I've never been to a comic expo in my life, and as i walked through the crowds, looked at all the costumes, shook the hands of my heros from decades long gone, I was amazed at how well I fit into this crowd. I came away with a real desire to do it all again ! When you look at the pictures here keep in mind that these were just the pictures that i could get and felt a need to take. what you see here is just a small sample of what was there and I would need a hundred web pages to show you everything I saw in three very short days.
*There are still games that will run on just about any system, don't take up much space, and they're just good clean fun ! I've been playing this game for years and it never gets old.The free version is fully functional, just fewer options.
Weather Forecast: Olds, Alberta
Simple steps to keep your computer running fast and smooth,
* Free really isn’t free, Downloads are usually riddled with extras that you didn’t want or ask for, so before downloading anything read the fine print.
* Update your antivirus, or actually install one, there's a link to avast antivirus on the bottom of this page and it is free. (it will ask if you'd like to download and use google, its up to you) learning how to use it properly is something most people never understand until its too late. Learn your antivirus system.
* Wether youre using windows xp or windows 7 you still need to do your updates, these updates are put out to keep your system safe and running properly.
* Emails, if you don’t know the sender then simply delete them. Most emails will install a virus the moment you click on it so you don’t get a second chance.
* Any message telling you that you may be infected with a virus is probably a virus, shutting down your system any way you can without actually clicking on any part of the message is your best bet. When you restart your pc do a boot time scan.
* No matter how careful you are a virus can get in, so before it starts wreaking havoc with your system and your life, do something about it. Running a virus scan of your system once a week is good practice, and if your antivirus system has the ability to do so, a boot time scan is your best option.
"My computer locks up, freezes, shuts down."
These are warning signs from your very tired PC. It's trying to tell you that it needs to be cleaned.
The Solution ?
A can of compressed air goes a long way. Blowing out your computers case at least once a year will keep your computer running cool and save you hundreds in replacement parts. Dust creates heat and heat destroys electronic parts. This is a no brainer !
A laptop is a little trickier than a desktop when it comes to cleaning but both can be done with compressed air.
Just a note ! Blowing the air directly at a fan, making that fan spin too fast, may actually destroy that fan. Please use caution when directing air at any moving part.
Converting Video
Own a PSP ? IPOD ? Video player of any sort ? In my house, between myself and my family we have four of these devices. Portable video is commonplace today. If you own an IPOD you already know you can go online, download and pay for your video's. If you have a generic player you had to be a little more creative in finding video's, or you've done what most people do, you simply don't watch video's on your player. Kind of a waste of money and technology. Ok so if you can read, look up a video on YouTube, then you can actually use that video player. DVD Videosoft is a free converter / downloader, that I've been using for a year now. I've never been charged a fee for using it, and it does work.
Converting your DVD's to your psp or Ipod ? A little trickier than the above mentioned DVD videosoft, but there are two free programs you can download, and you'll be converting DVD's like a pro. DVD43 and Handbrake are again programs I've personally had experience with and found them to be invaluable.
Remember nothing is completely free, avast will ask you if you'd like to participate in thier online community and also ask if you'd like to install google as your default web browser, it's your choice but you only get that choice if you actually read what you're installing, don't just click next next next...learn more about your antivirus options
Graphics, hardware, & diagnostics
Creating a better password
Never use the same password for all your applications, one hit and you've lost everything.
Passwords are our first, and sometimes our only line of defense against loss of information.
Length. the longer the password is, the tougher it will be to crack, six to nine characters long is a good place to start, but if you can remember a longer one and the program will allow it, longer is better.
Width. The amount of character "sets" used will increase a passwords strength. ie, upper case, lower case, numbers, symbols.
Depth. This is where most people fail ! Passwords should not consist of any word, phrase , foreign word, noun, anything a dictionary or password cracker would recognize. Try instead a mnemonic phrase. ie..today I went for Ice cream ! = 2dIw4Ic!
Time. Don't keep your passwords for years ! Passwords should be changed approx. every four months.
Alcohol 52 and why you need it.
Alcohol 52 is a piece of software designed to protect your CD,s and DVD,s. It does this first by creating a ghost DVD drive on your computer. Second it takes your CD or DVD and creates an image of that disk, an image that you can keep in your files and when you want to actually use that DVD or CD you simply mount it on the ghost drive. The image will work just like the original disk did and now you no longer need to carry that disk. Now when I first looked at Alcohol 52 I thought to myself what would I ever use this for, but as time went on I found more than a few uses for it and now I'm not so sure I would ever have a computer without it. I use it to load my movies into my laptop, my games into my laptop, even technical manuals from work. The disk can have protection built into it, and even require activation keys but as you are only creating an image of the disk it doesn't matter, the image will act just as the disk would and you can keep your entire library of disks DVD,s CD,s at home where they're safe.
Another plus to this piece of software is that any game or movie you would play will play without actually spinning up your CD drive, which will keep your battery life at a maximum for as long as possible.
Alcohol 52 is actually the free version of this software, the paid for version is called Alcohol 120, check them out , read about what they can do and then try it for a while, you may just find it as useful as i do.
Soapstone carvings, Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, design work.
KPL Designs
Predator Locks and Unlocks Your PC with a USB Thumb Drive
PREDATOR locks your PC when you are away, even if your Windows session is still opened. It uses a regular USB flash drive as an access control device, and works as follows:
you insert the USB drive
you run PREDATOR (autostart with Windows is possible)
you do your work...
when you're away from your PC, you simply remove the USB drive: once it is removed, the keyboard and mouse are disabled and the screen darkens
when you return back to your PC, you put the USB flash drive in place: keyboard and mouse are immediately released, and the display is restored.
It's easier and faster than closing your Windows session, since you do not have to retype your password when you return.
Did you know excessive heat could cause freezing ?
What a Weekend ! Three short days, two very sore and tired feet, and yes I'll do it again !
Graphics & Design
By Frostysplace
Star Trek: TNG EXPOsed
It may not be possible to beam aboard the U.S.S. Enterprise but you'll be getting the next best thing at the 2012 Calgary Comic and Entertainment Expo when we bring together the nine principle cast members from Star Trek: The Next Generation®. This will be the first time in over two decades the cast has been reunited at an event of this kind.
Sir Patrick Stewart, Jonathan Frakes, Marina Sirtis, Brent Spiner, Michael Dorn, LeVar Burton, Gates McFadden, Wil Wheaton and Denise Crosby will all be joining us here in Calgary!
"Project glass" "google glasses" whatever you call them,
They're just fricken cool !
If you take a long serious look at technology you just cant help but get excited ! Smart phones already have us connected like never before and the world is literally at your fingertips. But imagine being able to give a voice command and see your world through a HUD (heads up display). Kinda gives a whole new meaning to the term hands free doesn't it.
Project Glass isnt the only game out there though, Oakley has been developing what they call connected glasses, with bluetooth connectivity they would connect to any of our devices. Did I happen to mention this is just fricken cool ?
Check out some of the you tube video's
Space channels, Innerspace cast and crew were in attendance
Two of the people I actually went there to see were Sir Patrick Stewart and Stan Lee. The Stan Lee interview was the first of the two and I was blown away with his stories of how the spiderman series started and his genuine love for life. When the interview ended I could feel the crowd at first not wanting to let go of this man, and then wanting to show him just how much they admired and loved him and his work. The standing ovation, the roar of the shouts from fans were infectious and one couldnt help but feel a sense of history just standing in the same room with a man who was such an influence on our generation and our specific brand of pop culture. Stan Lee and his characters were a very large part of my childhood and I am happy to have seen the man when I did.
Sir Patrick Stewart, the actor, the captain, was the second interview I went to see, and again It was an experience I won't ever forget. Yes, I am a star trek fan. To have all of the crew from the NCC1701-D in one building was very much like a dream and I got to experience it awake, aware and extremely wide eyed.
This comic and entertainment expo was an awakening, my inner geek came out and took center stage as it dragged my old body from one stage to another, one lineup to another, and with extremely sore and aching feet I walked, ran and pushed my way to just one more booth, just one more photo opportunity. And I'm going again next year !
Thats what I saw, but what I felt was something altogether amazing and totally unexpected. I know im a fan of science fiction but I've never been the type to wear the costumes, collect the toys, or learn the klingon language. And if someone had told me that one day I would stand in line for an hour to have a picture signed by Katee Sackhoff, I would've told them they were nuts. Yet I did, and I will again lol.
Lance Henricksen, a man who actually got my 14 yr old son to read a book ! My family and I got to talk to this man for a few minutes then sat in on an hour long interview and question period. If you ever get the pleasure to meet this man ask him about the knife trick in aliens, there's an interesting story behind it.
A very pleasant and genuine person, and one of the most approachable at the expo.
