SUSANTA

Archives for November 2010

5 Ways to Figure If You’re An Internet Addict

No shit, but it took me almost a decade to realize that I’m an Internet addict. Well, it’s not just a problem but maybe, a huge problem. My interest in the Internet began way back in 2000 when I started learning the basic Internet skills and found how people used Google to screw their very own social lives. But, I loved it anyways. Unfortunately, for most of my friends who were glued to the Internet more passionately, Google was a fall guy. How? It didn’t take me too long to realize they were watching stuff online (no prize for guessing) under the guise of Google. But that’s even not the point; I think that’s a fair thing to do 🙂

But even before you know it, you’ve let the Internet creep into your personal life and grabbed every inch of your space. In other words, you’re a self-imposed Internet addict.

If you’re still unable to find out, here are some symptoms:

#5- You Wake Up to It

What’s the first thing that you feel like doing when you get up in the morning no matter when? Checking your emails, friends social profile updates on Facebook or Twitter maybe? Do you ever even shut down your PC or log out from your email accounts, instant messengers and social profiles for that matter? Maybe, you tend to wake up in the middle of the night and can’t resist the temptation to turn to your lappie (which is always on & hooked to the Internet) to check your stuff. Then you know it’s a sign!

#4- You Sleep With It

Wait a second, do you even sleep or you lose sleep because of it? Being online seems to be only thing on your mind when you’ve got nothing meaningful to do. And, the only ‘meaningful thing’ for you in the world is the Internet. You’re online even when you eat your dinner down until you feel sleepy, if at all. When you see those friends online with an irresistibly inviting green status, you tend to ping them all for no good reasons. Did you not just talk to them over phone this afternoon? Take notice; it’s sign#2 (not in that order)

#3- You’re a Facebook Fanatic

Whoa! Facebook is everywhere! Facebook is the new Internet for you and, now it’s even on your cell phone. You feel good about that, don’t you? You loathe friends who never know Facebook or have a FB profile. Worse, you define your closeness with friends depending on how often they update their FB profile or whether they like or commented on your status updates. You’ve even had an argument with your girlfriend (if you have one) over why she’s not as active on her FB profile as you are! You’re awfully addicted!

#2- Don’t Tweet ‘n’ Drive

What was the last time you survived an accident? On the road? No, it was while you were running down the stairs, updating your Twitter profile. You missed a step in the attempt of tweeting those 140 characters! Go get a life, seriously!

#1- One Night Stand with Torrents

When it comes to watching movies, Torrents is keyword for you. You download 10 movies at a time flipping all the Internet security caution to the wind! Worse, you support a whole gamut of online pirated video networks to run amok across the Internet. You stay up past midnight to oversee the downloading process, trying to adjust the setting to help the files download faster, and searching online tips to make your Internet bandwidth speed for quicker download of the movies on Torrents. Do you even go to sleep only find yourself get back up in the middle of the night to check the download status? Make no mistake, dude…you’re probably sick to the point of no return!

Do you think there are signs more alarming that these? Share them with me and other readers in the comment sections below. Who knows! Maybe you could do the Internet addicts a big favor!

5 Digital Photography Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

When I bought my very first digital camera (Nikon L20 Coolpix), I had very little idea about photography. I never read the user manual (I’m a lazy boy) so I didn’t have much idea about the specifications. However, a user manual is nothing but a boring description of how to use the camera which is better learnt by practically using the camera.

There are a couple of things I’ve learnt over the period of time and I think I should share them with those who are going through a learning phase on how to use their basic digital camera for the best possible shots.

Not Setting ISO to The Lowest: ISO is a technical term in digital photography which critically determines the quality of the pictures you take. As a matter fact, a basic digital camera is essentially meant for outdoor photography when you have sufficient light to achieve better results. It is not technically capable of producing great results just any under in lighting ambience. Therefore, it is extremely vital for you to know how to alter the ISO settings in your digital camera and why. Here are some thumb rules and tips for ISO Settings:

  • If you set your digital camera to a low ISO, for example 100, the resulting photograph will be better quality than one set at 1600.
  • Use an ISO of 100 or 200 when taking photographs outside in sunny conditions.
  • If the sky is overcast or it is evening time, then use an ISO within the range of 400 to 800.
  • Night time or in cases of low light you might need to set your digital camera ISO to 1600. If you don’t then your photo will appear too dark if at all.

Selecting A Lower Resolution Setting: A digital camera lets you choose from a wide range of pixel capacities. Some people choose the lowest pixel capacity so that they can take maximum number of pictures without running short of the space in their memory card. This is a mistake as you are letting the memory card dictate the quality of your pictures. For the best quality pictures, you must select the highest resolution setting.

Using the Digital Zoom Feature: Never use the digital zoom feature in your camera. In other words, always use the optical zoom to improve the quality of the pictures. Ideally, you should try to keep the optical zoom in the mid-range for better results because because there will be less distortion caused by lens aberrations.

Not Filling The Frame: While shooting your subject, always remember to use the most amount image area of your subject. In other words, you should fill the frame as much as possible because it will give your picture more clarity with higher pixel quality. Therefore, if you mean to capture the subject horizontally, hold the cameral horizontally and if you want to shoot the subject vertically, hold your cameral vertically leaving just about enough room around the subject to crop it in a visually appealing way.

Not Buying A Tripod: If a basic digital camera with 8 mega pixel and 4X optical zoom costs you about 100-120 USD, a tripod will cost only 20-30 USD. You should always use a tripod while taking photographs of highest quality. A tripod basically steadies the camera position and helps you take the best quality pictures possible.