AI Art Tattoo

AI Art Tattoo — independent reviews, comparisons, pricing and step-by-step guides on Aizhi.

  • Boris FX

    Boris FX

    Boris FX is a visual effects, video editing, photography, and audio software plug-in developer based in Miami, Florida, USA. The developer is known for its flagship products, Continuum (formerly Boris Continuum Complete/BCC), Sapphire, Mocha, and Silhouette. Boris FX creates plug-in tools for feature film, broadcast television, and multimedia post-production workflows. The plug-ins are compatible with various NLEs, including Adobe After Effects and Premiere Pro, Avid Media Composer, Apple Final Cut Pro, and OFX hosts such as Autodesk Flame, Foundry Nuke, Blackmagic Design DaVinci Resolve and Fusion, and VEGAS Pro. Boris FX has incorporated artificial intelligence into its software, introducing features for noise reduction, rotoscoping, upscaling, and masking. The company has acquired technologies via mergers and acquisitions from Imagineer Systems, GenArts, Silhouette FX, Digital Film Tools, CrumplePop and Andersson Technologies to expand its visual effects, editing, photography, and audio tools. == History == Boris FX was founded in 1995 by Boris Yamnitsky. The former Media 100 engineer (a member of the original Media 100 launch team in 1993) released “Boris FX,” the first plug-in-based digital video effects (DVE) for Adobe Premiere and Media 100, in 1995. The plug-in won Best of Show at Apple Macworld in Boston, MA that same year. The Boris FX Suite includes a range of visual effects and post-production tools, such as Sapphire, Continuum, Mocha Pro, Silhouette, SynthEyes, CrumplePop, Optics, and Particle Illusion. == Media 100 == In October 2005, Yamnitsky acquired Media 100 the company that launched his plug-in career. Boris FX had a long relationship with Media 100 which bundled Boris RED software as its main titling and compositing solution. Media 100's video editing software is available as freeware for macOS. == Continuum == Continuum is a visual effect and compositing plugin suite that includes a library of over 300 effects and more than 40 transitions, including tools for image restoration, compositing, titling, particle generation, and stylized effects, along with features such as lens flares, lighting effects, and cinematic color grading presets. A key component of Continuum is its integration with the Mocha planar tracking and masking system, enabling advanced tracking and rotoscoping within the effects. The suite also includes Particle Illusion, a real-time particle generator used for creating visual effects such as explosions, smoke, and abstract motion graphics, as well as Primatte Studio, a chroma keying and compositing toolset for green screen and blue screen workflows. Continuum supports GPU acceleration and offers compatibility with HDR and 360/VR content. Regular updates introduce new effects, presets, and performance enhancements to expand its capabilities. In October 2018, Continuum relaunched Particle Illusion, a Mocha Essentials workflow with magnetic edge-snapping, and updates to Title Studio. In October 2019, Continuum introduced Corner Pin Studio with built-in Mocha tracking for quick screen replacement and inserts, 6 stylized transitions, and 4 creative effects. In October 2020, Continuum released an update that included over 80 GPU-accelerated effects such as film stocks, color grades, optical filter simulations, and a digital gobo library. The update also introduced a custom FX Editor interface, real-time particles, and more than 1,000 drag-and-drop presets. In November 2021, it added multi-frame rendering for After Effects, native Apple M1 support, fluid dynamics in Particle Illusion, and 60 color-grade presets. In October 2022, the software introduced 10 additional transitions, a revised Particle Illusion workflow, an atmospheric glow effect, and more than 250 curated presets. Continuum plugins have been used in television, streaming, and film projects, including A Black Lady Sketch Show (HBO/HBO Max), Star Trek: Discovery (CBS), Andor (Disney+), The Curse of Oak Island (History Channel), Keeping up with the Kardashians (E!), This Old House (PBS), Ms. Marvel (Disney+), MasterChef (Fox), WipeOut (TBS), The Boys (Prime Video), and The Today Show (NBC). == Mocha Pro == In December 2014, Boris FX merged with Imagineer Systems, the UK-based developer of the Academy Award-winning planar motion tracking software, Mocha Pro. Mocha Pro's features include planar tracking (motion tracking), rotoscoping, image stabilization, 3D camera tracking, and object removal. In June 2016, Mocha released (v5) which introduced Mocha Pro's tools as plug-ins for Adobe After Effects and Premiere Pro, Avid Media Composer, and OFX hosts Foundry's NUKE, Blackmagic Design Fusion, VEGAS Pro, and HitFilm. A simplified version, Mocha AE, is included with Adobe After Effects Creative Cloud and has been bundled with the software since CS4. A similar version is also available with HitFilm Pro from FXhome and VEGAS Pro. Mocha's tracking SDK is integrated into other visual effects tools, including SAM Quantel Pablo Rio, Silhouette FX, CoreMelt, and Motion VFX. Mocha Pro has been used in various film and television productions, including Birdman, Black Swan, the Harry Potter series, The Hobbit, Star Wars, The Mandalorian, Star Trek: Discovery, and The Umbrella Academy. It has also been employed in projects such as Gone Girl, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1, Game of Thrones, and House of Cards. == Sapphire == GenArts, founded by Karl Sims in 1996, developed visual effects plug-ins that were used by studios and post-production facilities. In September 2016, Boris FX merged with former competitor, GenArts, Inc., developer of Sapphire high-end visual effects plug-ins, to expand its suite of motion graphics and VFX tools. The merger brought Sapphire alongside Boris Continuum Complete (BCC) and Mocha Pro, integrating these tools for film and television post-production. The Sapphire suite includes a library of over 270 effects and transitions, organized into categories such as lighting, stylization, distortions, textures, and transitions. Commonly used effects include glows, lens flares, film looks, and blurs. The plug-ins are designed to be GPU-accelerated, allowing for improved rendering performance and real-time previews in supported host applications. A central feature of Sapphire is the Builder tool, a node-based workspace that allows users to create custom effects and transitions by combining multiple Sapphire plug-ins. This enables a high level of creative flexibility and reusability, making it a popular tool for both editors and VFX artists. Sapphire also integrates with Mocha, Boris FX's planar tracking and masking system, allowing for advanced control of visual elements within an effect. In October 2017, Boris FX released its first new version of Sapphire since the GenArts acquisition. Sapphire (v11) now includes integrated Mocha tracking and masking tools. Sapphire is available for Adobe, Avid, the Autodesk Flame family, and OFX hosts including Blackmagic DaVinci Resolve and Fusion, and Foundry's NUKE. As part of the merger, Boris FX acquired the rights to Particle Illusion. In 2018, Boris FX reintroduced the product to the larger NLE/Compositing market. Sapphire's plug-ins transitioned from C to C++ to improve performance and support higher-resolution visual effects. This update enhanced floating-point calculations, compatibility with film editing APIs, and integration with NVIDIA's CUDA for faster rendering. The plug-ins have been used in various films, including Avatar, the Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Iron Man, The Lord of the Rings, The Matrix trilogy, Titanic, and X-Men. == Particle Illusion == As part of the merger with GenArts in 2016, Boris FX acquired the rights to the Particle Illusion (formerly particleIllusion) product, a storied particle system from the original developer Alan Lorence, the founder of Wondertouch. In 2018, Boris FX released a redesigned version of the product to a larger NLE/compositing market as part of Continuum (2019). The new Particle Illusion plug-in supports Adobe, Avid, and many OFX hosts. == Silhouette == In September 2019, Boris FX merged with SilhouetteFX, Academy Award-winning developer of Silhouette, a high-end digital paint, advanced rotoscoping, motion tracking, and node-based compositing application for visual effects in film post-production. The acquisition integrated Silhouette's advanced rotoscoping and paint technology, recognized by the Academy of Motion Pictures, into Boris FX's suite of products, alongside Sapphire, Continuum, and Mocha Pro. In May 2021, Boris FX released Silhouette 2021, the first version of Silhouette released by Boris FX to function both as a standalone application and as a plug-in for Adobe, Autodesk, Nuke, and other OFX hosts. Silhouette has been used in the visual effects of films such as Avatar, Avengers: Infinity War, Blade Runner 2049, Ex Machina, and Interstellar. == Optics == In June 2020, Boris FX launched Optics, its first plugin deve

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  • The Big Book of Social Media

    The Big Book of Social Media

    The Big Book of Social Media: Case Studies, Stories, Perspectives, released in November 2010 by Yorkshire Publishing, is a compilation of non-fiction articles and chapters written by social media experts in their respective fields and edited by Robert Fine, organizer of the Cool Social Conferences World Tour and founder of Cool Blue Press, with a foreword by Sam Feist, political director for CNN. == Synopsis == The publisher, on its site, summed up the book as, "Not business. Not marketing. This is an idea book." And an article in Business Insider described the book as bringing "the social back into social media." == Contributors == Contributing authors include: Alan Rosenblatt, Alane Anderson, Alecia Dantico, Alex Priest, Alfred Naranjo, Becky Carroll, Carri Bugbee, Cathy Scott, Colleen Crinklaw, Constantine Markides, Cordelia Mendoza, Craig Kanalley, Dave Ingland, Eric Andersen, Eric Brown, Gary Zukowski, Haja Rasambainarivo, Jennifer Kaplan, Kari Quaas, Lauri Stevens, Lev Ekster, Mark Stelzner, Matthew Felling, Matt Stewart, Melani Gordon, Michael Bourne, Michele Mattia, Mirna Bard, Neal Schaffer, Nic Evans, Noaf Ereiqat, Pek Pongpaet, Perri Gorman, Phil Baumann, Regina Holliday, Rory Cooper, Sam Feist, Shashi Bellamkonda, Shrinath Navghane, Steve Pratt, Ted Nguyen, Todd Schnick, Tonia Ries, Wayne Burke, as well as Robert Fine. In December 2011, some of the contributing authors organized "Tweet It Forward," a holiday charity fundraiser, with net proceeds benefitting the Food Bank for New York City. == Reception == Reviewer Mike Brown wrote on the Brainzooming blog that the book goes "beyond the valueless chatter out there; it provides solid discussions of real-life social media strategy implementations that have truly integrated organizational objectives and delivered real metrics." And Tech Cocktail wrote it in its review, "Through a collection of entertaining anecdotes and insightful marketing agendas, one sees what social media is truly all about and how it is revolutionizing the communications industry." In 2011, at the SXSW social media festival in Austin, Texas, Fine launched Cool Blue Press and reintroduced The Big Book of Social Media, with plans, he told a reporter from the Washington Examiner, for other new media books and publishing projects, including The Social Media Monthly magazine. The book was reviewed in 2012 by SAGE Publications for its Journalism and Mass Communication Educator magazine. It is also cited in several books and journals. === Awards === The book was a winner in the 4th Annual Reader's Choice "Small Business Book Awards" for 2011. Windmill Networking named it the Top 15 recommended social media books of 2010.

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  • Hardware security

    Hardware security

    Hardware security is a discipline originated from the cryptographic engineering and involves hardware design, access control, secure multi-party computation, secure key storage, ensuring code authenticity, measures to ensure that the supply chain that built the product is secure among other things. A hardware security module (HSM) is a physical computing device that safeguards and manages digital keys for strong authentication and provides cryptoprocessing. These modules traditionally come in the form of a plug-in card or an external device that attaches directly to a computer or network server. Some providers in this discipline consider that the key difference between hardware security and software security is that hardware security is implemented using "non-Turing-machine" logic (raw combinatorial logic or simple state machines). One approach, referred to as "hardsec", uses FPGAs to implement non-Turing-machine security controls as a way of combining the security of hardware with the flexibility of software. Hardware backdoors are backdoors in hardware. Conceptionally related, a hardware Trojan (HT) is a malicious modification of electronic system, particularly in the context of integrated circuit. A physical unclonable function (PUF) is a physical entity that is embodied in a physical structure and is easy to evaluate but hard to predict. Further, an individual PUF device must be easy to make but practically impossible to duplicate, even given the exact manufacturing process that produced it. In this respect it is the hardware analog of a one-way function. The name "physical unclonable function" might be a little misleading as some PUFs are clonable, and most PUFs are noisy and therefore do not achieve the requirements for a function. Today, PUFs are usually implemented in integrated circuits and are typically used in applications with high security requirements. Many attacks on sensitive data and resources reported by organizations occur from within the organization itself.

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  • Cloud9 (service provider)

    Cloud9 (service provider)

    Cloud9 is a mobile network operator focussed on providing mobile subscriptions over the air to programmable SIM cards, SoftSIMs and eSIMs. Their service is used in both smartphones and IoT devices. The company is privately held with headquarters in the United Kingdom. == History == Cloud9, originally owned by Wire9 Telecom Plc, funded and established by investor and telecom specialist, Lee Jones, before being sold for an undisclosed sum by Jones to billionaire Romain Zaleski. It established in the UK, Gibraltar, and Isle of Man as a domestic Mobile Network Operator. Cloud9 obtained spectrum licenses in the Isle of Man in 2007 and Gibraltar in 2010. Around 2011, Cloud9 decided to focus on supplying global SIM cards to save roaming charges. The Gibraltar spectrum licence was sold to another company. The business relocated its core network to Telehouse in London and became a subsidiary of BlueMango Technologies Ltd. Later the company was acquired by Wireless Logic Ltd. In 2013, Cloud9 acquired the IPR of Zynetix Ltd. Through this acquisition, the company achieved sales as an MVNE. In 2014, the company was voted as a Red Herring Top 100 Europe finalist. == Features == Cloud9 has shipped several million 'Travel SIMs'; all SIM cards have been branded with the logo of these resellers. Additionally, the company provides the digital signatures ('profiles' or 'IMSIs') that provide a SIM card with the ability to register with a network and function. These can be provisioned over the air to dynamic SIM cards such as programmable removable UICCs, SoftSIMs and eSIMs. They are members of the GSM Association and are involved in the GSMA remote SIM provisioning standard for eSIMs that will be released soon. The Cloud9 core network also supports 4G (HSS/PDG). Its Mobile Country Code is 234 and its Mobile Network Code is 18. TADIG code is GBRC9. The company has been allocated the following UK number ranges by Ofcom: 4478722, 4477000, 4474409, 4479782, 4479783 and 4475588 The core network is hosted on Cloud9 servers at Telehouse near Canary Wharf in London. Additional components are hosted in Amazon Web Services facilities around the world in order to minimise latency and provide scalability.

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  • Gerrit (software)

    Gerrit (software)

    Gerrit ( GERR-it) is a free, web-based team code collaboration tool. Software developers in a team can review each other's modifications on their source code using a Web browser and approve or reject those changes. It integrates closely with Git, a distributed version control system. Gerrit is a fork of Rietveld, a code review tool for Subversion. Both are named after Dutch designer Gerrit Rietveld. == History == Originally written in Python like Rietveld, it is now written in Java (Java EE Servlet) with SQL since version 2 and a custom-made Git-based database (NoteDb) since version 3. In versions 2.0–2.16 Gerrit used Google Web Toolkit for its browser-based front-end. After being developed and used in parallel with GWT for versions 2.14–2.16, a new Polymer web UI replaced the GWT UI in version 3.0.

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  • IAmAnas

    IAmAnas

    #IAmAnas (I Am Anas) is a Twitter hashtag and social media campaign that started in 2015. Users tweeted to express support for the undercover investigative works of Ghanaian journalist Anas Aremeyaw Anas. The campaign restarted in 2018 when the Ghanaian MP and financier of the New Patriotic Party, Kennedy Agyapong, announced his intention to reveal the identity of Anas following the journalist's exposé of corruption at the Ghana Football Association. Anas maintains that "being anonymous has always been his secret weapon." Pictures purported to be of Anas were first released by a TV station owned by Agyapong, and were quickly picked up by other media houses. At least one person, a Dutch-Brazilian model, has claimed ownership of one picture that was released, and has threatened legal action against Agyapong for possibly putting his life in danger. In response to Agyapong, social media users retweeted photos of themselves, random people, or even comic images of entities that resemble the trademark covered face of Anas. When the hashtag first began in 2015, along with other popular uses of the journalist's name, Elizabeth Ohene wrote an article about Ghanaians use of humour in response to dealing with the expose of government corruption. "I do not know when these words will make it into Wikipedia or the Oxford English Dictionary but for the moment you can take it from me that: To go undercover is to anas, to make secret recordings is to anas-anas, to wear disguises is to do an anas, to be caught in the act is to be anased. To have someone exposed taking bribes is to have that person being given the full Anas Aremeyaw Anas."

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  • Kimchi (software)

    Kimchi (software)

    Kimchi is a web management tool to manage Kernel-based Virtual Machine (KVM) infrastructure. Developed with HTML5, Kimchi is developed to intuitively manage KVM guests, create storage pools, manage network interfaces (bridges, VLANs, NAT), and perform other related tasks. The name is an extended acronym for KVM infrastructure management. It is an Apache-licensed project hosted on GitHub, and incubated by oVirt.org.

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  • Blue check

    Blue check

    A blue check is used on social media platforms, notably X (formerly known as Twitter), to indicate the authenticity of an account. Since November 2022, Twitter users whose accounts are at least 90 days old and have a verified phone number receive verification upon subscribing to X Premium or Verified Organizations; this status persists as long as the subscription remains active. When introduced in June 2009, the system provided the site's readers with a means to distinguish genuine notable account holders, such as celebrities and organizations, from impostors or parodies. Until November 2022, a blue checkmark displayed against an account name indicated that Twitter had taken steps to ensure that the account was actually owned by the person or organization whom it claimed to represent. The checkmark does not imply endorsement from Twitter, and does not mean that tweets from a verified account are necessarily accurate or truthful in any way. People with verified accounts on Twitter are often colloquially referred to as "blue checks" on social media and by reporters. In November 2022, the verification program was modified heavily by new owner Elon Musk, extending verification to any account with a verified phone number and an active subscription to an eligible X Premium (formerly Twitter Blue) plan. These changes faced criticism from users and the media, who believed that the changes would ease impersonation, and allow accounts spreading misleading information to feign credibility. In a related change, Twitter introduced additional gold and gray checkmarks, used by Verified Organizations and government-affiliated accounts, respectively. Twitter claims that the changes to verification are required to "reduce fraudulent accounts and bots". Twitter users who had been verified through the previous system were known as "legacy verified" accounts; legacy verification was deprecated in April 2023, and stripped from accounts who do not meet the new payment requirements. Musk later implied that he had been personally paying for the X Premium subscriptions of several notable celebrities. == Until November 2022 == In June 2009, after being criticized by Kanye West and sued by Tony La Russa over unauthorized accounts run by impersonators, the company launched their "Verified Accounts" program. Twitter stated that an account with a "blue tick" verification badge indicates "we've been in contact with the person or entity the account is representing and verified that it is approved". After the beta period, the company stated in their FAQ that it "proactively verifies accounts on an ongoing basis to make it easier for users to find who they're looking for" and that they "do not accept requests for verification from the general public". Originally, Twitter took on the responsibility of reaching out to celebrities and other notable people to confirm their identities in order to establish a verified account. In July 2016, Twitter announced a public application process to grant verified status to an account "if it is determined to be of public interest" and that verification "does not imply an endorsement". In 2016, the company began accepting requests for verification, but it was discontinued the same year. Twitter explained that the volume of requests for verified accounts had exceeded its ability to cope; rather, Twitter determines on its own whom to approach about verified accounts, limiting verification to accounts which are "authentic, notable, and active". In November 2020, Twitter announced a relaunch of its verification system in 2021. According to the new policy, Twitter verifies six different types of accounts; for three of them (companies, brands, and influential individuals like activists), the existence of a Wikipedia page will be one criterion for showing that the account has "Off Twitter Notability". === Controversy === On June 21, 2014, actor William Shatner raised an issue with several Engadget editorial staff and their verification status on Twitter. Besides the site's social media editor, John Colucci, Shatner also targeted several junior members of the staff for being "nobodies", unlike some of his actor colleagues who did not bear such distinction. Shatner claimed Colucci and the team were bullying him when giving a text interview to Mashable. Over a month later, Shatner continued to discuss the issue on his Tumblr page, to which Engadget replied by defending its team and discussing the controversy surrounding the social media verification. Twitter's practice and process for verifying accounts came under scrutiny again in 2017 after the company verified the account of white supremacist and far-right political activist, Jason Kessler. Many who criticized Twitter's decision to verify Kessler's account saw this as a political act on the company's behalf. In response, Twitter put its verification process on hold. The company tweeted, "Verification was meant to authenticate identity & voice but it is interpreted as an endorsement or an indicator of importance. We recognize that we have created this confusion and need to resolve it. We have paused all general verifications while we work and will report back soon." As of November 2017, Twitter continued to deny verification of Julian Assange's account following his requests. In November 2019, Dalit activists of India alleged that higher-caste people get Twitter verification easily and trended hashtags #CancelAllBlueTicksInIndia and #CasteistTwitter. Critics have said that the company's verification process is not transparent and causes digital marginalisation of already marginalised communities. Twitter India rejected the allegations, calling them "impartial" and working on a "case-by-case" policy. == Since November 2022 == On April 20, 2023, Twitter (known as X since July 2023) began removing verification status for users of public interest, causing a controversy among Twitter users. The website's system was altered, allowing any individual to receive verification for a monthly fee, an act which saw significant criticism. Following the acquisition of Twitter by Elon Musk on October 28, 2022, Musk told Twitter employees to introduce paid verification by November 7 through Twitter Blue. The Verge reported that the updated Blue subscription would cost $19.99 per month, and users would lose their verification status if they did not join within 90 days. Following backlash, Musk tweeted, in response to author Stephen King, a lowered $8 price on November 1, 2022. Twitter confirmed the new price of $7.99 per month on November 5, 2022. The new verification system began rollout on November 9, 2022, a day after the 2022 United States elections. The decision to delay its rollout was to address concerns about users potentially spreading misinformation about voting results by posing as news outlets and lawmakers. At the same time, Twitter introduced a secondary gray "Official" label on some high-profile accounts, but removed them hours after launch. Less than 48 hours later, Twitter reinstated the gray "Official" label, after multiple users were suspended for deliberately impersonating reporters and high-profile athletes like LeBron James. A viral tweet from an account purporting to be the pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly and Company caused the company's stock to fall after announcing "insulin is free now". As a result, Twitter disabled new Blue subscriptions on November 11, 2022. === Announcement === In October 2022, Casey Newton of Platformer reported that executives at Twitter began discussing the possibility of users being forced to pay for Twitter Blue in order to keep their verification status. Musk publicly announced that verification was "being revamped right now" after Newton's article; according to The Verge, Twitter planned to increase the price of Twitter Blue from US$4.99 per month to US$19.99 per month. Users would have had 90 days to subscribe or face losing their verification status, and employees were told to implement paid verification by November 9 or risk getting fired. Upon the news that Twitter Blue would cost US$19.99 per month, author Stephen King expressed displeasure towards Twitter and stated that he would leave. Musk, replying to King's tweet, proposed that the service should cost US$7.99 instead. In a separate tweet, Musk wrote that Twitter Blue subscribers would receive priority in replies, mentions, and search, fewer advertisements, and longer audio and video. Although paid verification was expected to be launched by November 7, the reintroduction of Twitter Blue was delayed until after the 2022 United States elections on November 9, according to a memo obtained by The New York Times. The announcement of paid verification resulted in several accounts facetiously impersonating Musk, such as those of comedians Kathy Griffin and Sarah Silverman, being suspended. In response, Musk announced that impersonators using Twitter Blue "will be permanently suspended". An "official

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  • Physical access

    Physical access

    Physical access is a term in computer security that refers to the ability of people to physically gain access to a computer system. According to Gregory White, "Given physical access to an office, the knowledgeable attacker will quickly be able to find the information needed to gain access to the organization's computer systems and network." == Attacks and countermeasures == === Attacks === Physical access opens up a variety of avenues for hacking. Michael Meyers notes that "the best network software security measures can be rendered useless if you fail to physically protect your systems," since an intruder could simply walk off with a server and crack the password at his leisure. Physical access also allows hardware keyloggers to be installed. An intruder may be able to boot from a CD or other external media and then read unencrypted data on the hard drive. They may also exploit a lack of access control in the boot loader; for instance, pressing F8 while certain versions of Microsoft Windows are booting, specifying 'init=/bin/sh' as a boot parameter to Linux (usually done by editing the command line in GRUB), etc. One could also use a rogue device to access a poorly secured wireless network; if the signal were sufficiently strong, one might not even need to breach the perimeter. === Countermeasures === IT security standards in the United States typically call for physical access to be limited by locked server rooms, sign-in sheets, etc. Physical access systems and IT security systems have historically been administered by separate departments of organizations, but are increasingly being seen as having interdependent functions needing a single, converged security policy. An IT department could, for instance, check security log entries for suspicious logons occurring after business hours, and then use keycard swipe records from a building access control system to narrow down the list of suspects to those who were in the building at that time. Surveillance cameras might also be used to deter or detect unauthorized access.

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  • Radio code

    Radio code

    A radio code is any code that is commonly used over a telecommunication system such as Morse code, brevity codes and procedure words. == Brevity code == Brevity codes are designed to convey complex information with a few words or codes. Specific brevity codes include: ACP-131 Aeronautical Code signals ARRL Numbered Radiogram Multiservice tactical brevity code Ten-code Phillips Code NOTAM Code === Operating signals === Brevity codes that are specifically designed for use between communications operators and to support communication operations are referred to as "operating signals". These include: Prosigns for Morse code 92 Code, Western Union telegraph brevity codes Q code, initially developed for commercial radiotelegraph communication, later adopted by other radio services, especially amateur radio. Used since circa 1909. QN Signals, published by the ARRL and used by Amateur radio operators to assist in the transmission of ARRL Radiograms in the National Traffic System. R and S brevity codes, published by the British Post Office in 1908 for coastal wireless stations and ships, superseded in 1912 by Q codes X code, used by European military services as a wireless telegraphy code in the 1930s and 1940s Z code, also used in the early days of radiotelegraph communication. == Other == Morse code is commonly used in amateur radio. Morse code abbreviations are a type of brevity code. Procedure words used in radiotelephony procedure, are a type of radio code. Spelling alphabets, including the ICAO spelling alphabet, are commonly used in communication over radios and telephones. == Other meanings == Many car audio systems (car radios) have a so-called 'radio code' number which needs to be entered after a power disconnection. This was introduced as a measure to deter theft of these devices. If the code is entered correctly, the radio is activated for use. Entering the code incorrectly several times in a row will cause a temporary or permanent lockout. Some car radios have another check which operates in conjunction with car electronics. If the VIN or another vehicle ID matches the previously stored one, the radio is activated. If the radio cannot verify the vehicle, it is considered to be moved into another vehicle. The radio will then request for the code number or simply refuse to operate and display an error message such as "CANCHECK" or "SECURE".

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  • Bookmarklet

    Bookmarklet

    A bookmarklet is a bookmark stored in a web browser that contains JavaScript commands that add new features to the browser. They are stored as the URL of a bookmark in a web browser or as a hyperlink on a web page. Bookmarklets are usually small snippets of JavaScript executed when a user clicks on them. When clicked, bookmarklets can perform a wide variety of operations, such as running a search query from selected text or extracting data from a table. Another name for bookmarklet is favelet or favlet, derived from favorites (synonym of bookmark). == History == Steve Kangas of bookmarklets.com coined the word bookmarklet when he started to create short scripts based on a suggestion in Netscape's JavaScript guide. Before that, Tantek Çelik called these scripts favelets and used that word as early as on 6 September 2001 (personal email). Brendan Eich, who developed JavaScript at Netscape, gave this account of the origin of bookmarklets: They were a deliberate feature in this sense: I invented the javascript: URL along with JavaScript in 1995, and intended that javascript: URLs could be used as any other kind of URL, including being bookmark-able. In particular, I made it possible to generate a new document by loading, e.g. javascript:'hello, world', but also (key for bookmarklets) to run arbitrary script against the DOM of the current document, e.g. javascript:alert(document.links[0].href). The difference is that the latter kind of URL uses an expression that evaluates to the undefined type in JS. I added the void operator to JS before Netscape 2 shipped to make it easy to discard any non-undefined value in a javascript: URL. The increased implementation of Content Security Policy (CSP) in websites has caused problems with bookmarklet execution and usage (2013–2015), with some suggesting that this hails the end or death of bookmarklets. William Donnelly created a work-around solution for this problem (in the specific instance of loading, referencing and using JavaScript library code) in early 2015 using a Greasemonkey userscript (Firefox / Pale Moon browser add-on extension) and a simple bookmarklet-userscript communication protocol. It allows (library-based) bookmarklets to be executed on any and all websites, including those using CSP and having an https:// URI scheme. However, if/when browsers support disabling/disallowing inline script execution using CSP, and if/when websites begin to implement that feature, it will "break" this "fix". == Concept == Web browsers use URIs for the href attribute of the tag and for bookmarks. The URI scheme, such as http or ftp, and which generally specifies the protocol, determines the format of the rest of the string. Browsers also implement javascript: URIs that to a parser is just like any other URI. The browser recognizes the specified javascript scheme and treats the rest of the string as a JavaScript program which is then executed. The expression result, if any, is treated as the HTML source code for a new page displayed in place of the original. The executing script has access to the current page, which it may inspect and change. If the script returns an undefined type (rather than, for example, a string), the browser will not load a new page, with the result that the script simply runs against the current page content. This permits changes such as in-place font size and color changes without a page reload. An immediately invoked function that returns no value or an expression preceded by the void operator will prevent the browser from attempting to parse the result of the evaluation as a snippet of HTML markup: == Usage == Bookmarklets are saved and used as normal bookmarks. As such, they are simple "one-click" tools which add functionality to the browser. For example, they can: Modify the appearance of a web page within the browser (e.g., change font size, background color, etc.) Extract data from a web page (e.g., hyperlinks, images, text, etc.) Remove redirects from (e.g. Google) search results, to show the actual target URL Submit the current page to a blogging service such as Posterous, link-shortening service such as bit.ly, or bookmarking service such as Delicious Query a search engine or online encyclopedia with highlighted text or by a dialog box Submit the current page to a link validation service or translation service Set commonly chosen configuration options when the page itself provides no way to do this Control HTML5 audio and video playback parameters such as speed, position, toggling looping, and showing/hiding playback controls, the first of which can be adjusted beyond HTML5 players' typical range setting. Installing a bookmarklet follows the same process as adding a normal bookmark; the only difference is that in place of the URL destination field is JavaScript code preceded by javascript:. Once created, bookmarklets can be run by clicking on them.

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  • Variable-message sign

    Variable-message sign

    A variable- (also changeable-, electronic-, or dynamic-) message sign or message board, often abbreviated VMS, VMB, CMS, or DMS, and in the UK known as a matrix sign, is an electronic traffic sign often used on roadways to give travelers information about special events. Such signs warn of traffic congestion, accidents, incidents such as terrorist attacks, Amber/Silver/Blue Alerts, roadwork zones, or speed limits on a specific highway segment. In urban areas, VMS are used within parking guidance and information systems to guide drivers to available car parking spaces. They may also ask vehicles to take alternative routes, limit travel speed, warn of duration and location of the incidents, inform of the traffic conditions, or display general public safety messages. == History == VMS systems were deployed at least as early as the 1950s on the New Jersey Turnpike. The road's signs of that period, and up to around 2012, were capable of displaying a few messages in neon, all oriented around warning drivers to slow down: "REDUCE SPEED", followed by a warning of either construction, accident, congestion, ice, snow, or fog at a certain distance ahead. The New Jersey Turnpike Authority replaced those signs (along with 1990s-vintage dot-matrix VMS systems along the Garden State Parkway) with more flexible electronic signs between 2010 and 2016. The current VMS systems are largely deployed on freeways, trunk highways, or in work zones. On the interchange of I-5 and SR 120 in San Joaquin County, California, an automated visibility and speed warning system was installed in 1996 to warn traffic of reduced visibility due to fog (where tule fog is a common problem in the winter), and of slow or stopped traffic. Message Signs were deployed in Ontario during the 1990s and are now being upgraded on 400-series highways as well as two pilot secondary highways in northeastern Ontario. == Technologies and types == Early variable message signs included static signs with words that would illuminate (often using neon tubing) indicating the type of incident that occurred, or signs that used rotating prisms (trilons) to change the message being displayed. These were later replaced by dot matrix displays typically using eggcrate, fiber optic, or flip-disc technology, which were capable of displaying a much wider range of messages than earlier static variable message signs. Since the late 1990s, the most common technology used in new installations for variable message signs are LED displays. In recent years, some newer LED variable message signs have the ability to display colored text and graphics. Dot-matrix variable message signs are divided into three subgroups: character matrix, row matrix, and full matrix. In a character matrix VMS, each character is given its own matrix with equal horizontal spacing between them, typically with two or three rows of characters. In a full matrix VMS, the entire sign is a single large dot matrix display, allowing the display of different fonts and graphics. A row matrix VMS is a hybrid of the two types, divided into two or three rows like a character matrix display, except each row is a single long dot matrix display instead of being split per character horizontally. Overhead variable message signs are today available in three form factors: front access, rear access, and walk-in. In a front access variable message sign, maintenance is performed by lifting the sign open from the front. Most smaller VMS are of the front access form factor, and are typically installed today on major arterials. The rear access form factor is similar to the front access form factor, except that maintenance is performed from the rear of the sign, and are commonly used for medium-sized dynamic message signs installed along the roadside of freeways (instead of overhead). The walk-in form factor is a more recent introduction, where maintenance on the sign is performed from the inside of the sign. A key advantage of the walk-in form factor is that lane closures are generally not required to perform maintenance on the sign. Most of the largest VMS units installed today are walk-in units, and are typically installed overhead on freeways. The NJ Turnpike Authority counts five unique types of variable message signs under its jurisdiction, at least one of which has been replaced by newer signs. They are: "REDUCE SPEED" neon signs (1950s-2010, obsolete, have now been replaced). "Changeable message signs" (trilon/ rotating-drum signs that can be used for closing roads or moving traffic to other roadways). Electronic VMS: signs with remotely controlled messages displayed on them; the messages are sent from the State Traffic Management Center, updating the signs automatically. Variable speed limit signs - used for varying the posted speed limits within work zones and in emergencies. Portable VMS: movable "electronic VMS". A portable VMS has much the same characteristics as a fixed electronic VMS, but can be moved from location to location as the need dictates. == Usage == Early models required an operator to be physically present when programming a message, whereas newer models may be reprogrammed remotely via a wired or wireless network or cellphone connection. A complete message on a panel generally includes a problem statement indicating incident, roadwork, stalled vehicle etc.; a location statement indicating where the incident is located; an effect statement indicating lane closure, delay, etc. and an action statement giving suggestion what to do traffic conditions ahead. These signs are also used for Amber alert messages, and in some states, Silver and Blue Alert messages. In some places, VMSes are set up with permanent, semi-static displays indicating predicted travel times to important traffic destinations such as major cities or interchanges along the route of a highway. Typical messages provide the following information: Promotional messages about services provided by a road authority during non-critical hours, such as carpooling efforts, travelers' information stations and 5-1-1 lines Crashes, including vehicle spin-out or rollover Road Works Incidents affecting normal traffic flow in a lane or on shoulders Non-recurring congestion, often a residual effect of cleared crash Closures of an entire road, e.g. over a mountain pass in winter. Exit ramp closures Debris on roadway Vehicle fires Wildfires Short-term maintenance or construction lasting less than three days Pavement failure alerts AMBER, Silver, and Blue Alerts, as well as weather warnings via the warning infrastructure of NOAA Weather Radio's SAME system Travel times Variable speed limits Car park occupancy levels speed sign, for recommending a speed to approach the next traffic light in its green phase. The information comes from a variety of traffic monitoring and surveillance systems. It is expected that by providing real-time information on special events on the oncoming road, VMS can improve motorists' route selection, reduce travel time, mitigate the severity and duration of incidents and improve the performance of the transportation network. === United Kingdom === Do not enter the motorway when the red lamps are flashing in pairs from side to side. On 27 March 1972, the first motorway computer-controlled warning lights in the UK, with 59 miles on the M6 from Broughton, Lancashire to Barthomley, on the Cheshire boundary, and 26 miles on the M62 east of Whitefield, was switched on by Michael Heseltine and Charles Legh Shuldham Cornwall-Legh, 5th Baron Grey of Codnor at the headquarters of Cheshire Constabulary on Nuns Road. It was centred at a police computer centre at Westhoughton, that connected to police stations in Preston and Chester. The Chester site was soon be connected to the M53 and M57. Four other regional computer centres would be opened at Perry Barr near the M6, Scratchwood near the M1, at Hook near the M3, and at Almondsbury near the M4. Most British motorways would be covered by 1975. The system was designed by GEC and had taken five years to design. == Safety messages for drivers == Increasingly, signs have been used to remind drivers to buckle seat belts ("Click It or Ticket"), obey the speed limit, and stay off the road if impaired ("Drive sober or get pulled over"). In a federal study, a slight majority of drivers reported that public safety messages on dynamic message signs impacted their driving behaviors. The Ohio Department of Transportation began using humorous dynamic message signs in 2015, perplexing some drivers. Examples of humorous signs seen in New Jersey, Arizona, Texas, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Iowa, New York, Minnesota and Ohio include: "Hold on to your butts. Help prevent forest fires." "We'll be blunt. Don't drive high." "Visiting in-laws? Slow down, get there late." "Only sparklers should be lit." and “Don’t drive Star Spangled hammered." (for Fourth of July) "Hocus pocus – drive with focus." and "Slow down in work zones - my mummy works here." (f

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  • Computer Dreams

    Computer Dreams

    Computer Dreams is a 1988 film created by Digital Vision Entertainment and released by MPI Home Video. Written, produced and directed by Geoffrey de Valois and hosted by Amanda Pays, it consists primarily of clips and behind-the-scenes work of early computer graphics animation. Notably included are Luxo Jr. and Red's Dream, the first two short films from Pixar. The film is an hour long and features an electronic score by Music Fantastic. It was revised and re-released on DVD as The History of Computer Animation, Volume 2. It won the Winner Gold Special Jury Award at the 1989 Houston International Film Festival, and the 1989 Golden Decade Award from the US Film & Video Festival. Music used includes: Gail Lennon - Desire, Gail Lennon - Like A Dream, Shandi Sinnamon - Making It,

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  • Link-richness

    Link-richness

    Link-richness is the quality, possessed by some websites, of having many hyperlinks. Classified advertising sites like Craigslist tend to be very link-rich, sometimes with hundreds of links on their main page. They help users find the links they are looking for by grouping links into clusters. Inadequate link richness has been described as frustrating to readers, as it reduces transparency of site content from the main page. Students new to wiki collaboration were found to need guidance in how to take full advantage of the medium's potential for creating link-rich content. Link-richness in some contexts can be distracting, as when an article is surrounded by extraneous links. Indeed, it is becoming accepted as a best practice for universities to have link-rich home pages that do not rely on user categorisation and exploration of long sequences of links and are not constrained by traditional boundaries between departments. Tools are sometimes needed to make the publishing of link-rich web sites tractable, and many people may lack the technical skills, time, or inclination to engage in hand- crafting new digital document forms. A link-rich site that is low on content is sometimes referred to as a "gateway site." Link-rich portals were popular on the Web in 2000. Yahoo! and other sites featuring categories with many links were heavily used and often required fewer than three clicks to reach the content. Web designers were creating flat sites with content positioned close to the top of pages.

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  • Universal Plug and Play

    Universal Plug and Play

    UPnP (originally Universal Plug and Play) is a set of Internet Protocol-based networking protocols that permits networked devices, such as personal computers, printers, Internet gateways, Wi-Fi access points and mobile devices, to seamlessly discover each other's presence on the network and establish functional network services. UPnP is intended primarily for residential networks without enterprise-class devices. Officially, only the abbreviations UPnP and UPnP+ are trademarked. UPnP assumes the network runs IP, and then uses HTTP on top of IP to provide device/service description, actions, data transfer and event notification. Device search requests and advertisements are supported by running HTTP on top of UDP (port 1900) using multicast (known as HTTPMU). Responses to search requests are also sent over UDP, but are instead sent using unicast (known as HTTPU). Conceptually, UPnP extends plug and play—a technology for dynamically attaching devices directly to a computer—to zero-configuration networking for residential and SOHO wireless networks. UPnP devices are plug-and-play in that, when connected to a network, they automatically establish working configurations with other devices, removing the need for users to manually configure and add devices through IP addresses. UPnP is generally regarded as unsuitable for deployment in business settings for reasons of economy, complexity, and consistency: the multicast foundation makes it chatty, consuming too many network resources on networks with a large population of devices; the simplified access controls do not map well to complex environments. == Overview == The UPnP architecture allows device-to-device networking of consumer electronics, mobile devices, personal computers, and networked home appliances. It is a distributed, open architecture protocol based on established standards such as the Internet Protocol Suite (TCP/IP), HTTP, XML, and SOAP. UPnP control points (CPs) are devices which use UPnP protocols to control UPnP controlled devices (CDs). The UPnP architecture supports zero-configuration networking. A UPnP-compatible device from any vendor can dynamically join a network, obtain an IP address, announce its name, advertise or convey its capabilities upon request, and learn about the presence and capabilities of other devices. Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) and Domain Name System (DNS) servers are optional and are only used if they are available on the network. Devices can disconnect from the network automatically without leaving state information. UPnP was published as a 73-part international standard ISO/IEC 29341 in December 2008. Other UPnP features include: Media and device independence UPnP technology can run on many media that support IP, including Ethernet, FireWire, Infrared (IrDA), home wiring (G.hn) and Radiofrequency (Bluetooth, Wi-Fi). No special device driver support is necessary; common network protocols are used instead. User interface (UI) control Optionally, the UPnP architecture enables devices to present a user interface through a web browser (see Presentation below). Operating system and programming language independence Any operating system and any programming language can be used to build UPnP products. UPnP stacks are available for most platforms and operating systems in both closed- and open-source forms. Programmatic control UPnP architecture also enables conventional application programmatic control. Extensibility Each UPnP product can have device-specific services layered on top of the basic architecture. In addition to combining services defined by the UPnP Forum in various ways, vendors can define their own device and service types. They can extend standard devices and services with vendor-defined actions, state variables, data structure elements, and variable values. == Protocol == UPnP uses common Internet technologies. It assumes the network must run Internet Protocol (IP) and then uses HTTP, SOAP and XML on top of IP, to provide device/service description, actions, data transfer and eventing. Device search requests and advertisements are supported by running HTTP on top of UDP using multicast (known as HTTPMU). Responses to search requests are also sent over UDP, but are instead sent using unicast (known as HTTPU). UPnP uses UDP due to its lower overhead, as it does not require confirmation of received data and retransmission of corrupt packets. HTTPU and HTTPMU specifications were initially submitted as an Internet Draft, but it expired in 2001; These specifications have since been integrated into the actual UPnP specifications. UPnP uses UDP port 1900, and all used TCP ports are derived from the SSDP alive and response messages. === Addressing === The foundation for UPnP networking is IP addressing. Each device must implement a DHCP client and search for a DHCP server when the device is first connected to the network. If no DHCP server is available, the device must assign itself an address. The process by which a UPnP device assigns itself an address is known within the UPnP Device Architecture as AutoIP. In UPnP Device Architecture Version 1.0, AutoIP is defined within the specification itself; in UPnP Device Architecture Version 1.1, AutoIP references IETF RFC 3927. If during the DHCP transaction, the device obtains a domain name, for example, through a DNS server or via DNS forwarding, the device should use that name in subsequent network operations; otherwise, the device should use its IP address. === Discovery === Once a device has established an IP address, the next step in UPnP networking is discovery. The UPnP discovery protocol is known as the Simple Service Discovery Protocol (SSDP). When a device is added to the network, SSDP allows that device to advertise its services to control points on the network. This is achieved by sending SSDP alive messages. When a control point is added to the network, SSDP enables that control point to actively search for devices of interest on the network or listen passively to SSDP alive messages from devices. The fundamental exchange is a discovery message containing a few essential details about the device or one of its services, such as its type, identifier, and a pointer (network location) to more detailed information. === Description === After a control point has discovered a device, it still knows very little about the device. For the control point to learn more about the device and its capabilities, or to interact with the device, it must retrieve the device's description from the location (URL) provided by the device in the discovery message. The UPnP Device Description is expressed in XML. It includes vendor-specific manufacturer information like the model name and number, serial number, manufacturer name, (presentation) URLs to vendor-specific websites, etc. The description also includes a list of any embedded services. For each service, the Device Description document lists the URLs for control, eventing and service description. Each service description includes a list of the commands, or actions, to which the service responds, and parameters, or arguments, for each action; the description for a service also includes a list of variables; these variables model the state of the service at run time and are described in terms of their data type, range, and event characteristics. === Control === Having retrieved a description of the device, the control point can send actions to a device's service. To do this, a control point sends a suitable control message to the control URL for the service (provided in the device description). Control messages are also expressed in XML using the Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP). Much like function calls, the service returns any action-specific values in response to the control message. The effects of the action, if any, are modeled by changes in the variables that describe the run-time state of the service. === Event notification === Another capability of UPnP networking is event notification, or eventing. The event notification protocol defined in the UPnP Device Architecture is known as General Event Notification Architecture (GENA). A UPnP description for a service includes a list of actions the service responds to and a list of variables that model the state of the service at runtime. The service publishes updates when these variables change, and a control point may subscribe to receive this information. The service publishes updates by sending event messages. Event messages contain the names of one or more state variables and their current values. These messages are also expressed in XML. A special initial event message is sent when a control point first subscribes; this event message contains the names and values for all evented variables and allows the subscriber to initialize its model of the state of the service. To support scenarios with multiple control points, eventing is designed to keep all control points equally informed

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