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How Modern Video Compression Algorithms Actually Work

Modern video compression algorithms aren’t the same as the image compression algorithms you might be familiar with. The additional dimension and time means different mathematical and logical techniques are applied to the video file to reduce the size while maintaining video quality. In this post we’re using H.264 as the archetypal compression standard. While it’s no longer the newest video compression format, it still provides a sufficiently detailed example for explaining big-picture concepts about video compression. What Is Video Compression? Video compression algorithms look for spatial and temporal redundancies. By encoding redundant data a minimum number of times, file size can be reduced. Imagine,… Read more

RFID Blocking Wallet: Are They Useful?

An RFID blocking wallet protects your sensitive information from being breached without your knowledge  while in your pocket. As much as we’re aware that we should be careful not to share passwords and be cautious on how we handle our account information, such information can get into the wrong hands. Thieves can steal information from your credit cards while standing right next to you, especially if the card has an embedded RFID chip. Such credit cards allow you to make fast payments by simply touching the card to a scanner instead of inserting it into a terminal, or quick swiping. Once they copy the RFID… Read more

What Is a Time-of-Flight Camera and How Does It Work?

When Huawei announced its P30 and P30 Pro models, the latest of its photography-focused series of phones, the time-of-flight camera carried the day. You’ve probably noticed this bit of hardware on more smartphones recently, and the trend isn’t about to stop there any time soon. But what is a time-of-flight camera, and how does it work? Related: Does a Phone’s Multiple-Lenses Camera Take Better Photos? What Is a Time-of-flight Camera? A Time-of-flight (ToF) camera is a standard feature appearing on several recently released smartphones. ToF cameras use the speed of light instead of sound to detect things and measure distances, ultimately creating sharper photos…. Read more

How to Buy Bitcoin

The inner mechanisms of cryptocurrency are complex to the point of being Byzantine (much like its fault tolerance). Buying and using it, on the other hand, has become surprisingly straightforward, and, much like your smartphone or the Internet, you don’t really have to understand how it works to use it. Even though the proportion of the overall population that currently owns cryptocurrency is still quite low, the tools for buying, selling, trading, and managing it have become much more user-friendly and sophisticated than they were even a few years ago. Step 1: Get a wallet It sounds like this is a place to store… Read more

What Is Serverless Computing?

As we move into a more Internet-connected world, we’ll naturally see developments in the digital space to help people set up and run websites. One of these ways is the somewhat incorrectly-named “serverless computing,” which advertises itself as a means for developers to set up web-based services without any of the stress of running a server. Let’s take a look at what serverless computing is and why its name isn’t ideal. Related: How to Set Up a Local Web Server on Windows, Mac, and Linux What Is Serverless Computing? In a world where every person, company, and service needs a website, hosting services need… Read more