Thneed Digest on Free State Drivers

Thneed Digest - 2021 - 24

Sun, 13 Jun 2021 14:18:41 -0600

Let’s talk about an FPS Yield Upgrade… DRAFT!!!

For the most current version see the source we are editing on GitHub here.

Thneed Digest – Week 2020 – 18

Tue, 28 Apr 2020 09:02:58 -0600

Just some more basic updates in communications.

Although this was an interesting email from FBRI that seems to make it clear they don’t fully understand the threat landscape and IT restrictions of many organizations. When FSD has finished reviewing the document, we will post a SECURE, manageable solution to this rarely encountered problem. We say rarely because FPS has many other limits that tend to be reached before database size are reached.

Thneed Digest – Week 2020 – 11

Mon, 09 Mar 2020 15:37:00 -0600

Just some more basic updates in communications.

Thneed Digest – Week 2020 – 09

Mon, 24 Feb 2020 12:58:39 -0700

Just some more basic updates in communications.

Thneed Digest – Week 2020 – 05

Thu, 30 Jan 2020 23:02:41 -0700

Just some more basic updates in communications.

Thneed Digest – Week 2020 – 03.1

Thu, 16 Jan 2020 15:46:00 -0700

Just some more basic updates in communications.

Thneed Digest – Week 2020 – 03

Wed, 15 Jan 2020 13:35:00 -0700

Just some more basic updates in communications.

2019 Forest Biometrics Research Institute Annual Meeting. What did we hear...

Wed, 06 Nov 2019 17:00:00 -0700

That is a very good question. Their we even a point when the Office Penguins couldn’t believe the plans they suggested. Introductions (Jim McWhorter) Board members Staff James Arney (JDA) Dan Opalach (DO) Richard Zabel Melinda Olson WFCA Grad Students Participants Finances (Brian Sharer) Expecting 2020 - $200,000 in consulting fees Review and Status (JDA) College fellowship not working out as well as planned Biometrics activities and Projects 2019 (DO)

Thneed Digest – Week 2019 – 44

Tue, 29 Oct 2019 13:20:00 -0600

Just some more basic updates in communications.

Thneed Digest – Week 2019 – 41.1

Thu, 10 Oct 2019 15:30:00 -0600

Just some more basic updates in communications.

Thneed Digest – Week 2019 – 41

Wed, 09 Oct 2019 11:35:41 -0600

Just some more basic updates in communications.

Thneed Digest – Week 2019 – 39

Mon, 23 Sep 2019 10:45:42 -0600

Just some more basic updates in communications.

Thneed Digest – Week 2019 – 36

Tue, 03 Sep 2019 16:06:44 -0600

Just some more basic updates in communications.

Thneed Digest – Week 2019 – 32

Tue, 06 Aug 2019 19:12:59 -0600

Just some more basic updates in communications.

Thneed Digest – Week 2019 – 28

Mon, 08 Jul 2019 20:20:24 -0600

Just some more basic updates in communications.

Thneed Digest – Week 2019 – 23

Fri, 07 Jun 2019 17:14:20 -0600

Just some more basic updates in communications. Because dates are hard…

Thneed Digest – Week 2019 – 14

Fri, 05 Apr 2019 17:00:35 -0600

Just some more basic updates in communications.

Thneed Digest – Week 2019 – 10

Sat, 09 Mar 2019 14:08:41 -0700

Just some more basic updates in communications. More great updates after the Penguins in the Nest recover from the cold we all got.

Thneed Digest – Week 2018 – 46

Mon, 12 Nov 2018 11:33:36 -0700

Just some more basic updates in communications. Don’t forget the FBRI Annual meeting in portland this week. EVERYONE should go so we can find out when FPS will be fixes and when we will get more services.

Thneed Digest – Week 2018 – 29

Mon, 16 Jul 2018 11:30:27 -0600

Just some basic updates in communications.

Thneed Digest – Week 2018 – 18

Wed, 02 May 2018 12:46:15 -0600

We are not dead!!! Typically this would be meant as a joke however when we walk into a meeting and get looks of shock because people say “We heard you were dead!” It becomes something we have to remind people about.

Nelder Plots in Forestry

Tue, 02 Jan 2018 14:25:29 -0700

More and more the Penguins here at FSD are asked about the usefulness of Nelder plots and if they are worth it. So to answer the broader question this post will try to address this.

Bottom line… YES, Nelder plots are worth it.

Thneed Digest – Week 2017 – 52

Sun, 31 Dec 2017 00:00:14 -0700

Only an update. Did you get your new key for FPS????

Thneed Digest – Week 2017 – 50

Tue, 12 Dec 2017 12:42:26 -0700

It seems we have another fun-filled announcement from FBRI. Are we the only ones to see the underlying potential extortion part of the comments? “After all it would be a shame if that software you paid for stopped working…" While FPS has always had a 10-year expiration that was meant to be “in good faith” to prevent outdated science from being used when better biometrics could be employed with an update. This was then updated to a secret code to make the system work correctly otherwise bogus numbers would be created. Everyone implement that properly? Bet not. And now FPS will expire annually? That would be like starting up Word, and oh sorry you can’t do anything. Even Microsoft has a more graceful fall back than that. Who signed up for Biometrics as a Service? While we are not against the prospect of Biometrics as a Service that isn’t what the contract says. Only the wealthy can do scientifically backed forestry? Pretty sure this is to stem the current exodus of contributors, but everyone came on board knowing that your current version would work with or without FBRI. What happens when FBRI shutters its doors in a few years? As there is no data, transparency or documentation to the model once it expires at that point, it is done. Something to think about huh…

Did you get the latest FPS Update?? Does it work for you? We would love to hear your experiences so that they can be posted to the public bug log and wiki https://fps.wiki/.

Thneed Digest – Week 2017 – 39

Tue, 26 Sep 2017 14:35:07 -0600

It has Been a busy summer for the penguins with office visits and PROGRAMMING!!!! There has even been a smattering of biometrics and mensuration. Hopefully, this fall FSD will be releasing a few new free products to assist in the day to day work of forest inventory. Some of the projects will help with field work too. But for now, let’s update you on FBRI communications. The office penguins were not able to make it to the latest training because of the late announcement by FBRI. But needless to say, we will be attending the annual meeting in November. You should be too. Sounds like a lot of changes on the horizon…

Did you get the latest FPS Update?? Does it work for you? We would love to hear your experiences so that they can be posted to the public bug log and wiki https://fps.wiki/. Some of the last versions bugs were um interesting.

Thneed Digest – Week 2017 – 29

Mon, 17 Jul 2017 16:09:24 -0600

Another update between projects and office visits. What else do we know… Did anyone go to the last SiteGrid training?? We would like to hear from you.\

Thneed Digest – Week 2017 – 20

Sun, 21 May 2017 19:47:23 -0600

Just a quick update. Been pretty busy making a new Open Project for everyone to use freely. More on that in the coming weeks. Currently mixed reviews from my testers but it is extremely bare bones right now. What else do we know…\

Thneed Digest – Week 2017 – 16

Wed, 19 Apr 2017 15:57:20 -0600

So today I was reminded that we should keep people up to date on the happenings around the Nest and our corner of forestry.\

Thneed Digest – Week 2017 – 11.3

Fri, 17 Mar 2017 13:30:46 -0600

An official update from FBRI about the latest (7.5) software. A new link has been passed out to all? So we will be calling this FPS 7.5.0.1. No word on if this one was tested to properly work with windows machines. Check your email from FBRI for the link.\

Thneed Digest – Week 2017 – 11.2

Thu, 16 Mar 2017 22:41:48 -0600

An official update from FBRI about the latest (7.5) software. However we tried to download the update from the link and the link is the original disabled software. Now there is no word on if this package was created with the same packaging software as the original 7.0 crash. However we are willing to bet it is. The big deal with this version was supposed to identify your system and only install what was needed for your combination of drivers. Now FPS should not require any real drivers if standard updated programming techniques were used. Is FBRI still releasing FPS with non standard features. Previous versions of FPS have used a depreciated video library. Perhaps time will tell us what is going on. Wondering if the upcoming workshop is still happening???\

Thneed Digest – Week 2017 – 11.1

Thu, 16 Mar 2017 09:53:49 -0600

Just a heads up to all. The Penguins in the office got an email from FBRI (we think although the Board policy is that all messages come from the main mailing list not individuals) today that stated don’t install FPS 7.5 at all costs and uninstall it. Seems that in the process of adding more legitimacy to the software (the stated reason for adding the 12 digit secret code to be more like Microsoft and ESRI products) they have also added the ability to BORK your computer. AGAIN. Remember 7.0\

Thneed Digest – Week 2017 – 11

Wed, 15 Mar 2017 12:23:49 -0600

Nothing major just another ad for the upcoming workshop that FBRI is holding but wanting to keep people up to date.\

Thneed Digest – Week 2017 – 10

Sat, 11 Mar 2017 18:32:01 -0700

WOW a new release of FPS (7.50). While the version will not provide real answers until you get the top secret code to use it… Next week when the office penguins here get there top secret code from FBRI we will be testing it and hope to report back.\

Thneed Digest – Week 2017 – 09

Wed, 01 Mar 2017 11:37:34 -0700

Just a quick update so that people know that a last minute FBRI workshop is happening. Sounded like the release of the new software… But we have been expecting the new release next week for the past several years. If it is being released not a moment too soon based on the bugs that people have been telling us about the current version. While we have only recently started this take a look at the FPS Wiki. As bugs and other information surfaces we will try to keep you up to date. This Wiki/FAQ is not a priority for FSD so if you want to join and help out use the contact form at the end of this post to request an account.\

Thneed Digest – Week 2017 – 04

Fri, 27 Jan 2017 00:00:20 -0700

Everyone got the new FPS updates right… Ya FSD didn’t either so you’re not alone. Looks like it will still be a few years off or maybe months. No one knows. After all we still get to watch the same power point presentations dated 2014 about all the results of the work we have not seen.

Having spoken with several contributors it was brought to my attention that none of us recall from the annual meeting any hint of training.

Finally the latest is the announcement for a biometrician position and grad student scholarship.\

Thneed Digest – Week 2016 – 47

Tue, 29 Nov 2016 15:34:17 -0700

Were you at the FBRI annual meeting? FSD was and here is what we learned.\

Thneed Digest – Week 2016 – 43

Mon, 24 Oct 2016 14:18:58 -0600

An update on what FSD knows…

Well not much is new. I know that this may come as a shock to some but no updates were released at the previous workshop as it had been hinted. The latest is that “Sometime early next year” a new library will be distributed. This has been the response for the past several years. One more reason that Endowment Contributors shouldn’t change to Annual Contributors.

Speaking of the last workshop the Penguins from the office here attended the event. As you can see from the lack of post here it was not terribly remarkable. The agenda would be a good place to start talking about all that we learned but the office Penguins here don’t want to have to rewrite the agenda since the distributed one was barely addressed in its distributed form.

The FBRI Annual Meeting is on the horizon. YOU SHOULD ATTEND!! While another mock Board Meeting will happen this is your best opportunity to interact with other Contributing Organizations and the Board of Directors. This is the only time that anyone can publicly ask the “Hard questions”. FSD will be there will you or your organization? Shoot me a note at the bottom of this post if you think you will be there.

Thneed Digest – Week 2016 – 35

Tue, 30 Aug 2016 11:44:13 -0600

An update on what FSD knows…

Based on the latest FBRI email it looks as if the much awaited library updates are on the way. The only word on release is “mid-September”. No year was listed. However, if this is true that means that the analysis has passed the Best Biometrics Practices Review Committee. This is a required step for all library releases! While FSD did not hear a call for people to join the committee to review the analysis we are sure that it must have happened as the Board of Directors and the President have stated publicly that all libraries WILL be reviewed this way and that it doesn’t matter who did the analysis. Also no word on the numerous reported FPS bugs. Will they be patched at this time no one knows. Some scheme to “protect” the library was said to be implemented in the software so it seems that priority should have been given to fixing the bugs over spending excessive amounts of time “protecting” the libraries.\

Thneed Digest – Week 2016 – 28

Mon, 11 Jul 2016 15:39:02 -0600

An update on what FSD knows…

This is kind of important. Recently FBRI mailed out letters to all supporting organizations (because remember there are no members that has a different legal meaning). The focus of this letter was to promote Endowment Contributing Organizations to terminate in favor of yearly payments. Full disclosure Free State Drivers is an Endowment Contributing Organization and FSD will NOT be terminating the contract in favor of receiving the promised benefits when FSD paid its original fees. Why is FSD making this decision?

We entered into a contract and expect it to be fulfilled.
The yearly fee keeps going up but the benefit keeps going down
- No new library contrary to presentations dated 2012 and 2014 that say it is done. Plus this new library is password protected or some nonsense. How many hours did it take to implement this?
- No new software with meaningful fixes in years.
- No new documentation that hasn’t been put out in some other form in the past several years.
- Likely no TRS (calibration tools) to be provided
Most Endowment Organizations do NOT use the majority of the resources
As a consultant FPS is not my only choice for my clients. For the ones that we do use FPS for they are already annual contributors or are urged to become annual contributors.
A “carryover” of nearly 1/4 million USD for a 501c3 organization.
Finally what about building the endowment? Making the resources free as promoted when organizations joined. No one has seen the efforts taken in the past to reach the goal.

PLEASE if you are an Endowment Contributing Organization think long and hard before making this choice. Hold FBRI accountable for the agreement that they made with us all. I strongly urge people not to terminate the contracts. Perhaps a voluntary additional contribution is reasonable but don’t lose the benefits that many of you all signed up for and can never be resumed.

What are your thoughts? Read the rest and send us an email on your thoughts.\

Thneed Digest – Week 2016 – 26

Tue, 28 Jun 2016 12:10:41 -0600

An update on what FSD knows and where we have been…\

Thneed Digest – Week 2016 – 19

Fri, 13 May 2016 20:51:38 -0600

An update on what FSD knows…

Thneed Digest – Week 2016 – 11

Sat, 26 Mar 2016 11:27:57 -0600

An update on what FSD knows…

Thneed Digest – Week 2016 – 04

Mon, 25 Jan 2016 15:16:25 -0700

An update on what FSD knows…

Thneed Digest – Week 2015 – 52

Tue, 22 Dec 2015 12:19:59 -0700

An update on what FSD knows…

Thneed Digest – Week 2015 – 47

Tue, 17 Nov 2015 16:49:52 -0700

An update on what FSD knows…

Thneed Digest – Week 2015 – 45.1

Thu, 05 Nov 2015 21:20:54 -0700

An update on what FSD knows…

Thneed Digest – Week 2015 – 45

Wed, 04 Nov 2015 11:25:14 -0700

An update on what FSD knows…

Thneed Digest – Week 2015 – 44

Thu, 29 Oct 2015 14:00:34 -0600

An update on what FSD knows…

Thneed Digest – Week 2015 – 39

Wed, 23 Sep 2015 14:45:19 -0600

An update on what FSD knows… More FPS news that FSD has been made aware of. Important read from FBRI. All contributing organizations must read the latest from FBRI!

Thneed Digest – Week 2015 – 38

Sun, 13 Sep 2015 12:42:47 -0600

Windows 10 and more. Lets put down some of this fear-mongering click-bait out of the way when it comes to Windows 10.

Thneed Digest – Week 2015 – 29

Tue, 14 Jul 2015 16:24:07 -0600

An update on what FSD knows… More FPS news that FSD has been made aware of. Important read from FBRI. All contributing organizations must read the latest from FBRI!

Thneed Digest – Week 2015 – 28

Mon, 06 Jul 2015 12:05:01 -0600

An update on what FSD knows… More FPS news that FSD has been made aware of.

Thneed Digest – Week 2015 – 27

Mon, 29 Jun 2015 13:05:50 -0600

The FSD Office Penguins get out of the office and go to the field… What were we up to in the blistering heat?

Thneed Digest – Week 2015 – 24.1

Sat, 13 Jun 2015 10:22:47 -0600

An update on what FSD knows… More FPS news that FSD has been made aware of. Keeping up with the FPS Compiler fixes is becoming difficult with the rate they are being released.

Thneed Digest – Week 2015 – 24

Sun, 07 Jun 2015 21:09:23 -0600

An update on what FSD knows… More FPS news that FSD has been made aware of.

Thneed Digest – Week 2015 – 22

Mon, 25 May 2015 11:29:11 -0600

An update on last weeks update… More FPS news that FSD has been made aware of.

Thneed Digest – Week 2015 – 21

Tue, 19 May 2015 11:15:59 -0600

Just a quick update on the happenings around the nest and any rumors that the FSD Penguins have heard including FPS updates (maybe??)

Thneed Digest – Week 2015 – 05

Wed, 28 Jan 2015 16:20:47 -0700

Those of here at FSD would like to thank you all for the great comments and well wishes that you have passed on to us. Again FSD isn’t out of the game it is just changing focus and direction.

Thneed Digest – Week 2015 – 04

Mon, 19 Jan 2015 14:06:49 -0700

Effective January 17, 2015 Free State Drivers will no longer be providing support services on behalf of the Forest Biometrics Research Institute. This is the date the FBRI Board of Directors asked FSD to discontinue all services based on the request by FSD to terminate the contract. FSD would like to apologize for the short notice. FSD proposed a 6 month transition period to alleviate any problems and was given only 5 business days (ending January 17, 2015) to transfer all databases, hardware, software and support services including phone to the Portland office.

Thneed Digest – Week 2015 – 01.02

Fri, 02 Jan 2015 16:01:48 -0700

More updates… What about FPS 6.x? According to The Forest Biometrics Research Institute (FBRI) The Forest Projection and Planning System (FPS) Version 6.99 and less has reached end of support / life. What does this mean? This means that FBRI will no longer be supporting any version of FPS 6 or before. This includes providing the software. How does that affect you?

Thneed Digest - Week 2015 - 01

Tue, 30 Dec 2014 12:37:31 -0700

Big changes around the nest in the coming year… WOW week 1 of 2015. OK that is a technicality since it is still 2014 but all the references the penguins here can find are that since 2015 starts this week that makes it 2015. The site has been quiet. I think the FSD Web Penguin took a vacation while the rest of the penguins around the office have been running around like mad.

Thneed Digest – Week 2014 – 46

Tue, 11 Nov 2014 20:40:42 -0700

The Forest Biometrics Research Institute (FBRI) Annual meeting. World Forestry Center - Cheatham Hall Portland, Oregon November 11, 2014 10am - 2:30pm What did we learn and what did we get and where is FBRI going… Full Disclosure… Free State Drivers is contracted with FBRI to perform technical support services as well as other tasks. However, this is just statement of facts discussed at the latest annual meeting.

Thneed Digest - Week 2014 - 41

Thu, 16 Oct 2014 00:00:38 -0600

Thneed Digest???? What the… What have the FSD Penguins been doing and what happened to Thneed Weekly??? Plus some info on the upcoming workshop… You ask excellent questions. Well the Web Penguin is a little OCD about what he puts out and Thneed weekly just got farther behind every week and the need to make a complete post every week started to take more time than any of the penguins here had.