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THE INTERNET TUTOR
April 20, 2006
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This week...
- Webmaster Tip: Image Resizing
- Surfin' the Web: Origins
- Software Spotlight: Irfanview
- The Oddball Wall: Wandering Wisconsin
- Computer Tip: Live OneCare - Just Say No!
Every now and then I change the message on our answering
machine to keep things fresh for friends and family.
Here's my latest:
I'm sorry, we're not in right now. To leave a voice-mail
message, please hang up, speak your message into an
envelope, and mail it to us. Thank you.
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WEBMASTER TIP - Image Resizing
Note: In code examples I add a period after each left arrow
bracket so the code can be viewed in all e-mail programs. If
you copy and paste, be sure to remove the periods or it won't
work.
Question: I read a tutorial on using HTML to resize images,
basically it's just coding the wrong image size into the
image. I tried it but the image doesn't look as good. Did
I do something wrong?
Simon Says: Yes and no...if the image resized on the page
then you didn't do anything wrong as far as following the
tutorial you read, where you went wrong was following the
tutorial in the first place.
Not all advice on the web is good advice. By simply changing
the image size by coding an incorrect height and width into
it, you're asking the browser to do something it was never
meant to do, and that's to be a graphics editing program. The
browser can resize the image, but it looks bad because the
browser doesn't intelligently resize the image, it just
scrunches or stretches the image with no deference to quality.
Besides that, if your resizing the image to a smaller size,
just coding the image to the incorrect size doesn't make the
download size any smaller. If you want smaller dimensions,
you should also take advantage of the fact that reducing the
image in a graphics editor will reduce the over file size,
this making it download faster.
With free graphics programs available, and with resizing an
image such a simple matter, there's no reason to use HTML
to reduce the image size. Reducing it in a proper graphics
editor will not only make the image download faster, but it
will be of a higher visual quality too.
To resize an image in most graphic editors, all you do is
open the image in the program and search the menu items for
an option that says "Resample" or "Resize" -- or something
similar.
I use Corel Photopaint. To resize an image in Photopaint I
just go to "Image" on the main menu and "Resample" on the
submenu. Then you just tell the program what size you want.
Corel has an option to maintain perspective so the image
won't distort by reducing it great in one direction than the
other. With that option selected, when you change either the
vertical size or horizontal size, the other direction resizes
automatically, this prevent a distorted perspective.
Photopaint is not cheap, so unless you want to get serious
about graphics you'll want to look for a free or lower cost
alternative. I've featured a good free program below in the
Software Spotlight, but there are many more to choose from.
If the program I've listed isn't for you, just Google for
"free graphics editor" or visit some freeware/shareware sites.
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The Garden Creations Weather Forecaster
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keeps track of temperature, precipitation, wind speed and
wind direction. The large 15" thermometer, with Fahrenheit
and Celsius scales can be read from across the yard. The
attached rain gauge measures precipitation, while the weather
vane and wind spinner on top measure relative wind speed and
direction. Now just $12.99 when you visit: Weather Forecaster
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SURFIN' THE WEB - Origins
Origins, a PBS web site, brings science to you in layman's
terms. There's all kinds of interesting things here. You can
take a poll to vote whether you think there's life in else-
where in the Milky Way, and view arguments for and against
it (77% think there is). View the Pillars of Creation, decode
the cosmic spectra, play the Origins game, view the history
of the Universe or the ET gallery and more.
Very cool.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/origins
SOFTWARE SPOTLIGHT - Irfanview
Irfanview is a superb free graphics viewing program with nice
editing features. In regards to Webmaster Tip in this issue
about resizing images, Irfanview makes it very simple. Here's
how:
1) Open the image by clicking File, then Open, and choose an
image.
2) With the image open, click Image from the main menu, and
Resample/Resize from the submenu.
3) In the Resize dialog window, you'll see several options for
resizing that are self-explanatory. Choose one and click OK.
4) The image is now resize, just save it and you're good to go.
Irfanview has many other minor editing features and options,
play around and have fun. It's a great little program.
http://www.irfanview.com/
Note: I do not provide support for the featured software.
Contact the software vendor for support. No warranty is
made or implied as to the usefulness or appropriateness of
featured software.
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GopherCentral's Question of the Week:
Should President Bush Be Impeached?
Please share your opinion, visit: The Question of the Week
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THE ODDBALL WALL - Wandering Wisconsin
On this day in 1836, the Territory of Wisconsin was created.
Hey, let's see what you know about my home state!
1) Iowa is the Hawkeye State, Ohio is the Buckeye State, and
Wisconsin is the ____ State. Fill in the blank.
a. Cheese b. Northwoods c. Badger
2) Wisconsin borders touch two of the five Great Lakes. With-
out looking on a map, which two does it border? Choose two
answers.
a. Lake Superior
b. Lake Michigan
c. Lake Huron
d. Lake Erie
e. Lake Wisconsin
3) Which Wisconsin Senator was the founder of Earth Day?
a. William Proxmire b. Gaylord Nelson c. Herb Kohl
4) Milwaukee is famous for many things, one being the 3-mile
Great Circus Parade. One of the highlights is that visitors
can view 75 historic circus wagons from the state owned Circus
World Museum up close and personal. The funny thing is, the
Circus World Museum isn't even located in Milwaukee. Where is
it located?
a. La Crosse b. Baraboo c. Appleton
5) Everyone knows Madison, or Mad Town as some call it, is the
capitol of Wisconsin. It wasn't the first capitol though. What
was Wisconsin's first capitol?
a. Tomah b. Duluth c. Belmont
6) Minnesota may bill itself as the Land of 10,000 Lakes, but
there are over 15,000 lakes in Wisconsin, more golf courses
than Arizona, and Marathon County is known as the ____ Capitol
of the World. Fill in the blank or walk the plank!
a. Ginseng b. Dairy c. Walnut
7) Two different Wisconsin communities claim to be the UFO capitol
of the world. Which two make this claim?
a. Portage and Wausau
b. Rice Lake and Whitewater
c. Belleville and Elmwood
8) This water park in Wisconsin Dells is the world's largest,
featuring 65 acres of splish-splash fun. What's the park's name?
a. Noah's Ark b. Water World c. Bikini Bottom
And now for a real headbanger...
9) Like any state, Wisconsin has its share of towns with names
that make you wonder...for example, I wonder if the folks in
Beaver Edge know which edge of the beaver their town is named
after? Is Imalone pronounced "I'm alone" ...and is it right to
call it that if more than one person lives there? Why would
they build a town where it had to be called Pole Cat Crossing?
And hey, I'm not even going to mention what comes to mind con-
cerning the towns of Breed, Butman Corners, and Spread Eagle!
Your headbanging question is this:
Which of the following three towns is NOT a real town in Wisconsin?
a. Forward b. Onward c. Advance
Answers below, here's the scoring:
9 correct: Perfection!
7-8 correct: Outstanding
5-6 correct: Very Good
2-4 correct: Fairly Fair
0-1 correct: Turn the TV off.
Answers:
1) c. Badger
2) a. Lake Superior & b. Lake Michigan
3) b. Gaylord Nelson
4) b. Baraboo
5) c. Belmont
6) a. Ginseng
7) c. Belleville and Elmwood
8) a. Noah's Ark
9) b. Onward
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COMPUTER TIPS - Live OneCare for Windows XP
Today's computer tip column will be a little different from
most. It's a bit of a rant about what may turn out to be a
great product that I don't want you to ever buy!
Windows Live OneCare runs in the background on your computer
offering live antivirus protection, firewall protection,
spyware protection, computer tune-ups, and file back-ups. It
also monitors your computer's health and more. It may turn
out to be the best program of it's kind.
Why?
Because it's made by Microsoft, the same people that make the
Windows XP operating system. But wait - who better knows the
operating system they want to protect than the company that
makes it?
No one, so why not buy it, then?
Because most of it is fundamental, system level security and
safety features that should be built into the operating
system you've already paid for! What Microsoft is attempting
to do here is like you buying a house from me, then me
charging you a yearly fee to close the doors to burglars that
I left open either through negligence, incompetence, or
arrogant disdain.
It seems to me, this product represents a conflict of interest
for Microsoft. How might they sell as many yearly subscriptions
to Windows Live OneCare as possible? One way would be to make
sure the Windows Operating system it's designed to protect
remains vulnerable to the problems Live OneCare is suppose to
protect against!
DID YOU GET THAT?
One way to maximize sales for Live OneCare is for Microsoft
to ensure Windows remains vulnerable to the problems Live
OneCare solves. In my opinion, this smacks of racketeering.
If they made a better operating system (OS) this product
would be unneeded! By selling this product Microsoft is
admitting the OS is flawed, but, they can protect your
computer from their inherent flaws, for a yearly fee, and
you're supposed to be grateful for that!
If Microsoft knows what the dangerous holes in their OS are,
isn't it incumbent upon them to fix them for free rather than
continuing to sell the OS as is and tacking on a subscription
fee to finish the product?
Do you want to reward Microsoft for this kind of behavior?
I sure don't...but not everyone thinks like me. If you do, the
only way for this kind of protection to be built into the OS -
as it should be - is if Windows Live OneCare fails as a com-
mercial product, or if we cause a big enough stink Microsoft
is forced to rethink their strategy. That's going to be an
uphill battle, so we must unite. How?
1) Don't buy it.
2) Pass this article on to every Windows user you know.
3) Write or call Microsoft and complain, and tell them you're
going to complain to your elected officials - then do it!
Let's put as much heat on them as we can. Here's their contact
page:
http://support.microsoft.com/contactus/
4) Go here:
http://firstgov.gov/Contact/Elected.shtml
...to find the phone numbers, fax numbers, mailing addresses
and email addresses of the elected officials for your state.
You'll find the information you need to contact your US
Senators, Representatives, Legislators, Governors, and even
the President - then complain to them. Just do it!
5) Go here:
http://firstgov.gov/Agencies/State_and_Territories.shtml
...to find your state's web site where you can locate the
contact information for your attorney general and complain
to him or her. Just do it!
6) Feel like doing more? Complain here:
National Association of Consumer Advocates
1730 Rhode Island NW, Ste 710
Washington, DC 20036
Telephone: (202) 452-1989 voice
Fax: (202) 452-0099
Email: info@naca.net
7) Complain to anyone else you can think of that might take
action. Call in to talk radio shows. Write to newspapers.
Make noise! Don't forget to pass this on to every Windows
user you know so we can maximize our power -- the power of
numbers.
Disclaimer: Advice in this column is presented as informational
and is true to the best of my knowledge. Any decisions to follow
this advice is your responsibility. Your computer, your choice.
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Until next week, remember these words of Napoleon Hill:
Cherish your visions and your dreams as they are the
children of your soul; the blue prints of your ultimate
achievements.
Have an interesting day, Simon
Questions? Comments? Email me at: tutor@gophercentral.com
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END OF THE INTERNET TUTOR
Copyright 2006 by NextEra Media. All rights reserved.
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