LPT730 Assignment 2 - Video Editing and Converting

Here is LPT Assignment 2 for video editing and converting. Since the video were cut well, but the audio were not captured well. I merge stero into mono to provide clearer sound. I used ffmpeg2theora which is fast and provide converting auto to mono and video compression at once. Here is a capture of ffmpeg2theora.

ffpeg2theora funning..


Videos were converted to the following formats:
* OGG Best Quality (native size)
* OGG Broadband Quality (564 Kbps)
* OGG Low Quality (128 Kbps)
* MPEG-4 AVI Medium Quality (564 Kbps)

Location:
//ireland/home/michal/upload

Command Example...

nohup ffmpeg2theora -V 128 -c 1 "Day 1 - 1130 am_Rm. 1014.mov" -o "Day 1 - 1130 am_Rm. 1014-128kb.ogg" &

And some other video tools experience...
I was trying to use Kino add some FX effects and tittle, but it seems Kino crashes a lot. I tried 3 different machine and none of them works, althought I got my video driver installed right. I tried to use VLC which is a famous multi-platform open source video player, and it has a excellent GUI converting function. But it seems the encoding engine didn't work well. The out put of video quality were not as smooth as I expected. I didn't go into other video tools since I spent too much time on this assignment. Dose any one know why I got crashes with Kino?

Converting from VLC

0.2 Relase Contributions - De-Luxer Community

It's almost the end of semester. I'm so glad that I'm doing LUX in Seneca@york. All my classmates are friendly and nice. We're like a small group of community, we help each other to learn and acheive our goals.

I'm so glad to meet Milton and Mohak. They helped me a lot on my LUX Project and the arcade project. Of course, I gave them some help too. Beside them, I also helped Steven Liang a little bit on his project. Since we don't speak perfect English, we try to help each other to understand what we miss in class and things for our projects.

I heard that next sem is gonna be tough on project. I've gotta finish my functions this month, so I can work on the GUI next sem.. ^^

And good luck on your project guys...

LPT730 Lab8b - Mosaic Effect

Ok.. here is show time.. a lot of people complain that Linux dosen't have good photo editor. Actually, Linux dose! It's "GNU Image Manipulation Program", and it's free. Of course, there are some missing functions, but if you know how to use it, there are a lot of cool function that you'll find, here is a photo of me.. click on the photo to enlarge, you'll be in love with me.. hehe..



Nes Nes ----->>

LPT730 Lab8a - F-Spot Photo Manager Importing

Today, I'm gonna show you guys how to import photo to your Linux system. Like any other people, I use F-Spot Photo Manager, cos it's easy and fast. What we should do is just open F-Spot and it will pop up a small window to let you import photos from either your hard disk partition or your camera via usb. Then wait for few minutes, depends on how many photo is on your partition/camera.



Now, we can see all the photos in your partition/camera.







And, F-Spot also support some simple photo editing. For example, red-eye removal and cropping. It's is so easy to use that all you have to do is play with it for a bit, then you'll know how to use it.





If you google around, you'll find F-spot is properbly the best photo manager in Linux. But to me, I prefer ACDsee 3.1 in windows, since I've been using it for a while. It dose all basic photo editing that I need and it support full screen viewing with easy mouse control in high speed. But of course, ACDsee is not open source tho.



Anyway, hope you guys will enjoy F-Spot. ^^

Nes

LPT730 - Torrent and Magnet Link

There are a lot of different way to share files over the internet nowadays. And the most popular two are "torrent" and "magnet link". In the most case, torrent will download files with the whole folder, files structure, when magnet only support single file sharing. Of course, you can download few file at the same time with magnet link.

The good thing about magnet link is all you have to do is download a client that support magnet link, for example, Limewire. Those applications will allow you to share a hold folders to the network when you're downloading some files. And of course you have the right not to share your files, but it may limit your download rate. Another good thing about magnet is you can use the internal search function to search any thing you want. It's fast and easy to you. But since there are a lot of virus package in this sharing network, it's always better to pay extra attention what you are downloading.

How about torrent files? Torrent is actually getting more and more popular nowaday. It has newer files, better control and sharing ability. For example, if you are downloading a folder of your friends' photos, you can choose which file or even folder to download first. And of course, you can set upload and download limit. But the downside of torrent is, it needs a tracker to keep your connection up-to-date. Once your tracker is not working any more, you may have problem to look for seed and leecher. Even you are 99% done, if you can not find the last piece of your file, that file may take forever to finish. But since torrent support priority per file/folder, it's not too bad that if you miss one of your photos when you got 99 photos in your system. ^^

Windows Data Migration Tools - Recusive! yahoo!!!

I've been doing my last flag for copy/moving user document function, which is comparing souce and target file and only copy the newer one from souce. It should check all sub-directories also. I was thinking to use os.path.walk, cos when i was talking in irc, someone told me to use it. So i go ahead... and.. here it came the nightmare.

I started coding this ReplaceOld function since 6am this morning.. I couldn't get it done after 4 hours of struggle, cos os.path.walk, dosen't allow me to do what I want. I need to go back to parent directory any time I want and I need the path after the source path. If I keep using this function, I may need to use nested array, which is headache and will use a lot of resources and do a lot of coding too.....

And this morning... finally, i figured out what to do... (on the way to washroom.. lol )...

RECURSIVE FUNCTION!!!

Yes!! so, i dun have to assign a lot of array and just call up the function itself, that's it! As long as my calculate is right, it'd be okay. To me it's just something like an other "for..." loop. And it works!!

But of course, this function is not completed yet. But I'm still so excited! Hope I can finish this function before this week. Then I can move on other functions... ^^

Last night, I started coding from 7pm last night to 7am.. oh yeah.. 12 hours of programing.. hehe... I got 400 lines done so far. And if I'm done with this function, I have 3 totally working functions which included a lot of error flag checking already. And I've got a very smart design of flag sorter/reader function from someone's code on net.

Can't wait to see it? Wait for my WDMT 0.2 release! ^^

MUM!!! I'm on TV!!! (Live)

Hey, mum!! I'm on tv!! well.. maybe youtube. So, at this moment, rpm speech is going in the class. ^^ BRB for more update

Robots exclusion standard

In the old time, search enginee used to search all pages and files in a site to creat a search database. But nowaday, since every one put their personal information in there, Robots Exclusion Standard was created to keep privacy.

But there are some weakness of this system. If someone use a program to search all pages, files and link in a web site, it may eventually find some personal information. The simplest one is offline website download, like SurfOffline, which allow you download the whole website, including links from individual page. Sometime it may get you some hidden video, document, photos if the server dose not have a tide permission system.

Here is two simple example of Robots Exclucsion Standard:

# All allow all robots to all files...
User-agent: *
Disallow:

# No Robot allow in any files...
User-agent: *
Disallow: /




References

The Web Robots Pages - A Standard for Robot Exclusion
http://www.robotstxt.org

Wikipedia.org - Robots exclusion standard
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robots.txt

SurfOffline 2.0 - Offline browser
http://www.surfoffline.com/

Offline Downloader
http://www.offlinedownloader.com/

Help For Web Beginners Home - Robot Exclusion Standard
http://www.helpforwebbeginners.com/webmasters/robot-exclusion-standard.html

Phishing

Phishing, it something may happens to you all the time. When you open your junk mail box, when you see someone said, "Congraduations! You won a price" or something like, "Hi, there, long time no see", and the person sent u a link for you to sign in or fill some personal information. This is consider "Phishing". The word Phishing is from "fishing". And, Refering to Longman Dictionary Online, Phishing mean, "The criminal activity of sending emails or having a website that is intended to trick someone into giving away information such as their bank account number or their computer password. This information is then used to get money or goods."

So, what will you do when you receive a e-mail from admin@www.rbc.on.ca, asking you to renew personal password with VISA card number, when you do have an account in Royal Bank of Canada? Would you go to the page they sent you and fill in every thing? I wouldn't. First there is no such site as "www.rbc.on.ca" and if RBC do send you a e-mail, they wouldn't send you with an e-mail with user name "admin". Even if they do ask you, they will never ask you to provide VISA card number, which is something they know already. If they have concern about your login password, they will ask you to call them or they will contact you by phone without asking you the password on the phone.

This is the easiest way to avoid phishing, and the best way to do. A lot of website would show you how to anti-phishing. Some suggest people should be educated in school about phishing. Some suggest using e-mail filtering, anti-spam. But I believe the best way is common sense. Phishing is not only exist in cyber world. It also exist in the real every day. Unkown salesman knocking at your day, some unknow air-mail form claim that your far-uncle died and left you few million dollars, someone claims that he's from Rogers and called you about a discount if you could your account with your VISA right now. They are phishing also.

All we have to do is open our eyes, think clear and not to trust any one... beside someone you love. ;-)


REFERENCES

Paypal - Protect Your Self
https://www.paypal.com/us/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=xpt/cps/securitycenter/antiphishing/ProtectYourself-outside

Wikipedia - Phishing
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phishing

University of Colorado At Boulder - IT Security Topic - Phishing
http://www.colorado.edu/its/security/awareness/phishing/

Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
http://www.ldoceonline.com/dictionary/phishing

LPT730 Lab2

key ID: EA580B46


My Public Key...


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The Top 2 Apps

- In another entry write an article about two desktop software applications that you use often. Your choices do not have to be Linux-based or open source, but please make an effort to show us something unusual - MS Office, Firefox etc. are not the best choices

================================================
RescoExplorer for Windows Mobile
================================================

- What do you use it for and why
I've been using Windows Mobile (or Pocket PC) for years. It's not a great phone platform, but.. since there is not much stable platforms that let me customise and install apps. It seems to be the only choice.
Anyway, RescoExplorer is a great File Explorer has a windows-like interface(or x-windows like, if u prefer) with more powerfull browsing power. It's first thing I install every time I hard reset my WM.
,
- Highlight strengths and weaknesses of the software
- Strengths
It's powerfull, support hot-swap, and even have registry edit, ftp in there. Once you've tried it, you'll never use that simple file explorer that WM comes with.
It of course support select, delete, copy and paste file, movie a whole directry, delete files, search, etc. Support all file type that your WM has. In some lastest version, it even integrate with other Resco products, like Resco Viewer, RescoBackup.
Since I hate the idea of installation, 'cos it always eat up a lot of resources of your phone, as u know, it's something MS good at. I always run programs from my memory from my RescoExplorer, no install, no looking for short cut, and i don't even need to creat a short cut. Well... personal preference anyway...
- Weakness
The first few version up to Version 5 was great, but lack of support. Fewer version dose have some cool feature, like u can use ur finger to browse instead of using your stylus. But newer version seems to use more resources. And installing some other plug-in that you may never use, such as ftp, registry edit.

- For each of your choices provide at least one screenshot
http://www.resco.net/pocketpc/explorer/



================================================
ACDSee 3.0 for Windows
================================================

- What do you use it for and why
I use it viewing photos in full screen. As every DSLR users do, I take a lot of photo during a trip, I went to a Montreal/Quebec trip for 3 days, i took 900 photos. I went to Woodbine Beach just last weekend from 6 to 9pm, I took 600 photos already. I need a photo viewer has full screen and fast, allow me to do some minor edit. And ACDSee is always my best choice. And yes, it's a old version, i think they have ACDSee 7 or something.. it's great, but too slow and i don't need those new features.

- Highlight strengths and weakness' of the software
- Strength
Fast, super fast!! No matter u're using a P3 with 128ram and have XP installed, or having Vista with 1Gb ram, I'm always happy with it performance.
You can always rotate your photos in groups, which is great when you need to edit 500 in 1 hour.
You can change contrast, gammeu, etc with your photos. Which is enough if your don't like to edit your photo too much.
- Weakness
The editing is really limited. If you want to remove a bird that happens flied when you are taking a perfect sunset. You may need to open your PhotoShop again. @@
When you edit the photo, it changes the EXIF also, so, all your information will be gone... yeah... that's sad to some hard core photographer

LPT730 Nespplication

LPT730 Nespplication

First blog of LPT730

- Education and/or professional background
graduated in Sydney, a college called Lorrine Martin College, went to University of Sydney.
worked in IT field for 3 years back in Hong Kong

- Your interests in computers (other than playing games)
buying new "toys", playing around with it, master it and customise it, from NDS to PS3, slim DC to DSLR, from low-end cell phones to iphone 3G...
planning to install a fedora or some linux system in my ps3, hopefully i'll have a wirelss keyboard

- Hobbies away from computers
i used to love music, literature a lot.. but since i'm into IT, and into photography now, plus too busy for work, no time for them... i used to have a small indi pop band in Hong Kong. It was fun. If any white guy wanna sing HK Pop with me, let me know.. j/k ;-p

- Anything else you wish to share with the world
I'm active, talkative and agressive most of them time, but sometime I'm shy.... believe it or not.
I'm so glad that I've applied for LUX. The idea behide it is amazing. It's such a win-win approch to students, professors and our sponsor(s). I hope we can all make something great, so we can proud of it. Maybe one day ppl will know our name in New York Times, who knows?