tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37664658612438243672011-11-27T16:53:49.409-08:00Step by step guide to building, using, repairing, securing, optimizing computerBBQByunoreply@blogger.comBlogger7651100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3766465861243824367.post-20941813779390268602011-04-15T18:08:00.003-07:002011-04-15T18:08:46.173-07:00

First and foremost, a site collection is a (hierarchically arranged) logical container for grouping sites. From there, you need to know that the top-level site in a site collection is often a portal site that aggregates content from subsites - although this isn’t required - and that a Web application can host multiple site collections. The number of site collections you create depends on many

BBQByunoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3766465861243824367.post-2368777821468214032011-04-15T18:08:00.001-07:002011-04-15T18:08:22.633-07:00

You can create as many Web applications as you feel are necessary, but the big thing about creating different Web applications is that you can isolate site collections from each other. And why is isolation a good thing? Well, if each Web application has its own configuration, that means that you can then do the following: Use different authentication. Giving each Web application its own

BBQByunoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3766465861243824367.post-13322918422950311332011-04-15T18:07:00.004-07:002011-04-15T18:07:58.057-07:00

One feature of SharePoint is that you can use it to collaborate with members of a team to accomplish a project. I can’t think of a better project that requires collaboration among many parties than installing and configuring SharePoint. Apparently Microsoft agrees; it added an Administrator Tasks list to the Central Administration Web site. By using the Administrator Tasks list, you get a

BBQByunoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3766465861243824367.post-7055020949061876422011-04-15T18:07:00.002-07:002011-04-15T18:07:33.384-07:00

MOSS 2007 requires that you create and configure a Shared Services Provider (SSP). SSP enables the servers in your server farm to share services with each other. Most of the great features that you want to use in MOSS 2007, such as personalization, Excel Services, and the Business Data Catalog, are hosted by the Shared Services Provider. You usually only need one SSP per server farm, but it

BBQByunoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3766465861243824367.post-57858696288628550142011-04-15T18:07:00.000-07:002011-04-15T18:07:08.618-07:00

The SharePoint Products and Technologies Configuration Wizard creates the database and gets your servers ready for serving SharePoint. Before you can actually start using SharePoint, however, you have to configure which services you want to run on hardware in your server farm. The following two services must be configured first for MOSS 2007: Office SharePoint Server Search: This service

BBQByunoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3766465861243824367.post-61057231688100841982011-04-15T18:06:00.003-07:002011-04-15T18:06:44.483-07:00

When you create a server farm, you usually build your back-end servers before you build your front-end servers. For example, you install your databases on your database server before you install your front-end servers. Regardless of how you divvy up the servers, the first step in any server farm installation is planning. You need to plan how many servers you need and what services are going

BBQByunoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3766465861243824367.post-54467430908766496182011-04-15T18:06:00.001-07:002011-04-15T18:06:18.411-07:00

Unless your organization is especially small, you can’t get away with running SharePoint on a single server. Instead, you have to use multiple servers. When you use multiple servers to run an application, it’s called a server farm. You don’t have to start with a large farm because you can scale up by adding more servers as your needs require. A server farm consists of multiple servers that

BBQByunoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3766465861243824367.post-77511899888590168402011-04-15T18:05:00.001-07:002011-04-15T18:05:53.589-07:00

Administrators most often access SharePoint using a browser application such as Internet Explorer. When you install SharePoint, the application creates administrative Web sites that you use to administer SharePoint. Before you can access SharePoint via the browser, however, you have to follow a few steps to configure your browser. These steps are also necessary for your end users to access

BBQByunoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3766465861243824367.post-9132430460984141572011-04-13T21:26:00.001-07:002011-04-13T21:26:18.718-07:00

For evaluation purposes, you may choose to install SharePoint on a single server. You can even use SharePoint in a very limited capacity in production on a single server - although, admittedly, that’s rather unlikely. (For the sake of argument, though, imagine using SharePoint for a single department - in that situation, a single-server installation may be appropriate.) You can use the steps

BBQByunoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3766465861243824367.post-47329726267416767362011-04-13T21:25:00.003-07:002011-04-13T21:25:48.632-07:00

Just so you know the real lay of the land out there, installing SharePoint means making your way through eight (count ’em, eight) high-level steps in order to get SharePoint set up. Not only that, to progress through these steps, you’re going to need the cooperation of many people. Note that these steps just cover the installation of SharePoint. After you complete these steps, you have a

BBQByunoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3766465861243824367.post-58119735603260782262011-04-13T21:25:00.001-07:002011-04-13T21:25:14.988-07:00

Technical people are responsible for figuring out your server farm topology. Only in rare circumstances is SharePoint deployed to a single server. In most cases, SharePoint requires at least two servers. Planning the server farm topology requires tasks such as these: Matching the topology to the project’s requirements. Determining the requirements for capacity, performance, and

BBQByunoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3766465861243824367.post-45718891474991862692011-04-13T21:24:00.003-07:002011-04-13T21:24:46.511-07:00

Ideally, you’ve already made your business case, and you’ve created a list of projects and prioritized how you want to proceed. Many planning tasks are involved in implementing SharePoint. When you start planning your project, it’s helpful to consider the many roles that are required to implement SharePoint: Technical people are responsible for installing SharePoint on the servers and

BBQByunoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3766465861243824367.post-22725842430248358252011-04-13T21:24:00.001-07:002011-04-13T21:24:13.622-07:00

Having a set of objectives in mind is important when you start implementing SharePoint. Developing a list of objectives helps you define the scope for your SharePoint project. Don’t think of your project in terms of “implementing SharePoint.” Instead, state your project in terms of whatever it is that you’re doing with SharePoint. Here are some good examples of SharePoint project objectives:

BBQByunoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3766465861243824367.post-21905956926804712672011-04-13T21:08:00.001-07:002011-04-13T21:08:13.518-07:00

With the significant investment companies have made already in people and technology, how can SharePoint possibly have a role in this already crowded information systems environment? With IT staff overburdened already, it’s little wonder at the lack of enthusiasm in implementing yet another system. Despite all the technological advances, the big budgets, and the far-reaching plans, many end

BBQByunoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3766465861243824367.post-64700358925915881002011-04-13T21:07:00.001-07:002011-04-13T21:07:28.207-07:00

Unlike structured assets, less structured assets (such as Word documents) usually aren’t stored in databases. They’re often stored on file servers and removable media, such as CDs. Other less structured assets (such as e-mails and blog posts) may be stored in databases, but the information conveyed by the e-mail or blog post isn’t managed. Instead, the mail server acts like a file server,

BBQByunoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3766465861243824367.post-64516859881509577912011-04-13T21:06:00.003-07:002011-04-13T21:06:56.225-07:00

Structured assets are often found in the formal systems of organizations that use databases to store their data. Because they use databases, it’s relatively easy to query and aggregate data from these systems. Line-of-business applications are good examples of repositories for structured assets. Systems for managing structured assets are usually supported by IT staff and have the following

BBQByunoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3766465861243824367.post-45301001864547495902011-04-13T21:06:00.001-07:002011-04-13T21:06:23.848-07:00

Although understanding the technologies that enable SharePoint and SharePoint’s features is important, I believe that understanding how SharePoint fits into your existing information systems environment is even more valuable than understanding all the SharePoint features. Just because SharePoint can be used for a certain purpose, doesn’t mean that your organization will find it useful. I

BBQByunoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3766465861243824367.post-3706921936590497212011-04-13T21:05:00.003-07:002011-04-13T21:05:51.089-07:00

Figuring out which features go with which product is challenging. In this section, I explain the official products in the SharePoint family and what it takes to license them. Pricing varies depending on the kind of licensing agreement you have with Microsoft. All SharePoint deployments require Windows Server 2003. WSS version 3 is part of Windows Server 2003, so you don’t have to buy separate

BBQByunoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3766465861243824367.post-36318684510915145962011-04-13T21:05:00.001-07:002011-04-13T21:05:18.861-07:00

The core product in the family of SharePoint technologies is Windows SharePoint Services (WSS). Because WSS is the foundational product, no other product in the SharePoint family is possible without it. WSS is a full-blown ASP.NET 2.0 Web application, which means it runs hosted inside ASP.NET. When you install WSS, you have to install ASP.NET and everything it requires to run, including the

BBQByunoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3766465861243824367.post-23553929822933594422011-04-13T21:04:00.000-07:002011-04-13T21:04:38.900-07:00

SharePoint is a family of technologies from Microsoft that provides a server infrastructure to support the needs of information workers and their employers. These needs include collaboration, knowing who’s online, document storage, and the ability to inform and be informed. The companies that hire information workers need to audit, monitor, organize, retain, and protect information.

BBQByunoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3766465861243824367.post-32040766055913303712011-04-11T18:23:00.003-07:002011-04-11T18:23:42.217-07:00

Hyper-V uses a virtual service provider/virtual service consumer architecture to provide hypervisor services to the virtual machines it supports. The full Hyper-V architecture includes several core components: The hypervisor interacts directly with a hardware-enabled virtualization processor to provide resources to virtual machines. It is a thin layer of software (less than 1 KB) that

BBQByunoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3766465861243824367.post-82002867273268692142011-04-11T18:23:00.001-07:002011-04-11T18:23:16.579-07:00

Hyper-V is also available as a freely downloadable version through the Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2008. This version is a self-contained, single-purpose version of Windows Server 2008 that has been customized to support the Hyper-V role. It is based on the Standard edition of Windows Server 2008 and therefore lacks support for high availability and is limited to 32 gigabytes (GB) of RAM. Each

BBQByunoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3766465861243824367.post-11706579467107727602011-04-11T18:22:00.003-07:002011-04-11T18:22:50.514-07:00

There are several versions of Hyper-V, Microsoft’s Type 1 hypervisor. The most complete version is found in Windows Server 2008. Note, however, that Hyper-V is an x64-only function of Windows Server 2008. This means that it is only available as a role within the x64 editions of Windows Server 2008. Although Hyper-V components are also available in x86 or 32-bit editions of Windows Server

BBQByunoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3766465861243824367.post-81844463424489063342011-04-11T18:22:00.001-07:002011-04-11T18:22:23.379-07:00

Hyper-V provides the engine, or hypervisor, required to support the operation of multiple virtual machines on top of standard server hardware. Hyper-V is Microsoft’s first foray into hardware-accelerated hypervisors. Hyper-V extends the reach of Microsoft’s initial guest operating system virtualization technologies—Virtual Server 2005 R2 and Virtual PC 2007—by providing a virtualization

BBQByunoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3766465861243824367.post-70092888155614750702011-04-11T18:21:00.000-07:002011-04-11T18:21:55.149-07:00

Virtualization is the means by which you can isolate one computing resource from another. In a traditional software stack, each resource is linked with the other. For example, a traditional application usually runs on specific hardware, physically tying the application to the resources that make it operate. Network resources are tied to specific locations; storage is tied to specific

BBQByunoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3766465861243824367.post-405521867249248142011-04-11T18:19:00.003-07:002011-04-11T18:19:37.549-07:00

The terms streaming media and webcasting often are used synonymously. In this blog I refer to webcasting as the equivalent of television broadcasting, but delivered over the Web. Live or prerecorded content is streamed to a schedule and pushed out to the viewer. The alternative is on-demand delivery, where the user pulls down the content, often interactively. Webcasting embraces both

BBQByunoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3766465861243824367.post-78838012654535027732011-04-11T18:19:00.001-07:002011-04-11T18:19:13.748-07:00

The iPod Photo Flip Book A couple of turns through a photo album using the click wheel will remind people of a certain age of an old-fashioned "flip book." For those who are unfamiliar with the term, a flip book is a do-it-yourself animation technique in which you draw a figure on the first page of a book, slightly change the figure on the next page, and on and on until you have multiple

BBQByunoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3766465861243824367.post-23419342988733196252011-04-11T18:18:00.004-07:002011-04-11T18:18:47.696-07:00

In one hand, you've got a passel of pictures; in the other, your iPod Photo. How do you marry the two? No shotgun necessary; just follow along. Just as iTunes delivers music to your iPod, so does it handle the transaction between the pictures stored on your Mac or Windows PC and the iPod Photo. Those without an iPod Photo attached to their computer won't see this added functionality as it

BBQByunoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3766465861243824367.post-52075681570737421522011-04-11T18:18:00.002-07:002011-04-11T18:18:23.559-07:00

Following the October 26, 2004, announcement of the iPod Photo, many people were confused about what wonders the iPod Photo held. Before I dip into the small details of the device, let me make a few points clear. Some of the Same In regard to its form and its music- and data-handling capabilities, the iPod Photo is virtually indistinguishable from a fourth-generation iPod. It bears the same

BBQByunoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3766465861243824367.post-33213810380409621612011-04-11T18:18:00.000-07:002011-04-11T18:18:00.193-07:00

What other changes can you make in iTunes that will make a difference to your iPod? Show Duplicate Songs. Prior to the release of iTunes 4.7, iTunes and iPod users were routinely vexed by an iTunes library that contained duplicate songs. Not only did these things clutter up the iTunes library, but they took up valuable space on the iPod. Apple decided to make tracking down duplicates a bit

BBQByunoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3766465861243824367.post-20455336847272631252011-04-11T18:17:00.002-07:002011-04-11T18:17:33.127-07:00

The conduit for moving music to the iPod is iTuneswhich, fortunately, is fairly flexible in the way it goes about the process. The key to determining how you move your tunes is the iPod Preferences dialog box. With the advent of iTunes 4.7, there are two ways to access iTunes' iPod Preferences window. To start, plug your iPod into your computer and launch iTunes. (By default, iTunes launches

BBQByunoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3766465861243824367.post-47448678042051693182011-04-11T18:17:00.000-07:002011-04-11T18:17:06.957-07:00

iTunes 3 introduced such helpful features as ratings, the ability to pass judgment on a song by assigning it a rating of one to five stars; play count, a feature that keeps track of the number of times you've played a song in iTunes and on your iPod; and recently played, a feature that keeps track of when you last played a song. Here's a quick look at how these features enhance your iPoding

BBQByunoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3766465861243824367.post-92118229524236115372011-04-11T18:16:00.002-07:002011-04-11T18:16:39.838-07:00

Stuck for ideas on how to create smarter Smart Playlists? Sample some of these recipes: The New Music All the Time playlist Select New Smart Playlist from iTunes' File menu, and configure the top row of pop-up menus to read Play Count is 0. If you like, enable the Limit To option, and limit the songs in your playlist by number of songs, duration of playlist, or cumulative size of the songs in

BBQByunoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3766465861243824367.post-23887481238032026792011-04-11T18:16:00.000-07:002011-04-11T18:16:03.973-07:00

If the iPod were like lesser music players, you'd have to select all the songs on the device from one enormously long list. Thank heaven Apple's engineers had more sense than to provide you such a limited interface. Among other options, you can navigate your iPod via the playlists you create in iTunes. Here's how to create a variety of playlists. Standard Playlists You can create standard

BBQByunoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3766465861243824367.post-27669037634695795032011-04-11T18:15:00.000-07:002011-04-11T18:15:36.890-07:00

After you've downloaded and, if necessary, converted the files you want, you have three ways to move them into iTunes: 1. Choose an Add to Library command from iTunes' File menu. In the Macintosh version of iTunes, there's only the single Add to Library command. When you choose this command, the Add to Library dialog box appears (called Choose Object in iTunes 2). Navigate to the file,

BBQByunoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3766465861243824367.post-3863922080739379872011-04-11T18:14:00.002-07:002011-04-11T18:14:29.260-07:00

Once upon a time, streaming songs across a network from one computer to another was a cumbersome process. Now, thanks to built-in iTunes 4 support for OpenTalk (once called Rendezvous)a networking technology that lets computers find one another effortlessly on a local networkstreaming songs couldn't be easier. Here's how: 1. Launch iTunes 4. 2. Choose Preferences from the iTunes menu on a

BBQByunoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3766465861243824367.post-77752728075448334252011-04-11T18:14:00.000-07:002011-04-11T18:14:02.116-07:00

MP3, AAC, AIFF, WAV…is the computer industry incapable of speaking plain English!? It may seem so, given the plethora of acronyms floating through modern-day Technotopia. But the lingo and the basics behind it aren't terribly difficult to understand. MP3, AAC, AIFF, and WAV are audio file formats. The acronyms stand, respectively, for MPEG-1, audio layer 3 (if you must know, MPEG is an

BBQByunoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3766465861243824367.post-46942600038745199962011-04-11T18:13:00.001-07:002011-04-11T18:13:27.821-07:00

Released in January 2001, iTunes was Apple's second "i" application. (The first was the digital video-editing application iMovie.) Like Casady & Greene's SoundJam, iTunes was capable of playing and encoding MP3 files on a Macintosh. It featured a simple interface that allowed users to turn audio CDs into MP3 files easily, drag and drop songs between the Library (a master list of all the

BBQByunoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3766465861243824367.post-69685238920318953722011-04-04T21:52:00.002-07:002011-04-04T21:52:27.983-07:00

A graphics controller (also known as a video card or a graphics adapter) transfers the signal supplied by a computer's CPU to a video display unit called a monitor. A graphics controller takes over much of the control of the video signal from the CPU, so it carries its own special-purpose processor and memory. A faster graphics processor with more memory can send the monitor an image with

BBQByunoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3766465861243824367.post-65205735186494655482011-04-04T21:52:00.000-07:002011-04-04T21:52:01.985-07:00

The first generation of personal computers were all true desktop systems because they were built into horizontal cases made to sit on a table or desk with the widest surface next to the tabletop. But it didn't take long for somebody to turn the case up onto one side and create a tower case with a much smaller footprint. Instead of placing the computer case on the table with the video monitor

BBQByunoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3766465861243824367.post-10319542317576892782011-04-04T21:51:00.002-07:002011-04-04T21:51:37.460-07:00

Most new computers come with a single hard drive to store programs and data files. You can expect the dealer or manufacturer to format the drive and load Windows and other software before they deliver the computer. The important characteristics of a hard drive are: The amount of data the drive can hold (expressed in gigabytes) The speed at which the magnetic disks rotate inside the drive

BBQByunoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3766465861243824367.post-81258255156472289422011-04-04T21:51:00.000-07:002011-04-04T21:51:08.265-07:00

The CPU (central processing unit) is the core of your computer. It's the large integrated circuit mounted in a socket on the motherboard that controls all of the computer's other components. All of the actual computing inside your computer takes place in the CPU, so the choice of a processor dictates the computer's performance level and can have a significant impact on its cost. Both of the

BBQByunoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3766465861243824367.post-91126824265828252862011-04-04T21:50:00.002-07:002011-04-04T21:50:39.813-07:00

In today's marketplace, you can buy a personal computer in almost as many places as you can buy a cup of expensive coffee. The big office-supply chains all offer computers and accessories in the next aisle beyond the paper clips and pencils, and the electronics retailers in every shopping mall are ready to sell you a computer along with your home entertainment system. Or if you prefer, you

BBQByunoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3766465861243824367.post-55876534007075019252011-04-04T21:50:00.000-07:002011-04-04T21:50:09.705-07:00

If you buy a computer through a Web site, by mail, or from a discount store, an office supply place, or some other national retail chain, remember to ask about repairs. Obviously, it's a lot more convenient to have somebody come to you to perform repairs, but that kind of service is almost always an extra-cost option. Other options include taking the computer to a local carry-in service or

BBQByunoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3766465861243824367.post-54602214255751219152011-04-04T21:49:00.002-07:002011-04-04T21:49:42.579-07:00

Laptop computers are compact, lightweight alternatives to full-size desktop machines. Your laptop is a self-contained system that can easily fit into a briefcase or backpack. When you arrive at your destination (or when you want to use the computer along the way), you can open up the clamshell case, turn on the power switch, and start working or playing a game just as soon as Windows

BBQByunoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3766465861243824367.post-57255417996588368182011-04-04T21:49:00.000-07:002011-04-04T21:49:13.726-07:00

Desktop computers are the natural choice when a computer remains in the same place for all of its working life. The modular design of a desktop system makes it relatively easy to configure it with exactly the right set of features and functions for your specific needs. And if you expect to perform your own work, a computer in a desktop case is much easier to repair and modify than a laptop.

BBQByunoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3766465861243824367.post-32913638257095314392011-04-04T21:48:00.001-07:002011-04-04T21:48:42.929-07:00

In most cases, the choice between a desktop and a laptop computer depends on the way you expect to use this particular machine. If you're planning to carry the computer with you when you travel for business, or if you want to take the computer on vacation with you to surf the Internet while your family surfs the waves on a beach, the choice is obvious: You need a laptop portable. On the

BBQByunoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3766465861243824367.post-39505786741256179142011-04-04T21:47:00.002-07:002011-04-04T21:47:57.940-07:00

AutoCAD’s success has been attributed to its famous open architecture — the flexibility that the end user has to customize the program using source code files in plain text (ASCII) format — and programming languages (such as AutoLISP and Visual Basic for Applications). As a result, AutoCAD is the most flexible drafting program available, applicable to all fields. AutoCAD’s support for

BBQByunoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3766465861243824367.post-89724167412950308372011-04-04T21:47:00.000-07:002011-04-04T21:47:01.745-07:00

Most firewalls designed for home users are incredibly easy to use. A firewall can be hardware or software. Some firewall software may contain numerous other features as well. For example, Symantec’s Norton Internet Security has the following key features: Parental Control Used to block unsuitable web sites so that you can rest easy when your children are surfing the Internet. AntiVirus

BBQByunoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3766465861243824367.post-41861449844355316142011-04-04T21:46:00.001-07:002011-04-04T21:46:19.874-07:00

Spam is geek terminology for unsolicited junk email and messages. Spam is fast becoming a huge problem. It’s starting to cost corporations millions of dollars each year to filter out spam, and handling spam has required companies to increase their server storage space and Internet bandwidth for all the extra traffic it generates. Once you give out your email address to a company, it may be

BBQByunoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3766465861243824367.post-6127158117723839702011-04-04T21:45:00.002-07:002011-04-04T21:45:51.640-07:00

Email hoaxes are a modern version of urban legend, or folklore, stories. When I was growing up as a child, we were told to be careful of any apples we received while trick-or-treating during Halloween. Apparently, as the story goes, some people were putting razor blades in apples, making them hazardous to eat. The New York Times (10/28/70, page 56) and even the “Dear Abby” column mentioned

BBQByunoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3766465861243824367.post-21821414003956557122011-04-04T21:45:00.000-07:002011-04-04T21:45:15.434-07:00

Critical updates are crucial to keeping your computer secure and as bug-free as possible. But how do you know when new critical updates become available? Since the release of Windows 98, Microsoft included a utility within Windows that will periodically check to see if your computer is missing any available critical updates. This is the recommended way to keep your computer up-to-date from

BBQByunoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3766465861243824367.post-24782070234202715092011-04-04T21:44:00.001-07:002011-04-04T21:44:30.862-07:00

Why we have viruses is a difficult question to answer. Why do some people spraypaint graffiti or make prank phone calls?Many viruses are written by young computer adventurers, testing and expressing their programming skills and their curiosity to see what can happen. Some do it to gain knowledge, some for fame, and some to prove themselves worthy to join underground virus gangs. Others may

BBQByunoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3766465861243824367.post-37258786567560777222011-04-04T21:43:00.003-07:002011-04-04T21:43:56.583-07:00

You’ve probably already heard a lot about viruses and the potential harm they can cause. The stories can be downright scary. It’s important to remember that a computer virus is nothing like a human virus. A computer virus is just a program that runs on your computer, like any other software. If you’re properly prepared, you can detect and remove many viruses fairly quickly and painlessly.

BBQByunoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3766465861243824367.post-59145668085186029262011-04-04T21:43:00.001-07:002011-04-04T21:43:20.451-07:00

There are numerous freeware and shareware utilities designed to help rid you of spyware. Currently, there are two that stand out as better than the rest: Ad-aware, by Lavasoft, and Spybot Search & Destroy, by PepiMK Software. Download and install them to decide for yourself which one you like better, or better still, use them both. Once you detect and remove the spyware, be warned that the

BBQByunoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3766465861243824367.post-12637210974835294512011-04-04T21:42:00.000-07:002011-04-04T21:42:10.018-07:00

There are essentially four different kinds of software: Retail software is just what its name implies: software you must purchase, either online or at a retail store. Freeware is typically created by hobbyist programmers. They enjoy programming and offer their creations to others for free, with no strings attached. Shareware is typically a program that is partially or fully

BBQByunoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3766465861243824367.post-87242379426936128962011-03-28T18:23:00.005-07:002011-03-28T18:23:58.602-07:00

If you want to insure the most flexibility in your images, make sure to save your images in the Photoshop Document (PSD) format. The PSD format is the only format that supports all of the features found in Photoshop itself. You can specify the default format in which to save files in the File Handling preferences dialog box. 1. If you are a Macintosh user, go to the Photoshop menu and select

BBQByunoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3766465861243824367.post-17528516116917096712011-03-28T18:23:00.003-07:002011-03-28T18:23:37.135-07:00

After you have your image set, you need to make sure you can use it again at some point in the future. You can use the Save commands in Photoshop to leave the file in its current format, or save it in a different file format. And with Save for Web, you can optimize your images for electronic media. 1. To save changes to a file you are currently working on, select File -> Save. 2. To save a

BBQByunoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3766465861243824367.post-39869661117775368412011-03-28T18:23:00.001-07:002011-03-28T18:23:09.573-07:00

When text and an image won’t do, you can add the sound of your voice with Audio Annotations. Working in the same manner as text-based Notes, Audio Annotations allow you to tack on a brief audio message to help aid in image development. 1. Make sure you have a working microphone hooked up to your computer and that it accepts audio input from your preferred recording device. 2. Select the

BBQByunoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3766465861243824367.post-81658171435400306492011-03-28T18:22:00.001-07:002011-03-28T18:22:46.739-07:00

While pictures may speak a thousand words, you might find yourself wanting to make sure a couple of your own words are added for good measure. In Photoshop, you can add text notes around an image to let other workers know details about that image. 1. Select the Notes Tool from the bottom left of the Tools palette. 2. Set the options as needed in the context menu: author’s name, which appears

BBQByunoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3766465861243824367.post-83410743376706200422011-03-28T18:21:00.005-07:002011-03-28T18:22:22.194-07:00

Adobe’s Portable Document Format (PDF) is a great way to exchange documents with people in the office or across the world. It is the primary format used by Adobe’s Illustrator and Acrobat programs. PDF files display fonts, page layouts, and graphics — including vector and bitmap — and can also contain electronic document navigation features such as hyperlinks. If you want to work with

BBQByunoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3766465861243824367.post-74910313516440669572011-03-28T18:21:00.003-07:002011-03-28T18:21:38.546-07:00

Most digital cameras save a digital snapshot in the JPEG format. Saved settings like smoothing, sharpening, or white balance are controlled by the camera and then are fixed when it is saved to the JPEG file format. However, more and more of today’s digital cameras can encode image files into a file format that’s known as RAW. This file format records everything that the digital camera can

BBQByunoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3766465861243824367.post-40227875954536164712011-03-28T18:21:00.001-07:002011-03-28T18:21:15.401-07:00

In addition to looking for images, you can also organize your images in the File Browser itself. This method makes it easier to organize files because you can sort the images based on their thumbnails. 1. In order to create a new folder, either select File -> New Folder, right-click in the Folders palette (Windows OS), or Ctrl-click and select New Folder (Mac OS). 2. In the File Browser

BBQByunoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3766465861243824367.post-81434595745214924932011-03-28T18:20:00.003-07:002011-03-28T18:20:51.824-07:00

In addition to browsing images based on thumbnails, you can also sort the images based on a number of criteria. You can even rank the image based on a letter scale of A through E. This sorting method takes browsing images to a whole new level. 1. In order to change the display of files, click View on the File Browser’s menu bar. 2. To sort files, click Sort on the File Browser’s menu bar. (

BBQByunoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3766465861243824367.post-67713756845944603742011-03-28T18:20:00.001-07:002011-03-28T18:20:19.295-07:00

Keeping track of all the images on your hard drive can be a daunting task. Even if you take care to label each file name and tuck each file away into its proper folder as best you can, chances are you will still wind up with a lot of images that need to be sorted. And what if you are great at organization, but don’t know which image is best for a particular project? Finding the image you

BBQByunoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3766465861243824367.post-16798960398510286552011-03-28T18:19:00.005-07:002011-03-28T18:19:55.900-07:00

The File -> New command is where you set up your digital canvas. How you set your preferences determines not only the basic size of the image, but also in which medium your image can be displayed. While you can always open a new file and change the settings, make sure to set them properly for the intended use of your image. 1. To create a new file, choose File -> New. This command brings up

BBQByunoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3766465861243824367.post-80695242429076474852011-03-28T18:19:00.003-07:002011-03-28T18:19:32.606-07:00

Sometimes we all need a little help to get us through the lonely, confusing times. And with so many options in Photoshop, we can get lonely and confused more often than we would like. Photoshop comes with an extensive Help System written in HTML, the markup language commonly used to create Web pages. So, when in doubt, launch your browser and surf the Help pages until you find your answer.

BBQByunoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3766465861243824367.post-79478856420592396872011-03-28T18:19:00.001-07:002011-03-28T18:19:09.802-07:00

To help Photoshop perform better, it’s always good to give it some finetuning from time to time. The image cache allows Photoshop to increase rendering times of frequently seen areas of an image. In the Memory & Image Cache preferences dialog box, you can set the right balance between speed and performance. 1. If you are a Macintosh user, go to the Photoshop menu and select Preferences ->

BBQByunoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3766465861243824367.post-20346450400167468902011-03-28T18:18:00.003-07:002011-03-28T18:18:47.458-07:00

You might think that, out of the box and properly installed, Photoshop is ready to go. If you have extra plug-ins or extra hard disk space, it’s not. While Photoshop is great at handling memory to furnish your digital imaging requests, it doesn’t know the location of third-party plug-ins and where to find that extra hard disk space. Before opening up that next image, specify both of those

BBQByunoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3766465861243824367.post-61952662627847870432011-03-28T18:18:00.001-07:002011-03-28T18:18:19.872-07:00

The default color for guides and slices in Photoshop is light blue. When you are working on an image that contains the color blue or if you just don’t like the default color, you can change the color of these helpful guides, grids, and slices to a more suitable color using the Guides, Grid & Slices preferences dialog box. 1. If you are a Macintosh user, go to the Photoshop menu and select

BBQByunoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3766465861243824367.post-18349724654294682552011-03-28T18:17:00.003-07:002011-03-28T18:17:55.989-07:00

The old builder’s adage “measure twice; cut once” holds just as true in digital imaging as it does in woodworking. If you don’t measure your images carefully in the correct units, you might end up with an image that is too small or too large for your purposes. In the Units & Rulers preferences you can choose your units for rulers, column sizes, resolutions, as well as the point or pica sizes

BBQByunoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3766465861243824367.post-78892181173297740532011-03-28T18:17:00.001-07:002011-03-28T18:17:30.500-07:00

The grid has become somewhat of a culture icon to many Photoshop users. It’s been a part of Photoshop for a long, long time to help users determine the level of transparency in their images. But now you get the chance to modify the appearance of this checkerboard-like grid to your own individual tastes. In the Transparency & Gamut preferences dialog box, you not only get to define the color

BBQByunoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3766465861243824367.post-51266767141634996932011-03-28T18:16:00.005-07:002011-03-28T18:16:57.795-07:00

Icons are all over Photoshop. They enable you to quickly pick and choose from a wide array of editing options. In the Display & Cursor preferences dialog box you can choose whether to show channels in color, double the pixels of your images, or use dithering. You can also specify what icons you would like to see while editing an image. 1. For Macintosh users, go to the Photoshop menu and

BBQByunoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3766465861243824367.post-63407260795532415212011-03-28T18:16:00.003-07:002011-03-28T18:16:35.746-07:00

There are so many options in Photoshop, you might get carried away and forget what you did when you try to recreate an effect. Or you might need to make notes of how to recreate a certain effect in Photoshop for your coworkers so they can do it on their own (and stop pestering you for once). Photoshop CS enables you to keep a log of all your digital imaging movements. You can manage your

BBQByunoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3766465861243824367.post-61672822201222113052011-03-28T18:16:00.001-07:002011-03-28T18:16:12.802-07:00

How you handle your images after importing them into Photoshop is almost as important as creating the images themselves. In this set of preferences, you can specify how you want Photoshop to manage image previews, file extensions, and workgroup functionality. You can also set file compatibility and the number of files that should be displayed in the list of recent files on the File menu. 1.

BBQByunoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3766465861243824367.post-38470343834971397312011-03-28T18:15:00.001-07:002011-03-28T18:15:42.034-07:00

Today almost all communication takes place over Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) version 4, in which each computer has a 32-bit address that is commonly viewed as four numbers separated by decimals. For example, 10.10.10.5 is an IP address for a machine. Although it is possible to manually configure each machine with an IP address (known as static IP configuration

BBQByunoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3766465861243824367.post-6141159082254740502011-03-28T04:40:00.000-07:002011-03-28T04:40:09.202-07:00

At the end of 2007, Microsoft released Windows Server 2008. Some of the major new features include but are not limited to the following: Network Access Protection (NAP). This feature is also part of Windows Vista and available as an update for Windows XP SP2. It requests a statement of health (SoH) from each connecting machine, and checks the SoH against health policies for the network.

BBQByunoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3766465861243824367.post-9601954241086453392011-03-28T04:39:00.001-07:002011-03-28T04:39:29.160-07:00

R2D2 At the end of 2005, Microsoft started a new tradition, releasing Windows 2003 R2 (short for Release 2). There are two important factors for this R2 release: Windows 2003 R2 is Windows 2003 with Service Pack 1 built in. It has no new kernel changes or modifications to the core OS. The R2 relates to a second supplied CD that contains new features originally slated for and built in to

BBQByunoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3766465861243824367.post-51707350616295428482011-03-28T04:38:00.003-07:002011-03-28T04:38:53.915-07:00

In 2003, Microsoft released Windows 2003 (WNT 5.2). This was the first server-only release, and there was no Windows 2003 Professional. Microsoft made up for that with a new server version, releasing four Windows Server 2003 products. The new Web edition was a much-scaled-back version of the Windows Server product and aimed at combating the trend of using free Linuxbased services for

BBQByunoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3766465861243824367.post-38216260283339811152011-03-28T04:38:00.001-07:002011-03-28T04:38:24.433-07:00

Windows 2000 was a long time in the making. Windows 2000 Professional (instead of Workstation) replaced all previous versions of Windows in a business environment, desktop or laptop. Windows 2000 Professional had plug-and-play support, an improved network for both wired and wireless networks, and full USB and infrared support, which was important for laptop users. Windows 2000 also included

BBQByunoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3766465861243824367.post-1442174969667987442011-01-07T20:06:00.001-08:002011-01-07T20:06:59.142-08:00

This question has no absolute answer, because you’ll get a different response from everyone you ask. The terms second generation, third generation, and so on refer both to DVD-Video players and DVD-ROM drives. In general, they simply mean newer versions of DVD playback devices. The terms haven’t been used (yet) to refer to DVD products that can record, play video games, and so on. According

BBQByunoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3766465861243824367.post-76122442755901877582011-01-07T19:49:00.003-08:002011-01-07T19:49:38.074-08:00

Laserdiscs are subject to what is commonly called laser rot, the deterioration of the aluminum layer due to oxidation or other chemical changes. This often results from the use of insufficiently pure metal for the reflective coating created during replication, but it can be exacerbated by mechanical shear stress due to bending, warping, or thermal cycles. The large size of laserdiscs makes

BBQByunoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3766465861243824367.post-25064568047251264372011-01-07T19:49:00.001-08:002011-01-07T19:49:14.288-08:00

Some people claim that animation, especially hand-drawn cell animation such as cartoons and anime, does not compress well with MPEG-2 or even ends up larger than the original. Other people claim that animation is simple so it compresses better. Neither is true. Supposedly the “jitter” between frames caused by differences in the drawings or in their alignment causes problems. An animation

BBQByunoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3766465861243824367.post-9769210516346092092011-01-07T19:48:00.004-08:002011-01-07T19:48:50.976-08:00

The MPEG video on a DVD is stored in digital format, but it’s formatted for one of two mutually incompatible television systems: 525/60 (NTSC) or 625/50 (PAL/SECAM). Therefore, two kinds of DVDs exist: NTSC DVDs and PAL DVDs. Some players only play NTSC discs; others play PAL and NTSC discs, depending on which region the owner lives in (refer to “What Are Regional Codes, Country Codes, or

BBQByunoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3766465861243824367.post-39589215451018323312011-01-07T19:48:00.002-08:002011-01-07T19:48:25.519-08:00

A dual-layer disc has two layers of data, one of them semitransparent so that the laser can focus through it and read the second layer. Because both layers are read from the same side, a dual-layer disc can hold almost twice as much as a single-layer disc, typically four hours of video. Many discs use dual layers. Initially, only a few replication plants could make duallayer discs, but most

BBQByunoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3766465861243824367.post-30242937252472245372011-01-07T19:48:00.000-08:002011-01-07T19:48:00.895-08:00

The answer is yes. When DVD was originally introduced in 1997, it could only play. DVD video recorders appeared in Japan at the end of 1999 and in the rest of the world at the end of 2000. Early units were expensive: from $2,500 to $4,000. DVD recorders are still quite expensive (typically $500 to $2000 as of mid-2003), but they will eventually be as cheap as VCRs. DVD recorders are already

BBQByunoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3766465861243824367.post-42700645341241452062011-01-07T19:47:00.003-08:002011-01-07T19:47:38.346-08:00

When DVDs were released in 1996, no DVD-Audio format was available, although the audio capabilities of DVD-Video far surpassed CDs. The DVD Forum sought additional input from the music industry before defining the DVD-Audio format. A draft standard was released by the DVD Forum’s Working Group 4 (WG4) in January of 1998, and version 0.9 was released in July. The final DVD-Audio 1.0

BBQByunoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3766465861243824367.post-32156147513623013872011-01-07T19:47:00.001-08:002011-01-07T19:47:12.661-08:00

Content protection system architecture (CPSA) is the name given to the overall framework for security and access control across the entire DVD family. Developed by the 4C Entity (Intel, IBM, Matsushita, and Toshiba) in cooperation with the Copy Protection Technical Working Group (CPTWG), CPSA covers encryption, watermarking, and the protection of analog and digital outputs. Many forms of

BBQByunoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3766465861243824367.post-8471827941171187792011-01-07T19:46:00.004-08:002011-01-07T19:46:48.078-08:00

Motion picture studios want to control the home release of movies in different countries because theater releases aren’t simultaneous (a movie may come out on video in the United States when it’s just hitting screens in Europe). Also, studios sell distribution rights to different foreign distributors in order to guarantee an exclusive market. Therefore, they required that the DVD standard

BBQByunoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3766465861243824367.post-3029621140270223402011-01-07T19:46:00.002-08:002011-01-07T19:46:25.506-08:00

DVD did not take off quite as fast as some early predictions, but it has sold faster than videotape, CD, and laserdisc. In fact, before its third birthday in March 2000, DVD had become the most successful consumer electronics entertainment product ever. Here are some predictions: InfoTech (1995) Worldwide sales of DVD players in 1997 will be 800,000. Worldwide sales of DVD-ROM drives in

BBQByunoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3766465861243824367.post-37458776648709256172011-01-07T19:46:00.000-08:002011-01-07T19:46:00.447-08:00

In the video distribution industry, a title refers to a movie or other production release, such as Snow White, Star Wars, or a boxed edition of a TV series like Babylon 5 First Season. Titles are collectively referred to as software, not to be confused with computer software. DVDs started off slowly. In 1996, rosy predictions of hundreds of movie titles being sold for Christmas failed to

BBQByunoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3766465861243824367.post-3256054127342038452011-01-07T19:45:00.001-08:002011-01-07T19:45:29.753-08:00

The video and audio performance of all modern DVD players is excellent. Your personal preferences, budget, and home theater setup all play a large role in determining which player is best for you. Unless you have a high-end home theater, a player that costs under $250 should be completely adequate. Make a list of things that are important to you (such as the ability to play CD-Rs, the ability

BBQByunoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3766465861243824367.post-74661368067482363162011-01-07T19:44:00.003-08:002011-01-07T19:44:45.995-08:00

Some manufacturers originally announced that DVD players would be available as early as the middle of 1996. These predictions were woefully optimistic. Delivery was initially held up for “political” reasons, which meant movie studios were demanding copy protection, and it was delayed again by a lack of titles. The first players appeared in Japan in November of 1996, followed by U.S. players

BBQByunoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3766465861243824367.post-65134100748593882062011-01-07T19:44:00.001-08:002011-01-07T19:44:18.330-08:00

The most important features of DVD are as follows: Over 2 hours of high-quality digital video (A double-sided, dual-layer disc can hold about 8 hours of high-quality video, or 30 hours of VHSquality video.) Support for widescreen movies on standard or widescreen TVs (4:3 and 16:9 aspect ratios) Up to eight tracks of digital audio (for multiple languages, commentaries, and so on) that

BBQByunoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3766465861243824367.post-62061432297009144022011-01-07T19:43:00.001-08:002011-01-07T19:43:44.453-08:00

DVD is the latest generation of optical disc storage technology. A DVD is essentially a bigger, faster compact disc (CD) that can hold cinema-like video, better-than-CD audio, still photos, and computer data. DVD aims to encompass home entertainment, computers, and business information with a single digital format. DVDs have replaced laserdiscs, are well on the way to replacing videotape and

BBQByunoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3766465861243824367.post-84549942681499771012010-11-03T02:45:00.001-07:002010-11-03T02:45:26.383-07:00

Games today range from harmless edutainment and board games to first-person shooter games that feature scenes of intense violence and even sexual content. How are parents supposed to be able to tell the difference? It's a big problem because most homes nowadays have a computer, and many have separate computers for the kids. To solve the problem, in 1994 the Entertainment Software

BBQByunoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3766465861243824367.post-41361161820935326802010-11-03T02:44:00.001-07:002010-11-03T02:44:32.613-07:00

In his 2005 book What the Dormouse Said, journalist John Markoff describes how the 1960s counterculture gave rise to and shaped the personal computer industry. At one point, he tells the story of how engineers at the Stanford Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (SAIL) decided to create their own version of Spacewar, the world's first computer game (invented by MIT hacker Stephen Russell in

BBQByunoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3766465861243824367.post-60811502492880259922010-11-03T02:43:00.001-07:002010-11-03T02:43:15.236-07:00

Previous versions of Windows could rip data from CDs and burn data to recordable CDs, but they had no support for ripping and burning DVDs. (The exception was XP Media Center Edition, which offered support for DVD burning through the Media Center program.) Windows Vista changes that by building DVD-burning capabilities into the following applications: Windows Photo Gallery Windows Media

BBQByunoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3766465861243824367.post-40307000110317395542010-11-03T02:42:00.001-07:002010-11-03T02:42:38.915-07:00

The reputation Windows has as an audio playback and editing platform has been, not to put too fine a point on it, abysmal. There have been some improvements over the years. For example, the early audio infrastructure (often called the audio stack) seen in Windows 3.1 (16-bit) and Windows 95 (32-bit) supported only one audio stream at a time, but Windows 98 enabled multiple playback streams

BBQByunoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3766465861243824367.post-14304622072881560662010-11-03T02:41:00.001-07:002010-11-03T02:41:38.426-07:00

Prior to Windows Vista, the Media Center program was available only as part of the Windows XP Media Center Edition (MCE), which, in turn, was available only as a preinstalled OS on OEM computers. (XP MCE was also available to MSDN subscribers.) Why no retail version? Probably because the system requirements for XP MCE were quite high (particularly the GPU, which needed to come with hardware

BBQByunoreply@blogger.com