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Issue 460 - August 08, 2007
ISSN 1488-3163; PC Improvements © 2007
==== 1436 Subscribers in 46 Countries ====
Welcome to the 460th 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
Matthew and Andrew's birthday's were both great. The time away at the cottage
was great (but too short) and now we have nothing else exciting until the baby
is born. Lisa is just trying to endure the heat! We are definitely in the midst
of the dog days of summer.
I've harvested a few things from my garden. As I mentioned before, I had an
animal eat a lot of my garden. I was only able to get a couple of meals of
brocolli, but it was great. The corn is next.
Graham editor@pcin.net and
Chris chris@pcin.net
News Highlights
Poll Shows Growing Number of 'Cyberchondriacs'
With easy online access to up-to-date medical information and reference
materials, more adults in the U.S. are using the Internet to find out about
their health, then talking to their personal doctors about what they find.
In fact, according to a new telephone poll by Harris Interactive Inc., about
160 million of the 225 million adults in the U.S. have looked online for information
about their health, up 37 percent since 2005.
Two years ago, 117 million adults used the Web to access health information.
Last year, that number had risen to 136 million adults. In fact, the latest
figures show that the number of U.S. adults searching the Web for health information
has more than tripled from 54 million in 1998, when the first Harris poll on
the topic was conducted.
Read the full results on the Harris
Interactive web site.
Read the PC World
article...
Leave a comment...
Is Geek Squad Now the 'Peek Squad'?
When Best Buy Co. Inc. bought the Geek Squad five years ago, the two companies
pledged to "protect the world from the assault of computerized technology
Relevant Products/Services." Geek Squad "agents" even wore
badges and drove vehicles resembling police cars.
But as this squadron of techno-nerds has mushroomed into the largest collection
of computer troubleshooters in the world, it has become increasingly difficult
for the firm to police its own employees.
In recent months, allegations of agents copying pornography, music and alluring
photos from customers' computers have circulated on the Internet. Some bloggers
now call it the "Peek Squad."
Read theNewsFactor
article...
Leave a comment...
Britain 'failing' net speed tests
There is a huge gap between advertised broadband speeds and the actual
speeds users can achieve, research has shown.
A survey by consumer group Which? found that broadband packages promising speeds
of up to 8Mbps (megabits per second) actually achieved far less.
Tests of 300 customers' net connections revealed that the average download
speed they were getting was 2.7Mbps.
Which? has called on regulator Ofcom and Trading Standards to launch a fresh
investigation into UK broadband.
I would assume that the same complaints could be made wherever there
is broadband. My cable company advertises 7Mb, but when asked about it,
that is only between your computer and their main switching location. But
of course I'm not downloading anything from their switching station, am
I?!
Read the BBC article...
Leave a comment...
Other News postings from the PCIN.net Update blog
- Teachers call for closure of YouTube (Vnunet)
- Microsoft's Gates Plans Leave Amid Great Change (New
York Times)
- Forget Babysitting and Paper Routes, Teen Turns to SEO (CNet
News)
Return to the top
Digital Photography
Tip of the Week
Watch your Elevations - Digital Photography Tip of the Week
This weeks tip is a very simple one. Watch your elevations. Simply, if your
subject sits at a higher elevation than the camera, place the subject in the
top half of the frame. If the subject sits below the camera, place it in the
lower half of the frame. Following this simple guideline can help preserve
the natural feel of your photograph.
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
"At the Movies" review archive
At the Movies was the name
of the show that Siskel & Ebert did where they reviewed movies. The name
has changed over the years, and the critics have also changed, but the show
has continued on. This week they opened up their archive on the web and they
have archived reviews of over 5,000 movies! Roger
Ebert announced it this way:
The various incarnations of Siskel & Ebert & Roeper represent
more than 1,000 TV programs, on which the three of us, and various guest
critics, reviewed more than 5,000 movies. And now at last an online archive
exists with all of those reviews.
Starting Thursday, Aug. 2, visitors will be able to search for and watch
all of those past debates, including the film clips that went along with
them, plus the "ten best" and other special shows we did. The
new archive will be at www.atthemoviestv.com, and will be the web's largest
collection of streaming reviews.
Check it out at AtTheMoviesTV.com
Leave a comment...
25 best free high-quality fonts
I found this on Download Squad...
Freelance web designer Vitaly Friedman has put together a listing of his
choice of the best 25 free fonts available online, and it's very hard to
argue with his choices. He plainly states that his bias is towards fonts
that are useful in a business setting, rather than those that would be
more at home "on a colourful teenager's homepage".
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.
- Support PCIN by visiting http://PCIN.net/donate.php or
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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