My entire career has been about learning and applying new technologies. It has also been about taking on new challenges related to technology and business. I enjoy learning new things,and I like to share things that I have learned through writing and public speaking. I like to help others learn challenging subjects,in particular...

The term photorealistic is thrown around a lot and is often undefined. Although it seems obvious—photorealistic means something looks like a photo—the word requires a greater explanation. There are many facets to photorealism. This is true because as a CG artist, you have control over everything. Achieving 100 percent realism...

Haptic devices allow users to feel their interfaces and interactions. This has the potential to radically change the way we use computers. Haptic interaction is interaction related to the sense of touch. This could be based on force-feedback or tactile devices. We can take advantage of our powerful sense of touch as an alternative...

This book is meant for research scholars, scientists and practitioners involved with the application of computer-based systems in critical applications. Ensuring dependability of systems used in critical applications is important due to the impact of their failures on human life, investment and environment. The individual aspects of...

The Extract-Transform-Load (ETL) system is the foundation of the data warehouse. A properly designed ETL system extracts data from the source systems, enforces data quality and consistency standards, conforms data so that separate sources can be used together, and finally delivers data in a presentation-ready format so that...

AS WE WRITE THIS, it has been several years since we penned the first edition of The Official Ubuntu Book. Over that time, we have seen Ubuntu continue its explosive growth. Updating this book drives this fact home in striking ways. For example, the number of users and posts in the Ubuntu Forums has nearly doubled since the last...

This book is an attempt to bring together current research in the domain of interactive horizontal displays. The book integrates and summarises findings from the most important international tabletop research teams. It provides a state-of-the-art overview and allows for the discussion of emerging and future directions in research and...

When I decided to do a sabbatical with Symantec Research Labs Europe in the beautiful French Riviera, I was asked to work on a project about Voice over IP (VoIP) security. The goal of the VAMPIRE Project1 was to understand the threats and vulnerabilities of VoIP systems, and to inform the direction of further research efforts....

I used to think plug-ins were for people who could afford to buy creativity. Then I realized it was for those who had creativity, but were burdened and held back by the process, or lack of tools, for their creativity. After Effects plug-ins are not someone’s project files or templates for you to copy, but rather tools for...