New, tips, and more
Paragon Software Group, a company with more than 10 years of experience on system utilities market, is glad to introduce you our just released Paragon NTFS for Linux 5.0, the new reliable solution for rapid and transparent read/write access to NTFS volumes under Linux like to native file systems.
You can learn more about Paragon NTFS for Linux on the Paragon Software Group web site.
RSS Feed Reader for Windows
Simplify the way you read the web!Stop wasting time checking your favorite web sites for updates. Use FeedDemon instead, and make them come to you.
FeedDemon 2.0 is currently in beta. You can download the beta version from the Bradbury Software web site.
From TechRepublic:
Information technology continues to advance at warp speed, and the law struggles to catch up.
When new laws have not yet been enacted to address emerging areas of Internet disputes, courts are called upon to try to use and mold ancient legal theories to achieve high-tech resolution. Trespass is one of the ancient legal theories relied upon more and more by courts that are grappling with Internet cases.
From Computer World Canada:
Could the jocks and the nerds of the world unite? With the amount of technology that is popping up all over the world of professional sports, the answer seems to be a definite ‘yes’.
The level of technology adoption by sports teams lags that of other larger industries, in part because the members of this sector are, head-count-wise, small businesses. IT nevertheless has the potential to give teams the critical competitive advantage they need to beat the competition.
VMware, Inc., the global leader in virtual infrastructure software for industry-standard systems, today introduced VMware Server, a free new entry-level hosted virtualization product for Linux and Windows servers. The product is available as a beta download at http://www.vmware.com/products/server/
From TechRepublic:
Not able to remove or uninstall an application in Windows XP using either the Uninstall option or the Add/Remove Programs tool? Try using the Windows Installer CleanUp Utility. As long as you installed the application using the Windows Installer, this utility will remove all the folders, files, registry keys, and entries from your system and allow you to start over with a clean slate.
I haven’t tried it, but it sounds very promising. Check it out…
From MSNBC/Forbes:
The death of a loved one is never easy, but death in the digital age can create knotty problems that add to the anguish.
Just ask Roger van Oosten.
“My father had a niche Internet business,” he says. “When he died last year at 71, he left no provision for the business. I couldn’t access his accounts or pay suppliers, and I couldn’t shut the business down. People run their lives through Outlook, but I couldn’t access that either, so I couldn’t reach his customers to inform them that he’d died.”
From the New York Times:
If you work in the camera industry, February is an exciting month. That’s when you head down to Florida for the annual Photo Marketing Association convention, where your company will unveil its latest camera models, thus making the ones everybody got for Christmas obsolete.
But this February is more exciting than most. Big changes are in the photographic air.
Last week I talked about some of the equipment that will be helpful when taking photographs at night. This week I will build on that by discussing some of the techniques that can be used.
Manual mode is necessary for proper exposure when shooting at night or in low light situations. Any of the program modes (Program, aperture priority, shutter priority, or creative zones such a landscape, portrait or sports) will produce images that are too bright including night time skies that look gray instead of a near black.
If you camera has a B or Bulb setting, you can use this. This was found on older cameras and many new cameras as well. Bulb keeps the shutter open for as long as you press the button on the camera. This is where the cable release is useful. Holding the button down on the camera, even when on a tripod, is likely to introduce some movement that will show up in the image. The cable release will let you do this off camera so as to avoid camera movement. When all the other adjustments are made, press the button on the cable release for the length of exposure you are looking for. If you need to adjust the length of exposure, simply change how long you hold in the button on the release.
Many cameras have set shutter speeds that may go as long as 8, 15 or 30 seconds. You can use these instead of the Bulb setting if your exposure will need to be less than the longest shutter speed your camera has. If you do not have a cable release (or infrared remote) but do have long shutter speeds, you may use the self timer on the camera to prevent camera shake.
After setting the camera up and focussing, set your aperture according to how much depth of field you need. Remember, the larger the number, the more in focus, but the longer the shutter speed needs to be. If you subjects are all far away, you can use a smaller f-stop. Don’t forget that if you purposely want a longer exposure (to show motion in the light, trails, etc) then using an f11 or f16 instead of f2.8 or f4 will give you that extra time.
Now that you camera is set up, shutter speed set, aperture set, and you are focussed, you can make your first shot. Start with a one second exposure. Night photography is one case where a digital photographer has an advantage over a film photographer. If the image is too bright (too much light recorded) then either use a faster shutter speed (1/2 or 1/4) second or use a smaller f-stop (higher number). If the image is too dark (not enough light recorded) then use a longer shutter speed or a larger f-stop (smaller number). You can continue to make adjustments like this until you have a good shot.
Once you arrive what appears to be a proper exposure, then I recommend that you bracket your exposure both up and down after that to ensure you have a good shot. (Bracketing is the process of purposely either under or over exposing an image by a little bit). To bracket your exposure, keeping the aperture the same, increase your shutter speed by a little, then by a little more. Do the same again decreasing it from the known good shutter speed. For example, if you determine that at f8 and 4 seconds produced the image you want on the screen, then shoot 4 more shots at f8 with the following shutter speeds, 6 seconds then 8 seconds (both overexposed) and 2 seconds and 1 second (both underexposed).
If you are shooting film, failure of the law of reciprocity will start to factor in to your shots. Without getting too technical, as your exposure time increases (beyond a second or two), additional time may be needed. I have had exposures that should have been about 30 seconds, but because of reciprocity, required two minutes. This is not really a factor for digital photographers though as the digital sensors do not seem to be prone to reciprocity failure.
There are a lot of little things that can be done in night photography, but it really does not have to be too daunting. Get out and give it a try.
I am on vacation next week so will not have a new tip for you then, but will be back the week after with the third and final installment on our night photography series. I will talk about using flash at night, 2nd curtain sync (night mode), dragging the shutter, magic hour and I will have examples of some very nice night photography to share. On a side note, yesterday (January 31, 2006) marked the end of my first year posting a daily image on my latest website. If you haven’t seen it yet, feel free to stop by and have a look.
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 vice-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.
My wife plays the piano, and when we hear a good kids song, she likes to find the sheet music so that she can play it for our kids. The other night my sisters were singing the “Arky, Arky” song that Rod and Todd sing on The Simpsons (”God said to Noah, there’s going to be a floody, floody”). I could find a midi file of the music, but couldn’t find any free copies of the sheet music. I stumbled across Notation Software, Inc. They have software called MidiNotate Musician that, among other things, will open a MIDI file and display it as sheet music. Nice!
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