Monthly Archive for August, 2007

RIM shares rise amid Microsoft takeover talk

Published on August 31, 2007 in Computer News. 0 Comments

From Reuters:

Research in Motion Ltd moved higher on Thursday on renewed market speculation that Microsoft Corp could be interested in buying the BlackBerry maker.

“Microsoft has been mentioned as a possible buyer,” said Frederic Ruffy, an analyst at options education firm Optionetics in California.

“According to speculation, the software giant might be interested in RIM in response to Google’s recent announcement that it is interested in making its own mobile phone operating system, which would compete with Windows Mobile,” he added.

Don’t let your boss catch you reading this

Published on August 30, 2007 in Computer News. 0 Comments

From MSNBC:

If you are at work, chances are you are probably doing it right now.

Walk into any large office, and you will most likely hear the telltale computer bleeps of chat programs and online games, accompanied by furious mouse-clicking. Employees may seem busy, but many are wasting time on the Internet, or “cyberslacking.”

Fall is coming: the best season for photography?

Published on August 30, 2007 in Digital Photography Tips & Info. 0 Comments

This comes from David Kennedy’s Ontario in Photos blog:

The fall is one of my favorite seasons to photograph Ontario’s landscape, particularly that thoese few weeks when the leaves have turned colour…

Two years ago, though, the colours were very dramatic with bright reds and yellows and this period seem to last a few weeks…

Even if the colours are not dramatic, there are still interesting fall elements that are worth photographing, leaves on the ground, close-ups of leaves, trees by rivers and lakes. One constant in the fall is the changing light as the days get shorter. For the photographer, the morning sunrise is later and the sunset is earlier. This makes it much easier for the photographer to capture the beauty of the light at these times of the day.

WGA meltdown makes ‘pirates’ of Vista, XP owners

Published on August 28, 2007 in Computer News. 0 Comments

From InfoWorld:

Although Microsoft did not identify the number of affected systems Saturday, based on the user comments and Liu’s promises, it appeared to be systemwide. If so, it would be the biggest problem so far in the developer’s contentious WGA program. Designed to spot pirated copies of its Windows and Office software, WGA has been mandatory since mid-2005 before nonsecurity updates or files can be downloaded from Microsoft’s site.

CloneDrive Setup

Published on August 28, 2007 in Software Tips. 0 Comments

I read about this in the September issue of TechNet Magazine:

Dealing with physical media can be a real drag. Since switching to Windows Vista and losing direct compatibility with the Microsoft Virtual CD-ROM Control Panel, I have been looking for a replacement to mount CD and DVD images…

One tool I’ve found that does work within your Windows Vista user context is Virtual CloneDrive from Elaborate Bytes. The application installs itself as a GUI management application and a storage controller you can see from the Device Manager. Once installed, the application has three basic settings.

Calisthenics for the Older Mind, on the Home Computer

Published on August 28, 2007 in Computer News. 2 Comments

From the New York Times:

When Charline and Dan Truitt of Irvine, Calif., owners of a company that audits mortgage lenders, started misplacing their keys and blanking on names, they made all the usual jokes about senior moments. But it was no laughing matter when Mrs. Truitt, 62, started forgetting client appointments.

“I was honestly wondering if we would have to sell the company,” she said. Instead, she started using Brain Fitness Program, a software product that says it can improve brain power through its regimen of mental calisthenics. After about six weeks, she said, “I could suddenly remember where things were and remember appointments, and didn’t have any problem recalling conversations.”

Americans spend hundreds of millions of dollars on brain-building digital toys like Baby Einstein for preschoolers, so it was only a matter of time before a parade of “Grandpa Einsteins” followed suit. In the past year, some half-dozen programs, with names like Brain Fitness Program 2.0, MindFit and Brain Age2, have aimed at aging consumers eager to keep their mental edge.

Everything Preschool

Published on August 25, 2007 in Recommended Web Sites. 0 Comments

everything_preschool_logo.gif

My wife Lisa is a stay-at-home mom to our two sons (and soon to be new daughter). One of her biggest challenges is keeping the boys busy. They don’t mind playing on their own, but they aren’t very creative and need some help getting started. One site she has visited lately is Everything Preschool:

Everything Preschool was founded by preschool teachers and parents that were not satisfied with the amount of preschool information available on the web. For this reason we decided to found our own preschool site dedicated to being a complete source for all of your preschool needs. We are not there yet, but were getting closer every day :)

There are all sorts of fun activities which will keep the young children entertained, as well as teach them along the way.

NASA to launch photo, film library

Published on August 25, 2007 in Computer News. 0 Comments

From CNet News:

In an update to NASA archive news posted earlier this week, the space agency has officially announced plans to develop a massive online archive of photography, film and video from its 50-year history. The archive will be developed under a five-year agreement with the Internet Archive, which will host the free site and help compile the imagery, according to NASA. The agency said it signed a nonexclusive Space Act agreement with the Internet Archive to develop the project, which will come at no cost to taxpayers.

Attracting Women to IT

Published on August 25, 2007 in Computer News. 0 Comments

From IT World:

Telle Whitney, president and CEO of the Anita Borg Institute for Women and Technology, knows firsthand that women are an essential part of the Information Technology world. Even so, she believes they aren’t currently attracted to the industry at the same rate as men, and there are several reasons why.

“Often I think of it as the perfect storm,” Whitney says.

The recent media focus on IT outsourcing has convinced many women, and parents of college-aged girls, that there isn’t a solid future in the technology fields. Secondly, there is an image problem.

Use a Wide Angle to Distort Perspective – Digital Photography Tip of the Week

Published on August 22, 2007 in Digital Photography Tips & Info. 0 Comments

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.