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Issue 389 - March 29, 2006

ISSN 1488-3163; PC Improvements © 2006
==== 1801 Subscribers in 54 Countries ====

Welcome to the 389th issue of the PC Improvement News. PCIN consists mainly of news and tips. There is something for everyone, and if this is your first issue, I'm sure there will be something for you. If you give me two or three issues, I know that you will come back for more!

You can reach me at editor@pcin.net with any suggestions or comments.

Recommend PCIN at http://PCIN.net/recommend.php

Support PCIN at http://PCIN.net/donate.php

CONTENTS

Opening Thoughts

My sister just got a great deal on a Dell Dimension 3100... but it arrived with a dead monitor. She had a replacement within a couple of days, but it certainly wasn't a good way to start a relationship with a customer. She's quite excited about the new computer though as it is very "pretty".

I read an article the other day that claimed that about 80% of the podcasts that are downloaded never make it to a portable music player. Sounds about right to me. I think podcasts are more buzzword than reality. The only show I download is the Wait, Wait... Don't Tell Me show on NPR. Apparently I'm one of the few people who actually listen to what they download.

Lisa, Andrew, and Matthew have all been sick over the last week or two. They are a cute, pathetic looking bunch, with red noses and lots of coughing. I've managed to avoid most of it. My parents have been a big help in looking after the kids when Lisa has been sick and I've been at work. It's great having family around :-)

Graham editor@pcin.net and Chris chris@pcin.net

The NEWS

Survey offers a 'sneak peek' into Net surfers' brains

Seeing is believing when it comes to understanding how consumers surf the Internet.
And they see very little online - including pricey banner ads screaming for attention. That's one of the findings of a study out today by Nielsen Norman Group, an authority on making websites and products easy to use.
Using sophisticated eye-tracking equipment, the Fremont, Calif., firm was able to track what consumers really look at on the Web vs. what they say they look at.
"This is a sneak peek into people's brains," says Kara Pernice Coyne, the firm's research director.

Read the USA Today article...
Leave a comment...

Steve Jobs' Best Quotes Ever

One of the great things about Steve Jobs is what comes out of his mouth.
The CEO of Apple Computer is a master of hype, hyperbole and the catchy phrase. Even when he's trying to talk normally, brilliant verbiage comes tumbling out.
Here's a selection of some of the most insanely great things the man has said, organized by topic: innovation and design, fixing Apple, his greatest sales pitches, life's lessons, taking the fight to the enemy and Pixar.

Read the Wired News article...
Leave a comment...

New data transmission record - 60 DVDs per second

As the world's internet traffic grows relentlessly, faster data transmission will logically become crucial. To enable telecommunications networks to cope with the phenomenal surge in data traffic as the internet population moves past a billion users, researchers are focusing on new systems to increase data transmission rates and it's not surprising that the world data transmission record is continually under threat. Unlike records where human physical capabilities limit new records to incremental growth, when human ingenuity is the deciding factor, extraordinary gains are possible. German and Japanese scientists recently collaborated to achieve just such a quantum leap in obliterating the world record for data transmission. By transmitting a data signal at 2.56 terabits per second over a 160-kilometer link (equivalent to 2,560,000,000,000 bits per second or the contents of 60 DVDs) the researchers bettered the old record of 1.28 terabits per second held by a Japanese group. By comparison, the fastest high-speed links currently carry data at a maximum 40 Gbit/s, or around 50 times slower.

Read the Gizmag article...
Leave a comment...

Disaster Recovery: New Orleans

Officials at every level treat disaster planning as a long-term problem that can be left for another day. But in New Orleans, that day came - on Aug. 29, 2005 - as Hurricane Katrina washed away the city.
But over the last six months, New Orleans information technology chief Greg Meffert has been improvising a plan to not only put the Crescent City's technology infrastructure back together, but to make it better than it was before.
Meffert's story holds valuable lessons for any chief information officer struggling with disaster planning and recovery.

Read the Baseline article...
Leave a comment...

Other News postings from the PCIN.net Update blog

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PCIN.net UPDATE

Check out these new or updated pages on the PCIN.net site:

Update PCIN.net home page with "Top 10 Most Popular..." features
http://PCIN.net/

Microsoft Digital Image Suite Plus Review
http://PCIN.net/help/software/msdimagesuiteplus.php

Omega One Software Battery Pack Pro 2.1 Software Review
http://PCIN.net/help/software/bpp2.php

Makayama Interactive DVD to Pocket PC 3.0 Software Review
http://PCIN.net/help/software/dvd2ppc3.php

Adobe Photoshop Elements 4.0 Software Review
http://PCIN.net/help/software/elements40.php

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Digital Photography Tip of the Week

Review of recent convention

Last week I discussed the merits of photo critiques. I hope that you have looked at a few of those sites, or others you may find on the Internet and submitted some of your shots for critique. At the same time, there is a lot you will learn by critiquing others as well.

For the past couple of weeks, I have mentioned the Niagara Frontier Regional Camera Club annual convention that was taking place last weekend. Today I will give you a summary of the event.

About 200 people attended over the weekend and we had some excellent presenters. Friday night was a competition of 200 slides followed by a presentation by Joe Lefevre displaying many of his composite panorama photographs. Joe creates his panoramas from several photographs to maintain the quality in his work, rather than create them from a single negative using a wide angle lens. Joe also presented a seminar on Saturday explaining his techniques in shooting for a panorama, as well as creating them in Photoshop.

Saturday was split into two tracks. The first track featured an all day session with retired professional photographer Monte Zucker. Monte has received many photographic awards including the United Nations Portrait Photographer of the Year award, 2002. Monte's presentation focused on lighting and posing techniques for portraits. He explained things and a very easy to understand manner and demonstrated with members of the audience. His informative session was well worth the price of the weekend ticket.

Also on Saturday, Ethan Meleg gave his presentation Life on the Edge: Ontario's Bruce Peninsula which included a large array of photos of the Bruce Peninsula. Bogden Fundalinski presented a Photoshop tutorial on Creating Science Fantasy in your photos. A second Photoshop tutorial was presented by Randy Zack. Bob Harris, listed by the Photographic Society of America (PSA) as the world's top color slide competitor, gave his presentation "Searching The World For Compelling Images". The evening was capped off by a one hour multimedia presentation by Gil Lopez Espina. The event closed with Bob Harvey presenting a two part slideshow, Capturing Drama in your photography and the second revolved around communicating with your images.

Along with the presentations there was both a Slide Salon and a Print Salon. Both events gave the attendees an opportunity to have their work scored against other delegates from the convention.

There is a lot of information at the websites for some of these presenters, from forums where you can discuss photography and have your own photos critiques, to tips and techniques to improving your work.

An event like this offers a lot of opportunities to learn, not only from the presenters, but from all of the other photographers in attendance. They present you with a chance to interact with skilled photographers eager to share their knowledge and in turn, better your own photography. Photographic clubs often have similar events to this. Check to see if there are any in your area. If you have any questions about camera or photographic clubs, contact a local club. many offer free guest admission to their meetings, or send me an email and I can try to answer any questions you may through my experience in my club.

Next week I will discuss saturation in your digital images, what it is and how you can leverage it for better photos.

Leave a comment about this week's Digital Photography Tip of the Week..

The digital photography tip of the week is written by the PCIN Assistant Editor, Chris Empey. Chris is a long time photographer and is currently the vice-president of the Niagara Falls Camera Club. You can see more of his photography at his Photo of the Day website.
If you have a tip to send Chris, or a question about digital photography he can address in the newsletter, send it to chris@pcin.net.

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THE TIPS and OTHER STUFF

ajaxWrite

The latest issue of Michael Robertson's Michael's Minute announces the release of a new web-based word processor called ajaxWrite:

ajaxWrite is a powerful word processor that can read and write Microsoft Word formatted documents. Anytime you need a word processor, need to open a .doc file or edit a .doc file, simply point your Firefox browser at ajaxWrite.com and in seconds a full-featured program will be loaded. For 90 percent of the people in the world, the need to buy Microsoft Word just vanished. This won't make Microsoft happy, but software users should be very excited that software just got cheaper, immediate and modern.

Unfortunately, when I tried to access the program/web site, it wouldn't load. It was trying, but nothing happened. My guess is the servers are overloaded. I'll keep trying and let you know what I think.

Leave a comment...

Online Rhyming Dictionary

Check out the Online Rhyming Dictionary:

Find rhyming words online with the FREE WriteExpress Rhyming Dictionary

WriteExpress sells software, but they also have a free online tool to find rhyming words. Just put in your word, and it'll suggest matches. You can choose what part of the word to matchup as well.

Leave a comment...

Tabbed browsing on your Pocket PC

Webby provides a powerful desktop-style browsing experience on the Pocket Pc platform. Besides tabbed browsing Webby automatically provides the ability to scale web pages using the two top microbrowsers, Skweezer.net and Google Mobile.
Internet Explorer came with my Dell Axim, and it works, but isn't great. I've tried Minimo, the Mozilla-based browser, but it is terrible on my Axim. I haven't tried Webby yet, but I plan to.

You can check it out for yourself on the Webby web site...

Leave a comment...

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PCIN.net AFFILIATED SITES

Both of us have other sites other than PCIN.net. These are all sites that we are actively involved in (they aren't client sites). Don't forget to check them out from time to time for updates:

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DISCLAIMER and OTHER STUFF

PCIN is brought to you by Graham Wing. The opinions expressed are those of the Editor, Graham Wing and the Assistant Editor, Chris Empey. Graham Wing and Chris Empey accept no responsibility for the results obtained from trying the tips in this newsletter.

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Graham Wing can be reached at editor@pcin.net
Chris Empey can be reached at chris@pcin.net

Copyright 1998-2006, Graham Wing. All rights reserved.

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