Memory Upgrades

One of the easiest and cheapest ways to turbocharge your old laptop or PC is to give it some extra RAM. But there are a few things you’ll need to know first...

Memory is an often forgotten part of a PC, but it should be the first thing you look at when you’re trying to upgrade an old machine to a more sprightly specification. Increasing the amount of RAM in your PC can make a huge difference when playing games and using intensive software such as video- and photo-editing programs. Newer operating systems also tend to be more RAM-hungry, so if a Windows upgrade has reduced your PC to running at a crawl, a lack of memory could well be the cause.

Using images in your web and print publications

It’s always worth livening up a newsletter or website with images, but how do you do it without spending a fortune? Ben Pitt explores the options

Images are an integral part of virtually every online and printed document you see. They draw the reader in, giving an instant understanding of what the accompanying text is about. They also make documents more attractive than if they were just a sea of text.

Images can be expensive to create, though. Professional photographers and illustrators require wages in line with their skills and experience, not to mention the time involved and the equipment costs. If you need to pay people to appear in photos, it can get even more expensive. That’s fine for professional projects with big budgets, but there are lots of web and printed publications that don’t have much cash to spend. In many cases the text is written and edited by hobbyists and volunteers, and there’s literally no budget for the entire project because it generates no income.

The objective of this article isn’t to do photographers and illustrators out of a living. However, if hiring a professional isn’t an option, it doesn’t necessarily mean your publication must be devoid of graphics.