Friday, January 04, 2013
The Oatmeal vs Carreon: Where's Funnyjunk?
Yes, Charles Carreon has dropped his lawsuit. Just about the time that the popcorn is popping and you're dropping some hot butter on it (with a dash of salt), it seems like its over. Carreon dropped the lawsuit, and the legalese says that it was done "without prejudice". Keep the popcorn handy. It could flare up any moment from this time forward. In the meantime, Carreon is declaring "victory". Whatever.
Here's my problem with this whole affair. Where was Funnyjunk? Was Carreon supposed to be representing them? Carreon claimed he was doing this solo. But why didn't Funnyjunk put out some type of statement saying, "Look, this batshit lawyer of ours just went rogue. He's not with us. We tried, we pleaded, nay we begged him to get back on his meds, but it didn't do any good." Instead, we got... nothing at all. I checked their website and found nothing. No word on this whole lawsuit. Nothing on anything that transpired. Why, in their world, Carreon and The Oatmeal don't exist. (Except for all of those Oatmeal images and content that golly, gee, wind up on their website.) So why the silence? Could it be that Carreon was doing exactly what FJ wanted him to do? In other words, Carreon broke all of the playground rules by instantly jumping to the legal equivalent of the "triple dog dare". Perhaps that's what FJ wanted. I submit that it is what Funnyjunk wanted. "Call us thieves, will ya?", they said. "We'll let our little pet legal poo-flinging monkey deal with you!" All they had to do was sit back and watch. They made sure and got their hands good and buttered from the popcorn, because for dessert, they're going be getting hairy palms. All of the crazy, vindictive, simply insane stuff Carreon did just got them all kinds of excited.
That ticks me off even more. It wasn't enough that the turd Carreon decided to squash the First Amendment rights of multiple people. That alone had me more than a bit angry. But the people who allowed made him do it are getting off scot free. Remember: They started this. Now they think that they can claim innocence. That cannot stand. Now hear this! Boycott Funnyjunk! No, don't harass them. Don't e-mail them any threats. Just don't e-mail them at all. Do not contact them in any way. Let their page views drop to zero. Let those cockbreaths just wither on the Internet vine. I want them wondering, "Hey, where did everyone go? We have as much stolen content as before? Why aren't they looking at us?" Then maybe, just maybe, they'll crawl back under whatever rock they slithered from. And stay there.
Sunday, October 17, 2010
The Computer with Linux is Installed
This is the continuing story of a family who is switching the kids' computer from Windows to Ubuntu Linux. Long story short: The computer had been infected with some nasty malware. Try as I might, I couldn't get rid of all of them. Since I was going to be re-formatting and re-installing anyway, I asked the father if I could just install Linux rather than Windows. After he gave me the go-ahead, I installed the latest version, which is 10.10 or "Maverick Meerkat".
The one thing I noted off the bat was that the install was much more streamlined than in previous versions. It even asked if I wanted to do updates during the install, as opposed to doing the updates manually afterwards. Plus, and here's a big one, they asked if I wanted to add the ability to handle proprietary formats (Helloooo, MP3!) up front. Yes, I do. I try to be as software- and hardware-agnostic as I can. Right now, as much as open source purists hate it, MP3 is the primary method for storing digital music. The family has many, many songs already in that format. It would be more of a pain to convert them than to simply make it possible to load the appropriate (but proprietary) codec on the system.
As stated in my previous post, I added accounts for each of the two kids (ages 13 and 10), plus admin accounts for me and the parents. And to make things simpler for everyone (the drive is about an hour), I went ahead and added an SSH server. I included a public key-based authentication and removed the password-only from their system; while I was installing the computer, I set up their router to allow the SSH request to be forwarded to this computer.
As an added bennie, I noted that, when loading programs onto the kids accounts, the system asked for the username and password of one of the two admin accounts (me or the parents). No more did I need to worry about the whole "make the kids temporarily superuser" stuff. Just put in my username, type in my password, click and done.
Yesterday, they finally got their new (but old) computer. One thing I was really interested in was to find out precisely what the kids were using the computer for. Mind you, neither of these kids is an online gamer. (That kid, the oldest, is now in college.) But the youngest does check out various kid-related sites such as poptropica.com. It turns out that all either of them really needed was a word processor (for which they have OpenOffice) for school-related projects and a web browser (Firefox). Plus, with this version of Ubuntu, Firefox comes ready to play. No need to manually add Flash or anything. Once its loaded, its ready to rock.
After installing the computer, I walked each kid through the basics of starting up the computer, logging into his / her account, opening up OpenOffice (I put the requisite icons directly on the desktop), and opening up the browser. For the youngest, I had him open up his normal web sites, then I created bookmarks for each. I also added several of them directly to his Firefox bookmark toolbar. Once he opens Firefox, he has to make one click to go to his most favorite sites.
The one problem I had was trying to get their old printer to work. It's a Dell 720 color printer, and I could not get it to work. I scoured the Interwebz for how-tos. Several people spoke of using a particular driver for the Lexmark Z615 printer, since the Dell is allegedly a re-branded copy of that printer. No luck. I couldn't get it to work. I then tried to get the computer to print to an Epson printer which was connected to the parents' computer. The parents' computer is running WinXP. And at the moment I was trying to make it work, they happened to have left for some errands. Since I didn't have access to that computer, I decided to save that one for another day. For now, the kids will have to save their files to a thumb drive and print them on the parents' computer. Not ideal, but workable until we can figure out a better solution. I'd really like to get that Dell printer to work. Regardless, a minor glitch and, frankly, I can't blame the OS for it. Dell didn't provide a driver for it; besides, it's a low-end (I'm being polite.) printer anyway.
So, when I woke up this morning, I SSHed into their box and did a quick "who" command. Who's on the box this morning? One of the parents. Just before I left, I showed the father how to save a document in the MS Word format (since he has to send a lot of letters that way). And he was impressed with the ability to export to a PDF. His eyes actually lit up when I showed him that. Could he be doing something with OpenOffice? Possibly. My guess (and a quick "ps" command seems to bear this out) is that he's surfing the Internet using Firefox. Oh, and he was really impressed with how quickly the computer booted up, compared to the ages it took when Windows was still loaded.
I imagine their will be other problems (aside from the no-printer problem) in the future, but so far, so good.
The one thing I noted off the bat was that the install was much more streamlined than in previous versions. It even asked if I wanted to do updates during the install, as opposed to doing the updates manually afterwards. Plus, and here's a big one, they asked if I wanted to add the ability to handle proprietary formats (Helloooo, MP3!) up front. Yes, I do. I try to be as software- and hardware-agnostic as I can. Right now, as much as open source purists hate it, MP3 is the primary method for storing digital music. The family has many, many songs already in that format. It would be more of a pain to convert them than to simply make it possible to load the appropriate (but proprietary) codec on the system.
As stated in my previous post, I added accounts for each of the two kids (ages 13 and 10), plus admin accounts for me and the parents. And to make things simpler for everyone (the drive is about an hour), I went ahead and added an SSH server. I included a public key-based authentication and removed the password-only from their system; while I was installing the computer, I set up their router to allow the SSH request to be forwarded to this computer.
As an added bennie, I noted that, when loading programs onto the kids accounts, the system asked for the username and password of one of the two admin accounts (me or the parents). No more did I need to worry about the whole "make the kids temporarily superuser" stuff. Just put in my username, type in my password, click and done.
Yesterday, they finally got their new (but old) computer. One thing I was really interested in was to find out precisely what the kids were using the computer for. Mind you, neither of these kids is an online gamer. (That kid, the oldest, is now in college.) But the youngest does check out various kid-related sites such as poptropica.com. It turns out that all either of them really needed was a word processor (for which they have OpenOffice) for school-related projects and a web browser (Firefox). Plus, with this version of Ubuntu, Firefox comes ready to play. No need to manually add Flash or anything. Once its loaded, its ready to rock.
After installing the computer, I walked each kid through the basics of starting up the computer, logging into his / her account, opening up OpenOffice (I put the requisite icons directly on the desktop), and opening up the browser. For the youngest, I had him open up his normal web sites, then I created bookmarks for each. I also added several of them directly to his Firefox bookmark toolbar. Once he opens Firefox, he has to make one click to go to his most favorite sites.
The one problem I had was trying to get their old printer to work. It's a Dell 720 color printer, and I could not get it to work. I scoured the Interwebz for how-tos. Several people spoke of using a particular driver for the Lexmark Z615 printer, since the Dell is allegedly a re-branded copy of that printer. No luck. I couldn't get it to work. I then tried to get the computer to print to an Epson printer which was connected to the parents' computer. The parents' computer is running WinXP. And at the moment I was trying to make it work, they happened to have left for some errands. Since I didn't have access to that computer, I decided to save that one for another day. For now, the kids will have to save their files to a thumb drive and print them on the parents' computer. Not ideal, but workable until we can figure out a better solution. I'd really like to get that Dell printer to work. Regardless, a minor glitch and, frankly, I can't blame the OS for it. Dell didn't provide a driver for it; besides, it's a low-end (I'm being polite.) printer anyway.
So, when I woke up this morning, I SSHed into their box and did a quick "who" command. Who's on the box this morning? One of the parents. Just before I left, I showed the father how to save a document in the MS Word format (since he has to send a lot of letters that way). And he was impressed with the ability to export to a PDF. His eyes actually lit up when I showed him that. Could he be doing something with OpenOffice? Possibly. My guess (and a quick "ps" command seems to bear this out) is that he's surfing the Internet using Firefox. Oh, and he was really impressed with how quickly the computer booted up, compared to the ages it took when Windows was still loaded.
I imagine their will be other problems (aside from the no-printer problem) in the future, but so far, so good.
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
The Family Linux Box - An Experiment Begins
Can a family that has used nothing but Windows convert to Linux? I may be about to find out. I have a family who have two desktop computers. One computer is for the parents; the other is for the children, ages 13 and 10. The kids computer was infected with what Norton stated was "11 risks". The risks were various trojan horses, general viruses, and a rootkit. I've tried all of the standard procedures to get rid of the various pieces of malware, all to no avail. I asked their father if I could load Ubuntu Linux on the computer. He said to go ahead.
The computer is now loaded with version 10.4 (Lucid Lynx), though I may update it to 10.10 (Maverick Meerkat). I've added an admin account for myself, an account for each of the kids, and an account for the parents.
I've already identified one problem. Neither of the kids is a super user, which means neither of them can use "sudo" to add programs or change their account in any way. So, while they can keep each other out of his and her respective files, they can't add any meaningful programs. Further, I don't know how I, as an admin, can do it for them. What I'm thinking right now is to temporarily make them super users, make the changes I need, then remove their super user status.
If you have suggestions, please leave them in the comments. Thanks!
The computer is now loaded with version 10.4 (Lucid Lynx), though I may update it to 10.10 (Maverick Meerkat). I've added an admin account for myself, an account for each of the kids, and an account for the parents.
I've already identified one problem. Neither of the kids is a super user, which means neither of them can use "sudo" to add programs or change their account in any way. So, while they can keep each other out of his and her respective files, they can't add any meaningful programs. Further, I don't know how I, as an admin, can do it for them. What I'm thinking right now is to temporarily make them super users, make the changes I need, then remove their super user status.
If you have suggestions, please leave them in the comments. Thanks!
Tuesday, October 05, 2010
Damn onions
I'm a regular reader of the web site Blackfive. One of the best things they do (among many) is to honor those who have fallen, to make those who stop by the site pause for a moment to reflect on someone who has given their life so that I can have mine.
It was while reading a recent one that I remembered two words that I'd come across in the comments for a similar article. The words were, "Damn onions". When I first saw those words, I understood. I've discovered, though, that not everyone gets it. In case you don't, let me explain.
The short answer is that the story, like chopping onions, made the reader cry. But in my mind, it's more than that. The readers of Blackfive cover all of the military services. I've seen comments from those in the Coast Guard, Air Force, Marines, Army and Navy. While they may rib and kid each other, the one bond they share that no outsider can truly understand is that they are and have been sent into harm's way. Many of them subscribe to the macho world of the military. Be cool, calm and professional, but always have a plan to kill everyone you meet. That kind of thing. Therefore, showing emotion, even through the relative anonymity of the interwebz, is not something that comes easily to them. When they read of a comrade who has died, though, it's gonna happen. The tears will flow. They can fight it, but frankly, they'd rather not. They could type out everything they're feeling, but words really don't suffice. The emotion is too raw, and perhaps (just as with me) they cannot write well. Words might be in their head, but whether they are the right words put into the right order is another thing, entirely. So, to keep up appearances, we get the comment, "Damn onions."
It's those two words for which the true significance would take a thick book to fundamentally explain. They may not want to show emotion in public, especially to a bunch of strangers on the internet. But still, they are. They are crying. Just as I am, having read the story of SSG Miller, recently (and posthumously) awarded the Medal of Honor. If you are ever reading a story of a comrade, a warrior, someone who has given their life for their country, and you see those two words, understand the depth that those two words represent.
It was while reading a recent one that I remembered two words that I'd come across in the comments for a similar article. The words were, "Damn onions". When I first saw those words, I understood. I've discovered, though, that not everyone gets it. In case you don't, let me explain.
The short answer is that the story, like chopping onions, made the reader cry. But in my mind, it's more than that. The readers of Blackfive cover all of the military services. I've seen comments from those in the Coast Guard, Air Force, Marines, Army and Navy. While they may rib and kid each other, the one bond they share that no outsider can truly understand is that they are and have been sent into harm's way. Many of them subscribe to the macho world of the military. Be cool, calm and professional, but always have a plan to kill everyone you meet. That kind of thing. Therefore, showing emotion, even through the relative anonymity of the interwebz, is not something that comes easily to them. When they read of a comrade who has died, though, it's gonna happen. The tears will flow. They can fight it, but frankly, they'd rather not. They could type out everything they're feeling, but words really don't suffice. The emotion is too raw, and perhaps (just as with me) they cannot write well. Words might be in their head, but whether they are the right words put into the right order is another thing, entirely. So, to keep up appearances, we get the comment, "Damn onions."
It's those two words for which the true significance would take a thick book to fundamentally explain. They may not want to show emotion in public, especially to a bunch of strangers on the internet. But still, they are. They are crying. Just as I am, having read the story of SSG Miller, recently (and posthumously) awarded the Medal of Honor. If you are ever reading a story of a comrade, a warrior, someone who has given their life for their country, and you see those two words, understand the depth that those two words represent.
Thursday, August 19, 2010
Analysis of a Malware Installation Attempt
Here's the background. Earlier this year, I was in a masters class that was an introduction to the TCP/IP suite of protocols. TCP/IP is, in essence, the backbone of the Internet. It's what allows all computers to talk to all other computers, regardless if they're little handheld iPhones to large supercomputers.
Me, I hate theory. I mean I really hate it. So many textbooks provide such dry prose that I have to stand in a monsoon to keep some humidity around me. To help keep my interest, I decided to do a little experiment. A friend's computer had been infected with a virus when she clicked on a link in her Facebook account. Turns out the link was from a friend of hers, whose account had also been infected. My friend's computer was running Windows, and it required several days and a couple hundred dollars to get it fixed. Anyway, I decided to use this as an opportunity to learn something. So, I set up a virtual machine (using VMWare) to create a Windows 7 Professional system. Then, I loaded Kaspersky Anti-virus, created a limited account, and went hunting. I stored a few of the links that were now appearing on her (now infected) Facebook account.
Rather than bore you here with all of the details, here's a short, graphic-laden summary of what transpired. The short answer is that it appears that Windows 7, when run on a limited account, is a much tougher nut to crack than I thought. Considering that I converted to Linux just last year, that's saying something.
Me, I hate theory. I mean I really hate it. So many textbooks provide such dry prose that I have to stand in a monsoon to keep some humidity around me. To help keep my interest, I decided to do a little experiment. A friend's computer had been infected with a virus when she clicked on a link in her Facebook account. Turns out the link was from a friend of hers, whose account had also been infected. My friend's computer was running Windows, and it required several days and a couple hundred dollars to get it fixed. Anyway, I decided to use this as an opportunity to learn something. So, I set up a virtual machine (using VMWare) to create a Windows 7 Professional system. Then, I loaded Kaspersky Anti-virus, created a limited account, and went hunting. I stored a few of the links that were now appearing on her (now infected) Facebook account.
Rather than bore you here with all of the details, here's a short, graphic-laden summary of what transpired. The short answer is that it appears that Windows 7, when run on a limited account, is a much tougher nut to crack than I thought. Considering that I converted to Linux just last year, that's saying something.
Rob, We Need You Back
I've been a follower of Rob Rosenberger for many years. It's been at least ten because I remember reading his work while still living in a townhouse, and that was in 1999. Rob hasn't posted on either his Vmyths site nor on the SecurityCritics.org site since last year. So far as I'm concerned, Rob was (and remains) the master of biting commentary with respect to computer security and the computer security industry. Finding him looking over your shoulder is similar to finding a "60 Minutes" news crew outside your front door. It's just not something you want to see happen. For example, when he went after Richard Clarke, you could hear the bitch-slap reverberating all across the country.
For those of us on the other side, the receiving side, of his wit and wisdom, it's just the opposite. You hope, nay pray, for him to find someone or something to ridicule. Seriously, to me, reading Rosenbergers's insightful analyses was like finding the Rosetta Stone of the anti-virus industry. I could feel my IQ rising with each paragraph I took in.
Which brings me to my point. Rob, we need you back. I mean it. We need you. The seeming rise of botnets and uberhackers and what not just screams for someone with the knowledge and, even more importantly, the ability to translate that knowledge for the masses, and that means you. We need someone with the expertise to be able to look past the fluff and spin and exaggerations to be able to say what is BS, and what is BS.
Come back, Rob, when you can. As the ad goes, "We'll leave the light on for ya."
For those of us on the other side, the receiving side, of his wit and wisdom, it's just the opposite. You hope, nay pray, for him to find someone or something to ridicule. Seriously, to me, reading Rosenbergers's insightful analyses was like finding the Rosetta Stone of the anti-virus industry. I could feel my IQ rising with each paragraph I took in.
Which brings me to my point. Rob, we need you back. I mean it. We need you. The seeming rise of botnets and uberhackers and what not just screams for someone with the knowledge and, even more importantly, the ability to translate that knowledge for the masses, and that means you. We need someone with the expertise to be able to look past the fluff and spin and exaggerations to be able to say what is BS, and what is BS.
Come back, Rob, when you can. As the ad goes, "We'll leave the light on for ya."
Saturday, July 03, 2010
Happy Fourth!
I don't drink alcohol, but I'll still raise a toast tomorrow (the 4th) out of respect for those who pledged their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor.
Oh if you're going to hit me with stupid whininess that you think passes for cynical wittiness, don't bother. If you don't know what passes for "stupid whininess", it's comments such as this:
From a comment on a Wired article: "Do you think that the Founding Fathers would be proud of us with the Bill of Rights reduced to a list of suggestions, Privacy gone, a government that kidnaps and tortures with no consequences to the perpetrators, wars waged based on lies and deceit?"
From a Gizmodo article: "This Sunday, our fine nation celebrates blowing up other nations for its independence."
Frankly, the second one is the dumbest thing I've read so far this year. It's so dumb that it will probably hold the title for the rest of the year, if not for several years after.
Enjoy your fireworks, your families and friends, and your independence.
Oh if you're going to hit me with stupid whininess that you think passes for cynical wittiness, don't bother. If you don't know what passes for "stupid whininess", it's comments such as this:
From a comment on a Wired article: "Do you think that the Founding Fathers would be proud of us with the Bill of Rights reduced to a list of suggestions, Privacy gone, a government that kidnaps and tortures with no consequences to the perpetrators, wars waged based on lies and deceit?"
From a Gizmodo article: "This Sunday, our fine nation celebrates blowing up other nations for its independence."
Frankly, the second one is the dumbest thing I've read so far this year. It's so dumb that it will probably hold the title for the rest of the year, if not for several years after.
Enjoy your fireworks, your families and friends, and your independence.
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Botnet from a Linux kernel vulnerability?
I was reading an article on two men indicted on creating, then unleashing, a botnet attack. What really got my attention was this (my emphasis added):
I found an article which seems to address an issue related to a Linux kernel vulnerability, but I don't know if this is the one addressed in the botnet attack. If it is the same one, they a patch has already been produced. Further, if it is the same one, then that gives me an idea on when this attack occurred (probably in the mid- to late-2009 timeframe).
Just another reminder to be on your toes with respect to computer security, regardless of your platform or operating system.
A few hours later, T35 President Alex Melen responded to Zook's post, blaming the compromise on a Linux kernel vulnerability, and noting that "a lot of companies are dealing with these hacking attacks right now and not a lot can be done."
I found an article which seems to address an issue related to a Linux kernel vulnerability, but I don't know if this is the one addressed in the botnet attack. If it is the same one, they a patch has already been produced. Further, if it is the same one, then that gives me an idea on when this attack occurred (probably in the mid- to late-2009 timeframe).
Just another reminder to be on your toes with respect to computer security, regardless of your platform or operating system.
Thursday, April 15, 2010
Hey, FX Networks! You SUCK!
Again, it's my fault. I started watching the new series on FX Networks called "Justified". For whatever reason, I like it. However, I missed the second episode. This has not been a problem on other shows. For example, both "Burn Notice" and "In Plain Sight" (two of my other favorites) provide online episodes. Click to the website, click "Play" and away we go.
Not so with "Justified". First, I'm told that I have to download the "Move Media Player" which will provide "rich and exciting" video to my desktop. If you've read any part of this blog, you'll know that I no longer run Windows as my primary operating system. When I clicked on "Install", I was given a window that stated that "Move Media Player" only works on Windows XP and Vista, as well as Mac OS X.
Strike 1, FX.
I went ahead and fired up my laptop, which runs Vista. Except that Windows decided to go off the deep end. The "explorer.exe" process was running at 100%, making running anything impossible.
Strike 2, FX.
An hour later, I'd created a work-around for that problem. I managed to get the media player loaded. I started the episode I wanted. By the way, that took two restarts of the browser due to several errors I received. Except the episode is the wrong dimensions. Everyone is stretched out vertically.
Oh, and that whole "no buffering" is a whole lot of bullshit. If you're operating on the Internet, you're using a buffer. No way around it. Period.
So, I've downloaded a problem in which the first thing presented is either a lie or a completely made-up piece of bullshit. (My fault.) Then it requires over an hour to get to work. (Their fault.) And, to top it all off, it's probably watching everything I do. (My fault AND their fault.)
Strike 3, FX. You're out.
I'll be deleting the "Move Media Player" from my computer. And telling FX to pound sand.
Not so with "Justified". First, I'm told that I have to download the "Move Media Player" which will provide "rich and exciting" video to my desktop. If you've read any part of this blog, you'll know that I no longer run Windows as my primary operating system. When I clicked on "Install", I was given a window that stated that "Move Media Player" only works on Windows XP and Vista, as well as Mac OS X.
Strike 1, FX.
I went ahead and fired up my laptop, which runs Vista. Except that Windows decided to go off the deep end. The "explorer.exe" process was running at 100%, making running anything impossible.
Strike 2, FX.
An hour later, I'd created a work-around for that problem. I managed to get the media player loaded. I started the episode I wanted. By the way, that took two restarts of the browser due to several errors I received. Except the episode is the wrong dimensions. Everyone is stretched out vertically.
Oh, and that whole "no buffering" is a whole lot of bullshit. If you're operating on the Internet, you're using a buffer. No way around it. Period.
So, I've downloaded a problem in which the first thing presented is either a lie or a completely made-up piece of bullshit. (My fault.) Then it requires over an hour to get to work. (Their fault.) And, to top it all off, it's probably watching everything I do. (My fault AND their fault.)
Strike 3, FX. You're out.
I'll be deleting the "Move Media Player" from my computer. And telling FX to pound sand.
Sunday, April 04, 2010
Yet Another Reason I Like Linux: Panorama Pictures
Under Windows, I had a heck of a time finding decent panorama stitching software. At least, software that didn't cost a gazillion dollars. Under Ubuntu, I appear to have found a great panorama stitching program that is free. It's called "Hugin Panorama". It's actually two different pieces of software; one is the backend processor (called "Hugin Batch Processor") and the other is the frontend GUI (called "Hugin Panorama Creator"). I installed both from the repositories. In this case, it was using the Ubuntu Software Center (Applications -> Ubuntu Software Center, then do a search on "hugin").
The first panorama I created was of a Civil War battlefield (Bolivar Heights) just outside of Harpers Ferry, West Virginia. Personally, I think it came out stunningly.
The latest requires a short bit of digression. I used to be a volunteer firefighter. One of the first people I befriended when I joined the department goes by the nickname of "Tink". "Tink" is still with the department, but I'm not. But he wants me back. To try to push me in that direction, he suggested I stop by a building right next to where we have breakfast every Sunday morning. This particular establishment burned down due to the carelessly-thrown away ashtray. I stopped by. But I also decided to see how well Hugin would do with some cellphone pictures. Again, in my most humble opinion, I think it came out real well.
Consider this. I took this with an LG260 Rumor camera phone. If you don't know anything about this phone, know this: it takes crappy pictures. Yeah, they might tout it as a "1.3 megapixel", but those 1.3 million pixels have obviously had a hard life. I know, I know. It wasn't meant to take studio quality pictures. But, of all of the panorama stitching programs I've had, they always wanted good quality pics. Obviously, Hugin works differently. Or just better. Or differently better. Whatever. I just know it does a great job. (Just finished dropping a few dollars to the developer. Good work like this needs to be rewarded.)
Also, I didn't know the specs on the camera. All panorama programs need to know some basic camera info. Well, Hugin wants to know either the camera's horizontal field of view (shortened as "HFOV") or its focal length and length multiplier. Hell, I felt lucky the manual told me it was "1.3 megapixel". Forget about anything more detailed such as the focal length. I was able to take out a piece of paper, a pencil and a ruler, then actually calculate the horizontal field of view of the camera. It's approximately 52 degrees of HFOV. That works out to a 35 mm lense with a 1x length multiplier. Go figure. Punching that in allowed me to make the panorama shown above.
Hey, Hugin people, you guys rock!
The first panorama I created was of a Civil War battlefield (Bolivar Heights) just outside of Harpers Ferry, West Virginia. Personally, I think it came out stunningly.
The latest requires a short bit of digression. I used to be a volunteer firefighter. One of the first people I befriended when I joined the department goes by the nickname of "Tink". "Tink" is still with the department, but I'm not. But he wants me back. To try to push me in that direction, he suggested I stop by a building right next to where we have breakfast every Sunday morning. This particular establishment burned down due to the carelessly-thrown away ashtray. I stopped by. But I also decided to see how well Hugin would do with some cellphone pictures. Again, in my most humble opinion, I think it came out real well.
Consider this. I took this with an LG260 Rumor camera phone. If you don't know anything about this phone, know this: it takes crappy pictures. Yeah, they might tout it as a "1.3 megapixel", but those 1.3 million pixels have obviously had a hard life. I know, I know. It wasn't meant to take studio quality pictures. But, of all of the panorama stitching programs I've had, they always wanted good quality pics. Obviously, Hugin works differently. Or just better. Or differently better. Whatever. I just know it does a great job. (Just finished dropping a few dollars to the developer. Good work like this needs to be rewarded.)
Also, I didn't know the specs on the camera. All panorama programs need to know some basic camera info. Well, Hugin wants to know either the camera's horizontal field of view (shortened as "HFOV") or its focal length and length multiplier. Hell, I felt lucky the manual told me it was "1.3 megapixel". Forget about anything more detailed such as the focal length. I was able to take out a piece of paper, a pencil and a ruler, then actually calculate the horizontal field of view of the camera. It's approximately 52 degrees of HFOV. That works out to a 35 mm lense with a 1x length multiplier. Go figure. Punching that in allowed me to make the panorama shown above.
Hey, Hugin people, you guys rock!
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