|
Issue 451 - June 06, 2007
ISSN 1488-3163; PC Improvements © 2007
==== 1486 Subscribers in 49 Countries ====
Welcome to the 451st 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're taking our yearly trip to the Toronto Zoo this Saturday. We go every
year with Lisa's parents and the boys love it. The zoo is very large so there
is a lot of walking, and lots to see. The weather looks like it will be perfect.
Speaking of the weather, we've had a nice amount of sun and rain recently,
so my vegetable garden seems to be doing very well. I just bought the seeds
for my carrots and corn (I know, I'm a little behind on this). The carrot seeds
come in biodegradable strips that have the seeds spaced appropriately so that
you shouldn't have to do any thinning. It sounds good, but we'll have to see
how it actually works.
My sister is moving to Alberta in August, so my garage is filled with stuff
she had in a storage unit. She's having a garage sale in a couple of weeks,
so she's trying to determine what she wants to keep. Andrew was a little annoyed
with the garage being blocked, because he can't ride his little bike through
on his way to the back yard. I'm sure he'll figure out that he can ride around
the garage instead of through.
I'm not sure if it has been mentioned before, but Chris is getting married
in 10 days. He's obviously pretty busy these days getting the final things
together, and then he'll be off on his honeymoon. There won't be a regular
tip until the first week of July. Until then, I'll highlight a few of his more
popular tips.
Graham editor@pcin.net and
Chris chris@pcin.net
News Highlights
Kids getting tech savvy at ever younger ages
A new report from NPD says the average age children start using technology
fell to 6.7 years old in 2007, as kids versions of tech gear becomes more
common, too.
NPD's new report, "Kids and Consumer Electronics Trends III", is
their third report since 2005 to see how consumer electronics and children
are interacting with each other.
Anita Frazier, an industry analyst at The NPD Group said that: "Kids
are drawn to the latest and greatest digital devices just as their parents
are. They appear to have no fear of technology and adopt it easily and without
fanfare, making these devices a part of their everyday lives."
Back in 2005, children were on average 8.1 years old before they started
using technology, but in 2007 this has dropped to 6.7 years. To me, these
ages seem awfully old - I personally started using computers, thanks to the
foresight of my father, way back in 1979 when I was only four years old,
two years before the IBM PC was released onto the world market.
Read the iTWire article...
Leave a comment...
Who Will Buy Microsoft's 'Milan'?
The world might not be ready for a "Milan" coffee-table PC in
every living room just yet, but that won't stop Microsoft from trying.
With the launch of its new surface computing product May 30, it appears that
Microsoft is positioning its new technology for widespread use both in the
enterprise as well as the home, according to industry analysts.
Read the eWeek article...
Leave a comment...
Infamous spammer arrested, faces new charges
The arrest of notorious spammer Robert Alan Soloway, 27, on criminal charges
for continuing to spread junk e-mail raised cheers in the tech security community.
But Soloway's arrest Wednesday in Seattle won't slow down the tidal wave
of spam. Unwanted commercial e-mail has become big business, backed by organized
crime. Most of it originates from networks of compromised home PCs, called
zombies.
The spam deluge includes record levels of unsolicited e-mail ads for subprime
loans, herbal remedies and get-rich-quick schemes. It includes phishing mail
that lures recipients into typing sensitive data on bogus websites. There's
also "pharm" spam pitching fake pharmaceutical drugs. And stock
spam dupes recipients into helping drive up prices of moribund stocks.
"This is the modern face of the e-mail threat," says Adam O'Donnell,
director of emerging technology at message security firm Cloudmark. "Spam
makes money."
Read the USA Today
article...
Leave a comment...
'DRM-free' iTunes songs raise concerns
Apple Inc.'s recent rollout of songs without copy protection software at
its iTunes Store has given consumers new flexibility, but questions have
emerged over the company's inclusion of personal data in purchased music
tracks.
Are the songs that are being billed as free of so-called digital rights management
technology really "DRM-free" or are there still strings attached?
The Electronic Frontier Foundation, a consumer watchdog group, said the embedded
user information in the purchased track raises privacy issues.
Read the CNN article...
Leave a comment...
Return to the top
Digital Photography
Tip of the Week
The Best of the Digital Photography Tip of the Week
I think the most popular tip Chris has every written was back in November
of last year. His instructions on the Orton
Effect brought 60 comments and lots of traffic!
To summarize, the effect is named after Michael Orton who first used the technique
is a sandwich of two images, one in focus the other out of focus. Chris provides
step-by-step instructions to go from an original photo to a beautiful finished
image.
   
You can certainly see why this technique is so popular! Be sure to check out
the original Orton Effect tip
for the full details.
You can view all of Chris' previous tips by visiting the Digital
Photography Tips category.
Return to the top
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
Return to the top
Tips and Other Stuff
POGO online games
Can you believe it? I actually found out about this one from my 90-year-old
grandmother! She goes to POGO.com all
the time and plays their Poppit! game. It seems similar to Bejeweled. Poppit!
uses java so you need to have the Sun Java software on your computer.
The site has lots of games such as puzzle games, word games, card games,
and more. I know there are lots of game sites out there, but if the site
is good enough for my Nanny, then it's good enough for you. :-)
Leave a comment...
Top Ten Digital Photography Tips
MacDevCenter.com has a nice collection of their Top
Ten Digital Photography Tips. You can visit the site to see all of
the details and photo samples, but the tips are:
- Warm Up Those Tones
- Sunglasses Polarizer
- Outdoor Portraits That Shine
- Macro Mode Madness
- Horizon Line Mayhem
- Massive Media Card
- High Rez All the Way
- Tolerable Tripod
- Self Timer Fun
- Slow Motion Water
Leave a comment...
Return to the top
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:
Return to the top
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.
- Support PCIN by visiting http://PCIN.net/donate.php or
by clicking on the PayPal link below:
Return to the top
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
PC Improvement News Home Page
PC Improvement News Archive
|
