July 2000 Meeting Report
by Howard L. Bonar
Secretary, Alaska Computer Society

The July 13, 2000 meeting of the Alaska Computer Society was held at the BP Exploration building at Benson Boulevard and New Seward Highway starting at 7:08 pm.

Questions & Answers

Gene White, back from traveling the world or wherever, started the evening off with the question and answer session.

Ray asked the question: What is the best way to send a web page that is in the process of being developed from L.A. to Anchorage? He can get parts of it OK but the image files and linked documents are not making it. After some discussion, it appears that we don't know an easy answer to that. If someone out there has one, send a note to me, Howard Bonar, and we will put it in the next newsletter.

Another member was having a problem installing an updated version of one of his programs. After several attempts he was thoroughly frustrated. One possible source of the problem was he had not turned off his virus monitor before starting the installation. The monitor may have been interfering with the installation. Rule one. Turn off the virus monitor before starting an installation. (Remember - the install programs almost always tell you to turn off all other programs before starting.) Another hint, too late now, is to do an uninstall before attempting to install a new version. The third bit of advice, too late for this particular problem, is to use a professional version of installation monitor program to install any new software. It should do a much better job of uninstalling than what may be provided by the software vendor or what Windows uninstall provides.

Someone asked if anyone was using Windows 2000 yet. About eight said they were. Some were experiencing problems of instability - what a surprise to hear that. Windows ME, the Millennium Edition, is due out any day now. And that will be a whole new story.

Main Meeting

President Gene White called the regular meeting to order at 7:18 pm. He introduced the board members present and called for any announcements.

Howard reported that the Evaluation Program is inactive at the moment because of the lack of new software. We are hoping to have a representative at the fall Comdex show which we hope will result in a new supply for our program. In the mean time, if you have new software you have purchased and would like to do a review for the newsletter, we will be glad to get it. We can send you a copy of the evaluation guidelines via e-mail if you like.

Dawn reported on the upcoming meetings. The August presentation will be by William Poletti, a world renowned expert on data encryption and systems security. The September presentation will be on the information services available over the Internet at the library.

Winner of the door prize, a copy of Microsoft Publisher 2000 and a companion manual was Shelley Richardson. The prizes were courtesy of Microsoft.

The Presentation

Dave Moletti, local digital media developer, gave us an interesting introduction to the latest in digital multimedia development. His company, Technoids, offers a broad range of digital media, PC, and network support services. Their specialty is in the law office and courtroom environments. They also are a certified A+ software development shop. Their services include logo creation and animation, CD duplication in all formats, forensic animation, creation of digital media, and 3D animation. To see samples of some of their recent projects, visit their web site and check out the Gallery at www.Technoids.net.

This presentation is one of those that you have to see to really appreciate it. It would take far more words than we have room for to do justice to some of the work samples demonstrated.

DEMONSTRATION

In the multimedia business, one of the many fun and profitable parts is creating the flying logos we see on television and on many web sites. The digital demo tape played for us on the computer graphically demonstrated some of the many possibilities.

FORENSIC ANIMATION

Electronic Recreation of an event.

The old axiom, a picture is worth a thousand words is borne out by the new technology. Since English is the second language for many people, pictures help in understanding what is being described.

Accident depiction is a fast growing part of the animation business. With it, it is possible to recreate an event electronically and show each element as reported by the witnesses and the physical evidence. With the help of engineers and other expert witnesses, it is possible to depict accurately the rate of speed, braking, the severity of the impact, and even predict what actually should happen under the specified conditions.

One step in recreating an accident scene is to mount a digital video camera on the hood of a car and drive it over the same route as the subject vehicle. By matching the reported speed and direction, and carrying out the same actions reported by the driver and witnesses, a visual recreation of the environment is achieved. Often, it will be shown that the person did not do what he said he did or the actual speeds were much different than reported. The length of skid marks, impact damage, and other measurable effects can be included in the recreation.

Once the environment graphics are in place, then the vehicles can be superimposed in the image resulting in a realistic portrayal of the event.

Because of the visual impact of these presentations, it is extremely important that the judge and the attorneys carefully monitor it before allowing a jury to see it. It would be very easy to add unfair or unproved elements that could sway a jury. The presentations are usually accompanied by an expert witness who can be closely cross-examined by the opposing attorneys. The admissibility of the animations is within the trial judge's discretion. He must weigh the probative value (tending to prove) of the animation against any prejudicial effect.

The sample played for us gave a vivid demonstration just how powerful this technology could be in a courtroom. It made it very obvious who caused the accident providing all the facts depicted were true. The demo showed a pickup coming over a hill and an SUV (sport utility vehicle) moving into the highway from a side road. It showed the impact and the resulting movements of the two vehicles.

The cost of creating these animated recreations is high which makes it unfair for the poor client who cannot afford this kind of presentation. A simple line drawing on a blackboard would have a difficult time in overcoming this advantage. Most judges follow procedures designed to prevent unfair advantage. One thing learned the hard way, too slick a presentation can blow up in your face. Judges and juries are very sensitive about what looks like a selling job rather than an honest presentation of the facts.

The purpose of making the animation is to show what happened during an accident. Many times, when the lawyers see the animation, they settle rather than take a chance in court. Because of the uncertainties, the animation makers usually work on a retainer basis

The courts in Anchorage have the equipment for showing these presentations. Use of the facilities is expected to grow very rapidly as their effectiveness becomes better known.

THE CRASH OF AN AIRPLANE

A second sample tape showed an airplane landing. One of the wheel struts collapsed at touch down causing the plane to crash. The animation showed how each element of damage to the plane occurred - the wheel strut, the wing tip, and the front of the plane. Not a total loss but significant damage.

SOFTWARE

Composing animation takes artistic talent as well as science. At a convention of the craft members, you will see two types of people: the artist who looks like he might have been alone too long, and the typical business man who presents the professional look.

Along with the talent and science, the process of creating all of the graphics images used in commercial TV and Internet displays requires some very sophisticated software. Creating Cel animated commercials, 3D logos, animated characters, and multimedia animation for CD or Web display takes several different types of software. Technoids uses Adobe, Newtek, 3D Studio Max, and Macromedia plus others for production work. Some of the software is very expensive. For higher production speeds you could spend a lot more.

Translation of media from one protocol to another is another service offered. Media Cleaner Pro is used a lot for that. Using a translation hard card in a MAC is 100 times faster than software but the card costs $8000.

If you are interested in learning more about the software, Technoids has several links on their web page that will take you to the source of information on a particular product.

ELECTRONIC BUSINESS CARDS

If you really want to impress someone, instead of a business card, hand them a miniature CD-ROM. These mini CD's will play in a typical ROM drive and can contain up to 50 megabytes of company and product information. If you must you could even include pictures of your grand kids. With full color printing right on the CD you can have an eye-catching attention grabber. Yes, they do cost a lot more than a regular business card.

EDUCATION/TRAINING

Technoids is a testing center for Virtual University Enterprises. The VUE Testing Network provides Certification exams for Microsoft, Novell, IBM, Linux, and others. Check their web site for more details.

YOU THOUGHT YOUR NETWORK WAS FAST

In the Technoid office, a one gigabyte fiberoptic networks connects the office computers together so that they can gang up on any massive digital processing jobs. Using up to ten 500 mhz dual processor PCs with the right networking software, what would normally take a super computer can now be done in the office environment. A high speed Internet connection makes it economically feasible to collaborate with other media producers almost anywhere in the world.

IF YOU WANT MORE INFORMATION

Technoids is located at 3700 Woodland Dr. Suite 300, Anchorage, AK 99517. Their web site is at www.Technoids.net or call 907-248-8324. If you have a question you can e-mail David Molletti at DavidM@Technoids.net.