|
APCUG Editorial Committee Articles
Click to see our Authors
December 2007
10
Commandments for Online Shopping by Robert Spotswood,
a Member of HAL-PC, Texas
www.hal-pc.org (Approx. 3,839 words).
Most of us will probably have to use this article over several
issues…. Navigating the online shopping minefield includes these 10
important commandments: Understand the risks, keep your computer clean,
shop around, don’t trust that lock, checkout the company, use credit
cards not debit cards, zero liability sounds better than it is, protecting
your credit card online, close the browser, and use common sense.
A
Laptop for the Holidays? By Vinny La Bash, a regular
columnist and member of the Sarasota PCUG, FL www.spcug.org (Approx. 1,005 words). In
June 2005, monthly laptop sales exceeded desktop sales for the first time.
Since them, the popularity of laptops has continued to gain. Laptops are
replacing desktops in homes and corporate offices and they are cheaper than
ever, but that doesn’t mean that the cheapest laptop is the one
that’s best for you. Examine the specifications, test drive it if you
can, then make your choice.
Connected
or Discombobulated? By Judy Lococo, Director,
Kentucky-Indiana PCUG www.kipcug.org (Approx. 652 words). Everywhere you look
today, someone is always talking about “connectivity” and how
out new, improved world demands it. The more Judy sees of this phenomenon,
the less she thinks we are connected.
Converting
to a Portable Office by Brian K. Lewis PhD, a regular
columnist and member of the Sarasota PCUG, FL www.spcug.org (Approx. 1,401 words). Brian
is in the process of changing to a completely mobile lifestyle and that
means everything he needs has to fit in a very small space in a travel
trailer where there is no room for a desktop and a CRT and he needs to add
storage to the laptop so that all of his research files, genealogy files,
etc. will be able to go along. That’s what this article is all about
– fitting everything into as small a space as possible.
FBI
Asks “How Aware are you of the Dangers of the ‘Net?” by
Ira Wilsker, APCUG Director; Columnist, The Examiner, Beaumont TX;
Radio and TV Show Host (Approx. 1,286 words). As regular readers may know,
Ira frequently lectures on computer security topics, and has written numerous
columns on security topics over the years. While many of us surf the net
oblivious to the online threats that face us, many others are aware of the
treats, and sadly, many have learned of the threats the hard way.
Free
Help for Creating Greeting Cards by Sandy Berger,
CompuKISS, www.compukiss.com (Approx.
578 words). A recent trip to the greeting card store left Sandy in sticker shock. While the text
with the price of the card was smaller (or is it just my aging eyes?), the
price tag was definitely larger than the last time she looked. You can
visit the sites in Sandy’s
article and create your cards with free clip art and pre-designed cards.
Moving
on to Vista – Part 2 by Neil Stahfest,
Shareware Librarian, Tacoma Area PC User Group, WA www.tapcug.org (Approx. 731 words). Part
2 of Neil’s saga with Vista.
Need
a sticky note? Put it on your computer! By Linda Gonse,
Editor & Webmaster, Orange County IBM PC Users’ Group, CA www.orcopug.org (Approx. 531 words).
Sticky note programs for your pc, as you might imagine, are a utility that
takes the place of paper Post-it notes that we all stick to our monitors!
But the sticky note programs Linda research this year discouraged her from
even trying them out. Then she found one she likes.
Old
to New Computer Files Transfer: Careful! By Charles W. Evans,
Reviews Editor, Hal-PC TX www.hal-pc.org
(Approx. 960 words). It’s that time of year when many of us will buy
a new computer. And one of the biggest chores of getting a new computer is
moving all of our stuff from one to the other. This review and the one in
January ’08 should be helpful in transferring or moving your
“stuff.”
Saitek
Optical Photo Mouse by Jan Fagerholm, Mouse Maven, PC
Community, CA www.pcc.org (Approx. 609 words). This mouse is for the
person who has everything. It’s a desktop optical USB mouse that you
can insert your own photos into. The photo area is illuminated. The mouse
features 3 buttons and a scroll wheel.
The
New, The Best, and The Worst – November 2007 collected by Pim Borman,
Webmasters, SW Indiana
PC Users Group, Inc. http://swipcug.apcug.org
(Approx. 1,039 words). This month, Pim tells us about disruptive Open
Source programs and thermal color printing.
The
Phenomenon of Facebook – Part III, Love and Dating in the 21st
Century by Courtney Jewett, member of Alamo PC, TX
and a Senior English major at Baylor
University www.alamopc.org (Approx. 508 words).
Facebook is one of the most valuable tools in the dating world, and is
today’s version of the little black book. Users of the social network
can display their relationship status on their profile, along with the name
of their significant other. This information is visible to their
‘Facebook friends,’ and is simply a click away.
Tweak
Your PC to Keep It Running Fast, Feeling Good and Looking Young! by Lou
Torraca, President MOAA Computer User Group, HI www.the-tug.org (Aprox. 2,211 words).
Lou was explaining to a friend that he is a quick launch toolbar aficionado
{:-) What the heck is that he asked. Lou said he was just referring to the
fact he uses it instead of the desktop to keep all his shortcuts, actually,
lots of shortcuts, at least on his main PC. As they continued to talk about
this Lou found myself explaining a lot of stuff he has done with his PCs
and notebook in the past 6 or 8 years! The
“things…tweaks”
come from dozens and dozens of places including many newsletters,
also some regular blogs, newspapers, radio shows, other PC users he talks
with and of course, the real biggie, MICROSOFT! Yup, their knowledge base
contains millions of tips, solutions and you guessed it…TWEAKS!
Weird
Windows Behavior by Sandy Berger, CompuKISS, www.compukiss.com (Approx. 868 words).
Have you ever been completely dismayed by your computer? Does it seem to do
unusual things that you can’t trace back to any of your actions?
Well, you are not alone. Do your Icons disappear? Have you lost your
toolbars or the toolbar moves? Do you have a dramatic slowdown, no sound,
or your mouse shutters? Sandy
gives you tips on why this happens and how you can fix the problems.
Windows
Live Hotmail by Lynn Page, Editor, Crystal River
Users Group, FL www.crug.com (Approx. 1,367
words). Lynn
has had a Hotmail account for many years and uses it regularly. The latest
Windows Live Hotmail is easier to use and includes many impressive
features. With a 5 GB Inbox so you don’t have to worry about it
filling up while you are away and many safety features to alert you to
suspicious email and spam.
October / November 2007
After
Retirement, Who Are You? By Gabe Goldberg, Advisor, Region
2; columnist, CompuKISS.com www.compukiss.com
(Approx. 599 words). Retirement
– even temporary job loss – can trigger discomfort with
one’s changed identity. Especially for those who have been strongly
career oriented, the simple question, “What do you do?” can
lead to fumbling for an answer. And when socializing or doing business or
volunteering, it can be awkward not having the usual trappings of the
grown-up world such as business cards. Enter VistaPrint.
Buying
a New Vista Computer? Read This First! By
Sandy Berger, Compukiss.com www.compukiss.com (Approx. 925 words).
Windows Vista is finally ready for prime time. Over the last several
months, the drivers for many devices like printers and scanners have been
updated to accommodate Vista. Most
software has also been updated to be Vista
compatible. If you are ready for a new computer you may be ready for Vista. However, you might want to do a little
homework before you make your purchase.
DUFFERDOM
– Tales from the Kingdom of the Ordinary User by David D. Uffer, a
Member of the Chicago Computer Society www.ccs.org
(Approx. 1,281 words). Of Avery, CDs, Squaring the Circle, Selected Greek
Classics and Tantalus – Plus a Resolution.
DVD
Insider – DRM by Andy Marken, Marken Communications www.markencom.com (Approx. 1,655 words).
We need to note that creative people need to be paid for their
work…writers, artists, animators, actors, makeup artists, best boys,
post production folks, underwriters and yes even studio execs. No
pay…no play! The problem is the world doesn’t want content
protection and consumers don’t want content protection.
Fake
Check Scams on the Internet Explode by Ira Wilsker,
APCUG Director; Columnist, The Examiner, Beaumont, TX;
Radio & TV Show Host (Approx. 1,253 words). Have you recently received
an e-mail where you are a supposed winner of a drawing scam? Spam-scam
crackdown nets $2 billion in fake checks and 77 arrests were made in the Netherlands, Nigeria
and Canada.
Have you heard that the Postal Service has declared war on the Nigerian
scam? All this and more in Ira’s fascinating article.
Google
Search Bar and Your Telephone Number by Sandy Berger, www.compukiss.com (Approx 668 words).
If you know someone’s telephone number, how hard would it be to find
that person? Well, with Internet resources, it couldn’t be easier.
Type any telephone number into the Google search bar and you will quickly
be given the name and address that relates to that number, as well as a
detailed map on where they live.
How
to Find Podcasts by Mike Lyons, President, ORCOPUG, CA
www.orcopug.org (Approx. 504 words).
Mike gives us good directions on how to find and download podcasts.
How
to use Google Street
Views to see…streets, places, routes and faces! By Linda Gonse,
Editor and Webmaster, ORCOPUG,
CA www.orcopug.org (Approx. 447 words).
Beyond the curiosity of the new panoramic on-the-road reality shots,
Google’s detailed Street Views give you a feel for really being where
you want to go. Although only a handful of large cities are represented in
these views, it’s still likely you will want to look for destinations
in them occasionally.
Make
Vista Work Better by Vinny La Bash, member of the Sarasota
PCUG, FL www.spcug.org (Approx. 940
words). No matter how good an OS may be, someone will complain that it
could have been better. Vista is a very
good OS that some people find wanting. Some people are never satisfied, but
that is not the issue here. Of course, Vista should have been better, but
MS has only so much time and resources to develop a system, and Vista was late to market in addition to being less
than perfect.
Moving
on to Vista – Part 1 by Neil Stahfest,
Shareware Librarian, Tacoma Area PCUG, WA www.tapcug.org
(Approx. 702 words). I tested a pre-release version of Windows Vista last
year. I thought that the eye candy was nice but there really wasn’t a
lot about the program to make it worth upgrading my PC to use it. Since
then I’ve heard stories about problems with Vista
that made me even reluctant to upgrade to it. But, things happen. I
“needed” a new laptop to demonstrate programs for the Flight
Simulator SIG <wink><wink>. Many of you will be buying new
computers in the next year or so, so I’ll share some of my
experiences and impressions with you.
The
New, the Best, and the Worst – October 2007, collected by Pim Borman,
Webmaster, SW Indiana PCUG http://swipcug.apcug.org
(Approx. 1,367 words). From Mobile Supercomputers to Super Jigsaws, Amazon,
Burj Dubai Babel Baggle, and Google, Pim tells it like it is.
Online
Consumer Help from the Federal Government by Ira Wilsker,
APCUG Director; Columnist, The Examiner, Beaumont, TX:
Radio & TV show host (Approx. 1,161 words). President Bush has
requested that all federal agencies make it easier for consumers (the
general public) to locate the utilize information on federal websites. In
some cases a variety of federal agencies have pooled their resources and
information, and compiled the data in easy-to-use websites that represent
several agencies in one place. Some of these integrated federal websites
are consumer.gov, recalls.gov, and usa.gov. EDITORS – let your
program chair know that the information in this article can be used for a program.
The
Phenomenon of Facebook – Part II by Courtney Jewett,
a member of HAL-PC, TX
and a senior English major at Baylor
University who is
pursuing a career in Journalism www.alamaopc.org
(Approx. 569 words). Today’s college student is as familiar with
Facebook as they are to types of Starbucks coffee, episodes of Grey’s
Anatomy, and the rising cost of their university tuition. Courtney’s
article lets her readers have a clearer understanding of how students are
utilizing the site.
The
QWERTY Keyboard and Microsoft Office 2007 by Bob Schneider,
Editor, The PC Keyboard, Spring Hill Teaching Computer Club, FL www.shtcc.net (Approx. 625 words). Back in
the mid-1800s, when the first practical typewriter was built, inventor
C.L.Sholes arranged the keys in the QWERTY layout for a practical reason.
He had to separate the most common letters to prevent the hammers from
jamming. So many people knew that although it was no longer necessary, it
was maintained with the advent of electric typewriters. Since Bob started
using Windows 2.0 in 1989, Microsoft advertised the strength and beauty of
following the Windows format. Using its standard GUI interface, all
programs would have the same look and feel. Learn one program and you could
quickly learn to navigate around in any similar software. Enter Office
2007.
ru
Xperienced? By Lee Reynolds, a member of the Boca
Raton Computer Society, FL www.brcs.org (Approx. 594 words). Ownership and
Restrictions. If you have ever had a corrupted user profile and then had to
create a new account, when you tried to access the folder or files used by
the old account in order to transfer them to the new one, you might have
encountered a problem: Windows won’t let you. Lee walks us through
the steps on how to take ownership of a file or folder in Windows XP.
Using
a Restore Point by Larry Bothe, an associate member of
CAEUG and an honorary member of the Fox Valley PC Association, IL www.caeug.net / www.fvpca.org (Approx. 908 words).
Recently, while in a big hurry to get a lot of work done before leaving on
vacation, Larry’s computer started up with a blank screen. No mouse,
no images, no text, no error message, no nothing. Oops, he decided he
should have paid attention to the warning he received from his computer
security software that some program was trying to make a change to
something it thought was a danger. He was in a hurry and OK’d it
without reading it thoroughly. Larry walks us through setting a Restore
Point to when everything was working correctly.
Using
Imaging Software for Backup by Brian K. Lewis,
PhD, a member of the Sarasota PCUG, FL www.spcug.org
(Approx. 1,353 words). There are many HD backup programs on the market that
tell you that they can make an “image” of your HD. This allows
you to restore your programs and data in case of an HD crash. They will also
transfer everything on your HD to a new drive. Brian takes a look at the
generic methods they use for these situations.
Vista
Backup and Shadow Copy by Lynn Page, Editor, Crystal Riber
Users Group, FL www.crug.com (Approx.
954 words). Windows Vista helps easily back up computer settings, files and
applications. The new Windows Backup feature provides more choices for
storing backed up information. You can choose to back up to CD-ROM,
DVD-ROM, an external hard disk, another internal hard disk, or to another
computer or server connected to your network.
Windows
XP Power Management by Lynn Page, Editor, Crystal River
Users Group, FL www.crug.com (Approx.
757 words). If you use a laptop you know the problem of running down the
battery before you finish up. But configuring power management can also
reduce electrical usage on your desktop computer.
September 2007
10
Steps to Safe Computing by Sandy Berger, www.compukuss.com (approx. 761 words).
We must be proactive to protest ourselves from today’s bad guys and Sandy gives us her
down and dirty list for PC users.
Attack
of the Cone by Mick Topping, ICON (Interactive
Computer Owners Network), MO www.iconusersgroup.org
(approx. 1,513 words). Mick has been dragging his feet on Vista.
He really doesn’t see much in it that he thinks he needs. However,
it’s time for a new laptop, the hard drive on his old one is getting
a little crowded, a little busy, and slow on startup. When he really needed
was a way to distract himself from how much he wanted a new LT, so it’s
off to the store to buy a new hard drive.
Hasta
la Vista – Gadgets and the Windows Sidebar by Lee Reynolds,
member BPCS (Broward Personal Computer Association, Inc.), FL www.bpcs.com (approx. 642 words). Devotees
of the Apple Mac have, for some time, had available, in their OS X Tiger
operating system, something called Dashboard, which allowed them to have
what are called Widgets (mini-applications that provide a very simple,
tightly focused interface for common tasks) available for instant use.
Enter something similar, Windows Vista Gadgets.
Open
Source Software – Mostly Free to Use and Modify by Ira Wilsker,
APCUG Director; Columnist, The Examiner, Beaumont TX;
radio and TV show host (approx. 1,180 words). Open Source software has been
around in its current context since 1998, and hundreds of titles are
available for almost any computing need and it should be seriously
considered as an alternative to commercial software.
The
Phenomenon of Facebook – Redefining Social Networking by Courtney
Jewett, member of the Alamo PC Organization, TX www.alamopc.org (approx. 676 words).
What do Hillary Clinton, Tony the Tiger, and millions of college students
have in common? They all have profiles on the contemporary social network
known as Facebook. As a college student, and avid Facebooker, Courtney
intends to share her knowledge and experiences with the site in order to
uncover the reasons behind Facebook’s widespread success.
Portable
Data by Corinne Goeke, a member of the Computer Club of
Green Valley, AZ http://gvcc.apcug.org
(approx. 487 words). There are many names that refer to UFDs or “USB
Flash Drives.” USB, of course, refers to those little rectangular
ports you can find (although there never seems to be enough of them) on the
back and front of most computers.
Read
Before Opening! By Bruce Jacobs, Editor, Phoenix PCUG,
AZ http://phoenixpcug.org (approx.
840 words). So you just bought a
brand new computer. Before you get all settled in, there are a few steps
you should take to help make your new computer safer and more fun.
The
New, the Best, and the Worst for September by Pim Borman,
Webmaster, SW Indiana PCUG http://swipcug.apcug.org/
(approx. 1,103 words). E-mail reliability woes with security, changing
email addresses, and more.
This
and That by Elizabeth B. Wright, a member of the
Computer Club of Oklahoma City www.ccokc.org
(approx. 730 words). Have you accessed the Windows XP “Restore”
option to reset your computer to an earlier time? We often need to do this
when things go haywire after installing some new software.
Understanding
Your Computer’s BIOS by Brian K. Lewis,
PhD, a member of the Sarasota PCUG, FL www.spcug.org
(approx. 1,780 words). The computer’s basic input/output system
(BIOS) is really a major key to its proper operation. The BIOS differs from
one computer to another depending on the make of the motherboard and the
make of the computer itself.
Windows
Calendar by Lynn Page, editor, Crystal River Users Group,
FL www.crug.com (approx. 540 words).
Windows Calendar, built into Windows Vista, helps you plan your activities
and coordinate your plans with those of others. With WC you can set up
multiple calendars and view a single or multiple calendars at a time. This
makes it easy to compare the calendars and look for conflicts in
scheduling.
Would
You Sign This Contract? By Rob Rice, a computer specialist
living in Anchorage
and a member of the Computer Club of Oklahoma City www.ccokc.org (Approx. 1,633 words). OK,
here’s the deal; I offer you a big, 56-inch, shiny new Filch Plasma
Screen TV and I will sell it to you if you will agree to have a camera
installed in your home so I may watch you watching the new TV. Sound fair?
Would you sign that contract? Many of us, in a sense, have already agreed
to something like the above scenario when we clicked on the End User
License Agreement (EULA).
August
2007
Automobile Computers by Bob
Elgines, Editor,
Colorado River Computer Club (approx. 459 words) www.ccrc.org Is your Engine Check light on? Do you
need a smog test? Is your engine running rough? Is your transmission
shifting improperly? Did you know you can read your automobile computer
results with a simple plug in device?
Data Transfer Rates by Michael
Hanst,
Director, Lake-Sumter Computer Society, Florida (approx. 524 words) www.lscs.us During one of the meetings at LCSC
there was a discussion of Internet, Ethernet, and Wi-Fi transfer speeds.
Mike decided to go look for specifications and found references that looked
at each area, but found none that put it all in one chart. He did that for
his members and other APCUG member group readers.
DUFFERDOM – Tales from
the Kingdom of the Ordinary User – Faxing by David D. Uffer, a member of the Chicago
Computer Society, IL (approx. 1,194 words) www.ccs.org From mid-August 1984, David starts with
the first released original IBM
PC through the first Norton products and then using our computers for
faxing.
Hard Drives and Partitions by
Gene Barlow,
User Group Relations (approx. 744 words) www.ugr.com
Lots has happened in hard drives in the past 8-10 years that Gene has been
giving presentations on partitioning and backing them up. Ten years ago,
the largest hard drives were only a few hundred MB. We had not yet seen the
300GB hard drives that are common today. Things have really changed and
Gene has new recommendations.
Help! My Vinyl is
melting…really! By Lou Torraca, President, MOAA Computer User Group, HI (approx.
1,613 words) www.the-tug.org If you
have the same problem that Lou does, you’ll want to read his article.
He has hundreds, yup, hundreds of vinyl records, 78s, 33s, and even a few
45s stashed in his garage which is a pretty hot spot (no, not a Wi-Fi
hotspot) a really hot spot. He just attended a techie conference and one of
the many presentations was on this very subject – moving your Vinyl
to DVDs. Lou gives us a step-by-step tutorial with some examples of
equipment and software that will make is easy for you to convert your
treasured records.
How to Answer the Question? By
Mike Kerwin,
President, Central Maryland UG (approx. 1,269 words) http://mycmug.org User group members are
always being asked What do you recommend as the best _____? (Fill in the
blank for PC, notebook, digital camera, etc.). Mike’s
president’s column gives us questions we can ask when our
recommendations are being requested.
Is there a laptop in your
future? By Sandy Berger, CompuKISS (approx. 892 words) www.compukiss.com
Want to get a laptop so you can surf the Web from your lawn chair? Or
perhaps you just want to be able to share your Internet connection between
your computer and your wife’s computer? In either case, a wireless
network is essential, but sometimes interference makes wireless
problematic. Sandy
sheds some light on the subject for us. This article supplements her Router
article.
Net Neutrality: It’s Time
for us to Speak Out! By Linda Gonse, Editor, Orange County IBM
PC Users’ Group, CA (approx. 1,205 words) www.orcopug.org Net Neutrality is the
guiding principle that preserves the free and open Internet. It’s an
issue because it involves the transmission of data over broadband networks
(e.g. DSL or cable internet
services). Large providers could establish a tiered system of content
delivery in which companies with data-heavy content can pay a fee to the
providers in return for “special treatment” in transmission.
However, advocates project, this also would allow large telecom companies
to block or censor things they don’t like without consequence.
Safe Computing with Consumer
Reports by Ira Wilsker, APCUG Director; Columnist, The Examiner, Beaumont TX;
Radio and TV Host (approx. 1,208 words) In the several years Ira has been
writing his column, it has been very unusual for him to write about a
magazine. What makes the September 2007 issue of Consumer Reports so
applicable to us and our computing safety and security is the cover story
“Stop ID Thieves – 19 ways to protect yourself online.”
Note from Judy – perhaps both Ira’s article and the Consumer
Reports article can be used for a mini-presentation for cyber security
month – last year it was October (http://www.staysafeonline.info/
)
Set up Outlook Express YOUR Way
by Dick Maybach,
a member of the Brookdale Computer UG, New Jersey (approx. 804 words) www.bcug.com Your can greatly improve your
e-mail experience by properly configuring Outlook Express, which is the
default Windows e-mail client and Dick shows us exactly what to do. Note:
Here’s another article you could use for a step-by-step mini meeting.
Update to Vista?
Maybe! By Jim Sanders, Vice President, North Orange County Computer Club, CA (approx.
670 words) www.noccc.org The old adage
never buy version one of any piece of software is beginning to look like it
should be applied to Windows Vista as well. Jim has read a number of
articles from different sources talking about the problems that people have
had trying to implement Vista and he has run into a few himself.
Vista and the Reliability &
Performance Monitor by Vinny LaBash, Sarasota PCUG, FL (approx. 797 words) www.spcug.org Anyone who has spent time
trying to understand the Windows XP Performance Monitor is going to love
Vista’s Reliability & Performance Monitor. No more will you have
to figure out what the various performance procedures are really measuring.
What is Net Neutrality? –
An Editorial By Bruce Jacobs, Editor, Phoenix PCUG, AZ (approx. 1,378 words) www.phoenixpcug.org So what is Net Neutrality?
In simplest terms it is a movement which has as a goal creating legislation
or federal regulations which will regulate some plans of some ISPs. The
specific plans that are proposed that have people the most upset is the
area of charging websites for preferred access to their customers.
Why Update your Computer? By
Kathy Jacobs,
President, Phoenix PCUG, AZ (approx. 625 words) www.phoenixpcug.org Like many
computer users, Kathy’s father views
his computer as something that he should just be able to use. He
doesn’t think he should have to put any time into maintenance of the
computer. Kathy hears this quite frequently, but doesn’t understand
it. Would you buy a car and never put gas in it or never change the oil?
The first line of maintenance for your computer should be MS Update or
Windows Update. The second line of defense is a good anti-virus program.
July
2007
Apple’s New Safari
Browser for Windows by Ira Wilsker, APCUG Director (approx. 1,206 words). Apple recently
released a free version of its Safari 3 browser for Windows. While this is
the first public release of an Apple-produced browser for Windows, many
already have Apple software on their computers such as Quick Time. This
browser might be one that you would like to check out since there is no
conflict in having more than one browser on your computer.
A router can help protect your
computer by Sandy Berger, CompuKISS www.compukiss.com
(approx. 904 words). A few years ago you had probably not heard the term
‘router’ unless you used one in your wood working class in high
school. Today, you hear much more about the word ‘router’ when
it is used in conjunction with computers and the Internet.
Backing up a computer –
Cloning vs Imaging by Al Edmister, a member of the Napa Valley PCUG, California www.nvpcug.org (approx. 1,660 words).
Backing up your computer has always been an important and sometimes
confusing subject. As most people know by now, backing up on the same HD
only helps when the main file gets corrupted which really doesn’t
happen very often. It is of no help when an HD fails; Al has had two HDs
fail! RAID, Zip drives and more is covered in this article.
Blurbs from Bass by Steve Bass, PC World Columnist and Author
(approx 970 words). Steve accumulated several of his blurbs and asked me to
send them to you. Wonderful: Microsoft’s free Virtual PC; Gotcha!
Geek Squad Caught Stealing Porn and other short blurbs, plus links to time
killing videos, useful tools, and free directory assistance.
Building a PC for Vista by Dan Hanson, the Great Lakes Geek (approx.
669 words). The Great Lakes Geek needed to build a new PC for the Computers Assisting People
Resource Center.
It will be used for CAP
operations but also so that the volunteers and others can become familiar
with Windows Vista and learn about it the CAP
way – hands on. Dan steps us through the process of building that PC.
Configuring Outlook Express by
Dick Maybach,
Columnist, Brookdale Computer User Group, New Jersey www.bcug.com
(approx. 1,104 words). You can greatly improve your e-mail experience by
properly configuring Outlook Express, which is the default Windows e-mail
client and Dick shows us just how to do this.
Dumb Things to Avoid While
Using Your Computer by Vinny La Bash, a member and regular columnist of the Sarasota PCUG,
Florida www.spcug.org (approx. 1,042 words). To
paraphrase a recent TV commercial, we all do dumb things, but doing them
with your computer doesn’t have to be one of them. Check out his Dumb
Mistakes to make sure you aren’t doing some of them.
Exploring Windows Explorer
– Part 2 by Jim Sanders, Vice President, North Orange County Computer Club, California www.noccc.org (approx. 1,224 words). The
first part of this series was in the June PUSH. Jim further explains how to
use the ‘real’ Windows Explorer.
Improve Computing Pleasure with
Free Widgets for Windows and Mac by Ira Wilsker, APCUG Director; Columnist,
The Examiner, Beaumont TX; radio and TV show host (approx.
1,106 words). Many of us are extremely busy and often lack the time to
search the Internet for items of frequent interest. Many of us have dull
and boring desktops displayed on our monitors, often using the default
images of our computer or software maker. Fortunately for us, there is a
free service offered by Yahoo!, called “widgets.”
The New, the Best, and the
Worst by Pim Borman, Webmaster, SW Indiana
PC Users Group, Inc. http://swipcug.apcug.org/
(approx. 1,441 words). This article contains many lessons re Digital
Cameras. We’ll all be taking better digital pictures after reading
this article.
The Nightmare by Barry F.
Phillips, a
member of ccOKC and a frequent contributor to the eMonitor, Computer Club
of Oklahoma City www.ccokc.org (approx.
602 words). Barry’s computer growled like some prehistoric monster
rebelling at being awakened from a deep slumber and then checking my
financial data online almost by habit. Terror pulsed through his veins as
he no longer existed; all his personal data had been deleted! Another Fun,
tongue-in-cheek article by Barry.
This and That by Elizabeth B.
Wright, a
member of ccOKC and a frequent contributor to the eMonitor, Computer Club
of Oklahoma City www.ccokc.org (approx.
782 words). How much time are you spending upgrading both hardware and
software? Elizabeth
has found that much time and money are invested in trying to keep up with
the times. Are you in the same boat or are you happy using the operating
system and programs that you currently have on your computer.
DustKleenTM by Neil
Longmuir,
Winnipeg PCUG, www.wpcusrgrp.org
(approx. 1,304 words). DustKleen is an innovative stand-alone application from
Image Trends Inc. It will automatically remove most dirt and dust from any
scanned images regardless of the source. Neil’s rating is 5 Stars +
Freshly Squeezed Review: I Move
Me by Frank Petrie
(approx. 737 words). Remember when you were a kid and dinosaurs roamed the
Earth. What was on TV? Mainly cartoons and claymation. And with the advent
of YouTube, et al., they’re both making a comeback. I Can Animate
lets you create stunning movies using a variety of animation techniques.
Network Warrior by David Boyes (approx. 1,373 words). This
book is a collection of notes and process recipes to solve common problems
found in commercial networks. Overall, the book provides
a large number of useful bits and the last three chapters on how to work
the system ought to be required reading for just about anyone in the IT
world who actually has to deal directly with customers or other technicians
(i.e., everyone).
Photoshop
CS3 by Ton Ekvall, newsletter editor for Northeast Wisconsin
PCUG www.webpages.charter.net/newpcug
(approx. 1,391 words). Some things just keep getting better. And the latest
release of Photoshop CS3 is no exception. The new release offers major
enhancements that will appeal to present Photoshop users as well as to
those interested in transitioning to Photoshop CS3 from Photoshop Elements
or other similar products.
OpenOffice
by Ronnie Ugulano, Fresno PCUG, California, newsletter editor http://fresnocomputerusers.org
(approx. 836 words). I didn’t have time to monkey around, it had to
work out of the box. Ronnie got an email from the FPCUG Board saying that
they would like to be able to offer the newsletter in PDF for easy printing.
The dilemma was what to use that would easily turn into a PDF. Ronnie
remembered that OpenOffice, the available-free office suite program, has a
PDF converted built into it’s word processing program, and
there’s a Windows version and the rest was history.
WildForm
WildPresenter Pro by Gregory West, Editor, SCUG Report,
Sarnia CUG, Canada
(approx. 648 words). Flash is one of the most widely utilized and viewed
multimedia formats on the Internet today. There are a lot of video copying
and video presentation programs boasting to be the best. However, the
question one must ask is “Do they do what they claim to, and do they
actually accomplish these processes with ease and professionalism?”
The answer to t his I will leave alone for you to decide. However, I
personally can speak for WildPresenter Pro, version 3.204: It accomplishes
both with a relative ease and simplicity requiring little computer
knowledge to create professional Flash media.
Zoo
Tycoon 2: Zookeeper’s Collection by Rhonda and James Winterhalter,
ICON Computer Users Group, Missouri
www.icon.org (approx. 1,728 words). This
game could easily capture the interest of all age levels. Grandparents
looking for a great item to have around for the grandchildren should be
sure to read this review!
June
2007
Back-Ups Made Easy by Carey Holzman, Co-host: www.computeramerica.com / www.careyholzman.com (approx. 1,690
words). By now you are probably well aware of the importance of making
copies of your valuable data (referred to as “backing-up).
You’ve read numerous articles about ways to back-up your data and
prevent disaster. The problem is, most advice offered on this subject is
not truly complete and many of the ‘solutions’ offered are
expensive and time consuming. How you back-up, what you back-up, when you
back-up and where you store your back-up are just a few important variables
that come into play on that miserable day that you require it and your
back-up isn’t there.
Can’t Play Online Videos
– Here’s What to Do by Sandy Berger, CompuKISS www.compukiss.com (approx. 706 words).
Generally, each video you find on the Web will play only using the software
that it was formatted for. If you try to play a video and you don’t
have the proper software, you won’t be able to view the video. Sandy walks readers
through how to get many of the popular video viewing software.
Exploring Windows Explorer by Jim Sanders, North Orange
County Computer Club, California
www.noccc.org (approx. 1,309 words).
Everyone using WinXP uses Windows Explorer all the time. Some use it in
what Jim considers the true form. Some, of you use it as My Computer and
all of us use it when we are using Internet Explorer, because Windows
Explorer is an integral part of Internel Explorer. Jim continues to be
surprised at how many people do not know that they can right click on the
Start button and go directly to Windows Explorer. This tip and more will
make is easy for your readers to start using Windows Explorer in its true
form.
Checkmate by Berry T. Phillips, Computer
Club of Oklahoma City www.ccokc.org
(approx. 554 words). Man-vs-machine has been a theme that has intrigued the
public for many years. Berry
writes about some the chess machines from the early-1700s through early
2003.
Fix That Fan by Jim Sanders, North Orange
County Computer Club, California
www.noccc.org (approx. 599 words).
Cheap (sleeve bearing) fans die young. Bet on it. The cheaper the system,
power supply, cooler, etc., the cheaper the fan. When you hear that sleeve
bearing fan (or a ball bearing fan, for that matter) rattle, notice a fan
is barely turning, or not turning at all, fix it!
Free Online Mapping and Driving
Directions by
Ira Wilsker, APCUG Director (approx. 999 words). Many of us like to use
maps when we travel. Maps can be used to display driving directions and
points of interest. Fortunately, there are several excellent and free
mapping utilities available on the Internet, such as those provided by
Microsoft’s “Live” service, Google, Yahoo! And AOL’s Mapquest.
How I Find My
‘Deleted’ Emails by Tom Thiel, Lake-Sumter Computer Society www.lscs.us (approx. 826 words). Old emails
are one of my most frequent retrievals from my back-up files. How does Tom
retrieve an email after he’s deleted it from his Inbox or Sent items?
This article shows you the way.
Internet Services –
E-mail and the Web
by Hilton Kaufman, Chicago Computer Society www.ccs.org
(approx. 1,109 words). The Internet is a network of networks used to
transmit messages. Somehow things arrive at where they are supposed to go.
It is the services that go over these networks that make the Internet
useful! The two best known services today are e-mail and the World Wide
Web.
The Inside Security Recovery
Toolkit (INSERT)
by Dick Maybach, Brookdale Computer User Group, New Jersey www.bcug.com
(approx. 890 words). Most of us use an OEM (original equipment manufacturer)
version of Windows supplied by the vendor who built our PC. Although we
often receive a Windows CD-ROM, it is not the same as the disk included
with the retail version of Windows. Sometimes without a good recent back-up
or good recovery software, all of our data can be lost. A particularly
powerful recovery tool is INSERT, a version of Linux designed to correct
problems in Windows, Linux, and the latest Macintosh PCs. Dick sent me his
tutorial on INSERT. It’s far too large for a newsletter article, but
if you would like a copy for your members, please let me know and
I’ll send it to you (Judy).
Windows Vista Power Management by Vinny LaBash, Sarasota
PCUG, Florida
www.spcug.org (approx. 618 words).
Those of us who drive laptops are usually more aware of power management
than the desktop jockeys. In Vista, you
can optimize settings to conserve energy, go for flat out performance or
achieve some kind of sensible balance between the two.
What is PCI Express? By Brian K. Lewis, PhD,
Sarasota PCUG, Florida
www.spcug.org (approx. 1,560 words).
PCIs (Peripheral Component Interconnect) are the slots in the motherboard
of your computer used for connecting peripheral devices directly to the
computer bus. The original PCI bus was released in 1992. Your knowledge
will certainly be expanded re PCIs after you read this article.
REVIEWS
Actiontec MegaPlug by Terry Currier, WINNERS-
WINdows usERS, California
www. www.windowsusers.org/
(approx. 779 words). Terry likes the idea of networking through power lines
especially if you can not run a cable to where you may want to connect, or
you get no wireless signal. You might want to try this method after reading
Terry’s review.
Fisheye-Hemi Plug-In by Neil Longmuir, Winnipeg
PCUG, Canada
www.wpcusrgrp.org (approx. 703
words). The Fisheye-Hemi Photoshop plug-in from Image Trends corrects
distortions present in fisheye lens images. This is a terrific plug-in
filter that retains more of the original image resolutioin allowing the end
user to display the original composition as seen through the viewfinder
when the iamge was taken.
Professor Franklin’s
Instant Photo Artist 2.0 by Tom Ekvall, Northeast Wisconsin PCUG www.webpages.charter.net/newpcug
(approx. 1,043 words). Can someone create a photo art masterpiece from a
snapshot within a matter of minutes without going through a lot of training
and reading manuals? Yes, if you use this program. Thanks again to Tom for
getting us the discount.
The AntiSpyware Revolution
Starts Here by
Tou Torraca, The TUG, Hawaii www.the-tug.org (approx. 1,807 words).
CounterSpy V2 was completely rebuilt with a revolutionary new design --
more powerful and effective than ever. Lou takes us through all the ins and
outs of CounterSpy – your members might want to buy a copy when they read
the review.
VOIP Made Easy with Skype by Sharon Walbran, Twin Cities
PCUG, Minnesota
www.tcpc.com (approx. 456 words). VOIP,
Voice Over Internet Protocal, using your Internet connection to make phone
calls, has become very popular. Skype (rhymes with “type”), is
a free VOIP program that offers free computer-to-computer calls anywhere in
the world if both computers have Skype installed. For calls from a computer
with Skype to standard phones and cell phones in the U.S. and Canada, Skype offers unlimited
free calling with an annual charge of $29.95 a year. Other VOIP vendors
charge $30+ per month.
Zune – A Player for the
Rest of Us by
Ash Nallawalla, Melbourne PCUG, Australia www.melbpc.org.au (approx. 1,014
words). Are your readers older than 50? Have they tried to use an MP3 or
video player but found their thumbs and fingers were all mixed up? Was the
text too hard to read? Then, Zune is for them.
May
2007
A Slightly Faster and Safer
Interent FREE! A small step
for your PC, a giant leap for you by Carey Holzman, Co-host talk radio show www.computermaria.com (approx.
1,235 words). You may have never heard of DNS before, but if you use the
Internet you use DNS all the time. DNS is short for Domain Name Server and
Carey is going to teach you what it does and why you should care.
Build It Yourself, by Brian K. Lewsis, PhD,
Columnist, Sarasota PCUG, Florida
www.spcug.org (approx. 2,030 words).
You may never have considered buidling your own computer, but it is really
just an assembly job. When you are familiar with the components of your
system, you will find it is easier to understand and possibly diagnose
problems.
File Extensions by Fran Damratowski,
Refurishing SIG Chair, Chesapeake PCUG, MD www.chesapeakepcusersgroup.org
(approx. 452
words). Fran’s File Extension article gives us a sampling of the B
list of some of the extensions and the file types they represent.
Finding Ghosts in Your Computer by Mike Morris, Editor, Front
Range PC Users Group, CO http://www.frpcug.org
(approx. 682 words). Do you have ghosts in
your computer? The Microsoft Knowledgebase article on this subject refers
to “…”ghosted” devices…” and
“Phantom devices…”
Going 100% Digital with
Genealogy – or Any – Records by Tom J. Thiel, President, Lake-Sumter
Computer Society, Florida
www.lscs.us (approx. 1,439 words). Tom
bought a Xerox DocuMate 510 flatbed scanner with an automatic document
feeder and is in the process of becoming paperless!
Internet Addressing by Hilton Kaufman, a member of
the Chicago Computer Society www.ccs.org
(approx. 911 words). Each individual or computer on the Internet has an
individual and unique address in the system and there is a regular
hierarchy to how the names work and are assigned.
Thoughts on Upgrading PC
Hardware and Software by Dick Maybach, Columnist, Brookdale Computer User Group (BCUG) Brookdale, NJ
www.bcug.org (approx. 1,005 words). Dick thinks there are three valid reasons
for upgrding a PC: (1) to try something new, (2) to improve performance,
and (3) to solve a problem. Upgrading your hardware will often provide no
disceernable speed-up, because the speed is really limited by your typing
speed or Internet connection. Upgrading your software may actually slow
things down, because newer software has more features and requires more
computer resources. This leaves problem solving…..
Review: “TUT”
– The Ultimate Troubleshooter by Ira Wilsker, APCUG Director; Columnist, The
Examiner, Beaumont, TX: Radio & TV show host (approx.
1,085 words). According to a British website, Answers That Work” (www.answersthatwork.com), 65% of
problems on PCs, such as lockups, crashes, blue screens of death, and poor
performance are due to causes other than the commonly suspected culprits.
Ira has found a product that he has used for the past four years to
diagnose his computers, and has been able to tweak them and maximize
performance based on the recommendations made possible by the software.
April
2007
Buying
an HDTV a Recap of the SWIPCUG February 2007 Meeting by Pim Borman,
Webmaster, SWIPCUG http://swipcug.apcug.org
(Approx. 1,229 words). Another great article on HDTV. Bob
Covington, their presenter, explained how TV broadcasters are in the
process of changing from analog to digital technology. The change will
result in more efficient use of the available transmission frequencies and
improved image quality. The US Government also had a $14 billion windfall
from auctioning off the available frequency bands to interested parties.
File Extensions by Fran Damratowski,
Refurbishing SIG Chair, Chesapeake PC Users Group, www.chesapeakepcusersgroup.org
(Approx. 591 words). Have you ever wondered what the three alphanumeric
extensions at the end of a file name mean? You might find just what you are
looking for in Frans list of A extensions.
Guilty! By Berry
F. Phillips, a member of the Computer Club of Oklahoma City www.ccokc.org (Approx. 658 words).
Guilty, the strange judge shouted as he banged the gavel. The defendant
will rise and receive his sentence. You have been found guilty of dirty
deeds done to your computer you havent cleaned it!
Internet Connections by Hilton
Kaufman, a member of the Chicago
Computer Society www.ccs.org (Approx,
1.103 words). The method of connection into the Internet varies
somewhat among users. At various points, telephone lines, coaxial cables,
UHF relays, satellite shots, and a few other methods might be utilized to
make the actual connections.
Live CD-ROMs by Dick Maybach, a
member of the Brookdale Computer User Group, New Jersey www.bcug.com
(Approx. 795 words). A live CD-ROM contains an operating system and applications
and can be run without using the hard disk at all. When you remove the
CD-ROM, your old operating system (probably Windows) takes over.
McAfee SiteAdvisor by Sandy Berger, www.compukiss.com (Approx. 612 words).
Anyone who has been on the Internet for a while realizes that even websites
that look benign can generate viruses, adware, spyware, spam, and scams.
Until now, it was difficult to determine which websites to avoid. Now,
however, safe surfing just got easier. Now there is a wonderful free
program that warns you about dangerous websites McAfees SiteAdvisor.
Memorials and Memories by Charlie
Sickels, Managing Editor, Hard-Copy, Chicago
Computer Society www.ccs.org (Approx. 780
words). In the US,
the end of May is a national time for remembering people and events, a time
to recall and to honor. Some of it is public; some is personal; it is all
profound and deeply felt. No less profound, but with less emotional context,
is the march of technological progress.
Photoshop Workflow Setups, a review
by John Donan, a member of the North Orange County Computer Club, CA www.noccc.org (Approx. 1,269 words).
The book starts with efficient organization of the workspace. Anyone using
Photoshop knows how quickly palettes hog the visible area (Tools and
Options are palettes by the way). I cleaned up my work space by his example
most of which is ignored in teachings elsewhere. All palettes are covered
and should one want to get a quick handle on a palette you don't use, such
as Layer Comps, the information is there. I will continue using this book
as a handy reference as can others whose PS skills may vary anywhere from
beginner on.
Recovering Files from a Hard Drive
by Vinny La Bash, a member of the Sarasota
PCUG, Florida
www.spcug.org (Approx. 641 words).
Have you deleted a file that you need and you dont know how to get it back?
Vinny tells us the process for recovering that file.
Renew the Artist in You: ArtRage 2,
a review by Rob Rice, a computer specialist living in Anchorage
Alaska and a member of the Computer Club
of Oklahoma City
www.ccokc.org (Approx. 996 words).
Since its initial release by former MetaCreations Corporation employees
Andy Bearsley and Matt Fox-Wilson in 2004 as a free product, ArtRage has
been steadily polished and improved. A recipient of many awards, ArtRage
comes with a good users manual and several helpful tutorials are available
on the Ambient Design website. It is a nice blend of a simple user
interface with the power to create high quality work.
Secure Your Flash Drive Cap by Fran Damratowski,
Refurbishing SIG Leader, Chesapeake PCUG, MD
www.Chesapeakepcusersgroup.org (Approx. 411 words). Have you ever
misplaced your flash drive cap? No need to ever do that again if you follow
Frans instructions.
The New, the Best, and the Worst by
Pim Borman, Webmaster, SW Indiana PCUG http://swipcug.apcug.org (Approx.
1,082 words). Robots have come a long way in the past 85 years or so.
The first Robot appeared in a Capek play in 1920 as an artificial worker.
The word was derived from the Czech robota, meaning labor. To this day,
artificial intelligence remains an unresolved problem. This column was
inspired by articles about the brain in the 1/29/07 issue of TIME magazine.
Vista Vexes by Jan Fagerholm,
Associate Editor, PC Community, Hayward
CA www.pcc.org (Approx. 713 words). Jan has
been transitioning to Vista cautiously with a dual boot system with both Vista and Windows XP for several months now and it
hasnt been as painless as he expected. He also looks beyond the gloom and
doom view and says there have been a couple of nice additions to Vista since it came out.
Why You Need a Firewall by Brian K.
Lewis, a member of the Saraosta
PCUG, Florida www.spcug.org (Approx. 1,504 words).
When you connect your computer to the Internet, you have opened a door
which invites any other computer in the world to come in. Actually, you
have more than 65,000 doors into your computer, any one of which may be
open. That is, unless you have taken steps to keep these doors closed by
installing a firewall.
Wikipedia The Free Online
Encyclopedia and More by Ira Wilsker, APCUG Director; Columnist, The
Examiner, Beaumont TX; radio and TV show host (Approx.
1,103 words). One of the most popular and widely used online and free
encyclopedias is Wikipedia, found online at www.wikipedia.org. What is unusual
about Wikipedia is the fact that the items in it are not written by
big-named experts, but are instead composed by countless contributors
ranging from expert scholars to casual readers, and is available in a
multitude of languages.
March
2007
Countdown
to the Digital Deadline by Jim Sanders, Editor, North
Orange County
Computer Club, California
(approx. 1,836 words) http://www.noccc.org
TV, as
most of us know it, has barely two years of life left in it. Congress has
set a deadline of February 17, 2009 for analog broadcasts to end. This
means that the faithful TV that you have had, for I don’t know how
many years, will cease functioning on that date. Old faithful, or maybe not
so old, can still be used as long as there is some device that can feed it
the analog signal that it knows how to deal with. Find out what you will need
if you want to keep old faithful. What is ATSC? How many SDTV and HDTV
format are there? You’ll find out in Jim’s article.
Diskeeper
2007 Pro Premier, Enhancing File System Performance – Automatically
by Verne Perry, PC Community Member, Hayward, California (approx 1,151
words) http://www.pcc.org
Verne has 8 XP machines and one Windows 98 machine that acts as a server,
and to keep all of these machines running smoothly, he spends a lot of time
routinely defragging them. He found long ago that using Windows Defragger
was an extremely slow process. He recently decided to test Diskeeper on his
home XP machine, because it’s the one that has the highest rate of
defragmentation, due to his frequent installation and uninstallation of
various test programs. Find out if Diskeeper is for you. (I personally
couldn’t do without it / Judy)
Dufferdom,
Kingdom of the Ordinary User – Doing the Right Thing by David D.
Uffer, a member of the Chicago Computer Society, IL (approx. 942 words) http://www.ccs.org
David
shares with us an account of a project of some moment and historic
interest: a powerful reconstruction project, righting the Leaning Tower of
Pisa.
Get
Organized Now!! By Sandy Berger, CompuKISS (approx. 800 words)
www.compukiss.com
With
today’s complex world and multi-tasking, it is not surprising that we
all seem to have too much to remember. The time-honored “to-do
list” is still a suitable way to keep all of your tasks remembered
and organized. Now the to-do list has gone high tech with Gubb, an online
list-maker.
Online
Retirement Planning Resources by Ira Wilsker, APCUG Director; Columnist,
The Examiner, Beaumont TX; radio and TV show host (approx.
1,009 words)
Let’s
face it, many of us are working hard and may or may not be planning for
retirement. All too many of us are present oriented, and do not adequately
plan for our financial future. Information is power and by having good
information and acting on it in a timely fashion, we may have a financially
comfortable retirement.
Real
Digital Forensics by Jim DuWaldt, a member of the North
Orange County
Computer Club, California
(approx. 1,194 words) http://www.noccc.org
This
book intends to teach Computer Forensics for both Windows and Linux
systems, that is, gathering evidence from infected machines and the network
they operate in so that the intended victim can effectively react to a
successful penetration.
Scanning
Published Photos by Irvine Elliott, a member of the Twin Cities PC User
Group, Minnesota
(approx. 427 words) http://www.tcpc.com
If you
scan a photo from a newspaper or magazine, then examine the results on your
computer screen, you may see a criss-cross pattern of fuzzy lines over the
entire print. If you print the photo, you may also see such a pattern. This
article will tell you how to get rid of what is called the interference
pattern.
Soft
Hardware from Otterbox! by Judy Lococo, Program Director, Kentucky-Indiana
PCUG, Kentucky
(Approx. 566 words) http://www.kipcug.org
Otterbox,
from Fort Collins CO, has cases for a lot of different
toys we now consider indispensable. Judy thinks hardware is boring, as all
it does is just sit there and blindly obey. But the superb soft hardware
enhancements are wonderful.
The
Garage by Berry F. Phillips, a member of
the Computer Club of Oklahoma City
and a monthly contributor to the e-Monitor (approx. 741 words) http://www.ccokc.org
IT was
born in a garage! Well, the garage could be used for all kinds of purposes
but one thing is certain; it was not being used as a garage! It was located
in Menlo Park, California and was a maternity ward for
the birthing in March 1975 of the Homebrew Computer Club.
Upgrading
to an LCD Monitor by Herb Goldstein, Software Evaluation Chairman and
Reviews Editor, Sarasota PCUG, Florida (approx.
1,272 words) http://www.spcug.org
Actually,
Herb was happy with his high quality CRT monitor. It was with considerable
reluctance that he recently decided to get with the modern era and upgrade
to an LCD, and it has been quite a learning experience which he shares with
us.
Vista
Alternatives – Part II by Brian K. Lewis, PH.D., a member of the
Sarasota PCUG, Florida
(approx. 2,216 words) http://www.spcug.org
This
article was written in the Linux version of Open Office 2.0 on a computer
that uses Ubuntu as the OS. Since this system is networked with his Windows
XP computers, both desktop and laptop, he can easily transfer files between
the computers. He is also able to print from the Linux computer to his
laser printer over the Windows network. So what did he have to do to
accomplish this? You’ll find out in his article.
VistaVexes
– The Windows Vista Pains’n’Gains Page by Jan Fagerholm,
Assistant Editor, PC Community, Hayward,
California (approx. 757
words) www.pcc.org
This
is Jan’s February Pains’n’Gains article and, among other
things, let’s us know some of the software he has found that is
incompatible with Vista because of
Microsoft’s new restrictions on kernel access. While this was done to
reduce security vulnerabilities, it produces incompatibilities in many
common applications.
VistaVexes
– The Windows Vista Pains’n’Gains Page by Jan Fagerholm,
Assistant Editor, PC Community, Hayward,
California (approx. 677
words) www.pcc.org
Jan’s
March article let’s us know that since Vista
came out, MS has released one update aimed at improving applications
compatibility. Both Symantec and McAfee (70% of the A/V market) are at open
war with Microsoft over the lack of kernel information on Vista.
He has tested the ReadyBoost feature of Vista
that lets you use a USB flash drive as part of system memory, improving
what MS characterizes as “system responsiveness.” Does it
really work? Does it make a difference?
Windows
XP Upgrade to Vista by Vinny LaBash, a member of the Sarasota PCUG, Florida (approx. 850
words) www.spcug.org
Previous
versions of Windows always accepted an installation disk as proof you had a
legitimate copy of Windows. This entitled you to install the upgrade
version of the latest release of the operating system. Vista
doesn’t work the same way. The only thing it will recognize is a copy
of Windows already installed on a hard drive. Why MS did this remains a
mystery, but perhaps there really are things that mere mortals are not
meant to know. Don’t go out and splurge on a full version of Vista.
February
2007
Adobe
Photoshop Elements 5 by Nancy Dennis, Membership Chair, Sarasota
PCUG, Florida
(approx. 2,052 words) www.spcug.org
Adobe
Photoshop is the top of the line photo program for the professionals and
costs hundreds of dollars. Elements (under $100) has many of the same
features as the professional version with a lot of fun and easy features
added in, making it the software choice for the non-professional user like
you and me. There is a jpeg that needs to be inserted in this article. You
will find it zipped with the articles.
Dufferdom,
Kingdom of the Ordinary User by David D. Uffer, a member of the Chicago Computer
Society, IL (approximately 1,172 words) www.ccs.org
Ever
think about this, one of the consequences of Internet spam: missed genuine
messages? Calling them “false positives” may make them sound
less serious but it is a real loss. Happily, most of the current garbage is
obviously spam. Crude spelling, offensive wording, or silly or too-cute
sender names are a giveaway, a tip to delete and not open the e-mail, which
would probably anchor some form of evil in your PC.
Moving
to Vista – What Not to Do by Sandy
Berger, CompuKISS (approx. 955 words) www.compukiss.com
Microsoft’s
long-anticipated new operating system, Windows Vista, is finally here.
After months of testing I can say that it is a stable program and is more
secure than any previous version of Windows. Don’t bother with Home
Basic. If you buy a home computer with Vista,
make sure that you get at least the Home Premium version. That and several
other don’ts are discussed in this article.
New
Security Products Shown at APCUG Annual Conference written by Ira Wilsker,
APCUG Director, columnist and TV and radio show host (approx. 1,036 words)
Ira
recently attended APCUG’s annual conference and notes that every year
participants are astounded by what they see and every year has also
demonstrated technologies dwarfing those shown the previous year. The APCUG
events were all on topics related to personal computers, including
security, applications, operating systems, hardware, CPU, and other
technological services and components. Three of the presenters were
companies in the computer security software sector: Grisoft, Panda Software
and Trend Micro. This article features information about all three
companies.
Pandora
– a Free Music Resource written by Sandy Berger, CompuKISS (approx.
529 words) www.compukiss.com
The
Internet is filled with free resources, but some are better than others.
Pandora is one of the best free music resources on the Web.
The
Big Red X written by Vinny La Bash, a member of the Sarasota
PCUG, Florida
(approx. 1,148 words) www.spcug.org
Email,
along with the spreadsheet, is one of the greatest computer applications
ever developed. Along with its usefulness are a few minor, but irritating
inconveniences. The one addressed in this article is the frustration of
observing a red X where an image should appear.
The
Changing World – A Review of Vista by David Steward, APCUG Advisor
and Program Chair, Alamo PC Organization, Texas (approx. 2,311 words) www.alamopc.org
The
title of this article explains a lot. With the release of Microsoft’s
newest iteration of operating systems, Vista,
we are going to be making a lot of changes in how we perform day-to-day
tasks on our computers. For once, I think they actually got it right.
User
Group Weblog & Trackbacks by George Holloway, Southwest International
PC Club, Texas
(approx. 574 words) www.swipcc.org
Several
User Groups are now offering Weblogs (aka Blogs) in addition to their
regular Web sites. Blogging is a great way to convey new information to
members and the public at large. This article discusses sharing related
information between User Group blogs.
Spin
It Again, Acoustica’s program that converts vinyl records and
cassette tapes to MP3s and CDs by Rod Rakes, APCUG Advisor; President & Editor,
Gwinnett SeniorNet PC Users Group, Georgia; Editor & Webmaster, Huntsville
PC User Group, Alabama (approx. 826 words)
How
good is it? REALLY GOOD and they offer a discount to APCUG-member groups.
The
Internet, What Is It? by Hilton Kaufman, a member of the Chicago
Computer Society, Illinois
(approx. 738 words) www.ccs.org (This is the first of a short
series of articles explaining what the Internet is.)
The
Internet is one of those things that is a bit tricky to define and explain.
It is a network of computer networks that provides various services….
Thinking
about Disaster by Dick Maybach, a member of the Brookdale Computer User
Group, New Jersey
(approx. 867 words) www.bcug.com/
Here,
we aren’t discussing PC problems such as disk crashes, but real life
disasters, such as those represented by the four horseman of the
apocalypse: pestilence, war, famine, and death. There’s not much we
can do about these, but careful preparations will lessen the consequences.
Things,
Thinglets & Thingassos by S. Jack Lewtschuk, Monterey Bay Users
Group-PC Columnist, California
(approx, 1,098 words) www.mbug.org
Words
of Wisdom – If builders built houses the way programmers build
computer programs, the first woodpecker to come along would destroy
civilization! Passwords are a part of our everyday life, we use them for
e-mail, online banking, stock trading, shopping, blogging, etc. For good
security you should have a different password for each website you enter.
But how can you remember so many passwords? You need a password manager and
KeePass might just be what you are looking for.
The
New, the Best, and the Worst by Pim Borman, Webmaster, SW Indiana PC Users
Group (approx, 1,011 words) http://swipcug.apcug.org/
Computer
Globalization, Random Spam, and Free Software…..
What
is an Operating System by Charlotte Semple, President, Los
Angeles Computer Society, California (approx, 2,616 words) www.lacspc.org
This
article is a review of their January meeting on What is an Operating
System?
YouTube
Revolutionizes the Internet by Linda Gonse, Editor & Webmaster, Orange
County IBM PC Users’ Group, California (approx. 370 words) www.orcopug.org
Just
when Linda thought creative ideas were running out for ways to use the
Internet, along comes YouTube. Its content includes movie and TV clips,
music videos, and amateur works – such as video-blogging. The
innovative site’s popularity is staggering – almost 20 million
visitors browse YouTube each month.
January
2007
Computer
Privacy Annoyances - Your Personal and Online Privacy, by Bayle Emlein,
Secretary and APCUG Representative, PC Community, CA (approx. 1,006 words) www.pcc.org
Annoyances
has explanations replete with screen shots and even though it is nearly
three-years-old, it agrees surprisingly well with the October 2006 issue of
Consumer Reports (pp. 41-45). Of course, Dan Tynan goes into much greater
detail.
Dufferdom,
Tales of the Ordinary Users by David D. Uffer, member of the Chicago Computer
Society (approx. 730 words) www.ccs.org
When
you think about it, you may come to the view that there are users and there
are abusers of personal computers. Of course, the direction of the abuse
may be at issue: the PC could seem to be abusing the user, not responding
as it had and probably should.
Finally!
Essential Tech Books for Non-Dummies, by Gabe Goldberg, APCUG Advisor;
Columnist (approx 1,046 words) www.compukiss.com
With
holidays just past, many people reading this article from AARP's Web site
will need techno-wisdom for dealing with gifts received by family, friends,
and themselves. But with conflicting suggestions from mailing lists, Web
sites, stores, and manufacturers all around us, a trusted guidebook is
valuable.
How
Does Windows Handle USB Devices? By Dave Gerber, Program Chair, Sarasota PCUG, Florida;
member of the “Live on the Internet” Bits and Bytes radio show
team (approx. 1,099 words) www.spcug.org / www.davebytes.com
One
subject that often comes up is how Windows handles USB (Universal Serial Bus)
devices and what you can do when USB devices won’t work as you
expect. A very informative article on USB devices, how to find out which
USB you have, etc.
My
Registry Adventures by Al Gruber, a member of the SouthEastern
Michigan Computer Organization (SEMCO) (approx. 2,251 words) www.semco.org
Suppose
you try to delete a file on your Desktop, but instead the system starts to
install program. You furiously click cancel a dozen times, and it stops. So
you try the delete again, and it happens again, and again, even after
rebooting. Evidently, some wires are crossed in your computer; the delete
key is now assigned to installing a program. The tales of trying to tweak
the Registry.
New
Year’s Resolutions for Safe Computing by Ira Wilsker, APCUG Director;
columnist, The Examiner, Beaumont, TX; TV and radio show host (approx.
1,113 words)
It is
that time of year that we all make New Year’s resolutions. Most of us
have resolved to lost weight, stop smoking, or perform some other
beneficial act. One resolution that we all should make is to practice safe
computing.
Shopping
for free and open source software by Bill Wayson, member of the Channel
Islands PCUG, California
(approx. 1,476 words) www.cipcug.org
The
holiday shopping season is over and many of you will be trying to figure
out what to put on your new computer. Why not try the Mail of FOSS?
Take
Windows XP to the Next Level with the Free Vista Transformation Pack by
Dave Gerber, Program Chair, Sarasota PCUG, Florida; member of the Dave
Bytes radio team (approx. 314 words) www.spcug.org
/ www.davebytes.com
If you
don’t want to shell out the cash for a copy of Windows Vista, the
Windows Vista Transformation Pack is an easy and free way to emulate Vista’s look and feel.
Tour
the World with World Wind by Rob Rice, a member of the Computer Club of
Oklahoma City and a computer specialist in Anchorage, Alaska (approx. 1,219
words) www.ccokc.org
Lots
of folks are familiar with Google Earth, the free downloadable virtual
globe program. Yet, I am finding that many have never heard of NASA’s
World Wind. World Wind is developed at the NASA Ames
Research Center
and is an open-source competitor to Google Earth.
XP
Disk Maintenance Tool by Dick Maybach, member of the Brookdale computer
User Group, NJ (approx. 924 words) www.bcug.org
Windows
disk operations have improved greatly over the years to the extent that we
seldom have problems with XP. However, XP does include tools to inform you
about your disks, to improve their operation, and, if needed, to repair the
data on them.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Brian Lewis
|
Ira Wilsker
|
Bob Rice
|
Wes Taylor
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Sue Crane
|
John Brewer
|
Dave Gerber
|
Gabe Goldberg
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Berry Phillips
|
Gene Barlow
|
Richard Johnson
|
Vinny LaBash
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Pim Borman
|
Hilton Kaufman
|
Michael Moore
|
|
|
|
