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Dan Kaminsky's 'DanKam' App Provides a Colorblind Fix

by Warren Riddle on December 16, 2010 at 03:30 PM

Dan Kaminksy Security expert Dan Kaminsky was catapulted into the national spotlight in 2008 -- and again in 2009 -- because of his significant roles in the DNS and Conficker conflicts. Kaminsky, who admittedly likes "fixing things," now hopes to address another issue, but this problem serves as actually physical, and common, affliction. Inspired by a recent 'Star Trek' showing, and his colorblind friend's inability to recognize a green character, Kaminsky embarked on a project to bring color to the visually impaired. And, he believes his new 'DanKam' iPhone app provides the fix.

According to Forbes, Kaminsky created "a collection of changeable color-shifting schemes" which intensify problem colors. One of those schemes, HueQuantize, reportedly "exaggerates both red and green and moves them further to the extremes of the color spectrum," illuminating them from a formerly unrecognizable, monochrome blend. iTunes and the Android Market both currently offer the product for $3, and other manufacturers -- including BlackBerry, Microsoft and Nokia -- plan to release versions soon. And, the colorblind Forbes writer Andy Greenberg says it works, too.

Dan Kaminksy's DanKam App



The humble Kaminsky deflected praise for providing help to roughly 6-percent of the male population, saying, "It's nice to have a project that's not quite so complicated." Well, Mr. Kaminsky, there are a few million colorblind individuals out there who certainly appreciate you taking the "easy" route.

Tags: android, app, Colorblind, Colorblindness, dankam, DanKaminsky, eyes, health, ios, iphone, smartphone, top

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