Monitor calibration by Quickgamma for Gallery viewing

I posted a thread a few weeks back, suggesting that a guide to monitor calibration might be useful for all those viewing and posting pics so that as far as is possible we are all seeing the same pic.

I got a couple of interesting replies mentioning a site and a programme called QuickGamma which looked very useful but I have two further questions:

It mentions setting the monitor's colour temp to 6500K, mentioning that a lot of monitors' default setting is 9300K which is too blue.

I have checked my monitor's specs on the internet and it says that my colour temp is adjustable but I have searched the menu controls and colour temp doesn't appear. The monitor is a Samsung Samtron 74V

Anyone any experience of this particular monitor who can help?

Secondly I notice that on attempting the download for QuickGamma my computer warns me that this programme isn't "registered?" or some such word. Basically it's saying that it cannot guarantee its safety.

I know that at least two APUGers have used this programme and would have warned me if there had been safety( virus-wise etc ) problems but while I am sure the originator is above suspicion, what are the chances of another person using it to plant things in it to cause me problems?

I am very concerned( paranoic?) these days about the possibility of internet crime or vandalism and would like to know what risks may be involved.

Thanks

pentaxuser

With the on screen display menus showing choose Color | Color Tone. You have a choice of Cool, Normal, Warm, or Custom. Likely something along the lines of Cool=9300K, Normal=6500K, Warm= 5000K, and the online instructions don't say how to set custom, but you can likely choose that and scroll up and down to the color temp you want. Also under the Color menu is a choice of 3 gammas. The online instruction book doesn't say what the choices are.

http://downloadcenter.samsung.com/content/UM/200507/20050724184424812_BN59-00426C-00Eng.pdf

I avoid being targeted for viruses and botnets by completely avoiding Microsoft products and using linux with other security measures. That also avoids DRM restrictions on stuff I own and Microsoft indexing the files on my hard drive. That probably won't help you much. Here's a way to set yourself for safer web operations and stopping Microsoft from spying on you and restricting your computer use while you're using XP or Vista: http://nixedblog.thenixedreport.com/?p=111 No operating system is completely immune, some are targeted less, and all require that you use them wisely.

Download quickgamma from the homepage and you're probably OK. You might also see if there's an MD5SUM available for the download file and check that before you open it. MD5SUM is a standard checksum that allows you to confirm file integrity, making sure it wasn't modified between a trusted source and the file landing on your computer.

Lee

Lee L said:

I avoid being targeted for viruses and botnets by completely avoiding Microsoft products and using linux with other security measures.

Click to expand...

I run a lot of Microsoft products and have none of those problems.

pentaxuser said:

Secondly I notice that on attempting the download for QuickGamma my computer warns me that this programme isn't "registered?" or some such word. Basically it's saying that it cannot guarantee its safety.

Click to expand...

It just means that the company that developed the software hasn't applied for a certificate (something like an SSL certificate). It is a way of saying the software was developed by the company it says it was. A good idea actually, but many smaller companies find the costs for such as certificate prohibitive.

Lee L said:

With the on screen display menus showing choose Color | Color Tone. You have a choice of Cool, Normal, Warm, or Custom. Likely something along the lines of Cool=9300K, Normal=6500K, Warm= 5000K, and the online instructions don't say how to set custom, but you can likely choose that and scroll up and down to the color temp you want. Also under the Color menu is a choice of 3 gammas. The online instruction book doesn't say what the choices are.

http://downloadcenter.samsung.com/content/UM/200507/20050724184424812_BN59-00426C-00Eng.pdf

I avoid being targeted for viruses and botnets by completely avoiding Microsoft products and using linux with other security measures. That also avoids DRM restrictions on stuff I own and Microsoft indexing the files on my hard drive. That probably won't help you much. Here's a way to set yourself for safer web operations and stopping Microsoft from spying on you and restricting your computer use while you're using XP or Vista: http://nixedblog.thenixedreport.com/?p=111 No operating system is completely immune, some are targeted less, and all require that you use them wisely.

Download quickgamma from the homepage and you're probably OK. You might also see if there's an MD5SUM available for the download file and check that before you open it. MD5SUM is a standard checksum that allows you to confirm file integrity, making sure it wasn't modified between a trusted source and the file landing on your computer.

Lee

Click to expand...

Thanks Lee for the comprehensive reply and especially the download on the monitor. In fact as you say, you can choose between 4 settings on colour temp under the label "colour tone" but it is simply moving between each. There doesn't appear to be any way of setting the custom one. You can simply choose it or not. It doesn't even say what temp is represented by each setting. Normal and Custom are very similar( in fact scrolling quickly between the two,I can't tell the difference) so I've gone for Normal. Clearly the other two Cool and Warm are at opposite ends of the spectrum and are so warm or cool as to leave one wondering why anyone would choose these two.

How do I check to see if there is an MD5SUM available? I had never even heard of such a thing( lack of such knowledge makes one nervous) until your reply.

I have Windows XP and I am stuck with it for better or worse. To be fair I have had no problems using it so far.

Thanks

pentaxuser

pentaxuser said:

How do I check to see if there is an MD5SUM available? I had never even heard of such a thing( lack of such knowledge makes one nervous) until your reply.

Click to expand...

md5 hashes are explained here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Md5sum

At the bottom of that wikipedia page is a link to a MS Windows md5sum program for checking on file integrity. The md5sum is often displayed in text form, a long string of letters and numbers, on a web page near a download link for a file or CD/DVD image. You just make sure that the result of running the md5sum on the downloaded file matches that displayed on the web download page. Then you know that you got that file and that it's not corrupted (or more accurately, extremely unlikely to have been corrupted or modified). If the download page doesn't have a hash on it, running md5sum is of no real use, and not having a hash also doesn't necessarily have any negative connotation.

Not being aware of md5 hashes is not a cause for concern, especially under Windows, where it's less often used. If you're interested in learning enough about security to be more informed and less worried about what potential risks exist, and how to avoid problems, I'm not your XP expert. I'd look for a good book or sound advice on the web (that's not necessarily an oxymoron). My first stop would probably be O'Reilly publishing, something like Dead Link Removed , but I can't make any recommendations from personal experience. Or see if you can find an XP guru with a good reading recommendation.

Lee