SLO Bytes Newsletter - October 2013 - PUSH Article Descriptions

Apps for Windows 8: What can they do for me?, Phil Sorrentino, Past President, Sarasota PCUG (approx. 1364 words). 20 Apps are included with Windows 8 and can give a new user a good idea of what Apps are, what they can accomplish, and how to basically control them. Phil lists all 20 with a short description.

iPad/iPhone App – BUMP, review by Bill Crowe, 2nd VP, Sarasota PCUG (approx. 151 words). Use Bump to share contact information and photos by sampling bumping two phones together – sounds like a fun app.

CD-R and DVD+-R Longevity: How Long Will They Last?, by John Langill, Editor, Southern Tier Personal Computing Club (approx. 1,946 words). Thinking back 10 or more years, one may recall that a single CD-R then offered a relatively large data storage capacity in a form that could be easily and inexpensively mailed anywhere in the world – something that could not be accomplished via the Internet or with other ‘portable’ media at the time. Accordingly, the durability and life-expectancy of the CD-Rs that John created years ago has become an increasing concern. How long will they last?

Computer Entertainment, Jim Cerny, Director, Sarasota PC Users Group (approx. 768 words). Are you old enough to remember sitting around watching the radio and listening to the Lone Ranger or other programs? Then came TV, movies, records, tapes, and DVDs; John gives you a quick overview of the almost infinite entertainment possibilities with computer devices.

Corel PaintShop Pro – Raster and Vector Objects by Lynn Page, Editor, Crystal River Users Group (approx. 476 words). When Lynn first started using PaintShop Pro one of the things that confused her is the difference between raster and vector objects. She explains a little of what she learned in this article.

Free Internet Faxing Services: No Fax Machine Required! by Bob Rankin, Ask Bob Rankin (approx. 939 words). Dump your fax machine, the Internet has made this dinosaur obsolete. Think of the savings on toner, paper, and time when all you really need these days is a cell phone, PDA, or PC.

Home Networks by Dick Maybach, Member, Brookdale Computer UG (approx. 1,663 words). Learning about networks, especially the Internet, can easily become mind-numbing, largely because the field is so full of jargon and acronyms. While it isn’t possible to escape this morass completely, we can make it somewhat more manageable by approaching the topic in two stages: (1) a single computer connected to the Internet and (2) a home network connected to the Internet.

How to Find a Lost Document and Other Filing Tips by Nancy DeMarte, 1st VP, Sarasota PCUG (approx. 952 words). I suppose you’re thinking this could never happen – but it does. You have a large number of folders full of documents and photos on your computer, one day you need to find a letter that you wrote and saved a week ago but can’t remember what name you gave it or which folder you saved it in. Nancy to the rescue with ways to find that document.

How to Write, Publish and Promote Your Book for Free Using Technology by Bohdan O. Szuprowicz, member, Sarasota PCUG (approx.. 801 words). Millions of people all over the world want to write and publish a memoir, a novel, or share their grandmother’s favorite recipes. They spend months and years chasing agents and publishers only to face endless rejections. Times have changed; this article gives you the info to become an author, publisher, and promoter of anything you want to write, whenever you want to do it, and all without spending any money in doing so.

Interesting Internet Finds for July by Steve Costello, President & Editor, Boca Raton Computer Society. July – 190 words; July 148 words.

Interesting Internet Finds for August by Steve Costello, President & Editor, Boca Raton Computer Society. July – 190 words; July 148 words.

The Mac Corner – July 2013, by Danny Uff, Lehigh Valley Computer Group (approx. 327 words). How to use your Mac’s utility called Dick Utility.

Network Debugging by Dick Maybach, Member, Brookdale Computer Users Group (approx. 1,382 words). When your network acts up, the first issue you must resolve is whether this is your problem or belongs to your Internet Service Provider. Dick tells you how to perform some preventive maintenance to find out what’s wrong.

Nomad Bag, Review by George Harding, Treasurer and Program Review Chair, Tucson Computer Society (approx. 393 words). Are you in the market for a new bag to carry your laptop and all your other stuff? This just might be the one for you.

The Other Side of the Street Monthly Column – Google by Bill Hart, Member, The PCUG of Connecticut (approx. 911 words). Google, it seems, has not just the most wonderful web search device in its arsenal, it is also accused of collecting private data from its clients (that’s us) – far more than we necessarily know or suspect. No one in this country seems to bother about that much, but in Europe….

Michael Freeman’s Photo School Fundamentals reviewed by Tanya Mattson, Librarian, Computer Users of Erie (approx. 841 words). Photo School fundamentals is the photography book for beginners and advanced photographers alike, giving very basic steps, challenges and reviews of some of Freeman’s real students in the book.

iPad Application – Photo Transfer review by Bill Crowe, 2nd VP, Sarasota PCUG (approx. 225 words). Photo Transfer App as its name suggests is an app that makes it easy to transfer photos (and videos) over Wi-Fi – from iPhone or iPad to a computer, and between your iOS devices.

Preserving Memories in a Digital Age by Mike Hancock, Advertising Manager, Golden Gate Computer Society (approx. 815 words). More than 30 years ago-in 1982- videotapes came to the market. By now, though many are degenerating; this article is a review of GGCS’ June 24 general meeting by enumerating the probable life spans of various media.

The Smiley Face Turned 22 years old September 19 by Art Gresham, Editor, Under the Computer Hood UG (approx. 342 words). Find out how the Smiley Face was born.

Some Thoughts on Windows 8, by Tom Kuklinski, President, Computer Users of Erie (approx. 824 words). Windows 8 is about a year old and the OS is actually off to a good start in terms of licenses sold. MC claims over 100 million sold so far. That is not bad. In fact, that is really great; it’s about what Windows 7 sold in its first six months.

Take One Tablet and Text Me in the Morning by Greg Skalka, President, Under the Computer Hood UG (approx. 1,743 words). Greg has been pretty lucky with contests this year. His winning started at his group’s January meeting where he won the copy of Office Pro 2010 that MS gave away at their party at the San Diego MS store. Then at a local electronics component trade show in May he won a drawing for an iPad Mini. Though it was the low-cost 16GB Wi-Fi version, it was still a more expensive tablet than he would have bought for himself. Greg’s article covers how he has used his new iPad.

The Tip Corner – June 2013, Bill Sheff, Novice SIG Coordinator, Lehigh Valley Computer Group (approx. 1,346 words). Tips for: Making a copy of your file listing, Keep your PC clean with MS Security Essentials, Personalize Your Gmail Inbox Background with a Photo, Erase Your HD, and more.

The Tip Corner – July 2013, Bill Sheff, Novice SIG Coordinator, Lehigh Valley Computer Group (approx. 2,356 words). Tips for: Custom Installs, Digital Assets, Flickr Improvements, Menu Folder, HD Full, + more.

The Web of Unintended Consequences by Greg Skalka, President, Under the Computer Hood UG (approx. 1,484 words). For all of the recent HS graduates, the WWW has been around all of their lives, Even most new college grads have never known a time without the web. Though the Internet, a global computer network, has existed since the 1960s, The WWW has existed publicly for only 20 years.

Web Tracking is Monitoring our Every Move by Sandy Berger, CompuKISS (approx. 676 words). Web tracking has gotten completely out of hand! The government is snooping on everything we do. On top of that, sharing of information between companies for advertising purposes has reached a level of alarming sophistication. Sandy shares his story about that they do and how they do it.

What to do if you think your email has been hacked by John King, Contributing Editor, Golden Gate Computer Society (approx. 479 words). The first thing to do if you worry about email hacking is to change your email account password to something more complex than 123456. For best security, use a password such a Q*93im#$qrR-57$. You’ll never remember it and won’t have any more email problems (insert snicker).

What I Would Change If I Were in Charge by Jim Cerny, Director, Sarasota PCUG (approx. 722 words). Jim is a big fan of technology – he enjoys it! To him, his computer devices (including his tablet and phone) and the things they can do for him are totally amazing. He doesn’t mean to be rude – maybe just a bit amusing and gives us his “top ten” list of the things he would change if he were in charge.

Windows 8: New App Controls – Start Screen and Charms Bar by Phil Sorrentino, Past President, Sarasota PCUG (approx. 1,174 words). Apps are what make mobile devices –tablets and phones- so useful. That should sound familiar, it was the same opening statement as his Windows 8 Apps article and it’s still very true. Apps rule. Apps are different from computer programs that operate on the Windows 7 Desktop.

Windows 8.1 Update Unveiled by Rosita Herrick, Director, Sarasota PCUG (approx. 343 words). Well, the Web is alive with blogs, videos, and general information about MS’s first large update to Windows 8. It is a major update with quite a few modifications.

Windows Shortcuts by Cheryl Wester, Program Chair, Temecula Valley Computer UG (approx. 248 words). Cheryl has never been one to use shortcuts but, as the proud owner of several Windows 8 systems, her goal has been to use shortcuts to see if it works better for her. The verdict is still out but she does try and shares some of the shortcuts she uses with you.

Window XP’s Swan Song – Time is Running Out! by Bill James, Editor & Webmaster, Computer Club of Oklahoma City (approx. 581 words). This is the article you should read if you are still using Windows XP. It’s 13 years old and still represents a 37% share of all desktop OSs worldwide as of June 2013. However, time is marching on and MS has announced that starting April 8, 2014, there will be no more patches or updates – including security ones – issued for XP.

These articles have been provided to APCUG by the author solely for publication by APCUG member groups. All other uses require the permission of the author (see e-mail address above).