February 4, 2009

Clean That Lens

Yeah, I know, this doesn't really seem like an overly exciting topic today, but I think it's well worth a mention! It seems like every time someone hands me his or her camera to take a photo, the lens looks like it's been dipped into a shop vac.

First off, ordering cialis a clean lens is an essential ingredient to great photos. A lens that's full of smudges, dirt or fingerprints cannot give you good results. Not only will you lose sharpness, but you'll also find that your color and contrast suffer. You'll end up with soft, muddy-looking photos instead of sharp, rich images full of snap. Besides, cameras aren't cheap, so why settle for less image quality than it's capable of due to grimy optics?!

Cleaning the lens is fairly simple. First, head to your local camera store and get a good lens cleaning kit. It should include both lens tissues (or a good microfiber cloth) and lens cleaning solution. When you purchase your cleaning kit, keep in mind that some "low end" kits aren't that much better for your lens than Windex and a paper towel. Don't go cheap on this! I urge you to spring for the best kit available or at least put one together yourself. No matter what you do, it's probably going to cost less than lunch at McDonalds.

Once you have your kit in hand, just put a few drops of the lens cleaning solution on a dry piece of lens tissue. Rub the lens gently in a clockwise motion (work from the center to the edges). Dry off any excess solution with a second piece of lens tissue.

Once the lens is dry, "fog" the lens with your breath. Then gently take the dry piece of lens tissue and wipe it off, again from the center outward. This step seems to get rid of any residual "soap" that may be left over from the cleaning solution.

That's really about it! Again, I want to stress how important it is for you to use good quality lens tissue on your optics and not your T-shirt or some other substitute. Anything beyond a lens tissue can put tiny scratches on your lens' coating. Over time, those tiny scratches will have the same effect as dirt or fingerprints on your lens. Treat your camera's lens with tender loving care!

Permalink • Print • Comment

BSOD

Q:
Every time my computer errors out, it automatically restarts itself and while that's okay in some situations, it doesn't give me much time to see what's causing the problem. Is there any way I can change that? If so, please share it with me. Thanks!

A:
Great question! When you go to shut down your computer, you may notice that there's an option for you to restart your computer as well. That option is there for all the times you just want to restart your computer, instead of completely shutting it down. But did you know it also plays a part in system order cialis without prescription failures? Basically, Windows is set to automatically restart your computer whenever a fatal error occurs on your system.

But let's say the problem only happens when you're shutting down your computer. If Windows automatically restarts your computer in a situation like that, how are you supposed to find out any other information about why the error occurred in the first place? I mean, everything is gone so quickly with the restart, so if some things changed, you might be able to find out some additional information about the problem.

So, if you're having failure problems, one of the things you can do during your troubleshooting process is stop your computer from automatically restarting. The changed setting may allow you to see more information about the error, which will help you troubleshoot even further.

To do that, right click on your My Computer icon and select Properties. Choose the Advanced tab and under the Startup and Recovery section, click on the Settings button. Now, uncheck the box that says "Automatically restart."

From now on, when an error shows its ugly face again, your system will remain shut down until you do a regular boot up. You can then hopefully see more of what's going on and it may help you fix the problem faster. Now, this may not help you in every situation, but it's definitely worth a try!

Permalink • Print • Comment

Do Not Deliver Before!

Ever find yourself putting together an e-mail message that you want to send, but just not yet?

Use MS Outlook 2003 or 2007?

Then I've got just what you need!

Regardless of order cialis professional your Outlook version, start by composing your message.

In Outlook 2003, you need to click on the Options button located above the To: field.

In Outlook 2007, you need to go to the Options tab on the ribbon and click on the Delay Delivery button.

In either case, you need to check the "Do not deliver before" checkbox and then set a date and time for the delivery. (Be sure to pick a time when you'll have Outlook running so that it can send the message).

Close the Message Options dialogue window.

Send the message as usual.

Outlook will then keep the message in your Outbox and send it according to your specifications. It doesn't get any better than that!

Permalink • Print • Comment

Active ISO Burner

Have you ever come across online prescription cialis a file ending in .iso? If you have, I'm sure you were able to figure out what it was and how to use it, right? Or, if not, you soon will! ISO files are quickly becoming the new way to deliver a CD's content through a download. For example, if you download any of the new Microsoft Office programs over the Internet, you will be sent an ISO file. They are very nice for transporting data as well. I mean, they allow a company to send you an entire CD's worth of data in one single file. It doesn't get any better than that!

Now that you know more about ISO files, I'll get to the point! How do you turn an ISO file into a CD? That's one question that came across my desk today. And luckily, I have found a free download that makes turning an ISO file into a CD very quick and easy. The program is called Active ISO Burner. Simply download and install the program and the next time you come across an ISO file, just open Active ISO Burner and drag the ISO file you downloaded into the window that appears. After that, just insert a blank disk into your computer and click Burn. It really is that easy!

You can download Active ISO Burner for yourself right here. Enjoy!

Permalink • Print • Comment

Windows Live SkyDrive

I’m always moving my files from one computer to another using my flash drive, but sometimes it’s just not practical to use it. One of my computers only has a USB port in the back, which makes it hard to access and even more, sometimes my drive gets so full, I can't fit anything else on it. Well, that's when Windows Live SkyDrive comes in handy. Let's check it out!

Windows Live SkyDrive is like a USB drive, but it’s Internet based. Simply put, you can upload your documents and download them on any computer that has access to the Internet. Want to learn more? Well, here’s how you can get the service for yourself!

1.) First, go to the SkyDrive Web site here.

2.) Next, click on the Get Started button at the bottom of the page.

3.) You’ll need a Windows Live ID to use SkyDrive. If you already have one, go ahead and sign in. If you don’t, there’s a Sign Up button on the next page.

4.) Once you’re all logged in, you'll find yourself on the SkyDrive personal homepage. To edit your profile, click on Edit Profile.

5.) Here’s how I set up my profile:

6.) Once you’re done editing, click Save.

7.) Now, to add files to your SkyDrive, click Add Files, which is located half-way down the page.

online cialis src=”http://imgsrv.worldstart.com/ct-images/drivesky4.jpg” border=”1″ width=”450″ height=”68″ />

8.) Select the folder you want to add your files to (documents, favorites, etc.) and then use the upload tool to upload to your heart’s content!

To access your files again, simply log in and click on the file you want. Easy as pie!

Permalink • Print • Comment
« Previous PageNext Page »
Made with WordPress and an easy to use WordPress theme • Sky Gold skin by Denis de Bernardy