SLO Bytes Newsletter - August 2007 - PUSH Article Descriptions

Apple’s New Safari Browser for Windows by Ira Wilsker, APCUG Director (approx. 1,206 words). Apple recently released a free version of its Safari 3 browser for Windows. While this is the first public release of an Apple-produced browser for Windows, many already have Apple software on their computers such as Quick Time. This browser might be one that you would like to check out since there is no conflict in having more than one browser on your computer.

A router can help protect your computer by Sandy Berger, CompuKISS www.compukiss.com (approx. 904 words). A few years ago you had probably not heard the term ‘router’ unless you used one in your wood working class in high school. Today, you hear much more about the word ‘router’ when it is used in conjunction with computers and the Internet.

Backing up a computer – Cloning vs Imaging by Al Edmister, a member of the Napa Valley PCUG, California www.nvpcug.org (approx. 1,660 words). Backing up your computer has always been an important and sometimes confusing subject. As most people know by now, backing up on the same HD only helps when the main file gets corrupted which really doesn’t happen very often. It is of no help when an HD fails; Al has had two HDs fail! RAID, Zip drives and more is covered in this article.

Blurbs from Bass by Steve Bass, PC World Columnist and Author (approx 970 words). Steve accumulated several of his blurbs and asked me to send them to you. Wonderful: Microsoft’s free Virtual PC; Gotcha! Geek Squad Caught Stealing Porn and other short blurbs, plus links to time killing videos, useful tools, and free directory assistance.

Building a PC for Vista by Dan Hanson, the Great Lakes Geek (approx. 669 words). The Great Lakes Geek needed to build a new PC for the Computers Assisting People Resource Center. It will be used for CAP operations but also so that the volunteers and others can become familiar with Windows Vista and learn about it the CAP way – hands on. Dan steps us through the process of building that PC.

Configuring Outlook Express by Dick Maybach, Columnist, Brookdale Computer User Group, New Jersey www.bcug.org (approx. 1,104 words). You can greatly improve your e-mail experience by properly configuring Outlook Express, which is the default Windows e-mail client and Dick shows us just how to do this.

Dumb Things to Avoid While Using Your Computer by Vinny La Bash, a member and regular columnist of the Sarasota PCUG, Florida www.spcug.org (approx. 1,042 words). To paraphrase a recent TV commercial, we all do dumb things, but doing them with your computer doesn’t have to be one of them. Check out his Dumb Mistakes to make sure you aren’t doing some of them.

Exploring Windows Explorer – Part 2 by Jim Sanders, Vice President, North Orange County Computer Club, California www.noccc.org (approx. 1,224 words). The first part of this series was in the June PUSH. Jim further explains how to use the ‘real’ Windows Explorer >

Improve Computing Pleasure with Free Widgets for Windows and Mac by Ira Wilsker, APCUG Director; Columnist, The Examiner, Beaumont TX; radio and TV show host (approx. 1,106 words). Many of us are extremely busy and often lack the time to search the Internet for items of frequent interest. Many of us have dull and boring desktops displayed on our monitors, often using the default images of our computer or software maker. Fortunately for us, there is a free service offered by Yahoo!, called widgets.

The New, the Best, and the Worst by Pim Borman, Webmaster, SW Indiana PC Users Group, Inc. http://swipcug.apcug.org/ (approx. 1,441 words). This article contains many lessons re Digital Cameras. We’ll all be taking better digital pictures after reading this article.

The Nightmare by Barry F. Phillips, a member of ccOKC and a frequent contributor to the eMonitor, Computer Club of Oklahoma City www.ccokc.org (approx. 602 words). Barry’s computer growled like some prehistoric monster rebelling at being awakened from a deep slumber and then checking my financial data online almost by habit. Terror pulsed through his veins as he no longer existed; all his personal data had been deleted! Another Fun, tongue-in-cheek article by Barry.

This and That by Elizabeth B. Wright, a member of ccOKC and a frequent contributor to the eMonitor, Computer Club of Oklahoma City www.ccokc.org (approx. 782 words). How much time are you spending upgrading both hardware and software? Elizabeth has found that much time and money are invested in trying to keep up with the times. Are you in the same boat or are you happy using the operating system and programs that you currently have on your computer.

Reviews

DustKleen^TM by Neil Longmuir, Winnipeg PCUG, www.wpcusrgrp.org (approx. 1,304 words). DustKleen is an innovative stand-alone application from Image Trends Inc. It will automatically remove most dirt and dust from any scanned images regardless of the source. Neil’s rating is 5 Stars +

Freshly Squeezed Review: I Move Me by Frank Petrie (approx. 737 words). Remember when you were a kid and dinosaurs roamed the Earth. What was on TV? Mainly cartoons and claymation. And with the advent of YouTube, et al., they’re both making a comeback. I Can Animate lets you create stunning movies using a variety of animation techniques.

Network Warrior by David Boyes (approx. 1,373 words). This book is a collection of notes and process recipes to solve common problems found in commercial networks. Overall, the book provides a large number of useful bits and the last three chapters on how to work the system ought to be required reading for just about anyone in the IT world who actually has to deal directly with customers or other technicians (i.e., everyone).

Photoshop CS3 by Ton Ekvall, newsletter editor for Northeast Wisconsin PCUG www.webpages.charter.net/newpcug (approx. 1,391 words). Some things just keep getting better. And the latest release of Photoshop CS3 is no exception. The new release offers major enhancements that will appeal to present Photoshop users as well as to those interested in transitioning to Photoshop CS3 from Photoshop Elements or other similar products.

OpenOffice by Ronnie Ugulano, Fresno PCUG, California, newsletter editor http://fresnocomputerusers.org (approx. 836 words). I didn’t have time to monkey around, it had to work out of the box. Ronnie got an email from the FPCUG Board saying that they would like to be able to offer the newsletter in PDF for easy printing. The dilemma was what to use that would easily turn into a PDF. Ronnie remembered that OpenOffice, the available-free office suite program, has a PDF converted built into it’s word processing program, and there’s a Windows version and the rest was history.

WildForm WildPresenter Pro by Gregory West, Editor, SCUG Report, Sarnia CUG, Canada (approx. 648 words). Flash is one of the most widely utilized and viewed multimedia formats on the Internet today. There are a lot of video copying and video presentation programs boasting to be the best. However, the question one must ask is “Do they do what they claim to, and do they actually accomplish these processes with ease and professionalism?” The answer to t his I will leave alone for you to decide. However, I personally can speak for WildPresenter Pro, version 3.204: It accomplishes both with a relative ease and simplicity requiring little computer knowledge to create professional Flash media.

Zoo Tycoon 2: Zookeeper’s Collection by Rhonda and James Winterhalter, ICON Computer Users Group, Missouri www.icon.org (approx. 1,728 words). This game could easily capture the interest of all age levels. Grandparents looking for a great item to have around for the grandchildren should be sure to read this review!

IraWilsker–iwilsker(at)apcug.net

Steve Bass –stevebass(at)earthlink.net)

PimBorman-Swipcug(at)gmail.com

VinnyLa Bash –vlabash(at)comcast.net

Dan Hanson – cap(at)magnuminc.com

Elizabeth B. Wright –james(at)qns.com

Brian K. Lewis –bwsailat yahoo dot com

Barry F. Phillips –bfpdata(at)1access.net

Sandy Berger – sandy(at)compukiss.com

Jim Sanders –vicepresident(at)noccc.org

DickMaybach– n2nd(at)att.net

AlEdmister–aeinnapa(at)aol.com