*CyberCoyote - March 29, 2007*

NEWS, NOTES and NOTICES

*Next Week*
Our tradition is to continue meetings in April on an informal basis until interest wanes. There's no AZacc program next week. Come learn how to create a spam-proof email account instead.

*Workshops*
We wrapped up our workshop on computer backup yesterday. That means workshops are now closed for the season. Come back next Fall and see what we're up to then. :-)

*Photo Shopping and Sharing*
Pun intended. ;-) Today, George Jester showed us how to work with Paint.NET, and exercised some artistic license to create *interesting* effects with photos. I got a much better feel for how easy it is work with layers in Paint.NET.

You do need to install Microsoft's .NET Framework Version 2.0 first before you install Paint.NET, but it's well worth it if you want to go beyond just cropping your photos.
http://www.getpaint.net/index2.html
http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/netframework/aa731542.aspx -- .NET Framework Version 2.0

George also showed us some Photo Sharing sites. Their emphasis ranges from photo printing to album creation to photo sharing. The names are Yahoo!, Flickr, SmugMug, Phanfare, Tabblo, Snapfish, Costco and I'll add the one I use -- PhotoWorks. I prefer to have my photos printed online, rather than the fuss with a high-quality photo printer. (Sorry HP.)
http://www.photoworks.com/

WINDOWS

*Latest Notes on Vista*
I've been keeping a list of interesting articles on switching to Vista, with the latest ones at the top of the list. At the very least, you'll want to read the one at the top from Steve Bass, and don't miss his link to Nvidia's Vista advisor. (Personally, I'll give up XP when they pry it from my cold dead hands.) :-)
http://cybercoyote.org/software/vista.shtml -- my links
http://blogs.pcworld.com/tipsandtweaks/archives/003932.html -- Steve Bass's article

*Next major release of Windows in 2011*
Any bets? I'm saying 2013 (I only missed on Vista by 2 months FYI). There will probably be a couple of minor releases (interim updates to Vista) in the meanwhile.

One of them -- codename Windows 7 -- is slated for 2009. It most likely will be 64-bit only, which means you'll need a new computer. Another rumor is that it will have, "full virtualization and a radical new user interface." Paul Thurrott has the best Windows 7 crystal ball that I've found if you want to know more.
http://www.winsupersite.com/faq/windows_7.asp

SECURITY

*Patch Day*
By now you're aware that the second Tuesday of the month is patch day at Microsoft. Keeping your other software -- Adobe Reader, WinZip, Macromedia Flash Player, Java, Mozilla Firefox, etc. -- up to date is not easy. The free scan at Secunia can make the job more certain and much easier.
http://secunia.com/software_inspector/

*Security for a new era*
I give detailed plans on our website for conventional ways to defend yourself and your computer online. I don't follow them myself though. ;-) I use a bolder but better approach. :-) I recently updated that defense when I re-wickered my old beat-out raggedy computer. You might want to consider a makeover yourself.
http://www.squidoo.com/security2

CONSIDER THIS

*Recipe Corner*
How to make bacon popcorn.
http://nosheteria.com/2007/02/snacking-thy-name-is-decadence.html

*Serious Pucker-Factor*
Wonder if it makes a good diving board?
http://cybercoyote.org/links/051.html

*A Million Miles an Hour* [better with broadband]
An entertaining look at the universe. [A Larry Stanford find]
http://dingo.care-mail.com/cards/flash/5409/galaxy.swf -- the video
http://www.care2.com/ -- the site

*Flash Flood* [better with broadband]
Fear the flood, and a couple of fearless fools. :-)
http://video.stumbleupon.com/#p=f0rcqmykhi