Issue 497- April 23, 2008
ISSN 1488-3163; PC Improvements © 2008
==== 1343 Subscribers in 44 Countries ====
Welcome to the 497th 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
My wife is exercising to the Turbo Jam DVD right now. She's pretty good at
staying active and staying in shape (as if being at home with 3 kids didn't
keep her active and in shape).
We've been out in the yard quite a bit over the last few days working in the
gardens. The weather has been awesome. It's still too early to plant much,
but we're getting everything ready so we can start planting in a few weeks.
Usually we are a week or two late, so hopefully we'll have a better harvest
this year in our vegetable garden.
Graham editor@pcin.net and
Chris chris@pcin.net
News Highlights
Microsoft: Web at the center, not PC
For years, Microsoft has maintained that the PC is the center of the digital
home and office.
But Chief Software Architect Ray Ozzie said Tuesday that it's time for the
company to acknowledge a new reality.
"Over the past 10 years, the PC era has given way to an era in which the
Web is at the center of our experiences--experiences delivered not just through
the browser but also through many different devices including PCs, phones, media
players, game consoles, set-top boxes and televisions, cars, and more," Ozzie
said in a memo to be sent to employees on Wednesday.
Read the CNet News article...
Leave a comment...
Virtual reality helps autistic kids develop skills
A playmate named Sam, a talking dog named Buddy and an Israeli street leading
to a Toys"R"Us store all have starring roles in a new generation
of virtual reality games designed to teach basic safety and social skills
to children diagnosed with autism.
For school-aged children with autism spectrum disorders, including Asperger's
syndrome, skills often taken for granted can be torturously difficult, whether
staying within the confines of a yard, crossing a street or navigating the
social norms of group playtime.
Aided by the observation that autistic children relate especially well to
virtual reality and computer programs, an entire field of research has sprung
up in the last 15 years.
Read the MSNBC article...
Leave a comment...
Yahoo, Microsoft set for takeover battle
Yahoo Inc.'s first-quarter performance sets the scene for a bitter battle
over Microsoft Corp.'s takeover bid.
By delivering earnings and revenue Tuesday that surpassed analysts' estimates,
Yahoo added credence to its board's contention that the Sunnyvale-based company
is poised for a dramatic turnaround that justifies a higher sales price than
Microsoft's initial bid of $44.6 billion, or $31 per share.
But neither the first-quarter results nor Yahoo's outlook for the rest of
the year may be compelling enough to cause Microsoft to sweeten its offer.
"This isn't going to make Microsoft come and out offer $35," predicted
Canaccord Adams analyst Colin Gillis.
That leaves the rivals at an impasse, just as they have been since Microsoft
stunned Yahoo with its unsolicited takeover attempt nearly three months ago.
Read the CNN article...
Leave a comment...
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Digital Photography
Tip of the Week
... We thought we would only miss one week of the tip, but computer
problems have caused a further delay. The tip will return next 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:
Paragon Software Group Hard Disk Manager 2008
http://PCIN.net/help/software/paragonhdm2008.php
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/
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Tips and Other Stuff
Explore Windows Fonts with FontEXPRO
A couple of months ago Download Squad highlighted
the program FontEXPRO:
Are you constantly struggling to remember the difference between Arial,
Times New Roman and Palatino Linotype? Sure, you could just keep changing
fonts from the drop-down menus in your word processor, or you could use
FontEXPRO to preview all the fonts stored on your computer and choose the
right one for the job.
The FontEXPRO site explains it this
way:
Browse a folder full of truetype fonts and view previews of them. You
can enter your own text and decide which font is best for your project
etc.
Features
* A preview of a folder full of fonts - select a folder and visualize each
folder. Ideal for finding the perfect font for your own project
* A preview of your text in each of the browsed fonts
* A search facility to find that font
* An alphabetically sorted list
* Manage your fonts
Leave a comment...
GreenPrint
A couple of months ago Kim Komando mentioned
a program called GreenPrint which helps
you eliminate those pages with 2 lines on the bottom which waste paper:
Our patent-pending print preview, GreenView, displays all pages and highlights
wasteful pages in red. With a click you can: print only what you want,
remove images or text, create a PDF file.
Leave a comment...
XP Syspad
Windows Vista has all sorts of new applets that help you manage your computer.
A while ago the Windows Secrets newsletter explained
how you could do some of this in Windows XP. One of these utilities was XP
Syspad:
XP SysPad is a Windows system monitoring utility that allows easy
access to Windows system information and Windows system utilities, such as
the individual control panel applets, as well as putting the "hidden" applications
in Windows at your fingertips. XP Syspad also recovers lost Windows & MS-Office
product keys
With XP SysPad, you can easily access hundreds of Windows operating
system utilities and system monitoring information. You can also recover
your Windows 2000/XP product key, get your IP address, execute web queries,
monitor any running system process, launch any program, search files,
and more. For convenience, it also can minimize itself to the system
tray. XP SysPad has well over 250 functions in all!
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 1998-2008, 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.
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