Abstract: A detector for detecting the removal and/or insertion of a weapon out of and/or into a holster. The detector may transmit a message each time the weapon is removed from the holster. A recording system may receive the message and determine whether or not it will begin recording the data it captures. A detector may detect the change in a magnitude of an inductance and/or an impedance of a circuit to detect insertion and removal of the weapon into and out of the holster. The holster is configured to couple to the detector to position the detector to detect insertion and removal of the weapon. An adhesive tape may couple a detector to a holster.

Abstract: A portable grilling apparatus includes a power adapter having first and second receiving areas each configured to respectively receive a battery, the power adapter having circuitry for receiving electricity at the first and second receiving areas and producing a single electrical output. The apparatus includes a grill portion having a lower grill housing, a support element having a cooking surface for receiving food thereon, and an electrical heating element in the lower grill housing. The electrical heating element is positioned below the cooking surface and the electrical heating element is in electrical communication with the single electrical output circuitry. The apparatus includes a positioning portion operatively coupling the power adapter to the grill portion, the positioning portion having an attachment member for securement to an object.

Abstract: A portable grilling apparatus includes a power adapter having first and second receiving areas each configured to respectively receive a battery, the power adapter having circuitry for receiving electricity at the first and second receiving areas and producing a single electrical output. The apparatus includes a grill portion having a lower grill housing, a support element having a cooking surface for receiving food thereon, and an electrical heating element in the lower grill housing. The electrical heating element is positioned below the cooking surface and the electrical heating element is in electrical communication with the single electrical output circuitry. The apparatus includes a positioning portion operatively coupling the power adapter to the grill portion, the positioning portion having an attachment member for securement to an object.

Abstract: A method of processing customer images in a photofinishing apparatus. The method includes obtaining customer image signals and associated requests for image products or services incorporating respective images. The images signals are directed into image queues having different associated formats, based on the associated product or service requested for each. The image signals are communicated from the queues to respective image renderers which render the image signals into the different formats associated with each queue. An apparatus which can execute such a method is also provided.

Abstract: An image compression method in which the size of a compressed low resolution version of an image is used to either estimate a compression factor for the image needed to obtain an aim compressed image size, or to estimate the size of the compressed image resulting from a predetermined compression factor. The estimate can be made with the aid of a predetermined relationship between compressed image size, image resolution and compression factor, which relationship may be a linear or linear inverse one. This relationship is preferably obtained from images of the same class as the one to be compressed. The image is then compressed using the estimated or predetermined compression factor. An apparatus using such a method is also provided.

Abstract: A method of routing images in the form of image signals, in a photofinishing laboratory between a first device which provides the images, a workflow controller, and at least one image processor. Identifications of the images are communicated to the workflow controller. Image processing requests and associated image identifications are communicated from the workflow controller to the image processor. Images from the first device are retrieved at the image processor by: (i) communicating image identifications from the image processor to the first device; and (ii) in response to the identifiers received from the image processor, communicating the images corresponding to the received identifiers from the first device to the image processor without using the workflow controller as an intermediary. A photofinishing laboratory which can execute such methods is also provided.