Stanford Photo Scientists are Teaching the Camera New Tricks

Stanford scientists have created an open-source camera that could revolutionize digital photography by giving programmers that chance to design software to teach the device new tricks.

Open-source "Frankencamera" could revolutionize digital photography

Stanford Report, August 31, 2009
Open-source camera could revolutionize digital photography

Stanford scientists' open-source camera could change photography by giving
programmers anywhere the power to change camera features and create new
possibilities.

http://news.stanford.edu/news/2009/august31/levoy-opensource-camera-090109.html

[excerpt]

Stanford photo scientists are out to reinvent digital photography with the
introduction of an open-source digital camera, which will give programmers
around the world the chance to create software that will teach cameras new
tricks.

If the technology catches on, camera performance will be no longer be
limited by the software that comes pre-installed by the manufacturer.
Virtually all the features of the Stanford camera – focus, exposure,
shutter speed, flash, etc. – are at the command of software that can be
created by inspired programmers anywhere. "The premise of the project is
to build a camera that is open source," said computer science professor
Marc Levoy.

Computer science graduate student Andrew Adams, who helped design the
prototype of the Stanford camera (dubbed Frankencamera,)
http://graphics.stanford.edu/projects/camera-2.0/
imagines a future where consumers download applications to their
open-platform cameras the way Apple apps are downloaded to iPhones today.
When the camera's operating software is made available publicly, perhaps a
year from now, users will be able to continuously improve it, along the
open-source model of the Linux operating system for computers or the
Mozilla Firefox web browser.

Fun ways to transform your face online

Fun ways to transform your face online

If you have a picture of yourself, why not put it to good use? With the
help of some online resources, you can do all kinds of neat things to it.
You can even put it on greeting cards, avatars for your Twitter profile,
and more.

If you're planning to put your picture to use, do it with these sites.

http://news.cnet.com/8301-17939_109-10355620-2.html?tag=mncol;title

Loan deal saves Annie Leibovitz images

 * Loan deal saves Leibovitz images *

US photographer Annie Leibovitz is given more time to pay off a loan which threatened the copyright to her images.

Ms Leibovitz's most famous images include a photograph of John Lennon taken hours before he was assassinated, and a nude portrait of the pregnant actress Demi Moore for the cover of Vanity Fair magazine.

But the millions she has made from her work have been accompanied by a history of unpaid bills and taxes.

Full story:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/-/2/hi/americas/8251799.stm

Karl Johnston, Ft Smith, NWT won a prize in the Royal Observatory Greenwich’s Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2009

Karl Johnston, Ft Smith, NWT
won a prize in the Royal Observatory Greenwich's Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2009

Head on over to the astrophoto group to see more.

Category winners – Earth and Space

This hugely varied category was for photos that included landscape or people. Pictures also had to show an astronomical subject such as the stars, the Moon, or aurora. Tell us what you think about the winners in the Astronomy Photographer of the Year group on Flickr.

http://www.flickr.com/groups/astrophoto/

• Earth and Space – highly-commended

• http://www.flickr.com/people/karljohnston/
  

  Bow of Orion by Karl Johnston (Canada)  

  

  A few words from the photographer: 'I always loved viewing the majestic aurora borealis, and I would always wonder why it would only be me out there watching them on the cold nights growing up in Fort Smith, NWT, Canada. Every night I would go for miles and miles to escape the light pollution, into the sub-arctic wilderness. Trudging through three-and-a-half-foot snow and -40°C weather or below to eventually stop, look up, and attempt to orchestrate the dance of the aurora borealis through my camera.'

  What's in the picture: The auroras or Northern and Southern Lights are caused by the interaction between the Earth's atmosphere and a stream of particles from the Sun known as the Solar Wind. The Earth's magnetic field funnels these particles down over the planet's poles, giving rise to 'glowing curtains' of coloured light which are best seen in the night sky.

  Equipment: Canon 50D DSLR camera; Tokina - 11–16-mm lens; ISO 800; 20-second exposure

  What competition judge Dan Holdsworth thought: 'Through careful composition which creates a rhythm and symmetry between the veils of movement in the aurora's light and the silhouetted shapes of the trees, the photograph 'Bow of Orion' beautifully expresses something of the strangely musical and trance-like quality within the nature of the auroral experience.'

 

Dousing the blaze

Dousing the blaze, originally uploaded by Nigel Fearon.

Huge fire at the Yellowknife dump that burned for over 12 hours. Put out by helicopters, a waterbomber, and every fire truck in Yellowknife.
Best photo of the firefighting that I've seen so far ! ! ! !

"Through young eyes" Frozen Eyes in Fort Liard; The full set of selected participant pictures & event documentation

"Through young eyes" 
Frozen Eyes in Fort Liard

The full set of participant pictures & event documentation as a set.... click on individual images to see full photo...
http://www.flickr.com/photos/george-lessard/sets/72157622002663578/
as a slide show....click on individual images to see more information / individual photos...
http://www.flickr.com/photos/george-lessard/sets/72157622002663578/show/

Includes all the Frozen Eyes images on exhibition in Fort Liard at the Cultural Room in the Hamlet building.



---

GEORGE LESSARD
Information, Communications and Media Specialist
451 Norseman Dr.
Yellowknife, Northwest Territories
X1A 2J1, Canada

Yellowknife Land Line # (867) 873-2662
Yellowknife Cell # (867) 445-9193

"....... In the last 3 yrs ... . I've seen more Northerners than most people have in a lifetime ..."

Online:
http://mediamentor.ca
http://lessardcard.notlong.com
SKYPE: themediamentor
 

"Focusing on Liard" B&W scan News Northwest of Monday August 31 2009

http://www.flickr.com/photos/george-lessard/3885638823/

News Northwest nnsl.com Monday August 31 2009
"Focusing on Liard" Images taken in Fort Liard NWT, Canada during a Young Photographers Workshop presented by the Frozen Eyes Photographic Society www.frozeneyes.com/ thanks to the sponsorship of the Hamlet of Fort Liard, NWT www.fortliard.com/ - BHP-Billiton www.bhpbilliton.com and the NWT Arts Council pwnhc.learnnet.nt.ca/artscouncil/

Frozen Eyes Photographic Society in Fort Liard, NWT

29990831_NNW_Focusing_on_Liard-03-JPG

         

		That's been added to your Frozen Eyes in Fort Liard set.

---

GEORGE LESSARD
Information, Communications and Media Specialist
451 Norseman Dr.
Yellowknife, Northwest Territories
X1A 2J1, Canada

Yellowknife Land Line # (867) 873-2662
Yellowknife Cell # (867) 445-9193

"....... in the last 3 yrs ... . I've seen more Northerners than most people have in a lifetime ..."
Online:
http://mediamentor.ca
http://lessardcard.notlong.com
SKYPE: themediamentor

 

Humanizing Development, Global Photography Campaign

Humanizing Development
Global Photography Campaign

How do you see development? How can you portrait the human face of the development processes? How do you show that development initiatives and programmes improve the lives of people? This Global Photography Campaign aims to show examples of people winning the battle against poverty, social exclusion and marginalization. It is intended to raise awareness of the successes in the development process. The campaign is intended to counterbalance the frequently shown images of desolation and despair. A photo gallery will to be permanently located at IPC-IG office and open for public visitation. A series of photo exhibitions will also be organized in several cities around the world. Everyone can and is strongly encouraged to participate in this global effort and contribute with a photograph. Join us now in showing development through a different lens! Let's promote and share successful development initiatives!

Who can participate?

Everyone can contribute with a photograph: professional and non-professional photographers, students, civil society activists, government officials, UN staff members and so forth.

How can I participate?
http://www.ipc-undp.org/photo/index.htm

How will the selection take place?

The Selection Committee will choose the 50 favourite photographs that best depict the campaign themes to compose our photo gallery. Results will be released on IPC-IG website on 30 October 2009.

The Committee will be composed of one representative from IPC-IG; one UNV representative from headquarters in Bonn; a professional photographer with international reputation; a representative from a partner institution based in Africa, one in Asia and the Pacific, one in the Arab States and another in Europe and the CIS

What happens if my picture is selected?

If your photo is chosen you will be contacted no later than 30 October 2009 by the IPC-IG. As a reward, your contribution to this campaign and your effort in supporting its goals will be acknowledged by a wide dissemination of your work through a range of UN communications tools:

The selected photographs and the respective contributors' names will be highlighted in various UN communications channels, such as IPC-IG and UN media campaigns, releases, websites and so forth.

The selected photograph will be part of UNDP and IPC-IG photo databases and will be shared with the United Nations Department of Public Information in New York, promoting global visibility to contributors, their work and participation in the global campaign.

Contributors will receive a certificate jointly issued by the UNDP International Policy Centre for Inclusive Growth and the campaign partners.

Contributors will have their names displayed at the IPC-IG photo gallery on "Humanizing Development", which will be launched at a public event on November 2009.

Photo exhibitions are to be organised in order to highlight the photographs and the contributors and to promote the campaign goals. Exhibitions are planned to be held in New York, Brasilia, São Paulo, and other cities in the South.

 

Campaign Coordinator
Mr. Francisco Filho
Communications, Outreach and
Advocacy Unit, IPC-IG
francisco.filho@undp.org
Phone: (+ 55 61) 2105 5036

Ms. Giovana Lerda
Communications Assistant
giovana.lerda@ipc-undp.org
Phone: (+55 61) 2105 5017

Karim Ezzeldin
Communication Associate
UNDP Egypt Country Office
1191 Corniche ElNil, World Trade Centre
Boulac, Cairo 11599, Egypt
Office: (202) 2578 4840-6
Fax:     (202) 2578 4847
Direct:  (202) 2580 9007
http://www.undp.org.eg

Sambaa Deh Falls rock

DSC_8617, originally uploaded by The MediaMentor.

Sambaa Deh rock Falls, Trout River, NWT
Aug 28 2009
© 2009 George Lessard DSC_8617

Focusing on Fort Liard

http://www.nnsl.com/arts/stories/aug29_09pho-arts.html
---

Focusing on Fort Liard

Daron Letts
Northern News Services
Published Saturday, Aug. 29, 2009

ACHO DENE KOE/FORT LIARD - Youth in Fort Liard captured hundreds of digital photographs of their community earlier this month.

Michael Needlay flashes the peace sign in this image shot by Blair Kotchea during the Frozen Eyes Photographic Society's youth digital camera workshop in Fort Liard. - photo courtesy of Blair Kotchea

The young artists participated in a Frozen Eyes Photographic Society workshop series from Aug. 3 to Aug, 9.

"It was probably the most successful program that I had run in terms of engaging the older kids because they're a difficult group to interest in much," said recreation co-ordinator, Roslyn Firth. "But, they participated in numbers greater than I'd ever imagined and produced some really beautiful photographs."

Society members David Pritchard and George Lessard of Yellowknife led the workshops. The pair brought 12 cameras and other specialized equipment to share with the youth. Pritchard opened the workshop with an instructional introduction to the cameras and the art of photography. [. ..]

The workshop series was sponsored by the NWT Arts Council. The society may return to the community to lead another workshop series soon.

The society formed in 2008 with the goal of providing hands-on photographic experience for young people throughout the NWT. Society members have provided similar workshops in several communities around the territory.

"I would like them to come back in the fall," Firth said.

An exhibit of the young photographers' work goes on display at 7 p.m., Sept. 3, in the cultural room at the Hamlet and band offices. The photographers will attend the event.

First Prime Minister to visit any part of Canada north of the Arctic Circle, July 21, 1961

DSC_8312, originally uploaded by The MediaMentor.

This sculpture, symbolic of the cooperation of the three races in this community and in the North, was erected by the Government of the Northwest Territories in honour of the official opening of Inuvik. The opening ceremony was performed by the Right Honourable John George Diefenbaker, P.C., M.P. who was the first Prime Minister to visit any part of Canada north of the Arctic Circle, July 21, 1961

Bahamas Paradise Island Mending Kit

Bahamas Paradise Island Mending Kit, originally uploaded by The MediaMentor.

Paradise Island Mending Kit....The only souvenir I have from my honeymoon, Nassau, the Bahamas

©2009 George Lessard
1991Bahamas_Paradise_Island_Mending_Kit-1+2

SIVUNIRMUT ILINNIARNIQ - Elders' Advisory Committee Update 2002-fall-V4-Inuk.qxd

SIVUNIRMUT ILINNIARNIQ - Elders' Advisory Committee Update 2002-fall-V4-Inuk.qxd, originally uploaded by The MediaMentor.

SIVUNIRMUT ILINNIARNIQ - Elders' Advisory Committee Update deigned for my then employer, Education Nunavut, Curriculum & School Services Newsletter, Issue 2, Fall 2002 Inuktitut & English

Spark Box Studio / Accepting Residency Applications / Picton, ON

Announcement / Spark Box Studio / New Art Studio Accepting Residency Applications / Picton, ON

Spark Box Studio, an art studio, print shop and artists' residency that offers unique opportunities to emerging and professional artists, writers, and students, has just opened up in Prince Edward County, Ontario.

About Us:
Spark Box Studio provides space for artists to live, research, investigate and experiment in a focused environment. We aim to encourage discovery and the cultivation of new ideas, provide career-building opportunities and resources for artists at all stages, and promote engagement with the local community through the arts.

Artist Residency Program
Spark Box Studio's Artist Residency Program provides live/work space to accommodate both emerging and professional printmakers, photographers, painters, illustrators and writers, as well as those currently undertaking studies in fine art. Artists-in-residence have access to our professional studio and resource library. The Residency Program affords artists the space, time and resources to support the advancement of their careers and to strengthen their practice. Artists-in-residence stay in a charming Victorian house located by the historic Picton Harbour. 

For more information about Spark Box Studio Residency Program or to learn about other programs we offer, visit www.sparkboxstudio.com.

Spark Box Studio
206 Main St.
Suite 2M
Picton, ON
T. 613.476.0337
E. info@sparkboxstudio.com 
www.sparkboxstudio.com
 

 

"...How many own your name as a domain name? ... Your online presence ..."

"...How many own your name as a domain name? ... Your online presence
should show who you are, your interests and background, and showcase your
best professional work. ..."

The Need to Develop Their Personal Brand

http://www.pbs.org/mediashift/2009/08/journalism-students-need-to-develop-their-personal-brand231.html

[excerpt]

As a journalism professor, I have found there is one thing guaranteed to
set off a flurry of frenzied activity in the classroom. It has nothing to
do with exams or story deadlines. Rather, it is prompted by a simple
question to students: How many own your name as a domain name?

This seemingly innocuous question acts as a trigger, sending students
online to see if someone else with the same name has snatched up the web
address. A lesson on online research methods turns into "how to buy a
domain name," or more often, "what do I do if someone else has my domain
name?"

This is no trivial matter. Having a website that reflects your
professional identity is your digital calling card. Your online presence
should show who you are, your interests and background, and showcase your
best professional work. Or to put it another way, your personal brand as a
journalist.

In the journalism of today, the personal brand is becoming increasingly
central to the prospects of a young person starting out on a life of
reporting. So it is important for students at journalism school, and those
starting in the fall, to develop the professional brand that will set them
apart come graduation.

Some reporters may bristle at the idea of thinking of themselves as a
brand, considering it the equivalent of selling out. This overlooks the
fact that a journalist's identity has always been a part of the job,
otherwise why have bylines?

Research on Flickr / Biblio on Flickr Research

A. Cox from U. Sheffield wrote a couple of papers
(http://www.sheffield.ac.uk/is/staff/cox.html);
Cox, A. (2008) "Flickr: A case study of Web2.0" Aslib Proceedings 60 (5)
493-516.

Cox, A., Clough, P. & Marlow, J.(2008) "Flickr: a first look at user
behaviour in the context of photography as serious leisure." Information
Research 13 (1)
http://informationr.net/ir/13-1/paper336.html.

Julia Davies wrote also a couple of papers
(http://www.shef.ac.uk/education/staff/academic/davies.html)
Davies, J (2007) `Display; Identity and the Everyday: self-presentation
through digital image sharing.´ In: Discourse, Studies in the Cultural
Politics of Education. 28:4

Davies, J. (2006) `Affinities and beyond!! Developing ways of seeing in
online spaces´. In e-learning- Special Issue: Digital Interfaces. Vol.3
issue 2. Pages 217-234. A

Edgar Gómez – doing a PhD on Flickr at Open University of Catalonia -
Internet Interdisciplinary Institute and visiting research at Oxford
Internet Institute:
http://tesisantitesis.wordpress.com/
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=530370679

Rachel Cobcroft – doing PhD on Flickr at Queensland State Archives /
Creative Commons Australia
http://www.flickr.com/people/felix42/
http://www.facebook.com/rachel.cobcroft

Eric Meyer wrote an article on Flickr:
http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1353879

Ingrid Erickson (http://www.ssrc.org/staff/erickson-ingrid/) her
dissertation integrated quite a bit of research on Flickr.

Jean Burgess (Queensland University of Technology, Australia)' work on
vernacular creativity and Flickr. Look at CreativityMachine
http://creativitymachine.net/ for some of her work, including a
significant part of her dissertation project that focused on Flickr.

Mor Naaman studies it. A list of his publications in which you can find a
few about Flickr is avaleble at:
http://infolab.stanford.edu/~mor/research.html

Liza Potts <odu.edu> conducted research on Flickr. Published articles
include:
Potts, L. (2009). "Using Actor Network Theory to Trace and Improve
Multimodal Communication Design." Technical Communication Quarterly, 18
(3).
Potts, L. (2009). "Designing for Disaster: Social Software Use in Times of
Crisis." International Journal of Sociotechnology and Knowledge
Development. 1 (2), 33-46.
Potts, L. (2009). "Peering into Disaster: Social Software Use from the
Indian Ocean Earthquake to the Mumbai Bombings." Proceedings of the
International Professional Communication Conference. Hawaii: IEEE.
Potts, L. (2008). "Designing with Actor Network Theory: A New Method for
Modeling Holistic Experience." Proceedings of the International
Professional Communication Conference. Montreal: IEEE.

Collected by
--
Mayo Fuster Morell
E-mail: lilaroja@gmx.net
Skype: mayoneti

http://www.onlinecreation.info
http://www.openelibrary.info
http://www.openesf.net
http://www.networked-politics.info
http://www.euromovements.info

"Le photographe George Lessard dénonce les pratiques douteuses du gouvernement des TNO en matière de respect du droit d’auteur."

Arts et culture : Qui veut s'approprier les droits des artistes du Nord?

http://aquilon.nt.ca/Article/Qui-veut-s-approprier-les-droits-des-artistes-du-Nord-200908132229/default.aspx#article

Écrit par Batiste W. Foisy 
Paru le 13 août 2009
0 Commentaire(s)

Le photographe George Lessard en pleine action, lors d'un voyage d'échange en Russie, ce printemps. (Photo: Yudin Andrey Nikolaevich)

Le photographe George Lessard dénonce les pratiques douteuses du gouvernement des TNO en matière de respect du droit d'auteur.

Le photographe indépendant George Lessard n'a pas l'intention de s'enregistrer sur le répertoire en ligne des artistes des TNO (www.nwtarts.ca). Il n'est pas contre l'idée de diffuser son talent en ligne – loin de là! – mais il trouve que le prix à payer pour être listé sur ce site Web du gouvernement des TNO est plutôt salé.

« Quand vous voulez devenir membre de ce site-là, explique-t-il, on vous demande des images de votre œuvre et on demande aussi une licence pour l'utilisation de ces images, de la part du gouvernement des Territoires du Nord-Ouest. Une licence qui les autorise à l'utiliser de n'importe quelle façon que ce soit. Je pense que ce n'est pas juste. Ils devraient plutôt demander une licence restreinte à l'utilisation de l'image sur ce site spécifique. »

Si vous souhaitez vous enregistrer sur ce répertoire, vous devrez remplir et signer un formulaire dont l'une des clauses spécifie que le gouvernement retient les droits de reproduction de l'image cédée « pour tout usage dont notamment, mais non limité à, l'illustration, la publicité, le marketing ou la publication sur tout support électronique ou imprimé ». C'est ce passage qui irrite Lessard, qui relève au passage que le formulaire n'est disponible qu'en anglais. Selon lui, le gouvernement retire le pain de la bouche à ceux qu'il prétend défendre.

« Le gouvernement des TNO dit qu'il veut encourager les artistes, mais dans ce cas-ci, il n'y a pas de possibilité pour les artistes de générer un revenu avec ces images-là », dit-il. Selon lui, le GTNO aiderait davantage les créateurs en leur achetant les droits restreints de reproduction des images qu'en leur demandant de les céder intégralement et sans compensation.

Celui qui est membre du Collectif pour les droits d'auteur du Front des artistes canadiens a écrit au ministre de l'industrie du tourisme et de l'investissement, Bob McLeod, afin de lui faire entendre son mécontentement. Le ministre n'a pas tardé à lui répondre pour lui dire que l'intention n'a jamais été d'usurper les droits d'auteurs des artistes du Nord.

Dans sa lettre, le ministre affirme que seules les reproductions à des fins de promotion et de communications internes des photos soumises sur le site nwtarts.com sont envisagées par le gouvernement. « Cette base de données est un programme promotionnel dont l'adhésion repose sur une base volontaire par les artistes, écrit le ministre. Plus de 200 artistes ont souscrit à ce programme pour être exposé sur le site Web et dans des publications afférentes telles que Artist Newsline, une lettre d'information du GTNO destinée à la communauté artistique des TNO. Ce n'est que ce genre de promotion du travail des artistes qui est envisagée et permise par le formulaire de cessation de droits tel que rédigé. »

Mais George Lessard n'en démord pas. « Quand même, n'importe quel ministère du gouvernement peut faire n'importe quoi avec les images qu'on soumet », dit-il.

D'après lui, les artistes des TNO auraient avantage à mieux connaître les ramifications du droit d'auteur. « J'espère que le ministère de l'Industrie aidera un jour les artistes du Nord à mieux connaître leurs droits, dit-il.C'est important. »

 
---

GEORGE LESSARD
Information, Communications and Media Specialist
451 Norseman Dr.
Yellowknife, Northwest Territories
X1A 2J1, Canada

Yellowknife Land Line # (867) 873-2662
Yellowknife Cell # (867) 445-9193
SKYPE: themediamentor

Online Business Card:
http://lessardcard.notlong.com

E-mail: mediamentor@gmail.com

Home Pages: http://mediamentor.ca
My panoramic images
http://panoramas-by-george.notlong.com
My YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/user/mediamentor
Online Activities: http://www.web.ca/~media/index.html
Photos: http://photosbygeorge.notlong.com
Photo Illustrations: http://www.flickr.com/photos/george-lessard/sets/72157603627797568/
Etcetera:  http://www.flickr.com/photos/george-lessard/sets/459582/

My Public Bookmarks: http://del.icio.us/themediamentor

Member:
Canadian Association of Journalists http://www.caj.ca
Canadian Artists Representation / le Front des artistes canadiennes http://www.carfac.ca/
Canadian Artists Representation Copyright Collective http://www.carcc.ca/
Sent from Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, Canada

Paint.NET is free image and photo editing software for Windows

Paint.NET is free image and photo editing software for computers that run
Windows. It features an intuitive and innovative user interface with
support for layers, unlimited undo, special effects, and a wide variety of
useful and powerful tools. An active and growing online community provides
friendly help, tutorials, and plugins.
It started development as an undergraduate college senior design project
mentored by Microsoft, and is currently being maintained by some of the
alumni that originally worked on it. Originally intended as a free
replacement for the Microsoft Paint software that comes with Windows, it
has grown into a powerful yet simple image and photo editor tool. It has
been compared to other digital photo editing software packages such as
Adobe® Photoshop®, Corel® Paint Shop Pro®, Microsoft Photo Editor, and The
GIMP.

http://paint.net/

System Requirements

Minimum System

* Windows XP (SP2 or newer),
or Windows Vista,
or Windows 7,
or Windows Server
(2003 SP1 or newer)
* .NET Framework 3.5 SP1 (free download
from Microsoft)
* 256 MB of RAM (Recommended: 512 MB or more)
* 1024 x 768 screen resolution
* 200+ MB hard drive space
* 64-bit mode requires a 64-bit CPU and a 64-bit edition of Windows

IrfanView FREEWARE graphic viewer for Windows

IrfanView FREEWARE graphic viewer for Windows

http://www.irfanview.com/

rfanView is a very fast, small, compact and innovative FREEWARE (for
non-commercial use) graphic viewer for Windows 9x, ME, NT, 2000, XP, 2003
, 2008, Vista, Windows 7.

It is trying to be simple for beginners and powerful for professionals.

IrfanView is trying to create new and/or interesting features in its own
way, unlike some other graphic viewers, whose whole "creativity" is based
on feature cloning, stealing of ideas and whole dialogs from ACDSee and/or
IrfanView! (for example: XnView has been stealing/cloning features and
whole dialogs from IrfanView, for 10+ years).

IrfanView was the first Windows graphic viewer WORLDWIDE with Multiple
(animated) GIF support.
One of the first graphic viewers WORLDWIDE with Multipage TIF support.
The first graphic viewer WORLDWIDE with Multiple ICO support.

Some IrfanView features:

* Many supported file formats (click here the list of formats)
* Multi language support
* Thumbnail/preview option
* Paint option - to draw lines, circles, arrows, straighten image etc.
* Toolbar skins option
* Slideshow (save slideshow as EXE/SCR or burn it to CD)
* Show EXIF/IPTC/Comment text in Slideshow/Fullscreen etc.
* Support for Adobe Photoshop Filters
* Fast directory view (moving through directory)
* Batch conversion (with image processing)
* Multipage TIF editing
* File search
* Email option
* Multimedia player
* Print option
* Support for embedded color profiles in JPG/TIF
* Change color depth
* Scan (batch scan) support
* Cut/crop
* IPTC editing
* Effects (Sharpen, Blur, Adobe 8BF, Filter Factory, Filters
Unlimited, etc.)
* Capturing
* Extract icons from EXE/DLL/ICLs
* Lossless JPG rotation
* Unicode support
* Many hotkeys
* Many command line options
* Many PlugIns
* Only one EXE-File, no DLLs, no Shareware messages like "I Agree" or
"Evaluation expired"
* No registry changes without user action/permission!
* and much much more