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It looks like Verizon might have underestimated the amount of iPhone 4 subscribers they would be getting on their service. It has just been reported that Verizon will be preventing users from downloading entire videos at once to help “ease capacity burdens on the network. "They will also be reducing the quality of the videos by eliminating colors and data “not visible to the human eye.”

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http://media-geek.com/images/myblog/frontpage/ft-worth.jpg LEVA's 20th Anniversary Training Conference will be held in Ft. Worth, Texas November 18th- 20th.  As usual, LEVA is organizing some great pre-conference training as well as a vendor exhibit hall.  For more information or their official registration form click here.

(Credit: Lexar Media) Lexar announced a 1000X-rated CompactFlash memory card line today that the company guarantees can keep pace with professional-quality video recording.

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http://m.cnet.com/ces2012/Article.rbml?nid=57353184

Apple has a new tool for those who manage a herd of iPads or iPhones for schools or small businesses, a free Mac app aimed at making life easier for iOS-focused IT staff. Called Configurator, it allows admins to "mass configure and deploy iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch," 30 devices at a time.

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The RCMP will be staffing a new Forensic Video Unit to serve all RCMP detachments in the lower mainland, as well as some provincial jurisdictions.

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The Federal Law Enforcement Training Center has multiple vacancies available in the upcoming Digital Photography for Law Enforcement training program (DPLE 905). The program dates are: 06/02/2009-06/11/2009.

This eight-day program, with evening assignments, is an introductory digital photography school that acquaints students with a host of photographic concepts and skills including:

We recently purchased a new cellular phone for our eight-year-old son. The phone allows him to make or receive calls only from a defined list of telephone numbers, which we enter into it, and provides emergency 911 access. A few months ago, a friend of his from school came over and she had a new LG Migo "kid-friendly" cellular phone from Verizon Wireless. Once we saw the LG Migo, we knew we'd be getting him a cellular phone long before we had initially planned. While the Migo is a neat device, we ended up going with the Firefly, which uses Cingular's network.

The Firefly can be used as a pre-paid device, or you can subscribe to a monthly service plan. As with nearly all pre-paid services, the per minute rates are a little outrageous ($.25/min.), but since we anticipate minimal usage, we should be alright for the immediate future. The fact of the matter is this was an impulse purchase, and we may eventually change to the LG Migo and Verizon Wireless anyway.

As USB thumb drives and memory cards get larger and cheaper, it's getting easier to trust much more of your data to them. It's also much easier to mistakenly erase data or have them hiccup on you. And if you're in the habit of holding on to that data for too long -- for example, not transferring photos from your camera's memory card -- disaster is almost guaranteed to strike at some point. What happens then?

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Let me start by saying that I am by no means trying to imply that DVR, NVR or any other digital or IP based video system cannot produce good quality video evidence. There are even 2 or 3 high-end, mega-pixel quality digital surveillance cameras and systems on the market today whose capabilities far exceed those of a traditional analog based system. However, to my point, it seems more often than not digital based systems are producing very poor quality video evidence regardless of the system's actual capabilities.

So why do DVRs typically provide poor quality video evidence? Here are a few of the common reasons:

The bleeding edge is such a fine line to try to walk successfully, and in my humble opinion Blackberry recentlypushed me over the edge with the release of their touchscreen Storm.  I've been using the Storm for about two weeks and I just can't take it anymore; it's going back to Verizon Wireless ASAP.

Sheriff John Whetsel, Oklahoma County, OK, recently sent a letter to his fellow Police Chiefs and Sheriffs asking for their support of LEVA's mobile video technology survey and the 2011 National Summit for Mobile Video Technology.

To view a PDF version of Sheriff Whetsel's letter click here.

The International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) recently launched an entire website related to law enforcement's use of social media tools and resources - www.iacpsocialmedia.org

The new Center for Social Media has all kinds of information on planning and implementing Web 2.0 and social media tools for your agency, including case studies, white papers, directories, and more.  Be sure to take a minute to check it out by visiting www.iacpsocialmedia.org