1. Explain the RAW output of the sensor chip in a DSLR.
a. Show how the output of the sensor is linear with regard to energy.
b. Explain that the human eye is nonlinear.
c. Explain that the RAW image is mapped into a 2.2 gamma colorspace.
2. Explain that with a 12 bit (4096 levels) output from the sensor the first stop of dynamic range is 2048 of these levels. If you want a smooth tone in your images you want to use as many RAW levels as possible in the image.
3. You should increase the exposure until the brightest part of the image is represented by the right most part of the histogram and that it is close to but not against the right side of the histogram.
4. Warn against “blowing out’ the highlights.
5. Explain how to setup the “contrast” control in the camera so that it displays the histogram for RAW shooting.
6. Show some examples of the effects of over and under exposure.

RELATED WEBSITE LINKS

www.adobe.com/products/photoshop/cameraraw.html
www.adobe.com/products/photoshop/pdfs/linear_gamma.pdf

PRODUCTS SHOWN

Adobe Bridge, Adobe Camera RAW, Adobe Photoshop

SLEEPTRACKER WATCH WAKE-UP MONITOR
Sleeptracker continuously monitors signals from your body that indicate whether you are asleep or awake. Because you wear it like a watch, its internal sensors can detect subtle physical signals from your body. When you sleep, your body goes through a series of sleep cycles. The average adult experiences 4–5 full sleep cycles over an 8-hour period. No two people have the same sleep cycles, and nobody has the same cycle twice. Many factors can influence sleep cycles, including diet, exercise, medications, drugs or alcohol, stress, sleep disorders, and sleep deprivation. Age and gender can play a role, too: women tend to sleep more soundly than men, and as we age, we sleep more restlessly.

A typical sleep cycle has five stages and takes 90–110 minutes. During Stage 1 of your sleep cycle, you sleep lightly. At Stage 2, your sleep gets progressively deeper. At Stages 3 and 4, also known as “Delta sleep,” you sleep most heavily; this is when your body rebuilds itself. Stage 5 of sleep, also known as REM (rapid eye movement) sleep, is marked by extensive physiological changes, such as accelerated respiration, increased brain activity, rapid eye movement, and muscle relaxation. People dream during REM sleep. In the first third of the night, Delta sleep stages last longer than REM stages. As the night progresses, Delta sleep diminishes in length. By the last third of the night, Delta sleep usually ceases, while REM stages lengthen.

Sleeptracker may find multiple almost-awake moments within the sleep cycle. Almost-awake moments may also vary in frequency throughout the night. By monitoring your sleep cycles for optimal waking moments during the preset alarm window, Sleeptracker finds those almost awake-moments and gently wakes you when you’re most alert. The result? You wake up refreshed instead of groggy.

Kate’s opinion: This gadget is super easy to use and it is interesting to record how much (or in my case, little) amount of deep sleep you actually get each night. The alarm window is a great idea, as you can wake up easier, but if you are tired due to the lack to decent sleep, whether I am pulled from a deep sleep or not doesn’t really matter! I am definitely a fan of this product, and as an insomniac, its record of each ‘almost-awake’ moment is fascinating. My only criticism is that I am not a fan of sleeping in a watch, so that may have affected the way I slept when wearing it.

DREAMATE
Dreamate aims to erase the day’s stress and train your body to fall asleep naturally. The Dreamate uses acupressure technique to retune the biological clock and train your body to relax and sleep by massaging key acupoints on your inner wrist. Dreamate sends a gentle wave to the “Sleeping Golden Triangle” points on the inner wrist. These precise points, when gently massaged, calm the body, lower the stress level and induce sleep. Continuous use for two to four weeks is supposed to retune your biological clock to relax and sleep deeper and longer.

Kate’s Opinion: This is honestly like wearing a vibrating cell phone on your wrist. The idea is that you wear it for 30 minutes before you go to bed to relax your body, and then remove it before sleep. It is comfortable to wear, but I found that it sent weird vibrations down my fingers. It is something that you need to use regularly for 6 weeks in order to see any improvement in your sleep patterns.

VERILUX TWILIGHT MINI ULTRA BLUE LIGHT THERAPY SYSTEM
Many studies have shown that the occurrence of sleep disturbance increases with age. The natural Circadian rhythm that regulates your body’s sleep cycles can be thrown off by spending more time indoors as we age. Even young children can experience difficulty falling asleep and experiencing a restful slumber. Instead of seeking relief from potentially dangerous drugs, people everywhere are looking for natural alternatives. This system provides blue light exposure that has been shown to optimize the re-calibration of the body’s Circadian rhythm. Activating this compact device in your bedroom for 30–60 minutes prior to falling asleep will help you fall asleep faster and experience a more satisfying slumber. This can also benefit young children and infants. The system remains cool to the touch, so it’s safe to use. It also has a high and medium illumination option.

Kate’s opinion: This light is sleek in design and does give off a relaxing blue glow. However, it does take a little getting used to, as the blue light effectively highlights anything light coloured in your bedroom. It is definitely relaxing and this prolonged use could assist sleep patterns, but I found it got to the stage where I was sleepy enough that I wanted to turn it off and pass out in the dark!

SOUND PILLOW
Comfortable twin-sized pillow features a hypoallergenic fiberfill, poly-cotton case, and two thin stereo speakers buried deep in the pillow. Also available in travel size. This product was originally designed to help sufferers of tinnitus. The user plugs their personal electronic device into the speakers.

Kate’s opinion: These pillows are a great idea, both from a sleep and a relaxation perspective. I like the fact that I didn’t have to wear earbuds when I was laying down, as it can sometimes be uncomfortable. The only thing I did find was if I laid with my head in the middle of the pillow, the audio was much quieter. The option of a volume control would be definitely improve the product.

PRODUCTS SHOWN

Sleeptracker Watch Wake-Up Monitor
Innovative Sleep Solutions
$149.99 US

Dreamate
HIVOX
$79.99 US

TwiLight Mini Ultra Blue Light Therapy Sleep System
Verilux
$89.95 US

Sound Pillow Standard
$59.95 US
Sound Pillow Travel
$39.95 US
Phoenix Productions

Programming interactive 3D environments have been the domain of professional software developers due to its steep learning curve… until now.

Created by Carnegie Mellon University, the Alice software is designed to teach Object Oriented programming concepts using a simple point-and-click 3d engine. No previous programming experience is required to use Alice. Best of all, the software is completely free!

www.alice.org – the Alice website
www.capcollege.bc.ca/cs - Capilano computing science department website