IP Alternatives to Telstra Digital Data Services (DDS)
Telstra has announced the decommissioning of its digital data service (DDS) network. Over the next 12 – 18 months large users of DDS will be seeking ways to keep their existing investment in hardware and migrate to faster and less expensive IP networks. White Label Networks is now offering a managed service to banks and financial institutions that includes protocol converter hardware, IP network carriage services, network management and project management. Their key focus for the next 2 years will be migrating banks from Telstra’s legacy Digital Data Service(DDS), to fix wired and wireless IP services like GPRS and ADSL.
Brisbane based White Label Networks is now offering telecommunications and network migration project management as part of its transaction delivery package to banks and financial institutions.
Product Manager for White Label Networks, John Hacking, announced the new bundled strategy in a presentation held in Sydney last week to key stakeholders in the banking transaction community.
Mr Hacking said: “Banks can find it difficult to get the products they need at the right cost.
“Telcos do understand the need to migrate their customers from legacy systems to faster and cheaper IP networks.
“White Label Networks has developed the hardware to migrate banks from a Telstra DDS service that costs around $200 per month, to a DSL service at $120 per month or a wireless GPRS service costing $30 per month.”
The new product package includes their range of Axon legacy to IP protocol converters, the full spectrum of fixed wire and wireless IP network options, device network management plus project management expertise.
“Our focus for the next 2 years is to help banks migrate their fleets of EFTPOS and ATM devices from legacy lines to IP networks.” Mr Hacking said.
Australia’s telecommunications carriers are gradually shutting down their legacy systems, including X.25, Digital Data Services and PAPL (permitted attachment private line).
The banks face the challenge of migrating thousands of devices away from leased lines to new infrastructure in the next two to three years.
“With the move to triple DES, banks will have to upgrade their ATM hardware. This is a perfect opportunity for them to gradually migrate their fleets from legacy networks to IP.”
White Label networks is capitalising on the opportunity to help banks extend the service life of expensive ATM and EFTPOS fleets by supplying protocol converters and new and inexpensive IP services.
Mr Hacking said: “The great thing about IP services is that they are contestable.
“Unlike the traditional leased line market, competition has driven down the costs of DSL and GPRS products.
“Our customers benefit from this price competition and we can now bundle hardware, carriage
Article Tags:
Digital Data Services, Digital Data, Data Services, Label Networks, Project Management, From Legacy
For more details about alternatives to Telstra DDS, please visit www.whitelabelnetworks.com.au
The first step to getting great digital photo prints, is to make sure you use a good quality digital camera.
Digital photos are gaining popularity over traditional film photos because of the features and convenience associated with the newer technology. In some cases it’s even more cost effective to print your own photos at home instead of taking them to a developer or sending them in.
Here are some words of wisdom for making great digital photo prints at home.
There are really 4 key components to a great printed photo: Image, Printer, Ink, Paper. Each is part interrelated therefore equally important for success.
The image is the starting point for a good photo. There are many different camera models out there, but in general, you will need at least 3.2 megapixel picture taking ability. Some snazzy digital SLR cameras have 8 megapixels or more. The camera should always be set to the highest resolution while taking the shots just in case you want to make enlargements later on.
Image transfer is crucial! Do not just throw the highest pixel image at some paper, you may not be happy with the results.
Sometimes, too high of a pixel count will create unsightly jagged color transitions in your photo and waste a lot of your ink and time. Too few pixels and the photos will turn out very “grainy”. It’s usually best to stay within the 200-300 pixels per inch range.
This chart may help you determine your appropriate photo sizes.
Print Size : Good Results (200 ppi) : Excellent Results (300 ppi)
========================================================
4×6 inch … 800 by 1200 px (~1 mpx) ….. 1200 by 1800 px (~2 mpx)
5×7 inch … 1000 by 1400 px (~1.5 mpx) .. 1500 by 2100 px (~3 mpx)
8×10 inch .. 1600 by 2000 px (~3 mpx) …. 2400 by 3000 px (~7 mpx)
11×14 inch . 2200 by 2800 px (~6 mpx) …. 3300 by 4200 px (~14 mpx)
16×20 inch . 3200 by 4000 px (~13 mpx) … 4800 by 6000 px (~29 mpx)
Legend
========
px = Pixels
mpx = Megapixels
ppi = Pixels per inch
(data compiled from PC World.com)
For example, if you had a picture taken with a 1.5 Megapixel digital camera, a 5×7 inch print is probably the largest size print that would work. Anything larger than a 5×7, may not look good.
However, if you had a picture taken with a 14 Megapixel camera, you should be able to print out a 11×14 inch print with excellent results (300ppi), or a “good” looking 16×20 inch print at 200 ppi.
In addition to the digital camera image, there are a few other components that go into making good quality digital photos you’ll want to be aware of: Your printer, the ink cartridges you use, and the quality of the photo paper you use. Each component factors into your end result.
Digital Camera: Embracing Perfection With Sony
Known for producing quality electronics, Sony is also one of the
pioneers and the best producers of digital camera. Truly using a Sony
digital camera is embracing perfection with its many features exclusive
to a Sony digital camera.
Indeed, one of the best ways to capture your memories forever is thru photos and what better to do it than with a Sony digital camera. Photos are used to remember or when we reminisce of the wonderful times of our lives. And only vivid and detailed photos can help us bring back all those memories. And quality photos are exactly what a Sony digital camera offers to its consumers.Equipped with the best optics and imaging technology available, the Sony digital camera line ensures its consumers that a Sony digital camera will only capture more detail, more color and more brightness imaginable.Every Sony digital camera has an exclusive Sony technology that enhances photo capturing experience. Armed with the Real Imaging Processor (RIMP), any Sony digital camera allows high digital processing that reduces picture noise and delivers smoother and more detailed images. The RIMP is an intelligent Sony digital camera technology that allows faster shooting time, swifter burst shooting and almost simultaneous processing of your images (enables immediate display of your image) for your Sony digital camera. All Sony digital cameras are furnished with Carl Zeiss lens. Carl Zeiss lenses are world renowned for their quality brilliance, outstanding accuracy of colors and enhanced definition with almost zero distortion. With a Carl Zeiss lens, flawless imaging is truly embracing perfection with a Sony digital camera. Sony has its own Cyber-shot line of digital camera for all photo fanatics out there. One of the lower ends of their Cyber-shot series of the Sony digital camera is the DSC-L1. The L1is a 4.1 mega pixel camera with a 3x optical zoom and plays MPEG Movie Vx. It is also supplied with a Vario Tessar lens from the Carl Zeiss line.A higher version of the L1 is the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-P200. Almost same in all respect with the L1 expect this baby is a 7.2 mega pixel Sony digital camera.For those who are serious in their craft, the right Sony digital camera for you id the Cyber-shot DSC-F828. Designed for professional photographers, the F828 has a 28-200mm equivalent of a Carl Zeiss Vario Sonnar lens, which makes it excellent for action and low-light shots. An 6 mega pixel Sony digital camera, it is outfitted with 7x optical zoom and a 1.8 inch LCD screen where you can review the pictures that you just took. The DSC F828 has a four color system that includes RGB+emrald colors and enables night shot/night framing system. The F828 even allows manual exposure, zoom and manual focus controls for your customization needs.For the younger and trendier generation, the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-M1 is the right Sony digital camera for you. The M1 is a digital camera and a camcorder in one. It can record either up to five seconds MPEG 4 playback or unlimited video recording, depending on your preferred setting. Shooting with 30 frames per second, it is 5.1 mega pixel camera with a 640 x 480 maximum pixel resolution. It has 3x optical zoom and 2x digital zoom.Very lightweight at only 6.5 oz. the M1 is very portable and is only 2×1.1×4.5 inches (dimensions). A USB 2.0 compatible and with PictBridge support, the M1 makes file transferring from your Sony digital camera to your computer as easy as taking pictures.Available with accessories such as wrist strap, docking station and a 32MB memory Stick Duo, the M1 comes with an expansion slot that lets you upgrade up to 512MB of memory for further picture taking or video playback. It even has a built in features such as stereo surround
Article Tags:
Sony Digital Camera, Embracing Perfection, Sony Digital, Digital Camera, Carl Zeiss, Mega Pixel, Optical Zoom
Digital Camera: Digital Camers & Its Future
Basically a digital camera is a deice use to capture pictures without
the use of films. Unlike the conventional camera, the digital camera
does not rely on mechanical and chemical processes. It has a built in
computer and records the images it captures in an electronic form.
Having and operating one does not even require the use of electricity.
Basically a digital camera is a deice use to capture pictures without the use of films. Unlike the conventional camera, the digital camera does not rely on mechanical and chemical processes. It has a built in computer and records the images it captures in an electronic form. Having and operating one does not even require the use of electricity.Since the images that a digital camera captures is in electronic form, it is a language recognized by computers. This language is called pixels, tiny colored dots represented by ones and zeros that make up the picture that you just took. Just like any conventional cameras, a digital camera is furnished with a series of lenses that focus the light and creates the image that you want to capture. The difference here is then; a conventional camera focuses its light on a film while a digital camera focuses the light into a semiconductor device that electronically records the light. Remember the built in computer, it comes in here and breaks this information to digital data resulting to all the features of the digital camera. Another feature of the digital camera is that it has a sensor that converts light into electrical charges. A charge coupled device or CCD is an image sensor that is found in a digital camera. While other low-end digital camera use complementary metal oxide semiconductor or CMOS as an image device, it can still become better and more famous in the future but most engineers are do not believe that it can replace the CCD for higher-end digital cameras. A collection of tiny diodes, the CCD gathers electrons when they are struck by photons or the light particles. Each diode or photosite is sensitive to light, meaning that the brighter the light, the number of the electrons gathering will be larger The price of a digital camera nowadays have been depreciating, one of the main reasons of this is because of the introduction of CMOS image sensors, this is because CMOS sensors are less expensive and are easier to manufacture than CCD sensors. A CCD and CMOS sensor works the same way at first, by converting the light electrical charges into photosites. Simply putting it, is to think that a digital camera works in such a way as thinking that the millions of tiny solar cells, each of which forms a part of the whole image. Both CCD and CMOS do this task using different methods.When shopping for the best digital camera, take note of these key features. Image quality. Check the resolution of the camera. The higher the resolution, the more thou will be able to enlarge your picture without the grainy or the out-of-focus effect that we all want to avoid.Lens. Choose a digital camera with better digital zoom. The digital zoom of the camera will enable you take the pixels from the image sensor and incorporate them to make an image.Power. Always opt for rechargeable batteries, they can always come in handy, plus you don’t waste as much money on the disposable ones. Options. So you can brag to your friends how good a photographer or artist you are. Or choose the one that gives options that best cater to your lifestyle, so you won’t ever whine how you never get the right pictures. Memory. If you’re a photo freak, be sure that you have enough memory in your camera to take all the wacky, freaky, funny and just about any photo you can. Think 512MB if you’re a photo junkie and takes pictures of just about anything. Computer Interface. Always make sure that it is compatible with your PC, laptop, palmtop or whatever your local picture printer software is, you don’t want to go running around the whole state or the country looking for a computer that’s compatible with your digital camera, wont you?!Physical. If you are going to be bringing it everywhere, choose a handy and portable digital camera. This way, it won’t always feel as heavy and bulky as those cameras that you see professional photographers are always dragging on their neck. Don’t they ever get tired of that?!These are just the basic things you have to look for in a digital camera when you buy one. A digital camera is so great that it is quickly replacing all conventional cameras in the market, with all its technology and portability
Article Tags:
Digital Camera
A Call to End Format Wars, Boost On Demand and Untether Digital Downloads
Want to own the current Holy Grail invention of blue laser but are disappointed that no one format offers movies from all major studios? Want to watch any TV show or movie on demand but can’t find enough content available? Want to buy songs in open mp3 format but can’t find enough songs sold that way? You’re not alone, and the industry should know their customer better.
The music, television, movie and consumer electronics industries (hereafter collectively referred to as the industry) have been struggling with the rapid advance of technology and the new virtuality of content. Here are the top eight things the industry should do to harness the technology and recapture the simple tenet of giving the customer what they want.
1. End format wars.
When a new format is needed to advance the industry to the next level, there should be one and only one format that goes to market and becomes the standard. This applies to both online virtual formats and offline physical formats.
The current example in physical formats is Blu-ray vs. HD DVD. Two formats were necessary at first to spur competition, but the differences between them at this point are so negligible that ultimately one has to win for either to succeed. A standards body needs to exist to allow competition at first and to oversee a limited beta period to ensure customer opinions are factored in, but then to ultimately pick a winner before full-scale market launch. Companies should be required to register candidate formats in the early stages. The standards body should track investment and invention level of each candidate along the way. Then a winner should be chosen with a percentage of the licensing revenue going to all of the candidates commensurate with their investment and invention level. The candidates either agree to these terms from the get-go or they do not participate in determining and profiting from the next generation format.
The current example in virtual formats is mp3 vs. AAC vs. WMA vs. yet others for audio, and mpeg-4 (H.264) vs. WMV (VC-1) vs. yet others for video. The industry should have standardized on mp3 and mpeg-4 a long time ago to ensure that all content will be universally playable on every device.
Correcting this immediately is essential. The industry should get a standards body in place as soon as possible and declare much overdue industry standards, such as Blu-ray, mp3 and mpeg-4. The marketplace will rejoice, sales will skyrocket and the floodgates will open on the dam the industry itself has been one of the largest contributors to building.
2. Offer three consumption models.
a. Offer all content free with ads.
All content should be available on demand all the time free with ads. The best examples of this so far are music videos at mtv.com and music.yahoo.com and TV shows at in2tv.aol.com. The worst examples of this are the television networks who still insist on having their content time expire after only a short period of availability. Networks should use the ad model to make their entire catalog of shows, current and past, available for free all the time. All media stores, such as iTunes, should also introduce the option of listening to or watching a brief ad per 10 minutes of content or so in order to enjoy the entire content rather than just short preview clips.
b. Rent all content without ads for a fee.
This is the same as 2a only without the ads for a fee. The best examples of this so far are Netflix and Yahoo! Music Unlimited. With the former, for as low as $8.99 per month, you can rent any movie in the store, and that now includes some that can be watched directly online. With the latter, for as low as $5.99 per month, you can listen to every song in the store as many times as you want with no ads. All media stores and sites should offer this option.
c. Sell all content Digital Rights Management(DRM, or copy protection)-free.
There will still always be a market for owning content outright, such as for those times where you just don’t have an Internet connection or don’t want to be tethered to a server. In these cases, for both online virtual formats and offline physical formats, DRM simply should go. It has proven to hamper sales significantly due to treating everyday paying customers as if they are pirates, restricting them to play back the content on too few devices, giving them the chore of backing up and managing licenses on their computer and violating their fair use rights. DRM will always be defeatable and the industry simply needs to stop investing an inordinate amount of time and money into something that has a negative impact on their bottom line. The industry should abandon it and get back to the basic premise of allowing the customer the joy of experiencing the content they paid for without any strings attached. The best example of this so far is EMI which is now allowing media stores to sell their songs DRM-free.
3. Wireless Internet-enable all devices.
The computer cannot be the only access point. TVs, cable boxes, disc players, DVRs, game consoles, portables, boom boxes, phones, car head units – in short all playback devices – should come with built-in wireless connection to the Internet for access to content servers. The best examples of this so far are the Playstation 3 and the iPhone/iPod touch Wi-Fi Music Store.
4. Allow playlists to be defined and stored on the servers.
What 2a and 2b do is move us away from the need to store and manage our own copies of the content on our client devices (or on our shelves). Moving playlists off of the clients is a natural extension of that. When we can dial up all content including our favorite playlists on demand all the time anywhere we have an Internet connection, the convenience of not having to permanently store and backup our own copies of the data will start to prevail. The best example of this so far is Yahoo! Music Jukebox.
5. Offer movies by the chapter in addition to whole.
Just as the norm is now to be able to buy individual songs rather than just whole albums, the same option should be available for buying the individual chapters of movies. Doing so would offer the same advantages as individual song sales – the ability to collect favorite chapters at lower cost and storage use, the ability to direct-access chapters on playback and the ability to arrange favorite chapters from various movies into playlists. Note that this would require players to pre-cache the next chapter to ensure gapless chapter-to-chapter playback, but that is certainly doable.
6. Offer a choice of bitrates.
Highly compressed bitrates were fine at first, but there is no doubt that even with today’s bandwidth and storage (which will only grow with time), those who want to enjoy higher bitrates should have the option. With 2a and 2b, bandwidth is the primary factor, and clearly higher bitrates are possible even today. With 2c online formats, storage is also a factor, but even with today’s capacities some may choose quality over quantity for must-have content.
7. Piggyback audio on video for physical formats.
The industry moving to a new physical format is a big undertaking. Assuming a new HD format succeeds for video, then audio should just piggyback on that success. The video format will obviously have enough capacity for audio, and consumers will not have to buy additional players. Previous HD audio attempts of DVD-Audio and Super Audio CD failed for several reasons – separate audio-only players, no single digital connection such as HDMI, format war, etc. – all of which can be avoided once either Blu-ray or HD DVD is declared the standard. Albums in uncompressed PCM, both 2-channel stereo and multi-channel surround, with HD extras such as music videos, live concert footage and still photos all played through an existing player with single HDMI connection would be very compelling. With lossless compression such as Dolby TrueHD, perhaps entire album box sets could fit on one disc. These are exciting new possibilities.
8. Leverage viral marketing.
This is an extension of 2a. Provide url-addressability to free ad-coupled content that sites anywhere can provide links to – it essentially equates to free marketing for you. It doesn’t matter from where the eyeballs found the content, just that they found it. More eyeballs means more ad revenue in your pocket and more exposure that will lead to the eventual purchase of the content and related merchandise such as concert tickets, t-shirts, posters, action figures, toys, etc. A free ad-supported lure has always been necessary (radio and TV) for widespread exposure. The best examples of this so far are music videos at mtv.com and music.yahoo.com and TV shows at in2tv.aol.com. Music
These eight things would take the industry out of its current slump and carry it into unprecedented growth territory.
Article Tags:
Industry Should, Virtual Formats, Standards Body, Best Examples, Music Videos, Media Stores
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