SLO Bytes Newsletter - February 2008 - PUSH Article Descriptions

Bot-Nets by Brian K. Lewis, Ph.D. www.spcug.org (Approx. 1,548 words)
Keeping your computer safe while connected to the Internet is becoming more and more difficult. The "attackers" are becoming more sophisticated and are sharing more ways to get their software into your computer. It is estimated that 7% of the computers connected to the Internet have been infected with a Botnet program. So what is a "Botnet"? Bot-Nets

Check Alternative Travel Sites for Deals by Ira Wilsker, APCUG Director; Columnist, The Examiner, Beaumont TX; Radio & TV show host (Approx. 1,343 words).
We have all seen the TV commercials with the gnome fretting over travel problems, and have seen the black clad inspectors prancing all over a hotel snooping in every nook and cranny. One thing the internet is not short of is travel websites that offer airline tickets, hotel rooms, cruises, rental cars, and package deals combining all of the above. One advantage to the direct sale proprietary travel sites is that they generally do not add a service fee for online bookings, unlike the fees charged by the independent commercial travel websites.

Evaluating Your Anti Spyware Program by Vinny La Bash, Member of the Sarasota Personal Computer Users Group, Inc. www.spcug.org (Approx. 904 words).
For many years the most acute danger to your computer was some kind of destructive virus. Today the danger has shifted from software that is programmed to destroy files, corrupt programs, and disable systems to something more insidious, and perhaps even more treacherous. This threat comes in two broad categories known as Spyware and Trojan Horses.

Let's Clean Start-up by Bob Elgines, Editor, Colorado River Computer Club, AZRCC Editor www.crccaz.com/ (Approx. 458 words).
Does your computer boot-up or run slow? Maybe there are too many programs running in the back ground. Checking out Bob's check list might help.

Look ma no hands by Bruce Jacobs, Phoenix PCUG newsletter editor www.phoenixpcug.org (Approx. 803 words).
This article was not typed it was dictated using the speech recognition feature in Windows Vista Ultimate. Bruce has been using this feature on and off for certain applications for a while. It has its good points and its bad points.

Microsoft Office 2007 Review by Lynn Page, Editor, Crystal River User Group, Florida www.crug.org (Approx, 3,011 words).
Microsoft's Office 2007 is the perfect suite of applications and is suited to all types of users. Office will aid you in being more productive and allow your documents, spreadsheets and presentations to be professional and attractive. Different versions of Office 2007 include different applications, from the Basic version with Word, Excel, and Outlook, to an Enterprise version including everything. This variety of suites may seem overkill but it provides an Office suite in complexity and price range for anyone.

Microsoft patches still another patch by Bob de Violini, a member of the Channel Islands PCUG, CA www.cipcug.org (Approx. 1,030 words).
Microsoft patches still another patch From the once is not enough department, Microsoft has, again, patched a patch. This time, it involves patch number MS07-069, which is a cumulative security update for Internet Explorer 6 installed on Windows XP Service Pack 2 only. Apparently the initial patch released on December's patch Tuesday caused computers to experience an unexpected crash or hang upon launching Internet Explorer.

Microsoft Streets and Trips 2007 with GPS by Joseph Kluepfel, Director Broward Personal Computer Association, Inc. www.bpca.com (Approx. 535 words).
Microsoft Streets and Trips 2007 with GPS a review Install this on your laptop and you have the luxury of setting up your trip at home and then use it in the car. A laptop screen is four times bigger than a navigator installed in a car or fifteen to twenty times bigger than a portable GPS.

Moving on to Vista Part III by Neil Stahfest a member of the Tacoma Area PC User Group www.tapcug.org (Approx. 634 words).
Your PC's desktop is the largest, most user defined area on your PC's screen. It contains all your own shortcuts, folder icons and your personal desktop picture. The desktop is really just a personal file folder on drive C. That means that any work you do on the desktop is saved for you on Drive C and not lost when you turn the computer off. Of course any documents, pictures, etc. that are "saved" on your desktop can be moved or copied to other folders on your hard drive.

New Gadgets for 2008 by Sandy Berger, CompuKISS.com www.compukiss.com (About 828 words).
New Gadgets for 2008 Every year my husband and I attend the Consumer Electronic (CES) in Las Vegas to see the latest and greatest high tech gadgets. This year didn't disappoint.

Painter X Product Review by Tom Ekvall, newsletter editor and "Creative Imaging" Columnist, Northeast Wisconsin PCUG http://webpages.charter.net/newpcug/ (Approx. 1,919 words).
Painter X is everything a photo artist, like myself, could ever want in the way of a digital imaging program-or should I say a digital natural media painting program.

Recording Audio by Bart Koslow, Software Review Coordinator, Thousand Oaks Personal Computer Club, Thousand Oaks, CA http://topcc.org/ (Approx. 746 words).
Nowadays it is no problem to record video from a TV broadcast, VCR or other source using a Digital Video Recorder. When Bart began to look into recording music broadcasts off the air, he found that there were external Audio recorders, but they were expensive, beginning in the $250 range and up. This is twice as much as a similar Video Recorder. Since he wanted to create CDs from the broadcast music and had DVD/CD burners on his computer he decided that using his computer was a better and cheaper alternative.

So You Have a New Digital Camera by Robert M. Mayo, Cajun Clickers Computer Club, LA www.clickers.org (Approx. 476 words).
If you were lucky enough to get a new camera for Christmas, congratulations! However, along with this jewel, I'm sure you also got a complicated user's manual. I hate 'em! But cheer up; all the mystery will soon go out of that book.

2007 Chaos, What/Who Wins in 2008 by Andy Marken, Marken Communicaitons www.markencom.com (Approx. 1,397 words)
The fun of analyzing the past 12 months is…it's easy! But forecasting 2008 requires separating dreams from reality…early adopters from mass market.

The Cartridge Family by Grant Fuller, a member of Big Blue & Cousins, Canada www.bbc.org (Approx. 571 words).
We're beat. I hate to admit it. I come from more innocent times when fairness was something to strive for. Family values were not measured by the Sopranos but by families with more law-abiding objectives. "I hate to give up without a fight but I do not hold much hope for us. If you have a printer that functions well by refilling cartridges, keep it. Repair it when it becomes necessary and show it your unconditional love."

The New, Best Worst, January 2008 Collected by Pim Borman, Webmaster, SW Indiana PC Users Group, Inc. http://swipcug.apcug.org (Approx. 898 words).
Needles, Haystacks and Processing featuring SETI (Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence) and Foxit Reader for PDF Files.

What computer to buy - Fairchild by Doug Fairchild, Director, Exton PC Council, PA www.extonpccouncil.org (Approx. 1,298 words).
As a person who is active with a computer user's group and who has had formal training in Windows 2000 and Windows XP, I'm often asked "what computer should I get?" This is an age old question in terms of computer technology time. Almost any professional that provides unbiased advise will tell you that it is not an easy answer. The first question that comes to mind is, what do you intend to do with it?

bwsail at yahoo.com
Iwilsker(at)apcug.net
vlabash(at)comcast.net
elginesz(at)rraz.net
editor(at)pcug.org
newsletter(at)crug.com
rjddev(at)gmail.com
joekuepfel(at)bpca.com
ncstahfest(at)msn.com
sberger(at)compukiss.com
tekvall(at)new.rr.com
review(at)topcc.org
bobmayo1(at)cox.net
andy(at)markencom.com
newsletter(at)bbc.org
swipcug(at)gmail.com
dbfair(at)verizon.net