Hello All,
This is a re-post of information provided by Judy Taylour, SLO Bytes' APCUG Representative
Ralph Sutter

January 27 – Drones Wednesday Workshop
February 13 – Winter Virtual Technology Conference
February 24 – Modems, Routers, and Wi-Fi Wednesday Workshop
 
1/27/21
Drones workshop registration – https://forms.gle/xFNMfrahAJpk1FCy7
Registration closes 11:30 pm on January 26.
 
Drones and Autonomous Flight with Larry Fortna, President, Lakes At Leesburg Computer and Technology Club
 
Autonomous Drone Flights using a DJI entry-level drone called the Mavic Mini. Maybe you got a drone for Christmas, or maybe you've thought about buying one? Maybe you're just curious how they do that. Pay attention to the TV shows and movies and you will see drones being used in nearly every instance.
 
From HDR photography to field mapping to flying commercially or pleasure, learn how drones can be used for fun and profit. 
 
 
2/13/21
VTC registration - https://forms.gle/sF51uC1NCNdmfNLo7
Registration closes at 11:30 pm on Friday, February 12.
 
Track 1 – 1 pm ET
 
How to…. Make an informed decision when buying a 2021 Printer
Ron Brown, Program Coordinator, Silvercom Computer & Technology Club
 
What are your options for choosing a printer in 2021? Selecting a printer to meet your printing requirements is very important. Printers also function as scanners, copiers, and print your most cherished pictures. This presentation will look at the many choices you have and how to select the best device for you. Ron will also discuss the many on-line services available in your community and the recent changes at Costco.
 
2 pm ET
 
How to…. Use the Windows Tips App
Hewie Poplock, APCUG Rep, Central Florida Computer Society; Board Member, Sarasota Technology Users’ Group
 
Do you want to learn more about the new features in a Windows 10 update? Hewie goes through the 12 cards and illustrates many of the tips so you can get the most out of Windows 10.
 
3 pm ET
 
How to…. Use CCleaner for more than cleaning your hard drive
Bob Gostischa, Avast Evangelist
 
We know that CCleaner removes unused files from our computer and traces of our online activities. But, have you explored the other tools that CCleaner offers? Bob will give us an overview of the many options you have when using CCleaner.
 
Track 2 – 1 pm ET
 
How to…. Set up a Free BLOG on Blogger.com
Kelly Galvin, Author,  PowerPoint Ranger: My Iraq War Logs
Powerpoint Ranger Website
 
Still, Stuck at Home? Set up a Free BLOG on Blogger.com. Kelly outlines how to avoid “Cabin Fever” after spending so much time at home by taking advantage of that time and your tools to write.
 
2 pm ET
 
How to..... play online board games with Tabletop Simulator
John Kennedy, APCUG Advisor for Regions 3 and 6/7; Speakers Bureau member; East-Central Ohio Technology Users Club Webmaster and and Christopher Kennedy, composer/arranger and owner of ck421productions specializing in music and sound design.
 
Join John and his son while they show you how to set up and play "on-line" board games with Tabletop Simulator; something that John and Bette do once a week with their son and daughter-in-law in Nevada.
 
3 pm ET
 
How to…. use some of the changes in iOS 14
Joe Dietz, Vice President, Central Kentucky Computer Society
 
Joe’s presentation will be an overview of some of the changes in the iPhone’s operating system. Information that will be covered includes how to add Widgets to your home page, new features to the photo app that includes adding captions to photos, using the App Library, how to do Burst Shortcut and QuickTake Videos, pinning conversations in the Messages App, and many more tips.
 
Sign in to Zoom with your computer or tablet and use your iPhone to join Joe as he shows us some of the new features.
 
 
2/24/21
 
Modems, Routers, and Wi-Fi workshop registration - https://forms.gle/vnh6VLkJVZCjA9ux9
Registration closes at 11:30 pm on February 23.
 
Modems, Routers, and Wi-Fi with Bill James, APCUG Advisor, Region 8, Speaker Bureau Member, VP for the Computer Club of Oklahoma
We all want fast, reliable, and secure Internet. This workshop will discuss the latest developments in modems and router hardware, buying and using your own equipment,  and best practices for setup and deployment. We will discuss Wi-Fi as the best option and how it fits into Home Automation; demystify terms like WPA, WiFi-6, 802.11, Ethernet, and DOCIS 3.1. We also discuss the pros and cons of using a professional tech service to solve our technical difficulties. If one or more of these topics piques your interest, then this 2-hour workshop is for you. We will conclude with a robust Q&A.
 

Hello All,
I am an avid coffee roaster.  I buy green beans either locally or on-line and then roast them in a Kaldi roaster.
Successful roasting requires that one control the temperature and the roasting time.  In the past, I used a hand-held thermocouple, writing down time and temperature.  What I really wanted was to have all this information automatically recorded on a computer with a data logger.

After several false starts, I finally accomplished that goal.  I purchased a Heat Snob; https://heatsnob.com/Shop.html data logger and connected it to my PC laptop.  Now, when I roast, a time and temperature graph appears on my monitor using Roast Monitor, the included companion software for Heat Snob.  I click a button when I start the roast, when it reaches First Crack, Second Crack and when I dump the beans. 

I then save that roasting profile and use it as a template to follow the next time that I roast the same variety of coffee.
The new roast graph overlays the earlier roast so it is easy to duplicate time and temperature.

To learn more about my coffee roasting, see www.fullbean.com/coffee/coffee.html.  Details on my Kaldi roaster can be found at the following locations
https://www.fullbean.com/coffee/kaldi/index.html
and https://www.fullbean.com/coffee/kaldi/kaldi-modifications.docx

Ralph Sutter

Hello All,
Here are my notes from the SLO Bytes Photo Group meeting of 01/10/2021

TOPIC: Water  The meeting took place via Zoom

Ralph Sutter opened the meeting by calling the group's attention to the posts made by member Doug Depue on the SLO Bytes Bulletin in which he shares his thoughts on the subject. View them at https://slobytes.org/smf/index.php/topic,518.0.html

Sutter continued with shots of fountains, ponds and lakes. He followed with a slow motion/freeze frame video of water dropping in a bowl.

Stanford Brown illustrated the many forms in which water is used; in drinking, bathing and playing; filling aquariums, ponds and kitty bowls.

Alan Raul captured images of water around the Pismo Beach and Avila Beach areas.
He also provided a link to more of his images here…
https://www.365.acdsee.com/en/album/alan/2184651/
http://www.slolug.com/demo/
Alan used Adobe Premiere Elements to strip out separate video frames of movies shot with a GoPro camera.
His video clips of the polar bear dip on New Years eve was stitched together using the same program.
Other pictures were modified using Skylum Aurora HDR.

Kaye Raul explored the seashore finding images of fishermen, seagulls and seascapes. She then enhanced the pictures by altering the sky with Luminar AI.

Bob Ward tracked water through its 3 forms showing snow, ponds and falling water. He demonstrated how to alter the look of flowing water by varying the shutter speed and camera ISO.

Doug Depue offered numerous water shots that he found on line, interspersed with some of his own images of local historical floods.

John Waller followed water from the crop irrigation beside his house and then showed waterfalls from Salmon Creek to Little Falls to Yosemite Falls.

Bob Styerwalt began showing a glass of water and then expanded to images of Morro Rock, the Hearst Castle outdoor pool, Lake Cachuma and Lake Arrowhead.

Our next meeting will take place on February 14th. The topic is Close-up Photography.

The meeting will take place via Zoom. A Zoom invitation will be e-mailed to Photo Group members shortly before the meeting

Ralph Sutter

Hello All,
Here is a .pdf of Sharan Kalwan's presentation on Linux given at a 12/30/2020 Zoom session of the APCUG webinar on 12/30/2020.
Ralph Sutter

Hello All,
If you are trying to decide which Linux distro you should use, you may find the link below useful
https://distrochooser.de/en
The site opens with a questionaire to help you select a Linux distro that matches your needs and the capabilities of your hardware.
Ralph Sutter

Hello All,
The recording of the Second APCUG webinar on the Linux operating system is now available at
https://youtu.be/9R1mZdKvRe0
Two more sessions will follow.  They are
   Part 3 - December 2, 2020 - Distros and Desktops
   Part 4 - December 16, 2020 - Software, Applications, and Package Management
Ralph Sutter

Hello All,
SLO Bytes' parent group, APCUG, is presenting a series of webinars focusing on the Linux Operating Systems.
The first presentation took place on 10/28/2020.
A video of that first Zoom session is now available at https://youtu.be/NtXeFPOg9Gg

Here is the schedule
Part 1 - October 28, 2020 - A General Introduction
Part 2 - November 18, 2020 - Getting and Installing Linux
Part 3 - December 2, 2020 - Distros and Desktops
Part 4 - December 16, 2020 - Software, Applications, and Package Management

Ralph Sutter

Hello All,
I just purchased a Lenovo C940 touchscreen laptop from BestBuy for $1,199 plus tax.
See https://www.bestbuy.com/site/lenovo-yoga-c940-2-in-1-14-4k-ultra-hd-touch-screen-laptop-intel-core-i7-16gb-memory-512gb-ssd-32gb-optane-mica/6369421.p
This will be a Christmas gift.
It incorporates many of the features of my current Lenovo X1 Yoga at about half the price.
Relevant specs for the new machine  (For a more exhaustive list see https://www.fullbean.com/computer/yogac940.jpg)
Screen Resolution:  3840 x 2160 (4K)
Processor:  10th gen Intel i7 1.3ghz
Screen Size:  14"
Memory:  16Gb
Storage:  512Gb SSD with Optane Accelerator
2-in-1 Design
Fingerprint reader
Stylus
Headphone Jack
Number of USB 3.0 Type A Ports 1
Number of Thunderbolt 3 Ports 2

Features lacking
No card reader
Only 1 USB 3.0 Type A Port
No Ethernet Jack

All in all, I think that it will more than meet the needs of the person to whom I will gift it.
Ralph Sutter