Oct 18

Paint.NET 3 Alpha 2 Now Available

Posted in: Freeware, Software, Today's Chili

This article was written on October 25, 2006 by CyberNet.

Paint.net I have been using Paint.NET for months now and it is one of the free programs that I use the most. I have actually received several emails in the last week regarding their Alpha 1 release and now there is actually a newer Alpha 2 available.

After you download and install the program you will quickly realize how much like Photoshop it actually is. It has many of the same tools but Photoshop power users will find that it lacks some of the more advanced features. Honestly, it is so nice (and simple) that anyone who has a hard time understanding Photoshop should find this to be absolutely perfect!

Here are the newest features in this release:

  • New: Gradient Tool supports linear, radial, diamond, and conical gradient modes
  • New: Merge Layer Down command in Layers menu and Layers window
  • Changed: A version of the Unsaved Changes dialog is now also shown when closing just 1 unsaved image, instead of the old fashioned Yes/No/Cancel MessageBox
  • Changed: Alpha Blending and Anti-aliasing buttons are now split-buttons, with different icon and some descriptive text
  • Changed: Shortcut key to open the MDI overflow list is now Ctrl+Q, instead of Ctrl+Space
  • If an important installation file is missing, Paint.NET will try to repair the installation instead of crashing
  • 256×256 icon format is now compressed, dropping EXE size by 150K
  • Fixed: a bunch of crashes that users were reporting
  • Fixed: “Load from toolbar” in Choose Defaults dialog did not pick up the active tool

There is finally a gradient tool! Thank goodness because that was something I use all of the time to add transparency effects to images. Here is a quick clip of what the gradient can do:

One thing that is definitely easier to do in Paint.NET compared to Photoshop is drawing curved lines. In Photoshop you either have to set paths (which is very hard to get used to) or apply the wave filter to a straight line. With Paint.NET, however, a line is given several points that you can grab and drag to add waves or curves to a line.

The one thing that I do miss from Photoshop though is the long list of filters and the right-click menu that I took for granted. The right-click menu is pretty important to me and it speeds up the process of editing images, but Paint.NET is yet to get this feature…hopefully they are working on it.

Note: Paint.NET 3 Alpha 2 expires on November 23, 2006 because there will be a newer version available before then. I assume that they are doing this to ensure that people upgrade.

Copyright © 2011 CyberNetNews.com

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Oct 18

Cedar Trail-powered Asus VX6S netbook gets some early benchmarks

Posted in: AMD, ASUS, benchmark, netbook, Today's Chili

Benchmarking unreleased hardware is a dodgy business, largely because you’re not working with final drivers. Nevertheless, Netbook Live‘s latest efforts could possibly be seen as establishing a bare minimum of what Cedar Trail is capable of. They put a 12-inch Asus Lamborghini VX6S netbook containing the next-gen Intel D2700 Atom CPU and the AMD Radeon 6470M GPU up against its Pine Trail/ION2-powered VX6 predecessor. For good measure, they also threw in an Eee PC 1215B running on AMD’s Zacate E-350 APU (not the superior E-450). The PC Mark benchmarks gave the VX6S a gain of around ten percent against the Eee PC, with the VX6 coming a distant third– not quite revolutionary, but that’s what you get for being impatient. Click the source link for more.

[Thanks, Jimmy]

Cedar Trail-powered Asus VX6S netbook gets some early benchmarks originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 18 Oct 2011 03:03:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Oct 18

UK sets analog TV cutoff for October 2012, finally sees a show after US viewers

Posted in: hdpostcross, hdpostmini, ota, Today's Chili, uk

It’s not that we’re upset UK viewers get to watch series like Luther, Misfits and Bedlam long before they officially air here (or in the case of Doctor Who, hours), but we are finally glad to know how a story ends before they do. In this case, regulators have decided that after analog broadcasting shutoffs have already taken place across much of the region, the final transmitters will go dark next year. Just as occurred here, the unused spectrum will then be auctioned off, while most TV viewers will survive, whether on digital OTA broadcasts, pay-TV or otherwise. We made it through with only one TV shot dead in cold blood, here’s hoping our counterparts across the Atlantic can handle the changeover as smoothly.

UK sets analog TV cutoff for October 2012, finally sees a show after US viewers originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 18 Oct 2011 02:21:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Oct 17

Canon announces EOS-1D X: full-frame 18MP sensor, 14 fps, 204,800 top ISO, $6,800 price tag

Posted in: camera, digital camera, DigitalCamera, dslr, photography, Today's Chili

Stick a piece of gaffer tape over the unmistakable X, and Canon’s latest EOS-1D pro-level camera will look virtually identical to every 1D model that came before it. But once you flip up the power slider, this new king of the jungle will hum like no other. Canon’s phenomenally powerful EOS-1D X really sounds like the DSLR to rule them all. Its 18 megapixel full-frame sensor uses oversized pixels to battle noise and is supported by a pair of Digic 5+ imaging processors, which also help drive a 61-point high density reticular AF system, a top ISO setting of 204,000 (51,200 native), a 252-zone metering system, a 14 fps JPEG (or 12 fps RAW) burst mode and a built-in wired gigabit LAN connection, for remote shooting and image transfer. The camera’s curious single-letter name represents a trio of industry milestones: the X is the 10th generation Canon professional SLR (dating back to the F1 in the 1970s), it’s a crossover model, filling in for both the 1D Mark IV and 1Ds Mark III (which has been discontinued), and, well, it sounds to be pretty darn “Xtreme.”

The 1D X is being marketed to every category of professional photographer, from commercial studio shooters to newspaper photogs. It’s familiar, with a similar control layout, yet different, thanks to its completely redesigned system menu — accessed using the 3.2-inch, 1,040,000-dot LCD. There’s also an incredibly sharp intelligent optical viewfinder, with an on-demand grid, AF status indicator, a dual-axis electronic level and a shooting mode readout. Video shooters can choose between 1080p video capture at 24 (23.97), 25 or 30 fps, or 720p at 50 or 60 fps. Canon has also eliminated the 4GB clip limit, though individual clips are limited to 29:59, in order to avoid European tax rates affecting HD cameras that can capture single HD video clips longer than 30 minutes. We’re anxiously awaiting a chance to go hands-on with the EOS-1D X, and you’ll have to wait until March before adding this $6,800 beauty to your gear collection, but jump past the break for the meaty rundown from Canon, and click through the rather thin product gallery below.

Gallery: Canon EOS-1D X

Continue reading Canon announces EOS-1D X: full-frame 18MP sensor, 14 fps, 204,800 top ISO, $6,800 price tag

Canon announces EOS-1D X: full-frame 18MP sensor, 14 fps, 204,800 top ISO, $6,800 price tag originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 18 Oct 2011 01:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Oct 17

Canon 1D X: The New Most Epic DSLR Ever

Posted in: Today's Chili, top

There are a lot of reasons the 1D X might be the most ridiculous DSLR ever made, but the numbers seem like a good place to start. A full-frame 18-megapixel sensor. ISO 204,800. 12fps RAW shooting. 61-point autofocus. Three DIGIC image processors. One gigabit ethernet port. More »

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Oct 17

Logitech M525 wireless mouse lasts three years on a single pair of batteries

Posted in: logitech, mouse, Today's Chili
Logitech M525

That is the Logitech M525 wireless mouse, a rather unassuming hunk of plastic and rubber with a scroll wheel that also tilts for navigating pages both horizontally and vertically. Sure, you get your choice of white or black, for what that’s worth, but probably the most distinguishing feature is the battery life. This £35 ($40) pointer gets up to three years on a single pair of AAs. In the states you get a few more color options, including green and blue, and all versions use Logitech’s proprietary wireless connection, which lets you connect up to six devices to a single tiny dongle. The M525 is available now in the US and should be available in the UK before the month is out. Check out the PR after the break.

Continue reading Logitech M525 wireless mouse lasts three years on a single pair of batteries

Logitech M525 wireless mouse lasts three years on a single pair of batteries originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 18 Oct 2011 00:11:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Oct 17

New Poll: Which Online Music Service Do You Think is Best?

Posted in: Music, Today's Chili, Web Sites

This article was written on March 29, 2010 by CyberNet.

201003291003.jpgWhen we were kids, the classic Sony Walkman Cassette Tape Player, the radio, or a massive “boombox” was what we used to listen to our favorite tunes. Times have certainly changed, haven’t they? Now we have options like MP3 players, satellite radio, Internet radio, and others, that put our favorite music at our fingertips and make music more readily available than ever.

Today we’re going to focus our new poll specifically around online music services. Over the last 5 years or so, the options in this arena have really broadened and it’s simply a matter of preference as to which one gets used. We started out as Last fm fans, switching over to Pandora, and now more recently, becoming huge supporters of Grooveshark. In addition to the three we just mentioned, there are others like Spotify, Slacker, Lala, and Jango.

New Poll: Which Online Music Service Do You Think is Best?

Please vote below if you have Flash enabled, or checkout the poll in our sidebar.

Copyright © 2011 CyberNetNews.com

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Oct 17

Update For Tweaking The Session Restore In Firefox 2

Posted in: Software, Today's Chili

This article was written on August 12, 2006 by CyberNet.

Firefox 2 Session Restore

When Firefox 2 Beta 1 was released a few weeks ago I put together a tweaking guide so that people would know how to customize some of the great new features. In that article I show you the few steps you need to take in order to make the built-in Session Restore automatically restore all of your tabs every time you restart Firefox.

For about the past week I have noticed that Firefox stopped restoring my sessions. I thought maybe they were going to prevent people from doing this which would have made me a little upset. Then I soon realized that they just changed the name of the setting in the about:config page. So if you have tweaked your Session Restore for Firefox 2 Beta 1 then you will need to also add this entry in order for it to work when Firefox 2 Beta 2 gets released on August 23.

  1. Start Firefox.
  2. In the Address Bar type “about:config” and press Enter.
  3. Right-Click and select New->Integer.
  4. A box requesting the Preference Name will popup and you should enter “browser.startup.page” (without the quotes). Press OK to continue.
  5. Here are the multiple options you can choose from:
    • Enter 0 to start with a blank page (about:blank).
    • Enter 1 to start with the web page(s) defined as the home page(s). (Default)
    • Enter 2 to load the last visited page.
    • Enter 3 to Resume the previous browser session (implemented after Firefox 2 beta 1).

Copyright © 2011 CyberNetNews.com

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Oct 17

Daily Downloads: Thunderbird, Karen’s Replicator, and More

Posted in: Daily Downloads, Today's Chili

This article was written on February 27, 2008 by CyberNet.

thunderbird notepad Welcome to Daily Downloads brought to you by CyberNet! Each weekday we bring you the Windows software updates for widely used programs, and it’s safe to assume that all the software we list is freeware (we’ll try to note the paid-only programs).

As you browse the Internet during the day, feel free to post the software updates you come across in the comments below so that we can include them the following day!

–Stable Releases–

The software listed here have all been officially released by the developers.

–Pre-Releases (Alpha, Beta, etc…)–

The software listed here are pre-releases that may not be ready for everyday usage.

  • None

–Release Calendar–

  • Early 2008 – Internet Explorer 8 Beta [Review]
  • Early 2008 – Firefox 3.0 [Review]
  • February – iPhone SDK [Review]
  • February – Deskscapes 2.0 [Review]
  • March – WordPress 2.5 [Review]
  • March 4 – OpenOffice.org 2.4
  • March 6 – Ubuntu 8.04 Alpha 6
  • Mid March – Vista SP1 [Review]
  • March 24 – XP SP3 [Review]
  • March 25 – Firefox 2.0.0.13 [Review] NEW
  • April 24 – Ubuntu 8.04
  • April 29 – Fedora 9
  • June 19 – openSUSE 11.0
  • September 8 – OpenOffice.org 3.0 [Review]
  • 2009 – Windows Mobile 7 [Review]
  • 2009 – Paint.NET 4.00 [Review]
  • 2010 – Windows 7 [Review]

Thanks to Omar for the Firefox 2.0.0.13 release date!

Copyright © 2011 CyberNetNews.com

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Oct 17

Four Bit Maze dares you to solve its puzzles, work your way up to the Lament Configuration

Posted in: arduino, Today's Chili, video
Got a relative who keeps cheating his way out of your yew maze? This holiday season, perhaps you should consider a different kind of challenge: Oskar van Deventer’s Four Bit Maze. The apparently simple goal is to move the quartet of sliders from zero to one, but an Arduino UNO microcontroller makes things a bit trickier. It’s programmed with ten different puzzles, each requiring a different sequence of movements to solve. An Arduino Motor Shield operates the motorfaders, and the whole thing’s USB-programmable, meaning you can tweak it to your heart’s content. See an in-depth video demonstration after the break if this sounds like your idea of fiendishly difficult fun.

Continue reading Four Bit Maze dares you to solve its puzzles, work your way up to the Lament Configuration

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Four Bit Maze dares you to solve its puzzles, work your way up to the Lament Configuration originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 17 Oct 2011 23:21:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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