ISSN 1488-3163; PC Improvements © 2006
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Welcome to the 378th 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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We've had some beautiful weather here lately. Today was 10° C (50° F). It was sunny for a while but then started to rain. Chris is looking for snow so that he can get out and take some pictures. He's even given you a tip on photographing snow. I'm not a big winter fan, so I'm fine without the snow.
The screen on my Axim has a line on it. It disappears when the backlight is off, but appears when the light comes on. Obviously there is going bad/breaking in the physical screen. I called Dell today and was on hold for about 25 minutes before I got to talk to anyone, and then it took 20 minutes before I had a replacement unit on its way. And they only send you a refurbished one. If I'm lucky, they won't have an x30 available and they'll send me something better. But I doubt I'll be so lucky.
My sister worked at Best Buy for a few months leading up to Christmas. Her discount was cost plus 10%. Some things aren't marked up very much (PCs, DVDs, etc) but some things have huge markups. The Best Buy brand (Dynex) gets huge markups. She picked up a 4 port USB 2.0 PCI card for me. It sells for about $70 and she got it for $10! Thanks Andrea!
Graham editor@pcin.net and Chris chris@pcin.net
Scripture, Meet the Web: Placing Limits on 24/7
And on the seventh day, online retailers rested. At least some of them.
Consumers have grown to expect around-the-clock pampering from Internet merchants, who have been pushed by rivals to offer customer service even on weekends and to remedy site glitches immediately, no matter when they happen.
But this trend is being bucked by some electronic retailers - many with religiously observant owners and executives who leave their sites up and running on their Sabbath, but do not complete orders, work on the site or otherwise do anything to help customers. And despite an increasingly competitive environment and ever more demanding customers, they say their businesses have not suffered.
Microsoft: We're in 'fighting shape'
Microsoft has some catching up to do.
It's not a phrase you hear every day. But whether it's Apple Computer's iTunes-iPod combo or Google's advertising engine, the software maker's top executives readily admit that they are coming from behind.
In a rare joint interview ahead of the Consumer Electronics Show here, Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates and CEO Steve Ballmer outlined their plans to catch their rivals and discussed why it's Sony that will have to play catch-up in the video console wars.
Linking a Device to a Gadget That's Wired to a Gizmo
The average American household now owns some 25 consumer electronics products - televisions and stereos and high-tech gimcracks of every imaginable flavor. That statistic brings that industry's annual convention in Las Vegas last week into stark relief. Some 130,000 people moved around a noisy, pulsing display space, with thousands of products covering a land mass that seemed roughly equivalent to Norway's.
If a company wants its products to be among that 25, it is going to have to hustle.
Megachurches and the Gospel of Customer Relationship Management
Megachurches like the 25,000-member World Changers of Atlanta can teach corporations the true meaning of customer relationship management.
How? Not only do they manage the logistics of having thousands of members show up on a single day and still go home singing their praises, they also manage the information about those members in ways few commercial companies can match.
By analyzing and responding to members, the World Changers has learned how to encourage first-timers to join, long-timers to stay active, get volunteers to contribute more time, get contributors to put in more money and get everyone to buy a little more at the church store.
They can also track who's sick, who's related to who, who might be enticed to come back after a period away, and who might be becoming discontent and might abandon ship.
World Changers does it with slick customer relationship management and aggressive customer care.
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Check out these new or updated pages on the PCIN.net site:
Microsoft Digital Image Suite Plus Review
http://PCIN.net/help/software/msdimagesuiteplus.phpOmega One Software Battery Pack Pro 2.1 Software Review
http://PCIN.net/help/software/bpp2.phpMakayama Interactive DVD to Pocket PC 3.0 Software Review
http://PCIN.net/help/software/dvd2ppc3.phpAdobe Photoshop Elements 4.0 Software Review
http://PCIN.net/help/software/elements40.phpNorris Family Industry ActiveEarth 2.0 Software Review
http://PCIN.net/help/software/activeearth2.php
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Photographing Snow
As winter moves forward and the days continue to grow colder, outdoor photography is more and more likely to include snow. This will pose a problem for most cameras, either digital or film based.
A blanket of snow will play havoc with the metering system in your camera. Your camera will measure the brightness values in the scene you are shooting and adjust the exposure so that the resulting photograph has an average brightness of 18%. A large amount of snow will cause the camera to underexpose the image to accommodate for the extra amount of white and as a result, your snow will have an ugly grey cast to it.
If you camera has an exposure compensation mode (either on the dial or as a menu in the setup) it will be necessary to provide more exposure for the shot, usually between 1 and 2 stops.
In the photos below, the image on the left was shot with auto-exposure and no exposure compensation. The water has little to know detail and the snow is a dull gray. The second photo was shot with auto-exposure as well, with an exposure compensation of +1. The water begins to show more detail and the snow is becoming more white. The third image is also shot with auto-exposure, only this time with +2 stops exposure compensation. The water is well exposed and the snow is now more natural. In this example though, the snow has started to lose some of it's texture. Exposure compensation of +1.5 stops would have given us a nice exposure on the snow while still retaining its texture.
Snow will reflect the colour of the sky and as such, may appear blue under open sky (as we see above) white (when shot on an overcast day, which will also show little or no texture in the snow) or may even take on a red or orange cast early in the morning or as the sun goes down. Trying to expose the snow to be pure white will most likely result in an overexposed image.
Next week I will discuss S-curves and diagonals in your photos!
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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Homework Help
I'm BJ. but my friends call me Beege. I turned 17 on March 16th. My site contains over 700 links to sites that will help you with your homework.
Find the best K-12 homework resources organized by subject and grade-level at HomeworkSpot.com.
The Kids on the Web: Homework Tools
While it's still better to go to the library use the actual printed works, there are times when you don't have one handy and the libraries and stores are all closed. So, to that end, you can use any of these via the Web, too... And... the other great things you can use to help you with your homework...
The Internet's premier ask-an-expert math help service. Ask Dr. Math a question using the Dr. Math Web form, or browse the extensive archive of previous questions and answers.
Get cracking...
I know there is some debate as to whether or not eggs are healthy for you, but if you like eggs, then you should visit the site of the Ontario Egg Producers and the Canadian Egg Marketing Agency. Eggsite.com and Eggs.ca have recipes, cooking techniques, FAQs, and more.
TCP Optimizer
The latest issue of Scot's Newsletter tells of his new FIOS broadband connection (15mbps!). Near the end of the article he mentions optimizing his network settings for his connection. I haven't done anything like that since I was on dial-up. I went to the Speakeasy Speed Test (which Scot recommends in his article) and found that I was only getting 3mbps on my connection when my cable company says it should be 5mbps. I then downloaded the SpeedGuide.net TCP Optimizer (which Scot also recommends) and ran it. I chose the optimal settings, rebooted and testing again. I was now at 5mbps.
Good stuff... thanks Scot!
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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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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.
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.
This publication may be reproduced in whole, or in part, as long as the author is notified and the newsletter is presented as is.
Support PCIN by visiting http://PCIN.net/donate.php