Useful and Funny Stuff

Last week I went to two parties, one of my daughter’s school and the other from daycare that both my kids attend. I used my new Nikon to take pictures and make some movies and I used Picasa to put everything on the computer. After the transference I deleted everything from the camera memory card and well, I was really shocked when I realized that some movies hadn’t been transfered.

On Christmas Eve my husband bought PC Guide magazine (portuguese version) and while I was checking the magazine I realized that it mentioned an easy recover program - Recuva - that was able to recover files from hard disks, digital cameras and MP3. I thought to myself: I’ve got nothing to lose so let’s try it!

I entered directly on the Recuva site, downloaded the free application and installed it.  I inserted the memory card on the Laptop slot and ran the Recuva application.  The first scan came out negative, no files had been found, I was disappointed. Than there was the option of Deep Scan that would take some minutes. Once again I thought: let’s do it!! And I did, after a few minutes of looking at an empty scan some .avi files appeared

and I instantly received my Christmas present: all the movies I had done. I was so thrilled.

I know there are other applications that can do this job but Recuva did it very well. Recuva is signed by Periform, it is very easy to use and fast in the process of locating erased files. You can select from the first menu the type of files you want to recover or you can select to recover every file. You then have the chance to visualize each file that the program detects and decide if that’s the one you want to recover.

Definitely this is an application I’m going to keep on my computer to be used when…I erase something by mistake.

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The Sidewinder X5 mouse will be widely requested by gamers. It has nine buttons, five of each completely programed through the program provided by Microsoft. Some buttons can be programed with movement macros that allows to save sequences of several movements, this way the gamer can do with one button what he would do with several buttons.

Available at www.microsoft.com

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Eco Friendly Printers By Ryan Perry

Companies are trying to reduce the amount of printing to a minimum. This is not primarily because of environmental concerns but because of economics. Printing a color page, or even using a color copier, is expensive. What is often overlooked is the impact printers have on the environment.

The cost issue is being addressed by companies like Xerox who have programs wherein they supply printers free of cost and charge only a minimal amount per color page printed. This charge is as low a $0.08 per page, which makes printing under this program the cheapest option available. With the costs reduced offices can now print as much as operational efficiencies require. But these increased print volumes do not have a negative environmental impact if the printers are using Solid Ink Technology.

A conventional laser printer uses toner or ink to print on a page. A color laser printer is actually four printers in one. To produce color images the printer needs to be able to combine Black, Yellow, Magenta and Cyan. This means four separate toner cartridges. And once the cartridge is empty it is junk. The cartridges are not biodegradable so they become pure waste.

Solid ink technology uses a wax based stick of solid ink instead of a toner in a cartridge. The wax melts and is used for printing. Once the ink stick is used up, there is no case or container to dispose of - another stick just has to be inserted in the printer. So no solid waste is produced. Solid ink printers do not produce ozone to pollute the air, like Phaser printers do.

Don’t think that because solid ink technology printers are environmentally friendly, they are less efficient than other printers. A printer like the like the Phaser 8560 can churn out 30 pages per minute of top quality color pages. In fact, Xerox says the solid ink produces more brilliant colors than toner based printers.

Solid ink printers are not just environmentally better, they are more economical to use than other printers, especially if a free printer program is opted for and are heavy use multifunction devices.

Author, Ryan Perry, has been in the printer/copier market for 12+ years as a reseller for a number of manufactures including HP, Samsung and Xerox. Today Ryan owns and operates Go2printgreen.com, educating businesses on the environmental advantages of solid ink technology.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Ryan_Perry
http://EzineArticles.com/?Eco-Friendly-Printers&id=1647999

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If you’ve recently purchased a computer, the store where you bought it for sure as available anti-virus and spam removal options for you to buy. There is also software on the internet that can be safely downloaded onto your computer. But what is spyware and why do you you need it? Here are some benefits to having this system on your computer as well as how you can keep it updated.

Spyware is placed on a computer to monitor the activity of that computer. The activity report is transmitted through the internet conection and allows you to verify if other people is or have been trying to download certain documents or programs from your computer. It also detects whether or not your computer has a virus.

If you are trying to enter a site that may cause problems on your computer or a website that the spyware does not recognize, then you will be asked if you are sure that you want to enter the site, and you will also receive a notification of the risk of entering. If you are searching for a certain site or subject on the internet, then this will also be monitored by spyware. Many company offices have this system installed on their computers that are used only for professional use, so that online games, non-work related photos and inappropriate websites can not be viewed at work.

The company that has issued the software for the computer will get the results of the information the spyware has tracked. Then, the information may be sold to other companies for marketing purposes. For instance, if you are a golf fan, and are visiting a lot of golf-related websites often, then the spyware on your computer will send this information to your computer’s manufacturer and you may start to receive pop-up adds promoting golf goods stores that you can order from online.

In order to eliminate this, you may have to get a pop-up blocker installed on your computer, so that you won’t have to deal with pop-up ads anymore and to protect your privacy while you’re on the computer. The programs for anti-virus installation can be found at a number of electronic stores in your area, so check out places like Radio Shack, Circuit City, and Best Buy to find programs that will help you to protect your computer.

If you are not sure about computer terms or you need to gather more information about spyware before buying any more computers, then you should visit sites like www.spyware.info or www.microsoft.com and get updated information on how to keep companies and individuals away from viewing your private information you have stored on your computer.

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These days, an email address is pretty much one of the basic necessities of life. We use email every day to communicate with others that are far away or even next door or and I’m not exaggerating, in the next room. An email address is the address (place) where our online mail is delivered each minute and how we stay connected to the rest of the world.

All cell phones now include email programs, Microsoft email is probably one of the easiest stand alone email software clients there is and it is remarkably easy to use as long as you access to an exchange email server.

Online email clients such as Yahoo, Gmail and Hotmail do not require much information in order to set them up and get them ready to send and receive emails. The mail server software system is called Outlook and Outlook Express, and they do require you to enter a little more information, but it is not that difficult to create if you know what each of the terms mean and can keep track of the information.

When you set up to send emails and receive emails, you need to know two crucial information: you need to know your Pop3 mail server both outgoing and incoming. This is the path that your email program uses to download and send emails to the server. In some cases, such as with a local internet provider, you may need to know your ISP mail server if you are using their email service. They should provide this information to you when you sign up and some of them even do all the work for you through an executable little program.

When you first open up Outlook, it will direct you through the process of setting up your email. There will be a place to put your name and contact information. Next a box will pop up that requires the Pop3 mail server information. You should have been provided this information by your administrator if you are using something other than one of Microsoft’s email programs, such as Hotmail or own email server.

Once you have the correct information, all you have to do to enjoy Microsoft email is to fill in the text boxes with the correct information. If you still cannot send or receive emails after you have entered the information, then you may want to check that you do not have the information on the text boxe (reversed). Just one little mistake can mean the difference between having email and writing stuff by snail mail.

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The amateur photographer is in the majority of all camera owners out there. While the pros have elaborate, expensive equipment and all the latest gadgetry, that’s not the case with you and me. When we pack up our digital camera to take on an outing, or just take a few shots of the kid’s birthday party or our backyard BBQ gathering, we’re just looking to capture some memories, not win a photo contest.

However, many people don’t know about the absolutely amazing enhancements which can be made to your digital pictures, with photo software. There are tons of fabulous photo editors out there, so how do you know which package to choose, that will meet your needs? You may not want to shell out a couple of hundred bucks – or more – when you have no idea what to do with it, or if the whole package might be way out of your skill set.

Well, here’s some great news! Before you go out and spend your hard-earned cash on photo software that may or may not suit your needs, try some of the many excellent Free Photo Software downloads. So how do you find these gems? Easy. Just Google ‘photo software free download’ and wade through some of the thousands of sites at your disposal.

You’ll first want to get a basic photo editor, also known as an image editor. This is your basic workhorse, which allows you to manipulate your images in dozens of ways. Most include an array of special effects, such as altering colors, contrast, or sharpening or softening the image. Rotating, resizing and introducing layers and transparencies are other common features.

While you’re looking, keep in mind what features will be truly useful to you. For example, if your thing is landscape photos, you may want to look for a photo software package that provides lighting effects. With this feature, you can make a sunset a little more luminous, or even change the color entirely.

Be aware that many of these downloads are only available in the .exe format, so when the download dialog box comes up on your screen, be sure to click the ‘save to disk’ option and save the download in a directory of your choice.

Fool around with a few of these editors to find out what photo software technology has to offer. Once you see what you can do with a photo editor, you’ll want to look into photo software utilities to perform specialized tasks, such as merging photos, instant color matching or creating digital sketches from your kid’s photos!

You’ll be surprised to see how intuitive photo software is to use. There’s no big learning curve. You’ll be up and running in no time. Once you’re familiar with this type of software, you’ll know what you need from photo software and the money you spend will not be wasted. Your pics will be like the pros! More on Computer Software and Searcheslive.

Make your digital photos spectacular with free photo software!

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