Windows 7 Calculator features

Want to check  out some of the latest features in calculator in Windows 7?  This quick video will help you get a quick overview of how it works and some of the new features it includes.  Enjoy!

I made this video actually just to test out Camtasia Studio 7, but it worked so good that I hope to do more videos here in the near future.  If you have any input or suggestions, please let me know!

Free Book Giveaway! Our Review of the Digging Into WordPress 3 eBook

Are you wanting to learn more about WordPress?  From mainstream websites to personal blogs, WordPress is one of the most important and powerful publishing platforms today.  There’s a wealth of information of information available online, but it can be very difficult to learn everything there is to know about something as big as WordPress from scattered blog posts and articles.  That’s where Digging into WordPress fits in.  Keep reading for our review of the latest version of this impressive book, and for an opportunity to win one of 2 copies we’re giving away this week!

Digging into WordPress is a great eBook that gives you a through WordPress education in a fun and exciting way.  It is aimed at users that know at least some HTML, CSS, and PHP, but if you even have the slightest knowledge of web design and have a strong desire to push on and learn more, you’ll be able to learn a lot from this book.  Best of all, it was recently updated for WordPress 3.0!  Whether you’re still trying to learn your way around WordPress, are trying to hack your favorite Elegant Theme or WooTheme to work the way you want, or are trying to become the new 3rd most important person in WordPress, this is the book for you.  It covers all the following and more:

• Unique ways to secure your WordPress site
• Great ways to incorporate Twitter and other social media into your site
• In depth SEO information
• Using WordPress as a CMS with custom Taxonomies, fields, post types, and more
• Creating and using WordPress child themes
• Over 20 pages devoted to the latest WordPress 3.0 features, including WordPress MultiSite, custom menus, and more, with WP 3.0 specific updates throughout the book

With all that content, Digging into WordPress is a massive eBook, with nearly 450 pages of tips, tricks, and instruction.  It’s also a beautiful book that looks great on your netbook or eReader screen!

If you’re a visual learner, Digging into WordPress will be especially helpful.  It frequently includes screenshots of websites and WordPress admin screens to illustrate what its talking about.  The whole book is beautifully designed, which makes it a pleasure to read while still giving you a ton of WordPress instruction.

The book is filled with sample code that can help you do exactly you want to with your WordPress themes and backend PHP, even if you only have a basic understanding of PHP coding.  You always learn more when you learn by doing, so be sure to try out the code on your own site or WordPress test install so you’ll really understand how it works.  And if you’re already an advanced WordPress developer, it can be a great resource of code snippets for those little, hard-to-remember functions.

But it’s not all code, work, and study … Digging into WordPress is fun, too.  It’s filled with funny and inspirational quotes, pointers, and off-the-wall remarks that break up the monotony of studying.  This book is as informative as a textbook, but if you’re any bit into web development, it’ll be as fun to read as a tech book can be.

As mentioned before, the book has been fully updated with WordPress 3.0 information, so you’ll be armed with the latest tools when you set off to create your own new themes.  Best of all, if you purchase a copy of Digging into WordPress (or have purchased one in the past), you’ll receive free updates to the book when they’re published!  So you’ll learn about WP 3.0 today, and will also get the latest information when new versions of WordPress are released in the future.  Technology changes daily, so too often, books are outdated as soon as you buy them.  Not Digging into WordPress … it’s a living eBook :)

We’re very impressed with the content and quality of this book, and highly recommend it.  If you’d like to see more, be sure to check out the free sample chapter.  Or take a look around the companion site, DigWP.com; it includes an amazing amount of WordPress tips and tricks, such as this great tip on using Tumblr-style link posts in WordPress!

Usually, when I finish reading a tech book, I think I wish it’d covered whatever better, but this book left no room for missing information.  You’re supposed to point out where books came short in reviews, but I couldn’t find anything to critique.  450 pages of content, up to date information, full-color graphics, and free updates in the future … what’s not to love?  If you’re wanting to learn more about WordPress, this is the book to get!

Win a Free Copy of Digging Into WordPress

[box type="info"]Update: Our contest is now closed, and the winners are Roger and jawshua. Thanks everyone for participating!

Best of all, we’re giving away 2 PDF copies of Digging Into WordPress!  To enter, simply leave a comment below and let us know why you want to read Digging into WordPress, or follow us on Twitter (@techinch for just Techinch posts, or @maguay for more random tech stuff and interesting posts), and tweet the following or just click Tweet at the bottom of this post:

Win a free copy of Digging into WordPress from @techinch! http://bit.ly/digwp3

Important: Make sure to mention @maguay or @techinch in the Tweet, or we may not see it and won't be able to count it in this contest!

Want a better chance at winning?  Leave a comment and retweet this post for 2 entries!  The contest closes at midnight Friday, September 10th, EST time, so make sure to comment before then.

And a special thanks to Chris Coyier and Jeff Starr, the authors of Digging into WordPress, for sponsoring this contest.

Purchase Digging into WordPress

If you don’t win the contest, don’t despair.  You can still purchase a copy and learn all the great tips yourself.  The eBook version costs $27, and comes with fully free updates.  Digging into WordPress has already gone through 3 major versions, and if you purchased a previous version, you automatically got a new copy for download as soon as it came out.  It even includes several WordPress themes for free!  This all makes it one of the best WordPress book deals available.  You’ll be able to take advantage of all the tips and information in the current version, and will be able to keep your knowledge up to date as WordPress evolves!

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Jump Back and Forth in a PDF in Adobe Reader

Have you ever clicked a link to another page in a PDF, only to have to scroll for forever to find the page you started at when you were done? If you’re using Adobe Reader, there’s no back or forward button in the toolbar, so without digging there’s no way to just go back. You could click View > Go To > Previous View, but that’s way too much trouble.

You might notice that the Go To menu shows you keyboard shortcuts for going back and forward: Alt+Left Arrow or Alt+Right Arrow, respectively. Or, you can just add the Previous and Next buttons to the toolbar. To do this, right-click the toolbar and select More Tools.

Scroll down to Page Navigation Toolbar, and check the Previous and Next button’s boxes to select them.

When you’ve made your selections, click Ok to close the dialog. Now you’ll see new Back and Forward buttons in your toolbar.

So let’s see how this works. Here I’m looking at the index for Digging into WordPress, and I clicked a link to jump to that page in the PDF.

Nice. Now I’ve seen what I needed, and want to go back to the Table of Contents. A click Back click, and I’m back where I started.

Once again, this isn’t an amazing, breakthrough feature, but it is a small thing that can make Adobe Reader a little nicer. As I find myself spending more time using my netbook as an eBook reader, these are the kinds of things that can make study, research, and more easier and simpler.

Do you have any Adobe Reader tips that are often overlooked? Feel free to let us know in the comments!

Backup Your Computer to Amazon S3 With Cloudberry

Would you like to backup your computer to make sure your data is always available no matter what happens?  There are many ways to backup your computer, but the only way to make sure your data won’t get lost or destroyed is to store it in the cloud.  Cloudberry makes it easy to backup your whole computer to a variety of online storage services, so let’s see how you can use it to backup your computer to Amazon S3.

Cloudberry Backup is a great application that makes backing up your data online as easy as backing it up to a DVD or external hard drive.  We’ve previous covered how you can use Cloudberry to Backup Your Data to Windows Azure.  We’re now going to look at backing up your computer to Amazon S3, which previously required a different version of Cloudberry Backup.  The new 1.7 update, however, added all the backup options to all versions of Cloudberry backup, so you won’t have to worry about which version to buy.  If you’re just getting started, you can get this version today, or if you’ve already purchased Cloudberry, you’ll have access to the new features for free once you’ve updated.

Setting Up Cloudberry Backup

Of course you’ll first need to install Cloudberry backup on your computer.  Once you’ve purchased it or downloaded a trial, install it as normal.

Then, when you first run it, enter your email address and license key, and click Activate.  Alternately, if you’re installing it as a trial, click Request Trial at the bottom instead of entering your license key.

After a few moments, you’ll be notified that your copy of Cloudberry is activated.  Click Ok to get started.

You’ll be greeted with the launch screen as it loads.  Note that now it doesn’t say what storage service it’s designed for, as the new 1.7 version includes support for all of the available storage options.

Now you’ll see the Cloudberry interface, where you can start your backup and keep your data secure.

Start Your Backup on Amazon S3

Now you can start backing up your computer online.  Click Setup Backup Plan to get started.

Click Next to start setting up your backup plan.

Select the backup plan you’d like to use.  Advanced Mode offers many special Cloudberry features, such as backing up files larger than 5Gb, resuming failed uploads, and encrypting data.  The Simple mode, on the other hand, offers less features, but you may find it preferable since you can access your files on S3 with any S3 tools.

Once you’ve chosen the plan you want, select the Cloud Storage service you’d like to use.  We’re selecting Amazon S3 in this test, but again, you can now use the same version to backup to Azure and several other services as well.  Select Create a new account if you haven’t added your Cloud Storage info to Cloudberry yet.

For you S3 account, you’ll need to enter your Display name, Access key, and Secret key.  If you don’t know where to find this info, or still need to setup your Amazon S3 account, checkout our article about How to Setup Your Amazon S3 Account.

Now, select the files and folders you’d like to backup.  Most of the files you’ll want to backup will be in your Users folder, though feel free to select any folder that’s mission-critical for you!

You can then select to backup all the files in the folders, or to skip certain files.  If you already have an existing backup and only want to backup new files, the new 1.7 version now lets you choose to only backup files created after a certain time.

Next you can choose to compress your files to save storage space, and if you chose Advanced mode previously, you can choose to encrypt your files as well.  You can also select to use Reduced Redundancy Storage on Amazon S3 from this page.  This lets you store files for only $0.10/Gb/month, versus the standard $0.15/Gb/month, though your files will not be stored as redundantly on S3.  This is generally a fine option for standard personal backups, and I personally use it.

The next page is one of the most interesting.  You can choose to keep multiple versions of files so you can access previous versions and revert changes, and you can also select to have files that were deleted locally deleted online after a certain amount of time.  This is a new option to the 1.7 version, and is a great help at keeping your backups manageable while still letting you recover accidently changed or deleted files.

Now choose the schedule you want your backup to run on, and you can specify the time down to the minute.  This is another new feature in the 1.7 version, and it’s very nice to be able to plan your online backups this much.

Cloudberry can automatically send you an email when you backups are complete or fail.  Enter your info if you’d like to activate this feature.

You’re almost finished now.  Enter a name for your backup plan, and click Next.

CloudBerry will now present you with an overview of your backup plan.  If everything looks correct, click Next to finish.

You’ll now see your new Backup plan listed under the Backup Plans tab.  Click Run Backup Now to start backing up your data immediately.

You’ll be able to see CloudBerry’s progress as it uploads and backups your files to Amazon S3 or other cloud storage accounts you may have chosen.  You can pause or stop backups as well if you realize something is wrong.  Do note that uploading your entire backup may take a fair amount of time, especially if you have a lot of data on your computer.  It may be a good idea to start your backup at night or another time you don’t need your computer, and let it run unattended as it will take several hours to upload the files.

You can also follow the backup progress from your taskbar.  Simply hover over the CloudBerry icon to see how the backup is going.

Once your files are backed up, you can browse them from the Backup Storage tab.  Here you can see each individual file and folder stored in your Amazon S3 account.

If you realize later you don’t need some of the files on your backup, simply select them, right-click and select Delete Selected Items so they’ll stop taking up space in your online storage.  You can also restore individual files this way, so if you accidently delete a file you can always quickly restore it.

For the most part though, you shouldn’t need to worry too much about your data taking up too much space.  Amazon S3 storage costs $0.15/Gb/month, and an equal amount for uploading and downloading data.  And, if you chose the reduced redundancy option, you’ll only pay $0.10/Gb/month for data storage.  This means you’ll spend the most the first month, but after that you’ll likely spend at most a couple dollars a month on S3.  You can store 20Gb for $2/month on the reduced redundancy plan, or $3/month on the standard plan.  Not too bad, considering you’ll be almost absolutely certain you’ll never lose your backups!

Conclusion

No matter how wired your home and office are, today most of us keep some of our most valuable documents and memories in digital form.  There’s no reason to risk your computer dying and losing all of your important files; with cloud computing, you can make sure you can still get your important files even if you lost all of your backup files since you can never lose the cloud.  CloudBerry makes it affordable and simple to get started backing up your files online.  Amazon S3 generally works out the cheapest right now, but Windows Azure is very similarly priced and is easy to setup for backup as well.  Now you can backup to either service you want, or even both, from the same version of CloudBerry, so you don’t have to worry about making the wrong choice.  The only wrong choice now is to not backup your files!

CloudBerry Backup costs $29.99, and updates are free, so if you’ve already purchased CloudBerry you’ll be able to get the latest 1.7 version absolutely for free!  Amazon S3 and Azure are both free to setup, and will only cost once you have data stored in them.

Purchase CloudBerry Backup And Start Backing Up Your Computer Online Today

More Links

• Find out more about CloudBerry Backup
• Setup Your Amazon S3 Account
• Backup Your Computer to Windows Azure with CloudBerry

AutoCAD LT 2011 | Activation and Registration

AutoCAD LT 2011 nicely offers a 30 day trial that’s full-featured, and even if you already own a full copy of AutoCAD LT 2011 it may be a good idea to run on the trial for a bit to make sure everything is set up perfectly.  As mentioned in the article on Installing AutoCAD, you’ll be prompted to activate or continue in trial mode each time you open the program.  You’ll be able to see how many days you have left until you’ll have to activate your copy.

You can click Try to continue in Trial mode, but you’ll see the prompt the next time you launch the program.  Once you’re ready to activate, simply click the Activate button on the bottom right of this dialog.  AutoCAD will immediately start the activation process over the internet.

Login with your Autodesk User ID, or if you don’t have one, click Create User ID Now.

Fill out the form with your personal information, and select a User ID and Password.  Near the bottom, you can choose if you’d like to receive news and updates from Autodesk.  Click Next to continue.

You may have to wait a few moments while AutoCAD activation contacts the servers and makes sure your user ID is available.

Next, select whether this copy of AutoCAD is being registered to an individual or a company, and enter the correct information.

Autodesk may send back a corrected version of your address with a full, extended zip code or corrected street names.  Accept the corrections if they’re ok, or go back to edit your info.

Now that your account is setup, select it and click Next to activate your software to this account.

Moments later, you’ll see this screen letting you know that your product has been successfully licensed.  If you’d like to see your registration information, click the html link on the left; otherwise, click Finish to close the window.

You’ll now notice that AutoCAD now says NOT FOR RESALE on the top of the window, instead of Unregistered.

Now that your copy of AutoCAD is fully licensed, you can use it as long as you want without restrictions.  This copy is now registered to the computer it’s installed on, but you can move your license temporarily or permanently to another computer if you need.  We’ll show you how to do this with the License Transfer Utility in an upcoming article.

If you haven’t already read our other AutoCAD article, be sure to check them out, and check back for more soon!

• Get AutoCAD, 3ds Max, Maya, and more for free from the Autodesk Education Community
• AutoCAD LT 2011 | Unboxing
• AutoCAD LT 2011 | Installation and Setup

Page.ly | Full WordPress Power Without Hosting Nightmares

Are you wanting to start a new WordPress-powered website, but need more power and flexibility than WordPress.com offers?  WordPress.com is a great place to start out blogging, and it even works great for simple, small business websites, but if you want to take advantage of the ecosystem of amazing themes and plugins available for WordPress, you’ll have to move to self-hosted WordPress.org.  This means you’ll need to find a hosting company, install WordPress, and then configure it to be as secure as possible.  It’s not too hard if you’re a geek, but if you’re just wanting a website that just works, it’ll likely take way more configuration and tweaking than you’ll want.

Enter Page.ly.  Page.ly is a dedicated WordPress.org hosting service that let’s you setup a full WordPress website in minutes.  It’s as easy purchasing a book from Amazon; simply enter your info, and seconds later your WordPress site will  be setup.  And it’s not limited like WordPress.com; you’ve got the full power of WordPress.org at your fingertips, running on secure FireHost with nighly backups.  You won’t need to setup MySQL databases, change .htaccess files, or even install standard plugins … everything’s setup for you and maintained automatically!  WordPress is famous for being easy to install, but it’s only easy to install if you know what you’re doing; otherwise it can be rather difficult.

So how does it really work?  Check out this video from Page.ly to see how easy it is to setup a new WordPress-powered site:

That’s easy!  Signup, get extra premium themes and features, add some posts, and you’re set! Now, if you already know the ins and outs of running webapps, or want to learn more and put your knowledge to the test, then running your own WordPress setup on a hosting account (such as DreamHost) may be the best option.  But most users simply want to get a website up and running, and don’t care about the technical details.  Page.ly is a great option for this.  You get the power and simplicity of WordPress without the headache of managing a hosting service and keeping your site secure. Page.ly costs $14.95/month, which for full hosting, support, and backup is not a bad price.  But, you just might not have to even pay that, because Page.ly is currently running a 1st year birthday giveaway, including 2 free iPads and several free-for-life Page.ly accounts.  Head over to their blog for more info, so you can get a shot at a free site and an iPad! Or, if you’d like to go ahead and get your new site on Page.ly, feel free to Signup Today!

P.S. - I haven’t personally tried it out (though I’d love to if I won the contest ;) ), so let me know how Page.ly works for your!  Here at Techinch I aim to make technology simpler for everyone, and Page.ly has definitely made WordPress.org simpler to use.  That’s always a good thing!

Get AutoCAD, 3ds Max, Maya, and more for free from the Autodesk Education Community

Want to start designing the next skyscrapers, green cars, or blockbuster animated films?  Here’s how you can get all the Autodesk tools you need absolutely for free while you’re in college!

With the rising cost of college tuition and textbooks, students are being squeezed for funds on every end.  Thankfully there’s one major area that being a student really can help you save money: software.  Most companies offer steep discounts on software for students.  Lately, though, many companies have began offering programs for free to students online.  We’ve already covered how you can get free design and development programs from Microsoft with Dreamspark, so let’s look at Autodesk’s similar program that lets college students get an amazing amount of programs for free!

Get Signed Up

It’s easy to register for the Autodesk Education Community if you’re a currently enrolled student or facility member of a college or university.  Head to the Autodesk Student website (link below), and click the Join the community today link on the front page.

Enter your information in the form as normal.  Make sure to select Student in the drop-down menu if you’re a current student, and enter your student email address and ID number.  Click Submit at the bottom of the form to finish your registration.

You’ll now be informed that your registration is complete, so go check your email for the activation link.

You should receive the email within minutes, though if you don’t see it, check your spam folder.  Once you’ve got the email, click the link in it to activate your account.

Congratulations … you’re now a member of the Autodesk Education Community!  Autodesk will ask you to invite your friends to the program, but you can skip this if you want.  Click the Take me to the website! button at the bottom to access your new account.

You may see a notification informing you of the new features in the Education community.  You can select to make your profile public as well so you can share your Autodesk design work with family, friends, and more.  Or, just click Continue to access the student website.

Downloading Autodesk Software

Once you’re signed in, you’re all ready to start getting new software to use.  Click the Go to Download Center link to get started.

You’ll be presented with 25 different Autodesk products to choose from, and you can download and install as many of them as you like!  As you may notice, some of the programs are available from both Windows and Mac OS, though most Autodesk software is only available for PCs right now.

Once you’ve found a product you want to download, select the version you want to get it.

Now you can download the program you’ve selected, and get a serial number to activate your product.  Most of these downloads are very large, so they may take several hours to download, depending on your internet connection.

Many of the programs are not time limited, but they are all student editions and are only licensed for educational and personal use.  Some of them, however, such as 3ds Max and Maya, are limited to a 13-month license.  This is still plenty of time to use it in several classes and advance your 3d modeling skills.

The Autodesk Education Community

The Autodesk Education Community is more than just a place to get free software.  It’s also a great portal to learn more about how to use Autodesk programs so you’ll have the edge in your field when you graduate.  You can also network with fellow students here, share your designs and portfolios, and learn from your peers.

You can even find out which programs are popular at your school, and see profiles of your classmates and what programs they’re using.  This might be a great way to find students with similar interests to collaborate on projects!

Conclusion

No matter what you’re wanting to design, the 25 products available from Autodesk for free should give you a huge jumpstart on your education and future career.  As noted before, these programs are only licensed for educational and personal use, and will mark your saved files as such, but it’s still an amazing amount of programs.  Whether you’re required to use one of these programs in your classes or would simply like to try it out and expand your knowledge, there’s tons here to explore.  Check out our recent reviews of AutoCAD 2011 LT for more info about Autodesk programs as well!  Let us know in the comments what Autodesk programs you’re excited about trying out!

Register for the Autodesk Education Community today!

As mentioned before, we’ve covered some other amazing student deals here before, so check them out as well if you haven’t already:

• Get Expression Studio 4, Visual Studio 2010, and Server 2008 R2 for Free
• Upgrade to Office 2010 and Windows 7 the Cheap and Easy Way
• Free Windows 7 eBooks and guides from Microsoft

Add Missing Features to Photoshop Elements With Elements+

Were you disappointed to find that Photoshop Elements doesn’t contain some of the features you need?  Photoshop Elements is a great, economical solution to full Photoshop, but it’s missing some vital tools you may need to use with your images.  Whether you’re trying to view layers inside groups, edit color curves directly, or use layer masks, you may have already been frustrated at some of the limitations in this otherwise excellent program.

That’s where Elements+ comes in.  Elements+ is a $12 addon for Photoshop Elements that unlocks some hidden features and gives your copy of Elements new functionality.  Elements+ is available for all versions of Photoshop Elements for Windows and Mac OS X, so even if you’re still using an older version you can take advantage of the extra features this tool will unlock for you.  Let’s look at how you can setup and use these tools in Photoshop Elements.

Please Note: Here you’ll see Elements+ running in Photoshop Elements 8 on Windows 7, but the process is the same on any OS or version of Elements.

Setup Elements+

First, you’ll need to purchase a copy of Elements+.  Head over to their website (link below), select the version of Photoshop Elements you own, and purchase as normal.  Once the purchase is done, you’ll receive an email with a link to download your copy; click the link in the email and save the installer to your computer.

If you’re not certain which version of Photoshop Elements you’re using, open Photoshop Elements, select Help in the menu, and then click About Photoshop Elements.

This will open a splash screen that shows which version you’re running.  As mentioned before, I’m using Photoshop Elements 8 in this article as you can see below.

Once it’s downloaded, you’re ready to install Elements+ on your computer.  Close Photoshop Elements if you have it open, and then run the installer as normal.

Note that Elements+ will install itself into the main Photoshop Elements program folder so Photoshop Elements can access the new tools.

The installer will also ask to create a desktop icon for the Elements+ documentation.  It may be a good idea to let the installer place this icon on your desktop even if you don’t usually, as this will be the easiest way to see the Elements+ help files.  Feel free to move the shortcut elsewhere after the install is finished if you like.

The installation only took a few minutes, and once it’s finished you can run Photoshop Elements and check out your new tools.  Let Photoshop sit for a few minutes after opening it, as it has to rebuild its icon cache before you can use it.  This took about 5 minutes for me, but this may vary depending on your computer.  You’ll know it’s ready when your computer quits showing the program is busy (clever trick, I know!).

Using Elements+

To find the new tools from Elements+, select the blue square Photo Effects button in the Effects gallery on the right side, and then select Elements+ in the drop-down menu.

This will show 8 new effects in the pallet that you can choose from, though each of these effects actually contain a number of tools.  Photoshop Elements doesn’t let you see the effect names, so you’ll need to hover over each one to see what it does.  The tools include:

1. 1. Color and Tone
   2. Selections
   3. Layers
   4. Masks
   5. Smart Filters
   6. Paths
   7. Text
   8. Scripts

For more info on what each one contains, check out the Elements+ online help file.

Just like any other Photoshop Elements Effect, click the Elements+ effect you want, drag it and then drop it on the image you’re editing.

Unlike most effects, the Elements+ effects will open a dialog where you can select extra tools.  Some of these are custom-built tools included in Elements+, while others simply activate hidden features in Photoshop Elements.  Depending on the effect you selected, a different Elements+ dialog will appear; here you see the dialog that opens when you drag the Color & Tone effect to your image.  Double-click the option you want to activate it.

Photoshop Elements includes a hidden Curves tool that you can activate with this tool.  Notice in the above dialog that you can select RGB or the individual colors, and then double-click Curves to open the nice curves tool you see below.  Not as advanced as the full Photoshop Curves tool, but still much nicer than the built-in Elements curves tool.

There are tons of tools you can explore in Elements+.  Want to quickly create a layer mask, or isolate an image from its transparent background?  Try the Selections effect.

Double-click on Load Layer Opacity, and the non-transparent part of your image will be selected.

With another double-click, we can mask the selection.  Very useful, and it only took a couple seconds.

One problem I quickly hit in Photoshop Elements was using layered PSD files.  I enjoy tweaking WordPress themes, and most professional themes included layered PSD files that you can edit and tweak to style your theme like you want.  Only problem is, most layered PSDs include the layers in layer groups, and Photoshop Elements can’t open layer groups by default!

Elements+ fixes this problem.  Drag the Layers effect onto your layered PSD file, and a new Layers dialog will open.  You’ll see all of your layer groups on the left side.  Double-click Ungroup Current Set to see all the layers in this group.

Do note that this tools is somewhat resource intensive, and took a few minutes to load on larger PSD files.

After a few moments, you’ll see your new layers open under the Layer Group folder on your Layers panel.  You can now tweak and edit them as you wish, and even re-group them with the Layers tool when you’re finished!  This tool alone is more than worth the cost of the plugin if you need to edit layered PSD files from others often.

Another nice feature for web designers is the Text tool in Elements+.  Here you can convert text into a path or shape, set anti-aliasing settings, and more.

The Scripts effect gives you the ability to extend Elements+ with your own scripts or those you find online.  There are some handy pre-installed scripts included as well that can let you batch process images, stamp images with meta data, and more.  You’ll also find some Elements+ stuff in here too, such as Options and a link to the website.

That’s just a quick sampling of the features included in Elements+.  Feel free to explore Elements+’s online help to see more, or just go ahead and purchase it so you can take advantage of the features for yourself!

Conclusion

While Elements+ won’t turn your copy of Photoshop Elements into a full-blown copy of Photoshop CS5, it does unlock some handy features that will make your design life easier.  I’ve been amazed at how powerful and fast Photoshop Elements 8 is, and use it as my primary image editor for personal photos and images I use in writing.  One problem I’d run into with web development was working with layered PSD files in WordPress theme files in Elegant Themes and other themes, so Elements+ has let me take full advantage of my themes by letting me open layered PSD files.  Try it out, and let us know in the comments what Elements+ feature is essential for you!

Want to know more about Photoshop Elements itself?  Check out all the features in my new review of Photoshop Elements 8 on How-to Geek!

Links:

• Get More Info About Elements+

• Purchase Elements+

• Purchase Photoshop Elements from Amazon.com

What Features Do You Want in Windows 8?

Last fall, Microsoft launched Windows with commercials stating that Windows 7 was my idea, so it seems like a good idea to let Microsoft know what we the users want to see in Windows 8.  A number of technology blogs are currently running a survey from Michael Pietroforte to let their readers all give feedback on different features they’d like to see in the next version of Windows, and I’m excited to let Techinch readers join in as well.

Features:

Here’s the features that’ve been featured in this poll.  Read through them if you’re not sure what to vote, or just skip ahead and vote if you’re a Windows geek and already are certain what you want.

New user interface

Android and iOS are good examples of operating systems with innovative user interface models. Even more revolutionary will be Windows 7 Phone. These examples show that OS interfaces beyond the Windows Start Menu and the Windows Taskbar are possible.

Support for different form factors

Support for different form factors, such as tablets and netbooks, includes the ability to run Windows with minimal hardware requirements and on devices with small screen sizes (as small as 5''). Optimization for touch, the ability to run Windows without mouse and keyboard, and orientation detection are other essential features.

More modularity

Linux is a good example of a modular operating system. It allows you to install only those OS components you really need. This would require a package manager that resolves software dependencies. The advantages of more modularity are lower hardware requirements, a reduced attack surface, and simplified patch management.

Third-party patch management

Third-party management would allow you to update common Windows applications of third-party vendors through Microsoft's online update service. Linux has this feature for as long as I can remember.

Bare metal hypervisor

A bare metal hypervisor would enable you to run multiple Windows installations simultaneously on a PC. You could move your virtualized Windows installation with all applications to another PC or to a VDI environment by simply copying the virtual system drive.

Application virtualization

Virtualized applications run in an isolated environment that ensures no modifications to the OS are made during installation and at runtime. Application virtualization can solve compatibility issues and improves security.

Application streaming

Application streaming allows you to launch a Windows application from a remote server, for example, through the web, without the need to install the application manually. Application streaming solutions usually leverage application virtualization. An application streaming Windows API would enable third-party software vendors to offer Windows applications through the web.

Windows Store

Like Apple's App Store, Windows Store would allow you to buy and download third-party applications that have been approved by Microsoft.

Windows Restore Button

If you messed up your Windows installation, this feature would enable you to restore Windows to its original state without losing your data and without the need to reinstall all your applications.

Cloud APIs

Third-party software vendors could allow you to use cloud APIs to add cloud features to their applications. For instance, a web browser vendor could store your bookmarks, plugins, and browser settings in Microsoft's cloud or in the cloud of a third-party provider. That way, all your settings and data would automatically be available on every Windows machine you log on to.

New authentication methods

Wouldn't it be cool if you could log on to Windows or an online service with a smile at your web cam (facial recognition), with a friendly "Hi, it's me" (voice recognition), or by just touching your beloved PC (fingerprint recognition)? Biometrics applications have already been available for a while, but they will only have a fair chance of being adopted in the Windows ecosystem if Microsoft fully integrates these functions into Windows.

Instant-On

Instant-On means that Windows wouldn't have to boot up when you turn on your PC. Considering that computers are becoming more and more an integral part of our daily life, this could be an interesting feature for home users in particular. It is probably a must-have feature for tablets.

Malware protection

If Windows were delivered with integrated malware protection, every PC would be protected right after the installation, which would make the whole Internet a safer place. Third-party vendors could offer services such as antivirus signatures and antivirus applications that run on top of the Windows malware scanning engine. This would also reduce notorious compatibility problems with antivirus scanning engines and would even allow you to run multiple antivirus applications at the same time.

Better UAC

Compared to Sudo in the Linux world, UAC (User Account Control) is a fairly simple security privilege solution. A UAC with more configuration options could improve security, especially in business environments.

Migration from Windows XP

Windows XP is a very popular operating system and it will still probably run on many computers even when Windows 8 is released. These Windows customers would appreciate a seamless migration from Windows XP to Windows 8.

Better compatibility

Better compatibility includes better hardware and software compatibility with legacy hardware and software.

Better security

If you think that Microsoft should focus on improving the security features of Windows 8, then you should vote for this option.

Better performance

Speed is always important. If it matters most in your environment, then you should tell Microsoft now.

Less hardware requirements

If you intend to run Windows 8 on old computers, then you need a Windows 8 which requires only minimal hardware.

Less bloat

Some people think that Windows already has too many features and would prefer a slim Windows 8.

Vote!

Ready to vote?  Select the number of stars you want by each item to show how important it is to you.  Don’t care about a feature?  Give it one star.  You’ll die without this feature, or switch to a Mac?  Better give that feature 5 stars.  Here you go:

Thanks for Voting!

This exact same poll is being run on all the following sites, so if you’ve already answered there, please don’t vote again.  Otherwise, sound off, and let’s tell Microsoft what we want in Windows 8.  If you’d like, tell us in the comments what you chose so we can discuss the most popular features!

And thanks for creating this poll and letting us all participate, Michael Pietroforte!

Participating Blogs:

Demonic Talking Skull - I'M A UC BLOG - markwilson.it - msigeek - Standalone Sysadmin – Techinch (hello!) - Teching It Easy: with Windows - The Experience Blog - The things that are better left unspoken - The Windows Club - WindowsObserver - WindowsPro - Within Windows - 7tutorials - 4sysops

Setup an Amazon S3 Account

Whether you’re developing a website with millions of daily viewers or simply are trying to keep your college finals from getting lost, it can be hard to always have your files accessible.  High traffic sites need plenty of storage and bandwidth to keep their sites accessible no matter what, and the rest of us need our personal files and documents to be saved and backed up so we’ll always be able to access them even if disaster strikes our hard drives.

Amazon S3 is an online file storage service that manages to meet the needs of all these groups and more.  S3 stands for Simple Storage Service, and it truly is easy to use once you’re started.  You can store as little or as much data as you need, download it as many or few times as you want, and make it fully private or accessible to the public, all with this one service.  And it’s priced to work for everyone.  Storage costs start at $0.15/Gb/month for standard, 99.999999999% guaranteed storage, or just $.10/Gb/month for 99.99% guaranteed storage.  Uploading and downloading files start at $.15/GB of transfer as well.  The more you store or transfer, the more your prices will go down.  So whether you’re wanting to backup your family pictures or host the images on your website, S3 can scale to fit your needs.

The great thing is, it’s not hard to use.  Let’s see how to get registered for an S3 account, and then we’ll look at how to take advantage of your cloud storage in upcoming articles.

Signup For Amazon S3

When you’re ready to signup for an S3 account, head over to the Amazon S3 webpage and click the Sign Up button.  You can also look around at the information on the page before you signup to get a better feel for what Amazon S3 has to offer.

Sign in with your Amazon account, or if you don’t already have one, click I am a new user and signup for a new Amazon account.

Now you’ll be asked to enter your contact information.  If you already have purchased items through Amazon, your address may be pre-entered, though you can click Select a different address if you wish to use a different one on this account.  You’ll also need to enter your company or website name; you can use any personal site here, or even a free WordPress.com or Tumblr blog if you don’t have a professional website.  Finally, accept the AWS Customer Agreement, and click Continue.

You’ll now be asked to enter your payment info, though again, if you have an Amazon account it may show the cards that you have listed on your account already.  Do note that you will not be charged for setting up your account; in fact, you will not receive any charge until you are storing files in the service.

Finally, review everything you’ve entered, and if it is correct, click Complete Sign Up.

Once you’re finished, Amazon will let you know that it’s activating your S3 service, and will email you when your account is ready.  My account was activated within minutes, but this can take up to a few hours depending on your circumstances.

As soon as your account is ready to use, you’ll receive an email letting you know.

Access Your S3 Account Online

It’s easy to get started using your online storage.  Just head back to the Amazon S3 site, but this time, click the Sign in to the AWS Management Console link on the top of the page.  Or, click the link below to access the S3 Management Console directly.

Enter your Amazon account info you used to signup for the account, and click Sign in.

If you clicked the link in the Amazon S3 page, by default it will take you to the Amazon EC2 dashboard, so click the Amazon S3 tab to access your S3 account.  The direct link listed below will take you to S3 directly.

Create a Bucket to Store Files In

Most of us only use buckets for water and sand, in S3, you use Buckets to store your files as well.  You can think of a bucket like a drive on your computer, such as C: on your computer.  You’ll need to create a bucket before you can use your account, so click the Create Bucket button on the left.

Enter a unique name for your bucket, and choose a location in the world to store your data.  Amazon has servers around the world to store your data in, so choose a region near you for faster access, or near your customers or visitors if you’re serving files for a website.  If you can’t find a name that works, check the S3 Bucket Naming documentation.

You can choose to setup logging so you’ll always know when files are uploaded and downloaded, or just click Create to continue.

Wait a few moments as Amazon S3 creates your bucket.

Once it’s created, you’ll see it in the list on the left side.  You can now upload files to it from the blue Upload button, or right-click it to see the bucket’s properties or to delete it.  We’ll explore more about the S3 Management Console in an upcoming article.

Getting Your Amazon S3 Access Identifiers

To use your S3 account with backup and archival applications such as CloudBerry Backup and Jungle Disk or website plugins such as W3 Total Cache or BackupBuddy, you’ll need to get your S3 Access Identifiers.  Click the link in the email you received from Amazon, or click the link below to get your S3 Access Identifiers.  Login as before, and then scroll down to see your Access Key ID.  Copy it, and paste it into the application you need to use with S3.

You’ll usually need your Secret Access Key as well, so click the Show link and then copy this code from the popup as well.  Make sure to keep these keys private, as they’re the secret pass to access your account through an application.

Conclusion

So that’s you you can get started with Amazon S3.  It’s quite easy to get started with S3, and we didn’t have any trouble getting our account setup and running.  We’ll be looking at ways you can use this online storage in upcoming posts, so experiment with it and check back here soon for more S3 info!

Or, if you’re interested in Microsoft’s new Windows Azure cloud computing system, check out our post about Getting Started With Windows Azure.  It works great for backing up your files online, too, with CloudBerry for Windows Azure.  There’s lots of options in the cloud today, so you can pick the solution that works best for you!

Links

• Get More Info About Amazon S3 and Signup
• Access Your S3 Management Console
• Get Your S3 Access Identifiers