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Mozilla developer Michael Bebenita has released a JavaScript-based H.264 decoder that is intended to run natively in Web browsers. The decoder, which can display video at 30 frames per second on conventional hardware, is yet another compelling demonstration of JavaScript’s performance potential

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Sunday evening I resigned my LEVA CFVA certification, and at the end of the month my DFCP will expire as well. Earlier this year I retired from active casework. No other reasons.

Most of my note to the current LEVA Board, staff & instructors was to thank them all for teaching & supporting me so much along the way, and inviting them all to be on & participate in my podcast...to promote their efforts and training (at least to my mom, our most dedicated listener). 😎

Maybe it's just me, but it seems every other week someone's releasing a new "SmartPhone" that's going to change the way you do business as a mobile professional. But in my opinion, when you peel back that slick new protective plastic and fire it up it's the same old thing. No new killer apps, nothing really new as far as functionality or capability, and more often than not each new "exclusive release" seems to have more bugs than your local landfill on a hot summer day.

How long have they been making "Smartphones" now anyway? Well, to be honest, that I don't really know. I can tell you this, my first Smartphone was a Kyocera QCP6035 that I picked up in 2000 or early 2001. I can't remember for sure, as I think I might have killed those brain cells banging my head on my desk while trying resolve the plethora of issues I've been having with the latest generation of Smartphones. Either way, I'm pretty sure it was one of the first available and can remember how giddy I was to be able to toss my cell and my Palm Pilot for one device.

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.

Support for x264 is now available in Sorenson Squeeze. How does the encoding quality stack up against MainConcept H.264?

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Adobe's primary tool for tweaking and organizing photos was always destined to be part of the Creative Cloud offering, but for whatever reason it didn't make it in time for launch. As of today though, Lightroom 4 is available to download on PC or 64-bit Mac (or both, since you're allowed multiple installations) as part of a CS6 monthly license.

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Digital signatures enable paperless contracts and can speed up business transactions. The 2001 E-Sign Act was meant to ease the adoption of electronic signatures, yet the mechanics of what makes up an e-signature were left deliberately wide open.

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It's been a very interesting and exciting year for Magnet Forensics.  New products, new acquisitions, new training opportunities, more awards & industry recognition, and still so many exciting things to come!  Don't miss the Magnet User Summit 2024, being held in Nashville, TN April 15th through 17th, 2024.  Be sure to also check out the pre-conference training opportunities.

USB 3.0 is undoubtedly the future, but tests conducted by Techworld suggest that laptop users in particular might need to upgrade their hardware to see much benefit over current technologies such as eSATA.

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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

The Law Enforcement and Emergency Services Video Association (LEVA) has published the DRAFT version 3.0 of their Best Practices for the Acquisition of Digital Multimedia Evidence.  LEVA is soliciting community feedback on this document through March 31, 2010.

For additional information visit the official LEVA Publications page.

The Cheshire Constabulary will be hosting the LEVA Photographic/Video Comparison course in the United Kingdom April 26 - 30, 2010. This is the same highly regarded course that will be held at the LEVA Lab at UIndy again in May.

Photographic/Video Comparisons focuses on the science of comparing known objects, vehicles, clothing and humans with CCTV images of questioned objects, vehicles, clothing and humans. The process of cataloguing class characteristics and unique characteristics found in questioned evidence is examined in detail. Using Adobe Photoshop and other generally accepted scientific tools for imaging comparison work, analysts/examiners develop a scientific workflow involving the hands-on analysis of video evidence, criminal-case report writing and courtroom presentation.

For information on all of LEVA's training courses, including a complete schedule, please visit our LEVA Course Overviews & Schedule page.

There have been a lot of updates and upgrades to the Media-Geek.com community over the last two months, but I just haven't had time to pat myself on the back after each one. :)  During some of these upgrades/updates I inevitably created a few conflicts and issues that I'll continue troubleshooting this week.  More importantly I wanted to make members aware that I'll be replacing our entire downloads area over the next week or so, which will be a lengthy process as I intend to verify each file, check versions on documents, and update links in our Wiki.  During this time, I've disabled user uploads to the Download area.  Users can still upload files to other areas of this site, to include the forums, Wiki, etc...  I'll restore the upload capability to our downloads library as soon as time permits.