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Issue 488- February 20, 2008

ISSN 1488-3163; PC Improvements © 2008
==== 1380 Subscribers in 44 Countries ====

Welcome to the 488th 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

As I type this, my wife is doing Turbo Jam. She has tried all sorts of different "programs" over the years and does a good job at staying in shape. If I tried anything like that I'd would be flailing my arms all over the place. Not a pretty picture...

This crazy weather is continuing. We had snow and then rain. The slush froze, and then it snowed again. January seemed so mild, but I guess February is making up for it.

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

News Highlights

Computer software terms 'unfair'

Some of the world's biggest computer firms have been accused of imposing unfair contracts on customers who buy their software.
The National Consumer Council (NCC) has accused 17 firms, including Microsoft, Adobe and Symantec, of using unfair "end user licence agreements" (EULAs).
The NCC has asked the Office of Fair Trading to launch an investigation.
The NCC said the firms' EULAs were misleading customers into "signing away legal rights".
"Software rights-holders are shifting the legal burden on to consumers who buy computer programmes, leaving them with less protection than when they buy a cheap Biro," said Carl Belgrove of the NCC.
"Consumers can't have a clue what they're signing up to when some terms and conditions run to 10 or more pages.
"There's a significant imbalance between the rights of the consumer and the rights of the holder," he added.

Read the BBC News article...
Leave a comment...

Looking for Words of Love Online

Do you find yourself struggling to find the right words to fill the blank Valentine's Day card that you just purchased? When the florists asks what you'd like to say on the card with the bouquet, does an embarrassingly long pause ensue? If you have ever found yourself facing writer's block, straining to express your deepest, most romantic sentiments, Internet data indicates that you are not alone.
While you're struggling to find the appropriate original inscription to convey your feelings, however, Internet users across the U.S. are deciding not to reinvent the wheel, searching instead for existing love poems, perhaps to lift a few lines for expediency's sake. Starting the last week in January, Internet searches for "love poems" begin their yearly climb toward a spike in Valentine's Day week.

Read the Time magazine article...
Leave a comment...

Toshiba quits HD DVD 'format war'

Toshiba said Tuesday it will no longer manufacture HD DVDs, effectively ending the long-running battle with the rival Blu-ray for a dominant high-definition format.
Toshiba said it made the decision to cease developing, manufacturing, and marketing HD DVDs after "recent major changes in the market." It promised to continue offering support and service for all existing Toshiba HD DVD products.
"We carefully assessed the long-term impact of continuing the so-called 'next-generation format war' and concluded that a swift decision will best help the market develop," Toshiba President and Chief Executive Atsutoshi Nishida said in a news release.

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

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Digital Photography Tip of the Week

Magic Hour

I have mentioned in a past post but Graham pointed out that I haven't really explained what Magic Hour is.

Magic Hour sample
Click through to view full size

Magic hour is the first hour of sunlight after sunrise and the last hour of sunlight before sunset. During this time the quality of light is softer, more diffuse, producing more pleasing tonal transitions and shadows. The colour of the light is much warmer during midday and the directional quality of the light is a wonderful tool at enhancing texture. The soft light helps to prevent the chance of blown out highlights as the typical tonal range from darks to lights is smaller. The magic hour certainly does not always last one hour. Depending on your location it could be much longer or much shorter.

Magic Hour sample
Click through to view full size

Between the two options of shooting in the morning or shooting in the evening magic hour periods, I believe that the morning provides better results. The air is typically calmer. There is typically less particulate matter in the air providing for clearer views. One of the other big factors in my preference to photograph in the morning light as opposed to the evening light is there are much fewer people around as sunrise to interfere with the photos. Most people simply do not have a tendency to be up at 4:30 am to watch a sunrise. I know I sure don't ...unless I am shooting!

Magic Hour sample
Click through to view full size

Not to be overlooked either is the time before the sun rises and after the sun sets. There continues to be wonderful light in the sky that is useful for making beautiful images, so be sure not to put your camera away too early.

Magic Hour sample
Click through to view full size

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:

Paragon Software Group Hard Disk Manager 2008
http://PCIN.net/help/software/paragonhdm2008.php

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/

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Tips and Other Stuff

Get Vista drive icons in Windows XP

vista_harddrive_icons.gif

If you've seen Vista in action, you know that it does have some pretty cool looking icons. For the hard drives, it also has a nice bar graph showing how much space is used/available. TechRepublic has a tip on their Microsoft Windows Blog about how to get these icons in Windows XP:

Vista Drive Icon is a free utility that will transform the drive icons in Windows XP's My Computer into drive icons that resemble those in Vista's Computer. Once installed, Vista Drive Icon will display a blue, glass-like bar underneath the drive icon. If the drive is close to getting full, the color changes to red.

Be sure to read the whole tip to find links to the software mentioned.

Leave a comment...

Photo2Text.com - Photos turn into ASCII art

photo2text_logo.gif

This isn't very practical/important, but it is very cool. I was looking for an ASCII version (all text) of a heart that I could use on Valentine's Day and I came across Photo2Text.com. It is a site that lets you upload a picture, and then it re-draws that picture with ASCII characters. As a test, I uploaded a small version of this sunflower that I use as my desktop wallpaper.

asciiart_sunflower_original.gif

It then created this for me:

asciiart_sunflower_ascii.gif

It looks great if you ask me. You have an option with the character set to use. The sunflower was made using the maximum character set. As you reduce the number of characters that can be used, the pictures don't look as good.

Leave a comment...

Sandisk Cruzer Contour USB 2.0 4GB Flash Drive

contour_box.jpg

I had originally intended to do a comparison of several high-speed USB flash drives. I contacted Apacer, SanDisk and Lexar, but I only heard back from SanDisk. This obviously makes it difficult to do a comparison. SanDisk sent me a Cruzer® Contour™ 4GB USB Flash Drive. As for a review, these sorts of things either work or they don't. This one does. Here is a brief description of the drive, along with a few pictures and test results.

The first thing you notice is that this is a very sharp looking drive. Everyone I showed it too thought it was very cool and wanted to keep it. It has an ingenious slider that pushes the USB connector out, and then tucks it away. You pull back on the black side with your thumb. This exposes the USB connector. You then push up and the connector comes up with it. When you are done using the drive, you push up to cover the USB connector, and then when you pull it back down, the USB connector gets tucked away again.

contour_01.jpg

contour_02.jpg

contour_03.jpg

contour_04.jpg

The drive is a U3-enabled drive, which means that you can run programs on the drive that support this. The drive mounted without issue on several computers that I tried it on. I also connected it to a computer that only had a USB 1.1 port, and the drive still worked fine. The transfer were just slower.

I performed a benchmark test with HD Tune 2.54. The minimum transfer rate was 25.1 MB/sec; the maximum transfer rate was 27.9 MB/sec; the average transfer rate was 25.7 MB/sec. The burst rate was 19.4 MB/sec. These number are all in line with the speeds that SanDisk claims the drive achieves.

The drive is visually appealing. It doesn't look or feel like a cheap piece of plastic. In fact the metal bottom of the drive gives it some weight that some may appreciate, or some may dislike. The drive comes with some simple instructions and a small cover/case for the drive. The drive is covered by a lifetime warranty.

As I said in the beginning, the drive works, and it is fast. I didn't end up with other devices to compare it to, but I would definitely say you can't go wrong with this drive. I also appreciate the fact that SanDisk did get back to me and was willing to send me the product to review. Others didn't even respond, so the customer service at SanDisk should be worth something as well.

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 1998-2008, Graham Wing. All rights reserved.

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