Thursday, September 6, 2007

How To Find A Digital Video Camera Rental

You'd love to have a visual record of the next big family event, not just in still photographs, but in full motion. There's just something special about having a movie of an event with sound if you like, so that you get the full picture of what was going on, and not just the silent split seconds here and there that you can capture on a still camera.

Your digital camera does allow you to choose between an entire memory card full of photos, or a few minutes worth of video. Not much of a choice. But you can't afford to drop the price of a video camera, no matter how important the upcoming event is. So why not consider a digital video camera rental?

Digital video cameras now produce videos of such high quality that you can make several generations of copies from your original recording, and even the copi4es of the copies of the copies will look and sound as clear as the first. One of the big appeals of the digital video camera rental is that for the price of one rental you can supply all the guests with a treasured memory of the day.

The best way to ensure that your digital video camera rental will provide the best possible copies is to ask the associate at the rental store to demonstrate the resolution with which each camera records, by seeing a sample of recordings done by each of their different digital video camera rentals. Even the weakest of their digital video camera rentals will be light years ahead of your old home movies, but there's no point in settling for anything less than the best you can get.

Editing Your Video

In order to make copies of your master digital video recording, you'll need access to a PC on which you can save the master and make copies. If you have the software to do it, you can even edit the digital video recording to delete the less interesting parts and focus on the more entertaining ones. But you should always do your editing on a copy, in case you don't like the result. Save the master recording as it was when you uploaded it from the digital video camera rental.

The chances of your having the necessary software, because you don't own a digital video camera, aren't high. But don't let that discourage you; there is software available for download at no charge on the Internet and some of it might be perfect for editing your video.

You can also use a personal computer to research your digital video camera rental. You should be able to get a ball park estimate of how much a digital video camera with the features you want rents for, and the location of rental stores in your area that carry them.

Features To Ask For

Make sure you ask for, and get, a digital video camera rental. You most definitely do not want the video cameras which used VHS cassettes to record on. And make sure that your digital video camera rental has the amount of pixilation that you want. 680,000 pixels is the minimum you should settle for, and it really is the minimum. The greater the number of pixels, the clearer your video will be.

And ask about your digital video camera rental's light measuring devices, or CCDs. These are chips, and you need as many as you can get. The difference between a camera with one CCD chip and three CCD chips is, shall we say, like the difference between light and darkness?

Your digital video camera rental is the tool with which you will be building memories you can treasure for years to come. So do your homework, and make it the best tool you can possibly find!

About the Author

You can also find more info on Digital Camera Printers and Digital Camera Software Downloads. Topdigitalcamerareviews.com is a comprehensive resource to know about Digital Cameras.

The Digital Microscope Camera: Spying On The Invisible Worlds

The art of photography has allowed human beings, for the last one hundred and fifty years, to make a permanent visual record of their surroundings. Photographs are as commonplace now as words, and a world without cameras would not only be unimaginable; it would be unmanageable.

But what about the parts the physical world too small for either the human eye or the camera's eye to pick up? There is as much, or more, going on beyond our range of vision as there is within it, and many of the things occurring at that at that level have a profound affect on who we experience life. Illness, for instance, always begins at a cellular of microbial level.

We have had microscopes since the sixteenth century, and now can magnify things down to the level of their electrons. But what we have needed is a digital microscope camera, not only to record permanently the changes taking place among cells, but to make that recorded data available for others to study and analyze in depths never before possible.

No more having to keep fragile glass slides of ancient preserved specimens so that ongoing study of them would be possible. The digital microscope camera has changed all that, and the software which is available to edit the digital microscope camera photos and videos which the digital microscope takes.

How Digital Cameras Work

A digital microscope camera is equipped with a lens designed to be inserted into the microscope's eyepiece; the lens is linked to device which captures images of the specimen being studied, storing them in its memory, and later sending them via a USB cable to be saved on a computer. All you need to do is press a button when you see an image you wish to keep, and you can even preset the microscope digital camera to record an ctive process like cell division.

The images sent to the computer will be astonishingly clear, with resolution of up to 2.0 megapixels. Every one of those pixels can be magnified by the digital microscope camera software, which also allows the images to be edited as you like. You'll be able to capture videos of processes as they happen, and convert them into series of still shots for up-close analysis. You can even make notes directly on your microscope digital camera images, save them as files for emailing, and send them to colleagues to critique your findings!

About the Author
You can also find more info on Microscope Slide and Stereo Zoom Microscope. Microscopesreview.com is a comprehensive resource to know about Microscopes.

Finding The Smallest Digital Camera

Maybe you're a collector of miniatures; maybe you're a spy. Or maybe you're just someone who would like a camera which you can have on your person for those moments which beg to be permanently recorded, but don't want one which interferes with your activities in any way. Whatever your reasons may be, you've decided that you need to buy the world's smallest digital camera.

Small, even very small, digital cameras abound. And with the slick advertising typical of all entrepreneurs, many camera makers have found ways to promote their efforts as the "smallest digital camera in the world", or the slightly less absolute "smallest digital camera in its class." Is there a way to determine the smallest digital camera?

Well, you can try an Internet search. Candidates for the title of the smallest digital camera are the Philips keychain digital camera, which measures 2" x .75" x 1.5" . It weights slightly over six and a half ounces, and retails for $19.95. Need I add, "You get what you pay for?"

But the Sony Cyber-Shot DSC U-20, at 3.38 " x 1.63 " x. 1.19 ", while it may tower over the Philips keychain digital camera, is actually, in terms of weight, a smaller digital camera. It tips the (diet) scales at a minuscule four ounces.

The Sony Qualia

Ridiculous, you say? You ain't seen nothin' yet, and the Sony Qualia 016 is a camera the substance of which, at about 1.7 ounces, is as close to nothin' as the smallest digital camera is likely to become and still be a camera. The Qualia 016 managed to pack two megapixels into a box 2.7" x 0.9" x 0.7". That is about the size of a tube of lipstick. When introduced in 2004, the Qualia 016 retailed at $4000. A keychain digital camera it definitely is not.

What the ads for the Sony Qualia failed to mention is that its accessories were not to scale, and its flash attachment was nearly the size of the Qualia itself. Having accessories of this size may be a logistic necessity, but rather defeats the point of having the world's smallest digital camera.

Small Digital Camera Drawbacks

And any one of the so-called smallest digitals cameras will pose a challenge to those with even normally sized fingers. All of them require very careful finger placement to make sure there is no overlapping going on when the various buttons are being pressed.

As with any digital camera, smallest digital camera or not, you need to check the pixelation and battery life of your tiny camera purchase. You don't want to be spending a fortune on batteries and only getting blurry tiny photo after blurry tiny photo in return.

About the Author

You can also find more info on Digital Camera Photos and Digital Camera Usb Cable. Topdigitalcamerareviews.com is a comprehensive resource to know about Digital Cameras.

Go Freelance Today With Five Hot Jobs for New Freelancers

Now is the time to go freelance. You may think you need years of school and training to have an interesting job, but you don't. New freelance sites, like GoFreelance, offer interesting jobs that anyone can do. Here are five in-demand jobs that brand-new freelancers can do right from their own homes.

1. Taking pictures. If you have a digital camera and an internet connection, you can get paid to take pictures of everyday items around your house, in your town or at the park. Magazines, online e-zines and online companies will pay serious amounts of money for good snapshots.

2. Writing Articles about your Favorite Things. If they are have a flair for writing, there is a growing market for article writing for websites and online publications. Some companies pay per article while others pay per page of content. A good sales letter can earn you over $1,000...even with no prior writing experience.

3. Write Reviews of Magazines You Read. Some magazine subscription companies pay magazine readers to write reviews of the magazines they read. You just have to give your impressions and feedback.

4. Internet research. Companies pay freelancers to research the internet for competitive products or services and report it to them. This is great for someone who loves to spend time searching the internet. With a good internet connection, you are ready to start.

5. Vitual assistants As a virtual assistant, you take on the office work for independent professionals or small businesses that don't need a full-time secretary or office manager. Your tasks may include secretarial work, meeting and travel planning, project managing, and coordinating. All from the comforts of your own home.

With jobs like these available, even new freelancers can find interesting and rewarding work right away.

About the Author

Eden Paul is a CPA and small business owner who enjoys helping others follow their dreams by using resources like Freelance Work Exchange. For more information and ideas on how to start working for yourself, visit http://www.freelanceworkreview.com

Why You Can't Find An Waterproof Digital Camera

You're someone who, given your choice, would grow gills and fins and become a denizen of the deep. You live for those magical snorkeling and scuba excursions, and long to find a way to communicate the beauty of the underwater world to your landlocked friends. So why not treat yourself to a waterproof digital camera? Well, because there isn't one.

Maybe you can't buy a waterproof digital camera, but you can buy a waterproof housing for the digital camera you already have, making it safe too transport underwater without any risk its being ruined or your being zapped with an electrical shock. And paying for waterproof housing is certainly a more attractive prospect than paying for a waterproof digital camera.

Housings And Housing Alternatives

The manufacturer of your existing camera, if it is one the major electronics companies, of has probably made a housing to turn it into a waterproof digital camera. But even if you bought a closeout camera from a now defunct manufacturer, or from a no-frills discount camera maker, you still have options.

If you're thinking," How hard can it be to make my won waterproof housing?" save yourself some effort and do some Internet research. There are some companies from whom you can purchase a waterproof bag with a plastic window that will make any digital camera a waterproof digital camera.

But don't, after reading that, think, "Aha!" and grab the nearest lock-top Baggie. There is no food storage bag in the universe capable of holding back the waters of the world's great oceans, and once your digital camera has been baptized in salt water, its career is over. Even a little water is too much.

Removing Your Underwater Digital Camera

Once you have either the rigid housing or the plastic windowed bag, you'll need to come up with a strategy for removing your waterproof digital camera from it once you are finished with your underwater excursion. If you open the protective housing or bag while it is still wet, you risk some of the water spilling onto your camera. You'd be far safer to wait for the protective cover to dry, or to speed up the drying process wit a hair dryer on its lowest setting, or canned air, and a towel.

You can never go wrong in buying the best waterproof digital camera housing you can find, simply because less expensive housings may not holdup under the pressure of your deeper dives. And once you've had the experience of recording undersea marvels, you'll almost certainly want to expand the range of your adventures by taking deeper dives.

Coral reefs, tropical fish, dolphins, sea turtles, sharks, and shipwrecks--all of them are lying in wait beneath the sparkling blue waves, and with help from your underwater digital camera, you won't have to leave a single one or them behind!

About the Author

You can also find more info on Digital Video Camera Rental and Smallest Digital Camera. Topdigitalcamerareviews.com is a comprehensive resource to know about Digital Cameras.

Making Money On the Internet With Video Marketing

It may seem daunting to most people, but like it or not, video is becoming a huge part of the internet. Nowadays, if you're not making money on the internet, it may be because you're not using videos as one of your main marketing tools.

Technology is scary to a lot of people, not to mention, exposing oneself online in a video for the whole world to see. That's why so many people shy away from learning what it takes to market a business using video - either they figure it's too technical for them, or they want to maintain their privacy.

That's precisely why you should think about making money from the internet with video. It's the things that people don't want to do that you should be jumping on as a new opportunity for you. In the internet business world, it's where you find holes, and gaps, and things that people don't want to do that you can start making real money online.

Video is becoming more and more like the written word, and will soon have the same tagging capacity as you find in articles and blogs that are carefully sprinkled with effective keywords.

In that sense, if you are looking to make money on the internet, you can expect the search engines to send heaps of traffic your way if you have keyword packed videos.

Videos are very effective in teaching people how to do things, and can probably establish more trust from someone thinking about buying one of your products or services if they can see and hear you.

Furthermore, just like sharing information via social networking sites from blogs and articles, and other information sites on the net, videos also have their social networking services that allow you to share your videos with others in your niche.

If you think you're in the dark about technology and will never have a clue how to use it, or how to make money on the internet with video, then have no fear! Any good video creation or syndication service will offer easy-to-follow training for setting up your first, and subsequent videos.

Much like article writing, you're not done with your videos after you've created them. You have to submit them to video syndication sites to spread them around the net.

If you've been involved in manually submitting your articles to the various article directories, you will realize how time-consuming and tedious this can be, and how much worse you can expect it to be for submitting a video file!

Luckily, just like article submission services, there are video submission services that can save you loads of time on your video uploads!

If you really don't want to venture into the land of video marketing, you can always opt for an equally popular podcast, or audio cast, so that the whole world only hears you, but doesn't have to see you. You can start making money on the internet just as fast with an effective podcast that you submit the same way as videos.

Just think about the results you could achieve by combining article writing with video marketing, and podcasting! Most people are familiar with YouTube, so if you visit their website, you will be able to setup an account, create your video, and start making money on the internet faster than you ever imagined!

Don't be fooled by the all the technological jargon out there. If you know how to work a digital camera, have a movie feature on your camera, or have ever used a camcorder, then relax! You are most of the way there!

Making money on the internet can happen for you, and tackling your fears about technology and starting a video or podcast marketing campaign can make your dreams come true, especially now when it's still relatively new!

About the Author

Liane Bate owns a Plug-in Profit Site web business. Afraid to show your face on video? Get over it and startMaking Money On the Internet

Which Surveillance Camera System Is Right For My Business?

If you own a business, you know that theft occurs by your customers and employees. Employee theft exceeds $8.5 billion annually! 75% of inventory shortages are attributed to employee theft. (National Restaurant Association). It's been reported that over 75% of internal theft is undetected, and growing at a 15% annual rate (Justice Department). All this dishonesty costs American businesses between ½% and 3% of their gross sales! Even 1% costs over one billion dollars a week in employee theft.

The results of all this? 30% of business failures are due to poor hiring practices by hiring thieves. Annual losses generated by poor hires, absenteeism, drug abuse, and theft amount to $75 billion per year. (U.S. Department of Commerce-Atlanta Business Chronicle.). While we can't screen your employees, you can keep an eye on them, and a video surveillance system is one of the best ways to do it.

When choosing a video surveillance camera system, there are several things to consider:

* Hidden Cameras vs. Visible Cameras
* Wireless Cameras vs. Wired Cameras
* Indoor Systems vs. Outdoor Systems
* Video Recording vs. DVR Recording

Hidden Cameras vs. Visible Cameras

Hidden Cameras
The first thing you want to consider is whether you want your cameras to be visible or not. Modern technology has reduced a video camera down to miniature levels. Hidden cameras can be hidden behind a pinhole, and can be put in practically any everyday item in your house or office, in a briefcase or backpack, or even hidden in a hat or behind a button. The advantage is that the criminal won't know they are being recorded, and you should catch more theft. Hidden cameras could be more expensive then visible cameras.

Visible Cameras
A visible camera system consists of any number of visible cameras from the black dome cameras you see in most stores, to the old fashioned kinds on brackets pointing at you at the bank. There are also high resolution cameras that can zoom in to tight detail. The advantages of these types of systems is that your criminal will know they are being watched, and that should deter a lot of crime that normally would occur without the cameras.

Even a series of dummy camera's, camera bodies with no working parts except a flashing red light, are proven to deter crime. If you don't have the funds for a working video surveillance system, just installing four to twelve dummy cameras fools the criminal into thinking you have a real system in place.

Wireless Cameras vs. Wired Cameras
You have two choices for the type of surveillance system, wireless and wired. Both have advantages and disadvantages;

Wireless Camera System
Wireless camera systems are the fastest systems to install, as you just need to mount the cameras, hook up the wireless receiver in the back room, and wire it all together to a power box and some type of system to record the video.

The advantages of wireless cameras are that they can be installed in locations that are difficult, if not impossible to wire. They can be moved to different locations easily, as often as you like, and if the need arises, they can be hidden inside a moving object like inside your tie, baseball hats, briefcase or purse etc.

To overcome the disadvantages of a wireless camera, you should buy one with a higher frequency transmission band of at least 1.2GHz or above. The best are in the 2.4 GHz range. If you need to take video from the wireless camera a long distance from the receiver, or there are walls, metallic or steel obstacles between the wireless camera and the receiver, you should buy a wireless model with a higher transmission power, that is, a transmitter with longer transmission distance. Another good idea is to use a high gain antenna for the transmitter or receiver, which will improve the signal transmission/reception.

The disadvantages of wireless cameras are that the video stream might be disturbed or influenced by moving objects or strong radio or even telephone frequencies. Video/audio transmission is limited within the prescribed transmission range. These disadvantages will not occur with a wired camera.

Wireless camera systems are also more expensive than wired systems, as they require a lot of receivers and transmitters to received the video that normally would run in the inexpensive wires. However, the costs are usually worth it, as it could cost less to install, and less to relocated. Overall, the video/audio signals from a wireless camera are less stable than a wireless camera.

Wired Camera Systems
Wired camera systems are more stable due to the cable, which doesn't have the interference problems associated with wireless systems. You need to run a video cable to each camera in order to get a video feed. You will have to run the wire either through the walls and ceiling, or have it exposed on the wall. While the cost of the system is less than a wireless system, it will require more work to install, and if you are paying someone, it might cost more than buying a wireless system.

You should look at the total costs to purchase and install both systems and go with what is best for you. Overall, the video/audio signals from a wired camera are more stable than a wireless camera.

Indoor Systems vs. Outdoor Systems
Depending on your needs, you will need a camera for indoor or outdoor needs. If you need to monitor your loading dock, you will need a camera that can withstand the elements. Unless it's specifically sold as an outdoor or waterproof camera, a regular camera can't withstand the beating from Mother Nature that a weatherproof camera can endure.

You can find many types of outdoor camera, dome, bullet, and standard. All are enclosed in waterproof cases and some even have heaters for cold areas. You can also buy armor dome cameras that will withstand direct hits from bats and hammers. These are recommended in high crime areas.

Video vs. DVR Recording
You need to determine if you want to record the activity, or just hire someone to monitor it. It's a good idea to record the video so you can give a copy to law enforcement for future needs. You have two choices, VCR or DVD.

VCR allows you to record the video with a Video Cassette Recorder (VCR) directly to a VHS tape. You can use a bank of standard VCR's, or there are high density VCR's that allow you to record days of video. Some come with motion detectors and won't record unless the video changes. The disadvantages are that you have to know about what time the event occurred, or you will have to review all the tape sequentially, or on fast forward.

The latest technology is using a DVR or PC based DVR system to record the video to disc. The advantages are a DVD can be burned from the digital recording. This is the easiest system to review your recordings, as you can jump ahead to any point in the recording, unlike the VHS tape. The initial cost will be larger than a VCR system, though you won't need to buy tapes, and the ease of use will be worth the extra money for a DVR based system.

You have two types of DVR systems, DVR recorder and PC based. DVR recorders feed the video directly into the hard drive or disc on the recorder and you either burn the disc, or back up the hard drive. These come in a variety of sizes, from standard sizes for indoor uses, down to field use DVRs the size of a pack of cigarettes that can record up to 60 hours of video from a hidden surveillance camera.

Your other option is the PC based surveillance system that uses a Personal Computer, a video capture card, and VISEC surveillance software as a control center that can not only record the video and burn it to disc, a quad can be installed to monitor the feeds on real time over a computer screen, and break it up into quadrants to monitor multiple cameras at the same time, in real time.

We have only just scratched the surface of video surveillance systems with this brief overview, and future articles will focus on the pros and con's of what is out there, and is it right for you.

http://www.goarticles.com/cgi-bin/showa.cgi?C=574609

How to give cheerful party and to keep it in remembrance

Recently my colleague has invited me to a party on the occasion of his 30-years anniversary. Thinking of that,that it is necessary to carry off boring evening, I have dragged myself to him,it's well that he lived a beside. When I have come there, guests were putting on various comical costumes. To me too have given a costume of a parrot. When all guests have set down for a celebratory table, the picture was similar to paintings of Dali. It has caused general fun. I have decided to run for camera to photograph this. So-called official part last not for long.After that the real carnival has begun.Music of 50s played. I have invited to dance a dragonfly and as it appeared subsequently very nice girl,we have then continued our acquaintance. I had so liked the party that I have decided to organize something similar. Unfortunately photos have turned out not so qualitative,because illumination was flickering,therefore I have decided to look the information both about how to give a party and something about a professional photography to get good photos under any conditions. I had searched for a long time a necessary info,but basically websites about sale of photobooks came across only. At last, I managed to find that is necessary in somewhere very deep.

Here is one of the ideas of a party that I have read there:

Old West theme party Old West theme party is particularly popular as it invites your guests to simply arrive in their old jeans and shirts. What could be more comfortable? It's also a good theme pick when kids are also invited. This is a party that should be planned to start in mid-afternoon and run well into the evening where your guests can gather around "the old campfire" after dark and tell stories. Don't have a place for a campfire? Sure you do. Just surround a 6'-8' circle of dirt (or 3" deep sand-fill) with large rocks. Don't worry, remove the sand the next day, use it to add to your garden soil, and your concrete or grass will recover quite nicely.

Decorations:

*Bales of hay to sit on (You can spread the hay later for weed control in your garden.) *Oil lanterns and/or oil lamps. Candles work too, *Disposable red, or blue & white, checkered table cloths with matching plates and napkins. *A handful of daisies or wild flowers tossed into glass jars for the tables. *If you have access to some old saddles or cowboy boots to set around, that's great.

Suggested Activities - Plan on picking up some fitting prizes from your dollar store:

*A 1 legged, potato-sack race. (You can quickly stitch these up from cheap burlap fabric.) *A pie-baking contest (The pies will be served for dessert!) *Horse Shoes *Square dancing *Who can tell the scariest Ghost Story around the campfire? *Who can tell the biggest and most believable lie around the campfire? *The best cowboy poetry. A double prize for an original poem by the teller. *If you have a friend with a guitar, do a sing-a-long, which is great fun.

Menu Idea:

*Pan-fried Chuck or Swiss steak smothered with gravy and *Mashed potatoes, or bake them in hot coals *Cowboy beans *Corn-on-the-cob *Sliced tomatoes *Hot, fluffy biscuits with butter and jam *Assorted homemade pies for desert *Iced tea, lemonade, coffee, and beer, if desired.

And practically there are ideas of a party for all occasions of life there.

Now about photography website that I have found.

There is,of course,not everything about photography there,but it is free. Here is one of articles.Estimate self:

5 Simple Steps to Better Color Pictures

Shield your lens from direct light One of the biggest image degrading factors I have seen is lens flare. When direct light enters the front of your lens, it bounces around in the lens lowering contrast and destroying color saturation. You will mostly encounter lens flare when photographing a backlit subject. That is to say when the sun is in front of you and behind the object of the photograph. There are several things you can do to eliminate this problem. One of which is to always use a lens hood. There are times when a lens hood will not be enough. When this is the case, you can "flag" the light by blocking it with your hand, a cap or a flag you cut out of cardboard. Just make sure the "flag" is not in your image area. Get the proper exposure Proper exposure is key to getting good color. One way to ensure a correct exposure is meter off of a gray card. You can pick one of these up at just about any camera store. All camera meters are calibrated to give you a middle toned picture. Therefore you need to meter a middle toned object. That is what a gray card is.

Another solution would be to use an incident meter. This in my opinion is the most accurate way to do it. An Incident meter actually meters the light falling on your subject not the light reflected from your subject, so you get a more accurate reading of the light. Once you have determined the proper exposure you can help to ensure a good picture by bracketing your exposure. You do this by taking 3 shots, one at your determined exposure value, one slightly underexposed and one slightly overexposed. You can do this in 1/3 stop, 1/2 stop or full stop increments. The choice is up to you. Just use aperture priority, select your f-stop and vary your shutter speed. Some cameras have this function built in so read your camera's manual. Underexpose for positive film and digital, overexpose for negative film You can increase your color saturation by slightly adjusting your exposure. Generally speaking, for negative film, color saturation will increase with slight overexposure. For digital and positive film a slight underexposure should increase your color saturation. Play around with it by bracketing as mentioned above.

Use higher saturation film or camera settings If you are using film you can purchase films that are designed to yield higher color saturation. If you are using digital, most digital camera's will let you select different degrees of saturation. Read your camera manual to learn how to do this.

Fill in shadows A lot of the scenes you will photograph will have a contrast range that is outside the ability of your film or digital camera to record. That is to say the exposure range from the shadows to the highlights is too great to record all the detail. Either the highlights will "blow out" (be solid white) or the shadows will "block up" (be solid black) or both! The best way I have found to handle this situation is to get the proper exposure for the highlight areas and fill in the shadows with some form of supplementary light, such as an on camera flash or a reflector fill card. A reflector fill card can be white, silver or gold and you use it to reflect light into the shadow side of your subject. As for using your on camera flash, read your manual to see how to set up the flash for "fill flash" and give it a try. If your camera allows for it, make sure your flash exposure is set so it is a stop or two weaker then the main light of your scene. A lot of camera's now have a way to change your flash exposure when it is set to fill flash.

If it is interesting for you, look at these sites below:
About the Author

Ideas for a Party

Photography basics

Speaking in Native Tongue, 5 Ways to Help Confused Cell Phone Customers

'O wretched countrymen! What fury reigns? What more than madness has possess'd your brains? Like the poor unsuspecting Trojans as the Greek's executed a surprise attack from the 'Trojan Horse', I sometimes feel in a stupor after reading just the first few paragraphs of an article from one of my respective industry publications that is trying to provide help for cell phone customers. Even after more than a dozen years in the wireless industry, it takes me a few minutes of reading the article to get my brain in gear and start translating acronyms and trying to connect thoughts, multi generations of cell phones, wireless services, incompatible cell phone provider networks....sigh, breathe deep.... emerging wireless technologies, concepts and realities. Scary enough most of these articles appear to be targeted towards the average cell phone consumer. I often wonder how complicated it must be for the cell phone end user to read through this techno babble and figure out how it applies to them and what they are trying to accomplish. It certainly gives new meaning to the term 'creative interpretation.'

Too often we wireless and cell phone industry professionals spend too much time in 'work mode' and do not learn how to 'disconnect' ourselves. As a result every time we are in social and personal non- work related environments we start transitioning into tech talk. Initially we are using a few acronyms and referencing a few wireless products by name, then the next thing you know we're moving at full blown speeds, talking cell phone carriers, the latest wireless gadgets and spectrum bidding. Our interpretation of describing an acronym is usually saying what it 'spells out' or describing the wireless product or service by using more technical terms like The Motorola Q is the name of the Blackberry like, Palm like, Pocket PC like, Razr phone like handheld with Bluetooth, a mini SD Card drive and 1.3 megapixel camera sold on the Verizon network. Yeah well, tell me something I don't know and can't easily find on a search engine, like how to set up and use the darn thing?

This wireless non sense tech babble infiltrates our mind, our personalities and ultimately our existence and then the next thing you know it is set up in our mental default language. The big problem is when we are speaking or educating others we have to remember that the wireless and cellular industry has not been nice to them as far as providing industry specific information in a sensible format. Log on to every major news and media publication and you will find wireless hiding somewhere under technology or maybe IT or maybe mobile computing. Surprisingly not even the wireless providers or vendors have worked to get wireless into its own 'category'. Essentially, we are still an orphan in the public eye. I can understand from the days of the digital pager where we didn't have much going on beyond a few major wireless vendors and a pretty similar product but over 8 years, wireless has emerged as its own beast and unfortunately we have little real documented history on the emergence on the wireless industry, aside from industry trend reports and articles written as subtle advertisements. So the consumer does not know where to begin when they are searching for wireless and how it works overall.

There are so many elements and niches upon niches of wireless that it is hard to know where it began or where it is going. Then there is the hype and talk about the convergence of developing and emerging future technologies which still have to be tested and approved before they are actually integrated into our current technologies. Yet, these technologies are promoted and advertised 'as the next best thing' leaving consumers confused and believing that they are behind the curve. So they go to their local retail store to learn that nobody has a darn clue what on Earth they are talking about, making the whole situation even more confusing and frustrating than it already was. So in order for the wireless industry to evolve and improve its communication and the way it disseminates information to the average consumer we need to consider the following:

1. Realize there are generally two types of wireless consumers: Technical and non-technical. We need to be able to provide the same information to both groups in their 'respective language'.

2. Go beyond wireless: Write in terms that people can connect with, even if you have to go outside of the wireless industry to make an analogy.

3. Think of the way it was, the way it is and the way it is going. With so many generations of wireless technologies and so many idiosyncrasies specific to the industry, consumers need to have some reference for a starting point. If they cannot understand the way it was, then they cannot see how a specific wireless technology has improved or advanced or even its relevancy.

4. Solve a problem first. Address a common consumer problem or misnomer. Try writing or drawing pictures or coming up with practical everyday analogies to address the problem without using wireless tech babble.

5. If 1 through 4 doesn't work, try writing for your audience and not yourself.

About the Author

Shonika Proctor is the New 'IT' Girl. Her company creates training tools and programs for frustrated cell phone account users and administrators, http://www.cell-phone-account-help.com

Enjoying digital photography just got easier

Well now, we consider a few accessories; let's move on to cameras since both accessories and cameras combine. We spoke earlier in different articles regarding flashguns; however, I will bring this up once more. Come cameras have hot-shoes which enable the user to connect to a flashgun which will enhance photo take. There are not many people that don't like to travel. The vast majority of people that travel will want to take pictures while they are away. The most convenient type of camera on the market today is the digital camera. With a digital camera, you won't have to spend a lot of money for film and processing and you can even see the pictures the minute that you shoot them. If there is a frame that you don't like, simply erase it and start over!

When rechargeable batteries became generally available, the cost of using portable electronics went down considerably. Now, that savings seems like a fact of life, but by remembering a few things about batteries, you can save even more. New rechargeable batteries should be partially charged (in fact, mostly charged) when you buy them - but that doesn't mean they're ready for use. Manufacturer's generally recommend full charging before use, and some experienced users report that two or three full charge-discharge cycles before first use makes for the longest possible run time per charge. Temperature has some odd effects on batteries - for long-term storage the rumors are true: it is best to keep batteries cold, even frozen, to slow the gradual discharge that occurs in all batteries and keep them fresh. Think of batteries as an animal that can hibernate - the cold slows the "metabolism" of the battery.

You can advertise right on E-bay to test the market. The fact is that many people simply don't have the time, the excellent camera you have just invested in or the inclination to take the type of photograph that will instantly sell their product on the Internet. Why just stick with Internet photography? How many magazines exist in the worlds that are filled with photographs of everything imaginable from office desks to floral arrangements? That is another market of clients waiting to discover you.

With your digital capture versatility, editing capabilities and print studio, you will find a variety of documentation needs professionally and artistically. Your editing studio may also include the tools to edit historic photographs. Thereby you could provide a building owner with an historic series of photographs of their buildings.

The Digital Camera incorporates the use of an electronic sensor to record images as binary data printed in a bit map configuration. Unlike film photography, which uses film to capture images, there is no need for the development stage in digital production. Digital photographs are instantly produced electronically within your camera. They can then be downloaded to a computer and stored on a disk or archived via the Internet and e-mail. The quality of the electronic photograph will be affected by storage on the Internet just like scanned photographs are converted to 72 dots per inch [dpi] when downloaded on the Internet.

When selling a royalty-free photo, a photographer allows an image buyer unlimited use of the photo or illustration, including any photo manipulations such as, but not limited to cropping, using filters, color enhancements, etc. Photographer remains a copyright owner of the photography or illustration. Stockxpert a stock photography website says when selecting some of your pictures to upload to Stockxpert, you should keep in mind that this is a stock image archive, not a personal gallery, thus we look at your work a bit differently. We are looking for photos that are creative, interesting and useful at the same time. They should be large, sharp and properly lit. Good composition and good quality is a must.

After you have had a day in the sunshine taking lots of excellent photographs or a day at a conference with your digital camera, and you have returned to your home or office to process and distribute your new photographs. You, now, have the opportunity to transform your photographs to well-structured archives, presentations, books, artwork, gifts or retail products.

About the Author
Issues with your digital camera? Learn more information about your fantastic new camera Eliminate the confusion and look at this report on taking family photos.