Dreamland
Computer Club
Newsletter
October
2007
Volume
IV
Issue VII
Our
General Meeting will be held in Farnsworth Hall next Wednesday,
November 7th. We’ll start at
This
is a very interesting subject and Nick presents it in a casual and friendly
manner. You will enjoy his presentation. Door prizes will be raffled.
President’s
Message:
Since
it's already November, welcome back our members who have been away as well as
all of our members who have endured the summer. We've had quite a few
new members join us and welcome to them also. We have now installed a
new computer and it has the latest and greatest - Windows Vista. We
intend to be able to have classes available for those interested.
Please note the meeting next Wednesday, November 7, will be held at FARNSWORTH
Hall at
Judy
Gardner
www.MrModem.com
What’s
the Dif: JPG vs. GIF?
Q: What's the difference between a GIF and a JPG file?
A:
Graphics in their natural state are often too large to be quickly downloaded
and displayed, so they need to be compressed (reduced) in size. The most
popular compression formats are .GIF and .JPG. Compressing graphics with
either format does not reduce the dimensions of a given image; it just reduces
the overall size of a graphics file.
GIF stands for Graphics Interchange Format. Most people pronounce it with a
soft “g” as in “jiff.” Years ago, however, when CompuServe first
introduced the GIF format and people started pronouncing it that way; the Jif
Peanut Butter folks took exception to the pronunciation. Technically, the
format should be pronounced with a hard “g” as in “gift” or (duh)
“graphics,” but their nutty objection notwithstanding, most people still
refer to items in the GIF file format as “jiff” files.
JPG or JPEG (pronounced JAY-peg) stands for Joint Photographic Experts Group.
The JPG format can reduce files to approximately five percent of their
uncompressed size. Photographs and graphics with lots of colors that blend and
fade into one another are best served by the JPG format. This format enables
users to save images with millions of colors, while the GIF format is limited
to 256 colors.
If given the choice between the two formats, you can’t go wrong if you
select JPG. It’s evolved into an industry standard and today is far
more prevalent than its GIF counterpart.
Q. When I use Add/Remove Programs on the Control Panel to remove a
program, should I answer "Yes" or "No" to the question,
"Do you want to remove a shared file?"
A. In a word, “No.” Shared files display the file extension
.DLL or Dynamic Linked Library file. What that high-falootin’, technobabble
means is that the file in question may be used by more than one program. A
word processor and a spreadsheet, for example, may share a DLL file, so
removing it could cause one or more programs to malfunction.
On a related note, you may on occasion encounter a message advising that a
certain DLL file cannot be found. That means that the missing file is needed
in order to open the program you're trying to use. Why is it missing? The most
frequent cause is because it was removed when you uninstalled another program.
Oh, the humanity!
So whenever you’re asked if you would like to remove a shared file, I’d
suggest that you politely decline the invitation. It’s just not worth the
risk of derailing another program. I don’t know why Windows even bothers to
ask. In fact, the next time Mr. Gates stops by to mooch a cup of coffee,
I’ll be sure to offer that suggestion.
Mr. Modem’s DME (Don’t Miss ‘Em) Sites of the Month - October
2007
Flight Aware
A live, online flight tracker that allows you to view current U.S. air traffic
with the click of a mouse. Visitors can search for planes by tail number,
airline and flight number. You can also search flight activity at various
domestic airports, or browse the unfriendly skies by aircraft type to
determine how many Boeing 737s are currently overhead.
www.flightaware.com
Heckle Depot
If offering heartfelt words of encouragement isn’t your cup of non-fat,
cinnamon mocha frappaspresso, perhaps lobbing sarcastic, jaded, caustic
comments to others is right up your alley. If so, the Heckle Depot provides a
treasure trove of heckles for all sports, including golf. You don't hear
many golf hecklers because they tend to whisper, but if you ever get within
earshot, you'll probably hear, "Take all the shots you need!"
"Try aiming out of bounds!" or the always popular, "Nice drive,
Alice.”
http://heckledepot.com
Retrographix
Most communities in the 1950s had hometown print shops that doubled as
printers of local news and advertising posters and flyers. These small
printers (usually under 5’4”) generally could not afford to hire graphic
artists, so they used clip art supplied by various companies. This
now-nostalgic clip art is available for viewing, so click this site’s index
to begin your scroll down memory lane.
www.retrographix.com
Mr. Modem’s weekly newsletter delivers helpful computer tips, great Web
sites and personal answers to your questions! Trial offer: Subscribe online
using Promo Code 1046 and receive a free month with your 6-month subscription
(28 issues!) To view a sample issue or subscribe, visit www.MrModem.com.
Please
send your comments, suggestions, article contributions, and/or constructive
criticism to your reporter at j0hnahrens27@cox.net.