ISSN 1488-3163; PC Improvements © 2007
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Welcome to the 461st 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
My gadget-crazed sisters are at it again... this time it is my sister Julia who bought a laptop from Dell. She had previously bought 2 GPS units (to see which one she liked best), but ended up taking them both back. Oh, to have more disposable income :-)
The newsletter is a little short this week. There just didn't seem to be much worth sharing. We'll wait and see what the coming days and weeks bring...
Graham editor@pcin.net and Chris chris@pcin.net
Make batteries by printing, says Rensselaer research team
U.S. researchers printed, yes, printed a battery and they're looking to scale up the process to run devices from pacemakers to pickup trucks with batteries printed on a printing press. Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute's team published a description in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of how they've printed a foldable, rollable, cuttable paper battery a little bigger than a postage stamp that stores enough power to run an LED light.
Read the TechRepublic's IT News Digest article...
Leave a comment...
Half of Web time spent viewing content: study
Content online is king. Internet users spend nearly half their time online viewing news or entertainment content, surpassing activities such as sending e-mails, shopping or searching for information, according to a study released by the Online Publishers Association on Monday.
The four-year study, conducted by Nielsen/NetRatings, tracked a 37 percent increase in amount of time spent viewing content such as online videos or news, surpassing a 35 percent rise in using search engines like Google Inc..
Dr. Google and Dr. Microsoft
In politics, every serious candidate for the White House has a health care plan. So too in business, where the two leading candidates for Web supremacy, Google and Microsoft, are working up their plans to improve the nation's health care.
By combining better Internet search tools, the vast resources of the Web and online personal health records, both companies are betting they can enable people to make smarter choices about their health habits and medical care.
Watch your Elevations - Digital Photography Tip of the Week
When I was younger, still in high school, I spent a lot of time learning photography, not unlike today. I read all the books I could, I talked to the guys in the local camera shops and most importantly, I shot a lot. However, back then my choices were all film based which was expensive. I also learned how to bulk load my own film (in rolls of 39 or 40!), develop and print in my own darkroom. Doing this enabled me to shoot much more than I otherwise would have been able to as the do it yourself approach was more cost efficient. One of the things I did as a printer to enhance my final work was to burn my edges in order to draw the viewer into the photo.
Burning the edges of your image refers to the process of given more exposure to edges of the print during the printing process to darken them. Even though I am all digital now, I still do this on my competition, presentation and many other prints.
There are many ways to burn your edges. One simple one that is non destructive and adjustable is to create a levels adjustment layer and move the grey slider to the right. You will see your image darken as you do this. Don't worry too much about the amount of darkening, you can adjust it later. Next, select black as your colour and with the paint bucket, fill your adjustment layer with black. Switch to white and choose a large brush with a very soft edge. On a 6 MP image I use a brush about 200 pixels. Now, paint the edges of your frame using only half the brush. This will give you a nice, soft transition in the darkening of your edges. This process works in all recent versions of both Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Photoshop Elements.
If the edges are too dark, you can either double click on the adjustment layer and move your grey slider back toward the left a bit, or you can lower the opacity of the adjustment layer. It may take a little bit of fine tuning, but you are looking for a subtle burning, not a drastic one.
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.
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
JPEG image enhancer
I heard about this on Download Squad. I haven't tried it myself, but it sounds interesting.
While it can't bring back the quality to a heavily compressed JPEG image, JPEG Enhancer can smooth out the artifacts and make a much nicer-looking image as a result. It's so easy to use, it's ridiculous; simply open a JPEG image that you would like to fix, set the filter slider at the bottom, and press the Process button to see the results. Once you have it set to your satisfaction, save your new image and you're done.
JPEG Enhancer recently became a free download, so what's to lose?
You can learn more about the software and download it by visiting the VicMan Software web site.
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.
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