JVC GC-S5 1280 * 1024, 305k
JVC GC-S5 1280 * 1024, 252k
JVC GC-S5 1280 * 1024, 156k

JVC GC-S5

Hardware

This is quite an old configuration, but it can still be useful if you follow some general guidelines:
• Install as much memory as possible, keeping in mind that a 3.3 megapixel image will actually need 3.3 megabytes of memory *3 (one channel for each color: red, green, blue). Multiply this 10MB by two because when you correct images, Photoshop creates a copy of the image. Add again 10 MB for each picture you keep in memory (for instance in the Photoshop buffer). Add some 32 MB for the operating system itself, 32 MB for open applications, and you will notice you will need at least 128 MB of memory. Lesser memory mean some of the data will have to be written to disk (swapping), causing a slow down of applications. Windows can be run on a 32 MB machine, but don't expect it will be easy to print or modify 3.3 Megapixel images.
• Don't install unessessary applications (Office suites, networking components on a stand-alone computer and so on) if your system is not a P III or better. Each application will write data to the register, increasing it's size and generally slowing the system. Some components that run in the background will consume memory and time slices, even if they are of no use like an Office taskbar. Removing the applications will generally not increase the speed again. (Formatting will).
• Use two hard discs, and install them as 'master' on each controller. SCSI hard discs are much faster than standard ones (they have an internal controller, releasing the main processor), but are expensive, especially if you want high capacity ones. Install windows on the first disc, install a permanent swap file 2 or 3 times the size of your main memory (how to do that: read your windows manual) and the abovementionned aplications in that order.
  Use the second disc for your data (that is: your pictures). An old baggy windows computer can be 'upgraded' to high speed simply by formatting the hard disk and reinstalling windows, adding some memory and following these simple rules.

Showing your pictures

I mean: showing off your pictures to people. They are lots of way to do that.
• You can print your images, but beware that you will only get the best out of your inktjet printer if you use special photo papers. They are coated and the special upper layer will absorb the dyes, protecting them from the air, so the colors will last longer. Of course you will use some sort of inkjet printer with 'photorealistic' printing mode. The printers are very cheap, but consumables (cartridges and photo paper) are quite expensive. The printer itself ships with a smaller ink cartrigde, so you'll need to buy a new one very soon. But of course, you are not obliged to print all your pictures.
  Another sort of printer is the dye sub printer. Instead of projecting small druplets of ink to the paper, the dye sublimation printer heats a special film, and the ink is vaporised into the paper. The inkjet printer varies the amount of droplets for creating the different gradations (since it can't control the size of it), the dye sub simply reduces the heat amount so less ink is transfered to the paper.
  A 300 dpi dye sub printer produces better pictures than a 1200 inkjet printer, because the inkjet needs to project say from 1 to 100 different ink droplets to create one single 'pixel' with the correct color. The dye sub printer only varies the amont of ink on that pixel. Dye sub printers use ready-made sets of paper and thermal film. The cost of each picture is always the same.
  We won't mention color laser printers (expensive and no realistic photo rendering). Your company may opt for a wax printer. It's a sort of inkjet printer, but it uses wax instead of water ink, so the ink can be used on all sort of papers (the ink will not bleed into the paper). The printer is expensive, but you don't need to use expensive paper: a picture on a standard grade paper will look great.

  If your printer supports USB (and your computer and windows version too): use it! The speed of an USB interface is not much faster than that of a Centronics interface, but an USB interface has it's own controller, while a normal parallel interfaces relies on the main computer processor for transfering data. This mean that the processor has to reduce his normal activity and control the transfer during the whole printing process.

• Use a photofinishing labo for creating pictures that looks like normal photographs. Depending on the labo you choose, you can have pictures of very high quality. Before sending the pictures to the labo, you can correct them, add some text, and so on. Upload the pictures or drop a CD-RW at your local photo station.
• Upload your pictures to the internet, and let the viewers pay for the ink and paper if they want a hardcopy. Some simple applications like ACDSee can create HTML on the fly, the only thing you have to do is upload the pictures and the thumnails to your site. If you buy some brand of camera (eg. Nikon) they will allow you to put your pictures on their site. Note however that pictures can have very huge sizes (up to 1 MB of more), meaning the upload and download can be very slow. If the pictures are only intended for viewing on a normal screen, reduce the picture size to 1600 * 1200 pixels or even less before moving them to your site.
• Shops with instant printers. These shops will print your pictures on dye sub printers while you are waiting. There is no chemical process involved: no development time, no dry time, no color shifts caused by exhausted baths or wrong temperature.