Hi Folks,

We are off to Bermuda for a week, so here is a long newsletter with a mix of stuff to keep you busy for a couple of days.  See you Friday after next. 

Here is another take on Windows Vista.  This one actually has some positive comments about the new OS.

Q:
Is there anything else you can tell me about Windows Vista? I'm anxiously awaiting its arrival, but I'm still not sure if I should upgrade to it or not? Please help!

A:
This is a very good question. Windows' new operating system, Windows Vista, is on the rise with its release date getting closer and closer. Without being able to actually view and experiment with this new operating system, it's hard to tell if you're going to want to upgrade to it or not. It's a tough call until you can really sit down and see what it's all about. So, I will do my best right now to give you a little more information about Vista and maybe it will help make your final decision a lot easier. Let's hope so anyway!

As a computer consultant, I have been receiving many questions concerning Windows Vista from my clients. One of the major questions is whether or not a person should upgrade to Vista. I have had the opportunity to see some Vista previews from Microsoft, so I might as well share with all of you what I have found out.

First of all, Windows Vista will offer several features that will totally top Windows XP. The desktop and user interface have been revamped to a futuristic look, as you can see in the screenshot below.

Programs such as Internet Explorer, Windows Movie Maker and Media Center have been completely modified and updated. With the updates in place, hackers will now have a harder time hacking your computer, which is always a plus!

Windows Vista presents more advanced computer security features to furthermore secure your PC as well. Windows Defender will also be included on Vista, which is Microsoft’s new anti-spyware software utility. Parents will now have the ability to block their children from accessing certain programs on the computer and even certain Web sites. Also, if something does happen to your computer, reinstalling Windows Vista can take less than 20 minutes.

Along with all the good things, there are some down points. There has been a lot of criticism against Vista, with one being that the Windows Vista interface closely resembles Apple’s Mac OS X’s Aqua. Another major problem with Vista is its hardware requirements. In order to run Windows Vista, you pretty much need to have purchased a new computer in the past year or will need to buy a new computer. However, many laptops, even the ones purchased in the past year, will be unable to run Windows Vista due to a requirement for hybrid hard drives. The hybrid hard drives can easily be added to desktop systems, but can become expensive for laptops.

So, is it worth the upgrade? I would say that it’s your decision. If you would like to take advantage of some of the features that Vista is going to offer, then you might want to buy it. However, if you are working perfectly fine with Windows XP, I would keep using it. I plan to keep using XP until I see how Windows Vista does for the first year or so before deciding to purchase the new operating system. Windows Vista is still expected to be released in December of 2006.

~ Jack William

Here is a good tip on Wireless Security from Kim:

Wireless home network security can be confusing.  Wi-Fi security standards have changed over the last several years.  The options on most wireless access points reflect this.

The choice between TKIP (Temporal Key Integrity Protocol) and AES (Advanced Encryption Standard) is a choice between old and new technologies, respectively. So the short answer to your question is that AES is more secure.

The long answer starts in 1999 with WEP (Wired Equivalent Privacy), the oldest Wi-Fi protection standard. It failed to live up to its name. It sticks with the same key, making it relatively easy to break. Nowadays, WEP can be cracked in a matter of minutes.

The Wi-Fi Alliance developed WPA (Wi-Fi Protected Access) in 2003 to address WEP's weaknesses. Improvements included TKIP, which changes the encryption key for each data transmission.

WPA is compatible with many older access points and network cards. In most cases, only an  update is required.

However, WPA was a stopgap measure. At the time, the Wi-Fi Alliance was working on its 802.11i standard. Released in 2004, it is commonly known as WPA2.

WPA2 uses AES for encryption. It is stronger than the RC4 encryption scheme shared by WEP and WPA. But AES requires modern hardware.

WPA2 should be your first choice. That includes AES. I have general instructions for a complete WPA2 setup on my site.

If your computers' networking components (Wi-Fi cards or USB adapters) don't offer WPA2 options, switch the setup to WPA. On your access point, that means TKIP. If the adapters on your computers allow only WEP, look for updates online.

If you purchased Wi-Fi adapters, check with the manufacturers' sites. If Wi-Fi came built-in, check with the computer sellers' sites.

Both WPA and WPA2 offer good security. WPA is theoretically breakable, but can be secure on a practical level. With a strong password of 21 characters or more, a WPA network can withstand an attack for years. Unfortunately, most people don't use strong passwords.

In either WPA or WPA2, your password is the weakest link. Make it as strong as you reasonably can. You can find complete steps for making strong passwords on my site.

Once your security is set up, hackers and Wi-Fi freeloaders will be locked out. But don't let your guard down. Crooks on the Web will try to trick you into letting them in the back door. Use my tips on avoiding bad Web sites and malicious e-mail attachments.

Help for dueling wallpapers

Question - I have dueling wallpapers on my desktop! When my computer is booting up, my new wallpaper appears on the screen for a second or two. But when I get to my desktop, I see the old wallpaper.

I get my wallpapers from Webshots.com. I removed the picture in the My Pictures folder. In my Display Properties window, the new wallpaper is selected and displays properly. There is no sign of the old wallpaper there.

Answer - This is a fairly common problem. I suspect you're trying to manage your desktop wallpaper two different ways.

You're trying to change your wallpaper via Windows' Display Properties. But Webshots is taking over your desktop wallpaper. To manage your desktop wallpaper in Windows, you need to disable Webshots.

You can do this by opening the Webshots software. Click the Options button and open the Wallpaper tab. Uncheck the box next to Use Webshots Wallpaper on Desktop. Click OK.

You may need to restart your computer. But then you should be able to go into Windows' Display Properties to manage your wallpaper.

I don't recommend the Webshots software. It's true that many people like it. However, it can drain your system resources. Also, it can create conflicts like the one you're having. So I would uninstall it.

Windows Display Properties won't rotate your wallpaper images. That's a bummer. However, I have a free program on my site that will do the job. It works on either a single-monitor or a dual-monitor setup.

Of course, if you want some stellar desktop wallpaper, check out my Downloads section. Okay, that's a bit shameless – they're all of me!

Some people use Webshots to rotate images as a screen saver. But that really isn't necessary. Windows will do that, too.

Right-click a blank space on your desktop and click Properties. Select the Screen Saver tab. Under "Screen saver," use the drop-down menu to select My Pictures Slideshow. Click Settings. Click Browse. Select the folder where your pictures are located, if they're not in My Pictures. You can change any other settings to suit your preferences. Click OK>>OK.

I also like Google's Screensaver. It will rotate the pictures, just like the My Pictures Slideshow. But it can display images from multiple folders. This is handy if you have pictures spread across different folders. The Screensaver program is part of Google Pack. You can get it free from my site.

The photos that Webshots uses are proprietary. This means you can't use them outside of Webshots. I like to use my own photos as a screen saver. But you'll find plenty of free pictures online. I have a Cool Site that has over 250,000 free images!

As cell phones become more popular, they're replacing an old standby: the wristwatch. There's one notable exception to this. Tune in to tomorrow's national radio Kim Komando Computer Minute to learn more. My Computer Minute is broadcast on hundreds of stations throughout the country. To find a local station that broadcasts my Minute, visit my site. You'll also find information on other ways to catch my radio shows.

A tip from Worldstart.com worth keeping – you will need it some day, Guaranteed!

Troubleshooting Shutdown Problems

There is a widespread shutdown bug with many Windows versions and today I have some comprehensive troubleshooting steps that you can use to try and overcome this issue. This article will be especially useful in troubleshooting the possible causes.

Here is a list of measures that can be performed in your Windows version to resolve the issue:

• Disable fast shutdown.
• Shutdown Troubleshooting Wizard.
• Damaged exit sound file .
• Clogged temporary file folders .
• AUTOEXEC.BAT or CONFIG.SYS.
• Virtual device driver / SYSTEM.INI .
• WIN.INI command lines Internet Explorer scenarios.
• Advanced power management.
• Other solutions.

We will review each of those one by one with appropriate procedures to perform.

Disable Fast Shutdown (For Windows 98 Only)

Step 1: Close all programs so that you have nothing open and get to your desktop.

Step 2: Click on the Start button, then click Run.

Step 3: In the Run field, type msconfig as shown in the image below.

Step 4: Press the OK button and the System Configuration Utility will start up.

You will then see a screen similar to the image below. Click Advanced and place a checkmark in the box next to ““Disable fast shutdown.“

Step 5: Press OK and OK again. Test Windows shutdown by restarting the computer. (For proper troubleshooting, click Start, Shut Down, Restart, OK).

Shutdown Troubleshooting Wizard

A shutdown troubleshooter is built right into Windows 98 and Windows ME. It will take you through many, but not all of the steps recommended. You may prefer this kind of “walk through, on-screen" troubleshooter. To access it, click Start, Help. In the window, type "troubleshooting." Click on the Troubleshooting entry in the menu. Scroll down the list provided and click on “Shutdown and Startup Troubleshooter“ (Win98) or “Startup and Shutdown Troubleshooter“ (Win ME).

Damaged Exit Sound File

In the Control Panel, double click Sounds (or Sounds and Multimedia). In the Events box, click Exit Windows. In the Name box, click None. Click OK.

Next, test the Windows shutdown again by restarting your computer. If Windows does not hang, the problem may be a corrupt sound file. Restore the file from your Windows disk or from wherever you obtained it, then test the Windows shutdown again.

Clogged Temporary File Folders

Manually deleting the contents of various temporary file folders may solve the shutdown problem. Though these files can be relocated on any given system, their default locations are usually on the C: drive. Folders you might want to manually clean include: TEMP, Temporary Internet Files and MSDOWNLD.TMP.

AUTOEXEC.BAT or CONFIG.SYS

FOR WIN95/98: Rename AUTOEXEC.BAT and CONFIG.SYS to AUTOEXEC.TMP and CONFIG.TMP.

FOR WINDOWS ME: Launch msconfig, click Selective Startup and uncheck the box labeled“Load Environment Variables.“ After doing one of these procedures, test the Windows shutdown.

Virtual Device Driver / SYSTEM.INI

Launch SYSEDIT from the Run window. Click on the SYSTEM.INI window. Examine the [386Enh] section. Place a semicolon ( ; ) at the beginning of each line that begins with DEVICE= and ends with .386. Save the changes and exit SYSEDIT.

NOTE: In Win98 and ME, you can use msconfig and merely uncheck such lines in the [386Enh] section.

Reboot, then test the Windows shutdown. If Windows hangs, restore the SYSTEM.INI file to its original configuration. If Windows does not hang during shutdown, a virtual device driver may be causing the problem. Contact the driver’s manufacturer for assistance.

WIN.INI Command Lines Internet Explorer Scenarios

Launch SYSEDIT from the RUN window. Click on the WIN.INI window and look for any lines beginning with LOAD= or RUN=. Place a semicolon ( ; ) at the beginning of these lines if they have entries following the equal (=) sign. Save the changes to the WIN.INI file and exit SYSEDIT.

NOTE: In Win98 and ME, you can use MSCONFIG and merely uncheck such lines on the WIN.INI tab.

Reboot and then test the Windows shutdown.

Advanced Power Management

Right click on the My Computer icon, select Properties and click the Device Manager tab. Double click the System Devices branch to expand it. Double click Advanced Power Management Support in the device list. Click the Settings tab. Click the Enable Power Management checkbox to clear it. Click OK until you return to Control Panel.

WIN98 SE NOTE: This box does not exist in Win98 SE. Disable APM from Control Panel, Power.

Reboot, then test the Windows shutdown. If Windows shuts down properly, the problem may be caused by APM, so contact the computer’s manufacturer for assistance.

Other Solutions

Antivirus Software Problems

If your antivirus software is set to scan your floppy drives on shutdown, this can result in various symptoms, including the computer hanging on shutdown. Often (but not always) a clue will be that the floppy drive light comes on during shutdown. The solution is to disable this particular feature in the antivirus program.

Hope this article was of some use in resolving shutdown issues in various Windows versions!

Changing Drive Letters

This article will describe the Disk Management snap-in that Microsoft Windows XP offers. Ready to begin?! Good, let's go!

The Disk Management snap-in is an administrative tool for managing hard disks and the volumes or partitions that they contain. Use the Disk Management feature when you want to add, change or remove drive letters on drives, partitions or volumes on your computer's hard disks, CD ROM drives and other removable media devices. Amazing, isn’t it?! Not just that, but now your computer can use up to 26 drive letters, from A to Z. Use drive letters C through Z for hard disk drives, while drive letters A and B are reserved for floppy disk drives. However, if your computer does not have a floppy disk drive, you can assign these letters to removable drives.

Isn't it exciting to know that you can have a computer with all your favorite letters? Doesn't it make you think of your Kindergarten days?! : ) Okay, let's continue.

Here's how your different drives look:

How to Assign a Drive Letter

To assign a drive letter to a drive, a partition or a volume, follow these steps:

1. Log on to your computer as the Administrator or as a member of the Administrator's group.
2. Click Start, click Control Panel and then click Performance and Maintenance.

Note: Make sure you are in the category view of the Control Panel. Otherwise, you won't see the Performance and Maintenance choice.

3. Click Administrative Tools, double click Computer Management and then click Disk Management in the left pane.
4. Right click the drive, the partition, the logical drive or the volume that you want to assign a drive letter to and then click Change Drive Letter and Paths.
5. Click Add.
6. Click "Assign the following drive letter" if it is not already selected and then either accept the default drive letter or click the drive letter that you want to use.
7. Click OK.

The drive letter is assigned to the drive, to the partition or to the volume that you specified. Now, that drive letter will appear in the appropriate place within the Disk Management tool.

How to Change a Drive Letter:

To change an existing drive letter on a drive, a partition or a volume, follow these steps:

1. Log on as the Administrator of your computer or as a member of the Administrator's group.
2. Click Start, click Control Panel and then click Performance and Maintenance.
3. Click Administrative Tools, double click Computer Management and then click Disk Management in the left pane.
4. Right click the drive, the partition, the logical drive or the volume that you want to assign a drive letter to and then click Change Drive Letter and Paths.
5. Click Change.
6. Click "Assign the following drive letter" if it is not already selected, click the drive letter that you want to use and then click OK.
7. Click Yes when you are prompted to confirm the drive letter change.

The drive letter of the drive, the partition or the volume that you specified is changed and the new drive letter will appear in the appropriate place within the Disk Management tool.

The following picture perhaps, will help make the process more clear and easier for you:

How to Remove a Drive Letter

To remove an existing drive letter on a drive, on a partition or on a volume, follow these steps:

1. Log on as the Administrator of your computer or as a member of the Administrator's group.
2. Click Start, click Control Panel and then click Performance and Maintenance.
3. Click Administrative Tools, double click Computer Management and then click Disk Management in the left pane.
4. Right click the drive, the partition, the logical drive or the volume that you want to assign a drive letter to and then click Change Drive Letter and Paths.
5. Click Remove.
6. Click Yes when you are prompted to confirm the removal.

The drive letter is removed from the drive, from the partition or from the volume that you specified.

Pretty neat, huh?!

~ Ramachandran Kumaraswami

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Windows XP Fax Service

If you're running Windows XP, you can finally donate that old fax machine to a local charity and use the desk space for something more valuable (like a box of doughnuts, perhaps!) Believe it or not, but an easy to use fax service is built into Windows XP already, so you can send and receive faxes from your computer.

There are a number of advantages of moving to a Windows XP based fax system, with the main one being no wasted paper. There's no need to print documents before faxing them. You can read, save, delete or attach incoming faxes to an e-mail, all without using a single piece of paper. Of course, you can print them too!

Although you don't need a fax machine, you'll need a phone line, a modem and a scanner to send and receive faxes from your computer. For faxing, the modem and scanner don't have to be anything special. Even a 33.6 bps modem will dispatch a multi-page letter in a minute or two. As to the scanner, faxes are sent in black and white and usually at a default resolution of no better than 150x150 dpi (dots per inch). Any working scanner can manage that.

Setting Up and Configuring Windows XP Fax

The fax service isn't automatically installed in Windows XP. To install the fax component:

1. Go to Start, Control Panel and click Add/Remove Programs.

2. Click Add/Remove Windows Components. Select the Fax Services check box and then click Next. The Windows Component Wizard takes care of the rest.

After the fax component is installed, the next step is configuring it. You can configure the fax service in the Fax Console, the center for faxing tasks. To configure the Fax Console:

1. Click Start, point to All Programs, point to Accessories, point to Communications, point to Fax and then click Fax Console.

2. On the Tools menu in the Fax Console, click Configure Fax. This will start the Fax Configuration Wizard. Click Next to start configuring your fax information.

3. On the Sender Information page, include your name or your business name and your fax number. Everything else on the page is optional.

4. On the Select Device for Sending or Receiving Faxes page, your modem will be selected, unless you have more than one. If you do, just select the one you want to configure at this time. Specify send and receive options and whether you'll manually answer incoming faxes or answer automatically when received.

5. On the Transmitting Subscriber Identification (TSID) and Called Subscriber Identification (CSID) pages, enter your business name and fax number. These fields really matter when you're running special fax routing software. Most software of this kind depends on TSIDs to determine where to direct an incoming fax.

6. On the Routing Options page, specify how incoming faxes will be handled. All faxes are stored automatically in the Fax Console, but you can also print a copy or store a copy in a local folder or on your network.

Sending Faxes From Your Computer

You can fax a document that's stored on your computer or you can scan a document and fax it by sending it to your fax printer. The Windows XP fax service uses the Windows Address Book (WAB) as its default book for fax numbers. If you ever install Outlook 2000 or Outlook 2002, the fax service switches to the Outlook Address Book (OAB) as its source for fax addresses. So, you don't need to maintain two address books, just one will do. To fax a document stored on your computer:

1. On the File menu of the document, click Print.

2. In the Print or Print Setup dialogue box, in the Printer name box, click Fax to open the Send Fax Wizard. (When faxing from an MS Office program, on the File menu, point to Send To, and then Click Fax Recipient. An Office Fax Wizard asks for specific information and then hands the process over to the Send Fax Wizard).

3. To supply the recipient's fax number, click Address Book and select one or more recipients just as if you were sending them an e-mail message.

4. If you've already set up Dialing Rules, skip ahead. If you haven't, click Dialing Rules. If you need to dial an extra digit to get an outside line, use a special carrier code or dial an area code even for local numbers, add those settings here and then click OK to return to the fax sending.

5. Specify when the fax should be sent, as well as, the fax's priority. Priority only matters if you're stacking up a number of faxes to be sent at a particular time. In that case, the order of sending will be determined by the priority you set.

6. Finally, you're presented with a screen that recaps the details of the fax. It also offers you a chance to preview it. If the fax is a multi-page, you'll be able to preview only the first page.

If you're sending the fax right away, the Fax Monitor, shown below, will start when the dialing does.

Faxing Scanned Documents

The second way to send a fax is to scan a document and then send it to your fax printer. The software that came with your scanner can help you set up this kind of fax and send it directly to your fax printer. However, you can also fax from a scanner using the tools in Windows XP:

1. Open Control Panel, click Printers and Other Hardware, click Scanners and Cameras and then double click the icon for your scanner to start the Scanner and Camera Wizard.

2. On the Choose Scanning Preferences page, click Grayscale picture and then click Preview to start the scanner.

3. Provide a name and location for the scanned document.

4. Open the folder that contains the image file, right click the image and then click Print. The Photo Printing Wizard will open.

5. Select the check box for the image to be faxed.

6. Select Fax as the printer you want to use.

When you finish the Photo Printing Wizard, the Send Fax Wizard opens and you proceed as described in the procedure for sending a fax from your computer.

Does that sound pretty cool to you?! Go on and give it a try!

~ Ramachandran Kumaraswami

Remote Assistance

Do you ever run into a computer problem that you know a family member or a friend could fix? Even after they explain it, you still can’t get it right. Well, all I can tell you is have no fear, remote assistance is here!

Remote Assistance is a feature that was built into Windows XP. It is designed so that if you have a problem, you can contact someone and they can view your screen and even move your mouse and control your computer (with your permission, of course!)

In this tip, I will explain what to do if you have a problem of your own and also, what you can do if someone asks you to help them.

Before we start:

You need to enable the Remote Assistance option. To do so, right click the My Computer icon on your desktop. A menu will appear and you can select Properties from it. Another box will appear. Go ahead and select the Remote tab at the top of the window. Now, make sure the option labeled "Allow Remote Assistance invitations to be sent from this computer" is checked.

If you have the problem:

1. First, go to Start and click on Help and Support.

2. A window will appear. Look around for a link that says, Remote Assistance. Depending on your computer, it might say something like "Get help from someone using Remote Assistance." Once you find it, click the Remote Assistance link.

3. Your computer should display a screen like this:

Since you want someone else to help you, click "Invite someone to help you."

4. The next page will ask you how you want to send the invitation for someone to help you. Since you might not have an e-mail service set up, I suggest you click the link at the bottom of the page that says "Save invitation as a file."

5. The next step will ask you how your name should appear on the invitation and when the invitation will expire.

6. Next, it will ask you to set a password so that the wrong person does not gain access to your computer. This step is optional, but highly recommended. Click "Save Invitation" and choose a place to save your invite.

7. The next page will confirm that your invite has been sent. Now, you should attach the invitation to an e-mail addressed to the person you are asking to help you. Be sure to include the password and describe the problem a little for them, so they can get an idea of what you're needing help with. For instructions on how to attach a file, click here.

That should be about it for receiving remote help. Now, below, I’ll explain what do do if someone sends you an invite and I'll also go over what your friend will see after you send them an invitation. So, without further ado.

If someone would like you to help them:

If someone sends you an invite through the same steps as above, here’s what you should do:

1. Download the attachment to your desktop and double click the icon.

2. A dialogue box will appear prompting you for the password.

3. Once the correct password is entered, the two computers will attempt to connect. If the user with the problem presses OK on their computer, the assistant will be able to see their screen. You can then chat with the person using the built in instant messaging feature that the Remote Assistance offers.

4. If the assistant presses the "Take Control" button in the upper left hand corner, it will ask the user with the problem if they will allow them to control the computer. If you give them access to do this, they can try to solve the dilemma on their own. This is more along the lines of a Remote Desktop.

Well, there you have it. You’ve just learned how to use Remote Assistance. Hopefully, you’ll never need to use it, but it's nice to know it's there if you ever run into a major problem!

~ Neil Patel

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Shutdown Shortcut

Do you ever get tired of the repetitive process of shutting down your computer? You know, you have to go to your Start menu and then select Turn Off or Shut Down, whichever your computer has. Then you have to wait for it to actually shut down just to make sure it did it properly. Well, how would you like to bypass all of that and make the process a little easier?

You can do so by creating a shutdown shortcut for your computer. This shortcut will just be like another icon either on your desktop or in your quick launch area. To create one, right click anywhere on your desktop and go to New, Shortcut. A wizard will then pop up and walk you through the steps. In the "Type the location of the item:" box, enter this code: %windir%\System32\shutdown.exe -s

Now, the s stands for shutdown. If you use this option, your computer will give you a brief waiting time before it actually shuts down. You can also choose to force running applications to stop (f) or choose to have no wait time before your PC turns completely off (t xx). So, if you would like to have both of those along with your command, enter this code instead: %windir%\System32\shutdown.exe -s -f -t 00. Your computer will then shut down instantly.

Once you have the one you want, click Next. You can then pick a name for your shortcut. I just named mine "Shut Down," but you can use whatever you want. When done, click Finish and the new icon will appear on your desktop. You can add it to your quick launch area now as well if you want. When you're ready to shut down your computer, double click this new icon and your computer will turn off. Cool, huh?! And the best part is, it's all done with one quick step!

From Fred Langa’s newsletter

Some Very Nice Free Software

Over the summer, I found a some new software you might be interested in. Best of all, it's free. There's more than I can put in one issue, so let me start in this issue by telling you of a very large collection of free stuff--- some of it very, very cool:

Most people have never heard of Microsoft's enormous R&D branch, called "Microsoft Research." But it's huge, with three labs in the US, one in Europe and another in Asia. I haven't seen a budget statement in a while, but at one time, Microsoft spent more money on software R&D than any other company in the world. I know, I know--- everyone likes to bash Microsoft, and it's an inviting target because when it screws up, it affects millions and millions of people. But it's not accidental that the Windows interface ("Start" button in the lower left, etc.) and specifically the XP interface is the most-copied UI design in the world. (It's the default interface, or at least an interface option, on virtually every Linux distribution, for example.) It's become the de facto standard interface in part because Microsoft made sure the design was relatively easy to learn and use through exhaustive research and testing.

Microsoft Research also explores new technologies and applications. Some of them don't pan out and thus never see the light of day. Others get built into working demos or lightweight tools for further experimentation. Some of those tools get polished enough to stand on their own as worthy downloads, and others go on to be incorporated as features in future releases of Windows or other Microsoft products. We've mentioned offerings from MR from time to time in the past in this newsletter, too.

You can read about Microsoft Research here http://research.microsoft.com/ and see the current list of downloads here http://research.microsoft.com/research/downloads/default.aspx . Some are pretty exotic and narrowly focused, but still can be interesting because it shows you some of the directions that Microsoft is actively exploring for future features and products.

But other downloads are widely useful as-is, and just plain cool as well. For example, Microsoft is exploring graphical interpolation. (In very casual speech, you can think of interpolation as figuring out what a third bit of data would be when you only have two other bits of data to work with. In other words, you figure out what the third bit of data is, even though you don't know it directly.)

If the above started to make your eyes glaze over, this will make it clearer:

Microsoft's "Continuous Flash" applet, for example, lets you start with two photos of the same scene--- one lit with a flash, one unlit with the flash--- and generate a third photo with any degree of lighting between the two real photos. In other words, with a dark non-flash shot and a bright full-flash shot of the same scene, Continuous Flash lets you synthesize a new digital image of that scene the way it would look with whatever intermediate degree of lighting you want--- 10% flash, or 50% flash, or 80% flash, or whatever makes it look best. That's pretty cool.

Even better is "Group Shot," which digitally solves the problem of getting everyone in a group photo to smile, look at the camera, and not blink. <g> Group Shot lets you build a new group photo using the best parts of other, flawed photos of the same group. Say your Aunt Bess looks goofy in one photo, but Uncle Bob is looking dapper. Aunt Bess looks radiant in a second shot, but Uncle Bob looks pole-axed. With Group Shot, you can synthesize a new third photo where both Aunt Bess and Uncle Bob are looking their best. Wow!

"Continuous Flash" is on the general download page, shown above, but that page doesn't list everything--- some offerings have their own pages, and you may have to poke around a bit to find them. "Group Shot," for example, is on its own page at http://research.microsoft.com/displayArticle.aspx?id=1481 .

There's lots to explore on the Research site; almost all of it at least interesting, if not immediately useful. And some of the tools, like the ones above, or "SNARF" (a tool that figures out your social network to help triage your email, with the most important peoples' emails rising to the top of the queue; http://research.microsoft.com/community/snarf/ ) are genuine "Wow"

items.

And, because they're demos of research topics, they're all free!

 More on the 27th of October.  Have a good week.

Chuckstr
----My Web Site----

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