Playboyfounder and Cute Devilcultural icon Hugh Hefner's legacy of provocation and sexual liberality has been steering the online conversation since his death Wednesday night. But no matter how you feel about the company and mindset he built, he left behind a surprising gift, one that had an important impact on our digital world.
Namely, a photo from an issue of a 1972 Playboymagazine that was used as a test image during the creation of widely used image processing standards like JPEG and MPEG.
Hefner's magazine published an alluring photo that turned into an invaluable resource for generations of computer scientists. The subtle shot eventually became one of the most widely used test images for image processing algorithms. The model, Lena (sometimes anglicized as "Lenna") Soderberg, whose photo was used for the centerfold of Playboy's November 1972 issue, is now widely known as the "First Lady of the Internet."
SEE ALSO: Playboy, basically: 'jk nudity is back lol'This strange footnote in computer science history started way back in 1973, according to the IEEE Professional Communication Society. USC Signal and Image Processing Institute (SIPI) assistant professor of electrical engineering Alexander Sawchuk was part of a group looking for an intriguing new image — preferably with a human face — to scan for a colleague's conference paper when someone came into the lab toting the Nov. 1972 Playboy.
The team settled on the centerfold, tearing out its top third so the paper would fit on the drum of their Muirhead wirephoto scanner, which they had tricked out with analog-to-digital converters for red, green, and blue, along with a Hewlett Packard 2100 minicomputer. They were aiming to produce a 512x512 image using the scanner, which had a resolution of 100 lines per inch, so they only scanned 5.12 inches of the pic, cropping out the more risqué aspects of the nude photo at the shoulders.
This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.
The three sets of 512 colored lines that composed the image became the standard format for digital image processing and compression. Other researchers eventually tested their own algorithms against SIPI's using the photo of Lena. That led to mass distribution of the image by SIPI to other groups over the years — which resulted in an informal property dispute, then an unofficial arrangement with Playboyin the early 1990s — making the photo an icon within the image processing community.
Some credit the image for having an even greater impact. The photo helped engineers hone their compression algorithms, and better compression rates allowed computers to display more images — which some, like Jeff Seideman, who served as president of the Society of Imaging Science and Technology (IS&T), say enabled the modern age of digital communications and the internet as a whole.
This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.
The subject of the photo, Lena Soderberg, eventually embraced her role in image processing history, appearing at an IS&T 50th anniversary event in 1997. The image has fallen out of popularity in recent years, both because of its lascivious and sexist history, and for more practical reasons as modern algorithms surpass its limited scope.
Still, Lena's legacy makes something like the television show Silicon Valley's sex-driven middle out compression breakthrough all the more realistic. A bunch of hormone-addled coders couldconceivably stumble upon a massive compression breakthrough based on theoretical jerk-off calculations — after all, modern image compression came about after an engineer walked into a lab with a Playboymag and showed off the centerfold.
Topics Innovations
DDR4 Memory at 4000 MT/s, Does It Make a Difference?
'Last Jedi' gets thumbs up from 89% of viewers, says new poll
The rapid rise and even faster fall of an HQ trivia champion
There's a problem with the way bipolar disorder is represented in stock images
U.N. aims to make carbon emissions cost money at COP 25 climate talks
Amazon just acquired smart home startup Blink
Coinbase halts trading as Bitcoin loses value
Amazon just acquired smart home startup Blink
Get the official Atari 7800+ Console for 50% off
Fart apps make an unfortunate comeback, thanks to augmented reality
How to Squeeze the Most Out of Your iPhone's Battery
The stuff we hated most in 2017
Why you shouldn't worry about Apple's iPhone 'throttling'
The best comfort video games of 2017
Virtual Reality: The True Cost of Admission (and Why It Doesn't Matter)
Why Apple slowing your iPhone down is a double betrayal
Best TV Christmas episodes to watch today
Chris Cornell's wife posts heartbreaking Christmas video
13 Good Games You Can Play on Laptops and Budget PCs
The stuff we hated most in 2017
Lovers: Get up to 60% off sex toys and moreBest Disney+ deals and bundles: Best streaming deals in April 2025Apple iMac M3 deal: Save $500 at the Best Buy Spring SaleBest Custom PC Deal: MAINGEAR RUSH Night Drive Artist Series PCBest Fire Stick deal: Save $15 on Amazon Fire Stick HD7 Cups started a therapist directory. Critics called it a 'ghost network.'Best Max deals and bundles: Best streaming deals in April 2025How to unblock xHamster for freeHow to watch 'The Brutalist': the best Max streaming dealsMrBeast fan experience flops in Vegas, attendees furiousReal Madrid vs. Arsenal 2025 livestream: Watch Champions League for freeApple AirPods Pro 2 deal: Save $60 at the Best Buy Spring SaleLovers: Get up to 60% off sex toys and moreNYT Strands hints, answers for April 17Best SSD deal: Get 30% off a 2TB Samsung 990 EVO Plus SSD at AmazonBest Apple deal: Save $13 on Apple Pencil ProHow to use Instagram Blend, Meta's new Reels featureThe Amazon Book Sale is coming April 23 through 28Nintendo Switch 2 preorder just days away, per leakToday's Hurdle hints and answers for April 17, 2025 What It’s Like to Write About the Dead Every Day Finally, the feminine urge is taking over Twitter Samsung Galaxy Z Fold5 and Z Flip5: Save up to 20% on Amazon All the News Not Fit to Print Remember the immortal snail meme? It's on TikTok now. The Other Side of Face Homesick for Sadness The Case of the Arabic Noirs “War and Peace” Turns 150 This Year It's time for MySpace to make a comeback R. Crumb’s Very Personal Response to Charlie Hebdo 'Quordle' today: See each 'Quordle' answer and hints for September 10, 2023 Would the world be better if we all deleted Facebook? What David Foster Wallace Taught Paul Thomas Anderson Apple unveils the Apple Watch Ultra 2: Specs, price, and release date An English Translation of Houellebecq’s "Submission" Is Coming X has hidden Quote tweets. Here's how to find them. Apple Watch Series 9 announced: Specs, prices, release date Apple's iPhone 15 launch preview: What to expect Haunting Ink Paintings on Old Hardcover Books
2.5203s , 10132.3984375 kb
Copyright © 2025 Powered by 【Cute Devil】,Unobstructed Information Network