WINDOWS 8.1 IS AVAILABLE AS A FREE DOWNLOAD TODAY

If you haven't heard the announcement yet - Microsoft released the new Windows 8.1 update/upgrade today.

It is a free upload for any of you who are using Windows 8 on your computers, laptops or tablets...

Here is a link to the MSN website that made the announcement this morning and clearly outlines many of the issues addressed with this update/upgrade.....

http://money.msn.com/investing/news.aspx?feed=AP&date=20131017&id=17008390

This update is specifically designed to address many of the gripes people have had with Windows 8, the dramatically different operating system that attempts to bridge the divide between tablets and PCs.

So again, this Window 8.1 update is free for current owners of Windows 8; downloads started at 7 am this morning in New York, which corresponded to the start of Friday in New Zealand.

Simply go to the Windows Store app to find it.  Here is the link for their app store if you don't have it in your favorites...

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-8/apps#Cat=t1

As they noted in their MSN announcement  "it may take a few hours for updates to reach everyone. Computers with Windows 8.1 already installed will go on sale Friday local time. That's also when people will be able to buy stand-alone copies of Windows 8.1."

Creating Slide Shows – Power Point & Picasa

Some basic Power Point Info...

WHAT IS POWER POINT:  Gives you the ability to create a slide show combining your photos, text, animation, sound and more… to make your information much more enjoyable.  Power Point presentations have been used in business for years, but today you see them being used at weddings, showers, birthday parties, reunions, memorial services and by groups & organizations.  Students as young as 3^rd grade are using power point presentations to enhance reports and projects.

POWER POINT APPLICATION SOFTWARE

Can be bought individually or it is included as part of the MICROSOFT OFFICE bundle.  The Power Point Application Software is always required for you to create and or modify a power point presentation.

POWER POINT VIEWER: This is a free software offered from Microsoft that allows you to watch power point presentations sent to you via email.  You can then save them on your computer to send to someone else, you cannot however change or modify them in anyway or create your own without the full Power Point Application Software Program.

ADD POWER POINT VIEWER TO YOUR COMPUTER: Go to www.Microsoft.com – on right hand column – choose Downloads & Trials, search for “Power Point Viewer” and when wizard opens up – choose DOWNLOAD NOW button – in a few minutes this free software will be on your computer – follow directions as it adds it…

CAN YOU MAKE SLIDE PRESENTATIONS WITHOUT POWER POINT?? Yes, use Picasa (a free photo editing software program from Google, if you don’t have it, go to www.picasa.com and download for free).  Picasa’s version 3, has both a slide show & movie making application to use and they are easy to work with.. For those with Windows XP or Vista, your windows software has a free program called Windows Movie Maker which works in much the same way as power point and the Picasa applications… and if you have Windows 7 or 8 you can always search for and download

In our next posting we will talk more about using PICASA to create slide shows.. 

Websites to help with rising gas prices

With gas prices climbing continually, it’s more important than ever to keep an eye on gas prices and for those who are planning a summer trip – you might want to more accurately calculate what your fuel costs will be.. Here are some websites that you might find helpful…

To calculate fuel expenses for a trip…

www.fuelcostcalculator.aaa.com

Cost of fuel …

www.gasbuddy.com

www.fuelgaugereport.aaa.com

For those of you with smartphones and/or tablets (such as Droid, iPhone, iPads, Goggle Nexus, BlackBerry, Kindles etc) consider adding these and other mobile apps - including AAA - to help find the least expensive gas and other services when you are traveling…

Remember to avoid getting gas when you are on or near major interstate highways and/or airports ~ as most of us know – prices are always higher at these locations… 

Enjoy Memorial Day

No classes today as we all enjoy the Memorial Holiday and remember those who have served - if that's you, or members of your family - thank you.

We also thought you'd enjoy checking out a favorite Memorial Day website with lots of helpful information about the holiday and the way it is celebrated.. enjoy

www.usmemorialday.org

When I want to know which websites are “Hot” – we can always check out

www.allmyfaves.com – which we refer to in classes quite often..

Another favorite website to visit that lists their opinion of the top “100 websites” is:

www.100bestwebsites.org

Want to travel from the comfort of home, then check out web cams all over the world, including spring tulip farms in Holland, cape cod or local beaches, the Eiffel Tower and many many more:

www.earthcam.com

or closer to home, check out this webcam to look at Nantasket Beach in Hull..

http://northeastsurfing.com/nantasket-beach-hull-cam

So check them out, and if you have a favorite website you'd like us to share with everyone - just send it to me and remember to save websites you visit to your favorite or bookmark list so they are easy to visit again in the future..

Enjoy the Internet - where we can learn & explore anytime - anywhere…

How to enlarge the size of your toolbars in Chrome & Firefox

According to www.ehow.com, you can edit the sizes of your toolbars in both Google chrome& Mozilla Firefox..Firefox versions prior to Firefox 4.0 have a menu bar at the top of the application that allows you to access the "File," "Edit," "Tools" and other menus.

If you find your menu bar in Firefox smaller than you prefer it, you can edit the size of the bar with the userChrome.css file, a Firefox configuration file that allows you to change any aspect of the browser using CSS code. Accessing and editing your Firefox configuration file gives you complete control over how large you want the menu bar to appear

1.   Click on "Start" and select "Computer."

2.   Go to the following location on your computer: "C:\Users\{Windows Profile Name}\AppData\Roaming\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\{Firefox Profile Name}\Chrome."

3.   Locate the "userChrome-example.css" file. Right-click the file and select the "Rename" option. Rename the file "userChrome.css."

4.   Right-click the file and click "Open With." A new window will appear. Select "Notepad" and click "OK" to open the file in Notepad.

5.   Add the following code to the bottom of the file: /* Large Menus */ menubar, menubutton, menulist, menu, menuitem {font-size: 4mm !important;}

6.   Replace "4" with the font size in mm that you want to change the menu bar to.

7.   Click "File" and select "Save." Launch Firefox to view the changes to the menu bar.

For more information on this topic, go to this link at... www.ehow.com:.

How to Edit the Menu Bar Size on Firefox or Chrome | eHow http://www.ehow.com/how_8626717_edit-bar-size-firefox-chrome.html#ixzz2U1lYWuMe

Blizzard Nemo has arrived

Blizzard Nemo has begun his visit... and hopefully he'll move out to sea quickly..

So stay off the roads - enjoy a good book or movie and keep warm... Gov. Patrick declared a state of emergency as of noon today & banned all unauthorized vehicles off the roads at 4pm.

Predictions are blizzard NEMO will be more than the state has ever seen - possibly 3+ feet of snow - let's hope all the weathermen are wrong this time!!! and we get a lot less...

They are also warning that violators on the roads, who are not authorized, could receive fines of up to $500 plus a year in prison.. 

FYI: Anchorage Alaska's largest storm was 28 inches on December 23, 2003 - So be careful....and for those of you who consider shoveling - be very very careful...

Although our new series is due to begin next week, starting on Monday, February 11th, remember that our classes follow any school closures for bad weather, so if Quincy or Weymouth schools are closed - no classes will be held at Southern Artery or Union Tower...  And of course we will also post it here on our blog... 

Have a safe weekend...

Follow the storm and related information at these websites...

www.weather.com
www.accuweather.com
www.wcvb.com
www.whdh.com
www.wbz.com

What is a "Read It Later" service?

Whether you use your computer, tablet, laptop, eReader or other mobile device - such as a Smartphone or iPhone to "surf the web" we all have the opportunity to read numerous articles, watch videos and other information from friends & family on Facebook, Twitter or maybe Pinterest; or you get News Feeds from your favorite media websites... BUT you don't have time to read or view them all now..  

That's how a "Read it later" service or app can help.  These "apps" saves the information - link - etc. so you can view the article, photo, video later at your convenience (yes-this is also cloud computing).  So with thee services, you establish an account, meaning you have to have a username & password and that allows you to access "your account" and whatever you've saved... 

Many of these services are free (including my 2 personal favorites) but some are not - but they all allow us to  manage articles and other media that we want to access later...  Apps for these services can be downloaded to your computer, tablet or other mobile device and they are very very easy to use..... 

If you have a Pinterest or Twitter account they also offer this service and Facebook will offer it very soon....

I've been playing with 2 different services and really like them both - and yes, both are free

Evernote is my personal top choice abs quite honestly the one I now use daily, because I can store anything I want to remember including quick reminder notes (my family and associates will tell you I'm a constant list maker so this is great for me), but I can save anything I want to view or read later.. www.evernote.com

Pocket (formerly known as Read it Later) is my 2nd favorite and worked wonderfully.... www.getpocket.com

Others you may want to check out...

Instapaper, website is:  www.instapaper.com - Free and paid versions

SnipIt, website is: www.snip.it/#welcome - Free 

Side note... For those of you with tablets and other "Android based devices" some of my students in Arizona are loving this new free app - called "CRACKLE" which is a totally legitimate app offering free streaming of TV shows and movies.  I found that it doesn't have all TV shows, but there are lots of old favorites and some of the new ones as well; same goes for movies...  But again, it's free so a great way to play with "streaming" before you move on to one of the paid services, such as Netflick or HBO... so you might want to give it a try... I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of the picture...  I don't think this available for Apple devices yet, but keep checking back - no doubt it will be...

 

Check it out: www.crackle.com

Cloud Computing & Music

This is a note I received from Bob Donovan who applauds using Cloud Computing for all of his music... 

"My music is stored in iTunes on my computer. But I've also put it up in Amazon's music cloud (basically because of the Kindle that I own).  

Currently I have 50,595 songs in the cloud. On my computer these songs take up 224 GB. I'm paying Amazon $24.99 per year for this storage. So far, I'm really pleased with it. It's not as simple or beautiful as iTunes, but it works great and I don't think there's any limit.  

Naturally, I normally have to use the search function to find an artist or song or album and that seems to work fine online. 

I also downloaded Amazon's picture storage app, but haven't tried to use it yet-will keep you posted" 

Once you pay for an "app" you can download that app to multiple devices, such as your smartphone - kindle - tablet - etc...How does it know, because Amazon (like other companis) stores the information in your Amazon Account.

To check these "apps" out, or all that Amazon offers, here is the link to the Amazon App Store for Androids...(or you can just go to www.Amazon.com) 

http://www.amazon.com/mobile-apps/b?ie=UTF8&node=2350149011

Today is Veteran's Day - Thank You

Take a moment to say a special Thank You to all who continue to serve and protect us today and to those who served before them - we can't thank you enough for your sacrifice.. 

They Did Their Share By Joanna Fuchs 

On Veteran’s Day we honor Soldiers who protect our nation. For their service as our warriors, They deserve our admiration. Some of them were drafted; Some were volunteers; For some it was just yesterday; For some it’s been many years. In the jungle or the desert, On land or on the sea, They did whatever was assigned To produce a victory. Some came back; some didn’t. They defended us everywhere. Some saw combat; some rode a desk; All of them did their share. No matter what the duty, For low pay and little glory, These soldiers gave up normal lives, For duties mundane and gory. Let every veteran be honored; Don’t let politics get in the way. Without them, freedom would have died; What they did, we can’t repay. We owe so much to them, Who kept us safe from terror, So when we see a uniform, Let’s say "thank you" to every wearer.

Did you know these 10 interesting facts??? From website: 

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/2340240/10_interesting_veterans_day_facts.html

• Veterans Day was once called Armistice Day. Armistice Day was created to honor veterans of World War I.
• November 11, 1919 was the first day Armistice Day was celebrated. Germany signed the armistice slowing the hostilities of WW1 in the 11th month, on the 11th day, during the 11th hour
• November 11 is both a federal and state holiday
• June 1, 1954 was when the United States changed the name to Veterans Day, honoring all military veterans
• Between 1971 and 1977 Veterans Day was celebrated on the fourth Monday of October
• Arlington National Cemetery has a ceremony every year on Veterans Day honoring those who died during war
• There are roughly 24 million living veterans
• During World War II Disney made films for each branch of the United States government 90% of Disney employees worked making propaganda and training videos during WWII
• 400,000 of the United States Armed Forces died during WWII.

Other Websites to check out for Veteran's Day trivia

www.urf.atlantic.net/features/veteransday

www.apples4theteacher.com/holidays/veterans-day/tomb-of-unknown-soldier

No Computer Classes this Monday & Tuesday, October 29th & 30th..

At the request of Gov. Patrick, who has declared a State of Emergency in Massachusetts and also asked that all classes be cancelled in Eastern Massachusetts, so we are conforming to that request and therefore no computer classes will be held Monday and Tuesday, October 29th & 30th this week due to the impending Hurricane Sandy to ensure the safety of our staff and all students.

We will see you all when the new series begins next Monday, November 5th - Stay safe and be sure to head the warnings for this "Frankenstorm" that's on it's way...It's always better to be safe than sorry..

The Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency has these tips to prepare for severe tropical weather:

RELATED

• Make sure you have a well-stocked Family Disaster Kit in the event you lose power or are isolated for a number of days.
•  Trim back trees and shrubbery around your home. Remove diseased or damaged tree limbs that could be blown down, causing damage, during a storm.
•  Clear clogged rain gutters. This storm brings the potential for torrential rain. Providing clear drainage will help prevent misdirected flooding. 
• Bring in outdoor items such as lawn furniture, trash barrels, hanging plants, toys and awnings that can be broken or picked up by strong winds and used as a missile. 
• Make sure storage sheds, children’s playhouses or other outbuildings are securely anchored, either to a permanent foundation or with straps and ground anchors. 
• Elevate articles in your basement that could be damaged from even minor flooding. 
• Make temporary plywood covers to protect windows and sliding doors. Drill holes for screws or lag bolts in each cover and around each window. Note: Taping of windows does not prevent them from breaking. 
• Keep your vehicles fully fueled. 
• Have a certain amount of cash available. If power is lost, ATMs may not be working. 
•  Make a record of your personal property. Keep an itemized list of your furniture, clothing and valuables to assist adjusters in case of a claim. Back it up with photographs or video. 
•  Protect your insurance policies and other important documents in a secure place like a safe deposit box or a watertight box. Many people back up important documents online. 
• Learn where gas pilots and water mains are located and how to safely shut off all utilities. 
• Lock doors and windows to ensure that they are closed tight to help protect against strong winds and rain. 
• Boat owners, who plan on taking their vessel out of the water soon, should consider doing so this weekend. 
• Back up your computers and store the portable/external hard drive or flash drives used for back up in a waterproof safe
• Make sure cell phones are fully charged.
• Download the free ping4alert! app to your Smartphone to receive important weather alerts and messages from MEMA. Easy instructions are available at www.mass.gov/mema/mobileappp. 

You can track this powerful storm on any of these popular website hyperlinks..

www.weather.com

www.accuweather.com

www.noaa.gov

www.whdh.com

www.wbz.com

www.wcvb.com

Windows 8 is here!!!!

Yes, the long awaited newest operating system "Windows 8" is here...

Windows 8 Microsoft's newest operating system, was released yesterday, October 26th just after midnight EST.....BUT before you rush out and buy an upgrade or a computer with Windows 8 on it, take a little time and do some homework... read some of the articles online, so you will have a better understanding of what this long awaited new operating system is all about.  Yes, it is very different and Yes there will be a "learning curve" so I think it's advantageous to take the time to understand what it's all about first...

A few easy to understand articles...check them out or go to your favorite search engine and simply search for "what's windows 8 all about"...

www.lifehacker.com/5839777/first-look-at-whats-new-in-windows-8

www.cnn.com/2012/10/25/tech/gaming-gadgets/windows-8-faq/index.html

www.huffingtonpost.com/jonathan-rettinger/windows-8-is-here-8-thing_b_2022868.html

Typing Tutorial Websites

How can I improve my typing skills? a question we hear quite often.. 

Like the piano - it's simply a matter of practice, but remember this isn't crucial - lots of our famous authors and reporters spent their entire careers "pecking away" and did very well...   Now if you are getting ready to take a typing test that's a different story, but I doubt that most of us are worried about that...

But if you think you'd like to improve your typing skills - speed, accuracy or both - you don't have to run out and purchase an application software program - there are wonderful FREE websites that can help you with this new goal - here are "hyperlinks" to some of our favorite typing tutorial websites, so check them out...

Note-some sites will ask you if you want the "tutorial" for a "QWERTY" or "DVORAK" keyboard-ours in the classroom, as are most keyboards, are "QWERTY" style...  

Not sure what the difference is - check out our blog posting pack in November 2009 about these two types of keyboards

http://www.utseniorpcgeeks.blogspot.com/2009/11/whats-difference-between-qwerty-dvorak.html

Free Typing tutorial websites:

www.powertyping.com

www.typingweb.com

www.rapidtyping.com

www.freetypinggame.net

www.alfatyping.com

Enjoy and Good Luck

Email & Online Safety Tips:

Most of us have been using email and shopping online for quite some time, so we know how to use it safely – right?? Wrong… we all get comfortable and too often when we aren’t paying attention, we leave ourselves open to scams without even realizing it… so just a few basic reminders to stay safe online…

BE SURE IT SAYS HTTPS - Before you ever type in any personal information whatsoever on a website (shopping, medical facilities, registering on a company site for info, travel websites, etc) – always be the one who went to that website by typing the website into you browser address bar..  Don’t go there by using a link in an email you received..  Once there, you always want to see https in the Internet browser address bar before you ever type any personal information.  For example when I got to walgreens.com to see what’s on sale – the address in the browser bar will read:

http://www.walgreens.com/default.jsp

But when I left click on the “shopping cart” the data in the internet browser toolbar changes and now reads:

https://www.walgreens.com/store/checkout/cart.jsp

REPUTABLE COMPANIES NEVER ASK FOR INFO VIA EMAIL - Your bank, favorite online store, mortgage or credit card companies will NEVER – NEVER – NEVER - send you an email requesting sensitive information such as your username, password, account number, etc. If you ever receive an email asking for you for this information – print it off and delete it.. Once you print it off, notify the company directly of what has happened.  When you type information into any website, you want to be sure you generated the access to that specific website… never click on a link from an email to visit the site.

BE WARY OF EMAILS FROM GENERIC NAMES – Spammers, Scammers and others who are phishing often send emails using a single name “Jean” or other common names, such as “Uncle Dave” or a common company name – Wells Fargo, Bank of America, or political affiliation these days…  But that doesn’t mean that it is who you think it is.. Most of our friend or families emails come in showing both their first and last name - Pay attention to the email and any attachments they may include – go with your gut, if it looks funny or unusual delete it…

IF IT SOUNDS TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE, IT’S PROBABLY A HOAX!

When we receive emails offering easy money, free or cheap products and services, requests for money because our friend is stuck in another country or an offer for a foreign lotteries – remember they are almost always a hoax…  delete them and never, never forward them to anyone on your email contact list/address book

PROTECT YOUR FRIENDS & FAMILIES PRIVACY - Always be sure you type friend & families email addresses in the “BCC” line of all emails (not the To line), so they receive the email but don’t see each other’s addresses – this way if and when they forward the joke or information to others, email addresses won’t be shared unknowingly..  

If and when you receive an email with lots of other addresses, as soon as you choose to forward it on, be sure to eliminate any of the addresses that are listed before your forward it…  Together we can protect each others privacy and reduce the amount of junk mail we get..

Facebook Glossary & Helpful Hints

Whether you are new to Facebook, or have been using it for awhile, there are times when we all run across a term for a setting or feature that we don't understand...  Facebook has a wonderful glossary that gives us easy to understand explanations...it is their Facebook Glossary   Check it out – you will see a list of terms – simply left click on them and you will see a full description as to what they mean and how they work…

www.facebook.com/help/glossary

Another favorite website within Facebook, is their “Facebook Tips” section – with help in every conceivable aspect of using Facebook for your personal use, as well as for work and organizations you might belong to…

www.facebook.com/facebooktips

Who and what is Pinterest..

Pinterest - Social Networking site-Yes; but different from Facebook & Twitter... 

#1 – everyone seems to agree that this is the fastest growing Social Networking website today…

#2 – so many people, including some of our own daughter-in-laws – seem to feel it is “seriously addicting”

Pinterest’s goal is different from Facebook, Twitters and the others – as more of a bulletin board forum and Pinterest hopes hope to connect everyone in the world through the things they find interesting sharing inspiration and ideas…

Pinterest is very popular with teachers of all ages, moms and grandmas, brides to be, those looking for ideas to spruce up their homes inside and out, or throwing a party or other event, looking for a new recipe… and it’s a great source for sharing “deals” before spending money…  An everyone seems to mention that it’s bright – colorful – and easy to view…

Check it out today at www.pinterest.com and if you like what you see, you can go to the top of their Home Page and request an “invitation to join”.  As with most email and social media sites, you will need to establish an account with a user name & password and give them an email address…

Pinterest is very new – in December 2009, it began development by co-founders Ben Silbermann and Paul Sciarra.

They first launched an iPhone app in March 2011 and by Aug. 2011, Time magazine listed Pinterest in its "50 Best Websites of 2011" article and by Dec. 2011 Pinterest was one of the top 10 largest social network services with 11 million total visits per week (most of whom are women)

As of March 2012, it is said to be the 3rd largest social network in the United States (Facebook & Twitter being 1^st & 2^nd) and it has surpassed Linkedin and Tagged…

What is DropBox?

Dropbox, which started just 5 years ago in 2007 by 2 MIT Graduates who continually forgot to bring their flash drives to class, has a free service (as well as other monthly & annual fee programs) and their software works with Windows, Mac’s, Android and other operating systems…  Yes – this is a “cloud computer” service, similar to what emails users who have hotmail, live or msn with SkyDrive or what gmail users use with Google Drive to save their photos, documents and other files to share or access from anywhere they are..…

Check them out at www.dropbox.com

How to use DropBox:

Go to www.dropbox.com and download their free software to your computer or smartphone (or any other mobile device).

·         Select a location on your hard drive to place the "Dropbox Folder."

·         Drag and drop files you want to upload to Dropbox into the new Dropbox folder on your computer. You can also upload files directly to your Dropbox account using their website upload tools.

·         You can now access your Dropbox files from any computer using Dropbox website or installing the software on that specific computer.

·         Access your files on an iPhone or Android device using the mobile Dropbox application.

·         Any adjustments made to Dropbox files will synchronize automatically.

If you need more help using this, visit www.dropbox.com which has an easy to follow tutorial on their website, or visit our two favorite websites for learning just about anything:

www.ehow.com or www.youtube.com

As of October 2011, Dropbox had more than 50 million users and recently announced (in April 2012) a new feature that allows users to automatically upload photos and videos from their cameras, tablets, SD cards and smartphones.  We’ve also heard that they are going to be giving users up to 3 GB of additional storage space for free, which some feel is to encourage users to use them, vs. Hotmails SkyDrive or Googles Drive for docs & photos… 

Should I wait until Windows 8 Is out to buy a new computer?

So many of you have asked – should I wait to buy a computer until Windows 8 Operating System is released and installed on the new computer?

My personal opinion is absolutely not!! Fox news reported today that Microsoft will release a new test version of the "Windows 8 Operating System" sometime in June this year – but remember this is just a test version.. Although Microsoft seems to be quite happy with the “overall” operating system, there are still countless challenges with respect to drivers, so until this is worked out – which may take some time – I wouldn’t hold off buying that new computer…

To me it’s like waiting to buy a car until the next version is released with all the new bells & whistles; we know that cars – just like appliances - change each year, so we buy them when we need them. That is especially true when it comes to the world of technology – if you are going to wait until something comes out that has all the “new stuff” – you’ll never buy anything…

Here is the link to the article Fox News published today re Windows 8: http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2012/04/24/windows-8-release-preview-coming-out-in-june-microsoft-says/

Happy Patriot's Day

Did you know these trivia facts about Patriot’s Day which we will be celebrating tomorrow - Monday, April 16th..
Patriots Day, a civic holiday, is observed in 3 states: Massachusetts, Maine & Wisconsin…
Since 1969, Patriots Days has been celebrated on the third Monday in April (before that it was always April 19th, the anniversary of the 1775 Battles of Lexington and Concord and the first battles of the American Revolutionary War including Paul Revere’s historic Ride. As a civic holiday, most schools including colleges and universities are closed for the day, as are some businesses…

In Massachusetts, it is also:

The day of our famous Boston Marathon, which is the oldest annual city marathon in the world, appearing for the first time in 1897..  Thousands of runners from all over the world participate in this 26.5 mile run from Hopkinton to Boston.
 
If you are running tomorrow, on behalf of all of us Good Luck....

Check out the Boston Athletic Club - Boston Marathon website....

www.baa.org

And for New England Baseball fans, for many years now the Boston Red Sox plan their schedule so they always play at home in Fenway Park on Patriot’s Day. This year, on April 16th, 2012 they will be playing the 3rd game in their series against Tampa Bay at 11:05am.. Check out the red sox website:

www.redsox.com

Digital Camera Setting Suggestions – Part 2 of 2

Continued from Part 1 on Monday, April 9, 2012

Macro Mode Setting – Icon is usually a flower symbol and this setting helps you take really great close-ups that are sharp, clear and bright, but slightly blur the background. And because most macro modes disable the zoom you have to “physically” get pretty close to what you are shooting.. Don't use macro mode for people, unless you're focusing on fine detail, such as an up-close picture of an eye

Program Mode Setting – Icon is usually a P and this is a great setting because although some setting remain “automatic” you can now control the three most important settings: flash, ISO value and white balance

Saturation Settings, which are found in the Main Menu, usually under “color mode” – be careful with this one because if you move it too much your pictures will have a hazy quality to them…

Sunset Mode Setting – More and more digital camera’s today have a sunset mode setting, which adds more warmth (or orange tones) to photos we take. It can brighten up a sunset, so try this setting

White Balance or WB Setting -  give us the ability to adjust the color of the picture. Most digital cameras are preset to “automatic white balance” or “AWB”. But you might want to experiment a little and set the white balance to manual, so that you can adjust the balance for certain lighting – you can usually do this by pressing and holding the White Balance/WB button and rotating the dial to choose: tungsten light, fluorescent light; sun light, cloudy light, light bulb, flash light etc so that the camera will adjust the color to get the color of the picture exactly the way that you wanted

Remember, with websites like  www.youtube.com and www.ehow.com and those for your specific cameras, you can find print and video tutorials that will help you master each and every aspect of your digital camera…  In the meantime, here are some highlights of some of the standard settings for most digital cameras – remember experiment and play with your camera – it’s the best way to learn…

Digital Camera Setting Suggestions – Part 1 of 2

Great weather usually means more time spent outdoors, which often means taking more pictures… If you haven’t begun to play with all the different aspects of your digital camera – now’s a perfect time to begin.

With websites like www.youtube.com  and www.ehow.com  and those for your specific cameras, you can find both print and video tutorials that will help you master each and every aspect of your digital camera…

In the meantime, here are some highlights of some of the standard settings for most digital cameras – remember experiment and play with your camera – it’s the best way to learn…

Action Mode Setting – Icon usually looks like a man running and can help with shots of action, children playing, sports, etc and you want to change to this setting prior to taking your pictures; if you don’t have this setting most cameras allow you to change them to Manual Setting, icon is usually a capital '"M." and then Set your camera to a fast shutter speed setting such as 1/250th, 1/500th or 1/1000th of a second – most cameras today do this automatically when set on "Shutter Priority, icon is usually a capital "S." Remember to turn off your flash and change the ISO setting to 400-800.. to get great action shots


Burst Mode or Continuous Shooting Mode Setting – Icon looks like several pieces of paper stacked up and this setting helps reduce shutter lag and lets you take several pictures by pressing the shutter button just once. This will help you make sure that you get at least one good shot of an action sequence. If it isn’t on the top dial, then go to the cameras menu setting to make this change on the LCD screen looking for the same icon. When you shoot in continuous mode, be sure to focus your camera on the subject you want to capture and hold down the shutter button without releasing it. The camera takes pictures until you stop pressing the shutter button or the buffer memory or memory card fills up.
Notes about continuous shoots:

• Be sure you have a fully charged battery when you plan to do “continuous shooting”
• Continuous shot images are typically first stored in the internal memory buffer on your camera, because writing data to the buffer is faster than writing data to the memory card. By initially storing the image in the buffer, the camera is able to take another picture much more quickly than if the image is written directly to the card. Writing the data to the memory buffer also allows in-camera image processing to occur before the final image is saved to the card usually stored on the Cameras Internal Memory Buffer before putting them on the Memory Card. i.e. the buffer may fill up after 10-14 pictures in Fine/Large/JPEG mode, or after three pictures in RAW mode. The LCD display shows "Busy" when the buffer is full, and shows "Full CF" when the memory card is full . Once the information has been converted to a digital form, it is stored in the camera's internal-memory buffer. Image data is initially stored in the memory buffer because writing data to the buffer is faster than writing data to the memory card. By initially storing the image in the buffer, the camera is able to take another picture much more quickly than if the image is written directly to the card. Writing the data to the memory buffer also allows in-camera image processing to occur before the final image is saved to the card

ISO Settings – these can be changed to control how much light goes into your camera and it’s easy and can make a vast difference in the “brightness” of your photos… Change to the lowest possible setting as noted… By default, the standard Automatic ISO setting in most digital cameras is 200..
Other settings you might want to try would be..
50-100: for photos taken in very bright light
200: for photos when it is overcast
400: for photos taken indoors or with action
800: for photos with continuous shot action


Post continued in Part 2 of 2 on Thursday, April 12th, 2012