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Issue 466 - September 19, 2007

ISSN 1488-3163; PC Improvements © 2007
==== 1430 Subscribers in 46 Countries ====

Welcome to the 466th 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

Lisa is now into her last official week of pregnancy. Her due date is Tuesday (a week from yesterday). She's been feeling pretty awful lately, and just found out today that the pain in her hands and wrists is pregnancy-related carpal tunnel syndrome.She never got this with either of the boys. Overall she's feeling quite crummy. Hopefully the baby comes soon!

After my sister left for Calgary, I got her computer, one of my sisters got my computer, and my grandmother got that sister's computer. Now I have an old Dell OptiPlex G1 that I'm cleaning up to give away. I'm sitting here listening to the Holly Cole Trio while I switch between getting the newsletter done and working on the other computer. It seems like every time I get my desk cleared off, another computer comes my way to clean up.

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

News Highlights

Toppling the Great Firewall of China

The Great Firewall of China is no firewall after all.
The People's Republic of China has no firewall perched on its routers to enable censors to block Internet sites.
Rather, the authoritarian regime relies on a far more sophisticated censorship system that uses a keyword blacklist and routers that reach deep into Internet traffic to find forbidden words or phrases.

Read the eWeek article...
Leave a comment...

Soon millions of Facebookers won't be incognito

Social network Facebook will soon make the listings - the name and photo - of its 40 million active members available to anyone who searches the Internet on Google, Yahoo and Microsoft. But in its pursuit of building a bigger audience, Facebook has set off privacy alarms among customers who don't necessarily want their listings to be an open book.
Some Facebook users say they are perturbed because they joined the service so they could choose whom they communicate with - and not be exposed to the Internet at large.

Read the USA Today article...
Leave a comment...

Man in China dies after three-day Internet session

A Chinese man dropped dead after playing Internet games for three consecutive days, state media said on Monday as China seeks to wean Internet addicts offline.
The man from the southern boomtown of Guangzhou, aged about 30, died on Saturday after being rushed to the hospital from the Internet cafe, local authorities were quoted by the Beijing News as saying.

Read the Reuters article...
Leave a comment...

:-) turns 25

It was a serious contribution to the electronic lexicon.
:-)
Twenty-five years ago, Carnegie Mellon University professor Scott E. Fahlman says, he was the first to use three keystrokes -- a colon followed by a hyphen and a parenthesis -- as a horizontal "smiley face" in a computer message.

Read the CNN article...
Leave a comment...

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Digital Photography Tip of the Week

Overriding your White Balance to Achieve a Desired Tone - Digital Photography Tip of the Week

I previously wrote about white balance and how setting your camera white balance control to the proper setting for the scenario you are shooting will give you more accurate colours.

But what if that is not what you want?

Overriding your white balance let's you control how your camera records your images. To maintain the warm glow of a rising or setting sun, change your white balance from Auto White Balance (AWB) to daylight. To mimic the same warm glow in daylight, set your white balance control to shade.

Morning and late evening light are both warm coloured light. As the day progresses the light takes on a cooler, more blue, tone. Using AWB in the morning light will cancel the warmth and the nice light that you receive shooting in these conditions. Setting the white balance to daylight (a cooler white balance setting) will enable your camera to record the warm tones in your image without trying to compensate for the natural warmth of the light. Conversely, if you wish to record an image as being colder in tone (more blue) use a warmer white balance setting such as tungsten or incandescent light when shooting in sunlight.

If your camera has selectable white balance setting in degrees Kelvin, you will have even finer control by using this. A few colour temperature ranges to start with:
Morning Light 2000 - 3000 degrees Kelvin
Daylight 5800
Shade 7000 -8000

The colour tone of your image has a great effect on how the image is perceived by your viewer. Shooting at a cooler colour temperature than actual conditions will have the effect of warming your image while the reverse, shooting a warmer colour temperature than actual conditions will cool your image. Controlling your white balance to achieve the look you want is a simple but effective method in enhancing your photography.

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

How to Fix a Scratched CD

wikihow_logo.gif

I came across an article in wikiHow called "How to Fix a Scratched CD":

While compact discs (CDs) are remarkably durable, it's nearly impossible to prevent scratches and scuffs from occurring from time to time. The resulting damage can be either a skip in your favorite Bob Marley track or, in the case of data CDs, the loss of that spreadsheet you worked on for two weeks. Don't despair-repair! While commercial CD repair kits and CD refinishing machines are available, you may be able to repair the damage on your own with products you already have.

Leave a comment...

JkDefrag

jkdefrag_snapshot.gif

I think I've mentioned before that I am a big fan of "portable" programs. By this, I mean programs that you do not need to install. You can just run the executable from anywhere (including a USB drive), and it will run. I came across a defrag utility recently that doesn't need to be installed. It is called JkDefrag:

JkDefrag is based on the standard defragmentation API by Microsoft, a system library that is included in Windows 2000, 2003, XP, and Vista. Most defragmenters are based on this API, including commercial defragmenters. JkDefrag is therefore very solid and there is no risk of losing data. You can stop the program at any time, it will finish the current file in the background.

I've tried it out. It isn't very attractive looking, and there are no options within the program itself, but it does what it is supposed to do. You just run the program and it automatically defrags all of your hard disks. This would be perfect for a scheduled task. There are options that can be chosen from the command-line (or in a shortcut).

Leave a comment...

MySpeed Broadband VoIP and Speed Test

There are lots of Internet speed tests around, but a good one I came across the other day is the MySpeed Broadband VoIP and Speed Test. As the title indicates, it tells you how a VoIP connection would be. But it also provides you with overall upload and download speed tests, and shows the results in a few formats.

voip_speed_test.jpg

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.

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