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Issue 381 - February 01, 2006

ISSN 1488-3163; PC Improvements © 2006
==== 2057 Subscribers in 57 Countries ====

Welcome to the 381st 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.

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CONTENTS

Opening Thoughts

I've been having a problem with Dell technical support (you can read about it here and here). There was a problem with my original Axim (my Pocket PC device), and so they sent me a replacement (still under warranty). Unfortunately, there was a problem with my replacement, and Dell had messed up something during the exchange, and I was on the phone with them for hours trying to straighten things out. I finally got another replacement, but it came with 2 scratches on the screen. So now I'm waiting for another replacement. Frustrating!

Happy Groundhog Day!

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

The NEWS

Could your laptop be worth millions?

The average laptop could contain data worth almost $1 million, according to new research.
A report released Friday by security-software company Symantec suggests that an ordinary notebook holds content valued at 550,000 pounds ($972,000), and that some could store as much as 5 million pounds--or $8.8 million--in commercially sensitive data and intellectual property.
The same research, commissioned by Symantec, shows that only 42 percent of companies automatically back up employees' e-mails, where much of this critical data is stored, and 45 percent leave it to the individual to do so.
"It's alarming that executives have mobile devices containing data of such financial value and that very little is being done to protect the information on them," said Lindsey Armstrong, a vice president for Europe, the Middle East and Africa at Symantec.

Read the TechRepublic article...
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Microsoft Tricks Hacker Into Jail

Nobody was ever arrested for leaking the secret source code for parts of the Windows operating system in 2004, but a hacker who sold a copy online afterward was sentenced to two years in federal prison Friday.
William "IllWill" Genovese, 29, will serve three years of supervised release following his prison term, during which he'll be subject to electronic monitoring through special software installed on his computer, under the terms handed down by federal Judge William Pauley in New York. He remains free on bail, and is scheduled to report to prison March 14.
Genovese ran a popular hacking-oriented community website called IllMob.org in February 2004 when two 200-MB files containing incomplete portions of the source code for the Windows 2000 and Windows NT operating systems hit the internet, flooding dodgy websites and peer-to-peer networks like some hard-core geek version of the Paris Hilton video.

Read the Wired News article...
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Internet cements friendships

Dealing with viruses, spyware, PC theft and other computer-related crimes costs U.S. businesses a staggering $67.2 billion a year, according to the FBI.
The FBI calculated the price tag by extrapolating results from a survey of 2,066 organizations. The survey, released Thursday, found that 1,324 respondents, or 64 percent, suffered a financial loss from computer security incidents over a 12-month period.
The average cost per company was more than $24,000, with the total cost reaching $32 million for those surveyed.
Often survey results can be skewed, because poll respondents are more likely to answer when they have experienced a problem. So, when extrapolating the survey results to estimate the national cost, the FBI reduced the estimated number of affected organizations from 64 percent to a more conservative 20 percent.

Read the PC Pro article...
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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:

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

Norris Family Industry ActiveEarth 2.0 Software Review
http://PCIN.net/help/software/activeearth2.php

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Digital Photography Tip of the Week

Night Photography Part 1

Last week I talked about some of the equipment that will be helpful when taking photographs at night. This week I will build on that by discussing some of the techniques that can be used.

Manual mode is necessary for proper exposure when shooting at night or in low light situations. Any of the program modes (Program, aperture priority, shutter priority, or creative zones such a landscape, portrait or sports) will produce images that are too bright including night time skies that look gray instead of a near black.

If you camera has a B or Bulb setting, you can use this. This was found on older cameras and many new cameras as well. Bulb keeps the shutter open for as long as you press the button on the camera. This is where the cable release is useful. Holding the button down on the camera, even when on a tripod, is likely to introduce some movement that will show up in the image. The cable release will let you do this off camera so as to avoid camera movement. When all the other adjustments are made, press the button on the cable release for the length of exposure you are looking for. If you need to adjust the length of exposure, simply change how long you hold in the button on the release.

Many cameras have set shutter speeds that may go as long as 8, 15 or 30 seconds. You can use these instead of the Bulb setting if your exposure will need to be less than the longest shutter speed your camera has. If you do not have a cable release (or infrared remote) but do have long shutter speeds, you may use the self timer on the camera to prevent camera shake.

After setting the camera up and focusing, set your aperture according to how much depth of field you need. Remember, the larger the number, the more in focus, but the longer the shutter speed needs to be. If you subjects are all far away, you can use a smaller f-stop. Don't forget that if you purposely want a longer exposure (to show motion in the light, trails, etc) then using an f11 or f16 instead of f2.8 or f4 will give you that extra time.

Now that you camera is set up, shutter speed set, aperture set, and you are focused, you can make your first shot. Start with a one second exposure. Night photography is one case where a digital photographer has an advantage over a film photographer. If the image is too bright (too much light recorded) then either use a faster shutter speed (1/2 or 1/4) second or use a smaller f-stop (higher number). If the image is too dark (not enough light recorded) then use a longer shutter speed or a larger f-stop (smaller number). You can continue to make adjustments like this until you have a good shot.

Once you arrive what appears to be a proper exposure, then I recommend that you bracket your exposure both up and down after that to ensure you have a good shot. (Bracketing is the process of purposely either under or over exposing an image by a little bit). To bracket your exposure, keeping the aperture the same, increase your shutter speed by a little, then by a little more. Do the same again decreasing it from the known good shutter speed. For example, if you determine that at f8 and 4 seconds produced the image you want on the screen, then shoot 4 more shots at f8 with the following shutter speeds, 6 seconds then 8 seconds (both overexposed) and 2 seconds and 1 second (both underexposed).

Niagara Falls at night
25 seconds at f /13

If you are shooting film, failure of the law of reciprocity will start to factor in to your shots. Without getting too technical, as your exposure time increases (beyond a second or two), additional time may be needed. I have had exposures that should have been about 30 seconds, but because of reciprocity, required two minutes. This is not really a factor for digital photographers though as the digital sensors do not seem to be prone to reciprocity failure.

There are a lot of little things that can be done in night photography, but it really does not have to be too daunting. Get out and give it a try.

I am on vacation next week so will not have a new tip for you then, but will be back the week after with the third and final installment on our night photography series. I will talk about using flash at night, 2nd curtain sync (night mode), dragging the shutter, magic hour and I will have examples of some very nice night photography to share. On a side note, yesterday (January 31, 2006) marked the end of my first year posting a daily image on my latest website. If you haven't seen it yet, feel free to stop by and have a look.

Comment on 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

Museum of Hoaxes

A reference guide to hoaxes, pranks, practical jokes, frauds, tricks, and other forms of deception.

My favourite section of the site are the photos, especially the old ones. People who creating fake photos long before photoshop.
Check out the Museum of Hoaxes...

Leave a comment...

How to get Windows Live Mail beta

My post on Windows Live Mail Beta impressions has generated several comments, the majority of them negative. For some reason people are getting locked out of their Hotmail accounts. I've never had this problem and still think that the new Hotmail is far superior to the old one.
If the negative experiences don't scare you off, and you'd like to try the new hotmail, then visit the Windows Live Ideas page and click on the Sign up link under the Windows Live Mail beta section. You then need to enter your Hotmail address. You do not get an invitation right away. At some point you'll get one, but it seems rather random. I signed up well over a month before I got my invitation.

Leave a comment...

Convert MIDI files to sheet music

My wife plays the piano, and when we hear a good kids song, she likes to find the sheet music so that she can play it for our kids. The other night my sisters were singing the "Arky, Arky" song that Rod and Todd sing on The Simpsons ("God said to Noah, there's going to be a floody, floody"). I could find a midi file of the music, but couldn't find any free copies of the sheet music. I stumbled across Notation Software, Inc. They have software called MidiNotate Musician that, among other things, will open a MIDI file and display it as sheet music. Nice!
Check it out...

Leave a comment...

Other Tips and Other Stuff

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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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