 Speakers Bureau
APCUG has put this list together as a benefit for its member groups. It is the
groups’ responsibility to contact the presenter and make arrangements for a
presentation at their meeting. Don’t forget to mention your time zone in the
initial e-mail.
A number of speakers are prepared to offer Remote Presentations to APCUG Member
Groups using the Internet. All you need is a broadband or DSL Internet
connection.
If you do not have adequate Internet access where you meet, you may still be
able to participate in this benefit. Please read this article
to see the results of tests the Fox Valley PC Association did of various alternatives. You may also
find that one of your members has invested in wireless access for his/her laptop
and who might be willing to let you use their laptop and wireless access on
meeting nights.
Presenters
Gene Barlow, User Group Relations. Gene gives presentations on the latest
versions of Acronis True Image Home and Acronis Disk Director. Contact Linda
Barlow, linda@ugr.com, to schedule a presentation. www.ugr.com
Frances Chao, member, Tucson Computer Society, AZ and the Greater South PCUG,
CA. Francis is a frequent presenter at the TCS; gave a Virtual Machine
presentation at the 2011 Southwest Computer Conference and the APCUG Beta
Virtual Conference. fchao2@yahoo.com / www.aztcs.org
Jim Evans. Jim has been involved in technology & computers for 30+ years and has
written and presented on technology around the country. Jim is a long-time
member and officer of the Greater Cleveland PC Users Group. Besides being
involved with his local group, Jim has a long association with APCUG. He
maintains a tech page at www.facebook.com/GeekClean. jamesievans@gmail.com /
www.gcpcug.org
Hank Feinberg, President/Program Chair, Rockland PCUG, NY; ACUG Director. Hank
is a regular presenter at his user group as well as other groups in the New York
area. He has given presentations to many other user groups across the US;
presented at the 2010 FACUG conference as well as APCUG annual conferences held
in Las Vegas. hank.apcug@gmail.com / www.rpcug.org
Bob Gosticha, avast! After a successful career in banking, Bob enjoys his
retirement as an enthusiastic IT security expert, most notably for AVAST
Software, the creator of avast! antivirus software. The avast! website has a
discussion and help forum, where Bob has been helping with security-related
issues since 2004, having contributed over 15,000 forum interactions.
Bob3160@gmail.com / www.avast.com
Chris and Jim Guld, Geeks on Tour. Jim and Chris both love computers and built
their careers around them. In addition to many other computer-related
activities, Chris was the owner of a computer-training center for 13 years and
Jim was a network administrator managing more than 100 computers and is a
Microsoft Certified instructor. They also share a passion for people and travel.
They now live in a motorhome and tour the country giving computer seminars to RV
Rallies and computer clubs as they travel. All their training is available on
their website, www.geeksontour.tv in tutorial video format. Chris wrote the
book "Beginner's Guide to Picasa" available on Amazon as well as their website.
Jimandchris@geeksontour.com / www.geeksontour.tv
Kathy Jacobs. Kathy is currently the president of ASCIi (Arizona Society for
Computer Information, Inc.), past president of APCUG and a Microsoft MVP. She
loves to share her expertise on social media, OneNote, PowerPoint, SnagIt,
Camtasia and video for fun and exposure. Kathy@vitaminch.com / www.asciiug.org
John Kennedy, Licking County Computer Society, Ohio. John has been involved with
computers since the days of the Atari computers. During the last 10 years of his
teaching career he taught computer skills to middle schoolers. Currently he’s
involved with teaching senior citizens all levels of computer skills and working
with his local computer group. With a fixed retirement income, he’s very
interested in free software, free operating systems, and free services; and
sharing what he’s found with anyone that would like to know more about those
topics. lccs.freejohn@gmail.com / www.lccs.org
Jere Minich, Program Chair, Lake-Sumter Computer Society, FL. Jere is a frequent
presenter at his user group and has also presented to several other user groups
across the United States, including the Pikes Peak Application Society in
Colorado Springs. A comment from their Program Chair….Our meeting was another of
those excellent Jere Minich instructional talks that came to us via Skype.
ProgramLSCS@gmail.com / www.lscs.us
Hewie Poplock, Program Chair, Central Florida Computer Society, APCUG Director.
Hewie attended his first user group meeting armed with a yellow legal pad and 21
questions. Although only four of them got addressed at that first meeting, he
knew that computer user groups were an invaluable source of help, information
and friendship. That was in 1982 at an Osborne User group. He has been active in
the user group movement ever since. He likes to help computer users and give
back much of what he has learned over the years. hewie@hewie.net / www.cfcs.org
Abby Stokes, author, Is This Thing On? Abby has demystified computers for over
140,000 people, mostly seniors, in the course of the past 17 years. Abby has
taught courses in basic computing at both Cooper Union and New York University’s
School of Lifelong Learning, as well as computer skills to private and corporate
clients. She has given in-person and Skype presentations to many user groups
across the United States. abbystokes@yahoo.com / www.abbyandme.com
Marie Vesta is currently APCUG’s Vice President. She has been President
of her local user group, the Pasco Area Computer User Group, for nine years and
was President of the Florida Association of Computer User Groups for two years.
She has been involved in user groups since 1991 and has been doing presentations
since 1998. svesta@tampabay.rr.com
Gregory West, Vice President, Sarnia Computer Users’ Group, Canada. Sarnia has a
sister user group, COMP; he has worked with COMP to teach people in Port Huron,
Michigan with PCs. He also helped COMP rebuild computers for the blind when they
won the APCUG Jerry Award. He created promotional videos on this project for
COMP. Greg has been a book reviewer for O’Reilly Media for the past six years
and has been writing a monthly tech column for a local newspaper for the past 10
years. He is currently designing a free website (www.alternatecloud.com) to
assist seniors and is a former Mac teacher. alternatecloud@gmail.com
Cheryl Wester, Program Chair, Temecula Valley CUG, CA; technical support,
Applian. Cheryl is always eager and willing to help others learn more about
computers. Through computers and technology she feels she has become a better
person. Cheryl doesn't feel she will become stale, since she needs to stay
current as technology is constantly changing and evolving. Who knows what
tomorrow will bring? If you e-mail Applian for technical support, you just might
be talking with Cheryl. cwester@apcug.org
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Presentation Topics
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Presentation Target Audience
B – Beginner
I – Intermediate
A – Advanced
E - Everyone
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Presentations
Back-up
- (E) Backing up, Sharing, Protecting and Organizing Your Hard Drive
- In today’s computer networks, the ability to share conversation and
pictures with others is a growing trend. Facebook and Twitter have
become overnight sensations. However, these tools are not the best way
to share your photos and other computer files with others. Acronis True
Image 2012 has introduced a new function that allows you to easily share
certain files with your other computers and with friends across the
internet. Gene Barlow, gene@ugr.com / linda@ugr.com
Cloud Computing
- (E) Cloud Computing - Jere Minich, ProgramLSCS@gmail.com
- (E) Clouds - The future of computing is in the clouds. Google vs. Microsoft Hank Feinberg, hank.apcug@gmail.com
- (E) Forms and Surveys - How to add forms and surveys to your websites. Hank Feinberg, hank.apcug@gmail.com
- (E) Investing - Managing your finances and basic investing using the internet. Hank Feinberg, hank.apcug@gmail.com
- (B) Online file storage for free -
You can back up your data files and photos at one or more of the
following Web sites for free: Adrive--50 Gigabytes, Google Docs,
Microsoft’s Skydrive--25 Gigabytes, Idrive--5 Gigabytes Mozy--2
Gigabytes, My Picturetown--2 Gigabytes; Box--1 Gigabyte. Frances Chao, fchao2@yahoo.com
- (I) Webcams and Related Free Software and Services
- Frances will show you how a webcam can be used for: Voice and video
calling with the free versions of Skype, Windows Live Messenger, or
Google Video Chat, Interactive games that require a webcam, Taking still
photos using free software and free Web-based services, software for
doing frame grabs from video files and more. Frances Chao, fchao2@yahoo.com
- (E) TeamViewer - Providing free tech support from the comfort of your home. John Kennedy, lccs.freejohn@gmail.com
Digital Photography
- (E) Picasa - From the Camera to
the Web, Picasa handles it all. It’s *fast*, it’s *easy*, and it’s
*free* from Google. It’s the fast and easy way to make all your photos
look better. jimandchris@geeksontour.com
- (I) Picasa, Advanced - Learn about some of Picasa’s advanced features like facial recognition, movie-making, and geotagging. jimandchris@geeksontour.com
Ergonomics
- (E) Good Computer Habits -
Ergonomics, Netiquette, and How to Make a Difference. Abby will discuss
online netiquette for e-mail and blogging, tips on how to be sure you're
not hurting yourself when on the computer, and how to do good deeds
with a click of the mouse. Abby Stokes, abbystokes@yahoo.com
Free Software
- (E) Free and Alternatives to Free Software - Where money doesn't have to speak. John Kennedy, lccs.freejohn@gmail.com
- (I) Free Software Trials from Microsoft
- Kick the Tires for Gratis! As a computer user and especially as a
member of a budget-challenged user group, you should take advantage of
the great free trials and betas that Microsoft offers for their
operating systems and applications software. Frances Chao, fchao2@yahoo.com
- (B) Free Software Versus Free Services
- For any given computer function, you often have both free software
and free Web-based "software as a service" services to choose from.
Frances will compare free software and free online services for doing
word processing, spreadsheets, presentation creation, video game
capture, and karaoke music. Frances Chao, fchao2@yahoo.com
- (E) Free Online Computer Training -
Your computer and its Internet connection can provide you with hundreds
of hours of free training that you can access in the comfort of your
home. Frances Chao, fchao2@yahoo.com
- (B) Preparing a computer for free software and services
- Prior to installing free software or free services, you should
install the free Adobe Reader, remove existing unwanted software using
Revo Uninstaller Freeware, and make sure that the Windows registry is as
clean as possible with the free CCleaner software utility. Frances
Chao, fchao2@yahoo.com
- (B) Karaoke Music for Free -
Karaoke means displaying the timed lyrics while playing the instrumental
"backing tracks" for music that someone (you!) has to sing. Instead of
buying a karaoke machine and karaoke CD+G discs, you can run karaoke for
free in your Windows computer. Frances Chao, fchao2@yahoo.com
General
- (E) Learn What Everyone’s talking About – Tablets, the iPad, eReaders, Social Networking and more. Abby Stokes, abbystokes@yahoo.com
- (B/E) Navigate the Ever Changing Landscape of Technology
- The digital divide widens with the rapid pace of new innovations and
gadgets. What is out there and how it might benefit you can be lost in
all the tech talk. Abby helps "digital immigrants" (those baby boomers
and beyond not born with a keyboard and mouse in hand) understand what
everyone is talking about and how to decide what might work best for
them. Abby Stokes, abbystokes@yahoo.com
- (B) Reading and Creating QR Codes -
Frances will show you how to create QR codes and you how you can use
the free bcTester software program to read QR Codes. Frances Chao, fchao2@yahoo.com
- (I) USB 3 versus USB 2 versus eSATA
- We have all heard the marketing hype about how USB 3 is 10 times
faster than USB 2. Frances will show you his real world measurements as
well as tell you about the backward and forward compatibilities of USB 3
and USB 2. Frances Chao, fchao2@yahoo.com
Hardware
- (E) Computer Hardware Overview – What is the story behind all that hardware in your computer. Jere Minich, ProgramLSCS@gmail.com
Internet
- (B) Demystifying Computers - A
reassuring, jargon-free talk to introduce late bloomers, grandparents,
technophobes & the digitally challenged to all the wonders of using a
computer, e-mail, and the Internet. Abby Stokes, abbystokes@yahoo.com
- (E) Making the most of RSS – How to monitor the news, stocks, sports so you can keep up with the World. Jere Minich, ProgramLSCS@gmail.com
- (E) Skype – Communicating over the Internet for Free. John Kennedy,
lccs.freejohn@gmail.com
- (E) The Ins and Outs of Skype – learn how to use Skype. Video conferencing with family or business, sending files, sharing screens, and much more. svesta@tampabay.rr.com
- (E) VoIP - Voice over IP and how to save lots of money on your phone bills. Hank Feinberg, hank.apcug@gmail.com
Linux / Open Source
- (E) Introduction to Linux - A free operating system that meets most people's needs. John Kennedy, lccs.freejohn@gmail.com
- (E) LibreOffice and Openoffice.Org or Online Services for Free
- The free LibreOffice and OpenOffice.org software suites are
increasingly viable alternatives to the not-free Microsoft Office
software suite. This presentation provides a hands-on demonstration of
these two amazing freebies and provides an explanation of the
differences between them and Microsoft Office. Frances Chao, fchao2@yahoo.com
Mac
Music / Video
- (E) How to record your favorite music with Applian’s Replay Media Capture. Download videos & MP3's from millions of sites - Automatically! Cheryl Wester, cwester@apcug.org
- (E) How to record your favorite videos with Applian’s Replay Video Capture. If you can watch it, you can record it. Cheryl Wester, cwester@apcug.org
- (E) Video for fun and exposure - Kathy Jacobs, Kathy@vitaminch.com
Operating Systems
- (E) Customize your Computer (Control Panel) – How to use the control panel to customize your computer. Jere Minich, ProgramLSCS@gmail.com
- (E) Using Help and Support – The Book of Knowledge about your computer on your computer. Jere Minich, ProgramLSCS@gmail.com
- (E) Windows 8 Consumer Preview Beta
- The Windows 8 Consumer Preview provides us with a look into the
rapidly-approaching future of the Windows operating system. Windows 8
will have both the old, legacy Desktop user interface and the new Metro
Start screen. Metro is Microsoft's unified user interface that will be
inside Microsoft's (future) operating systems for computers, tablets,
cell phones, and PDAs. This presentation will be performed from inside a
real Windows 8 Consumer Preview computer so that you can get a good
look at its similarity and differences to Windows 7, Windows Vista, and
Windows XP. Frances Chao, fchao2@yahoo.com
- (I) Making the Windows 8 Consumer Preview Pre-Beta Usable
- Like any new operating system, Windows 8 Consumer Preview will appear
mysterious and almost impossible when you encounter it for the first
time. Frances will demonstrate the steps for making Windows 8 Pre-beta.
Frances Chao, fchao2@yahoo.com
- (I) Windows 7. Speeding Up Win 7 -
Frances has prepared extensive step-by-step instructions for you to use
to speed up your "Windows 7" computer(s). He will use an actual Windows
7 virtual machine to show you how to use the System applet in the
control panel to perform various speedup tweaks including supersizing
the virtual memory swap file. He will also show you how to run the
services.msc in Microsoft Management Console to turn off and disable
unneeded services, which will massively speed up your Windows 7
computer. Frances Chao, fchao2@yahoo.com
- (I) Windows Vista. Speeding Up Vista - Same description as Win 7. Frances Chao, fchao2@yahoo.com
- (I) Windows XP. Speeding Up XP -
Frances has prepared extensive step-by-step instructions for you to use
to speed up your Windows XP computer(s). He will use an actual Windows
XP virtual machine to show you how to use the System applet in the
control panel to perform various speedup tweaks including supersizing
the virtual memory swap file. Frances Chao, fchao2@yahoo.com
- (I) Turn Off Startup Programs To Speed Up Your Windows Computer - Learn to speed up your Windows computer by disabling some of the startup programs. Frances Chao, chao2@yahoo.com
- (I) Sharing Files and Printers Between Windows 7, Windows XP, and Windows Vista computers. Frances Chao, fchao2@yahoo.com
Preventive Maintenance
- (E) Performing Computer Maintenance - How to fix your computer or get Free Help. Jere Minich, ProgramLSCS@gmail.com
- (E) Spring Clean Your Computer - Clean up your computer of all the junk files and improve performance. Jere Minich, ProgramLSCS@gmail.com
Printers / Printing
- (E) How printers work, hints and tips - The inside scoop on how printers really work and how you can maintain control. Jere Minich, ProgramLSCS@gmail.com
- (E) How to Save on Printer Ink – How to cut your cost of printer ink and save printing cost every day. Jere Minich, ProgramLSCS@gmail.com
Refurbishing
- (E) How a community refurbishing program can build a solid membership in your group. Hank Feinberg, hank.apcug@gmail.com
- (E) The importance of Recycling and Refurbishing. Hank Feinberg, hank.apcug@gmail.com
Security
- (I) Cleaning Malware From Your Windows Computer
- The computer techs at a professional computer support company told us
what they do to clean up malware-infected computers. Using their
advice, we created this step-by-step cleanup procedure that has
successfully disinfected 90+ percent of the infected computers that we
have tried it on. This procedure consists of running Malwarebytes
AntiMalware, SuperAntiSpyware, and ComboFix in sequence while the
computer is in Safe Mode. Frances Chao, fchao2@yahoo.com
- (E) Free Anti-Virus/Anti-Malware Software
- When you are deciding between the free and non-free versions of
anti-virus/anti-malware software, look carefully at the software
developer's description of the differences in features between the free
and non-free versions of their software. In most cases, you will
discover that you do not need the features that are not free. Frances
will demonstrate some powerful software programs: Microsoft Security
Essentials, Avast, AVG, and FortiClient, Frances Chao, fchao2@yahoo.com
- (E) Identity Theft - Hewie
Poplock, a victim of identity theft, presents this informative session
which includes many videos of actual occurrences of events and articles
that pertain to how ID theft can happen. Then Hewie gives many great
suggestions on how to prevent you and your family from experiencing ID
Theft. This session is frequently updated with more recent information.
Hewie Poplock, hewie@hewie.net
- (E) Identity Theft - A primer on identity theft and how to protect yourself. Hank Feinberg, hank.apcug@gmail.com
- (E) Safety on the Internet - Some of the tricks and tips about being safe on the Internet, surfing and shopping. Jere Minich, ProgramLSCS@gmail.com
- (E) Security myths, Internet do’s and don’ts, the evolution of computer threats + more. Bob Gosticha, avast!, bob3160@gmail.com
Social Media
- (E) Are You in Charge of Your Facebook Privacy?
Facebook has a maze of privacy settings, what do they all mean? Do you
have them set like you want? You can have them tighter than a drum or
you can be totally over exposed for all to see. Don't assume that
Facebook is looking out for you. Jim Evans, jamesievans@gmail.com
- (E) Every Traveler Needs a Blog. A
quick and easy website to post your photos and tales of your travels.
All your family and friends can follow along. If you haven’t seen a blog
yet, check out ours: go to www.geeksontour.blogspot.com and click on
Our Blog. Jim and Chris Guld, jimandchris@geeksontour.com
- (E) Facebook: Not Just for Kids.
Reconnect with people you haven’t seen in a lifetime. Expand both the
quantity and the quality of your friendships with more frequent contact.
jimandchris@geeksontour.com
- (E) It's Time for Facebook’s Timeline.
Facebook has recently overhauled its individual profile page. Think
digital scrapbooking the story of your life. But what do all these
changes mean and why did Facebook make them? This presentation will
cover all and then some. Jim Evans, jamesievans@gmail.com
- (E) Social Media for your User Group (overview). Kathy Jacobs, Kathy@vitaminch.com
- (E) Social Networking. What's
everyone talking about when they bring up Facebook. Twitter and blogs?
How to enjoy the benefits of social media without risking the loss of
your privacy. Abby Stokes, abbystokes@yahoo.com
- (E) Using Social Media:
Twitter/Yelp/Facebook/YouTube/Vimeo/UStream/Etc. for exposure (This is a
series…Pick the tool your group is most interested in). Kathy Jacobs, Kathy@vitaminch.com
Software Programs
User Groups
- (E) Fundraising for User Groups – A dozen and one ways to earn extra cash for your group’s treasury. svesta@tampabay.rr.com
Virtual Machines
All Virtual Machine presentations, Frances Chao, fchao2@yahoo.com
- (E) Benefits of Using Virtual Machines
- Let Frances show you how virtual machines can save you time, money,
and space. You can use “virtual machines” to perform activities that you
would otherwise have to do with real computers.
- (I) Choosing a Virtual Machine Program
- There are four free virtual machine programs that you can run inside
your "Windows" computer: "VMware Player," "Oracle VM VirtualBox,"
"Windows Virtual PC" and "Microsoft Virtual PC 2007.”
- (I) Creating Virtual Machines Inside Your "Windows" Computer - Frances will demonstrate three ways for you to install virtual machines inside your computer.
- (E) Using Virtualization of Hardware to Save Money, Time, and Space
- You can save money, space, and time by using the virtual software
"devices" to simulate all or part of real, physical equipment: Fax, TV
set, CD/DVD drive, and many more.
- (I) Using a Real Computer To Make a Virtual Machine
- In addition to the three ways to create a virtual machine, you can
also create a virtual machine from an existing, real "Windows" computer.
This process is called "Physical to Virtual." It is also known as
"P2V." Frances will demonstrate the process.
- (I) Using a Virtual Machine To Do Real Computing - After creating some virtual machines, you can start using them to do real computing. Frances will show you how to do this.
- (I) Installing a "Virtual Machine Program" Into Your "Windows" Computer
- Frances will demonstrate the actual installation of one or more these
amazing programs into a "Windows XP" computer. He has created detailed
step-by instructions to help you to install the following free "virtual
machine programs" into your "Windows" computer: "VMware Player,"
"Oracle VM VirtualBox," "Windows Virtual PC," and "Microsoft Virtual
PC."
Virtual World
Websites
- (E) Websites - How to build a website in 1 hour … and free programs to do it
Hank Feinberg, hank.apcug@gmail.com
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