tag:blog.loveconsulting.com,2010://1 2008-10-25T03:24:38Z Movable Type 3.35 tag:blog.loveconsulting.com,2008://1.121 2008-10-25T02:28:03Z 2008-10-25T03:24:38Z

By Bruce A. Love Over the past 5 years I have enjoyed writing about business and technology issues and sharing information with the readers of the Altoona Mirror. I have appreciated the questions, comments, and kind words expressed by many...

By Bruce A. Love Over the past 5 years I have enjoyed writing about business and technology issues and sharing information with the readers of the Altoona Mirror. I have appreciated the questions, comments, and kind words expressed by many readers, and I’ve especially enjoyed hearing from those who were able to make good use of information presented in my columns. And so, it is with mixed feelings that I bring this column to a close. Throughout my career, I have changed directions many times – sometimes intentionally, sometimes unintentionally. The truth is, I enjoy changing gears and trying new things and going in completely different directions from time to time. I want to experience it all and staying in one place too long takes time away from trying something new. After five years and approximately 200 columns, it’s time for me to leave newsprint and seriously explore the blogosphere! Blogs are the heart and soul of what many call the “new media.” Some blogs are merely personal spaces on the Web where individuals express opinions or exchange information about a favorite hobby; others are tools that technologists use to help each other understand and develop solutions to complex problems. Still other blogs are forums for expressing views about the economy, the environment, or other important and controversial topics. Political changes are on the horizon and there is so much to write about. Unfortunately, a lot of what I want to say would not be appropriate for this column on business and technology. I want to write about politicians calling their constituents “rednecks” and “racists.” I want to write about Hollywood and media elitists who attack the average “Joe” for expressing his opinions. I want to dig for the truth in news stories and help to expose the lies and deceptions we often hear about from “trusted” news sources. With my own blog, I alone am responsible for the content and tone, and I won’t have to worry about putting anyone else in the awkward position of defending my views. Bring it on! My blog is called “Love Lines,” and is located at blog.loveconsulting.com. Currently, it only displays columns that have appeared in the newspaper (plus one that didn’t). Collectively, these columns serve as a nice resource for anyone wanting to start a business, those already in businesses, and anyone who wants to know more about personal computers and online resources. The columns are searchable by subject or by date. I will continue to post similar columns online, but my primary focus will be to voice opinions about edgier topics, like politics. I welcome any Altoona Mirror reader to visit me on Love Lines and express their views on any posted topic, including this column! I am grateful to have had the opportunity to write for the Altoona Mirror. The experience has allowed me to sharpen my writing skills and meet some really interesting people. I particularly want to thank Ray Eckenrode, Executive Editor for the Altoona Mirror, who gave me my start at the Mirror, and the editors who helped me adapt to the AP style of writing. Most of all, I thank you, the readers! I look forward to continuing our exchange of ideas in the blogosphere. tag:blog.loveconsulting.com,2008://1.120 2008-10-10T19:35:39Z 2008-10-10T19:38:02Z

By Bruce A. Love The title of this column is bound to attract a lot of attention. It may be a cheap marketing ploy to get you to read this column, but I promise that this column will provide powerful...

CashNet Sweepstakes o Online-Sweepstakes ]]> tag:blog.loveconsulting.com,2008://1.119 2008-09-20T23:08:37Z 2008-10-10T19:35:19Z

By Bruce A. Love Four years ago, I wrote a column called “Liar Beware!” about the lies, exaggerations, and distortions we hear during every election season. Exposing the shortcomings of political opponents is one thing, but when candidates or their...

Snopes.com, factcheck.org, and politifact.com. When you do, you will discover that: > John McCain knows how to use a computer (but types slowly because of old war injuries) > Sarah Palin did not ban any books from the Wasilla Public Library > Obama and Biden voted against an amendment declaring English the national language of the United States > Barack Hussein Obama is not a Muslim (despite a recent interview where he referenced “my Muslim faith”) > Obama was the only one of 6 Democratic presidential candidates not to have his hand over his heart for the playing of the National Anthem during an event in Indianola, IA. There is a slight possibility I may have introduced a small amount of bias while writing this column. Check the facts at reliable impartial sites and make your own informed decisions! ]]> tag:blog.loveconsulting.com,2008://1.118 2008-08-23T03:36:54Z 2008-08-25T01:45:19Z

By Bruce A. Love If you or a child are about to start a semester of college, you know all about sticker price anxiety. Tuition is one thing, but books can also be a significant expense. This semester, my daughter...

AbeBooks.com is a cheap and reliable place to buy school texts online. Of course, Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble are reliable booksellers too, but you may find that you can do better with some of the sites that specialize in school books. My daughter is a Junior in college and is also familiar with buying books online. Alysia’s preferred Web site for buying textbooks is CheapBooks.com. This site actually searches quite a few online stores to find the best book deals for students. Just enter the textbook’s title, author, or ISBN number, and CheapBooks will return all the best deals from Amazon, Borders, eBay, Half.com and others. Chances are you can find all the required books for less than half the price your school’s bookstore charges. CheapBooks also gives you links to stores, such as Chegg and BookRenter.com, that “rent” books to students by the semester. This drops the price of using the book even more, and is a great option for those “must take” subjects that students have no interest in after they get their grades! When buying or renting textbooks online, there are several caveats. First, be aware that it takes longer to get your books when buying online than it does if you buy them from the school’s bookstore. Plan ahead or be prepared to be without a book for a week to 10 days unless you expedite the order. Also, visit the school bookstore and copy the all the particulars (including the price), and use that information for making decisions about online purchases. Next, make sure that the book is written in English, and that the title, author(s), edition, and ISBN numbers are identical to what is required for the course. If you end up buying the right book but wrong edition, you will probably find that you are answering all the wrong homework problems. Also make sure that if the book is supposed to come with any software, or is packaged by the school’s bookstore with other books or materials, that the seller (or reseller, if it is a used book) provides everything. If you choose to buy textbooks from an online auction, be aware that auctions can be a lengthy process and there is no guaranty that you will have the winning bid when it’s all over. Regardless of what online bookstore you buy from, check the shipping costs. My daughter found one book very reasonably priced on eBay, but the seller in Singapore wanted to add $30 for shipping! As with any online auction, I always recommend that buyers check the rating of the seller and avoid overseas purchases. Good luck with classes this year. Have fun shopping online and avoid the long lines and overpriced books in the school store! ]]> tag:blog.loveconsulting.com,2008://1.26 2008-08-09T03:14:49Z 2008-08-09T03:19:52Z

By Bruce A. Love About a year ago, I launched my first blog. At a cost of just $10.99 per month (which also included the cost to host my regular Web site) I considered it a bargain. Settin up the...

LivingDot , at no additional cost. If you have something to say, consider saying it on your personal blog. Just be prepared to defend your posts when others comment on them! A blog is a Web site that has posted commentary on a variety of topics, and allows responses from o thers, which are displayed in chronological order. Blogs look like a discussion of ideas that can take place over days, weeks, or many months. I call my blog, “Love Lines,” (it’s a play on words that refers to my last name and the lines of type in columns). My reasons for launching the blog were to give me an easy way to post my columns online, and give readers a way for contacting me with comments on my columns published in the Altoona Mirror. When you visit blog.loveconsulting.com (the Web address for Love Lines) you will be greeted with the Love Lines banner and the purpose for the blog: for discussing business and technology issues. Discussion is two-way communication, so if you have differing opinions, or wish to add your expertise to a particular discussion, you are welcome to do so as long as the discussion remains respectful. The blog is built using free software called MovableType. It’s a server-based blogging solution, meaning I get to manage the software that runs my blog hosted on LivingDot servers. Other blogging solutions, such as Bloglines, use web-based solutions, where maintenance and functionality of the blog is maintained by somebody else (a very easy solution for somebody just starting out). Web-based and server-based blogging solutions can be free or fee-based. Love Lines displays my 10 most recently published columns on the opening page. You may also view archived columns, or search by keywords or browse categories (e.g., Business Start-up, E-Commerce, Marketing, Personal Computing, etc.). The E-Commerce category, for instance, includes articles about how to register a domain name (needed for starting a Web site), choosing a web host, participating in online auctions, and the benefits of selling online. The Personal Computing category has a wide range of articles intended to help you make the most of your relationship wit h your PC. There are about 200 columns posted in total - poke around a bit and find articles of interest to you and don’t be afraid to ask questions and voice your views on the topics. Although I added a few features and made some cosmetic enhancements since launching hte blog, LoveLines was ready for prime time the day LivingDot accepted my business and gave me the instructions on how to start blogging. Some blogs are easier than others to use and maintain. For an excellent discussion of the top blogging solutions, search for Top 7 Weblog/Blog Software Tools at about.com. If you have something to say, why not let the whole world have an opportunity to read and comment on it online. Happy blogging! ]]> tag:blog.loveconsulting.com,2008://1.25 2008-07-25T19:34:06Z 2008-07-25T19:39:10Z

By Bruce A. Love With limited budgets and soaring fuel prices, vacation plans for many people have had to be scaled back considerably this summer. That’s OK, because central Pennsylvania has lots of fun and interesting things nearby to see...

www.dcnr.state.pa.us/stateparks, and checkout all the uniquely beautiful and fun state parks in Pennsylvania. I have had the pleasure of living in Blair County for more than 7 years now, and have visited some of this region’s treasures. I’ve enjoyed visits to Horseshoe Curve, Lake Gallitzin, Raystown Lake, and the sites in my new home town of Roaring Spring. Canoe Creek State Park is another local get-away with a wide range of activities that include boating, fishing, swimming, hiking, a wonderful nature center, and limekiln ruins. Shaver's Creek Environmental Center (a Penn State affiliated center in Petersburg, PA) sits on 7,000 acres and provides a mix of educational and recreational opportunities including classes, bird and animal shows, and tebambuilding programs. If caving is your thing, or you are looking for creative ways to avoid hot summer days, tour some of the local caves for a refreshing afternoon. Visit www.goodearthgraphics.com/showcave/pa.html for descriptions, costs, and directions. I have heard that the tours at the Hershey Chocolate factory in central PA are nothing like they were when I was a kid, but don’t worry: Gardner’s Candy factory offers delicious tours locally in Tyron. I am putting that on my must-do list, along with trips to Old Bedford Village, Falling Water, and the Railroaders Memorial Museum in Altoona. If you have other staycation suggestions share them with us at blog.loveconsulting.com. Visit the “Visit PA” Web site for more ideas for local places of interest. This Web site is huge and is organized in categories such as Heritage and History, Arts and Entertainment; Nature and Outdoors; Regional Roadtrips; and other useful topics.. Staycations enable you to enjoy and support our local treasures, create a much smaller carbon footprint, and save money in the process! ]]> tag:blog.loveconsulting.com,2008://1.24 2008-07-12T16:42:45Z 2008-07-12T16:45:28Z

By Bruce A. Love In my previous column, I began to explore the complex and contentious topic of escalating fuel prices. We used the economic concepts of supply and demand to explain why fuel prices have soared. In that column,...

www.americansolutions.com). As an alternative to fossil fuels, some people are becoming very creative. If you search for “Biofuel man” at YouTube.com you will find a series of videos that explain how to use waste restaurant grease to power a diesel vehicle. Really! Oil and coal can’t last forever. I am all for clean, “green,” renewable energy. You can’t get much cleaner and greener than one promising technology that extracts lipids from algae to produce a full range of fuel products, including diesel, gasoline, and home heating fuel. According to scientists who work in this emerging field, 10% of the desert state of New Mexico could produce enough algae to satisfy all the energy needs of the entire United States (see http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ToojK_MJd0). In the short run, the American economy will continue to rely largely on fossil fuels, but the future may be solar, wind, fast food grease, or algae! These are exciting times! ]]> tag:blog.loveconsulting.com,2008://1.23 2008-06-21T17:25:34Z 2008-06-21T17:40:48Z

By Bruce A. Love Gasoline prices have soared over $4 per gallon and there are indications that the rising cost of fuel hasn’t peaked yet. The current fuel crisis is affecting Americans in a hard way, as many search for...

By Bruce A. Love Gasoline prices have soared over $4 per gallon and there are indications that the rising cost of fuel hasn’t peaked yet. The current fuel crisis is affecting Americans in a hard way, as many search for alternative means of transportation and try to cope with the high cost of fuel oil in order to heat homes. Those on fixed incomes are affected most. Something has to give. I’ve decided to tackle this complex and sensitive topic in a two part column. As always, I invite your input on my blog (www.blog.loveconsulting.com). It is difficult for most of us to understand why fuel costs have skyrocketed. However, in a free market (the most efficient, fair, and free economic system), prices of goods and services are determined by the mutual consent of sellers and buyers. Price decisions are made according to the economic principles of supply and demand. When demand is low or supplies are high (e.g., a product is overstocked), prices must drop in order to sell the product. Conversely, when supplies are low or demand is high, prices rise because the seller can get a higher profit. However, prices cannot continue to rise indefinitely in a free market economy because when others see very high profits, they will enter the market and compete for a piece of the action and thereby drive down costs. We, the consumer, can help to determine the cost of goods by our demand for them. In a free market economy, competition between vendors tends to decrease prices and increase the quality of goods because we (the consumer), when given a choice, will shop for the best product for our money. The oil industry is experiencing an increase in the demand (primarily due to growing industrial economies worldwide). The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), which manages much of the world’s oil supply, has determined that under current conditions of higher demand for oil and little in the way of competition, they can charge much more then they could previously. In order to drive the price of oil down, consumers must either demand less oil, produce more oil domestically, find alternatives to products made with fossil fuels, or a use combination of strategies. Faced with difficult situations, Americans have always been able to assess challenging situations, develop plans of attack, and overcome adversity in grand fashion. As the saying goes, “necessity is the mother of invention,” and the current conditions have highlighted some very real necessities. Already, we see American ingenuity beginning to address the problem of higher fuel prices. Some solutions may take years before they have an effect, but others can have an immediate effect on lowering the amount of money we spend on fuel and other products made with petrochemicals. As individuals and families, we owe it to ourselves to take steps to lower our fuel expenses. In our next column, we examine strategies that would have immediate impacts on national and individual demand for foreign fossil fuels, as well as exciting new strategies and options that have promise for long-term cheap and clean domestic energy. It’s an exciting time. The temporary discomfort we are experiencing now will inspire innovation in the future. tag:blog.loveconsulting.com,2008://1.22 2008-06-07T18:23:49Z 2008-06-07T19:35:26Z

By Bruce A. Love Our nephew, Jeremy Pellani, and his wife Tavia, are experiencing the “simple” life by living off the land on a twenty-five acre homestead in rural upstate New York. They chose this homesteading lifestyle, which they live...

Homestead.org, Jeremy Pellani writes of the “strange paradox” that allows him to pursue the “simple life" with the help of the Internet. His column provides an overview of the trials and tribulations of their homesteading experience, and gives great advice and inspiration for anyone interested in pursuing a similar lifestyle. With aggravating daily commutes, outrageous gas prices and grocery bills, and television programming lacking much redeeming value, I must admit that there is a certain allure to returning to the simpler ways. Jeremy and Tavia have learned in their business endeavors not to try to compete with mass produced items that can be manufactured in third world countries for ridiculously low prices that exploit the efforts of workers. The Pellanis sell their made-to-order creations on Web sites they run, while other crafts they make are sold on eBay and other online auction sites. Many of their creations use the hand-dyed yarns that Tavia spins from wool produced by their llamas. Hand-made hats, scarves, baby booties, and raw skeins of natural hand-dyed yarns are all commodities sought by a growing “green” community of environmentally-aware customers. For a more detailed description of how the Pellanis make homesteading work for them, read the Homestead.org alticle at: http://www.homestead.org/JeremyPellani/SellingOnline/SellingWhatYouMakeOnline.htm. Although Jeremy Pellani has never been motivated by making money, he acknowledges that it is sometimes necessary to have a few bucks so he can interface with the outside world. “Jer” is a very giving person and is always quick to help friends, family, and neighbors. He acknowledges that he probably lives below the poverty line, but because he doesn’t have to drive to work everyday and lives off his land, money goes a great deal further for his family than for those of us who have chosen a lifestyle working for others. If your homestead needs masonry work, Jeremy has an impressive track record using his skills to restore stonework on many private estates and cathedrals. He can be reached through either of his Web sites. If your pet has recently passed to the great homestead in the sky, Jeremy also customizes memorial markers commemorating our departed furry friends (http://pet-memorial.lazyfrog.net/). For decorative garden or address stones visit The Shady Garden. Jeremy would never approve of such obvious promotional self-serving tactics, but sometimes even a homesteader can benefit from methods used by a capitalist uncle. ]]> tag:blog.loveconsulting.com,2008://1.21 2008-05-24T15:25:29Z 2008-05-24T15:44:12Z

By Bruce A. Love Good software can be very expensive. However, if you check reputable sources for worthwhile free software, you can get some real bargains. With gasoline approaching $4/gallon, it feels good to download these gems without having to...

http://free.grisoft.com) is what most of us use to find and kill computer viruses. Viruses are computer programs that can copy themselves and infect computers without the permission or knowledge of the user. Various programs are available that will eradicate viruses, but I have never been sorry for switching to AVG-Free from fee-based McAfee and Norton. Of course, AVG also has a souped-up version that they recommend for $55/year, but the free version is fantastic, and will probably suit your needs. “Spybot Search and Destroy” is another free product I use that specifically targets spyware and adware. These programs often try to enter your computer through hyperlinks that users are tricked into clicking on disreputable websites. Spyware can collect various types of personal information, and can also interfere with PC performance and user control of the computer. Visit the Spybot Web site, click the Download link at the top of the page, and find the latest version of Spybot Search and Destroy to download. When you run this program, it’s fun and gratifying to see it locate and destroy it’s prey. Piriform, Ltd produces several good (and free) programs. Although your PC already has a utility to defragment your hard drive, Defraggler gives you more control of the defragmentation process, which optimizes disk space. CCleaner, also by Piriform, is a freeware system optimization and privacy tool. It quickly removes unused files from your system. This allows Windows to run faster and frees up valuable hard disk space. One more program that is getting great reviews from a lot of trusted sources is GIMP. Use GIMP (the GNU Image Manipulation Program) for such tasks as photo retouching and image composition. Many compare this program to Adobe Photoshop, whose various versions run anywhere from $100 - $1,000. My daughter, who has used Photoshop, wasn’t as impressed with this software as many reviewers, but considering the price tag you may want to give it a try. Caution: this program is not for beginners. Free programs can be a bargain, but make sure the program has a good reputation and that you are downloading them from legitimate sources. Programs described in PC Magazine or discussed by Kim Komando (www.kimando.com) have been tested and approved by experts in the field. Most of the free programs discussed in today’s column also can be downloaded from FileHippo. ]]> tag:blog.loveconsulting.com,2008://1.20 2008-05-12T03:13:20Z 2008-05-12T03:20:07Z

By Bruce A. Love As a child, I always took a brownbag lunch to school. My favorite was an egg salad sandwich, Tastykakes (I lived in the Philly suburbs after all), and a piece of fruit. I liked to brown...

By Bruce A. Love As a child, I always took a brownbag lunch to school. My favorite was an egg salad sandwich, Tastykakes (I lived in the Philly suburbs after all), and a piece of fruit. I liked to brown bag my lunches because I could breeze past the lunch line, get my choice of cafeteria tables, and sit down to lively discussions with the guys. Occasionally a girl would sit at our table, but I think that stopped after one boisterous conversation that ended with me scooping up the whip cream from the girl’s Jell-O salad and flinging it in her face. I don’t remember what she said to provoke the incident, but fourth graders don’t need much provocation to resort to throwing food. I still brownbag my lunch most days, although lunches today usually consist of a yogurt, a 100 calorie snack and a piece of fruit. I often eat while working at my desk, but occasionally I get together with friends at the office to discuss current events and other topics of interest. Sometimes we turn our lunches into real events and organize “Brownbag Lunch Workshops” or seminars and invite others to join. Brown bag lunch get-togethers are fun, educational, and can strengthen team relationships in the office. Brownbag seminars normally run an hour or so. Originally they were scheduled around lunchtime and participants were encouraged to bring their own lunch in a bag. As a host, lunchtime presentations give me an opportunity to sharpen my teaching and training skills. I get to talk about topics that I think would benefit others, or that I think others would like to hear, see, or learn about. As an attendee of brownbag lunch presentations, I always enjoy having an opportunity to learn something new – including topics that will help me become better at what I do in the workplace. Some lunchtime topics are intended to improve various skills, while others are just for fun. Vacation slideshows are a favorite topic for some to talk about. On one occasion, an intern showed slides of his trip to Europe that included an audience with the Pope – talk about connections! Last week I gave a lunchtime presentation on genealogy and finding one’s roots. I think the discussion helped to motivate others to dig deeper into their ancestry. Even these non-work related topics have a purpose in the workplace: they help to strengthen team relationships, which can improve the communication process in the organization. Many brownbag lunch presentations are technical and instructive. I have offered presentations focusing on MS-PowerPoint and other topics specific to the mission of my organization. Most of us have some area of expertise that we can share with others to help everyone work more safely or perform more effectively in the workplace. Brainstorm with your boss and colleagues to figure out what topics would be of interest. Organizations appreciate initiatives that strengthen the team spirit – especially efforts that also improve workplace performance. Bosses frequently allow employees to stretch their lunch break to accommodate brownbag lunch discussions – especially if the boss is invited! Just be careful not to start any food fights! tag:blog.loveconsulting.com,2008://1.19 2008-04-26T13:29:31Z 2008-04-26T13:31:55Z

By Bruce A. Love I routinely use three computers in three different locations. When I work from home, I need files that were created on my PC at the office. When I am out of town, I make sure I...

LogMeIn Pro allows users to see a remote PC's full desktop and control everything on it - applications, network files, email, and printing. You can even copy files to a local PC that are too large for email. With LogMeIn, I can access my PC from work, an internet cafe, an airport, or a hotel business center. I can even print documents that I access remotely to a printer at home or one located with me! You may use LogMeIn Pro free for 30 days. If you decide this product is right for you, it’s about $70 per year. A free version of the program allows you to view and control your computer remotely but will not let you drag and drop files from your remote PC to your local computer nor print such documents to a local printer. However, one way to use the free version to move files from a remote PC to a local PC is to make your remote PC e-mail the files to you. That’s not ideal, but it is free! Now that I can operate my home computer remotely I will be able to monitor Chloe on the web cam and make sure she doesn’t get close to my flash drive. If she does, I can crank up the speakers at home from hundreds of miles away and yell “No Chloe!” I wonder if the little rat will listen. ]]> tag:blog.loveconsulting.com,2008://1.18 2008-04-13T01:06:32Z 2008-04-13T01:12:15Z

By Bruce A. Love Earlier this month, most of us survived another April Fool’s Day without too much public humiliation. Pulling off the perfect practical joke can be great fun as long as nobody is harmed in the process and...

FBI’s Internet Fraud page. Some of the best advice on this page includes: * Be skeptical of individuals asking for your help in placing large sums of money in overseas banks. * Do not believe promises of large sums of money for your cooperation. * Guard your account information. If you believe you are a victim of internet fraud, contact the Internet Crime Complaint Center. If you enjoy clever (and non harmful) practical jokes and hoaxes, you might want to visit the Museum of Hoaxes. There, you can read about some classics that were perpetrated by individuals and reputable organizations alike - all in the name of fun. Click on the link for the Top 100 April Fools jokes and you’ll learn about the Annual Swiss Spaghetti Harvest, Burger King’s Left-Handed Whopper, and others. With a little planning and practice, who knows … maybe you will see your practical joke featured on this page! ]]> tag:blog.loveconsulting.com,2008://1.17 2008-03-15T18:27:30Z 2008-03-14T18:30:03Z

By Bruce A. Love From time to time, I like to share some of my favorite Web sites with readers. This week, I present some science and nature Web sites that I am sure most readers will enjoy. From a...

www.tripoli.org. The Tripoli Web site is definitely for grown-ups who want to play with larger versions of the rockets they built as kids. This Web site has plenty of pictures, videos, and information about how to join the fun and excitement of high-power rocketry! Speaking of the final frontier, if you are a space enthusiast you will want to put www.nasa.gov on your list of favorite Web sites. NASA has links to all their current, past, and future missions. It’s also a great resource for school-aged science buffs who are preparing for the next science fair. Click on the tab for Multimedia, select images, and view the Image of the Day gallery for some out-of-this world photographs! You can also view NASA videos and animations. You don’t have to leave this world to see beautiful images and appreciate all that we have around us. If you like birds and other wildlife, visit Steve Kerr Nature Photography (home.att.net/~hsk3). H. Stephen Kerr is a wildlife photographer who is also a friend of mine since the tenth grade. On his web site, you can view many dozens of birds in categories such as Waterfowl, Raptors, Owls, and Vireos and Warblers. If birds are not your thing, the site also has pages for Reptiles and Amphibians, Wildflowers, Insects, and Whales. Each photograph is labeled for easy identification, and every photo is has an appropriate resolution for good PC viewing and reasonable download speeds. Most images on these pages are also available in higher resolution for purchase. As a child, I enjoyed perusing the pages of my dad’s Popular Science magazines. The magazines often previewed technologies that were on the verge of becoming realities. Each issue helped us stretch our imaginations further by describing what scientists were striving for in the future. Today, popular science has a Web site (www.popsci.com). This is a must for anyone who wants to glimpse the future of cars, gadgets, military, aviation, entertainment and gaming, and the environment. I found one article on “Warships of Tomorrow,” and another on flying “green” at Mach 5. Wow! If you have some favorite science and nature sites, share them with me and other bloggers at blog.loveconsulting.com. If you are planning to launch some really big rockets, don’t forget to invite me! ]]> tag:blog.loveconsulting.com,2008://1.16 2008-03-01T12:29:33Z 2008-03-01T12:34:02Z

By Bruce A. Love Digital photography has become so easy and inexpensive that many users are now taking hundreds or thousands of pictures every year! With so many images, reliable storage for these graphic treasures becomes an important consideration! Thumb...

www.kodakgallery.com), Flickr (www.flickr.com), and Shutterfly (www.shutterfly.com) offer many features, options, and tools that will make photograph storing, sharing, and editing easier than ever. Many of the services are free! Once you opened an online account and uploaded your photos to your own gallery page, you will be able to add captions and titles and set up slide shows so that friends and family anywhere around the world can view your pictures. Kodak Gallery, typical of these photo hosting sites, allows you to organize your photos in secure virtual albums for easy sharing. These albums will let you, your friends, and family quickly find photos sorted by date or name, and search by keywords. The editing tools provided by these services allow users to crop, rotate, and remove red-eye to enhance your pictures. You can even tint and add artistic effects and borders. Flickr and Shutterfly are free to use, however, each have premium services and products that you may opt to pay for. Shutterfly offers unlimited photo storage capability, while the free plan that Flickr offers limits the storage space to 100 MB. Kodak Gallery has unlimited storage, but requires users to make at least one purchase per year. Purchases may include prints, posters, books, cards, calendars or photos printed on coffee mugs. The requirement of one purchase per year is really quite reasonable. If you choose to purchase prints from Kodak Gallery you can either have the photos on Kodak paper mailed to your home or shipped to a store near you. I counted 6 stores in the greater Altoona Area that work with Kodak Gallery to give you convenient pick-up options. This week, I started my own Flickr account. I like the intuitive and flexible interface and the ability to easily share photographs with others. I also like the ability to keep some albums and pictures private, and the multiple viewing options that let visitors view images as reduced size (thumbnails) for quick scanning, an intermediate size for greater detail, or full size for maximum resolution. Visitors are allowed to copy images from your online gallery to and print images that they like at home. If I find that I am testing the free space limits of Flickr, I can always check out the competition. Digital photography offers many advantages over film-based photography. It’s relatively inexpensive, and images are quick and easy to share, edit, and print. Also, photographs taken with digital cameras now boast resolutions that rival photographs produced by the most expensive film cameras. With photo hosting services, storing thousands of photos is no longer a problem. ]]>