ISSN 1488-3163; PC Improvements © 2006
==== 1579 Subscribers in 51 Countries ====
Welcome to the 411th 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
My birthday is coming up on Sunday, and it looks like I'm going to put the money together that I get and buy an all-in-one printer/scanner/card reader. I already have all 3, but the printer is dying and the card reader is USB 1.1. The scanner is fine, but I'm looking forward to freeing up some space on my desk. I guess I'll have to give my scanner to the "most worthy" family member :-)
Andrew is going to have his tonsils and adenoids removed next Friday. Lisa was searching on the Internet for some information about it, and came across a cool site that has a 6-minute movie showing the surgery. If you are easily grossed-out by blood, then you probably don't want to see it, but if you don't mind (the video isn't gruesome at all, but it is surgery after all), you can visit the Dr. Kenneth Kavanagh's web site.We think Andrew is having the surgery that is shown in the second video (Tonsillectomy and Adenoidectomy).
Graham editor@pcin.net and Chris chris@pcin.net
AOL 9.0 Slapped with 'Badware' Label
The high-powered StopBadware.org coalition has slapped a "badware" label on the free version of the AOL 9.0 software program.
The group, which is funded by Google, Lenovo Group and Sun Microsystems, accused AOL of installing additional software without telling the user; adding components to the browser and taskbar without disclosure; automatically updating software without user consent; and making the AOL 9.0 software difficult to fully uninstall.
Google wins eBay's non-U.S. ads and e-commerce tie
Google Inc will supply eBay Inc with Web search advertising outside the United States, and the two will join forces on "click-to-call" ads that link online shoppers to customer service operators, the companies said on Monday.
EBay said that for international online text advertising it had agreed to rely exclusively on Google instead of existing partner Yahoo Inc, which in May struck a parallel deal to handle all of eBay's U.S. ads.
AOL dips into digital movie downloads
AOL has announced an agreement with a number of major film studios to offer movie downloads through its AOL Video portal.
The partnership with 20th Century Fox, Sony Pictures, Universal Pictures and Warner Bros will allow visitors to AOL Video to download full-length movies from the site.
Popular films from recent DVD releases to a large selection of archive movies will be available for download at prices ranging from $9.99 to $19.99 per movie.
Once downloaded, movies can be viewed offline as well as on other PCs and compatible portable devices.
The danger of "free"
Searching for free stuff on the Internet? Beware what you find.
That's the message form Web safety firm SiteAdvisor. Building on a Wall Street Journal analysis of the 20 million search queries leaked by America Online that found "free" to be the most popular search term, SiteAdvisor warned that the results produced by such searches frequently lead to malicious Web sites.
Black and White from Colour Images - Part 4 - Digital Photography Tip of the Week
Over the past few weeks, I have discussed different methods to create black and white photographs from your colour images. I covered the three main conversion techniques, convert to grayscale, desaturate you image, and using the channel mixer. Of course, there are still even more ways to convert you image to a black and white photo.
Both methods outlined here today involves using features of Adobe Photoshop that are not supported by Adobe Photoshop Elements 4.0.
One method that I use quite frequently involves converting your image to the LAB colour space.
This method, while seemingly more complicated, is a very quick process. The addition of the colour layer provides a little bit of tinting to the photograph as well. You can use blues to simulate a cold feeling in your image, or a yellow or orange to warm the tones. Brown (again, orange) can be used to create a sepia tone to your image.
Another method I use involves taking something from the print industry; duotones. The first process (and the other processes I have gone through) apply toning equally to the who image. Creating a duotone image is similar to the traditional wet darkroom technique of split-toning. To create a duotone image:
Both methods outlined here today will help add depth to an image, and can be used to help control the emotion of the image.
When printing black and white photographs, either at home or at a mini-lab, know what color you image is supposed to be. If you have not applied any toning to the image, the final print should be very neutral. Many lab printers have trouble printing black and white images. I have had prints come back that are noticeably green or even purple. If you are not happy with the images you get back from your lab, have the lab reprint them for you, and be sure to explain what you are unhappy with the photo.
I hope this ongoing series of black and white conversion techniques has been helpful to you. Great black and white prints are not too difficult to achieve, but they are worth the extra time you put into them.
Until next time, 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
Instantly recover your precious data with Search and Recover 4
I received this information from Iolo the other day regarding their Search and Recover 4 software:
Have you ever accidentally deleted a treasured photo, erased an important document, or deleted an email message you wish you could get back?
Accidentally deleting photos, files, songs, e-mail, or videos can leave you feeling angry and helpless. With Search and Recover you never have to feel that way again. It rescues critical work and cherished memories you thought were gone forever.
Search and Recover(tm) 4 by iolo technologies recovers deleted files, photos, movies, e-mail, and more, from any drive, disc, camera, music player, or memory card. Proprietary StrongScan(tm) and SmartScan(tm) technologies allow you to recover information after the worst PC accidents and disasters - even years after the data was lost.
I haven't tried this software myself, but I wanted to pass the information along. You can visit the Iolo site to learn more.
PhotoRec Software for recovery of digital photos
I came across this link yesterday pointing to a free, open source software utility used for recovering photos from digital media. There is no install needed, just run the software from a directory. It is a DOS based program but still seems very easy to use. Photorec does not write anything to your digital media which will preserve the integrity of your media in case you need to try additional recovery tools. I have not tried it so I cannot say how well it works, but for the price, it can't be that bad!
N-Blox (Tetris) and more from Neave Games
When I was growing up I was a huge fan of Tetris. In fact, everyone in my family was. I had the original Nintendo, and we'd fight over who would get to play it. My Mom would even get into it. There are lots of clones around and web-based Flash versions. A very good one is N-Blox.
The same site also has several other classic arcade games such as Frogger, Space Invaders, and Asteroids. Visit Neave Games to see and play them all.
Object Desktop 2007
Quite some time ago Chris reviewed Stardock's Object Desktop. It was an impressive product. The latest version has been released:
Object Desktop 2007 has just been released and it has a ton of great new features such as:
* WindowBlinds 5
* DesktopX 3.2
* WindowFX 3
* RightClick 1.2
* Keyboard LaunchPad 1.5And the all new Object Desktop Command Center which brings all the pieces together.
You can learn more about it at ObjectDesktop.net
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.
Support PCIN by visiting http://PCIN.net/donate.php