Computer News

Updated Web Browsers: Which One Works Best?

Apple's Safari, Mozilla's Firefox 3, and Microsoft's Internet Explorer 8 duke it out to be the program you use most on your PC.

Erik Larkin, PC World

Back when the earliest programs for viewing Web content simply browsed flat pages of images and text, the name browser truly fit the software.

But yesterday's amateur pages have evolved into dynamic, content-rich portals and powerful online programs. For many online habitués, the do-it-all browser has become a PC's single most important program.

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Photography

Fake Your Depth of Field

Blur the background for attractive portraits--long after the photo was taken.

Dave Johnson

Thumb through any magazine and you'll find that, no matter the style of the photo, all portraits have one thing in common: The background is gently burred, leaving the subject in sharp focus and the center of attention.

The traditional way to get this effect is to set the camera's aperture to a fairly wide-open position, corresponding to a small f/stop number. Small f/stops tend to deliver a shallow depth of field so that only the subject that you focus the camera on is sharply focused,

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For Photoshop tutorials click here

Computer Tips

05/07/08 Connecting to a Bluetooth Device from Windows

Newk's Nook: I use a bluetooth device from IOgear to move pictures from my cell phone to my PC. It's a lot cheaper than Emailing them. The device works equally well in XP or Vista.

Bluetooth is a low-frequency wireless networking protocol designed mainly for communication between devices such as keyboards, mice, headsets, GPS antennas, and Pocket PCs. Bluetooth signals have a maximum range of 10 meters (33 feet) or less.

TIP	If your Windows PC doesn't already have built-in Bluetooth, you can obtain a Bluetooth adapter. The device should be compatible with your computer and easy to install. Follow the device's instructions to install the drive software.

Follow these steps to connect to a Bluetooth device from Windows:

1. Double-click the My Bluetooth Places desktop icon or double-click the Bluetooth icon in the Windows system tray.

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SECURITY

Malware Takes On Annoying Characteristics of "Legit" Software

We're seeing reports of malware vendors including advertising (predictably, for other malware) in their own programs. We've also heard of malware authors attempting to assert intellectual property rights for their code.

What's next, per-call support charges? Copy protection?

The advertising isn't completely new, although it's certainly just as galling as the first time. And in the end it's unsurprising and even logical.

Stranger is the equivalent of a EULA with an enforcement provision. Of course, malware authors are just as anxious as legit programmers to protect their products from copying. Symantec reported one botnet kit was being sold with an agreement stipulating that you couldn't copy it or resell it. Violate these rules and they—get ready for this—threaten to rat you out, with technical detail, to the anti-virus companies so that your network will be taken down.

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TECH

Do Hybrid Vehicles Pose an EMF Risk?

by Jamie Lendino

I'm not entirely sure how I feel about this, but I'm going to put it out there. A bunch of hybrid owners who have tested their vehicles with handheld electromagnetic field meters and were alarmed by the results, according to The New York Times.

And researchers with expertise in hybrid-car issues said in the report that while there may not be cause for alarm, neither should the potential health effects be ignored&mash;which could be considerable.

There is a legitimate scientific reason for raising the issue, accordin

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Computer News

Updated Web Browsers: Which One Works Best?

Apple's Safari, Mozilla's Firefox 3, and Microsoft's Internet Explorer 8 duke it out to be the program you use most on your PC.

Erik Larkin, PC World

Photography

Fake Your Depth of Field

Blur the background for attractive portraits--long after the photo was taken.

Dave Johnson

Computer Tips

05/07/08 Connecting to a Bluetooth Device from Windows Newk's Nook: I use a bluetooth device from IOgear to move pictures from my cell phone to my PC. It's a lot cheaper than Emailing them. The device works equally well in XP or Vista.

Malware Takes On Annoying Characteristics of "Legit" Software

Do Hybrid Vehicles Pose an EMF Risk?

05/07/08 Connecting to a Bluetooth Device from Windows

Newk's Nook: I use a bluetooth device from IOgear to move pictures from my cell phone to my PC. It's a lot cheaper than Emailing them. The device works equally well in XP or Vista.