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Issue 459 - August 1, 2007

ISSN 1488-3163; PC Improvements © 2007
==== 1440 Subscribers in 47 Countries ====

Welcome to the 459th 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

Contents

Opening Thoughts

Graham has been away at the cottage for the past couple so it is my turn to send out the newsletter.

Last week Graham mentioned the 30 minute firework display over Niagara Falls. I have posted my own gallery of photographs I shot that night. You can view them at http://potd.chrisempey.com/galleries/fireworks. Speaking of photos, I have mentioned in the past that if there are any topics you would like covered in the Digital Photography Tip of the Week, please let me know.

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

News Highlights

Social Networking Quickly Taking Hold Globally

Some sites seeing total visits increase as much as 270 percent, according to a study released by Internet measurement company ComScore.
The use of social networking sites worldwide has grown substantially in the past year, with some sites seeing total visits increase as much as 270 percent, according to a study released Tuesday by Internet measurement company ComScore Inc..

Read the PC World article...
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Wasting Time Online Could Be A Thing Of The Past

One in five online Americans view video over the Internet on any given day, thanks to speedier Internet connections and a wider selection of clips, a study finds.
Young adults watch in greater numbers and often turn to humorous clips, while all other age groups use video predominantly for news, according to the Pew Internet and American Life Project. On a typical day, 19% of U.S. Internet adults watch some form of video. News ranked first and comedy second overall.

Read the USA Today article...
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Office Printers Emit Ultrafine Particulatess

Office workers now have reason to think twice before printing out that report the boss is waiting for. In a recent office study, researchers in Australia found that nearly one-third of laser printers emitted high levels of nanoparticles into the air, and on average, particle counts during working hours were five times higher than during nonwork hours. Inhaling these ultrafine particles may pose a health hazard, experts caution.

Read the Chemical and Engineering News article...
Leave a comment...

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Digital Photography Tip of the Week

Early Morning Photography - How Early Should I Start - Digital Photography Tip of the Week

I have mentioned in previous tips that I do much of my shooting in the early morning. This is for a variety of reasons, better light than midday, less or no people traffic to interfere with my photos and of course life is busy and shooting in the morning doesn't interfere with other things leaving me to be able to set a pretty regular schedule for going out to take photos.

Usually I start shooting just before the sun comes up, or just after the sun comes up. The natural warm colour of the light created when the light has to travel longer though the atmosphere is unmatched. Sometimes however, I like to get out even earlier. Photographing a half hour or more before the sun even begins to poke over the horizon can yield wonderful images. Even at this time there is a surprising amount of light in the sky and providing that you have a good subject, can provide for incredible photos.

Of course, the light is not bright enough to hand hold your camera, so a steady tripod and cable release are very helpful. Also, a flash light may be useful if you need to venture far from your car in the dark.

Until next time, happy shooting.

Leave a 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 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 Site Update

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.php

ExpoDisc White Balance Filter Review
http://PCIN.net/help/hardware/expodisc.php

Paragon Software Group Partition Manager 8.0 Professional Software Review
http://PCIN.net/help/software/ppm8.php

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

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Tips and Other Stuff

Create a custom Control Panel in Windows XP

This is from Tech Republic

To simplify access to the tools in Windows XP's Control Panel, Microsoft created the Category View, in which the Control Panel's tools are organized into categories. If you're an old-school Windows user, you can still switch back to the Classic View, in which all of the Control Panel's tools are available. If you admire the simplicity of the Category View but prefer the Classic View, you may want to create your own custom Control Panel that combines the best of both views. Here's how:

Leave a comment...

Emailing Large Files

I saw this at Canoe:

Summertime - a great time to take lots of pictures. And with the price of memory cards ar an all-time low everyone gets shutter happy, including yours truly. Now, we don't want to keep all these works of art to ourselves - we want to share them. We could choose to copy them onto a CD or DVD. We can also upload them to services like Picasa, Flickr, YouTube, or upload them our personal websites. But sometimes, we just want to e-mail them.

Read the whole article which lists a couple of different options on handling large sets of images

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 1998-2007, 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.

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