CyberCoyote - March 5, 2009

NEWS and NOTES
Here's a short tutorial on HDR photography, and a link to Photomatix, both of which George discussed today. There is a free trial of Photomatix Pro, and if anyone would like to download a copy, try it out, and put on a demonstration, the club will buy you a license. [more] [book review]
TECH TOPICS

Where's the "Any" key?

Function Keys (Fn)

George also demonstrated today what that extra row of keys — F1, F2, ... F12 — at the top of your keyboard are for. They take you quickly to some "function" that you want to "invoke". ;^) For example, F1 opens help in almost any active program (the one you're currently using). F11 switches many photo display programs, all browsers, graphics programs, etc., to "full screen".

A note on nomenclature: Alt+F4 means depress the Alt key, and then press the F4 key.

F1 also opens Windows Help if you're at the Desktop. F3 activates search in most applications, successive presses of the key often reveals the "next" match. Shift+F3  will usually search backwards in succession. F5 is used to reload (refresh) the page in many web browsers, Windows Explorer and some other programs. F11 activates the full screen mode on most browsers and other graphics programs. Alt+F4 key is used to close programs, or the current tab or window of a program. F10 usually activates the menu bar, and Shift+F10 activates a context menu.

Don't try to learn all these at once. Pick one or two and use them for a week or two, and then come back and try one or two more until you've trained yourself to use them each time you have the need. You might also like to learn some more secrets and shortcuts, the two most valuable ones being Ctrl+C to copy things, and Ctrl+V to paste them. A good way to use these is to put your left pinky on Ctrl and press the letter key with your index finger.

Hidden in plain sight

There are many other effort-saving, "secret" tips that you could discover if you looked into every nook and cranny of your computer and other gadgets. Many are so much a part of the legacy of technology that nobody bothers to point them out anymore. That's why newcomers miss out on so many of them. David Pogue recently published a collection of tips that is worth combing through. You're bound to learn something that will make a few tedious or mysterious tasks easier to do. Note on serendipity: I had already written this item, only to have George demonstrate Function Keys today. So I just tacked it on here at the end. ;-)

64-bits vs 32-bits

Wondering if your next computer should have a 64-bit processor? The short answer is "probably so," and two years from now most new computers will likely be 64-bit anyway.

You'll need the horsepower to do things with your PC in the future that you probably don't even know about now. If you play video games, do video-editing, or heavy-duty graphics you'll want a 64-bit computer, although you'll need new 64-bit versions of your software to get the advantages, but that's the price of progress.

32-bit software will run fine on 64-bit computers, but not the other way around. But 16-bit legacy software will not run on a 64-bit machine at all without some sort of emulation software.

You are likely to have problems with older peripherals — printers, scanners, cameras, etc., though. You'll need 64-bit drivers for them and they may have already been abandoned by the manufacturers. Who wants to write drivers for 5 year old peripherals when you're trying to get a new model out the door?

SECURITY
Passwords

Steve Bass is a savvy computer user, but that didn't keep him from getting his PayPal password hacked. His story and practical advice on safe passwords should get you thinking. He also links to Microsoft's password checker, which leads to more good advice. You can find even more at our website. :-)

ODDS and ENDS
Non Sequitur

Information overload...

Fish-eye view

Where'd she go?

That's all, folks.