SLO Bytes Newsletter - January 2012 - PUSH Articles Index

Are you being followed? by Linda Gonse, Editor / Webmaster, Orange County PCUG, California (approx. 479 words). You don’t need to physically look over your shoulder but as many as 60 ad networks may be tracking you on the web right now! What’s more, they may be selling personally identifiable details about you. If this disturbs you, you can put a stop to it.

Backup – Image, What’s the difference? by Phil Sorrentino, President, Sarasota PCUG, Florida (approx. 1,064 words). This topic can be very confusing because of the similarities and the differences between backups and images. Phil’s article helps clear up the confusion.

Beyond Bullet Points: Using Microsoft PowerPoint to Create Presentations That Inform, Motivate, and Inspire by Greg West, VP, Sarnia CUG, Canada / APCUG Advisor, Regions 6 and International (approx. 381 words). All of us have had, or were forced, to sit through a PPT wishing we were somewhere else. Beyond Bullet Points is designed in such a way that this will never happen when you give your next presentation.

But, is Siri a Google killer? by Linda Gonse, Editor / Webmaster, Orange County PCUG, California (approx. 707 words). Point and counterpoint by David Coursey, tech writer, and Jon Jones, NCMUG’s newsletter editor, regarding the value and usefulness, and duplication of Siri in other OSs.

Cash, check and …. what about credit card? by Jim Evans, VP, Greater Cleveland PCUG, Ohio and APCUG Secretary (approx. 550 words). And you say, just cash or check (and maybe PayPal on your group’s website). The Square mobile card reader might be something you want to take a look at for your group.

Discovering Windows 7 – Part 22 by Neil Stahfest, VP, Tacoma Area PCUG, Washington (approx. 698 words). Windows has many built-in functions to display files, change display settings, change mouse settings, etc. Neil gives us an overview of how to find different ways to access these functions.

Do You “YouTube”? by Elaine Szaniszlo, Editor, Northwest Ohio PC Club (approx. 244 words). Elaine always thought that YouTube was just a site that had lots of fun videos. When she was recently on a trip and the fuses blew on the car power outlets and they needed to be replaced for the GPS to work, she found a how-to YouTube video for their specific car on where to find the fuses and how to replace them. She suggests we check out YouTube for any do-it-yourself projects we might have.

ICE Your Cell Phone – Save Your Life by Sandy Berger, CompuKISS (approx.. 413 words). Did you know that emergency physicians are recommending that people with cellular phones add “ICE” entries into their cell phone address books. This stands for “In Case of Emergency” and medical professionals are using it to notify the person’s emergency contacts to obtain critical medical information. (I put ICE in front of the names of the people who should be notified, Judy.)

Invisible Shield by George Harding, Treasurer, Tucson Computer Society (approx. 370 words). If you have a smart phone, MP3 player, tablet or other portable device, you need a durable covering for the faces of your instrument. ZAGG has a solution for you.

Mac Tips by Ernie Cox, Computer Club of Green Valley, AZ (approx. 545 words). Ernie covers the iCloud and trying to keep up with the iPhone improvements.

Using Opera Unite by Beth Pickering, President, Sonoma Valley Computer Group, California (approx. 1,199 words). Opera Unite is a way to directly share content on your computer with any other device that can be connected to the Internet with no 3rd party involvement.

PC Computer Evolution by Wil Wakely, President, Seniors Computer Group, California (approx. 943 words). Wil takes us through the history of computing from the invention of the transistor at Bell Labs in 1947 to the present.

Photographically Speaking by Marlene Martin, Member, Tucson Computer Society, AZ (approx. 1,016 words). Learning to use photography language effectively allows photographers to communicate their intent to the reader. The author, DuChemin, not only shows us the picture, he describes what he did and why, but also what he wanted to communicate with the selected element.

Staying Technology Young by Darry D Eggleston (approx. 374 words). The challenges are increasing to remain technologically young. What used to take years to change now occurs in a matter of months. We need to keep up!

Stellarium by Cal Esneault, President, Cajun Clickers Computer Club, Louisiana (approx. 489 words). One excellent program that guides us through the night sky is Stellarium, as open-source program available for Windows, Mac OS X, Linux, and BSD operating systems.

Too Many Choices by Wil Wakely, President, Seniors Computer Group, California (approx. 955 words). Choosing a computer used to be relatively easy. This is no longer true since we have a plethora or choices: desktop, laptop, notebook, tablet, smart phone, and smart e-Book reader.

Using Sandboxie to Safely Browse the Internet by Jim McKnight, Director, Los Angeles Computer Society, California (approx. 1,459 words). Once Sandboxie is set up, all you have to do is click the Sandboxie icon on the desktop and your regular Internet browser opens safety in a sandbox. This article focuses on using Sandboxie to make your Internet browsing safe from malware infections.

What are you Tweeting? by Linda Gonse, Editor / Webmaster, Orange County PCUG, California (approx. 444 words). New users of Twitter sometimes get confused by the conventions commonly used in tweets (Comments posted by Twitter users are called “tweets.”) And then there are “retweets.”

Windows 7 has it all by Vinny La Bash, Regular Columnist, Sarasota PCUG, Florida (approx. 1,035 words). OK, maybe Windows 7 doesn’t have everything, but it has many great features that make your computer experience easier, safer, and more reliable than any previous version.

Windows Live SkyDrive: An Office in the Cloud by Nancy DeMarte, a member of the Sarasota PCUG, Florida (approx. 1,047 words). A quiet, steady evolution is taking place in the data storage world. Soon CDs and external HDs may be replaced by storage on the Internet or, as we say, the “cloud.” SkyDrive is Microsoft’s free password-protected online storage area.

Word 2010 Screen Shots and Screen Clipping by Lynn Page, Editor / Webmaster, Crystal River Users Group, Florida (approx. 832 words). Windows 7 has the Snipping Tool which is handy to capture all or part of the visible screen. The Screenshot tool lets you preview and capture ‘thumbnails.”

These articles have been provided to APCUG by the author solely for publication by APCUG member groups.