Announcements

Take Your Digital Photos To The Next Level!

Want an easy way to make your digital photos look great? How about an imaging program that has power to spare? Then you've gotta try Ulead's award winning PhotoImpact 7.

This is the first time I've ever used the full version of this software and WOW, was I missing out! I knew it was a quality piece of software, but I had no idea it was this high caliber. I really underestimated it and I'm really excited to share this little find with you :-) So, here goes.

First off, it's an incredible, really easy to use, photo editor. It includes just about every type of digital imaging tool out there - I know it has everything I can think of, plus a dozen or so really cool tools I've never seen before. I'd get into the details, but you're talking about over 100 tools here! Let's just say you can do everything from cropping and red-eye removal to tweaking histograms and working with tone maps.

Keep in mind that this is designed to compete with Adobe PhotoShop, so it has to include the same type and number of tools (I think PhotoImpact actually has more tools). Don't let that scare you though - it's still really easy to use. In fact, we've found it can be as easy or complex as you want. Kind of a "grow with you" program.

And wait till you see the all the filter effects you can do! This is an area where it really outshines the competition (PhotoShop)! You can add effects like lightening (looks real on a black background), fireworks, lens flares, halos, lasers, selective blur / sharpening, fades, crystals, bubbles, natural effects, painting, magical effects, and more. Over 100 categories and over 1000 different effects! You'll never get board!

One thing I really liked is that lots of the tools show you both "before" and "after" versions of your photo. Saves a lot of time and it's great for experimentation. I had a blast trying out different tools and effects with this.

Once you're done, you can use the included Ulead PhotoImpact Album to keep everything organized. Even this part of the program is loaded with features! It's the most full featured digital album I've ever used - I think I've finally found a way to organize all my digital photos!

PhotoImpact is also fantastic for web graphics and includes a GIF animator (for websites or e-mail), JavaScript effects, easy roll-overs, plus image optimization.

OK, you get the idea. It's an incredible imaging program and I could probably write another 10 pages about it. Instead, I'll tell you the price - Just $18.97 (CD only, help file has documentation) or $22.97 (Box - includes book) with FREE US Shipping! This program generally retails for about $90, so it's a fantastic buy. Check it out:

http://www.worldstart.com/store/ulead-photo-impct-7.htm

PS - Photo software is always a good seller and this is a limited quantity deal. If you don't love it, you can send it back for a refund within 30 days - the only way you lose out is if you don't order fast enough!

No Newsletter Yesterday?

We hope that everyone had a safe and enjoyable Labor Day! Sorry for not getting this newsletter out yesterday. We knew that inboxes would be full and didn't want to add to your workload. Enjoy the newsletter :-)

Follow-up to Last Week's Tips

8/26/03 Start Menu Folders: Murray W. knows another way to move items around in the Programs folder...

"With older systems, right-click the Start button and select Open. You now have an open pane with all the items of the Start menu / Progams showing. Create new folders and drag / drop all you like. With XP, do the same twice. Once on "All Users" and once on "Open". Actually, if you have multiple users, you may have to do it more often."

8/27/03 Overclocking: Charlie N. wanted to clear up a few things, "Overclocking does not risk your data any more than running MS Windows does normally. Overclocking is not about the hard drives, which store your data, but about your RAM and CPU, which PROCESS your data. In the event of a CPU/RAM meltdown, your data will be intact. You can extract the data from the drive by putting it into a new computer or replacing the component which failed (and if it failed, you should probably stop overclocking or at least ramp it down), which both amount to approximately the same thing. Once the drive is again in a working machine, the data should be accessible as normal."

8/28/03 Web Pictures in Email: P. Ryan let us know that with Internet Explorer you can right-click the graphic on a web page and select "copy", then paste it into an HTML Email message in Outlook Express. It automatically inserts the web address as the source.

Computers 101

Q:
My friend sent me an email attachment but I could not open it.

A:
First off—before you open any attachment, make sure you know who sent it. Even if you do know the sender, if you aren't expecting it, you might want to send a quick note to your friend and make sure they really sent it—especially .pps files since they can contain viruses. Also, do not open any attachments with .exe, .scr or .pif file extensions.

Nothing worse than getting a file from a friend and you don't have the right program to open it. Here are some common file extensions and the programs needed to open:

.doc - Microsoft Word
.pps - MS PowerPoint
.xls - MS Excel worksheet
.wpd - Corel WordPerfect
.pdf - Adobe Acrobat
.jpg - JPEG graphic file
.zip - Zip (compressed) file
.sit - Stuffit (compressed) file
.scr - Windows Screen Saver (DO NOT OPEN)
.pif - Program Information File (DO NOT OPEN)

The good news is that most software developers offer freeware viewers that will allow you to see, but not alter, content. NOTE: These addresses are long, so you may need to copy and paste into your browser if it breaks into more than one line.

.doc - Microsoft Word Viewer
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=0e56d944-38f6-4eb5-aca6-8bd280d5e6b1&DisplayLang=en

.pps - PowerPoint Viewer
http://microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=D1649C22-B51F-4910-93FC-4CF2832D3342&displaylang=en

.xls - Excel Spreadsheet Viewer
http://office.microsoft.com/downloads/2000/xlviewer.aspx

.wpd - Wordperfect
Corel no longer offers a viewer

.pdf - Acrobat Reader
http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html

.jpg - You can view these in your web browser or most imaging software.

.scr - USE CAUTION if you receive a screen saver via email. They can contain worms or viruses.

.pif - DO NOT OPEN! This is most likely a virus. Clicking it will run a program or code that can mess up your computer.

As for compressed files (.zip & .sit), you can Stuffit! No, I'm not telling you off...Stuffit Expander is a great program that will open most compressed files.
http://www.stuffit.com/expander/

There are also a million freeware/shareware programs for opening .zip files such as WinZip. In addition, with Windows XP you can save any zipped file to your desktop or a folder and access the files without unzipping.

So, next time you get an attached file in your email but don't have the program to open it, just grab a viewer.

~ David

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

Tip of the Day

It's All About Shortcuts...

Have you ever needed to create a desktop shortcut to a program? Maybe you had one and it disappeared (somehow) or perhaps the install program simply didn't put an icon on the desktop. Who knows, maybe the one you have on your desktop has been clicked so many times it's just worn out and needs to be replaced with a spiffy new model (just kidding).

There are three common ways to create desktop shortcuts—the quick way, the easy way and the techy way.

Quick Way:

Most programs have a shortcut under the Start Menu, Programs (it's rare to find one that doesn't). Head to the program shortcut (the same way you would if you were launching it). Instead of left clicking it to run, right-click and scroll down to "Send To" then "Desktop". This will automatically create a ashortcut on your desktop.

Easy Way:

With this method you will also go to Start Menu, Programs and head over to the program shortcut. Instead of left clicking it to run, right-click and drag it to the desktop. Once you're hovering over the desktop, release the mouse button and a little menu will pop up.

Choose the "copy here" option and you'll have a shiny new shortcut, just waiting to be clicked.

Quick note—I know that some of you may be wondering why you don't just left-click and drag to the desktop. Although you can, that action will re-locate the icon, not copy it. It will no longer be available under your Start Menu, Programs. Hence the right-click draggin' trick.

Techy Way:

This way is a little more difficult, but it does come in handy if for some reason you don't have a shortcut to a particular program in your Start menu, Programs area. As an added bonus, you can use this method to create shortcuts to documents, pictures, etc. For the steps below, we'll assume you're trying to create a shortcut to an actual program.

1. Right-click the Desktop and select New, Shortcut from the resulting menu.

2. A little wizard will pop up, asking you for the location of the file. You're looking for the "executable" file, basically the one that makes the program run. You'll probably want to head to the "C:\Program Files\" directory of your hard drive. If your C: drive isn't shown when you hit the Browse button, find where "My Computer" is listed and double-click it.

Under "Program Files", you'll see lots of folders, look for the one your program is in.

3. After you locate the program's executable file, double-click it and hit Next on the little wizard. You'll be asked to name the shortcut. You can use the default name, but I would recommend putting in something more descriptive (usually the name is a little cryptic, like "Prgam.exe" or something).

4. Hit Finish and you're all done.

Oh, as an alternative to using the Wizard, you can also locate the program's "exe" file using My Computer or Explorer, then right-click and drag it to the desktop. Select "Make shortcuts here" from the resulting menu and it will create a shortcut. If you don't like the default name Windows gives it, right-click and select Rename from the resulting menu.

There ya go—you're a shortcut makin' expert now :-)

~ Steve

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

Writing.com

Writing.com is a site for both readers and writers. If you like to read you can find all sorts of stories on this site to read, and enjoy. For those of you who like to write, this is one of the best resource sites you can ever find.

The first thing you should do is go to the "Noticing Newbies" section on their front page, and introduce yourself. Then you can take the virtual tour which is also in that section. Feel free to chat in their forums and make friends.

For those of you who are writers but don't want to go through the hassle of getting an agent, and then waiting for someone to like your stuff enough to publish it, you can check out their self-publish section. There you will find links that take you to places where you can self-publish or find information on how to do it.

Get over ther write now!

http://www.writing.com/

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