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Contents
1 Buying a New Vista Computer? Read This First! - Sandy Berger
2 About k-Byte
4 Using Imaging Software for Backup - Brian K. Lewis
6 Calendar of Events
7 December/January Calendars
8 Moving On to Vista-Part 1 - Neil Stahfest
9 Tip of the Month-The Benefits and Drawbacks of the Photo RAW Format
10 About Trading Post
10 NEW Members-Only Benefits
12 Map to Meeting Place
12 FRPCUG Contacts
DECEMBER: ELECTIONS AND HOLIDAY PARTY-PLUS NEW BENEFITS
JANUARY: DIGITAL VIDEO IN YOUR PC-SEE PAGE 6
Quote of the Month
There is in most Americans some spark of idealism, which can be fanned into a flame. It takes sometimes a divining rod to find what it is; but when found, and that means often, when disclosed to the owners, the results are often most extraordinary.
Justice Louis Brandeis [1953]
Buying a New Vista Computer? Read This First!
by Sandy Berger, Compukiss.com, http://www.compukiss.com, sandy(at)compukiss.com
Windows Vista is finally ready for prime time. Over the last several months, the drivers for many devices like printers and scanners have been updated to accommodate Vista. Most software has also been updated to be Vista compatible. If you are ready for a new computer you may be ready for Vista. However, you might want to do a little homework before you make your purchase.
While many devices and much software has been made compatible, not every software program or every piece of hardware will work with Vista. So before you make the move you should check with the manufacturer of your peripheral devices like printers and scanners to make sure that they can be used with Vista. You should also check the compatibility of software programs that you use. Most hardware manufacturer's offer updated drivers which you can obtain at their website at no extra cost. Although some software manufacturers offer free updates, for some, you will to have to purchase a new version that is compatible with Vista. For instance, the anti-virus program that you are using on your Windows XP computer will probably not work with Vista. While many of today's computers come with anti-virus software, they are usually only good for one or two months. So be sure to leave a little extra in your budget to purchase any necessary software updates. With careful investigation, you should be able to decide which of your programs will need to be updated and how much it will cost before you make your computer purchase.
Purchasing a Windows Vista computer is a bit more difficult for the average computer user because there are several very different versions of Vista. Windows XP came in two main versions, Home and Professional. The choice was fairly easy. Home suited most home users and Professional was better for businesses. With Vista, Microsoft has muddied the water by offering five versions: Home Basic, Home Premium, Business, Enterprise, and Ultimate.
Let me clarify your options. Whether you are a home user or a business, the Ultimate version will give you everything that Vista has to offer including remote access, scheduled backups, special encryption, Windows faxing, and all of the entertainment features in Vista. Although you will pay more for Ultimate, it does include everything you could possibly want.
While home users can certainly use the Ultimate version, for most the Home Premium version will suffice. This is an excellent version that includes the Media Center which gives you great features for working with photos and music. With a TV tuner in your computer, this version, like the Ultimate version, will let you watch TV on your computer and record television programming just as you would with a stand-alone digital recorder or TIVO, but with no monthly charges. It has a themed slide shows and DVD Maker software included. It also has several cool games like Chess, Titans, Mahjong Titans, and Inkball. In reality, Home Premium is the only fully featured home version.
The Home Basic version of Vista is one you will want to avoid. It seems that Microsoft created this version for the sole purpose of getting people into Vista cheaply and having them pay more to upgrade to a better version later. The Home Basic version is stripped of many of the features that make Vista so good. It has none of the television, photo, or music features that are found in the Home Premium version. It doesn't even include the scheduled backup that is included in all of the other versions. So Basic is stripped of many of the features that make using the computer easier and more entertaining.
Home Basic doesn't have the Aero Glass interface that is standard in all other versions. This interface is what makes Vista so visually appealing when you are using it. It also gives you a smoother-performing desktop. In my opinion, it is also easier on the eyes. While some may say it is just cosmetic, I think it is a great loss not to have it.
If you purchase a computer with Home Basic, Microsoft makes it easy to upgrade to Home Premium online. Just pay them more money and download the upgrade. However, Home Basic only requires 512MB of ram, while all the other versions require 1GB (twice as much) of memory. Also Home Basic will run on a computer with lower graphics requirements. So you may find that the new computer you just purchased with Home Basic does not have the power to run the better versions of Vista like Home Premium or Ultimate without adding more memory and upgrading the video card. Also since Home Basic is so "basic" it does not even come close to meeting the requirements for most networked businesses.
The bottom line is..Stay away from Vista Home Basic. If you purchase a new computer for home use, stick to Home Premium or Ultimate. If you purchase a new computer for your business, the choices in Vista are not always clear cut. Check with a knowledgeable consultant to determine which version of Vista best suits your needs.
If you do a little research before you purchase that Vista computer, you will be happier with your purchase.
Obtained from APCUG with the author's permission for publication by APCUG member groups. This article has been provided to APCUG by the author solely for publication by APCUG member groups. All other uses require the permission of the author (see e-mail address above).
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About k-Byte
Published monthly, k-Byte is the official newsletter of the Front Range Personal Computer Users Group (FRPCUG): our mailing address is PMB 152, 305 W. Magnolia, Fort Collins, Colorado 80521.
Opinions expressed in k-Byte are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the group or its members. Publication of information in k-Byte constitutes no guarantee of accuracy. Use of any information found in this publication is at the sole risk of the user. Neither k-Byte, nor its officers, nor its editors or contributors assume any liability for damages resulting from use of information in this publication.
Submissions
Articles, letters and short items of interest on computer-related topics are welcome and encouraged. All items submitted for publication are subject to editing. Send your contribution to the editor via e-mail attachment or submit on disk. If you have questions about a submission, please contact the editor for information.
Copyright and Trademark Information
k-Byte is copyrighted ©2007 by the Front Range Personal Computer Users Group. The k-Byte logo and the Front Range PC Users Group logo are Trademarked by the Front Range PC Users Group. Unless otherwise noted, other nonprofit users groups may reprint or quote from any articles appearing in k-Byte without prior permission, provided that: a) proper author and publication credits are given; b) that a copy of the publication in which the article appears is sent at no cost to k-Byte at the above mailing address, or emailed to contact(at)frpcug.org; and c) any additional instructions/restrictions contained in the article are followed. User groups wishing to exchange newsletters with FRPCUG are invited to send a copy of their newsletter together with an exchange request.
IBM PC, OS/2, Compaq, UNIX, Windows and other trademarks occasionally mentioned in k-Byte are registered trademarks of International Business Machines, Inc., Compaq Corporation, Microsoft, Digital Research, AT&T or their owners respectively. Neither FRPCUG nor its newsletter k-Byte are connected in any way with any manufacturer or seller.
Advertising
Classified advertising is free to members for non-business ads. See "About Trading Post" for pricing for camera-ready display ads. Charges for ad makeup from sketches, etc., are available on request. Deadline for camera-ready and classified ads is 45 days prior to the month of publication. For example, ads for the March newsletter must be submitted by January 15th. For pricing and schedules for ad design, connect to contact(at)frpcug.org or kbyte(at)frpcug.org.
About FRPCUG
FRPCUG is an independent nonprofit computer society, so incorporated with the State of Colorado and open to anyone interested in Windows, or UNIX/LINUX microcomputers. Its purpose is to provide an educational and scientific forum of mutual benefit for members of the micro-computer community. FRPCUG holds a monthly meeting and conducts various special interest groups (SIGs) and seminars. Members have voting privileges, subscription to k-Byte newsletter, and access to SIGs and selected seminars. Annual dues are $25 for individual/family membership ($20 for students) and $50 for corporate/group membership.
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Using Imaging Software For Backup
by Brian K. Lewis, Ph.D., Member of the Sarasota Personal Computer Users Group, Inc., FL,
http://www.spcug.org, bwsail(at)yahoo.com
There are many hard drive backup programs on the market that tell you that they can make an "image" of your hard drive. This allows you to restore your programs and data in case of a hard drive crash. They also will transfer everything on your hard drive to a new drive. Among these backup programs are well-known names such as Symantec Ghost, Acronis True Image, R-Drive Image, Image for Windows, Paragon Drive Backup and a host of free imaging applications. In terms of making a complete backup of your hard drive (operating system, applications and data), they are very successful. However, what happens when your hard drive crashes or you decide you want a new computer? Will these applications solve the problem of restoring your applications and data quickly and easily? Let's look at the generic methods they use for these situations.
Basically each of these programs makes a "bit-map" copy of your hard drive that is usually compressed and may be encrypted. This, I'm sure, is a statement that needs some explanation. First, the words "bit-map." Everything stored on your hard drive is encoded in the binary computer language. This language is composed of 1's and 0's only. This limitation is imposed by the electromagnetic character of hard drives as well as the "pits and hills" of optical media. So a "bit" is one character, a one or a zero. A computer word is a "byte" which is composed of eight "bits." The imaging software is examining every bit on your hard drive and copying it to the backup media. In order to save space, the bit-map is compressed before it is written to the backup site. The method of compression varies with the software used. Sometimes, the compressed file may be written in a proprietary format that can be read only by the specific application that originated the backup. In other words, Ghost's image file can't be read by any program other than Ghost.
So now we have a bit-map image of our hard drive on whatever we chose for the backup media. In my case I use external hard drives. If I were to store the backup on a partition of my original drive and that drive failed - I would lose the backup. So store it somewhere else if you ever expect to need it.
What does this image file contain? It has the entire contents of your hard drive. That means operating system files, including the Windows Registry, all of your software applications and all of your data. It also has all of the hardware driver information that Windows needs that relates to your hardware. That includes drivers for your motherboard and processor, network card, USB ports, printers, scanners, video cams, etc. This is a very important point, especially if you want to clone your drive to a new computer. More about that later.
Since an image file contains a complete copy of your hard drive it can be very useful in restoring individual files. It can also be used to restore an entire hard drive in case of a drive failure. There are several methods available for this process. Some image file programs allow you to create a bootable disk (floppy or CD-ROM). When the computer is booted from this disk, it will install the image file program and can then be used to restore all the files on the backup. This includes the operating system files. In other cases you have to first install the operating system and then the image file program before you can restore the rest of the files. In both cases, it is not necessary to reactivate Windows as changing the hard drive is not enough of a change to cause Windows to demand that you go through reactivation.
Microsoft instituted a copy protection process called "activation" with the release of Windows XP. This has been continued with Vista. The activation of Windows plays a very important role in any situation where hardware changes are made to your computer.
If you have a brand name system that you did not have to activate it only means that the manufacturer pre-activated it for you. In the activation process, a small file is placed on your hard drive, and sent to Microsoft, that contains the information related to these ten items:
Display Adapter
SCSI Adapter
IDE Adapter (effectively the motherboard)
Network Adapter (NIC) and its MAC Address
RAM Amount Range (i.e., 0-64mb, 64-128mb, etc.)
Processor Type
Processor Serial Number
Hard Drive Device
Hard Drive Volume Serial Number (VSN)
CD-ROM / CD-RW / DVD-ROM
This file contains a number based on the identification of the first item in every category. The file also contains the complete product key for your Windows installation. Every time your computer boots, this hardware is checked to determine if any changes have occurred. You can make changes to your hardware. However, "substantial" changes will result in a notice that you have to reactivate Windows.
The XPinfo software, whose name is shown at the top of the figure to the right, can read your activation file and compare it to the reported hardware. The report for my computer shows that none of the hardware has changed since the last activation. Also, in the figure you will notice that there are eight checked items out of ten. Should the figure drop below seven unchanged or never installed items, Windows would have to be reactivated. The interesting point is that the NIC or internet card carries three votes. Changing this card to a motherboard with a built-in NIC might put you on the way to reactivating Windows.
Suppose that you decide to move your hard drive to a new computer or you want to "clone" your old drive to a new drive in a new computer. Your hardware will have made a substantial change and it will be necessary for you reactivate Windows. But that is not the only catch in this situation. If you restore the entire image file to the new computer or simply clone the hard drive, the Windows Registry from your old computer will not have the correct hardware information. It may or may not boot. If it does boot you will receive warning after warning that files are missing. There will also be requests for driver disks for the new hardware. So when you move to a new computer, the only files in your image backup that can be used without difficulty are the data files. Even the applications that were running successfully on your old computer will really have to be reinstalled on the new computer. This is because the Registry not only stores hardware information, it also has all the information on the location of all files required to run your applications. Although you might think that the .exe file is all that is needed to run an application, you would be surprised at the number of subsidiary files that are required. Sometime, do a search of your computer for files with a .dll suffix. These are the library files that are required by applications running under Windows. These files are also shared by many different applications at the same time. There are hundreds of library files on any Windows computer. They make up a large part of the more than 2 GB of files in the Windows folder.
As long as you use the image file backup to restore files or hard drives in your original computer, it will work beautifully. The problems arise when you want to upgrade to a new system. Then, the image file is less useful.
Dr. Lewis is a former university & medical school professor. He has been working with personal computers for more than thirty years.
Obtained from APCUG with the author's permission for publication by APCUG member groups. This article has been provided to APCUG by the author solely for publication by APCUG member groups. All other uses require the permission of the author (see e-mail address above).
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Calendar of Events
December General Forum Meeting
We will meet at the Fort Collins Senior Center on Tuesday, December 4th 7:00 PM
Meeting Agenda:
7:00 to 7:15 Announcements and Election of Officers
7:15 to 8:00 Open Forum
8:00 to 8:15 Break
8:15 to 9:00 Annual Holiday Party
January General Forum Meeting
We will meet at the Fort Collins Senior Center on Tuesday, January 8th 7:00 PM
Meeting Agenda:
7:00 to 7:15 Announcements
7:15 to 8:00 Open Forum
8:00 to 8:15 Break
8:15 to 9:00 Digital Video in Your PC-and Related Topics
See you at the meetings!
Get full membership benefits. If you are not a current member, download an application from http://www.frpcug.org/memberap.htm
Future General Forum Meeting Notes
The annual election of officers is scheduled for the December meeting. After the election, plan to spend some time socializing with other members during the annual, informal, Holiday party. Coffee, soda and cookies will be available.
The January meeting topic starts the New Year with an exceptionally interesting-and timely-topic: Digital Video in Your PC-and Related Topics. Presenters include special guest speaker Mr. Tim Hinde of Woodward Governor Company. His presentation will include the use of several pieces of free software, for the specific use of displaying small items on an LCD projector for large audiences and also the use of webcams for security purposes.
Future SIG's, Seminars, and Other Meetings
Digital Imaging SIG (NEW)
Do you have questions on your digital camera or on how to organize or even modify those photos? You will find answers at the NEW Digital Imaging SIG. The first meeting of this new SIG is Tuesday, December 11th at 7:00 PM in the Senior Center Lobby. For more information, contact Mike Morris at twriterext(at)gmail.com.
Desktop Publishing SIG (NEW)
If you need something more than a word processor, and would like to know more about desktop publishing (DTP) applications, the NEW DTP SIG will provide some help. The first meeting of this new SIG is Tuesday, December 18th at 7:00 PM in the Senior Center lobby. For more information, contact Mike Morris at twriterext(at)gmail.com.
New Technology SIG
The New Technology SIG provides advance support for all PC related operating system and telecommunication issues. The meetings are held at 7:00 PM on the third Thursday of each month at Bluebird Manufacturing Inc., 1421 Webster Avenue, in Fort Collins. For more information, contact Chuck McJilton at 970-493-2987.
Board Meeting
FRPCUG's executive board meets on Wednesday of the week following the General Forum meeting. All members are welcome and are encouraged to attend. These meetings are held at 7:00 PM in the Staff Board Room of the Fort Collins Senior Center.
Shop Talk
One-on-one assistance. Drop in to the Senior Center lobby on any Saturday (holidays excepted) from 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM
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December 2007
1 Shop Talk 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM
4 FRPCUG General Forum Meeting 7:00 PM
8 Shop Talk 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM
12 FRPCUG Board Meeting 7:00 PM
15 Shop Talk 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM
20 New Technology SIG Meeting 7:00 PM
22 Shop Talk 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM
25 Christmas Holiday
29 Shop Talk 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM
January 2008
1 New Year Holiday
5 Shop Talk 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM
8 FRPCUG General Forum Meeting 7:00 PM
12 Shop Talk 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM
15 DTP SIG Meeting 7:00 PM
16 FRPCUG Board Meeting 7:00 PM
17 New Technology SIG Meeting 7:00 PM
19 Shop Talk 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM
26 Shop Talk 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM
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Moving on to Vista - Part 1
by Neil Stahfest, Shareware Librarian, Tacoma Area PC User Group, WA, http://www.tapcug.org, ncstahfest(at)msn.com
I tested a pre-release version of Windows Vista last year. I thought that the eye candy was nice but there really wasn't a lot about the program to make it worth upgrading my PC to use it. Since then I've heard stories about problems with Vista that made me even reluctant to upgrade to it. But, things happen. I "needed" a new laptop to demonstrate programs for the Flight Simulator S.I.G. (wink)(wink) Many of you will be buying new computers in the next year or so, so I'll share some of my experiences and impressions with you.
I took the plunge in August 2007 and bought a new HP laptop. And of course it only comes pre-loaded with Windows Vista. (Note - If you buy a new PC, make sure you get at least the Vista Home Premium Version. The Home Basic Version is crippled, you won't like it, and the manufacture may even provide the Premium version as a "free" upgrade.)
I opened the box, plugged in the battery charger, turned the PC on (per the instructions) and the computer worked. HP pre-activates Windows Vista saving you from going through the exercise of activating it. I had to answer a few questions of course; name, password, my preference for mydesktop, etc. Nothing too difficult. So now I have Windows Vista and it works.
Connection to my wireless home LAN was important to me; fortunately Vista made that very easy. Just follow the Internet Wizard, a click here, a click there and you are connected. The first thing I used the Internet connection for was to check for Windows Vista updates.There were about 18. I'm not sure what they were all supposed to do, but for now, I decided to trust Microsoft and installed all of them.
The next few days were spent playing with the computer, learning what things did. I sure miss the days when you got a "real" manual with a PC. It took me five days to discover a pressure sensitive strip at the top of the keyboard that lets you increase and decrease speaker volume by sliding your finger over it. Searching the Hewlett Packard web site I located a manual for my computer (in .pdf format) and downloaded it for future reference.
I never have cared for the touch pads that they put on laptop PCs to provide a mouse function but this one works pretty good. Still, I prefer a real mouse. Unfortunately, this laptop doesn't have the standard mouse connector like my old laptop. HP only provides USB connections so none of the mice I have will work on it. A check at the web site of my favorite PC supply store indicated that they were out of stock. As luck would have it, later the same day, I was walking past the writing supplies area in my local Safeway when I spotted a laptop mouse manufactured by Targus. For $19 and change I bought a cute little two button USB optical mini-mouse (no mouse pad required) with a little thing on the connecting wire that lets me pull out as much or as little wire as I need. Problem solved! (Update - I lost my original mouse after about three weeks. I discovered that Office Max sells a variety of mini-mice made by different manufacturers. I bought another Targus mini-mouse.)
Personal computers are very personal. I spent most of the first week that I owned this computer, customizing it. I added utility and application programs that do what I need to do the way I like to do it. Vista may offer "better" ways to organize and present information. If so I'll probably discover them. In the meantime my desktop looks similar to my old Windows XP computer, littered with desktop icons that are shortcuts to various programs.
Obtained from APCUG with the author's permission for publication by APCUG member groups. This article has been provided to APCUG by the author solely for publication by APCUG member groups. All other uses require the permission of the author (see e-mail address above).
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Tip of the Month - The Benefits and Drawbacks of the Photo RAW Format
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raw_image_format
[Editor's Note: This tip was extracted from a larger article. Connect to the link above for a list of cameras that provide the RAW format, for a list of RAW file format extensions, for photographer's views on the format, and much more]
Providing a detailed and concise description of the content of raw files is highly problematic. There is no single raw format: they can be similar or radically different. Different manufacturers use their own proprietary and typically undocumented formats, which are collectively known as raw format. Often they also change the format from one model to the next. Ultimately any raw format's purpose is to faithfully record both 100% of exactly what the sensor "saw" (the data) and the conditions surrounding the recording of the image (the metadata).
A raw image file (sometimes written RAW image file) contains minimally processed data from the image sensor of a digital camera or image scanner. Raw files are so named because they are not yet processed and ready to be used with a bitmap graphics editor or printed.
Raw image files are sometimes called digital negatives, as they fulfill the same role as film negatives in traditional chemical photography: that is, the negative is not directly usable as an image, but has all of the information needed to create an image. In addition to raw files from cameras, raw data from film scanners can also be referred to as digital negatives.
Benefits
Nearly all digital cameras can process the image from the sensor into a JPEG file using settings for white balance, color saturation, contrast, and sharpness that are either selected automatically or entered by the photographer before taking the picture. Cameras that support raw files save these settings in the file, but defer the processing. This results in an extra step for the photographer, so raw is normally only used when additional computer processing is intended. However, raw permits much greater control than JPEG for several reasons:
Finer control is easier for the settings when a mouse and keyboard are available to set them. For example, the white point can be set to any value, not just discrete values like "daylight" or "incandescent."
The settings can be previewed and tweaked to obtain the best quality image or desired effect. (With in-camera processing, the values must be set before the exposure).
Camera raw files have 12 or 14 bits of intensity information; more precision may be available in highlights, shadows, and saturated colors.
Drawbacks
Camera raw files are typically 2-6 times larger than JPEG files. Some raw formats do not use compression, some implement lossless data compression to reduce the size of the files without affecting image quality and others use lossy data compression. While use of raw formats avoids the compression artifacts inherent in JPEG, fewer images can fit on a given memory card. It also takes longer for the camera to write raw images to the card, so fewer pictures can be taken in quick succession (affecting the ability to take, for example, a sports sequence).
There is still no widely accepted standard raw format. Adobe's Digital Negative (DNG) format has been put forward as a standard, but has not been adopted by major camera companies. Numerous different raw formats are currently in use and new raw formats keep being developed while others are orphaned.
Because of the lack of a standard raw format, more specialized software may be required to open raw files than for standardized formats like JPEG or TIFF. Software vendors also have to frequently update their products to support the raw formats of the latest cameras.
The time taken in the image workflow is an important factor when choosing between raw and ready-to-use image formats.
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About Trading Post
Noncommercial Advertising
k-Byte runs classified ads in Trading Post for three consecutive issues. Trading Post ads up to 10 lines (or 70 words) long are free to FRPCUG members and only $10 for non-members. To place an ad in Trading Post contact Rick Mattingly at 970-613-8968 or e-mail to rmatt(at)mesanetworks.net.
Commercial Advertising Specifications (Per Issue)
Full Page (8.5" x 11")*$50.00
Half Page (5.5" x 8.5")*$30.00
Quarter Page (4.25" x 5.5")*$20.00
Business Card (2" x 3.5")*$10.00
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NEW MEMBER BENEFITS !
Two new Special Interest Groups (SIG's) start in December: Digital Imaging and Desktop Publishing. See page 6 for more information.
Just in time for the Holiday season, a members-only book (and more) discount program from O'Reilly Publishing. And a discounted subscription (paper or online) program from Smart Computing magazine. The magazine subscription includes FREE TELELPHONE TECHNICAL SUPPORT.
Learn more about these two discount programs at the December General Forum meeting.
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The Fort Collins Senior Center
Source: http://www.mapquest.com
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