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Issue 394 - May 03, 2006

ISSN 1488-3163; PC Improvements © 2006
==== 1645 Subscribers in 51 Countries ====

Welcome to the 394th 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.

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CONTENTS

Opening Thoughts

Over the last several days I've been working on changing the backend of the PCIN.net Update blog. I was previously using b2evolution but as I'm sure many of you noticed, I had all sorts of comment spam. I've switched over to Wordpress and am using the built-in Akismet spam filter. Since the conversion, I've already stopped over 9,000 pieces of comment spam. I'm still tweaking the look of the blog/template, and am trying to work out some problems with the RSS feed. Hopefully I'll get it right soon.

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

The NEWS

Digital Cameras Leave Unique 'Pixel' Fingerprints

Digital photographers could soon lose their ability to anonymously shoot sensitive or illegal subject matter, thanks to new research that can link digital images to the camera with which they were taken.
The research, conducted at Binghamton University in New York, analyzes the slight variations created by the image sensor in each camera to uniquely identify pictures.
The technology is being presented as potentially useful in nailing child pornographers. "The defense in these kind of cases would often be that the images were not taken by this person's camera," Jessica Fridrich, the Binghamton University engineering professor who oversaw the research, said in a statement. "But if it can be shown that the original images were taken by the person's cell phone or camera, it becomes a much stronger case."

Read the TechWeb article...
Leave a comment...

Is Jesus the next killer app?

Tech companies are getting religion.
Companies such as Sony, Panasonic, Avid and Hitachi are helping churches spread the gospel as part of an effort to cash in on an exploding market known as "house of worship technology."
In recent years, members of the clergy have begun competing with MTV, video games and the Internet by jazzing up sermons with image magnification systems and large-screen video displays, a la Apple Computer's Steve Jobs at a product launch. The trend has evolved, and churches now are Webcasting to distant parishioners with sophisticated multicamera operations and pumping up the volume inside worship areas with state-of-the-art sound systems.

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

Your next CD player may be a computer

It looks and acts just like a CD player. It plays CDs and hooks into your stereo system.
Take a closer look at Olive's Symphony, however, and you can tell there's more going on underneath. A lot more.
The Symphony is actually a multi-faceted personal computer with the sole purpose of managing and distributing your music files. And it's terrific.

Read the MSNBC article...
Leave a comment...

60 billion e-mails a day, much of it spam

Internet users around the world send an estimated 60 billion e-mails every day and many of these are spam or scam attempts, business leaders said on Tuesday.
Deutsche Telekom Chief Executive Kai-Uwe Ricke said cyber criminals were growing more active and sophisticated, and the vast e-mail traffic meant industry, government and Internet users had to be vigilant and work together.
"This figure was new for me as well - worldwide there are around 60 billion e-mails sent every day," Telekom Chief Executive Kai-Uwe Ricke told an Internet security conference.

Read the MSNBC 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

Photographing Sunrises and Sunsets

Creating a dramatic sunrise or sunset photograph is not that difficult, though there are a few steps to take to be sure it is done well.

Ultimately, there is little difference between a sunrise and a sunset photo. However, you may have better luck with sunrise photos because there are fewer people up at the crack of dawn compared to when the sun is going down. That being said, silhouettes against a sunset are very nice as well. My most recent sunrise photos were shot at 5:45 AM, which means I was up at 4:30 AM in order to get ready and drive out to my location. The time alone may decide which you shoot.

Metering for a sunrise/sunset is quite easy. If the sun is not included in the photograph, simply take an average light reading of the scene and be sure to bracket one stop both up and down.This will help ensure you are getting a properly exposed shot. If the sun is included in your photo, then take a spot meter or center weighted meter reading to one of the sides of the sun in a neutral area of the photograph. Again. be sure to bracket.

I often find that the light in the sky is far brighter than that on the ground, so using a gradual neutral density filter can help to even out these areas of brightness, allowing your camera to capture all the detail in both the sky and the foreground. Be sure to use a tripod as well. Exposures, especially at the beginning of the sunrise or the end of the sunset, could be quite long.

If you are planning on photographing a sunrise or sunset, it will be a good idea to scope out the area you would like to shoot from first to be sure there are not obstructions in your way of a beautiful photograph. Of course, knowing where the sun will rise or set and when it will do so helps as well.

Of course, don't forget some of the compositional elements that we have already discussed, such as including curves and diagonals, rule of thirds, framing for printing. Most of all, remember to enjoy what you are watching, if even for a brief second. The dramatic results of a sunset or sunrise can disappear very quickly.

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

Cobian Backup

Cobian Backup is a multi-threaded program that can be used to schedule and backup your files and directories from their original location to other directories/drives in the same computer or other computer in your network. FTP backup is also supported in both directions (download and upload).

It's that last part that I think is interesting. It appears that you can schedule backups and copy it to an FTP site. I haven't tried it yet, but I wanted to share it with you. Check it out!

Leave a comment...

Deconstructing Common Security Myths

I get the Microsoft TechNet magazine, and the latest issue had a good article on Deconstructing Common Security Myths:

In our book Protect Your Windows Network, we wrote about "security myths" - things that many people believe are true about security, but which really are not...

Our version of these myths is, of course, just our opinion. People are welcome to disagree with us, and sometimes do. Naturally, we will proceed to explain why we are right and they are wrong, but all in all this type of dialectic is crucial to advancing the state of the art in security. Unless we question the commonly held wisdom, we are not only doomed to repeat past mistakes, but also to keep building on them. We would then fail to do all we can to protect our networks and the information that resides on them.

Therefore, because we think it is fun and we never seem to run out of myths (or opinions, as some refer to them), we decided to revisit the topic with a new batch.

Several of these are specific to enterprise/business customers, but there are still good suggestions for password strength, firewalls, and more. Check it out on the TechNet site...

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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