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Issue 388 - March 22, 2006

ISSN 1488-3163; PC Improvements © 2006
==== 1900 Subscribers in 55 Countries ====

Welcome to the 388th issue of the PC Improvement News. PCIN consists mainly of news 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.

Recommend PCIN at http://PCIN.net/recommend.php

Support PCIN at http://PCIN.net/donate.php

CONTENTS

Opening Thoughts

I don't know if anyone pays attention to the header of the newsletter where it says there are so many subscribers in so many countries. If you do pay attention, you'll notice that it has dropped quite a bit over the last several weeks. I send out the newsletter using a mail script, and it doesn't handle bounces. I knew that I was getting hundreds of bounces each week, but I always just ignored them. Well, I'm finally doing some cleaning up. I figure its better to have an accurate number, so over the next several weeks, I'll deal with the bounces and hopefully clean out all the dead address. I have to admit though... it is depressing seeing the number drop below 2000 subscribers :-(

Yesterday was our (Lisa and me) 9th anniversary (no, I did not get her any leather, pottery or poppies). We went out to dinner at East Side Mario's and then went to a few stores but didn't buy anything. As cheesy as it sounds, life is great with Lisa and the boys and I think we're all very happy. Happy Anniversary Lisa!

And don't forget... tomorrow is Chris' birthday. Happy Birthday Chris!

Graham editor@pcin.net and Chris chris@pcin.net

The NEWS

'Godcasts' spread word on the Web

The power of broadband Internet service is expanding the reach of Christian faithful who want to spread the word.
Increasingly, houses of worship and individuals are using the Internet to reach adherents and those outside their communities, in a trend sometimes called "Godcasting."
"We want to try to make worship opportunities and learning from the word of God available to as many people as we can," says the Rev. Marion Arbuckle, pastor of Stonebrook Church in Smyrna, Tenn.
"It is a way people are getting information, and we feel we need to use the same technology for the glory of God."

Read the USA Today article...
Leave a comment...

The State of the Silent PC

Workers! If your office space sounds like the inside of a wind tunnel from the incessant hum of all the PCs surrounding you, lend me your ears.
A small manufacturing company recently started shipping a new kind of PC case that emits almost no audible noise whatsoever. Its components stay cool without the need for fans of any kind.
To research this technology, I flew to Los Angeles to interview executives of Zalman USA, the American headquarters of the company that makes the new case. I also visited a computer store in a suburb of Portland, Ore., Cool Tech PC (endpcnoise.com), which Zalman officials confirmed is the largest U.S. reseller of their virtually silent cases.
If PCs are the noisiest things in your office, this new enclosure may save both your hearing and your sanity. First, we need to understand a little bit of history.

Read the Datamation article...
Leave a comment...

Cache as Cache Can For Google

Google is free to cache whatever material it wants unless content owners specifically forbid the search site from copying and archiving online content, a federal judge ruled last Friday.
The judge dismissed a lawsuit claiming Google had violated an author's copyright by archiving his Usenet posts and providing excerpts from his Web site in Google's search results.
Gordon Roy Parker, who is also known as Ray Gordon, filed suit against Google in 2004, after the search engine archived a chapter of one of Parker's e-books, "29 Reasons Not To Be A Nice Guy." Gordon had posted the chapter on Usenet, a collective name for the thousands of public discussion forms available online.

Read the InternetNews article...
Leave a comment...

Video game therapy--a new frontier

Doctors pronounced Ethan Myers brain dead after a car accident dealt the 9-year-old a severe brain injury in 2002. After he miraculously awoke from a nearly month-long coma, doctors declared he would never again eat on his own, walk or talk.
Yet, thanks partly to a video game system, Myers has caught up with his peers in school and even read a speech to a large group of students.

Read the TechRepublic article...
Leave a comment...

Other News postings from the PCIN.net Update blog

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PCIN.net UPDATE

Check out these new or updated pages on the PCIN.net site:

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

Omega One Software Battery Pack Pro 2.1 Software Review
http://PCIN.net/help/software/bpp2.php

Makayama Interactive DVD to Pocket PC 3.0 Software Review
http://PCIN.net/help/software/dvd2ppc3.php

Adobe Photoshop Elements 4.0 Software Review
http://PCIN.net/help/software/elements40.php

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Digital Photography Tip of the Week

Photographic Critiques

Last week I discussed some memory card maintenance to be sure your camera can record the photos that you shoot. This week I will discuss the merits of photography critiques and offer some websites where you can go to get them.

Over the past few years, photography sites that allow people to submit photos for competition or critique have become popular hangouts for those interested in photography. They offer a place to view other people's work, read articles on different photographic techniques, and received comments and critiques about your photography. The last point is where I see the real benefit to these forums.

Submitting your photos for critique can help your photography by providing your with feedback from many other photographers. The critiques are often very detailed and can provide a tremendous amount of help into where you can improve a photo. Some of the websites even allow visitors to rate critiques, so you can gauge which might be better than others. You may also have camera or photographic clubs in your area that you can join to receive further help with your photos.

Something to beware of with some of the sites though. There seems to be a lot of people who like to post critiques such as "Great photo" or "nice work". While these may help boost your ego, they really do nothing to boost your photographic ability. There are very few photos that can't be improved in some way. A better critique may be something along the lines of "Great Photo. The exposure is very nice as is the placement of x and y. Cropping a little off the left side just short of w may have improved this shot though". This critique praises the good, but more importantly suggests a way to improve your photo.

Some sites where you can have your photographs critiqued:

There are a lot of places on the web that feature this sort of atmosphere. Some concentrate on a particular style such as nature photography, while others have categories or are more generalized. But try them out and see how you can improve your photography.

Note: Just a reminder that if you are in the Western New York area this weekend the Niagara Frontier Regional Camera Clubs will be holding their 45th Annual Photography Convention at the Holiday Inn on Grand Island. There are a number of guest speakers including Monte Zucker, Gil Lopez Espina. Ethan Meleg and others. For more information and rates, visit http://www.vaxxine.com/nfrcc/Convention%202006/Convention2006.htm.

Leave a comment about 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 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.

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THE TIPS and OTHER STUFF

Real Estate / City information

Irving (of Irving's Info Page) sent me these links:

These three links may be of interest.....for U and family and/or your readers: www.citytowninfo.com www.city-data.com www.zillow.com

Here's a bit about each one...

CityTownInfo.com

CityTownInfo.com is the easy way to find info on thousands of US cities and towns. Want to know the population of a town? Or its latitude and longitude? Need to find mortgage brokers licensed to do business in your city or town? Looking for a weather forecast for the next few days in your specific location? How about a map of your home town or somewhere you are about to visit?

City-Data.com

We've collected and analyzed data from numerous sources to create as complete and interesting profiles of all U.S. cities as we could. We have tens of thousands of city photos not found anywhere else, hundreds of thousands of maps, satellite photos, stats about residents (race, income, ancestries, education, employment...), geographical data, state profiles, crime data, housing, businesses, birthplaces of famous people, political contributions, city government employment, weather, hospitals, schools, libraries, houses, airports, radio and TV stations, zip codes, area codes, user-submitted facts, similar cities list, comparisons to averages... If you ever need to research any city for any reason, from considering a move there to just checking where somebody you know is staying, this is the site for you.

Zillow.com

Zillow provides a free Home Valuation Tool for Real Estate enthusiasts. Whether you're an agent, broker, buyer of investment property or first time homebuyer - Get Your Edge in Real Estate at Zillow.com.

Thanks Irving!

Leave a comment...

More on Box.net

Box.net logo

Quite a while ago I posted about Box.net Virtual Storage. I still haven't tried the service, as I don't really have a need for it, but it's interesting. One of the guys who is at Box.net has been in contact with me regarding a test that they were running (I didn't end up participating). He has been pleasant to deal with. Also, their blog has interesting thoughts on the online storage market, reasonable opinions on the competition and where the market is going.

Recently Pocket PC Thoughts link to an a review by Russell Beattie who says, "This is awesome stuff!"

They offer 1 GB of storage for free, and 5 GB of storage for $4.99 a month. Check it out...

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 1998-2006, Graham Wing. All rights reserved.

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