DigitalBuzz - Digital Life

Digital cameras are very similar to traditional cameras, although there is one crucial difference - digital cameras don’t use film! Instead, they record photos and video to a memory chip or card. Most are able to record short video clips (usually anywhere from 15 seconds up to 5 minutes and more), because video is nothing more than a fast transition of photos. At this point, you might be wondering how you get the photos out of the digital camera.

Most digital cameras come with a software interface that lets you decide how high quality the pictures should be and different settings depending on the light and environment. Through this interface, you can also delete photos and do basic photo and video editing. Most digital cameras come with a cable that connects directly to your computer, usually via USB. The camera instantly transfers the photos to a program installed on your computer. Once the photos are stored on your computer, you can print them, edit them, or e-mail them. If you want to print them the traditional way, you can take the memory card to a photo developer and they can print the images from the card as if you were giving them your film. Photo developers can also put your photos on a CD that includes a multimedia showcase of your photoset.

When shopping for a digital camera, the main specification you should be looking at are Megapixels. Computers store images electronically as a large combination of dots. When you have a good image on your screen or printed on paper, you often can’t see the dots because they’re packed very closely together, but they’re still there. Just as printed images are measured by dots per inch on paper, electronic images are measured by pixels (dots on your computer screen). A megapixel is defined as one million pixels. Modern cameras come with a resolution of 1-3 megapixels. If you are taking photos that don’t need to be printed out in high-quality resolution, 2 megapixels should be sufficient. Also consider the amount of memory the camera has. Most digital cameras have built-in memory and can accommodate external cards to store more photos. These cards are smaller than matchboxes and can store anywhere from 16MB to 1GB of data.

Deryck Richards is the founder and managing partner of Desktronix. With an extensive educational background in computer information systems, Deryck currently manages hosting and data center operations for Desktronix. He also provides system administration and technical support directly to small businesses as he has since 2000. His areas of expertise include networking, Windows, Linux, and Macintosh systems and he is the author of The Guide to Technology for Small Business. For more information on Desktronix, visit http://www.desktronix.com.

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Railroad service has been pretty much nonexistent in southwestern New Hampshire for decades as the automobile has replaced passenger service and eighteen-wheel tractor trailers have taken over most of the distribution of consumer goods.

About fifteen years ago someone, probably lusting after the copper content of the rails, tore up the tracks in the region. Almost no one noticed; snowmobile buffs welcomed the new trails, cyclists turned some of them into bike paths, and nobody else seemed to miss them or even realize that they were gone. Problem is, nobody remembered the region’s history, either.

In 1938, long before satellite warning systems warned people of threatening weather conditions, a sudden, major hurricane devastated the state’s Cheshire County. Acres upon acres of trees were uprooted and the roads and railways blocked by tree roots over twenty feet high, cutting the county off from the rest of the world. And the railroad cut through the debris first, clearing its tracks to provide the first access to the region from the outside. Considering this history, it seemed shortsighted to tear up the tracks.

What does any of this have to do with digital phone service?

It’s this: Digital phone service is being pushed aggressively by cable and satellite TV providers as part of a new bundling concept. The consumer gets to buy TV programming, Internet access, and digital phone service, presumably for substantial savings over the services if purchased separately.

Problem is, if the electrical power goes out, so does the phone service. While Verizon and other phone companies provide back-up power for their phone customers, cable and satellite TV companies do not. That means if for some reason a natural disaster or other problem causes a widespread power outage, there’s no calling friends and family to find out if they’re okay, no calling out to see if stores and other facilities are open and no 9-1-1. Your ability to get emergency services if you need them is gone.

Of course, the cable and satellite companies have to inform you of this, and they do; just read the extremely fine print at the bottom of that colorful ad they send you periodically.

In choosing digital phone service over the current system, we’re tearing up our telecommunications tracks with the encouragement of the federal government, who is pushing these changes along with digital TV programming. We need to be careful as we embrace the benefits of the newest technology that we don’t lose the safety net provided by the dual power infrastructure currently in use by our electrical and phone utilities. We need to insist that these digital phone services include back-up power that can be accessed by a traditional landline phone, so that in an emergency, we have at least some chance of communicating and getting the help we need.

Aldene Fredenburg is a freelance writer living in southwestern New Hampshire. She has written numerous articles for local and regional newspapers and for a number of Internet websites, including Tips and Topics. She expresses her opinions periodically on her blog, http://beyondagendas.blogspot.com

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Analogue is the process of taking an audio or video signal and then turning it into electronic pulses. Digital is the process of turning the signal into a binary format, represented by a string of 1’s and 0’s. Analogue technology has been around for a long time now. It really isn’t that complicated and is fairly inexpensive. The problem with analogue signals lies in their size limitations regarding the amount of data they can carry.

Because of the way digital works by breaking a signal into 1’s and 0’s and then re-assembling it exactly at the other end, it gives you clear and distortion free cordless conversations. A digital signal knows what it should be when it reaches the other end, through the arrangement of the binary code. This means it can correct any errors that may have occurred during the transmission of the data (signal). All this means that in most cases clarity of the signal is maintained, offering distortion free telephone conversations or clearer television pictures.

Digital technology is also more compact, allowing you to cram much more data into the same space as an analogue signal, meaning more features can be crammed into the digital signal. Though digital signals offer great clarity, they don’t always offer the same rich sound quality as analogue for now.

Cordless phones

Because of the way digital works by breaking a signal into 1’s and 0’s and then re-assembling it exactly at the other end. It gives you clear and distortion free cordless conversations. Digital cordless phones also encrypt the binary data during transmission, making your call safe from eavesdroppers. With digital more power can be applied to the signal allowing you greater range on cordless conversations.

If you are in a small office or in your home, it may be that you don’t require a big range and security isn’t an issue, in which case you may find that a cheaper analogue cordless system will fulfil your needs. Check out the features at the end of this article to help you decide if a digital cordless phone will benefit you. You will need to keep in mind that when using digital or analogue signals for cordless phone calls, the handsets themselves are still analogue devices that can only be used on analogue lines. Also the range of your cordless phone, whether using analogue or digital signals will always depend on the environment in which you are using it.

Phone systems

When considering which type of phone system is best suited to your business, digital or analogue. Many companies are now choosing hybrid systems, which allow you to use both digital and analogue peripherals, giving you the benefits of a digital system while offering the flexibility to implement any existing analogue equipment.

Benefits of digital and hybrid phone systems

1. Computer Telephony Integration (CTI) - Digital systems allow better implementation of Desk Top Assistant (DTA) software.

2. Allow you to integrate your telephone system with your computer network.

3. Offers greater clarity of call signal (no distortion).

4. Easily adapts to the use of DECT cordless technology, giving your employees the freedom to roam, while still receiving a clear distortion free signal.

5. Allow better integration with advanced features such as voicemail auto attendants and other call handling features.

Benefits of digital handsets

1. Allow better integration of advanced features such as voice mail and auto-attendants.

2. Offer greater internal memory for better call handling.

3. Caller Line Identification (CLI). Allowing you to view the
identity of any callers before answering the call.

4. Offer clear distortion free calling.

5. Offer high capacity name and number directories.

Benefits of digital (DECT) cordless handsets

1. DECT cordless offers increased range over analogue sets. Up to 50m indoors and up to 300 outdoors, which can be increased with the use of strategically placed repeaters.

2. DECT cordless offers better security through signal encryption, stopping eavesdroppers.

3. Offer clear distortion free calling.

4. Allows the use of extra handsets without the need for extra wiring.

5. Calls can be transferred between handsets.

6. Caller Line Identification (CLI). Allowing you to view the identity of any callers before answering the call.

7. Offer high capacity name and number directories.

Jason Morris is co-author, search engine optimization and marketing consultant of Business Phone Systems Direct. An established communications company, offering advice and implementation of high quality business phone systems.

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