Thursday, April 9, 2009

Computer Tips [ The 3 Pressing Questions You Want Answers To + Longer Laptop Battery Life + Friday Funnies ] 04/10/2009

Computer Tipswww.worldstart.com

Quick Tips

Easter Eggs!

Easter eggs are special little extra tidbits or surprises programmers put into their programs. It usually involves doing some strange things (usually hitting an odd key combination at a specific time) in a program to see a little bonus surprise. Recently, many movies on DVD and video games began including these bonus features. Just do a websearch for the name of your favorite recent movie or game and "Easter Egg" to see if there's a surprise waiting for you! There are even websites dedicated to listing newly discovered Easter eggs.

A real Easter egg must fall under five criteria.

1.) The information has to be undocumented, hidden and not obvious to the viewers. They can't be something that goes along with whatever software you're using. The Easter eggs only stand out because they are different and don't fit into the regular context. The programmers usually have some connection with the "eggs," so they include it in the program for extra entertainment, mostly for themselves.

2.) All Easter eggs have to be reproducible. With a set of instructions, anyone has to be able to reproduce the egg.

3.) They have to be placed on the program by the creators for their own personal reasons like a signature, an inside joke, a tribute, etc. The eggs must have been placed on there on purpose and through the general knowledge of all the creators.

4.) Easter eggs cannot be malicious for any reason. They are only meant for fun, not damage.

5.) This the most important one. They have to be entertaining. If it's not, it's not a legitimate Easter egg.

You can search online for different Easter eggs. It's cool to find ones that are on programs that you have used or movies that you have seen.

By the way, Happy Easter!

~ Everyone here at Worldstart

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Easter means Spring, and everyone already knows that it's my favorite time of the year! Stay seated, with your arms and legs inside the car at all times, and prepare for the Friday edition of Computer Tips Daily! Today we have a trio of questions for Computers 101, April's Office Tip on wrapping text around images and a guide on how to make your laptop battery last longer! Amanda's Cool Site is also in attendance, but you'll have to check out all the super cool deals we have first!

In the Meantime, here are the results of our weekly poll! Go, Sean Connery, go!
A new poll is up, so head on over to Worldstart and vote for how you plan on upgrading your operating system! Windows 7 is around the corner - are you planning to upgrade? Stick with XP? Stick with Vista (ha ha - is ANYONE planning on sticking with Vista :-)? Let us know!

Who do you think played the best James Bond?
Answer 1: Sean Connery :
77.83% - 846 votes
Answer 2: George Lazenby :
0.37% - 4 votes
Answer 3: Roger Moore :
10.86% - 118 votes
Answer 4: Timothy Dalton :
1.01% - 11 votes
Answer 5: Pierce Brosnan :
6.53% - 71 votes
Answer 6: Daniel Craig :
3.4% - 37 votes
1087 total votes

Announcements

 

Your Photos Will Look Absolutely JAW-Droppin' AMAZING!

Easiest Photo Software You'll EVER Use!

Photo Editing And Enhancing Your Photos Has NEVER Been This Easy!

PLUS: Create Outstanding Calendars, Greeting Cards, Albums & More!

Ingenious Print & E-mail Options Save Time & Money!

BONUS! Even Create CD Photo Shows That Play In ANY DVD Player! WOW!

OK, you have this amazing new digital camera - and I'll bet you use it all the time. It's just that, well, what are you doing with all those great pictures you've been taking?  Are they just sitting on your hard drive or memory card? Do you keep telling yourself you've gotta DO something with them one of these days? Quite a project, ya know?  Or is it?

Think about it. Do you:

Wish there was an easy way to edit and make your photos look amazing? 

Wish you had a way to easily do special effects? 

Wish you could do some cool frames and borders? 

Wish you could create calendars, cards, albums, slide shows, and panoramas? 

Wish you print multiple photos on one page to save money on paper?

Wish you could easily e-mail photos that were the right size to family and friends?

Well, save you wishes for something else! We just got PhotoStudio Expressions 2.0 and it's the easy to use, powerhouse photo program you've been waiting for!

This software does EVERYTHING - and then it does a little more! Heck, there are features included (like DVD slide shows, panoramas, greeting card creation) that people spend $50 for a stand-alone program to do! All included! Photo editing deal of the decade if you ask me!

First off, just wait till you try the exciting - and amazingly easy to use - photo editing features! You can crop (to specific print sizes or just go freehand), adjust contrast for extra "pop", make a photo darker or lighter, sharpen like crazy, tweak the color (and fix bad color), and more! 

Here I am adding some contrast to my moose - just use the little slider and hit Apply:

Oh, and just wait till you see the "Auto Enhance" feature! WOW - this is totally gonna BLOW-YOU-AWAY! One click and the program creates 9 different versions of your shot - then YOU pick the keeper! Just pick the one that looks best and all the work is done automatically! Put it this way - if you DON'T want to spend hour after hair pulling, frustrating hour working on a photo, THIS is the software you want in your corner!

Here I am using AutoEnhance on a deer photo I took this fall. 9 versions - You just pick the one you like:

After you've done the basic adjustments, you may be feeling a little creative. Well, if you do, I have some GREAT news! The geniuses who wrote this program created just a TON of fun effects for you to play with! You can paint, erase, add text, add clipart to your own photos, and more!

Here I am turning my jeep into a cool sketch:

And I've got to tell ya about the frames & borders - WOW - TONS of really cool stuff! Wait till you see all the amazing "edge" treatments you can give your photos! There's 42 different effects and they are REALLY going to "jazz up" your photos! Friends and family are going to be asking how the heck you did it! Little will they know it was JUST a single mouse click!

Here I am adding a cool border to a macro shot I took last spring:

Oh, and just wait till you see the AMAZING filter set this comes with! WOW! You can make you photo look like, well, anything! Lots of fun stuff for distortions (try 'em on faces for hours of fun), tons of cool Make-Your-Photo-Look-Like-A-Painting effects, loads of textures that really create some cool looks, some stunning B&W effects, and more! My favorite is the "old time photo" filter - in a click of the mouse, my photo looks like it was pulled right out of Grandpa's photo album! Very cool!

OK, after you have your photo perfected, then what? Well, you could jump to the printing section and make a make print, OR you can create some amazing projects! This has some really great templates for creating amazing greeting cards, calendars, photobooks and more! All included!

Here I am creating a calendar after I was done with the moose above:

PLUS - this can do a DVD slide show you can play on TV!

Imagine, you can create a Video CD or DVD that you can put into ANY standard DVD player and show off your pictures on TV - it's the new (and vastly improved) family slide show!! Just select the photos you want in your slide show, make any adjustments you like, and create the Video CD or DVD! Also, since this can do Video CDs, all you need is a CD Burner - NO DVD Burner is required! Again, as long as you have a CD burner, you're good to go with this! We've sold software in the past that ONLY did this - and it wasn't cheap! This is INCLUDED!! Absolutely AMAZING!!

Oh, and panoramas! Just take 2 or more shots, one right next to the other with about a 1/3rd overlap. Then, put them into this software and it will stitch them together as an amazing pano shot! If you've never done panoramics - get ready for a treat! You'll love it and this already has all the "expensive" software you need to pull it off - and automatically!

Plus, you've just gotta see the printing features - this is really exciting! This actually allows you to place multiple images of multiple sizes onto a single page! It automatically arranges them so you the maximum number of prints on a page - no more wasted paper! Oh, and another thing - it automatically resizes for printing too! You don't have to manually adjust each and every photo to the size you want - just tell it you want 4x6s (or 5x7s, or whatever) and you're good to go! You'll LOVE it! Printing is actually going to be FUN!!

Here I am getting ready to print a sheet of photos:

By the way, have you ever needed to send a photo via e-mail? Exactly what size should that be? Heck, even if you know the answer, you'd still have to go in and resize your photo, save with a different name, and send it off. Well, this takes ALL the hassle out of it! Just select the usage (on screen viewing - ideal for e-mail, small print, full size) and hit Send! That's it!

Whew, OK, this program can actually do a LOT more than I've listed but I'm guessing you get the idea (and besides, my fingers are getting tired from all this typing)! It's a remarkable program - it makes it incredibly easy for ANYONE of ANY skill level to enhance their photos - and do cool stuff with 'em! 

Your price? We're talking just $12.97 for this photo-editing nirvana! You spent a lot of money for your digital camera - why not make the most of the pictures? For this price, you just can't go wrong! Give it a try - you'll be amazed at all you get for less than the price of lunch out!!

http://store.worldstart.com/product.php?productid=4463

PS - This is a limited quantity deal, so you MUST MUST MUST get to the site as soon as you can! Please, don't miss this one - it's the easiest to use photo editing package we've ever come across! Nothing packs this much power and is soooooo easy to use!






You'd expect a flashlight THIS bright to be big and awkward...

But It's Really Not!!!

Bright, Heavy Duty, And Still Shorter Than Your Average Flashlight!

In fact, it's surprisingly very easy to handle, yet powerful and rugged!

I say "surprisingly", because I've got one of those REALLY big flashlights at home. You know the one...the kind that takes what seems like a case of batteries to work, needs two hands to wield the darn thing and can double as a weapon? (Yeah... that's the one!) Anyway, it's a good flashlight but it's a little heavy and awkward. This flashlight is short (only 7 inches long) and lightweight. In fact, it fits comfortably in your hand. It has a rubberized, non-slip grip, so it's easy to hand on to. Also, it has a lanyard so you can even carry it around your wrist.

So when you first look at it, it looks just like regular, ordinary flashlight. But when you turn it on....WOW! You'd think you were at one of those Hollywood Premiers, where they have all the spotlights flashing in the sky! Stick a couple of these in your backyard pointing straight up and I wouldn't be surprised if airplanes start circling overhead thinking it's a runway! But in all seriousness...these are really are very bright. So, be careful not to shine it directly in someone's eyes. (This is definitely not a toy!)

The reason why this is so bright is that it uses white, super-bright LED lights. The best way I can think of to describe this is if you've seen the headlights in the newer cars, you've probably noticed how much "whiter" the light is from these compared to the older model headlights. Well, the light from THIS light compared to regular flashlights is like the headlights from the newer cars compared to the older headlights. That's how different this is!

The reason why this is so bright is because it uses 100 tiny, white LED lights and the head of it is nearly 3 inches in diameter - pretty wide! So it throws off some brightness! But because it uses LED lights, it's very energy efficient and has a very low power consumption, which is great news because you'll probably save a lot of money on batteries. This uses 4 of the small "AA" sized batteries, (sorry not included), that seem to last forever! The fact that it only uses 4 of the "AA"-sized is also one of the reasons why it's so lightweight!

Another thing I like about it is that it's very rugged. The casing is made of hard, anodized, aluminum. Feels like you could hammer nails with it! (OK, try that at your own risk ;)

This is a great flashlight to keep around where you need a lot of light but don't want to carry around one of those "big honkers". Perfect for the garage, basement, toolbox, camping trips, just about anywhere. Plus. fits great in any size hand, and feels "solid" all the way!

We had these a while ago and it's taken a while to get these back in. We've got these at a great price of only $22.97, and US shipping is FREE!!!

http://store.worldstart.com/product.php?productid=4101

PS - Be sure to grab a couple extra to have a few around the home or office when you need it!

 

Computers 101

Q:
Today, we're going to do something a little different with this section! Below are three questions that I have been getting a lot of lately, so I thought I would just answer all of them at the same time. You will find each question, followed by its answer. They're just three quick and simple questions. Hope you don't mind!

A:
Question #1: What does the star in Gmail mean and how can I use this function in my own e-mail?

First, let's begin with a brief explanation of what Gmail actually is, just in case some of you aren't sure. Gmail (which can be found at www.gmail.com) is Google's version of an e-mail program. It is one of the top free e-mail services online today, offering 2.8 GB of storage space and a very easy to use interface.

With that said, one of the new features introduced in Gmail is "starring." By starring a message in Gmail, the user is able to place a graphic reminder next to an e-mail that may be a little more important than some of the others. With this feature, you no longer have to mark an e-mail as "Unread" to remind yourself that you need to deal with that e-mail ASAP.

Instead, you just mark the e-mail with a star and it will help you to remember that you need to respond to that e-mail. To star a message of your own, just look for the white star graphic, located to the right of the checkbox for the message you would like to select. Click on it and the graphic will then become a yellow star to show that it has been starred. As you can see, it's a very handy feature!

Question #2: I'm using Windows XP and sometimes when I turn off my computer, I get this message as it's shutting down: "This application failed to initialize, because the window station is shutting down." What does that mean and how can I make it stop?

Basically, the only time you'll ever see that message displayed is when your computer is shutting down. Whether you told the computer to turn off or an installer program is restarting your computer for you, that's the only time it will come up. This error message is displayed, because an important program must be running while you are attempting to turn off your computer. Either that or a program has frozen while you're trying to shut down your computer.

It is important you make sure that while you are installing new software, there are no other applications running on your screen at the same time. Also, when turning off your computer, it is important to make sure that all of the programs you are running have been closed down. If you follow those two tips, you should never have a problem with this error message again!

Question #3: Can a USB drive be reformatted? If so, how?

When you plug a USB drive (flash drive, etc.) into your computer, it will recognize the device as an external hard drive. Since it does that, the USB device can easily be formatted. However, USB drives do not work with Windows 95 or Windows 98, unless you install the correct drivers.

To reformat your USB drive, double click on the My Computer icon on your desktop and then find the icon of the USB drive you have plugged into your computer. Right click the correct USB drive and choose the Format option. You can then make any changes you want to the Options screen that appears and when you're done, just click on the Start button. Windows will then format your USB drive. However, reformatting your USB drive will delete everything on the drive and all of your data will be lost. So, make sure you remove any important documents and files from your USB device before you proceed on with the reformat process. That's all there is to it!

There you go. Hope these answers help you all out!

~ Jack William

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MS Office

Wrapping Your Picture Up In Text

Many of you who use a lot of graphics in MS Word probably find yourself spending a lot of time setting the way text behaves around your graphic.

And I'm sure that most of you have a preferred text wrapping option and wish Word would apply your preference to the graphic when you first insert it.

After all, who wants to spend time changing settings when Word could have done it right in the first place? Certainly not me!

Well, fortunately we can control this particular option so let's take a quick peek…

In older versions of Word you need the Tools menu, Options choice.

On the Edit tab you're looking for the "Insert/paste picture as" drop-down list.

Make a choice and click OK.

For my Word 2007 users you need the Advanced options (Office Button, Word Options button).

In the Cut, copy, and paste section you need to locate the "Insert/paste picture as" drop-down list.

Choose the formatting that makes you "happy" and click OK.

Voila!

Now when you paste that graphic it shows up wrapped in text just the way you like it!

~ April

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More Cool Stuff

 

Holy Cow!!! Obviously you folks really do know a great deal when you see one! Yesterday was the first day we featured this and, I gotta admit, we were TOTALLY taken by surprise! We weren't able to get very many of these to begin with, but we thought we'd be able to feature this for a little while. A lot of folks picked up this great little player, which made sense. But the thing is, quite a few have been getting more than one!!! We didn't count on that happening!!!

The Entertainment Center

Sansa mp4-mp3 Player

That Fits In Your Pocket!

(All I Can Say Is That This Thing is Sweeeeet!!!)

Here at WorldStart, we do our best to give you valuable "technical" tips and ideas that can help make your life more productive and fun! Last week, as you may recall, we ran a poll asking: "How often do you use an mp3 player/Digital Music Player?". The results were that 65.03% of those who took the poll Have Never Used An mp3 Player!!! (Nearly 11% didn't even know what an mp3 player was!)

So, we decided that this is an area that we can shed a little bit of light cuz a bunch of you are really missin' out!

Very simply, an mp3 player is a portable device that plays "digital" audio files. That's it. It gets its name ("mp3") from the name of the type of these files. Microsoft Word is a ".doc" file. Excel can be referred to as an ".xls" file. These audio files are labeled "mp3" and someone cleverly decided to name the devices that play these files, "mp3 players". (I know...whoever had that idea didn't win any awards for imagination but it did keep things simple.)

So, maybe you like to listen to songs on your computer when you're at your desk. But, what if you're NOT at your desk! That's where technology comes in. (After all, that's why you got a computer in the first place, to make technology work for you!)

So these mp3 players are small, portable "players" that you can carry around with you . If this reminds you of those portable cassette players "back in the day", you're on the right track. But if you recall, those tapes couldn't hold very much music, so you had to carry around a boatload of tapes, right? (You may have even had one of those "cassette carriers"...what a hassle!)

So, O.K., what if you could carry ALL of those songs (and then some!) inside a device that also played those songs - and, it was smaller than the entire cassette player? Pretty neat, heh? Well, that's what this mp3 player can do.

So, how do you get all those songs onto this thing? Pretty simple actually.

Plug one end of the cable (that's included) into the player and the end into a USB slot in your computer. Your computer will then show you a message letting you know that you plugged the player in.

Next, fire-up Windows Media Player on your computer.

Hit the "Synch" Tab on Windows Media Player. You'll then see this screen image below. Here you see that the two songs that are on the left side are the songs that I have on my computer. The mp3 player (labeled, "Sansa PMP -SanDisk") appears on the right side. Click on the songs you want to copy, drag them over to the mp3 player and drop 'em - that's it. You're ready to Rock 'n Roll!

Sansa mp3 Player

Oh, and check out the controls - very intuitive, very easy to use!

Let me tell you about another idea I think you're gonna love. Chances are, you've visited some websites that had audio files that you could download to your computer. These could be lectures, recorded teleconferences, pre-recorded radio shows, whatever. You'd love to listen to them but you never seem to have the time when you're at your desk. Too bad you couldn't listen to those recordings some other time, like, ohhh, maybe while your driving, walking or even working out. Well, now you can! Go ahead and download those recordings to your computer, "synch" them to your mp3 player just like we did above and now you can listen to those files at your convenience!

But hang on a sec...it gets better!

Some players, in addition to playing audio files (mp3 files), can also play VIDEO FILES, also referred to as mp4 files. (And, "Yes", these devices are called, "mp4 players"! See, there IS a method to this computer madness!) "You mean to tell me these can play VIDEOS??" Yep...sure can! And you can carry them where ever you want to go!

Now keep in mind these players are limited based on how much storage room they have. So you're not going to get "Gone With The Wind" on there. Most people have videos from Video Camcorders (great way to see videos of the family!) or short video clips from the Internet. But you can carry these video clips with you!

Speaking of "family", you probably have a few photos in your wallet or purse. How would you like to be able to have an entire photo album...yep, stored on this same device? Well, hold on, cuz most mp4 players can also "read" jpg files (i.e., "photos")! Hmmm...starting to get interesting, isn't it?

So, how would you like to have a simple little device that can carry (and play):

TON of songs, recordings and other audio files
Videos files and
Photos
and will fit in your pocket!
Well, THAT'S what we're talkin' about!!!

As you may imagine, these "players" come in all different shapes and sizes, each with greater or lesser capabilities. Like anything else, the more you spend, the more options you get...usually. But, as you probably already know, we like to do things a LOT different! To make a long story short, we've been on the look out for a great little player that's easy to use, yet jammed pack full of features. And...at a fantastic price. Well, we got one that fits all those requirements!!!

This little honey plays mp3 files and mp4 files has 4 GB of memory, has a clear and vivid video screen, and is made by SanDisk, which is a company with a strong reputation!

Oh yeah....you're gonna LOVE this thing! Just think...carry around hours and hours of songs that you can play whenever and where ever you are. Plus, no more havin' to jam only a few photos in your wallet or purse when you can carry around a photo album worth of pictures!

This mp3/mp4 player is loaded with tons of features. It even has an Equalizer with 7 pre-set settings. (try the "Bass Setting", that's my favorite one!)

And this unit comes complete with everything you need to get started!

Sansa mp4-mp3 Player

To be honest, I'm not a big fan of "earbuds", (as you may have read in our newsletters) so I use a different set than the ones that come with this unit. This is what I use and the sound is fantastic! (It may not make any difference you; this is just one of those things I'm kind of picky about.)

And, by the way, this uses a rechargeable Lithium-Ion battery, which I also love. Anyway, there's a bunch more features that are listed on the product page if you want to read all the "specs".

Here's the deal on this: We were able to get a few of these units...at a really great price. That's it. We've seen this same player listed on the web for, believe it not - $216!!! (Ouch!) But, like I said, we got a great deal, so we can pass that along to yiou. And we want to do this to make it especially to those of you who have never had a chance to use one of these before! So, we're letting these great little mp3/mp4 units go for only $48.97 and US Shipping is FREE!!!

http://store.worldstart.com/product.php?productid=5018

PS - RUN, don't walk to the checkout on this one, cuz this really is one Sweet Deal and it won't last. We were lucky to get enough for one more day!




Special Notice From Steve - Only a few of these available, but WOW - you've gotta try this! I have one of these hooked up to my two computers at home. I turn both computers on, and with a quick push of a button, I instantly zip from one to the other - using the same keyboard, mouse, and monitor! If you've never used one, you'll find yourself unable to resist pushing that button at first - it's really cool! If you have an extra computer sitting around (or even a laptop), give this a try!

"OH WOW! These Are SOOO Cool!"

Have An Extra Computer Laying Around? 2-Port USB 2.0 KVM Switch w/2 Cable Sets

Get Some More Life From It!

Awesome KVM Switch Makes It Easy!

Control TWO Computers With Just:
One Mouse, Monitor, And Keyboard!

OK, you know how it goes. You get a new computer and your old computer gets shuffled to your closet (poor little guy). You hate to toss it to the corner, but at the same time, there's no space to have two complete computer systems sitting around the house. Well, what if I told you that you're just a cool gadget away from putting that old computer back to use? Get ready to get excited!

We have a few of these fantastic USB KVM Switches available today at a knockout price. What's a KVM switch? Glad you asked! 

KVM stands for Keyboard, Video, and Mouse - but here's what ya do with 'em and why you'll really want one. You start by plugging your monitor, USB keyboard, and mouse into the KVM switch - easy enough. Now, simply plug the KVM switch into your two computers with the included cables (USB and Monitor). So, when it's all done, you can run TWO computers with the same keyboard, mouse, and monitor! Just press a button to switch back and forth! Just wait till you try it!

Setup is really fast, so in a few minutes you'll have use of your old computer using your existing monitor, mouse and keyboard! I have this exact switch plugged into my system and now I'm using my old computer all the time! I've decided the old computer is for business stuff and the new, more powerful computer is now dedicated to my photos and graphics work! I just push the button to jump between them!

Oh, if you have a laptop and desktop computer this is just killer! Hook your laptop up to it and switch back and forth with the push of a button! 

Why let that old computer collect dust in your closet? Put it back to work with one of these handy switches! Just $22.97 and US shipping is FREE!  For that kind of money, it's crazy to let your old computer collect dust bunnies! Hurry, quantities are limited!

http://store.worldstart.com/product.php?productid=4800

Today at WorldStart.com

Desktop, Anyone?

This tip might be a little rudimentary for those who've been reading this newsletter awhile, but I feel it's warranted. We see it everyday, we use it everyday, so what is it anyways? Drop by WS today and read the easiest thing you'll learn all day!

Kaboose: Easter

Kaboose has a ton of activities, crafts and recipes fit for Easter! Fun for kids and the whole family; it's just everything for the Spring holiday all consolidated into one fine website that you can garner inspiration from! Stop by the Worldstart site today and check it out!

Here's the link you need: http://www.worldstart.com/ Enjoy!

Tip of the Day

How to Ensure your Laptop’s Battery Lasts Longer

In recent times, laptops have become an essential part of day-to-day life. Mobile technology has progressed so much that laptops outsell desktops. Though mobile technology has advanced, the average laptop battery life is still a bit on the low side, between two to four hours if the laptop is used continuously. It isn’t all that much, especially if you are regularly on the move.

Therefore, unless you have extra battery packs, conserving your battery’s life while you are on the move is crucial. So, how can you prolong the life of a laptop battery while you’re on the move? The answer lies in:

- Using laptop resources conservatively, and...
- Configuring your laptop for optimal power saving.

Use Laptop Resources Conservatively

All resources require power. However, some resources require more power than others. To get the most out of your battery while on the go, you should ensure resources that use substantial power are not used or are used only when needed. The following list contains some examples:

- CDs and DVDs: Playing CDs and DVDs is an energy sapping action. While on the move, eject CDs/DVDs out of the drive.

- Wi-Fi: Not always do you need a connection to the Internet. Switch Wi-Fi off.

- External Connections: Devices that connect to the laptop, such as an iPod or an external hard drive need power. Unplug external connections.

- Speakers: Using any sound effects, such as when you receive a mail, requires power. Mute your speakers.

- Software Installation: While installing software, the laptop extensively uses three key resources Hard Drive, CD/DVD Drive, and Microprocessor. Each of these resources drains the battery. Don’t install software while on the move.

General Rule: Don’t use any resources for actions that can wait till you have plugged in the laptop to the mains power supply.

Configure your Laptop for Optimal Power Saving

Windows enables you to control the dimness of the screen and set power consumption settings for optimized performance.

Optimize Power Options

If miserly power consumption is your top priority, ensure the settings in Power Options reflect this. Here’s how:

1)Click Start and then Control Panel.

2)Double-click Power Options.

3)Set the Power Schemes to Laptop.

4)Click Advanced.

5)Select the appropriate option from the Power Buttons section.

6)Click OK to save changes.

Congratulations! You’ve set the power options for your laptop. Though this does help in maximizing the life of your battery, it does not help reduce the load taken by the most power-intensive component - the laptop screen. You obviously can’t do without the screen so switching it off while working is not an option.
You can, however, reduce the power consumption by setting the dimness to a lower level. By using the default Power Options that comes with Windows (which we’ve just shown you), it is not possible to set the dimness of the screen. To set the dimness, you need download Power Management software. Most laptops nowadays come with one pre-installed. The Power Management software provides more power management options and also changes the look and feel of the Power Options dialog box. So, don’t be alarmed.
By following these tips, you should be able to get maximum battery life while you’re on the move.

~Rupen Sharma

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Today's Feature

Friday Funnies!


Comics used with permission

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Amanda's Coolsite

Second Picture

Welcome to one of the best Digital Art, Photography, and Design tutorial sites I’ve come across.

One of my pet peeves is going to a tutorial site on design or photographs that just looks ugly, you may have good information but if you’re not putting your own tips into practice who is going to put any faith in what you have to say.

So I’m giving this site very high marks for creating a site that is both instructional and beautiful to look at. (If you scroll down to the bottom of the page you’ll see a lovely white fluffy cloud that echoes their sky theme at the top of the page.) Love! Love! Love the site design!

Now that I’ve gushed over the site’s design, let’s dive right into the meat of it, the tutorials! You have several options for tutorials to choose from on the navigation strip.

They are:

3D Tutorials – these tutorials are things that I dream about being able to make someday. Here you’ll learn all about how to make 3D models, shading, photo montages and more.

Photoshop Tutorials – are always a blessing. Photoshop is one of those programs that I always mean to learn better. There is so much that you can accomplish with it, yet I find myself often sticking to making buttons, and just adding effects to photos. Here you’ll learn to do that but you’ll also learn how to add radical effects, make realistic water reflections, and more.

Photography Tutorials – here you will find tons of tutorials that teach you how to get the shot you’re after. They focus more on the technical side of capturing a photo than the artistic side of composition. You can learn about HDR cameras, how to take better family photos, and of course the most basic, how to take a good photo. There are a lot of tutorials to investigate here but its well worth it to enhance your skills.

Photography Composition – this is what I came here for! I’m learning to use my digital camera to take photographs of the outside world, as well as, my sculptures. There are days where I just have to get my hands into some clay in order to be happy. But in order to share my work, I need to be able to take crisp photos of it. I have to think about lighting and backgrounds in order to highlight it at its best. This section has nine excellent tutorials on photographic composition. So whether you want to take better vacation photographs, pictures of still life, or want to further your skill as a photog – you are sure to find a tutorial here to help you along the way.

Web Design Tutorials – I can still remember hand coding websites back in the 90’s. As soon as I learned about CSS (cascading style sheets) I knew they were going to be a blessing. The tutorial they have here will teach you how to make a navigation bar like the one they have on their site. It does require you to have some HTML and CSS knowledge. If you don’t, you can still learn it – because they’ve provided a link to where you can get the background knowledge you need to continue forward. Just follow the directions, and before you know it you’ll have your very own horizontal navigation bar.

Are you ready to create amazing images, I know I am! With these tutorials we can all learn how to do it!

http://www.secondpicture.com/

~Amanda

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Do you have a cool, non-commercial site that you want to share?
Send it to Amanda at
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Monthly Wallpaper

$12.97 Flash Drive Special Notice!!

Hurry - Prices Go Up SOON

Grab Some $40 Flash Drives For Just $12.97!!

You Must Order Before Soon To Get The Price - No Exceptions!

All I can say is WOW! Did we score a deal for you! One of our suppliers gave us an absolutely mind-blowing deal on some 4GB PQI Flash Drives! We've had some fantastic deals on flash drives in the past, but this has got to be the best ever! We're talking a whoppin' 4 GB worth of storage for just $12.97!! These have a retail of $40 - and most big chain stores sell them for that kind of money all day long! 

But there is a catch -

The promotion is only for a limited time - and we don't know when it will end! Could be this morning, could be next week. Once our cost goes up, your cost will go up! It's something new they're trying, so we decided to play along! My advice? If you want an amazing, $40 4GB flash drive for $12.97, I'd high-tail it on over to the site as soon as you read this!! Get your orders in at $12.97 while you can!!

We all know flash drives are probably the best invention since the internet, but when you think about you can store on these 4GB drives, it's really somethin'! Think about this - these can hold the same amount of data as not 1, not 3, but 6 - count 'em 6 - CD-ROMS! Heck, we're talking enough storage for 600 12MP images from your digital camera, 1000 MP3s, or 80,000 typical office documents! That's a lot of data!!

PLUS it's small and easy to take along - this thing isn't even as long as your index finger! Oh, and get this - if you buy several (and at this price you probably should), you can actually stack & snap them together! The little hole is also ideal for hooking onto a keychain - a great way to keep your important data with you all the time!

I don't know about you, but I can't live without my flash drives! I've used them for the typical "taking documents to the office" routine, but there's a TON of other uses too! Stick MP3s on 'em and listen to your favorite songs at work. Oh, and have you seen some of the newer car radios? They have USB plugs on 'em so you can take a flash drives loaded with MP3s and play it right in your car! Oh, and this is a really great way to take photos over to show off to family and friends! Just drag & drop your photos to it and plug it into any computer! Seems like I come up with new uses for these things all the time - you gotta grab 'em when the price is low like this - you know you're gonna need one soon!

OH, almost forgot - these are USB 2.0 drives so yeah, they're wicked fast! No sitting around staring at progress bars while you copy! 

Again, these are just $12.97 and US Shipping is FREE! For that kind of money, better grab a couple! Please note - this was a special promotion from one of our suppliers and the price on these will increase the second they decide to end the promo! Grab yours ASAP - before the price goes back up!

Oh, and you even get to choose the color!

Silver:
http://store.worldstart.com/product.php?productid=4964

Blue:
http://store.worldstart.com/product.php?productid=4963

Red:
http://store.worldstart.com/product.php?productid=4962

PS - $12.97 is our best price ever on 4GB flash drives of any kind - and these are some of the best quality available! Don't miss out, as soon as our supplier raises our price, we're rasing the price (and that could even be sometime today)!

 

Monthly Wallpaper

April Wallpaper

Here's this month's free calendar wallpaper! As always, it's 100% free, so head on over and grab one!

Pink Flower

This was actually in my front of my house! It had rained the night before, and this pink flower (lily?) was looking especially pink.

Mossy Stream

This just has to make you think "Spring"! Taken last April in the Smokys - and man that water was cold!

Valley Of Fire Road

Just about an hour's drive from Las Vegas is this amazing place! It really does look like that when you round the top of the hill! You think you're on another planet (and may sci-fi movies were shot there, including Star Trek Generations)

Here's April's wallpaper. It's all free, so enjoy!

All can be found here:

http://www.worldstart.com/wallpaper/index.php

Enjoy!

 

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ISSN: 1529-336X
Copyright 2005, WorldStart. All unauthorized reproduction strictly prohibited.

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Personal & Educational Use Only This blog consists mainly of FREE newsletters from computer web gurus that I receive. I thought you might like to see them all in one place than try to discover them on your own. A moderate amount of editing may be done to eliminate unrelated repetitious ads or unnecessary text which bloat the post. However I have given the authors full credit and will not remove their site links because you deserve to see where it comes from and they deserve to get credit for what they have written. Your use of this site is simply for educational purposes. For more computer-related help go to: CPEDLEY.COM for free software, advice and tips on low cost products which are very helpful. If you want to contact the editor, please go CPEDLEY.COM and check the Contact page for email address.