Hello All,

The handouts from the Summer 2018 APCUG Virtual Technology Conference have been uploaded to the APCUG web site.
They are available at the address below.
https://apcug2.org/apcug-2018-summer-virtual-technology-conference-vtc29/
The page begins with attendee comments followed by descriptions of each session.  The link to each handout is at the bottom of the respective descriptions.

Ralph Sutter

Hello All,
At the SLO Bytes Linux meeting of 08/09/18, I observed that the disk partitioning utility, GParted greyed out the option to format a disk in exFat.  Supposedly, this ability was removed to avoid conflicts with Microsoft, the owner of the format.
Today, I opened GParted from inside PartedMagic version 2018_04_30.  exFat was not greyed out and I successfully formatted a partition to that scheme.

Before I was able to read or write to the exFat drive, I had to install a program via the terminal.  Open the terminal and type sudo apt-get install exfat-fuse exfat-utils

Ralph Sutter

Hello All,
SLO Bytes' parent organization, APCUG, has scheduled another Virtual Technology Conference .
It takes place on line Saturday, August 18, 2018 beginning at 10:00 am Pacific Time
The conference consists of 2 separate tracks, each offering 3 50 minute sessions.
Here are the topics
TRACK 1
10:00 PM PT
What's New with Chromebooks in 2018
Ron Brown, Program Chair, Silvercom Computer and Technology Club
This presentation will give a brief history of the Chrome OS and look at new Chromebook laptops, Tablets and Chromeboxes for 2018.

11:00 AM PT
Tech Tips and Apple Tech Tips on APCUG’s Website
Jere Minich, Lake-Sumter Program Chair; APCUG Advisor, Region 5
Jere will share his sources for getting the info that is on Jere’s Tech Tips and Apple Tech Tips on APCUG’s website.
 
Noon PT
Digital Afterlife
Phillip “Phil” Bock, President, Lake County Area Computer Enthusiasts
With the myriad opportunities that the Internet provides, we are likely to have many online accounts. We are also likely to accumulate lots of documents, photos, music, videos and other digital files on our computers, external drives and cloud storage accounts. What happens to those digital accounts and files if we become incapacitated or die? How do we make our wishes known, and who will carry them out?
The Internet also allows us to live on (digitally) after our death, by leaving digital accounts open and available to friends and family and/or by enrolling in services which specialize in communicating posthumously on our behalf.
Interested in learning more about our digital afterlife? Phil Bock will take us through an overview and suggest sources we can turn to for more information and assistance.

TRACK 2
10:00 AM PT
Digital Terrorism and Hate 2018
An update on the continued use of Internet technology by extremists.
Rick Eaton, Senior Researcher, Simon Wiesenthal Center
The web has become an increasingly popular place for hate groups to congregate, and in many ways hide in plain sight, using the latest trends in technology to communicate, organize and add members. Rick’s presentation focuses on what has become a critical global frontier in the marketing of hate and terrorism. The troubling increase in sophistication that extremists are demonstrating in spreading their messages online and the need for a coalition of corporations, parents, educators, non-profit organizations, and governments that can empower young people to mobilize in fighting hate.

11:00 AM PT
Linux and the ham radio "Internet"
Orv Beach, Training Chair, Southern California Linux Expo; Technical Specialist, American Radio Relay League
Digital mesh networking is one of the fastest growing modes in amateur radio. With the recent capability of moving wireless access points into the uncrowded adjacent ham radio bands, the ability to create a linked ham "Internet" has become feasible. The network is growing by leaps and bounds, and can provide services such as text messaging, webcams, video chat email, and VOIP (both dial-up and chat channels). All these services can run on Linux computers.
 
Noon PT
Evidence Based Medicine
Dr. Garry Sexton, President, Greater South Bay User Group
The goals of this presentation are to explain Evidence-Based Medicine, how to evaluate information, the strength of studies, the number needed to treat, how to make it useful, and websites that can help.

   ---
You only need to register once; you do not need an Eventbrite account to attend the conference. Before the VTC, you will receive an email with directions and links for attending both conference tracks.
 
You can attend using your computer or tablet with Zoom software. The sessions are 50 minutes in length and offer attendees the opportunity to ask questions via a chat window.
 
Make sure you have the latest version of Zoom for your device. “Zoom Client for Meetings - The web browser client will download automatically when you start or join your first Zoom meeting and is also available for manual download here.”

https://zoom.us/download
 
When you attend the conference, please sign in with the user name and e-mail address you used to register for the VTC.
 
Register at Eventbrite
 
For detailed information about the presentations, including the presenters' bios click here.
 
If you would like further information or have questions, please send an email to
virtualconferences@apcug.org

Reposted by Ralph Sutter

Hello All,
You will find the notes to my Second Session presentation at the SLO Bytes General Meeting of August 5, 2018 at www.slobytes.org/presentations/sutter-0818/online-news.docx
I'll be adding to it until the time of my presentation.
Ralph Sutter

Hello All,
I just uploaded two slide shows of the 2018 SLO Bytes BBQ.  The images were shot by Alan Raul and Bob Styerwalt, View them at www.slobytes.org/photos/2018bbq.
This was a quick and dirty project using Adobe Photoshop Elements 15 -Slideshow Creation Tool.
It will be replaced soon by a higher quality sideshow by Alan Raul
Ralph Sutter

Hello All,
I recently purchased a Lenovo Yoga X1 2 in 1 laptop.  Lenovo includes Vantage, their utility for maintaining the machine up to date.  It integrated with Windows Update, adding additional updates specific to my computer.
I used it to successfully update computer firmware, perform driver updates as well as normal Windows 10 updates.
Earlier this week, I installed all of the recommended updates.  Lenovo also offered one optional update
Integrated Camera Driver for Sunplus (Windows 10 Build 1709 and later -10)[64]
Eager to have the latest and greatest for my new laptop, I installed the camera driver.  Mistake....

When the computer rebooted, facial recognition had disappeared from the login screen.  I tried to roll back the driver but to no avail.  I scoured the Internet, looking for solutions.  Finding none, I tried System Restore.  For the umpteenth time in a row,
that gambit failed.  A window appeared announcing that failure and suggesting that the failure might have been due to a conflict with anti-virus software.  Having seen that screen previously, I had disabled Windows 10's native firewall, Defender, prior to attempting a System Restore.  I fail to understand this failure since Microsoft wrote the software for both System Restore and Defender.

I moved to Plan B, restoring my C drive from a recent Acronis True Image backup.  That worked.  I regained facial recognition at login.  Basking in glory, I tried to open my Data partition.  To my surprise, it had been encrypted with BitLocker.  I needed to enter the BitLocker Drive Encryption Recovery Key. Since I had not deliberately encrypted any drive, I had no such recovery key.

Again using Acronis True Image, I successfully restored my Data Drive - un-encrypted.  Next, I consciously enabled BitLocker encryption of both drives, saved the encryption codes digitally on several removable devices and printed them out in hard copy.

Lesson Learned:  Think twice before installing the next optional update.
PS:  For those who opine "If it ain't broken, don't fix it" how useful is that mindset?  Do you pass on updating your anti-virus software because you don't have any known viruses?  I hope not.

Ralph Sutter

Hello All,
Here are my notes from the SLO Bytes Photo Group meeting of 06/10/18
TOPIC: Animals or Black and White

The session opened with Ralph Sutter calling attention to the Links Page where the group reviewed the specs for the Sony RX100 VI camera.
Sutter then played a slide show highlighting local tide pools and a recent kayaking trip on the Sacramento River. He interspersed images of animals with scenes shown in color and in grey scale.

Alan Raul screened seascapes rendered in natural light and viewed after adjusting the color profile to emphasize different color channels.

Kaye Raul gave Ansel Adams a run for his money with stunning black and white images of Yosemite.

Bob Styerwalt displayed a collection of pets and other critters

Bob Grover reminded us that horses are not the only animals that we ride. Grover expanded the category with elephants, camels and others.

Monica Tarzier, unable to attend the previous session on flowers, shared many shots of local plants.

John Waller offered images of dogs, both his own and those of others. They included carefully edit stop-motion shots of dogs at play.

Connie Sutter closed the meeting with color images of black and white clothing.

The topic for the Sunday, July 8th meeting will be Edit Free for All
Each member is invited to submit one or more photos for the rest of us to manipulate. Send the items for editing to me at ralph@rsutter.com
I will upload them to www.slobytes.org/digital/for-edit/

Download as many of these images as you choose, edit them as you see fit and bring the results to the July 8th meeting to amaze and amuse the rest of us.

Ralph Sutter