Articles by Howdy Pierce

Explore prime number computation: Python vs. C++. Discover speed insights between these languages using the Sieve of Eratosthenes algorithm. Download Python and C++ code here!

When it comes to bringing a brand new product to market, keep it simple. The important thing is to get to market quickly, with low development costs, and get feedback from your customers about how to make the product better.

Occasionally we need to measure the bitrate of a particular video stream on the network. In this example I will show how to measure the data rate of a video streamed from Amazon.com.

If you’re looking to predict what technologies will be obsolete soon, visiting the Kodak booth at CES is not a bad place to start. I came to this realization as I was watching a demo from one of Kodak’s partners, Unibind. Unibind is demonstrating a new machine at CES that allows retailers to create a... View Article

I’m a little late in posting this here, but it’s been a busy couple of months. As has already been reported in the local press, Cardinal Peak moved in late September. We’ve been adding some folks in the past year, and we had outgrown our previous location. But we also had a couple of other... View Article

I'm at the DSI conference in Las Vegas today, presenting a primer for law enforcement investigators on how video compression works and trying to answer the question of why "lossy" compression should be considered reliable for use in courtrooms. The lack of trust in digital media compression in a forensic setting is primarily a PR issue for the media compression industry — if such an industry can be said to exist. We use terms like "lossy compression" and "predicted blocks" — terms that have relatively precise technical meaning. But these terms also have a slightly different meaning to laymen, and that everyday meaning isn't exactly reassuring if you're a judge relying on testimony compressed using a lossy compression algorithm.

Discover the flaw in Nikon’s image authentication system and the implications for security. Learn why true file integrity relies on more than checksum protection.

My partner Mike Perkins and I traveled this week to Las Vegas to take in NAB, one of the big trade shows for the broadcast video market. We try to travel together once or twice a year because, in addition to whatever immediate objective we have in taking the trip, we’ve found that traveling together... View Article

I spent the day yesterday in Las Vegas for ISC West, one of the largest shows for the CCTV and security industry. We have a couple of customers exhibiting at this show, and I haven’t attended the last couple of years, so it was interesting to see. CCTV / Security is a tough industry to... View Article

Evidently the Justice Department is investigating MPEG LA on the grounds that they may be stifling innovation in the area of standards for web video. From today’s Wall St. Journal: The Justice Department is investigating whether a group representing some top technology firms is unfairly trying to smother a free rival technology for delivering online... View Article

There’s a lot of advice on the internet directed to engineers and other tech workers who reach a certain age. According to Penelope Trunk, you’re supposed to hide your age on your resume by deleting work experience older than about 15 years ago and omitting the date on your college degree. (I’m going to blow... View Article

In all the internet video out there, there are basically two methods of delivery: Progressive download and adaptive bit rate streaming.