ISSN 1488-3163; PC Improvements © 2008
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Welcome to the 481st 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
I hope everyone had a safe and enjoyable New Year's Eve. Mine was pretty uneventful. We were at home with the kids and watched some moves. Lisa actually stayed up with me this year. Matthew got tired and wanted to go to bed, but Andrew stayed up. On New Year's Day my grandmother took us all to Swiss Chalet for dinner (it's a tradition of hers). Ultimately the holidays have been great, but it'll be nice to get back into a routine again.
This Fall I will have been sending out the newsletter for 10 years! That is unbelievable. I'm not sure what this new year holds for me and PCIN, but I appreciate you coming along for the ride :-)
Graham editor@pcin.net and Chris chris@pcin.net
The 15 Biggest Tech Disappointments of 2007
From on-demand video services that were overly demanding, to underwhelming operating-system updates, 2007 was full of disappointments. We surveyed the landscape and polled some old friends to come up with the 15 products, companies, and industries that left the most sour taste in our mouths. From last to first, here's our list of the year's biggest losers. Read 'em and weep.
Knicks statisticians showcase their gadgets
Information technology is keeping pace with all the frantic action happening on the court in the National Basketball Association (NBA).
In a game where play is fast and furious, the league is leveraging an array of technologies, including portable touch-screen computing, wireless sensing and quick-reacting statisticians to following the bouncing ball as its being played in 30 NBA arenas.
It's all about accurately accounting for all the numbers as points scored, rebounds, assists and fouls are continually logged as it all happens.
It's creating a veritable mountain of statistical information that's being used by coaches, league officials and teams to assess player and team performance. The statistics are also offered up to fans that can't seem to get enough of the number crunching action.
AOL to End Support of Netscape Navigator
Netscape Navigator, the world's first commercial Web browser and the starting point of the Internet boom, will be pulled off life support Feb. 1 after a 13-year run.
Its current caretakers, Time Warner's AOL, decided to end further development and technical support to focus on developing the company as an advertising business. Netscape's use dwindled with Microsoft's entry into the browser business in the 1990s, and Netscape all but faded away after the birth of its open-source cousin, Firefox.
Check out these new or updated pages on the PCIN.net site:
Paragon Software Group Hard Disk Manager 2008
http://PCIN.net/help/software/paragonhdm2008.phpAdobe 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/
101 Simple Appetizers in 20 Minutes or Less
As the title indicates, this is a list from the New York Times of 1001 appetizers you can make in 20 minutes or less:
You want good food at a holiday cocktail party and you want to impress people? You don't want a caterer, you refuse to heat up frozen food, and you want to show that your expertise extends beyond buying perfectly ripe hunks of cheese and juicy olives? Then think about doing some cooking.
Here is a collection of party foods that are as easy to eat as they are to make. Each can be produced in 20 minutes or less.
Price Protectr - Get Your Money Back!
I originally heard about this on the Kim Komando radio show in early December. Price Protectr is a service that monitors prices on items that you've purchased to help you get the difference back from the store you purchased it at:
There are lots of stores out there that offer price protection policies -- when the price drops on an item you've purchased, they'll refund you the difference. But there's a catch... it's up to you to watch prices.Price Protectr makes it simple to keep track of your purchases and get your money back. It's free. It's easy. It's free and easy money. How often do you get that offer?
Google Zeitgeist 2007
In year's past, I've seen lots of postings and links to various year-end lists. For some reason this year I haven't seen so many. In fact, the only highly publicized one I've seen is the Google Zeitgeist 2007. They have a section of their site where they show stats throughout the year, but then they have their full year-end listing:
We're bidding adieu to 2007 with a look back at the breaking news, the big events and the must-have gadgets that captivated us this year (give or take a few weeks; we compile this list by early December). To get a glimpse of what's been on our collective consciousness, we mined billions of search queries to discover what sorts of things rose to the top. We encourage you to check out our findings to see if you, too, reflect the zeitgeist - the spirit of the times.
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 1998-2008, 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
