Focus your camera AFTER the picture is taken

As an amateur photographer one of my greatest frustrations is when I get that perfectly-timed shot, and then find out the camera focussed on the wrong thing. Thousands of my photos have had to be discarded for poor focus, despite the fact that what I was capturing would have been stunning. A new company is about to introduce a new light field technology camera which claims to be able to focus your shot after the fact, allowing you to shoot now and choose the focal point later. It also allows 3D pictures to be taken with the same shot.

This has the potential to transform digital cameras, and to allow fewer photos to tell a more complete story of any event.

The breakthrough is a different type of sensor that captures what are known as light fields, basically all the light that is moving in all directions in the view of the camera. That offers several advantages over traditional photography, the most revolutionary of which is that photos no longer need to be focused before they are taken.

That means that capturing that perfect shot of your fast-moving pet or squirming child could soon get a whole lot easier. Instead of having to manually focus or wait for autofocus to kick in and hopefully center on the right thing, pictures can be taken immediately and in rapid succession. Once the picture is on a computer or phone, the focus can be adjusted to center on any object in the image, also allowing for cool artsy shots where one shifts between a blurry foreground and sharp background and vice versa.

Microsoft to buy Skype?

According to the Wall Street Journal, Microsoft is set to acquire VOIP company Skype for almost $8 billion. This would rank as the largest acquisition in the history of Microsoft, bringing to mind their failed bid for Yahoo three years ago.

It is unclear to me what, exactly, Microsoft would be gaining with this purchase. Skype is a great service for video-conferencing and internet telephony, but it is already having problems with profitability and security. And these core technologies are widely available and cheap to deploy without buying the core technology. eBay purchased Skype in 2005, and has found little to do with it since then. Then again, they have also invested relatively little, since then.

Perhaps this will give Microsoft something to compete with Apple's FaceTime and Google's GoogleTalk. Or maybe it is just a landgrab for Skype's millions of users, who can easily and quickly switch providers in a heartbeat.

Time for honest introspection

We have celebrated the news of the death of Osama bin Ladin - a man who masterminded the killing of 3,000 innocent Americans, and would liked to have killed far more - and our politicians have basked in the glow of success. The spies who found him, the soldiers who confronted him, and the commanders who organized and approved it all should be lauded.

But it is also time to be honest with ourselves. We must admit the discovery of Public Enemy Number One shows our intelligence capabilities in the Arab world are still inadequate. It has been 10 years since 9/11, and we have now learned that OBL spent six years in the compound where we was ultimately found and killed. Let me repeat that: SIX YEARS. And during all of that time, our best intelligence was that he was living in a cave along the Afghanistan/Pakistan border, probably constantly in motion. Instead, he was in a secure mansion, surrounded by family, living comfortably with all of the advantages of a modern life except telephone and internet.

After 9/11/2001, we learned that our intelligence services were hampered by an over-reliance on technology over human assets. We loved our gadgets and our gizmos, but hate doing the hard work of building relationships and developing allies. This discovery appears to indicate that nothing has changed in that vein. OBL understood this weakness and exploited it, by keeping gadgets far away. In the end, he fell because of human intelligence - his courier.

Soon, when all of the ceremonies are done and the medals have been awarded, we need to sit down and take a long, hard look at ourselves. Has anything really improved since 9/11/2001 in the areas of developing human assets in the Arab world by our intelligence agencies? (I doubt it.) Or does this great victory show an even greater weakness, that another enemy can exploit?

The nightmare every techie lives

This has been what procurement has been telling me for 3 years now

How scared is Amazon of the Apple iPad?

Amazon has been twitchy lately. They suddenly offered new deals to their suppliers for eBooks. Then they offer risk-free Kindles to some high-value customers. Then they de-list Macmillan's books over a contract dispute. All of that tightly around the Apple iPad and their new iBookstore. Clearly, Amazon is terrified of this threat to their business model.

The newest evidence of Amazon's paranoia? They have bought a multi-touch display company called Touchco. This is likely for future Kindles, which would imply that they are abandoning e-Ink technology central to current Kindles in favor of a more Apple-like technology.

Remember, your GPS is not infallible

I love GPS technology. Unlike the rest of my family, I have NO sense of direction and a mental block against remembering street names. So my Garmin Nuvi 780 (and the Navigon app on my iPhone) have saved me from any number of near-disasters trying to get from point A to point B. But I am almost an Information Technology professional, and therefore know any system is only as reliable as the worst programmer/engineer/tester working on it. So, I always remember to question the device and not assume it has more common sense than I do.

In Oregon, GPS systems can direct drivers to thousands of miles of Forest Service logging roads that lace the state's mountain ranges. In the winter, they are often plugged with snow.
On Christmas Day, a Nevada couple took one such road in Evinger's County and spent three days stuck. They were rescued when a break in atmospheric conditions allowed them to signal their coordinates to 911.
Three Portlanders and their small dog got into trouble Monday when their vehicle slid off a forest road as they were using GPS directions to a hot springs in the southern Willamette Valley. Lane County officials said the three and the dog were exhausted and mildly hypothermic after walking 17 miles without survival gear to get into cell phone range and call 911.
Griffin's family was rescued when friends and relatives used a GPS like Griffin's and duplicated the route they assumed the family had plotted. That led them straight to the family. The three had been stuck about 24 hours.

Remember, whenever possible, double-check the GPS route against the map, and be especially aware that the GPS has no idea about the capabilities of - or lack thereof - your particular vehicle.

They're Watching...

Is I.T. Responsible for the Economic Crisis?

I work in Information Technology, so I am sharply aware of the dangers inherent in a badly-built set of systems. It is not just the risk of the Blue-Screen of Death that Windows users are familiar with, or the spinning beachball that haunts Apple users. Even a system that never crashes can be a danger to your business if it doesn't get you the info you need, when you need it. A logical question then, is whether better I.T. systems could have prevented the Economic Crash.

This fragmented IT landscape made it exceedingly difficult to track a bank’s overall risk exposure before and during the crisis. Mainly as a result of the Basel 2 capital accords, many banks had put in new systems to calculate their aggregate exposure. Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) spent more than $100m to comply with Basel 2. But in most cases the aggregate risk was only calculated once a day and some figures were not worth the pixels they were made of.

During the turmoil many banks had to carry out big fact-finding missions to see where they stood. “Answering such questions as ‘What is my exposure to this counterparty?’ should take minutes. But it often took hours, if not days,” says Peyman Mestchian, managing partner at Chartis Research, an advisory firm.

Of course, it never helps to blame technology for the failings of human nature and human decisions. But poor human decisions about technology can lead to even more poor human decisions. Quality counts.

FCC preparing switch to VOIP

Have you made a phone call using Skype or Google Voice or Vonage? If so, you are using a technology called "VOIP" or "Voice Over Internet Protocal". Basically, it routes calls over the internet instead of over the old hardware networks that cellular and landline calls use. This method is MUCH cheaper - international calls can be made for pennies per minute - although call quality and reliability can be somewhat less because the same networks are used to send e-mail, video, etc. which can hog the bandwidth. Most cable companies who offer their own telephone service are using VOIP technology.

Apparently, the FCC is ready to consider doing away with hardware-switch network entirely and move all phone calls onto VOIP. This could be a huge (and mostly positive) change for voice communication, as VOIP networks are much more flexible, cheaper, and merge voice, video, and textual information easily. And did I mention how much cheaper they are?

Video Games inform the Battlefield

I love shoot-em-ups, especially the ones where you have lots of armor and can really vent your frustrations without worrying too much about the enemies. But have you ever stopped to look at all the information your virtual warrior has at his disposal? Ammo remaining, armor remaining, life remaining. Wouldn't it be great if our soldiers on a real battlefield had access to that kind of life-saving data? The army is working on a way to make it happen!

"As a kid, everyone played those video games that showed you how much armor you had left as a percentage bar," said John Wray, a TARDEC contractor. "That's exactly what we're working on here and more."

Intelligent armor is based on piezoelectrics, or materials that generate a small voltage when bent. The reverse is also true: Apply a small voltage, and a piezoelectric material will bend...By measuring just how much energy is lost, the TARDEC scientists can determine how damaged the armor is.

And, of course, if you add this to a wireless ad hoc network that is linked back to the commander, he can see which areas of the battlefield are in the most trouble, and send help. It may be another way to multiply the effectiveness of our soldiers, and save lives.

Posted without Further Comment

Banking Evolution

When I began working for a bank, I did some research into the history of banking and money. It surprised me to learn that banking goes back to the Roman empire, where blacksmiths would store gold in their vaults and offer documents to their depositors attesting to how much value they had available. Eventually, this evolved to the point where people simply carried the documents, which other blacksmiths would accept in lieu of real gold, and the "checking account" was born.

Many would argue that banking has not changed significantly since the Middle Ages, but I find it interesting to see that some banks are still trying to transform the experience for customers. It is proof that even ancient professions have a lot to learn and a long ways to go to be the best that they can be.

It's a Brave New World

From here.

Google Wave - E-mail's Replacement

We have seen a lot of companies try to invent "the new e-mail". The shortcomings of e-mail are already obvious to most: SPAM, inability for most to know if a message was received, SPAM, long lags between send and response, SPAM, etc. But all attempts to date have failed because e-mail simply matches best how we actually work - like an old paper letter. Now Google is taking its shot at the e-mail replacement trophy with Google Wave, a system that combines concepts from e-mail, instant messaging, group collaboration software, and social networking. I really didn't "get" Wave from all of the discussion online before, but now hands-on reviews are starting to appear and they make things a bit more clear. The latter link is worth a read, if you're not up for sitting through the 90 minute Google video.

Personally, I think Wave will NOT replace e-mail, but it may encourage enhancements to the old e-mail system to force it to compete. If so, it will still have been a worthwhile effort.

DisplayPort?! What is Steve Jobs talking about?

If you have seen any of the coverage of yesterday's notebook event for Apple, you are aware that Apple is adopting a new external display technology "across the entire product line" called "DisplayPort." With VGA, Mini-VGA, DVI, Mini-DVI, and HDMI all handling some level of HD video, one might be forgiven for wondering why we need ANOTHER kind of video display port on our MacBooks or other PCs. This article does a good job of explaining what DisplayPort is, why it is being adopted by PC manufacturers, and what to expect of it in the future. The short version is it is royalty-free (i.e. cheap for manufacturers), it can combine the VGA and DVI ports on your current PC, and it provides a truly open standard. HDMI is expected to remain the leader for Consumer Electronics, but DisplayPort is expected to take the lead for PCs and Macs.

Interesting. I only use the Mini-VGA port on my Mac to output SD video for slideshows, so I doubt it will make a big difference in my life. Except, of course, now I need to buy another adapter when I upgrade.

New Tech, Old Traditions

Native South American tribes have to worry about protecting their lands from those who would try to take the natural resources out of it. Some tribes are now using GPS, Google Earth, and other technologies to monitor and defend their territory.

When Human Verification Goes Too Far

One More Techie Post for the Day

OK, I admit to being in a techie zone right now - probably the Bluetooth Headset got me back into this mood - but I wanted to share one more cool device. Zonbu is offering a $99 PC (not laptop) which offers a Linux distro that claims to be "as easy to use as a Mac", an Office suite, Multimedia applciations, and more. They offer $12.95/month service as well which automatically backs up all of your data over the internet in case of a hardware failure and will replace your unit free of charge if it fails within 3 years of purchase.

Very cool, although exceedingly lightweight. Might be useful for getting a new PC for grandma to do e-mail on, or for the computer-phobic. I could also easily see this being popular in Libraries where you want to offer internet to the masses, without paying a lot or using a lot of energy. Or if you have young children that you want to allow to surf and do homework, but want to ensure that there is NO chance of a virus slipping thru.

Yes, we have a Wii...

...and if you own a Nintendo Wii, you know what that means. If you don't, you probably think it means hours of lost sleep. Nope. It means I am sleeping like a BABE, because I am so exhausted from playing this console! I read about the recent diagnosis of "Wii Elbow", and laughed at the out-of-shape people exhausted by playing video games. But, I can tell you that playing even NON-sports games, is EXHAUSTING. But I must say it has been GREAT for my health, as I am now exercising regularly and can really feel the difference as I am more flexible, stronger, and my back has not felt this good since I had surgery years ago. A quick review of the games I have played so far:

Wii Sports: This comes free with the console, but is also EASILY the most fun game I own. And this is not a dig on the other games. But Wii sports - which is a fairly simple set of sports-themed games like tennis, boxing, golf, and bowling - IS simple which means you can start playing on day 1, and have some serious fun. And it is also the most aerobic of the games, which means playing it for 1/2 hour each day counts as exercise.

Wii Play: This game comes free with an extra controller (or is available without, by why bother?) and is focussed on showing what kinds of things you can with the Nintendo Wii's innovative control methods. You race cows, play air hockey, ping pong, and play something like Duck Hunt among other games. Quite fun, but not nearly as fun as Wii Sports. It is worth the extra $10 with a controller, but definitely not worth buying on its own.

Red Steel: This is one of the first First-Person-Shooters for the Wii, and takes advantage of the unique controls to not only shoot guns, but also fight with a sword in each hand. It is a blast to play, although exhausting because you turn and aim by pointing your arm at the screen. However, while is rated "teen", parents should be aware that the weapons include not only bullets and swords, but also every curse word in the book. It is recommended if you are in a house with children (or like me, in a 3-family house with children in a different apartment) that you turn the volume WAY down... or get a different game.

Spider-Man 3: Spider-Man has not only been among the most successful of the super hero adaptions on the big screen, but also among the most successful video game adaptions out there. Spider-Man 1 was fun because you actually got to be the Wall-Crawler. Spider-Man 2 was GREAT because you could swing free-style around the city - I spent hours just exploring for the pure zen peace of it. Spider-Man 3 takes it one more step by allowing you to actually spin webs by flicking your wrists, which gets VERY tiring very quickly. It may actually be MORE tiring than Wii Sports, which is really saying something.

Overall, I have no regrets with buying this system, aside from waking up sore almost every day. But it is that good kind of soreness after a mildly strenuous sports (or marching band) activity, which means you will be stronger tomorrow. And if you want to share your Wii friend code with me, let me know.