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Issue 475 - November 21, 2007

ISSN 1488-3163; PC Improvements © 2007
==== 1411 Subscribers in 46 Countries ====

Welcome to the 475th 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

I am not much of a video game player. The last game system that I owned was an original Nintendo. I've never played on any model of PlayStation or XBox, and until Sunday had never played a Nintendo Wii. I've read about it and it sounded neat, but it was even cooler than I expected. I didn't have a lot of time, but I bowled a quick game against my sister (it's her Nintendo Wii) and beat her. Then I took a few swings playing baseball. Before leaving, she showed me some of the wireless Internet features such as browsing the news and checking the weather. Very nice!

Christmas has arrived at the Wing house. We had asked Andrew at the beginning of November when he wanted to put up the Christmas decorations, and he said, "Umm.... November 15th." That seemed a little early to us, but when we asked if he was sure he said the same date, so we figured why not. We have our big tree up in the living room and smaller decorations around the room. The boys also have their own small tree which they tell everyone about when they come over.

By the time many of you read this, it will be Thanksgiving Day in the United States. Happy Thanksgiving! And if you get any awesome deals on Black Friday, be sure to send along a note. If you are interested, I have added a "widget" to the sidebar on the PCIN.net Update blog that will show all of the hourly Amazon.com deals.

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

News Highlights

In Korea, a Boot Camp Cure for Web Obsession

The compound - part boot camp, part rehab center - resembles programs around the world for troubled youths. Drill instructors drive young men through military-style obstacle courses, counselors lead group sessions, and there are even therapeutic workshops on pottery and drumming.
But these young people are not battling alcohol or drugs. Rather, they have severe cases of what many in this country believe is a new and potentially deadly addiction: cyberspace.

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

Destination of 'recycled' electronics may surprise you

Most Americans think they're helping the earth when they recycle their old computers, televisions and cell phones. But chances are they're contributing to a global trade in electronic trash that endangers workers and pollutes the environment overseas.
While there are no precise figures, activists estimate that 50 to 80 percent of the 300,000 to 400,000 tons of electronics collected for recycling in the U.S. each year ends up overseas. Workers in countries such as China, India and Nigeria then use hammers, gas burners and their bare hands to extract metals, glass and other recyclables, exposing themselves and the environment to a cocktail of toxic chemicals.

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

The Paperless Map Is the Killer App

First, cell phones made the streetcorner pay phone obsolete. Now they're doing away with the need to ask for directions. A surge in phones with built-in satellite navigation capability has sparked a wave of creative mapping and locating services. And it has set off a multibillion-dollar scramble by companies to buy up digital navigation technologies.

Read the BusinessWeek article...
Leave a comment...

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Digital Photography Tip of the Week

Using Multiple Lights for Effect

two_light_setup.jpg

The application of light in photography can make or break a photo. One of the things photographers do to make an outstanding photo is manipulate light to create depth, dimension and effect in their photos. They use multiple lights and light modifiers to do that.

In this photo, I have used two camera flashes, but any light source would have worked. I used one light to illuminate the rose, and the other to create the pattern on the background. Using a piece of greenery between the flash and the background created the patterns on the wall. This flash was aimed through the greenery, acting as a gobo, toward the wall. The pattern is the shadow this created. The second light was shot across the flower to illuminate it. Neither flash cast light upon the other surface. Had I been using a different type of light, one that spread out more such as a desk lamp, I would have needed to flag, or block, the light to prevent light spill.

You can see the setup I used in the following diagram:

two_light_setup.gif

I could have added a little more dimension to the rose by placing a white card to the left of it to reflect some of the light back into the rose on the other side. The full size image may be viewed on my Picture of the Day site.

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.

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

Paragon Software Group released a unique solution - NTFS for Mac OS X

ntfs_max_os_x_logo.gif

Last week I received a press release from my contact at Paragon Software (the makers of Hard Disk Manager). They have released a new product, NTFS for Mac OS X:

Paragon NTFS for Mac OS breaks the border between Windows and Mac OS, solving an important communication problem in their file systems

From now on you can enjoy the strong sides of both operating systems you choose on one and the same laptop or PC.

The product gives you:

1) Full read/write access to NTFS volumes
2) All NTFS versions support
3) Exceptional ease of use
4) High performance
5) Stability

For some time now Paragon has had an NTFS for Linux product and it appears that the Mac version builds on this (now that Mac OS X is based on a Unix\Linux kernel).

I haven't tried the product, but if you are using a Mac and Windows (NT-based), then this may be a useful utility for you.

Leave a comment...

JOCR Image Capture and Character Recognition

This is a neat little tool I found recently that allows you to capture a screenshot (of a region, the desktop, or a window) and then use OCR (optical character recognition) to "extract" the text.

JOCR enables you to capture the image on the screen and convert the captured image to text. It is useful to revive the protected files whose text can not be copied. JOCR enables you to copy text from any files and images on the screen such as protected Web pages, PDF files, error messages. The program offers several capture modes.

JOCR requires Microsoft Office 2003 or higher version.

I have Microsoft Office 2003, and the program seemed to work fine. Depending on what image I was using, the recognition was better. As I said, it's a neat utility, and is portable (there is nothing to install, you just run the executable). If you don't like it, you can just delete it.

Leave a comment...

Sort Your Photos in Chronological Order Automatically

styopkin_logo.gif

I got a press release the other day about Automatic Photo Sorter 1.0, software from Styopkin Software that scans for photos and uses the EXIF information to store the pictures in directories based on the date they were taken.

Automatic Photo Sorter 1.0 will benefit most any digital photo enthusiast, who takes lots of photos and saves them to the hard disk drive. Over the years, the computer accumulates hundreds of photos, and it's only natural that the user wants to arrange them. Until now there has been no way to sort photos into folders automatically. Doing it manually will take much time and too many efforts. Fortunately, Styopkin Software has come up with Automatic Photo Sorter that will help you cope with the "too-many-unsorted-photos" problem.

I haven't tried the software, but thought I would pass the information along. Styopkin Software also has several other utilities on their site that you may find useful.

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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