Abstract
The production, distribution, and consumption of information goods have endured numerous challenges over the years. Most recently, the Internet and digital consumer technologies have severely disrupted established intellectual-property regimes, enabling the near costless reproduction and distribution of information commodities. In addition, sophisticated tools have enabled new collaborative spaces (such as blogs, social websites, and so forth) formedia production and distribution, posing new challenges to traditional creator-producer-consumer paradigms. This article analyzes the present situation's main technological characteristics, its economic implications, and the industry's response-and outlines a possible solution to the problems.

Abstract
The Connect project aims to enable the seamless composition of heterogeneous networked systems. In this context, Verification and Validation (V&V) techniques are sought to ensure that the Connected system satisfies dependability requirements. Stochastic model checking and state-based stochastic methods are two appealing V&V approaches to accomplish this task. In this paper, we report on the application of the two approaches in a typical Connect scenario. Specifically, we make clear (i) how the two approaches can be employed to enhance the confidence in the correctness of the analysis, and (ii) how the complementarity of these approaches can be fruitfully exploited to extend the analysis. © 2010 Springer-Verlag.

Abstract

Abstract
This paper presents the mechanical construction of a climbing robot with wheeled locomotion and adhesion through permanent magnets. This machine is intended to be used in the inspection of different types of ferromagnetic structures, in order to, for instance, detect weaknesses due to corrosion, particularly in fuel tanks, ship hulls, etc. The vehicle will have a semi-autonomous behaviour, allowing a remote inspection process controlled by a technician, this way reducing the risks associated with the inspection of tall structures and ATEX places. The distinguishing characteristic of this robot is its dynamic adjustment system of the permanent magnets in order to assure the machine adhesion to the surfaces, even when crossing irregular and curved surfaces.

Abstract

Abstract
In the last decade, an increasing number of techniques have been developed to reproduce high dynamic range imagery on traditional displays. These techniques, known as Tone Mapping Operators (TMOs), have been compared and ranked in different ways according to several image characteristics. However, none of these algorithms has been developed specifically for small screen devices (SSD). In this paper, we present an evaluation of currently used TMOs to show that SSDs with limited size, resolution and colour depth require specific research to find or create an appropriate solution. The research described in this paper is based on psychophysical experiments; using three different types of displays (CRT, LCD and SSD). The obtained results show that rankings obtained are similar for the LCD and CRT but are significantly different for the SSD. Furthermore, these rankings show additionally that some characteristics of TMOs need to be emphasized to obtain better high-fidelity mapped images for SSDs.