As you probably know by now Microsoft has made some major changes to the interface in the their Microsoft Office 2007 suite up applications (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc.), specifically the “Ribbon”. The ribbon is essentially a completely new way of displaying buttons, tools, commands and menus items which is “intended” to enhance usability and decreases the time it takes to edit documents.

However, until you learn to use the ribbon it could have the exact opposite affect! Most people find themselves continually hunting for buttons and tools that they could easily find in the past.  Don’t worry they still exist! You just have to learn where to look, and here’s how:

One of the best tools to make this transition easier is the Microsoft Office Interactive Guides. The site contains Microsoft Office 2007 user interface guides for each application in the suite. The guides are simple visual tools that show you were where to look in Office 2007 to find the same exact tool you used in Office 2003. (If you’re used to a version older than 2003 don’t worry, it’s probably similar enough to 2003 that the tool will work just fine for you as well.)

You can launch web based versions or download them and take them with you. They run independent of other programs and don’t require any version of office to be installed on your computer.

After you launch one of the guides you are presented with the Office 2003 interface where you navigate to the button or menu you were searching for. By hovering over the item you are presented with a simple description of where to look in Office 2007 to find the same tool. If you click an item you get an animated display. It’s that simple!

Here’s the link where you can find the interactive guides: http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/training/HA102295841033.aspx.
You may also want to check out the Microsoft Office training site for lots of other helpful information on the Office suites: http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/training/FX100565001033.aspx

Now that you’re well on your way to learning how to use the ribbon you can take full advantage of one of its best features: hovering over an item on the ribbon will temporarily modify your document (until you hover off) so you can see exactly what the results of selecting the item will be, no more trial and error!

Good luck and enjoy!

Technorati Tags: Microsoft, Office, Office-2007, Training

The Digital Photography School Blog (DPS) has a very nice article comparing and contrasting digital point and shoot cameras with Digital Single Lens Reflex (DSLR) cameras. So if your in the market for a new digital camera I strongly suggest you stop over and check it out, even if you weren’t originally considering a DLSR.

“Should you buy a DSLR or Point and Shoot Digital Camera?” hits on all of the most important things to consider including megapixel size, weight, portability, features, easy of use and much more. It’s also very clear and easy to understand for people who are not technical.

Be sure to check out the readers comments at the bottom of the article, a lot of the DPS readers know their stuff and provide great follow up information like NormMonkey’s post about how using the LCD screen to frame photos with DSLRs (aka “live view”) is different than on Point and Shoot digital cameras.

Check out my Digital Camera Buying Guide for some “what to look for” tips along with a first impression of my first DSLR camera purchase here: Canon EOS 40D Digital Camera Purchase.

Technorati Tags: DSLR, point-and-shoot, digital photography

Buying a new digital camera? Get the information you need to make your decision quick and easy. Most importantly, finding the camera that fits your needs!

The first thing you need to do is to figure out what you will be taking pictures of (i.e. landscapes, macros, portraits, flowers, sports, etc.). This will prove to be the single most important and worth while planning you can do for your purchase. Sport photos require a camera with fast shutter speed (reduces blur with motion shots), portraits of friends and family at gatherings require wider angle lenses (can’t frame the full subject close up) with higher ISO speeds (lower light conditions in houses), macros require longer zooms (you want to get in close), and children require faster start up times (you don’t want to miss the special moment because your camera was off).

It’s not all about the Megapixels!
Despite what you might think, it is NOT all about megapixels (MP) these days. Almost all digital cameras today come with sufficient megapixels to cover the printing sizes most people will use. If you have specific print size in mind take a look at this megapixel vs print size chart to figure out how many you’ll need. If you’re not planing to ever print your images then 3MP should be fine, but I recommend at least 4-5MP because you never know when you might want to print that special photo.

Optical zoom is important, digital – not so much!
Optical zoom is far more important than digital zoom. Optical zoom uses lenses to zoom in closer and further from your image so it the quality remains high. Digital zoom just simply crops the sides off the image and makes the rest larger. This is the same as zooming in on the image from your computer, the pixels get larger causing the quality to decrease. The larger the optical zoom the better, you can pretty much ignore the digital zoom.

Image Stabilization.
Image stabilization (sometimes called IS or VR depending on the brand) can be extremely helpful when you’re taking photos in low light conditions such as a house or hall, but it can make for difficult crisp action shots. Make sure you can turn the image stabilization off for the shots where you don’t want it.

SLR vs Point and Shoot.
SLR cameras (Single Lens Reflex – the cameras with detachable lenses) are no longer just for the pros! You can find excellent consumer digital SLRs for as low as $600, including a lens. SLRs are quite a bit larger and bulkier than point and shoots models but they offer more flexibility with the ability to changes lens and modify your settings manually. The down side to SLRs is they can be big and bulky and confusing. Consider point and shoots if you plan to carry it with you everywhere you go.

Product Reviews and Suggestions.
Reading product reviews from qualified sites can provide a great resource for learning the pluses and minuses of particular models. The information above will point you in the right direction so you know which features are important and which are not, but product reviews will help you focus your attention even deeper and allow you to compare models side-by-side. Here are a few websites I recommend for further research.

• Recommended Cameras – This is a great article and I will strongly consider the suggestions on the Canon compacts when I start shopping for a new point and shoot in the near future.
• DPReview.com – Digital Photograph Reviews – an outstanding source for camera reviews and the latest news in digital photography. You definitely need to check this site out once you have a camera or two in mind.
• Steve’s Digicams – Another excellent popular digital camera review site.
• PCMag.com – Technology Product Guides and Reviews.
• Consumer Reports – Consumer product product reviews and brand repair history – requires subscription but it’s a great source for all types of consumer products

What I own (prices listed are approx. prices at time of purchase).

• Kodak 3MP EasyShare CX6230 digital point and shoot – It took outstanding photos with vivid colors. The quality was great! (2001 – $120)
• HP 5.3MP Photosmart 945 10x superzoom – The high zoom and manual features of this camera are great, however I find the image quality to be lacking in low light conditions. (2004 – $250)
• Canon 10 MP 40D Digital SLR with EOS 17-85mm f4-56 IS USM Lens. This is by far my favorite camera with full manual settings and excellent picture quality. (2007 – $2000 camera and lens)

My next camera purchase will probably be a Kodak or Canon point and shoot. The Kodak is getting old, it’s slow compared to todays models and the battery compartment is wearing out. To see some of the photos I’ve taken check out my flickr page or my own photography website that’s currently under development.

It’s not the camera that makes the photographer, it’s the photographer that makes the camera!

Technorati Tags: digital-photography, guides, digital-cameras