 2x and 4x Slow Motion Video Mode. The 2x Slow Motion Mode supports 1280 x 720p video capture at 60 fps and the 4x Slow Motion Mode supports 1280 x 720p video capture at an amazing 120 fps. Having 120 frames per second to break down video frame-by-frame makes the 4x Slow Motion Mode a valuable tool for both movie making and review of your tricks, line, form and technique.

The HDR-AS15 provides WiFi capability. This means that WiFi enabled mobile phones and tablets that are equipped with Sony's free PlayMemories app can pull optimized movies and photos from the HDR-AS15 without a cable. Once the video is copied onto your mobile device, you can use its 3G or 4G mobile broadband connection to email movies to friends and family or upload your footage to social media sites.

Sony includes a ruggedized waterproof housing with the HDR-AS15. The waterproof housing has a universal tripod mount and is waterproof down to a depth of 197' (60 m). It is also dirt and dust resistant, which makes the camera nearly impervious to mud, snow, rain, sand and grime. The HDR-AS15 also comes with two adhesive mounts that securely attach to most flat and curved surfaces.

The HDR-AS15 is equipped with a Carl Zeiss Vario-Tessar lens that supports an ultra-wide 170° viewing angle. The camera also has a back-illuminated Exmor R CMOS image sensor, which supports superb low light performance and Full HD video. To compensate for camera shake that's typical when shooting POV sports action, the Sony action camera features SteadyShot image stabilization with Active Mode. SteadyShot uses an innovative 3-way shake-canceling function to reduce blur caused by camera shake.

Other convenient features on the HDR-AS15 include "Press-n-Go" recording, HDMI connectivity and a built-in stereo microphone for capturing high-quality audio to go along with the Full HD video. The "Press-n-Go" recording function allows you to press a large start/stop button just once to begin recording, and the HDMI output lets you playback your footage on a large HDTV screen in 1080p Full HD resolution. The camera is also outfitted with a Memory Stick Micro and microSD/SDHC memory card slot for recording directly onto a memory card.

Compact & Rugged Full HD Video Action Camcorder

The Sony HDR-AS15 is a rugged, wearable Full HD video camcorder. Weighing in at just 90 grams (with battery), this compact and lightweight unit allows you to capture your adventures on the mountain, in the water and anywhere else life may take you as the action happensHigh-Quality Full HD 1080p 

Recording

The HDR-AS15 offers 1920 x 1080p high-definition resolution letting you record your memories in exceptional Full HD quality. It supports playback via HDMI with a compatible HDTV for stunning clarity, incredibly detail and smoother playback of your video

Includes Ruggedized Waterproof Housing with Universal Tripod Mount

The HDR-AS15 ships with a ruggedized, waterproof housing with universal tripod mount that is built to handle extreme environments, allowing you to concentrate on safety and composition while capturing Full HD videos. Within the housing, the camera is waterproof down to 197' (60 m) and has dirt and dust resistant seals that help make it nearly impervious to mud, snow, rain and grime.

Connectivity

On the bottom of the Action Cam are four built-in ports. There’s a Micro HDMI cable for connecting the camcorder to an HDTV or monitor, a Micro USB port for copying files to a computer or for charging the battery pack, a Sony-proprietary connection port, and a 3.5mm external mic jack.

The Sony proprietary port is the most unusual, but the best way to describe it would be as a docking port or an accessory port. For anyone familiar with GoPro camcorders, this port on the Sony Action cam is just like the Hero port on GoPro models. For example, Sony has announced a Handycam Adapter accessory that fits into this port and provides the Action Cam with a rotating LCD. It’s assumed other accessories will make use of this port in the future as well.

On the bottom of the camcorder are four ports: Micro HDMI, Micro USB, a Sony-proprietary connector, and a 3.5mm external mic jack.

Built-In WiFi for Sharing Footage via Connected Phone/Tablet

WiFi-enabled mobile phones and tablets running the free PlayMemories Mobile app can pull optimized movies and photos from the Sony HDR-AS15 camera without requiring a special cable. Once copied, you can use your available 3G and 4G cell networks to upload your videos and share them via email or through social media networks

SteadyShot Image Stabilization Reduces Blur

SteadyShot image stabilization with Active Mode compensates for greater degrees of camera shake to deliver stunningly smooth video from wide angle to full telephoto shooting. In addition, innovative 3-Way Shake-Canceling adds electronic roll stability for even smoother video capture

Ultra-Wide Angle Carl Zeiss Lens (170° FOV)

With an ultra-wide angle Carl Zeiss Vario-Tessar lens, you will increase your perspective (170° viewing angle) while you venture out on breathtaking views of dynamic terrain to include ski slopes and mountain trails2x & 4x Slow Motion Video Modes in HDExtreme sports athletes and enthusiasts will enjoy HD Slow 2x (1280 x 720p at 60 fps) and HD Slow 4x (1280 x 720p at 120 fps) modes that shoot slow motion, which is ideal for studying and refining form and technique. For traditional shooting methods, the camcorder also offers several different resolutions to suit your needs including Full HD 1920 x 1080p at 30 fps, HD 1280 x 720p at 30 fps and SD VGA 640 x 480p at 30 fpsExmor R CMOS Sensor for Superb Low Light PerformanceExperience stunning low-light sensitivity with improved image clarity and drastically reduced grain thanks to Sony's back-illuminated Exmor R CMOS image sensor. Designed for compact cameras and camcorders, the Exmor R CMOS sensor relocates the photo diodes above the support circuitry, maximizing the light gathering area per pixel so you can shoot with better results in lower lighting conditionsSimply "Press-n-Go" with Large Start/Stop ButtonOperation of the Sony HDR-AS15 is as simple as pressing a large, easy-to-press start/stop button. Just press the button and you're shooting the adventure of a lifetimeMemory Stick Micro & MicroSD/SDHC CompatibleThe HDR-AS15 features a memory card slot that accepts Memory Stick Micro (M2) and microSD/SDHC (class 4 or higher) type memory cards. Enjoy the flexibility and convenience of expandable memory via the memory card (sold separately) that is most convenient and offers maximum compatibility with most computersBuilt-In Stereo MicrophoneA built-in stereo microphone allows you to capture all the exciting sounds of your adventureHDMI OutputUsing the camera's HDMI output, you'll be able to share your video footage with friends and family on your HDTV (HDMI cable not included)Includes 2 Adhesive Mounts for Flat & Curved SurfacesHands-free shooting is at your disposal. Mount your HDR-AS15 easily and securely to most flat and curved surfaces with the two included adhesive mounts

	Sony HDR-AS10	Sony HDR-AS15
Type	POV Action Cam	POV Action Cam
Waterproof	To 197' (60 m) with waterproof housing	To 197' (60 m) with waterproof housing
Shockproof	Yes	Yes
Dustproof	Yes	Yes
Sensor	1/2.3" (7.77 mm) back-illuminated Exmor R CMOS sensor	1/2.3" (7.77 mm) back-illuminated Exmor R CMOS sensor
Processor	BIONZ image processor	BIONZ image processor
Pixel Gross	16800K pixels (16:9)	16800K pixels (16:9)
Effective Pixels	11900 pixels (16:9)	11900 pixels (16:9)
Color Filter System	RGB primary color filters	RGB primary color filters
Lens Type	Carl Zeiss Tessar Lens	Carl Zeiss Tessar Lens
Aperture	F2.8	F2.8
Focal Length (35 mm Equivalent)	15.3 mm	15.3 mm
Minimum Focusing Distance	11.8" (30 cm)	11.8" (30 cm)
Angle of View	170° (without SteadyShot); 120° (with SteadyShot)	170° (without SteadyShot); 120° (with SteadyShot)
Focal Distance	2.5 mm (21.3 mm with SteadyShot Mode Active)	2.5 mm (21.3 mm with SteadyShot Mode Active)
Media Type	Memory Stick Micro; MicroSD/SDHC (Class 4 or higher)	Memory Stick Micro; MicroSD/SDHC (Class 4 or higher)
Still Image File Format	JPEG	JPEG
Still Image Max Resolution	2MP	2MP
Video Format	MPEG4-AVC/H.264	MPEG4-AVC/H.264
Video Resolutions	1920 x 1080/30p (HQ) 1280 x 720/30p/60p/120p (STD/SLOW/SSLOW) 640 x 480/30p (VGA)	1920 x 1080/30p (HQ) 1280 x 720/30p/60p/120p (STD/SLOW/SSLOW) 640 x 480/30p (VGA)
Movie Recording Rate (Average Bit Rate / VBR)	16 Mbps (HQ) 24 Mbps (SSLOW) 12 Mbps (SLOW) 6 Mbps (STD) 3 Mbps (VGA)	16 Mbps (HQ) 24 Mbps (SSLOW) 12 Mbps (SLOW) 6 Mbps (STD) 3 Mbps (VGA)
Audio Format	MPEG-4 AAC-LC (2ch)	MPEG-4 AAC-LC (2ch)
Built-In Microphone	Yes	Yes
Built-In Speaker	Yes (monoral)	Yes (monoral)
Shutter Speed	1/30-1/10,000	1/30-1/10,000
Metering Modes	Multi-Segment	Multi-Segment
Exposure Settings	Auto	Auto
Noise Reduction	Yes	Yes
White Balance Mode	Auto	Auto
Minimum Illumination	6 lux	6 lux
Backlight Compensation	Yes (auto)	Yes (auto)
Gain Control	Auto	Auto
Wi-Fi	No	Yes (802.11 b/g/n 2.4 GHz band)
HDMI Output	Yes (micro)	Yes (micro)
USB Ports	Yes (micro-B USB 2.0)	Yes (micro-B USB 2.0)
BRAVIA Sync	Yes	Yes
Microphone Input	Yes (stereo mini-jack)	Yes (stereo mini-jack)
Image Stabilization	SteadyShot with Active Mode	SteadyShot with Active Mode
Interval Recording	Yes (5, 10, 30 or 60 sec)	Yes (5, 10, 30 or 60 sec)
Display Panel	Yes	Yes
Power Consumption	1.7W	1.7W
Power Requirements	3.6V (battery pack)	3.6V (battery pack)
Battery Type	NP-BX1 (supplied)	NP-BX1 (supplied)
Charging Time	4.1 hrs	4.1 hrs
Dimensions (WxHxD)	1.0 x 1.9 x 3.2" (24.5 x 47 x 82 mm)	1.0 x 1.9 x 3.2" (24.5 x 47 x 82 mm)
Weight (Camera Only)	2 oz (65 g)	2 oz (65 g)