No, I really didn’t mean the one the Greeks built to get into Troy, I meant the computer kind that sneak viruses into your computer. Since its April, which brings to mind Spring Cleaning, I thought I might briefly remind you about that very important topic: SECURITY. How do you avoid those nasty viruses and malware and spyware invaders? It takes a bit of time, but it’s time well spent as the expression goes. There are lots of programs out there that protect you from the bad stuff, some are free and take more time to use, and some are for sale and more or less do the job automatically. Personally, I like to know when and what my programs are doing so I have usually stuck with the freebies. Believe it or not, I have never had a serious problem due to a virus, spyware or malware (knock on wood…harder!)
As I said, it takes a bit more time, but running Ad-Aware and Spybot, Search and Destroy manually keeps my PCs free of the bad guys. I do let MS Windows Defender do its thing automatically. I also use Zone alarm as my firewall and AVG as my anti-virus; some folks I know don’t like Zone alarm because it tells you when it’s doing something and asks if it’s ok. I actually like that as it tells me that the program is working! I also usually click on check for updates with AVG when I boot although I do have it set to do that automatically. Just makes me feel better and fascinates me as almost every day there is an update. BTW, AVG has added link scanning to their pay for suite. If you are interested in learning more, visit:
http://www.wi-fiplanet.com/news/article.php/3733446. Hopefully, all of the above will at least cause you to think about where you are with regard to security.
You might also consider a real spring cleaning by opening your PC up and using one of those cans of air to blow the dust out. While you’re at it, how about speeding up your PC? Thanks to Bill Husted, here are the places to go for instructions: if you’ve taken the leap to Vista, go to: http://tinyurl.com/29t5am for XP users: http://tinyurl.com/2mwlxw . For you Vista users, SP1 should be available by the time you read this. I haven’t gotten it yet, but by next time I should be able to tell you about my experience with it.
With that lengthily intro, I guess you wonder about the candid camera part of the title, well, wonder no more because I have been trying out a nifty little digital camera, the, DXG-110 which includes Pro Features like: Focus Illuminator ISO 1600/Antishake, Autofocus Tracking, Automatic Contrast, & Face Detection. The big news about the DXG-110 is, it’s the first 10 Megapixel digital camera to break the $200 price barrier. With a street price of only $169.99, the DXG-110 offers consumers a low price without sacrificing quality and features. (Actually, I found it at ecost.com for $154.99!) The camera has a 10 Megapixel CCD sensor (with up to 12 Megapixel image resolution), a large 2.5” high-resolution TFT screen, 3X Optical/4X Digital Zoom, 30 FPS of VGA video with sound, digital voice recording function, and the convenience of 32MB of built-in internal flash memory and an SD card slot, for the total easy-to-use high-res digital camera package.
At this point, let me suggest you consider two additional items should you decide to buy this camera. An SD card is a must; 32 MB of internal memory gets only a very few pictures. I found a 4Gig SD card complete with a flashdrive type reader for $22.99, plus $5.50 for shipping at Amazon.com.
The other suggestion I have is buy one of the many available compact battery chargers for AA and AAA batteries. Most of the well known battery makers sell them, usually with 4 AA rechargeable batteries included for around $10. Of course if you’re a serious photographer, you’ll want to take a pocketful of standard AA batteries along in case you don’t have a place to plug-in the charger. The DXG-110 advanced point-and-shoot digital camera captures professional-looking pictures with minimal settings so everyone will feel comfortable using the camera. It eliminates complex adjustments so users can take great pictures easily and instantaneously, with just a touch of a button. Even in extreme low-light situations, the new DXG-110 camera adjusts shutter speed and aperture automatically. While all of that sounds pretty good, it does take some time to read the manual and try out all these features. Yes, I said read the manual, I know how radical that sounds, but believe me, you’ll find that the time it takes is worth it. Following is some additional information about it from the company perspective, along with a few pictures I took with it. To see how it does with the video setting, you’ll need to go to http://drop.io/pooky12345 where you will see a couple photos and a video clip. Click on it and it will play a video I took at Thomas Square. I wasn’t really paying close attention to what I was doing as there were a number of kids wanting to play with Pooky, my Shih Tzu, and a couple from the mainland who have a dog they told me looks just like him! Anyhow, it will give you some idea of how well the camera does video. This web page, BTW, is pretty handy. You can post up to 100MB at a time on it (free), and do as many separate ones as you want. And you don’t need to log-in, provide your e-mail address or anything else!
Here’s a look at the back screen:
Easy-to-use Pro Features for a Low Price
The DXG-110 offers pro features typically found in much more expensive digital cameras, such as AutoFocus tracking, Focus Illuminator, and Face Detection. DXG proprietary technology, including Automatic Contrast Management, Advanced Flash Controls, ISO 1600/Antishake, and Dynamic Fill Light also ensures that you can take great pictures consistently. All of these features make the DXG-110 the ultimate 10 Megapixel digital camera for everyone who enjoys taking pictures, but demands quality, ease of use, and technology at an affordable price. And of course, this is Pooky.
DXG New Technologies
Automatic Contrast Management is a new DXG technology that detects contrast levels and applies the best dynamic range in high contrast scenes. Compared to the 8-bit post processing known as D-Lighting, the DXG-110 does this completely in 12-bit resolution to provide the best detail possible. In addition, the new DXG Dynamic Fill Light technology reveals details in dark areas in high-dynamic (high-contrast) scenes. This is particularly useful to correct dark photos when shooting against backlighting.
The DXG-110 also features an Advance Flash Control System that ensures exposure is accurately captured when the flash is fired, especially against dark/black or white/bright backgrounds. This technology automatically measures AF distance, aperture and zoom to ensure that pre-flash provides the best linearity for more accurate flash output.
DXG-110 Features:
Image Sensor: 1/1.76” Panasonic 10.37 Megapixel CCD Sensor
Active Pixels: 10.0 Megapixel – up to 12 Megapixel
3X Optical Zoom/4X Digital Zoom
Focus Illuminator
Face Detection
AutoFocus Tracking
Supports Direct Print
Sensor Sensitivity – Auto or Manual (ISO 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600 Equivalent)
Storage Media
1. Internal: 32MB Flash Memory
2. External: SD/MMC Card, support high-capacity SD cards up to 4GB
White Balance
EV Compensation
Self-Timer
PC Interface
TV Out Format
Shutter – Mechanical and Electronic Shutter
Auto Power Off
Power Supply – 2x Alkaline Batteries
It comes complete with 2AA Alkaline Batteries, a USB/AV Output Cable, wrist strap, camera pouch, Mr. Photo 3, VideoWorks6 and driver software, and User Manual.
I have no idea how Pooky can sleep like this, but even the flash didn’t wake him up!
Before I go, I have two other bits of information you may find useful. These were dated March 12, 2008:
Hulu, an online video service, today announced the public launch of its Web site, Hulu.com http://www.hulu.com Beginning today, consumers in the U.S. can go to Hulu.com to watch a large selection of hit TV shows, movies, clips and more in high-quality – anytime, for free. In addition, Hulu announced new content partnerships with the Warner Bros. Television Group, Lionsgate, NBA, NHL and more than 20 other top content providers. New content additions to Hulu’s library will include: feature films like The Usual Suspects and Ice Age, shows like Dirt, The Incredible Hulk, Babylon 5, Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip and The Dick Van Dyke Show, nightly highlights, top plays and full-length games from the NBA and the NHL, popular made for web programming such as Prom Queen and Onion News Network, and much more.
I immediately signed up and it is super and free and most important, it’s legal!
Labs.google.com, Google's technology playground.
Google labs showcases a few of our favorite ideas that aren't quite ready for prime time. Your feedback can help us improve them. Please play with these prototypes and send your comments directly to the Googlers who developed them. Lots of fun things to look at and comment on…give it a try, you’ll like it!
So, until next time, be careful, and I know you’ll have lots of fun with all the things you can play with and all the places you can go on the web!
Aloha, Lou
