Monday, March 31, 2014

HP ProBook 4510s Review

by Jerry Jackson

The HP ProBook 4510s is the latest 15.6" business notebook designed to provide solid performance at a low price for small and medium businesses. If your company wants the HP Elitebook 8530p but doesnt have the budget to spend $1,350 per laptop, the ProBook 4510s might be a good alternative at a starting price of just $529. Is this budget-priced business notebook destined for success? Take a look at our full review to find out.

Our pre-production review unit of the ProBook 4510s is configured as follows:

  • Intel Core 2 Duo T6570 Processor (2.1GHz, 2MB L2 cache, 800MHz FSB)
  • Microsoft Genuine Windows Vista Business (with option for Windows XP downgrade)
  • 15.6-inch LED-backlit anti-glare HD display (1366 x 768)
  • Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 4500MHD
  • 2GB DDR2 800MHz RAM
  • 250GB 5400RPM HDD
  • LightScribe DVD+/-RW Optical Drive
  • WiFi (802.11a/b/g/draft-n), Ethernet, Modem, and Bluetooth Connectivity
  • 8-Cell 63WHr Battery
  • Limited 1-year standard parts and labor warranty
  • Dimensions: 1.25" x 14.6" x 9.83"
  • Weight: 5.8lbs
  • Price as configured: $749

Build and Design
The HP ProBook 4510s is a business notebook designed to meet the needs of small and medium businesses ... in other words, it needs to have a good balance of features and security at a low price. That said, small and medium business notebooks tend to have a very basic build and deign in order to help bring down the cost of production. At first glance, the ProBook 4510s looks very similar to a HP EliteBook 8530p with a new keyboard and all black finish. Unfortunately, the design similarities stop there.

HP received much praise for the strong magnesium alloy chassis used in the EliteBook series of business notebooks. Unfortunately, in order to lower the cost and weight of the notebook the ProBook 4510s is constructed mostly of plastic. The base of the laptop flexes heavily under pressure, the palmrests likewise bow under the weight of your wrists, and the back of the screen lid is similarly prone to flex. The plastics used in the 4510s should hold up fine if the notebook is being used as an office desktop replacement, but the chassis might not survive multiple drops off a desk or the kind of abuse you expect from a mobile workforce. On the bright side, the new keyboard is pretty firm except for a very minor amount of flex around the directly above the optical drive (more on that later). The key point to remember in this section is that the ProBook 4510s looks pretty nice, but isnt as rugged as more expensive business notebooks.

The outer shell of the screen casing, like the rest of the notebook, is made of plastic. The lid is made of reflective glossy plastic with the HP and ProBook logos printed in silver. The laptop screen housing is a mixture of firm and flexible materials. The frame around the screen is solid enough to prevent me from twisting the screen when force is applied, but the back of the lid is flexible enough that I was able to create screen-wide ripples across the display when I pressed on the back of the screen.

The minimalistic design of the ProBook 4510s combines matte and glossy surfaces for a clean look without the flare of HPs consumer-oriented Pavilion line. Our review unit comes equipped with the "Noir" black finish but HP will also offer the notebook in "Merlot" red later this year.

Despite the plastic construction, the 4510s features hard drive shock protection in the form of HP 3D DriveGuard which will help to protect your hard drive in the event the laptop gets dropped or violently bumped. HP also includes HP ProtectTools with drive encryption, Device Access Manager, HP Spare Key (a program that helps employees access their computer in case they forget their password), HP Disk Sanitizer, File Sanitizer, and McAfee Security Solution for those small businesses that need reliability and ease of use but dont have the resources of a dedicated IT department.

That being said, we were a little confused by how difficult it is to make upgrades to the ProBook 4510s. While most notebooks have a removable panel on the bottom of the notebook to access the RAM, hard drive, and wireless card, HP designed the ProBook 4510s so that you have to remove 10 screws and the entire top half of the chassis (including separate speaker grill, keyboard, and touchpad area) in order to replace or upgrade components. As you can see in the image below, that is a lot of work for a small IT department or small business owner who just wants to upgrade the RAM or replace a hard drive. Granted, many businesses will never upgrade their notebooks and will simply use them as-is until they are replaced ... but the complexity of upgrades and repairs is something to keep in mind.

Screen and Speakers
The ProBook 4510s comes equipped with a 15.6" anti-glare display with a 16:9 widescreen ratio. At 1366 x 768 pixels, this 720p high-definition display is perfectly usable and features good color and contrast. We know many people are concerned about the transition from 16:10 to 16:9 ratio screens (because this means less vertical resolution) but the difference is so minor that the vast majority of notebook users will never have a problem.

Horizontal viewing angles are quite impressive and you only start to notice some color shift after you get 75 degrees off center. Vertical viewing angles are only average as the screen begins to wash out from above and colors begin to invert from below after about 45 degrees in either direction.

HP generally impresses our editorial staff with the quality of the speakers used in their notebooks. Unfortunately, the speakers in the 4510s were less than impressive. Sure, the audio quality is good enough for watching a webcast or hearing system sounds, but the built-in speakers sound tinny and lack a good range of highs, middles, and lows. The highest volume settings are loud enough to fill an office with sound for a presentation, but audio sounds distorted at the higher volumes.

Despite the weak performance of the built-in speakers, they are well placed above the keyboard to direct sound up and toward the user.

The headphone jack on the 4510s works well with the two different brands of earphones I used during the test. No static or other noise was noticed through the jack besides imperfections in the audio source itself.

Keyboard and Touchpad
The full-size keyboard on the 4510s is a completely new design for HP and provides fantastic spacing between keys for typing as well as a dedicated number pad (a major plus for businesses that use their computers for number crunching or data entry). Each key is relatively flat with a nice matte texture and the keys sit above a glossy black support frame. The support frame surrounding the keys is quite firm thanks to the design of the chassis which adds additional support for the keyboard. The only obvious area of flex in the keyboard is when you press on the number pad keys. Keep in mind, however, that we received a pre-production unit, and HP claims that the production units shipping to customers have even better support against flex.

The individual key presses are quiet without loud clicking sounds as you type. The depth of each key press is excellent, though some people may dislike the flat, chicklet-style keys. Overall the keyboard layout is extremely nice for a 15-inch laptop.

The touchpad is very responsive to my touch with a scroll zone on the right side that works exactly as it should. The touchpad texture is okay, but the low-cost material used is sure to develop wear over time and use. The plastic touchpad buttons are about the right size, but require a deep press in order to register a click. This wouldnt be a problem if the area directly beneath the touchpad buttons was indented to allow the side of your thumb to press the buttons all the way down. Unfortunately, when you try to press the touchpad buttons your thumb hits the bottom edge of the notebook and sometimes the buttons dont register a click. This would be a simple thing for HP to fix by replacing the palmrest and touchpad area with a new one that has an indented area beneath the touchpad buttons.

We would have also liked to see a dedicated touchpad disable button (like the ones HP uses on their consumer notebooks) so that you can disable the touchpad if youre using an external mouse.

Ports and Features
The 4510s features a good number of ports on all sides, so let us take a brief tour ...


Left side: Here we see the Kensington lock slot, GigE Ethernet, heat exhaust, VGA out, HDMI, an ExpressCard/34 slot, and two USB ports.


Right side: Two USB ports, modem (under a rubber flap), optical drive and power jack.

Rear side: The battery and hinges.



Front side: Media card reader, headphone out and microphone in jacks.

The bottom of the notebook is completely bare. As previously mentioned, there is no way to access the RAM, hard drive, or wireless card from the bottom of the notebook. The top half of the 4510s must be completely disassembled in order to make upgrades or repairs.

Performance and Benchmarks
Our pre-production ProBook 4510s came with the Intel T6570 processor, clocking in at 2.1GHz, and Intel integrated graphics. Discrete graphics will be available at a later date, but discrete graphics will obviously increase the cost of the notebook. A 250GB 5400 RPM hard drive was also included, which helped applications load without much lag. This notebook didnt really exceed our expectations in terms of performance, but the 4510s has more than enough power to handle Microsoft Office or even very basic video work.

The obvious bottleneck in terms of performance here is the use of Intel graphics, but considering the small and medium business buyers interested in this notebook dont care about the ability to play video games or edit HD video, this isnt a major concern.

With that said, lets jump into the performance benchmarks.

wPrime processor comparison results (lower scores mean better performance):

Notebook / CPU wPrime 32M time
Lenovo T500 (Intel Core 2 Duo T9600 @ 2.8GHz)
27.471s
HP EliteBook 8530w (Intel Core 2 Duo T9400 @ 2.53GHz) 30.919s
Lenovo ThinkPad SL500 (Core 2 Duo P8600 @ 2.4GHz) 32.275s
HP ProBook 4510s (Intel Core 2 Duo T6570 @2.1GHz) 36.583s
Dell Vostro 1510 (Core 2 Duo T5670 @ 1.8GHz)
51.875s


PCMark05 measures overall system performance (higher scores mean better performance):

Notebook PCMark05 Score
Lenovo T500 (2.80GHz Intel T9600, ATI Radeon 3650 256MB GDDR3) 7,050 PCMarks
HP EliteBook 8530w (2.53GHz Intel T9400, Nvidia Quadro FX 770M 512MB) 6,287 PCMarks
Lenovo T500 (2.80GHz Intel T9600, Intel X4500) 5,689 PCMarks
Lenovo ThinkPad SL500 (2.4GHz Intel P8600, Nvidia 9300M GS 256MB) 5,390 PCMarks
HP ProBook 4510s (2.1GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T6570, Intel 4500MHD) 4,192 PCMarks
Dell Vostro 1510 (1.8GHz Intel T5670, Intel X3100) 3,568 PCMarks


3DMark06 measures overall graphics performance for gaming (higher scores mean better performance):

Notebook 3DMark06 Score
HP EliteBook 8530w (2.53GHz Intel T9400, Nvidia Quadro FX 770M 512MB) 5,230 3DMarks
Lenovo T500 (2.80GHz Intel T9600, ATI Radeon 3650 256MB GDDR3) 4,371 3DMarks
Lenovo ThinkPad SL500 (2.4GHz Intel P8600, Nvidia 9300M GS 256MB) 2,242 3DMarks
Lenovo T500 (2.80GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T9600, Intel X4500)
809 3DMarks
HP ProBook 4510s (2.1GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T6570, Intel 4500MHD)
748 3DMarks
Dell Vostro 1510 (1.8GHz Intel T5670, Intel X3100) 519 3DMarks

HDTune storage drive performance test:

Heat and Noise
During normal use (browsing the web or working on a text document) the ProBook 4510s remained relatively cool but not very quiet. The exhaust fan seemingly runs a full blast when the notebook is plugged in, so your coworkers might hear what sounds like a distant hair dryer in a quiet office. When doing tasks that stress the processor and graphics, the laptops fan works hard to keep this laptop cool. This is something of a mixed blessing in that while noisy, it helps to lower the internal temperatures and helps extend the life of your notebook components.

Finally, we recorded the following external temperatures using an IR thermometer after running two consecutive PCMark05 benchmarks. This should serve as an indicator of how hot the notebook will get after about 30 minutes of serious use. All temperatures are listed in degrees Fahrenheit. Its obvious that the bottom of the notebook near the wireless card, processor, and graphics are the hottest parts of the notebook.

Battery
HP offers two different batteries with this notebook. The base configuration the ProBook 4510s comes with a 6-cell 47WHr battery while the $749 configuration comes with the 8-cell 63WHr battery. The battery life of the extended life 8-cell battery is a little better than average, but not amazing. During our timed tests, with the laptop set to "high performance" mode, wireless active, and 80% screen brightness, the 4510s lasted for 5 hours and 10 minutes with a power draw of about 11.1watts. Battery life can also be extended using the "power saver" power profile in Windows Vista.

Conclusion
The HP ProBook 4510s is a solid, though not overwhelmingly impressive small and medium business notebook. Compared to similar notebooks like the Dell Vostro 1510 and 1520 or the Lenovo ThinkPad SL500, the ProBook 4510s is more impressive than the Dell and is either better or worse than the ThinkPad depending on configuration. Whether youre a small business owner looking for a low-cost notebook for yourself or a medium business needing desktop replacements for a few dozen employees, the ProBook 4510s will get the job done.

Still, things like the plastic construction, uncomfortable touchpad design, and difficulty of upgrades might give potential buyers reasons to reconsider a purchase. Additionally, the fact that HP charges almost twice the price for custom configurations (CTO) means that business buyers are almost forced to choose pre-configured models.

Bottom line, the HP ProBook 4510s is a fine notebook for its intended market, but if HP made a few simple changes to the design and purchase options then business buyers would have even more reasons to buy this laptop.

Pros:

  • A great price for a 15.6" business notebook
  • Nice keyboard ... despite some flex
  • Attractive design and relatively light weight

Cons:

  • Not-so-great build quality
  • Custom configurations are overpriced
  • Touchpad buttons are just plain horrible
  • Too difficult to upgrade
Source
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Sunday, March 30, 2014

Is Blogging Right For You

Writing your blog is a brilliant way to drive traffic towards your site and strengthen your web presence. It produces an area that you should communicate with a web-based audience and share understanding of the specific subject. However blogging is difficult, it takes a lot of time, effort and dedication. Prior to taking the choice to fasten a blog aimed at your website consider whether blogging is actually best for you. Your blog that is not up-to-date regularly or that is not intriguing and informative to visitors can really impact adversely in your business instead of provide a lift.

When writing your blog it is important to update it sometimes posting as much as 2-3 occasions each day. This prevents it active and provides it a great rating in search engines like google. Keep things short, sweet and fascinating. People generally have short attention spans so extended posts risk putting most visitors off. If you have a great deal to say on the given subject then break the publish lower right into a several shorter and much more easily digestible posts. If youre blogging to boost the net existence of your company then make certain youre constantly researching new ideas inside your specific area. People wish to find out about new improvements and developments which means you must create a resolve for remaining on the top of whats happening globally in your town of expert knowledge.

As blogs are an very popular and efficient method to drive traffic towards your site its also smart to consider the most recent secrets of the pros when it comes to icons, Search engine optimization information along with other unique methods for self promotion. Technologies are always altering and developing new methods for reaching wider audiences so its useful to spend time on seeing the other writers do and saying. Writing your blog is another wonderful way to interact with potential clients which means you must result in the time to reply to blogs personally. This fortifies your web presence and shows your audience you are taking a desire for them. If youre prepared to take the time on the blog then its a sure way to construct your company!
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Funny songs


Funny songs
Find the numbers hidden in the picture. To complete the game you will need to collect all the numbers. Hidden Numbers is a game made for kids but is fun for everyone. Use the mouse for play. To progress, you have to find five numbers from 0-9.

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Saturday, March 29, 2014

Swashbucklers Blue vs Grey

Mix the Wild West with the high seas and you get Swashbucklers: Blue vs. Grey, an action adventure game about pirates during the Civil War. However, the gameplay isnt as innovative as this offbeat premise, considering that Russian developer TM Studios has simply duplicated Sid Meiers take on buccaneering from his Pirates! games, right down to the arcade minigames. There isnt any amusement to be found in the derivative, go-through-the-motions gameplay that mimics a vastly superior predecessor. The PlayStation 2 production values (the game was apparently designed for Sonys last-generation console), which boast nonstop loading screens and outdated graphics, really hammer home the bottom-drawer philosophy behind this second-rate rip-off.




Nevertheless, there are enough interesting aspects to the story to make you wish that Swashbucklers had been more ambitious with its gameplay. You take the role of Abraham Gray, a pirate plying his trade in the Caribbean and along the southeastern seaboard of the United States during the Civil War. Dropping the usual 16th-17th century piratical escapades for a more modern era is a great idea, especially given how the game dresses up the period with cowboy touches. Gray dresses more like a Texas Ranger than a buccaneer from Havana, what with his beat-up cowboy hat and twirling six-guns. City ports look like refugees from an old oat opera as well, with dirt streets, sheriffs offices, and taverns. Another nifty touch is Grays mental state. Hes a schizophrenic who hears voices, which comes in handy when this hallucinatory alter ego provides tips on how to play the game. Not much is made of this during play, although the concept is at least an interesting way to handle the pop-up instructions provided during game tutorials.

Depressingly, thats about it for the positives. For starters, everything about Swashbucklers screams bargain bin. The visuals are all washed-out, as if theyve been put through the photocopier one too many times. The graphical quality isnt much better than that offered in the PS2 version of the game, although everything is sharper on the PC and it at least offers widescreen support for modern monitors. Visual elements of the game are often repeated, too, which means that ports feature the same dirt streets, the same taverns, and the same sheriffs departments. Every section of the game needs to be loaded, too, despite the dated look. Loads are nearly instantaneous, but they still break up the flow with continual screen fade-outs and transition screens. A comic-book vibe to the visual flair makes the dated stuff a bit more tolerable, but youre still playing a game that looks as if it came out five years ago. Furthermore, the interface is one of those big "designed for a TV set" affairs, which makes it a chore to simply use your inventory.

Audio is an even bigger advertisement for yesteryear. Presumably to avoid the costs involved with recording dialogue and then translating it for different markets, characters in Swashbucklers grunt conversations like angry, drunken versions of the adults in Peanuts cartoons. Unfortunately, this half-baked attempt at simlish doesnt work here, given that youre trying to make sense of a storyline, not groove on the cutesiness of virtual dolls expressing emotions without uttering any intelligible words. You cant get much out of this grunting, either, because it all sounds like a cross between a snore and a belch. Thankfully, there are captions for all of this snorted dialogue, so you can ignore these annoying noises and just read your way through conversations while listening to the pretty good Wild West-style musical score.

Its a pity that you cant similarly disregard the gameplay. This is a clone of Pirates! in every imaginable way, but without the depth and sense of fun that permeated that 2005 remake. Character development has some role-playing game aspects, although theyre pretty rudimentary. You level up fairly quickly, but can apply the points gained to only three skills: fencing, shooting, and defense. Perks that provide special melee attacks, defense bonuses, and the like can also be chosen, which gives you at least a little more freedom to build a character. Regardless, there isnt enough choice here to let you really customize Gray. The arcade-style combat is equally straightforward on both terra firma and on the high seas. You move around with the WASD keys and fight with clicks of the left mouse button. Both ways of doing battle are fast-paced; Gray is an expert swordsman, and the vessels at his command are able to rip off cannon fire at Gatling-gun speeds. Its only when dueling enemy captains at the conclusion of boarding sequences that youre required to do any thinking, and this really just requires you to pace yourself by taking breathers every now and again as you run out of energy.




Quests are generally pretty basic delivery runs where you drop off supplies, hand over prisoners, sink vessels, and so on. There is little interaction with non-player characters, and no need to fuss around with loading ships or dumping off cargo. Consequently, in the many Fed Ex quests you simply land in a port, talk to someone to accept a job, sail to another port, and talk to someone about taking your delivery. Wash, rinse, repeat. You can make cash on the side by auctioning off captured vessels, or by running goods from one port to another and doing the old buy-low, sell-high thing. But there isnt any strategy here because the auctions are conducted automatically, and the prices for cargo remain static even when youre buying up tons of stock. You know youve got a pretty simplified market system when it doesnt even recognize basic supply and demand.

Earning money from ship-selling and trading isnt really necessary, either, given that you can make just about all of the cash that you want by taking on all comers in the boxing minigame on offer in various ports bars. This is a bare-fisted version of the captain duel described above that is incredibly easy to win. All you have to do is pound away for a few rounds and occasionally pepper your opponent with a roundhouse special attack to walk away with as much as a thousand bucks.

If youre looking to recreate the Pirates! experience, just replay that fantastic game. Dont bother with this dull copy unless youve got a fetish for mentally ill buccaneers.



By Brett Todd, GameSpot
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Friday, March 28, 2014

Speed up Adobe Acrobat 6 startup

PC Magazine had a very similar article, however I found this on www.x1000forums.com by looking at Googles cache of the page.

(Easily reversible if you change your mind).

1) Start Adobe Reader. To turn off the splash screen go to Edit - Preferences - Startup then uncheck the box "Display Splash Screen". I also turn off "Show messages and automatically update".

2) Shutdown Adobe Reader. Go to C:Program FilesAdobeAcrobat 6.0Reader (replace the C: if you installed on another drive).

3) Create a new folder called plug_ins_disabled or plug_ins_backup, your choice.

4) Move all the files and the folders (except three files see #5) from the plug_ins folder to the disabled or backup folder you just created.

5) Leave the following three files in the original folder, EWH32.api, search.api and search5.api, if you have them. [If you use adobe to print across the internet, leave in printme.api] [If you want the weblinks to work, leave in escript.ini and weblink.ini]
Now start Adobe Reader and enjoy the speed increase.

(Once again, If you change your mind, simply move all the files back.)


Link to the article on Pc Mags website: Speed Loading of PDF files

PC Mags article says to leave EWH32.api, printme.api, and search.api in the original folder.
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Thursday, March 27, 2014

EPSON PHOTO STYLUS R300 Service Manual

EPSON PHOTO STYLUS R300 Service Manual
download here http://rapidshare.de/files/18087257/r300s_m.zip.html
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Co Op AI

Now, I was reading OPM (Official PS Magazine) today (I bought it for its preview in to Mercs 2) and saw an article about a game called Army of Two. Basically, the whole game is played co-opertativly. The preview went in to great depth about how the AI that was on your team was clever. They gave examples of how, when you send them in to a dangerous situation they might not go, or at the very least, they would start complaining. This article got me thinking.

What AoT have done is definitely a step in the right direction. I think the next step will be, instead of them complaining when you send them to their death, instead you wont order them because you feel so attached to them you dont want them to die. To build this up they would not only have to be smart, they have have a personality. Also, they need to act consistently to make them believable and you need to have spent a lot of time with them, maybe in training they would help you out, and you would help them out. The new Fable is taking steps in this direction with the dog that you get. Apparently, the player will become attached to this dog and the dog you to you. You will have to care for it and it will help you in battle. The dog is persistent so if you leave it, some days later it will show up again. The problem with the becoming attached concept is firstly, some people wouldnt be effected by this (because they have no heart) and would send their man to die. This could potentially upset the rest of the game balance as the character couldnt come back to life or the connection would be lost on the people who are effected. Also, people might be too effected by it and not want to play it. The balance would need to be just right for it to work. Obviously, the superior hardware will help, but it will rely on humans making human characters with human personalities and human fear.

On a side note, I managed to get 2000 Wii Points half price with this magazine and I have already downloaded Super Mario Bros. I will review this and the other titles I will get soon. I am hoping to do my first video review with it as well. Can you contain your excitement?
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Wednesday, March 26, 2014

Full DVD Burning Guide

If youre new to DVD Burning this guide with screenshots should help get you on the right track.

If youre burning a movie that was released by Sony, including any of the following, You need to look at the Burning Sony and new DVDs guide.

- Batman Begins
- Fun with Dick and Jane
- Howls Moving Castle
- Legend of Zorro
- Madagascar
- Memoirs of Geisha
- Transporter 2
- Underworld 2 - Evolution
- Walk the Line

For other movies, read below:
Commercial programs and technology companies have to abide by copyright laws, so thats why you cant burn DVDs with Windows Media Player.
Copying Movies can be a slightly complicated process if youre not familiar with the programs used to do it. However, once youre accustomed to using the software, its much easier.

So heres how to get started:

Burning DVDs with DVD Decrypter, DVD Shrink, and Nero.

Before you start, you’ll need to have the following programs installed on your computer:

DVD Decrypter
http://www.mrbass.org/dvdrip/

DVD Shrink
http://www.mrbass.org/dvdshrink/

Nero (version 6.3 or higher recommended, which you can download from oldversion.com)
http://www.oldversion.com/program.php?n=nero

serial number for Nero 6.3
http://computer-tricks.blogspot.com/2006/05/nero-63.html


(Note: DVD Decrypter and DVD Shrink are free online.)

(Note: Always try to use a new, unscratched DVD movie disc whenever making copies, as discs in poor condition may not copy, or will likely pass on glitches to the copy.)

It’s also recommended that you don’t run other programs while burning DVDs unless you have over 1GB of RAM or more.

Insert the disc you wish to copy.

Close any DVD player program that opens.

Phase 1

Open DVD Decrypter.

Click on Mode > ISO Read




Now click on the folder icon that shows where the DVD file will be saved. Choose a folder.

Now click on File Decrypt.

The process of making an exact copy of the disc to the hard drive should take approx. 30-40min. depending on the length of the movie and extra features.

When DVD Decrypter is finished creating the file, you can close the program and eject the disc.

Phase 2

Now open DVD Shrink.

Click on File Open Disc Image




Browse for the file that you saved when copying with DVD Decrypter.

DVD Shrink will now analyze the movie for a minute or two.

Uncheck boxes for extra audio Languages that you dont need on the DVD

Click on the plus + sign by the Extras folder.
(This is where the bonus materials are on the disc)

To have higher movie quality, remove the extras by clicking on the individual files and selecting Still image/still images from the dropdown menu. (You can preview the extras if you want to see the clips before removing them.)





If youd like to keep the extra features on the DVD, select the clip and change the dropdown menu to custom compression and lower it to about 50 or 60 percent for each extra.

Click on the main movie folder. If youve removed enough extras, or compressed them, the movie quality should be around 60-70%, the HIGHER THE BETTER.

Note: Target quality is about 65-70%, anything higher than 65%, and on regular size
TVs you wont be able to tell the difference between the copy and the original.

I personally either remove the extras or compress them to achieve the best quality.

If a movie is not too much over two hours, or doesnt have many extras, it will copy
closer to 100% quality.
Insert a blank DVD disc.

When you’ve achieved the quality setting on the main movie that you’d like, click on the Backup! icon.

Before clicking OK to start the burning, click on the Burn Settings tab and change the speed to 1 or 2 speeds lower than the highest available.




DVD Shrink will now compress the file that DVD Decrypter made and create DVD video files. Afterwards, it will automatically burn those files and the disc will be completed.

This will take about 20-30 min. to create the DVD video files and approx. 10-15 min. to burn onto the blank disc.
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Widget to Put Comment Box Under Posting

Sometimes ago I have posted an articel about "How to Create Commnet Box Under Posting" it use haloscan comment box. It working well for some bloger and bad for some bloger too. If you failed or dislike using haloscan comment box, may be this will be alternatifvfor you. This comment box is created by intensedebate.com, this comment box can be use as a widget, and to apply this widget is very simple, and to remove this is more simple it just like when you remove Page Element from your blog. Ok, if you interest to try this widget I’ll show you how to put it.


1. Login to Blogger.com the chose "Layout --> Edit HTML", click on the link "Download Full Template" to backup your template first


2. Then go to intensedebate.com site sgn up, the login and go to "dashboard"


3. On the up right you will see "add blog" button, click the button


4. Then you will see a box to insert your blog url, fill it then press the button .


5. Then you will see a page like this:


intense


6. For easy, chose"Widget (Recomended)".


7. There are some choice on the "Replace Comment System". Chose "On post without comments" if you want the comment box show under no comment articel (your previouse comment still exist). If you want the comment box exist on every posting chose "On all blog post" (You will lose your previouse comments, but it can be restored).


8. The click "Complete Installation" button.


9. You will see the page like this :


addwidget


10. Chose your blog then click "ADD WIDGET" button.


Finish...

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Tuesday, March 25, 2014

How to Create Read More

Blog-How to Tricks - Read more is one of the blog tricks that is very useful if you use it. With Read More, your post will not appear full on the Home Page your blog.

This is mean, if you have a very long posting, with Read More, it will not appear full, but only appear in part.

Read More function is you will have more space for your blog, and your blog more visible tidy.

How to create a Read More on blogspot?

First, go to the Layout - Edit HTML. Click on Expand Widget Templates.

Then find the following code (you can use ctrl+f) :

<div class=post-body entry-content>

<data:post.body/>


Then delete the code, replace with the following code:

<div class=post-body entry-content>


<b:if cond=data:blog.pageType == "item">

<style>.fullpost{display:inline;}</style>

<p><data:post.body/></p>

<b:else/>

<style>.fullpost{display:none;}</style>


<data:post.body/>


<a expr:href=data:post.url>Read More</a>

</b:if>


Save your template. You can change Read More with Read Full, or other

The process to edit the HTML code for Read More is done.

Next is when you writing a post.

At the time of writing a post, you must add the following code :

<span class="fullpost"> and </span> in your post (in the Edit HTML tab, not the Compose tab) with the following order:


Post that appears on First/Home Page

<span class="fullpost">

Your post that hidden

</span>



For example, you write a post like this:

This is the first paragraph that will appear on your blogs front page. At the time you are on your blog page, only this part are show.

<span class="fullpost">

While this is
the continuation paragraph of your posting. This paragraph is hidden. This paragraph will be visible if you click Read more link that has been available.

</span>


Then post that will appear on your blog front page is a paragraph with red text, and post with the green text will appear after you click the link Read More.

Its very simple and easy. Enjoy it!
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Monday, March 24, 2014

Pumky Halloween Fest


Pumky Halloween Fest
Happy Halloween, play games on admiregames.com Find 3 or more halloween symbols of the same type and click them. You can recognize it by placing the mouse over them. Finish the target within the given time else you will lose the game. complete all levels and win the game

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The Walking Dead Episode 2 Starved for Help


Description
Gain access to the full season [5 episodes] of The Walking Dead by purchasing the Season Pass, which will act as your gateway to obtaining all of the episodes in a dark and emotional season where every decision and action can result in the entire story of the game changing around you.

Episode 1 is available immediately upon purchasing the full season with the remaining episodes being delivered monthly thereafter. Updates will automatically be downloaded and applied via the Steam client, which will allow new episodes to appear in the in-game menu.

The Walking Dead is a five-part game series set in the same universe as Robert Kirkman’s award-winning comic book series. Play as Lee Everett, a convicted criminal, who has been given a second chance at life in a world devastated by the undead. With corpses returning to life and survivors stopping at nothing to maintain their own safety, protecting an orphaned girl named Clementine may offer him redemption in a world gone to hell.

A continuing story of adventure horror spanning across 5 episodes:
Episode 1 – A New Day – Available Now!
Episode 2 – Starved for Help
Episode 3 – Long Road Ahead
Episode 4 – Around Every Corner
Episode 5 – No Time Left

Key Features:
Based on Robert Kirkman’s Eisner-Award winning comic book series, The Walking Dead allows gamers to experience the true horror of the zombie apocalypse
A tailored game experience – Live with the profound and lasting consequences of the decisions that you make in each episode. Your actions and choices will affect how your story plays out across the entire series.
Experience events, meet people and visit locations that foreshadow the story of Deputy Sheriff Rick Grimes
Meet Glenn before he heads to Atlanta, explore Hershel’s farm before Rick and his group of survivors arrive and before the barn becomes a notorious location in Walking Dead lore
You’ll be forced to make decisions that are not only difficult, but that will require you to make an almost immediate choice. There’s no time to ponder when the undead are pounding the door down!
An Adventure Horror game of 5 monthly episodes. Features meaningful decision-making, exploration, problem solving and a constant fight for survival in a world overrun by the undead
Artwork inspired by the original comic books


Read more: http://www.itcpedia.com/2012/07/walking-dead-episode-2-starved-for-help.html
(Source ITC Pedia - Free Download Game)




Minimum:
OS: XP Service Pack 3
Processor: 2.0 GHz Pentium 4 or equivalent
Memory: 3 GB RAM
Hard Disk Space: 2 GB Space Free
Video Card: ATI or NVidia card w/ 512 MB RAM (Not recommended for Intel integrated graphics)
DirectX®: Direct X 9.0c
Sound: Direct X 9.0c sound device



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Sunday, March 23, 2014

Red Ball

When the game began I knew Red Ball reminded me of something, but it took a few levels to figure out what it was. But we’ll get back to that in a moment.

Red Ball Game

Red Ball is what they call a ‘physics’ game. Your enemy here, besides the spikes, boulders and crushers, is gravity. Your objective is to use the arrow keys to move a ball, which strictly adheres to a realistic simulation of gravity, along a course until you reach a red flag. Sound simple? The first two levels are simple enough to allow you to figure out how to get from point A to point B and control the ball. But that is where the comfort ends. This is not a game to relax to after a hard day of work; it is a game of serious concentration, determination and skill. Those that manage to roll their way through level 10 should be sent a gold star, at the least. The game’s difficulty would be unbearable if the creators hadn’t been as clever as they happened to be. The levels manage to take on the form of a physical puzzle. Quick reflexes are a requirement.

So what did the game remind me off? On my 17th attempt at level 10 it finally hit me, and fans of horror films will understand where I’m coming from. While playing in theaters old horror films would sometimes begin with a ‘disclaimer’ claiming some audience members had died while watching the film from sheer fright, those with weak hearts shouldn’t attend, etc., and would even park ambulances outside for effect. This was for show, however the creators of this game should take notice because the risk of cardiac arrest seems like a real possibility at times. I was consciously aware of my blood pressure about the time I completed level 3 and that’s still an ‘easy’ level.



Overall Red Ball satisfies the gaming urge with the lethal combination of obsessive difficulty and puzzle solving. I give the graphics a B-, just about right for the game. The difficulty manages to be a motivating factor, instead of a deterrent. I have only one complaint, besides the fact that the hair around my temples is now white. Light Jazz. The game is fun, but the soundtrack is torture. If you can get past level 10 while listening to the music I’ll be impressed.
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Thursday, March 20, 2014

Nikon D800 versus Nikon D600 versus Panasonic GH2 versus Olympus OM D E M5 – 3200 iso – High ISO Battle in Good Light – UPDATED

This seems a little redundant, doesn’t it? Well, I don’t think so. I’ve been exploring these various cameras in different light shot by different sites and it was DPReview’s turn because they shoot a nice still life test image under very well controlled and very bright lights. Thus, we see how the cameras function when you are shooting sports in evening light and want to get really fast shutter speeds. (See, there is a madness to my method.)

So the usual rules apply. I download the RAW files and manipulate them to match as best I can. More importantly, each file is as good as I can get it with a certain level of noise and detail. Here, I chose to get the noise pretty low, thus risking the details a bit. But you will see that they responded well because of the abundant light.

Further, I took five crops, including some of my very favorites. I had one fellow respond to my second last test (the controversial one) that I should just look at the DPReview RAW files if I want to know the difference between the D800 and the m4/3 cameras. Well, that tells only part of the story because the defaults are rarely optimal for any particular use. I find them mildly interesting, but I find processed images much more interesting because it gives a clear idea of what is possible with the RAW files. That is what matters to me, not what the defaults look like. Heck, my guess is that there is a fair bit of randomness to the defaults and what would that tell you? (Hint: nothing interesting.)

Ok, let’s move on. As always, I will start with the four cameras’ output at web size. This is indicative of what you should expect with small prints. Probably close enough up to 8x10, especially in this abundant light. I will reverse the last sequence and start with the best one.

NOTE: The following complete (but severely reduced in size and compressed) images have been eliminated from this post at the request of DPReview.com as they do not agree that these fall under the “fair use” doctrine for commentary. If you are interested in seeing what these look like at web sizes, you can download the RAW images using the links I attached to the thumbnails and process them yourself, then reduce to web size.

Sorry …

BY the way, another alternative to looking at my processing would be to go directly to the comparator on the DPReview site (link provided below to the D800 page where the comparison is available) and select these four cameras to see how the RAW images look like at Adobe defaults. I consider that interesting, but not quite indicative of the ultimate potential of the images. Still, some prefer that method to mine. Here is a good entry point for that:

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/nikon-d800-d800e/33

D800


D800  3200iso  f/11  1/500

Wow … 1/500 at f/11 …. now that’s a lot of light!

D600


D600  3200iso  f/11  1/400

Minus 1/5 stops of light. Interesting difference in metering. By now you would think that DPReview would know not to screw around with in camera meters and simply use a standard exposure with a hand held meter. Oh well …

OM-D E-M5


OM-D E-M5  3200iso  f/6.3  1/800

Since diffraction sets early on m4/3 sensors, they kept it at f/6.3. Of course, crop factor 2 says that they achieve DOF similar to f/12.6 on full frame anyway.

GH2


GH2  3200iso  f/6.3  1/1250

Yikes … the GH2 is given 1/2 stops less light than the OM-D. This is a familiar pattern by now and is a great reason for normalizing the exposures to a hand held meter. Luckily, there is enough light that the GH2 does not suffer much. But frankly, it would do better given the same amount of light as the OM-D.

So what you should be noticing about all of these is that they are all excellent! Seriously, I’m amazed at how clean they all look at this size. This is what drives people to say that all cameras look alike in bright light. Because it is becoming true. At least for web and small print display.


But you didn’t come here to see that stuff. You want crops Smile

Crop 1

The infamous globe.

You will notice that the D800 is essentially perfect with the D600 only a hair behind. The OM-D is very good with the GH2 only a hair behind. Wow …

Crop 2

The watch and the hair. (Sounds like a mystery novel.)

The same relationship holds again, although the GH2 is closer to the OM-D this time. Only some slight increased grain in the smooth patches gives way to the OM-D. The hair and watch are a draw. Very nice.

Crop 3

The coin, the etching and the needlepoint. (Another mystery novel.)

A very clear difference between the sensor sizes again. Little to choose between the two m4/3 cameras where the etching and the wool are concerned. The coin and the text are a bit cleaner though on the OM-D and the red is more saturated. But the difference is fairly subtle and this is the equivalent of looking at a 46” print from 20 inches. Never forget that.

Crop 4

Deep Shadow and the Paper Clips. (A great band name.)

Again the full frame cameras look incredibly smooth. No surprise of course. The two m4/3 cameras still look great with the GH2 faring slightly worse, but mainly with color integrity and some extra grain. I find the GH2 a tad more splotchy and grainy in deep shadow. The detail remains, though, which will surprise a few people. This cam is still really good, especially I n decent light.

Crop 5

The bottle, the brush and the ropes. (Either a Narnia installment, or perhaps a game of Clue.)

The bottle is getting pretty dusty over time lol. The smooth glass looks amazing for 3200iso on the full frame images. It is slightly grainier on the m4/3 images, but not overly. The brush is well rendered on all images, although it carries some grain in the m4/3 images. The ropes are surprisingly clear on all as well. This is impressive stuff. Minimal difference between the m4/3 cams this time round.


Conclusion

Wow. What can I say? At 3200iso under decent light these cameras all do a great job. The difference between the FF and m4/3 cameras is much less than I expected going into this comparison. Kudos to Sony and Panny for some pretty amazing sensors, especially in light of the Panny sensor being several years old by now with all the others being pretty new technology.

It’s a great time to be a high ISO shooter, that’s for sure.

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Wednesday, March 19, 2014

The Kickstarter is Closed

The MFZ kickstarter closed tonight, having raised $82,499.  Thats 916% of what it set as a goal.  WOW.  I guess the MFZ community really wants this to happen.  :-)

Lets try and maintain this level of interest into the future!
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Tuesday, March 18, 2014

FIREFOX 3 0 FINAL BAIXE AGORA

  • Novas Ferramentas

    O Firefox 3 eleva os padrões de inovação na barra de navegação com novas ferramentas, incluindo favoritos a um clique de distância, barra de navegação inteligente e performance super rápida.

  • Segurança

    Manter você e suas informações pessoais seguras é a nossa principal prioridade.O Firefox 3 inclui proteção contra phishing e malware, além do botão de identificação instantânea de websites.

  • Produtividade

    Com ferramentas como verificação ortográfica, restauração de sessõese o novo zoom de página, o Firefox 3 ajuda você a trabalhar mais rápido ede forma mais eficiente na Web.

  • Customização

    Seus gostos e necessidades o diferenciam dos outros. Com Firefox 3 você pode escolher dentre mais de 5.000 complementos que ajudam a customizar sua experiência de navegação na Internet.

    Download Firefox 3.0 Final

     

    Download Firefox 3.0 final (Link Alternativo)
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Monday, March 17, 2014

MG 1 100 Build Gundam MK II Review by YellowSub Part 1

MG 1/100 Build Gundam MK-II (Release Date: Mar 2014, Price: 5,000 Yen)
GG INFINITE: ORDER HERE
Review by YellowSub
View Part 2: HERE


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