Unknown internet : Who controls the internet?
The official answer is no one, but it is a half-truth that few swallow. If all nations are equal online, the US is more equal than others.
Not that it is an easy issue to define. The internet is, essentially, a group of protocols by which computers communicate, and innumerable servers and cables, most of which are in private hands. However, in terms of influence, the overwhelming balance of power lies with the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, based in Marina Del Rey, California.
ICANN is a not-for-profit organisation that regulates online addresses, known as domain names, and their suffixes, such as ".com" and ".org". Since ICANN reports to the US government's Department of Commerce, the domain name process is effectively overseen by the US government. China, Russia and Europe have all expressed concern at this situation because it means the US has leverage over the global coordination of the internet. "It has a role that is different from the role of all other governments," says Massimiliano Minisci, a regional manager at ICANN. "That's a concern around the world."
It is not hard to see why. Take, for instance, a scenario in which a country wants to change certain aspects of its domain names. Any changes carried out at the "top" level - adding new country-level suffixes, for example - have to be checked by the US Department of Commerce, which verifies that proper procedure has been followed. Once that check has been done, the actual implementation of the change is carried out by Verisign, a US-based private company that manages the root name database, which contains the full official list of recognised suffixes. "The US government could block a modification to this database," Minisci says. "So the US can, theoretically, decide who is on the internet and who isn't."
This unsatisfactory situation will be up for discussion by the parties involved in September 2009. So what can be done?
One drastic option would be to break the internet into chunks. A more realistic idea is for more governments to get involved with ICANN, while the most straightforward option would be for the US government to release its grip on ICANN. Milton Mueller, an internet governance expert at Syracuse University in New York, considers this outcome unlikely. "No one wants to let go. The thinking is that, at the crudest level, it's something under our control, so why mess with it?"
GigaPan Epic: How Do You Create Your Own 1,474-Megapixel Photo?
Some people like to say that "size doesn't matter." We think that those people have never seen the gigapixel photographs taken with a GigaPan Epic Sytem. David Bergman, a self-described "All Access" photographer took his GigaPan Epic to the recent inauguration of President Barack Obama:
My final photo is made up of 220 Canon G10 images and the file is 59,783 X 24,658 pixels or 1,474 megapixels. It took more than six and a half hours for the Gigapan software to put together all of the images on my Macbook Pro and the completed TIF file is almost 2 gigabytes.
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Sigma is on a roll in the digital slr world. Seems like after 20 plus years of languishing as a third tier lens manufacturer, the value base glass maker has come across a series of designs that has even Photography magazine buzzing almost every issue. So when they recently came out with a 200-500mm f2.8 lens, the reaction should have been a predictable one. Until the size became apparent. It’s HUGE
Western Digital is first in the world to create a 2TB hard drive.
As they say, you can never have enough storage space. Somehow no matter how much space I have available it will get filled. I guess it’s the collector in us that like to keep stuff. Maybe one day I will need it? The other thing is that more and more people are becoming aware of the risk of loosing all the data. So not only do we want to store a lot of data, we also need to back it up.
Today 10 percent of the 3.5” hard drive sales are 1 TB or higher. These 2 TB drives will come handy and help many people out. The Western Digital Green 2TB hard drives come with many different advanced technologies. Everything from StableTrac that helps secures the motor and reduces vibrations to IntelliPower that helps the balance of the spin speed. The price for this disk has been set at $299.
"The HDR-FX1 is what we will consider to be the benchmark in video technology available for consumers and prosumers alike," said Linda Vuolo, Product Manager for Sony Camcorders US, as she announced the world's first HDV 3 CCD camcorder. Although the HDR-FX1 is technically the first HDV camcorder, the HDV specification is based on a compression standard first introduced in a JVC camcorder HDV specification. That camcorder from JVC was the first consumer HD camcorder, the GR-HD1. The GR-HD1 also had a companion camcorder, the JY-HD10U, based on the same technology in JVC's professional line. "JVC is proud of our leadership in helping to launch the HDV format with the introduction of our GR-HD1 18 months ago. We welcome Sony’s decision to join us in supporting the format," said Dave Owen, General Manager of Video at JVC in reaction to the Sony announcement.
The key distinction between the JVC HD camcorders and the Sony HDR-FX1 is their shooting mode. The JVC camcorders shoot 720 lines of resolution at a rate of 30 progressive frames per second, while the Sony shoots 1080 lines of resolution at 60 interlaced frames per second. The two rates contain nearly identical amounts of information; however, one offers the benefits of progressive scan, and one a higher resolution picture. Both camcorders compress the information into an MPEG2 signal and save it on standard MiniDV tapes. Like the JVC, the HDR-FX1 is capable of recording a standard DV signal as well as an HDV signal.
SIDEWINDER FROM MICROSOFTIt’s been a long time since Microsoft made any Sidewinder gaming peripherals, or any gaming peripherals in house at all. The Microsoft Habu Mouse and the Microsoft Reclusa keyboard were both designed by Razer.
Today Microsoft is rolling out their latest mouse, and the first gaming peripheral designed from the ground up at Microsoft. The SideWinder gaming mouse is being shown off today at the Games Convention in Leipzig.
Microsoft says the SideWinder mouse was designed for meeting a gamers needs, and they packed it with some interesting and useful features. A hot key allows one-touch browsing of Windows Vista Game Explorer and Quick Turn, which is a macro that allows gamers to check their perimeter from wherever they are in the game.
Microsoft also included the first ever LCD screen on a mouse, which is used to view DPI settings and macro recordings. Like the high-end mice from Logitech, the SideWinder Mouse has an adjustable weight cartridge and ships with additional feet featuring three different glide materials to change the feel even more.
Macros can be recorded that bind multiple mouse button presses to one key and the mouse has five main buttons that are all programmable. The laser engine of the mouse has 2000-DPI sensitivity and three switches behind the scroll wheel allow gamers to change sensitivity on-the-fly.
One of the more interesting features of the Sidewinder mouse is the built-in cable management system that holds extra cable to keep it from getting caught on items on your desktop during play. The compartment can also be used to hold the extra weights and mouse feet. The Microsoft SideWinder Mouse will be available in October 2007 for $79.95.
Sony Newest Laptop Is A Desktop Killer, The AW Series
Dubbed the ‘Super Notebook’ by Sony, the Vaio AW series is loaded with all the goodies to negate a desktop purchase. There’s two models, the AW170Y/Q ($3,300) and AW120J/H ($1,800), and expect them to ship 10/2. Both models sport a Blu-ray burner, 18.4-inch LCD with LED backlight, 4GB of RAM and Nvidia graphics support. Back breakers they are, weighing in at over 8lbs.
VGN-AW120J/H
- 2.26Ghz Intel® Core™2 Duo Processor P8400
- 18.4-inch LCD with baclight LED
- Blu-ray burner/player
- 320GB hard drive + 4GB of RAM
- NVIDIA GeForce 9600M and 512MB of VRAM
- Bluetooth & WiFi N
- Motion Eye webcam, Fingerprint reader
- Media card reader
- 8.2lbs
- 1.5 - 2 hour battery life
- HDMI out
VGN-AW170Y/Q
- 2.53Ghz Intel Core2 Duo Processor T9400
- Glossy Piano Black finish
- 18.4-inch LCD with baclight LED
- Blu-ray burner/player
- NVIDIA GeForce 9600M and 512MB of VRAM
- 1TB of storage with RAID 0 (500GB x2) 5400 rpm
- TV Tuner
- Bluetooth & WiFi N
- Motion Eye webcam, Fingerprint reader
- Media card reader
- 1.5-2 hour battery life
- 8.8lbs
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