1. Web_Design_And_Hosting : Part I
5 Materials And Technologies That Just Might Eliminate Digital Camera Shutter Delay
Bob pushed the shutter release button and'NOTHING HAPPENED. The football passed into
his son's hands and the actual photo he took was one of a cheerleader's pom-pom. Bob
missed the touchdown too. He resisted an insane urge to slam the camera to the ground
and jump on it.
This was his first digital camera, and Bob had just experienced an unpleasant surprise. He
had used film cameras all his life, but when his Yashica went into the shop a friend loaned
him a digital camera. He naively decided to take some action shots and discovered the
most maddening "feature" of digital cameras ' the shutter delay.
MADDENING AND FRUSTRATING
Articles on this subject have attributed shutter delay to:
1. The camera's focus system
2. The time it takes the camera to digitally process the image
3. Reaction time of the photographer
Numbers one and three are lag times that most people using digital cameras are
accustomed to. Most have used a film camera and know it needs a few milliseconds to
focus.
The no-brainer solution is to reduce the aperture of the lens to increase depth of field, or
aim the camera at the object you wish to be in focus and depress the shutter button half
way in order to "tell" the camera what to focus on, then move the camera to center the
image and depress it the rest of the way.
As far as human reaction time, well, it hasn't really changed much for users of film cameras,
and people experienced in taking action shots usually get what they want.
So let's look at number 2, the time it takes to process the picture.
TIME TO DO THE PROCESSING
Processing the picture (so the camera can be ready for the next one) comes in several
steps to move it from the image sensor to flash card storage:
1. Color corrections. The camera has to examine each and every Charge Couple Device
(CCD) element on the photo sensor. It adds green, blue, and red to achieve the right color
balance. For a 3 mega pixel camera, the processor has to make 9 million calculations.

2. 2. Sharpening. This boosts the contrast by detecting and sharpening edges.
3. Compression. This process converts the 12 to 14 bits of each CCD sensor to 16 bits by
"padding" the information and compressing it to 8 bits. This compresses the file size to 9
megabytes.
These steps require a tremendous amount of computational time. No wonder Bob missed
his shot!
CATCHING THE ACTION
There are two ways of capturing action:
1. The "consecutive mode". If the camera has this mode, you can take a series of rapid
shots moving through the event. This requires a camera with a large 'buffer" to hold photos
for processing.
2. Anticipating shots by depressing and holding down the shutter release prior to the event.
This requires an ability to predict the future, something most of us don't possess.
THE FUTURE OF FASTER SHOOTING
Obviously this would all be simplified if micro processing were faster. Even with large
buffers, the speed in which data is transmitted to the processor is prohibited by the rate at
which data is conveyed from the CCD. Micro processing speed is the next bottleneck.
Faster clock rates and data transfer speeds would reduce or even eliminate "shutter lag"
time. There are several technologies in the wings that offer hope:
1. Nanotube and nanowire technologies. These are both the offspring of "nanotechnology",
the ability to make tiny machines at the "nano" level, a billionth of a meter in size rather than
a millionth of a meter (micrometer) and offer hope for a 500 GHz clock rate or more.
2. DNA Yes, you heard me right. Computing based on DNA strands in which information is
stored and processed.
3. Other materials
' Gallium Arsenide with much a faster speed has been used for years for military purposes.
' Silicon-Germanium chips increase the transfer of light signals to silicon. These traditionally
have worked best at ultra cold temperatures, but many computer simulations have shown
that they may be made to approach 1000 GHz (1 THz) at room temperature.
' Indium-antimonide. Much faster than silicon
'Optical transistors. A glass material known as chalcogenide becomes a switch as its

3. refracting properties are changed. No need to translate those photons into anything else.
' Coated Viruses. The latest research involves coating viruses with a conducting material.
Much higher speeds at the molecular level can be obtained. This will give a new meaning to
the term "computer virus".
4. Parallel Processing. As we've noticed lately with the war between Intel and AMD over the
number of parallel processors crammed into a CPU, digital camera processing would
benefit from parallel processors handling the focussing, sharpening and squeezing.
5. Improvement in instructional efficiency by reducing the lines of code would make the
whole process more efficient.
HOLD ON AND WAIT FOR THE FUTURE
The REAL solution to this maddening shutter delay appears to be in the material the
processor is constructed of, as well as advancements in the software.
But we've got awhile to wait for it. Although a few alternate materials have been around for
awhile, everything else is still in the research and development phase. Even when it finally
trickles out of the labs, it will probably make your future digital camera cost around $10000 -
$15000.
Quite a price tag for the ability to take pictures as fast as a film camera! Still'
Except for the lag, the digital camera has it all over film cameras, once the photo is captured
by the memory card. The new technology will be worth the wait.
Digital camera owners are known for their ability to wait'as they desperately punch the
shutter release trying to grab the fleeting smile of their new baby, or the football that lands in
his hands eighteen years later, when he scores the winning touchdown.
Hiring a web designer to come up with the custom solution that you need can set you back
a few thousand bucks. But you can do the whole thing yourself and make it drag and drop
simple for mere pennies with a tool like Breezy Websites. See http://breezywebsites.com
for details!
WEB_DESIGN_AND_HOSTING : End of Part I
Web_Design_And_Hosting : Part II
How To Secure Your PC, Software And Data

4. The role of the personal computer has taken a whole new meaning ever since the
introduction of the Internet. There are scores of Internet surfers who use the Internet from
shopping to banking to investing and much more and the Internet today, is a buzzing,
throbbing center of activity. But there's some bad news ' the Internet is also swarming with
quite a few elements from the dark side ' and they are called hackers and phishers.
Hackers try to break into your computer to steal or corrupt your important data, while
phishers try to obtain your personal identification using dubious methods. You have no
choice but to protect your computer from these elements and here a few, easy, cost-
effective steps you must take to make your computer almost as secure as Fort Knox:
1. Take a backup of important data regularly ' preferably, daily. Buy another hard drive for
the backup, but do not permanently plug it into your computer. The idea is to keep your
backups away from your computer just in case it is hacked into.
2. Always update your operating system. All developers of operating systems (Windows,
Apple OS and Linux) regularly release patches and updates when they discover holes in
their programs. So, remember to keep the "automatic update" feature on always. Microsoft
Tip: Windows users can go to www.windowsupdate.microsoft.com and download the latest
updates.
3. Your web browser (Internet Explorer, Opera, Mozilla Firefox, etc.) too must be updated for
the same reasons stated above. All you have to do is visit the browser developer's
homepage and download the latest version or update. If you are using the Microsoft Office
Suite, then you must make it a point to visit www.officeupdate.microsoft.com and update it,
as this software suite is a hacker's favorite.
4. Next, install a firewall on your computer. A firewall turns your computer invisible on the
Internet and hackers, phishers, virus/Trojan developers, malware and adware cannot break
into it. You can visit www.zonealarm.com and download a personal edition, which comes
free. However, if your data security needs are critical, then you must consider investing in a
100% hack-proof firewall.
4. Hackers mostly employ Active-X and JavaScript for planting malicious programs into
computers. Also, cookies are regularly planted on your computer to track your browsing
preferences ' but cookies are relatively harmless. To stay away from malicious programs,
you need to tweak your web browser's security settings ' Set your security setting for the
'Internet zone' to High, and for your 'trusted sites zone' to Medium-Low.
5. Now, you need virus protection and therefore, need to install anti-virus software. AVG
anti-virus is free software that is updated regularly and you can download a personal edition
by visiting its developer's website http://www.grisoft.com/.
6. Never ever open mail attachments that come from unknown sources. They are sure to
contain a virus or a Trojan. Also, never run a program located at an unknown origin, on a
website that does not have a security certificate ' such programs will plant a Trojan on your

5. system.
8. The Windows operating system is set to 'hide file extensions for known file types'. Turning
off this option will help you see files with unusual extensions ' which, in all probability, will be
viruses/Trojans/Keyloggers.
9. When you are working offline, disconnect your computer from the local area network.
That way, a hacker will not be able to attack your computer.
10. Build a boot disk just in case a malicious program crashes your system.
11. Finally, you need to install an anti-spyware program. Ad-Aware SE Personal is an
award-winning tool that can help you detect and eliminate spyware effectively.
These are the basic steps required to secure your computer. Always remember to keep your
anti-virus, anti-spyware and firewall programs up-to-date. So, use our guide and turn your
computer into a virtual Fort Knox. Good Luck!
Hiring a web designer to come up with the custom solution that you need can set you back
a few thousand bucks. But you can do the whole thing yourself and make it drag and drop
simple for mere pennies with a tool like Breezy Websites. See http://breezywebsites.com
for details!
WEB_DESIGN_AND_HOSTING : End of Part II
Web_Design_And_Hosting : Part III
How To Secure Your PC, Software And Data
The role of the personal computer has taken a whole new meaning ever since the
introduction of the Internet. There are scores of Internet surfers who use the Internet from
shopping to banking to investing and much more and the Internet today, is a buzzing,
throbbing center of activity. But there's some bad news ' the Internet is also swarming with
quite a few elements from the dark side ' and they are called hackers and phishers.
Hackers try to break into your computer to steal or corrupt your important data, while
phishers try to obtain your personal identification using dubious methods. You have no
choice but to protect your computer from these elements and here a few, easy, cost-
effective steps you must take to make your computer almost as secure as Fort Knox:
1. Take a backup of important data regularly ' preferably, daily. Buy another hard drive for
the backup, but do not permanently plug it into your computer. The idea is to keep your

6. backups away from your computer just in case it is hacked into.
2. Always update your operating system. All developers of operating systems (Windows,
Apple OS and Linux) regularly release patches and updates when they discover holes in
their programs. So, remember to keep the "automatic update" feature on always. Microsoft
Tip: Windows users can go to www.windowsupdate.microsoft.com and download the latest
updates.
3. Your web browser (Internet Explorer, Opera, Mozilla Firefox, etc.) too must be updated for
the same reasons stated above. All you have to do is visit the browser developer's
homepage and download the latest version or update. If you are using the Microsoft Office
Suite, then you must make it a point to visit www.officeupdate.microsoft.com and update it,
as this software suite is a hacker's favorite.
4. Next, install a firewall on your computer. A firewall turns your computer invisible on the
Internet and hackers, phishers, virus/Trojan developers, malware and adware cannot break
into it. You can visit www.zonealarm.com and download a personal edition, which comes
free. However, if your data security needs are critical, then you must consider investing in a
100% hack-proof firewall.
4. Hackers mostly employ Active-X and JavaScript for planting malicious programs into
computers. Also, cookies are regularly planted on your computer to track your browsing
preferences ' but cookies are relatively harmless. To stay away from malicious programs,
you need to tweak your web browser's security settings ' Set your security setting for the
'Internet zone' to High, and for your 'trusted sites zone' to Medium-Low.
5. Now, you need virus protection and therefore, need to install anti-virus software. AVG
anti-virus is free software that is updated regularly and you can download a personal edition
by visiting its developer's website http://www.grisoft.com/.
6. Never ever open mail attachments that come from unknown sources. They are sure to
contain a virus or a Trojan. Also, never run a program located at an unknown origin, on a
website that does not have a security certificate ' such programs will plant a Trojan on your
system.
8. The Windows operating system is set to 'hide file extensions for known file types'. Turning
off this option will help you see files with unusual extensions ' which, in all probability, will be
viruses/Trojans/Keyloggers.
9. When you are working offline, disconnect your computer from the local area network.
That way, a hacker will not be able to attack your computer.
10. Build a boot disk just in case a malicious program crashes your system.
11. Finally, you need to install an anti-spyware program. Ad-Aware SE Personal is an
award-winning tool that can help you detect and eliminate spyware effectively.
These are the basic steps required to secure your computer. Always remember to keep your

7. anti-virus, anti-spyware and firewall programs up-to-date. So, use our guide and turn your
computer into a virtual Fort Knox. Good Luck!
Hiring a web designer to come up with the custom solution that you need can set you back
a few thousand bucks. But you can do the whole thing yourself and make it drag and drop
simple for mere pennies with a tool like Breezy Websites. See http://breezywebsites.com
for details!
WEB_DESIGN_AND_HOSTING : End of Part III