Expand your skills. Chat with the experts. Join our community of kindred spirits on this exotic journey.

Our Speakers on PC Paradise 4 are:
Chris Campbell, Jan Kabili, Leo Laporte, Deke McClelland,
Harry McCracken, David Pogue, and Eddie Tapp

PC Paradise Track

Migrating to Vista (90 minutes)
Speaker: Leo Laporte

Vista is the most significant upgrade to Windows ever. In this 90 minute class you'll learn everything you need to know to make the upgrade smoothly, including which programs will work and which won't, how to best move your data over, how to adjust to the significant changes in the user interface, tweaks and settings to make Vista more friendly, and much more. Whether you're using the latest version of XP or still using Windows 95, Leo can help you make the move into the 21st century with Windows Vista.

Vista Security 101 (90 minutes)
Speaker: Leo Laporte

Windows Vista changes everything about Windows security. In this 90- minute class you'll learn how to best protect yourself using Vista's built-in capabilities. You'll also learn about two additional security programs all Windows users must have, the five keys to security, how to protect your email, and more. This is one class you must attend before you take Vista for a spin on the Information Superhighway.

Vista Security 102 (90 minutes)
Speaker: Leo Laporte

Microsoft has significantly improved security with Windows Vista, but there are still ways for hackers to attack you and your data. In this 90-minute class we'll learn about the new Vista security model, User Account Control, the improved Windows firewall, Windows Service Hardening, and Network Access Protection. We'll see what's new in Internet Explorer 7, and learn how hackers are planning to attack this new, improved Windows. Can Windows ever be truly secure? Learn what you need to do to protect yourself and your network.

Who Needs Windows Vista? (90 minutes)
Speaker: Harry McCracken

Microsoft's new OS sports a fancy new user interface, dramatically better searching, handy “Gadgets,” and spruced-up tools for music and photos, among many enhancements. But what if you're happy with the PC you've got and don't want to spring for the upgrade? We'll tell you about absolutely free ways to give Windows XP much of Vista's functionality, and keep that old computer going strong.

Life in the Cross-Platform Lane (Mac OS X/Windows Symbiosis) (90 minutes)
Speaker: David Pogue

OK, now the Macintosh can run Windows, and millions of people have gotten used to running both Mac AND Windows. David Pogue is among them — in fact, he's written bestselling books on both operating systems. In this intriguing session, he'll show you how both Apple and Microsoft went about solving precisely the same problems — and how you can use this information to make your Macs and PCs talk to each other, how to make them share data, and how to make the switch from one platform to the other without going quietly mad.

20 Things You Didn't Know Word Could Do (90 minutes)
Speaker: David Pogue

Did you know about the secret "rand" command that fills your document with dummy text for formatting purposes? Have you mastered the art of Word macros, which can clean up Internet text formatting or make a document fit your department's style guide with one click? What about transferring your custom toolbars from your main machine to your laptop? New York Times columnist/Word maven David Pogue will take you on a guided tour of Word's darkest recesses. Torches provided.

PC Paradise Track (continued)

The Undocumented Vista (half day)
Speaker: David Pogue

50 million lines of code ... 5 years in the making ... Windows Vista is one monster operating system. And buried in there, lost to the average person, are tips, tricks, and shortcuts that will help you tame your files, folders, and even your copy of Windows. Let David Pogue, weekly tech columnist for the New York Times and author of "Windows Vista: The Missing Manual," show you some of the coolest hidden tidbits — and clever ways to use the not-hidden ones.

Extreme Googling (90 minutes)
Speaker: David Pogue

So you thought Google was just a Web search page? You ain't seen nothin' yet. David Pogue, who won an Emmy for his CBS News profile of Google, will unveil the Google you never knew. It's a white pages, yellow pages, calculator, aircraft database, driving map, package tracker, auto database, barcode translator, stock ticker, and much more. He'll explain all — and also take you on a tour of what's cooking in Google Labs.

The Windows Tweaks We Couldn't Live Without (90 minutes)
Speaker: Harry McCracken

Maybe you've already moved to Windows Vista. Maybe you're happy with XP. Maybe (gasp!) you're still on an earlier version. Doesn't matter — in this interactive class, we'll share simple tips with big payoffs.

Windows vs. Mac: What's Best Now? (90 minutes)
Speaker: Harry McCracken

In early 2007, both Windows and Mac types get new versions of their operating systems — Vista and Leopard, respectively. Do the updates change the game? This session will provide the facts about both upgrades'hottest features, tell Windows users what they need about Mac OS X and vice versa, and provide insider tips. And with Macs now able to run Windows via Boot Camp, we'll also reveal whether the best solution is to run both platforms on one computer.

Introduction to Microsoft Office 2007 (90 minutes)
Speaker: Harry McCracken

The new version of Office is the biggest upgrade in years, with a totally new user interface and a profusion of new features large and small in Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and all the other programs. This session will give PC World's expert take on what's new and how to get the most out of it. Come whether you've made the leap already and want tips and tricks, or are still deciding whether the upgrade is for you.

Best Freebies of 2007 (90 minutes)
Speaker: Harry McCracken

Good news: It's never been a better time to be a complete and utter cheapskate. We'll reveal our favorite no-cost tools, from office suites to essential utilities to Web services so good you'd be happy to pay for them. You may never pay for software again.

The Windows User's Guide to Linux (90 minutes)
Speaker: Harry McCracken

In the old days, you needed to be a complete and utter geek to use Linux. But the open-source operating system has gotten a lot easier to use, and is winning loyal fans every day. This session will explain how to tell if it's for you, recommend distributions for mere mortals, and reveal how to sidestep common gotchas.

Beginning Photoshop Track

February 4th
8:30am to Noon

Photoshop Fundamentals
Speaker: Jan Kabili

This course is for you if you're new to Photoshop, or if you're self-taught and want to polish your grasp of Photoshop essentials.

• Learn your way around the Photoshop interface.
• Understand once and for all what resolution, RGB color mode, and bit depth really mean.
• Discover how to resize and crop without compromising image quality.
• Get up to speed on working with Layers, with emphasis on the latest developments like multiple layer selection, Smart Object layers, and the revamped Layers palette.
• Learn the basics of image sharpening.
• Understand file formats and image saving. 
• You'll come away from this class with a solid foundation for moving to the next step in Photoshop.

February 4th
1:30pm to 5:00pm

The Next Level: Mastering Selections
Speaker: Jan Kabili

Making a good selection is an essential Photoshop skill, whether your goal is to correct exposure in part of a photograph, color part of a logo, or create a complex photo collage. In this course we'll examine the many ways to select, concentrating on which method is best for a particular situation. We'll look at how and when to use:

• Color and tonal-based selection features, including the Color Range command, the magic eraser, background eraser, and magnetic lasso tools;
• Drawing-based selection features, like the marquee and lasso tools;
• The Extract filter, for difficult selections like wispy hair;
• The quick mask mode, for fine-tuning and painting-in selections;
• Selection feathering and anti-aliasing;
• Selection modifications, like add-to, subtract-from, grow, transform, expand and contract; and
• The Save Selection command. 

After this class, you'll be able to tackle any selection problem with confidence. This course is suitable for beginning to intermediate Photoshop users.

February 6th
8:30am to Noon

Beyond the Basics: Simple Masks and Layered Compositions
Speaker: Jan Kabili

Take this course if you're an intermediate user who wants to learn the ins and outs of combining images in Photoshop. These skills are essential to any photo composition, from a montage of wedding photographs, to a fine art collage, to a professional photo illustration. Learn how to: 

• Combine multiple images into a single layered composition;
• Transform images to fit the canvas;
• Use layer masks with gradients to seamlessly blend images;
• Paint in layer masks to hide and reveal parts of combined images;
• Apply blend modes to layers and layer groups;
• Vary layer opacity;
• Knock out colors with the Blend If sliders; and
• Unify image shading.

If your experience with Photoshop has been limited to working with single photographs, take this next step toward expressing your artistic side as you learn to combine images like a pro.

Advanced Photoshop Track

February 4th
8:30am to Noon

Advanced Levels and Camera Raw
Speaker: Deke McClelland

Before you do anything else in Photoshop — before you resize an image, before you straighten it, before you filter it, before you do anything — you need to fix the colors. This means adjusting the brightness, fixing the contrast, tweaking the color cast, and generally making the image look the way you thought it looked when you captured it. We’ll look at two of the most powerful tools for fixing colors in Photoshop: the Levels command and the Camera Raw image processor. In this half-day session, you’ll learn how to:

• Use the Levels command
• Read and respond to a histogram
• Take advantage of the 16 bit-per-channel mode
• Use a Threshold adjustment layer to evaluate highlights and shadows
• Balance colors with the Levels command’s eyedropper tools
• Correct for skin tones (and even add a bit of subtle tan!)
• Process raw digital photographs directly from the Bridge
• Adjust Tint and Temperature
• Apply your understanding of Levels to the world of Camera Raw
• Correct multiple raw images at once
• Save Camera Raw settings for later use and reapply them to other photographs shot under similar conditions
• Keep your Bridge settings safe with distributed cache files
  
  

February 4th
8:30am to Noon

Advanced Focus Techniques
Speaker: Deke McClelland

Strictly speaking, focus happens inside the camera. You focus the image before you shoot it, not “in post.” Photoshop can’t really do anything to sculpt razor-sharp transitions or generate missing or vague detail. But it can simulate sharp or blurry focus, and sometimes quite well. Explore ways to use Photoshop’s sharpening and blurring functions to enhance the good details in an image and smooth over the bad. You’ll learn how to:

• Compare neighboring pixels using a convolution kernel
• Exaggerate edge details with Unsharp Mask
• Correct for lens blur and camera movement with Smart Sharpen
• Create the rough equivalent of a focus adjustment layer with High Pass
• Avoid noise enhancement with the Emboss filter
• Sharpen detail without creating aberrant color variations
• Soften the effects of digital noise, film grain and JPEG compression artifacts using the Reduce Noise filter
• Smooth over blemishes, razor stubble, and other imperfections with Median, Dust & Scratches, and Surface Blur
• Sharpen vintage photographs with a custom edge mask

February 8th
1:30pm to 5pm

Monochromes, Duotones, and Gradient Maps
Speaker: Deke McClelland

The simplest way to create a black-and-white image from a full-color original is to choose Image > Mode > Grayscale. But as is so often the case in Photoshop, the simple way is the bad way. Especially when they are so many other options that offer such better control in return from a modest increase in effort. And who wants a drab, flat grayscale image when you can increase the dynamic range and richness of an image by converting it to a duotone or adding spot colors? And you haven’t lived until you’ve color-corrected and colorized an image in one operation with Gradient Map. In this half-day session, you’ll learn how to:

• Blend the perfect monochrome image with the Channel Mixer
• Use the Curves command to balance gray values
• Convert color images directly to grayscale from Camera Raw
• Mix high-dynamic range images with the Duotone command
• Add additional printing plates as spot channels
• Infuse every nook and cranny of a grayscale image with color using the incredibly useful, often-overlooked Gradient Map function
  
  

Digital Photography Track

February 4th
1:30pm to 5:00pm

Shooting for Success
Speaker: Eddie Tapp

We'll go over the necessary features and tools good photographers must have in their bag of tricks: from using filters to the "high end" features that give you the power of creative control as well as creative discoveries. We'll work on a variety of projects and exercises using Layers and Masks, blending and adjustment modes, backgrounds and edge effects, cookie lighting, and specialized effects that will change the way and speed with which you work.

• Establishing a productive environment
• Creative Enhancements
• Custom Actions
• Back to the Future techniques
• Custom Brushes
  
  

February 4th
1:30pm to 5:00pm

The Color Managed Workflow — and More
Speaker: Eddie Tapp

Learn the steps to a color managed workflow. We'll review device calibration, profiles, and color spaces along with tips for getting predictable results time after time. Go beyond the cloning tools with exercises in advanced masking and enhancement techniques along with creating exciting panoramas and controlling digital noise. In this class we'll also have a 'stump the instructor' learning session (bring a problem image file for this session).

• Three stages of color management
• The rebuild project
• Controlling digital noise
• Creating panoramas
• Masking techniques

February 8th
8:30am to Noon

Tapp on Photography: Aesthetically Speaking
Speaker: Eddie Tapp

In this session we'll explore the aesthetic fundamentals of the image idiom. Conceptual and visualization exercises, and simple techniques to engage your compositional expressions, will be explored. We'll learn about the four attention-getting "stages" that make an ad or printed piece "effective". We'll learn that the three elements that comprise compelling images (exposure, composition, and light) are only one facet. Finally, we go over the five-point "visual drill" — the things you need to think about when looking through the camera's viewfinder (SLR cameras) or LCD imaging screen to capture that compelling and effective image.

At the conclusion of this half-day session you'll be able to close your eyes and pre-visualize, conjure up your newly-found creative juices, and enjoy your imaging as you have never imagined possible!

• How images talk
• Compositional elements and eye flow
• Awakening your senses
• Visualization
• Incorporating the five-point drill
• The three elements of powerful photos

February 8th
1:30pm to 5pm

Tapp on Photography: Technically Speaking
Speaker: Eddie Tapp

Meet the challenge to create better images quickly. Mandate the four steps of the digital camera pre-flight; techniques for white balancing; and when and how to use certain color functions during the 30% Light Rule. Using metering, exposure, and the Histogram. Seeing light for the first time. When Camera Raw is important and understanding the difference. In this session we'll also explore using Adobe Lightroom for file management along with obtaining high quality printing and output.

• Camera Pre-flights
• Color control
• Exposure control
• Shaping with Light
• Making the Raw impression
• Managing files in Lightroom
• Output