2017 03 26 Bielorussia, tassa sulla disoccupazione
Dietro alle recenti proteste in Bielorussia sta l'odiosa "tassa sulla disoccupazione". Una cosa per noi stranissima, che cerco di spiegare.
ia: Benvenite! In mi blog io scribe in interlingua, italiano e anglese.
it: Benvenuti! Nel mio blog scrivo in interlingua, italiano e inglese.
en: Welcome! In my blog I write in Interlingua, Italian and English.
Making snap packages of photogrammetry software
Some time ago I got vaguely interested into photogrammetry, that is the reconstruction of a 3D model out of a set of plain 2D photographs. I just thought that it was cool, and wanted to try it.
Unfortunately, the most popular of these tools, VisualSFM, was not packaged for Ubuntu and didn't come with ready binaries. Furthermore, the steps to build it are far from trivial: they include modifying a few of the source files!
So, while I was going through this ordeal in order to compile it, I though of how I could avoid running through all this pain once more, had the need emerged to build this program again in the future. I initially thought of writing a shell script to automate it, but then I realized that there exists a much better solution: a snapcraft recipe!
This solution has the big advantage that the resulting binary (called a "snap" package) can be shared with other Linux users, by publishing it into the snap store. Therefore, one doesn't need to be a programmer or a computer expert anymore in order to install the software.
As I quickly found out, other "structure from motion" and "multi-view stereo" (the two parts of the 3D reconstruction pipeline) programs are also unavailable as binaries for Linux, and require quite some effort to be built. As a matter of fact, this problem is quite common for scientific and academic software: always written by authentic geniuses in the field of research, but who often are not as experienced (or interested) in software distribution.
So I thought — well, given that I've just made a snap package (and that I've even enjoyed the process!), why stop here? :-)
And here you have it: most of this photogrammetry software is now available as snap packages, which makes it trivial to install them and try them out. Though indeed, the 3d reconstruction can take a lot of time, so that's another thing to be considered.
To help you out in deciding which software to use, I made a video review of structre from motion and multi-view stereo tools; without any pretense of scientificity, — be it clear! — just with the goal of giving an overview of what is available out there, and how easy (or difficult!) to use it is:
I also "snapped" a couple of other programs related to 3D reconstructions. One of them is CloudCompare, a 3D point cloud and mesh processing software.
I might be making more videos on this subject, so stay tuned. :-)
Unfortunately, the most popular of these tools, VisualSFM, was not packaged for Ubuntu and didn't come with ready binaries. Furthermore, the steps to build it are far from trivial: they include modifying a few of the source files!
So, while I was going through this ordeal in order to compile it, I though of how I could avoid running through all this pain once more, had the need emerged to build this program again in the future. I initially thought of writing a shell script to automate it, but then I realized that there exists a much better solution: a snapcraft recipe!
This solution has the big advantage that the resulting binary (called a "snap" package) can be shared with other Linux users, by publishing it into the snap store. Therefore, one doesn't need to be a programmer or a computer expert anymore in order to install the software.
As I quickly found out, other "structure from motion" and "multi-view stereo" (the two parts of the 3D reconstruction pipeline) programs are also unavailable as binaries for Linux, and require quite some effort to be built. As a matter of fact, this problem is quite common for scientific and academic software: always written by authentic geniuses in the field of research, but who often are not as experienced (or interested) in software distribution.
So I thought — well, given that I've just made a snap package (and that I've even enjoyed the process!), why stop here? :-)
And here you have it: most of this photogrammetry software is now available as snap packages, which makes it trivial to install them and try them out. Though indeed, the 3d reconstruction can take a lot of time, so that's another thing to be considered.
To help you out in deciding which software to use, I made a video review of structre from motion and multi-view stereo tools; without any pretense of scientificity, — be it clear! — just with the goal of giving an overview of what is available out there, and how easy (or difficult!) to use it is:
I might be making more videos on this subject, so stay tuned. :-)
Cammino quindi penso - 2017-03-24 - Parole abusate: fascismo
Cosa intendiamo quando diamo del "fascista" a una persona? Bisogna fare attenzione ed usare propriamente le parole, se vogliamo che queste continuino ad avere un senso.
Cammino quindi penso - 2017-03-22 - Le donne russe, stereotipi
In quanto italiano felicemente sposato con una ragazza russa, dico la mia (sperando di non incorrere nelle sue ire!).
Screenshot dalla TV:
Ukrainian journalist Ruslan Kotsaba at the EU parliament (28-2-2017)
English:
Ruslan Kotsaba spent more than one year in prison for refusing to fight pro-russian rebels in eastern Ukraine (article from The Guardian).In this hearing at the European Parliament, he tells his views on the situation in Ukraine, telling facts that EU parliament members - misinformed by Western media - have never heard before.
Italiano:
Ruslan Kotsaba ha trascorso più di un anno in prigione per essersi rifiutato di combattere i ribelli filorussi nell'est dell'Ucraina (articolo dal The Guardian).
In questa udienza al parlamento europeo, esprime il suo punto di vista sulla situazione in Ucraina, rivelando verità che gli europarlamentari - disinformati dai mezzi di informazione occidantali - mai hanno sentito prima.