Issue 414 - September 20, 2006
ISSN 1488-3163; PC Improvements © 2006
==== 1571 Subscribers in 51 Countries ====
Welcome to the 414th 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.
Support PCIN at http://PCIN.net/donate.php
CONTENTS
Opening Thoughts
Not much to say this week... Andrew was still recovering well, but had a bit
of bleeding on Monday. Lisa took him to the hospital but they said everything
looked fine. Other than that, you'd never know he'd had anything done to him.
In fact, he's doing so well, I wish he were still a little sedated :-) On
Sunday, he and Matthew were playing downstairs when Andrew came up and said
they were painting the toys. I asked him if he was actually painting the toys
or just playing (you can tell where this story is going). He said that they
were just pretending, and silly me, I believed him. A few minutes later my
sister went downstairs and screamed up that they really were painting their
toys (and the carpet)! I never thought it would be so difficult to clean a
carpet. We got most of it out, but there still is some faint blue and red in
a couple of places.
Graham editor@pcin.net and
Chris chris@pcin.net
The NEWS
PlayStation's serious side: Fighting disease
Kids aiming to persuade their parents to buy the PlayStation 3 have some
new ammunition -- donating their PS3's down time to researchers could help
cure Alzheimer's, Parkinson's or mad cow disease...
"It has so much horsepower and, of course, when you're playing a game all
that horsepower will be used for the game. But there are a lot of times during
the day when somebody's not playing the game," said Sony's Richard Marks. "It
seemed like a good idea to be able to use that horsepower for something else
that is, in this case, good for mankind."
Sony worked with Stanford University's Folding@home project to harness the
PS3's technology to help study how proteins are formed in the human body
and how they sometimes form incorrectly.
Read the CNN article...
Leave a comment...
Poll: Online movies aren't catching on
You won't find Vanita Butler sitting in front of her computer watching a
full-length movie or television show, even though she's an avid viewer of
video on the Internet.
The 43-year-old saleswoman from Newark, Ohio, said she sees the Internet
as more of a tool -- for catching a news story or highlights from a NASCAR
race. When she has time for entertainment, she and her husband prefer the
television set.
"It's a little bit more of an intimate environment," Butler said of
watching television. "We can sit and do it together."
Butler is a typical consumer of video over the Internet, according to a new
AP-AOL Video poll, which found that only one in five online video viewers
have watched or downloaded a full-length movie or television show.
Read the CNN article...
Leave a comment...
A Chip That Can Transfer Data Using Laser Light
Researchers plan to announce on Monday that they have created a silicon-based
chip that can produce laser beams. The advance will make it possible to use
laser light rather than wires to send data between chips, removing the most
significant bottleneck in computer design.
As a result, chip makers may be able to put the high-speed data communications
industry on the same curve of increased processing speed and diminishing
costs - the phenomenon known as Moore's law - that has driven the computer
industry for the last four decades.
Read the New York
Times article...
Leave a comment...
Curbing the CO2 that comes from PC use
You'd never guess it, but your PC puts about 1,000 pounds of carbon dioxide
into the atmosphere every year.
Computers have become, indirectly, a significant source of greenhouse gases,
according to Kevin Klustner, CEO of Verdiem, a start-up that has devised
software for curbing electricity consumption by PCs. That electricity often
comes from coal-fired plants that release carbon dioxide.
Often, the power gets expended for no good reason.
"Thirty percent of the energy consumed by a personal computer is wasted
because people aren't in front of it," Klustner said.
Read the TechRepublic
article...
Leave a comment...
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Digital Photography
Tip of the Week
Negative Space - Digital Photography Tip of the Week
I talked last week about using
focus lock to ensure your subject was in focus while still maintaining control
over your composition. This week I will discuss using negative space in your
photographs.
Negative space is the space around your subjects in your photographs. The
space of nothingness in your photographs is just as important as the space
that is taken up with your subject. Negative space provides balance in a photograph
and also provides a place for your eyes to rest. Studying and including the
negative space in your composition can help strengthen the composition and
add more emphasis to your main subject. Consider each of the following images
and how the use of negative space adds to the image.(Click on each image to
view a full sized version of the image.)
As you can see, It is not always necessary to fill your frame when composing
a photograph. Incorporating negative space in your photographs can add stability
to your photographs while helping to define the subject within your image.
Until next week, happy shooting.
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 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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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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THE TIPS and OTHER
STUFF
Gallery of operating system user interfaces over the years
From DownloadSquad:
It's easy to forget all of the computing operating systems that existed
before Windows, Mac OS, and the various flavors of Unix / Linux. But if
you ever feel like taking a walk down memory lane and checking out some
screenshots of some of the oldies, check out the Graphical
User Interface Gallery over at Guidebook.
It's interesting seeing screenshots of some of the old software I used many
years ago. Check it out!
Leave a comment...
ACDSee updates ACDSee Photo Manager
ACDSee Systems has updated their popular image viewing software. ACDSee
9 Photo Manager is now available. Watch here for a full review in the coming
weeks.
ACD Systems Releases ACDSee 9 Photo Manager -
the Company's Fastest and Easiest-to-use Photo Management Software To Date
Faster viewing, organizing, enhancing and sharing capabilities significantly
increase the speed and ease with which photo enthusiasts can manage their
digital photos
VICTORIA, British Columbia - ACD Systems International
Inc. (TSX: ASA), makers of ACDSee™ photo management and creative
editing software and Canvas™ technical illustration software, announced
the release of ACDSee™ 9 Photo Manager for photography enthusiasts.
With the release of ACDSee 9, ACD Systems once again sets the industry
standard for both speed and usability in a digital photo management software.
Read the rest of the
press release or 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.
This publication may be reproduced in whole, or in part, as long as the author
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