Show Posts

This section allows you to view all posts made by this member. Note that you can only see posts made in areas you currently have access to.


Topics - rsutter

Pages: [1] 2 3 ... 6
1
General Discussion / Notes from the SLO Bytes Photo Group Meeting of 09/16/18
« on: September 16, 2018, 05:24:05 PM »
Hello All,

The topic was Animals.  The session opened with a series of images of animals from a National Geographics slide show. 
View the show at https://www.youtube.com/embed/Hodomt6bBOw  Stanford Brown provided the link.
Next came the announcement of the APCUG Photo Contest.  Entry deadline is September 30, 2018.  Details at apcug/apcug-photo-2018.pdf
Ralph Sutter then shared his own tutorial explaining how he used Adobe Photoshop Elements to remove a dark background from the screen shot of a terminal window. 
View the tutorial at
www.slobytes.org/digital/documents/Remove-dark-background.mp4
Finally Sutter pointed out three excellent articles on the workings of the digital camera
   Anatomy of a Camera; www.slobytes.org/digital/documents/Anatomy of a Camera p6-9.pdf
   Digital Camera Control and Image Capture; www.slobytes.org/digital/documents/Digital Camera Control and Image Capture.pdf
   Digital Camera Processing; www.slobytes.org/digital/documents/Digital Camera Processing - Maybach.doc

After these introductory activities, members of the group offered images that fondly recalled pets, zoos and critters of all stripes. 
We saw a menagerie of feathered and finned creatures, both in the wild and domesticated, interspersed with animal sculptures, wall hangings and paintings
The meeting ended with the distribution of photographic wisdom and oatmeal cookies.

Our next meeting will take place on Sunday, October 14th beginning at 2:00 pm.
This time, we will meet at a different location, 
   The home of Monica Tarzier
   1657 Southwood Dr.   
   San Luis Obispo, CA

The topic will be Scenes of the Fall
Please bring images tied to Autumn for sharing with others.

Ralph Sutter

2
General Discussion / Disable Optane Memory before Cloning OS Drive
« on: September 15, 2018, 09:28:00 AM »
Hello All,
I recently bought a Dell XPS 8930 computer with a 1Tb HDD hard drive and 16Gb Optane memory in the M.2 slot. My plan was to remove the Optane memory and replace them with a 500Gb Samsung 970 EVO M.2 drive.
I copied the contents of the HDD to the Samsung drive, replaced the Optane drive with the Samsung drive and unplugged the HDD. 

When I turned on the computer, it failed to reboot.  I re-installed the original drives and rebooted successfully.  Only then did I research how Intel Optane drives work.  See https://www.howtogeek.com/317294/what-is-intel-optane-memory/
In short, certain files usually stored on the HDD main drive are moved to the faster SSD Optane drive.  This boosts speed.

In order to move the operating system to the 500Gb SSD, I needed to first copy the content of the Optane drive back to the HDD and then disable the Optane drive.  Only then will I be able to clone the HDD drive and move the OS to the SSD.

The link below explains how to do this.
https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/support/articles/000024626/memory-and-storage.html

I have yet to do this.  My plan is to make a backup of the HDD before I copy the contents of the Optane drive back to it.  That way, if something goes wrong, I'll be able to return to the current state.
I'll report back after I complete the migration.

Ralph Sutter

3
General Discussion / Send Audio from Yamaha Smart TV to AV Receiver
« on: September 04, 2018, 05:17:09 PM »
Hello All
I have a Samsung SUHD TV that, until today, I had been unable to connect to my Yamaha RX-A2020 AV receiver in such a way that the sound from the TV played through the speakers of the receiver.  Instead, all TV programming on this smart TV played through the speakers of the TV.  While these are capable speakers, it annoyed me that I couldn’t configure the TV to play through the 5.1 speaker setup of the receiver.

I faithfully followed Samsung’s setup instructions.
From the remote go to Setup/Sound/Select Speaker/Receiver (HDMI)
Expert Options that were not greyed out were as follows
    HDMI Autio Format:  Bitstream
    Audio Format:  DTS Neo 2:5
    Audio Delay:  40
    Sound Feedback:  Low

Whenever I chose these settings, I got no sound from any programming on the TV.  I had to turn off the receiver.  With the receiver turned off, the TV reverted to TV Sound.

Today, I discovered the configuration step that I had been missing, the one necessary to send TV audio to the receiver.  Look for the HDMI input on the TV marked HDMI (ARC)

The Samsung TV has a smart hub.  (See attachment)  It outputs to the TV’s HDMI input with a single cable, called the ONE CONNECT cable.  Since it is a hub, it has 4 HDMI inputs that can be routed to the TV through the ONE CONNECT cable.
In my case, I plugged my Yamaha receiver into Input 1, my Asus mini computer into Input 2 and plugged another HDMI cable into Input 3, using it for guest laptops and other temporary devices.  I did not use Input 4

I noticed that Input 4 was labeled 4 (ARC).  When I researched what that meant, I learned that ARC stands for Audio Return Channel.  It allows two way communication between the device plugged in to it and the TV.
Once that I unplugged the receiver from Input 1 and replugged it into Input 4, the sound from whatever was playing on the TV was output to the speakers of the receiver. 

Now, if I turn on the TV, the receiver automatically turns on also.  I can use the receiver controls to modify the sounds from the TV just as I can if I were listening to any audio source on the receiver; phono, tuner, Apple TV, stand alone Roku, etc.
The TV remote controls the speaker volume of the receiver as does the receiver remote.  Life is good.

Ralph Sutter


 


4
General Discussion / Kanopy.com -Free Movies from Your Library
« on: September 02, 2018, 01:57:36 PM »
Hello All,
Kanopy.com offers free movies once that you create an account.  The service is made available in conjunction with your local library, among others.
Ralph Sutter

5
General Discussion / Restoring a Computer That Won't Boot - Re-Post of Notenboom Article
« on: August 28, 2018, 09:35:38 AM »
Hello All,
This is a re-post of an article from Leo Notenboom.  Despite the title, the article offers detailed instructions on accessing a Windows computer that won't boot.
https://askleo.com/backing-up-a-machine-that-wont-boot/
Ralph Sutter

6
General Discussion / New APCUG PUSH Articles Uploaded
« on: August 24, 2018, 11:12:30 PM »
Hello All,
On 8/24/18, I uploaded a new batch of PUSH articles from SLO Bytes' parent organization, APCUG courtesy of Judy Taylour.
View them at www.slobytes.org/push/0818.
Ralph Sutter

7
General Discussion / PIA Blocks Internet Access - Solved
« on: August 24, 2018, 09:18:00 AM »
Hello All,
My desktop computer is a Dell XPS 8930 running the current version of Windows 10.
I run PIA, a competent VPN on the machine.  For the past two days, all attempts to connect to the Internet from a browser fail but my mail client, Outlook 365, works.
This happens whether I go online with an Ethernet connection or WiFi.  If I disconnect PIA, the browsers (current 64 bit versions of Chrome, Firefox and Edge), work properly.  I have tried changing the PIA servers from Auto to a variety of other locations with no improvement.
I run the same PIA settings on a Lenovo Yoga X1 running current Windows 10 as well as a MacBook Pro and an HP desktop running Ubuntu 18.04.  They all work properly with PIA enabled and connected.

I finally resolved the problem by following the instructions provided by PIA at https://www.privateinternetaccess.com/helpdesk/kb/articles/why-is-the-vpn-connection-not-working-or-slow-with-the-pia-app

In my case, the answer was Change Connection Type from  UDP to TCP.  I can't explain why this change became necessary but making it restored the ability of my browsers to go online.
Ralph Sutter

8
General Discussion / APCUG 2018 Summer Virtual Technology Conference Handouts
« on: August 20, 2018, 04:17:47 AM »
Hello All,

The handouts from the Summer 2018 APCUG Virtual Technology Conference have been uploaded to the APCUG web site.
They are available at the address below.
https://apcug2.org/apcug-2018-summer-virtual-technology-conference-vtc29/
The page begins with attendee comments followed by descriptions of each session.  The link to each handout is at the bottom of the respective descriptions.

Ralph Sutter

9
General Discussion / Running Ubuntu 18.04 under Windows 10 with HyperV - Resolution Solved
« on: August 17, 2018, 09:03:20 AM »
Hello All,
My main laptop computer is a Lenovo Yoga X1, a high-end machine running at 2560x1440 dpi.  However, when I enabled HyperV under Windows 10 and installed Linux Ubuntu 18.04,
Ubuntu only filled about 1/4 of the screen.  From past experience, I knew that I would have to edit the grub file in order to achieve a higher resolution.
For the record, here are the steps to accomplish that
From Ubuntu, open the Terminal to the default directory.  Here is how I did that
At the terminal, change to the root directory by typing cd /
Type cd /etc
Type cd default (Notice that the command was not cd /default
Type sudo gedit grub (This sequence opens the Gedit text editor to the grub file at /etc/default)
Enter your password (It will not be displayed)

The grub file contains a line that reads as follows
GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT="quiet splash"
Modify it to read as follows
GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT="quiet splash video=hyperv_fb:1920x1080"
Save the file
Type update-grub to do just that

IMPORTANT
Return to the Windows desktop and change the screen resolution in Windows to 1920x1080. 
Do this by going to the desktop and right clicking an open area.
Left click on Display Settings and change to 1920x1080

Re-launch Ubuntu and it will fill the screen.  If you skip the previous step, the Ubuntu desktop will not cover the Windows desktop completely. 
The native resolution of my laptop is 2560x1440 but at the time of this posting, Ubuntu is apparently only capable of delivering 1920x1080.  Entering a higher resolution in grub fails.

Ralph Sutter

10
General Discussion / exFat Formatting Option Greyed Out in GParted but Available in PartedMagic
« on: August 13, 2018, 10:48:04 AM »
Hello All,
At the SLO Bytes Linux meeting of 08/09/18, I observed that the disk partitioning utility, GParted greyed out the option to format a disk in exFat.  Supposedly, this ability was removed to avoid conflicts with Microsoft, the owner of the format.
Today, I opened GParted from inside PartedMagic version 2018_04_30.  exFat was not greyed out and I successfully formatted a partition to that scheme.

Before I was able to read or write to the exFat drive, I had to install a program via the terminal.  Open the terminal and type sudo apt-get install exfat-fuse exfat-utils

Ralph Sutter

11
General Discussion / Notes from the SLO Bytes Photo Group Meeting of 08/12/18
« on: August 12, 2018, 06:22:43 PM »
Hello All,
Here are my notes from today's meeting of the SLO Bytes Photo Group
TOPIC: Symbols
The session opened with Ralph Sutter showing a series of images of trees growing in difficult places. View them at http://www.slobytes.org/digital/images/trees.docx
He then updated the group on member Bob Grover's biography. An edition with full-color photos is available in the Kindle format at https://www.amazon.com/Always-Quest-Norma-Elise-W%C3%A4%C3%A4len-ebook/dp/B07DPGN7M2/ref=sr_1_1_twi_kin_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1532569115&sr=8-1&keywords=always+a+quest.
Purchasing the Kindle version, those with Amazon's Alexa can have the book read aloud by saying to Alexa, "Alexa, tell Kindle to read Always a Quest".

Next, Ralph presented a slide show featuring company logos past and present as well as personal symbols.

Connie Sutter followed with shots of familiar icons taken from local signs and structures. They included traffic control, religious symbols and flags.

Bob Styerwalt offered a collage of automobile nameplates and public works signs.

John Waller broke his images down into those with and those without text. Like other members, John showed nameplates and public signs.

At the close of the meeting, Ralph demonstrated how he downloaded an on-line article, saved it off-line and used Photoshop Elements to remove selected content.
The group couldn't decide on a topic for the September meeting, deciding to e-mail suggestions to Ralph at ralph@rsutter.com. He will have members vote on the most popular option

Here is the meeting schedule for 2018
    September 16 (One week later than usual)
    October (The October meeting date has not been determined yet)
    November 11
    December 9

Details
Home of Connie and Ralph Sutter
498 Hansen Hill Road
Arroyo Grande, CA
Map at www.slobytes.org/digital/sutter-map.html

Reminder: 
Additional information is on the Photo SIG web site.
Opening page:  www.slobytes.org/digital
Notes from previous sessions:  http://www.slobytes.org/digital/notes.html
Links:  http://www.slobytes.org/digital/links.html

Ralph Sutter
SLO Bytes Photo SIG Leader       

12
General Discussion / APCUG Virtual Technology Conference 08/18/18 @10:00 AM
« on: July 26, 2018, 08:49:41 PM »
Hello All,
SLO Bytes' parent organization, APCUG, has scheduled another Virtual Technology Conference .
It takes place on line Saturday, August 18, 2018 beginning at 10:00 am Pacific Time
The conference consists of 2 separate tracks, each offering 3 50 minute sessions.
Here are the topics
TRACK 1
10:00 PM PT
What's New with Chromebooks in 2018
Ron Brown, Program Chair, Silvercom Computer and Technology Club
This presentation will give a brief history of the Chrome OS and look at new Chromebook laptops, Tablets and Chromeboxes for 2018.

11:00 AM PT
Tech Tips and Apple Tech Tips on APCUG’s Website
Jere Minich, Lake-Sumter Program Chair; APCUG Advisor, Region 5
Jere will share his sources for getting the info that is on Jere’s Tech Tips and Apple Tech Tips on APCUG’s website.
 
Noon PT
Digital Afterlife
Phillip “Phil” Bock, President, Lake County Area Computer Enthusiasts
With the myriad opportunities that the Internet provides, we are likely to have many online accounts. We are also likely to accumulate lots of documents, photos, music, videos and other digital files on our computers, external drives and cloud storage accounts. What happens to those digital accounts and files if we become incapacitated or die? How do we make our wishes known, and who will carry them out?
The Internet also allows us to live on (digitally) after our death, by leaving digital accounts open and available to friends and family and/or by enrolling in services which specialize in communicating posthumously on our behalf.
Interested in learning more about our digital afterlife? Phil Bock will take us through an overview and suggest sources we can turn to for more information and assistance.

TRACK 2
10:00 AM PT
Digital Terrorism and Hate 2018
An update on the continued use of Internet technology by extremists.
Rick Eaton, Senior Researcher, Simon Wiesenthal Center
The web has become an increasingly popular place for hate groups to congregate, and in many ways hide in plain sight, using the latest trends in technology to communicate, organize and add members. Rick’s presentation focuses on what has become a critical global frontier in the marketing of hate and terrorism. The troubling increase in sophistication that extremists are demonstrating in spreading their messages online and the need for a coalition of corporations, parents, educators, non-profit organizations, and governments that can empower young people to mobilize in fighting hate.

11:00 AM PT
Linux and the ham radio "Internet"
Orv Beach, Training Chair, Southern California Linux Expo; Technical Specialist, American Radio Relay League
Digital mesh networking is one of the fastest growing modes in amateur radio. With the recent capability of moving wireless access points into the uncrowded adjacent ham radio bands, the ability to create a linked ham "Internet" has become feasible. The network is growing by leaps and bounds, and can provide services such as text messaging, webcams, video chat email, and VOIP (both dial-up and chat channels). All these services can run on Linux computers.
 
Noon PT
Evidence Based Medicine
Dr. Garry Sexton, President, Greater South Bay User Group
The goals of this presentation are to explain Evidence-Based Medicine, how to evaluate information, the strength of studies, the number needed to treat, how to make it useful, and websites that can help.

   ---
You only need to register once; you do not need an Eventbrite account to attend the conference. Before the VTC, you will receive an email with directions and links for attending both conference tracks.
 
You can attend using your computer or tablet with Zoom software. The sessions are 50 minutes in length and offer attendees the opportunity to ask questions via a chat window.
 
Make sure you have the latest version of Zoom for your device. “Zoom Client for Meetings - The web browser client will download automatically when you start or join your first Zoom meeting and is also available for manual download here.”

https://zoom.us/download
 
When you attend the conference, please sign in with the user name and e-mail address you used to register for the VTC.
 
Register at Eventbrite
 
For detailed information about the presentations, including the presenters' bios click here.
 
If you would like further information or have questions, please send an email to
virtualconferences@apcug.org

Reposted by Ralph Sutter



13
General Discussion / VGA to HDMI Adapter - Not Bi-Directional
« on: July 23, 2018, 04:51:02 PM »
Hello All,
SLO Bytes recently replaced its 11 year old data projector with a newer model after the first machine stopped working.  The new projector, Optoma HD143X 1080p 3000 Lumens has many impressive features but only offers HDMI inputs.  Wanting the option to connect older computers with only a VGA output, I connected an HDMI to VGA converter but this displayed no image.  Since I had other HDMI to VGA adapters, I tried them all to no avail.  I then discovered that the adapters are not bi-directional.  If I wanted to connect a VGA output to an HDMI input, I could not use an HDMI to VGA dongle.  I needed the opposite configuration.
Here is a link that confirms that these devices only work in one direction.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01JRXHWQA/ref=sspa_dk_hqp_detail_aax_0?psc=1

I ended up purchasing another device,
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00IDFGK1W/ref=od_aui_detailpages00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
It has a USB to audio input in addition to the VGA to HDMI conversion.  It should send audio from the USB connection to the HDMI output.
Once that I receive and test this device, I'll confirm or modify this posting.
Ralph Sutter

14
General Discussion / On-line News Options - Sutter August 2018 SLO Bytes Presentation
« on: July 18, 2018, 03:58:11 PM »
Hello All,
You will find the notes to my Second Session presentation at the SLO Bytes General Meeting of August 5, 2018 at www.slobytes.org/presentations/sutter-0818/online-news.docx
I'll be adding to it until the time of my presentation.
Ralph Sutter

15
General Discussion / Use .htaccess file so browser sees all files in directory (no index.html file)
« on: July 11, 2018, 07:07:19 PM »
Hello All,
When I received from Alan Raul and Bob Styerwalt the photos of our recent BBQ , I wanted to make them available on the SLO Bytes web site as quickly and simply as possible.  I could have uploaded the batches as .zip files but dimly remembered that I had previously come across a way to give links to each individual file without creating a photo index.  Sadly, I had forgotten how to do that.

When I finally rediscovered how to accomplish that, I created a tutorial to remind me and others how to do this with an .htaccress file.
My tutorial is available from my web site at http://www.fullbean.com/tutorials/listfiles.html.

Please note that this method only offers links to the individual images.  It does not provide thumbnails.

Before I figured this out, I used Adobe Photoshop Elements 15 to create the two video slide shows.
As stated in an earlier post, you may view them at www.slobytes.org/photos/2018bbq

Ralph Sutter

Pages: [1] 2 3 ... 6