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Issue 462 - August 22, 2007
ISSN 1488-3163; PC Improvements © 2007
==== 1439 Subscribers in 46 Countries ====
Welcome to the 462nd 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
The summer is slowing coming to an end here, if not literally, then symbolically.
Andrew got his information from school, and starts back in a week and a half.
I know many places are already back in school. The weather here has been quite
cool for several days, but supposedly it's going to get hot again.
Lisa is trying to get some things ready around the house while she still has
some energy. Only 1 month to go and baby #3 will be here!
Graham editor@pcin.net and
Chris chris@pcin.net
News Highlights
CD celebrates 25th anniversary
It was August 17, 1982, and row upon row of palm-sized plates with a rainbow
sheen began rolling off an assembly line near Hanover, Germany.
An engineering marvel at the time, today they are instantly recognizable
as Compact Discs, a product that turned 25 years old on Friday -- and whose
future is increasingly in doubt in an age of iPods and digital downloads.
Those first CDs contained Richard Strauss' Alpine Symphony and would sound
equally sharp if played today, says Holland's Royal Philips Electronics NV,
which jointly developed the CD with Sony Corp. of Japan.
The recording industry thrived in the 1990s as music fans replaced their
aging cassettes and vinyl LPs with compact discs, eventually making CDs the
most popular album format.
The CD still accounts for the majority of the music industry's recording
revenues, but its sales have been in a freefall since peaking early this
decade, in part due to the rise of online file-sharing, but also as consumers
spend more of their leisure dollars on other entertainment purchases, such
as DVDs and video games.
Read the CNN article...
Leave a comment...
You wear IT well
Over the past 20 years technology has been shrinking in size as fast as
it has been expanding our communication and entertainment horizons.
Today's latest gadgets are so refined and petite that they clip on to a belt
or slip easily into a pocket or a bag. The next challenge confronting designers
and engineers is to make technology not only portable but also wearable.
Read the CNN article...
Leave a comment...
Parents pick baby names with available URLs
Besides leaving the hospital with a birth certificate and a clean bill of
health, baby Mila Belle Howells got something she won't likely use herself
for several years: her very own Internet domain name.
Likewise newborn Bennett Pankow joined his four older siblings in getting
his own Internet moniker. In fact, before naming his child, Mark Pankow checked
to make sure "BennettPankow.com" hadn't already been claimed.
"One of the criteria was, if we liked the name, the domain had to be available," Pankow
said. It was, and Pankow quickly grabbed Bennett's online identity.
A small but growing number of parents are getting domain names for their
young kids, long before they can do more than peck aimlessly at a keyboard.
Read the MSNBC article...
Leave a comment...
The upgrade you never want to do
Forrester Research will not stop until it has found a satisfied corporate
Vista customer.
The analyst firm has published an informal follow-up to an earlier study
it conducted in May that showed limited adoption of Microsoft's latest operating
system among big businesses. It's not that everyone was saying no, but 31
percent were putting it off for a few months and another 53 percent scheduling
it sometime within the next two years. After checking in with 45 of those
IT managers this summer, however, most of them are now waiting for Service
Pack 1, which won't come out until early 2008.
Read the IT World
article...
Leave a comment...
Return to the top
Digital Photography
Tip of the Week
Use a Wide Angle to Distort Perspective - Digital Photography
Tip of the Week
Use a wide or ultra wide angle lens to add some extra spark to an otherwise
dull image.
Using the widest lens or setting you have, move in close to your subject.
You will notice that the perspective is distorted as the subject gets further
away from you. Some subjects that this works very well on are those that have
a leading line drawing your eye into a main focal point, such as a fence leading
you to a barn. Because of the distortion in scale when using wide angle lenses,
small objects in the front look relatively much large than the large objects
in distance.
Also, stop down to increase your depth of field to ensure that who have as
much in focus as you can.
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
Who called?
I finally broke down last week and ordered Call Display for my phone. I
love it and can't believe I lived without it for so long. I've received a
few calls lately that came from UNKNOWN NAME but had a phone number. As I
tried to find out who owned the number, I came across WhoCalled.Us.
Basically this is a site that lets people submit telephone numbers and report
on them. Then others can see whether the numbers are good or not. You can
then choose to screen that number if you want. If you have call display,
this is definitely a good resource to bookmark.
Leave a comment...
Minesweeper movie trailer
Every issue of the Windows Secrets newsletter has a Wacky Web section. The latest
issue of the newsletter had a link to a trailer for a
live-action movie based on the game Minesweeper. It's pretty funny!
Leave a comment...
FastStone Soft freeware
The other day Chris was telling me about an image preview tool that he uses
called FastStone Image Viewer.
It is free software that can either be installed or run as a standalone executable.
You can use the software to view, resize, and touch up photos, as well as
do things like make a slide show.
The software is by FastStone Soft.
Their web site is very simple, and says the following:
We are developing graphics and photo programs to share our ideas with
people, hoping that these tools will be useful to people worldwide.
Along with FastStone Image Viewer, there is also a screen capture program,
a smaller image viewer, and a photo resizer tool.
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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