iolo news

Our friends at iolo technolgies had some interesting news today:

iolo technologies, LLC, named the fastest-growing company in the U.S. by the American Business Awards in both 2010 and 2009, today announced it has been awarded a new patent from the United States Patent and Trademark Office for its ActiveCare® technology. ActiveCare, a unique system and method for proactively monitoring computer performance and automatically repairing and optimizing system configurations during idle periods, is one of the many industry-first innovations for the company recognized as the technological leader in computer performance and reliability.

The newly patented ActiveCare technology works transparently when a computer is idle and intelligently tunes the machine for peak performance without slowing it down, consuming vital foreground resources, or interrupting users with indiscriminately scheduled tasks or messages. A significant leap forward in proactive technology, ActiveCare uses a sophisticated method to sense when the computer is on but not being used and performs a battery of background system analyses that can then trigger specific associated optimization, maintenance or repair actions in real time to target and preemptively correct even slight degradations in performance or stability. If the computer user initiates any other tasks during that time, ActiveCare silently terminates any active processes and full control is returned to the user. By only running when a computer is idle and only running the optimizations and repairs that are specifically needed in real-time, ActiveCare solves the problem of ineffective and obtrusive schedule-based maintenance, which by design fails to proactively resolve problems as they occur, while representing the ongoing hassle of foreground workflow interruptions.

“The ActiveCare approach has truly revolutionized PC maintenance for the millions of people who rely on iolo to keep their computers running like new. This new patent once again affirms iolo’s commitment to technological innovation and leadership in performance software,” said Noah T. Rowles, iolo technologies’ founder and CEO and co-inventor of the patent.

The patented technology embodied within ActiveCare is one of the many reasons behind the effectiveness of iolo’s flagship software product, System Mechanic, which remains the #1 best-selling PC performance software in the North America and other key markets according to NPD and similar sources. The recipient of hundreds of industry awards, System Mechanic has been used by more than 32 million users worldwide to tune up more than 75 million computers since 1998.

www.iolo.com

Free software (my favorite kind!)

We received this offer today and want to pass it on:

Now people can get free JPG To PDF Converter giveaway licenses to create PDF documents from scanned images.

JPGToPDFConverter.com today launches their free 30-Day Giveaway for the fast image-to-PDF converter product - JPG To PDF Converter at http://www.jpgtopdfconverter.com/giveaway.html. The free giveaway will be closed on March 22, 2011. During this time JPG To PDF Converter is for free for all users and visitors.

PDF is the most popular format for digital archiving in the world. Normally PDF files are created by virtual printer; however it is not easy to create PDF documents from multiple scanned images. JPG To PDF Converter is a windows application that quickly converts multiple images into a single PDF document without virtual printing.

JPG to PDF Converter supports the majority of modern graphic formats, including GIF, BMP, TIF, PNG, JPG, ICO and PSD. Users can control the compression ratio of PDF files for optimal quality/size balance and specify such PDF file properties as title, creation date, subject and keywords.

"JPG to PDF Converter has a simple interface that will take seconds to get used to and will allow even novices to efficiently create lightweight PDF documents from multiple image files." Alex, the chief editor of 3D2F.com said.

The giveaway is 100% free and full functional. Giveaway promotion page:

http://www.jpgtopdfconverter.com/giveaway.html

Latest US Cellular deals

Here are the latest super-deals from US Cellular:

Through March 10, U.S. Cellular is offering two Buy-One-Get-Five deals on its popular Android-powered phones and messaging phones. Customers who buy a Samsung Mesmerize (a Galaxy S device) for just $99.99 can get up to five LG Optimus U smartphones free, or pick up one Samsung Messager Touch for $29.99 and get up to five Samsung Profiles free. On top of that, all of U.S. Cellular's Android-powered phones are under $100 and the carrier is offering a $100 Smartphone Activation Credit for every new line.

New Samsung lenses

We received an email from Samsung today announcing 5 new lenses for their compact interchangeable lens cameras. Here's part of the announcement:

Samsung Electronics Co. today announced five innovative new lenses for its NX camera system. The new lenses bring more premium innovation to the range, featuring class-leading technology such as a premium portrait lens and lenses for movie capturing, opening new creative avenues for NX users to explore.

All of the lenses are compatible with Samsung’s unique i-Function system, which helps users create powerful effects easily through quick and convenient controls. The new launches, along with the five lenses released in 2010, mean that there are now 10 high-performance lenses available for the NX system, making this one of the most comprehensive ranges available in the Compact System Camera (CSC) market. Samsung’s new lenses have been created to allow users to maximize the potential of their NX system cameras, achieve professional-looking results and enjoy taking photos whatever their level of photography experience.

The new lens range includes Samsung’s 18-200mm multi-purpose Long Zoom Lens. This model features modes which are optimized for creating high-quality movie content with a single lens. The new long zoom lens also has a fast, silent Auto-Focus due to Samsung’s use of Voice Coil Motor (VCM) technology, so users can capture important events without recording the sound of the camera’s AF. The lens also features Optical Image Stabilization (OIS) to cancel out any hand movement and deliver crisp, clear images, even when a subject is far away. 

The 18-200mm zoom should be available in May. 

We'll have information on the other lenses as they get closer to release.

March newsletter

The March edition of our newsletter goes out this morning. There's more CES coverage, some great reviews and even coverage of MacWorld! If you don't get your issue today just let me know and I'll email you a copy.

Clean Out Your Computer Day

I forgot to post this notice earlier this week. My darned Organizer let me down!! My apologies to our friends at iolo technologies. Here's the information:

I wanted to let you know about this funny coincidence: Feb 14 isn’t just Valentine’s Day this year – it’s also Clean Out Your Computer Day. (How romantic! The next time Clean Out Your Computer Day - originally started by Institute for Business Technology back in 2000 and falling on second Mon in February - will coincide with Valentine’s Day will be in 2022!

Since the opportunity comes only every 11 years, this Valentine’s Day, show your computer some TLC and stop neglecting this (also important) relationship. Few people take the time to proactively clean out computers, despite PCs’ widely recognized slowdowns and the wasted hours and the ‘hourglass syndrome’ frustrations they cause.

With more than 50 tools and 13,000 Tune-up Definitions, System Mechanic is the perfect way to celebrate Clean Out Your Computer Day. Its Whole Home Licensing keeps all your household computers in optimal operating condition and with such new tools as Program Accelerator or CRUDD Remover, it’ll jump-start your spring cleaning, removing frustrating clutter and speeding up your computer.

More stats and tips around this holiday are available at www.iolo.com/cleanoutday.

Photo lighting

We found out today that ProMark brands (Photogenic, Smith Victor, Coolux and Norman) have started a Social Media presence on Facebook. They will eventually have a lot of how-to videos on professional lighting for video and still, free educational materials, links to lighting articles, etc... Some will be contributed by ProMark, but they're also tapping in to their enormous database of pros to have user generated content. Several vids are in the works now and should be up soon.

If you have any suggestions for things you would like to see come out of a community of pro photographers and videographers just let me know and I'll pass the information on to them.

They are at: http://www.facebook.com/photogenic.professional.lighting