Feb 2009 - WINdows usERS Computer user group

February 2009
Inside
CES Security Overview ................2
CES Gaming Overview ................6
Crabby Demystifies Word Terms .12
Smart Computing Tips ................16
When To Turn Off Computers.....18
Your Next PC Will Be Green........18
Security and Deleting Files .........20
Rootkits Security Problems .........22
Hauppauge HD PVR ....................24
Leave Windows
Behind - but bring your
apps with you
Fountain Valley Branch Library
17635 Los Alamos,
Fountain Valley
meetings on 3rd Saturday
10:00 am to 12:30 pm
organizations, but
everybody has a
few key Windows
applications they can’t
do without. Wine
can be a useful tool
for running legacy
applications without
having to purchase
Windows for every
computer. His talk
helped show how you
can leave Windows
behind -- and still
use key windows
applications.
Using Ubuntu as his
Future Meeting Dates
March 21
April 21
May 16
Membership
Annual membership is $20 for
indivduals: $5 for each additional
family members.
February meeting had Dan Kegel
talking about Wine.
Powerful trends today are making
non-Windows operating systems
attractive to many people and
operating system he showed how
he had many applications already
installed. Using Wine Linux can
now add many Windows apps. He
showed this by installing and using
Photoshop.
Board of Directors
President
Steve Dela
stevede(at)aol.com
Vice-President
Terry Currier
winnersug(at)aol.com
Secretary
Gerry Bretts
gbretts(at)juno.com
Treasurer
Max Lockie
mlockie(at)pobox.com
Board Members
Ethel Kamber
ethel(at)kamber.fastmail.fm
Ken Kamber
kenkamber(at)mail.com
Louise McCain
LMcEnterprises(at)ol.com
Ed Koran
edk246(at)aol.com
Charles Schreiber
cschreib(at)csulb.edu
Robin Theron
rtheron(at)gmail.com
Editor
editor(at)windowsusers.org
WINNERS, contributors and
editors of Notepad do not assume
liability for dameages arising from
the publication or non-publication
of any advertisement, article, editorial, or other item in this newsletter.
All opionions express are those of
the individual authors only and do
not necessarily represent the opionions of the WINNERS, its Board of
Directors, the WINNERS Notepad,
or its editors.
WINNERS a computer association,
is a volunteer organization providing a forum for sharing information and experiences related to
Windows-based software, and
hardware, encouraging ethical use
of computers and software, offering
service to our communities.
CES 2009 Security
By Terry Currier
CyberPatrol
www.cyberpatrol.com
Announced Threat Detector, a new,
free online assessment tool that will
help parents review their children’s
online surfing habits. While most
parents believe their kids are
behaving
appropriately
online and
are safe,
71% of teens
admit they
do not tell
their parents
what they
do online.
Threat
Detector can help parents find out
where their kids have been online.
CyberPatrol’s IM ChatGard
feature within its Parental Controls
7.7 product has been enhanced
to increase the protection it
offers against cyberbullying.
A comprehensive list of key
cyberbullying terms have been
added to existing inappropriate
terms. ChatGard blocks
objectionable words in instant
messaging (IM), whether they
are sent or received. ChatGard
can also be set to block the user’s
home address, phone number, and
other information that would be
inappropriate for children to share
via IM.
D-Link www.dlink.com
With support for 802.3af Power
over Ethernet (PoE) and a slim-line
housing, the DCS-1110 is D-Link’s
most versatile camera yet. PoE
support, when used with a
compatible PoE power injector or
PoE switch, eliminates the need for
mounting the camera near a
power supply. With 0.5 Lux light
sensitivity, this camera is capable
of capturing video in rooms with
minimal lighting, making it ideal
for use at night. When enclosed in
an optional outdoor housing, the
DCS-1110 makes an excellent
home security camera.
You can access and control your
camera using Internet Explorer. As
you watch and listen remotely to
video and sound obtained, you can
record directly from the web
browser to a local hard drive,
making. By signing up with one of
the many free Dynamic DNS
services available on the web, you
can assign an easy-to-remember
web address to the camera.
Comes with D-ViewCam 2.0
surveillance software to enhance
the monitoring and management.
Manage and monitor up to four
compatible cameras simultaneously
with this program. You can also
use IP View SE to archive video
straight to the hard drive, playback
video, set up motion detection
to trigger video/audio recording
and send e-mail alerts. The DCS1110 is configurable to record to a
network-attached storage (NAS)
device, eliminating the need to set
up a dedicated computer for storing
recorded video.
FLIR www.flir.com
The VSR-6 is a low-cost, high
performance home security thermal
camera, and the D-19, an indoor
thermal dome camera. When many
people think of security cameras
they can use around the house,
they think of cheap, lowlight
cameras that produce grainy,
pixilated images during the day
and shapeless, indistinct blobs at
night.
Thermal security cameras are
different. With FLIR Systems,
homeowners can have crystal clear imagery that
lets them know if someone is on their property.
Thermal security cameras let you see what your eyes
can’t: invisible heat radiation emitted by all objects
regardless of lighting conditions. They can easily
detect intruders and other potential hazards to the
security of your home and family day and night, in
good weather and bad. Available for under $3,000.
content so kids can easily find the best resources on
the web.
KidZui is free but also offers a membership for just
$4.95/month or $49.95/year that includes enhanced
online reporting for parents, Homework Helper, and
fun extras for kids.
InternetSafety.com www.InternetSafety.com
The first Internet filtering software for the Apple
iPhone has arrived with InternetSafety.com’s new Safe
Eyes® Mobile, giving parents a tool to prevent their
children from retrieving
Web content that should be
off-limits to younger users.
This new browser for the
iPhone, iPhone 3G and
KidZui www.kidzui.com
iPod Touch blocks millions
The Internet for Kids KidZui, announced a major
of pages of inappropriate
expansion incorporating new kid-safe social
online content while giving
networking features, a Homework Helper, and teacherusers full access to the rest
approved websites, games, pictures and videos.
of the Web, eliminating the
Designed specifically for kids age 3-12, include a
need to turn off the iPhone’s
live mini-feed that allows kids to connect and stay
highly acclaimed mobile
in touch with their
browsing feature to avoid
friends, express
exposing children to the
their feelings and
unsavory side of the Internet. A demo is available at
opinions, and share
www.safeeyes.com/iphonedemo.
cool content that
It works by checking requested websites against a
they discover online. massive blacklist of potentially objectionable Web
All friend requests
addresses that is updated on a daily basis. It prevents
are subject to mutual access to pages in the pornography, nudity, sex and
parent approval.
tasteless/gross categories by default. Parents can
When kids download KidZui, they start by creating
also configure the software to filter sites in 31 other
their own Zui (online avatar) which they can
categories as well as by URL. In contrast, the iPhone
customize by changing its skin color, hair color and
itself can control Internet browsing only by blocking
style, eye color and shape, clothing and accessories.
Web access entirely.
Kids then will have a profile page where they can
Safe Eyes Mobile has no noticeable effect on iPhone
see their events, tags and visitors. On the new profile
performance. In addition, the solution cannot be
page, kids can pick their status and mood from a drop
overridden by children because it is controlled from
down menu that spans a wide range of emotions and
the Safe Eyes website with password-protected setup.
activities from “energetic” to “moody” or “by the
Per-phone pricing will include automatic daily updates
pool” to “doing homework.”
of the product’s website blacklist. See video of CES
Homework Helper is a teacher-designed system
booth.
that gives kids access to thousands of Web pages,
pictures and videos matched by subject to every
Lok8u www.lok8u.com
grade level from Kindergarten through eighth grade.
Nu.M8 is a GPS locator device specifically designed
Kids choose their grade level from the menu bar and
to be worn by children. Launched by UK location
then click on the subject category they are studying
services company, the locator is concealed within a
(Native American history, solar system, fractions,
child’s digital watch. It does not rely upon the child to
homophones). Each subject brings related topics and
be responsible enough to keep their locator with them
in a bag
or pocket.
Instead,
when it is
securely
fastened to
a child’s
wrist it stays
there unless
deactivated
by a parent.
If, in the
worst case
scenario if
the Nu.M8 is forcibly removed from the child’s wrist
an alert is sent immediately to a designated mobile
phone and/or email address with the child’s location to
give parents an early warning of potential danger.
In the United Kingdom 140,000 children are reported
missing to the authorities every year. In the USA
800,000 children were similarly reported missing in
2006 alone .
As far as the child is concerned Nu.M8 is a digital
watch. For parents it has been designed with
simplicity and ease of use in mind. It is accessible
at home, abroad or on holiday from a computer or
mobile phone.
To locate your child, simply text “wru” from your
mobile phone to Nu.M8 or click “where r you” on the
Lok8u
secure
portal.
Your
child’s
location
is then
presented
as an
icon on
Google
maps
and/or
the street address and postcode is displayed.
In addition, parents can set unique “safe zones“ in
which their child can safely play. This function is
activated simply by texting “safe…” followed by a
number, which represents the meter radius for your
child’s safe area. As long as your child remains
in this area no alerts will be sent and you can still
communicate with the device using the “wru”
function. However, if they stray a priority alert will be
sent to the parent’s mobile phone and computer. Other
features include:
• Water resistant
• Battery sufficient for 7 days in standby
• Dermatologic ally tested to ensure safe
wearing
• Accurate to within 10 feet
Available in USA in late spring 2009 US retail price to
be determined, plus a monthly subscription charge.
Symantec – Norton products www.symantec.com
Their latest all in one Norton 360 version 2.0 Premier
Edition protects your computer against online threats,
and keep it working at peak
performance. Features:
• Enhanced performance Provides virus, spyware
and firewall protection
without sacrificing
performance with fast
scan and browse speeds.
• Identity Safe Protects your personal
information and your identity when you
buy, bank, and browse online by blocking
fraudulent Web sites and verifying trusted
ones. Securely manages user names and
passwords for you.
• Backup and restore - Automatically detects and
backs up your critical files. It also backs up
photos, music, and documents with automated
backup. Includes 10 GB of secured online
storage.
• Network monitoring - Lets you view your
wireless network and each device connected to
it.
• Support - Provides one-click access to expert
support right from your Norton product or use
email, live chat, or phone.
• Optional antispam and parental controls via the
Norton™ Add-on Pack
Norton Online Help www.norton.com/online
If you’re not sure how to protect your children
online, help is here. Everything you need to protect
your family from Internet dangers and inappropriate
content. They even help you save your kids from
passing along confidential information online. See
video of CES booth.
Schlage www.schlage.com
With interface software compatible with every
major cell phone software platform on the market
today, Schlage LiNK is
an intelligent residential
security platform utilizing
wireless communication
protocols. Schlage LiNK
deadbolts and locks provide
keyless entry through 4-digit
access codes that can be
entered, activated, deleted
or disabled on the lock’s
11-digit push button keypad,
or via the Schlage LiNK web
portal or mobile application.
This gives homeowners the freedom of never having
to carry or circulate multiple sets of keys. This is
the first Z-Wave-enabled locks and work seamlessly
with more than 300 other Z-Wave-enabled home
automation devices including products ranging from
lighting and temperature to pool and spa controls.
By fusing the use of the new IP Cameras with their
Schlage LiNK door locks, homeowners will have
the ability to visually confirm their children, family
members, friends, houseguests and even service
providers before granting them entry.
Sunbelt Software www.sunbeltsoftware.com
Their latest new security solution is VIPRE™
Antivirus + Antispyware. VIPRE is a completely new
product that combines antivirus, antispyware, anti-
rootkit and other technologies into a seamless, tightlyintegrated product. At it’s core is an antivirus and
antispyware engine that merges the detection of all
types of malware into a single, efficient, and powerful
system.
User surveys show the biggest frustration with
existing anti-malware solutions is bloat and high
resource usage. Designed with the latest programming
and architectural methodologies, it runs seamlessly
without significantly impairing system performance.
VIPRE’s all-new anti-rootkit technology finds and
disables malicious hidden processes, threats, modules,
services, files, Alternate Data Streams (ADS), or
registry keys on a user’s system. Removing rootkits
is supplemented by VIPRE’s FirstScan™, which runs
at the system’s boot time. FirstScan bypasses the
Windows operating system, to directly scan certain
locations of the hard drive for malware, removing
infections where found.
It’s Active Protection works inside the Windows
kernel (the core of the operating
system), watching for malware and stopping it before
it has a chance to execute on a user’s system. Active
Protection incorporates three methods to protect the
user: signature matching, comparing a file for an exact
match against VIPRE’s definition database; heuristic
analysis, which looks at the internal characteristics of
a file to determine the likelihood that it is malware;
and behavioral analysis, observing the actual actions
of a program to determine if it is possibly malware.
There is direct support for Outlook, Outlook Express
and Windows Mail; and support for any email
program that uses POP3 and SMTP (such as
Thunderbird, IncrediMail, and Eudora) against
viruses.
A 15-day fully functioning trial version is available on
Sunbelt Software’s website. A single user annual
subscription is $29.95, and 3-user subscription is
$39.95. All PCs in a single household can be protected
with a single site license for a subscription price of
$49.95.
TRENDnet www.trendnet.com
First-to-Market Product Demonstration:
7” Wireless Internet Camera and Photo Monitor (TVM7) The TV-M7 allows you to view real-time wireless
streaming Internet camera video without a computer.
Monitor up to 4 cameras
at once or scan between
10 cameras manually.
First-to-Market Product
Launch:
7” Wireless Internet
Camera Monitor Kit (TVM7110WK)
Monitor your home or business with TRENDnet’s
7” Wireless Internet Camera Monitor Kit. The TVM7110WK is a complete kit which provides you with
all the tools to start your IP Camera security network.
Zoombak www.zoombak.com
Zoombak GPS Recovery™, is an car aftermarket
solution that pinpoints the exact location of stolen
vehicles and gives that information directly to the
police, significantly increasing the chances of quick
and intact recovery. Activated when a vehicle is
reported stolen. The Zoombak team works directly
with the nearest police department, providing realtime location information about the vehicle’s location
down to the specific street address
or intersection.
No monthly fee is required to
maintain the program. Cover
is provided in all 50 states and
100 of the top U.S. metropolitan
markets, and is backed by a
$2,500 total loss benefit.
Zoombak added state-of-theart online mapping technology
to its interactive Web site through the integration of
Microsoft Virtual Earth. With it users can visualize the
location of their Zoombak A-GPS locator with streetlevel and aerial views.
Small and portable it can be used to keep track of
many things including bicycles, and even pets. Users
can setup custom safety zones around virtually any
location including homes, parks, malls and schools.
When the device crosses one of the virtual boundaries,
a text message or email alert promptly notifies users
of the location of the device. Starting at an affordable
price of $199 plus a low cost monthly service plan.
CES 2009 Gaming
By Terry Currier
Boomchair www.boomchair.com
They have many game chairs
one of them is the Recon.
This chair features a builtin 5.1 surround sound
system. The inspiration
came from gamers at E for
All who described wanting
a true surround sound chair.
The Recon will definitely
satisfy this market demand;
it has 3 sets of independent
speakers that blast the user
from all directions, not to mention a huge subwoofer
and vibration motors. This chair is packed with top
of the line features like vibration, optional wireless
connectivity, and ergonomic design for all day
gaming.
Creative www.creative.com
The Creative Tournament Gaming Headset HS1100 with proprietary noise cancellation technology
is the first product to incorporate Silencer. It is a
breakthrough in voice technology that allows the
user’s voice to be clearly heard by other gamers they
are communicating with by eliminating ambient
background noise to provide improved voice fidelity.
Their HS-1100 includes 40mm neodymium plus
proprietary X-Fi audio technology, for improved audio
playback. X-Fi CMSS®-3D technology creates virtual
surround sound in games so you hear your opponents
in their precise location even when you can’t see them.
See video of their CES booth. Priced at US$130, the
HS-1100 also features:
• VoiceFX which offers up to 18 selectable
voice-morph personas that range from Aliens
to Orc, for more engaging in-game voice
communication
• Ultra-comfortable ear pads for extended
gaming sessions
• An in-line volume adjustment with microphone
mute control
• A detachable microphone boom allowing the
headset to be used as regular headphones in
non-gaming scenarios
• Foldable ear cups offer convenient storage
Elf Island www.elfisland.com
The first tween virtual world specifically created to
instill positive social
and environmental
values into the
world’s future
stewards. Elf Island
turns online gaming
efforts into tangible
offline results
through nonprofit
partnerships and
Mirrored Gaming.
Past and present
partners include Plant-It 2020, WildAid and Polar
Bears International.
Through its “Mirrored Gaming,” kids play an online
GoodQuest™ game, and in the process learn about a
related non-profit’s project, which is then reflected in
real world support for the nonprofit. Kids can see the
effect they are making by helping others in need and
understand why it is important to get involved. Habitat
for Humanity International is the first nonprofit to
benefit from Elf Island’s Mirrored Gaming model.
Other GoodQuests will include:
• WildAid: Protecting virtual sharks helps
protect real sharks in the Galapagos Islands.
• Polar Bears International: Tracking virtual
polar bears and polar ice caps helps protect
real polar bears and their environments in the
Arctic.
• Plant-It 2020: Planting virtual trees helps plant
real trees in Niger.
HP www.hp.com
Shipping its first-generation Gaming Keyboard with
voodooDNA this spring. The ideal companion to
HP’s Gaming Mouse with voodooDNA, the new
keyboard is designed for increased speed, accuracy
and flexibility. The keyboard has backlit illumination
with WASD cluster lighting and anti-ghosting. It has
fully programmable keys with macro capability and
three unique profiles. The top of the keyboard also is
coated with non-slip rubber finish and media keys are
touch access. The keyboard is expected to be available
in February for $80.
iZ3D www.iz3d.com
They developed this unique technology to create
an adjustable viewing environment that delivers
3D without the
eyestrain, spatial
disorientation,
or headaches
commonly
associated
with other 3D
approaches. Most
PC games released in the
last five years, including
many of the most popular
multiplayer online, first
person shooter, and roleplaying games, have already
been designed for 3D
displays. iZ3D’s optimized
driver unlocks the third (depth) dimension of these
3D-ready games to allow gamers to finally play them
as they were written – in 3D. Featured a hands on
demonstration of three
of it’s upcoming product
prototypes for 2009. The
new prototypes include:
• New iZ3D
Immersion Series
that gives users
an incredible
total 3D effect.
It is a Triple
iZ3D monitor setup with a flight or racing
game simulator that really puts players in the
experience.
• 26” iZ3D Prototype
• 22” Widescreen Console Game Compatible
Prototype - Now play many popular Xbox® or
PS3® games in 3D on the new iZ3D 22-inch
game compatible monitor. The 22-inch monitor
price will be $399 and will feature:
o 22-inch widescreen switchable 3D/2D
monitor
o iZ3D output and anaglyph output
drivers
o 3 pairs of passive linear polarized
glasses
o All power and video cables
o Quick start guide
o 1 Year warranty
o Technical Support
o Free membership in iZ3D’s upcoming
3D gaming league
o Available in six special edition custompainted models created by Smooth
Creations. The custom painted monitor
price has also been reduced to $549.
o 1680 x 1050 resolution
o Up to 170-degree 3D viewing angle
o 5ms response time
o 700:1 contrast ratio
o 16.7-million colors
o 300 nits
JAKKS www.jakks.com
Their lineup offers low price points with all ’09
products priced at under $50.
TV Games Motion
• With the reactive motion controller, the
gamers’ moves control the action on screen as
characters replicate their movements on the
TV screen when they jump, wave, and move
around. The
controller
plugs into
the A/V
jacks of any
standard TV
and contains
multiple
games
in each
controller,
and no
additional
consoles or
cartridges are needed. TV Games Motion titles
will include Star Wars, Toy Story, SpongeBob
SquarePants, Spider-Man, Disney Fairies,
Power Rangers and more. Ages 5+, Suggested
Retail Price: $30.
TV Games Sing Scene
• Sing to the hottest licensed Pop, Rock and
Country hits built right inside the microphone
– and with the voice tracking feature, players
can compete to hit the right notes to rock out
and win. No additional consoles or cartridges
are needed. Ages 8+, Suggested Retail Price:
$30.
Jump Camp Fitness Video Game
• Includes over 15 sports activities, fitness and
casual games. Families can work up a sweat as
they jump, run, lunge and move on the fitness
mat with their actions replicated right on the
TV screen. The game tracks calories burned
and rewards the hardest workouts. Ages 8+,
Suggested Retail Price: $40.
Big Buck Hunter Pro TV Games
• In addition to its authentic arcade action and
pump action gun styling, it’s the only shooting
game in the toy aisle to work on all standard
and flat screen televisions. Ages 8+, Suggested
Retail Price: $40.
Other New Plug It In & Play TV Games
• New titles for 2009 include Retro Arcade
featuring Pac-Man, Star Wars, Spider-Man,
Power Rangers and The Price Is Right. Ages
5+, Suggested Retail Price: $20. For more
information on current TV Games products,
visit www.tvgames.com.
JumpStart www.jumpstart.com
From a old
company with
roots in educating
kids (Knowledge
Adventure)
JumpStart is an
adventure-based 3D virtual world that is superpersonalized, wildly imaginative and really fun, but
don’t let that fool you - it also teaches math, reading,
and critical thinking skills so kids get a real jump start
in life. Monthly cost is $8, while full year is $75. See
video of their CES booth. Some of the things they are
planning include:
• GhostTown - Grab where the kids will collect
gold and silver in a western style race
• StoryLand - an adventure based game for 3-5
year olds complete with five virtual worlds.
• Arcade - boardwalk style games
• Tiki Falls - climb around ancient ruins and
hunt for rainbows and treasure
• Movie Theater - pick from over 30 movies to
watch
KidsCom.com www.kidscom.com
On the site,
kids explore in
the Idea Seeker
Universe – where
virtual worlds are
challenged by issues similar to those we face on Earth.
• Kids battle the Darkness of Dumbness and
his evil Clouds of Chaos – characters such as
Angry Cloud, Gluttony Cloud and Jealousy
Cloud that confuse people and alter their
behavior.
• Kids are guided in their adventures by their
Plant Baby virtual pets – each representing
a positive character trait such as Patient,
Persistence and Gratitude that help them
overcome the Clouds and be successful.
• Kids learn, interact play and problem solve
online – which prepares them to face offline
challenges in the real world.
• The site currently incorporates learning
episodes which revolve around global climate
change.
Logitech www.logitech.com
The G-series line of gaming peripherals from
Logitech® gives gamers what they want: complete
control.
Logitech G19 Keyboard for Gaming
• The first Logitech keyboard to feature a color
GamePanel LCD. The tiltable, 320-by-240pixel display provides valuable in-game
information for over sixty games, including
World of Warcraft®. In addition to in game
information, the screen can show VoIP
communication data, clock, CPU load, or other
non-gaming specific items such as pictures
or videos. And you can easily switch among
types of information – without ever leaving
your game. It offers 12 fully programmable
G-keys with three macros per key, giving you
36 time-saving commands per game. It can
disable the Windows® key so you don’t get
accidentally locked out of your game. The
keyboard features two high-speed USB 2.0
ports. Suggested retail price is $200.
The Logitech G35 Surround Sound Headset
• The first Logitech headset to offer 7.1 surround
sound. Powered by second-generation Dolby®
Headphone technology, the G35 headset
simulates the complex acoustics of a listening
room, creating a detailed, outside-the-head
sound field. Plus, with its proprietary earenclosing design, the G35 headset greatly
reduces ambient noise, while an adjustable,
noise-canceling microphone focuses on
your voice and reduces background noise.
Additional on-ear audio controls provide
quick access to volume, microphone mute
and surround sound adjustments. Comes with
three swappable headbands – thin, thick and
contoured designs – so you can select the style
that fits you best. Suggested retail price is
$130.
The Logitech G9x LaserMouse
• Providing precision at any hand speed (up to
150 inches
per second).
Featuring
on-the-fly
adjustable
dpi from 200
to 5000 dpi
making it
easy to go
from pixelprecise
targeting to
lightningfast maneuvers without pausing the action. It
includes two interchangeable, snap-on grips
that let you choose a fit for your playing style.
Also features onboard memory – program up
to five ready-to-play profiles. Suggested retail
price is $100.
The Logitech G13 advanced gameboard
• The G13 gameboard offers a contoured design
that complements the natural shape of your
hand and fingers. So you don’t have to take
your eyes off the screen, the concave keys
along the home row make it easy to locate
buttons by touch. And for a tactical advantage,
the G13 gameboard includes 87 buttons, so
you can set up custom button-profiles for each
one of your favorite games, and a 160-by-43pixel GamePanel™ LCD that shows live game
stats. Available now for a suggested retail price
of $80 (U.S.).
Logitech Wireless Guitar, Premiere Edition
• Features
authentic
materials –
including a
wood neck,
rosewood
fingerboard,
metal frets,
even a locking
whammy
bar – and is
for gamers who want to flex their star power.
Virtually silent button noise through the use
of rubber dome technology, 2.4 GHz wireless
technology gives you control up to 30 feet
from the console. Price: $250
Mattel www.mattel.com
Transforming the company’s online strategy from
brand Web site platform to interactive programming
and content provider. The aggressive initiative is
called the Mattel Digital Network. It will be user and
requires an ongoing commitment to keeping both the
content and each target audience - from kids to tweens
and teens to adults and collectors – in mind when
building their online experience (Network).
• Barbie® Digital Nail Printer – As the first
product unveiled under the Barbie® brand’s
new “Beautronics”
line – allows you to
print custom designs
directly onto your
nails; it takes only a
few seconds and the
designs last for days!
You can select from
1000s of intricate
designs, and even
upload your own
photos to create a
custom manicure
perfect for any occasion. The Digital Nail
Printer uses thermal inkjet technology and
specially-formulated cosmetic grade ink to
print directly on the nail surface in full color. A
built-in color video camera lets you model nail
designs before printing.
• Mindflex™ - Have you ever dreamed of
moving an object with the power of your
mind? The new mental acuity game makes
that dream a reality. A lightweight headset
containing sensors for the forehead and
earlobes measures your brainwave activity.
When you focus your concentration, a small
foam ball will rise on a gentle stream of air.
Relax your thoughts and the ball will descend.
By using a combination of physical and mental
coordination, you must then guide the ball
through a customizable obstacle course – the
various obstacles can be repositioned into
many different configurations.
• UCreate Games - puts mash-up creativity and
game creation into the hands of kids. Using
your computer screen and the Ucreate Games
tablet, kids can build and customize unique
games using hand drawn lines and a library
of fun, interactive game elements, including:
drawing templates, photos, sound effects,
and recognizable game components. Ucreate
Games uses a unique, photographic interface
that automatically recognizes game activities
and captures the user’s creations. Games
includes: drawing table, folding camera,
USB connection, software, dry erase drawing
supplies, and game template booklet.
• UCreate Music - an easy-to-use digital music
making system that allows kids to become
the ultimate DJ. Kids and tweens can express
themselves through creating their own songs
and re-mixes with a fun and innovative
interface. They can record samples, mix and
match loops and create their own music tracks
using an assortment of rifts, instruments,
runs and backbeats. Plus, kids can share their
creations with friends and update and explore
new content on the Ucreate Music website. For
added entertainment, kids can add in their own
voice and sound effects or distortions to their
track.
• Xtractaurs™ - provides kids with the tools to
build the ultimate dinosaur online. Begins with
the Starter Kit, which comes complete with
a Trex action figure, software and Extraction
Gun. Connect the Extraction Gun to your Mac
or PC and then insert into the dinosaur figure
to “extract DNA.” Once extracted, the DNA
will unlock an action-packed online gaming
experience. As kids collect new dinosaur
figures, they will continue to extract dinosaur
DNA, unlocking new games and special
attacks. A player can boost the power of his
figure in five arcade-style games, collect new
DNA in dino action games, and ultimately take
on the mighty Megavores™ in battle.
• U.B. Funkeys™ Game Factory Tool - A
PC-based interactive game where vinyl toy
collecting meets casual gaming. The virtual
world continues to expand as players collect
figures and interact through in-game activities
and challenges.
• FAMPS™ (Feelings, Attitudes, Moods and
Personalities) - Feelings, Attitudes, Moods
and Personalities - allow girls to reflect
their various emotions through their virtual
space. Each figure creates a unique emotional
makeover so girls can express themselves in
all kinds of fun new ways via their desktop,
e-mail, widgets and IM.
PBS www.pbskids.org
You can go to the pbs.org website and it has games
and other things to help keep your kids entertained.
They also have another section - PBS KIDS PLAY!
It is setup to help teach essential preschool and
kindergarten skills and to report to parents on each
child’s progress in those skills. The curriculum is
divided into seven core areas:
1. Creativity
2. Healthy Development
3. Language Development
4. Literacy
5. Mathematics
6. Science
7. Social Studies
Interactive projects encourage creative play. These
projects allow children to exercise their imagination
and engage in experimental use of objects. Projects
in PLAY! can cover anything from art, music, and
drama to engineering and physics. Kids can save their
projects to a personal bulletin board and work on them
over the course of many days - even weeks or months.
See video of their CES booth.
Pogo.com www.pogo.com
Go to here to play
over 100 free
games. Puzzle
Games
• Word
Games
• Card Games
• Board Games
• Freebie Casino
• Arcade & Sports
• Club Pogo Games
Re-Mission www.re-mission.net
Developed by HopeLab it is
a game which helps kids with
cancer understand what they
are up against. It gives them
a sense of power and control.
In the game a nanobot named
Roxxi travels through the
bodies of fictional cancer and
cancer treatments. The game
is free to young people with
cancer. See video of their CES booth. They say that
those given Re-Mission:
• Adhered to their prescribed treatments more
consistently
• Showed faster acquisition of cancer knowledge
• Showed faster increase in self-efficacy
Sakar International www.sakar.com
• Ergonomically designed PS3 controller has
illuminated buttons and no wires. Never get
•
•
•
•
tangled up again. 2.4GHz
Wireless Controller: PS3180
The 3 In 1 Kit for Wii
comes with a bat, racket,
and putter that connect to
your Wii-mote to enhance
the realism of playing Wii
sports. 3 In 1 Kit - Wii
Video Game Accessories: WII-400
Play real life high stakes black jack in the
palm of your hand. High Stakes Las Vegas
Blackjack: MAX13721
Texas Hold EM LCD Game: MAX10721-6
Portable Sudoku device let’s you play
anywhere. Choose from over 16,500 puzzles
and four levels of difficulty with this
handy electronic Sudoku game. Test your
performance with the built-in-timer. Sudoku
for Dummies: DUM-120
The Crabby Office Lady
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Crabby demystifies Word terms The Crabby Office Lady
Welcome to Crabby’s summer “demystifying”
series, where I’ll define some of the most common
terms that are apparently vexing you, like pebbles
in your summer sandals.
Applies to
Microsoft Office Word 2007
Toshiba www.toshiba.com
With the X20 Gaming Mouse the goal is total game
domination. It has a Rapid Fire switching button,
from which gamers are able to shoot one to four
bullets at a time. An Avago laser engine also delivers
extreme accuracy,
lightning-fast response
and mirror-smooth
tracking, and the
advanced ergonomic
design offers comfort
during extreme
competition. Available
now $60 MSRP.
The new Gaming
Backpack fits any laptop
with up to an 18-inch display, including the 17-inch
Toshiba Qosmio X305—as well as add-on accessories
and games with plenty of room to spare. Available
now for $100 MSRP.
Prices state are rounded up (I hate the 99 cent trick).
When a younger, less harried version of me started
writing this column a little more than five years ago,
I did a few columns about “demystifying” certain
terms — computer terms, e-mail terms, e-mail
protocols, and a couple of others. These were —
and still are — very popular and well-received
columns, because I think that they fill a need that isn’t
necessarily filled anywhere else on the Office Online
site: They define some of the more basic terms that
all of us writers, template creators, editors, and copy
editors assume you already know. (And we all know
what happens when we “assume” anything — I won’t
get into that here.)
Sure, we often define the more complicated words and
terms for you, but I do know — from the feedback
you give me, often a tad crabby yourselves — that you
sometimes get stuck on a word and can’t really go any
further with the help you were trying get. That’s when
tempers flare, keyboards get broken, and innocent
mice are treated like pesky rodents.
So for the next few weeks — throughout the summer,
really — I’m going to try to soothe everyone (and save
some hardware and a few relatively harmless rodents
at the same time). I plan to write 10 columns, all about
demystifying some of the more general terms and
words that put people in a pickle. Of course, some of
you may find these columns way too basic. If so, read
another column, take a training course, catch a demo,
or just get back to what you were doing. But for the
rest of you dear readers, I’m hoping that this series
will serve as a sort of touchstone for you. (I’m sure
you’ll let me know …)
Ready, set … define those terms!
This week, Word is up to bat. Here are 10 of the
most requested terms calling for attention from your
feedback. Some of them are pure definitions, while
others explain the difference between two or more
related things (you’ll see what I mean).
Again, some of you know these like the back of your
hand (although why you spend so long staring at the
back of your hand, I have no idea), while others are
gently relieved to now know that those brown spots
are of course not age spots; they’re sun kisses.
Headers versus titles
• A header is a little identifier that runs across
the top part of your document. In a book, it
may be the name of the chapter. A header
provides quick information about a document
in a predictable format. Headers are flexible,
too: You can have different ones on odd and
even pages; have a different one on just the
first page of the document; and even use
section breaks (which I’ll get to in a minute) to
create distinct document sections with different
headers.
• Now a title is the actual title of your document
— what you’re calling it, and what you’re
typing up there in great big letters for all to
see. Normally it isn’t something that appears
on every page (unless it’s one of those books
that uses a header to give the title and then
the chapter name, too … but I’m just trying to
confuse you).
Footers versus footnotes
• A footer is like the header except that it runs
across the bottom part of your document.
(Head … foot … get it?) As with the header,
it is flexible in the same ways. You can use
footers for page numbering, date and time, just
about anything you want to appear on every
page (or just the first page, or on every other
page, or whatever). How you apply headers
and footers depends on which version of
Microsoft Office Word you’re using. Check
Office Online and locate your version’s Help
site.
• A footnote is also some text at the bottom of
the page, but it’s not something that you can
program to happen automatically, like a footer.
A footnote refers to something that you’ve
written within the body of the text on that
same page. Maybe it adds a little bit more of
an explanation, or names the author of a quote
you used. Again, it’s more than just a footer,
which adds very little space at the bottom of
your page.
The Chicago Manual of Style (a bible of sorts
for many writers and editors, including me) says
something with which I wholeheartedly agree: “A
page of type containing more footnote material
than text not only is unpleasant to the eye but may
discourage all but the most determined reader.” (And
if I were using footnotes in this column, I’d use one
here, to cite what page I got this from and from what
edition of the CMS.) It’s a little explanation of sorts
or perhaps a reference to a quotation. And of course,
a footnote should not be confused with an endnote,
which appears at the end of the entire document and
is usually very wordy and something no one reads
anyway.
NOTE My copy editor took great offense when she
read this and wants to say a little something here.
Copy editor, take it away:
NOTE Thanks, C.O.L. (First, strike through “took
great offense” and replace with “raised an eyebrow.”)
Actually, I’m interested in what Crabby might hear
from you folks who use footnotes and/or endnotes in
your work. People do read footnotes and endnotes,
especially if they’re reading a book or article about
a subject they’re passionately interested in and they
want to make sure the author isn’t making stuff up.
When reading a nonfiction book, I keep a bookmark
in the endnotes so I can flip back quickly to see the
endnotes for the page I’m on … Now Crabby, back to
you …
Formatting marks
• I’m covering this one because my Uncle Phil
called up one day with the strangest problem
(or so it seemed). “Honey, there are these little
marks running all around my sentences, and I
never put them there. They’re like two straight
lines with a ‘what’re you think you’re doing?’
hand on the hip.” Hmm. Gremlins? Improbable
(but not impossible, as anyone who’s had
a computer knows). After a few minutes of
thinking, I finally figured out that Uncle Phil
had hit the Show formatting marks button
somehow. I told him about that button, but
he didn’t know what formatting marks were
(nor did he really care, but he was quite polite
about it). And why should he know? He isn’t a
writer or an editor, and most people probably
wouldn’t know a formatting mark from a
grammar font kit (which, as it turns out, is an
anagram for “formatting mark”). Anyway, we
got it turned off and he went back to whatever
it was he was doing (which is usually sending
out e-mail messages without a Subject line.
Uncle Phil … if I’ve told you once about using
the Subject line, I’ve told you a hundred times
… ).
•
•
A formatting mark can be a paragraph mark (it appears
at the end of a paragraph)
A nonbreaking space (a raised circle between
words)
A text-wrapping
break (a symbol that indicates that text is wrapping
below an object, such as a picture)
•
•
A manual line break (appears at the end of a line
when you press SHIFT+ENTER)
There are many, many more. If you want to see
what they look like, in any version of Word you can
choose to show or hide your formatting marks. Just
check Office Online for each version’s explanation.
Views
There are a few different ways to look at (in other
words, view) the document you’re working on in
Word. Some views are available only in Word 2007,
some came along only in Word 2003, and some are
as old as dirt. Get on the View menu (or the Ribbon,
which is part of the Microsoft Office Fluent user
interface in Word 2007) in your version of Word to see
what’s available to you. I’ll bet you have a favorite.
• Normal view Normal view shows text formatting
•
but simplifies the layout of the page so that you
can type and edit quickly.
Print Layout view You can see how your
document will look once it’s printed. You can see
it in a variety of sizes — 100%, 50%, 25%, and so
on.
Reading Layout view This view is designed
to make reading documents on the screen more
comfortable. It removes many of the distracting
elements in a Word document such as toolbars and
rulers. This helps you concentrate on the content
only. However, note that Reading Layout doesn’t
necessarily show you how the document will look
once it’s printed. Text may appear larger and page
breaks may be off, too. It’s just a good view for
easy reading. It’s like the Barcalounger of views.
Full Screen Reading view (new for Word
2007) This was previously called Reading Layout
view (in Word 2003). It’s similar to this view
except that it gives you the added bonus of being
able to see the document as it would appear on the
printed page. So it’s really a Reading/Print Layout
view. (And if I ruled the world, I’d call it just that.)
Document Map This is a pane that runs vertically
down the left edge of a document and displays an
outline of the document’s headings. It’s a great
way to move quickly through a document while
keeping track of where you are. You can use the
Document Map when you’re in Reading Layout
view to jump to different sections of the document.
Outline view This view shows the headings of a
document indented to represent their level in the
document’s structure. You can also use Outline
view to work with master documents. When you
want to look at the structure of a document and
to move, copy, and reorganize text by dragging
headings, this is the view to use. (And I know you
learned, way back in English class, what an outline
is and why we use one. See, Mr. Fine? Even
cheerleaders concentrate on other things besides
new cheers.)
Web Layout view When you’re creating a Web
page in Word or a document that will be viewed on
the screen, work in this view.
Page breaks and section breaks
A page break is where, well, one page ends and
another begins. If you need a page to end artificially,
that is, before the text has reached the bottom margin,
you can insert a page break and start a new page. (This
is great for you students who want your term papers to
appear longer but you never heard that from me.)
Now section breaks are a bit different. They can
divide your document into sections and then format
each section the way you want. For example, with a
Continuous type of section break, the top section of a
page in your document can be a big block of text with
a few different headings, while the bottom half of the
page can be two columns of information. Stay with
me now. You can even do a Next page section break,
which adds a section break and starts the new section
on a new page; you can use an Odd page or Even
page break, which starts a new section on the next
odd-numbered or even-numbered page.
Themes
People seem to get very confused about themes. A
theme is simply a set of unified design elements and
color schemes. It makes designing anything very
easy. When you apply a theme to a document (or to
a presentation or a Web page, for that matter), the
following elements are customized with that particular
theme’s design: fonts, font colors, background colors,
body text and heading sizes (I know you know what
a heading is), horizontal lines, links (not-yet-clicked
links, already-clicked links, in-the-process-of-beingclicked links), table border colors, and all level of lists
(bulleted, numbered, and so on). Why go through and
make all those design decisions yourself when we’ve
given you a theme park of themes? Why indeed …
Bookmarks
No, it’s not a little piece of leather or laminated paper
that you stick inside your book to know at what page
you left off. (Well, actually it is that, but not in this
case.) In Word, it is sort of like a regular bookmark in
the way that it identifies a place in your document that
you mark for future use. I like to use bookmarks when
creating a big term paper. For each chapter I write,
I assign a bookmark to it: Unbelievable Chapter 1,
Remarkable Chapter 2, Invigorating Chapter 3, and so
on. Then, when I’m somewhere in the document and
I want to be invigorated all over again, I can go to the
Bookmark dialog box, pick the bookmark for Chapter
3 that I created, and hop to it. (Of course, this is a
completely fictitious account of how I use bookmarks
because I finished my term paper writing long ago
and never plan to return … But weird — I now sort of
write term papers for a living. How did that happen?)
Default
No, this is not a tennis term. (And no, I don’t know
that because I’m a tennis player. I am not a tennis
player. When I was 12, I traded baby-sitting a tennis
instructor’s kid for tennis lessons. One day the little
brat I was baby-sitting ran into the house with the
garden hose on full blast. I chased him out and into the
cul-de-sac … where he was promptly hit by a car and
set in a body cast for five months. Needless to say, I
never learned to play tennis. It has, shall we say, bad
connotations for me.)
But I digress …
Default simply means what’s already been set up.
When you open a Word document the first time after
you’ve installed Word, the font that shows up is the
default font. The margins are set by default, certain
toolbars are on by default. The great thing about
default is that you do not have to accept it. Go ahead!
Customize away! Bring the hose into the house! Say
goodbye to default! Say goodbye to tennis lessons!
Join the swim team instead!
File extension
A file extension is simply the little letters, preceded by
a period (or “dot”), that are at the end of a file name.
These seemingly insignificant parts of your document
are actually quite important (and significant) — they
tell us what sort of document it is — namely its
format — and if we have access to it. (And as anyone
knows who accidentally renamed a file extension,
changing these few little letters can have dreadful
results.)
For example, a Word 2007 document has the extension
.docx, which tells us that only Word 2007 programs
can open it. The extension .doc means that this
document was created and saved so that Word 97-2007
can open it (.doc tries to be everyone’s friend and grew
up to be a politician). The extension .dotx is a Word
2007 template, while .dot (also known as dot-dot) is
a Word 97-2003 template. Now, .dotm is a macroenabled template, and you’d better be careful who
you got it from. Other examples of file extensions (not
Word-related but just thrown in here as a bonus: .jpeg,
.gif, and .png (image file extensions); .mp3, .wav, and
.wmp (music file extensions); and finally, .416 (you’d
better have filed for a tax extension).
Add-in
We like add-ins — they make life more interesting,
they add new functionality. They’re downloads that
you can choose to add (or not) after you’ve already
installed your program. Sometimes they’ve been
created by the people who already created the original
programs but who wanted to have even more fun
with you. I like to think of add-ins as accessories;
you know, things you can’t live without: a Birkin bag
(right — as if I’d know a Birkin bag if it emptied its
contents onto my head); a stint at Lindsay Lohan’s
rehab center (you know, just for the 4-star food); a pair
of elastic pants at Thanksgiving (now that I know).
An example of an add-in for Word is the
International Character toolbar, which lets you
insert international characters (you know, like umlauts
and funky Vietnamese accents) in 26 languages! Who
doesn’t need that, I ask you? Another example is the
Stock Actions for the Research Task Pane add-in,
which allows you to insert stock quote information
from the MSN Money Stock Quotes service into
Microsoft Office documents and spreadsheets. Who
needs a Birkin bag when you can have that?
And there you have it: 10 terms that may (or may
not) have been vexing you. Now I hope you can go
about your day and not get caught like a deer in the
headlights when you’re trying to maneuver your way
across that highway of knowledge.
“In the end, we will remember not the words of
our enemies, but the silence of our friends. “ — Dr.
Martin Luther King, Jr.
About the author
Annik Stahl, the Crabby Office Lady columnist, takes
all of your complaints, compliments, and knee-jerk
reactions to heart.
Tips from Smart Computing
Blocky Text On LCD – LCDs (liquid-crystal displays) are great alternatives to CRT (cathode-ray tube)
monitors in many ways, but they do make text look
“computerized.” To make the on-screen text easier to
read, enable Microsoft’s ClearType, a feature that’s
bundled with WinXP. If you want to use the basic version, which works fine in most cases, right-click the
Desktop, click Properties, choose the Appearance tab,
and click Effects. Select the checkbox next to Use The
Following Method To Smooth Edges Of Screen Fonts
and then select ClearType from the drop-down menu.
If you want total control, use the online configuration
utility at www.microsoft.com/typography/cleartype.
Get Around A Blocked Back Button – Sometimes you
may click the Back button only to find yourself staring at the same site you were trying to leave behind.
The problem isn’t the browser’s Back button but the
site’s coding. A Web developer may have coded a page
either to open in its own separate window or to reload
each time a visitor clicks the Back button. You can
work around these coding tactics by closing the new
window and returning to the original browser window
or by right-clicking the Back button and selecting the
page you want to access from the pop-up list.
What is Phishing – Phishing (short for password harvesting fishing) is an online scam that attempts to trick
or threaten unsuspecting users into sharing private
information that miscreants later use for identity theft.
The scam often starts with a mass email to millions of
random email addresses, often in the guise of a major
service or banking company. The message then tells
readers to visit a Web site and complete a form or face
some consequence (such as account cancellation). The
Web site itself is usually a very good replica of the
site that the major service or banking company actually uses. Phishing emails differ in their specifics, but
they all share a few common traits. First, they appear
to come from a legitimate company, using the same
graphics you’d expect to see at that company’s site.
Second, they try to create a sense of urgency, telling
recipients that their accounts are about to be suspended or are otherwise experiencing major problems.
Third, these emails contain forms or links to forms
where users are supposed to enter personal information, such as an account password or a credit card
number. Once you enter the data in the form and click
Submit, it is sent to the scammer’s computer and he
can use it to steal from you.
What To Do If Your Monitor Won’t Turn On – If your
monitor doesn't turn on, check the power first. Assuming the CPU itself is working (can you hear the computer running or see lights on the PC’s face?), a totally
dead screen usually indicates a power problem related
to the monitor. The power issue may lie within the
computer or monitor, but before looking for a complicated fix, consider all the external cables and switches.
It’s quite possible that you or someone else accidentally bumped a cable loose.
Should You Reinstall Windows?– Reinstalling Windows isn’t necessarily a cure-all for problems caused
by flaky software, malfunctioning hardware, or malware infections. In fact, the repair method could even
introduce more problems, and the clean method won’t
fix problems specific to a particular application or
hardware device. However, if thorough troubleshooting reveals that problems cannot be fixed without reinstalling Windows, it’s usually worth the time, effort,
and risk to repair or reinstall Windows.
Recycle Bin: It's easy to delete files by dragging them
into the Recycle Bin. At least it's easy if you can see
the Recycle Bin. But if the Recycle Bin is hidden
beneath one or more open windows, there's actually an
easy way to deal with this situation. Drag the files you
want to delete over a blank section of the Taskbar and
wait for a moment. Windows automatically minimizes
all of the open windows for you, which makes it easy
to finish dragging the files to the suddenly visible
Recycle Bin.
Create A Toolbar For My Computer: If you frequently
access your drives or DUN (dial-up networking)
connections through the My Computer icon on your
Desktop (Windows 98/Me/2000/XP), you can simplify things and create a My Computer toolbar. Click
the My Computer icon and drag it to the top or either
side of your Desktop. Release the mouse button, and
Windows creates a toolbar that displays the contents
of My Computer. You can drag the edges of the toolbar to resize it. You can also edit toolbar options by
right-clicking the toolbar and selecting an option from
the context menu that appears. This tip works for any
folder on your Desktop, and you can combine toolbars
by dragging one on top of another.
Tables In Word: Tools such as Microsoft Word 2003
offer a variety of standard formats that can be applied
to tables. Just click anywhere in your table and then
click Table and Table AutoFormat. A formatting dialog box will appear, so you can select from a variety
of established format styles. Examples are shown
for each format, so you can experiment with different looks until you find the one that suits the situation
best. When you decide on a format, click Apply to
reformat you table. If you make a mistake or change
your mind, click Undo and repeat this process to apply
another table format.
Garbage In, Garbage Out: It’s great to take pictures
at low resolution because you can cram more photos
in your camera’s memory. But with all things PC, the
GIGO (garbage in, garbage out) rule applies. Lowresolution photos are ideal for posting to Web sites or
emailing, but not for printing, unless you’re willing to
keep the size down to roughly passport-photo size or
smaller. Let’s say your printer works best at 200 pixels per inch. For a good 4- x 6-inch photo you need
800 x 1200 pixels; double that for an 8- x 10-inch.
Low resolution for today’s cameras usually means 640
x 480 pixels, not nearly enough for anything about a
3- x 5-inch picture. Shoot at higher resolutions for
larger photos.
Slow Computer?: If your computer is running slowly,
you don’t necessarily need to reinstall your operating
system, make sure that you don’t have unwanted programs hogging your memory. Do thorough spyware
and antivirus scans, and then uninstall any unnecessary programs. Check your system tray. Are there a
lot of programs running? Disable anything that you
don’t actually need, then see if you system performance improves. If all these fixes don’t help, and it’s
been at least a year since you got your computer or
you reinstalled the OS, then your PC might be a good
candidate for reinstalling the OS.
When to Turn Off Personal
Computers
U.S. Department of Energy - Energy Efficiency and
Renewable Energy. A Consumer’s Guide to Energy
Efficiency and Renewable Energy
www.energy.gov/forconsumers.htm
If you’re wondering when you should turn off your
personal computer for energy savings, here are some
general guidelines to help you make that decision.
Though there is a small surge in energy when a
computer starts up, this small amount of energy is still
less than the energy used when a computer is running
for long periods of time. For energy savings and
convenience, consider turning off
• the monitor if you aren’t going to use your PC for
more than 20 minutes
• both the CPU and monitor if you’re not going to
use your PC for more than 2 hours.
Make sure your monitors, printers, and other
accessories are on a power strip/surge protector. When
this equipment is not in use for extended periods, turn
off the switch on the power strip to prevent them from
drawing power even when shut off. If you don’t use a
power strip, unplug extra equipment when it’s not in
use.
Most PCs reach the end of their “useful” life due
to advances in technology long before the effects
of being switched on and off multiple times have a
negative impact on their
service life. The less time a PC is on, the longer it
will “last.” PCs also produce heat, so turning them off
reduces building cooling loads. For cost effectiveness,
you also need to
consider how much your time is worth. If it takes a
long time to shut down the computer and then restart
it later, the value of your time will probably be much
greater than the value of the amount of electricity you
will save by turning off the computer.
Power-Down or Sleep Mode Features
Many PCs available today come with a power-down
or sleep mode feature for the CPU and monitor.
ENERGY STAR® computers power down to a sleep
mode that consume 15 Watts or less power, which is
around 70% less electricity than a computer without
power management features. ENERGY STAR
monitors have the capability to power
down into two successive “sleep” modes. In the first,
the monitor energy consumption is less than or equal
to 15 Watts, and in the second, power consumption
reduces to 8
Watts, which is less than 10% of its operating power
consumption.
Make sure you have the power-down feature set up
on your PC through your operating system software.
This has to be done by you, otherwise the PC will
not power down. If your PC and monitor do not have
power-down features, and even if they do, follow the
guidelines below about when to turn the CPU and
monitor off.
Note: Screen savers are not energy savers. Using a
screen saver may in fact use more energy than not
using one and the power-down feature may not work
if you have a screen saver activated. In fact, modern
LCD color monitors do not need screen savers at all.
End of Article - End of Article - End of Article - End of Article
End of Article - End of Article
Your Next Computer Will Be Green
By Marjie Tucker, Editor, Mountain Computer User
Group, GA
www.mcug.org
mcug(at)dnet.net
Obtained from APCUG with the author’s permission
for publication by APCUG member groups.
With Europe leading the way, the computer industry
is decidedly becoming “green.” The Waste Electrical
and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) and the Restriction
of Hazardous Substances (ROHS) directives went into
effect earlier this year. These two directives state that
certain electrical and electronic equipment must cut
down on hazardous
materials such as lead, mercury, and cadmium. They
also give customers the right to return their equipment
free of charge. Companies have several years to fully
implement these directives, but the leaders have
already started to make changes.
Dell, for example, is advertising Energy Smart
workstations and notebooks that can reduce power
consumption by as much as 78%. The Energy Smart
configuration uses a default power setting that is
designed to reduce consumption and energy costs right
out of the box. In addition, the power supply, fan, and
motherboard use significantly less energy to maintain
cool internal temperatures.
HP is using 80 Plus power supplies to lower energy
bills and AMD technology that reduces heat output
and PC power consumption. In addition, they have
already introduced an HP recycling program where
you can trade-in or donate the products.
Government Initiatives Many U.S. government
agencies have implemented standards and regulations
to encourage green computing. The Environmental
Protection Agency
launched an Energy Star program in 1992 and
strengthened its requirements in 2006. In 2003 the
California State Senate enacted the Electronic Waste
Recycling Act and in 2007 President Bush issued
Executive Order 13423 requiring all federal agencies
to use the Electronic Products Environmental
Assessment Tool when purchasing computer systems.
In addition, a global consortium called The Green Grid
was founded in 2007 by AMD, APC, Dell, HP, IBM,
Intel, Microsoft, Rackable Systems, SprayCool, Sun
and VMware.
Another initiative formed by a group of Globalminded IT executives, the Green Computing Impact
Organization (GCIO), was created to be an active
participant in transforming the IT community from an
environmental liability to an Earth conscious example
of responsibility. GCIO is a nonprofit organization
that is based on environmental audit programs for
consumers and small business homes with respect
to general energy-efficiency programs (including
lighting, heating, insulation, etc.). GCIO’s mission is
to educate and assist enterprise technology users in
the design of environmentally aware and responsible
information system operations. They help consumers
become more environmentally responsible by reducing
energy consumption and electronic waste in an effort
to protect the Earth.
GCIO is sponsoring educational programs across
the country and participating in a Green Computing
Summit that will be held in Washington, DC on May
20th. The summit will address how public sector
IT managers, procurement officials, and program
managers public sector professionals can transform
their IT and data center operations into more
environmentally conscious yet efficient solutions.
This conference will attract senior government IT
professionals and their industry partners tasked with
helping agencies become greener in the coming
years. Attendees will represent federal, state and
local governments, public policy organizations and
suppliers to government. You can read more about this
event at
www.e-gov.com/EventOverview.aspx?Event=SGCS08
.
Features of Green Computing
Power management is the most popular method. The
operating system of the computer can be set to directly
control the power saving aspects of the hardware. It
can automatically turn off the monitor or hard drive
after a period of inactivity. Or, the entire system
may hibernate, turning off most of the components
such as even allow the user to manually adjust the
voltages supplied to the CPU to reduce the electricity
consumption and the amount of heat that is produced.
As of July of 2007, all new Energy Star certified
desktops must have a power supply that is at least 80%
efficient.
Other features include using motherboard video output
instead of a video card, hard disks that consume
less power, flash based solid state drives that require
fewer write cycles, and lower energy monitors.
And, manufacturers of networking equipment are
developing switches and routers that reduce energy
costs.
Recycling Materials
Obsolete computers can be reused for charities, nonprofit organizations, and developing countries. Parts
from really old systems can be recycled through some
recycling centers. Some recycling charges can be
passed back to the manufacturers.
Recycling this equipment keeps the lead, mercury, and
chromium out of our landfills. In addition, computer
supplies such as cartridges, paper, and batteries can be
easily
recycled.
How Can We Work Greener?
Visit the website for Climate Savers Smart Computing
at sww.climatesaverscomputing.org to view a three
step program to go green. Here are the basic steps that
they suggest:
Step One - Turn on Power Management. Since the
average desktop PC wastes nearly 50% of the energy
it consumes as heat, it makes sense to use the power
management features that are built into Windows
XP and Vista. The benefits? You will reduce your
electricity bills and your energy footprint will be
lowered as you reduce your greenhouse gas emissions.
The Climate Savers organization predicts that the
power management features on your computer can
save nearly have a ton of CO2 and more than $60 a
year in energy costs.
Step Two - Buy an energy efficient computer. Energy
Star, the program designed by the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency, specifies the standards that
equipment and appliances must meet to wear the
Energy Star badge. You can visit their website at www.
energystar.org for specifics. Basically an Energy Star
compliant PC uses 15
to 25 percent less energy. This program is expected to
save U.S. consumers and
businesses more than $1.8 billion in energy costs over
the next five years and prevent
greenhouse gas emission equal to 2.7 million vehicles.
Step Three – Unplug from phantom power. As long as
your computer is plugged in
it still uses electricity, even while it is turned off or in
standby mode. A computer that is
turned off, but still plugged in, can use up to 10 watts.
The Climate Savers estimate that
you can reduce your electricity bills by as much as
10% by unplugging your appliances
and electronics when they’re not being used.
This article has been provided to APCUG by the
author solely for publication by APCUG member
groups. All other uses require the permission of the
author (see e-mail address above).
End of Article - End of Article - End of Article - End of Article
End of Article - End of Article
Security and Deleting Files: A
Common Misconception
by Bob Schwartz, Member of HAL-PC, Texas
www.hal-pc.org
bobx(at)hal-pc.org.
Obtained from APCUG with the author’s permission
for publication by APCUG member groups.
You have just deleted a file from your hard drive. It’s
gone, isn’t it? Sorry! It is still there.
You want to clean up your hard drive, so you format it.
It is now clean. Nothing is on it anymore, right? Nope!
Everything is still there, except for the file directory.
How can this be? Doesn’t Delete mean remove?
Doesn’t Format clean the disk?
Each file system - has a file directory which records
the file name and it’s location.
To delete a file, the disk system only alters the file’s
name in the file directory, usually by changing the first
letter of the name. Formatting goes one step further, it
just empties the file directory. Neither does anything to
the files on the disk! They remain.
To clean a drive, either overwrite the whole drive or
the unused space. The most common way to clean
drives, especially older drives, is to write fixed or
random data obliterate the old files.
Fortunately, all ATA drives over 15-20 GB produced
since 2001 have an internal drive command that will
clean the drive sufficiently that it will meet DOD
requirements. At the University of California at San
Diego’s Center for Magnetic Recording Research
(CMRR) you can download their free program for
Secure Erase, entitled “HDDerase.exe”. Its use meets
U.S. Government requirements for disk erasure.
Secure Erase should provide the greatest peace of
mind. Internet Commentary suggests it is even better
than mechanically shredding the disks.
If you have a good machine with good software that
you would like to pass on to some else, and you
don’t have all the original disks - remove personal
information. I suggest this approach:
1. “Delete” the contents of: all the “My” folders
2.
3.
4.
5.
- My Documents, My Pictures, My Music;
Recent; Temp or Temporary folders; Recycle
Bin; Cookies; Downloads; and the entire
folders for Quicken and Tax preparation
software.
Clean your Registry of all personal data. For
XP, go to Start/Run, type regedit and press
Enter. Go to edit and click on find. Enter your
last name, click on find next. When the first
entry is found, go to edit and select modify.
Delete your name (it should be in color).
Depressing the space bar may clear it. Go back
to edit and click on find next, etc. Keep on
until you get a message that you have reached
the end. Then repeat the above with your first
name, then your street, your phone number,
bank name, broker name, and anything else of
a personal nature that you used.
Find and download a registry cleaner. Use it to
remove unnecessary items from the registry.
Ccleaner is an example.
Defragment the drive. This condenses the files
and moves them toward the beginning of the
drive.
Locate and download a wipe application
such as bcwipe. Use it to wipe (overwrite) all
unused space.
IMPORTANT NOTE: Before editing your “registry”,
back it up first, please.
This should effectively sanitize your disk, leaving it
clean, safe and usable.
Loss of personal information and the risk of identity
theft is a risk for you. For a business, the loss of
personal, financial, or medical data may subject it to
risk from recent laws, both federal and state.
I have been repairing or rehabilitating older machines
as a hobby to give them a second life. There are many
good machines and plenty of worthy recipients. If
there is good software worth keeping, remove all
personal data. If the software is not worth keeping,
then wipe the disk clean to install an operating system
and applications.
Removing the hard drive before you dispose of an old
machine is not a solution, unless you plan to use it in
your new machine, or store it permanently - you still
ultimately have to sanitize it.
Programs available, free or fee, include: Secure
Erase (mentioned above), Secure Delete, Wipe Drive,
Acronis Privacy Expert, East-Tec Eraser, East-Tec
Dispose Secure, Eraser, SysInternals SDelete, Darik’s
Boot and Nuke (dban), OverWrite, Wipe, Kill Disk,
BCWipe, and Autoclave. This list is NOT exhaustive.
And, you have to determine which is suitable to (1)
wipe the entire drive or (2) wipe only the unused
space.
Bottom line is, when you give away or dispose of a
used computer, either clean the hard drive yourself or
give the machine to someone you can trust who will
do it for you. The comments and opinions here are
wholly mine. I welcome alternative perspectives.
Bob Schwartz is a HAL-PC member, retired EE,
14 patents, technical writer, active in civic affairs:
President, Brays Bayou Association; Vice President,
Marilyn Estates Civic Association; Correspondence
Secretary with the Willow Waterhole Greenspace
Conservancy.
This article has been provided to APCUG by the
author solely for publication by APCUG member
groups. All other uses require the permission of the
author (see e-mail address above).
End of Article - End of Article - End of Article - End of Article
End of Article - End of Article
Three friends from the local congregation were asked,
‘When you’re in your casket, and friends and congregation members are mourning over you, what would
you like them to say?’
Artie said: ‘ I would like them to say I was a
wonderful husband, a fine spiritual leader, and a great
family man.’
Eugene commented: ‘I would like them to say I was
a wonderful teacher and servant of God who made a
huge difference in people’s lives.’
Carl said: ‘I’d like them to say, ‘Look, he’s moving!’
The reason congressmen try so hard to get re-elected
is that they would hate to have to make a living under
the laws they’ve passed.
Rootkits - A continuing Security
Problem
by Brian K. Lewis, Ph.D., Member of the Sarasota
Personal Computer Users Group, Inc., Florida
www.spcug.org
bwsail at yahoo.com
Obtained from APCUG with the author’s permission
for publication by APCUG member groups.
By now I suspect everyone reading this article is
familiar with most malware: viruses, botnets, Trojans,
etc. These are becoming less of a problem because
of the efforts of the security companies to provide
software solutions. More and more users are also
becoming aware of the need to have some means of
protecting their computer. As a result, hackers are
turning to a more effective method of controlling your
computer – rootkits. Although these have been around
more than ten years, like other malware, their numbers
seem to be increasing.
Probably the most dangerous form of the rootkit is
the “kernel mode Trojan”. This is a program that
inserts itself into the “kernel” of the operating system.
The kernel is the central component of the operating
system – its heart or brain to put it in more common
terms. It manages the communication between the
operating system, the hardware and the software
applications.
Most viruses operate as applications and can be
readily found in memory or in the file system.
Rootkits, however, can hide themselves in such a
way that it is very difficult to find them. In order
for a rootkit to alter the normal execution path of
the operating system, one of the techniques it may
employ is “hooking”. In modern operating systems,
there are many places to hook because the system was
designed to be flexible, extendable, and backward
compatible. For example, a rootkit can “hook” itself
into the Application Programming Interface (API)
which allows it to intercept the system calls that
other programs use to perform basic functions, like
accessing files on the computer’s hard drive. If an
application tries to list the contents of a directory
containing one of the root kit’s files, the rootkit will
censor its filename from the list. It’ll do the same
thing with the system registry and the list of running
processes.
A rootkit is a collection of tools an intruder brings
along to a victim computer after gaining initial access.
A rootkit may contain network sniffers, log-cleaning
scripts, key-loggers and trojaned replacements of
core system utilities. Although the intruders still need
to break into a victim system before they can install
their rootkits, the ease-of-use and the amount of
destruction they cause make rootkits a considerable
threat. One main purpose of a rootkit is to allow the
intruder to come back to the compromised system
later and access it without being detected. A rootkit
makes this very easy by installing a remote-access
backdoor. A rootkit can also allow the intruder to use
the compromised computer as part of a botnet (see
Botnets, SPCUG Monitor, January, 2008).
Another mechanism for hiding a rootkit is to add it
to a system driver file. Windows XP and Vista store
driver files in the System32/drivers folder. Many of
these system files load early in the boot process. These
files have boot or system flags in the registry and load
before any of the malware-prevention software. That
means they are very difficult to find. Although the
file size for the driver will be increased, the rootkit
may report the original file size to any query, not the
infected file size. All of this means that once a rootkit
has been installed and activated on your computer,
it is difficult to find by any of the usual malware
prevention software.
Rootkits do not require large software applications
to carry out their function. We are accustomed to
commercial applications that are many megabytes
in size. Even the anti-virus software may be 40-50
megabytes in size. In 2003 a rootkit was identified that
required only 7 kilobytes for its cloaking routine and
27 kilobytes for maintaining the open backdoor.
Anti-malware programs depend on two main means
of identifying malware. One is the signature method
and the other is heuristics. The signature method
requires that the malware be identified and reverse
engineered to determine a code sequence which can
be used to identify the application in the wild. This
code sequence is referred to as the signature and is
used by the anti-virus database. This signature is
then compared to code sequences in applications to
determine if they are malware. This method is of no
value when dealing with new or unreported malware.
So the next option is heuristic signatures. Their
primary advantage lies in their ability to identify
new, previously unidentified malware. The heuristics
technique assumes that malware will display certain
characteristics or attributes. They also attempt to
recognize deviations in “normal” system patterns
or behaviors. Using these predicted patterns, the
anti-malware application will attempt to determine
if the target application is malware. This has been a
successful approach for identifying viruses, but it is
less successful for active rootkits.
The April 2008 Virus Bulletin (www.virusbtn.com)
reported the results of testing a number of popular
commercial A-V programs, Internet security suites,
web-based scanners and specialized anti-rootkit tools.
The testing involved 30 known rootkits. The testing
categories were detection of: (1) inactive rootkits; (2)
active rootkits; and (3) malware hidden by rootkits.
Then they tested removal of (1) inactive rootkits; (2)
malware hidden by rootkits; and (3) active rootkits.
The results were not encouraging.
The seven Internet Security Suites used in the test
were able to detect 95% of the inactive rootkits.
(Remember, these were known samples that
had already been identified and their signatures
incorporated into the anti-malware applications.)
These suites were also able to remove 95% of the
inactive rootkits. However, when it came to active
rootkits the story was very different. The Internet
Security Suites detected only 65% of the active
rootkits and were able to remove only 48%. They also
were able to remove only 48% of the hidden malware.
All of the versions of the Internet Security Suites were
the latest available at the time of the test.
There were fourteen specialized anti-rootkit tools
tested using the same thirty rootkits. They were not
tested against the inactive rootkits, only the active
rootkits and the hidden malware. Again, the results
were anything but satisfying. These tools detected
83% of the active rootkits and 80% of the hidden
malware. The anti-rootkit tools removed only 60% of
the active rootkits and 67% of the hidden malware.
The web-based scanners did a far poorer job of
identification of the rootkits. They also were uniformly
unsuccessful in removing rootkits. The detection rate
was 53% and the removal was around 32%.
In reviewing these tests it is obvious that successful
detection and removal of rootkits depends on their
being inactivated. This can be done by running the
computer in “SAFE” mode which does not allow
the rootkit to load from the hard drive. However, it
would be expected that if detection/removal tools
were developed for this specific purpose, then rootkits
would appear that would load in “SAFE” mode.
Another alternative would be to develop rootkit
scanning software that would run from a CD. The
computer would boot from the CD and the operating
system for the scan would load from the CD. This
should improve the detection and removal rates
considerably. However, it then depends on the user
running the CD application periodically to scan the
entire computer. Considering how few users backup
their hard drives on a regular basis, this CD system
might be less than universally successful.
Given the current difficulty of detecting and removing
rootkits from your computer, what is a user to do for
protection? The only answer to this is to prevent the
rootkit from getting access to your computer. That
means using every tool you have available to prevent
the malware from gaining access to your system. Your
firewall is the first line of defense, followed by your
anti-virus, then your anti-spyware. Also, when you are
surfing the web, make sure you aren’t your own worst
enemy. Be careful and check out links before you
click on them. It just like getting spam in your e-mail.
Check where the link will take you before you click
on it. Social engineering techniques are also used to
propagate everything from viruses to rootkits. These
are techniques that encourage the user to take some
action which allows the malware to be downloaded
and installed on the users computer. A very interesting
analysis on these techniques is contained in this article
from the University of Cambridge (U.K.); http://
www.cl.cam.ac.uk/techreports/UCAM-CL-TR-666.
pdf. Although this is written specifically about virus
propagation, similar techniques are used to gain entry
for rootkits. This paper illustrates many of the “carrot
& stick” methods used by malware to gain access to
computer systems. Microsoft has also published a
paper detailing many of the common methods used
to trick users into installing malware. These can be
found in the paper “Behavioral Modeling of Social
Engineering-Based Malicious Software” on the
Microsoft web site.
So to all of you reading this paper, I would suggest
that “caution is the watchword” when it comes to
using your computer. I’m afraid that the situation
will only get worse when it comes to new forms of
malware.
Update Note: In my article on iFrame attacks (SPCUG
Monitor, May 2008), I listed a number of portals that
had been affected by iFrame attacks. One of these was
the eHawaii.gov portal. I have received information
from the site manager that the problem has been
corrected (removal of the iFrame) and actually only
affected one page on their site. Thanks to Russell
Castagnaro for correcting this problem and notifying
me.
Dr. Lewis is a former university and medical school
professor of physiology. He has been working with
personal computers for over thirty years, developing
software and assembling systems.
This article has been provided to APCUG by the
author solely for publication by APCUG member
groups. All other uses require the permission of the
author (see e-mail address above).
End of Article - End of Article - End of Article - End of Article
End of Article - End of Article
Signs in Great Britian
SPOTTED IN A SAFARI PARK: Elephants Please
Stay In Your Car
SEEN DURING A CONFERENCE: For anyone who
has children and doesn’t know it, there is a day care on
the first floor.
NOTICE IN A FIELD: The farmer allows walkers to
cross the field for free, but the bull charges.
MESSAGE ON A LEAFLET: If you cannot read, this
leaflet will tell you how to get lessons.
SPOTTED IN A TOILET IN A LONDON OFFICE
BLOCK: Toilet out of order. Please use floor below.
OFFICE: After the tea break, staff should empty the
teapot and stand upside down on the draining board.
Hauppauge HD PVR
Model 1212
By Terry Currier
I hate Thursdays. Even with two VCRs there are too
many good shows to watch, or record everything I
would like. I just brought a HDTV, and with the cable
cost being so high we decided to forgo the extra $10 a
month for the HD recorder and just use the HD box.
Then I saw the Hauppauge HD PVR at CES. It
connects directly out of the cable HD box so it can
record any of the TV shows in high quality H.264. The
cool thing is it will even record the premium channels.
It also works with satellite set top boxes as well.
The HD PVR will record real-time H.264 at
resolutions up to 1080i. It connects by using
component video (YCrCb) from cable TV or satellite
set top boxes. I’ve never used component video
(YCrCb) cables before. It took a couple of tries,
but I got it working perfectly. You can also hook
up the video through S-Video ports they have. If
the component video cables are your only means of
getting the signal to the TV there are Audio / Video
component pass through jacks to allow HD recording
and viewing at the same time. From the PVR box you
connect to the computer with a USB cable.
You connect the Hauppauge HD PVR to your
computer to record the shows. Since my desktop
computer is in the other side of the house I setup my
laptop to record to. At first I thought of it as a pain to
use the laptop, the reality was it was convenient since
I could take the laptop (and recording) anywhere to
watch it. Installing the software was not a problem. It
comes with:
• Arcsoft “TotalMediaExtreme” for video
capture, preview, playback, and authoring and
burning your TV recordings onto a Blu-ray
DVD compatible disc
• Arcsoft “TotalMedia Theater”, a video player
so you can play back your TV recordings
to your PC screen. There is a fast forward
feature so you don’t have to suffer through
commercials.
• Arcsoft “MediaConverter” , to convert your
H.264 HD recordings onto other formats
• Hauppauge’s WinTV scheduler for scheduled
TV recordings
After that you setup the built-in IR blaster to
automatically change TV channels for scheduled
recordings.
Even though it is burned onto a DVD it won’t play on
a DVD player. The Arcsoft program creates a BDMV
disk with .m2ts files for Blu-ray or Sony PS3 players.
Two hours of HD recordings, recorded at 5 Mbits/sec,
can be burnt onto a standard 4.7 GB DVD-R or DVDRW disk for playback on a Blu-ray DVD player. The
Arcsoft MediaConverter can be used to convert the
recordings onto other formats:
• Apple – iPod
• SanDisk – Sansa
• Microsoft – Zune
• Phillips – PMC7230
• Sony – PS3
You can not use the PVR to record one station while
you watch another. It records whatever the set top box
presents to the TV. In fact when I brought up the TV
guide to see what was coming on the premium
channels I notice the guide was in the recording. If
you have a HD recorder already can you use it to
record other channels? No, I took it over to my
daughters house to try that, and it only records the
channel the set top box is set at. Unless the box has
two tuners, which some do. But, I was able to record
HBO which I don’t have .
The Arcsoft “TotalMediaExtreme” for editing the
recordings (such as taking out commercials) is pretty
limited. Other video editing programs will also take
in the recordings. I took the .TS file into CyberLink’s
PowerDirector, edited and burned it to a DVD which
could be read by and DVD player. CyberLink’s
PowerDVD will also play the recordings.
Specifications:
• Hardware encoder
• H.264 AVCHD video encoder
• AC-3 audio encoding
• Recording data rate: from 1 to 13.5 Mbits/sec
(user selectable)
• Recording format: up to 1080i from
component video (YCrCb)
Note: the video input format determines the
recorded format. For example, 1080i input
records at 1080i, 720P records at 720P, etc..
Any other format conversions needs to be done
with the MediaConvert program (supplied).
• Size: 8” wide x 7” deep x 2.5” high
• Weight: 1 lb, 3 oz
System Requirements
• Processor Requirements (minimum):
• Dual core CPU
• Graphics with 256MB memory (or greater)
• Note: the playback of high definition H.264
requires a fast CPU and at least 256MB of
graphics memory
• Sound card
• Microsoft Windows Vista or Windows XP
with Service Pack 2 or later. According to their
website - HD PVR captures video streams in
a compressed H.264 format. Current versions
of Media Center do not support this video
compression format so currently, the HD PVR
will not function within the Media Center
application.
Included with the HD PVR
• HD PVR high definition personal video
recorder, USB
• Remote Control Including batteries
• IR Blaster transmitter cable
• Component video cable set
• Audio cable set
• USB cable
Computer used for review
• Toshiba Satellite A215
• Vista Home Premium
• 2 GB Memory
• 32-bit operating system
• AMD Athlon Dual Core Processor TK-55
$210 at newegg.com
Below is the Arcsoft “TotalMediaExtreme” while I
recording a show from Showtime Channel.
This is what the player looks like
For creating the AVCHD disc
Here is the editing screen
The MediaConverter
Setting up for scheduled recording
In the schedule
Membership application or renewal Form
Annual membership is only $20.00. Each additional
family member is $5.00.
________________________________________
Print Name:
________________________________________
Address:
________________________________________
City, Zip:
________________________________________
Phone:
________________________________________
Business Phone:
________________________________________
Email address
Mail to
WINNERS - WINdows usERS
PO Box 9804
Newport Beach, CA 92658-9804
meets at
The Fountain Valley Branch Library
17635 Los Alamos
Fountain Valley
meetings on 3rd Saturday
10:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
WINNERS - WINdows usERS
PO Box 9804
Newport Beach, CA 92658-9804