Tag: ITU

Keep the Internet an open and free Internet

simonmackay 11/12/2012 Industry Comments, Internet Access And Service No Comments

Petition Link

My Comments

There is currently a desire by various authoritarian states like Russia, China and Saudi Arabia to use the ITU meeting that is taking place at the moment to rewrite the rulebook for international telecommunications and the Internet. This goal is to establish a more restrictive Internet service that allows these states to have greater control of the Internet that their citizenry has access to/

But the Internet as we know it has opened up a lot of paths for people power and innovation. For example, it has facilitated events like the recent Arab Spring uprising where revolution has occurred in states like Yemen and Egypt. This has been facilitated through the Web and the social media providing a low on-ramp to publishing the material that the people need to see to make informed decisions.

Another issue is that an authoritarian state may see itself as a regional economic power and use this to control what information passes through the region. This could include being able to shut down Webhosts based in that region if they host controversial material. Similarly the censorship and surveillance ideals of these states can be dangerous to a company’s economically-sensitive data due to a breeding round for state-sponsored piracy or the ability to establish a business-hostile environment.

Here, this could also lead to the various states not becoming safe locations for one to establish a business presence in that region due to the Internet connection or Web-hosting facility not being available in a reliable and secure manner.

Simiarly, through the use of IP telecommunications services like Viber, Skype and various busines-to-business VoIP platforms, we can be able to have voice and, where applicable, video conversations across the world for pennies’ worth or for free. As well, IP-based broadcasting can provide extra content to people that is beyond the control of governments.

I have signed this e-petition and stand behind these ideals in order to keep the Internet as a people-driven communications service which breeds innovation and competition.

Defining parameters for 4K and 8K ultra-high-resolution displays

simonmackay 19/10/2012 Computer Hardware Design, Current and Future Trends No Comments

Article

ITU meets to define 4K and 8K UHDTV parameters – Engadget

My comments

We are starting to see the arrival of ultra-high-definition video displays being available for general-purpose computing requirements. This yields cinema-quality vision experience as if normally seen directly by the eye.

But the concept has existed in a general form where a well-bred current-generation digital still camera is able to take an image with that resolution. As well, some screens used in particular industries like medical imaging are implementing this kind of pixel-dense display. Similarly, some video setups like the recent practice of exhibiting performances of opera or classic plays in the cinema through the use of video links use the ultra-high-definition setups.

The technology is also being assisted through the availability of pixel-dense display technology in computer devices. Examples of this include Apple’s “Retina” technology used in the latest iPhone and iPad devices and starting to appear across some of Apple’s 13” MacBook computers. This could be implemented in larger display areas like flatscreen TVs and desktop monitors.

Here, a particular resolution and aspect ratio needs to be called for both the 4K and 8K displays. This may be a point to bring in the 21:9 display ratio used for cinema applications; and could help with providing an improved video experience for the films that were used to showcase Cinemascope or Panavision.

But after 1080p (1920×1080) was called as a standard for HDTV displays, which has allowed a point of reference to be used for this application; there needs to be a standard for this kind of ultra-high-definition display. This can allow the displays to be marketed properly such as with a standard logo that applies to equipment that meets one or more of the criteria.

This may also affect how visual layouts are worked on so we can think more of display physical sizes and application classes rather than particular resolutions. It will also mean the use of vector-based user-interface displays or graphics assets that suit particular display densitys as what is being put forward for Windows 8 software design.