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Issue 463 - August 29, 2007

ISSN 1488-3163; PC Improvements © 2007
==== 1439 Subscribers in 46 Countries ====

Welcome to the 463rd 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

My sister's laptop came in. It's very nice looking, and seems to run great. She figured it would be easier to cart a laptop cross-country than her computer when she moves out West. I'm buying her old computer off of her, and one of my other sisters is buying mine off of me.

By the time next Wednesday comes around, Labour Day will be over and school will have started around here. It's hard to believe that the long dog days of summer are over!

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

News Highlights

Calisthenics for the Older Mind, on the Home Computer

When Charline and Dan Truitt of Irvine, Calif., owners of a company that audits mortgage lenders, started misplacing their keys and blanking on names, they made all the usual jokes about senior moments. But it was no laughing matter when Mrs. Truitt, 62, started forgetting client appointments.
"I was honestly wondering if we would have to sell the company," she said. Instead, she started using Brain Fitness Program, a software product that says it can improve brain power through its regimen of mental calisthenics. After about six weeks, she said, "I could suddenly remember where things were and remember appointments, and didn't have any problem recalling conversations."
Americans spend hundreds of millions of dollars on brain-building digital toys like Baby Einstein for preschoolers, so it was only a matter of time before a parade of "Grandpa Einsteins" followed suit. In the past year, some half-dozen programs, with names like Brain Fitness Program 2.0, MindFit and Brain Age2, have aimed at aging consumers eager to keep their mental edge.

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

WGA meltdown makes 'pirates' of Vista, XP owners

Although Microsoft did not identify the number of affected systems Saturday, based on the user comments and Liu's promises, it appeared to be systemwide. If so, it would be the biggest problem so far in the developer's contentious WGA program. Designed to spot pirated copies of its Windows and Office software, WGA has been mandatory since mid-2005 before nonsecurity updates or files can be downloaded from Microsoft's site.

Read the InfoWorld article...
Leave a comment...

NASA to launch photo, film library

In an update to NASA archive news posted earlier this week, the space agency has officially announced plans to develop a massive online archive of photography, film and video from its 50-year history. The archive will be developed under a five-year agreement with the Internet Archive, which will host the free site and help compile the imagery, according to NASA. The agency said it signed a nonexclusive Space Act agreement with the Internet Archive to develop the project, which will come at no cost to taxpayers.

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

Attracting Women to IT

Telle Whitney, president and CEO of the Anita Borg Institute for Women and Technology, knows firsthand that women are an essential part of the Information Technology world. Even so, she believes they aren't currently attracted to the industry at the same rate as men, and there are several reasons why.
"Often I think of it as the perfect storm," Whitney says.
The recent media focus on IT outsourcing has convinced many women, and parents of college-aged girls, that there isn't a solid future in the technology fields. Secondly, there is an image problem.

Read the IT World article...
Leave a comment...

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PCIN.net Site Update

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.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/

Microsoft Digital Image Suite Plus Review
http://PCIN.net/help/software/msdimagesuiteplus.php

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Tips and Other Stuff

Everything Preschool

everything_preschool_logo.gif

My wife Lisa is a stay-at-home mom to our two sons (and soon to be new daughter). One of her biggest challenges is keeping the boys busy. They don't mind playing on their own, but they aren't very creative and need some help getting started. One site she has visited lately is Everything Preschool:

Everything Preschool was founded by preschool teachers and parents that were not satisfied with the amount of preschool information available on the web. For this reason we decided to found our own preschool site dedicated to being a complete source for all of your preschool needs. We are not there yet, but were getting closer every day :)

There are all sorts of fun activities which will keep the young children entertained, as well as teach them along the way.

Leave a comment...

CloneDrive Setup

I read about this in the September issue of TechNet Magazine:

Dealing with physical media can be a real drag. Since switching to Windows Vista and losing direct compatibility with the Microsoft Virtual CD-ROM Control Panel, I have been looking for a replacement to mount CD and DVD images...

One tool I've found that does work within your Windows Vista user context is Virtual CloneDrive from Elaborate Bytes. The application installs itself as a GUI management application and a storage controller you can see from the Device Manager. Once installed, the application has three basic settings.

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 1998-2007, Graham Wing. All rights reserved.

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