Monthly Archive for September, 2007

Top 100 Undiscovered Web Sites

Published on September 30, 2007 in Recommended Web Sites. 0 Comments

From PC Magazine:

If you’ve browsed our recent list of the Top 100 Classic Web Sites, you may have been a bit disappointed by the familiarity of our choices. Such is the nature of a list of “classics.”

So here’s the fun stuff: Our list of the new and/or undiscovered Web sites that have grabbed our attention this year. You’ll see a large collection of Web applications and tech sites, excellent blogs, offbeat social networks, and, as always, a handful of addictive Flash games for those slow days at work.

Some of these sites are completely under the radar and get very little traffic. Others are hugely popular within a specific demographic. But all of them deserve to be in your bookmarks.

U.S. faces competitive disadvantage from lack of women in IT

Published on September 27, 2007 in Computer News. 0 Comments

From InfoWorld:

Discrimination against women and minorities is putting the U.S. at a disadvantage in technology innovation, according to the chancellor of the University of California at Berkeley.

Robert Birgeneau said of the top 50 university computer science department jobs in the U.S., not one is held by a woman of color. “How embarrassing,” he said. “It’s an astounding waste of talent in an increasingly competitive world.”

Birgeneau was the keynote speaker at a workshop on women in technology as part of the Emerging Technologies Conference being held at MIT this week.

Do You Need A New Camera – Digital Photography Tip Of the Week

Published on September 26, 2007 in Digital Photography Tips & Info. 2 Comments

Digital photography or more specifically digital camera have become disposable items. New models are released at regular intervals and previous models do not hold high resale value. New models incorporate new technology, usually resulting in higher megapixel ratings, new features, and better quality images.

But do you need one?

There seems to be a community of people, not just in photography but in many technology related goods, that absolutely must have the latest and greatest. That can become quite expensive and may not necessarily lead to better images. Before upgrading, you should consider whether or not the new features are really justified for the type of photography you do. Have you already identified a need for a new camera? Do the new models fill in voids you have with your current model? The camera manufacturers push megapixels, but often without significant increases in performance or features.. If the megapixel count of a new camera is the driving factor for you and you do not make large images, the upgrade may not prove to be worthwhile. However, if you have been limited with your current camera, either by the size of the enlargements you wish to make, the speed or responsiveness of your current camera, or if the image quality from your current camera does not meet your expectations, than an upgrade may be worth considering?

Other factors that may warrant a new camera may include more manual controls as your photography skills improve or the ability to use different accessories. Of course, with today’s technology, there are plenty of features that may warrant a new camera. Reviewing your current camera’s shortcomings can help determine an actual need for a new one.

Let the Facebook bidding war begin

Published on September 26, 2007 in Computer News. 0 Comments

From CNN Money:

Should we start calling Facebook, the popular social networking site, Microbook or Facesoft?

The Wall Street Journal reported on its Web site Monday afternoon that Microsoft is considering investing $300 million to $500 million for a 5 percent stake in Facebook. The high end of that range would value Facebook as a whole at $10 billion. A spokesperson for Facebook told CNN that it had no comment about the speculation and a representative from Microsoft said the software developer had no comment as well.

But the WSJ indicated that talks are just in preliminary stages and that Google, the search industry leader, is also interested in making an investment in Facebook, which has seen its popularity explode since the company developed an open platform for applications developers earlier this year. The site has gone from being one that was more of a niche social networking site popular on college campuses to a legitimate challenger to News Corp.’s MySpace.

AntiRootkit.com

Published on September 26, 2007 in Security Tips. 0 Comments

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Most people are aware of viruses and the damage they can cause. Although rootkits have been around for a long time, it is only now becoming something that the average consumer is aware of. The site AntiRootkit.com aims to help people understand what rootkits are, highlight news regarding rootkits, and provide information on software to protect against rootkits.

Antirootkit.com aims to help ordinary computer users gain an undertanding of Rootkits, what they can do and steps to remove them. This site aims to provide information on all aspects of Rootkit Information, Prevention, Detection, Indentification and Removal.

Investigators: Homeland Security computers hacked

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

From CNN:

Hackers compromised dozens of Department of Homeland Security computers, moving sensitive information to Chinese-language Web sites, congressional investigators said Monday.

Investigators pointed a finger at a government contractor, saying the firm hired to protect DHS computers tried to hide the incidents from the department.

The FBI is investigating the incidents, a congressional staffer said, and two members of Congress have asked the department’s inspector general to also launch an investigation.

“The results of our [committee] investigation suggest that the department is the victim not only of cyber attacks initiated by foreign entities, but of incompetent and possibly illegal activity by the contractor charged with maintaining security on its networks,” Democratic Reps. Bennie Thompson of Mississippi and James Langevin of Rhode Island said in a written statement.

Google eyes discreet Street View for Canada

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

From Reuters (via ZDNet News):

Canada’s privacy commissioner told Google in August that the feature–which offers a series of panoramic, 360-degree images of nine U.S. cities–could violate Canadian laws if it were introduced without alterations.

Some of the pictures feature people who can clearly be identified, which contravenes Canadian legislation on privacy.

“We are thinking about launching it outside the United States, including Canada, and we’re looking at how it would have to be different in Canada compared to its U.S. version,” said Peter Fleischer, Google’s global privacy counsel.

“We would launch Street View in Canada in keeping with the principles and requirements of Canadian law … that means we know we’ll have to focus on finding ways to make sure that individual’s faces are not identifiable in pictures taken in Canada and that license plate numbers are not identifiable in Canada,” he told Reuters in an interview.

Adobe Releases Photoshop Elements 6 and Premier Elements 4

Published on September 25, 2007 in Digital Photography Tips & Info. 0 Comments

I received this press relesas in my inbox today:

Adobe Introduces New Photoshop Elements & Premiere Elements

Best-Selling Photo and Video Software Feature New Levels of Integration and Creativity

SAN JOSE, Calif. — Sept. 24, 2007 — Adobe Systems Incorporated (Nasdaq:ADBE) today announced two major upgrades to its digital photo and video software for consumers: Adobe® Photoshop® Elements 6 for Windows® & Adobe Premiere® Elements 4 for Windows. Tight integration and a shared Organizer, with a common database accessible from either application, allow users to do more with their photos and videos. Available separately or together in a single retail package, Photoshop Elements & Adobe Premiere Elements software give photo and video enthusiasts more creative ways to organize, edit, create and share digital photos and home movies.

“With video and digital cameras now part of our everyday lives and social networking sites on the rise, people are demanding sophisticated tools to show off their photos and videos,” said John Loiacono, senior vice president of Creative Solutions at Adobe. “Sophistication doesn’t mean complication. The combination of Photoshop Elements & Adobe Premiere Elements offers a whole new user experience for consumers, which makes sharing impressive photo and video creations much easier and more fun. With access to all photos and video clips from one convenient place and options to export to YouTube, mobile devices and interactive galleries created with Adobe Flash technology, we expect our new products to be high on holiday wish lists.”

Bringing out the Best in Photos

Photoshop Elements software helps enthusiasts achieve desired results quickly and easily. New Photomerge® technology helps solve the challenge of taking the perfect group photo by combining the best facial expressions and body language from a series of shots to create a single new cohesive group shot. The new Quick Selection Tool reduces a once time-consuming select-and-adjust task to a single click. Addressing all levels – beginner to expert – there is an opportunity to select one of three edit modes, each geared toward a different experience level. A new Guided Edit mode helps walk users through the steps of improving a photo.

Photoshop Elements 6 streamlines editing with clean, uncluttered screens that bring focus to the photo. New tabs provide simple access to the many capabilities of the program. Additional enhancements include an improved conversion tool that dramatically converts color images into elegant, nuanced black-and-whites. The streamlined Organizer speeds performance and eases importing, tagging and retrieving.

Amazing Movies with Style and Effects

Adobe Premiere Elements 4 makes it possible to create entertaining movies in just minutes. The new Organizer, the same found in Photoshop Elements, helps sort video clips and still photos with visual tagging options for people, places, or events. Video enthusiasts can apply comprehensive movie themes to a sequence of scenes in just a few clicks, creating a movie complete with transitions, effects and DVD menu. Background music and sound effects help underscore emotions, add emphasis, or create a mood. The new Audio Mixer works like a mixing board in a recording studio, adjusting the relative volumes of different audio with sliders. The new Sharing Center centralizes available ways to show off videos. Users can upload and share videos in multiple ways, including Blu-ray disc, the Web, and mobile devices such as the Apple iPhone. Videos also can be exported in a video format based on Adobe Flash® to Web sites like YouTube, without requiring any special encoding.

Pricing and Availability

Adobe’s digital imaging and digital video products are available immediately at www.adobe.com and online retailers including, Amazon.com. The products will also be available at Best Buy, Staples, Costco, Fry’s, Circuit City, Office Max, Office Depot, Microcenter, J&R, Buy.com and NewEgg.com. Adobe Photoshop Elements 6 & Adobe Premiere Elements 4 for Windows is available as a bundle at an estimated street price of US$149.99. Photoshop Elements 6 and Adobe Premiere Elements 4 for Windows are available separately for an estimated street price of US$99.99 each. Photoshop Elements for the Macintosh platform is expected in early 2008. Information about other language versions, as well as pricing, upgrade and support policies for other countries, is available on www.adobe.com/go/pse6pre4 . For more information, customers can call 1-800-492-3623.

About Adobe Systems Incorporated

Adobe revolutionizes how the world engages with ideas and information – anytime, anywhere and through any medium. For more information, visit www.adobe.com .

The 10 Funniest Sites on the Internet

Published on September 20, 2007 in Recommended Web Sites. 0 Comments

From PC World:

Along with sex and shopping, comedy is one of the biggest drivers of traffic on the Web. Especially now that a lot of regular people know how to post their homemade video and audio to the Web (along with clips from TV or radio), there’s an awful lot of funny stuff online. After months of exhaustive research, including lie-detector tests performed on laboratory rats, we’ve gathered a list of the funniest sites on the Web. Visit these sites and try not to laugh.

Overriding your White Balance to Achieve a Desired Tone – Digital Photography Tip of the Week

Published on September 19, 2007 in Digital Photography Tips & Info. 2 Comments

I previously wrote about white balance and how setting your camera white balance control to the proper setting for the scenario you are shooting will give you more accurate colours.

But what if that is not what you want?

Overriding your white balance let’s you control how your camera records your images. To maintain the warm glow of a rising or setting sun, change your white balance from Auto White Balance (AWB) to daylight. To mimic the same warm glow in daylight, set your white balance control to shade.

Morning and late evening light are both warm coloured light. As the day progresses the light takes on a cooler, more blue, tone. Using AWB in the morning light will cancel the warmth and the nice light that you receive shooting in these conditions. Setting the white balance to daylight (a cooler white balance setting) will enable your camera to record the warm tones in your image without trying to compensate for the natural warmth of the light. Conversely, if you wish to record an image as being colder in tone (more blue) use a warmer white balance setting such as tungsten or incandescent light when shooting in sunlight.

If your camera has selectable white balance setting in degrees Kelvin, you will have even finer control by using this. A few colour temperature ranges to start with:
Morning Light 2000 – 3000 degrees Kelvin
Daylight 5800
Shade 7000 -8000

The colour tone of your image has a great effect on how the image is perceived by your viewer. Shooting at a cooler colour temperature than actual conditions will have the effect of warming your image while the reverse, shooting a warmer colour temperature than actual conditions will cool your image. Controlling your white balance to achieve the look you want is a simple but effective method in enhancing your photography.