*CyberCoyote - March , 2008*
NEWS, NOTES and NOTICES
*This Season*
We'll meet next Thursday at 2:00 PM for our regular meeting, and decide then if we're going to meet any more this season.
*Next Season*
All our meetings will start at 2:00 PM next year. The change will eliminate the perpetual confusion about which one is at 3:00. ;-)
*Acronis True Image Workshop*
Due to popular (now actually true) demand, we're having a one-day workshop on how to get what you want out of True Image. We will meet next Monday, from 9:00 - 11:00, in the computer lab. $2.00 at the door. No need to sign up. :-)
http://cybercoyote.org/computer/bu-sys.shtml -- background
http://cybercoyote.org/computer/bu-sys.shtml#driveimage -- discount
PIXELS, PHOTOS and PANORAMAS
*Special Interest Group*
Pat and Chuck Hardy have agreed to work with members of the computer club who are interested in doing more with photos. Members of this SIG hope to inspire and instruct each other through group activities such as photowalks, field trips, presentations, photo critiques, and demonstrations. You'll learn more about this group via the HTCC Yahoo! Group for now. Look for Photo SIG activity to pick up at the start of next season.
*Adobe Photoshop Express*
There was Photoshop, then Photoshop Elements, and now Photoshop Express. The last one is a new, free, Web-based editing and photo-sharing service.
"Adobe Systems opened up Photoshop Express on Thursday, its long-anticipated Web-based image editor aimed at the millions of consumers that want a simple way to touch up, share, and store photos.http://cybercoyote.org/links/147.html
"Photoshop Express, available for free with 2 gigabytes of storage at www.photoshop.com/express, is a significant departure from Adobe's desktop software business and a big bet that it can make money offering Web services directly to consumers."
*Panoramas*
Windows Live Photo Gallery is another free photo service, more along the lines of online photo-sharing. One great feature is the magic to "stitch" together a rotated sequence of pictures to make one panoramic image.
http://cybercoyote.org/links/148.html -- examples
http://get.live.com/photogallery/overview -- Live Photo Gallery
TIPS, TOPICS and TWEAKS
*Google Search Secrets*
Well they really aren't secrets, but it's hard to find what you want when you want it. Google has now organized their search features on one page. The secret is knowing where that is. I think I've found it. "Search Features" is an example of what you'll find there.
http://www.google.com/support/?ctx=web -- Help Center
http://www.google.com/intl/en/help/features.html -- Search Features
*An introduction to vishing*
Watch out for the hook in the bait. :-)
"Vishing is short for voice phishing. Voice refers to the fact that the scam is perpetrated over the phone. Phishing is a scam designed to 'criminally and fraudulently acquire sensitive information, such as usernames, passwords and credit card details, by masquerading as a trustworthy entity...' according to Wikipedia."http://cybercoyote.org/links/143.html
*More on Vista SP1*
Only a "small" percentage of SP1 installations have gone wrong, but a good portion of those went horribly wrong. My advice: Just continue to install regular Windows Updates, but defer SP1. Scot Finnie puts it in perspective.
"Unless you have to install Vista SP1, I'd at least wait for the dust to settle. Vista SP1 has only one true reason for being: To help Microsoft sell Vista to enterprise customers, among whom the conventional wisdom has been "wait for the first service pack." What's actually new and not available separately is, to my perception, more marketing hype than reality. There's nothing wrong with SP1, but there's absolutely nothing compelling about it either."http://cybercoyote.org/links/145.html -- Scot Finnie's advice
http://www.winsupersite.com/showcase/winvista_sp1_wu.asp -- Paul Thurrott's
ODDS and ENDS
*Sing to the tune of "Yesterday" by the Beatles*
Yesterday, need for backups seemed so far away.
Now my documents have gone away,
Oh, I believe in yesterday.
Suddenly, there's not half the files there used to be,
There's a shadow hanging over me,
They disappeared so suddenly.
Why they had to go, I don't know,
I cannot say.
I clicked something wrong, now I long for yesterday.
Yesterday, computing was an easy game to play.
Seemed all my files were here to stay,
Oh, I believe in yesterday.
Oh, I believe in yesterday.
--adapted by Curmudgeon
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