You are here: Home / Hardware

Inside iPhoto

July 20, 2011 By Leave a Comment

iPhoto is the basic photo-editing software that comes pre-installed on Apple computers. For free software, this program’s actually pretty handy. Many amateur photographers only use iPhoto to edit their images. Though iPhoto comes with enough gadgets and tools to keep the amateur shutterbug satisfied for years, more advanced shooters or those looking at online Bachelors programs in Photography should make an investment in Adobe Photoshop.

Basic Editing Features in iPhoto

Use iPhoto to perform basic editing techniques like cropping, rotating, or image resizing. iPhoto comes with an “Enhance” button that acts like an auto photo editor, brightening or adding contrast to a picture automatically. You can retouch blemishes with an airbrush tool and correct red-eye either through automatic detection or manual removal. You can also manually adjust each photo’s setting through a basic “Adjust” window which includes toggles for:

  • Exposure
  • Contrast
  • Saturation
  • Definition
  • Highlights
  • Shadows
  • Sharpness
  • Denoise
  • Temperature
  • Tint

Users can also play around with various instant effects, such as:

  • Black and White
  • Sepia Tones
  • Antique
  • Fade Color
  • Boost Color
  • Matte
  • Vignette
  • Edge Blur

Cataloging Photos

iPhoto lets users add a location to each album. You can then visit the iPhoto map and see virtual “pins” of all the places you and your camera have been. iPhoto also has unique face-recognition software that helps users “tag” photos of their friends and family. These tags can then be easily uploaded to Facebook. Several exporting plug-ins are available, including one for Facebook, Flickr, and MobileMe. Users can create custom albums or have iPhoto automatically create a “smart album” for them

 

Filed Under: Hardware, Internet, Software Tagged With: , ,

Parental Control Software Capabilities: What it Does

July 20, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Computers are necessary tools, especially for school-age children, but they come with a lot of responsibility. Which is why every parent wants to protect their children from the numerous strangers and bullies in cyberspace. Luckily, technology is on their side with parental control software that is capable of protecting their children online, even when a parent isn’t around. Here’s how.

Website Blocking

With parental control software, parents can flag certain sites, keeping their children from accessing them. Better yet, some software programs are capable of rating a site’s content automatically and alerting the user. Of course, parents can also build lists of approved sites. Parents won’t want to keep their grade-school children from being overly ambitious and taking some online college courses.

Time Limits and Restrictions

Along with keeping children from accessing adult content, parental control software can also keep children from spending too much time on the computer. With time limit and restriction tools, a child will be kicked off the computer after a certain number of hours, or won’t be able to log on within a certain time frame. No more late-night Internet messaging.

Downloads Disabled

To prevent children from downloading obscene or malicious materials, like a virus, parental control software can disable the computer’s ability to download all forms of digital material.

Full Reports

Parents that want to know the true browsing habits can attain that detailed information with the reporting tools of parental control software. Such reports not only map out what sites the user visited, but also for how long.

 

Filed Under: Hardware, Internet, Protection/Security Tagged With: , ,

4 Password Security Tips

July 19, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Do you use the same password for all of your online accounts? Sure, it makes it much easier to remember them all, but it also makes you and your personal information vulnerable to hackers. It’s true that balancing a security and convenience for your password is difficult, but in age when everything about you is available for the whole world to see, it’s a necessity. So beef up your pass security with these four tips

1. Don’t be oblivious

No one is impervious to hacking. Whether you have $1 or $1 million in your banking account, hackers will do anything to steal it all.

2. Avoid the obvious

When creating a password, choose a combination that doesn’t include obvious information such as your name or birth date. Also, keep away from simple passwords like 12345 or abcde.

3. Challenge yourself

As counterproductive as it sounds, a secure way to create a password is by writing one that is even hard for you to remember — at least at first. That’s a clear sign your password is unique and secure. Use various numbers, letters, symbols and capitalization.

4. Make many and change frequently

The rule of thumb for password security is to never use the same password more than once. For example, if you’re taking online Bachelors programs, accessing a work FTP from home and paying all your bills online, you need to have a different password for each application. And the more passwords you use, the more vigilant you need to be. Change them at least every six months.

 

Filed Under: Hardware, Internet, Protection/Security Tagged With: , ,