Computer Info –
This Week’s Meeting
Let’s have photo editing questions and see if we can solve anyone problems. We will work in Microsoft Picture-It Publishing and Abode PhotoShop Elements.
The next meeting will be on March 5th and John Watkins will be talking about the last 25 years of computing. This should bring back memories for some of you.
Picture-It Publishing Platinum 2002
This program is a combination of photo editing and publishing.
Choose TOUCHUP – FIX RED EYE --- This is definitely a quick, easy way to adequately correct a red eye. It does tend to leave it on the dull side, but it is much better than having the red eye in the picture.
Choose FRAMES AND EDGE EFFECTS – SOFT EDGES – This is such a quick and easy way to create a faded edge (soft edge) on a picture and you can see what happens as you change the slider. All of the other choices (HIGHLIGHTED EDGES, COOL EDGES, ART STROKE EDGES, etc) are all very good.
First click on your picture to select it – then choose PICTURE, TEXT OR OBJECT. This opens up the PICTURE OPTIONS. Choose CROP OR TRIM – then CROP. Since you are working with objects, once you crop it, everything outside of the cropped area will be erased to white. There is a tab on that screen labeled WHOLE PICTURE where it will allow you to truly crop it. Or if you wish to CROP your picture and only have the cropped area left, then you should probably do your cropping from PROJECT OPTIONS – CHANGE PAGE – CROP PAGE.
Placing numerous pictures on a page
From the main menu, choose OPEN & EDIT and then pick BLANK PROJECT. Choose PHOTO. This gives us a blank page to start adding photos to our page Next choose ADD SOMETHING – PICTURE, CUTOUT OR CLIP – FROM MY COMPUTER. Here you can locate a two or three pictures that you would like to place on a page. They will all be placed on your page --- and you will see them located in the area (known as the object stack) to the right of the page you are working on. To edit or move one of these items on your page, click on it in the object stack. As you click on one of them, you will notice that the menu options change according to what type of object you have clicked on.
Florida State Quarter
You can cast your vote for which design you would like for the Florida state quarter. Visit
http://www.myflorida.com and check the top of the page.
Spam
There are various law enforcement agencies where you can report spam.
Check out junkbusters at http://www.junkbusters.com to learn about how you can reduce the amount of telemarketing calls, junk e-mails, faxes, etc. that you receive.
Setting Up a Router
(Info from Smart Computing – March 2003 issue)
Installing a router on your home network is easy, but it takes time and expertise to configure it properly.
You will have to have a network (10/100 ethernet) card installed in all of the computers that you want to connect to the router. Connect a Cat-5 (category 5) ethernet cable from each computer to the back of the router. Connect your cable or DSL modem to the router via a Cat-5 ethernet cable also – this cable is connected to the WAN (Wide Area Networking) port on the router.
Why a router? A router is a way to share and protect an Internet connection. The Internet Connection Sharing software that is built into Windows allows multiple computers to share one Internet connection --- but it has its drawbacks. The incoming connection attaches to only one computer and that computer must be turned on at all times so that the other machines on the network can access the connection. By using a router, you can avoid this problem.
Routers provide a service called NAT (Network Address Translation). This keeps IP addresses on your home network separate from those used by devices on the Internet. A router keeps outside computers from “seeing” the computers and devices on your network. The router and its IP address act as the sole point of contact between your network and the Internet. Routers are used to share a broadband connection because the signal from the modem goes directly to the router. That means all of the computers on the network can simultaneously access the Internet via the router, and no one computer has to be turned on for the others to use the connection.
Because routers serve as the only point of contact between your network and the Internet, they are the first line of defense against anyone trying to break into your network. Check to see if the router you purchase has an integrated firewall or only a NAT. Firewalls actively monitor both incoming and outgoing data to make sure you gave express permission to let data escape from your PC or specifically requested the data that is coming in. If your router does not have a built-in hardware firewall, then use a software firewall such as ZoneAlarm. It’s not the same as having a dedicated hardware firewall, but it is sufficient for a home network and better than relying on NAT for security.
Wireless Networking
If you are going to a wireless network system – learn about the different standards. Most devices sold today adhere to the 802.11 standard known as WiFi. The most common variant is 802.11b, which runs at 11 Mbs and operates at a frequency of 2.4GHz, the same one used by some cordless phones. Other variations, which may use a different part of the radio spectrum or be capable of speeds up to 54Mbs, include 802.11a, 802.11f and 802.11g. Since they are more costly, you probably don’t want to bother with them. The 802.11b devices can move data five to 10 times as fast as your average broadband connection and that’s good enough for most people. What you have to keep in mind here --- if the router uses the 802.11b standard, the network cards must also. Wireless networks are subject to the same kinds of interference as cordless phones. Manufacturers may claim wireless devices have a range of up to 1,000 feet, but in the real world, it will be a good deal less. TVs, fluorescent lights and even wall outlets can reduce or block a signal. Walls also reduce signal strength, as does distance. Experiment, but most folks will probably find a wireless network works best when the distances involved are less than 100 feet and there aren’t too many walls between the devices.
Wireless networks can pose security problems. Your next-door neighbors or even someone driving by with a wirelessly enabled notebook may be able to tap into your broadband internet connection, or even your home computer network, if you don’ take some steps to keep them out.
Read the instructions that came with the router. Then change the default settings for the router, set up some passwords and enable Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP) on your router and wireless network cards. With WEP enabled, the signals flying back and forth on your wireless network are encrypted. The system is not perfect but provides a basic level of protection that’s probably adequate for most home networks. Using WEP reduces the speed of the network but it shouldn’t matter too much if all you plan to do is surf the Internet.