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SLO Bytes Newsletter - July 2007 - PUSH Article Descriptions

Back-Ups Made Easy by Carey Holzman, Co-host: www.computeramerica.com / www.careyholzman.com (approx. 1,690 words). By now you are probably well aware of the importance of making copies of your valuable data (referred to as "backing-up). You've read numerous articles about ways to back-up your data and prevent disaster. The problem is, most advice offered on this subject is not truly complete and many of the 'solutions' offered are expensive and time consuming. How you back-up, what you back-up, when you back-up and where you store your back-up are just a few important variables that come into play on that miserable day that you require it and your back-up isn't there.

Can't Play Online Videos - Here's What to Do by Sandy Berger, CompuKISS www.compukiss.com (approx. 706 words). Generally, each video you find on the Web will play only using the software that it was formatted for. If you try to play a video and you don't have the proper software, you won't be able to view the video. Sandy walks readers through how to get many of the popular video viewing software.

Exploring Windows Explorer by Jim Sanders, North Orange County Computer Club, California www.noccc.org (approx. 1,309 words). Everyone using WinXP uses Windows Explorer all the time. Some use it in what Jim considers the true form. Some, of you use it as My Computer and all of us use it when we are using Internet Explorer, because Windows Explorer is an integral part of Internel Explorer. Jim continues to be surprised at how many people do not know that they can right click on the Start button and go directly to Windows Explorer. This tip and more will make is easy for your readers to start using Windows Explorer in its true form.

Checkmate by Berry T. Phillips, Computer Club of Oklahoma City www.ccokc.org (approx. 554 words). Man-vs-machine has been a theme that has intrigued the public for many years. Berry writes about some the chess machines from the early-1700s through early 2003.

Fix That Fan by Jim Sanders, North Orange County Computer Club, California www.noccc.org (approx. 599 words). Cheap (sleeve bearing) fans die young. Bet on it. The cheaper the system, power supply, cooler, etc., the cheaper the fan. When you hear that sleeve bearing fan (or a ball bearing fan, for that matter) rattle, notice a fan is barely turning, or not turning at all, fix it!

Free Online Mapping and Driving Directions by Ira Wilsker, APCUG Director (approx. 999 words). Many of us like to use maps when we travel. Maps can be used to display driving directions and points of interest. Fortunately, there are several excellent and free mapping utilities available on the Internet, such as those provided by Microsoft's "Live" service, Google, Yahoo! And AOL's Mapquest.

How I Find My 'Deleted' Emails by Tom Thiel, Lake-Sumter Computer Society www.lscs.us (approx. 826 words). Old emails are one of my most frequent retrievals from my back-up files. How does Tom retrieve an email after he's deleted it from his Inbox or Sent items? This article shows you the way.

Internet Services - E-mail and the Web by Hilton Kaufman, Chicago Computer Society www.ccs.org (approx. 1,109 words). The Internet is a network of networks used to transmit messages. Somehow things arrive at where they are supposed to go. It is the services that go over these networks that make the Internet useful! The two best known services today are e-mail and the World Wide Web.

The Inside Security Recovery Toolkit (INSERT) by Dick Maybach, Brookdale Computer User Group, New Jersey www.bcug.com (approx. 890 words). Most of us use an OEM (original equipment manufacturer) version of Windows supplied by the vendor who built our PC. Although we often receive a Windows CD-ROM, it is not the same as the disk included with the retail version of Windows. Sometimes without a good recent back-up or good recovery software, all of our data can be lost. A particularly powerful recovery tool is INSERT, a version of Linux designed to correct problems in Windows, Linux, and the latest Macintosh PCs. Dick sent me his tutorial on INSERT. It's far too large for a newsletter article, but if you would like a copy for your members, please let me know and I'll send it to you (Judy).

Windows Vista Power Management by Vinny LaBash, Sarasota PCUG, Florida www.spcug.org (approx. 618 words). Those of us who drive laptops are usually more aware of power management than the desktop jockeys. In Vista, you can optimize settings to conserve energy, go for flat out performance or achieve some kind of sensible balance between the two.

What is PCI Express? by Brian K. Lewis, PhD, Sarasota PCUG, Florida www.spcug.org (approx. 1,560 words). PCIs (Peripheral Component Interconnect) are the slots in the motherboard of your computer used for connecting peripheral devices directly to the computer bus. The original PCI bus was released in 1992. Your knowledge will certainly be expanded re PCIs after you read this article.

REVIEWS

Actiontec MegaPlug by Terry Currier, WINNERS- WINdows usERS, California www. www.windowsusers.org/ (approx. 779 words). Terry likes the idea of networking through power lines especially if you can not run a cable to where you may want to connect, or you get no wireless signal. You might want to try this method after reading Terry's review.

Fisheye-Hemi Plug-In by Neil Longmuir, Winnipeg PCUG, Canada www.wpcusrgrp.org (approx. 703 words). The Fisheye-Hemi Photoshop plug-in from Image Trends corrects distortions present in fisheye lens images. This is a terrific plug-in filter that retains more of the original image resolutioin allowing the end user to display the original composition as seen through the viewfinder when the iamge was taken.

Professor Franklin's Instant Photo Artist 2.0 by Tom Ekvall, Northeast Wisconsin PCUG www.webpages.charter.net/newpcug (approx. 1,043 words). Can someone create a photo art masterpiece from a snapshot within a matter of minutes without going through a lot of training and reading manuals? Yes, if you use this program. Thanks again to Tom for getting us the discount.

The AntiSpyware Revolution Starts Here by Tou Torraca, The TUG, Hawaii www.the-tug.org (approx. 1,807 words). CounterSpy V2 was completely rebuilt with a revolutionary new design -- more powerful and effective than ever. Lou takes us through all the ins and outs of CounterSpy - your members might want to buy a copy when they read the review.

VOIP Made Easy with Skype by Sharon Walbran, Twin Cities PCUG, Minnesota www.tcpc.com (approx. 456 words). VOIP, Voice Over Internet Protocal, using your Internet connection to make phone calls, has become very popular. Skype (rhymes with "type"), is a free VOIP program that offers free computer-to-computer calls anywhere in the world if both computers have Skype installed. For calls from a computer with Skype to standard phones and cell phones in the U.S. and Canada, Skype offers unlimited free calling with an annual charge of $29.95 a year. Other VOIP vendors charge $30+ per month.

Zune - A Player for the Rest of Us by Ash Nallawalla, Melborne PCUG, Australia www.melbpc.org (approx. 1,014 words). Are your readers older than 50? Have they tried to use an MP3 or video player but found their thumbs and fingers were all mixed up? Was the text too hard to read? Then, Zune is for them.

Contributor Addresses
Ash Nallawalla - anallawalla(at)apcug.net
Berry K. Phillips - bfpdata(at)1access.net
Brian K. Lewis - bwsail(at)yahoo.com
Carey Holzman - carey(at)holzman.com
Dick Maybach - n2nd(at)att.net
Jim Sanders - editor(at)noccc.org
Hilton Kaufman - hmkaufman(at)earhtlink.net
Ira Wilsker - iwilsker(at)apcug.net
Lou Torraca - af06hi(at)gmail.com
Neil Longmuir - longmur(at)ms.umanitoba.ca
Sandy Berger - sandy(at)compukiss.com
Sharon Walbran - sqwalbran(at)yahoo.com
Terry Currier - tcurrier(at)aol.com
Tom Ekvall - tekvall(at)new.rr.com
Tom Thiel - tthiel5(at)comcast.net
Vinny LaBash - labash(at)spcug.org


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