ISSN 1488-3163; PC Improvements © 2008
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Welcome to the 491st issue of the PC Improvement News. PCIN consists mainly of news highlights 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
I've been sending out the newsletter for almost 10 years. I'm only a couple of months away from my 500th issue. I don't know how much longer I will be doing it for. I've thought many times over the years that I would stop, but I've kept it going out of habit. The problem is, that my subscriber base keeps shrinking. Traffic to my site keeps increasing, and the PCIN.net Update Blog (where everything is posted first) is doing well. I'm thinking that either when I hit the 500th issue in May or hit the 10 year mark in September, that I will end the newsletter and focus on the web content. It seems funny to say this, but email is "old" technology, and there are better ways for visitors to be kept up to date on what is going on. If you aren't using Google Reader, Newsgator Online, MyYahoo, or a software client on your computer to keep up with the blogs, you should.
Another shamrock shake update... Lisa has now had 4 of them :-)
A few weeks ago I asked who this was. It gets even better!
Graham editor@pcin.net and Chris chris@pcin.net
Chinese hackers: No site is safe
They operate from a bare apartment on a Chinese island. They are intelligent 20-somethings who seem harmless. But they are hard-core hackers who claim to have gained access to the world's most sensitive sites, including the Pentagon.
In fact, they say they are sometimes paid secretly by the Chinese government - a claim the Beijing government denies.
"No Web site is one hundred percent safe. There are Web sites with high-level security, but there is always a weakness," says Xiao Chen, the leader of this group.
Connection problems
"Internet addiction" and "CrackBerry" are the narcotic-laced phrases we invariably use to explain our growing dependence on laptops and PDAs. Now a Canadian media research company has examined what happens to users in the absence of their virtual communication of choice and coined a term for the modern-day affliction: "disconnect anxiety."
The syndrome is described, in a study that will be released today, as the various feelings of disorientation and nervousness experienced when a person is deprived of Internet or wireless access.
Ballmer Says Catching Google Is Microsoft's Goal
Microsoft Corp Chief Executive Steve Ballmer pledged Thursday the company would gain share against Google Inc. in online advertising and Web searching, even if it's his "last breath" at the company.
Speaking at Microsoft's MIX08 online technology conference in Las Vegas, Ballmer reiterated the justifications for its $41.2 billion unsolicited offer for Yahoo Inc, saying the deal would accelerate its efforts to build a competitor to Google.
"So it may be my last breath at Microsoft, but we're going to be there, working away, building share," said Ballmer during a bantering question-and-answer session with Guy Kawasaki, a venture capitalist and one of the first employees at Apple Inc.
Who needs IT experts? Workers take control
Savvy office workers frustrated that their on-the-job computer tools don't function as smoothly as, say, an Apple iPod are taking matters into their own hands.
No longer are they relying on company technicians, or information technology (IT) administrators, to choose the software needed to get the job done. They know how to pluck tools right off the Web.
Industry observers use the term "consumerization" to describe the phenomenon whereby office workers are less likely to wait for the IT folks to equip them.
Choosing a Macro Lens - Digital Photography Tip of the Week
A friend and fellow photographer, Scott Simons, recently put on a presentation discussing early morning photography. During that presentation he was asked why use one macro lens over another. It was a good question and one that I will answer here for you today. This is for the most part, specific to people shooting with SLR type camera's with interchangeable lenses. While other camera's may have the ability to use screw on or accessory lenses in conjunction with the existing lens, I am not talking about that today.
First, why a macro lens. Macro lenses enable the photographer to photograph small subjects in great detail capturing up to life size reproductions the subject. 1:1 life size simply means that the images appears the same size on the film plane (or digital sensor) as it is in real life. Macro lenses are typically very sharp which help in capture fine detail of small subjects. They also allow for necessary, precise manual focusing.
For 35 mm digital photography, most macro lenses will be somewhere within the following set of focal ranges: 50mm, 60mm, 90mm, 100mm, 105mm, 150mm, 180mm and 200mm. Of course, not all manufacturers make all focal lengths but most will make three of them. The 50 and 60 are generally considered wide angle macro lenses, the 90, 100 and 105 normal macros and 150, 180 and 200 telephoto macro lenses. So what is the difference?
The difference between the focal lengths of any lens is field of view. A 18mm wide angle lens has a greater field of view than a 200mm telephoto. The same is the case with macro lenses. This is important because the wider the field of view, the more background will be a factor in your image. Generally you want to sufficiently blur the background to help bring emphasis to the subject but not necessarily always.
For comparison, I will talk about the lenses as used when photographing a subject at 1:1 (or life-size) that does not occupy the entire frame: a subject with a background.
A wide angle macro lens will incorporate more of the background than a medium or telephoto macro. At the same time, the working distance (the distance between the camera and subject) will be closer when working with a wide angle macro than with an medium focal length macro or telephoto.
Working distance is a factor because the more distance between the camera and the subject, the greater ability you as a photographer will have to use light modifiers to manipulate your image. Another advantage is that when your subject can move such as butterfly, you can help prevent them from being too skittish and walking away on you by staying as far back as possible.
Where is the advantage? Most people I know will say that the advantage lies with the longer focal length macro lenses. They narrow field of view and a greater working distance from your subject typically help to create fantastic images. The drawback is that longer focal length macro lenses cost significantly more money any are heavier. If you need to carry your equipment long distances, weight may be a concern.
If you are interested in macro photography, you can start with some less expensive alternatives. Extension tubes allow you focus closer than a given lens normally allows and close up diopters may help you as well. Next week I will talk a little bit about these and other options.
For a look at some of my own macro photography, visit http://potd.chrisempey.com/archives/macro/
Until next time, happy shooting.
Leave a comment on 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:
Paragon Software Group Hard Disk Manager 2008
http://PCIN.net/help/software/paragonhdm2008.phpAdobe Photoshop Elements 5.0 and Adobe Premier Elements 3.0 Software Review
http://PCIN.net/help/software/photoshopEL5_Premiere3.phpExpoDisc White Balance Filter Review
http://PCIN.net/help/hardware/expodisc.phpParagon Software Group Partition Manager 8.0 Professional Software Review
http://PCIN.net/help/software/ppm8.phpUpdate PCIN.net home page with "Top 10 Most Popular..." features
http://PCIN.net/
Microsoft Password Checker
Over the last few weeks there have been quite a few sites and newsletters that have linked to a new tool on the Microsoft site called Password Checker:
Do you use strong passwords?
A strong password should appear to be a random string of characters to an attacker. It should be 14 characters or longer, (eight characters or longer at a minimum). It should include a combination of uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers, and symbols.
Test the strength of your passwords: Enter a password in the text box to have Password Checker help determine its strength as you type.
It is a simple utility that does NOT send any information back to Microsoft. Everything is checked locally. I tested several of my passwords, and they all came back Strong, but not Best. They aren't long enough I guess.
ThinkFree - The best online office on Earth
There are a lot of online productivity suites out there these days. Google has probably made the biggest news as they have put together a collection of them (word processor, spreadsheet, presentation software, etc) after buying several companies. But Google certainly isn't the only one. I have previous mentioned a basic collection of similar programs by AJAX13. A more full-featured collection is from ThinkFree:
The award-winning ThinkFree Office is a Microsoft® Office compatible application suite comprised of word processing, spreadsheet, and presentation graphics software-all usable online and off.
I haven't done much other than signing up for a free account and then playing around a bit, but it looks promising. Check it out for yourself.
DVDFab HD Decrypter copies DVD's, removes protections
A month or so ago Download Squad linked to DVDFab, a program that lets you rip DVDs to your hard drive.
To burn or not to burn? That is the question. Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer the absence of your DVD collection on your hard drive, or to take arms against those who poison your collection with various "protections," and by opposing end them.
If you side with the latter camp, then you'll be interested in DVDFab HD Decrypter, a free program for Windows that copies an entire DVD movie to your hard drive, and removes all the protections (CSS, RC, RCE, APS, UOPs and Sony ARccOS) while copying. The program also provides full HD-DVD and Blu-Ray support (hence the "HD" in the name).
As is usually the case, the comments section of that posting provides some good alternatives.
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 1998-2008, 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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