Posts Tagged: meeting

Riding Shotgun with Rick — 5 Comments
25
Jun 07

Castellini on Computers is Morphing…for the better

As I look back over the past few years, I am very proud of the progress Adam and I have put into the site. My goal from day 1 for our web site and show, and Adam adopted the goal when he joined me nearly 7 years ago, was to provide the easiest to understand and most practical computer advice on the web, radio, or anywhere. I believe that we have succeeded in meeting that goal and continue to improve upon that goal every single day.

After months of consideration, we agreed that we can do even MORE for our web site visitors, show listeners, and computer users yet to visit the site if we focus our energies on further enriching the site's content and offering new ways to interact with us and the site.

We cannot express our gratitude enough to all the wonderful listeners and web visitors who helped nurture the show and supported the show since the beginning. We still thoroughly enjoy doing the show and helping computer users, but we hope to be able to reach even MORE users by bringing our show to our web site and hopefully create a grass roots movement that spreads the news about our easy-to-understand and practical content to all corners of the universe. 

Leaving the radio air waves is not an end for us, but rather an exciting new beginning for us to offer MORE of what you like about our show and site. Spread the news to all your friends, family, and colleagues that Rick and Adam, Castellini on Computers, and HelpMeRick.com is alive and well and will continue to offer the best computer advice found anywhere via any medium.

Computer User Group — No Comments
11
Apr 07

Understanding FIle Management – April 2007

Click here to get the PowerPoint handout for today's meeting.

Tips & Tricks — 2 Comments
23
Jan 07

Getting familiar with your digital camera

Although we recently had a class on getting to know your digital camera, many in the group have brand new cameras this time.

Since our meeting this month will focus a lot on the individual cameras that people bring to the meeting most of our notes will be posted after the meeting.

Here are a few items I expect to touch on.

You have a camera, now what?

Once you have the digital camera, you will need a few extras.

  • A 1 gigabyte memory card
  • At least one extra change of batteries
  • A nice padded camera case
  • A memory card reader

Software -

  • Picasa – my personal choice for organizing and backing up pictures (I expect to do a lot of show and tell of this at the meeting this month).
  • Adobe Photoshop Elements – the best consumer program there is for manipulating, editing and fixing pictures.

What about a photo printer?

Personally, I have not used a photo printer for at least three years. Photo printers are too expensive when compared to photo labs and online services such as Shutterfly , Club Photo and Snapfish .

One big reason to use a photo service rather than inkjet or die sublimation printers is proven longevity. Photos processed by photo services are actual photos. While Canon, Epson and HP all claim to produce prints that last as long as actual photos, none of these printers have been around long enough to prove their claims.

Picture Taking Tips

Allow the camera to focus and meter – Don't just press the shutter down quickly. Press the shutter down gently about half way to allow the camera to focus and meter. Squeeze the button down the rest of the way to take the picture.

Save batteries – There are three ways to burn down your batteries quickly:

Over using your zoom lens – the zoom lens is powered by a motor. Too much zooming will drain batteries.

Over using your LCD screen – Many camera makers have done away with the optical view finder (hole that lets you look though the camera) but if your camera has one you should use it. Using the LCD screen runs the batteries down faster than any other feature.

Connecting the camera to the computer – Use a memory reader instead of connecting the camera to the computer. Memory readers use no camera battery and the transfer process goes much faster.

Basic Camera Settings

Digital cameras can be a little overwhelming with all of their little buttons, icons and settings, but there are a few things you should know to help you get started.

Shoot on Auto or Program to start with – Today's cameras to a great job of thinking for you. You don't need to understand exposure, metering or any of those other fancy photo terms to get great shots most of the time.

Set your resolution on its highest settings – Lower resolution means more pictures, but it also means poorer pictures. Get a larger memory card rather than lowering the quality of your photos.

Get to know the custom settings – Once you are familiar with how to take pictures using the AUTO or program settings, your camera likely has custom modes that are designed for specific types of shots such as night, scenery, portraits, and macro. These are usually indicated by little symbols on the camera.

 

Riding Shotgun with Adam — No Comments
5
Jan 07

Off to CES

Well, I'm off to CES and for those who are wondering, I did get a hair cut. Watch for videos and photos from CES and you will be able to see my new conservative look.

Over the coming days I have interviews and meetings setup with Kensington, SanDisk, and a few companies I have never heard of. I also will be attending press parties sponsored by companies like Monster Cables, Sony, and CNET. It all promises to be a good time.

Make sure to check this site daily for updates on what I am up to at CES 2007.

Checkout the official CES website for more details on the event.  

Riding Shotgun with Adam — No Comments
21
Dec 06

Heading to CES!

We have had a number of our listeners and folks who attend our various seminars ask us about our trip to CES this year. Until recently we were kind of up in the air as to whether we were going.

Well, I am happy to say that it's official that I am going. Rick will be staying home to take care of his goats and run the user group meeting in January, but I will be taking Andy, my brother and a writer for the show, with me to work the show.

As we have done in past years, expect daily blogs updates and we may even attempt some video this year if we can get it all working smoothly.

Keep checking back. We will be at the show Jan. 6-10. 

Computer User Group — No Comments
10
Oct 06

Windows Vista Preview Demonstration – October 2006

Windows Vista LogoAfter almost three years of delays, Microsoft is slated to release Windows Vista in early 2007. At the time of this writing, no definite release date has been set. In today's group meetings, I demonstrated what Windows Vista looks like, feels like and acts like on a computer system with a Pentium 4 – 2.8 Ghz processor, 768 mb of RAM (sharing 64 with the on-board video), and a 80 GB hard drive. We looked at many of the new features of Vista including:

  • Picture management
  • Internet Explorer 7 (available for XP users in November 2006)
  • Microsoft Gadgets (sticky note application, RSS reader, slide show, clock, and more)
  • Microsoft's new games and updated old ones (Vista will include a Mahjong and chess game)
  • Newly designed Start menu
  • New Search function
  • Parental Controls
  • Speech Recognition
  • New "Sleep" mode for shutting down computer and conserving energy
  • Not part of Vista, but we also looked at the new Microsoft Office 2007…still in Beta.
  • New Security and networking features

Of all these features, NONE function as well as third party applications available now for Windows XP.

We also talked about the requirements to run Windows Vista. (Here's what Microsoft recommends ). First off, there will be FIVE (5) versions of Windows Vista . Really. Why? I have no idea…just one way for Microsoft to muddy the waters and charge varying amounts for extra features. The first link is to Microsoft's site describing the five versions. This link will take you to a site comparing what is different about the versions.

After using Vista with the above computer configuration, I would suggest the following minimum requirements (with what I think would be better in parenthesis):

  • 1 gigabtye of RAM (2 or more GB)
  • 100 GB Hard drive (200 GB or greater)
  • High speed Internet (dial-up is not even worth having using Vista)
  • 128 mb dedicated video card (256 mb or greater card)
  • 2.4 Ghz Pentium 4 or Athlon processor — Do NOT try using a Celeron or Opteron processor (3.0 ghz or greater processor and preferably a dual core processor)
Riding Shotgun with Rick — No Comments
27
Sep 06

An 8 hour download…

This afternoon I started downloading the beta version of Microsoft's upcoming Windows Vista. I pay for a 1.5mb DSL connection. At that speed, the download is estimated to take about 7 or so hours. Cable users with a 6mb connection would be able to download it in about 2 hours. Dial up users aren't even allowed to try…it would take almost six days on a dial-up connection. I could have ordered the DVD installation disk, but why wait three weeks when I can get it today. 

We have bashed the upcoming upgrade to Windows repeatedly here at the site and on the show. I plan on putting the OS (operating system) to the test by installing it on an older computer that I have. For those of you in Grand Junction who attend our monthly User Group, I hope to have the new computer system up and running by the October meeting to demonstrate for the group.

The machine I'm going to use is a 2.2 ghz Pentium with 768mb of RAM and an 80gb hard drive. Microsoft recommends:

A Windows Vista Capable PC includes at least:

    * A modern processor (at least 800MHz).
    * 512 MB of system memory.
    * A graphics processor that is DirectX 9 capable.

A Windows Vista Premium Ready PC includes at least:

    * 1 GHz 32-bit (x86) or 64-bit (x64) processor.
    * 1 GB of system memory.
    * Support for DirectX 9 graphics with a WDDM driver, 128 MB of graphics memory (minimum)2, Pixel Shader 2.0 and 32 bits per pixel.
    * 40 GB of hard drive capacity with 15 GB free space.
    * DVD-ROM Drive.
    * Audio output capability.
    * Internet access capability.

Stay tuned for my beta testing of Microsoft's long over due and under achieving OS. 

Riding Shotgun with Adam — No Comments
20
Sep 06

Las Vegas, here I come!

Today I signed up for the annual Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. The event takes place every January and this will be my fourth year to go.

Rick and I spend the week meeting with important people in the electronics industry, looking at the latest gadgets, lining up interviews for future shows and riding rollercoasters.

I am already making my list of the companies with new products that I am anxious to see.

The short list in no particular order:

Kensington (Computer and laptop excessories galore!)

SanDisk (The best MP3 players and portable storage devices)

Optoma (I love their projectors!!!)

Microsoft (Find out if Vista really is another Windows ME)

Verbatim (Gotta see what's new in recordable media and portable backup)

Canon (I don't have any favorite camera companies – but this one is at the top of that list)

 

 

DP Software — 2 Comments
22
Aug 06

Amazing Photoshop Elements: Toolbox

Photoshop Elements ToolboxThe Amazing Photoshop Elements Toolbox

There are so many wonderful things you can do with Photoshop Elements.

You will find many of our tips in our notes from previous meetings.

Photoshop Elements Part I

Photoshop Elements Part II

Photoshop Elements Part III

This time we will spend most of our time discussing the Magical Photoshop Elements Toolbox.

There are three kinds of tools in the Toolbox:

Hover your mouse over any area in the toolbox to see its name. Hold your left mouse button down over any tool with a little diagonal triangle at the bottom to see hidden tools with similar functions.

Selecting: These tools create “Marching Ants” that indicate that an area has been selected. Selection tools include the Marquee Tool, Lasso Tool, Magic Wand and Brush Selection Tool These are all found in the top 5th of the Toolbox.

Once and area is selected, any changes you make will only apply to the selected area.

Painting: These tools “paint” effects by holding down the left mouse button while moving the mouse in the area you want to change. Painting tools include the Paintbrush, Pencil, Erase, Red Eye, Blur, Sharpen, Sponge, Smear, and Clone Stamp tools.

All painting tools allow you to change the area that you are working on by adjusting the brush size and you can apply affects by making changes in the Options bar (tool bar under the file menu that changes when you select a tool).

Custom Tools: These are tools that don’t fit into the Selecting or Painting Catagory. Most of these tools are for artistic purposes and are not used to improve your photo.

  • Gradient Tool - Select this tool and then draw a line and it will fill the entire area with a graduated color scheme. You can manipulate the Gradient tool in the Options bar. Change the option to something other than normal to get a variety of effects such as a sunset or haze.
  • Text Tool - Select this tool to type text. Use the Options bar to change fonts, font sizes and other text effects.
  • Fill Tool – This tool fills the entire selected area with your foreground color.
  • Eye Dropper – Selects the foreground color. ALT+Click selects the background color.
  • Custom Shape tool - creates a custom shape such as a heart or star.
Riding Shotgun with Rick — No Comments
10
Aug 06

Unplugged and loving it!

When I talk about wanting to live in the 1800's, people are always surprised. A tech guy, an expert wanting to live in a time when the Pony Express was high tech? It's true I tell you. As much as I love technology, I also see how much time it can eat up as well. On our old fashioned road trip vacation, I took my laptop (used it twice for a total of about fifteen minutes), my GPS (used it once), my beloved Treo (used once, although I checked for signal multiple times), my MP3 player (never used it), and our portable DVD player (I watched one movie on it, but my son used it in the car while we drove).

I intended to use the computer more and submit Shotguns for our site, but wi-fi was extremely hard to find in the places we stayed and visited. And when I did find it, it was either for a fee or required me to hike to the hot spot…I didn't need it that bad. In fact, I actually enjoyed being "unplugged" for nearly 11 days and didn't miss Google, voice mail, SMS, email or any of it. I crave information and love the Internet for information gathering, but I also thoroughly enjoy exploring new places, meeting new people, and driving new roads (Northern Nevada is UGLY). I think that if I had the means, I would have no problem separating from technology and seeing the world in my Eurovan with my family. But since I don't have the means, I will continue to gather information on the web, SMS my friends, check email periodically, and continue to marvel at what technology continues to roll out every day.

Oh, one piece of technology that I did take and use extensively was my digital camera (Canon S2IS)…I took more than 900 photos of Oregon and Northern California…none of desolate northern Nevada.

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