Category : apple
Windows 7 was officially released yesterday on the 22 October! Unfortunately it seems that us Aussies are once again at a bit of a disadvantage when it comes to Windows pricing when compared to pricing of this software overseas. See this link for more details on that > Why is Windows 7 so expensive in Australia?
But the great news here is that for any student currently enrolled in a Tertiary institution such as a University or TAFE, you may be able to get an upgrade version of Windows 7 Home Premium for – wait for it – $49.95.
To take advantage of this – obviously awesome deal, you do have to purchase through the online Microsoft Store and you must have an eligible email which contains edu.au. Now while I am the first to yell out the benefits of using a Mac, I understand that there is a place in the market for Windows 7. In fact I have even been using it (while not extensively) since it came out as a beta release and to be completely honest this is a very worthwhile upgrade. If you are still using XP, what on earth are you waiting for get out there and get yourself windows 7.
So if you have a PC or even currently use a Mac and occasionally use Windows with boot camp I really feel it is worth the $’s to head over to the website and put your order in. The added bonus here if you are a student is that you can also get a copy of Office 2007 Home and Student for $79 when you get Windows 7. Together this adds up to less that a retail priced copy of Home Premium…this really is a no-brainer!
So if you want to take advantage of this offer head over to: http://www.microsoft.com/australia/windows/offers/windows-7-student-upgrade.aspx
For the average Mac user, we get our new computer out of it’s box and from that day forward whenever we plug in a camera we use iPhoto. Now iPhoto is a very good piece of photo management software, which makes it easy to import, organise, make simple edits and be creative with your photos. However sometimes there is just a lack of something in this program, what am I referring to? Well read on to see what I mean!
iPhoto does a great job at keeping all your pics in one place and organising them for you, however there are a few things that kind of bug me when it comes to iPhoto. Due to the fact that iPhoto automatically bundles your photos into a giant blob of data under a folder called iPhoto Library. When you navigate to this folder in your Finder and click on it it doesn’t display files like you would expect it to if the photos were stored in a normal folder. Instead what happens is you click the folder and iPhoto opens up, this is no help when you’re trying to select photos to upload to Facebook for example!
Picasa 3 – the latest version – turns out to be a great program! If you want you can switch all of your photos over to this program and let it handle everything. This solves the above mentioned problem because Picasa will save the files in the sensible and ‘logical’ way of doing it. However if you still prefer to continue using iPhoto thats ok too. Picasa will reference the files in your iPhoto library for you to use within the Picasa program, using the program this way doesnt solve the annoying folder problem. However it does allow you to take advantage of a few really neat features.
The Features
File Management
If you choose to use both programs simultaneously that is fine! In fact great because Picasa simply reads your iPhoto library, if you end up making changes to the photo in Picasa the program will prompt you to create a copy. This saves the original in iPhoto and copies it so you don’t loose the precious original copy.
Like the latest verson of iPhoto does with Faces & Places, Picasa does this as well. I have found the face recognition in iPhoto to be easier to use and more effective at how it recognises the faces. Picasa makes you go through and actually type in the name for everyone in every photo even if you have already tagged them. Never the less if you don’t use iPhoto 09 then you get the faces and places capability for free.
Creative Tools
My favourite feature in Picasa is the Collage tool. Basically to use this you select the desired photos and press the collage button, the program will randomly ’scatter’ these onto a virtual table for you. You can then alter each individual photo by resizing, rotating and moving it. Once you create the collage it is saved under the projects tab for you.
This program is also good at extending photo editing beyond the standard red-eye removal too. Select a photo you want and you can actually put in text overlay using different fonts and colours, retouch the photo, straighten and crop, automatically and manually adjust exposure and color. Very very cool!
This program also allows you to create a movie slideshow of you photos as well, simply select the photos you want to appear in the slideshow and press the slideshow button. Once you have made the appropriate changes its all ready to rock and role.
If you are a blogger using Blogger, there’s also a quick button here as well which allows you to quickly and easily send a photo to your blog.
This is just a brief overview of some of the cool things that this program can do for you, I think I will be using it mainly in conjunction with iPhoto. But it really is a great piece of software to have and why not – its a free download for Macs and you can also get the Windows version for free as well.
Grab the download from the Picasa website: picasa.google.com
As we all know it is important for us to keep our computers in good clean condition, not only for aesthetic reasons but also to maintain good functionality of your equipment and possibly most important of all for health reasons. When it comes to keeping electrical and computer equipment clean it is important to follow a few basic rules.
Cleaning Agents
When it comes to cleaning your computer, you want something that can both clean the computer screen to remove fingerprints and dust without leaving streaks, and you also want something that get all that built up grime off that thing you type on all day, the keyboard. These are the only things you need:
- Rubbing Alcohol
- Water
- Microfiber (or lint free) cloth
- Squirter bottle
- Towel
Preparation
The mixture of the alcohol and water makes up the cleaning agent – this mixture is important as the alcohol helps to readily dry the liquid mix which is great for computer screens and the alcohol has good anti-bacterial properties.
You will need to mix these two liquids in your squirty bottle in a ratio of 1:1, that is equal parts of each, so for every 100 mls of rubbing alcohol you would add 100 mls of water.
Cleaning your Computer
The first thing to do here is to ensure that all of your equipment has been turned off and preferably disconnected from the power. Once you have done this it is important to remember that the cleaning solution should never be directly squirted onto any of your equipment as this can work its way into the electrical systems and in turn leave you with a faulty machine.
You will want to spray an adequate amount of liquid onto your lint free cloth to moisten it, you can then wipe over all external surfaces of your computer equipment. This mixture will remove greasy fingerprints and also that dirty grime that tends to build up on your keyboard. You may find that to adequately clean stubborn stains that a little extra elbow grease is required.
Laptops
Laptops here do require a little bit of different attention to a standard desktop PC. Given that the screens on a laptop are on a hinge it is important to take care when cleaning them. This is where the towel comes into play, you will need to lay the towel on a flat surface. Open up your laptop and place the computer on the towel with the back of the screen laying flat and support the computer by holding the main body. This is important because if you attempt to clean the screen while it is in it’s normal position you have the change of doing damage to the hinge.
Once it is laid down you are free to wipe over the screen as you would with any other flat surface, and apply the same technique to clean the other flat surfaces on your laptop.
Final Note:
There are computer cleaning sprays available to purhchase, if you choose to use one of these then there is nothing wrong with that. However I feel that the solution described above is probably a much more cost effective way rather than purchasing the commercial cleaning agents. Further to this if you are really serious about keyboard cleanliness for hygiene reasons, a good way to get out all the dirt, dust and crumbs that build up under the keys is to purchase a can of compressed air. This is pressurised air and can be squirted in and around the keys to blow all of that grime away.
