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Issue #428 : : April 26, 2005 |
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C o n t e n t s Q&A: Five Minutes with Dan Dolen
Nikon Encrypts NEF
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Write the Editor. Donate to upFront.eZine with Paypal. Access nearly-daily CAD commentary at our blog: WorldCAD Access.
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Q&A: Five Minutes with Dan Dolan 4D Technologies specializes in CAD tutorials on CDs written by certified instructors. I interviewed Dan Dolan, who heads up the company: - - - upFront.eZine: What do you do that's different from other CAD training systems? Dan Dolan: Our "blended learning and support systems" provide training for the most popular Autodesk applications. The difference in our product are:
upFront.eZine: Explain to me how your keyword search is different from any other, such as the one included with Microsoft's Help? Dan Dolan: Keyword search allows users to define their immediate learning topic need, and the system presents the lessons pertaining to that topic -- rather than users being required to take the whole course in order to find their learning need. Users are given an ad-hoc learning tool.
upFront.eZine: And the point to history tracking? Dan Dolan: History keeps track of every lesson viewed and at what point to restart your next session.
upFront.eZine: People run their audio-video lessons off a CD. What else is there? Dan Dolan: We provide the PDF read-only versions of the more popular reference books by the most popular authors in the Autodesk publication world. Customers can get the lessons on CD for individual users, but we also provide server-based lesson for corporate users. And then we also provide instructor-led options from Autodesk consulting organizations, including Autodesk resellers and other consultants. We like to think of this as a blended learning solution that consists of instructor-led and self-paced lessons with readable manuals.
upFront.eZine: What's the connection between 4D Technologies and Retrieve? Dan Dolan: 4D has repackaged version of our Learning and Support content to be compatible with the Retrieve Search Engine. A significant number of companies are adopting the implementation of our learning content within the Retrieve environment. We offer the Retrieve solution as the Information Management/Knowledge Management version of our content.
upFront.eZine: Why the name 4DTechnologies? Dan Dolan: It's 4D Design Solutions, Inc. dba [doing business as] 4D Technologies. In physics, the fourth dimension is represented by time relationships. We go beyond the third dimension of CAD.
The Nikon D2X is a US$5,000 12-megapixel digital SLR camera. Photographers were not pleased to learn Nikon encrypted a portion of the RAW image file. ("RAW" is the generic name for unprocessed image data saved from the digital camera's sensor. The file format of RAW differs for every vendor and often for each camera model. Nikon's RAW format is named NEF; Canon's is CRW; and so on.) In D2X NEF files, only the white balance data is encrypted: "the low-order byte of the camera serial number is used to vector into a static lookup table to munge the value. This means that identical shots from different cameras will appear to have completely different values," notes a contributor on the dpreview.com forum. Nikon provides only a light version of its RAW-reading software with the expensive camera; customers are ticked off at paying extra for the full version. And third-party programmers are ticked off that Nikon's free SDK [software development kit] is offered only after an approval process. Programmers note that the SDK does not multi-thread on the Mac, making the SDK less undesirable. The encryption was first revealed by Adobe, who is keen that its PhotoShop software manipulate images created by any camera. The company squawked, because they don't want to reverse-engineer the encryption themselves for fear of being criminally charged under the DMCA [digital millennium copyright act], which makes reverse-engineering to overcome copy protection illegal in the USA. (Last fall, Adobe introduced its attempt at a universal RAW format, called DNG. Camera makers have ignored it. And photographers have little sympathy for Adobe after the company used the DCMA to sue a Russian programmer who had published a work-around for Adobe's eBook encryption.) All this made a contributor to slash.dot wonder: "Nikon has provided [SDK] software, which functions as a means of bypassing an encryption scheme which protects copyrighted works to which they don't hold the copyright (the copyright belongs to the photographer). Seems like anybody who has taken a picture with one of these cameras would have standing to bring a DMCA complaint against Nikon." Programmer David Coffin obliged Nikon owners by cracking the NEF encryption. He notes that and Canon, Nikon, and Foveon compress all data and encrypt some metadata; Phase One and Sony encrypt their RAW images; and that Kodak only compresses its RAW files. www.cybercom.net/~dcoffin/dcraw/ Nikon releases a longish statement defending the encryption, which included this gem: "Securing this structure is intended for the photographer's benefit, and dedicated to ensuring faithful reproduction of the photographer's creative intentions through consistent performance and rendition of the images." Responding to the subsequent gales of laughter, Nikon apparently removed the statement from its Web site [I can't find it there any longer].
The Parallel to CAD Like CAD users to CAD software, photographers are financially locked to Nikon, because their lenses are specific to Nikon. One photographer noted that his collection of lenses is worth more than his car. From time to time, CAD vendors lock part or all of their file formats. Autodesk did that with the ACIS data in the other-wise documented DXF files; PTC did it with their Pro/Engineer files; and more. In some cases, the vendors may claim they are protecting the customer. In turn, the customer feels his design data at risk by the vendor's unwanted intrusion. For both groups of professionals, the worry is this: will I be able to open my files 50 years from now, long after the vendor has abandoned support for today's encrypted file format? The lack of documentation of design files owned by customers lead to the creation of the OpenDWG Alliance (now Open Design Alliance), as well as third-party programmers specializing in cracking the compression and encryption found in CAD drawings. In the same way, OpenRAW < www.openraw.org/ > was formed to openly document proprietary RAW formats created by digital cameras. Professional photographers were vocal and quick at condemning Nikon's obfuscation of their livelihood. CAD users can take some comfort that they are not alone in their fight against corporate nannyism. A summary of CAD industry news you may not have read elsewhere, or that I found interesting: QuadriSpace adds a Granite Import Module to its Document3D line of 3D publishing software. PTC's Granite imports drawings from Pro/ENGINEER files, as well STEP, IGES, VDA, SAT and Parasolid. www.quadrispace.com Delcam's entry-level routing and engraving software, ArtCAM Insignia, is US$850 and available from www.artcam.com Autodesk updates VIZ 2006 to handle files created by AutoCAD 2006 and other Autodesk software, and adds a content browser for cameras, lights, and materials. usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet/index?siteID=123112&id=4221521 ABAQUS announces the availability of DDAM [dynamic design analysis method] for ABAQUS -- for free. The add-on validates of shock-sensitive equipment and structures for naval applications. www.abaqus.com/ddam Tech Soft America updates the HOOPS 3D Application Framework (HOOPS/3dAF), HOOPS Stream Toolkit (HOOPS/Stream) and HOOPS Net Server (HOOPS/Net) [whew!] components to version 12 with 3D Studio Max plug-in; Direct3D enhancements; fully custom line and marker styles; externally referencing images, including thumbnail images; better transparency and shadow rendering; support for Windows64 and Linux64; and more. www.hoops3d.com Cimmetry Systems ships a service pack to update AutoVue 18 for AutoCAD 2006 and Inventor 10. www.cimmetry.com UGS announces Teamcenter for MRO -- maintenance, repair and overhaul. www.ugs.com - - - And these news items were posted during the last week at our WorldCAD Access blog < http://worldcadaccess.typepad.com >:
Hardware News BOXX Technologies plans to support dual-core AMD Opteron 64-bit CPUs in its 7000 Series workstations and render nodes. Software that supports multi-threading should run faster. www.boxxtech.com The Colortrac SmartLF 4080 scanner (US$7,995 and up) has 400dpi optical resolution and handles paper up to 44" (1.1m) wide in 24-bit color. www.colortrac.com
Magazine Updates 'Earth Observation Magazine' magazine is switching to digital, shutting down the paper version after 14 years.
WorthWhile Web http://www.despair.com/buasus.html
http://www.mvps.org/visio/History.htm
Letters to the Editor Re: MicroStation Mozart
Adobe's Acquisition of Macromedia "Also, Macromedia has been antithetical to SVG, the W3C
standard for 2D vector graphics. Adobe, on the other hand, has seen
it (at least internally, if not a bit quietly) as a strategic technology.
Life is always interesting, isn't it." The editor replies: "I wonder if the planned merger with Macromedia (these things take a long time) caused Adobe to go with a 3D file format used by almost no one?"
2D vs. 3D "There are
many articles out there promoting the advantages of 3D over 2D.
I find I am still using both. I have a university co-op student
who is trying to write a report on when one should be used over
the other. Have you found much resources touting the benefits of
2D? I haven't." The editor replies: "There has been some arguments about this in upFront.eZine over the last half year. CAD vendors are eager to push 3D because they can charge more for 3D software. The irony is that almost all construction is done with 2D drawings. The only exception is direct-to-part, where 3D CAD systems output CAM data read by CNC machines. Indeed, the 'pure 3D design' programs, such as Revit and SolidWorks, boast about their ability to generate 2D drawings from 3D CAD models." - - - "This last issue kicked. I read the eZine religiously, as
you already know, and just when I start to take it too seriously,
you through some humor our way -- I laughed out loud, man. Thanks
for putting out the best CAD eZine in the biz."
Spin Doctor of the Moment "The cost may not be expensive, but every penny saved counts
and all savings go back towards lowering fares for European consumers." Notable Quotable "By nature television talks too much. Stopping to think
would be more than its practitioners could bear."
Copyright 2005 by upFront.eZine Publishing, Ltd. All rights reserved worldwide All
rights reserved worldwide. Article reprint fee $250. |
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