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Issue 499- May 7, 2008

ISSN 1488-3163; PC Improvements © 2008
==== 1342 Subscribers in 44 Countries ====

Welcome to the 499th 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

Aren't April showers supposed to bring May flowers?! I think things are a bit delayed. We've gotten an awful lot of rain so far this spring, and it looks like it is going to keep coming for another week or so. I know it's great for the grass and other plants, but it sure makes it hard for me to rototill my vegetable garden.

I mentioned that I got a new laptop recently. It came with Vista Home Premium, but I think I'm going to go back to XP. I'm not saying that Vista is terrible, but I've used it for a month and I just prefer XP.

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

News Highlights

Prepping Robots to Perform Surgery

What do you call a surgeon who operates without scalpels, stitching tools or a powerful headlamp to light the patient's insides? A better doctor, according to a growing number of surgeons who prefer to hand over much of the blood-and-guts portion of their work to medical robots controlled from computer consoles.
Many urologists performing prostate surgery view the precise, tremor-free movements of a robot as the best way to spare nerves crucial to bladder control and sexual potency. A robot's ability to deftly handle small tools may lead to a less invasive procedure and faster recovery for a patient. Robots also can protect surgeons from physical stress and exposure to X-rays that may force them into premature retirement.
A generation ago, the debate in medicine was whether robotics would ever play a role. Today, robots are a fast-growing, diversifying $1 billion segment of the medical device industry. And Wall Street has just two questions for the industry: How far is this going, and how fast?

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

At Kodak, Some Old Things Are New Again

Steven J. Sasson, an electrical engineer who invented the first digital camera at Eastman Kodak in the 1970s, remembers well management's dismay at his feat.
"My prototype was big as a toaster, but the technical people loved it," Mr. Sasson said. "But it was filmless photography, so management's reaction was, 'that's cute - but don't tell anyone about it.'"
Since then, of course, Kodak, which once considered itself the Bell Labs of chemistry, has embraced the digital world and the researchers who understand it.

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

Computer mice are anything but peripheral

It's hard to think about a computer without an external mouse, even though touchpads on laptops - like the one I'm using now - have made it not as essential as it once was.
If you've been around PCs for more than a few years, you've probably gone through your fair share of these peripherals. About 25 years ago, I started with a PC that didn't even have a mouse.

Read the MSNBC article...
Leave a comment...

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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

Things You Didn't Know You Could Do With Google

PC World has an article about neat things you can do with Google:

Every time I turn around, Google's come up with something new, cool, or innovative. It's no wonder it has Microsoft on the run.

Leave a comment...

Photoshop Actions

Adobe Photoshop (along with Photoshop Elements) have a feature called "actions". These are similar to macros you might find in a productivity suite. The "actions" let you do several things at once. I recently came across a site that explains nicely what an action is and how to start using them.

...have you ever had a task in Photoshop where you apply the same steps in the same order over and over? After many repetitions of these mindless and time consuming tasks, they become boring and error prone because they don't engage our imaginations nor require creativity. Practice doesn't make perfect. It results in wasted time.

If this sounds familiar you have probably wondered, "Instead of having to enter these steps manually each time, isn't there a way they could be recorded and played back automatically with the touch of a button?"

The good news: "Yes, there is." All it takes is utilizing functionality built into Photoshop called Actions...

The "actions" can actually be saved and shared, and the site has links to download dozens of free actions.

Leave a comment...

The 7 Most Annoying Developments in Software

PC World has an interesting article about The 7 Most Annoying Developments in Software:

From antipiracy measures to built-in nagging, today's software often comes with features that drive you nuts. Here are the irritations we'd really like to zap.

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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