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Issue 449 - May 23, 2007
ISSN 1488-3163; PC Improvements © 2007
==== 1489 Subscribers in 49 Countries ====
Welcome to the 449th 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
We had a beautiful Victoria
Day weekend. We got lots of work done in the yard. My vegetable garden
is almost all planted. I've got cauliflower, broccoli, Brussels sprouts,
golden peppers, jalapeno peppers, cherry tomatoes, leaf lettuce, head lettuce,
garlic, English cucumbers, a watermelon plant and a pumpkin plant. The only
thing left to plant are the carrots and the corn. This weekend is the Memorial
Day weekend, and the weather looks like it will stay nice.
Lisa is feeling quite good. She is feeling the baby moving around a lot. She
is going to a midwife, and Andrew and Matthew go with her and they always get
a kick out of hearing the heart beat. We think we have a name picked out, but
I'll keep that a secret for now!
Graham editor@pcin.net and
Chris chris@pcin.net
News Highlights
Will grannies become gamers?
The kids will be itching to visit grandmother as often as possible if the
video game industry has its way.
Software maker Microsoft and game maker Electronic Arts held a gaming day
at a pensioners' settlement in Finland last week, taking another step toward
gauging interest in gaming among seniors.
Pensioner Kaija Ekstam, who is 72 years old, grappled with a console to keep
the car in the video racing game on course and mused that taking up the pastime
would provide an exciting new platform for her relationship with her grandchildren.
"I have just started playing. This is great. My grandkids play these games
so it will be nice to join them," Ekstam told Reuters. "I do not want
to hear comments about female drivers."
The gaming day, at the Kalliola pensioners' settlement house, demonstrated
that interest in the activity could grow among pensioners, provided they
are introduced to it with enough information.
Read the TechRepublic
article...
Leave a comment...
Virtual war, real therapy
The mental scars of war are often far more debilitating than the many physical
injuries that servicemen and women pick up during combat. But a new virtual
war simulation may help veterans recover from post-traumatic stress disorder
(PTSD).
Researchers at the University of California have estimated that a quarter
of the 100,000 servicemen returning from duty in Afghanistan and Iraq between
2001 and 2005 have received at least one mental health diagnosis. Of those
25,000 veterans, over half were suffering from PTSD...
A new virtual simulation currently being trialed aims to treat returning
war veterans in a unique way. The "Virtual Iraq" simulation has
been developed at the University of Southern California's (USC) Institute
for Creative Technologies by Scientist's Albert "Skip" Rizzo and
Jarrell Pair.
The exposure therapy program, which took the graphic assets from the Xbox
game "Full Spectrum Warrior," recreates the sights and sounds,
even the smells and physical jolts of the battlefield allowing soldiers to
relive and ultimately confront their psychological traumas.
On the USC program patients talk through their trauma with a therapist whilst
wearing goggles, which immerse them in a virtual reality battlefield. The
therapist controls and adapts the environment, adding sights, smells and
sounds, if agreed by the patient. These can include roadside bombs, specific
odors such as gunpowder, cordite, burning rubber, Iraqi spices and body odor,
and targeted sounds such as gunfire and helicopters buzzing overhead. So
far four of those treated have responded positively and seen an improvement
in their symptoms.
Read the CNN article...
Leave a comment...
Young women dominate UK net scene
Young women are now the most dominant group online in the UK, according
to new research from net measurement firm Nielsen/NetRatings.
Women in the 18 - 34 age group account for 18% of all online Britons.
They also spend the most time online - accounting for 27% more of the total
UK computer time than their male counterparts.
Of UK males active online, the 50+ age group is the most prevalent.
The breakthrough of these groups will come as a surprise to many who regard
the internet as being largely dominated by young men.
Read the BBC article...
Leave a comment...
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Digital Photography
Tip of the Week
Photographing Flowers - Digital Photography Tip of the Week
I've mentioned in a previous tip using keyword tagging within Adobe Photoshop
Lightroom to help keep your photos organized.
Another organization method in Lightroom is through the use of it's rating
feature. You can assign a rating from 1-5 stars for each image that you create.
Later, you can filter your images using those ratings, showing all images with
that rating, all images with that rating and higher or all images with that
rating and lower. You can combine that with the keywords you have used for
more filtered results.
On word of caution though, if you don't tag images, they will appear when
you choose the 'and lower' option.
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:
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
Perform surgery on a rabbit (stuffed toy, that is)
The latest edition of the Windows
Secrets newsletter has a link to a neat Flash activity that lets you "operate" on
a stuffed rabbit. You should check
it out. It always amazes me what people are able to program and put
on the web!
Leave a comment...
Photoshop CS3 Video-book
I've received a couple of emails from Andrei Doubrovski regarding his Photoshop
Video Books:
Andrei Doubrovski, a professional photo restoration artist and technician,
has released version 6.0 of video-book "As Simple As Photoshop".
This course offers you an original method of a quick but total immersion
into the Photoshop environment. Are you looking for Photoshop CS3 video
course? Every tutorial here is packed with a short movie showing some practical
usage of the wordy lesson. 104 embedded clips may be played as a single
full-length and full-size movie (total running time about 3 hours). The
elaborated controls allow users instant finding a required page or episode.
I haven't looked at them yet, but I thought I would pass it along. Check
out As Simple as Photoshop...
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.
- If any of the links are too long to fit on one line, you may have to cut
and paste.
- To subscribe another address or unsubscribe, please visit http://PCIN.net/ and
follow the appropriate links.
- The only way to become a subscriber is by asking. You have either filled
out the subscription form or asked me directly.
- If you have a web site or run your own newsletter, please email me at editor@pcin.net and
I will add it to the subscriber web pages that I have on my site.
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by clicking on the PayPal link below:
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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.
This publication may be reproduced in whole, or in part, as long as the author
is notified and the newsletter is presented as is.
Support PCIN by visiting http://PCIN.net/donate.php
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