« April 2009 | Main | June 2009 »
Speeding up web browsing
There’s an idea from Gervase Markham that caught my eye in the blogroll today. Get browsers to start the process of downloading a page when the cursor hovers over a link.
In fact you can already give this a go by installing the FasterFox addon for Firefox.
Yahoo Image search adds Creative Commons
Getting copyright right when using images from the internet is very important, and not just as far as the artist is concerned. A reader contacted us once after receiving a bill out of the blue for an image he had used (click on the more link to read the full text).
One way to avoid expensive confusions is to look for images that have a Creative Commons license. You can search several sites via the Creative Commons website, including Flickr, and this has been helpful several times in the past when I’ve been putting posters together.
Yahoo has made life easier when it comes to finding images for projects by adding some Creative Commons options to their image search page. The changes are made to the search immediately so you don’t have to repeat it to change the options.
It can be a pain when the perfect image isn’t available, but you owe it to the artist to abide by the licenses.
I am webmaster for a small amateur theatre company and recently used a picture from Google Images on the website to promote an in-house Family Fun Day. A few weeks later at the end of August, I received a demand for the sum of £964 for use of the image without payment. I had never heard of the company but it said it owns the copyrights to the photograph. The paperwork states there is no negotiation possible re-their payment demand. It also said it was not acceptable to say it was not known that the image was copyrighted, or that it was downloaded from another web-site, which indeed it had been. There was no intention to defraud anybody but the photo had no rights warning and so I assumed it would be in order to use it. I would willingly pay a few hundred to clear this up, but £900 plus? I am frantic.
Terry Swoffer
Case solved
The image Mr Swoffer used was from Getty Images. The amount demanded by Getty seems to be a standard fee for cases of copyright infringement. Although Mr Swoffer stated that the demand he received said no negotiation was possible, you usually can thrash out an agreement acceptable to both parties. We contacted Getty and the representative told us that it would always try to reach a compromise. It said it realised people inadvertently use its images and in Mr Swoffer’s case there was no malicious intent to defraud the photographer or itself. However it pointed out that if someone uses a photo without permission, the photographer doesn’t get paid his or her royalties so it is very hot on copyright infringement. We explained he had tried repeatedly to reach the company to no avail. We are happy to report that Getty contacted Mr Swoffer, who incidentally had immediately removed the image from the website, and withdrew its demand for payment.
Although Mr Swoffer said there was no reference anywhere to state that the image had copyright restrictions, it is always best to assume this is the case when using material that is not your own. We should also point out that on Google images it does clearly state those photos are subject to copyright. If you are not sure don’t use the image. The same rule of thumb applies to music, videos, works of art, published text etc.
The 1988 Copyright, Designs and Patents Act
UK copyright law gives the creators of literary, dramatic, musical, artistic works, sound recordings, broadcasts, films and typographical arrangement of published editions, rights to control the ways in which their material may be used. The Intellectual Property Office (IPO) has more information www.ipo.gov.uk/copy.htm
Make software work the way you want
Someone has to make a decision about how software looks when you first start it. The problem is that might not be how you work best. Web browsers are an interesting example of this if you think about what happens when you open a new tab. Opera introduced the idea of having a selection of favourites and this has now been extended by both Chrome and Internet Explorer 8.
But you should never be afraid to poke around and see if there are options that work better for you, as I was reminded in an article on Smashing Magazine on customising design software. Much of the advice is very specific to Photoshop and Illustrator, but there is plenty to take inspiration from.
For example, try setting up the bookmark toolbar in your browser to your favourite sites, or use the ability to set several tabs to open automatically (video link).
I’ve already said enough about how I’ve modified Word 2003 to match my workflow. Has anyone else got any tips to share?
User Accounts advice
I’m working on my computer as an Ordinary User rather than my normal life as an Administrator. The reasons are long and involved but it’s actually how I ought to use the computer. It’s too easy to do foolish stuff if you’re an Admin, or give malware a chance to do something nasty.
I still need to install software though and it’s not really very convenient to keep logging off to log in again as Administrator. The solution is to right click install files and select Run As…
Now this works fine assuming that the file you are trying to run has .exe at the end of the name. This counts for most programs and most installers.
It was installers that were causing me problems as many were supplied as .msi files and the right-click menu for these does not include the Run As… option.
The answer lies with the Command Prompt, if you start that as an Administrator. Left-click on the Start menu, All programs and Accessories but right-click on Command Prompt. Left-click on Run As… and supply the proper username and password.
Now navigate to the folder with the setup file. Type cd foldername to go into a folder or type cd.. to move up a folder. To see the contents of a folder type dir. Press Enter after each command. Once you’re in the right place, type the name of the file to start it as an Administrator.
Book review: The Little Digital Video Book
The problem with a lot of gadgets is they bring otherwise complicated technology into the hands of just about anyone, often without enough support of how to use it.
There was a time when a good quality consumer film camera would have a manual zoom but work everything else out automatically. Now even the cheaper cameras offer far more control, which requires an in-depth knowledge to get the best results.
The same is also true with camcorders and, as a relative newcomer myself, books like The Little Digital Video Book are a very valuable introduction. Michael Rubin manages to get the right balance between explaining both technology and technique.
In fact, one of the most valuable piece of advice was to keep a paper record of tapes and recordings. I've started using this for my digital photo collection and it has been very helpful.
Although it is a very readable book, and I was quite happy to work from cover to cover, there are plenty of exercises to demonstrate the advice and to show why what might feel like the right thing when filming may not be when it comes to showing it to an audience. It’s full colour throughout, which is important for a media rich subject like this.
The book also covers the various ways of connecting camcorders to a computer with photos showing the different plugs and sockets.
There is also an accompanying blog with example videos quoted in the book.
Highly recommended if you are about to get started with a camcorder, or thinking of buying one for someone.
Author: Michael Rubin
ISBN: 978-0-321-57262-2
Publisher: www.peachpit.com
Problem indents in Word
We had a problem earlier with a Word cell whose text was being obscured by the cell to the right.
It turns out that the cause of the problem was the Right Indent, that had been set beyond the cell limits. Clicking and dragging it back to the cell edge fixed the problem.
Green biking
Great post from the Instructables about how to add a gadget charger to a bike. I often wondered whether this was possible with an exercise bike but the problem is always that you have to do an awful lot of pedalling to generate enough electricity.
This is best illustrated by a comment early on when they are describing how they thought they would make the device for runners using the innards of one of those shake to charge torches:
However, when we calculated how much energy we would be able to get from a run, we determined that it would take a 50-mile run to get enough energy to charge one AA battery. This was unreasonable so we changed our project to the bike system.
That means that if I ran to work, instead of catching the train, I would probably be able to keep in iPod charged. Maybe not.
The problem with using Wikipedia to win arguments
Very wise words from Dilbert today about the problems of referring to Wikipedia, especially if there is time for people to edit articles.
Microsoft Office templates
I was asked to find some exciting Excel spreadsheets today for some screengrabs and it didn’t take long to realise that none of mine really fit the bill.
If you ever find yourself in a similar situation, there are lots of good quality templates to be found on the Microsoft Office website.
I rather like the Lawn and garden budget sheet for example.
It all makes me think I should work at improving the look of my spreadsheets
What happens when Windows 7 RC expires
Some people may have been a little surprised that Microsoft was willing to give away Windows 7 RC (Release Candidate – a final test version) but, like the proverbial free lunch, there is a catch. After August 1 2010, this version will expire.
But it’s unlikely anyone will want to use it after March because from March 1 2010 it will automatically reboot every two hours. It will also be marked as non genuine with warnings and a black background.
Best enjoy it while it lasts then.
