Cara membuat PDF

sudahkan anda membuat modul pembelajaran untuk dibagikan?
dengan apa anda membuatnya?
open office?
MS Word?
taukah anda cara membuat tulisan denganformat PDF?
kali ini ONETOP MASTER akan membagikan cara membuat tulisan ber format PDF dengan memanfaatkan JOOMLA Local, ONETOP MASTER mendapatkan ini saat belajar membuat joomla.
setelah saya membuat web dengan joomla dan saya mengisi artikelnya ternyata saya melihat adanya icon PDF, setelah saya coba artikel saya itu menjadi format PDF dan dapat disave, yang lebihnya saya tertarik itu setiap halamannya terdapat nama pembuat tulisan tersebut....
ok mungkin hanya sekian yang dapat dibagikan,
trimakasih,,

MANAJEMEN WAKTU UNTUK MAHASISWA

Pendahuluan

Banyak mahasiswa, terutama mahasiswa baru, merasa bahwa kebiasaan belajar yang dilakukannya sudah memadai. Manajemen waktu yang dilakukan sudah efisien. Terbukti di SMA dulu mereka adalah murid terpandai atau setidaknya tidak pernah merasa kesulitan mendapatkan nilai yang baik. Kemudian seiring dengan berjalannya waktu, beberapa diantara mahasiswa ini menyadari bahwa nilai yang diperoleh tidaklah secermelang seperti ketika di SMA. Nilai A atau B sepertinya sulit dijangkau. Mengapa? Apa sebenarnya yang terjadi? Salah satu jawabannya mungkin karena ketrampilan belajar, termasuk manajemen waktunya, kurang efektif. Kuliah di perguruan tinggi memang berbeda dengan belajar di SMA, karena itu manajemen waktu yang ada mestinya turut disesuaikan.

Memang tidak ada satu cara yang ampuh yang berlaku bagi semua orang dalam manajemen waktu, tetapi dengan mengenali diri sendiri dengan lebih baik anda dapat menentukan bagaimana anda akan mempergunakan waktu anda dengan lebih efektif. Patut pula diingat bahwa inti dari manajemen waktu adalah konsentrasi pada hasil dan bukan sekedar menyibukkan diri. Banyak orang menghabiskan hari-harinya dengan berbagai kegiatan yang seakan tiada habisnya tetapi tidak mendapat capaian apapun karena kurang konsentrasi pada hal yang benar.
Semester ganjil (PTA) 2005/2006 telah berakhir dan semester genap (ATA 2005/2006) sudah dimulai. Mungkin sekaranglah waktu yang tepat untuk mulai melakukan majamen waktu yang lebih sesuai.

Siklus Manajemen Waktu

Salah satu sistem manajemen waktu yang bisa dipilih oleh mahasiswa adalah menggunakan sistem siklus pada setiap tahun ajaran atau setiap semester. Itulah sebabnya saya mengatakan bahwa sekarang adalah waktu yang tepat untuk memulai manajeman waktu. Umumnya sistem ini dimulai dengan menetapkan tujuan (goal setting) untuk mengukuhkan konteks bagi manajemen waktu. Berikutnya adalah menelusuri penggunaan waktu dan membangun kesadaran tentang bagaimana anda akan menghabiskan waktu. Tahap ketiga adalah membuat rencana, dan ini termasuk membuat to do list, rencana mingguan, rencana bulanan, dan rencana semesteran. Tahap keempat adalah memantau (self monitoring) apa yang telah dikerjakan. Pada tahap ini anda menilai seberapa baik anda menjalankan rencana, seberapa akurat anda membuat rencana, seberapa tepat anda menduga kegiatan-kegiatan yang dilakukan, dan sebagainya. Tahap akhir dari siklus manajemen waktu ini adalah pergeseran dan penyesuaian waktu dimana anda melakukan koreksi terhadap sistem yang berjalan sebelum memulai siklus yang baru.

Kuis Manajemen Waktu

Sebelum memulai melakukan manajemen waktu, ada baiknya anda evaluasi terlebih dahulu apa yang telah anda lakukan selama ini dengan menjawab pertanyaan berikut: Pertama, lima kegiatan/aktivitas apa yang paling banyak menyita waktu anda (menonton tv, main PS, jalan-jalan ke mall, belajar, tidur, ngobrol, atau apa?). Kedua, jawab pertanyaan-pertanyaan berikut ini:

·             Apakah anda mengestimasi berapa jam anda membutuhkan waktu untuk belajar setiap minggu?

·             Apakah anda selalu tepat waktu dalam mengerjakan tugas?

·             Apakah anda mulai mengerjakan tugas akhir/penulisan ilmiah pada awal semester?

·             Apakah anda membuat daftar apa yang harus dikerjakan (to do list)?

·             Apakah anda menentukan target tertentu untuk setiap periode studi?

·             Apakah anda memulai belajar dengan mengerjakan tugas/pr yang paling sulit?

·             Apakah anda menyelesaikan belajar anda selama jam produktif setiap harinya?

Kalau jawaban anda pada kuis di atas lebih banyak “Tidak” dari pada “Ya”, maka sudah saatnya anda melakukan manajemen waktu yang baru.

Langkah untuk Meningkatkan Manajemen Waktu

Di awal tulisan telah disebutkan bahwa, mula-mula anda harus menetapkan tujuan. Apakah anda punya target yang ingin anda capai pada semester sekarang? Jika anda sudah yakin dengan tujuan dan target yang ingin anda raih pada semester ini, maka anda sudah bisa memulai membuat jadwal semester.    

1.      Membuat Jadwal Semester

a.       Catat tugas mata kuliah yang telah diketahui: paper, proyek penelitian, kuis, dan sejenisnya. Mencatat tugas pada setiap awal semester membuat anda mengetahui kapan anda membutuhkan waktu lebih banyak untuk kegiatan akademik dan kapan anda punya waktu lebih longgar untuk aktivitas lainnya

b.      Catat aktivitas ko-kurikuler termasuk hari kerja (jika bekerja), pertemuan atau rapat organisasi, aktivitas sosial, jadwal keluar kota (pulang kampung di akhir pekan atau liburan), dan sejenisnya. Mencatat aktivitas ko-kurikuler memungkinkan anda mendapat gambaran yang lebih akurat tentang seberapa penuh atau seberapa luang jadwal anda selama satu semester. Aktivitas non akademik ini penting untuk menciptakan keseimbangan pada jadwal anda

Penting untuk diingat bahwa setelah anda mempunyai jadwal kegiatan semesteran ini, anda perlu memperbaharui jadwal semester ini secara berkala. Perubahan tenggat waktu pengumpulan tugas, misalnya, atau tugas matakuliah yang baru dan aktivitas lain yang perlu direncanakan, menyebabkan jadwal harus dikoreksi dan diperbaharui. Mempunyai  jadwal semester yang akurat penting untuk tahap berikutnya dari proses ini, yaitu merencanakan beban kerja mingguan. 

2.      Menilai dan Merencanakan Jadwal Mingguan

a.       Buat daftar apa yang harus dikerjakan dalam minggu depan, termasuk tugas kuliah, praktikum, kuis. Buatlah daftar ini inklusif, karena segala sesuatu membutuhkan waktu, apakah itu membaca satu bab, mengerjakan soal latihan, atau menulis outline untuk makalah penelitian

b.      Masukkan dalam daftar apa yang harus dikerjakan minggu itu: aktivitas ko-kurikuler, jam kerja, olah raga, makan, dan kumpul dengan teman. Aktivitas sehari-hari dan aktivitas ko-kurikuler penting dan menciptakan keseimbangan hidup, walaupun itu berarti mengambil waktu belajar. Mempersiapkan makan dan mandi, misalnya, atau menghadiri rapat organisasi bisa menghabiskan waktu sebanyak waktu untuk membaca satu bab buku ajar

c.       Estimasikan berapa lama setiap tugas dapat diselesaikan. Setiap aktivitas membutuhkan waktu yang berbeda, sehingga penting sekali untuk mengestimasikan berapa lama setiap tugas dapat diselesaikan dan menyediakan waktu untuk tugas tersebut. Bila anda tidak tahu berapa lama waktu yang dibutuhkan untuk menyelesaikan tugas, lebih baik mengestimasikan waktu secara konservatif. Jika anda dapat menyelesaikan waktu 30 menit lebih cepat dari yang anda perhitungkan, anda dapat menggunakan waktu sisanya untuk mengerjakan apapun yang anda suka, tetapi jika anda tidak dapat menyelesaikan dalam waktu yang telah direncanakan maka anda harus mengambil waktu dari kegiatan lain untuk menyelesaikan tugas yang membutuhkan waktu lebih lama dari yang direncanakan.

d.      Identifikasi pada hari apa setiap tugas akan diselesaikan, selalu ingat waktu yang dibutuhkan untuk menyelesaikan setiap tugas itu dan hal-hal lain yang juga harus dikerjakan pada hari itu. Dengan melihat jadwal minggu itu dan menyadari apa saja yang harus dikerjakan setiap harinya, tenggat tidak akan terlewati. Anda dapat membuat penyesuaian pada minggu tersebut, misalnya, jika anda melihat ada tugas yang membutuhkan waktu 6 jam untuk menyelesaikannya padahal hanya ada waktu tiga jam sebelum tenggat.

Membuat jadwal minggu berikutnya setiap jumat petang atau jumat malam adalah suatu kebiasaan yang baik. Karena jika minggu berikutnya jadwal sangat padat, maka akan sangat membantu jika menyelesaikan sebagian tugas pada akhir pekan itu agar tekanan pada minggu yang akan datang berkurang.

3.    Jadwal Setiap Hari

a.       Tulis jadwal harian pada setiap pagi. Termasuk tugas-tugas yang belum selesai dari hari sebelumnya. Pembuatan jadwal harian ini hanya membutuhkan beberapa menit saja karena anda sudah mempunyai jadwal mingguan sebagai pedoman. Gunakan kartu indeks atau buku kecil atau notes untuk mencatat jadwal harian ini agar anda dapat membawanya kemana-mana dan memeriksanya setiap saat untuk  menandai tugas mana saja yang sudah diselesaikan.

b.    Berikan skala prioritas untuk setiap tugas harian yang telah ditulis. Beberapa aktivitas harus dikerjakan hari itu dan sebagian lagi mungkin merupakan opsional untuk diselesaikan hari itu. Anda dapat menggunakan sistem A,B, C untuk memberi prioritas pada setiap tugas. A diberikan pada tugas yang harus diselesaikan pada hari itu dan C adalah opsional, sedangkan B penting tetapi tidak sepenting A. Cobalah untuk menyelesaikan semua tugas A sebelum mulai mengerjakan tugas B, dan akhirnya yang C. Cara ini dapat mengurangi tingkat stress karena beban tugas yang cukup banyak.

4.      Evaluasi Setiap Jadwal

a.       Evaluasi jadwal setiap pagi. Tanyakan pada diri sendiri apakah jadwal hari itu cukup realistis. Tuliskan berapa jam setiap tugas akan diselesaikan. Jika dirasa tidak mungkin diselesaikan, buang beberapa tugas dengan prioritas B dan C dari jadwal

b.    Evaluasi jadwal setiap malam. Apakah semua tugas dalam daftar telah diselesaikan? Jika tidak, mengapa? Apakah karena jadwalnya tidak realistis atau manajemen waktunya yang tidak efektif? Apa penyesuaian yang bisa dilakukan agar di lain waktu anda dapat membuat jadwal yang lebih baik?

Mengupayakan agar Manajemen Waktu Berjalan dengan Baik

Menurut sistem kredit semester (SKS) mahasiswa belajar setidaknya dua jam di luar kelas untuk setiap jam belajar di kelas (ada universitas yang merekomendasikan lebih dari dua jam!). Jika seorang mahasiswa mengambil 18 SKS, yang berarti kuliah di kelas 18 jam per minggu, maka mahasiswa tersebut harus belajar sedikitnya 36 jam per minggu di luar kelas secara mandiri. Jadi mahasiswa tersebut harus merencanakan total jam belajar di kelas dan di luar kelas sebanyak 54 jam per minggu. 

Pada awal tulisan, anda sudah mengidentifikasi lima kegiatan yang paling banyak menyita waktu anda. Nah, apakah anda siap untuk mengurangi atau mengganti aktivitas yang anda rasa dapat menggagalkan target belajar anda?

Berikut adalah beberapa strategi yang mungkin membantu membuat jadwal Anda menjadi efektif dan efesien.

1. Identifikasi waktu terbaik pada setiap harinya.

Apakah Anda termasuk seorang “night person” atau “morning person”? Gunakan kekuatan waktu tersebut untuk belajar. Belajar pada waktu terbaik setiap harinya - apakah itu pagi (jika anda seorang “morning person”) atau malam hari (jika anda seorang “night person”) - memungkinkan anda menyelesaikan tugas dalam waktu yang lebih singkat.

2. Belajar subyek yang sulit atau membosankan lebih dulu.

Dalam keadaan segar, informasi dapat diproses lebih cepat dan anda jadi lebih menghemat waktu. Alasan lainnya adalah lebih mudah mendapatkan motivasi untuk mempelajari sesuatu yang menyenangkan pada saat lelah daripada mempelajari subyek yang membosankan.

3. Pastikan bahwa lingkungan sekitar kondusif untuk belajar.

Perpustakaan adalah tempat yang baik untuk belajar karena satu-satunya yang bisa dilakukan di perpustakaan adalah belajar. Tetapi jika perpustakaan tidak memungkinkan untuk belajar (karena jam operasi yang terbatas, misalnya), carilah tempat (dan waktu) yang memang benar-benar jauh dari gangguan.

4. Jangan tinggalkan rekreasi dan hiburan.

Kuliah di perguruan tinggi tidak berarti anda harus belajar sepanjang waktu. Anda harus tetap mempunyai kehidupan sosial demi keseimbangan hidup anda. Jadi, tidak ada salahnya anda menjadwalkan berkunjung dan mengobrol dengan teman atau mengerjakan hobi anda yang lain.

5. Usahakan anda punya waktu tidur dan makan yang cukup dan berkualitas.

Tidur seringkali dianggap sebagai “bank” dalam manajemen waktu. Maksudnya, setiap kali anda mendapat tugas yang membutuhkan waktu cukup banyak, anda akan “mengambil” waktu tidur anda untuk mengerjakan tugas. Hal ini jelas tidak efektif karena anda pasti akan memerlukan waktu yang lebih banyak lagi untuk mengerjakan tugas karena tubuh anda kelelahan sehingga kurang konsentrasi. Jadi kebutuhan tidur anda haruslah tetap diperhatikan.

6. Manfaatkan waktu menunggu atau kombinasikan dua kegiatan.

Jika anda menggunakan transpotasi umum untuk pergi dan pulang dari kampus anda seringkali harus menunggu beberapa menit bahkan beberapa jam di halte atau peron. Mengapa tidak manfaatkan waktu menunggu tersebut untuk membaca? Bawalah catatan atau ringkasan kuliah kemana pun anda pergi dan baca setiap ada kesempatan meskipun hanya satu paragraf.

Jika anda menggunakan kendaraan pribadi, mobil misalnya, jangan membaca sambil mengemudi karena sangat berbahaya. Tapi tidak berarti tidak bisa belajar selama perjalanan. Dengarkan saja rekaman belajar anda sendiri dari kaset.  

Nah, anda sekarang sudah mempunyai manajemen waktu anda sendiri. Selamat belajar dan semoga sukses!

From British Book to US Theater
Who doesn't love Winnie the Pooh? In "The House at Pooh Corner" A.A. Milne introduced Winne the Pooh, Kanga, Tigger, Eeyore and the other characters that live in the hundred acre wood of Christopher Robin's imagination. The book, illustrated by E.H. Sheperd, was an instant success and in 1930's the agreement for US rights was reached between Author A.A. Milne and Illustrator Stephen Slesinger. Disney purchased the US rights in the 1960's and a legend was born when the animated classics in the original Winnie the Pooh series first reached theaters and in 1969 Slesinger transferred exclusive merchandising rights over to Disney.
Due to the nature of the Disney animated characters being so very different from the original drawings, and the popularity of the Pooh Bear movies, Disney was the one enlisted to market all of the Pooh merchandise including books, games, toys, stuffed animals, movies and all sorts of assorted products from key chains to mugs to board games, and the productivity of the Winnie the Pooh characters became a multi-million-dollar business, a fact that did not slip by Slesinger's heirs.
The Licensing Battle Begins
In 1991, the Slesingers sued Disney, claiming that the merchandising agreement of 1969 was being violated and asked for 'their share' of the profits Pooh had thus far generated, but their case was thrown out when it was shown that Slesinger had stolen documents from Milne (as supported by the Author's granddaughter).
The case re-opened in 2005 when Slesinger's heirs once again tried to gain a percentage of the merchandising profits made by Disney in relation to Pooh Bear and the other Pooh Bear characters, but as of 2011 Disney now owns exclusive and sole rights to all the rights (US and Worldwide) of Winnie the Pooh and his illustrious hundred acre wood crowd.
Character Licensing Issues Spawned by Pooh
While today's cartoon characters are subjected to all manner of legal specifications when contracts are being drawn up, the licensing specifications of the 1930's were much broader and did not include details for the kind of production and merchandising that Pooh Bear and his cohorts were about to be subjected to. Even the turnover of merchandising rights in 1969 could not possibly have foreseen the sheer volume of merchandise that would be generated by a stuffed bear and his companions.
It is the very nature of this Winnie the Pooh debate that has spurred legal contracts in the Cartoon Character Licensing fields to leave open-ended clauses that cover any and all possible future technologies and merchandising fields and/or opportunities to ensure that these sorts of battles do not become an issue in the future.

Adrian Chye is a Technoprenuer who runs a Digital Media & 3d animation company and has successfully raised investments for various projects, including the cartoon series Sedo Dog.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/6483433

From British Book to US Theater
Who doesn't love Winnie the Pooh? In "The House at Pooh Corner" A.A. Milne introduced Winne the Pooh, Kanga, Tigger, Eeyore and the other characters that live in the hundred acre wood of Christopher Robin's imagination. The book, illustrated by E.H. Sheperd, was an instant success and in 1930's the agreement for US rights was reached between Author A.A. Milne and Illustrator Stephen Slesinger. Disney purchased the US rights in the 1960's and a legend was born when the animated classics in the original Winnie the Pooh series first reached theaters and in 1969 Slesinger transferred exclusive merchandising rights over to Disney.
Due to the nature of the Disney animated characters being so very different from the original drawings, and the popularity of the Pooh Bear movies, Disney was the one enlisted to market all of the Pooh merchandise including books, games, toys, stuffed animals, movies and all sorts of assorted products from key chains to mugs to board games, and the productivity of the Winnie the Pooh characters became a multi-million-dollar business, a fact that did not slip by Slesinger's heirs.
The Licensing Battle Begins
In 1991, the Slesingers sued Disney, claiming that the merchandising agreement of 1969 was being violated and asked for 'their share' of the profits Pooh had thus far generated, but their case was thrown out when it was shown that Slesinger had stolen documents from Milne (as supported by the Author's granddaughter).
The case re-opened in 2005 when Slesinger's heirs once again tried to gain a percentage of the merchandising profits made by Disney in relation to Pooh Bear and the other Pooh Bear characters, but as of 2011 Disney now owns exclusive and sole rights to all the rights (US and Worldwide) of Winnie the Pooh and his illustrious hundred acre wood crowd.
Character Licensing Issues Spawned by Pooh
While today's cartoon characters are subjected to all manner of legal specifications when contracts are being drawn up, the licensing specifications of the 1930's were much broader and did not include details for the kind of production and merchandising that Pooh Bear and his cohorts were about to be subjected to. Even the turnover of merchandising rights in 1969 could not possibly have foreseen the sheer volume of merchandise that would be generated by a stuffed bear and his companions.
It is the very nature of this Winnie the Pooh debate that has spurred legal contracts in the Cartoon Character Licensing fields to leave open-ended clauses that cover any and all possible future technologies and merchandising fields and/or opportunities to ensure that these sorts of battles do not become an issue in the future.

Adrian Chye is a Technoprenuer who runs a Digital Media & 3d animation company and has successfully raised investments for various projects, including the cartoon series Sedo Dog.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/6483433

Cartoon Character Licensing Hi Winnie the Pooh!

From British Book to US Theater
Who doesn't love Winnie the Pooh? In "The House at Pooh Corner" A.A. Milne introduced Winne the Pooh, Kanga, Tigger, Eeyore and the other characters that live in the hundred acre wood of Christopher Robin's imagination. The book, illustrated by E.H. Sheperd, was an instant success and in 1930's the agreement for US rights was reached between Author A.A. Milne and Illustrator Stephen Slesinger. Disney purchased the US rights in the 1960's and a legend was born when the animated classics in the original Winnie the Pooh series first reached theaters and in 1969 Slesinger transferred exclusive merchandising rights over to Disney.
Due to the nature of the Disney animated characters being so very different from the original drawings, and the popularity of the Pooh Bear movies, Disney was the one enlisted to market all of the Pooh merchandise including books, games, toys, stuffed animals, movies and all sorts of assorted products from key chains to mugs to board games, and the productivity of the Winnie the Pooh characters became a multi-million-dollar business, a fact that did not slip by Slesinger's heirs.
The Licensing Battle Begins
In 1991, the Slesingers sued Disney, claiming that the merchandising agreement of 1969 was being violated and asked for 'their share' of the profits Pooh had thus far generated, but their case was thrown out when it was shown that Slesinger had stolen documents from Milne (as supported by the Author's granddaughter).
The case re-opened in 2005 when Slesinger's heirs once again tried to gain a percentage of the merchandising profits made by Disney in relation to Pooh Bear and the other Pooh Bear characters, but as of 2011 Disney now owns exclusive and sole rights to all the rights (US and Worldwide) of Winnie the Pooh and his illustrious hundred acre wood crowd.
Character Licensing Issues Spawned by Pooh
While today's cartoon characters are subjected to all manner of legal specifications when contracts are being drawn up, the licensing specifications of the 1930's were much broader and did not include details for the kind of production and merchandising that Pooh Bear and his cohorts were about to be subjected to. Even the turnover of merchandising rights in 1969 could not possibly have foreseen the sheer volume of merchandise that would be generated by a stuffed bear and his companions.
It is the very nature of this Winnie the Pooh debate that has spurred legal contracts in the Cartoon Character Licensing fields to leave open-ended clauses that cover any and all possible future technologies and merchandising fields and/or opportunities to ensure that these sorts of battles do not become an issue in the future.

Adrian Chye is a Technoprenuer who runs a Digital Media & 3d animation company and has successfully raised investments for various projects, including the cartoon series Sedo Dog.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/6483433

Discover The Types of Animation System

Computer animation is a branch of study in the area of computer graphics and animation technologies. It is a creative field that involves creating moving images (individual characters or real-life scenarios or both) by using various software and other animation tools. All these images are normally created on a computer and then can be converted into movies for big screen shows. Cartoons and animation pictures are an apt example of computer animation. 3-D animation that involves the use of three-dimensional effects is widely preferred. It makes the animated image look as natural as a real-life image.
It is divided into two broad categories, computer-generated animation and computer-assisted animation. In the former category, the animation is solely created on a computer system. In another type, an already created animation is computerized by adding various effects.
There are many different types that have their own distinctive features and characteristics. Scripting Systems are one of the oldest systems of such technology that focus on controlling movement of images. The animator had to identify and code very movement depicted in the storyboard for the animation. Thus, knowing this computer language was a prerequisite for every aspiring animator.
ASAS
One of the popular scripting systems was ASAS (Actor Script Animation Language). The system introduced the concept of an actor. Every actor is an object that has its own animation rules. For example, the object 'car' is an object. It has an in-built coding that makes its wheel rotate in tandem while showing a moving image of the car. This reduces the effort to a great extent that now needs to focus on adding such obvious details.
Behavioral Animation
It involved defining the rules of behavior for every identified object or actor. For instance, a hungry dog looks gloomy.
Procedural Animation
Procedure is a type of system that shows a series of movement in a period of time. Here, the underlying principal is that of 'Cause and Effect.' For example, a speedy truck caused the roadside dustbin to fly in the air, which fell on the head of a sleeping man.
Representational Animation
This system allows an object to change its shape in different ways. This proves to be a inspiring and interesting system that adds value to this computer language.
Stochastic Animation
It involves the use of stochastic processes to co-ordinate groups of actors of an animating scene. For instance, a scene of rain involves clouds, rain drops, a wet person, etc.

Check for more on Animation

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/6493094

The Right Tool For 3D Text Graphics

Several years ago, in the mid-'90s, in fact, I stumbled upon this Internet thing. I was fascinated, to say the least, and still am. I'm thinkin' if it keeps on like it has been, it might just catch on directly.
I was poking around looking at web-sites and struggling to put up a page on AOL, and one site that I found had some really cool-looking 3D text graphics for headings. Of course I was always on the lookout for techniques and ideas that might make my own page look a little less...well, you know (rhymes with snappy), so I hunted around until I found an email address for the site. I sent them a note, explaining how I admired their site, particularly the great-looking graphics, and asked what software they had used, and was it available to the public, please? I really wanted to be able to do that sort of thing at home, you see.
Well, they sent back a reply; a sad, disappointing reply. It seems that they would decide what text graphics they wanted, and the size and colors, etc., and sent it off to a professional graphics studio. The studio would take their request, render the text into 3D graphics objects, and send them back, all ready to upload to their web-site. Not exactly the answer I was hoping for.
Believe it or not, just a few months later, I came across the web-site of a graphics software company called Xara. They were promoting a product called Xara 3D, a brilliant, and budget-friendly, program that did exactly what I was looking for. You could type any word or phrase from your keyboard, and it would instantly render it in 3D, giving you immediate, real-time control over colors, position, shadow effects, lighting, depth of extrusion (it doesn't take long to learn the terminology), and lots of other details.
Of course, I wasted no time downloading the free trial. As soon as I had installed it, I was blown away by the ease with which I could produce the most extraordinary graphics. And of course I ordered the un-lock code that same night. Looking back, I don't believe I slept for about a week.
I've been using Xara software for well over a decade now, for web-sites, desk-top publishing projects, and Power-Point-style presentations; the graphics can be exported as.jpg and.gif files, and a host of other formats, including animated.gifs and flash animations. At the risk of sounding clichéd, with the software products available from Xara, you are only limited by your own imagination. If graphics is your thing, Xara is the way to go.

For a multitude of graphics needs, from book-covers to numerous web-based projects, David L Henderson relies on Xara software, the core of his graphics toolbox. See some examples of his work, and visit his Blog, at davidlhenderson.com.

How To Restore Dell computer drivers

The article has been designed to help users restore drivers in their Dell computer(s). The methods described in the article are simple and correct to the date. Failure or success of any method may entirely depend on how correctly you follow the instructions.

Is your Dell computer acting erroneously? Did you find that some drivers are missing from your Dell computer due to which it has stopped working properly? Interrupting internet, discolored monitor, no sound, or no video are some of the common signs that indicate towards the presence of a technical glitch(s) in your Dell computer. Since you have already figured out that the drivers are the sole cause of the problem, you might want to restore these. Reinstalling the drivers can be little tedious. Therefore, we have brought you this comprehensive guide that will help you reinstall all your drivers from the scratch without the help of expensive Dell technical support services. It is recommended that you follow the instructions correctly to avoid facing common Dell driver problems.

Instructions:

Find your Dell driver disk that initially came with your Dell computer. Insert the disk into the CDDVD-ROM drive of your computer and select the drivers (on the screen) that you want to install. Once you have selected the drivers, open the Device Manager window to install drivers for the problematic devices.

Click on the Start menu, go to Control Panel, and double click on the System icon. When the System Properties window comes up, highlight the Hardware tab, and then click on the Device Manager button. In the Device Manager window, if you spot a yellow exclamation mark next to any device, then this indicates towards a problem with that particular device that you need to install the drivers for. Follow the instructions to install the drivers. When the process finishes, exit all the windows and remove the disk. Reboot your computer and check that your devices are working properly. If they are not, then go back to the Device Manager and check that the device has no yellow mark beside it. If there is one, then remove and reinstall drivers.

If you don't have the disc to restore your drivers, then download the latest, compatible drivers from the Dell Official website. Login to the website (if required), select or enter the product number for your Dell computer, choose your operating system like Windows XP/7 etc. from the list, and download the drivers. Save the file to an easily accessible location. When done, open the file and run to start installing the necessary driver(s).

Additional Tips:

It is mandatory to update the drivers regularly as the updates enhance a device's functionality and compatibility.

The newly shipped Dell computers (with Windows 7 OS) come with DataSafe Local 2.0, a backup application that helps users create recovery disks for recovering or restoring such software programs.

If the drivers went missing or suddenly started creating problems after installing the latest updates, then try to rollback the changes. Go to the Device Manager window (using the abovementioned instructions), highlight the problematic device, right click on it and select Properties. In the Properties window, click on the Driver tab, and select Roll Back Driver. It will restore the driver to its original state. Recheck if the device has started working properly or not. If it works fine, then visit Dell's website and download updates.

V tech-squad Inc. is the leading third-party service provider of certified online technical support services. The company offers comprehensive packages for Dell Technical Support, preinstalled software and applications, and third-party software and/or hardware. Our other top-class services include Microsoft product support, antivirus issues, malware issues, spyware issues, wireless router issues, printer issues, and non-computer devices etc.