Announcements

Keep Your Computer Safe :-)

The response to our Drive Image offer was fantastic yesterday! I know you'll all be happy with it - it sure came to my rescue the other day! Visit the Drive Image page to read the whole account of my disaster and recovery! You'll see why it's on my list if must haves!

If you missed out, this program makes backing up data fast and really easy - it's the perfect solution for those who shudder at the very thought of performing a backup.

This software creates a compressed file of your entire hard drive (called an "image"). If disaster should strike, you simply go back to your most current image and restore your computer back to the way it was prior to the incident.

Think about it - there are dozens of ways you could lose the data and programs on your hard drive. You could be hit with a virus, have a hard drive crash, experience a power surge, accidentally drop the computer, even have bad program install (this seems to be one of the more common causes of problems). This software really gives you peace of mind when it comes to your data protection.

When disaster strikes (not if, when) this software can have you back up and running in no time. Just imagine what would happen if you had a little disaster right now. How long would it take you to recover your data? To re-install your programs (and find all those serial numbers)? How much productivity and money would you lose?

See my point? This is a very good thing to have!

The price? Well, retail is $69.95, we normally sell it for $34.97, but from now till 02-17-2003 (Monday) your price is only $29.97! And yes, US shipping is still 100% FREE! So, if you haven't already ordered, join the hundreds who have. You'll thank me for it one day :-)

http://www.worldstart.com/store/drive-image-2002.htm

PS - We're starting to run low and I'm not sure I can get it again at this price. Get to the site right now to be sure you get yours!

Computers 101

Q:
What does "DPI" mean?

A:
Digital images are essentially made up of little "dots". We use DPI (Dots Per Inch) as a measure of resolution. Generally speaking, the higher the number, the higher the resolution.

300 DPI is considered (by most of us) to be photo quality. Generally speaking, you won't notice much difference in quality by going higher than 300 DPI. In fact, if an image is being used on the web or for computer screen purposes, then it needs to be 72 DPI, since that's all most computer screens can display anyway.

Have a question for the newsletter? Submit it at the link below:
http://www.worldstart.com/submitquestion.htm

Tip of the Day

What's the "right" size for a picture? Well, that depends on the photo. Most monitors display at 72 dpi (dots per inch). So, if you want the picture to be 5 inches wide (probably about the biggest you would want for an e-mail message), the picture would be 360 pixels wide (5 inches x 72 dpi = 360 pixels).

Pixel is short for "Picture Element" and is the smallest unit of visual information used to build an image. If you have ever zoomed in on an image, Pixels are those little squares that you see. The more pixels in an image, the better the resolution.

So, how do you make the picture the right size? Use your imaging software! Most scanners and digital cameras come with some sort of imaging software that will allow you to resize an image.

Open the picture in your imaging software and resize the image to your desired resolution. You can usually do this via an Image or Edit menu. Your menu style and commands may vary depending on your software.

Usually, you'll get a screen that lets you input the image size in pixels. If there's a checkbox that allows you to constrain proportions, make sure that's checked (this insures that when you change the height or width the picture remains proportional).

That should do it. Since you've changed the picture size, you may want to save it under a different name. Use the Save As command under the File menu of your imaging software.

This comes in handy when you want to place a picture on your desktop or if you send it by email. Now your friends won't wait forever to download a 10 meg picture file that is WAY too big when it could have been 10K and just the right size.

Have an original tip for the newsletter? Submit it below:
http://www.worldstart.com/writers-guidelines/index.htm

Amanda's Cool Site of the Day

The Little Prince

Antoine de Saint-Exupéry first published "Le Petit Prince" in 1943 and since has become one of the most widely read children's stories (and adults love it too).  This is a fascinating story of a little prince who lived among the stars and his journey from planet to planet, each tiny world populated by a single adult.

"And now here is my secret, a very simple secret: It is only with the heart that one can see rightly;what is essential is invisible to the eye."

Join the little prince in 37 languages and don't forget to check out the image gallery of 315 different international covers for this book.

http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Rhodes/1916/index2.html

Do you have a cool, non-commercial site that you want to share?
Send it to Amanda at amanda@worldstart.com