06/11/2017

Enlarge Photos Better than Photoshop - Free Software

Re-posted from PetaPixel

Upscaling a photograph always means trading resolution for size. And while Photoshop’s “preserve details” scaling does a pretty good job, there’s a freeware program called “A Sharper Scaling” that can do it even better.

The program—which is available for Windows users only, sorry Apple folks—was developed by Steffen Gerlach, and on his website he compares it to Bicubic Interpolation (BI), BI and sharpening, and Photoshop Preserve Details with noise reduction set to zero.

Even in the small comparison images there, the difference is obvious. Here’s just one of the samples he uses. From left to right, it shows 150% scaling using bicubic interpolation, BI + sharpen, Photoshop Preserve Details, and finally, A Sharper Scaling:

ss_example







Click image to enlarge

The difference is a bit more obvious when upscaling a graphic, shown here at 200% in the same order as above:

sharpexample

Click image to enlarge

If you’re a Windows user, there’s really no reason not to give this simple program a shot. When you open it up, you’ll be greeted by a very simple interface that will let you use your own image or try out one of three sample images provided for you so you can see just how much better the program is than traditional algorithms.

After that it’s as easy as uploading a photo, selecting the scale size or upscale percentage, and letting the program do its thing.

To learn more or download the freeware for yourself (it’s compatible with Windows 7 and up) head over to the Sharper Scaling website  or by clicking here for download

I have tried it and it seems to work very well.













05/11/2017

How to rebuild the Picasa database

It is sad that Google have, in their wisdom, withdrawn support for Picasa. Picasa is/was a simple but effective image database and editing software.

While in the middle of a job of sorting out a selection of images from my vast back catalogue of images, Picas crashed with a database corruption error. The simple answer to the problem would have been to uninstall and reinstall Picasa. Unfortunately, the software is no longer available. or at least so it would appear from a quick search on line.

I searched for a solution and came up with the following web page on Photos Resources - How to rebuild the Picasa database.

A number of options are offered but Method A requires reinstalling the programme which wasn't an option so I followed Method B. I have to report Method B worked for me. For the record,  I was using Windows 10.

In case the page disappears I reproduce it here, with thanks to the original author.

The alternate, safer way (Method B)
Advantages:
Safer because you can go back to your previous database if you don't like the results.
It is not necessary to reinstall Picasa or tell it which folders to watch if they were already defined.
Most Face Names will be restored due to keeping the database Contacts.xml file.
Disadvantages:
Requires some familiarity with Windows operations and knowledge of "Windows Explorer" including ability to select, copy, paste, and delete files.
See Limitations on Rebuilding (above) for limitations to any method of rebuilding the Picasa Database. 
Database Rebuild Procedure:
1) Close Picasa.
2) Navigate to the Google application data folder on your computer. There are numerous ways to get there; here are 3 methods:
Press the "Windows button" on your keyboard (sometimes labeled "Start") plus the R key - to open the Run screen.
Click the round "Start" button (lower left corner of your desktop) (to find the search box).
Open Windows Explorer and paste the appropriate path below into the path field; press Enter.
    Paste the appropriate path below (depending on your operating system) into the Run screen or into the Start search box:
Windows XP:     %userprofile%\Local Settings\Application Data\Google\
Windows Vista / Windows 7 / Windows 8 / Windows 10:  %LocalAppData%\Google\
3) In the Google folder, you'll see two folders that have "Picasa" in the folder name: "Picasa2" and "Picasa2Albums.
(Note that these folders have Picasa2 in their folder name even though the program is Picasa3)
You will now copy those two folders, so that you have a backup. Here's how to copy the two folders:
Right-click on the Picasa2 folder and select Copy, then right-click again into an empty space in the Google folder and select Paste.
Copying could take a long time (for example, 30 minutes or more) if you have a large collection of pictures. The copied folder will be named "Picasa2 - Copy"
Repeat the copy and paste process with the Picasa2Albums folder. The copied folder will be named "Picasa2Albums - Copy"
These two "- Copy" folders are your backup copy of the Picasa database.
4) In this step, you will be doing some deletions of database files.
In the Google folder, double-click on the "Picasa2" folder to open it, then double-click the "db3" folder to view the database files.
Read carefully: You will now delete all the database files in the db3 folder except these three files:
scanlist.txt
thumbindex.db
thumbs_index.db
5) Start Picasa... and wait... it will probably take an hour or more to scan your pictures and about 2 hours per 10,000 pictures to rescan the face tags.
    (it will rescan the faces, but Picasa will see that you tagged them already and assign the correct name automatically).
         Note: 1.  You May get a couple of CBlock errors when Picasa starts, Just answer OK to each.
                  2.  If Picasa fails to start follow Picasa Fails to Start Using Alternate Method B directions below.

6) Evaluate the results long enough to be sure you are happy with the newly rebuilt database.
If the rebuilt database is not satisfactory, and you want to roll back to what you had before the rebuild, follow Roll Back to Previous Database directions below.
If the rebuilt database is satisfactory, you may want to delete the backup copy of the previous database, see Remove Previous Database directions below.
End of Procedure

Roll Back to Previous Database after trying Alternate Method B: If you don't like the results after the rebuild you can roll back to your old database by following these steps:

1) Close Picasa.
2) Navigate to the Google folder as in Step 2 of Method B above.
One way to do that: Open the "Run" window by pushing the "Windows button" (sometimes labeled "Start") + R
    Paste the appropriate path below:
Windows XP: %userprofile%\Local Settings\Application Data\Google\
Windows Vista / Windows 7 / Windows 8: %LocalAppData%\Google\
3) There are four folders named Picasa2, Picasa2Albums, Picasa2 - Copy, and Picasa2Albums - Copy.
     The 2 "- Copy" folders are the Backup of the "Old" database that was saved before the rebuild.
     The Picasa2 and Picasa2Albums folders are "New" database that was generated by the rebuild procedure.
If the two "- Copy" folders are not there, it is not possible to roll back to the Old Database.
If you want to Keep a copy of the "New" database in case you want to try it again, rename the Picasa2 folder to Picasa2_new, and the Picasa2Albums folder to Picasa2Albums_new.
If you are sure you don't want to keep the "New" database you just generated, delete the 2 folders Picasa2, and Picasa2Albums.
Right-click on the "Picasa2 - Copy" folder and rename it to "Picasa2"
Right-click on the "Picasa2Albums - Copy" folder and rename it to "Picasa2Albums"
4) Start Picasa. It should start up immediately in the condition it was before the rebuild. There may be minor scanning if photos were added or changed.
End of Procedure

Remove Previous Database after using the Alternate Method B:If you like the results after the rebuild you can remove the unneeded previous database by following these steps:

1) Open the "Run" window by pushing the "Windows button" (sometimes labeled "Start") + R
    Paste the appropriate path below:
Windows XP: %userprofile%\Local Settings\Application Data\Google\
Windows Vista / Windows 7 / Windows 8: %LocalAppData%\Google\
2) There are four folders with "Picasa" in the folder name: Picasa2 , Picasa2Albums, Picasa2 - Copy, and Picasa2Albums - Copy.
Delete the two folders "Picasa2 - Copy" and "Picasa2Albums - Copy".
If the two "- Copy" folders are not there, the previous database was already removed.
End of Procedure

Picasa Fails to Start Using Alternate Method B:In Alternate Method B Step 5, Picasa could fail to Start if there is a critical error in a remaining Database file,
or if there are errors in the Watched folders list.
If Picasa fails to start or finds no photos, do the following:
1) Close Picasa.
2) Navigate to the Google folder on your computer. There are numerous ways to get there; here are 3 methods:
Press the "Windows button" on your keyboard (sometimes labeled "Start") plus the R key - to open the Run screen.
Click the round "Start" button (lower left corner of your desktop) (to find the search box).
Open Windows Explorer and paste the appropriate path below into the path field; press Enter.
    Paste the appropriate path below (depending on your operating system) into the Run screen or into the Start search box:
Windows XP:     %userprofile%\Local Settings\Application Data\Google\
Windows Vista / Windows 7 / Windows 8:  %LocalAppData%\Google\
3) In the Google folder, you have previously copied the folders named: "Picasa2" and "Picasa2Albums, so you should already have the two - Copy folders for backup.
4) In the Google folder, double-click on the "Picasa2" folder to open it, then right-click the "db3" folder and delete it.

5) Start Picasa. You will see a welcome page asking you if you want to scan everything or only My Pictures. Select Only My Pictures. You will see another page asking you about Photo Viewer. Select 'Don't Use Picasa Photo Viewer, you can enable it later if you want it.

6) Picasa will now start scanning for photos and folders ... it will probably take an hour to scan your pictures and about 2 hours per 10.000 pictures to rescan the face tags...

 7) If you want to decide which folders Picasa should scan, then after Picasa starts scanning, go to the top menu Tools -> Folder Manager. In the Folder and drive tree on the left set all drives and folders except any you have photos in to "Remove from Picasa", and click OK. Then go back in to the Tools -> Folder Manager, and set any folders you want to see in Picasa to "Scan Always".. and click the OK button to continue scanning including any newly selected folders.
End of Procedure 

12/10/2017

The 5 best free alternatives to Windows DVD Maker

As Windows DVD Maker software is no longer available FREE with Windows 10 I needed to find alternative software for authoring DVD's.

I found a useful review on the Digital Citizen website. They list 5 options some of which can be used on a variety of platforms. I was interested in Windows software.

  1. DVD Styler
  2. WinX DVD Author
  3. DeVeDe
  4. DVD Flick
  5. Freemake Video Converter

Digital Citizen Conclusion

These are the best free alternatives we've found for Microsoft's Windows DVD Maker. While any of these five can do the job, our opinion is that the best are DVD Styler, WinX DVD Author and DeVeDe. These are the apps with the largest number of DVD customizing features, they support a wide range of video and audio input formats, can embed subtitles and let you design your own custom menus. Furthermore, they’re also honest software: they don’t try to install unwanted programs on your computer, nor do they ask you to pay money in order to utilize them fully.

I had previously used DVD Flick but found the menu authoring options rather poor as did DC but it worked well as a video to DVD converter.

To see full reviews and to DOWNLOAD the software go to Digital Citizen website. Its clean and appears free from adware traps etc but as always be cautious about anything you download.

I will report back on my experience.

UPDATE...

I started by downloading DVD Styler. Warning you are offered FREE software during the download, make sure you tick the right boxes if you don't want it and who does...

UPDATE 2...

I gave up on all these options and went back to using Picturestoexe a very versatile piece of software used by photographers for making slideshows or AV presentations. The software includes a powerful video editing and authoring module. I had forgotten however that DVD's are low resolution. Wasted a lot of time on that problem.


LINK https://www.digitalcitizen.life/best-free-alternatives-windows-dvd-maker

Large space before footnotes in MS Word

While formatting the template I used for my PhD Thesis I came across the problem of bizzar formatting of the footer when footnotes were inserted. The problem could occur for no apparent reason. However, I discovered this fix which works. I acknowledge the source - Jess Writes Words -  I reproduce the post in full...

Quick Fix: Large space before footnotes in MS Word

Posted on 25 September 2010

It’s frustrating having programs screw up on you when there’s a pressing deadline to meet. Today while editing my 40-page behemoth of a PW report (before adding all figures, tables and double-spacing and enlarging the fonts) I was unlucky enough to encounter this issue:

After the footnote divider line, but before the footnotes themselves, there would be a huge expanse of blank space. It was wreaking havoc on my formatting and turning all my tables into multiple-paged impossible-to-read clusters of cells.

Turns out this is caused by something called a footnote separator which you have to go to Draft mode (under the View tab in MS Word 07 and up) to edit it.

Go to the View tab, then choose Draft.

Go to the References tab and click Show Footnotes. (On Macs, go to View > Footnotes – thanks to commenter Gerard for spotting this)

In the drop-down list that appears in the Footnotes area, choose Footnote Separator.

Delete any extra spaces, carriage returns etc. It’s handy to have “show non-printing characters” switched on.

Repeat for the other one – I think it was Continuous Footnote Separator.

Go back to View and switch back to Print Layout.

It’s gone!

LINK

07/04/2017

VLMC, Open Source Video Editing

Reblogged from CDM Create Digital Music

Open Source Video Editing from VLC Creators – QuickTime Pro Replacement?

Get VLMC

http://cdm.link/2010/01/vlmc-open-source-video-editing-from-vlc-creators/

https://code.videolan.org/videolan/vlmc

Now, the VLC folks are readying a companion to their player called VLMC. It’s in a very early state, but it could be the editor you’re missing. And VLMC is part of an all-out onslaught to finally bring open video to the masses. VLC is based on FFMPEG, which is not the most developer-friendly video framework (though it is very capable and fast).

20/03/2017

How to Embed a PDF file in to a Blogger Blog using Google Drive

One of our readers requested us to figure out how they can embed PDFs in their Blogger blog. There are many ways through which we can embed PDFs or other documents like Microsoft Word, Spreadsheets, PowerPoint Slides, and Excel Spreadsheets into our Blogger Blog. However, Google Docs is probably the most authentic and reliable way of embedding the PDF documents in a website. Therefore, today in this article, we will show you How to Embed PDFs or any other documents in Blogger Blog Posts.


First, go to https://drive.google.com and Sign in into your Gmail or Google account so that you have the admin privilege to the documents that would upload from your system hard drive. 
After signing in to your Google account, the next thing is to upload a PDF file from your system hard drive. On pressing the upload icon from the left side panel a drop down menu will pop out which would consist of two options i.e. File and Folder. Just select “File” and head to the next step.

How to fix Google Chrome Icon Missing From Taskbar (Windows 7 + 10)



 Short description:
1. Start Google chrome
2. Right click new page icon on taskbar, locate Google Chrome from the bottom, right click and choose Properties
3. Click Change icon, you will receive Windows missing file message, close it.
4. Click browse and locate your Google Chrome installation folder
C:\Program Files\Google\Chrome\Application (Windows 7 32bit)
C:\Program Files (x86)\Google\Chrome\Application (Windows 7 64bit)
5. Choose Chrome.exe file and select the icon.

Install - Zotero Citation Manager