Editing DVR files created by Windows Media Edition
Gary wrote to us and was wondering how to edit files created by the DVR function in Windows Media Edition. This site looks like it will get him pointed in the right directionl
editing
Amazing Photoshop Elements: Toolbox
The 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.
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
Giving Photos a Professional Look
Giving Photos a Professional Look
Have you ever wondered what makes professional photos look so. . . umm. . . professional?
The following tips will help you create photos that look like you know what you are doing!
Taking Better Pictures:
There are several links in the group archives giving tips on composition. Here are some other helpful tips.
Use the color wheel.
Photo Restoration
Digital Photo Restoration
Restoring old photos is one of the coolest things you can do in digital photography. The best part is that anyone can do it. All it takes is a scanner and a nice image editing program.
Important Photo Restoration Tools
There are many several tools that you just can't do without when it comes to restoring photos.
Cloning tool
The Magic of Digital Filters
The Magic of Digital Filters
In the world of film photography, filters are transparent coverings that are placed over a lens to enhance or alter the image.
Digital filters serve the same purpose, but in a much more dynamic and dramatic way.
DIGITAL FILTER: Almost all image editing programs contain filters although they may be called by a different name such as Effects or Adjustments.
New Computer Specs
Computer prices continue to drop and get more powerful. I answer the question, "What should I buy?", many times every week. The answer seems to change about every six months. Today, I’m going to list my advice that should hold for at least six months:
Primary use is Internet, email, small games, and word processing:
- Any processor 512MB of RAM
- Any size hard drive
- Mimimum CDRW Drive
Primary use is as above + digital photography:
- Pentium IV (NOT Celeron) or AMD equivalant
- 1 GB of RAM Built-in card reader 100 GB Hard Drive DVD burner
- Separate video card (not built-in) or ability to add one
Uses are as above + video editing and/or high end games or other processor intensive program:
Save some text editing keystrokes
Use these hints that I notice that computer users forget about when editing text in emails, file names, word processing etc:
- When text is highlighted in blue, simply start typing the text that you want to replace it with…NO NEED to hit the backspace or delete key.
- If you need to delete just a few characters of text and the blinking cursor is in front of the text, use the delete key. If the cursor is behind the text, then use the backspace key. No need to reposition the cursor, just use the delete and backspace key interchangeably.
- If you need to delete a large block of text, use your mouse to highlight it, OR click ONE time at the beginning of the text you want to delete, then scroll to the end of the text, hold down your shift key and click ONE time again. All the text between the two clicks will be highlighted.
- To select all text on a page or email to delete, use the Edit –> Select All function or Ctrl + A
- When filling out web forms, remember that you can push the TAB key on your keyboard to move between information fields (boxes you type in) instead of having to reach for the mouse and click on each box.
Make Disk Cleanup Run Faster
WARNING: This tip involves editing the Registry, so only perform these steps IF you feel comfortable making changes to a part of the computer where one wrong move can bring your whole system down.
Performing these steps will disable the "compress files" part of the Windows Clean Up utility:
- Click Start –> Run
- Type: regedit
- Navigate to and expand the following registry key:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE –> SOFTWARE –> Microsoft –> Windows –> CurrentVersion –> Explorer –> VolumeCaches
Give Picasa a try!
I just put that picture there to get your attention.
I’m not trying to brag, but I know more about digital photography than the average computer user. This is partly due to the fact that I took Photoshop classes in college for about three years.
I love Photoshop and Photoshop Elements, but I can also appreciate that not everyone needs such a powerful program.
Laptops are perfectly adequate computers
One of my customers today just purchased a laptop to compliment her desktop computer. She wasn’t thrilled about the idea of having two computers, but didn’t realize that her new laptop was every bit as capable as her older desktop computer.
She isn’t alone. Many computer users think size equals power. When they look at a svelte laptop and compare it to a large black or beige box, they think it must be missing something. In specific instances (designing the next Golden Gate Bridge or editing the next Oscar winning movie or playing the latest FPS game) laptops will not perform as well as a souped up desktop computer. However for most general computing purposes (Internet, word processing, email, digital photography, etc), laptop computers are perfectly capable.