Well, the ms Westerdam Digital Workshop had its first Windows 7 Launch Party up in the Captains' Corner of the Crows Nest. It was a good time had by all. We began with coffee, snacks, and drinks. Then it moved into a True & False Microsoft Trivia in which the winner won the book ‘Plain and Simple Windows 7’. The Trivia was followed by a brief explanation of some of my favorite features of Windows 7. Which are the aero tools, ease of personalization, and Home group. Then some passengers had the opportunity to win some prizes by demonstrating how easy these features are to work with on Windows 7. At the end of the party we held a raffle for all the people who had signed up for the party. The prize was a Microsoft Wireless Mouse! Thanks to all who attended and hope you had a good time!

Here are some pictures from the event.

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Here is a short video made with Windows Live Movie Maker of the Windows 7 Launch Party.

Written By: Chris Jackson ms Westerdam Techspert

The Digital Workshop offers handouts that explain how to repeat the steps of the curriculum taught with in the classes offered onboard Holland America Ships. These classes range in many topics from how to take your pictures off of your camera to how to create a website within Microsoft’s Spaces. The classes are a complimentary part of cruising with Holland America. We have just refined two of our classes and with these classes comes two new Digital Workshop handouts.

Here is the newest  Digital Workshop handout for the hands on Windows 7 class ‘A New Window to My World.’

Click Here

Here is also a new handout for Windows Live Movie Maker. I teach this software in the Digital Workshops class ‘Your Away From Home Movie’. 

Click Here

Of course, you can always download all of the handouts just by following the ‘Digital Workshop Handouts’ blog written on August 16, 2009.

Click Here 

Written By: Chris Jackson – ms Westerdam Techspert

One thing I try to use all of the time are short cut keys on my computer. They are quick ways to accomplish specific routine tasks like copying, pasting, and selecting all. When learned and applied these combinations of keys will help speed up your daily life and proficiency with your computer. Here is a quick reference to some shortcut keys that will work with most programs on your personal computer.

Written By: Chris Jackson – ms Westerdam Techspert

The Digital Workshop had a dedicated group of Cruisers onboard for the week of October 25, 2009. Here is a picture taken of some of the participants after a Safe and Sound class on October 31, 2009.

Thanks for participating.

Written By: Chris Jackson – ms Westerdam Techspert

I am very thankful for the many participants who took advantage of Holland America & Microsoft’s Digital Workshop through out their 21 Day Panama Canal cruise from September 21 – October 18. I really enjoyed meeting and getting to know everyone who participated.

Thanks to those who also accomplished the Panama Canal Cruise Project. I hope all of you are enjoying the videos you made and applying what you learned with making your first Windows Live Movie Maker slideshow. The project was a great learning experience for me as I hope it was for you too!

At some of your request’s I am posting my pictures taken through out the cruise. Thank you again for a very memorable experience!

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Written By: Chris Jackson – ms Westerdam Techspert

So for those past, present, and future Digital Workshop participants who have misplaced those valuable handouts that remind you how to accomplish some of the task’s that we techspert’s taught, teach, and will teach. Here is a step by step explanation to obtaining those handouts from non-other then, the MS Westerdam Digital Workshop’s own website, mswesterdam.spaces.live.com. The very same website you are probably reading this blog on. These handouts span a total of 8 different classes that we teach along with an added bonus, Jeff's Tricks. This PDF was put together by Jeff Tiefenthaler, a fellow techspert, who has outlined how to perform various other cool tricks of the trade.

This link will take you directly to the the Digital Workshop’s Skydrive folder which obtains all of the handouts that explain step by step the majority of what we teach in the Digital Workshop onboard Holland America’s Cruise Ships.

Click Here!!!!!

The page you are linked to looks partially like this;

You can download all of them from the website by Clicking More > Download as .zip file;

Click save > Save folder under Documents, name the file something you can remember, click save again > Wait till it downloads…

Click Allow > Click Open > and Enjoy!

 

Written By: Chris Jackson - MS Westerdam Techspert

Windows Live Tags: How To, Digital Workshop, Clubhouse, Techspert

 

Had a gentleman come into the class the other week and he presented to me a small black film canister. He shook it and it rattled loudly. I took the bait and asked what he had in mind to show me. He opened the canister up and dumped into his hand a chain with a loop screw connected to the end of it.

He started his explanation, “ Well, I hate traveling with a tripod, but the fact is, they are a convenience! So, at the bottom of all camera’s there is a hole to screw your camera into its specific tripod. I went to a hardware store and found a loop screw that would screw into the bottom of my camera and connected this chain to it. So when I wanted to take a steady or level picture. I would screw the eye loop to the bottom of my camera, drop the chain and step on it. Then, by pulling the chain taunt, I was able to take both a level and steady picture.” I shook the man’s hand for his ingenuity. So, to create a tripod that’s manageable and cheap!

Go to your nearest hardware store (Don’t Forget Your Camera), find the hardware & fasteners department, look for a loop screw fastener, find one that fits your camera. They come in a large variety of sizes and they look like this,

Then go to the Chain and Rope isle purchase what ever chain you can live with when pulling something like this out in public. Purchase what ever length you think will apply well to your height and make sure you give yourself plenty of chain to work with.

Then you put your chain through the loop screw and connect the chain together by clamping the links. Screw the loop into your camera, drop the chain, step on the end of it and pull the chain taunt. Shoot you're now steady and level picture!

I have not had a chance to make this tripod and will write a follow up blog with pictures and a review of my experience when I get the opportunity.

To Be Continued…

Written By: Chris Jackson – MS Westerdam Techspert

Well, how many of you have accidentally switched your digital camera to video mode while setting up to take a perfect photo. Then pushed your shutter only to find out your recording a short video rather then taking that perfect photo. Well, in the case you have your mind set on acquiring a single frame from that accidental video here are the steps you need to follow to achieve your goals using non other then Windows Movie Maker.

For those of you running Vista, Movie Maker is already on your computer. For those of you who are running XP, go to www.download.live.com to download this free, extremely intuitive, movie slide show video/photo editing software.

Setting it up;

1. Open Movie Maker, go to View, select Tasks

2. Under the Import section of Movie Maker Tasks Menu click Videos

 

3. Select the specific video and click Import

4. Drag and drop your selected video into the Timeline. 

Zooming and Selecting;

5. Click the plus magnifying glass three to four times. This will zoom into your clip to get more of an accurate selection of the specific frame you would like to capture.

One Click               

Two Clicks  

Three Clicks  

 

6. Drag and Drop the Green bar to the selected specific frame you would like to capture, shown by the Media player on the right side of the screen.

Four Clicks    

Media Player before dragging and dropping green bar

Media Player after dragging and dropping the green bar on a specific frame

Capturing;

After you have positioned the green bar in location and you see the picture you want captured in the media player go to   

7.Tools & 8. Take Picture from Preview…

       

 9. Title and Save

  

10. Movie Maker will automatically put a copy of the captured frame in its Imported Media section

                                      

11. Movie Maker also saves a copy of the image within your default picture folder 

          

12. Which you can open as any other picture on your computer, Final Product!

If you’re interesting in learning more about Windows Movie Maker here is a LINK to a step by step PDF in getting to know the basics of this extremely easy to use free software.

Written By: Chris Jackson – Ms. Westerdam Techspert

In order to really start my blogging as a Techspert out right, I am going to write about something I love. How to create a panorama picture using Windows Live Photo Gallery. I can honestly tell you, with out a doubt in my mind, that I take and create a panorama picture every single time I go out. Why, because its to easy, too quick, and way too gratifying not to.

First Step: Take the Pictures

Plant your feet in one location, rotate at the hips, overlap your pictures by about a third, and keep as level as possible.

You do not need a stitch assist on your camera or a tripod to do this!

Second Step: Getting Set Up

Load pictures on your computer, open Windows Live Photo Gallery, find your pictures within the gallery, select your pictures you would like to stitch.

Third Step: Three Clicks and a Stitch

Go to ‘Make’ top of the screen, click, go to ‘Create panoramic photo…’, click.

Wait patiently while the pictures stitches, title your stitch and save, final click.

 

Fourth and Final Step: Crop and Enjoy

Select the ‘Fix’ option at the top of the screen, select crop photo right side of the screen, adjust the crop photo box accordingly, select apply.

Enjoy the Greatness!!!

Written By: Chris Jackson – Ms. Westerdam Techspert

To all the wonderful Digital Workshop participants.  It has been a pleasure serving you for the last 12 months.  I’m leaving the Westerdam this week and wanted to introduce you to one of our newest members Dan Newell.  He is a great Techspert and a really smart man.  We had a great initiation in the Northern Lights night club last night.  Here are a couple pictures from the Westerdam from our first Alaska cruise on the Westerdam.

I mentioned in the last blog entry that you can sync multiple emails with Windows Live Mail.  Now the questions is…what is sync?  Windows Live Mail gives you the flexibility to add email accounts and then sync your multiple email accounts together in one location.  That way if you have multiple emails for example; (Hotmail, MSN, Yahoo, Google, Outlook) you can use Windows Live Mail to pull together all your emails from different locations. 

By: Jeff J. Tiefenthaler, WEDM Techspert

      Windows Live Photo Gallery manages more than just photo editing.  With an extensive set of tools from creating panoramic photos to adding tags I want to highlight a feature I started using not too long ago.  This feature is the email feature in Windows Live Photo Gallery that you may have seen in the Digital Workshop Show and Tell session during your cruise with Holland America. I like using Windows Live Mail because my pictures will show in the body of the email and when my family and friends receive my email they can see the picture(s) before they choose to download them.  Windows Live Mail makes it really easy to sync your current email address into one central location and work off line to compose all your emails. Windows Live Mail also gives you the option to change the file size of the pictures from 5MB, 1MB or 215 KB.  The file size determines the resolution of the picture and the amount of time it takes to upload/download the picture.  There are other options like black and white or auto correct and certainly don’t forget to check out the different photo frames and layout choices!

When you’re inside Windows Live Photo Gallery (WLPG), the email tool is located at the top.  You can select 1 or more pictures ( hold down Ctrl) and send them to Windows Live Mail by clicking email.  If you do not have Windows Live Mail on your computer you will need to download this free program from www.download.live.com before it will work.  If you downloaded Windows Live Mail to your computer and the pictures you’re trying to email from WLPG do not open in the body of the email go to Windows Live Mail>Options>Make Default Mail Provider.  Making Windows Live Mail the default mail provider insures that your email tool will work in WLPG. 

By Jeff Tiefenthaler, WEDM Techspert

Dear Friends,

I’m glad that you have been using the Westerdam Spaces page as your primary Digital Workshop resource and in fact I’m quite flattered.  So to show some love to the other ships in the Holland America fleet I want to tell you about the other resources, pictures and blogs available to you.  You can check out the other ships Spaces pages by clicking on the Digital Workshop logo below.

By the end of 2010 the Digital Workshop will have expanded to 12 of the Holland America ships.  That means 12 Digital Workshop websites. Click on these pictures to be directed to the page.

ms Amsterdam                                       ms Eurodam

ms Zaandam                                          ms Maasdam

Jeff Tiefenthaler, WEDM Techspert 

Many of you may be arriving back home from your cruise with Holland America or perhaps you were on the Westerdam a long time ago and you just can’t get enough of me.  Well as always I’m here to give you more!  Each week you can read a new blog article right here. This week I want to feature how to create pop art with your pictures!  Pop art is a fantastic way to make the average picture into an exuberant one like I have here. 

                 (Before)                                                              (After)

Here are the steps.

1. Double click on your picture in Windows Live Photo Gallery to open it up.

2. Make a copy of the original picture by clicking on File>Make a Copy>Save

3. Click on “fix” at the top of your screen to get the basic editing tools that will appear in the right column. 

4. Click on “Adjust Color”

     A. Drag saturation completely to the right.

     B. Drag color temperature 3/4 to the right.  

5. Click on “Adjust Exposure”

     A.  Drag highlights,shadows and exposure completely to the right

     B.  Drag brightness slowly to the left until satisfied with the picture.

Click on this link to see some of my personal pop art!

Written by: Jeff Tiefenthaler, WEDM Techspert