02.07.07
Posted in Inspector Gadget at 11:13 am by soumitra
There are advantages to increasing the number of megapixels. Larger prints that require a minimum pixel count can be easier to make, and consumers can crop images to focus on just the subject matter they want.
But there are costs, too. Among the more obvious burdens: Camera image-processing chips have more data to digest; memory cards and hard drives fill up faster; and photo editing puts greater space, memory and time demands on computers.
More subtle problems also are possible. Camera image sensors rarely get larger from one generation to the next, so squeezing more megapixels out of a sensor means each pixel on the sensor is smaller. In most of the chip business, smaller electronics are dandy, but with cameras, they translate to less light per pixel.
That light difference means it’s harder to distinguish the signals produced by light from the electronic noise in the sensor. The idea of making the signal-to-noise ratio worse may sound pretty technical, but possible consequences are easily understood: Images suffer from color speckles, and cameras work poorly in dimmer conditions such as indoors.
“If you try to cram more pixels into the same amount of space, you risk getting signal degradation because you’re not getting as much light into the same pixel,” said Chris Crotty, an analyst with iSuppli.
It can be tough for consumers to understand why they might not want to snap up the most megapixels possible. “People can understand the idea of more numbers is better,” Crotty said. “But signal-to-noise, fill factors, dynamic range, blooming–these are concepts most people aren’t going to understand.”
–Stephen Shankland
… from CNet.com’s More Megapixel, better photos: Fact or fiction
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02.03.07
Posted in Internet, Paranoia at 2:14 pm by soumitra
I am paranoid.
Especially when it comes to dealing with online activities.
For a long time, I was scared to do monetary transactions on the Internet … I still am, but that attitude had to change. Internet has become a way of life these days.
Now I pay my bills, shop and bank online. Heck, I have to look up addresses and directions online before even stepping outdoors. Now, I simply cannot imagine a life off the grid.
Even then, I am still paranoid about putting up important details out there on the Internet. My fears are confirmed when I hear reports about leaked information either via stolen/ lost digital storages or some enterprising new age crooks compromising secure databases.
Conclusion: the fewer details are out there, the better the chances are that they leak out.
Not all, however, subscribe to this school of thought.
People put up elaborate profiles on social networking sites, personal resumes and contact details, even birthdays! It’s like putting up a neon sign welcoming those on the prowl for new victims.
Every now and then I get this email from birthdayalarm saying someone or the other I know wants me to enter my birth date on their website so that they can be notified when the date arrives. Right! Should I add my SSN and drivers license number as well while I am at it?
I feel like screaming “Come on guys, this is 2007 for Gods sake! Wake up!”
Then there’s online personalisation. It was good till it was only the colours, viewing panes and placement of portlets on news and content sites. Then they turned to customizing where the content was coming from, what feeds to show and stuff like that.
Now-a-days, it is at an entirely new level. “Recently browsed items”, “Search history”, “if you liked this, you might also like …”
The latest, according to this post on the Official Google Blog, is that they are taking the next big step towards world domination combining personalisation and content services.
Personally (heh!), I don’t want my search engine queries to be optimised for me, neither do I want news to be filtered based on my previously viewed/read news articles nor do I want that history to be recorded anywhere, let alone Google.
…“If you don’t want to see personalized results, just sign out of your Google Account.”
Well, to each his/her own, but I have a better idea. Why not permanently disable the personalisation? Fortunately for me (and for those of the paranoid type), there is a little advertised place to do just that.
I realise that I’ll have to change with the times and that somewhere down the line, I’ll relent.
Then I can always go and undo the unpersonalisation.
As it were, I have heard that only the paranoid survive!
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