ISSN 1488-3163; PC Improvements © 2006
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Welcome to the 414th 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.
Support PCIN at http://PCIN.net/donate.php
Not much to say this week... Andrew was still recovering well, but had a bit of bleeding on Monday. Lisa took him to the hospital but they said everything looked fine. Other than that, you'd never know he'd had anything done to him.
In fact, he's doing so well, I wish he were still a little sedated :-) On Sunday, he and Matthew were playing downstairs when Andrew came up and said they were painting the toys. I asked him if he was actually painting the toys or just playing (you can tell where this story is going). He said that they were just pretending, and silly me, I believed him. A few minutes later my sister went downstairs and screamed up that they really were painting their toys (and the carpet)! I never thought it would be so difficult to clean a carpet. We got most of it out, but there still is some faint blue and red in a couple of places.
Graham editor@pcin.net and Chris chris@pcin.net
PlayStation's serious side: Fighting disease
Kids aiming to persuade their parents to buy the PlayStation 3 have some new ammunition -- donating their PS3's down time to researchers could help cure Alzheimer's, Parkinson's or mad cow disease...
"It has so much horsepower and, of course, when you're playing a game all that horsepower will be used for the game. But there are a lot of times during the day when somebody's not playing the game," said Sony's Richard Marks. "It seemed like a good idea to be able to use that horsepower for something else that is, in this case, good for mankind."
Sony worked with Stanford University's Folding@home project to harness the PS3's technology to help study how proteins are formed in the human body and how they sometimes form incorrectly.
Poll: Online movies aren't catching on
You won't find Vanita Butler sitting in front of her computer watching a full-length movie or television show, even though she's an avid viewer of video on the Internet.
The 43-year-old saleswoman from Newark, Ohio, said she sees the Internet as more of a tool -- for catching a news story or highlights from a NASCAR race. When she has time for entertainment, she and her husband prefer the television set.
"It's a little bit more of an intimate environment," Butler said of watching television. "We can sit and do it together."
Butler is a typical consumer of video over the Internet, according to a new AP-AOL Video poll, which found that only one in five online video viewers have watched or downloaded a full-length movie or television show.
A Chip That Can Transfer Data Using Laser Light
Researchers plan to announce on Monday that they have created a silicon-based chip that can produce laser beams. The advance will make it possible to use laser light rather than wires to send data between chips, removing the most significant bottleneck in computer design.
As a result, chip makers may be able to put the high-speed data communications industry on the same curve of increased processing speed and diminishing costs - the phenomenon known as Moore's law - that has driven the computer industry for the last four decades.
Curbing the CO2 that comes from PC use
You'd never guess it, but your PC puts about 1,000 pounds of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere every year.
Computers have become, indirectly, a significant source of greenhouse gases, according to Kevin Klustner, CEO of Verdiem, a start-up that has devised software for curbing electricity consumption by PCs. That electricity often comes from coal-fired plants that release carbon dioxide.
Often, the power gets expended for no good reason.
"Thirty percent of the energy consumed by a personal computer is wasted because people aren't in front of it," Klustner said.
Negative Space - Digital Photography Tip of the Week
I talked last week about using focus lock to ensure your subject was in focus while still maintaining control over your composition. This week I will discuss using negative space in your photographs.
Negative space is the space around your subjects in your photographs. The space of nothingness in your photographs is just as important as the space that is taken up with your subject. Negative space provides balance in a photograph and also provides a place for your eyes to rest. Studying and including the negative space in your composition can help strengthen the composition and add more emphasis to your main subject. Consider each of the following images and how the use of negative space adds to the image.(Click on each image to view a full sized version of the image.)
As you can see, It is not always necessary to fill your frame when composing a photograph. Incorporating negative space in your photographs can add stability to your photographs while helping to define the subject within your image.
Until next week, happy shooting.
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 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.
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.phpOmega One Software Battery Pack Pro 2.1 Software Review
http://PCIN.net/help/software/bpp2.phpMakayama Interactive DVD to Pocket PC 3.0 Software Review
http://PCIN.net/help/software/dvd2ppc3.phpAdobe Photoshop Elements 4.0 Software Review
http://PCIN.net/help/software/elements40.php
Gallery of operating system user interfaces over the years
From DownloadSquad:
It's easy to forget all of the computing operating systems that existed before Windows, Mac OS, and the various flavors of Unix / Linux. But if you ever feel like taking a walk down memory lane and checking out some screenshots of some of the oldies, check out the Graphical User Interface Gallery over at Guidebook.
It's interesting seeing screenshots of some of the old software I used many years ago. Check it out!
ACDSee updates ACDSee Photo Manager
ACDSee Systems has updated their popular image viewing software. ACDSee 9 Photo Manager is now available. Watch here for a full review in the coming weeks.
ACD Systems Releases ACDSee 9 Photo Manager -
the Company's Fastest and Easiest-to-use Photo Management Software To Date
Faster viewing, organizing, enhancing and sharing capabilities significantly increase the speed and ease with which photo enthusiasts can manage their digital photosVICTORIA, British Columbia - ACD Systems International Inc. (TSX: ASA), makers of ACDSee™ photo management and creative editing software and Canvas™ technical illustration software, announced the release of ACDSee™ 9 Photo Manager for photography enthusiasts. With the release of ACDSee 9, ACD Systems once again sets the industry standard for both speed and usability in a digital photo management software.
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:
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.
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.
This publication may be reproduced in whole, or in part, as long as the author is notified and the newsletter is presented as is.
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