May 2008 - WINNERS – WINdows usERS

Transcription

May 2008
Inside
Botnet, The Evil Network .............2
AVerMedia Volar Max ..................3
The Crabby Office Lady (What to do
about spam) ..................................5
How to use Google Street Views to
see…............................................8
Storage - What/Who Wins in 2008?.9
A router can help protect your PC 12
Vista Service Pack 1 ....................14
Smart Computing Tips ................16
Pinnacle PCTV HD Ultimate Stick 17
Pinnacle PCTV HD PCI Card ......19
Blurbs from Bass .........................21
Photoshop CS3............................23
Your Face in Perfect Focus...........25
VideoReDo TVSuite....................26
Smart Restart ..............................27
Fountain Valley Branch Library
17635 Los Alamos,
Fountain Valley
meetings on 3rd Saturday
10:00 am to 12:30 pm
Future Meeting Dates
June 21
July 19
August 16
Membership
Annual membership is $20 for
indivduals: $5 for each additional
family members.
Presenting May 17
Michael McCort,
BS, CCFT, CCFS
From forensics-data.com
Covering computer forensic
evidence
Criminal and civil proceedings
can and do make use of evidence
revealed by computer forensic
specialists. Those who make use of
forensic evidence includ:
• Criminal prosecutors.
• Civil litigation in cases that
indicate fraud, divorce,
discrimination, workmen’s
compensation and harassment.
• Insurance companies.
• Corporate security management.
• Law enforcement officials
• Individuals.
What is Computer Forensics?
Computer forensics is the application of computer investigation and
analysis in the interests of
collecting potential legal evidence.
Evidence that might be sought in
a wide range of computer crime
or misuse, including theft of trade
secrets, theft or destruction of
intellectual property, and fraud.
Steps taken by a computer
forensic specialist
The computer forensic specialist
takes several careful steps to
identify and retrieve evidence that
exists on the subject computer
system. They protect the subject
computer system during the
forensic examination from any
alteration, damage, data corruption,
or virus introduction.
Discovery of all files on the
subject system.
This includes existing normal files,
deleted yet remaining files, hidden
files, password protected files, and
encrypted files.
Recovers all of discovered
deleted files.
Reveals the contents of ‘hidden
files’ as well as temporary or ‘swap
files’ used by both the application
programs and the operating system.
Analyzes all relevant data found in
special (and typically inaccessible)
areas of a disk.
This includes but is not limited to
what is called ‘unallocated’ space
on a disk (currently used, but the
repository of previous data that
is relevant evidence), as well as
‘slack’ space in a file (the remnant
area at the end of a file, in the last
assigned
disk cluster, that is
unused by
current file
data, but
once again
may be a
possible site for previously created
and relevant evidence).
Board of Directors
President
Steve Dela
stevede@aol.com
Vice-President
Terry Currier
winnersug@aol.com
Secretary
Gerry Bretts
gbretts@juno.com
Treasurer
Max Lockie
mlockie@pobox.com
Botnet—The Evil
Network
Sometimes, banks of computers in
offices and institutions are commandeered by the botnet operator
by Grant Fuller, a member of Big
for this criminal activity.
Blue & Cousins, Canada
In preparing this article, I could not
newsletter(at)bbc.org
find proof as to how the original
virus is delivered to the unsuspectThis one might even be too much
ing so I am assuming it is the usual
for Webman. There is a community method. Either the user clicks on
of evil geeks who own a number of a deceptive button while surfing
computers that are used exclusively the net and triggers a download,
for delivering viruses.
or an email attachment is opened
Usually backdoor Trojans, the virus unwittingly. The culprits often use
is designed to infect the average
a harvesting program that goes to
computer
users
machine
when
Board Members
the ISP server and gathers all their
launched
periodically
from
the
evil
Ethel Kamber
email addresses. Some mass mail
geeks' "Zombie" machines. The
ethel@kamber.fastmail.fm
programs actually send email to the
virus
does
not
necessarily
cause
Ken Kamber
addresses on the server at the same
problems on the targeted computkenkamber@gmail.com
time they are collecting the aders
but
it
uses
these
average
users'
Louise McCain
dresses for future use.
machines
to
deliver
spam.
With
this
LMcEnterprises@aol.com
Botnet applications are cleverly
chain reaction method, huge quan- designed so they often escape
Ed Koran
tities of spam can be spread with
edk246@aol.com
detection by anti-virus software.
very little chance of tracing it to the However, some firewalls such as
Charles Schreiber
source. ISP's have admitted they
cschreib@csulb.edu
ZoneAlarm will track incoming
spend
more
of
their
resources
on
Robin Theron
and outgoing calls so if the user is
combating these "Botnets" than the patient enough to investigate each
rtheron@gmail.com
old-fashioned crackers and hackers. of the unidentified communiqués
Editor
"If you suspect you are being used
editor@windowsusers.org
going on between the hard drive
as a pigeon for a botnet operator, it and the internet, the botnet may be
is worthwhile downloading a good, found.
WINNERS, contributors and
tested anti-virus application that has If you suspect you are being used
editors of Notepad do not assume
liability for dameages arising from a tracking firewall. The usual symp- as a pigeon for a botnet operator, it
tom that suggests there is a botnet
the publication or non-publication
is worthwhile downloading a good,
present
is
a
dramatic
slowdown
in
of any advertisement, article, editotested anti-virus application that
performance."
rial, or other item in this newsletter.
has a tracking firewall. The usual
Aside from cluttering up the inAll opionions express are those of
symptom that suggests there is a
ternet
with
spam,
the
botnet
can
the individual authors only and do
botnet present is a dramatic slow
not necessarily represent the opion- deliver "denial of service" attacks.
down in performance. As always, it
This
is
a
serious
financial
concern
ions of the WINNERS, its Board of
is a good idea to search the internet
for
companies
trying
to
establish
Directors, the WINNERS Notepad,
for the latest information on topics
themselves on the internet as well
or its editors.
like this because the war between
as
institutions
that
provide
imporWINNERS a computer association,
good and evil is forever evolving.
tant community services.
is a volunteer organization providThe usual routine is, the spammer,
ing a forum for sharing informaThis article has been provided to
who
wants
to
get
a
message
out
to
tion and experiences related to
APCUG by the author solely for
the world, pays the botnet operaWindows-based software, and
publication by APCUG member
tor,
who
then
sends
the
file
to
his
hardware, encouraging ethical use
groups. All other uses require the
of computers and software, offering zombies which in turn launches the permission of the author (see espam to the innocent distributors.
service to our communities.
mail address above).
AVerMedia Volar Max
By Terry Currier
When I first saw the AVerMedia Volar Max all I could
think of was “this is so cool.” I’ve saw TV cards at
CES (Consumer Electronic Show), but what made
this one stand out was the antenna. The unit itself is
a flash drive sized USB TV tuner which can pickup
both analog and HDTV signals. The antenna is only
3 inches tall, and with the antenna ears extended it
reaches 7 inches. Yet it pulls in over-theair (OTA) High Definition TV (ATSC)
signals very well. While it will scan and
find analog stations, but don’t count on
those to come through very well – at
least not main (ABC, NBC, CBS, FOX)
stations. You really would be buying this
for the HD value anyway.
Setting it up was really no problem. It
does take a
while though.
You install the
software and
tell it to scan
for TV signals,
it scans for
analog, and
then ATSC signals. It then will scan for FM stations. If
you have music on your computer it can also play that.
does not mean you will get premium pay channels.
Once set up I could get the all main stations and many
others. Most of the public broadcasting stations do
OTA, and I easily got them in gorgeous HD.
A minor thing true, but interesting how the software
displayed the resolutions it was receiving. I switched
it to use cable (no HD, I don’t have that set up),
and it had no problems with the conversion. I also
experimented with connecting my Terk HDTVi
antenna. While still not a full on the roof top antenna
it is a good antenna with 34 inch ears, and about three
feet higher up.
Main
Stations
ABC
CBS
NBC
FOX
Resolution
Received
1280x720
1920x1080
1920x1080
1280x720
Terk antenna
The results? The Terk was really only a little better,
that’s how good the AVerMedia antenna is.
Over the air broadcast of HDTV is uncompressed,
so the signal/picture comes through very well. In
fact antennas have seen a rebirth of sorts with people
buying them to use for getting the HD signals.
Here is some interesting bits I found about
HD antennas from a web site - http://www.
hdtvantennalabs.com/hdtv-antenna-hype.php.
“Do you know what HDTV antenna is? If you do,
forget it immediately. There is no such thing.
The unit’s software can also be used to play video, and
show pictures (create slide shows.)
It can also be hooked up to use your cable provider
via the Unencrypted “Clear” QAM support. So if you
hook up the unit to a cable provider and you have
digital cable channels, you will be able to get those
with out the set top box. And the answer is no, this
Do you know what a regular antenna is? Antenna is
a piece of metal designed to resonate at a specific
frequency and to be responsive over a range of
frequencies. TV antennas are designed to work
either in the range of Ultra High Frequencies (UHF),
Very High Frequencies (VHF) or both. Any station
transmitting within an antenna bandwidth, i.e. the
VHF/UHF frequency range, can be picked up by the
antenna and transferred to the TV set.
All television broadcasts, digital and analog, high
definition and standard definition, take place in the
VHF and the UHF bands. What make a signal to be
HD is its content, the way a signal is modulated, and
not the carrier frequency it is transmitted on. On the
contrary, for antenna only the frequency matters. ”
Don’t believe it? How about building your own HDTV
antenna out of coat hangers, a plank of wood, and a
low cost VHF/UHF transformer? Go to http://www.
youtube.com/watch?v=EWQhlmJTMzw. Of course I
rather use the compact AVerMedia antenna.
With the H.264 recording compression format it
reduces the amount of hard disk space needed for
recording. It takes about 6.5GB per hour while my
ADS unit recording into HD will take about 10GB per
hour. If you want to save space you can record into
WMV format, but of course the picture will not be as
good.
If you have various AV devices such as PlayStation,
Xbox 360, or camcorder you can connect it to the
Volar with its dongle. Inputs include
the 75 O TV Antenna, Composite
(RCA), and S-Video. AVerMedia
said to resolve the latency problem
when playing video games on
Vista MCE, AVerTV Hybrid Volar
MAX employs the exclusive Vista
MCE Video Gaming Plug-in to
synchronize the video and audio of
video games.
The Volar can be setup as a PVR
(Personal Video Recorder) to record
whatever show you want. You can click on the record
button, or use the EPG (Electronic Programming
Guide, only for Digital TV ) which downloads show
information for the main stations with an Internet
connection. With the TV Scheduler (One-time/
Continuous Mode) you can program it just like a
VCR: set the channel, time, and duration.
It doesn’t matter which type of screen you have, wide
screen (16:9) or normal (4:3) since you can change the
aspect with just a single click.
The AVer MediaCenter software lets you do
TimeShifting. Simply put it is a pause allowing you to
record show parts, but not necessarily the whole show.
You get up to get something to eat, come back and
start playing the video again. Catch up by zooming
through the commercials. Volar lets you do Picture-inPicture by showing up to three stations on the screen
at the same time.
I tested it on a Gateway Desktop with Windows XP
with Media Center Operating system, an HP notebook
with XP Home Edition, and a Toshiba notebook with
Vista Home Premium. I had no problems on any of
them.
You also have the ability to record (including
scheduling) FM radio and play it later. Also you can
do screen captures of live TV. In fact you can set it
to take a number of pictures at set intervals. The unit
does not have a remote, but you can purchase one
from their E-Shop for $19.99.
Conclusion
The AVerTV Hybrid Volar MAX won the 2008 CES
Innovations Design & Engineering Award in the Video
Accessories Category. This is a great HDTV unit
especially for the mobile traveler, or even for those
that don’t want to open up their computer to put a TV
card in.
The AVerTV Hybrid Volar MAX is available now for
$79.99 MSRP. For more information go to
www.avermedia-usa.com or call AVerMedia at
(408) 263-3828.
The Crabby Office Lady
This week's column is a bit of a
lecture. I'm trying, once again, to
beg you to refrain from sending
rumors, hoaxes, and jokes, either
to or from your workplace. Of
course, what you do in your personal time is your business, but
please remember the Bcc box.
________________________________________
"Say it, don't spray it." I've used this little saying
before, and it apparently made an impression on some
of my readers (who, of course, wrote to tell me about
it). But some of you are still not getting the message.
When I wrote that line, I was talking about using the
Bcc box to prevent all your e-mail recipients from
seeing each others' e-mail addresses. It's the courteous
thing to do (and I'm nothing if not an e-mail etiquette
advocate, even though not the perfect practitioner).
So, why an entire column about it? Well, this column is not just about the Bcc box, per se. It's more
about how to deal with keeping all those jokes (rarely
funny), rumors (rarely true), and spam e-mail (rarely
funny or true) from soiling your pristine Inbox when
your senders are clueless about the Bcc box.
The good guys: Those who use the Bcc box
Using the Bcc box to prevent e-mail addresses from
being spread all over digital kingdom come is all well
and good, but it's up to the sender to instigate that.
And you, as the sender, are well and good, and I love
you for that.
Of course, if I start assuming that you do use the Bcc
box when appropriate, well, that just makes a youknow-what out of you and me. So let's review:
To display the Bcc box (if it isn't already showing):
In an e-mail message, click the little arrow next to the
Options box , and then click Bcc.
When you add someone's e-mail address to the Bcc
box, a copy of your message will be sent to him, but
his address will not be visible to anyone else (including himself) receiving the message.
And when should you use the Bcc box?
When you're sending out a mass mailing and you want
to protect the e-mail addresses and identities of everyone on that mailing.
Or, when you don't want someone in the To or Cc box
to know that you are including another person in that
message (sneaky, but useful in certain circumstances).
A Bcc caveat
Before you use Bcc box, make sure your intended
recipient is expecting it. That person may need to take
steps to establish you as a
safe sender (or a safe
recipient, if your name will
be in the To box of the Bcc
message). See, lots of spammers use the Bcc box to try
to wriggle their way out of
the junk mail filter (I hear
their screams and it fills me
with glee), so many junk
mail filters automatically flag messages using the Bcc
box as junk.
So how can you, as the receiver, prevent — or at least
diminish — the amount of junk you get (and still
manage to save the friendship of the senders)? Let's
dig a little deeper (meaning let's go beyond praying
that your senders are using the Bcc box) and find out.
Taking matters into your own hands
So you say that your senders do not know what the
Bcc box is and have no plans on learning how to use
it? I know; there's only so much we can do for our
loved ones (besides full-blown interventions). I used
to take the tack of telling my friends to stop sending
me these awful jokes and rumors, but I have lost more
than a few friends doing that. And so I shall not advise
you to do as I did.
Instead, there are steps you can take to diminish the
impact these types of messages have on your Inbox.
And by "these messages" I mean rumors, hoaxes,
jokes, and plain old junk mail. Let's review:
Rumors, hoaxes, and phishing
When I was younger and had no more sense than your
average garden gnome, I believed. I believed that my
tiny, sugar-encrusted baby teeth were worth money
to an apparently cash-strapped fairy. I believed that a
certain 5-year-old cereal commercial star died from
eating a certain type of exploding candy mixed with a
certain soft drink. And I believed that if I forwarded a
message promising free champagne to 10 (now
former) friends, in six days I, too, would receive a
case of the bubbly stuff myself.
As you know (or should now, frankly), none of these
are true. And frankly, the majority — if not all — the
rumors you receive from well-meaning e-mail senders
are not true either. Here are some general guidelines:
If the message has something in the subject or body
to the effect of “Forward this message to get a free...”,
it’s a hoax. (Bye-bye free bubbly. Bye-bye free Gap
clothes.)
Microsoft and AOL are not merging (as far as I know,
anyway). As well, Mr. Gates himself has no interest
in giving away vast sums of his hard-earned money to
people who forward the most chain letters. (While yes,
I do work for Bill, no, I did not get this denial from
him directly. However, I’m fairly certain that this hoax
is just that: a hoax.)
“Phishing” scams try to get personal information from
you for identity theft. Any e-mail you get about foreign lotteries, about PayPal trying to get you to update
your personal information, or about money in Nigeria
that someone needs help getting out of the country is a
phishing scam. Don’t bite the phishing line; you may
end up with a painful hook in your mouth that may
take years to heal.
Jokes
On to the jokes. If you’re like me (and if you are,
you know who you are), you have family members,
friends, and even coworkers who have nothing better
with their time than to pass on jokes to you via e-mail.
And, if you are even more like me, you already have
an overflowing Inbox that is threatening to burst. Although this may not make headline news (nor should
it), it is an irritation, and if it gets to be too overwhelming, it becomes a threat to your digital security.
And why is this? Because the more jokey e-mails
passed on from one person to the next, the more likely
your address is going to find its way into the filthy typing fingers of a spammer.
Don’t get me wrong; I like a good joke as much as the
next office lady, but I personally feel that the best part
of a joke is in the telling of it. However, I do understand that sometimes a joke is just too good to keep to
one’s self, and perhaps the person you want to tell it to
isn’t nearby or perhaps is, I don’t know, doing iceberg
research in Antarctica and not reachable by phone
(but, of course, has e-mail availability). And so...the
digital joke is the only way to go for some people who
just cannot wait to tell it.
But folks, please listen to me: When you forward one
of those Internet rumors or jokes to someone, particularly if you pass it on to many someones whose e-mail
addresses you put plainly in the To box, you’re exposing all of them to the scary digital world of scammers
and their ilk.
Think of it this way (and I’ll try and keep this is as
G-rated as I can): When A kisses B and then B kisses
C, it’s just as if C kissed A (creating a real rift between
B and C, but that’s a different sort of column for a
different type of Web site. Paging Dr. Phil! Paging Dr.
Phil!).
What I’m saying is this: You’re putting your privacy
and everyone else’s into serious jeopardy when you
pass on these types of “messages.” And all those kisses could be coming from people with serious halitosis.
And so, how can you protect yourself from these, um,
funny mails and scintillating rumors without actually
telling your senders to cease and desist? To me, it’s
obvious. Luckily, Outlook has some solutions.
You make the rules
I use rules in Outlook a lot. I use them to move messages as they arrive, when I send them, and to deal
with the issues this column covers. You can create just
about any sort of rule. Examples:
Create a rule that will move arriving messages with
words such as “Fwd,” “Viagra,” or “joke” in the subject line or body of the message to a specific folder.
Then you can choose to either read them later or just
dump them permanently.
If you know that certain people in your life only send
junk, create a rule that sends messages from these
people to a specific folder so, again, you can choose to
read them later or dispose of them.
More information about setting up and using rules
About managing messages with rules
Create a rule
Use the Junk E-Mail filter
The Junk E-Mail filter in Outlook is your best friend,
and really, your best tool for controlling the flow of
whatever you deem “junk” to your Inbox. But first,
let me give you some examples of some of the ways
in which you can make the Junk E-Mail filter your
personal security officer — and this is something that
you can continue to update, refresh, and hone as often
as you want.
If you just don’t want e-mail from anyone writing
from a specific domain, you can block messages coming in from the entire domain. You can do this with
international domains as well. If, down the road, you
strike up an ongoing correspondence with someone
from that domain you blocked previously, you can
unblock that specific e-mail address.
You can quickly add a sender to your blocked senders
list, right after the message comes in — a few clicks
just one time is all it takes.
• Information about setting up and using the junk
mail filter:
Audio course: Slice the spam! How Outlook helps
protect you from junk e-mail
• About the Junk E-mail Filter
• Demo: Junk mail and spammers meet their match
in Outlook
• Add a name to the Blocked Senders List
• Update junk e-mail filters for Outlook
• What to do with all that spam
You may have noticed, just from quickly scanning this
column, that Outlook rules and the junk e-mail filter
overlap: When you’re dealing with how to manage
unwanted e-mail messages or perhaps messages that
you want to deal with at
a later time, sometimes
a rule will work better
for you and sometimes
using the Outlook junk
e-mail filter options will
work best. Play around
a bit and see what
works best for you.
Tip of the week
This week’s tip of the
week is from me and
it’s about, well, your
tips of the week. I just
want to remind you
that I’m on the lookout
for tips that have to do
with Microsoft Office.
Although this may seem obvious to you, apparently it
isn’t to some of your fellow Crabby Office Lady column readers, who have sent me tips on topics ranging
from how to fool your boss into thinking that you’re
working when you’re playing online backgammon, to
how to keep your office clean and fresh smelling.
So please, let me iterate this one more time: Send me
your tips about Microsoft Office (with a capital “O”).
The others are entertaining (and I’m being generous
here), but they do not merit a box of Crabby Office
Lady mints, a “Do-not-disturb-I’m-feeling-Crabby”
door hanger, nor certainly not a mug.
“To invent, you need a good imagination and a pile
of junk.” — Thomas A. Edison
About the author
Annik Stahl, the Crabby Office Lady columnist, takes
all of your complaints, compliments, and knee-jerk
reactions to heart. Therefore, she graciously asks that
you let her know whether this column was useful to
you — or not — by entering your feedback using
the Was this information helpful? tool below. And
remember: If you don’t vote, you can’t complain.
Get the Crabby Office Lady’s book
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WINNERS has received permission to reprint The
Crabby Office Lady’s articles.
End of Article - End of Article - End of Article - End of Article
End of Article - End of Article
Nervous Flyer
I am a very nervous flyer. During a trip from
California to Indiana, it didn't help that my connecting
flight from Denver was delayed twice because of
mechanical problems. Then, after we were aloft, I
noticed the lights began flickering. I mentioned this to
a flight attendant.
"I'll take care of it," she said. Moments later the lights
went out. Clearly she'd solved the problem by turning
off the lights.
A passenger across the aisle who had been listening
leaned over and said, "Whatever you do, please don't
ask about the engines."
How to use Google Street Views
to see…streets, places, routes and
faces!
by Linda Gonse, Editor and Webmaster, Orange
County IBM PC Users’ Group, CA
www.orcopug.org
editor(at)orcopug.org
Beyond the curiosity of the new panoramic on-theroad reality shots, Google’s detailed Street Views
give you a feel for really being where you want to go.
Although only a handful of large cities are represented
in these views, it’s still likely you will want to look for
destinations in them occasionally.
You can enlarge a panoramic shot to full screen, so
you don’t have to squint to see into a little peek-a-boo
window.
Other handy features allow you to zoom in and out,
and to “drive” along a street or freeway by clicking
on an arrow with your mouse. You can look in all four
directions, of course, and the names of the streets and
the routes are superimposed on the photos. You can
even email the view to family or friends.
If you aren’t familiar with Street Views, go to Google.
com and click on Maps, a link at the top of the screen.
Type in a location of a street or a city. If one of the
boxes at the top of the map shown says “Street View,”
click on it.
A map looking like a plate of blue spaghetti shows
where panoramic shots were taken.
In the meantime, a different type of map searcher is
ignoring the privacy controversy caused by Google
Street View’s high-quality, crystal-clear, panoramic
photos, and are magnifying certain side-of-theroad
scenes they find and sharing them online!
What they’ve found falls into categories, which include actual lawbreaking or crimes in progress, people
doing ordinary things that seem extraordinary when
you know that people worldwide will be seeing them;
surreal sights caused by the panoramic camera being
halted or later photo-stitching in an editing program;
visual commentaries about places and people; and
street views divulging the homes of the famous, or
landmark homes and places. Map searchers uploaded
these mini-slices of life to www.streetviewr.com.
Check out the maps and see what you can find. Maybe
you’ll even see yourself in one of the shots!
Zoom in to see streets outlined in blue. A “person”
icon (that’s you) is facing in the direction you are
heading. You can move the icon to wherever you wish
to go, or simply double-click on one of the blue-lined
streets.
This article has been provided to APCUG by the author solely for publication by APCUG member groups.
All other uses require the permission of the author (see
e-mail address above).
2007 Chaos, What/Who Wins in
2008?
– written, photo, music, video.
By Andy Marken, Marken Communications
www.markencom.com
andy(at)markencom.com
Personal content is
gaining momentum. The
long tail of entertainment
is moving more rapidly
than Chris Anderson
envisioned when he wrote
his first book.
Obtained from APCUG with the author’s permission
for publication by APCUG member groups.
The fun of analyzing the past 12 months is…it’s easy!
But forecasting 2008 requires separating dreams from
reality…early adopters from mass market.
The entertainment shift
is making micromarket
segmentation more
important to manufacturers and
suppliers.
Consumer advocacy/protection
groups historically viewed
Microsoft as the big evil one
located in Redmond, WA but
with tentacles around the globe.
Ironically, we don’t view the kind,
fun-loving kids of Google in the
same manner even though they
touch almost everyone on the earth
in one way or another multiple
times…every day.
For the early adopters the home entertainment network
is here.
The converged mobile content/communications device
is here.
Content when you want it, where you want it, how you
want it is here.
For the mass market…it’s an awkward transitional
period.
2007’s Time Magazine’s Person of the year was …
You.
The yous of the world are connected and have the
choice of an almost limitless variety of online content
They’ve helped us get over
concerns of privacy. In just a few
minutes you can find out almost
anything/everything you want to
know about any company, any individual. Get over it !
To help even more they are going to make a move
to build out the communications infrastructure and
they’ll begin offering location tracking “services” all
just to help…you!
But how can you consider any of the Googlites
activities/efforts could ever be used for evil when they
have vowed they will do everything in their power to
regreen the planet?
Jostling for Their Futures
While mobile device convergence got off to a rocky
start this past year as bandwidth providers, content
owners, portal services and manufacturers tried to
determine exactly how they were going to get their
unfair share of the consumer’s dollar.
This could be a long, bloody battle because it will
determine the shape and future for each segment well
into the 22nd century.
The initial devices in an awkward manner let you use
them to place/receive calls, watch TV/video, listen to
music, track your location and handle your IM/email
communications they moving target first generation
products. We will see three to four generations of new
products in 2008 as producers focus on key issues:
• Significant improvements in ease of use
• Flexibility in allowing users to customize
applications to suit themselves
• Managing the bloating storage issues
With the explosion of content on the iNet we’re
seeing a dramatic increase in the demand for higher
bandwidth.
Legacy applications like email and simple web
browsing required relatively little bandwidth.
• Dramatic investment in bandwidth
infrastructure (higher rates to pay for the
expansion)
• Tiered services and payment schemes to
support managed QoS service provisions
• Year of Storage
Because of the glut and demand for content,
Time Magazine’s person of the year for 2008 will
undoubtedly be…Storage !
• Storage for the home.
• Storage for the mobile device.
• Storage for the personal stuff.
While everyone still has closets, drawers, storage sites
stashed with dusty analog content; the cost and work
of bringing it into the digital era is more than anyone
wants to contemplate.
But today’s stuff is a different matter!
The new product, new technology buzz of solutions
for the home is just beginning this year and it will
have a ways to go before it reaches mass market.
A few manufacturers like HP are delivering first
generation home network storage
solutions that kinda work with
and for the customer rather than in
their own engineered manner.
True, you can:
• Network them
• Move content from one system
to another
• Back up the stuff locally and
remotely
The three-minute call was easily handled by
landline and thru-the-air phone services. But add the
expectations of flawless HighDef and future Ultra HD
content and video on demand and we will be faced
with two options that only the bandwidth providers
want to consider:
But none of it is yet easy, natural
which is required for mass market
implementation. The industry
over the next several years will be
focusing on:
• Increasingly delivering on the
promises of UPnP
• Providing self-diagnostic, self-healing storage
devices
• Delivering more intelligence on deterring when
content needs to be moved from one system to
the home storage device and when the content
needs to be archived/protected offsite
and DVD – lasts five plus years before it needs to be
replaced. That replacement price today is well under
$50 today. The media costs virtually nothing. People
“know” their content is archived.
While the save-and-sneakernet product market will
remain stable, the hard drive/flash market will grow
significantly this coming year.
That’s a heavy workload and will still require
evolutionary consumer adoption until we reach a point
where use is just too easy, too logical, too economic
not to use.
In the meantime, 2008 - 2010 will be a great period for
storage device, media, solution providers – hard drive,
flash, optical.
Home Storage
• By the end of 2008, 1TB/2TB home servers
will become normal.
• 250GB storage in notebook and desktop
systems will become standard.
• 80GB mobile devices will be “expected” as
we use them to carry our music, photos, video,
web shows, TV fare.
The biggest winner in this HD space will be the
one who does more than just offers higher capacity,
cheaper bit buckets.
The edge will go to the producer who can deliver
diagnostic and health maintenance intelligence, not
the one who can simply squeeze more data on a single
platter.
Mobile Play
Flash technology which is working to find a home
in lighter, more power efficient notebooks will be a
niche solution in 2008. Advertised and wished for
performance probably won’t be achieved for 2-3
technology generations. Even with the early adopters
SSD units in notebooks will be a “bragging rights”
niche product until at least 2009.
But there is still an almost insatiable demand for flash
based solutions.
People will still be comfortable in storing and sharing
digital files on blank media. CD media sales have been
flat to slightly down this past year. DVD media sales
have probably reached their peak. Once we see more
BD/HD DVD burners hit homes/offices we’ll see the
recordable media format sales increase because it is a
logical extension, an evolutionary step in storage for
consumers.
A DVD burner – which stores content on both CD
In the coming year, “everyone” will have a couple
of 8-12GB USB drives, 4-5 8-16 SD cards for
their cameras, a couple of 16-24GB cards for their
camcorder and 3-4 4-8GB cards for their cell phone.
Of all of the storage applications, we believe the
mobile phone usage will be the most exciting and the
most aggressive.
Now that the cellular services of Americas have come
to realize they are service providers, not device sellers
we should see a rapid succession of new mobile
phones both here and abroad that will make life onthe-go easier and more satisfying.
It’s also more logical for the phone producers.
If you scan the BOM (bill of materials) of a 4GB cell
phone with 5MP camera and 2-3 in screen, one of the
most expensive components has got to be …storage.
Remove storage from the equation, offering the
consumer with “virtual storage” options and other
software-ready features like music/video download,
GPS, 3D screen and suddenly you have an economic
device you can enjoy for years…yeah right!
Handset manufacturers will be delivering a more
feature-rich, more economic and more flexible device
to the manufacturer and will place the onus to deliver
low-cost, rugged capacity where it belongs…at the
flash producers’ front door.
At home and away the demand is going to be
connected to/using your content in new and different
ways. Simplifying the process and making it cheaper,
more reliable, more flexible is going to make it easier
to kiss fixed providers goodbye …like the cable guy!
This article has been provided to APCUG by the
author solely for publication by APCUG member
groups. All other uses require the permission of the
author (see e-mail address above).
A router can help protect your
computer
By Sandy Berger, CompuKISS
www.compukiss.com
Sandy(at)compukiss.com
A few years ago, you had probably not heard the term
“router”, unless you used one in your wood-working
class in high school. Today, you hear much more about
the word “router” when it is used in conjunction with
computers and the Internet. In the computer world,
a router is an important piece of equipment and one
that is making its way into everyday terminology. So I
would like to tell you a little about what a router is and
what it can do for you.
A router is a hardware device that connects networks
of two or more computers and forwards data across a
network of computers. Devices like network printers
can also be hooked up to a router. Routers that you
might see in home and small business use are generally small rectangular or square devices about 6” to 8”
in size. This type of router will have ports on the back
where you can hook in computers, broadband modems, and other devices. A router has lights that indicate its status and the status of the connected devices.
Wireless modems often have small antennas. Routers
can usually sit on a desktop or the floor, but they can
also be hung on a wall.
You can think of a router as a kind of traffic cop that
stands on the corner and routes the traffic to their final
destination. Just as a traffic cop knows which direction
a car is coming from and which way it wants to go,
a router knows what data
comes from each of the
computers, what data each
computer has requested,
and what data to return to
each computer. Routers
are the workhorses of the
Internet. They make sure
that your email gets to your intended recipient rather
than one of the millions of other computers. Within a
smaller network routers make sure that the data or the
webpage that you request is returned to your computer
and not the computer of your co-worker or other
family member.
While routers have been used for years in the Internet
and by businesses, the proliferation of home networks has brought the router into the home and into
the realm of the average computer user. In a home, a
router typically is used to share an Internet connection.
It connects a home network of two or more computers with the network of your Internet Service Provider
(ISP), giving each of your computers Internet connec-
tivity. Your ISP issues you one address on the Internet,
called an IP or Internet Protocol address. If you have
multiple machines at home, a router lets you share that
single IP address.
The router watches the traffic going out and waits for
the response to the outgoing traffic. It then routes the
incoming traffic to the proper computer within your
home network. Since the router is watching all the
traffic, it knows what information you have requested
and only allows incoming traffic that is expected. So if
your computer has requested a Web page, it will allow
that Web page to come into your computer. Other traffic that has not been requested is tossed aside and not
allowed to come in.
This ignoring of unexpected incoming traffic has an
interesting side effect. It actually protects your computer from many malicious attacks from the outside.
So the router, since it protects all the computers on
your network, is considered a hardware firewall.
In fact, a router plus the firewall that is built-into
Windows will, in my opinion, give the average user
all the protection that they need. That is, provided that
they follow safe computing procedures, like not opening unexpected email attachments and running a good
antivirus program.
For heavy duty computer users who want to make sure
that their computers are completely protected, third
party software firewalls, like those offered by Symantec, McAfee, and Zone
Alarm, do offer the added safeguard of watching the traffic flowing in
and out of each software
program on your computer. However, these
firewalls can slow down
your computer. They
often ask the computer
user to permit or deny
permission for programs
that request Internet
access. If you are just
an average Joe, it can
often be very difficult to
determine if you should
grant or deny that permission since the names
of the files are often nebulous. I can’t tell you how
many times I have been called to repair someone’s
Internet connectivity only to find out that they had
inadvertently told the firewall to deny Internet access
to a program that can’t function without it.
So having a router not only lets you share an Internet
connection, it also protects your computer without
slowing it down. As a matter of fact, even if you only
have one computer, you can still use a router between
your broadband Internet connection and your computer to help protect your perimeter. With the price
of small routers falling to under $50, a router can be
a wise investment for today’s computer user, even if
they have to pay someone to come in and set it up for
them.
This article has been provided to APCUG by the author solely for publication by APCUG member groups.
All other uses require the permission of the author (see
e-mail address above).
Vista Service Pack 1
What You Need to Know
by Sandy Berger, CompuKISS
www.compukiss.com
sandy(at)compukiss.com
Microsoft recently released Service Pack 1 (SP1) for
Windows Vista. A Service Pack is a rollup of updates,
fixes and enhancements. Many techie advisors like
to wait to install a new operating system until the
first Service Pack is released because it means that
the operating system has matured and gotten all the
original bugs out.
Microsoft says that this Service Pack includes all
updates that have been released since the debut of
Vista in February 2007, plus additional improvements
and better compatibility with some hardware and
software. Two things that may be especially useful
for Vista users is a purported speed improvement
and native support for 802.11n, the latest wireless
standard.
While you can surf over to the Microsoft website
and download the Service Pack right now, you may
not want to. Part of the reason for waiting is that
some drivers, especially audio drivers are currently
adversely affected by SP1. While this problem can
usually be easily rectified by reinstalling the problem
driver or changing default settings, most average users
will not want to encounter these problems.
Microsoft realizes that there are some problems with
the Service Pack and it is making some moves to make
sure that this Service Pack is well received rather than
a poke in the eye for Vista, which has already received
quite a bit of bad publicity.
These moves include the fact that Microsoft won’t
begin the automatic rollout of the Service Pack
via Windows Update until May (has started now).
Microsoft has also added some detection code to its
update service that will block you from deployment
of SP1 if your computer’s drivers will be adversely
affected. You will only be offered the update if your
system can handle it.
So the best policy for most users is to just sit back,
relax, and wait until the Microsoft Update offers you
the SP1 download as part of their update process.
If you have been doing automatic updates through
Microsoft, you already have most of the important
security updates, so there should be no rush to install
Service Pack 1. However, some future software may
require SP1, so you will want to install it at some point
in time.
Although some technology reviewers are singing
praises for the Vista Service Pack, it is not completely
without problems. A small amount of third party
software is adversely affected by this Service Pack.
It should be noted, that this is not unusual for a
Service Pack, since it often makes changes to the
core operating system. The list of software that has
incompatibility or reduced functionality with SR1 is
mostly obscure or old software, Yet, when it comes
time to install this Service Pack, you might want to
check the Microsoft list of incompatible software at
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/935796 .
As with any important update, you will want to
properly prepare your computer before you start the
installation. First, backup any important files. If you
don’t already have a backup system in place, click
on the Start button and type in backup to start the
Vista backup utility. Remember that the safest place
to backup is to an external drive rather than to the
internal hard drive.
Then, check your hard disk for errors. Double-click
on the Computer icon on your desktop, right-click on
the main hard drive icon, which is usually C: Select
Properties, then, on the Tools tab, click Check Hard
Disk for Errors. You may also want to check with your
computer manufacturer or hardware vendor to see if
you need any updated drivers for Service Pack 1.
Last, but not least, give yourself plenty of time for
the update. It can take several hours. Luckily, in
an effort to make this go smoothly for everyone,
Microsoft is offering free support for the installation
of Vista Service Pack 1. As far as I know, this is
unprecedented. And it is very welcome. Email, chat
support, and even phone support is free for problems
related to the compatibility and installation of Service
Pack 1 until March 18, 2009.
You can find these free support options and
information at the Microsoft Vista Service Pack 1
Website. Be sure to save this address, just in case
you need it. Although this free support is available to
everyone, it is not being highly publicized.
http://tinyurl.com/2q4xrk
Windows Tips & Tricks
January 2007 • Vol.18 Issue 1
Page(s) 31-32 in print issue
How To Use Disk Cleanup
Disk Cleanup helps you cut the clutter on your Windows 98/Me/XP/Vista computer’s hard drive. The
utility, which is built into Windows, finds unnecessary
files in various categories such as Temporary Internet
Files and Offline Files. You can then choose which
categories to delete, often freeing up many megabytes
or even gigabytes at one stroke.
When you’re troubleshooting a problem on your PC,
the advice you’ll find or hear from other users often
includes running Disk Cleanup. This isn’t because the
utility has a proven track record of fixing problems—it
doesn’t. However, it can eliminate some variables in
the troubleshooting process, such as a corrupted TMP
(temporary) file that could be causing trouble or a lack
of free space for the swap file.
Disk Cleanup also doesn't detect duplicate files, such
as multiple copies of space-eating songs and photos.
Still, it's a useful tool with which every Windows users
should be familiar.
you haven’t accessed in a long time and compress (but
not delete) them to save space. Compress Old Files
isn’t a very attractive option, however, as it takes a PC
longer to access compressed files when they’re needed. Also, because new hard drives cost as little as 20
cents per gigabyte, adding storage capacity with a new
hard drive is preferable to compressing files in most
cases. Compress Old Files is usually also to blame for
how long it takes WinXP’s Disk Cleanup to scan your
hard drive.
Click the checkbox next to any category to select or
deselect it for file deletion. The Temporary Files category is a good place to start (Disk Cleanup may ignore
temp files less than seven days old), as are Temporary
Internet Files, Temporary Offline Files, Offline Files,
and Setup Log Files. Before you check the Recycle
Bin entry, you might want to first double-click its icon
on your Desktop to make sure that there’s nothing in it
that you don’t want to throw away permanently.
Some categories, such as Downloaded Program Files
(which includes unneeded ActiveX controls and Java
applets), cause a View Files button to appear. Click it,
and you'll see a window with a list of the files Windows says is OK to delete. Close the window when
you’re finished looking.
Windows XP lets you clean out a huge number of Microsoft Office setup files, but if you have to do a repair
operation later, you’ll need to insert the Office installation disc at that time.
When you’re ready
for Disk Cleanup to
erase your expendable files, click OK
and Yes. If your hard
drive has more than
After searching your hard drive (WinXP may take sev- one partition, such as
eral minutes), Disk Cleanup will give you a list of junk C: and D:, run Disk
file categories called Files To Delete. On the right, the Cleanup on each.
utility will tell you how much hard drive space it can
The Disk Cleanup
reclaim by deleting the files in each category. WinXP
window has another
expresses drive space in kilobytes or bytes, such as
tab called More Op2,255,003 (2.3MB), but WinMe sticks to megabytes,
tions. Here you’ll find
such as 0.06MB (60KB).
more ways to free up hard drive space. The Clean Up
button in the Windows Components section launches
In WinXP, Disk Cleanup can also find old files that
the Windows Components Wizard in WinXP and the
Windows Me/XP
To run Disk Cleanup in WinMe/XP, right-click Start
and choose Explore, or press the Windows logo and E
keys at the same time. Right-click Local Disk (C:) and
choose Properties. Click Disk Cleanup to begin.
Add/Remove Programs feature in WinMe. The Installed Programs section’s Clean Up button links to
Add/Remove Programs feature in both OSes (operating systems). Finally, the System Restore section’s
Clean Up button nukes every restore point but the
most recent one. This is a little drastic, so Windows
asks you whether you want to proceed.
System Restore’s Clean Up button is kind of pointless
for two reasons. Firstly, it doesn’t reclaim usable hard
drive space from System Restore because it doesn’t
change the amount of space allocated to the utility. In
WinXP, you can do this by right-clicking My Computer, choosing Properties and the System Restore tab,
setting the Disk Space To Use slider to a lower setting,
and clicking Apply. In WinMe, right-click My Computer and select Properties, the Performance tab, and
File System. Adjust the System Restore Disk Space
Use slider and click Apply. Reducing System Restore’s disk space may erase your oldest restore points.
Secondly, if you needed to delete old restore points
as part of troubleshooting, you would get rid of all of
them (not even sparing the most recent restore point)
by disabling System Restore. In WinXP, select the
Turn Off System Restore checkbox just above the
Disk Space To Use slider. In WinMe, click the Troubleshooting tab, select the Disable System Restore
checkbox, click Apply, and then click OK.
Windows 98
Windows 98’s Disk Cleanup window has a Settings
tab. Here, you can tell Windows to automatically run
the utility when the hard drive gets too full.
Win98’s Disk Cleanup differs only slightly from
WinMe/XP’s. Its Disk Cleanup window has a third tab
called Settings, which bears a self-explanatory checkbox reading If This Drive Runs Low On Disk Space,
Automatically Run Disk Cleanup. If you enable or
disable this option, click OK.
Windows Vista
In case you’ve been using Windows Vista long enough
to worry about detritus on your hard drive, here’s the
procedure for using Disk Cleanup. Note that the final
version of Vista, which may be available by the time
you read this, may differ a little from the build we
used to pen this article (build 5600 Release Candidate
1).
Click the Start icon (the Windows icon orb) in its
familiar place at the lower-left part of the screen.
When the new Start menu appears, click Computer in
the column
on the right.
Think of
Computer
as Vista's
version of
Win98/Me/
XP's My
Computer;
as with the
Documents,
Pictures, and
Music folders, Microsoft simply dropped the "My"
part of the name. Computer combines the features of
My Computer and Win98/Me/XP’s File Explorer in
one window, meaning that you’ll see icons for your
hard drive partitions and other storage devices in the
center, plus a folder tree on the left. You can also reach
Computer by pressing the Windows logo-E combination keystroke.
Next, right-click Local Disk (C:). Choose Properties.
Windows 98/Me/XP users will be on familiar ground
here, as the Local Disk (C:) Properties panel will look
much as it did in those earlier OSes.
Click the Disk Cleanup button at the lower-right.
Here, Vista will throw you a curve ball. It will ask you
whether you want to clean up the files in the current
user account only or in all of the user accounts on the
PC. Click either option, and Vista will immediately
start to analyze the files on the PC. Because of improvements in the way Vista indexes files with its default file system settings, this process may take much
less time than on systems with WinXP.
Some of Vista’s Files To Delete categories can really
free up substantial amounts of hard drive space. One
example is System Error Memory Dump Files, which
denotes files Windows Vista creates when it logs information about an error that has occurred. And if you
don’t care for Vista’s Hibernate mode, check Hibernation File Cleaner. This can free up gigabytes of space
and disable the Hibernate mode at the same time.
After you’ve chosen the types of files to delete, click
OK. Vista will ask you whether you really want to
proceed, so click Delete Files. When Disk Cleanup is
finished, click OK.
Although it doesn’t “clean up” problems on the hard
drive such as bad Registry entries or spyware, Disk
Cleanup is nevertheless an important tool. Use it occasionally and pay attention to what you delete with it.
by Marty Sems
Reprinted with permission from Smart Computing
Tables In Word: Tools such as Microsoft Word 2003
offer a variety of standard formats that can be applied
to tables. Just click anywhere in your table and then
click Table and Table AutoFormat. A formatting dialog box will appear, so you can select from a variety
of established format styles. Examples are shown
for each format, so you can experiment with different looks until you find the one that suits the situation
best. When you decide on a format, click Apply to
reformat you table. If you make a mistake or change
your mind, click Undo and repeat this process to apply
another table format.
Garbage In, Garbage Out: It’s great to take pictures
at low resolution because you can cram more photos
in your camera’s memory. But with all things PC, the
GIGO (garbage in, garbage out) rule applies. Lowresolution photos are ideal for posting to Web sites or
emailing, but not for printing, unless you’re willing to
keep the size down to roughly passport-photo size or
smaller. Let’s say your printer works best at 200 pixels per inch. For a good 4- x 6-inch photo you need
800 x 1200 pixels; double that for an 8- x 10-inch.
Low resolution for today’s cameras usually means 640
x 480 pixels, not nearly enough for anything about a
3- x 5-inch picture. Shoot at higher resolutions for
larger photos.
Slow Computer?: If your computer is running
slowly, you don’t necessarily need to reinstall your
operating system, make sure that you don’t have unwanted programs hogging your memory. Do thorough
spyware and antivirus scans, and then uninstall any
unnecessary programs. Check your system tray. Are
there a lot of programs running? Disable anything that
you don’t actually need, then see if you system performance improves. If all these fixes don’t help, and
it’s been at least a year since you got your computer or
you reinstalled the OS, then your PC might be a good
candidate for reinstalling the OS.
Pinnacle PCTV HD Ultimate Stick
Review
By Bill James, APCUG Director; Editor &
Webmaster, Computer Club of Oklahoma City
www.ccokc.org
bjames(at)apcug.net
Some computer products just have a ‘wow’ factor
on first sight; the Pinnacle PCTV HD Stick is one of
those devices. It is a TV tuner on a USB stick and not
just any TV tuner but one that is capable of pulling
down Standard Definition (SD) and High Definition
(HD) content to your PC. On seeing the Pinnacle
presentation on their PCTV HD Stick at the APCUG
Convention in 2008, I have been itching to get my
hands on one. I was imagining a new widescreen
computer monitor coupled with this device as a means
of having a really cheap HDTV. So I purchased a
new widescreen monitor (22”) and the PCTV HD
Stick. The USB device comes in 3 flavors, PCTV HD
($69.99), PCTV HD Pro ($99.99) and the top of the
line PCTV HD Ultimate ($129.99). There is also an
internal card version ($79.99). All these devices are
designed for Windows XP and are Vista Certified.
There is a separate device with similar features for
Mac users ($129.99). I opted for the ‘Ultimate’ model
because of its onboard memory DVR and software.
More on that later, but the Ultimate is a plug and play
that allows you to start watching and record SD and
HDTV almost immediately.
Packaging
The packaging contains a mini remote control
including batteries, a
portable telescoping
high-gain antenna,
A/V adapter cable,
A/V adaptor cable,
a USB extender
cable and the usual
manuals and CDs.
With the Ultimate
model you also get a
neat soft leatherette
carrying pouch.
Setting Up
Setting up the
PCTV Ultimate could not be easier. This model has
all the software preinstalled including the Personal
Video Recorder (PVR) that allows you to record up
to 2 hours of video. You just plug it in and follow the
onscreen instructions and start enjoying live TV within
seconds. The on-board memory on the Ultimate can
also be used to store additional files. You run setup
once, even if you use the device on a different PC, the
settings and preference are stored on the device.
You have 3 options in setting up the PCTV:
1) Antenna (for digital/analog TV reception);
2) Cable (analog TV reception);
3) Capture from Cable/Satellite Set-top Box.
For this review we will be using Option 1 – Antenna
(digital/analog TV reception). During setup, the PCTV
will scan for SD and HD signals via the included
antenna. The antenna is designed for digital and
analog TV reception in regions with fair to good
signal coverage. When using the antenna, it should
be fully extended in the upright position as high as
possible and near a window. The base of the antenna
is magnetic so it should not be placed near a cathode
ray tube monitor, television or similar equipment
as the electromagnetic field of such devices might
deteriorate the signal quality. Also be careful with the
magnetic base around other objects that are sensitive
to magnetic forces – i.e. PC hard drive. In my region I
was able to download all the local SD and HD stations
available within my region via the antenna.
Software
When you first install the PCTV HD Ultimate Stick, it
checks whether all the required drivers and the .NET
2.0 Framework are already on your computer and,
if necessary, installs them. After the initial startup,
every time you start the program, a TV screen appears
immediately on your desktop. The integrated memory
on the PCTV HD Ultimate Stick is divided into 2
different areas or drives.
• A re-writable memory area (removable
media area) with the TVCenter Pro
program and available memory for
recorded shows or other user data. The
drive is labeled PCTV flash.
• A read-only memory area (CD-ROM
area) contains the drivers. This drive is
labeled PCTV Start
Also included in the package is Pinnacle Studio
QuckStart that allows you to edit your recordings or
home movies and transfer them to DVD, complete
with custom menus and soundtracks.
Controls
The package comes with a full-featured remote
control. Although small in size it does give complete
control of the PCTV. If you elect to use Windows
Media Center, the included remote will not work. You
will have to purchase a compatible Windows Media
Center remote that is available from Pinnacle.
Display
The first time Pinnacle TVCenter Pro is accessed, you
will see the Player. This screen can be full-screen or
resized to suit. There are navigation icons that select
settings, channels, TV or Radio and the program
guide.
FM Radio
As sort of an added bonus, during setup PCTV stick
also scans for available internet radio signals for play
back on your PC. It categorizes them by genre rather
than call letters. Unfortunately, the software does not
provide any other information regarding the available
stations or for the music that is being played.
Picture Quality and Sound Quality
The quality of picture and sound is dependent on your
monitor and speakers. The PCTV HD stick is capable
of providing digital sound, SD and HD quality picture
that if is available within your region.
Windows Media Center
If you have a PC equipped with Microsoft Windows
Vista Home Premium or Ultimate or Windows XP
Media Center Edition 2005 and you want to watch
and record TV using the Windows Media Center
application, then you will have to run TV setup in
that application. I’m running Windows Vista Ultimate
on my PC and using the Windows Media Center
software for my TV viewing and recording, but you
can use either product. There is not a conflict between
the included software and Windows Media Center.
However, the Windows Media Center software
overrides the included TVCenter Pro software for
TV viewing and recording. The included remote does
not work with Windows Media Center; however you
can select channels directly by keyboard input and/
or by mouse when viewing TV via Windows Media
Center. You can also opt to purchase a compatible
Media Center Remote control that is available from
Pinnacle for $29.99. Again, to get the PCTV HD stick
to work with Windows Media Center is the matter of
selecting the TV setup in Windows Media Center and
following the onscreen instructions. Window Media
Center will recognize the device and do its own scan
and download a TV guide that is used to identify
the channels and for time shifting. The time shifting
feature allows you to record your favorite TV shows
and play them back at a later time. Windows Media
Center does not support some of the onboard memory
features of the PCTV HD Ultimate stick.
Conclusion
I now have my cheap HDTV and so far I have not
been disappointed. The PCTV HD is pulling free off
the air HD signals and displaying them on my monitor
in full HD. The PCTV HD Ultimate Stick is a slick
ultra-portable USB device that will allow you to watch
and record SD and free HD TV. The TV tuner and
personal video recorder software run directly from
the Stick’s on-board flash memory, so you can plug it
into any PC and start watching and recording TV in
seconds – no installation required.
It supports both analog (NTSC) and digital (ATSC)
TV signals. The tuner hardware is also ready for
ClearQAM (unencrypted digital cable).
You can record up to 2 hours of TV directly to the
stick for playback on any PC and save recordings to
your hard drive in MPEG-1/2 or DivX formats or even
direct-to-DVD.
Pinnacle PCTV HD PCI Card
By Terry Currier
Minimum System Requirements:
Windows Vista™ (32-bit) or Windows® XP with SP2
Intel® (for HDTV reception) a Pentium 4 2.8GHz or
Pentium M 1.7 GHz or equivalent AMD Athlon 64
processor is recommended.
RAM: Windows XP – 256MB (512MB
recommended); for Windows Vista – 512 MB (1GB
recommended) support for DirectX® 9, Hard drive
with minimum 1 GB free space (20 GB recommended
for TV recording).
TV antenna input: Coaxial, FM antenna input,
S-Video.
Recording Formats: MPEG-1 or DivX
Now normally I would list the system requirements at
the end of a review. However, I put them at the start to
let you know I put it into an under minimum computer
to see what would happen. I put it into a computer
with a 1.7GHz processor and 512MB of RAM. While
it did not work perfectly, it actually did better than
expected. Yes
there were
some times it
locked up and
I had to reboot,
but there were
times it played
live TV fine.
But for the few times it did hang up, I was tempted to
leave it in there. I was planning to move it to a faster
2.6GHz computer, but that one crashed so I had to
wait to put it into another computer.
What I did end up putting it into was a computer with
Dual-Core 2.2GHz, with Vista Business installed.
Installation on the underpowered computer produced
a hard lockup, but still completed upon starting it up
again. On the new Vista computer I had no problems.
You can set it up
for use with cable
using QAM, or using
antenna (either indoor
or outdoor.) I choose
to use the Terk HDTVi
antenna I already
owned. After installing
the software it will
scan for Internet
Radio, analog TV
signal, radio signals (you get an FM antenna in the
box), and finally digital (HD) TV signals. I unchecked
Internet Radio, and radio – sorry, if I want that I can
go through the radio in my computer room. I let it
get the analog signals just to see how it would come
through. It
was just as I
expected. Not
unrecognizable,
but not good.
I deleted
those analog
channels later.
I think people
will buy the
product for the
HDTV.
After it is done
scanning you
can go through
and delete
those channels
you know you
will never
watch. The card comes with a year of use of TitanTV’s
EPG (Electronic Program Guide), or you can choose
to use to use the free broadcast program if available. I
choose to try the free rather than have to pay later for
the subscription to TitanTV service.
I must admit though the download for this while
available is very slow in downloading and decoding.
The Pinnacle TV card lets you watch live TV,
TimeShift, and/or record TV. You can schedule the
recording of shows through the EPG (Electronic
Program Guide), or through the manual setting. I used
both with no problems. You can also directly use the
record button on the display, or remote. I did however
notice I could not get the fast forward to work. The
fast forward is important to use with TimeShift, and
the recorded shows to zoom
through the commercials.
Neither the control on the
remote, nor right clicking for
fast forward worked.
I can usually save 17
minutes per hour not
having to watch them.
So I was disappointed
with it not working. The
shows are recording
into MPEG format, but
I could not view it using
Windows Media Player
(so I could not use it
to speed through the
commercials.)
How much space a file will take depends on the format
you tell it to use. The best DVD setting took about
6.7GB for one hour. Using DivX format it cuts the
size in half. Pinnacle does include their fine video
editing software – Studio Quickstart version 10. With
that I can take in the recorded shows to edit out the
commercials, or work on getting my old VCR tapes
onto DVDs.
The included remote control is a little small for my
taste, but it works. For changing the channels you can
use the remote, clidk on the arrows, or click on the
center showing the station and choose which station
you want to watch.
It comes with a one year warranty. You can buy it for
$79.99 at Pinnacle http://www.pinnaclesys.com. The
best price I found was for $73.79 at BestBuy.com.
Blurbs from Bass
By Steve Bass, PC World Columnist and Author
Stevebass(at)earthlink.net
Obtained from APCUG with the author’s permission
for publication by APCUG member groups.
Wonderful: Microsoft’s free Virtual PC
I’ve been using it for three weeks. It’s perhaps the
best way to play with new utilities, for instance, try
out a different anti-virus program, or just fiddle with
Windows.
I run another copy of Windows XP within Windows
XP. Some people load up Vista in the virtual machine
while others play around with Linux.
It takes no super skill set to install or use, and
provided you have enough RAM (I’ll say about
1GB), the VPC will run happily. I was worried that it
would slow down my PC. I have just one VM window
running, and even at that, it’s open only when I was
using it. Overall, with 2GB of RAM on my PC (and
512RAM allocated to the VM when it was running), I
didn’t experience any sluggishness.
If it doesn’t suite you, or it slows down your PC, just
uninstall VPC like you would any other application.
You can get around the XP licensing issue (and
activation) of two versions of XP on one PC easily.
Some people (not, uh, me) call Microsoft for an
activation and try to explain to the overseas tech
person that yes I have this copy running on a PC, but
all I’m trying to do it set it up on the same PC using
Microsoft’s VM product. Chances are good they
won’t understand a word you’re saying, not be able to
find “VM Product” on their tree-based help chart, say
screw it in their language, and give you the activation
code.
Or you could just rely on XP’s 30 day activation
deadline. As the deadline approaches, delete the XP
virtual machine (it’s only a big swap file) and start
again with a new installation.
Get Microsoft’s Virtual PC
http://snipurl.com/virtualpc1
Read how to install and use VPC
http://snurl.com/usevpc
Gotcha! Geek Squad Caught Stealing Porn
In a three-month sting, the Consumerist loaded a PC
with porn, set it up with a keylogger, and asked the
Geek Squad to install iTunes. The hidden program
recorded everything and produced a very revealing
video. Watch as the tech pokes around, finds what he
wants, and copies files to his flash drive.
http://snurl.com/geekpornsquad
Assorted short blurbs
Have you ever heard a Mockingbird outside you
window? It’s the bird that sings mostly at night and
mimics other birds. The Superb Lyrebird goes one
better my imitating, with eerie accuracy, everyday
sounds, such as chain saws, car alarms, and well, just
listen and be amazed. http://snipurl.com/Lyrebird
Do you have any idea what’s holding up your cursor?
I think you’ll be quite surprised. Click on the link
below to find out. Make sure to move your cursor
quickly and double click every so often.
http://www.1-click.jp/
The Real Group is very entertaining. They remind me
a little of Manhattan Transfer. Listen to them sing the
Five Song Basie Medley and don’t miss it when the
lead singer imitates an instrument. It’s at about 3:17
minutes. Click here for info about the group. [Thanks,
Gus.]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=URpLESNyydE
If you enjoyed the first video, here’s another with them
working impromptu. Watch the beginning for the
setup and skip past Yesterday until they start doing
pseudo-opera at 2:40 minutes. http://www.youtube.
com/watch?v=XcRlBQF2AYc
Hassle-Free PC: Smart Fixes for Gnarly PC Problems
http://snipurl.com/HF_0707
I’ll bet your Start Menu is messy because it’s jammed
with programs. There’s probably a good chance you
can’t even remember where any of the programs are
on the menu. Try popping up Launchy (alt-space),
type the first few letters of the program you want, hit
Enter, and Launchy launches it.
http://www.launchy.net/
They know damn well they’re breaking the law. Yet I
get at least three automated calls from them a week.
I have a plan -- make an appointment to have my
carpeting cleaned and then slap a small claims court
notice to appear into the hand of the guy arriving at
my door. Read more on my blog:
http://snipurl.com/BestCarpet
Rate PC World Magazine: Here’s the PC World survey
page for the current issue. You don’t have to be a
subscriber; give it a whirl and be eligible for a $500
Amazon certificate (which accounts why I haven’t
had a raise in a while). http://snipurl.com/PCW_
Survey
Time Killing Videos
Check out “High Power Job,” a video about an
occupation that makes me grateful I’m a safe and
sound writer.
http://www.glumbert.com/media/highpower
you can use on
either your cell phone or home landline.
I like Google a little better because it’ll dial the
number for me. Details:
http://blogs.pcworld.com/tipsandtweaks/
archives/004120.html
In the other hand, TellMe is faster and easier to use,
and definitely
has a better voice presence. Unfortunately, what spoils
it is that it
won’t connect me. Details:
http://www.tellme.com/products/TellmeByVoice
http://betafeedback.tellme.com/forum/bgb/m-1171475327/
Either way, their both free and useful.
The Slinky Humans video held my attention for the
full five minutes. (But what in the world it’s doing
at a Sea World Amusement Park is beyond me.) But
it appears they’ve taken a cue, so to speak, from
Mummenschanz.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iAPBaXLJvYI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QO3B6hESM3I
You know how I like magic, right? Well here’s a
brilliant bit of it with just the correct amount of
misdirection.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=voAntzB7EwE
Two Useful Tools
FileMenu Tools: The context menu of Windows
Explorer gets messy. FileMenu Tools gives you a way
to customize it.
http://www.lopesoft.com/en/fmtools/info.html
ReCase: It’s a small issue, but it may bother you: all
the filenames in a specific folder are in upper, lower,
or mixed case. Here’s a tool that will fix it.
http://bluefive.pair.com/recase.htm
Free Directory Assistance
There are two new, free directory assistance services
Three college guys go down to Mexico one night, get
drunk and wake up in jail. They find they are to be
executed for their crimes but none of them can remember what they have done.
The first one is strapped in the electric chair and is
asked if he has any last words. He says, "I am from
the Divinities Program at the University of Notre
Dame and I believe in the almighty power of God to
intervene on behalf of the innocent." They throw the
switch and nothing happens, so they figure God must
not want this guy to die, and they let him go.
The second one is strapped in and gives his last words.
"I am from the Harvard School of Law and I believe in
the eternal power of Justice to intervene on the part of
the innocent." The switch is thrown and again nothing
happens. They figure the law is on this guy's side, and
they let him go.
The last one is strapped in and says "Well, I am an
Electrical Engineer from the University of Southern
California, and I'll tell you right now you'll never
electrocute anybody if you don't connect those two
wires."
Photoshop CS3
Product Review by Tom Ekvall, newsletter editor for
Northeast Wisconsin PCUG
www.webpages.charter.net/newpcug
tekvall(at)new.rr.com
Some things just keep getting better. And the latest
release of Photoshop CS3 is no exception.
This new release offers major enhancements that will
appeal to present Photoshop
users as well as to those
interested in transitioning
to Photoshop CS3 from
Photoshop Elements or other
similar products.
As someone doing
photo art, my interest in
Photoshop CS3 centered
on new features related to
creating black and white prints and applying “smart
filters” to photographs. And there are so many more
enhancements to drool over related to everything
from an improved interface to a new integrated Adobe
Camera Raw that allows working with jpg and tiff
images as well as those shot in the raw format.
Previously, I have used Photoshop Elements (Versions
1 through 5) to do my image editing and welcomed
the opportunity to transition to Adobe’s flagship
product. The latest version, which works with Vista,
was simply fantastic to use and not all that difficult to
make the transition. There is still a learning curve as
the image editing product offers so many opportunities
to “tweak” photos to make them look their best.
However, there are many resources on-line and in
book form to learn how to use the product.
I downloaded the product onto an Acer laptop running
Vista Premium with dual-core processors and 2
gigabytes of RAM. After installing the product, I
was amazed how fast Photoshop CS3 started up, just
ten seconds. For those with previous versions of
Photoshop, one will notice a revamped interface that
focuses on collapsible palettes docked to the right
side of the screen to make it easier to work on photos.
This is especially helpful when working on a laptop or
when you just don’t want a lot of clutter on the screen.
So what is new and improved? Many seem to be
aimed at improving workflow performance through
enhancing and simplifying the way changes are made.
Here are just some of the features I found of most
interest, recognizing my passion for creating art as
compared to creating perfect photos.
Black and White Enhancement
I have been very much interested in creating black
and white photos from color images. Never could get
them to look like that from Ansel Adams; however, the
digital divide is getting narrower.
Typical ways to create black and white pictures was to
either desaturate the photo of color, use the grayscale
tool, or use the channels feature. Photoshop Elements
5 introduced a “Convert to Black and White” feature
that presented thumbnail images of different effects
with less or more of blue, red, and green channels in
different styles.
Photoshop CS3 offers a fantastic Black and White
adjustment that includes all six colors (cyan, magenta,
and yellow in addition to the blue, red, and green) as
well as the ability to simply click on a point on the
photo and drag either right or left to either lighten or
darken the appropriate tones of the photo, giving you
more control over the photo. The dialog box also
provides opportunities to tint the photo with slider bars
for hue and saturation.
Trying out this adjustment, I found the quality of the
photo to be much improved over previous ways of
creating a black and white photo.
and then choosing “Raw.” I especially like the HSL/
Grayscale tab, which is new to this product, and gives
outstanding control over specific color ranges in the
image as you control the amount of each range of
‘color’ in the grayscale image. The saturation tab also
enables creating a partial grayscale image with part
of the image in black and white (or shades of gray)
and other parts in color. This is a favorite of mine
in creating photo art. I will definitely be using the
Camera Raw 4 feature more often.
Smart Filters
The next feature I found to be very appealing to me,
and undoubtedly to other Photoshop users, is the
Smart Filter, a new addition from previous versions.
Improved Raw Processing
A significant feature in image editing programs these
days is the ability to edit photos shot in the raw
format. Those cameras able to shoot in raw tend to be
the digital SLR ones, which means that the camera
does not make any internal changes to the image, but
leaves that up to the software program.
There are many other new features too numerous
to elaborate on in this review but which will be of
interest to current Photoshop users to justify upgrading
to this new version.
These include:
• Improved Adobe Bridge, which is the photo
organizer and media asset management tool,
and includes a loupe to check out sharpness of
the picture
• Quick Selection and Refine Edges tool, which
enhance capabilities for selecting and masking
areas of a photo much like a lasso tool
• Refinement to the Curves tool which adds a
histogram similar to that in Camera Raw of
CS2
• Enhanced 32-bit HDR (high dynamic range)
support (a feature I did not try out but enables
bracketed photos to be combined to get the
desired highlights and shadows that would not
be possible from a single photograph)
• The ability to Auto-Align and Auto-Blend
Layers as part of advanced compositing tools
• Enhanced print with preview dialog box that
make printing options easier to use for correct
colors
• Revamped Clone Stamp tool
• Mobile Device controls
• Enhanced vanishing point
• And the list goes on and on for experienced
users.
With this release of Photoshop CS3, users can work
with Jpg and tif images in Camera Raw 4 rather than
only those shot in the raw format. Working with
Camera Raw 4 is very enjoyable and provides a
histogram of the image and sliders to make various
changes, such as white balance, fill lighting, recovery
(for highlights) blacks, brightness, contrast, and more.
The feature can be accessed through File/Open As
System requirements include:
• Intel Premium 4, Intel Centrino, Intel Xeon or
Intel Core Duo (or compatible) processors
• Microsoft Vista or XP with Service Pack
2 (Macintosh supported including those
with multi-core Intel processors with faster
performance)
• 512 MB of RAM (the more the better)
The Smart Filter feature enables the user to apply nondestructive changes to an image on layers when used
in conjunction with Smart Objects. What this means
is that I can try out one or more filters to enhance my
photo the way I want without that change becoming
permanent. This way, if I don’t like the effect now or
later, I can remove it, modify it or use a different filter
without having to start over at a later point in time.
Of course, you can always use the Undo command;
but sometimes, you like to make the changes later
after you apply another effect and then decide against
the earlier filter effect. A layer can be converted to a
Smart Object by right-clicking on this feature in the
Layers menu.
Non-destructive editing is becoming more popular
today, with CS2 introducing the Smart Object feature
to layers.
• 64 MB of video RAM
• 1 GB of available hard disk space
Photoshop CS3 can be tried out by going to the Adobe
website (www.adobe.com) and downloading the
product, which is valid for 30 days. All the features
are available. A full version of the product runs $649
suggested pricing while an upgrade can run $199 or
more. Those upgrading must have at least Photoshop
7 or higher to qualify.
I heartily recommend this product for those who
are serious about digital photography who may
be thinking of making the plunge from Photoshop
Elements While Photoshop CS3 may not have all of
the “quick fixes” associated with Photoshop Elements,
the product offers exciting features to create great
photos and unlimited opportunities to customize
settings as your talents develop.
And for those who have a previous version of
Photoshop, there are numerous enhancements and new
features that justify upgrading. I wonder what remains
for the next version.
Your Face in Perfect Focus
By Murray Slovick
One year it was a megapixel
resolution horsepower race. Another
year everyone was taking up antishake image stabilization. And then
there was the contest to be king of
telephoto zoom ratios.
Is there a sure-fire answer to
what’s the must have feature in
digital cameras this year? Based on
products introduced at or since the
2008 International CES, this year the well-appointed
compact digital camera comes with face detection to
find and focus on a person’s face in the picture frame.
Market research indicates that many of us soon
will make the move to automatic face detection as
a standard part of our photographic diet. More than
two-thirds of new digital cameras now provide some
variation of the feature with all the major camera
manufacturers participating, including industry
stalwarts Canon, Casio, Fujifilm, GE, Nikon,
Olympus, Panasonic, Pentax, Samsung, and Sony.
Facial detection systems work by scanning for known
details, including the shape of a human face and
facial elements (eyes, nose, etc.) Once found, the
information is used to activate auto-focusing based
on the location of the detected face: the camera will
focus automatically on the person rather other objects
elsewhere in the frame. The face detection also can
adjust exposure to compensate for uneven lighting
and unwanted shadows, handles flash intensity and
modify color balance as well as correct skin tone and
eliminate red eye.
When the feature first appeared at the end of 2006,
digital cameras relied exclusively on frontal face
detection; you were required to pretty much aim the
camera at a subject facing forward, not in profile.
Since then newer algorithms have emerged that solve
the technical problems of subjects not looking directly
at the camera; these systems can recognize profiles at
up to a 90-degree angle.
Still, face detection is not totally foolproof and the
system may not recognize a face if it is too near, or too
far from the camera, or if some portion of the face is
covered.
Cameras that include this feature rely on algorithms
embedded on an IC chip that can almost instantly-the
process takes only a few hundredths of a second –
select the area to focus on while you aim the camera.
Often there is a separate LSI (large-scale integrated
circuit within the camera to run the face detection
feature. In the case of Fujifilm’s “Image Intelligence”
system, for example, a chip inside the camera
constantly scans the image in its viewfinder for eyes, a
nose, mouth, and ears, identifying as many as 10 faces
at a time before you hit the shutter.
Face detection in Canon’s digital cameras happen
through its fast DIGIC III processor. Similarly,
powered by its Bionz processor, Sony’s enhanced face
detection feature can identify and focus on as many as
eight faces in a scene, automatically adjusting focus
and exposure for clearer portraits.
At the 2008 International CES, both Panasonic and
Sony also introduced camcorders with built-in face
detection.
What’s Next
A great deal of recent engineering work has been
aimed at adding a smile detection mode, determining
when your subject smiles.
As an example, consider SmileCheck from Fotonation,
a company that supplies face detection technology
to camera makers such as Pentax and Samsung. The
circuitry first looks for faces in the scene of the photo,
then, when the shutter release is pressed, waits until
all faces in the scene are smiling before capturing the
image. Note: Fotonation recently was acquired by
electronics supplier Tessera Technologies.
Thanks to cleverly designed programming, Version 3
of Oki’s FSI (Face Sensing Engine) middleware also
can trigger a digital camera (or mobile phone) shutter
automatically when the subject in the photo smiles.
Used by Casio Exilim cameras, among others, one
virtue of FSE is that it is a compact program requiring
only 393KB for all functions, just 115KB for face area
detection/tracking only.
Once faces are detected, software behind Sony’s
“Smile Shutter” mode looks for facial features
associated with smiles, such as a subject’s cheekbones
moving higher. Smile-detection accuracy also rises,
when the subject delivers a broad smile with teeth
visible and narrowed eyes.
Not to be outdone, ArcSoft, a leading provider of
digital imaging technologies, has come
up with Blink Detection, alerting the
user to any closed eyes detected in the
frame. General Imaging’s 2008 models
are among the first to allow users to
capture their subjects at exactly the
right moment. In a typical scenario a
blink warning appears on the camera’s
display when the system detects that a
subject has closed his or her eyes.
So this year keep your eyes open
for digital cameras complete with
face detection to find and focus on a
person’s face anywhere they happen to
be.
Reprinted with permission from
Consumer Electronics Association
CEA. From their Vision Magazine
May/June 2008 issue. You can visit
www.CE.org for the digital edition of CE Vision and
2008 Digital America.
VideoReDo TVSuite
By Terry Currier
This is for those of us with TV cards in their
computers (or external units.) I often will record
TV shows edit out the commercials and create a
(re-writeable) DVD for my wife to watch shows
she missed. I’ve done this a number of times over
the years, and can whip through it fairly easily.
VideoReDo will edit out the commercials for you
automatically if your TV card records in MPEG,
Windows MCE DVRMS, Transport Streams (.ts),
Siemens M740AV .CRID files, or Topfield .rec files.
When using TiVoToGo it will work with TiVo set top
box DVRs. It will also work on HD file formats. When
you edit an HD video, TVSuite will automatically
down convert it to Standard Definition so it can play
on a DVD.
Smart Restart
From Centurion Technologies
By Terry Currier
This is not for the normal everyday user. When you
first install Smart Restart it creates a photo image of
the state of your hard drive. That image is frozen,
therefore anything changed can be undone. It is quite
simple to install and use. After the install an image is
created, you will have to give it a password and then
reboot. Every time you now bring up the computer
either by a reboot or after a shutdown a box comes up
and asks if you want to be protected or unprotected. If
you change the way you want it to be you will have to
enter the password and reboot to reset the program.
During the installation process, five folders and their
contents for each user profile are moved to the Keep
Zone. These folders are: My Documents (and subfolders), Favorites,
In testing it I recorded the same show on my two
computers. I then edited one using CyberLink’s
PowerDirector on one computer, and VideoReDo on
the other. VideoReDo scans through the video files
using AdDetective™ Commercial Detection. It finds
likely places where advertisements start and end.
You can preview the work to make sure it is accurate.
VideoReDo finished editing the same time I did using
PowerDirector. The interesting part is burning the
DVD. VideoReDo finish almost 30 minutes faster, and
it was on the slower computer. VideoReDo also was
perfect in editing the commercials.
However I will add that I used it on a sports event and
it was terrible with it. So don’t just trust it blindly. The
interface is good and easy to understand. I did not try
it, but they say you can bring in unencrypted DVD
video for re-authoring. Original chapter settings are
retained from the imported DVD. You can download a
15-day trial version from their website. They also have
helpful FAQs on the website.
Cost: $74.99
Windows 2000 / XP / Vista / Vista 64
Standard definition: Pentium P4, Celeron or AMD at
2.0GHz or faster.
http://www.videoredo.com
Desktop, History (from Internet Explorer), and
Application Data. If a new user is created after Smart
Restart is installed, the new user’s folders will NOT be
in the Keep Zone. You must uninstall and reinstall
Smart Restart to put the new user’s folders in the Keep
Zone.
So if any virus, or malware attacks your system you
will be protected. The attack is written to virtual
memory and will be deleted, along with any damage
it caused, on the next reboot. This works well, but
there are short comings to it. Every time you want
to install some new program or update you will
have to tell Smart Restart to go into an unprotected
mode, reboot, and reboot again if you want to
go back to being protected. Also when I sent out
an email and it’s in the protected mode, I found
there was no record of any new email received or
sent out. Even though it should have been in the
Keep Zone (Outlook is under the Application Data
folder.)
This is a great program for testing of new software
which you may be unsure of. Smart Restart only
works on NTFS systems (Windows XP and Vista.)
You can purchase it for $49.99 at http://www.
smart-restart.com.
Dead Rabbit
This guy comes home from work one day to
find his dog with the neighbor's pet rabbit in
his mouth. The rabbit is very dead and the guy
panics.
He thinks the neighbors are going to hate him
forever, so he takes the dirty, chewed-up rabbit into the house, gives it a bath, blow-dries its
fur, and puts the rabbit back into the cage at the
neighbor's house, hoping that they will think it
died of natural causes.
WINNERS - WINdows usERS
PO Box 9804
Newport Beach, CA 92658-9804
A few days later, the neighbor is outside and
asks the guy, "Did you hear that Fluffy died?"
meets at
The Fountain Valley Branch Library
17635 Los Alamos
Fountain Valley
meetings on 3rd Saturday
10:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
The neighbor replies, "We just found him dead
in his cage one day, but the weird thing is that
the day after we buried him we went outside and
someone had dug him up, gave him a bath and
put him back into the cage. There must be some
real sick people out there!"
The guy stumbles around and says, "Um.. no..
um.. what happened?"

May 2008 - WINNERS – WINdows usERS

Transcription

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