With the purchase of my ultra cool Wacom Intuos 3 6x8 Tablet, I received 3 free subscriptions to Photoshop User magazine. I was quite thrilled about this little perk but didn't realize it was an online subscription rather than a real magazine. This ... I'm not so crazy about. I hate reading things online because I spend all day on the computer already. But hey, it's free so what can I say.


First, I LOVE LOVE LOVE my Wacom tablet. My sister introduced me to them because they are indispensable to a graphic designer. Secondly, a photog friend of mine had just bought one and was raving about it with the type of work we do too. I must admit - the pen is such a blessing when it comes to editing photos. I can't even use a mouse anymore to do some of the edits because the pen is THAT much easier. Plus, I have customized the buttons for shortcuts that makes editing faster too. Love it! Plus I got the 6"x8" refurbished (with full warranty) for basically what the 4"x6" one cost. Score! I got mine through email specials with Adorama but Digital Graphics Resource is another excellent place to look for these on sale.


As for the magazine, the digital subscription is through Zinio. They have free samples of other magazines that you can download to your computer too. You just download their interface software and the issues you've received/purchased. You have the option to print as well. Pretty cool!

Back it Up and Protect It

This has more to do with the hardware side of photography. As I previously mentioned, I bought a Seagate external hard drive to begin backing up all of my photos and important documents. I only leave it plugged in when I have downloaded new pictures or images.

Recently, my anti-virus software of choice upgraded to a newer version and didn't offer a "free" version any longer. So I was forced to download AVG 8.0, the full trial version, in the interim. Luckily, AVG has decided to once again offer a free anti-virus program for personal use. Provided you don't use Outlook for email, AVG is an awesome program to serve all of your anti-virus needs. I've used them for over 5 years with little to no problems.

For spyware, I use Spybot and AdAware. Both are excellent (and free) programs. I was reading an article in Publix's Greenwise Market magazine that discussed donating or recycling your old electronics (think hard drives). They advised of a free program called Darik's Boot and Nuke program that supposedly erases hard drives to DoD standards. I don't believe everything that I read, but it's at least worth checking out!

Back Up ... and Back Up Again

I've read countless horror stories in the photography forums of those losing gigabytes of data because they didn't have their PC backed up. I've always backed up my critical data to a DVD, however, my frequency of doing this is something to be desired. So, I polled my favorite computer gear geeks, did a little diggin' on the Internet, and found a good solution. The Seagate FreeAgent Pro is a sleek little machine that will hold up to 500GB of data via USB2.0 (option of eSATA, but I don't have an eSATA port right now). Seagate is an awesome company because they offer a 5-year warranty. As an engineer in the electronics industry, you don't offer warranties unless your product can live up to it (otherwise you won't stay in business long). So, I figure from a hardware standpoint - this is a good choice. I've seen a lot of complaints on the major electronics sights where I shop (TigerDirect, NewEgg, CNet), but anything is better than what I have right now (which is nothing, knock on wood). I ended up buying mine on NewEgg.com for $40 cheaper than any other price on the web and free shipping. Can't beat that! I'll come back and post a picture when it arrives on Tuesday!