OPCUG Board The Board meets on the second Monday of each month at 1:45 and the meeting lasts no more than one hour. All members and guests are welcome to sit in. Following the meeting, our "Talk Session" begins. Members bring in questions or problems they are experiencing and using the club's laptop computer, the projector and very large screen, the item is discussed and almost always,resolved. The General Meeting is held on the third Monday of each month at 2:00 and goes for a nominal one hour. Various subjects of interest to computer users are presented. All meetings are at the Western Recreation Center.
President 2008 - Art Nichols - With the start of 2008, Art takes over as President. He is a strong leader who has participated in the leadership of the club for a number of years. The judgemental abilities he has exhibited over that time make him eminently qualified to continue to lead our club forward and make it better. He solicits the help and cooperation of all the members in that endeavor.
Past President 2007 - Jack Frantz - Jack took over in January 2007. He thanks the membership for the wonderful spirit of volunteerism that they continue to exhibit.
Vice President - Gordon Ramsey - In addition to being VP, Gordon is also a member of the Program Committee and one of those intrepid volunteers who make themselves available to Oakmont folks to help with computer problems, either via telephone or on the spot in the home.
Secretary and Treasurer Ruth Caldwell and Gary Goodenough are on hand at each General Meeting at a table by the front door of the Western Recreation Center to serve the membership and distribute door prize tickets.
Helper Committee Chairman Bill Richards maintains a list of resources available to solve computer problems. This includes volunteers who provide assistance at no charge and also professionals who can be used (for pay) in the event the problem is too extensive or baffling for our volunteers.
Interesting Information
Wireless Internet Security
On March 17, 2008 our own Judie Coleman gave an interesting presentation on Wireless Internet Security. She demonstrated how there are tools available to persons, bent on malevolence, to attack unprotected home wireless networks. She also demonstrated how to maximize the security provided by a router. If you missed it or failed to get the handout, click on WirelessSecurityHandout-1.pdf .
Fun & Games
At the general meeting on February 18, 2008, a wide and most interesting array of web sites were demonstrated. The thrust of the demonstration was to have a pleasant time and simultaneously foster mental agility. Folks, you either use the "old noodle" or you lose it. If you wish to avoid " loosing it" click on the following link which will download the document with clckable links to all of the sites. OPCUGProgramURLs02-08-2008.pdf
Internet Explorer 7
Internet Explorer 7 (IE7) is a free download from Microsoft for Windows XP. At our last “Talk Session” the installation of IE7 was discussed. It was noted that in IE7 the menu bar (the top line of text in IE6 which displays: File, Edit, View, Favorites etc.) is no longer present in IE7. It was pointed out, subsequent to the meeting, by our Vice President Gordon Ramsey, that while this is true it is quite possible to bring the menu back. All one needs to do is go over the to the right hand portion of the taskbar and click on Tools. The drop down menu for Tools includes an item for Menu bar. Clicking this brings back the good old menu bar.
Are you Vista Ready?
Microsoft has a web page to describe the versions of Vista and to download Windows Vista Advisor. If interested, go to: Windows Vista Upgrade Advisor
Here you can go to: Download Windows Vista Advisor. The download is a small application which you can install on your Windows XP Computer. The applet will analyze your system and tell you which items are and aren't Vista Compatible and also describe the different Vista versions.
APCUG Push Articles
The Association of Personal Computer User Groups (APCUG), each month, publishes a series of articles selected from those published by Member Groups. These are called Push Articles and cover subjects of interest to PC users. To obtain these for your computer, right click on the link and select Save Link as. When the Save As dialog box appears, save to the Desktop. At your convenience you can double click on the desktop icon and open the folder and then double click on the individual files in the folder to read the files. The link is: PUSH2-07.zip
Especially note the article titled The Big Red X. The Oakmont PC Users Group is a member of the APCUG.
Working with USB Sticks (Travel Drive or Flash Drive)
Several members have raised questions on the above subject and the free download from Visual Steps. To obtain a copy of the document in Adobe Reader format (pdf), right click on the link and select Save Link as. When the Save As dialog box appears, save to your Desktop. This will place the pdf file on your desktop and by doubleclicking on the icon, Adobe Reader will open and you can read or print the document. The link is: Working with USB Sticks
Link to SeniorNet.org
One of the more interesting web sites you can visit is http://www.seniornet.org By clicking on this link you will visit the home page of SeniorNet and have available a treasure trove of information and help. SeniorNet is a non-profit organization that disseminates useful information and sponsors learning centers nationally. In the early days of OPCUG consideration was given to using their sponsorship and materials for a center here in Oakmont. However, one of their requirements is that the courses be available to all and the objectives of computer activities at Oakmont are centered on assisting our residents.
When you visit the site be sure to select the blue tab at the top labeled "COURSES". Then scroll down to the heading "Computers" and look at "Computer Tutorials and Demo's" or go further down and look at Internet Skills where there is instruction on "Learn to Search the Web" and two items on eBay. This web site is highly recommended.
Free 411 Information Calls
Cell and land line phone companies charge $1.00 or more for 411 information calls. This is a burdensome charge, since the process is entirely automatic. When you need to use the 411/information option, simply dial 1-800-FREE411 or 1-800-373-3411 without incurring a charge except for the minutes used to make the call. The one downside is that you will be subjected to a short commercial message but if you do not mind being offered, "a free vacation by pushing 2 after getting directory information," it's a very good deal.
Google Pack - An Astounding Group of Free Programs
Google Pack offers an array of programs. They are available for download at http://pack.google.com
Clicking on this site gives a survey of any of the Google Pack programs
already installed and permits selection of any additional programs desired. The download includes Google Updater which installs the selected items and provides future updates.
To learn more about the individual programs, click http://pack.google.com/intl/en/learn_more_frameset.html In the left column you can select the program of interest. After selection, the right frame gives several options including a product tour. After finishing one to your satisfaction, you can go to another through some sixteen separate programs. Some are Google’s own while others are third party programs. They are always free – no trial versions or spyware.
The ones of most interest to your author are:
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Picasa |
Spyware Doctor Starter Edition |
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Google Earth |
Skype |
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Mozilla Firefox with Google Toolbar |
Star Office 8 |
Star Office is the star of the lineup. It is sold by Sun Microsystems as a competitor to Microsoft Office and sells for $ 70.00. The difference between the Google Free version and the direct sale item is telephone support.
I have tried out Word, Excel and PowerPoint documents in both directions, saving Star Office documents in Microsoft format and opening them in the corresponding Microsoft program and vice versa, and did not detect any difference. If your version of Office is old or you do not have Microsoft Office, Star Office is highly recommended.
Oakmont PC Computer Learning Center (PCOCLC)
The PCOCLC offers a variety of courses of interest to computer users. The courses feature very low student to teacher ratios and maximum class size of six students. The courses are offered each quarter year except for the summer months. The class schedule is available by clicking on the link: OCLCSchedule-Spring2008-1.pdf
Because of the renovation program, this will be the last series of classes until February 2009.
Windows Movie Maker
The General Meeting program for January demonstrated how to make a movie using Windows Movie Maker (WMM). A step by step proceedure for performing the steps demonstrated and some additional material is available for download by clicking WMMCourse.pdf . Download to your desktop and the document will open using Adobe Reader.
Past Newsletter Archive
Year 2007