OPERATING SYSTEM
My digital camera has developed a split personality. In fact, its photographic duties have taken a backseat since I discovered I can use it as a games console, an alarm clock, and a surveillance camera. This all began when I decided to find out more about my camera's operating system, Digita, created by California-based FlashPoint Technology. I use a Kodak DC265, though Digita is available on more than a dozen cameras now on the market.
Digita is an open OS, meaning anyone can write software for the camera and extend its capabilities by installing new scripts. It sounds daunting, but in practice the whole process takes just a few minutes. In fact, FlashPoint encourages independent programmers to write scripts, and its site stores more than 50 of them - mostly written by enthusiasts.
I downloaded a few free scripts to my iMac and transferred them to the camera's flash memory card using a CompactFlash drive from SanDisk. (Most scripts use only a few K, so there's plenty of room left over on a standard 16-Mbyte memory card.) I did have to hunt around the camera menus a bit to find the different scripts when I was ready to use them, as they can pop up anywhere - a "feature" provided by this standards-free programming community.
I tested a few of the quirkier scripts available from FlashPoint's site. The Electronic Ruler script, written by enthusiast Brian Downs, gave me accurate dimensions of an apartment I recently rented - an invaluable tool in an argument with the pushy real estate agent who described every shoebox-sized room as "spacious." The script uses the camera's automatic focus function to produce the distance from one wall to the opposite wall, and then calculates the size of the room. Another script turned my Kodak into a beeping, flash-firing alarm clock. A nice idea, but unless the camera is plugged in, its batteries won't last the night.
For do-it-yourself security, Tom Janiszewski's surveillance script makes the camera save pictures every time there's a scene change. Just remember to turn off the flash, detective. Budding geographers will appreciate retailer Stelios Cellar's app, which uses a standard GPS receiver to stamp the user's exact location on pictures. My favorite script, however, is the Multiple Arcade Machine Emulator written by hobbyist James Surine. Waves of nostalgia flooded in as I played the MAME version ofDonkey Kong on the 2-inch screen, using my Kodak's sticky arrow keys as a joystick. It's amazing what people will program given the chance.
Digita: available on select digital cameras from Kodak, Hewlett-Packard, Pentax, and Minolta. Digita scripts: free. FlashPoint Technology:www.flashpoint.com. Digita scripts ezine:www.digitacamera.com. Multiple Arcade Machine Emulator (MAME): free atdigita.mame.net. Photo GPS interface kit: $150. Stelios Cellar:members.tripod.com/stelios_cellar.
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