Jason Ruttan <jason.ruttan@rcmp-grc.gc.ca>
Ronny Merkel <ronny.merkel@iti.cs.uni-magdeburg.de>
Christophe Champod <Christophe.Champod@unil.ch>
Glenn Langenburg <Glenn.Langenburg@state.mn.us>
Cedric Neumann <czn2@psu.edu>
Nicole Egli <Nicole.Egli@unil.ch>
Frank Crispino <Frank.Crispino@uqtr.ca>
Axel.Glaeser@fedpol.admin.ch
LiuShiquan <shiquan.liu@hotmail.com>
Göran Kidfelt <Goran.Kidfelt@skl.polisen.se>
Alexandre Anthonioz <alexandre.anthonioz@unil.ch>

Subject: PiAnoS: new version 4.2 and roadmap for the future

Dear PiAnoS user,

I wish I could just send an email to all-users@pianos.org but unfortunately I can't because we are not yet a community. Therefore the objective of this email is twofold:
- inform you that a new version (4.2) is out, and available at the usual place: https://ips-labs.unil.ch/pianos. More info on this release below.
- initiate a discussion with you so as to make this community real!

First, a few words about the new release. Version 4.2 includes powerful new features (they are detailed in the changelog at https://ips-labs.unil.ch/pianos/download.html), including the ability to re-use the analysis from a previous case into another case based on the same mark. It also features small performance improvements and (non-critical) bug fixes. Finally, it is the first version that includes the long-awaited SDK (https://ips-labs.unil.ch/pianos/dev/index.html). The documentation is very sparse as of now, but you can already download the entire source code of the Javascript application.

This brings me onto the second objective: although PiAnoS (4.x) is quite new, there is a growing number of users, with very different needs (education, training, research, development, etc.) and I can't quite cope with the amount of work required to support all of you in a decent and timely fashion. Further, I am certain that there is a great potential in some of you having direct interactions revolving around PiAnoS - the fingerprint (examiners) community is not so big after all.

In one word: the current model (me keeping everything under my "protection") does not scale well. It is frustrating for those of you willing to advance on your own path with PiAnoS, it is in contradiction with the open source nature of the software, it prevents discussions from happening, etc. I see a great potential here, and it only needs room to expand.

My objective today is to create the appropriate foundations - the "room" - for this potential to be realized. For this to happen, however, I need your input and your support.

One of the first things I think should be done is to disclose our identities (names and emails) to each others. I could then already start sending grouped emails (instead of individual messages like this one) to you, the first few and constituent members of this wannabe community.

In the meantime, I am planning a technical solution to the anticipated needs (mailing list, wiki, bug management). I think all of this should be kept public but authenticated (i.e. no anonymous users, ala CLPEX). There are many advantages to this vs. grouped emails: you can use a nickname (therefore not having to disclose your email), we can accept new users very quickly, etc. I am trying to see if our IT is willing to get involved (fingers crossed). If not then I'll host everything on the same server as the docs, but we might not get as many bells and whistles.

I will not take any decision involving you personally unless you explicitly consent to this venture. So, if you want to be part of it, could you please reply telling me:
- the name you want to appear as (and maybe your position)
- the email address (might be another one) you want me to include

Also, all suggestions as to how our "community" should operate are more than welcome: they are vital.

Again, I really believe this would be a win-win. PiAnoS is a very exciting tool that goes well beyond simple "software", in that it brings together examiners, teachers, researchers and developers around a single concept: forensic science (oops, I meant "fingerprints". Or was it "shoemarks", "ballistics", ... or "anything that uses ACE-V" ?).

Sincerely,

Thibault

-- 
Thibault Genessay
IPS/ESC/UNIL
+41 21 692 46 13
thibault.genessay@unil.ch

