By Dave Joa
Buy yourself a digital photo frame and have some fun. If you enjoy taking or looking at photos of any type then the latest digital photo frames are perfect for displaying your photographs at their best. The quality of image that is now possible with these electronic photo display devices is very impressive.
However before you buy a digital picture frame there are some minimum requirements that you need to check for the photo frame you are thinking of buying.
Make Sure the Display is High Resolution!
If you want the best image, and who does not, you will want to check the image resolution of your new digital photo display so that you get a sharp and well lit view of all your photos on the frame. These little display screens are very similar to what is used on a modern flat panel tv and use lcd technology. LCD stands for liquid crystal display.
Image quality on a digital photo frame is very important. So much so that if you do not get this right you will not see a good quality image on your new photo display.
Many different resolutions are available and you need a 640×480 resolution as a minimum or 800×600 if you can afford it. It will make a big difference to the enjoyment of your photo collection. Any frame with a resolution below this minimum will not display images as well as the original photo and you will not like what you see.
Also if you go for a larger size LCD display of 10 inches or over then also go for the highest resolution you can afford as well. So for the sharpest images you should always go for the highest resolution. If the frame you want seems cheap then check the resolution before buying.
Aspect Ratio is also Important.
There are just two different aspect ratios to consider for digital photo frames and these are the less common 15:9 and the normal 4:3, which is found in images from most of todays more common digital cameras.
Therefore a digital picture frame with a 4:3 aspect ratio will most likely display your photos the best in their original form. However a frame displaying the 15:9 ratio will give you a more impressive wide-screen image just like a mini TV.
The downside to 15:9 digital screens is that the top and bottom of any 4:3 photo will be cropped from the image you see and you may not want this effect.
Check the Memory Card Slot.
If possible get a digital photo frame with a multiple card reader slot so that you can use your existing memory card and also your friends. If only one card reader slot is provided then you will need to make sure that it is the same as that used in your digital camera.
You may need a USB port.
In order to move digital photos and images from your digital camera or computer using a USB cable then the digital frame you buy must have a matching USB slot for the cable. If you only want to use memory cards to transfer your images you will not need USB.
Other Options.
Today there are now some great options available for a digital photo frame and these include headphones, remote controls, speakers, alarms, clocks and wireless connections to the web for image downloads. These options cost more and it will be up to you to decide if you want them.
Use the recommendations made to you above to get a great deal on a good quality digital photo frame, which will display the sharpest images for what you can afford, and just ignore the company labels as these should not be relevant when making your choice.
27.Jul.08 
Photography 
Comments (2)
Just bought a new camera ?? And very excited to start taking photos with your new gadget??
But Alas, why does the picture not look as good as you wanted to !! Fret no more, stay tuned below for 4 new tricks to taking more interesting and memorable photos.
1. Try out different camera exposure settings
By exploring the exposure settings of your camera, you could have pictures looking more brilliant with 0.5 to 2 stops underexposed in bright surroundings, and scenes appearing more clear with some overexposure. Just by simple tuning of the exposure level, you can create pictures which can bring out different moods from people viewing it. Thats why the quote “A Picture Says A Thousand Words” is very true indeed ! For newbies, try out bracketing (i.e: Take the same photos with different exposure levels) and take your favorite pick from them.
2.Bring out some creative blur in photos
By introducing some well-planned blur in photos, you can bring across certain important features, while using the rest as good complement, providing an overall nice touch. This can be done in 2 basic types.
First type is depth-of-field blur. Varying the lens aperture between 0.4 to 1.4 can create a lovely, soft background blur which bring sharp focus to the subject in the foreground.
Second type is movement blur. Done by setting the camera exposure on shutter priority, and keep it slow so as to capture interesting streaks as the subject moves in front of the camera.
3.Create something out of nothing !!
What does it means? This exercise encourages you to take a step back and rethink how you can take wonderful pictures with things you already encountered on a daily basis.
One approach is to create your shot around the common elements around you such as lines, space and patterns. This can mean anything from the roads to the bridges, the trees, the railings, etc.. You start to see more possibilities and room for creativity.
4.Take Unique Photos !!
Try to avoid taking photos from already popular places where everyone else has taken before, it will not be fresh, and the excitement is also much diminished. Try out new extreme photography (for example: underwater photography), or it could be as easy as shooting through thick glasses for that extra 3D feel, or shooting reflections of objects in water or other reflective objects.
27.Jul.08 Photography Comment (1)
Quick question: Does your idea of a perfect Friday evening involve cold beer, fried chicken and uploading pictures to your Facebook account? Also, have you forgotten how to play Poker with a real deck of cards?
If you answered “yes” to these questions, you need to join Facebook Anonymous (and no, it’s not an application found in Facebook).
Since its inception in 2004, Facebook has weaselled into the lives of more than 31 million users. So addictive that the New York Times has reported that Facebook is lowering employee’s productivity.
The site has become the hottest new application development platform on the Web. When Facebook opened up its platform to independent developers in May last year, it became a hotbed for hungry start-ups like Booze Mail and iLike, which let you do anything from sending Virtual Martinis to watching music videos.
Here is Digital Hub’s take on the hottest Facebook applications.
FotoFlexer
Forget running on the treadmill or lifting weights. With the FotoFlexer, you can trim that beer belly or add some six packs without having to sweat it out in the gym.
This nifty photo-editing too not only lets you add effects or change the brightness of your images, it also digitally enlarges your muscles and shrinks your waist at a button’s click. Great when you want to upload your new images onto your Facebook photo album.
Dating DNA
You have fewer that 10 friends on Facebook, out of which five are your mother’s Book Club members. Instead of sitting in a corner and moaning about your insipid social life, try Dating DNA.
The app should widen your social network by letting you chat with anyone on Facebook. Spy a cute brunette? Drop her a message or send some virtual flowers her way.
Single Facebook members will also dig this application – the site accesses your interests and personality and hooks you up with compatible singles.
Honesty Box
Add this to your profile page and your friends can leave anonymous messages that describe your personality – anything from “You’re hot” to “You’re a terrible dancer”.
The best part is that the person leaving the note doesn’t have to be signed in to Honesty Box. So you’ll have absolutely no way of sussing out who wrote what.
Skype Me
Forget painstakingly powering up Skype whenever you want to chat with your friends in other countries. Miss your spouse who’s currently overseas? Simply click the Skype Me application on Facebook, dial the number you want and start yakking.
Music Mixes
Most of us can probably remember sitting in front of our cassette players after school, recording Bananarama or Culture Club tracks onto cassette tapes.
Now you can relive your childhood with the Music Mixes app, which lets you create your own virtual mixtapes by adding tracks and sending them to your friends. What more, you can personalize your mixtape by adding in your own voice introduction at the start of the tape.
Polyvore
Fashionistas will adore the Polyvore app. It lets you create your own runway outfits using threads and accessories from brands like Marc Jacobs, Chloe and Topshop.
With thousands of outfits updated almost every day, you’ll guaranteed a visual fashion fest every time you log on.
18.Jul.08 Facebook Comments (0)
Adapted From: Tivo for Dummies:
A TiVo lifestyle begins with something unavoidably awful: connecting TiVo to your TV, weaving strands of cables into just the right configuration. Thankfully, TiVo’s installation happens only once. And basic installation can be a breeze.
After you have your TiVo up and running, you can happily surf the channels by using the TiVo remote, which works very much like that old standard you use for the TV.
Hooking up your TiVo
Although there’s no single “right way” to connect a TiVo, all installations follow these three steps. The differences depend on the type of connections found on your TV, cable or satellite box, and other accessories. For the best possible picture, always identify and use the highest quality connections available on each piece of equipment.
1. Place TiVo near your TV.
2. Connect TiVo to your phone line.
3. Connect TiVo to your television signal.
If you don’t have a cable or satellite box, you may be able to simply screw your cable TV’s cable into TiVo’s RF In jack and then connect an identical cable between TiVo’s RF Out jack and your TV’s RF In or Cable In jack. (Sometimes the TV’s jack is simply called “Antenna.”) Tune your TV to channel 3 or 4 to see TiVo.
Cable or satellite box users have to follow two additional steps to complete the installation:
• 1. Set up TiVo to change the box’s channels.
• Depending on your type of cable or satellite box, you need to connect either TiVo’s IR Control cable or its Serial Control cable between TiVo and the box.
• 2. Connect sound and video cables from your cable or satellite box to TiVo’s input ports.
• TiVo accepts sound and video in several different ways, depending on your needs. Always choose the highest quality connections available.
Make sure that you have your TiVo, your TV, and your cable box, if necessary, plugged into the wall and turned on. (TiVo turns on automatically as soon as you plug it in.)
That’s it. You’re done! Your TiVo can now show you any channel that you want to watch (or record) through your TV. Ain’t technology grand?
Consider buying an inexpensive Uninterrupted Power Supply (UPS) for your TiVo (and cable/satellite box). Although TiVo handles power outages gracefully, it doesn’t like power fluctuations. (Your computers don’t like these, either.) Plugging your TiVo into a UPS (350VA rating or more) protects it and your recorded shows from harm.
Changing channels
You change channels with TiVo’s remote just as you did with your old remote – the one that came with your TV or cable/satellite box.
Just press the Channel button toward the top to advance a channel; press the lower part of the button to move down a channel. TiVo dutifully changes the channel accordingly.
The only time you may run into something odd is if TiVo’s currently recording the show you’re watching. TiVo must stay tuned to the current channel in order to record the show, so TiVo fills you in on its dilemma with a message that appears on the TV screen.
If you don’t want TiVo to finish its recording, choose “Change the channel, stop recording.” TiVo stops recording, saves the portion it has already recorded, and lets you change channels all you want.
But if you want TiVo to finish recording the show, press Select to abandon your channel change. TiVo continues recording the current show.
TiVo normally changes channels more slowly than your old TV or cable/satellite box remote. But if TiVo’s not changing channels properly, you may need to adjust TiVo’s setup.
08.Jul.08 TiVo Comment (1)
By James Jae Kook
If you have ever tried shopping for memory cards you know how difficult it can be especially if you don’t know much about them! Here are some basic tips to help you buy the best memory card that suits your needs.
Know the formats
There are many different formats available in the market as far as memory cards are concerned. Having knowledge about these is critical before you start shopping otherwise you risk buying a memory card which might be incompatible with your PC, digital camera or other host device.
SD Cards are a highly secure stamp-sized digital camera memory card, which weigh approximately two grams. Brands available include Sandisk, Toshiba, Kingston and Lexar. SD Cards can be used in a variety of digital devices, including mobile phones, digital music players, handheld PCs (HPCs), digital cameras, car navigation systems and electronic books. SD Cards have cryptographic security for copyrighted data based on proven security concepts from DVD Audio.
SDHC Cards are the next generation of SD cards but offer increased capacities (4GB – 32GB) and faster transfer speeds of up to 6MB per second (Class 6). These memory cards are primarily designed to be used in digital camcorders and digital cameras. However, their large capacity does allow them to be used in many other devices for additional storage, such as the new Asus eePC and other laptops.
Mini SD: This is available in sizes ranging from 1GB, 2GB and even 4 GB. They are compatible with all smart phone devices with a Mini SD or SD Card (with SD adaptor) slot and even digital cameras.
Micro SD: These are even smaller than mini SD cards. They range in capacity from 512MB to 2GB and are the most common form of mobile phone memory due to their compact size. They can be used as an SD card if inserted into an SD card adaptor, giving you versatility to use them in digital cameras and other memory card devices.
Micro SDHC: These cards are the next generation of Micro SD cards but offer much higher capacities, from 4GB – 32GB, and faster transfer speeds up to 6MB per second (Class 6). They will be use in next generation mobile phones to cope with capacity hungry files, such as MPEG4 and MP3.
USB Readers: You will most likely require a USB reader for accessing data on your memory card. Today’s PCs often come with readers installed as standard so that you can insert as many as 5-6 cards at a time. This enables good compatibility with digital camera memory card formats.
Compact Flash: These are cheap compared to many other types of memory card, readily available and can be used with several different devices. Using integrated ATA controllers these memory cards enable file management, I/O, error correction functionality etc. Traditionally Compact Flash cards have been favoured by Professional Photographers as they are available in various capacities and have a very high file transfer rate. To enable many photos to be taken in quick succession.
MMC: Also known as multimedia cards these are the size of a regular postage stamp. They are easily integrated into different devices and consume less power compared to other memory cards, so are ideal for devices that need to conserve battery power for other functions. They are generally used in digital cameras, MP3 players and older Nokia mobile phone models.
Memory Stick PRO DUO is a versatile memory card, suitable for several device types, including digital cameras, digital music players, digital voice recorders and the Sony PSP. Memory Stick PRO DUO is also compatible with all devices that accept Memory Stick PRO. Simply use a DUO adaptor and the Memory Stick PRO DUO becomes the size of a Memory Stick PRO memory card.
M2 Memory Stick Micro, available from Sony, Lexar and Sandisk, is approximately one-quarter the volume of Memory Stick Pro Duo memory cards, yet only about 1.2mm thick. M2 is designed as an externally removable memory card with a controlled eject function to prevent users losing their media, providing a secure storage solution for music, videos and photos. M2 Memory Stick Micro is also compatible with all devices that accept Memory Stick PRO DUO or Memory Stick PRO. Simply use an adaptor and it becomes the size you need.
07.Jul.08 Memory Stick Comment (1)
