TPCUG The PC Users Group of CT - The Program 10
Transcription
TPCUG The PC Users Group of CT - The Program 10
M A R G O R P The PRICE 2 DeadChickens The PC Users Group of CT Volume 25, Number 10 OCTOBER 2008 As I write the October’s ―Prez’s Place‖ the thing on my mind is the hospitalization of our Treasurer Joe Netzer. Joe has been in the Veteran From the Crypt of John Roy Administration’s Hospital a couple of weeks trying to get his body chemistry stabilized. His release is unknown as I write this but hopefully Joe is back in action when you read this. The Prez's Place V V Joe has always been an extremely active board member taking on every job imaginable. He has been the heartbeat of TPCUG. Only when he is not available to do the things we take for granted do we appreciate his true value. While his official jobs are Treasurer and Hospitality he does so many other things such as hosting BOD and SIG meetings at his home, collecting and respond to TPCUG’s mail, creating signs, and making phone calls to members to name a few. He is always early at the general meetings and hustles to set up equipment and refreshments. He is also the last person to leave making sure the community room is cleaned and all equipment, chairs and tables are put back in their proper location. As our Hospitality Chairman he is our refreshment guru always making sure coffee and snacks are available at our general meetings. His true cooking and organizing ability is appreciated at our annual December holiday party . Continued on Next Page—> SUBJECT The OCTOBER Meeting The Prez’s Place Editor’s Notes TPCUG Club News PAGE Cover Cover 2 3 Wacom Intuos Writing Tablet 4 Area Club Events Get Unleashed with Wireless USB WordSearch Greenprint.com Sites of Interest XP Death March Contests Sharepoint Scared Safe: Computer Safety Membership Notices & Updates Member Discounts 2008 General Meeting Dates How-to of Help (Members Helping Members) About The PC Users Group of CT The Back Page 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 15 16 16 16 17 18 19 OCTOBER 30, 2008 6:30 PM – Question/Answer Session Facilitator: Herb Yanowitz 7:00 PM – SNAGIT, A Product Review by John Roy 7:45 PM – Blood sucking Time 8 PM – THE COMPUTER: An In-depth View on How It Works: by Peter Basel 9:00 PM – Prize Drawing T! UES G A G arge h c tra BRIN No ex GET INVOLVED We Know Where You Live! Ask a Board Member How You Can Help TPCUG The PC Users Group of Connecticut Page 2 The Prez's Place Continued . . . Joe is a maestro at planning, cooking and coordinating this enjoyable event. No one ever leaves the party with an empty stomach as there is always a great selection of different food to try. I also want to thank our Vice President, Jerry Goldstein and his support staff for ensuring the success of the September meeting with both myself and Joe being unavailable to help. I was informed that our APCUG president, Jay Ferron was in attendance and made a pitch on how Microsoft’s SharePoint will bring APCUG members some exciting new software tools. Since TPCUG is a member of APCUG all members are authorized to visit this site and use the services. Officers will be able to make changes associated with their user group. While this web portal is presently in its infancy it should grow quickly as more APCUG member user groups become involved. At the present time you will find shared documents such as other user group newsletters, product reviews, assorted tips, etc. You will also find announcements, links, Wiki pages, and an events calendar. Go take a peek at this new resource by going to http://sharepoint.apcug.net. John Roy WELCOME NEW HOSPITALITY ASSISTANT BILL VANIOTIS has stepped in to help out with Meeting Refreshments while our Hospitality Chairperson is convalescing. New member, WAYNE ENGELMAN has also stepped forward to help Bill with the refreshments We thank Bill & Wayne for their help. If you would like to help make TPCUG better please contact a Board Member today. Bill Vanioitis Wayne Engelman NOTES FROM THE CRYPT Welcome to our Halloween Edition. We try to offer you lots computer tricks and treats. Hope you enjoy it. change for your opinions. If you are interested write in and we can help you get started. It was great to see people step forward to help at the September Meeting. TPCUG is only the sum total of its members. With your continued help we will continue to have a great group. I’d like to again send kudos out to BARBARA GRAVITZ for sending out the Newsletter to the members and to our President, John Roy, for his assistance in proofing the Newsletter and writing articles. Thanks for the submissions from John Roy, Caren Schwartz, Al Rankell, Barbara Gravitz, Ken Jezierny, and Jay Feron, for their newsletter submissions . We even had another submission from Hank Feinberg from the Rockland PC Users Group. Your submissions make it fun and easy to put this Newsletter together.. Thanks for making a difference. In this issue once again you can find a review article about software/ hardware the writer received in exchange for writing and publishing the review. You too can get hundreds of dollars of free stuff in ex- Jerry Goldstein TPCUG Newsletter Editor [email protected] Deadline for Next Newsletter: 11/10/08 May change without notice The Program OCTOBER 2008 Page 2 The PC Users Group of Connecticut Page 3 The TPCUG Club News Kristoph e Techno r Seluga of logy As socia Fo explains rensic Engine tes ering how com pu with acc ident re ters can help constru ction ett Row Garr w o h explains orks w o e id Flash V Norm Glover, Ken Jezierny, & Al Rankell helping out at the Membership Desk Row Garrett picks the winner yed ne enjo Everyo eat program r gr anothe the d e s s mi eeting u o y If ember M ssed Sept n you mi ot! tha t on a l ou If you tend to see the same people here month after month it is because we take pictures of active members helping out. Step forward and make a difference and you’ll soon see yourself here too. TPCUG—It Pays To Belong! DON’T MISS OUT AGAIN especially for the OCTOBER 30th Meeting when TPCUG presents: ―An In-Depth Look At Computers‖ Al Ran k ell tea ches N ovaPD F To Joe Netzer Best Wishes On A Speedy Recovery From All Your Friends in TPCUG September 2008. Another spectacular Edition without any errors!! (At least none you caught). The Program OCTOBER 2008 Page 3 The PC Users Group of Connecticut Page 4 Wacom Intous.3 Writing Tablet A Product Review By Jerry Goldstein Vice-President TPCUG Tabula rasa (blank slate) has new meaning when you hold a pen to a writing tablet. Your creativity expands. After the stilted motions of a mouse you get free flowing precision to transfer your thoughts to the screen when you use a writing tablet and pen. For graphic work and photo editing the writing tablet is as invaluable as the palette is to an artist. Writing tablets, aka digitizing, drawing, or graphic tablet have been around since 1888 when the Telautograph was patented. They have come a long way since then with one manufacturer carving out its own market niche. That manufacturer is Wacom. Wacom created and patented passive tablets that use electromagnetic induction technology. This technology uses horizontal and vertical wires that transmit and receive electromagnetic signals between the tablet and a pen or mouse. For the nonscientists amongst us that means the wires let the tablet know where the pen is on or above the tablet and translates that to the screen. The pens are equipped with pressure sensitive technology as well. This allows you to adjust what you do on the screen just by how hard and the angle by which you use the pen. Electromagnetic power also eliminates the need for a battery for the pen. Wacom patents prevent competitors from using its technology. That has kept Wacom the premier tablet company for artists, graphic designers, architects, and, well . . . anyone wanting to use a graphic tablet. Other technology for tablets include Active Tablets, that use a battery energized battery to transmit a stylus’s signal to the tablet, Optical Tablets, that use a small digital camera in a pen that matches patterns on paper, (watch future newsletters for an article on this emerging technology for note-takers), and Capacitive Signal Tablets, that use electrostatic signals. Touch screens are also similar to graphic tablets but you don’t get the high level of precision a touch screen gives you. None of these other technologies are as popular as the electromagnetic tablets that Wacom offers. When buying a writing tablet you have choices depending on your budget and needs. Budget considerations may over ride your actual needs but this is not a time to save. Wacom’s basic or amateur level tablets used to be Graphire technology but Wacom has since introduced a new basic tablet and called it Bamboo. The Graphire line is only available now as a reworked Bluetooth wireless tablet. Between my own research and what I have discussed with others who use graphic tablets you don’t want to buy the entry level Bamboo unless you want to quickly be frustrated by its restrictions. Intuos is much more sensitive allowing precision detail in your work that is sorely missing in the Bamboo level tablet. I’m not saying that the Bamboo is a bad product for the money. It just isn’t enough for most user’s needs. You will pay almost double for the Intuos over the Bamboo. It is worth it. PLEASE NOTE: The manufacturer provided TPCUG with a free copy of the reviewed product in exchange for this unbiased review. The Program OCTOBER 2008 Part of the value in buying a writing tablet is the bundled software that usually comes with your purchase. Wacom offers Adobe Photoshop Elements, Corel Painter Essential, Nik Color Efex. and Wacom Brushes with the Intuos tablet. Separately these softwares would cost you some $200.00. They come free with your Wacom tablet. Adobe Photoshop Elements is the basic level version of the well-known digital photo editing software. Continued on Next Page—> Page 4 The PC Users Group of Connecticut Page 5 Corel Painter is used to turn your photos into paintings and Nik Color Efex applies lighting filters to your photos. Wacom Brushes customizes the brushes used with Photoshop. When I researched purchasing a tablet I found a wide difference in Continued . . . what was being bundled with the offered tablet depending on the seller. Be careful what you are buying as what seems like a good deal could be a reseller offering older product with outdated software. Wacom Intous.3 Writing Tablet As you can see in the table at right the Wacom tablet comes in a variety of sizes. Wacom provided me with the 6‖x11‖ size tablet (about $370.00) to review based on my working with dual monitors. When buying a tablet you want to buy the largest one that fits your budget. Stretching your budget for a bigger size will benefit you greatly later. The tablet space translates to the work you are doing. Precision is made easier when you are working on a larger tablet that understands minute motions. You can adapt a smaller tablet to work in tighter areas but that requires extra work which gets tedious. If you are working with only one monitor the 6x8 tablet is your best buy. The tablet itself defaults as matching your monitor screen for size. When you reach the edge of the tablet surface you are also at the edge of the monitor. For dual monitors the tablet moves smoothly across the monitors as if AVAILABLE SIZES they are one. The tablet divides itself in half so you work on both monitors like one big surface. The only problem I had with this was that my main monitor sits directly in front of me with the second monitor off to my left and up against the main monitor. This meant the tablet area that I mostly worked on was furthest from me when I worked with the tablet to the side of the keyboard. I found Imagine what Leonardo da Vinci could have done with a writing tablet it easier to switch the tablet to work with just one monitor when I was doing quick photo fixes. The tablet comes with two sets of programmable hot keys to make the switch from one monitor to two relatively easy. When I wanted to work in depth with the tablet I found the extra sized tablet came in handy and made editing easier. The tablet is also light and sturdy enough to sit comfortably in your lap for those long editing sessions. The tablet’s installation is mostly plug and play, easy and quick. I say mostly because of the learning curve on the bundled software. The tablet itself is almost instantly understandable and useable. The software bundle is where the learning curve comes in. You’ll have to do a lot of experimenting and manual reading to get the most out of the tablet software. Excuse me but do you know where they get these great TPCUG Newsletter articles? Unless noted as from a TPCUG member, all newsletter articles obtained from APCUG with the author's permission for publication by APCUG member groups. The Program OCTOBER 2008 You will also want to experiment with the 1024 levels of tip and erasure pressure sensitivity that you get in the Intuos Grip Pen. As mentioned before the Intouos pen is battery free. That lightens the pen and avoids problems with using a pen with weak batteries. I found the pen easy to hold and maneuver around the tablet. The pen comes with a holder that allows you to keep track of where you put it between uses. It also includes a handy Continued on Next Page—> Page 5 The PC Users Group of Connecticut Wacom Intous.3 Writing Tablet Continued . . . MISSED A PROGRAM MEETING? Charter Cable Customers can watch it on Channel 17 Check the Ch. 17 Schedule HERE http://www.trumbull-ct.gov/content/394/158.aspx -or- All TPCUG Members can go to the TPCUG web forum where past presentations are waiting for you. Page 6 electronic eraser for easy fixes. I have not used the pen long enough to notice but other reviews I read indicate that the nibs on the pen do wear down with use. The pen nibs are replaceable. The pen is so sensitive that it has tilt sensitivity like a real pen or brush. A nice touch to the tablet are the 2 touch strips placed strategically on the tablets. They made it easy to scroll and zoom the work for easier editing. The tablet also comes with a five button scrolling mouse that is ball and optics free. It works off the tablet’s surface so no additional USB plugs are used for the mouse base. I did find it somewhat annoying using the tablet mouse as my sole mouse. You are restricted to the active tablet surface with the tablet mouse. I often found myself with a mouse that was not reacting to my motions when I went outside the tablet sensitivity surface. The tablet surface has a large non sensitive area that provides a great hand rest when working but no mouse control. It was distracting when doing general computer work, like writing this article, and using the tablet’s mouse. For this reason I keep my old mouse handy for non-tablet work. When buying an Intuos level writing tablet you may find it necessary to go to the stores website to find your tablet. Retailers can not afford to stock a wide variety of tablets in each of its stores. You probably won’t even find a store display tablet for you to try out before you buy. Your research is going to mostly based on the reviews you find of which there are many. All in all I found the Wacom Intous3 tablet to be a great addition to my computer repertoire. As regular readers know I love making home videos and mixing up photos with my PowerPoint presentations. The tablet makes my prep work easier and more comfortable. I definitely recommend the Wacom Intuos tablet as part of your photo editing or graphic work solution. AREA EVENTS A List of Programs at Area PC User Groups Can’t get enough programs. We’ve created links to all of the area PC User Groups calendar pages. Just click on the link and check out what they are doing. Most programs are open to the public. Fairfield County Computer User Group Connecticut PC Users Group Danbury Area Computer Society Hartford User Group Exchange Business & Professional Micro. User Group <- Hartford Groups-> CT Macintosh Connection Rockland PC Users Group The Program OCTOBER 2008 Westchester PC Users Group Page 6 The PC Users Group of Connecticut Get Unleashed With Wireless USB Page 7 By: Vinny La Bash [email protected] Member of the Sarasota Personal Computer Users Group, Inc. Reprinted From Sarasota PC Monitor USB technology has been around long enough for folks to feel comfortable with it. It’s the best kind of technology you can find. Plug it in, and it works. Sometimes device drivers need to be installed, but every day we move further away from "Plug and Pray" to true "Plug and Play". It’s something like electricity. It’s everywhere, but you simply don’t notice it. USB displaced an antiquated technology which was quite limited in the number and kinds of devices supported, and often resulted in software or memory conflicts which were maddeningly difficult to resolve. USB has now evolved to a point where devices that attach themselves to your computer can now connect wirelessly instead of with a cable. You can’t throw away all your cables today, but total wireless connections may be closer than most folks think possible. The latest USB wireless application is based on Ultra Wideband technology. This was developed specifically for transmitting information over very short distances using radio waves. It is at least as fast as wire based USB which can move data at a rate of 480 Mbps. Don’t try locating your keyboard, mouse or printer more than ten feet away from the computer however, as transmission speeds slow down considerably. If you place your peripheral devices at distances of twenty or thirty feet, you may experience speeds less than 100 Mbps. There are several manufacturers offering wireless setups, and new offerings appear almost daily. If you would seriously like to reduce the clutter of wires around your computer, look for a wireless hub with multiple radio frequencies to avoid interference with other wireless transmissions. You don’t want your mouse pointer zipping around the screen as you’re typing on your keyboard. Making the switch to wireless is not free, but it won’t cripple your budget. Stick with quality manufacturers like Belkin. Check with the manufacturer of your PC or laptop. Their wireless products are more likely to be designed to integrate with their own products. Because the technology is wireless, there is some preparation necessary on your part, but it’s relatively easy if you’re careful when following the installation directions. A wireless kit will have a USB hub as a central control point. Your peripherals connect to it through USB dongles that attach to a free USB port on your PC. Communications software controls activity between the adapter and the hub. The software is basically an application that manages data flow between communications links. The future of wireless appears bright. Major players such as Dell, Toshiba, and Lenovo are now offering wireless USB in there latest machines. It shouldn’t be long before you see integrated USB wireless in all desktops and laptops. Will wireless USB replace Bluetooth? It doesn’t appear likely because the two technologies are designed for different purposes. Wireless mice, mobile telephones, headsets, and keyboards are probably destined to stay within the Bluetooth realm because they have very low power consumption and transfer speeds. Bluetooth shines in this area. Wireless USB is best suited for applications requiring high data transfer speeds and high power requirements. Streaming video, printer jobs, and large file transfers are best suited for Wireless USB. Any application with high throughput is a good candidate for wireless USB. The two technologies will probably coexist until some kind of connection standard emerges, but if your devices are wireless, does it make any difference to a user if the mouse is not connected to Bluetooth or not connected to USB as long as it works as expected? The Program OCTOBER 2008 Page 7 The PC Users Group of Connecticut Page 8 Date 12/11/08 WELCOME TO KEN JEZIERNY WITH A MONTHLY WORDSEARCH COLUMN L P D R C I A H E C P M D H H E E R T T G R L E R A C N P O E P W B A T M A N A O Y L E N O V O O A L A I C T E E D X A W D E T H O C E N C A T U O T O G T T E I O T V K P N E R O M I A H A A R O E D V A A O H D L M T U L O N A N V O E B O R I H H W E T T E I S O D S D W V H H O C B L E I K Y H E G E A R N O O E A H R C A Y A N O N I A A A D I A E E T M E E M I R I I F A P O D D B N D L A N A O H L G A D C T W A S T M S L I B R C A E A A N P A E H O H Y E I C T A L O I D R R D I I T E S H D O E T M H E E N T T A A C S I E I A Y H T A E U E R A A D A H N R E R R H Y A O R R T D L T D M U Y O W P I A E T S S A M S U N G E E I E W D M T S C D Find these Computer Manufacturers AST TOSHIBA COMMODORE LENOVO ALIENWARE IBM The Program OCTOBER 2008 SAMSUNG PACKARD BELL (One Word) ATARI AMDAHL UNISYS TIME 6:30 PM Place Community RooM Trumbull Library Watch your e-mail for more details FROM THE EDITOR If this Newsletter took a long time to download on your computer you can thank all the fun clip art, photos, and colors throughout the newsletter. It is a balancing act to keep the megabyte size of the Newsletter down while adding fun and content. So far we’ve only heard cries for more fun and content. If people want quicker downloads that will mean less work. It is up to the readers to decide. Let us know. Page 8 The PC Users Group of Connecticut GOING GREEN Page 9 GREENPRINT.COM A Product Review By: CAREN SCHWARTZ TPCUG Member Time & Cents Consultant, LLC. www.timeandcents.com Did you ever hit print from an internet page and wind up with one useful page and 3 pages of wasted paper? Greenprint is a great utility that helps eliminate the wasted paper saving you money and helping the environment. Greenprint is a free utility, although you can pay a small fee and remove the advertisements while contributing to the environment. When you install Greenprint it becomes another printer on your computer. Print jobs are sent directly to GreenPrint where you get a multipage preview. GreenPrint will automatically remove pages that have very little on them. You can add these pages back, remove pages you don't need and quickly send your print job to your "real" printer. GreenPrint keeps track of how many pages you've saved and a dollar value. It's simple, it saves you money and it's good for the environment. To me that's a grand slam home run! HAVE AN IDEA FOR A WORD SEARCH OR PUZZLE! DON’T KNOW HOW TO MAKE THE FINISHED PRODUCT? Go to Tucows.com and download Toolbox2.4 Click the Button for the link> Checkout the club’s website at WWW.TPCUG-CT.ORG for updated announcements on TPCUG MEETINGS - LIBRARY - FORUM—TIPS & TRICKS WE WELCOME YOUR COMMENTS ON THE NEWSLETTERS OR ANY TPCUG BUSINESS If the website is down or out of date, visit TPCUG’s limited backup website at: http://tpcug-ct.net The Program OCTOBER 2008 Page 9 The PC Users Group of Connecticut Page 10 SITES OF INTEREST* Thanks to BARBARA GRAVITZ for this: SYNCTOY v2.0 - Incrementally backup PC folders to an external drive Thanks to JAY FERON, (TPCUG Member & APCUG President) for this: GIVEAWAYOFTHEDAY.COM - Everyday 1 Free New Software Item offered Thanks to AL RANKELL for this: EMAIL DISCLAIMERS - Protect yourself against e-mail liability TOP 7 DIGITAL CAMERA NEWBIE MISTAKES TO AVOID FASTSTONE IMAGE VIEWER - Free fast stable, User-Friendly IMAGE BROWSER, converter,editor Thanks to JERRY GOLDSTEIN for these: LOGANBERRY BOOKS - Can’t find that book on Amazon. Try this. ACTION FIGURE TIMES – For the latest info on Action Figures Toys If you found a website that you would like to share with the members send it to the Newsletter Editor at [email protected] and include the correct link and a short (2 sentence) explanation of what the site has so people will want to go there. Send the links to me under the Subject heading of ―TPCUG—Newsletter Sites of Interest‖. Include your name if you want a credit. = The Sites are hyperlinked so just put your mouse over the site title and right click to be taken to the site. Be sure to bookmark the site before you leave it. The Program OCTOBER 2008 Page 10 The PC Users Group of Connecticut Page 11 By Sandy Berger CompuKISS.com www.compukiss.com On June 30th, 2008, Microsoft started the death march for Windows XP. As of that date, Microsoft stopped shipments of Windows XP as a standalone shrink-wrapped product. So after supplies are exhausted, you won’t be able to go into a store and purchase Windows XP. Microsoft also stopped most sales to PC manufacturers. So Dell, Lenovo, HP and others will not get any new copies of Windows XP to install on their mainstream computers. However, Windows XP, Microsoft’s longest-lived and bestloved operating system, isn’t going to vanish overnight. You will still see copies of the XP software and/or computers with Windows XP in stores until inventories and depleted. 98 ME XP Microsoft has made four important concessions that will also keep XP alive: 1. Microsoft will support Windows XP until April 2014. They will offer updates, security patches, and technical support until that time. 1. Smaller local PC makers can continue to sell PCs with Windows XP until January 2009. 2. Computers with limited hardware capabilities which are sometimes called ultra-low cost PCs (ULCPC) can sell with Windows XP Home until June 2010. With the purchase of Windows Vista Business or Windows Vista Ultimate, the two most expensive versions of Vista, a customer will be able to move back to Windows XP Professional via what Microsoft is calling "downgrade rights." Details on how this will be handled have not be clearly defined to the public at this time. It is even possible that different manufacturers will handle this in different ways. To the home users, this all means very little, unless you need a new computer and are violently opposed to Windows Vista. To business users, these new policies and extensions mean that they will be able to keep their fleets of Windows XP computers running for several more years. Microsoft has announced that Windows 7, the next version of Windows, will be available in 2010 so many businesses will be able to skip Vista entirely instead to Windows 7. Intel has already announced that they will do just that. What this means for everyone is that Microsoft, while not writing off Vista, has made it an ―interim‖ operating system. Microsoft is still pushing Windows Vista. They recently announced that Vista now supports 77,000 printers, cameras, speakers and other devices and components. They also brag that more than 140 million copies of Windows Vista have already been sold, making it the fastest selling operating system in Microsoft history. So Windows Vista is not a flash-in-the-pan like Windows ME which was quickly replaced by Windows XP. In my opinion, Vista is both better and safer than Windows XP and if you are already using Vista or plan to make the move, it is not a bad choice. Yet Vista has become a lame duck. Microsoft definitely has a dilemma on their hands. The only way they will come out of this is if they can get Windows 7 out quickly while making it faster, safer, and easier to use. They also need to give it a good name and get the members of the press behind it. I’m not sure if the lumbering giant can pull that off – especially if Apple and/or Linux find a way to take advantage of this Microsoft predicament! The Program OCTOBER 2008 Page 11 The PC Users Group of Connecticut Page 12 YOU CAN’T WIN IF YOU DON’T SHOW Every month the Random Name Generator will select another TPCUG Member to win that meeting’s Door Prize. You must be present at the meeting when the name is generated to win. Congratulations to Barbara Gravitz! She won a copy of NovaPDF by showing up at a meeting. That’s all it takes! DID I WIN YET? To promote reader’s interaction we continue the monthly newsletter contest. Each month we will ask a question whose answer can be found somewhere in the newsletter. This month’s clue: A tisket a tasket a different looking masthead. What is different about this month’s Newsletter masthead from last month’s. (other than the month—too easy) Last Month’s Clue: How many times did Seth’s pix appear in the Sept Newsletter? Answer: 6 Found on pages 3 (3x—check out the laptop and screen for 2) , 5, 13, & the Contest page. WINNERS: None Thanks to Caren Schwartz for her try IMPORTANT NOTICE NOMINEES FOR THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS PROPOSED NOMINEES FOR BOARD OF DIRECTORS: AL RANKELL JOE NETZER BILL VANOITIS The Proposed Nominees for the Board of Directors of The PC Users Group of CT will run for election for a two year term on the Board, in December 2008. Further information on the nominees can be found by looking to the club’s website’s Board information. The Program OCTOBER 2008 Please E-mail names of additional proposed nominees (including yourself) to Norm Glover, Chairman of the Nominating Committee, at <[email protected]> or any member of the Board of Directors as enumerated on page 16 of this monthly newsletter. The participation, comments, and ideas of all Club members are welcome and important to maintain the vitality and relevance of our Club for a rewarding computing experience. Norm Glover Chairman of the Nominating Committee Page 12 The PC Users Group of Connecticut Page 13 The following is a reprint of an article in the APCUG Quarterly Report. It concerns Sharepoint, which is a dynamic web page brought to you by the APCUG (Association of PC User Groups) which is TPCUG’s parent organization SharePoint.apcug.net By: Jay FERON, President, APCUG member TPCUG We at APCUG are proud to announce a new benefit to you our members Sharepoint.apcug.net. This site is a result of many months of work by Guy Hermann, Clive Hermann, and James Scharoun. Their hundreds of hours working in the background to bring this site to life, is an example of just asking people to help. We want to thank them personally for all the work they done in support of APCUG. This site accomplishes some major advances for us and you the user group members 1. You now have a location where you can post your meetings online, and the rest of the world can see it. There’s a good possibility that you will get new members this way. 2. You now have a location for sharing presentations that you and other user groups have created. 3. No more what should we do next meeting, come to the SharePoint site and see different ideas for presentations. 4. If you have a meeting speaker cancel, now go to SharePoint and get a topic with a starter presentation or maybe even a presentation in a box. 5. The goal here is if you will upload your Presentations then in a short time we will have a library of many topics with examples that other user groups can share and use. Think of this as a Lending Library with one major difference you can add to the library. 6. This site allows validated users to upload presentations and add ―what’s happening in your group‖ to our Events Calendar. With the help of the tips in this newsletter’s articles you can have a happy computer. Be Even Happier By Getting A Friend To Join TPCUG! The Program OCTOBER 2008 7. The Links page creates a location where you can add your web site link so others can find your group. 8. The Shared Documents section is where you can fi nd information on how to run a user group, do fundraising, meeting ideas, and post product reviews 9. Our Announcements section will be a place where you can see news from APCUG. 10. In the General Discussion area, there is space for you and your regional advisors to discuss topics that impact your region. 11. Some of the pages will require special permission to access. This precaution is necessary to reduce who can add, edit or delete updates to the Events Calendar, for example. The goal of this site is to become a resource for current APCUG user groups; people looking to join user groups; and vendors. We need your help to grow the site -- and grow it will if you use it. The sidebar on the next page tells you how to get started. Continued on Next Page—> Page 13 The PC Users Group of Connecticut Page 14 SharePoint.apcug.net Continued . . . HOW TO USE SHAREPOINT Go to sharepoint.apcug.net Clink on link: Login Click on New user and fill out requested Information This will allow you to request access FILL IN THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION: 1. User name as requested You will need to add your User group name: TPCUG 2. You will need to add your title in the group (Member, Officer) Only Officers will be able to post to the Event calendar and Links pages 3. Your e-mail address and Phone number (used for security purposes) 4. You will have to look at a picture and enter the letters (case sensitive) you see. Full access will take 24 hours. On the next page the system will tell you how to get your registration request has now been received. You have been logged in and your password has been automatically generated. To have your new password mailed to you, please visit the Password Recovery Page. Once you receive it, you can visit the Change Password Page. Within 24 hours you will be granted access. We’re always looking for refreshing ideas for new programs. Do you like the Lion that tells you to take your seats at meetings. That was done by Joe Netzer using Crazy Talk software. For more information or to get the program for yourself click here. If you have an idea for a program or speaker be sure to let our Programming Committee know. Contact John Roy at [email protected] with your Program suggestions. The Program OCTOBER 2008 Page 14 The PC Users Group of Connecticut Page 15 DISCLAIMER FROM TPCUG Advise given in this newsletter is for entertainment purposes only. The information is true at the time of publication to the best of our knowledge. Any computer usage or repair advise is based on the reader researching it sufficiently before using it. Computer advise given is based on a general question on computers. Every computer is set up differently. Be sure to backup before making changes. TPCUG does not accept any responsibility for the use or misuse of the advise provided. Thanks to APCUG (our national parent organization) for this link to this resourceful handbook on protecting your identity. Click on the book at left to go to the download page. or go here: http://www.identityfinder.com/scaredsafe/ Be careful not to over do it at the office Halloween party again this year! The Program OCTOBER 2008 Page 15 The PC Users Group of Connecticut Page 16 MEMBERSHIP NOTICES & UPDATES The following members are due for renewal this month Don’t Miss Out On The Fun! Milan Beres Norm Glover Harold Mayer Bill Roman Leo Sandman THANKS FOR RENEWING EARLY!! RENEW TODAY MEMBER DISCOUNTS!!! TECH SERVICE & REPAIR: Number Crunchers (Bill Roman) Offers $10.00 OFF AN HOUR for Computer Technical Service & Repair. Call 452-1771 COMPUTER WORKS: Adam Gitow, President of Computer Works, 483-C Monroe Turnpike (Route 111) in Monroe, CT, Offers a 15% OFF ANY IN-STORE SERVICE and most in-stock retail items at minimum of 10% off to all TPCUG members. Call 445-9059. NEED LEGAL HELP? Attorney Jerome Goldstein Offers a Free Initial Consultation and 10% OFF THE HOURLY RATE to members of TPCUG. Call (203) 929-7773 to schedule an appointment. Stay tuned for more discounts for being a member of TPCUG Must show your TPCUG Membership Card to Obtain Discounts * WANT TO SEE THE DISCOUNT SECTION GROW? SO DO WE!! If you know a business that is willing to offer TPCUG members a discount please contact a Board Member to work out the particulars. HELP US TO TURN THIS SECTION INTO A FULL PAGE OF DISCOUNTS!! General Meeting Dates October 30, 2008 November 20, 2008 December 11, 2008 January 29, 2009 February 26, 2009 March 26, 2009 April 30, 2009 May 29, 2009 June 25, 2009 July 30, 2009 August 27, 2009 September 24, 2009 (subject to change - check at www.TPCUG-CT.org for updates) The Program OCTOBER 2008 Page 16 * The PC Users Group of Connecticut Page 17 The PC Users Group of CT Could Use Your Help We are looking for help from club members: To Write Articles for The PROGRAM. To Solicit Ads for The PROGRAM. We are always looking for one-time or serial articles. Suggestions are always welcome. Articles can be submitted on disk or E-Mailed to our Editor Jerry Goldstein at <[email protected]>. Deadlines for articles are listed on Page 2. Submission guidelines are below Do you have, or know of, a business that will advertise in this newsletter? We offer high visibility in both Fairfield and New Haven Counties. Deadlines for ads are listed on Page 2. LET US KNOW WHAT SIG SUBJECTS OR PROGRAMS WOULD BE OF INTEREST TO YOU. Let us hear from you! To Host a SIG (Special Interest Group). This can be a one-time event, a short series or a continuing event (i.e., a genealogy SIG). SIGs don’t have to be held on meeting days but could be scheduled on any day during the month. Talk to our SIG Coordinator, Row Garrett or our President, John Roy. The HELP Key Members Helping Members Listed below are the TPCUG members who will assist other members with their computer hardware and software problems. Al Rankell <[email protected]> Word Dick Kalfaian <[email protected]> Word, Excel; Data Searching, WWWeb & Graphics Ian McMillan <[email protected]> WordPerfect, Legal Issues, Cyber-Piracy & Domain Name Disputes If you would like to help contact Jerry at [email protected] to be added to the list NEWSLETTER HARD COPIES For those members without E-Mail addresses who do not receive electronic PDF versions of the Newsletter, or for those guests wishing to purchase Newsletters, a few B/W hard copies of the latest version will be available each month at the sign-in desk at a cost of $2.00. Color versions available for a lot more. (About $10.00) NEWSLETTER ARTICLE SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS Please submit articles on disk or E-Mail them to our Editor Jerry Goldstein at <[email protected]>. Printing of all submissions subject to editing for space. All submissions become property of TPCUG. Any major word processing format is allowed. ASCII format (Text format) may be used if hard returns are avoided at the end of each sentence. No all caps allowed. Do not indent paragraphs. Leave single spaces at the end of a sentence. Use Arial 10 point font. Please The Program OCTOBER 2008 spell check. Any artwork that accompanies text must be marked to note where in the text it relates. 1000 words equals about two pages printed. Larger articles may be printed at the web site. No copyrighted or non-original material may be submitted without the express written permission of the author. The PROGRAM is a monthly publication. The deadline for submitting articles is the first day of the current month for the PROGRAM. Page 17 The PC Users Group of Connecticut Page 18 About The PC Users Group of Connecticut BOARD OF DIRECTORS John Roy: President, Program Chair, APCUG Rep, 203-929-7051, <[email protected]> Jerry Goldstein: Vice-President, Newsletter Editor 203-929-7773, ext 23, <[email protected]> Al Rankell: Secretary, Webmaster, Education Chair, Librarian, 203-261-6785, <[email protected]> Joe Netzer: Treasurer, Hospitality Chair, 203-268-1022, <[email protected]> Norm Glover: Membership Chair, Nominating Committee Chair, Assistant Program Chair, 203-336-2909, <[email protected]> Larrow Garrett: SIG Coordinator, 203–929-0230 <[email protected]> Peter Heneage*: At Large, 203-696-1483, <[email protected]> Herb Yanowitz*: At Large, 203-268-5088, <[email protected]> Ken Jezierny*: At Large, 203–261-8668, <[email protected]> Bill Vaniotis*: At Large, 203–929-1205, <[email protected]> *Appointed Director, Annual Appointment ADVISORS TO BOARD OF DIRECTORS Jay Ferron: <[email protected]> Bill Roman: 203-452-1771, <[email protected]> MEETINGS The PC Users Group of CT. Inc. meets on the last Thursday of the month in the Community Room of the Trumbull Public Library on Quality Street (next to Town Hall). Meetings are free and open to the general public. The meeting starts at 6:30 PM with a Question & Answer session and any announcements. At 7:00 PM there is a short presentation on various topics followed by an intermission for refreshments and member interaction. The main presentation begins at 8:00 PM and concludes at 9:00 PM. A door prize drawing for current members, where various hardware/software items are given away, follows the main presentation. If the Library closes because of inclement weather, check WICC Radio (600 AM) or WTNH (Channel 8) for Library closings or phone the Library at 203-452-5197. DIRECTIONS From the Merritt Parkway (Route 15) Get off at Exit 48 (Main Street) and proceed as indicated below: Exit 48, coming from New York: Take a left at the top of the exit ramp heading north on Main St. Go through four lights (including the one at the exit ramp), then turn right at fifth light onto Quality Street. The Town Hall and Library will be on the left. Exit 48, coming from Hartford: Take a right at the top of the exit ramp. Go through three lights (including the one at the top of the ramp), then turn right at fourth light onto Quality Street. The Town Hall and Library will be on the left. From I-95: Get off at exit 27A (Route 25/8). Stay on Route 25 to Exit 7 (Merritt Parkway South exit). Proceed down ramp, but bear left at the fork in the road marked to Norwalk/New York City. Then follow the above directions labeled Exit 48, coming from Hartford. The Program OCTOBER 2008 DUES The meetings are free to the general public and we welcome all guests. Yearly dues for membership are: Individual, $30.00; Family, $35.00; Student, $15.00 and Corporate $100.00. MEMBERSHIP BENEFITS Monthly Meetings with Guest Speakers; Monthly Newsletter via EMail; Free Personal Ads in Newsletter & on TPCUG Website; Member Forum; Member Discussion Group; Special Interest Groups (SIGs); Lending Library of Training CDs & Video Tapes; Discounts at Local Area Computer Stores; Question & Answer Sessions offering Free Computer Hardware & Software Help from other members; Free Refreshments; Annual Holiday Party. INTERNET HOME PAGE TPCUG Website: http://www.tpcug-ct.org Backup site: http://tpcug-ct.net TPCUG Forum: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/tpcug_ct Website Committee: Al Rankell (Webmaster), Jerry Goldstein, John Roy, Larrow Garrott DISCLAIMER AND COPYRIGHT THE PROGRAM is published monthly by The PC Users Group of Connecticut, Inc. Material included in THE PROGRAM is believed to be accurate and is provided as a service to the members of The PC Users Group of Connecticut, Inc. All opinions expressed in THE PROGRAM are those of the individual authors only. The PC Users Group of Connecticut, Inc. and the staff of THE PROGRAM do not assume any liability for any damages arising from the content of THE PROGRAM, or from any publication or non-publication of any advertisement, article, or any item contained in THE PROGRAM. BOARD MEETING INFORMATION Board meetings are held in the Conference Room of the Law Office of Jerome N. Goldstein, Esq. at 45 Huntington Plaza Shelton, CT 06484 FOR DIRECTIONS CLICK HERE All members are welcome but space is limited so members are asked to please e-mail the Board in advance if you plan to attend. If an emergency relocation of a Board Meeting is required, all members who gave prior notice of intent to attend that meeting will be notified so prior notice is important. MAILING ADDRESS All mailed material should be addressed to: The PC Users Group of Connecticut, Inc. 4 Daniels Farm Road, # 147 Trumbull CT 06611-3900 Page 18 THE BACK PAGE Check here for humor & PC news, tips, and tricks! THE FUTURE IS HERE miniaturization takes the leap R CESSO O R P E L COR A U D M L ATO E T N I THE PHOTOS ON PAPER How Nouveau Miss that old school paper photo print. For about 12¢ a print you can send a 4x6 (larger sizes available for more) of your favorite photo(s) to friends and family. That’s cheaper than you can do at home and they include shipping. Just head to walgreens.com (I’m sure most photo services do this), log-in, download your photos, select , pay, and send. You can also send the photo emblazoned on practically anything as well. (Thanks to Lorin Goldstein for the hint) ONE STEP BEYOND End Game A microprocessor that’s about the size of a grain of rice and still offering 1.6 Ghz with 1 MB of level 2 cache, 8W TDP, and support for DDR2 667 Click the Picture For More Information & Videos Thanks to Hank Feinberg of the Rockland PC Users Group for this breakthrough news. Copyright Ken Nash. Reproduced by permission. http://www.nashken.com" The PC Users Group of Connecticut 4 Daniels Farm Road, #147 Trumbull, CT 06611-3900 Next General Meeting: Oct. 30, 2008 Next Board Meeting: November 6, 2008 SEE YOU NEXT MONTH!