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SLO Bytes Newsletter - December 2011 - PUSH Articles Index

This and That by Elizabeth Wright

A Tablet for the Holidays by Vinny LaBash, Sarasota PCUG, FL (approx. 874 words). The first thing you need to know about buying a tablet is that you are not going to get top dollar performance for a bottom dollar price. You get what you pay for.

Acronis True Image Home 2012 by Herb Goldstein, Sarasota PCUG, FL (approx. 1,235 words). In order for a computer to work it needs software. The primary basic and necessary of which is its operating system. That being satisfied, your computer becomes a storehouse of data and information you provide to it. Unfortunately there are a multitude of pitfalls and quagmires that can easily destroy all that vital and irreplaceable data in the blink of an eye. You need Acronis True Image Home to ensure you don’t lose everything on your HD if it fails.

Broadsides compiled by Ron Broadhurst, Space Coast PCUG, FL (approx. 860 words). In this article, you will find information about how to customize the CTRL+ATL+DEL screen in Windows 7 Pro and above, how to display shortcuts and files in the Computer folder, Shortcut to create new folders in Windows 7, how to insert a blank page and inserting the date and time.

Choosing a Smartphone by Sandy Berger, CompuKISS (approx. 1,044 words). There are so many different smartphones available today that choosing between them can be difficult. Each phone and each operating system has many different pluses and minuses. This article gives you a brief rundown of what you can expect in a smartphone.

Discovering Windows 7 – Part 20 by Neil Stahfest, Tacoma Area PCUG, WA (approx. 751 words). This article is about the Recycle Bin and Part 21 (approx. 498 words) covers customizing the Start Menu.

Diskeeper 2011 – George Harding, Tucson Computer Society, AZ approx. 384 words). One of the essential parts of your computer, the hard disk, is also one that can cause the computer to be unable to boot. The Windows operating system provides tools to keep your hard disk in good health. Fragmentation of files is one of the consequences of efficient space utilization. This is one of my must-have utilities (Judy).

Family Tree Maker 2011 (Part 5A) by Mary Phillips, ICON Users Group, MO (approx. 800 words). This part is about Tab 5 – Publish and Mary thinks this is a really fun section. Here is where you can print out all types of beautiful charts and reports.

Part 5B covers the reports you can create in Tab B – Publish.

File Name Extensions – Why They Are Important by Penny Cano, Cajun Clickers Computer Club (approx. 760 words). From the time of DOS through windows XP, a file extension was a “dot” followed by three characters at the end of the file’s name - .JPG, .DOC, and .PDF to name a few. With Vista and Windows 7, the file extension is no longer limited to three characters but is still preceded by a “dot” (.DOCX and CONTACT for example).

Flickr: A look inside the photostream by Larry Klees, Orange County PCUG, CA (approx. 391 words). Millions of photos fly around the world every second with the aid of numerous applications. Larry like Flickr and anyone with an Internet access can have a free Flickr account.

LXDE by Cal Esneault, Cajun Clickers Computer Club, LA (approx. 472 words). The Linux OS permits users to select from many front-end desktop environments (the interface software that controls mouse, touch screen, icons, etc.). LSDE (Lightweight X11 Desktop Environment) is a simple approach more suitable for netbooks, mobile devices, or older PCs.

Nero 10 Multimedia Suite Platinum by George Harding, Tucson Computer Society, AZ (approx. 465 words). The Suite has a number of applications bundled onto one CD-ROM. There are 17 applications in the package, but the bottom line is four basic functions are provided: Music, Video & Photo, Data and Tools.

Office 2007’s Magical Spelling & Grammar Checker by Nancy DeMarte, Sarasota PCUG, FL (approx. 1,027 words). Amount the hundreds of tools which are part of the Word, PowerPoint and Outlook programs within the Microsoft Office 2007 and 2010 suites, none is as useful and under-utilized by home users as the Spelling Grammar Checker.

Roadmate 9055-LM GPS by George Harding, Tucson Computer Society, AZ (approx. 807 words). There are many manufacturers of GPS driving devices; one of the best is Magellan and George was provided with the 9055-OM review---what a pleasure!

Say No Thank You to New Toolbar by Leo Notenboom, Articles by Leo! (approx. 525 words). Have you ever had a new toolbar suddenly “appear” in your browser? Although it might not seem like you agreed to install it, the likelihood is that you did.

Shut down, Sleep, Hibernate – Which one, when and why? By Phil Sorrentino, Sarasota PCUG, FL (approx. 908 words). The reason for using one of these powered down modes will differ depending on the type of computer, desktop or laptop, and the need to quickly get back to the operating mode after a pause in operation.

Streaming Video Presentation by Mike Kalischnee, meeting review by Richard Corzo, Danbury Computer Society, CT (approx. 413 words). Mike explained the options, both services and devices you can hook up to your TV. He spoke about the many ways you can watch Internet TV on your television.

The Tip Corner by Bill Sheff, Leigh Valley Computer Group, PA (approx., 1,463 words). This tip article covers Fixing USB hard drives, Burning DVD discs in Windows 7, recording home videos to DVD, sharing digital photos the easy way, burning a DVD from an image file, and a one column excel tip.

Too Scared to Buy Anything Online? By Lee Seidman, Business Professional Microcomputer UG, CT (approx. 797 words). Lots of consumers find purchasing goods online intimidating; news reports of identity theft, online piracy, and privacy concerns only deteriorates people’s confidence in buying things on the Internet.

USB 3.0 – The Super-Speed Bus by Andrew Petrovic, Ottawa PCUG, Canada (approx. 1,357 words). This is an introduction to a new and upcoming development – the USB version 3.0 as this technology will become mainstream in a fairly short time.

Whose Kids are you Anyway? By Bill Ellis, Computer Users of Erie, PA (approx. 1,228 words). At one of their genealogy SIG meetings, they discussed how to add children to a marriage, so a descendant report, Family tree or a lineage chart came out right. If the kids are linked to anyone other than their birth parents, you will see several marriages having the same kids. This will make the reports inaccurate and confusing.

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

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