The Content Maker

April 24th, 2008

What You Should Know About Installing Screensavers

Posted by admin in The Software Way

Do you remember that frustrating feeling when you find an interesting screensaver and can’t install it on your computer? This article will help you to never have it again.

Back to when Windows 95 started to find its home on many computers there was just half a dozen of screensavers preinstalled with the system. All you could do was selecting one of these. It was as simple as boring.

Luckily those times are left behind. Now we have hundreds of screensavers developed throughout the years and available for download. Finding a nice screensaver matching your taste and style can be a hard task. How much disappointing is it when you are unable to install the discovery on your computer then? I bet you know.

Often you come across a screensaver with an intriguing description and no screenshots. You are curios to see it in action. But: SLAP! You can’t figure out the way to make it work on your system and you will never know what you have missed. What a pity! I know.

Well… Enough! Enough of this! There should be a way to make us, screensaver hunters, luckier. Keep reading. There’s something that can open a whole new world of screensavers to you.

First, in order to fight this evil, we should find its roots. Why is it so that we have the problem? Mainly it’s because there are several ways to distribute screensavers:

  1. As self-extracting installation packages

  2. As ZIPped installation packages

  3. As individual .SCR files

The self-extracting packages are the easiest to install. You just download the screensaver and double click it. Then the installation program starts and performs all the steps necessary to install the screensaver. That is, you have it ready for use just with a few mouse clicks.

You can recognize the ZIPped installation packages by their names. They have “.zip” at the end. Double clicking such files will probably get you nowhere unless you are well prepared.

The third category is represented by files with names ending with “.scr”. Activating such file usually launches the screensaver. That’s not bad. At least you can see what it’s all about. But this way it won’t appear in the list of available screensavers that the operating system starts if your computer goes to rest. That is, you have to use a little trick if you like the screensaver.

Now that the reason of our problems is a bit more obvious, I almost hear your question. Once the self-extracting packages are the easiest to install, why just not to stick with them? Okay, you are right. It makes a perfect sense. But you forget one important thing. Screensavers are created by programmers.

And programmers differ from other computer users in that they see everything from their very specific and technical point of view. It’s not a problem for them to extract files from ZIPped packages as they work with them very often. It is rather natural for them to copy files into secret system folders that 80% of users didn’t hear about and don’t have to.

That’s why they create screensavers and put them on download sites in the form that is hard to install for you. But don’t hurry to blame them. They mostly do it unintentionally, not because they hate people who can’t handle ZIP archives or bare screensaver files.

I know it because I am one of them. In fact (my face goes red here) my Rainy Screensaver ( http://www.elasticsystems.com/rainy/ ) was distributed as a ZIPped package until version 1.7. Thanks to the people who provided me with their feedback. I really don’t see any reason to hurt those who use their computers as tools or source of entertainment. These people don’t have to know all technical aspects.

I hope more and more screensaver writers will understand this and will make their screensavers easier for you to install. Meanwhile you yourself can get the knowledge needed to handle not so friendly installations without a problem. So let’s get back to installing ZIPped packages and bare screensaver files.

* ZIPped installation packages

These “.zip” files are known as archives. It is very popular way to spread software and information over the net. They let you to “pack” many files into one that is much easier to download. They also use special methods known as compression to reduce the final size of the packed files and thus save your time and money spent downloading them.

In order to unpack (extract) files from a ZIPped package you should use a special program. Probably the most popular and easy to use is WinZip. You can download it from http://www.winzip.com. Windows XP has a built-in support for “.zip” files so, if you use Windows XP, there’s no need for additional software.

The most important thing to keep in mind is that a “.zip” package usually contains a collection of files that should be extracted somewhere before you can use them. It doesn’t matter what program you use to extract the files. Just follow its instructions to do it and put extracted files in the place of your choice. It’s better to create a special folder for such cases. Alternatively you can use temporary folder provided by Windows.

Once the files are extracted you should examine them. If you see one named “Install.exe” or “Setup.exe” among them then you can double click it to complete the installation process. Even though archives are very convenient when used on a bunch of files, they can be used to pack a single file to reduce its size. So if you have extracted a single file with its name ending with “.scr” then you should keep reading.

* Bare screensaver files

As I have said before, these files have their name ending with “.scr”. They are screensavers themselves. That is, they are the programs that create all these amazing effects when started. You can find some details about them in my article “Windows Screensavers Explained” at http://www.elasticsystems.com/articles.html .

The easiest known way to install “.scr” files is to right click on them and then choose “Install” from available menu options. Once you do this, Windows will set the screensaver as default and open Display Properties dialog where you can adjust screensaver’s settings if you wish.

This way has some disadvantages though. First, you should be careful with where you keep the screensaver file. If you have put it in the temporary folder and it is likely to be deleted or moved somewhere else later, then the system won’t find the screensaver anymore. So you’d better create a special folder for screensavers that you choose to install this way. Second, if you select another screensaver from the list in Display Properties dialog then Windows will forget any screensaver installed using the described method. That is, you will have to right click it and choose “Install” once and again.

Nevertheless, this way is very convenient if you just want to take a look at the screensaver, play with its settings and delete it. If you really like the screensaver and want it to brighten boring cloudy days then you’d better find a cozier place to keep it.

How do you find such place? It’s easy. What you need is to drag the screensaver into your Windows folder. If you use Windows 95/98 or Windows Me then chances are this folder is on your drive C: and has a name of “Windows”. If you use Windows NT/2000 or Windows XP then it’s probably on your drive C: and is called “WINNT”. Once you put the screensaver in this folder it will be available in the list of installed screensavers in Display Properties dialog. Now you can select it whenever you wish. Furthermore, you should worry no more about reinstalling it every time you change your mind and select another screensaver.

TIP: Sometimes you download a ZIPped installation package for screensaver, extract its contents to some folder and find there both “Setup.exe” (or “Install.exe”) and “.scr” files. In this case double clicking “Install” or “Setup” is the preferred way. That’s because the installation program will perform all the steps needed to install the screensaver like copying necessary files, updating system registry, providing uninstaller and so on. Simply copying the “.scr” file to Windows folder apparently won’t do it.

Now that you have a few more useful tricks under your belt, you can install much more screensavers. Add here acquired confidence that those screensavers you like are ready to please you whenever you wish and there’s a good reason to become a bit happier.

About The Author

Roman Kramar is a software developer who enjoys writing screensavers as his time permits. Visit his site at http://www.elasticsystems.com/ to find out more about screensavers and his work.

webmaster@elasticsystems.com

April 14th, 2008

Word Processing Office Suite

Posted by admin in The Software Way

You need to have a word processor period. Each and every computer user needs one. It is like sugar in the pantry, you just have to have it on hand. At least I have never in my over Ten years in the I.T. field met some one that did not need a word processor at one time or another. But might I digress, this article is not to convince you you need a word processor, it is to show you how to get a Free Microsoft Office.

If you are like most people you are using Microsoft’s Windows Operating system. And you have a word processor called WordPad installed on your PC.

Where is it? Start Menu : Programs : Accessories: WordPad

What does it do? Not much. It will allow you to type a document and format it with some basic formating such as Font, Style, Paragraph settings, etc. Very basic rudimentary functions. It doesn’t have spell check or a thesaurus, tables support, extended image functions. In short it is a wimpy, light weight text editor but not a full fledged word processor. WordPad is included with Microsoft’s Windows Operating system, so it is not free. The most important thing to note is that it is just a text editor, and not a full Office suite of applications. That is to say it does not come with spreadsheet, drawing, HTML, Database, Presentation functions. For that you will need some thing like Microsoft Office Professional.

Hands down Microsoft Office is the most widely used office suite of applications used in the world. But Microsoft Office and or Microsoft Office Professional does not come with Windows. Some times your new PC will ship with Free Microsoft Office 2003 with a 60 “trial” period if you activate it with Microsoft. But of course you must be prepared to pay for it if you wish to use it for more than 60 days. Otherwise you will have a bunch of useless code that you either un install from your PC or allow it to take up valuable disk space on your hard drive.

Lets face it most times your colleagues and associates are using Microsoft Office to create the documents, spreadsheets and presentations that the world uses everyday. But the cost of a Microsoft Office is pretty steep. In fact in some cases you can spend as much or more for software that you actually paid for your new PC. What to do? Illegal copies of Microsoft Office are rampant but not really a solution. What you need is a Free Microsoft Office Professional. Is there such a thing? Yes! There is a Free Microsoft Office Clone. It will allow you to read, edit, print, and save in native Microsoft Office formats, and the best thing is that it is FREE! The Office Suite is called Open Office. This is what for many is going to liberate them from the abusive pricing that Microsoft’s so insistent on foisting upon it’s customers. You see it was built to function and perform just like Microsoft’s Office, but it is an open source application. That means that the license to use it is free for life. You will never have to pay for it NEVER!

To a certain extent, the value of Open Office on the desktop and other open-source desktop applications is to limit Microsoft monopoly lock-in. It is in the world’s best interest for there to be an alternative to Microsoft’s monopoly on desktops. When it comes to an office suite Open Office is the obvious choice for its openness, compatibility, reliability, flexibility and low cost. There remains no more technical and functional barriers that must be addressed before Open Office is mainstream. Some would say that this ” Free Microsoft Office ” Clone already is based on it’s over 2 million installed user base. So what are you using? How much are they charging you for the very things you need? In this day and age tools like a full fledge office suite are a necessity and not a want. For some there is no choice but to have an Office Suite such as Microsoft Office or Open Office. What is now a choice is whether you want to pay Micro$oft or get what you need for Free?

J. McILwraith is an IT professional who has been in the field since 1994. Along with his private corporate consulting he currently distributes Open Office the “Free Microsoft Office Clone” via his web site OPEN2XL ( http://www.open2xl.net and http://www.microsoft-office.us )

April 4th, 2008

Editing Your Photos Using Microsoft Picture It Publishing Platinum 2002 - A Great Dinosaur

Posted by admin in The Software Way

I started using PIP (Picture It Publishing) Platinum 2002 right after I got it in a bundle with my HP Pavallion N5295 Notebook more than several moons ago!

I don’t want to be a rocket scientist to produce edited photos quickly and with quality results, again and again.

I had a terrible time at first with the edited pictures. Once I saved them and re-opened them they were out of focus. I tried everything I could think of and then I realized what was wrong.

Just before you save it, it gives you the option as to what type of file. eg. JPEG, PNG, BMP etc. I usually had saved things as .jpg’s and so I naturally clicked on the JPEG choice and then entered my new name and hit “Save”.

Well… while in the SAVE menu, there’s another button for “options” and THAT is where I went wrong. If I’d opened the options menu I would have seen the preset value of 10. I immediately changed the value 10 to a 1, meaning you get 1 to 1 results. The next file saved was perfect.

I closed up for the evening. Later that night I returned to do a few more. I opened the program again and “assumed” it was fixed. I saved the photo and a few more before reopening them to check. Well, duh… you think I should have learned? Yep they were out of focus again. You see, the program doesn’t “remember” your settings so once you close it, it reopens with the preset values.

BOO-BOO ALERT - Because you NEVER know what might happen… Always work from a copy of the original. Just open the one you want to edit, go to the top and click EDIT and then DUPLICATE PROJECT. Close the original and work on the duplicate copy. You can create a separate folder to store the edited copies in.

I make sure now, to set the values for my options and in the same screen, the size for output in pixels, to my desired.

HINT: BEFORE you SAVE your file — Go to the main screen and click on “change size” mode. Check the size in inches, then in pixels, so you know what the numbers should be when you are using the options window. Next time, just do this before you get to the options section of “save”.

WHY is all this so important?

If you use eBay or any auction site, send photos, want a website, want to print photo or email photos… etc. You don’t want to send blurry hard-to-view pictures. You’ll sell more if you have extra pictures and clear ones. Your family might want to print the photos you post online or that you send via email. So take the time, you will be so glad you did!

Next Article:

How to use the edit features of Picture It Publishing Platinum 2002 to get clarity,remove unwanted blips and the most optimum focus results.

Visit my online store and see what I’ve been able to do with Picture It Publishing Platinum 2002 - they don’t make it anymore and I still love it!

How do I use my photos? I am an artist. I paint in watercolor or I design using Paint and Graphic software on my system. Sometimes I take photos and digitally play with them. When I’m done I have a work of “Art” and I have a clothing and gift store online with my artwork.

If you feel that soft steady call to create, you should take some time and listen to your own spirit voice. I’m finding more and more, being an artist is not so much a choice. Rather, you feel compelled or driven by a deeper (cosmic?) energy that pulls at you until you comply. The results are simply wonderful and I feel fulfilled. Try it!

Raincrippen.com

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