Free DME & DFIR Resources

The National Criminal Justice Reference Service (NCJRS) recently published a DOJ funded report, "A Primer on Body Worn Camera Technologies".

Click here to access the PDF

The future does bring some rather interesting additions to the fore, among them include contact lenses that are capable of projecting images right on top of your retinas, according to researchers at the University of Washington who have been hard at work on super small and semi-transparent LEDs which will be integrated into existing contact lenses. 

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Whew. What a week so far! So many balls up in the air yet, but so many exciting things to come.

Details regarding my new Online Training Library will be released as they're firmed up over the next couple of months, with the first DME related training modules anticipated to be available in early 2014.

Several instructors have been added to the Instructors List the last few days, and more are anticipated over the coming weeks. Take a minute to check out the new instructor profiles!

A touch screen, touch mouse, touch pad, but no touch keyboard? Seriously? Hey Microsoft (& others), I think you missed the forrest because of all of the trees.

It's simple really: why move my hands from the keyboard to further interact when I shouldn't have to? Let's place a small touch area in the keyboard right beneath the space bar, where it can be accessed by the user's thumbs as they type.

Any actual products born from this idea shall donate 50% of their profits to a reputable charity. You're welcome.

This article appears in the February/March issue of Streaming Media Magazine.

There are three categories of software encoding tools: bundled, desktop, and enterprise. In this article, I'll walk you through the general buying considerations within each category and detail when you need to consider stepping up to the next category.

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Understanding video standards is fundamental to aspect ratio correction. Back in the predominantly analog days we had three main standards referenced or used for most video recordings; NTSC, PAL, and SECAM. Then in the early ‘90’s came the first digital multimedia frameworks to reach the average consumer; QuickTime and, shortly thereafter, Video for Windows (VfW).

Today we have dozens of multimedia frameworks, digital video and digital display standards, all of which lead to a great deal of confusion regarding the plethora of acronyms and what they truly mean. AVC or H.264? HEVC or H.265? CIF or SIF? Don’t even get me started on the profiles and parameters available for each standard, as the combinations are truly mindboggling. When it comes to proper Display Aspect Ratio (DAR) though, it really boils down to “Are the originally recorded pixels square or non-square?”

Our all-new downloads area is LIVE and accepting uploads!  Registered members can upload files up to 100MB in size, and the new upload form will list all files the member has uploaded.  The files from our previous download library are still accessible via our Wiki and site search, but we've created all new sections and categories to make it easier to browse the new download library and did not import the old files into those listings.  When members log-in they'll also now find the 10 newest uploads listed on the community home page.

Speaking of the community home page, we've also added comments and "likes" to our community and user activity streams!  Now, similar to other social networking sites, you can comment on member wall posts, easily share URLs, and let members know you "like" their status or wall post.  Log in today to check out these and other new features.  -LC

When Windows 8 launches later this year you'll be able to upgrade to the pro version of Microsoft's newest desktop OS for just $40 for a limited time. The deal will apply to a broad base of current Windows users including those running Windows XP, Vista and Windows 7. Microsoft had a similar offer during the launch of Windows 7 but this one is cheaper than its predecessor. (Windows 7 upgrades ranged from $50-$100 at launch.)

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Imagine, if you will, business travelers gallivanting across the globe with nary a care in the world -- secure in the fact that should they lose their laptop by hook or by crook, they can disable it with a simple text message. Well, the dream is now a reality as Intel has put its third-gen vPro technology in Sandy Bridge Core i5 and i7 business chips, giving users the ability to lock down and reactivate a PC remotely via SMS.  

Full story:
http://www.engadget.com/2011/03/08/intel-brings-vpro-to-sandy-bridge-cpus-makes-losing-your-work-l 

Although disc-based storage is not as widely used as it once was for digital evidence archiving, it remains a viable solution when properly implemented and managed. In fact, many of the world’s largest technology companies are using and/or exploring disc-based storage systems for long-term offline storage of petabytes of customer data (e.g. Facebook uses 10,000 Blu-ray discs to store 'cold' data). They do so, however, in a managed environment with a thorough understanding of the medium’s strengths and limitations.

Many in law enforcement use write-once disc-based media for MASTER evidence storage, as it continues to be recommended via various industry best practice documents. Unfortunately, not everyone involved in the evidence chain understands the limitations and best practices as they relate to the care and handling of disc-based media. Adhesive labels, permanent markers, and ballpoint pens have destroyed more evidence than I care to even think about.

Wow, who'd a thunk it. We're officially 400 strong..."and groooowing"! That would've been hilarious if you could hear me sing it. Well, maybe not. Anywho, a big thank you to everyone for their support and participation in the Media-Geek community so far!

A small investment of time and knowledge from a great many, typically far exceeds the value of a large investment of time and knowledge from a select few; some of you have already helped to prove that point here. On behalf of myself and all of the other members who have benefited from your contributions to our community, thank you! (I know, you would've preferred cash. No need to write in and tell me.)

CamSort 1.6 is now available! All users are highly recommended to upgrade to this version due to the improved speed and stability Updates/fixes in this version include: