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Moments ago, I completed several updates and upgrades to the Media-Geek community. While most of them where behind the scenes type of stuff, there were some new features introduced that members might find interesting, such as:

• Photo and video support for groups - Group members can now upload photos and videos to be shared among fellow group members.
• Photo Tagging - Users can now tag their friends in any of their photos
• Community Content Sharing - Users can now easily share their videos, photos, group bulletins and discussions with all the major social bookmarking services (digg, delicious, Stumbleupon, etc) as well as social networks like Facebook, Myspace, Bebo, LinkedIn, and more!
• Friend Suggest - Users can instantly expand their network by adding friends with our 'Friend Suggest' tool
• Wall Post Notifications - Get notified when someone posts a new message or responds to an old message on your wall.

Various layout issues and minor bugs were addressed as well during the upgrade process, but as with all Web sites it will always be a work in progress. If you stumble across a problem or have a questions/recommendation, as always, simply shoot me a note or post it to the member forums. Thanks for participating!

Still tweaking this one, but I think it simplifies adding and managing articles/posts for members and provides a place for each to have their own blog...how cool is that? Each member's posts are displayed in the "community blog" and listed on their profile's "My Blog" tab. Posts can be displayed by author, category, tag or (obviously) searched through our site search engine.

Additionally, visitors can subscribe to the Media-Geek blog RSS feed OR an RSS feed based on author, category, tag, etc... Sweet. Don't have your own blog? Now you do! Posts can be a single sentence to several pages. Images and videos are easily uploaded and embedded, and we're providing all the functionality you'd expect from a blogging tool. Trackbacks, stats, comments, feeds, tags, and more!

Easy to use and free for members, so what are you waiting for...share your thoughts already!

The Media-Geek.com Wiki is officially launched! Oh, Wiki you're so fine, you're so fine you blow my mind hey Wiki! Hey Wiki! Yep, I've officially lost my mind, but at least you didn't have to hear me actually sing that.

The Media-Geek Wiki is now available for our registered members, adding yet another way for members to share information, documentation, files, etc... One might think that a forensic community content management solution/system (CMS) with a multitude of additional content submission, categorization, and search abilities would be enough...but then, one would be wrong, wouldn't they?

Using a Wiki was one of the original concepts for this site discussed over three years ago while I was attending LEVA's Advanced Forensic Video Analysis & The Law course. Since then, there have been various tests and even a BETA launch in the summer of last year that was based on Microsoft's CMS product SharePoint. What it boiled down to was CMS or Wiki, knowing that both have advantages and disadvantages regardless of what product(s) or platforms you use. Then it hit me - why not both?

If you have a PSP and aren't using its video playback capabilities other than via UMD, you're missing out on one of its best features. The PSP can basically serve as your personal wide-screen video player, which comes in quite handy for those who travel frequently. A 1GB Memory Stick Pro Duo card can hold several hours of good quality video and still have room for your music, pics, etc.

The only problem with this is that the PSP is very finicky with regard to MP4 files. It'll balk on image sizes, frame rates, bit rates, file names, file locations, and just about anything else you can think of. And to top it all off, each firmware release for the PSP seems to handle things differently. But then again, I suppose if it were a simple standard process that remained consistent, Sony wouldn't be able to market and sell software to manage this process for you (a.k.a. PSP Media Manager).

(from press release)

"Wakefield, Mass. – Aug. 4, 2011 – The Consortium of Digital Forensic Specialists (CDFS), a global non-profit industry group that aims to improve the digital forensic profession through unity, advocacy and standardization, announced today that it is now accepting membership applications from interested organizations and individuals."

Visit the Consortium of Digital Forensic Specialists (CDFS) website for the complete press release.

The Law Enforcement and Emergency Services Video Association (LEVA) is interested to know how the FVA community is handling law enforcement body worn video. One of their instructors, Keith Swanson, has compiled a brief survey on how the forensic video community is dealing with body worn video that addresses numbers of cameras, types of processing requests and whether or not community members are being asked to consult on an agancies' research and evaluation of this rapidly growing technology.

Apparently, the above Tweet has led some to believe that I am angry with LEVA.  I assure you that I am not.  You see, I build bridges, I don't burn them.  

Unfortunately, all things come to an end, and frankly I feel I've given all I can give for LEVA...physically, emotionally, and financially.

Johnny Cash. The Man in Black.

He wrote this song one day while in Binghamton, NY to do a show.

I'm pretty familiar with Binghamton, and can totally understand why Johnny felt this way on that day.

I felt this way a lot of days in Binghamton, and I know that courthouse pretty well too (Even the tunnel beneath it).

Anyway, life is about moments, my friends. Make the most of moments.

Sending ❤

Jonathan Lewin, Chicago’s managing deputy director of public safety, believes that video cameras help officers protect citizens — and he has numbers to back up his claim. The Chicago Police Department says that Operation Virtual Shield, the city’s network of public and private surveillance cameras, has led to more than 5,500 camera-related arrests since 2006.

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The knock on managing Macs in business environments has long been Apple's ambivalent attitude toward providing significant enterprise support. Apple does, of course, offer tools for deploying, configuring, and managing Macs. But to move Macs beyond a departmental setting, IT will often find it necessary to look to third parties for help.

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If you're looking for filters for VirtualDub or just want to know what filters are available be sure to visit the detailed listing at www.thedeemon.com. Someone inquired about a particular filter earlier, and I've been meaning to post about their listing for several weeks, but just haven't had time.

Part of the reason I've put off posting the link was prior to doing so I wanted to test and report on their Video Enhancer Super Resolution program. I've just been too swamped lately to get to it, so I figured it was time to get off the pot. I hope to find time to do the testing with Video Enhancer and report back in the not-so-distant future, and when I do, we'll all look back at this and laugh...or at least I will. Sorry for the delay. 😎

For Immediate Release:
January 7, 2014

Digital Media Expert Larry Compton Joins Ocean Systems

Certified Digital & Multimedia Analyst and Former NYS Peace Officer/Municipal Police Instructor brings over 25 years of video experience to his new position with Ocean Systems

Burtonsville, MD January 7, 2014 – Ocean Systems, the market leading provider of forensic video analysis solutions, announced today it has hired Larry Compton to the position of Digital Media Expert. This hire further demonstrates Ocean Systems’ dedication to provide the Law Enforcement Community the best forensic video solutions for collection, clarification & analysis, as well as expert training and customer service.

If you’re near Vancouver, BC, then stop by the Alibi Room (157 Alexander Street) this Thursday evening (14Nov2013) to visit with several members of the After Effects team.

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