Photography and Cameras

Photography is an art just like any other. A paint brush in the hands of a child does not create marvels and neither does a novice understand the true depth of a painting that might get sold for a 100K and might think it as a waste of money. Photography used to be a pretty expensive hobby and I remember my first camera at the age of 12 used to cost somewhere around a 4 MP digicam nowadays and the cost of its photo processing was far more then todays so called children in the field would afford.

With cameras growing cheaper nowadays and the pixel rate of the digicam rising upto 15 Mp and even more it is not surprising that every other person today acts like a photographer. With the DSLR in fashion today and the ease at which any other person would afford it, the amateurs just pretend to be Pros.

Point to shoot and DSLRs, there are several places where you could easily find the differences of both and their pros and cons, google is your best friend I would say. The DSLR is not for fashion or for show biz its a real pro's game tool and ammo. Some one said that most of the cat walkers on the ramp don't even know what DSLR stands for!!!

I have seen people just shoot and keep shooting without focus or without any meaning. When one acts like a pro photographer one should choose before releasing the shutter. If for example one is trying to capture a majlis scene you should take care of the proper poses and postures of all those who will be seen in the picture, not that someone is touching the bread or standing for raza or so on. Its the timing that matters and the entire pictures that matters not just the focus point of the picture. Also if you are not aware with handling the DSLR then you are sure to land into a bad situation.

Here are a few links for all those who have bought a huge canon to shoot wit:

1) DSLR Tips

2) Photography Guide

3) 20 DSLR Photography Skills

4) 10 DSLR Tips

5) Top Ten DSLR Cam Review

6) Camera Buying Guide

7) A nice Digital SLR guide

Journalistic Ignorance

Sometime back I had written about an Arab Times article that wrongly projected the Bohra community. Similar cases popped up in India with the recent Mumbai Mirror article that raised the concerns of the Bohra Community. There headline was so vague that it drew abrupt comments from people who know less about the religious practices of Islam and the community. Then an appology came from the editor and the writer that all this was unintentional. The lord knows better. As far as my personal views are concerned I think that it was a attention drawing media stunt in hunger of popularity.
Recently, another incident occurred. IndiaTV in its exclusive news telecast of the marraige ceremony of a known terrorist, Baitullah, in Afganistan, the News channel showed a digitally manupilated photograph of His Holiness Dr. Syedna Mohammed Burhanuddin (TUS) who is a respected religious leader of the community, an Ambasador of Peace. World Leaders have met him and bowed their heads in respect of his spiritual charisma. Much is known about him to the EDUCATED that all written would be less. The news channel broadcasted an image of him annoucing the Nikah (marriage ceremony) of Baitullah. A very ignorant act which IndiaTV editor claim to be a mistake.
News sestionalisation cannot be a mistake. Manupilating and digitally playing with a photograph on a news channel, mind well its not a movie, its a truth revealing news channel, cannot be taken as a mistake or unintentional act as claimed by India TV. This is an act of Journalistic misconduct and is totally unethical. Manupilating or digitally playing with an image can never be marked unintentional or a mistake.
The Ministry of Information and Broadcast should have a look into this matter and punish the news channel for misconduct so that people are not mislead, misguided by such publicity stunts which could not only flare violence against the entire community and its respected leader but also distort the image of truth in the eye of the common man. A stringent action must be taken by the authorities should it be proven a lesson for all and help promote better journalistic practices in the country. The pen has the power to over throw kings from their thrones and rise another to the skies, lets stop it from being used for injustice, crime and selfish deeds.

Convert Powerpoint Presentations to Flash with GMail PPT Viewer

GMail now has an inbuilt PPT viewer that lets you view Powerpoint attachment as a Flash picture slideshow in the web browser itself without requiring Microsoft PowerPoint application.

This slideshow feature of GMail will be useful since you no longer have to download the full PPT attachment in order to view that 16th slide of the presentation.

Here are two additional situations where it may help:

1. If you have to view a presentation on some computer that has no copy of PowerPoint, gmail yourself the PPT file and watch the slides inside the web browser. [similar to converting PDF to text using GMail]

2. GMail converts every slide of your Powerpoint presentation to a Flash (swf) file - if you manually advance the entire PPT slideshow using the arrows, all the slides will become available as Flash files in your browser's temp folder.

Just a quick way of transforming Powerpoint slides into SWF documents without using any desktop conversion software. The swf files may then be embedded in your blog for sharing with readers. Nothing great since Scribd can also convert your PPT to Flash paper.

Do you know GMail Powerpoint viewer can read PPS (Powerpoint Show) formats as well.

Written by Amit Agarwal

Creating an Effective PowerPoint Presentation

Hints for a successful presentation:

• Plan carefully
• Do your research
• Know your audience
• Time your presentation
• Practice your presentation
• Speak comfortably and clearly

Effective PowerPoint Slides

• Use design templates
• Standardize position, colors and styles
• Include only necessary information
• Limit the information to essentials
• Content should be self-evident
• Use colors that contrast
• Be consistent with effects, transitions and animation
• Too many slides can lose your audience

Text guidelines

• Generally no more than 6 words a line
• Generally no more than 6 lines a slide
• Avoid long sentences
• Larger font indicates more important information
• Font size generally ranges from 18 to 48 point
• Be sure text contrasts with background
• Fancy fonts can be hard to read
• Words in all capital letters are hard to read
• Avoid abbreviations and acronyms
• Limit punctuation marks

Clip Art and Graphics

• Should balance the slide
• Should enhance and complement the text, not overwhelm
• No more than two graphics per slide

* PowerPoint presentations can also saved in HTML format and inserted in a Web page.

GMail Drive shell extension

GMail Drive is a Shell Namespace Extension that creates a virtual filesystem around your Google GMail account, allowing you to use GMail as a storage medium.

Requirement:

1. Gmail Account

2. Gmail Drive Software

Process:

1) Download Gmail Drive from (takes seconds to download)

http://www.softpedia.com/progDownload/GMail-Drive-shell-extension-Download-15944.html

http://www.softpedia.com/get/Internet/E-mail/Mail-Utilities/GMail-Drive-shell-extension.shtml

2) Install the software.

3) After installing, a drive named Gmail drive will be created in My Computer (just like C: D:).

4) Double click on this drive, login to Gmail Act. You will get a space of 2.61 GB.

4) Whatever content you copy to this drive will be sent to your mail Act to which you have logged in.

The copy is pretty fast. HATS OFF GOOGLE .

Reinstall Windows without losing important data

Once in a while, you might want to reinstall Windows, especially if your system starts to get bogged down, or if you’d had a catastrophic loss from a virus attack. The problem is that reinstalling Windows will delete personal files and data, so what do you do? Check out this article over at InformationWeek which offers a step by step on the process complete with videos of each step.

You could always do constant backups of your system (NOTE: if you have never performed a backup, start now!), and even if you are, this article is a fairly valuable resource in order to keep your data safe and secure.

GoogleTalk Gadget in Firefox Sidebar

The Google Talk Gadget is clearly more usable than the stand-alone GTalk desktop client or the floating AJAX version in GMail.

Here, each chat session opens up as a tab (like Firefox browser tabs), it can show previews of images or video and the chat client can easily be embedded inside webpages.

There's however a small problem - while we have browser windows in front of us all the time, the same may not hold true for the webpage (like the Google personalized page) where we have embedded the GTalk gadget.

So here's an alternate option - put the Google Talk client in the Firefox sidebar so it always stays in the foreground no matter what website you are on currently.

To add Google Talk to your Firefox sidebar, bookmark the following URL (right-click and choose Bookmark this link)

talkgadget.google.com/talkgadget/client

Now goto Bookmarks menu, navigate to the above bookmark, right click and choose Properties. Tick the checkbox that says Load this bookmark in the sidebar.

Update: An employee of an investment bank writes that their organization has banned Google talk in office but using the above method, he was able to circumvent the GTalk ban and could chat with friend out the firewalls of his office.

Google Talk gadget will always open in the Firefox Sidebar. Thanks

Keyboard Shortcuts for Windows XP

To	Press
Set focus on a notification.	Windows Key+B
View properties for the selected item.	ALT+ENTER
Displays the properties of the selected object.	ALT+Enter
Cycle through items in the order they were opened.	ALT+ESC
"Close the active item, or quit the active program.	ALT+F4
Opens the shortcut menu for the active window.	ALT+SPACEBAR
Display the System menu for the active window.	ALT+SPACEBAR
Switch between open items.	ALT+TAB
Carry out the corresponding command or select the corresponding option in a dialog box.	ALT+Underlined letter
Display the corresponding menu.	ALT+Underlined letter in a menu name
Select a button if the active option is a group of option buttons in a dialog box.	Arrow keys
View the folder one level up in My Computer or Windows Explorer.	BACKSPACE
Open a folder one level up if a folder is selected in the Save As or Open dialog box in a dialog box.	BACKSPACE
Copy selected item.	CTRL while dragging an item
Select all.	CTRL+A
Copy.	CTRL+C
Move the insertion point to the beginning of the next paragraph.	CTRL+DOWN ARROW
Display the Start menu.	CTRL+ESC
Close the active document in programs that allow you to have multiple documents open simultaneously.	CTRL+F4
Move the insertion point to the beginning of the previous word.	CTRL+LEFT ARROW
Move the insertion point to the beginning of the next word.	CTRL+RIGHT ARROW
Create shortcut to selected item.	CTRL+SHIFT while dragging an item
Highlight a block of text.	CTRL+SHIFT with any of the arrow keys
Move backward through tabs in a dialog box.	CTRL+SHIFT+TAB
Move forward through tabs in a dialog box.	CTRL+TAB
Move the insertion point to the beginning of the previous paragraph.	CTRL+UP ARROW
Paste.	CTRL+V
Search for computers.	CTRL+Windows Key+F
Cut.	CTRL+X
Undo.	CTRL+Z
Delete.	DELETE
Display the bottom of the active window.	END
Carry out the command for the active option or button in a dialog box.	ENTER
Cancel the current task.	ESC
Display Help in a dialog box.	F1
Activate the menu bar in the active program.	F10
Rename selected item.	F2
Search for a file or folder.	F3
Display the Address bar list in My Computer or Windows Explorer.	F4
Display the items in the active list in a dialog box.	F4
Refresh the active window.	F5
Cycle through screen elements in a window or on the desktop.	F6
Display the top of the active window.	HOME
Switch MouseKeys on and off.	Left ALT +left SHIFT +NUM LOCK
Switch High Contrast on and off.	Left ALT +left SHIFT +PRINT SCREEN
Open the next menu to the left, or close a submenu.	LEFT ARROW
Collapse current selection if it's expanded, or select parent folder.	LEFT ARROW
Display the items in the active list in a dialog box.	F4
Refresh the active window.	F5
Cycle through screen elements in a window or on the desktop.	F6
Display the top of the active window.	HOME
Switch MouseKeys on and off.	Left ALT +left SHIFT +NUM LOCK
Switch High Contrast on and off.	Left ALT +left SHIFT +PRINT SCREEN
Open the next menu to the left, or close a submenu.	LEFT ARROW
Collapse current selection if it's expanded, or select parent folder.	LEFT ARROW
Display the items in the active list in a dialog box.	F4
Refresh the active window.	F5
Cycle through screen elements in a window or on the desktop.	F6
Display the top of the active window.	HOME
Switch MouseKeys on and off.	Left ALT +left SHIFT +NUM LOCK
Switch High Contrast on and off.	Left ALT +left SHIFT +PRINT SCREEN
Open the next menu to the left, or close a submenu.	LEFT ARROW
Collapse current selection if it's expanded, or select parent folder.	LEFT ARROW
Display the shortcut menu for the selected item.	Menu key
Switch ToggleKeys on and off.	NUM LOCK for five seconds
Display all subfolders under the selected folder.	NUM LOCK+ASTERISK on numeric keypad (*)
Collapse the selected folder.	NUM LOCK+MINUS SIGN on numeric keypad (-)
Display the contents of the selected folder.	NUM LOCK+PLUS SIGN on numeric keypad (+)
Open the next menu to the right, or open a submenu.	RIGHT ARROW
Display current selection if it's collapsed, or select first subfolder.	RIGHT ARROW
Switch FilterKeys on and off.	Right SHIFT for eight seconds
Display the items in the active list in a dialog box.	F4
Refresh the active window.	F5
Cycle through screen elements in a window or on the desktop.	F6
Display the top of the active window.	HOME
Switch MouseKeys on and off.	Left ALT +left SHIFT +NUM LOCK
Switch High Contrast on and off.	Left ALT +left SHIFT +PRINT SCREEN
Open the next menu to the left, or close a submenu.	LEFT ARROW
Collapse current selection if it's expanded, or select parent folder.	LEFT ARROW
Display the shortcut menu for the selected item.	Menu key
Switch ToggleKeys on and off.	NUM LOCK for five seconds
Display all subfolders under the selected folder.	NUM LOCK+ASTERISK on numeric keypad (*)
Collapse the selected folder.	NUM LOCK+MINUS SIGN on numeric keypad (-)
Display the contents of the selected folder.	NUM LOCK+PLUS SIGN on numeric keypad (+)
Open the next menu to the right, or open a submenu.	RIGHT ARROW
Display current selection if it's collapsed, or select first subfolder.	RIGHT ARROW
Switch FilterKeys on and off.	Right SHIFT for eight seconds
Switch StickyKeys on and off.	SHIFT five times
Prevent the CD from automatically playing.	SHIFT when you insert a CD into the CD-ROM drive
Select more than one item in a window or on the desktop, or select text within a document.	SHIFT with any of the arrow keys
Delete selected item permanently without placing the item in the Recycle Bin.	SHIFT+DELETE
Display the shortcut menu for the selected item.	SHIFT+F10
Move backward through options in a dialog box.	SHIFT+TAB
Select or clear the check box if the active option is a check box in a dialog box.	SPACEBAR
Move forward through options in a dialog box.	TAB
Carry out the corresponding command.	Underlined letter in a command name on an open menu
Display or hide the Start menu.	Windows Key
Lock your computer if you are connected to a network domain, or switch users if you are not connected to a network domain.	Windows Key+ L
Display the System Properties dialog box.	Windows Key+BREAK
Show the desktop.	Windows Key+D
Open My Computer.	Windows Key+E
Search for a file or folder.	Windows Key+F
Display Windows Help.	Windows Key+F1
Minimize all windows.	Windows Key+M
Open the Run dialog box.	Windows Key+R
Restores minimized windows.	Windows Key+Shift+M
Opens Utility Manager.	Windows Key+U

Top ten ways to protect your online privacy

Here are 10 ways to keep personal information secure when online:

1. Favour common sense over technological solutions. Keep personal documents safe, preferably in a locked drawer. Shred bank statements, credit card slips and bills before throwing them away.
2. If it’s too good to be true, it is. Never open unsolicited “spam” messages. Delete e-mails offering cash, free gifts or stock tips. Millions of unsolicited “spam” messages are sent every day in an attempt to defraud computer users.
3. Basic prevention helps. Protect your computer against identity theft. Install security software to combat viruses, spyware and spam and keep it updated.
4. Know enough about your firewall, the barrier between the public Internet and a personal computer, to know when it is working and when it isn’t. Don’t worry about the geeky complexity of it all, just know it’s operating.
5. Beware of “phishing”, where criminals trick people into revealing personal or financial details, often by sending e-mails purporting to be from a bank. Never casually reply to requests for your personal financial details.
6. Keep your private e-mail address secure. Consider using different e-mail accounts for shopping, banking, friends and work. There are many free account providers.
7. Do not use the same password for different sites. Choose passwords with a mix of letters, numbers and symbols. Don’t use obvious passwords, such as your first name or “123456” and don’t write them down. For memory’s sake, choosing a basic root word, then rotating numbers, is safer.
8. Make online payments safely. Never enter a card number unless there is a padlock in the Web browser’s frame, rather than the Web page. The Web address should begin with “https” — the extra “S” stands for “secure”. Consider reserving one credit card for Web use or signing up for a separate online payment service like PayPal.
9. Secure your wireless network at home and be wary when using public access points. Encrypt the connection to scramble communications over the network. Turn off the wireless network when you’re not using it.
10. Treat your laptop computer like cash — never leave it in a locked car or turn your back while using it in a public place. The same holds true with your mobile phone: Lock your phone (and any passwords you keep on it) when not using it.

Spybot - Search & Destroy

Any Internet surfer who has a little sense of security and privacy should have this inevitable ware. It is one of my personal favorites and I make it a point that its installed on any system that I use. The best thing about this anti-adware / anti-spyware is that its free.

Spybot has other wonderful tools as well. such as RegAlyzer, FileAlyzer and other products. People in the Web Hosting and Internet industry would love its NetAlyzer tool to gather network info, trace routes, and gather and manage whois queries, for advanced users.

You can fall inlove with spybot once you try its wares for windows palm as well as its symbian edition. I really wonder why Nokia didn't consider adding it in its default tool set.

Spybot - Search & Destroy detects and removes spyware, a relatively new kind of threat not yet covered by common anti-virus applications. Spyware silently tracks your surfing behaviour to create a marketing profile for you that is transmitted without your knowledge to the compilers and sold to advertising companies. If you see new toolbars in your Internet Explorer that you haven't intentionally installed, if your browser crashes inexplicably, or if your home page has been "hijacked" (or changed without your knowledge), your computer is most probably infected with spyware. Even if you don't see the symptoms, your computer may be infected, because more and more spyware is emerging. Spybot-S&D is free, so there's no harm giving it a try to see if something has invaded your computer.

To see a list of threats Spybot-S&D can remove, in the navigation bar at the left click on Support --> Threats. For an introduction to Spybot-S&D, please read the tutorial. If you fear incompatibility with other software you are now using, although we can assure you that there is no danger you can review our compatibility overview which lists some software whose compatibility has been analyzed.

Spybot-S&D can also clean usage tracks, an interesting function if you share your computer with other users and don't want them to see what you have been working on. And for professional users, Spybot-S&D allows you to fix some registry inconsistencies and extended reports. A list of all the apllication's features is also available.

Portable Application Safety

Some suggestions for staying safe from PortableApps.com...

An important thing to keep in mind when using portable applications is that they can be used to spread viruses between machines. While this isn't as much of an issue when you own or are responsible for the machines you are using it on (say work and home), it can be a very big issue when you use a portable app on an untrusted or unknown machine (school, internet cafe, etc). For this reason, it is important that you practice Safe Portable App-ing!

The Checklist

• Use a solid antivirus program on your primary PC and keep its virus definitions up to date.
• Use a solid antivirus program on your portable device, like ClamWin Portable, and keep its virus definitions up to date.
• Scan your PC and portable drive for viruses on a regular basis.
• Whenever you plug your portable drive into an unknown computer, you should assume that it may now be infected with a virus. If the PC has a virus that is currently in memory, it may attempt to infect your portable applications as soon as you plug it in.
• When you then plug your portable drive into another computer (after an unknown), you should first scan it for viruses before running any of your applications. (Most antivirus software will make this available to you by right-clicking on your drive in Explorer or My Computer.) That way, if it is infected, you'll know before you run your applications and the new computer will not be infected.
• Always wait until the drive access light has stopped blinking and then click the icon in your system tray to 'Safely Remove' your device. Don't just remove it. Just because the application's window is closed doesn't mean the app has fully closed and finished writing to the disk.
• Back up on a regular basis, both your applications and your files. PortableApps Backup makes this a snap and it's built right into the PortableApps Suite.

If you follow these simple rules, you'll be able to enjoy your portable applications without getting stuck with a virus or losing your data. As always, there is still the risk of getting a new virus that your antivirus program can't yet detect, but the probability would be relatively low, and you run the same risk whenever you download a file from the internet.

Microsoft Excel

MS Excel is a fascinating tool that most people use in their daily day-to-day activities from accounting to data management. Its simple to use and can do just anything provided you have the instinct for it. Did I say anything? Well yes anything. Look at this village.

Personally speaking I am no big fan of MS tools but I do use them to ease my day and it helps. I am no guru either and there are hundreds of resources out there that the true fans of Billy boy might have in store for you. I enjoy sharing and thats what I am going to do here. Share the excel tip files that a few generous and kind people have created to help people like us. Thanks to their efforts.

EXCEL SHORTCUTS

EXCEL TIPS

Note: If you have a smaller budget and cannot use MS products then you should not bother and use Open Office. Its neat and compatible with some MS file extensions as well. I have tried it and you should too, infact teach your children to use the community, and help it grow as well.

CrossLoop - Simple Secure Screen Sharing

What is Crossloop?

CrossLoop is a FREE secure screen sharing utility designed for people of all technical skill levels. CrossLoop extends the boundaries of VNC’s traditional screen sharing by enabling non-technical users to get connected from anywhere on the Internet in seconds without changing any firewall or router settings. It only takes a few minutes to setup and no signup is required.

CrossLoop's underlying technology was created to simplify the process of securely working with others located in different physical locations across diverse network environments. CrossLoop enables you to see the screen and control the mouse and keyboard on a remote computer. It is as if you are working side by side at the same PC. CrossLoop is a powerful productivity tool that enables you to quickly collaborate in with anyone in the world.

CrossLoop is powered by the proprietary CrossLoop VIP Tunnel, a secure peer-to-peer data transmission system. CrossLoop encrypts all files and messages exchanged on our network to ensure user privacy. Only you and your invited friends or family can view or share control of your computer. A CrossLoop session can only begin on your computer by explicitly inviting them to begin a session. All data sent over the CrossLoop network is encrypted at the endpoints using a 128-bit Blowfish encryption. For more detailed information on CrossLoop security, visit our security page.

We have gone to great lengths to ensure that CrossLoop is secure and have designed the application from the ground up with security in mind. If you have any questions regarding CrossLoop security please contact us at info@CrossLoop.com.

The Windows version of CrossLoop uses the TightVNC software plug-in for screen sharing. We have included a binary distribution of the TightVNC program in the installation software of the Windows version of CrossLoop to save you the trouble of separately downloading and installing TightVNC. If you have any questions about your rights related to TightVNC (which is licensed under GPL), please see our detailed description of how we use VNC.

Starting a Session

After installing CrossLoop, you will see a welcome screen with two tabs. Select the Join tab if you would like to connect and control a friend's PC. Select the Host tab if you would like to temporarily share access to your PC.

If you have not already done so, download CrossLoop.

Run Google Talk in Firefox Sidebar

Firefox is the coolest browser I have known. The best think I link about it is that it has a wonderful tab browsing system along with security that can be said to match no other. Its faster then other browsers and its add-ons are just superb.

Greasemonkey is something you will love while browsing the worldwide web. It can practically change the looks and feel of the sites you browse to what you like to see. I mean customization of sites. What a great thing, userscripts.org has tons of scripts that can help you browse the web the way you like it. You can practically change the looks of your favorite Gmail Inbox and have it display the attachment that a message carries without opening it. You can write your own scripts, too. Mark Pilgrim's definitive Greasemonkey guide, diveintogreasemonkey.org will show you how.

One of my favorites is the GTalk add-on in Firefox. You can run the neat messenger in the sidebar of Firefox, without having to install it. Give it a try, download the gTalk Sidebar

Access any site while sitting behind firewalls, office systems etc

Many people have problems accessing sites like orkut, myspace, rapidshare, etc. cause they are blocked by their offices, schools or firewalls.

There are many methods described here but the best would be using proxies

to get daily proxies follow these steps

1. Go to http://www.google.com/reader/
2. Login in with your google account
3. Click on manage subscriptions
4. Click on Import/export
5. Download this file
6. Unzip, note the location
7. Browse to the location from google reader's import/export
8. Upload the OPML file
9. Get daily updates of proxy lists via rss
10. There is no 10th step

Then chose a proxy and apply it in the following way

in firefox >>
Tools > Options > Advanced > Connection Settings > Manual Proxy configuration
Here enter the proxy ip and port
Presto visit almost all sites anonymously

For the people whose port 6969 is blocked (like mine) use SOCKS4/SOCKS5 Proxies

Convert Audio Cassette Tapes to MP3 files or CD

Audio cassette tapes, once the primary audio storage medium, are now disappearing quickly from the music store shelves to be replaced with Audio CDs. If you still own a pile of audio cassettes, now is the perfect time to convert them to MP3 files or Windows Media Audio before they're gone forever.

Digitizing analog tapes essentially involves playing the tape on the taperecorder deck, capturing the audio on your computer and finally converting the .wav files to mp3 or wma formats using software like LAMP MP3 encoder or Adobe Audition. The audio cable is connected to the line-in jack on your PC's sound card.

Now there are various options to transfer your audio tapes to CD depending on your OS platform and budget. Let's look at expert opinion on the web:

Using MusicMatch - Connect the to your sound card's line-in terminal with a 1/8" mini-jack and record the contents of your tape as a WAV file. Just set MusicMatch to record the line-in channel, press play on your tape deck, and then press the record button on the MusicMatch Jukebox.

Tips for better recordings - If your tape of a favorite live concert begins with a few minutes of audience murmuring, delete it. If you’ve recorded multiple songs, split your single recording into separate files. That way, you can make each song or section a separate track on an audio CD or on your iPod. Some software can detect silence between songs and divide them for you.

Using Audacity on Mac - Audio I/O: Recording should be set for 2 channels (stereo) and both the playback and recording devices set at Built in audio controller. Audio CDs sample sound 44,100 times per second. The standard sample format (number of digits in the digital representation of each sample) is 16-bit. Audacity’s defaults are a 44 KHz sample rate, but 32-bit sample format.

Using External Audio Capture Device - Consider using an external audio-capture device such as the plug-and-play USB M-Audio Transit instead of your sound card; it will record a much cleaner signal.

Remember to set your audio software’s volume controls according to the loudness of your tape or record. Proper volume is vital to getting good sound. Set the levels too low, and your audio will be too soft and prone to noise. Set levels too high, and loud portions of the recording will sound horribly distorted.

How to take Screenshots of Movies in Windows Media Player

Quest: How do I capture still images from a movie playing in Microsoft Windows Media Player, Real Player, WinAmp or Apple QuickTime?

Some users try to grab the current video frame by pressing the standard Windows "Print Screen" key (next to F12 key on the QWERTY keyboard). But when the image screenshot from clipboard is pasted into an image editor, the capture is a black blank screen instead of the actual video.

Reason: When the video plays, it is actually displayed on a different surface/layer called overlay that is produced by hardware acceleration. When you take a normal screen capture, you're taking it of the normal surface where the video isn't displayed. That's why it comes out black as it is invisible to the screen capture software.

Here are some common solutions to capture pictures from DVD movies currently playing with Windows Media Player Classic or other video players. It should also work for movies (wmv, mov, avi) embedded in a webpage.

1. Use another media player such as Power DVD, WinDVD or BSPlayer - it takes screenshots of the movie and stores them as jpegs images. Or you could try a video editor like VirtualDub.

2. Invest in a commercial screen capture software like Camtasia Studio or SnagIt (allows DirectX capture).

3. In WMP, at least since version 9, you can use Ctrl-I (EYE) to capture a frame, either when playing or when paused for greater accuracy. It brings up a Save Captured Image dialog which handily defaults to a jpeg. This works only if the video you are watching is using a Microsoft supported movie file.

4. Don't use Overlay

1. Open your Window Media Player and click Options on the Tools menu.
2. On the Performance tab, click on the Advanced... button.
3. Uncheck Use overlays from DVD video, click OK and restart the player.

Now you can capture images from any movies played in Windows Media Player using Print Screen (PrintScrn) key (or ALT + PrintScrn key). Once copied, the image can be pasted into Microsoft Paint (Start > All Programs > Accessories > Paint) or other image editor. If you have problems taking screenshots from a playing movie try to pause it first, then "print" the image.

5. Fix blank captures by turning off hardware acceleration. You can either disable hardware acceleration in the application that is playing the video, or disable hardware acceleration system wide.

To disable graphics hardware acceleration globally for all applications in Windows XP or Windows 2000, Select
Control Panel - Display - Properties - Settings - Advanced - Troubleshooting and slide the Hardware Acceleration slider from Full to None.

For Windows 98 or NT systems, the path is slightly different
Control Panel - System - Performance - Graphics - Advanced settings.
Now hit the OK button at the bottom of the window. This disables all accelerations. You may need to restart the machine for the change to take effect.

To turn Off Hardware Acceleration in Your Video Player Only:

In Windows Media Player:
1. In Media Player 7 or later, select Tools > Options > Performance tab. In Media Player v.6.4 and earlier, select View > Options > Playback.
2. Click and drag the Hardware Acceleration slider to the left, changing the setting from Full to None.

In RealOne Player:
1. Select Tools > Preferences > Hardware in the navigation pane
2 Click and drag the Playback Performance slider to the left, changing the setting from Best quality to Lowest CPU usage.

In Apple QuickTime (Standard and Pro):
1. Select Edit > Preferences > Streaming Transport. The QuickTime Settings dialog box displays.
2. From the drop-down list, select Video Settings. Click the Safe Mode (GDI Only) radio button.

In WinAmp
1. Click Options - Preferences - General Preferences, select Video.
2. Uncheck Allow hardware video overlay.

Don't forget to move the Video acceleration slider back to Full when you are done

For Windows Media Player 9, you can either turn off hardware acceleration, or use a slightly different solution that will allow you to leave hardware acceleration enabled during video capture. However, in order to capture RealPlayer or QuickTime videos, you must turn off your computer's hardware acceleration.

Capturing Still Images from a DVD Player using SnagIt - You can use SnagIt to capture still images directly from a DVD player if you are using a software DVD decoder, such as Intervideo's WinDVD or CyberLink's Power DVD. However, you may need to make the configuration changes mentioned above to your DVD player software in order to do take this type of capture. Windows Media Player cannot be used for this purpose because it does not use a standard DirectX layer to display DVD video.

TECHNOLOGY - A MUMIN'S PERSPECTIVE

Wherever we turn, we are able to see the effects of the advances of technology – from medicine to education, and more. Advances in medical technology have allowed doctors to treat patients in the first few critical moments after a health trauma. As a teacher and a parent, I see technology used in the classroom – whether it is to enhance students' fine motor skills or to teach them how to read. In our everyday home or work lives, going a few days without the internet, telephone, or even a cell phone would seem impossible.

Yesterday, while watching the video of Aqa Maula (tus) performing the Iftetah of the Qubbah Mubarakah of Syedna Hatim (R.A.) in Yemen, it became evident that a Mumin's life in the era of our Maula (tus) would be impossible without the technology that allows us to be so close to our Maula, without physically being there.

Watching the video of the Iftetah, I was able to see every unique amal of Aqa Maula (tus), from entering the Qubbah Mubarkah, to performing Tasleem at the Qabr and holding the Gilaf and performing Ziyarat. Seeing all these unique and momentous Aamaal being performed, my Mohabbat and Tafadi for my Maula grew even more stronger. All the Bayans that I had heard during Ayyam e Tabudaa't helped me realize how much my Maula cares for me and all Mumineen. A single Amal of holding the Gilaaf and instantaneously recollecting the Kalemaat Nooraniyah of Syedna Taher Saifuddin (R.A) Aqa Maula (tus) remembered us Mumineen in his Dua Mubarak. This Amal alone of Aqa Maula (tus), made me realize that our Maula (tus) puts us Mumineen above anyone and anything. That Amal of Aqa Maula (tus) was the Khulaso of Tafaadi and Mohabbat.

Even when we are not fortunate enough to be physically present in the Hazarat of our Maula (tus), we have become so used to the many opportunities of Deedar via video relay, that it is difficult to imagine a Mumin's life without technology. Every Moharram, those who are less fortunate and are not able to attend Ashara with Aqa Maula (tus), wait and pray daily for news of a video relay. It is hard to imagine an Ashara, no matter where we are in Bilad Imaniyah, without doing Deedar of our Bawa Shafiq (tus). It may be difficult to live our day to day lives without the advances of current technology, but it would be impossible for a Mumin to live their life without the technology that brings them closer to their Maula (tus). Yesterday, while watching the video relay it became clear to me that while we may all be bounded by technology in our everyday lives, it is the same technology that has the sharaf of being in the Khidmat of Syedna Mohammed Burhanuddin Saheb (tus), bringing Mumineen closer to their Maula (tus). May Allah Subhanahu enhance the Umer Sharif of Aqa Maula (tus) till Qayamat. Ameen

Amate Syedna (tus)
Rashida M. Aliasger Rasheed
Columbus, OH
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