Tech Flashback: The Lethal Weapon series 1987 - 1998 Part 3

Category: Tech TodayContinued from Tech Flashback: The Lethal Weapon series 1987 - 1998 Part 2In this series of articles, we continue our look at how technology is touched on by an unlikely movie franchise: the Lethal Weapon series.Lethal Weapon 3 was released in 1992, so it's not surprising when Rene Russo's Internal Affairs character boots up to a green screen computer to tap into a text-only database. Russo's Lorna Cole ...

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Unstructured FrameMaker Basics: Importing and working with Excel Tables Part 2

Category: Tech WriterContinued from Unstructured FrameMaker Basics: Importing and working with Excel Tables Part 1 Resizing the columnsA significant portion of the table is still not visible. Resize the columns to remove excess white space. You can shrink the column size tightly around the text or specify exact values for the columns. Before starting, change the view so that the Text Symbols are not...

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Interesting Distractions to Follow on the Internet

Category: Tech TodayThis site's author has been busy scratching his head and applauding the following:1. SteamOS - There's regular Linux gaming coverage on the Linux Action Show and though I admit I'm not a gamer, it's great to see Linux penetrate mainstream users through the path of least resistance. The last video game I played was Mega Man X (1993) and the original Quake (1996) on a PC, so I'm regularly amazed by...

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Unstructured FrameMaker Basics: Importing and working with Excel Tables Part 1

Category: Tech Writer Despite improvements to table support in most applications, working with Excel tables in applications like Adobe InDesign, FrameMaker and CorelDraw are less than ideal especially if you are working on a deadline. In InDesign, most writers would import the Excel file as text and convert the content to a table and format the table and contents manually in a time consuming process. Other methods...

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Quick Accessory Review: Golla Digital Camera Bag (Small)

Category: Tech TodayThere were literally dozens of affordable nice leather sling bags with plenty of room for my ILC, netbook, backup Canon digital camera and iPad in Chinese online shopping sites such as Jingdong Mall and Yihaodian. I was ready to retire my beloved Indiana Jones-esque satchel for a more elegant bag. Unfortunately, I was severely limited by my 200RMB gift card, which was only valid...

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Personal Case Study: Upgrading to a better device Part ‏2

Continued from Personal Case Study: Upgrading to a better device Part 1 Case #2 Creative Zen 2GB with SD card to an Apple iPod Touch 32GBCategory: MP3 PlayerPredecessor: Do I hear a groan? Although I'm aware that many consider a dedicated MP3 player obsolete, the iPod Touch is indispensable if you don't own a smartphone and my Creative Zen, which I purchased in 2009, hasn't aged a bit - battery...

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The new iPhones and resellers in Minhang, Shanghai

Category: Tech TodayI was listening to my daily dose of BBC news using my 4th-generation iPod while strolling around Parkson in Minhang, Shanghai. Both the BBC World Update: Daily Commute and BBC Global News podcasts confirmed what I had already read on news sources such as Reuters and CNN.com - the queues for the new "cheap" iPhones and the gold flagship Apple smartphone in UK, China, and in the US were long and it...

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Sony PlayMemories Home and the Sony NEX-3NL Part 1

Category: Tech TodayIn the old days when inkjet printers were popular, Canon and Epson loaded their driver CDs with various creative tools to encourage users to print more (and buy more inkjet cartridges). Having migrated over to Linux a long, long time ago, I was actually curious as to what kind of OEM value-add software digital camera manufacturers like Sony provide to their users. PlayMemories Home, designed for...

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Drawing a Rounded Triangle in CorelDraw

Category: Tech WriterIf you need to draw a safety icon such as those found in user manuals or any icon which requires a rounded triangle, all you need are a few steps to create one in CorelDraw.Note: The screenshots shown here are from CorelDraw X3.To create a rounded triangle warning logo in CorelDraw:1. Click the Polygon Tool from the Toolbox toolbar.2. On the Property bar, enter 3 for the points value.3. Hold down...

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Unstructured FrameMaker Basics: Formatting Admonitions Part 2

Continued from  Unstructured FrameMaker Basics: Formatting Admonitions Part 1Admonition blocks/listsAdmonition blocks/lists work the same way as any bulleted list in FrameMaker - just add the left and right indents to separate them from the flow of the text. The text for "Notes:" should have its own Character Tag while the bulleted list would have its own Paragraph Tag. Use Tabs to keep the bulleted list aligned (see this...

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A Sony NEX-3NL Review from a Non-Photographer Part 2

Category: Tech TodayContinued from A Sony NEX-3NL Review from a Non-Photographer Part 1 6. Flash button. My hands are pretty small but I had initial problems pressing the button to pop-up the flash. I will admit, however, that I never needed the flash in the last two weeks of playing around with the Sony NEX-3NL. The lens and aperture settings are more than enough to handle a variety...

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