Issue 359 - August 31, 2005
ISSN 1488-3163; PC Improvements © 2005
==== 2051 Subscribers in 59 Countries ====
Welcome to the 359th issue of the PC Improvement News. PCIN consists mainly
of news 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.
Recommend PCIN at http://PCIN.net/recommend.php
Support PCIN at http://PCIN.net/donate.php
CONTENTS
Opening Thoughts
We finally did get some feedback on Chris' Digital Photography
Tip of the Week. Thank you! Remember to email Chris your thoughts/comments/questions,
and he'll do what he can to answer them.
So, did you get your free
copy of Opera yesterday? As of the time I'm writing this, you can still
get it by visiting http://my.opera.com/community/party/reg.dml and
putting in your email address. It's good until midnight Wednesday (tonight)
CET (GMT +1).
Graham editor@pcin.net and
Chris chris@pcin.net
The NEWS
Missed Church? Download It to Your IPod
Kyle Lewis, 25, missed going to church one Sunday last month. But he did
not miss the sermon.
Mr. Lewis, who regularly attends services of the National Community Church
in Alexandria, Va., listened to the sermon while he was at the gym, through
a recording he had downloaded to his iPod. Instead of listening to the rock
music his gym usually plays, he heard his pastor's voice.
" Having an iPod is a guaranteed way to get the sermon if you're going to
be out of town," Mr. Lewis said, adding that he listens to the pastor's
podcast at least once more during the week, usually while driving to work, even
during weeks he makes it to services.
Mr. Lewis's pastor, the Rev. Mark Batterson, started podcasting, or "godcasting" as
he prefers to call it, last month to spread the word about his congregation.
The hourlong recordings of his weekly service, available on theaterchurch.com,
have already brought new parishioners to his church, he said.
For more info:
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/08/29/technology/29godcast.html
?ex=1282968000&en=6159245ef5e36f61&ei=5090&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss
Leave a comment:
http://www.pcin.net/update/index.php/2005/08/29/missed_church_download_it_to_your_ipod
Tech titans wish we wouldn't quote them on this baloney
Matthew Szulik, CEO of open-source software company Red Hat, wants to show
me his company's new video.
It rolls through evangelical sequences about how the underdog open-source
movement is going to prove wrong its doubters. To bolster this point, the
video flashes quotes by people through history who had experienced some sort
of brain flatulence when assessing a technology newcomer.
Among the quotes is this widely circulated comment attributed to Thomas Watson,
builder of IBM, in 1943: "I think there is a world market for maybe
five computers."
Except it's doubtful Watson ever said such a thing.
For more info:
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/columnist/kevinmaney/2005-07-05-famous-quotes_x.htm
Leave a comment:
http://www.pcin.net/update/index.php/2005/08/25/tech_titans_wish_we_wouldn_t_quote_them_
The Windows Roller Coaster: 10 Years of Highs and Lows
Step aside, Six Flags. Move over, Magic Mountain.
For sheer, gut-wrenching highs and lows, even the world's tallest, fastest,
most technologically advanced fly-by-wire roller coaster can't compare
with the last 10 years of highs and lows at Microsoft.
Whether you're a shareholder, an employee, a customer or a competitor, you've
experienced the thrill of victory and the agony of BSODs.
In the year and a half leading up to the debut of Windows 95, I wrote more
than 100,000 words about the upcoming operating system, mostly for the late,
lamented PC Computing.
I was at the launch party on Aug. 24, 1995, and I've been covering succeeding
versions of Windows (and the controversies surrounding them) continuously
since then. It's been quite a ride.
For more info:
http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1895,1852012,00.asp
Leave a comment:
http://www.pcin.net/update/index.php/2005/08/25/the_windows_roller_coaster_10_years_of_h
GM drives Hummer-branded laptop
General Motors is expected to announce a new laptop next week that's styled
after its popular Hummer multi-terrain vehicles.
The carmaker has signed an exclusive three-year licensing agreement with
Spokane, Wash.-based Itronix to make a portable computer designed for people
who work outdoors: police officers, firefighters, claims adjusters and construction
workers, for example, as well as people who own a Hummer and are fascinated
by anything related to the oversize vehicles.
For more info:
http://techrepublic.com.com/2100-10877_11-5844920.html
Leave a comment:
http://www.pcin.net/update/index.php/2005/08/31/gm_drives_hummer_branded_laptop
PCIN.net UPDATE
Check out these new or updated pages on the PCIN.net site:
VMware Inc. VMware Workstation 4.5 Software Review
http://PCIN.net/help/software/vmware45.php
PCIN.net Update Blog
http://PCIN.net/update/
Sunbelt Software iHateSpam 4.0 Software Review
http://PCIN.net/help/software/ihatespam4.php
Micro Solutions RoadStor Hardware Review
http://PCIN.net/help/hardware/roadstor.php
Album Creator by FirmTools Software Review
http://PCIN.net/help/software/albumcreator.php
Digital Photography
Tip of the Week
Organizing Your Images
So now that you are shooting, and making
backup copies of your photos for safe storage, how can you find that
shot you took last year of Aunt Bettie at the farm. Some people simply
rename the image to reflect it's content, (Aunt Bettie at the farm.jpg). This
approach is both time consuming (having to rename every file) and will make
finding the file more difficult (What did I name that file?). Other people
like to put each individual subject in it's own folder. They may have a folder
for Pics from the Farm and another folder for Aunt
Bettie. But which folder should the picture I mentioned earlier
go. The best way to get around this is to leverage today's software
features. There are many pieces of software out
there that have database and search capabilities. With them, you can assign multiple
tags, or keywords to an image, allowing the image to become part of several
collections. So, this image can now be tagged with both Aunt
Bettie, and Pics from the Farm. If you do
a search in the software for Aunt Bettie, you can now find all images that
share that tag. That same image will also show up in a search for Pics from
the Farm. This is also the premise that Flickr uses
to display similiar shots from multiple people.
That takes care of how to find the image, how do you organize them. The
way that I do it is to organize my files by date. I use the date the photo
was taken and place them in a folder for that date. Is this the best
way? It's the best way for me because I can then add tags to my photos to further
identify them. I also find it makes backing them up easier as I don't have
to search multiple folders for new files, I just backup those that I have created
since my last backup. I know other people who have different systems that work
well for them, so you will have to find what works best for you. You can also
try a search for How
I organize my digital photos and read what other people do.
Some products that offer tagging abilities along with a multitude of other
features : Picasa (free), Adobe
Photoshop Elements 3 or Adobe
Album 2 (there is a free
starter edition that will work fine for cataloguing your photos), ACDsee, ThumbsPlus, iPhoto. For
most of the products, you simply select one (or multiple images) and then assign
the tags. Each product will be a little bit different, so check the help file.
Next week, where to print your photos.
The digital photography tip of the week is a new feature of PCIN news
and is written by our Assistant Editor, Chris Empey. Chris is a long time
photographer and member 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 us, or a question about digital photography we
can address in the newsletter, send it to chris@pcin.net.
THE TIPS and OTHER
STUFF
Good Deals & Coupons web sites
I just recently heard about a couple of great sites that keep track of deals
or coupons. I know there are a lot of sites out there, but they usually are
so cluttered with ads its hard to find what you are looking for.
RedFlagDeals.com
http://www.redflagdeals.com/
Created to focus specifically on the Canadian shopper, RedFlagDeals is
looking to chase down the hottest deals on the Internet and in stores and
relay them to you, the reader. There certainly are hot deals to be found
and once we find them you'll be the first to know. If you find a hot deal,
please let us know.
The site has the following sections: Deals, Coupons, Freebies, Articles,
Ratings, and Forums.
SlickDeals.net
http://www.slickdeals.net/
The most frequently updated and complete deal site on the web! We provide
you with the day's hottest deals every day. We also have over 800 coupons
for all your favorite online stores. Browse around and you're bound to
save more than a few bucks!
The site lists a few deals each day, and they have a web feed that you can
subscribe to.
Feel free to leave a comment with links to your favourite coupon/deal site
at http://www.pcin.net/update/index.php/2005/08/25/good_deals_aamp_coupons_web_sites
DNS Glossary
The standard Internet user will open up their browser, type in a domain
name, and visit a site. Almost always this works perfectly, and they don't
realize the incredibly complex system that keeps this going. DNS (domain
name system) is what matches up a domain name with an IP address. A problem
with DNS can cause sites to be down. If an ISP has a DNS problem, it is possible
that all of their customers will be unable to visit any site.
Most people don't need to learn about DNS, but if you are interested, a good
place to start is the Men & Mice's
DNS Glossary. There are 91 terms defined. Each entry links to other entries
where appropriate, and also provides a See also... section for related topics.
Leave a comment at http://www.pcin.net/update/index.php/2005/08/19/dns_glossary
Box.net Virtual Storage
I've posted twice before about
how to get files to people over the web when you can't use email.
Well, Box.net is a site that offers online storage. But you can also share
folders, as well as offer some folders/files as an RSS feed. I haven't tried
it myself, but it sounds interesting.
Box.net is a virtual storage space for your computer files. For only
$2.99 per month, you are provided with 1 Gigabyte (1,000 Megabytes) of
storage space. This is large enough to hold thousands of Documents, Photos,
Music Files, and Video Clips. Need even more? Box.net now offers up to
5GB of storage for only $8.99 as well.
Check it out at http://box.net/
Leave a comment at http://www.pcin.net/update/index.php/2005/08/31/box_net_virtual_storage
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:
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 1998-2005, Graham Wing. All rights reserved.
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