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1
Hello All,
This is a re-post of a recent APCUG announcement
Ralph Sutter
  ===
WEDNESDAY WORKSHOP
June 25, 2025
9 am PT, 10 am MT, 11 am CT, 12 pm ET
 
Getting Started with Google Docs
Jolyn Bowler, Resource Director and APCUG Representative
Hilton Head Island Computer Club
 
Office Smackdown
Chris Taylor, President and System Administrator     
and
Alan German, Meeting Coordinator
Ottawa PCUG
 
Register here ?  https://forms.gle/5PgfDCFTKwcsFjX57
 
After you click Submit, you will receive a pop-up acknowledgment of your registration. (see below). You only need to register once.
 

 On June 24, after registration closes at 6 pm Pacific Time, you will receive the encrypted Zoom link.
 
PRESENTATION DESCRIPTIONS
Getting Started with Google Docs, Jolyn Bowler. Google offers a wide range of services to its users. It is a terrific, simple, and easily accessible word-processing tool that rivals MS Word and LibreOffice Writer. Although I use both, my go-to is Google Docs. It offers an intuitive interface for users to create documents easily without complicated setups. Being web-based, Google Docs eliminates the need for downloads, providing instant access from any device with internet connectivity. Two excellent features are the ability to create a PWA (Progressive Web App) that resides on my Taskbar. The other is the relatively new Document Tabs feature. It allows for multiple resources in one document but in different Tabs. Your Google Drive automatically saves all your documents. Docs is also compatible with many file formats. Please join me for a tour.
 
Office Smackdown: Alan German and Chris Taylor. Microsoft Office is widely used for documents, spreadsheets, and presentations, but its cost can be high for personal users. This may become a greater concern if Microsoft, as is sometimes rumored, were to move entirely to a subscription-based, software-as-a-service model. One free and open-source alternative is the LibreOffice suite of applications, which closely mirrors many aspects of the Microsoft product. But how good is this free software, and are there any significant limitations to using LibreOffice instead of Microsoft Office? In this presentation, we'll review the features of the major modules in both packages, with a specific focus on compatibility issues. Beyond the dollar savings, we'll examine whether the LibreOffice suite offers any significant advantages over Microsoft's offerings.
 

2
Hello All,
This is a re-post of an announcement that I received today from APCUG
Ralph Sutter
 
June 18, 2025
WEDNESDAY WORKSHOP
9 am PT, 10 am MT, 11 am CT, 12 pm ET

Tech Tips & Travel Tales from a World Cruise with Chris and Jim Guld
Geeks on Tour
 
Choosing the Right Linux Distro: Simplifying the Search
John Kennedy, APCUG Advisor for Regions 3 and 6
 
Register here ? https://forms.gle/FFEMMF77TFEQtQJv9
 
After you click Submit, you will receive a pop-up acknowledgment of your registration
(see below). You only need to register once. On June 17, after registration closes at 6 pm Pacific Time, you will receive the encrypted Zoom link.
 
Tech Tips & Travel Tales from a World Cruise with Chris and Jim Guld. Remember Chris and Jim from Geeks on Tour? Perhaps you followed their adventures teaching tech from an RV, or you've learned from their popular YouTube channel and online seminars. Well, they've embarked on their most exciting chapter yet: perpetually cruising the world aboard a residential cruise ship, the Villa Vie Odyssey!
 
Now, they're bringing their unique blend of expertise and adventure to our APCUG Wednesday Workshop series. In their presentation, "Tech Tips and Travel Tales from the Geeks on World Tour," Chris and Jim will pull back the curtain on what it's really like living on a ship while still sharing their best technology tips.
 
Get ready for fascinating stories and practical tech insights, including:
Panama Canal: A breathtaking time-lapse video.
Acapulco: How to master zoom lenses and slow-motion video with your phone.
Cabo San Lucas: Navigating new places with Google Maps Live View.
Living on a Cruise Ship: Essential tech for life at sea, like using a 2nd monitor on the go.
Ocean Crossing: The ins and outs of changing time zones with your devices.
 
Choosing the Right Linux Distro: Simplifying the Search. With hundreds of Linux distributions available, picking the right one can feel overwhelming. This short presentation explores two helpful websites that guide users through a series of targeted questions, factoring in technical experience, hardware specs, and personal preferences, to recommend the best-fit distro. Whether you're a Linux beginner or a seasoned user seeking something new, these tools can streamline your decision-making process.
 

 


3
Hello All,
Here are my Notes for the SLO Bytes Photo Group Meeting of 06/08/2025
TOPIC: Learn or Improve a Skill and Demonstrate Its Use for Better Photos.

Ralph Sutter opened the meeting with images shot both with his Samsung S22 phone and Sony A7iv camera.  He compared the closeup capabilities of each.

Alan Raul continued the same theme from last month, i.e., setting his Leica Q3 minimum shutter speed of 1/250 second and a maximum ISO of 3200. The camera uses the minimum ISO of 100 by default and adjusts higher if needed. The camera selects the best aperture to have the lowest possible ISO. His sample images were shot at the Pismo Beach sign and Avila Beach at the Friday Farmer?s Market.

Kaye Raul demonstrated Adobe Lightroom Presets.  She applied them to Rose Parade Flyovers, and the Morro Bay stacks.

Stanford Brown used Polar Photo Editor to modify images of his grandmother?s house.  He also experimented with Goggle Gallery for photos on his Samsung phone.
John Waller delved into astro photography with a free program called Sequator;
 https://www.startools.org/links--tutorials/free-image-stacking-solutions/sequator   Using photo stacking, he brought out more details in his images of the night sky. 
He then applied  Photoshop?s Object Find and selected parts of a photograph to modify colors. 
https://www.adobe.com/products/photoshop-elements/features/tips-tricks-object-removal.html

At the end of the session, Ralph referenced a link on the club?s website with recommended setups for Sony?s A7iv camera
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZfxxkYOMsFc&ab_channel=MagicWeddingPhotographer

Our next meeting will take place on July 13, 2025.  The topic is Low Light Photography

Here are the meeting dates for the rest of 2025
  August 10
  September 14
  October 12
  November 9
December 14

See the Links page for tutorials and other resources; https://www.slobytes.org/digital/links.html

Ralph Sutter

4
Hello All,
Tis is a re-post of an announcement that I received today from APCUG
Ralph Sutter

WEDNESDAY WORKSHOP
June 11, 2025
9 am PT, 10 am MT, 11 am CT, 12 pm ET
 
The Windows Laptop Battery Capacity Report
with
John Krout, Member, Presenter, and Author
Potomac Area Technology And Computer Society
 
Windows 11 24H2 is Here!
with
Bill James, Region 8 Advisor
 
Register here ? https://forms.gle/vnYGhXPvNVMTmMR49
 
After you click Submit, you will receive a pop-up acknowledgment of your registration. You only need to register once. On June 10, after registration closes at 6 pm Pacific Time, you will receive the encrypted Zoom link.
 
 The Windows Laptop Battery Capacity Report. This presentation introduces you to the built-in Windows laptop battery capacity history report. This report serves as a wake-up call for Windows laptop owners, particularly those with laptops that are over a year old. Find out the maximum capacity your laptop battery offers when new and how much capacity it has now, which is likely much less than the maximum.
 
The primary damage to a laptop battery results from normal charging behavior, specifically charging to 10% and then discharging the battery below 20%.

Bonus: This presentation will also provide the download URL for a useful Visual Basic script named BatteryMonitor.vbs. This script includes battery high-charge and low-charge-level alarms, utilizing a dialog box and a Narrator voice, so that you can cease charging or resume charging at levels that minimize battery damage and prolong its useful life. It is more accurate than most such applications because it uses a variable sleep interval, which is short when either the high or low level is close.
 
Windows 11 24H2. The Big Update is Here! The Windows 11 24H2 update is packed with exciting new features and improvements, making it one of the most significant updates yet. It introduces a range of enhancements designed to improve productivity, security, and user experience. Bill will give us a brief description of the improvements.
 
We are looking forward to seeing you this Wednesday. Do you have a presentation you have given to your group? Please volunteer to give it at one of the WWs. Thanks, Judy & John (jtaylour@apcug.org -- jkennedy@apcug.org)
Please let me know if you have any questions or need any assistance. APCUG is here to support you throughout your learning journey.

Judy
INFORMATION ABOUT THE....
2025 FRAUD PREVENTION CONFERENCE
Staff Sergeant Tara Hardin, Oklahoma County Sheriff's TRIAD Coordinator
APCUG does not endorse this conference, but thanks to Tara for forwarding the information. She has given two presentations at Wednesday Workshops and is scheduled for another one in January 2026. With all her outreach activities, Wednesday is her busiest day.
The Annual Fraud Prevention Conference, held on June 13, 20, and 27, can be attended in person or online, allowing anyone to benefit from the expert speakers' valuable information and tips.  www.metrotech.edu/fraudprevention
 
The topics this year are Protecting Yourself in the Digital Landscape for June 13.  June 20 will be dedicated to Combating Elder Exploitation, Abuse, and Neglect, and the final day, June 27, will focus on Recovery and Resources: Moving Forward. We have experts from the FBI, Dept. of Securities, US Secret Service, Oklahoma Attorney General's Office, Adult Protective Services, Social Security Administration, Insurance Dept. and AARP to tell us what is going on in the fraud world, give us tips to prevent becoming a victim, and resources if we or someone we know does become a victim. Plus, on day two, we have an expert attorney who will be telling us what paperwork and documents we need to have in place, as well as other issues to consider to help prevent becoming the victim of exploitation in our later years.
 
Our theme, as always, is 'Don't Be a Sitting Duck', and I hope you will join us and not be a sitting duck to fraud! The conference will run from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. CST each day, with lunch on your own. It will be recorded and can be viewed in the future at your convenience (the 2024 conference is still available on the website, and I highly recommend Day 2, where a victim shares her personal story). Join us to take advantage of this powerful free education opportunity and then share the information with your peers.  Don't be a Sitting Duck!
 
You can register at www.metrotech.edu/fraudprevention to attend the event online via a Zoom link. You could also host an online watch party for you and your friends or co-workers to participate as a group.



Copyright ? 2025 APCUG, All rights reserved.

Our mailing address is:
APCUG
PO Box 1384
Pine AZ 85544-1384

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WEDNESDAY WORKSHOP
June 11, 2025
9 am PT, 10 am MT, 11 am CT, 12 pm ET
 
The Windows Laptop Battery Capacity Report
with
John Krout, Member, Presenter, and Author
Potomac Area Technology And Computer Society
 
Windows 11 24H2 is Here!
with
Bill James, Region 8 Advisor
 
Register here ? https://forms.gle/vnYGhXPvNVMTmMR49
 
After you click Submit, you will receive a pop-up acknowledgment of your registration. You only need to register once. On June 10, after registration closes at 6 pm Pacific Time, you will receive the encrypted Zoom link.
 
 The Windows Laptop Battery Capacity Report. This presentation introduces you to the built-in Windows laptop battery capacity history report. This report serves as a wake-up call for Windows laptop owners, particularly those with laptops that are over a year old. Find out the maximum capacity your laptop battery offers when new and how much capacity it has now, which is likely much less than the maximum.
 
The primary damage to a laptop battery results from normal charging behavior, specifically charging to 10% and then discharging the battery below 20%.

Bonus: This presentation will also provide the download URL for a useful Visual Basic script named BatteryMonitor.vbs. This script includes battery high-charge and low-charge-level alarms, utilizing a dialog box and a Narrator voice, so that you can cease charging or resume charging at levels that minimize battery damage and prolong its useful life. It is more accurate than most such applications because it uses a variable sleep interval, which is short when either the high or low level is close.
 
Windows 11 24H2. The Big Update is Here! The Windows 11 24H2 update is packed with exciting new features and improvements, making it one of the most significant updates yet. It introduces a range of enhancements designed to improve productivity, security, and user experience. Bill will give us a brief description of the improvements.
 
We are looking forward to seeing you this Wednesday. Do you have a presentation you have given to your group? Please volunteer to give it at one of the WWs. Thanks, Judy & John (jtaylour@apcug.org -- jkennedy@apcug.org)
Please let me know if you have any questions or need any assistance. APCUG is here to support you throughout your learning journey.

Judy
INFORMATION ABOUT THE....
2025 FRAUD PREVENTION CONFERENCE
Staff Sergeant Tara Hardin, Oklahoma County Sheriff's TRIAD Coordinator
APCUG does not endorse this conference, but thanks to Tara for forwarding the information. She has given two presentations at Wednesday Workshops and is scheduled for another one in January 2026. With all her outreach activities, Wednesday is her busiest day.
The Annual Fraud Prevention Conference, held on June 13, 20, and 27, can be attended in person or online, allowing anyone to benefit from the expert speakers' valuable information and tips.  www.metrotech.edu/fraudprevention
 
The topics this year are Protecting Yourself in the Digital Landscape for June 13.  June 20 will be dedicated to Combating Elder Exploitation, Abuse, and Neglect, and the final day, June 27, will focus on Recovery and Resources: Moving Forward. We have experts from the FBI, Dept. of Securities, US Secret Service, Oklahoma Attorney General's Office, Adult Protective Services, Social Security Administration, Insurance Dept. and AARP to tell us what is going on in the fraud world, give us tips to prevent becoming a victim, and resources if we or someone we know does become a victim. Plus, on day two, we have an expert attorney who will be telling us what paperwork and documents we need to have in place, as well as other issues to consider to help prevent becoming the victim of exploitation in our later years.
 
Our theme, as always, is 'Don't Be a Sitting Duck', and I hope you will join us and not be a sitting duck to fraud! The conference will run from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. CST each day, with lunch on your own. It will be recorded and can be viewed in the future at your convenience (the 2024 conference is still available on the website, and I highly recommend Day 2, where a victim shares her personal story). Join us to take advantage of this powerful free education opportunity and then share the information with your peers.  Don't be a Sitting Duck!
 
You can register at www.metrotech.edu/fraudprevention to attend the event online via a Zoom link. You could also host an online watch party for you and your friends or co-workers to participate as a group.



Copyright ? 2025 APCUG, All rights reserved.

Our mailing address is:
APCUG
PO Box 1384
Pine AZ 85544-1384

Want to change how you receive these emails?
You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list.




 



   



   




WEDNESDAY WORKSHOP
June 11, 2025
9 am PT, 10 am MT, 11 am CT, 12 pm ET
 
The Windows Laptop Battery Capacity Report
with
John Krout, Member, Presenter, and Author
Potomac Area Technology And Computer Society
 
Windows 11 24H2 is Here!
with
Bill James, Region 8 Advisor
 
Register here ? https://forms.gle/vnYGhXPvNVMTmMR49
 
After you click Submit, you will receive a pop-up acknowledgment of your registration. You only need to register once. On June 10, after registration closes at 6 pm Pacific Time, you will receive the encrypted Zoom link.
 
 The Windows Laptop Battery Capacity Report. This presentation introduces you to the built-in Windows laptop battery capacity history report. This report serves as a wake-up call for Windows laptop owners, particularly those with laptops that are over a year old. Find out the maximum capacity your laptop battery offers when new and how much capacity it has now, which is likely much less than the maximum.
 
The primary damage to a laptop battery results from normal charging behavior, specifically charging to 10% and then discharging the battery below 20%.

Bonus: This presentation will also provide the download URL for a useful Visual Basic script named BatteryMonitor.vbs. This script includes battery high-charge and low-charge-level alarms, utilizing a dialog box and a Narrator voice, so that you can cease charging or resume charging at levels that minimize battery damage and prolong its useful life. It is more accurate than most such applications because it uses a variable sleep interval, which is short when either the high or low level is close.
 
Windows 11 24H2. The Big Update is Here! The Windows 11 24H2 update is packed with exciting new features and improvements, making it one of the most significant updates yet. It introduces a range of enhancements designed to improve productivity, security, and user experience. Bill will give us a brief description of the improvements.
 
We are looking forward to seeing you this Wednesday. Do you have a presentation you have given to your group? Please volunteer to give it at one of the WWs. Thanks, Judy & John (jtaylour@apcug.org -- jkennedy@apcug.org)















5
General Discussion / Free APCUG Saturday Safari - Linux
« on: May 22, 2025, 09:23:31 AM »
Hello All,
This is a re-post of an announcement from APCUG
Ralph Sutter

 
APCUG SATURDAY SAFARI
May 24, 2025
9 am PT, 10 am MT, 11 am CT, 12 pm ET
 
LINUX FOR BEGINNERS, FROM THE BEGINNING
WITH
JOHN KENNEDY
 
PART 1
What does Linux look like?
Where do you get Linux?
How do you try Linux?
 
PART 2
 Linux Jargon: What does that mean?
 
Register once here: https://forms.gle/ugXEtR2LvYYJXpr3
 
After you click Submit, you will receive a pop-up acknowledgment of your registration. On May 23, after registration closes at 6 p.m. Pacific Time, you will receive the encrypted Zoom link.
 
 Program Description: Windows 10 users will have a big decision to make come this October (Windows 10 End of Life), and we've now found out that even some Windows 11 users will have a big decision to make come this November (end of support for older generation processors even if they can now run Windows 11). One of the options is to convert your functioning computer into a Linux computer, rather than buying a new one.
 
In preparation for your big decision, John will offer you a two-part workshop for Beginners, from the Beginning. He'll cover the topics listed above to get you thinking and present some of the words used in previous Linux workshops that might confuse you. Following the presentation, there will be time for beginner questions and hopefully answers to help you plan for the future.


 



 



   



   









6
Hello All,
What follows is a re-post of a message from APCUG
Ralph Sutter

May 14, 2025
WEDNESDAY WORKSHOP
9 am PT, 10 am MT, 11 am CT, 12 pm ET
 
Big Money Saver ? HP Instant Ink
John Krout, Member, Presenter, and Author
Potomac Area Technology And Computer Society
 
AND
 
Apple's iCloud.com for Windows
Gabe Goldberg, APCUG Advisor for Region 2
 and APCUG Representative for Washington Apple Pi
 
Register once here:  https://forms.gle/Gvb1h7M68qvaiPsg8

After you click Submit, you will receive the pop-up acknowledgment of your registration below. On May 13, after registration closes at 6 p.m. Pacific Time, you will receive the encrypted Zoom link.

 
Big Money Saver ? HP Instant Ink. HP Instant Ink is a subscription ink service. It uses an Instant Ink-compatible HP printer to deliver replacement ink before the printer runs low. Your presenter has created a custom 12-month calendar featuring his photos each year since 2010. In November and December, he prints and binds the calendar at home. When the pandemic raised retail ink prices, his ink expense for the calendar grew alarmingly. When he first tried the HP Instant Ink service in 2023, his ink expenses were reduced by 80%. In 2024, the service did indeed deliver ink before his printer ran low, and he saved even more money.
 
Learn how the subscription service works and your options for managing the subscription. Learn how to determine if your HP printer is compatible with Instant Ink. Low-end HP printers compatible with Instant Ink sell for between $50 and $60.
 
Apple's iCloud.com for Windows. Apple's devices -- iPad/iPhone/Watch/Mac share a widely used set of apps (Contacts, Notes, Photos, Reminders, Find My, Mail, Numbers, Keynote, Pages), which automatically sync data across devices. Most people only use them on Apple devices; Windows users may not realize that these apps' data is available on their computers, too. This talk describes iCloud.com for Windows and shows how it elegantly/seamlessly syncs data with other Apple account devices.


7
Hello All,
This is a re-post of an announcement that I just received from APCUG
Ralph Sutter

April 23, 2025
WEDNESDAY WORKSHOP
9 am PT, 10 am MT, 11 am CT, 12 pm ET
 
Mark Schulman, Central Florida Computer Society
Microsoft PowerToys
 AND
 Passwords, Passcodes, Passphrases, PINs, and Passkeys .... Oh My!
Michael Swift
 
 Register once here:  https://forms.gle/mk3X3gGhfEhWkvhMA
 
PowerToys is a free collection of small, useful Windows utilities designed to make life with Windows easier and more productive in various ways. Each PowerToy addresses a straightforward task, but often with beneficial results. This presentation reviews all the PowerToys available in 2025.
 
Passwords, Passwords, Phrases, PINs, and Passkeys?Oh My! This presentation explores different authentication methods and how we came to have more complex security requirements. It includes a deeper delve into Passkeys, one of the latest advancements in the ever-expanding landscape of the Authentication Forest.
 


8
General Discussion / Notes from the Photo Group Meeting of 4/13/2025
« on: April 13, 2025, 05:02:37 PM »
Hello All,
Here are my Notes for the SLO Bytes Photo Group Meeting of 04/13/2025

TOPIC: Images of Spring
Stanford Brown presented in absentia while on a cruise.  Before he set sail, Stanford left images of a stream fording, a kid with his head in the mouth of a camel, a comic sign and a field of wildflowers.

Ralph Sutter followed by showing fruit tree blossoms, wildflowers and freeze dried espresso.

Alan Raul, using his Leica and Sony cameras, displayed Spring flowers and Spring sunsets. He used Adobe Photoshop, Camera Raw and ON1 Photo Raw 2025 to manipulate and enhance his images.

Kaye Raul featured poppies, birds of paradise and grape vines before cleverly moving to the garden section of Home Depot for guaranteed flower shots.  Kaye used Photoshop to remove distracting elements from her pictures.

John Waller opened his Spring portfolio with several closeups of metal tension springs, signs of Avila Hot Springs and Sycamore Mineral Springs.  He then illustrated how farmers disk their fields in the Spring prior to planting

Our next meeting will take place on May 18th beginning at 2:00 pm, moved back one week by Mothers' Day, May 11th. 

The topic will be Learn or Improve a Skill and Demonstrate Its Use for Better Photos.
Here are the meeting dates for the rest of 2025
  June 8
  July 13
  August 10
  September 14
  October 12
  November 9
  December 14

See the Links page for tutorials and other resources at https://www.slobytes.org/digital/links.html

Ralph Sutter

9
Hello All,
This is a re-post of an APCUG announcement
Ralph Sutter
---
April 9, 2025
WEDNESDAY WORKSHOP
9 am PT, 10 am MT, 11 am CT, 12 pm ET
 
USING MULTIPLE GOOGLE DRIVES
Presenter: John Krout, Member, Presenter, and Author
Potomac Area Technology And Computer Society
 
AND
 
THE DARK WEB
Presenter: Bill James, Vice President
Computer Club of Oklahoma City
 
Register once here:  https://forms.gle/Ee69W2i5jxyFoAYb8
 
After you click Submit, you will receive the pop-up acknowledgment of your registration below. On April 8, after registration closes at 6 p.m.. Pacific Time, you will receive the encrypted Zoom link.
 

USING MULTIPLE GOOGLE DRIVES. Google's Gmail is a popular zero-cost way to obtain a free email account, although millions never realize that several other Google benefits are built into every account. A big benefit is Google Drive, providing 15 gigabytes of private storage on the cloud per account at zero cost. Google's only requirement is that you use the account. Cloud storage means permanent file storage is available to you on another computer via the Internet, just like on your hard or solid-state drive. You can access Gmail and Google Drive using a web browser on any computer or portable device if you have a Gmail account. Another benefit of Google Drive is that you can make a Google Drive file or even an entire folder available for others to download and create a URL to access your intended file. You will learn how to modify access rights to allow file downloading and how to generate a URL for allowing your file recipient to download the file.
 
THE DARK WEB. This presentation delves into the enigmatic realm of the dark Web, aiming to demystify this concealed segment of the Internet. We will explore its origins, structure, and the diverse ways it influences the digital and physical worlds. By examining the complexities of the dark Web, we will highlight its legitimate uses and its more notorious aspects. Bill aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of the dark Web, equipping you with the knowledge and awareness needed to navigate and comprehend this often misunderstood digital frontier.

10
Hello All,
This is a re-post of an APCUG announcement
Ralph Sutter

March 26, 2025
WEDNESDAY WORKSHOP
9 am PT, 10 am MT, 11 am CT, 12 pm ET
 
FreeFileSync
John Kennedy, Webmaster
East Central Ohio Technology Users Club

Macrium Reflect and Clonezilla
Mike Ungerman, Chairperson
Central Florida Computer Society
 
Register once here ? https://tinyurl.com/375xs62t
 
After you click Submit, you will receive the pop-up acknowledgment of your registration below. On March 25, after registration closes at 6 p.m. Pacific Time, you will receive the encrypted Zoom link.
 
FreeFileSync: The question of whether or not you should back up is no longer open for discussion. The bottom line is that you have to back up. But the method you choose and what you use is up to you. You want something easy to use, gets what you want backed up in a way that makes sense, and it won't hurt if it turns out to be free. One part of the recommended "3 step back up plan" is to have your important files backed up to an external drive. Join John as he shares his program of choice, FreeFileSync, and shows you how easy it is to use. He can back up whatever he wants in whatever way he wants. The process is straightforward: decide what you want backed up, where you want the backup, and what kind of backup you want. John will take you through these steps to set up your plan and then show you how to keep your files up to date using FreeFileSync.
 
Macrium Reflect and Clonezilla: Looking to safeguard your valuable data? Join us for an engaging and informative presentation on image backup solutions featuring Macrium Reflect and Clonezilla. Discover how these free, powerful tools stand out by running directly from a USB flash drive and booting into their self-contained operating systems. Learn how they enable seamless backups for Windows and Linux computers, offering a reliable, versatile solution for all your backup needs. Whether you're a tech enthusiast or looking to protect your system, this session will provide practical insights and hands-on tips to bulletproof your backup strategy. Don't miss this opportunity to level up your data protection skills!
 

11
General Discussion / Photo Group Report for 3/16/25
« on: March 21, 2025, 02:21:28 PM »
Hello All,
Here is my Photo Group Meeting Report for 03/16/2025
TOPIC: Photographer's Choice

Sadly, my dog Andy ate my notes for the session and my memory couldn't recreate the presentations.

What follows is my effort to reconstruct the meeting from Zoom's AI Transcription

Ralph Sutter opened the meeting with a discussion of his latest toy, the Harvest Right Freeze Dryer.
Unlike dehydrators, freeze dryers remove water from food by sublimation in which H2O passes directly from solid to gas without a liquid state.
Sutter shared images of freeze-dried tangerines, sourdough starter and eggs. He also showed egg rolls created with a Sushi Bazooka

Alan Raul, using his Leica Q3 camera, displayed beach shots mixed with scenes from the San Luis Obispo Masonic Temple, Pismo and Shell Beaches

Stanford Brown reached into his photo archives, offered travel photos of Lake Louise, a king's palace in Thailand
He also provided numerous images of his daily walks along the Salinas River in Paso Robles, fascinated by gnarly trees and photogenic animals.

John Waller also showed a preference for dea trees, mixed with eerie cloud formations and a Chinees Wedding.

Kaye Raul presented several of her photographs, discussing her editing process in Lightroom, including blurring backgrounds and converting images to black and white. T The group discussed the photos, commenting on subjects such as horses, bulls, trees, and landscapes, with some debate about the merits of color versus black and white images.

The topic for the April 13th 2025 meeting will be Images of Spring
Here are the meeting dates for 2025
  May 18 (May 11 is Mothers' Day)
  June 8
  July 13
  August 10
  September 14
  October 12
  November 9
  December 14

See the Links page; https://www.slobytes.org/digital/links.html, for tutorials and other resources

Ralph Sutter

12
Hello All,
This is a re-post of an article that I received from APCUG
Ralph Sutter

LEARNING LINUX WEDNESDAY WORKSHOP
March 19, 2025
9 am PT, 10 am MT, 11 am CT, 12 pm ET
 
Backing Up Personal Files on Your Home Network
Les Larkin, Program Chair
Lake Area Computer Enthusiasts

Foxclone and Back In Time
Alan German, Meeting Coordinator
Ottawa PCUG
 
Timeshift and Gnome Disk Utility (or Disks)
John Kennedy, Linux Help Desk
East Central Ohio Technology Users Club
 
Register here ? https://tinyurl.com/2tv6uvch
 
After you click Submit, you will receive a pop-up acknowledgment of your registration (see below). You only need to register once. On March 18, after registration closes at 6 pm Pacific Time, you will receive the encrypted Zoom link. You only need to register once.
 
 Backing Up Personal Files on Your Home Network. Linux makes it very easy to back up your files to other devices on your home network. Les? presentation shows WHY and HOW to back up files on your home network using Rsync and OpenSSH.

Foxclone and Back In Time. One backup strategy for Linux systems is to make full disk image backups of the entire hard drive at regular intervals to facilitate rapid system recovery should this become necessary. However, this needs to be combined with frequent backups of data files, the contents of which typically change over short time frames. This presentation will focus on two software products that provide the capabilities for the specified tasks and which, while being simple to use, have proven to be robust in their application.

Timeshift and Gnome Disk Utility (or Disks) ? Timeshift for Linux is an application that provides functionality similar to the System Restore feature on Windows and the Time Machine tool on macOS. Timeshift protects your system by taking incremental file system snapshots at regular intervals. These snapshots can be restored later to undo all system changes. You can easily create an image backup of your hard drive using the Gnome Disk Utility, or Disks as it?s called on many distros.
 

13
Hello All,
This is a re-post of an announcement from APCUG
Ralph Sutter

March 12, 2025
WEDNESDAY WORKSHOP
9 am PT, 10 am MT, 11 am CT, 12 pm ET
 
Learn more about staying safe online
with Gema de las Heras and Alvaro Puig
FTC Consumer Education Specialists
 
Whoa, back up!
Effective strategies for keeping your computer files safe
with Chris Taylor, President
Ottawa PCUG
 
Register once here ? https://tinyurl.com/fnx6684x
 
After you click Submit, you will receive the pop-up acknowledgment of your registration below. On March 11, after registration closes at 6 p.m. Pacific Time, you will receive the encrypted Zoom link.
 
 
Learn more about staying safe online. Get specific advice to help you recognize the signs of a scam and practical ways to protect yourself and your information (including how to protect your network, devices, and personal information). FTC staff will also share free consumer protection resources to use and share, as well as where to report fraud.
 
Whoa, back up! Effective strategies for keeping your computer files safe. Think about all the data on your PC: videos of the grandkids playing in a park, photos of your trip to Patagonia (lucky you!), tax records, emails? Now, think about whether those files exist anywhere else. If the answer is no, you need to think about backup.
 
You could lose data due to viruses, fire, theft, tornado, hard disk failure, making an unintended change to a file, or a wayward finger deleting a file.
 

14
General Discussion / Extract Audio (.mp3) from Video (.mp4)
« on: March 01, 2025, 07:05:43 PM »
Hello All,
I chanced upon another way to extract Audio (.mp3) from video files (.mp4)
Using the freeware program, Audacity, open the .mp4 file.
Audacity won't show the video but it will display the audio track.
In Audacity, select File/Export/to Computer and navigate to where you wish to save the .mp3 file.

Audacity is available for Windows, MAC and Linux.  Download this free program at
https://www.audacityteam.org/download/

Ralph Sutter

15
General Discussion / Free APCUG Saturday Safari 2/22/25 - Tax Preparation
« on: February 19, 2025, 05:08:46 PM »
Hello All,
This is a re-post of an announcement that I received today from APCUG
Ralph Sutter

February 22, 2025
SATURDAY SAFARI
9 am PT, 10 am MT, 11 am CT, 12 pm ET
 
TAX PREPARATION SOFTWARE ? TAX YEAR 2024
Presenter: Tom Burt, Vice-President
Sun City Summerlin Computer Club
 AND
 SMARTPHONE BASICS
Presenters: Chris and Jim Guld
GeeksOnTour
 
Register once here ? https://tinyurl.com/2j3s94b7
 
After you click Submit, you will receive a pop-up acknowledgment of your registration. On February 21, after registration closes at 6 pm Pacific Time, you will receive the encrypted Zoom link.
 
TAX PREPARATION SOFTWARE. Two of the most popular programs for preparing your income tax return are H&R Block and Turbo Tax. You can run these programs on your PC or Mac or work with the online versions. Purchase one of these software programs, install it on your PC (or go to the maker's website), and answer the step-by-step questions. When you've finished, either program will provide you with a finished tax return ready for filing. You can even choose to file your return electronically! Happily, for 2024, the tax law changes for individuals were few and minor.
 
In this year's seminar, Tom discusses both programs briefly and then demonstrates the excellent H&R Block Deluxe program. He will create a 2024 tax return for a fictitious senior couple with typical financial transactions such as wage income, self-employment income, retirement benefits, interest and dividends, social security benefits, income from a rental property, capital gains, itemized deductions, required minimum distributions, etc. You may be surprised how easy it is to prepare and file your tax return. We'll also learn how to set up electronic payments on the IRS EFTPS.gov website.
 
SMARTPHONE BASICS. The Geeks begin with a Smartphone Learning Checklist and then give their best practical tips for using Android and Apple smartphones.
 
In today's world, it is often taken for granted that you know everything you need to use your smartphone, but ? maybe you missed that class in high school :-)? In this presentation, they'll teach the basics like how to know your phone's make and model, organize your Apps and keep them up to date, display emergency contact info on the lock screen, take screenshots and read QR codes, and use the flashlight. Chris and Jim will also give some of their favorite tips about using the camera, managing your photos, and using Google Maps. Come with your phones in hand, and be ready to ask questions!
 




 



   



   













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