Pixlr - Free Online Photo Editor

Hi All, 

So you have a phone - that takes pictures.  And you have a camera - that takes pictures.  Awesome.  Sometimes you need a free online photo editor to manipulate the image or images. 

And for whatever reason you don't want to use Google's Picasa.  That's okay - even if the Google guys don't like that...however there are alternatives. 

Welcome to Pixlr - the free online photo editor. 

Basically Pixlr is a free online photo editor.  Users can edit, adjust and filter images.  There is no registration required so users can dive right into using the software. 

Enjoy the site and editing your photos. 

Stu

Manuals Online

Hi All,

Have you ever needed to find the manual to your washing machine or dryer?  Or what about your refrigerator or a lawn mower or digital camera?  Well, have I got a solution for you!

There is a website called Manuals Online.com and it has all sorts of manuals for your use and for you to download. 

The site has owner manuals for thousands of products in the following categories: Baby Care, Car Audio & Video, Cell Phone, Communications, Computer Equipment, Fitness & Sports, Home Audio, Household Appliances, Kitchen Appliances, Laundry Appliances, Lawn & Garden, Marine Equipment, Musical Equipment, Outdoor Cooking, Personal Care, Photography, Portable Media, Power Tools, TV & Video, Video Games.

Once you pick a category there are further breakdowns until you get to the item you need.  Note that manuals open in PDF format.  Also note that manuals can be printed for your use at a later time. 

Another interesting feature of the site is that users can obtain 'customer support' for the product manual they are looking for.  This customer support option is somewhat fluky - so be prepared.

Other features of ManualsOnline that are notable include the fact that they have over 700,000 products and there is a search box on the homepage.  Click here for the link. 

There is also a robust community of people who help with product support questions and who help to provide answers to all your product and manual questions....signing in is free. Click here for more information about this part of the site. 

So there you have it a - a wonderful site to help you get your manuals when you need them!

Regards,
Stu

Taking Great Pictures of Your Kids

Hi All,

So if you have kids, one of the things you'll want to do is take memorable pictures of them.  By doing this, you'll be able to look back at all the great times that you've spent with your little ones when they are, well, 'big ones'. 

This blog entry will discuss 3 websites that will help you learn to take better pictures of your kids.   I'll also link to the Farmingdale Public Library card catalog so you can find some excellent photography books to help you take even better pictures of your kids - from reading.

Brought to you by Lexar.com comes this site - entitled '10 Ways to Take Better Photos of Your Child'.  Neat stuff - I actually knew about numbers 1, 3 and 4 in the list...(Get Low, Let Them Be Themselves, Show them he Pictures on the Camera).  Had no idea about 7 and 9 (Get Close and Watching the Background).  Go figure...I bet I'll take better pictures already this weekend.

From a website called Digital Photography School comes this entry, entitled, 'How to Get the Best Shots of Your Kids'.  Some of DPS's ideas include 'Immerse yourself in their world and let your camera see what they see',  and 'Use reflections to captures yourself with kids and catch their expressions when they don't realize the camera is trained on them'.   Good stuff - and it is a doable skill for parents who want to take pictures of their kids.

Finally, the third site in today's coverage is an article from Pop Photo.com entitled, 'Tips From a Pro: How to Take Better Photos of Your Kids'.  This article covers concepts like framing the child and using the light to your advantage when you take pictures of the little ones.  The entry also discusses the use of vantage points when the children are playing sports like soccer, baseball and football. 

There are many, many other photography and photography related websites on the web.  Some are good - some are not so good.  Caveat emptor and readers of this blog should know by now that I'm a proponent of being skeptical when viewing and evaluating websites...doing a Google search for 'How to take great photograph's of children' resulted in many, many results.  Click on this link to see the massive results of the search. 

Now, that all said, sometimes it is useful to use a book so you can read and look at pictures that explain a certain technique....click here for a link to the Farmingdale Public Library card catalog for a search query of 'children's photography'. 

Enjoy the results and the great pictures you are about to take of your children.  

Regards,
Stu

Manuals Online

Hi All,

Just found this very, very helpful website called Manuals Online.  Click here for the link to it. What is Manuals Online you ask?  Good question.  The website's tagline is very accurate and revealing.  Billing itself as the 'User Manual Site' - the site is a great repository of manuals on products as varied as Car Audio and Video, Cell Phones, Computer Equipment, Home Audio, Kitchen Appliances, Laundry Appliances, Lawn and Garden Equipment, Camera and Photographic Equipment, Power Tool Equipment and TV/Video Manuals.

The site also organized the manuals by brands.  For instance, Sony, Phillips, LG, Kenmore, Apple and other manuals are included. 

Users can use the search box at the top of the page to peruse over 600,000 products.  In addition, users can store manuals on the site, join a community of fellow owners to talk about various products.  Users can also search Manuals Online for popular products like Laptops, Power Tools, Digital Cameras, Refrigerators, Lawn Mowers, Television, Cell Phones and others. 

Finally, there is a link at the bottom of the page where users can find a list of Product Recalls.

To say that the site is easy-to-navigate is an understatement.  The site is updated frequently, easy-to-read and well organized.  Good stuff and handy!

Regards,
Stu