Free DME & DFIR Resources

Prospective students can now submit applications entirely online for all LEVA training events!  LEVA's all new Training Home Page lists all LEVA events currently open for registration along with the starting date of the course, a link to complete course details, and link to register for the event by submitting your application online.  Click here to check out the all new LEVA Training Home Page!

The Facial Identification Scientific Working Group (FISWG) has released two documents as drafts for comment - "Facial Image Analysis Training" and "One to One Facial Comparison Overview".

Individuals interested in reviewing these documents and providing feedback are encouraged to visit the FISWG website (www.fiswg.org). Once there, they can download the documents and also find instructions for submitting comments. A template for submitting comments is also available on the website for download. The period for submitting comments will close on April 1, 2010.

1. What is File History
File History is a new backup service introduced in Windows 8. By default this feature is off and to turn it on, user has to select a backup location – either a network drive or external storage media. Thus, it does not allow user to use the same disk. File History backs up files of the Libraries, Desktop, Contacts and Favorites folders. There is an option to exclude any folder(s) that users don’t want to backup. Notice that File History is unable to backup your folders synced with cloud storage service(s). According to Microsoft, “File History doesn’t back up files on your PC that you have synced with SkyDrive, even if they’re in folders that File History backs up.” Once turned on, File History automatically backs up the folders after every hour by default; however this interval can be changed easily in advanced settings. In addition, at any time, user can manually run the service. File History appears as fhsvc in the Task Manager and some associated dlls are fhcfg.dll, fhcpl.dll and fhsvcctl.dll.

Full Story

The combination of Ubuntu Linux's growing popularity with all the big changes coming up in the next version mean that Natty Narwhal, or Ubuntu 11.04, might just be the most widely and anxiously anticipated release of the open source operating system ever.

Full Story

Photographers using the newer high-end flash memory format now have another supplier besides Sony for the cards. Also: a big, fast SDXC card for a big, fat price.

Full story

LEVA has announced a special reduced pricing package to help government agencies meet their training requirements in these challenging economic times.

As of January 1, 2009, LEVA will bundle its prestigious 40-hour core training courses and others, providing significant cost reductions. All courses are conducted at LEVA’s Digital Multimedia Evidence Processing Lab at the University of Indianapolis, Indiana. Visit the LEVA Website for complete details.

"Blender is the free and open source 3D creation suite. It supports the entirety of the 3D pipeline—modeling, rigging, animation, simulation, rendering, compositing and motion tracking, video editing and 2D animation pipeline." - https://blender.org

This is a project I've known about for some time, but hadn't looked at in quite awhile.  Wow.  VFX & compositing geeks are going to love Blender 2.92.

Let's make it another great week my friends, be safe out there! 😎

As more and more companies turn to Linux for mission-critical operations, making sure IT staff have the necessary skills is becoming more important than ever.

That's a significant challenge, because demand for Linux skills now far outstrips supply, making them a particularly hot commodity in the hiring market as companies large and small struggle to equip themselves with the talent they need.

Full Story

Ian Robinson takes you through the basics–good stuff to know if you’re getting your feet wet shooting video with a DSLR:

Full Story

I'm looking to pick up an HD camcorder disguised as a contact lens which accepts microSD behind my earlobe, but I'm not finding anything.  Go figure.  Until then, I'm thinking of picking up an HD pocket camcorder.  You know, something the size of the Flip but in HD.

Still image capability isn't that important to me for this thing, but I would like decent 720p HD video under various typical lighting conditions (e.g. nothing extreme).  SDHC storage would be ideal.

To be honest I was thinking a fully decked out RED rig until my wife walked by, shook her head and smiled.  I don't think she even knew that I started my search looking for a sub $300 pocket camcorder, and ended up looking at a camera rig that would cost about as much as our last car. What I can say is that I'm pretty sure she was thinking "I dare you, you silly little man." 😄

Video technology combines footage from different cameras to allow people to see the same event from multiple angles.

Read full story >

Videophiles, gamers and audiophiles are all too familiar with codec conflicts. What many people don't realize, however, is that not only can these issues prevent you from viewing, hearing or working with a file, they can also seriously impact system operation or performance. Fortunately, there are several freeware and/or shareware utilities to help identify and resolve codec related issues...even if you don't realize you have any.

by Stephen Shankland

The group that licenses patents for the widely used H.264 video encoding and streaming technology has committed to charge no royalties ever for use by Web sites that use it for freely available video.

Full story:
http://news.cnet.com/8301-30685_3-20014864-264.html