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Issue 465 - September 12, 2007

ISSN 1488-3163; PC Improvements © 2007
==== 1437 Subscribers in 46 Countries ====

Welcome to the 465th 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

Andrew started back at school last week, but this week he started taking the bus in the morning and he is so excited! The bus stop for our street is right at our house, so he keeps looking out the window to see if anyone else is out there. From the time he gets up until the time he goes outside he keeps asking Lisa how much more time there is until the bus comes. It's very cute!

I got more memory for my new computer (now 2GB total) and a proper cable for one of my SATA drives, so I'm pretty well all done now. I'm sitting here listening to Ella Fitzgerald while I type this looking at my flat screen (only 17", but it's my first one I've ever had). One of the things about this computer is that it is virtually silent! My other computer sounded like an airplane. I was just used to it I guess.

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

News Highlights

US concedes danger of cyber-attack

George W. Bush has acknowledged that the US is vulnerable to cyber-attack and said he might raise the issue with Chinese President Hu Jintao when they meet in Sydney on Thursday.
The US president's comments followed a report in the Financial Times that the Chinese People's Liberation Army had allegedly hacked into the Pentagon's computer network.
"I'm very aware that a lot of our systems are vulnerable to cyber-attack from a variety of places," said Mr Bush, who is in Sydney for the annual Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation (Apec) summit.

Read the Financial Times article...
Leave a comment...

Can Michael Dell Refocus His Namesake?

On a recent afternoon at his company's headquarters here, Michael S. Dell is seated in a spacious conference room named Dobie Hall - in honor of the University of Texas dormitory where, in 1984, he started the computer giant that bears his name.
He boasts that Dell Inc. has just reported quarterly profits that exceeded Wall Street projections. It's an encouraging sign, he says, that the company - buffeted by high-profile production problems and accounting shenanigans - is finally regaining momentum.

Read the New York Times article...
Leave a comment...

Computers' Elusive Eco Factor

Consumers who want to weigh how their purchases affect the environment have plenty of guidelines and seals of approval to choose from for everything from cars to tissue paper. But finding out just how eco-friendly a computer is can be a bigger chore.
There are several competing yardsticks, each considering a different aspect of a computer's greenness, be it energy consumption, use of toxic materials, or how easily it can be recycled. None by itself provides a complete picture. And since consumers aren't demanding environmentally friendly computers in large numbers, makers of those machines have little incentive to market PCs that way.

Read the BusinessWeek article...
Leave a comment...

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Digital Photography Tip of the Week

Using Opacity in Photoshop for Fine Tuning - Digital Photography Tip of the Week

Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Photoshop Elements are both powerful photo editors. For the hobbyist, Photoshop Elements can be used to handle most, if not all of your photo editing needs. For serious photographers and professionals, the full version of Photoshop offers more tools for complete control over your photos. Both programs, and many other photo editing packages, feature the same, or similar tools and features. One such feature is the ability to control opacity. I have referred to opacity in previous tips: Feel the Burn, The Orton Effect, and Black and White from Colour Images, Part 4

Opacity refers to the intensity or transparency of a modification. You can modify opacity with brushes when painting effects in your images, but you can also use opacity on layers. When you are painting on a layer with a brush, modifying your opacity allows you to control how much paint you use. A low opacity results in a very light application of the brush while a higher opacity results in a heavy application. A lower opacity allows more of the original pixel data to show through while a higher opacity has a greater effect on your image. When using a brush, I prefer to use multiple strokes of a low opacity brush so that I can better control my adjustments rather than a single, heavy handed stroke.

With layers, opacity is a wonderful modifier. Like with the brushes, opacity control on a layer controls how transparent the layer is. I use this often to control how much or how little of an effect I want to use on an image. As I make use of a large number of adjustment layers, which in themselves may be altered again and again without pixel modification, I can also alter how strong the adjustment is. What I typically do is create my adjustment layer at 100% opacity and then dial the opacity down until I achieve the exact manipulation I am looking for. This is a great technique when touching up a portrait as I can hide or eliminate facial blemishes, whiten teeth, erase wrinkles and have precise and easily adjustable control over these changes. By lowering my opacity, I allow the underlying pixels to show through which helps to add texture to my changes and makes them completely lifelike.

With all the tools available in today's digital editing packages, the process can become daunting. Fine control may be difficult for someone new to the area of digital editing but working in small amounts can make it much easier. Being able to control your entire image is the goal of many photographers and tools such as opacity help with that.

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

Download free hard disk imaging utilities for Windows XP

This is from the TechRepublic Microsoft Windows Blog:

Windows Vista's hard disk imaging utility, Complete PC Backup, allows users you to create an image file that contains the complete contents and structure of a hard disk. If you want this capability in Windows XP, you don't have to pay for a third-party utility, such as Acronis True Image.

Leave a comment...

Your Computer. Leave Home Without It - ajaxWindows

ajaxwindows_screenshot.jpg
(image courtesy of Download Squad)

Michael Robertson, the founder of MP3.com, has been promoting open source software for a while now. He recently started working with a company, Ajax13, that is writing web-based office-suite applications. The latest venture is a Windows replacement called ajaxWindows:
Today I'm launching ajaxWindows - a complete virtual PC you can experience using only a browser from any web connected computer. If you would like to see it in action, check out the online demo or the video. Remember that everything you see is happening within a web browser. The web browser functions as both the operating system and engine for all of the ajaxWindows applications.

I first heard about this yesterday, and the site was available, but I guess word has gone around, and it is currently unavailable. Over the next few days check it out. This particular setup is in its first version, so there is work to do, but this sort of online virtual computer is the future.

Leave a comment...

Windows Directory Statistics

There are many utilities out there that will show you the space used in the various folders on your system. One of the better ones is WinDirStat.

WinDirStat is a disk usage statistics viewer and cleanup tool for Microsoft Windows (all current variants).

WinDirStat reads the whole directory tree once and then presents it in three useful views:

* The directory list, which resembles the tree view of the Windows Explorer but is sorted by file/subtree size,
* The treemap, which shows the whole contents of the directory tree straight away,
* The extension list, which serves as a legend and shows statistics about the file types.

windirstat.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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