PUSH Articles - December 2017

Back to Google Earth, Len Nasman, Bristol Village Computer Club (Approx. 269 words). There seems to be no end to the global data base available through Google Earth. The Google Street View image collection continues to expand with pictures taken from cars, carts, back pack cameras, and even underwater cameras.

Black Friday Once Again, Greg Skalka, Under the Computer Hood UG (Approx. 1661 words). It finally feels like it should be the holiday season. After having to put up with the sight of Christmas trees and decorations for sale in Costco since Halloween and Christmas music creeping in on the radio, Thanksgiving has finally passed. Time for holiday shooting.

Can You Beat the Bots? David Kretchmar, Sun City Summerlin Computer Club (Approx. 816 words). When tickets for a musical he wanted to see went on sale at the Smith Center's website, he immediately went on line to buy tickets. He was surprised to learn that only a few scattered seats remained, even though tickets had only been on sale for a few hours.

Chromebooks for Seniors, Rich Davis, Computer Booters of Sun Lakes (Approx. 445 words). Chromebooks are laptops that use Google's operating system. They are quite inexpensive as compared to a Windows or Apple machine. Rich's newest Chromebook is 15" and was $129.00 as a refurbished item.

Creating a Newsletter in Writer, Joel Ewing, Bella Vista Computer Club (Approx. 1613 words). There are software applications designed explicitly for creating formal publications, but many small organizations don't require newsletters with highly professional formats and many groups depend on volunteer editors wh9o lack the time to produce such a document, even if they were able to afford the software. Enter Writer, one of Region 6/7 Advisor John Kennedy's favorite software. FYI, I started my newsletter 25 years ago with WordPerfect 5.1 and changed to Word when I started teaching that class in adult ed. JT

Elevate, a new type of cognitive training tool by Frank Petrie (from the Brookdale August newsletter) - Approx. 1178 words). With Apple's focus on health apps, it has become easier to track your physical activity, y our nutrition, your sleep cycle, your nutritional intake, and even manager your stress. One aspect that doesn't draw enough attention is strengthening your mental fitness. Elevate is most effective and comprehensive; Apple selected is at the App of the Year.

Ernie's Mac Tips - September-November, Green Valley Computer Club (Approx. 192 words).

Facebook Extra, Bob Schultz, Lake-Sumter Computer Society (Approx. 449 words). Facebook is either loved or hated by computer/smartphone users. Some think it is a way for people to show how important they are or how much "stuff" they have. Others believe it is a way to maintain or find lost friends.

High-Tech Remembering, Greg Skalka, Under the Computer Hood UG (Approx. 1701 words). As we get older, our human memory seems to fail us. For some of us, this seems to start at a relatively early age, while others have good recall into our twilight years. Our technology today is filled with memories of various kinds - volatile and non-volatile, fast and slow, large and small capacity.

How to Add Your Signature to Emails, Nancy DeMarte, Sarasota Technology UG (Approx. 547 words). If you send a lot of email messages, it can be a good idea to create one or more standard message signatures. These can be time-savers and can be personalized, depending on the audience; for instance, one for personal messages and one for work (or volunteering).

Interesting Interest Finds - September (380 words),
October (318 words)
November (345 words), Steve Costello, Boca Raton Computer Society.

Introduction to Personal Digital Security and Privacy, Danbury Area Computer society meeting review by John Kinkopf (Approx. 2170 words). Robert Hurlbut is an independent software security consultant and co-hose of the Application Security Podcast. Asked from the audience which anti-virus software he uses, Robert answered rather provocatively: none!

iPad and Smartphone - Together at Last - Northern Neck Computer Users Group meeting review by George Cadmus (Approx. 1309 words). Gabe Goldberg, Region 2 Advisor, started the presentation by giving his experience with a tablet and smartphone. He decided to purchase an iPad just for the experience of having one and to see what they were all about.

Is your cell phone CDMA or GSM? - Should you care? Phil Sorrentino, The Computer Club (Approx. 1126 words). The short answer to the second question is "probably no," but there are some benefits from knowing the differences that may help you decide which cell phone provider or cell phone to choose.

Meet the many members of the Arduino family, Dick Maybach, Brookdale Computer Users' Group (Approx. 1349 words). The Arduino is a controller rather than a complete computer like the Raspberry Pi; it's much simpler and getting started with it is far easier.

Microsoft Windows 10 Tips App, Barbara Gravitz, The PCUG of Connecticut (Approx. 76 words) with screen shots.

Open Software of the Month - August, Geof Goodrum, Potomac Area Technology and Computer Society (Approx. 784 words). DAR, FS-UAE, Rigs of Rod and more….

Musings of an Apple Tyro - July, Lorrin Garson, Potomac Area Technology and Computer Society (Approx. 898 words). Keylogger on HP Computers, Microsoft Surface Studio, An iCar? And more….

Potpourri of Tips, Golden Gate Computer Society meeting review (Approx. 1161 words). Password Managers, Sniping tool, Link shorteners and more…

Raspberry Pi by Dick Maybach, Brookdale Computer Users' Group (Approx.1480 words). Dick introduced the Arduino in his August article; this month he does the same for Raspberry Pi.

The Tile review, Matt Batt, The Computer Club (Approx. 532 words). Do you spend as much time looking for your keys as Matt does? He's been able to solve this problem using a Bluetooth tracker known as a Tile….

Scams, Fraud and ID Theft, Part II - Quad-Cities Computer Society meeting review by Joe Durham (Approx. 1344 words). In the recent months, the story of crime has become a bit more prominent on TV. Hank described the rash of car thefts that have occurred in our area. These thefts have been committed by kids 12 - 15 years of age….

Smart TVs, Dan Douglas, Space Coast PCUG (Approx. 686 words). If you haven't shopped for a new TV in the past few years, you are in for an education. There are now as many acronyms that you come across when selecting a TV as there is in buying a PC.

Toshiba Laptop Display Replacement, Scott Savary, The PC Users Group of CT (Approx. 385 words). Out Toshiba laptop developed a black spot on the lower right-hand corner of the screen. As time passed it grew and grew until we had to decide as to whether we wanted to replace the screen of the computer.

Using an iPad to reach a Person Living with Dementia, meeting review by Mike McGrath (Approx. 884 words). Their presenter provided an extremely interesting and thought-provoking presentation on "Using an iPad to Reach a Person Living with Dementia." Could technology help him find a way to engage his wife in activities, so they could enjoy their time together, stimulate her mind, elicit a response from her, get her to smile, laugh, bring her out of her "Dementia shell" and to "create moments of joy."

Wayne's Computer Class Tips - August, Wayne Johnson, Golden Gate Computer Society (Approx. 330 words). Cheap smartphones, NFC, Malware attacks beyond your computer, and more….

Web Surfing for Music by Len Nasman, Bristol Village Computer Club (Approx. 725 words). Len had a little time to kill one day, so he went web surfing. One category of things he investigated with strange musical instruments.

What do you do with your Computer - Besides shopping? Phil Sorrentino, The Computer Club (Approx. 1176 words). A long time ago, circa 1980, when personal computers first made their appearance, there was very little that us ordinary citizens would do with them.

Wi-Fi - 2.4 or 5GHZ, Carol Picard, Midland Computer Club (Approx. 926 words). Carol normally has acceptable network speeds throughout her house but one day, while downloading files to her desktop computer, which has a PCI wireless network card, she was only getting 3 Mbps download speed.

Windows 10 for Dummies Review, Choy Lai and Clemens Pratt, Melbourne PCUG (Approx. 665 words). This book is not just for dummies! The "for Dummies" tag merely indicates that its treatment of the subject is a simple step-by-step guide for navigating through both the old and new features of Windows 10.

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