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Stripping, panoramas, and weather fixers; finding a bus in Columbus; Read first, then reply; Nerdly News Search TechByter Worldwide: Although Technology Corner originated in the late 1980s (before the Web was even invented), the online archive goes back only to 1998. Powered by TechByter Update weekly by e-mail: Enter your email to join Tech Corner today. Hosted By Do you use a pop-up blocker? If so, please. SUBSCRIBING TO THE PODCAST I recommend for podcsts. Itunes will also install the latest version of QuickTime. The program is free.

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Show Date: 2007.09.16 Stripping, panoramas, & weather repair with Photoshop CS3 As with other applications in the Adobe CS3 suites, deciding where to start with Photoshop was a challenge. With new features and improvements in productivity, image editing, compositing, and 3D and motion, I knew that I couldn't tell a comprehensive story about Photoshop, so I picked a few of the new features to talk about: Stripping, panoramas, and weather fixers. Stripper's delight The people who used to do magic with lith, razor blades, and red tape were called strippers. No, not THAT kind of stripper! These are the folks who combined words and photos in publications. They're the people who blocked out backgrounds and merged two or more photos into a single image. Stripping is now called compositing and, although electronic strip—ah, compositing—is easier than it used to be when it required razor blades and rubylith, it's still not an easy task.

That's why I'm particularly excited about new compositing features in Photoshop CS3. The sample I'm going to show you took less than 15 minutes from start to finish, and that includes the time I spent looking for two images that would work together.

This is a flower from Inniswood Park. I have another image from the park that has a visible paved area that detracts from the rest of the scene, so I'd like to position this flower as if it were actually in the foreground. Previously, I would have expected to spend an hour or more working on this. CLICK THE IMAGES FOR A LARGER VIEW. First, I selected the Quick Selection tool and set the brush to a relatively large size. The next step was to start painting around the edge with the selection brush. After a few seconds, the Quick Selection tool has already conformed nicely to the outside border of the upper left part of the flower.

(You'll need to view the large image to see this clearly.) It took about 60 seconds for me to select the entire flower, but notice the circled areas where I missed part of the flower or went outside the lines. Using the add tool and the subtract tool, a smaller brush size, and a lot of magnification, I corrected the minor errors. Here's the second part of Photoshop's magic. This is a new control called Refine Edge.

It allows me to modify how the selection works. What I have here looks good, but it will probably need some refinement when I combine it with the other image. Because the flower will need to be in the lower left corner of the other image, it should be facing right so that it looks toward the center of the image rather than toward the edge. Here's the other image. I like the bridge, but the paved area on the left is distracting.

Now I've covered the paved area with the flower. The background should be at least a bit out of focus, though. So I applied a bit of gaussian blur to the background. Here's the finished image. It's no masterpiece by any means and if I really needed to use an image such as this, I would work a little more to remove the s till subtle fringe effect around the flower, but it was something that I could accomplish in just a few minutes.

The Photoshop panorama Maybe you've created wide pictures in the past by taking a series of photos and then carefully cutting prints and sticking them together. Or maybe you've done the electronic version, cutting images and sticking them together in Photoshop. Even if you used a tripod, your final image probably still had a few rough edges. Photoshop CS3 has a built-in panorama creator.

For best results, you should use a tripod but you'll get more than acceptable results even with no tripod if you're careful. I used a tripod. You need images that have a lot of overlap in them, so I created an exposure, rotated the camera15 degrees, took another exposure, and so on.

That's 23 exposures to get the full 360 degree panorama. (You don't need 24 because that would place the camera back where it started at 0 degrees.) I was in Worthington's town square. The small images shown here will not enlarge if you click on them. The resulting panorama, created entirely by Photoshop CS3, is shown here.

If you click this image, you will see the larger image, but be aware that the larger image is nearly 900KB and is 5000 pixels wide. If you have a slow Internet connection, it will take several minutes for the larger view to appear. Fixing the weather with Photoshop Recently, we drove to Amish country for the day. I, of course, took the camera along. The day was cloudy with occasional torrential downpours. After eating at the Chalet in the Valley, I walked outside and took a picture. CLICK THE IMAGES FOR A LARGER VIEW.

Here's the image I started with. It's not a bad snapshot, but the overcast day washed out the sky, subdued the colors, and even with the camera's color balance set to 'cloudy', the image has a blue cast. The image is also slightly crooked and the sign has some cosmetic problems. I started by modifying the overall color balance so that the image would look more the way I saw it when we were there.

A bit of rotation straightened the verticals, but means that I'll have to crop the image a bit later. Now it's time to work on the sign. See the scuff on the lower crossbar? Another sign must have been there, but it's been removed and the damage wasn't repaired. This will be easy.

The crossbar looks good as new, but the sign has a large crack. This is something you wouldn't notice if you just glanced at the sign, but the sign is the focal point of this image. I could have taken more time and created a more convincing sign repair, one that didn't leave a bulge on the left side of the sign, but this is good enough for snapshot purposes. I still need to crop the image and there's s till the matter of that really ugly sky.

If I had a photo of a pretty blue sky, I could merge it with this photo, but I don't have a picture of a pretty blue sky. Alien Skin Xenofex 2 Little Fluffy Clouds to the rescue. Alien skin makes some of the coolest plug-ins for Photoshop and that's what I used to create a layer of blue sky (I selected an impossible-for-Ohio blue) and then dropped out the sky.

When you look at the larger version, you'll see a bit of tree poking out above the roof, some white sky showing through the trees on the right, and a purple fringe on the right vertical bar of the sign. The final few problems have been fixed here and I have a snapshot that looks better than what I remembered seeing. A word on honesty in photography: It's possible to lie with photographs much more easily now than ever before. The changes I've made here are trivial, but it's important to remember that 'the camera never lies' isn't a valid statement now and, in reality, it never was.

All the power you'll ever need and an improved interface Photoshop has always been the powerhouse application for photographers, but those powerful features had a high price in time required to master them. That's still true; if you want to be a Photoshop virtuoso, you'll need to buy some books or attend some classes or at least spend some time looking at some of the hundreds of on-line tutorials that explain how to use some of those powerhouse features. The CS3 version of Photoshop makes the program more accessible and tools such as the quick selection tool remind me of author Arthur C. Clarke's 'any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic,' from Profiles of the Future (1961).

For more information, visit. How long does it take to find a bus?

Last weekend I thought I'd take the bus downtown. It's easy enough because I live near High Street and can easily find a stop for the High/Main #2 line. Unlike when I had a job downtown and rode the bus to work, the bus doesn't stop every couple of blocks once it's south of Fifth Avenue. Or maybe the local bus does and only the express bus doesn't. I thought I'd get a quick, accurate answer from the Central Ohio Transit Authority's website.

Forty minutes later, I still didn't have a reliable answer. Problems started the instant I arrived at COTA's website. I've been using Opera as my primary browser for the past few weeks (more about that and about why I restored Firefox as my primary browser will be part of a future program) and it seems that the folks in charge of COTA's website know about Firefox but they don't know how to make the site work with Opera.

CLICK THE IMAGES FOR A LARGER VIEW. This feature offers to show a real-time display of where all busses on the route are. That's as far as it gets with Opera—the offer. Nothing ever appears. When it works, the feature is useful. Here, using Internet Explorer, it shows a bus running about 13 minutes late. The website writer, who apparently spends too much time with late-night television, wrote 'But wait, there's more.

After you've chosen a route you can click on the Choose button. You'll be taken to the Schedules screen of our TripPro application. From there you can obtain current route schedule information.' So I clicked the Choose button.

Well, no problem. I know where the High-Main bus route runs: On High and Main streets. So let's see what bus stops are available in the vicinity of North Market. That's where I planned to go. The site offer a bus stop finder. This one looks promising.

Let's see what information I can find out. Maybe it tells me which lines stop at this location. Or maybe not. There's a PDF map (which appears to be a scan of a paper map instead of being output from the electronic source) and downtown Columbus is on the 'reverse side'.

The PDF document has only 1 page. For reasons known only to the designer, the second page is actually a second file. And it was useless. Well, there's a trip planner.

Notice how the designer has cleverly set up the menu so that the link the mouse hovers over all but disappears. No trip planner, either. I never did go downtown that day, but that's OK: Rainy weather does not go well with Via Colori, an event in which artists create temporary drawings in chalk on streets. I have to salute COTA for several good ideas that are evident in its website; sadly, few have been well implemented, if they have been implemented at all. I really dislike picking on COTA because I like the idea of public transit systems.

And I wish Columbus had one. Tech support: Please read first, then answer Occasionally I have to deal with tech support. Not every day, but often enough and with enough companies that I see similarities and differences. Some support operations are excellent, but not very polite. Others are unfailingly polite but utterly useless.

Most probably fall somewhere in the middle on both scales, but some are both surly and useless while the rare operation politely provides excellent service. One thing I've learned over the years is that if you have two questions, even numbering them won't work; submit two reports. Virtually all support operations read enough of your message to form an opinion about what the problem is, then they fire back a response. Frequently it's the wrong response and if you asked more than one question, you'll almost certainly receive only one answer. This week I had an exchange with a mouse manufacturer. I had two of their mice for use with my notebook computer and had decided to leave one at the office.

At home, I got out the second mouse (identical to the one at the office and purchased at the same time) and plugged it in. The middle button didn't work as expected and the mouse software the company provided told me that it couldn't see its brand of mouse attached to the computer. I removed the software, rebooted the computer, and reinstalled the software—the latest version, downloaded that day. Then the software could see the mouse, but thought it was a different model than the one that was actually plugged in to the USB port. It also thought that the mouse was was plugged in to a port that doesn't exist on the computer. The middle button didn't function as a double click even though the software could see all of the buttons.

I visited the company's website and filled out a support form. In the following exchange I have changed the company's name, the support technician's name, the mouse model, and all other details. Except for those changes, the conversation is exactly as it occurred.

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Subject: (PROD)66666-Edible Mouse LE thinks it's a PS/2 mouse Choose Product: Mice & Trackballs Department: Technical Support Model Number: K66666 Serial Number: A Operating System: Windows XP SP2 Port: USB Software Version: MouseManaic 143.7.x Customer (Bill Blinn) 04:50 PM The mouse thinks it's a PS/2 mouse and, although I have set the software so that the middle button should be a double click, nothing happens when I press the middle button. I have removed and reinstalled the latest software, which I downloaded just today. The 'button states' display shows that left, right, and middle clicks are being recorded properly. Program 143.7.2 ROMP 143.7.2 Driver 143.7.2 Response (Robert Franklin Smith) 08:38 AM Dear Bill: Thank you for contacting Mousewerks Technical Support.

I would request you to uninstall the Mousewerks MouseManaic Software (version present on your system) completely via control panel Add/Remove programs locate Mousewerks software and click on Change/Remove tab. This will uninstall the software. After the process, please restart the computer.

I would suggest you to install MouseManaic version 106.82.3, if you are connecting the mouse to a PS2 port from the link given below: ftp://ftp.Mousewerks.com/PC/Input/ In the page, locate MouseManaic87.exe and click on that. This will download the software. Install this software and restart the computer when prompted for.

Regards, Robert Franklin Smith Mousewerks Technical Support Customer (Bill Blinn) 08:47 AM Please note that I am.NOT. connecting the mouse to a PS/2 port. The computer has no PS/2 port.

The mouse is a USB mouse. I am connecting it to a USB port. The software DETECTS it as a PS/2 mouse. Also please note that I have already deleted the mouseware application and reinstalled it as you suggested. Additional information: I have 2 of these mice. One is at the office and works properly.

The identical mouse (bought at the same time) at home is not properly detected. I presume, based on this observation, that the mouse is faulty.

Response (Robert Franklin Smith) 09:42 AM Dear Bill: Thank you for contacting Mousewerks Technical Support. I sincerely apologize for the inconvenience caused. I would request you to uninstall the Mousewerks MouseManaic Software (version present on your system) completely via control panel Add/Remove programs locate Mousewerks software and click on Change/Remove tab. This will uninstall the software. After the process, please restart the computer.

Now download a fresh copy of our latest MouseManaic software version 143.72 from the link given below: In the page, locate MouseManaicPC143.exe and click on that. This will download the software. Install this software and restart the computer when prompted for. If you still persist with the same problem, please try it on another computer and get back to us with result and performance. Regards, Robert Franklin Smith Mousewerks Technical Support Customer (Bill Blinn) 09:53 AM Clearly I am not stating the problem clearly. 1) I have already removed and reinstalled the software (version 143.7.2) on the Toshiba notebook computer. 2) I have 2 mice that are the same model (Edible Mouse LE).

One mouse is used at home. One is used at the office. 3a) One of the mice (the one at the office) is detected as an Edible Mouse LE and works properly.

3b) One of the mice (the one at home) is detected as a PS/2 mouse and does not work properly. Based on these observations, do you still believe that this is a SOFTWARE problem? If so, please explain it so that I can understand it because what I see is this: - Computer (same) - Software (same) - Mouse at home (fails) - Mouse at office (works) - To me, this says 'hardware problem'. Response (Robert Franklin Smith) 12:40 PM Dear Bill: Thank you for contacting Mousewerks Technical Support.

I understand your concern. I suspect the unit is partially malfunctioning, I will go ahead and place an order for the replacement of the unit under warranty replacement free of charge. As per our latest records the device # 66666 is a discontinued model. In this regard, considering this as a special case I will go ahead and place an order for the better model Sm45 Optical Mouse (12345), which is available now. Please write back to us as a confirmation to send.

Please reply with your complete shipping address and daytime telephone number, with your area code. Be sure to include the apartment number, mailstop, or suite number, as well as your ZIP or Postal Code. It will take 12-15 business days.

O We only ship to the U.S. O We cannot ship to P.O. O Delivery to APO/FPO addresses is not recommended and may experience delays. For international customers, visit www.support.Mousewerks.com and click 'Technical Support outside of the U.S.' Regards, Robert Franklin Smith Mousewerks Technical Support Customer (Bill Blinn) 12:51 PM Thank you. The address is: William F.

Blinn 666 Devils Food Court West Mudsock, Ohio 99999 Response (Robert Franklin Smith) 12:57 PM Dear Bill: Thank you for contacting Mousewerks Technical Support. I am glad to inform you that I have placed an order for Sm45 Optical Mouse (12345). However, I would also like to inform you that you would receive the new unit within 12 to 15 business days and you can trash your old unit once you receive the new one. You can always get back to us in the future for further support. Please feel free to write anytime you have questions or concerns we will respond in a timely manner.

You may receive an e-mail survey regarding your e-mail support experience. We would appreciate your feedback. Regards, Robert Franklin Smith Mousewerks Technical Support Nerdly News Pssst!

T-Mobile users can now have Iphones. The Iphone was locked in exclusively to AT&T, but an enterprising college freshman with a soldering iron and some programming smarts unlocked the phone now the secretive 'iPhone Dev Team' has released a software hack that unlocks the phone. Those who waited not only save $200 on the cost of the Iphone, but they also will be able to use it on either AT&T's network (as Apple intended) or on T-Mobile's network.

Sprint users and those with other services need not apply. The Iphone uses technology that's available only to AT&T and T-Mobile users.

Who is this 'iPhone Dev Team'? The dozen participants are known only as daeken, darkmen, guest184, gray, izsh, nightwatch, pytey, roxfan, sam, uns, zappaz, and zf. Those who have seen the code in operation say it works even though the hack is less than 7KB in size. The group has made the code available for free download, but the team members ask that no direct links be provided to their site.

If you want to find it, try a Google search for 'iphone dev wiki' (with the quotation marks). From the website: 'This project is a community effort, and as such we have no official 'leader'. Updates on this wiki are written by those who have an understanding about the project status at the time of a release. If anything posted on this wiki gives the impression that one person is doing most of the work, it should be attributed to bad writing style only and in no way representative of the inner workings of the iPhoneDev community.'

From the folks who brought us Homeland Security. According to the General Accounting Office, FBI agents lose computers (and guns), so it probably shouldn't come as a great surprise to find that the State Department can't protect its computers from Russian hackers. Sophos says the website of the US Consulate General in St. Petersburg, Russia, was loaded with malicious code as part of an IFRAME exploit that installed malware on visitors' systems. The infected pages have since been cleaned up. Sophos, an IT security firm headquartered in Boston, says the attack was part of a larger campaign by cyber criminals. The State Department computer wasn't specifically targeted, it was just open and available.

And the computer was in Russia, which is where most of the compromised pages were hosted. Principal virus researcher Fraser Howard said that the attack 'highlights the fact that no organization is immune from infection.' High-profile sites such as the US Consulate are usually cleaned up quickly, but Howard says far too many companies fail to repair hacked sites. When run, the malware planted on the US Consulate's computer would attempt to load further malware from a remote server, including a piece that attempts to exploit several browser vulnerabilities in order to install a Trojan horse that could be used to steal business critical data and personal details. Sophos even provided a picture of the code, which looks a lot like the exploit I noticed a couple of weeks ago. Creating the information for each week's TechByter requires many hours of unpaid work. Please consider dropping a little money into the kitty to help.

Bill Blinn Bill can turn any computer to sludge, whether Windows or Mac. Annoying legal disclaimer My attorney says I really need to say this: The TechByter website is for informational purposes only. I assume no responsibility for its accuracy, although I do my best. The information is subject to change without notice. Any actions you take based on information from the radio program, the podcast, or from this website are entirely at your own risk. Products and services are mentioned for informational purposes only and their various trademarks and service marks are the property of their respective owners.

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