Microsoft Windows XP Power Toolkit

Many lifelong shutterbugs initially approach digital photography with some trepidation. As with any paradigm shift, the move away from paper-based photographs, single-lens reflex cameras, and traditional film is difficult to make. However, once users get past the differences, digital photography is clearly the way to go. You can still print photos if you want, and the quality of those photos will probably surpass many of the traditional photographs you’ve taken. Working with photographs digitally is one of those perfect intersections of technology and true need: digital photography, quite simply, is better than traditional photography.

The nicest thing about digital photography is that you don’t have to jump into it all at once. If you have a large collection of photographs, or if you want to continue using your traditional camera, you can use a low-cost scanner to scan regular photos and save them on your PC as digital image files. However, purchasing a quality point-and-click digital camera is almost a no-brainer these days, as prices have fallen dramatically in recent years. Either way, once you “go digital,” a whole new world of opportunities becomes available. Not surprisingly, Microsoft Windows XP is poised to enable this new world, with built-in digital photography features unsurpassed by any other operating system.

In this chapter, you’ll learn many features of Windows XP that make creating and handling digital photos quick and easy. We show you how to use the My Pictures folder in Windows XP, change the view mode, and acquire and manipulate digital photographs. We’ll cover the following topics:

• Digital photos and Windows XP

• Using the My Pictures folder

• Acquiring digital photos

• Viewing and editing digital photos

• Distributing and sharing photos electronically