Announcements

• 12/13/03 - Here are the solutions of the final. The median grade was 27/52; the maximum grade was 43/52; the minimum grade was 7/52.
  
  
• 12/7/03 - Here is the revised version of the solutions of Homework 2 (there were a couple of errors (thanks Deyan for finding those!)
  
  
• 12/5/03 - About the project: as I mentionedin class, we will grade your project and let you know your grades in a couple of days. If you are unhappy with your grade, please contact us and we can set up a meeting with you on Friday, December 12. That will be your last opportunity!
  
  
• 12/3/03 - Here are the solutions of the second homework.
• 12/3/03 - The final exam will be cumulative (covering all of the material in the course) and closed book. Calculators are allowed.
  
  
• 11/24/03 - Here is the second homework. There is no submission procedure - use it as an exercise in preparation of the Final.
  
  
• 11/12/03 - Dr. Jian Lu of Apple Computer, Inc., will give a lecture on video streaming over IP on November 24, 11am-12pm, Room BE372. The class will meet again on Monday 11/24 at 7pm as usual.
  
  
• 11/7/03 - Important: Here are more details about the project, together with the new deadlines.
  
  
• 11/5/03 - FYI, the median grade in the midterm was 25, and the standard deviation was 5.
• 11/2/03 - Here are the solutions of the midterm
  
  
• 10/30/03 - If you haven't replied to me about your time availability for Dr. Lu's lecture on November 24, please do it now! I need to schedule the class by the end of this week.
  
  
• 10/25/03 - Here are the solutions to Homework #1. If you find an error in my solutions, please let me know - the first one to communicate an error to me will get an extra-credit! (But if I was right and you were wrong, I will remember that...)
  
  
• 10/23/03 - As I mentioned in class, I would like to invite Dr. Jian Lu of Apple Computer, Inc., to give a lecture on video streaming. Dr. Lu accepted my invitation and can come to UCSC on Monday, November 24. Unfortunately, he cannot make it at 7pm; he is available between 10:30am and 4:30 pm.
  We have two choices. Either we move the 7pm lecture to earlier in the day; or I still teach the class at 7pm, and Dr. Lu's seminar is a plus. I prefer the first option, but need unanimous consensus to move the class time. I am especially concerned with the Cupertino folks, because they have work-related time constraints.
  So, please let me know asap what your availability is for Monday, November 24th, 10:30am to 4:30 pm. I would like to take a decision by the end of next week. Thanks!
  
  
• 10/22/03 - The webpage for the Project is out! Please also check the newsgroup page often - the TA will post news and replies to FAQ there.
  
  
• 10/18/03 - The Midterm will be held on Monday, October 27 (and not on Wednesday, October 29 as I erroneously said in class). No textbook/notes allowed.The format of the midterm will be similar to that of the homework, but it will cover all of the material presented in class until October 27.
  
  
• 10/18/03 - Here is the 1st Homework. Although this assignment will not be graded, I will review your homework. The deadline to turn the homework in is October 24 at 5pm. (Please slide it under my office's door). The Cupertino folks can just mail it to me using the campus mail. You are also welcome to email it to me.
  
  
• 10/18/03 - On Wednesday, October 29, the TA (Nacio) will present the project. Please check the class' newsgroup for news , updates and FAQ about the project.

---

Project

• Information about the class project (required) will be posted here. Please check this page often for updates.
  
  
• 11/7/03 - Here are some additional details that complement Nacho's description:

• If you decide to work the Music Server project, here are some directions for the design of the closed-loop DPCM
• If you decide to work on the GIMP plugin, you have three choices:

1. Implement a JPEG-like image coder/encoder (here are directions)
2. Implement a watermarking algorithm (to embed information in an image). Here is a paper describing some watermarking algorithms. The plugin must accept an image and a piece of text as input. It will then embed the text in the image, without any visible change to the image itself. The same plugin will be used to extract the text from a given watermarked image.
3. Implement a chroma-keying (aka bluescreening aka alpha blending) algorithm to compose two images (background and foreground) together. Here is a paper describing some algorithms for blue-screen matting. You will test the plugin by taking a picture of an object in front of a solid color background, and paste it on top of another background.

• Here are the new requirements and deadlines:

• By Tuesday, November 11th, you must decide which project you will work on (including the type of plugin if you choose to work on the GIMP), as well as your partner, if any.
• By Monday, November 17, you must email us a timeline for the execution of your project, including a schedule of 4-5 milestones (with expected date of completion for each milestone). This will help you organize your work. We will use this schedule to verify that your work proceeds as planned.
• Important: If you decide to implement the watermarking or the chroma-keying algorithm, you will also have to write a proposal with the specific algorithm you will implement, based on the paper I recommended. The deadline for the proposal is Monday, November 17. The proposal should be at least one page long, and should contain enough detail for me to understand exactly what you will do. I will review your proposal, and within a couple of days will let you know whether the proposal is accepted as it is or should be modified (e.g., to include a more complex algorithm).
• Ditto for those of you who want to implement a different project than the ones suggested above. You will need to prepare a detailed proposal (at least 2 pages long) by November 17, together with the schedule of milestones.

---

Class notes (complementing the textbooks) will be posted here, possibly before the beginning of each lecture.