Lionkings Pistol

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Use the free Image Resizer PowerToy to resize images on the fly, without the hassle of opening them first.

Most people configure their digital cameras to take pictures using the highest quality possible. While this does indeed produce a better image, it also produces a large file. The large file size can become a problem when images need to be e-mailed or displayed on a web site (the transfer over phone or cable lines takes too long), archived to CDs (large files take up too much room), or used in an image-editing program (unnecessarily large files bog down image-editing programs).

You can resize images in almost any image-editing program by opening the program and changing the file’s properties or attributes. In Microsoft Paint, for instance, you can open the image, click Image | Attributes, and, in the Attributes dialog box, type in the new width and height and state whether those dimensions are in inches, centimeters, or pixels. Other programs offer similar options. This procedure is inconvenient, though, because you have to open each image separately, and the entire process could take two or three minutes (or more) per picture. If you need to resize several images, perhaps all 100 recently downloaded from your digital camera, the process could end up an all-day chore.

There’s an easier way. The Image Resizer PowerToy, available from http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/pro/downloads/powertoys.asp, allows you to resize single images without opening them, and is extremely easy to download, install, and use. It takes less than five minutes to download over a dial-up connection, and installs virtually by itself. Once installed, it allows you to resize images with a few clicks instead of several, and you won’t even have to open the image.

To use the Image Resizer PowerToy once installed (remember, it’s free):

1. Locate the picture or pictures to resize on your hard drive. They may

be in My Pictures, or in some other folder you’ve created.

2. Select one or more pictures. To select noncontiguous pictures, hold

down the CTRL key; to select contiguous pictures, hold down the

SHIFT key.

3. Right-click the image(s). Click the new entry in the context menu,

Resize Pictures.

4. In the Resize Pictures dialog box,

select the new image size

and click Advanced. In the Advanced

options, decide whether you want to

make a copy of the image or resize the

original picture. To resize the original,

select Resize The Original Pictures

(Don’t Create Copies). To make a copy

of the image and resize only that copy,

check that box. Click OK.

The images will be resized automatically, and if copies were created, they will appear in the same folder as the originals. Otherwise, the original images will be resized.

Getting started with digital photography usually means filling your hard drive with photos from your digital camera. Following that, there’s generally some editing, perhaps some e-mailing, some printing of photos, and maybe even using your images as desktop backgrounds. You can do a lot more, though, and this section explores some of the options, including new and efficient ways to resize your images to make them easier to transmit and store; how to create slideshows you can burn to a CD and open on any computer; and how  to create a mobile video picture library for your handheld PC or other mobile device.

This section assumes that you know how to download and install software from the Internet, and that you have previous experience with digital pictures and the My Picture folder options.

Now that you’ve improved system performance, networked all of your computers, and done quite a few things I consider work, you should take a few minutes to have a little fun with media. Windows XP offers lots of opportunities to work with media, including applications for working with photography, music, and video.

Here you’ll learn both how to enhance media application performance and how to get more from your own individual pieces of media. For photo buffs, you’ll learn how to resize photos more efficiently, create slideshows for CDs, and create a video library you can take with you anywhere. Music and video buffs will discover how to edit Windows Media Player’s metadata and how to personalize the Media Player. For all media users, I’ll show you how to get the best media performance possible from the Media Player, how to secure it, and how to back up all of your media.

Your hard drives should be defragmented a couple of times a year.

When a file that is written to the hard disk is deleted, it leaves a gap of available space on the hard disk. The next file that is written to the disk is saved to the first open spot on the disk, which may be the gap left by the deleted file. If the new file does not fit completely in the gap, the part that fits is stored in the gap and the remaining fragment is stored in the next open spot. The file may be fragmented into many chunks, if necessary, to fit in open gaps. When the hard disk has to locate all the parts of a fragmented file before displaying it, the file takes longer to display than it would if the file were not fragmented. This decreases the computer’s performance and slows its response to user requests. Disk Defragmenter is an application that reorders file fragments so that complete files are stored contiguously on the disk, which improve the computer’s performance and responsiveness.

Because of the importance of keeping files together, it’s important to run Disk Defragmenter a few times a year (or more). As with Disk Cleanup, you can use Scheduled Tasks to remind you when it’s time to do this. By default, you can’t schedule Disk Defragmenter, and it isn’t listed as an option, so you have to cheat the system a little and use the nifty trick I’ll show you here.

To trick Scheduled Tasks into running Disk Defragmenter:

1. Open Control Panel and then open Scheduled Tasks. (If you’re using

Category view, click Performance And Maintenance first.)

2. Click Add Scheduled Task. Click Next to start the wizard.

3. Disk Defragmenter will not be available in the Application list.

Click Browse.

4. On the root drive, generally C:, browse to Windows | System32 |

defrag.exe, Do not choose dfrg.msc.

(You may or may not see the filename extensions.) Click Open.

5. Name the task Disk Defragmenter, and select Monthly. Click Next.

6. Choose a start time (e.g., at night just before you go to bed), and

select two to four months of the year. Select the day of the month to

run the task. Click Next.

7. Enter and confirm the password for

your account. Click Next.

8. Select Open Advanced Properties

For This Task When I Click Finish,

and then click Finish.

9. Verify that the schedule and other

properties are correct, and make

changes as necessary. Make sure

the task is enabled (check Enabled),

and view the options under the

Settings tab. Click OK.

The task will now run on this schedule and defragment your drive automatically.

If you’re going to use NetMeeting for communicating and conferencing, make sure it’s secure.

As with other Microsoft applications, Group Policy offers ways to configure and secure NetMeeting. If you’re going to be using NetMeeting as a communication and conferencing tool, looking over the options is a good idea. Using Group Policy requires that you have Windows XP Professional, though; you won’t be able to do this in Windows XP Home Edition. If you need help starting the Group Policy Editor or want to read an overview of it, refer to

To open the Group Policy Editor and locate and configure NetMeeting options:

1. Click Start | Run and type gpedit.msc.

2. Expand the following: User Configuration | Administrative Tools |

Windows Components. Select NetMeeting.

3. To configure application-sharing options, double-click the Application

Sharing folder in the right pane. Consider disabling the following

for higher security:

■ Prevent Desktop Sharing

■ Prevent Sharing Command Prompts

■ Prevent Control

4. To configure audio and video options, open the Audio & Video folder.

Consider disabling the following for higher security:

■ Limit The Bandwidth Of Audio And Video

■ Prevent Receiving Video.

5. To configure general options for NetMeeting, open the Options Page

folder. Consider disabling the following for higher security (regarding

the users that use NetMeeting at your computer):

■ Hide The Security Page

■ Hide The Video Page

6. There are also some security options listed as stand-alone options,

which can be viewed by opening the NetMeeting folder. Those

options are shown in Figure 4-19. Consider configuring the

following for higher security:

■ Prevent Automatic Acceptance Of Calls

■ Prevent Receiving Files

■ Limit The Size Of Sent Files

■ Disable Chat.

7. Close the Group Policy Editor when finished.

Be careful to remember what you’ve changed just in case you need to revert back later! NetMeeting may be needed to receive files later, or to view videos. Make sure you know how to make the required changes in the Group Policy Editor quickly if this happens. So that’s about it for working (and playing) remotely using Windows XP’s included applications.

There are lots of ways to connect with others, including dialing directly into their computer, or connecting using an IP address, connecting via e-mail address, or even by computer name.

Once NetMeeting is installed on both computers that will be used for communicating, you start it by clicking Start | Run and typing conf. Once started, you can make a connection in a number of ways. You can type in an e-mail address, a phone number, an IP address, or a computer name. Each are similar, and with an understanding of how to make a connection and communicate on the most basic level, the rest will fall into place easily. Let’s look first at the easiest way to connect, using a LAN.

To connect over a LAN:

1. Click Start | Run and type conf. Click OK.

NetMeeting will start.

2. To place a call, either click Call | New Call or click

the telephone icon on the interface.

3. In the Place A Call dialog box,

type the name of the computer to call. Click Call.

If you aren’t sure of the name of the computer, you have several options. You can open My

Network Places, and from the Network Tasks pane, select View Workgroup Computers; or,

you can click Start | Search, use the Other Search Options, and click Computers Or People.

There you can search for computers on the network.

4. A ringing sound will occur on the recipient’s computer; if

they accept the invitation to open NetMeeting, you’ll be

connected.

5. The four ways to communicate are offered as icons at the

bottom of the interface (from left to right): Share Program,

Chat, Whiteboard, Transfer Files. Click any icon to use that

method.

As mentioned previously, you can initiate a conversation in a number of ways. To connect by dialing a phone number, the other computer must first be set up to receive dialed calls to it, a rather complicated process that is usually done by a network administrator (or, in many homes, by a teenager). However, once the computer is correctly configured, connecting is as simple as dialing the telephone number. It’s also possible to connect  using an e-mail address. If you have the other person’s e-mail address, though, Windows Messenger may be an easier alternative, and is generally the preferred method.

There’s quite a bit of help regarding the setup process to receive dialed calls in XP’s Help and Support Center.

You likely don’t know where NetMeeting is, and if you look for it, you probably won’t find it either.

If you’ve never used NetMeeting in Windows XP, I bet you don’t know where it is. Go ahead, look in All Programs, Accessories, or even Communications. You won’t find it. Want to know the trick? You have to install it first (and you don’t even need the Windows XP CD-ROM).

To install and run NetMeeting and make it available on your computer:

1. Click Start | Run and type conf. Click OK.

2. In the NetMeeting dialog box, click Next to work through the

wizard and install the program. If you’ve previously installed it,

NetMeeting will start automatically.

3. As you work through the wizard, you’ll be required to:

■ Fill in the information for name, e-mail address, etc.

■ Select Microsoft Internet Directory as the default.

■ Select the connection speed.

■ Choose whether or not to place a shortcut on the Desktop.

■ Test and configure your microphone, if one is installed.

Now that you can connect to your own work computer from home, let’s look at ways to connect with other people at other computers. NetMeeting is an old standby for communicating over the Internet and phone lines, and was one of the earliest conferencing applications created by Microsoft.

Communications with NetMeeting include chatting in real time, using web cams and/or microphones for video and voice communications, using an electronic whiteboard, and even sharing programs. Users can work collaboratively across the globe on graphics, documents, or proposals, without ever having to leave their office.

The good old days are gone, though; NetMeeting is no longer an application that is installed by default, and it is not an option in the All Programs menu. However, if you know the trick, you can install and use it in both Windows XP Home and Windows XP Professional. Doing so will create new and efficient ways to conference and communicate with friends, family, and colleagues over the Internet.

Remote Desktop can be tweaked to offer better performance.

In addition to connecting and accessing a remote computer locally, you can use the Remote Desktop configuration advanced options to help you get more from your connection.

To access the advanced options and configure how your connection will look and respond:

1. From the local (client) computer, click Start | Programs | Accessories |

Communications | Remote Desktop Connection.

2. In the Remote Desktop Connection dialog box,

click Options. The dialog box will expand, offering

additional options.

There are five tabs available for setting advanced options: General, Display, Local Resources, Programs, and Experience. Each offers ways to personalize your connection to the remote computer.

On the General tab, you can configure the following items for automatic logon to a remote computer:

■ Computer The name of the computer you’ll log on to

■ User Name The username

■ Password The user’s password

■ Domain The domain, if applicable

■ Save My Password Check to save the password

With the required information added, the user can log on automatically

without having to type the information each time. The settings configured

for this tab and others can also be saved to a file by using the Save As

command. Click the Open button if you want to select a particular saved

configuration, if multiple users have saved settings.

On the Display tab, you can configure how the remote desktop

connection will look:

■ Remote Desktop Size You can configure how large the remote

connection’s window will be.

■ Colors You can configure how many colors to use when connected.

More colors means a longer wait.

■ Display The Connection Bar When In Full Screen Mode Lets

you view the connection status (if you’re connected, you’ll see a bar

across the top with the computer’s name).

On the Local Resources tab, you can configure how you want sound,

keyboard, and local devices to act:

■ Remote Computer Sound You can choose to hear the remote

computer’s sounds, not play the sounds, or leave the sounds at the

remote computer.

■ Keyboard You can choose to have Windows key combinations

like ALT-TAB active only when the remote computer’s window is in

full-screen mode, or have them always applied to the local computer

or the remote one.

■ Local Devices You can choose what local devices are active while

logged on to the remote computer, including disk drives, printers,

and serial ports. Figure 4-14 shows the defaults.

On the Programs tab, you can configure a program to start automatically

each time you connect, by typing in the program path and the filename. The

path is defined by a drive letter followed by a colon, a backslash, and the

name of the folder and subfolder that contains the file or folder to open. An

example could be C:\Program Files\Outlook Express.

The last tab is the Experience tab, on which you can choose the

connection speed to optimize performance as well as some display options:

■ Choose Your Connection Speed To Optimize Performance Your

choices are Modem (28.8), Modem (56.6), Broadband

(128 Kbps – 1.5 Mbps), LAN (10 Mbps or higher), or Custom.

■ Desktop Background Shows the remote computer’s desktop

background. By default, this is not selected.

■ Show Contents Of Windows While Dragging Shows contents

when folders are moved. By default, this is not selected.

■ Menu And Window Animation Shows configured menus and

window animations for the remote computer. By default, this is not

selected.

■ Themes Shows themes configured for the remote computer.

By default, this is selected, but for better performance, it can be

deselected.

■ Bitmap Caching Places commonly used bitmaps, like the

pictures used for My Documents, the Start menu, and similar items,

in a file on the local computer. This improves performance because

the information does not have to be continually sent over the lines.

For the most part, the defaults here are fine. Keep in mind, though, the

more data that has to go from the remote computer to the local one, the

slower performance will be.