ISSN 1488-3163; PC Improvements © 2007
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Welcome to the 476th issue of the PC Improvement News. PCIN consists mainly of news highlights 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
All of you received an email this past week asking you to confirm your membership to a mailing list. The moderator was my Gmail address. I'm sorry about that. I am testing a new web host, and I was testing their mailing list software. I imported all of my addresses, and it sent a confirmation request out to everyone. Unfortunately it never said anything in the documentation that it would do this. I apologize for the inconvenience. You have not been subscribed to anything new, and no one else got your email address.
I also apologize for a mistake in last weeks newsletter. The tip on the JOCR software had the wrong link. You can find the proper link by reading the original blog entry.
Graham editor@pcin.net and Chris chris@pcin.net
Fake photos can alter real memories
In 2003, Los Angeles Times photographer Brian Walski caused an uproar when it was discovered that his picture of a British soldier yelling at fleeing residents in Iraq, published prominently by many U.S. newspapers, had been altered.
Walski had combined two snapshots taken moments apart of the British soldier urging residents to take cover as Iraqi forces opened fire. This digital alteration is one of several in recent years to cast doubt on the old saying that the camera doesn't lie.
Some researchers are worried that digitally altered photos could alter our perceptions and memories of public events.
Greenpeace: Microsoft, Nintendo are too toxic
Greenpeace gave Microsoft and Nintendo abysmal rankings Tuesday on their efforts to phase out toxic chemicals from their game consoles.
Nintendo became the first company to score zero out of a possible 10 points in the Greenpeace ranking of 18 leading electronics companies. It provided no information to consumers on the substances it uses in manufacturing or on its plans to cut hazardous materials, the environmental organization said.
Is e-mail dead? Hardly
A flurry of blogs and news items on the Internet last week suggested that young Internet users are increasingly relying on instant messaging, texting, and social networking sites to communicate, often via mobile devices, and almost to the exclusion of e-mail.
One of those blogs, by Chad Lorenz at Slate, even asserted that "e-mail is looking obsolete," under the headline "The Death of E-Mail."
But the reality is much more complex. Some market reports and analysts predict that e-mail accounts will continue to grow as other messaging modes gain popularity and as use of the Internet expands globally.
Internet 'brownouts' feared by 2010 as user traffic soars
Rising demand for bandwidth-hogging Internet activities such as swapping music files and watching YouTube videos threatens to outstrip the Web's infrastructure within three years, creating the spectre of service "brownouts" and potentially thwarting the development of the next Google-sized application, an industry-funded study warns.
Despite all the talk about the Internet's infinite possibilities, a study by U.S. firm Nemertes Research found that projected increases in Internet traffic are poised to eclipse the capacity of the Web's broadband access infrastructure - essentially the points where users "plug in" to the Internet via cable, phone or fibre optic lines - as early as 2010.
Check out these new or updated pages on the PCIN.net site:
Adobe Photoshop Elements 5.0 and Adobe Premier Elements 3.0 Software Review
http://PCIN.net/help/software/photoshopEL5_Premiere3.phpExpoDisc White Balance Filter Review
http://PCIN.net/help/hardware/expodisc.phpParagon Software Group Partition Manager 8.0 Professional Software Review
http://PCIN.net/help/software/ppm8.phpUpdate 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
Internet Safety Podcast
One of the biggest concerns for parents is what their children are doing on the Internet. Who is contacting them? Who are they chatting with? How do they interact with strangers? Kim Komando talks about this regularly.
I came across a site today where you can listen to podcast about Internet safety called Internet Safety Podcast. So far there are only 2, but based on the descriptions (I haven't listened to them myself), the hosts "begin by talking about safe web surfing and mechanisms for avoid both deliberate and inadvertent access to inappropriate material."
Free screencast software
Screencast software lets you record what you do on the computer visually so you can play it back later. It can be used for making tutorials and other instructional material, either for yourself, or someone else (your family, a class, etc).
TechSmith, the makers of SnagIt (the screen capture utility) have a special on their site for "PC Plus Magazine readers from the United Kingdom" where you can download the older version of Camtasia (their screencast software) and then get a free registration code. I'm not sure when the special ends, so definitely check it out soon! I heard about this on RedFlagDeals.com and they have the appropriate links to follow.
Free screen capture software
Yesterday I posted about the free version of Camtasia you could download and register from TechSmith. Well, today I found out that the same company is offering their SnagIt screen capture software for free as well. Just like Camtasia, they are offering their previous version. You can download the software from the TechSmith FTP site, and register it on the special UK.net Magazine promotion page. I'm not sure how long this will last for, so you should check it out soon.
I applaud TechSmith for doing this. I think more companies should be offering their older products for free. If a user ends up liking their products, they are far more likely to buy an upgrade to the newer version (to get the new features) than they are to look elsewhere.
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:
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 1998-2007, 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