The Next Window

There are so many excellent photography sites on the 'Net. Of course, it is a joy to find another.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.thenextwindow.com/exit.php?url_id=464&amp;entry_id=93" title="http://www.photon-echoes.com" onmouseover="window.status='http://www.photon-echoes.com';return true;" onmouseout="window.status='';return true;">photon-echoes.com</a> is the photo gallery of Canadian Lauri A. Kangas. Mr. Kangas provides us with a large number of photos of the Great Outdoors.<br />
<br />
His site has photo sections on Atmospheric Optics, Aurora Borealis, Scenery, Nature and Astronomy. Those are just the <em>main</em> headings. Nature then breaks down to Bugs, Flowers, Birds and Animals — Birds has a number of pictures and then a subsection on Trumpeter Swans. Other sections break similarly into subsections.<br />
<br />
The pictures are gorgeous. The only complaint I have about the site is that the navigation is clumsy. The front page has the navigationon the left. Links on other pages may be in tables in the middle of the page or may at the top of the page, but the "Home" link is always at the bottom — which is an unusual location. But, then, I didn't go there to see the navigation system.<br />
<br />
Check out <a href="http://www.thenextwindow.com/exit.php?url_id=464&amp;entry_id=93" title="http://www.photon-echoes.com" onmouseover="window.status='http://www.photon-echoes.com';return true;" onmouseout="window.status='';return true;">photon-echoes</a> for many great shots of landscapes, skyscapes, flora and fauna you will not see from down south.<br />

Baton Rouge won't see it, but not because of the usual "clouds in the evening" problem. <br />
<br />
At the time of the collision, the comet will only be 6&deg; above the western horizon. We'll have to hope that the ejecta makes a cloud that stays visible until the next night. No word on that – it may just spray out and be too thin for good light reflection in minutes or hours. <br />
<br />
Folks on the west coast and maybe Hawaii should be better off for this show. I'll have to settle for pictures after the fact.<br />
<br />
Another point that I haven't seen mentioned. The NASA site says that the comet will be 83 million miles away at the time of the impact. But, this needs to be put into perspective. Since light travels at a mere 186,000 miles per second, it is going to be about 4.5 minutes until the impact could possibly be visible.<br />
<br />
The big questions are how big a cloud of debris will be ejected — so how much light will it reflect — and how fast will the cloud of debris be created. It may take minutes or hours to get a cloud big enough to be noticeable with binoculars, even after allowing for the speed of light.<br />

I found a cool new photography site the other day, <a href="http://www.thenextwindow.com/exit.php?url_id=437&amp;entry_id=91" title="http://aguntherphotography.com" onmouseover="window.status='http://aguntherphotography.com';return true;" onmouseout="window.status='';return true;">Andre Gunther Photography</a>. Andre has a large number of photos in his galleries. Most of these are landscapes, and they are landscapes that most of us will never see in person. He has pictures from California, Hawaii, Germany, the American West (Grand Canyon, Yosimite, etc) and more.<br />
<br />
He also has some great wallpapers that are free to download. He provides these in various sizes, including widescreen wallpapers for those of us with widescreen notebooks. Most of the wallpapers are zipped, but I understand that he plans to change that now that he has switched to Powweb for his web hosting.<br />
<br />
Don't miss the link to his <a href="http://www.thenextwindow.com/exit.php?url_id=438&amp;entry_id=91" title="http://www.aguntherphotography.com/journal.htm" onmouseover="window.status='http://www.aguntherphotography.com/journal.htm';return true;" onmouseout="window.status='';return true;">Photo Journal</a>, where he talks about some of the pictures – and shows a few that you might not otherwise find on the site.<br />

Several years ago, I found an online television schedule website <a href="http://www.thenextwindow.com/exit.php?url_id=546&amp;entry_id=90" title="http://www.zap2it.com" onmouseover="window.status='http://www.zap2it.com';return true;" onmouseout="window.status='';return true;">Zap2It</a> that was so complete and so easy to use that I immediately became a regular user. The site has a lot of additional content, but my real interest was the TV lisings. My subscription to my local cable schedule magazine started to become unused paper on the table.<br />
<br />
Today, that same site provides the show data used by the <a href="http://www.thenextwindow.com/exit.php?url_id=547&amp;entry_id=90" title="http://www.sagetv.com" onmouseover="window.status='http://www.sagetv.com';return true;" onmouseout="window.status='';return true;">SageTV</a> software on my <a href="http://www.thenextwindow.com/exit.php?url_id=548&amp;entry_id=90" title="http://www.terrystockdale.com/htpc/htpc_1.shtml" onmouseover="window.status='http://www.terrystockdale.com/htpc/htpc_1.shtml';return true;" onmouseout="window.status='';return true;">home theater PC</a>. I'd almost forgotten about the website but just looked at it again.<br />
<br />
You can use the service without creating an account (free), but that gives you limited functionality. Each time you go to the site, you would have to enter your zip code, pick your TV system (cable, digital cable, broadcast, satellite, etc).<br />
<br />
If you create a free account, the system will remember your settings and your preferences. These include your TV system and other choices. As an example, since I use a cable modem, I prefer to show "all stations" and not just 20 at a time. <br />
<br />
Check out <a href="http://www.thenextwindow.com/exit.php?url_id=546&amp;entry_id=90" title="http://www.zap2it.com" onmouseover="window.status='http://www.zap2it.com';return true;" onmouseout="window.status='';return true;">Zap2It</a>'s TV listing system when you get a chance.<br />

Today, I planned to attend the <a href="http://www.thenextwindow.com/exit.php?url_id=407&amp;entry_id=89" title="http://www.clickers.org" onmouseover="window.status='http://www.clickers.org';return true;" onmouseout="window.status='';return true;">Cajun Clickers Computer Club</a>'s Digital Video Special Interest Group. A volunteer group from the DV SIG, the "Clickers Video Rangers," is planning to digitally record some of the Clickers' four-part education programs, edit them and then prepare DVDs for sale to our members. <br />
<br />
However, at the same time this afternoon, there was an "Ask The Experts" session scheduled in a different classroom at the Clickers offices. I ended up becoming the volunteer expert for this two hour session.<br />
<br />
There were several good questions, with both novice users and advanced users asking questions and volunteering answers and discussion. I had a good time and hope the other folks did, also.<br />

Today (Friday) was a happy day at my house. My son got his iPod-mini back from Apple's repair service. What's so special about that? The customer service, that's what. <br />
<br />
He called Apple on Monday about the iPod-mini not working right – Monday of <em>this</em> week. On Monday, Apple DHL-overnighted an empty box to him with a prepaid return ticket. It arrived on Tuesday, so it got promptly delivered back to the DHL office on Tuesday afternoon. And, on Friday, just as predicted by the customer service rep on Monday, the <u>new</u> replacement unit arrived. <br />
<br />
I can think of a number of electronics manufacturers who could learn about customer service from Apple. OK, let's not just limit it to the electronics manufacturers, either.<br />
<br />
This makes me wonder why I bought a different brand of MP3 player for myself — well, I know it was price, but … <br />
<br />
Anyway, I'm not ready to go over to the Dark Side of the Force on computers, but my next MP3 player may very well be an Apple.<br />

If you haven't heard yet, <a href="http://www.thenextwindow.com/exit.php?url_id=466&amp;entry_id=87" title="http://www.nasa.gov" onmouseover="window.status='http://www.nasa.gov';return true;" onmouseout="window.status='';return true;">NASA</a> launched an exploration spacecraft on January 12th that is scheduled to impact a comet on this July 4th. The impact is scheduled to occur at 1:52am Eastern Daylight Time, so most of the US should be able to stay awake and watch.<br />
<br />
NASA describes the "flyby spacecraft" as being nearly as large as a Volkswagen Beetle and the "impactor spacecraft" as having about the same dimensions as a typical living room coffee table.<br />
<br />
So, what's the big deal? The big deal is that this is the first attempt to touch a comet. Plus, the impact is going to occur at 23,000 miles per hour. We're going to touch it hard at that speed. The crater is projected to be up to 200 meters wide by 50 meters deep — and the ejected ice and dust is expected to brighten the comet (reflect enough light) to be visible to binoculars and, perhaps, the naked eye.<br />
<br />
NASA has many more details on the <a href="http://www.thenextwindow.com/exit.php?url_id=467&amp;entry_id=87" title="http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/deepimpact/main/index.html?skipIntro=1" onmouseover="window.status='http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/deepimpact/main/index.html?skipIntro=1';return true;" onmouseout="window.status='';return true;">Deep Impact</a> page at its website, including an interactive Flash video and a number of webcasts that start on July 1st.<br />
<br />
The flyby spacecraft will observe and record the impact, the ejected material blasted from the crater, and the structure and composition of the crater's interior. Then, it will pass through the comet and view it from the other side also.<br />
<br />
Should we worry about this? Is it going to change the path of the comet? The answer comes from one of the scientists on the project: "In the world of science, this is the astronomical equivalent of a 767 airliner running into a mosquito," said Dr. Don Yeomans, a Deep Impact mission scientist at JPL.<br />

In three words, "help and education."<br />
<br />
If a few more words, a computer user group is a group of computer users, ranging from new users to advanced users. They have two main things in common: they are running the same general type of computer operating system — a Windows-based computer or an Apple MacIntosh or a Linux-based computer — and they are interested in learning how to use their computer more effectively.<br />
<br />
For some beginners, that's learning to use a keyboard and mouse, how to copy files, rename files, etc. Other individuals want to learn more about topics such as word processing, spreadsheets, graphics programs, web design, genealogy.<br />
<br />
Whether your local computer user group meets once a month in a public library or has 50-60 classes and events each month, check it out. The group is a success because its members make it one. Volunteer to do what you can — if you regularly use a program, volunteer to teach a class or workshop on it. If you can't teach, help set up for meetings, or help edit the club's newsletter, or anything else that needs done.<br />
<br />
The more effort you put in to the user group, the more you will value its existence.<br />
<br />
If you don't know where to find one, check with your local library. They can probably point you in the right direction. Your local computer store may also know where and when it meets.<br />

Yeah! I got it out on time. The first issue of my new, free <a href="www.terryscomputertips.com/subscribe.php">Terry's Computer Tips email newletter</a> was published yesterday at 2pm CDT — a 12:00 cutoff Pacific Time.<br />
<br />
Of course, there were a few more subscriptions during the afternoon and evening, so I manually mailed copies to those folks. I didn't want them to miss the initial issue.<br />
<br />
I welcome anyone who wants to subscribe to come to my <a href="www.terryscomputertips.com">Terry's Computer Tips</a> website and click "Subscribe" or the "newsletter" links. You will get an email to confirm your subscription request — you wil have to confirm your request using the link in the email.<br />
<br />
Feel free to forward the <em>entire</em> newsletter to any of your friends of family — that way they can subscribe, too.<br />

No blog entry yesterday — first day I've missed in a while. I spent a lot of time yesterday finalizing the first issue of my new <a href="http://www.thenextwindow.com/exit.php?url_id=367&amp;entry_id=84" title="http://www.terryscomputertips.com/subscribe.php" onmouseover="window.status='http://www.terryscomputertips.com/subscribe.php';return true;" onmouseout="window.status='';return true;">Terry's Computer Tips newletter</a>.<br />
<br />
I've also been making some changes on the <a href="http://www.thenextwindow.com/exit.php?url_id=368&amp;entry_id=84" title="http://www.terryscomputertips.com" onmouseover="window.status='http://www.terryscomputertips.com';return true;" onmouseout="window.status='';return true;">Terry's Computer Tips website</a>. These are behind the scenes changes to programming of the site that will make some coming functions easier. One, in particular, is that I want to be able to use short URL links in emails and articles. Of course, I could use one of the free services that are out there, but it would be more fun to make the links using my own site.<br />
<br />
I'm planning to publish this first issue at 2pm CDT today — noon Pacific time. I wonder how long it will take the mailing list software to generate all the emails. Not long, I bet.<br />