Computer Info –
This Week’s Meeting
Wes
is going to fly today.He is going to demonstrate some
of the features of Flight Simulator 2002, such as --- GPS, weather, the
realism, etc.
Something New
Transfer VideoTapeTo CD
or DVD.ADS Technologies’
USB Instant DVD provides a way to take your old videotapes and transfer them to
DVD or CD.Home movies on videotape will start to
break down in as few as eight years, but if you transfer the tapes to CDs or
DVDs, they will last indefinitely.
The
USB Instant DVD connects to your computer’s USB
port, then you just plug your VCR or video camera into the box and start capturing.It has a list price of $249.
Visithttp://www.adstech.comto
read about it.
Always
take your picture at the highest-quality level of JPEG compression.While
the mid and low-quality settings allow you to get more images on your memory
card, you lose a lot of quality for the privilege.The
highest-quality level of JPEG compression will deliver excellent image quality
– even though your camera may offer a TIFF format, it doesn’t
yield a significantly higher image quality compared to the amount of space it
takes up.
Don’t use digital zoom.While it
sounds very impressive, digital zoom is achieved by actually cropping into the
photograph formed on the image sensor.So, while it is
apparently increasing the magnification, it is actually throwing away digital
information – not a very good thing when it results in a loss of image quality.
Don’t try to make big prints from small digital files.The resolution of a digital camera is directly
related to how big a print you can make.A 2 mp (megapixel) camera delivers a good 5x7; a 3 mp, an excellent
8x10; and a 4 or 6 mp, an 11x14 print or larger.Attempt
to exceed these sizes, and the images will reflect a loss of sharpness and
color fidelity.
Don’t photograph while holding your digital camera with one
hand.Though it may look cool, the images won’t be anything to brag about.That’s
because the camera will be more susceptible to movement and will result in a
soft image.Hold the camera with both hands and press
your arms close to your body.This provides a stable
platform to ensure a sharp picture.
Do
use your printer regularly to reduce the risk of the ink nozzles clogging.Though we do recommend periodically using the
printer driver’s cleaning utility, allowing the
printer to go unused for too long a period of time may result in the printer
requiring service, which is never a good thing.
System Restore
System
Restore doesn’t delete or move any files from
the My Documents folder (or any of its subfolders),
and it won’t affect files with extensions such as DOC
(Word file), GIF (Graphics Interchange Format), JPG (Joint Photographic Experts
Group), and XLS (Excel file), either, regardless of where they are stored.
Windows XP Information
This
is a very large page --- so be patient while it loads.It
has many tips and addon programs.Stay
away from any BETA programs.
Since
the controversy over the Pledge of Allegiance is very much in the foreground
these days, this web page with Red Skelton’s
explanation of the words (written and audio) is a great page to look and listen
to.
http://www.getipm.com/personal/red-skelton.htm
and if you would like to save the
audio as a WAV file – try this web site
http://www.getipm.com/personal/gifs/red-skelton.wav
this should open some type of player
where you should be able to save the file from.
Cartoons
Here is a great site for viewing
professional editorial cartoons (like the one above) that are listed by various
topics.When you view a cartoon – it gives you a link
to visit the home page of the cartoonist or the newspaper he draws for or to
view an archive of the cartoonist’s drawings.