Ask Leo!: General Computing en-us 2008 Leo A. Notenboom and Puget Sound Software, LLC Sat, 28 Jan 2012 08:00:00 -08:00 Sat, 28 Jan 2012 08:00:00 -08:00 720 http://img.askleomedia.com/altile144.jpg Ask Leo! http://ask-leo.com 140 140 Tech Questions? Get Answers! Ask Leo! What's a "live" CD? And why would I want one? http://ask-leo.com/whats_a_live_cd_and_why_would_i_want_one.html In one of your answers, you recommended booting from a “live” CD.

Whu?

I have no idea what that means. Explain, please.

]]> You bet.

Live CDs (or DVDs) are exceptionally convenient to have around as diagnostic aids when you're experiencing a problem with your computer.

I'll describe what I mean by Live CD and I'll show you a couple of examples.

]]> leo@pugetsoundsoftware (Leo A. Notenboom) Sat, 28 Jan 2012 08:00:00 -08:00 Technology What image format should I use? http://ask-leo.com/what_image_format_should_i_use.html JPEG, PNG, TIFF, BMP, GIF ... it seems like there are too many image file formats to keep track of. There are dozens of different formats created at different times for different reasons.

In this video from an Ask Leo! webinar on Photo Manipulation, I'll review a couple of the common file formats that we see and use every day and I'll describe what they're good at and when you would want to use each.

]]> leo@pugetsoundsoftware (Leo A. Notenboom) Tue, 24 Jan 2012 18:00:00 -08:00 Technology How do I make a photo's file smaller and take up less space on disk? http://ask-leo.com/how_do_i_make_a_photos_file_smaller_and_take_up_less_space_on_disk.html With the high resolutions of many of today's digital cameras and phones, the files that contain our photographs can end up being quite large. So large, in fact, that it can be a problem - either to store or share with others.

In this video from an Ask Leo! webinar on Photo Manipulation, I'll show a couple of techniques to make large images physically smaller - including one that even keeps it the same visual size.

]]> leo@pugetsoundsoftware (Leo A. Notenboom) Sat, 21 Jan 2012 08:00:00 -08:00 Technology How do I deal with a photo that is it too large, visually? http://ask-leo.com/how_do_i_deal_with_a_photo_that_is_it_too_large_visually.html Ending up with a picture that is "too big" is common lately. Many digital cameras and even phones take photographs at resolutions that exceed that of our computer screens.

Getting a picture that's more easily viewable on your computer screen - or that of the people with whom you might share your picture - is actually fairly straightforward with almost any image editing application.

In this video from an Ask Leo! webinar on Photo Manipulation, I'll show a couple of techniques to make large images visually smaller.

]]> leo@pugetsoundsoftware (Leo A. Notenboom) Wed, 18 Jan 2012 08:00:00 -08:00 Technology What's the difference between a sandbox and a virtual machine? http://ask-leo.com/whats_the_difference_between_a_sandbox_and_a_virtual_machine.html Sandbox versus virtual machine: can you provide a brief overview on the differences, advantages, and disadvantages?

]]> Sandboxes and virtual machines are two different technologies that share just enough characteristics to make them easily confused.

One could even confuse matters further by referring to a virtual machine as the ultimate sandbox. That would be an accurate statement, but it really only stirs up the mud in what is already muddy water without a little background.

Let's look at the three scenarios: the default case without either, a sandbox, and a virtual machine.

]]> leo@pugetsoundsoftware (Leo A. Notenboom) Sat, 14 Jan 2012 16:06:59 -08:00 Technology