Why Photographers Need To Use Camera Downloader Program?

by: Martin Brinn

As a digital camera owner you may not be surprised to learn that digital import software to automate image transfer from your card-reader or digital camera is important. Everyone needs to get their images from point A the camera to point B the computer and we need this task performed with the minimum of fuss and bother. As photographers we are all aware that there are occasions when we will need images rotated or some pictures may require a little resolution correction. Using professional digital camera downloader program like RoboImport to automate photo transfer and to perform some image adjustments easily manages mundane digital camera workflow tasks. When purchasing your new digital camera it may come with program that claims to be the “gift with your purchase”, some quaint little image viewer. Usually this digital camera import software is offered on a trial basis or it is the bare minimum quality, if it’s any good at all. With the lower cost of digital cameras today many don’t even come with any digital camera downloader software at all, in fact if you’re lucky your camera package might come with a driver for your computer for digital camera communication but nothing else at all. Some new images may believe that since their new camera did not come with any special digital camera workflow program, it’s not required. Unaware that the uploading photographs from their camera does not require time consuming steps. They will begin by creating folders, then picking photos out one by one and face the next process of cataloguing and arranging. This is simply unthinkable for photographers or even new photography enthusiasts who have thousands of photographs to process and organize. Digital camera workflow program specifically developed to transfer your photos from your camera to your PC does far more than automate the picture transfer process. Any program that would just perform just this task is really quite inadequate. Photographers require professional digital camera workflow software such as RoboImport. This recommended digital camera workflow program will detect the camera connection for us photographers that may not be seasoned computer experts. RoboImport will create the required folders to transfer the images into, and even rename it accordingly. Some less professional digital camera import program may present a problem during the upload process by duplicating filenames and sadly overwriting other treasured photographs that may be present in the computer. RoboImport takes the precaution of renaming pictures from the standard number your digital camera presets, by reading and recording the EXIF information of the photographs to create a unique code representing the date and time the photo was photographed. The complete EXIF information including your cameras make, model and settings will also be transferred with your images, retaining this information is absolutely necessary for professional photographers. RoboImport will also rotate images when required, correct image resolution (DPI) and add any further IPTC-NAA information to the photos you would like to include. When managing hundreds of images this is an exceptional time saving feature. Wildlife and travel photographers are also considered with the added ability of RoboImport to include GPS coordinates of the photos location. Professional photographers who do not have access to their RAW photos do not do their work any justice. JPEG images are not as good in quality and are prone to bleeding and blurring the photographer was not responsible for, and certainly their camera did not create, this is a result of the compression required to convert photographs JPEG images or other formats. RoboImport saves both the RAW image file and the JPEG image in separate folders giving the photographer the photograph they really took, as security and backup against format conversion damage. Excellent digital camera workflow program like RoboImport will also open your Picajet photo manager, or other available digital photo manager you might have on hand for further assessment of your photographs. The time and fuss saved by using software to automate image transfer gives the photographer back their time to spend on the tasks they want to be performing, like taking masterpiece photos.

To learn more please visit RoboImport’s home page: http://picajet.com/en/index.php?page=Digital-Image-Management-Software


Source : http://www.articlecity.com/articles/computers_and_internet/article_3935.shtml

High Speed Internet Connection

by: Toh Poh

Internet has almost become a lifeline for the new generation. Many businesses now depend entirely on the Internet. People residing in different parts of world are able to talk to each other via the medium of Internet. Video conferencing is a live example of it. Many marriages are also made with the help of the Internet. The list of benefits that Internet provides is limitless. But, what would you do when you have a slow speed internet connection that takes a lot of time? That internet connection would simply be useless to you. The speed at which you are connected to the Internet plays a very important role in enjoying the advantages offered by it. For example, suppose one of your relatives who is residing overseas, has sent you a holiday clip. Now, if your Internet speed is slow then first of all it would take a long time to load the mail website. Then you would enter your user name and password. It would again take extra time to verify it. Also, downloading the clip would be very slow, even if its size is very small. Overall, you can say that having a low speed Internet connection (dial-up connection) is not a good thing. There are many choices available for a high speed Internet connection. DSL, Cable and Satellite are some of them. You can select the best one from them. Here are some of the common benefits that all these high speed Internet connections provide. * Viewing of streamlining clips or videos is very easy and fast in these connections. Dial-up connections may not even allow their access. * You can upload web pages and download any kind of information or software with more than twice the speed of dial-up connection. * Downloading of images and huge e-mail files can be done almost promptly. * High speed Internet connection has proven to be a boon for all businessmen. They can now access the world wide web within a few seconds. Their businesses have been highly benefited through efficient and quick video conferencing which would have been impossible in a slow dial-up connection. * For those people who work from home, a high speed Internet connection can assist them in increasing their overall work efficiency and output. * On a long term basis, the high speed Internet connection can prove to be highly economical. DSL: The best choice for high speed internet connection Now-a-days, DSL has become the leading choice for a high speed Internet connection. DSL works on existing telephone lines. With a DSL connection you can browse the web and talk on the phone at the same time. Generally, a DSL connection requires a DSL router, a dedicated phone line and a network card or a modem for each system. The installation of DSL at your location is the responsibility of the service provider. Last but not the least, this high speed Internet connection is offered at very affordable prices.


Source : http://www.articlecity.com/articles/computers_and_internet/article_3944.shtml

Cisco PIX/ASA Security Appliance: How to Configure Banners

by: Don R. Crawley Banners can be configured to display when a user first connects (MOTD), when a user logs in (login), or when a user accesses privileged mode (exec). Banners are used for legal warnings such as when a user is cautioned not to access a restricted system or that their access of a system is subject to monitoring and logging. Banners are also used on locked systems placed at customer locations by service providers to provide contact information for device access or technical support. The Cisco security appliance supports the use of login banners in console sessions and Telnet sessions, but not in SSH sessions. Exec and MOTD banners are supported in console, Telnet, and SSH sessions. Banners can be up to 510 characters in length. You can create multiple line banners either by creating multiple banner statements or by using the keystroke sequence of "\n" which inserts a carriage return. Here's how banners are displayed: MOTD Banners--When usernames are not configured, MOTD displays at login in a serial console session and before login in Telnet sessions. When usernames are configured, MOTD displays before login in a Telnet session and after login in a serial console session. Login Banners--The login banner displays before login in Telnet and serial console sessions. Exec Banners--The exec banner displays upon login in all sessions. How to Configure a Banner Note: The following procedures were tested on an ASA 5505 Security Appliance running software version 7.22. Other hardware or software platforms may require modification of these procedures in order to function properly. To configure a banner, use the following configuration mode commands: asa(config)#banner motd This is a restricted system. asa(config)#banner motd Do not attempt unauthorized access. Notice the use of two banner motd statements to create a multi-line banner. As mentioned previously, you can also use the "\n" key sequence to insert a carriage return. You can view the banners you created with the following privileged mode command: asa#show running-config banner Hands-On Exercise: Creating Banners on the Security Appliance The following procedures are for training purposes only and should only be performed on devices in a laboratory environment. Under no circumstances should these procedures be performed on equipment in a live, production environment without first verifying their suitability in a laboratory environment. In the following hands-on exercise, you will create MOTD, login, and EXEC banners.

Step 1: In configuration mode, enter the following commands: asa(config)#banner motd This is the MOTD banner asa(config)#banner login This is the login banner asa(config)#banner exec This is the EXEC banner

Step 2: Display the banners you just created with the following command: asa(config)#show running-config banner

Step 3: Type exit repeatedly until you are logged out of your laboratory security appliance. Notice which banners are displayed.

Step 4: Enter privileged mode with the command "enable" and notice which banners are displayed.

Step 5: From your laboratory computer, start a Telnet session and again observe which banners are displayed. When you are finished, exit the Telnet session.

Step 6: Also from your laboratory computer, start an SSH session and again observe which banners are displayed. When you are finished, exit the SSH session. Note: The above procedures are similar to the procedures used to configure banners on other Cisco devices including routers.

Copyright (c) 2007 Don R. Crawley

Source :
http://www.articlecity.com/articles/computers_and_internet/article_3940.shtml

Green With Envy In The Google Game

by: Bill Platt
Beginning on April 14th, 2007, a firestorm blew through the Internet community with the search engine optimization (SEO) community burning the hottest. The embers were warm and waiting for a strong wind to blow and kick up the flames, but it took Matt Cutts, the Google engineer extraordinaire to fire the flames with an off-the-cuff comment about "paid links." The flames raged and in most forums, the wind quickly shifted moving the firestorm back towards Cutts and Google. Thread Watch offered the most biting rebuttal to Cutts' comments: http://www.threadwatch.org/node/13925 and http://www.threadwatch.org/node/13941 Aaron Wall at Thread Watch is a respectable fellow, and he tore into Google with a ferociousness that I had not anticipated. Matt Cutts tried to answer some of Aaron's questions, but it seemed that Cutts' rebuttals only added more fuel to the fire. I would not have wanted to be in Matt Cutts' shoes that week. Oh my, it was brutal! Even on Cutts' own blog where the "paid link" comment originally surfaced (http://www.mattcutts.com/blog/hidden-links/), Danny Sullivan posted a question that went unanswered, so Sullivan commented about it on his site: http://searchengineland.com/070420-111550.php Search Engine Watch even mentioned this issue and linked to additional forums where the debate was raging: http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/070416-020746 What Most Readers Took From Cutts' Comments There were only a few readers who took Matt Cutts' comments to be brotherly-advice. The vast majority of people were screaming that Google intended to exercise their "monopoly control" over the Internet to run all of their competitors out of business. Generally, I am not a "reactionary" type person. But for about an hour, even I had a ball in the pit of my stomach. The ball passed from the pit of my stomach when I read a post that mirrored an opinion I have openly written about numerous times before: How does Google determine the "intent" of a person making a link? They can't! Understanding The Nuances Of Similar Items Some people suggest that I should be ashamed of myself for speculating about the future of Google's algorithms. There is even one clown, who has suggested that I should fear mentioning Matt Cutts' name in an article, because I am bound to draw Cutts' ire against me and my businesses. But, I am not worried. I am simply laying out my "speculative" opinion about what Cutts' comments might mean to my business and yours. You are free to use your own brain to judge the value of my words. Am I playing a double standard when I say that Google cannot determine the intent of the person placing a link, and then I comment on how I interpret the future of the Google search algorithms? I don't think so, and let me tell you why. Google uses algorithms (software programs) to make distinctions about what a web page is about, how they value that page, and to judge the nature of a link. I use my intellect (or as some would suggest, my lack thereof) to make a judgment about what Google has told us we should expect from them in the future. I trust software to a certain extent, but software cannot always read the nuance that separates two very similar items. So, how can the Google algorithm be expected to determine the intent of a person who placed a link? It has always been my contention that humans are "required" in any process that must make an interpretation of nuance. In my businesses, we refuse to trust computers to make judgments of nuance, because they can't. That is the reason we employ human beings to process orders. What Is Google's Intent Behind The Paid Links Issue? The whole of Cutts' argument seems to hinge on nixing "paid links" that are designed to manipulate or "game Google's PageRank" and to a lesser extent, their organic search results. Google seems to be really agitated that webmasters are "selling links based on the PageRank value of a page." The problem is that webmasters are selling an intangible asset that is wholly owned by Google and maintained for "Google's benefit." Webmasters are selling this Google asset, but Google will not receive any of the proceeds from that sale. As a result, Cutts suggested that webmasters should use some method that Google's spider can use to recognize and distinguish "paid links" from "given links." Since Google's algorithm is based on the theory that links are given to websites that deserve those links, the paid links on high PageRank pages can really skew Google's PageRank values and its organic search results. Here Is Where It Gets Ugly Both honest and dishonest people inhabit this Internet. Google wants webmasters who are selling links to distinguish paid links from given links, so that Google can ignore "links purchased to influence PageRank." If honest people distinguish paid links in a way that Google can recognize, then the market demand for those links will dry up. Once the PageRank value of a link is taken away from the buyer, the buyer will be forced to purchase links based only on the traffic that the specific web page receives. If all paid link decisions were based only on a web page's traffic, then the market value of a link would be decimated. Once a webmaster tells his link-buying customers that his or her links will no longer carry PageRank value to the buyer's website, then the value of that link will drop in most cases by 80% or more. Why would a webmaster want to reduce the market value of his links by 80%? Although Google's links do not pass PageRank to the websites that are in their index or paid listings, we have to ask ourselves one thing. Would Google be willing to take a step that would reduce the market value of their own links by 80%? They certainly would not do anything that would cut their own bottom line that deeply, yet they are asking webmasters to do just that. This is the reason people are teed off at Google. At least 80% of the market value of a link is driven by the PageRank value of the web page where the link will be placed. Dishonest people don't care to play by the rules; they will continue to sell their PageRank value, as long as they continue to have buyers. Only the honest will suffer. Link Buyers Are Green With Envy Link Buyers are envious of the PageRank value given to other web pages, and they want a bit of that value passed over to their own websites. Link buyers are green with envy, because they can see that little green bar in the top of their browser that tells them how much value Google gives a web page in its algorithms. If Google were to keep PageRank as a private value, known only to them, then "paid links" would not be an issue for them to manage. If the public cannot see what a page's PageRank value is, then link buyers would not be able to use PageRank to influence their link buying decisions, and webmasters would not be able to market their PageRank value to other websites. How Simple Is That? All Google has to do to solve this problem of theirs, is to take away the indicator people use to buy and sell PageRank. Someone suggested to me that Google would never do away with the PageRank indicator in their toolbar, because Google feels that it is the only thing that ensures that people will keep the Google toolbar in their browser. Personally, I will continue to use the Google toolbar for my searches, even if the PageRank indicator was not there, because I like the search results Google gives to me. But that is just my opinion, and I am only one person out of millions of Google toolbar users. What it boils down to is this. If Google is serious about nixing schemes to buy and sell PageRank, then they would simply take their PageRank indicator away from us. But will they take it away? Only time will tell.

Source :
http://www.articlecity.com/articles/computers_and_internet/article_3942.shtml

What is the Best Method to Back up Data?

by: James Walsh
This being the age of internet, chat rooms, blogging and innovative hackers, their expectation never gets fulfilled. The news always leaks out or is methodically publicised by a rival or a gleeful hacker. Thereafter, insult is added to their injury as irate customers and the eager press demand explanations about every unsavoury detail of the incident. But data loss is not a problem affecting only the big players only any more. All of us deal with some amount of data and almost all of it is important to us. Albums have been replaced by .jpeg files, our music is inside the hard drive of our pc or laptop, and our emails are stored in offline folders or software like Microsoft Outlook. Students keep their study material in their machines, and a doctoral thesis is usually a file on the hard disk instead of being a thick volume bound in leather covers. It is, therefore, strange that we keep losing data because we have not taken the precaution of backing it up elsewhere. Several start-up home businesses have not seen the light of the day anymore after an initial incident of data loss. All of this underlines the importance of backup, which really cannot be overstressed. Some Methods of Obtaining Backups The method, or rather, the medium chosen for backing up data will depend on the volume of data to be stored, as well as the nature of the data. Some common methods are being enlisted below: CD and Floppy: The floppy has largely gone out of use by now, due to its many limitations, small capacity and security problems. The CD is a good choice for obtaining backups, and is one of the favourite choices in both domestic and corporate spheres. It is cheap, readily available, portable and compatible with several file formats. Storing a CD and sharing information from it are also quite simple. DVD: The DVD is a good choice for storing audio visual information. It may not be as cheap as the CD, but offers better quality, often lasts longer, and has way more space. DVD RWs can be used in such a way that literally every bit is used to store information. A DVD also has the same facilities when it comes to sharing and easy transporting. However, the DVD RW, many market observers feel, may turn out to be an intermediate technology and be replaced by something superior but very similar in function, or may evolve in such a way that the problems would get solved. It must be noted here that the constant research in this regard, and inventions like the Blue Ray disk etc. point out that we can hope for a better technology soon. USB Devices: These are the new favourites all over the world. The greatest proof of the popularity of this technology lies in two facts. Firstly, the storage space of pen drives / flash drives/ memory sticks is constantly increasing. Secondly, their prices are plummeting downwards rapidly. Almost all kinds of files can be stored on these; they are very easy to carry, do not require a separate software or booting up of the machine to start functioning, and it is very convenient to share the data stored on them. For storing smaller music libraries, an iPod may be an option too. External Hard Drives: For larger data storage requirements, external hard drives are excellent solutions. Arrays or stacks of hard drives are available for corporate purposes and are provided by all good hard drive manufacturers. Seagate, Maxtor, ASB, LaCie all make external hard drives of varying capacities and prices. Online and Offline Storage Spaces: These are ‘spaces’ provided by professional firms, and are extremely secure for sensitive data storage. Tapes and Printouts: Traditional storage should not be left out of the list. There is some information that one simply needs to see on the good old piece of paper. Tape has been in use for a long time now, and will probably continue for some time.

Source:
http://www.articlecity.com/articles/computers_and_internet/article_3933.shtml