Archive for December, 2008
December 30, 2008 at 11:44 pm · Filed under Life Of Photography
“When I shoot in RAW format, I can’t see the image”
When you take an image in RAW format, the data is stored on the memory card in its unadulterated format. It is not a format that is visible without special software to view it. You may be able to see a representation of the image on your camera screen, but you will not be able to view it directly on the computer screen.
Software is needed to view the image. This will convert it into another format (e.g. JPG). You then have the ability to make adjustments as you wish to things such as the contrast, sharpness, white balance etc.
Your own adjustments can be fine-tuned to your liking. Any such adjustments in the camera are basically a gross and crude generalisation based on what the camera manufacturer feels is likely to work best.
Because the image in RAW format contains all the information from that exposure, you have a greater range of possible adjustments than you would if the camera had manipulated the image. Once an image has been saved as a TIFF or JPG file, some detail is permanently lost.
The software you use to view a RAW file will depend on your make of camera and your pocket. There are free packages available on the internet or software which comes with the camera itself. Otherwise you can purchase commercially produced platforms for this work.
Eric Hartwell runs the photography resource site http://www.theshutter.co.uk and the associated discussion forums as well as the regular weblog at http://thephotographysite.blogspot.com
December 29, 2008 at 7:16 pm · Filed under Uncategorized
What if you could turn your daily purchases into some hands-on Disney magic? Well now you can! Bank One is now offering a new Visa Disney credit card that provides you and your family with Disney rewards each time you use the card. You could turn your credit card debt into a fun-filled vacation for you and your family. The credit card company, Bank One, has partnered with the Walt Disney Company to offer this family-fun card to everyone who qualifies. You will be asked to pass a standard credit check with a major credit bureau before qualifying for the Disney Visa card.
How does it work?
When you make a purchase with your Disney credit card at your local grocery store, mall, or online store, you automatically earn points, or Disney rewards. These reward points accumulate with each purchase. As you earn points, you can shop the Disney Store, Disneyland Resort, Walt Disney World Resort, Disney Cruise Line, the Disney catalog, or DisneyStore.com for merchandise like DVD or Disney toys, vacation packages to your favorite Disney theme park, and other featured rewards, including travel and special passes.
Pros
- The Disney credit card is a great way to put your credit card debt to good use. The credit card company is essentially giving you back some of what you spend.
- There are no blackout dates for vacation packages earned with your Disney reward dollars.
- Platinum card benefits
- No annual fee
- Reasonable interest rate
- No interest for six months on several travel packages
- Opportunities to save on Disney merchandise and travel packages
Cons
- As you accumulate Disney rewards, you also accumulate credit card debt. Unless you are skilled at managing your finances, this type of incentive program could cause you more trouble than it’s worth.
- The more you buy, the more rewards you get. But don’t forget that the more you buy, the more interest you pay as well. The credit card company isn’t offering this deal out of charity for their customers. They want to make some money.
Special features
The Disney credit card has a unique card design that will delight families: Mickey Mouse on a sparkling red background. The card can be used as a family card by any member to help contribute to future vacation plans or holiday gift times. Consider giving the card to younger members of the family as a starter card that can be used for expenses away from home. The rewards can be enjoyed by the student or by the whole family.
The reward points are much more flexible that with other reward cards. You can use the points to gain entrance to a Disney theme park, access parking privileges, purchase merchandise online or at store locations or from the catalog. You can even use the points to purchase items inside the parks. With Disney Cruise Line, your options are limitless as you use your reward points to buy cruise tickets, entertainment, and the ultimate Disney experience.
To apply for a Disney Visa card, call 1-888-878-7222.
Sandy Joblin currently operates searchcreditcardnow.com, a credit card directory where you can browse, compare and apply online for the best credit card to meet your needs.
She is also a Diamond Team Member of the Vortex Marketing Group, a new and innovative MLM company.
December 29, 2008 at 10:23 am · Filed under Business News, Online Marketing, Realty Resources
A relatively new concept in the online world is “Virtual Real Estate Investing“. Everything from using the internet as an avenue to make more money in real estate to online games such as SecondLife seem to be included in the popular definition of this term.
To separate fact from fiction, I asked Bryan Ellis for comments. He’s the man many consider to be the father of this new form of investing.
Ellis says he adopted the term “virtual real estate investing” sometime before Y2K after he realized that making money online is conceptually very similar to making money with physical real estate.
One example of the parallels between virtual and physical real estate Bryan Ellis cites is the similarity between the monetization of domain names versus physical property. He points out that control of a domain name or even a specific web page is much like controlling a real estate property ” those assets can be monetized in similar ways: By selling them for a profit, by leasing them, by offering advertising, etc.
I must admit: Its easy to see the parallels. After all, if you own a valuable piece of real estate, it’s “valuable” because other people are interested in that specific piece of property. Likewise, if you own a desirable domain name, others will find value in it because it serves their purposes. In either case, you could sell or lease the asset and turn it into cash.
In our next installment of this series on virtual real estate investing, Bryan Ellis will share the internet analogies to the physical concept of real estate development.
December 29, 2008 at 1:47 am · Filed under Uncategorized
If you opened a credit card statement recently and were pleasantly surprised to find that your minimum payment due was lowered, don’t be so quick to “jump for joy”. What may appear as a small boost to your monthly budget is actually the rock that can weigh you down in debt for a lifetime.
More and more credit card companies are moving to requiring a minimum payment of 2% of your total outstanding balance. Consumer Action, a consumer advocacy group out of San Francisco, found that the number of card companies with a 2% minimum payment reached 53%, up from 43% just a year ago.
Some creditors have even gone so far as to call this a “consumer friendly” move claiming it will assist consumers faced with today’s economic woes. In reality, a lower minimum payment causes you to take longer to pay off your debt to the creditor while winding up paying them more money in interest payments.
For example, let’s say you have a credit card debt of $2500.00 @18% annual percentage rate (APR). Your monthly minimum payment based on a 2.5% pay back rate would be $62.50 per month. Oh and by the way, here’s what the credit card company really doesn’t want you to know - it will take you 20 YEARS to pay off your $2500.00 balance paying the minimum monthly due. And you will have paid the credit card company $3,365.51 in interest!
Now lets look at the same example using the rate of 2% minimum monthly payment. Your monthly payment drops to just $50.00 a month. You might be tempted to think “wow, I’ve got an extra $12.50 a month to play with, yippeee!”. Not so fast! That lower minimum payment now means it will take you 34.5 YEARS to pay off your balance of $2500.00 and you’ll wind up paying $6,430.93 in interest!
Consumer Action also reports that many credit card companies are imposing higher late payment fees and “more than a third of card issuers said they will raise existing cardholders’ rates because of poor credit histories — with other creditors — even if the consumer has made regular, timely payments with that issuer”.
My advice is to watch your use of credit carefully, always pay more than the minimum monthly due, and be sure to read the fine print on any credit card offers or changes to your existing accounts.
© 2004, www.yourfreecreditreportnow.com
Author: James H. Dimmitt
James is editor of “TO YOUR CREDIT”, a weekly free
newsletter. Subscribe to the newsletter by visiting
http://www.yourfreecreditreportnow.com.
December 27, 2008 at 10:22 pm · Filed under Uncategorized
Can you repair my credit? Although there are many Internet sites that claim to be able to do credit repair for you, they cannot. When you ask “How can I repair my credit”, there are many places you can get advice about credit repair, but you are the only one that can actually do it.
A credit repair guide is one way you can get the information you need about improving a credit score. When you say “repair my credit”, you are asking for help to repair bad credit. There are many places where you can get the free information you need, but first of all you need to know what your credit score is. You can get this by requesting a free annual credit report from the three major credit bureaus. Since you have bad credit, then there is a file on you at one or all of these places.
Actually no credit is almost as bad as bad credit. If you have never borrowed any money or had a credit card, you will have difficulty getting a loan. In this case instead of asking how to repair my credit, you need to ask how can I build a credit score. Although most people will tell you that it’s best to pay cash for everything, even if you have money, you should use a credit card once in a while. If you pay the balance in full before the end of the month then you won’t pay any interest, and you are improving your credit score.
Most people, however, tend to go overboard and let their borrowing habits get out of hand. Then the first question is “how to repair my credit”. If you do avail of the advice that you find in a credit repair guide, you will find that first of all, you have to start making your monthly payments on time. If this is not possible because of unforeseen circumstances, then you should contact the creditors to work something out. Each month that you miss a payment lowers your credit score.
Repair My Credit. It is not hard to do once you get started. If you are really serious when you want to do something about credit repair to help you with your “repair my credit” problem, you have to make a budget and stick to it. This might mean doing without some of the extras you are used to, but it will result in you improving your credit score.
Can I repair my credit? You bet you can, with a little effort.
To find out more about Credit Repair visit Peter’s Website Credit Repair Answers and find out about www.credit-repair-answers.com/free-credit-report-online.html“>A Free Online Credit Report and more, including Credit Repair Services, Credit Bureaus and Online Credit Repair.
December 26, 2008 at 7:53 am · Filed under Consumer Protection, Technology Resources, World Of Telecommunication
Among the many different network providers that are now distributing mobile broadband to the masses, 3 mobile broadband seems to be a company that stands out. Of course, this just in my humble opinion but when you realise that there are quite a few options for you to try, you realise that there is something to suit any internet user.
First of all, 3 mobile broadband offers so many types of dongle for using with your laptop or PC to get wireless broadband, there is bound to be one that suits your colour needs plus any other requirements that you may have.
Aside from this however, there is a number of different contracts that you can sign up to, varying in inclusive usages from 1GB included in the price right up to 15GB. The one that you choose will need to reflect the amount of time you spend on the internet, the 15GB one will allow for up to 150 hours of internet time while the 1GB will only allow for 10, so this must be worked out in advance.
Secondary to the internet time that you want, there are various lengths of packages available ranging from 12 months to 24 months, although this is subject to change and frequently does with many broadband providers.
If you are looking for a slightly more flexible and cheaper option, there is a pay as you go tariff that you can utilise, meaning that you only use the internet when you top up, removing the risks of costly monthly bills. A full comparison list, which is kept up to date, can be found at Broadbandgenie.co.uk
December 25, 2008 at 8:33 pm · Filed under Life Of Photography
One of the most common places for people to use their digital camera is while they are away on vacation, and no wonder, because we all want to preserve those special events and memories as much as we can. But digital cameras require their own advance preparation for the trip. So here are the top five tips for taking your digital camera along with you on vacation.
1. More so than any other camera, digital cameras rely on a good solid power source, usually its batteries. If you haven’t used your digital camera in a while, the batteries you have may not be sufficiently charged for your entire trip. And even if your current batteries are sufficiently charged, it’s a very good idea to have extras along with you on the trip because you just don’t know how much use your camera will get and you don’t want to be caught short at the wrong time. Sometimes, batteries for certain digital cameras can be very specialized too. So it’s always a good idea to buy batteries before you leave to have them handy with you on the trip.
2. You’ll want to give attention to your storage cards before you leave as well, and be sure that you have enough for the trip. Remember, storage media is sort of like film in that if you have no way to upload the photos each day, it will eventually get full and you will need a replacement to continue shooting. Also before you leave check the storage card that you have in the camera to see what images are currently stored there. If there are photos on the card that you wish to keep, now is the time to upload them while you are still at home and then wipe the card clean for use on the vacation.
3. Taking a camera on any vacation or trip can subject it to a lot of use and getting banged around if you are not careful. So having a good camera bag to put your digital camera in while on vacation will be very important. If you have a digital SLR camera, then you may even want to take extra lenses along with you on the trip. If so, be sure that the camera bag can handle all the equipment that you need to take with you, and that it is comfortable to carry along with you each day. It’s good to have storage capacity in your camera bag for extra media cards, lens cleaner, and any other accessories that you find useful too.
4. A very useful accessory for both film and digital cameras that many people forget is a tripod or mini tripod. Handholding a camera is one of the largest reasons for blurry unfocused photos. This is a common problem with many people, and it can all be solved with the use of a tripod. Obviously, you can take a large tripod with you on some excursions as it would just be too heavy to carry, but here’s where a mini tripod can come in very handy. Many times they can fit right in your camera bag with you and be set up quickly and easily on a flat surface. The use of a good tripod is guaranteed to help you take sharper, better photos.
5. If you plan on bringing your laptop computer with you on the trip, don’t forget to bring along the necessary USB cables to connect to your camera and upload your photographs at the end of the day.
If you take just a few minutes before you leave to organize your digital camera and accessories, you can assure that you will be able to have plenty of opportunities to record the fun and good times that you will enjoy while in vacation.
Thad Pickering writes on many consumer related topics including digital photography. You can find a digital photography tutorial and the digital photography basics by visiting our Digital Photography website.
December 25, 2008 at 9:44 am · Filed under Templates Portal
Why are treadmills becoming so popular? Why does everyone
have one and not go to the gym as much? What is so great
about a home treadmill? Below you will have all of these
and many more questions answered as you are given ten
reasons for having a home treadmill.
* First, they save time. People say they don’t have enough
time to spend at work or with their family, so how could
they have time to go to the gym. Treadmills save time
because the gym is now brought to you.
* Second, there are no more monthly or yearly gym fees.
You have to renew your gym membership at least once a year
and a typical treadmill will serve you up to 10 years or
more.
* Third, there is the convenience factor. In the time it
would take you to get ready and drive down to the gym, you
could have already got 20-30 minutes exercising on the
treadmill in your home.
* Fourth, it works for whole family. As with most gym
equipment that requires age to use some of the heavier
stuff, a treadmill only requires that you can walk to use
it because it can set speeds for you and your family.
* Fifth, people have been shown to stick to an exercise
regimen that involves a treadmill because you can do other
stuff while you are exercising. This means that there is
not the typical boredom factor that is present in most
workout routines.
* Sixth, there is no weathering out days where the weather
outside and dictate what you are doing on the treadmill.
As they can be put outside and insider, there is never an
excuse on why you did not get to exercise today.
* Seventh it provides and easy setup for anyone and allows
for anyone to be able to use it because it denies the usual
complexity that most equipment of this magnitude possesses.
* Eighth, it is much easier to multitask and do other
things, such as reading a book or watching a video, while
using a treadmill than it is while doing other exercises.
* Ninth, if you are runner, walker, or jogger it is easier
on your joints than running on asphalt or grass as the
surface pads on a treadmill are much more forgiving than
the ground or pavement are.
* Tenth, it is close to a ten year investment to your
health as most treadmills last at least ten years.
For the price of treadmills and the benefits of owning one,
they are the perfect compliment for anyone looking to build
a home gym.
===========================================================
Find out why treadmills can burn fat more efficiently than
almost any other exercise. See reviews and useful
information. Click ==> http://www.treadmills-easy.com/
Paul Johnson works tech support for New York based
Internet Publishing company, DigiLectual Inc. He’s lost a
lot of weight with a fitness regime that includes
Treadmills. He shares his knowledge and research on
treadmills in a series of articles.
December 25, 2008 at 12:47 am · Filed under Lotto, Bets, Wagers, Sports Portal, World Of Gambling
Hordes of gamblers will certainly have heard of the slogan “offshore sports betting” recently, though may not be completely in the know what it means. A foreign gaming website basically runs extrinsically to the scope of a specific nation instead it could mean a net based betting site which locates their master computer inside the borders of a nation in which on-line gaming is not at this time prohibited. Briefly therefore, it’s a gambling organisation operative outside the area of the better. Computer accessible sports wagering web pages are modulated via 3 organisations. These are dubbed OSGA (the Offshore Gaming Association), IGC (Interactive Gaming Council) and the Fidelity Trust Gaming Association FTGA.
The OSGA is in fact a non-partisan institute that currently keeps tabs on the current overseas gaming industry with the mission to also provide gamblers an avenue to easily identify dependable internet companies to play betting games with. The authority labors to assure client’s rights, additionally they do not levy any yearly fees.
The Offshore Gaming Association is a well qualified and unprejudiced third party association that conveys unbiased viewpoints, suggested by your evaluations, unbiased study, conversations, inside advice and additionally provides inside communication.
The Interactive Gaming Council is a nonprofit council. The administration has been founded to allow a forum for interested people to address points furthermore to advance collective interests in the international online gambling profession, in an effort to establish equitable and also amenable industry guidelines and patterns that enhance consumer trust in net based gambling products and benefits, and in addition to work as the trade’s generic policy spokesperson and the IGC also provides an info clearinghouse.
The Interactive Gaming Council has built a reputation for promoting safety, integrity and in addition plausibility due to the ethical standards it demands, and its appeal for business organizations of proper practise. The Interactive Gaming Council regularizes offshore sports betting by means of advocating a unique ten-point running code and charges sports betting web sites license fees to show the council’s logo. Disappointed customers can, if they need to, recount their disagreements to the Interactive Gaming Council.
The FTGA has been formed in an attempt to set a standard to upgrade the standards of machine-accessible sports betting web sites. The IGC trust that doing business with enterprises of honorable standing, they are able to fashion a federation of the fairest and professional overseas gaming operations in the world at large.
These are agencies which inspect the practises of computer accessible sports betting and which should hopefully work to take the sting out of most if not all of the uneasiness due to the apprehension held by doubters. Networked gaming web sites are actually harmless, in that private data are not demanded also the remuneration not to mention the gambling odds are equivalent to a normal Vegas-type bet. These web sites eliminate traveling, but preserve the character of a Vegas-style gaming internet site, only nowadays you are enabled to play in the comfort of home.
custom sports wager
December 24, 2008 at 3:45 pm · Filed under To Read A Book
“Retired professor of Microbiology, Harry Gilleland certainly
has a variety of experiences and thought-provoking insights
to share in his latest poetry book, Gilleland Poetry -
Storoems and Poems. Harry’s poetry has appeared at
numerous establishments over the years and he has
authored three books to date. His dedication to and love of
poetry is evident in the way that he writes his work.
Evocative and mentally stimulating throughout it’s 205
pages this book is sure to strike a cord within any reader.
War experiences and trials of man are mingled with true-life
experiences, fantasy, love and nature.
Harry explores the wonders of nature in a beautiful way and
returns to the theme that seemingly runs throughout the
entire book - what it could mean for man. Fun, playful -
sometimes sad. He has us riding the rapids with him one
moment and learning shocking news about American
history in the next breath.
Bluebird Rescue and You Snake in the Grass were two of
my favorites because they invoke awe of nature. But I also
got a real kick out of The Power of Splinters and One Leaf’s
Journey, which are clearly parallels to life experiences.
I really cried over A Journey Home and Alfred Must Die. The
author’s deep endearing love for his wife is both moving
and inspiring.
Though this might sound a little corny - I felt I lived a little
more because of reading this book.”
ISBN#: 1411629272
Author: Harry E. Gilleland, JR
Publisher: Lulu Press
~ Lillian Brummet - Book Reviewer - Co-author of the book Trash Talk, a guide for anyone concerned about his or her impact on the environment Author of Towards Understanding, a collection of poetry.
http://www.sunshinecable.com/~drumit
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