![]() The statistics option enables you to easily access all the information for your images. These photo albums can again be organized into collections. If you are concerned about online storage for your photos, Flickr’s solution is its so-called ‘ sets’. Geotagging and social sharing are also available. If you make the albums public, other users can comment on photos that they’re featured in. These features work especially well with social media: you can highlight your friends in photos and sort the files into groups. The new layout of Flickr is impressive with its numerous helpful features. As for specialized image processing programs, such as Photoshop or GIMP, photo management tools just cannot keep up.įlickr has become the go-to provider for online photo storage management. In the best Picasa alternatives, you can also add filters to your photos e.g. However, there are other tools that also provide simple options for cropping and aligning images, correcting the contrast and brightness, removing red-eye, and performing simple retouching. Some programs display selected images in a slideshow, which can then be expanded with special effects.įor users without image processing knowledge, Picasa’s features are very practical. More ambitious photographers also need an overview option in order to quickly inspect a series of images. Zoom and full-screen capabilities, easy editing modes, and slideshows are standard features of most image management programs. When it comes to displaying photos, each user has their own personal preferences. Good image management software can also recognize and read this data. Modern cameras with a GPS function automatically record geo coordinates. Using metadata, some programs are also able to work out where the photos were taken by using the map view. With the help of facial recognition, you can quickly sort out your photos into specific friendship groups. However, there are other metadata formats, such as XMP and IPTC so it’s an advantage if the software supports this as well.Īnother useful feature is facial recognition - even if data protectionists are rather critical of it. The data is usually stored as EXIF data in the image file. This is how you can recognize good photo management software. To prevent this from happening individually for each image, you should be able to tag several images at the same time.Įach time you take a photo, your camera stores information about the picture as metadata. It should also give you the option of customizing your images with individual keywords. A good photo management software will provide tag options that enable you to sort your images by date, location, people, events, etc. However, there are some open source alternatives to Picasa that already exist.Ī program for viewing and organizing your photos should have clear administrative functions. Google hasn’t yet decided whether to release the code for Picasa under an open source license. On the other hand, programs without regularly fixed patches can be a gateway for malicious software. On one hand, software that isn’t developed by the manufacturer any longer can cause complications in newer operating systems. Many users are currently looking for an alternative to Picasa for their photo management.Īlthough it is still possible to download and use the desktop version of Picasa, it is not recommendable. It was available on several operating systems and although there was no official version for Linux, the tool worked well when using Wine. After operating the tool for a decade, Google decided to discontinue any further development from 1 st May 2016.Īlthough it was not an open-source program, the Picasa desktop client was very popular among amateur photographers. Picasa is a program that many people use for uncomplicated photo management and simple image processing.
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![]() For some reason QuickTime plays HD MP4 videos in very low quality if they are encoded to H264. Try out a few and see which fits your needs. For general versatility, VLC is a must-have app for all computer users, MplayerX is really giving it a run for it’s money, but for overall media center functionality XBMC is great. Thanks to everyone who recommended this, this may be my new favorite video player! This is definitely another worthwhile choice for watching HD video on the Mac, and it’s available free on the Mac App Store. Low and behold, MPlayerX works wonderfully to play MKV files, and the interface closely matches QuickTime Players black minimalist theme. I hadn’t used MPlayerX before, but after several of our readers recommended it in the comments I downloaded the app and gave it a try. Perian is quite good, but some users encounter strange issues with OS X Lion and OS X Mountain Lion, so this may not be the best solution until Perian gets updated with full support for the latest versions of Mac OS X. It’s easy to install and sits as a preference panel, and once it’s installed there is nothing extra required to use, just open the once unsupported videos in QuickTime Player. Perian is a third party Quick Time component that adds support for a huge variety of video formats (including MKV) to Apple’s very own QuickTime Player. Nonetheless, it still plays MKV files quite well, if you’re going to use it drag and drop the MKV video onto the Plex icon to load the movie, otherwise trying to navigate through Plex’s confusing new menus will likely leave you frustrated and lost. Although it is generally a great media center app, the most recent update took a strange turn and the interface is more confusing than it needs to be. Plex is very similar to XBMC and works as well. To get the most out of XBMC, copy any MKV video files to the Movies directory in the users home folder and you’ll be able to quickly find them within XBMC. XBMC is another good app to play MKV video, it’s simple interface focuses on media use and it makes a great media console in general. Some users report performance issues with playing MKV from VLC, but I’ve had no such problems. mkv movies, it’s a worthwhile app to have on any Mac. VLC 2 recently came out with some pretty significant changes, and even if you don’t plan on using it to play. The first recommendation is VLC, which will play just about any video or audio file thrown at it and MKV is no exception. Ultimately which is the best is up for debate, but since they’re all free there is no reason not to try them all and discovering which is the best for your specific needs. Re: copy protection, my hope was that regardless of the source, Audacity would be able to hear and record just as it does from the internet, where I’m able to pull audio all the time.We’ll cover five excellent free MKV video players that will work on the Mac, some are just general movie player apps and some are full-fledged media center applications that will do far more than just playing HD video formats. All the great things…) I just can’t pull audio from it. Just one, No Country For Old Men… looks pretty great, sounds great. I bought an external Blu Ray/DVD player, mounted some freeware (“Free Mac Blu-Ray Player” - no points for creative naming to be sure, but it works) and yes, I’m watching a Blu-Ray right now. I’m aware Apple doesn’t support Blu Ray technology, hence the external drive. ![]() Mounted the software to allow watching filmsĭid it work? Can you watch and listen to Blu Ray films on your MBP? You whizzed right over that. One of Blu Ray’s crowning features is stiff copy protection, and the latest interconnect technology from Apple also supports stiff copy protection. Apple doesn’t support Blu Ray technology, I think that’s still true. You got a bunch of things going against you. ![]() While the squad room has always been in the 16th Precinct, Benson's badge number has changed. Law & Order: SVU’s backstories are sometimes confusing and contradictory.Ĭanon is a bit slippy in the SVU-niverse. "We're going to be covering a wide range of crimes and Special Victims Unit just seems more inclusive," Wolf told The New York Post in 1999. But NBC thought that was a bit too raw for a title. Dick Wolf had written a Law & Order episode that "ripped" from that headline, and saw a future in these kinds of stories. Originally the show was going to be called Law & Order: Sex Crimes, and was inspired by the so-called "Preppy Killer" case: In 1986, 19-year-old Robert Chambers strangled 18-year-old Jennifer Levin in New York City's Central Park. Mischa Barton and Mariska Hargitay rehearse scene for Law & Order: Special Victims Unit in 2010. Law & Order: SVU was partly inspired by "the preppy killer" case. Olivia Benson and Elliot Stabler are named after two of show creator Dick Wolf's children-which some people believe explains why the two of them have never had a more-than-platonic relationship. Sibling rivalry may have prevented a love connection on Law & Order: SVU. In New York City, the dedicated detectives who investigate these vicious felonies are members of an elite squad known as the Special Victims Unit. Each episode of SVU begins with him intoning, "In the criminal justice system, sexually based offenses are considered especially heinous. Steven Zirnkilton has provided the opening narration for every Law & Order show since the franchise's inception. ![]() There's one holdover from the original Law & Order. A Muppet version of Munch (portrayed by David Rudman, not Belzer) appeared on Sesame Street's "Law & Order: Special Letters Unit" sketch in 2006. He went on to become one of TV's greatest crossover stars, with Belzer guesting as Munch on numerous other series, including The X-Files, Arrested Development, The Wire, 30 Rock, and Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt. NBCUniversal Media, LLCĭetective-turned-Sergeant John Munch (Richard Belzer) originated as a character on Homicide: Life on the Streets. Richard Belzer and Kelli Giddish in Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. You'd need to set aside nearly three weeks to watch all of Law & Order: SVU. Yes, SVU has become a true institution-but are you aware of just what has made it so remarkable and enduring? Here are 15 bits of history that trace its beginnings, its milestones, its awards-and the loose way it plays with canon. Law & Order: Organized Crime, starring original SVU cast member Christopher Meloni, premiered on April 1 with a crossover into his old stamping grounds before sending his Detective Elliot Stabler off on his own adventures. ![]() Law & Order, the show that birthed the franchise, turned out its lights in 2010, but SVU continues to plow forward-and create its own spinoffs. ![]() The series, which kicked off just before the millennium and focused on abuse and trauma of some of society's most vulnerable, found its guiding light and voice early on thanks in large part to the full, dedicated embodiment of its lead detective, Olivia Benson (played by Mariska Hargitay). But Law & Order: Special Victims Unit defies expectations. The series, filmed in New York, is produced by Wolf Entertainment and Universal Television, a division of Universal Studio Group.Spinoffs rarely outlive their original series, and they definitely don't eclipse them in terms of longevity. Segue to Law & Order: Organized Crime where Stabler will look to rebuild his life after the devastating loss as part of a new elite task force that is taking down the city’s most powerful criminal syndicates one by one. Had he even been planning to call her? Seems not. “Please don’t tell me, ‘We don’t do it that way anymore,’ I’ve been living in Europe, not under a rock!” he bellows at Olivia. Why is he still roughing guys up in interrogation? So last decade. Why is he back? To testify against two suspects he rounded up in Puglia, he says. Why did he really leave New York in the first place? We don’t know. He had stepped out of his car to make a call. It seems Stabler got stuck in a ripped-from-the-headlines anti-curfew protest where police vehicles were being targeted. Looking up, she locks eyes with her former partner. Seconds after opening credits roll Benson responds to a call, a car bomb, and recognizes the “vic” - Stabler’s wife Kathy. 'Law & Order: Organized Crime': Nicky Torchia, Michael Rivera & Ibrahim Renno Join NBC's 'SVU' SpinoffĪ clip released in late February teased the reunion, at a crime scene, as Stabler called out “Liv!” and a shocked Benson turned quickly, whispering “Elliot!” ![]() It is available as a desktop download or web-based version, which begs the question: Which version should you use? NetLogo was created by Uri Wilensky in 1999 and has been developed at the Center for Connected Learning and Computer-Based Modeling at Northwestern University with bug fixes, translations into more languages, and an expanded model library. Most of NetLogo's online resources are dominated by computer science departments and STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) subjects, but it can be applied much more widely for things including art, music, and philosophy. Looking at the library models' source code is a great way to learn and using and adapting the modules is also helpful. Its web-based user manual is a great place for English speakers to get started, and versions in Chinese, Czech, Japanese, and Spanish are linked from NetLogo's homepage. But there are many other ways to learn it. My first exposure to NetLogo was when I took Introduction to Complexity from the Santa Fe Institute. It is easy to experiment by varying the model parameters, rather than just pressing go and seeing what a developer or instructor wants you to see. Learning about NetLogoĪs an educational technologist, what I like most about NetLogo is its interactivity. Users can write their own extensions or add existing ones available in the core program or in the GitHub repository. Be aware that some haven't been migrated to the latest NetLogo version and little-used ones may never be. They enable users to add the features they want without cluttering the core program with things most users won't need. The upside to this shortcoming is you'll come across many interesting models during your hunt that you would otherwise have missed.Įxtensions can expand NetLogo's functionality with new commands and features in Java and other languages. It can take a while to find what you are looking for in the built-in model library because there is no search and the organizing principles are not very easy to follow. NetLogo's Disease Solo model of an infection spreading. NetLogo includes an extensive library of models that cover a wide range of phenomena from the physical, natural, and social sciences, and there are other community-generated models available. It's best suited for small-scale models rather than large-scale, detailed, and complex agent-based modeling tasks. Using NetLogo's interface tools, students can alter a model's parameters and monitor the effects of those changes using graphical displays of changing key values. There are two versions available: NetLogo Desktop, a downloadable version that runs on Linux, MacOS, and Windows, and NetLogo Web. NetLogo runs on a Java virtual machine and uses a modified version of the Logo programming language, so a lot of people will be familiar with its terminologies, such as turtles and lists. It's a great way to learn how to develop small, agent-based model simulations and explore how large and small changes can affect an environment. NetLogo is an open source, cross-platform tool that enables users to model a wide variety of natural and social phenomena (including biology, chemistry, computer science, economics, physics, psychology, art, and much more). ![]() While Apple does not support jailbreaking, the company has generally not legally threatened jailbreakers. In many countries, jailbreaking has never been tested in court, so the precise legal position may be unclear. ![]() Specific laws may vary in jurisdictions around the world. Since then, more devices have been added to the exemption list, and it continues to evolve as it is reviewed. Jailbreaking phones became legal in 2010, followed by smartwatches and tablets in 2015. Congress reviews the law every few years and has gradually expanded the list of exempt items. Section 1201 of the law makes it illegal to circumvent digital locks that protect access to copyrighted works, which can include software. In the US, jailbreaking falls under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, which covers digital copyright issues. While it is legal to jailbreak or root a phone (if you are doing it to install legally acquired apps) that is not the case if you are doing it to install illegally acquired apps. Strictly speaking, jailbreaking is not illegal, but laws vary worldwide, continue to evolve, and are often a grey area when it comes to this topic. Because Apple publicly disapproves of jailbreaking, it has implemented hardware and software fixes to the vulnerabilities used in jailbreaks, meaning that many versions of iOS can’t be jailbroken immediately or easily. Today, with iPhone apps now given more access to the operating system (OS), jailbreaking has become less popular. Rebooting away from a computer does not affect the jailbreak. Everything required to enter the jailbroken state is contained on the iPhone. Untethered jailbreaks do not require a computer.If the iPhone is not plugged into a computer and booted with special software, the device will not enter a jailbroken state. A tethered jailbreak requires the iOS device to be plugged into a computer when turned on.The terms “tethered” and “untethered” are sometimes used in relation to jailbreaking: Most jailbreaks come with full instructions and desktop tools to apply the new code, but some technical knowledge is usually helpful. Jailbreak code is usually provided for free through forums and sites by hacking communities who want to promote unrestricted device use. However, to download apps that Apple rejected or leverage the additional features jailbreaking provides, jailbroken devices rely on independent app stores. The most popular of these is Cydia, a storefront for jailbroken iOS devices, which is usually installed during the jailbreaking process. Jailbreaking does not change the device's core features, and a jailbroken iPhone or iPad can still purchase and download apps from Apple's App Store. People also jailbreak Amazon Firesticks and Roku streaming boxes to run media software, which they prefer to the built-in apps, and Nintendo Switches to run emulated games. Rooting can be described as the Android version of a jailbreak since it aims to bypass protections put in place by manufacturers to install alternative mobile operating systems. Jailbreaking is sometimes used interchangeably with the terms “cracking” (in relation to software) and “rooting” (in relation to phones). ![]() Aside from the iPhone, jailbreaking can also refer to the iPad and iPod Touch. However, the term usually refers to Apple products. People sometimes use it to refer to installing custom software on mobiles or removing Digital Rights Management (DRM) restrictions on movies. Since the term first appeared, jailbreaking has also been used to refer to adapting the code on other devices, from phones to games consoles. Jailbreaking was – and remains – a way to install apps that Apple has not approved and a way to customize the interface. A key motivation of many jailbreakers is to make iOS more like Android. Watch this video about jailbreaking to learn if iPhone jailbreaking is worth it and how to fix the already jailbroken iPhone:Īpple’s ‘walled garden’ approach to its software has always been in contrast to the variety of options provided by the Android OS for customization. In the US, the first iteration of the iPhone was only on AT&T’s network and users who wanted to access other carriers were not able to unless they had a jailbroken iPhone. Early versions of the iPhone did not have an app store, and the iOS interface was considered more limited for users than it is today. The term jailbreaking is most often used in relation to the iPhone: it is considered the most ‘locked down’ mobile device currently on sale. It is called jailbreaking because it involves freeing users from the ‘jail’ of limitations that are perceived to exist. Jailbreaking allows the device owner to gain full access to the root of the operating system and access all the features. Jailbreaking is the process of exploiting the flaws of a locked-down electronic device to install software other than what the manufacturer has made available for that device. |