Hello All,
I am re-posting an announcement that I received today from SLO Bytes' parent group, APCUG
Ralph Sutter
---
July 17, 2024
Learning Linux Wednesday Workshop
9 am PT, 10 am MT, 11 am CT, 12 pm ET
 
Manual Partitioning in Linux
Alan German, Ottawa PC Users? Group
 
Distro Review ? SilverBlue
Cal Esnault, Cajun Clickers
 
Troubleshooting Loss of Internet on Computer
Minimum Requirements for Running Linux
John Kennedy, East Central Ohio Technology Users Club
 
Register here ? https://forms.gle/mDA4NqUyydXyH5w78
 
After you click Submit, you will receive a pop-up acknowledgment of your registration. On July 16, after registration closes at 6 pm Pacific Time, you will receive the encrypted Zoom link.
 
Welcome to another Learning Linux Workshop. We hope today's presentations are helpful. Alan will answer one of our survey questions about partitioning a drive before installing Linux. John will answer another of the survey questions about the minimum requirements for running Linux. He will share several different Linux distros and show how little some of them need, perfect for older computers.
 
Cal will review an immutable Linux distro (something new is coming down the pike) and share the immutable "atomic" version of Fedora (the distro we featured last week). Learn what makes a distro immutable.
 
Many people in the survey asked about troubleshooting problems. John ran into a problem with his computer when he lost the Internet connection on his computer. He will talk about the problem and the steps he took to try to figure out the cause. Then, he will share his first workaround solution, the real cause of the Internet loss, and what he's currently doing to bypass the problem. 

Hello All,
What follows is a re-post of a message that I received today from SLO Bytes' parent group, APCUG
Ralph Sutter

July 10, 2024
WEDNESDAY WORKSHOP
9 am PT, 10 am MT, 11 am CT, 12 pm ET
 
Invisible Apps
John Krout, Writer & Presenter, PATACS
and
Passkeys
Al Williams, President, Willow Valley Computer Club
 
Register here ? https://forms.gle/doXr7Go9rDP8ujWy9   
 
After you click Submit, you will receive a pop-up acknowledgment of your registration. On July 9, after registration closes at 6 pm Pacific Time, you will receive the encrypted Zoom link.
 
INVISIBLE APPS with John Krout. Does your smartphone or tablet heat up for no apparent reason? Invisible apps may be the cause.
 
We have long used the Windows and Macintosh operating systems. When you run applications on those desktops, each running app is identified by its small icons at the desktop bottom, even when none of the application windows are visible.
 
Android and iOS do not provide that convenience. Clear the handheld device screen of apps, and those apps continue to run unseen. Especially if you are using a smartphone for the first time, you may have dozens of invisible apps running and are unaware of that.
 
Join us as we delve into the presenter's experience with invisible apps on an early handheld device and his first smartphone, an iPhone 5. This journey will help you understand why and how to use a modern Apple or Android handheld device to identify and exit invisible apps.
 
PASSKEYS with Al Williams. Passkeys are a joint initiative of Apple, Google, and Microsoft to improve authentication. Are they the same as passwords? Are others using them? Should I use them? With this presentation, Al will discuss all this and more.

Hello All,
This is a re-post of an announcement that I received today from SLO Bytes' parent organization, APCUG
Ralph Sutter


JUNE 19, 2024
LEARNING LINUX
WEDNESDAY WORKSHOP
9 am PT, 10 am MT, 11 am CT, 12 pm ET
 
Cal Esnault, Cajun Clickers Workshop & SIG Leader
Review of software found on LinuxLinks.org
 
Joel Ewing, President, Bella Vista Computer Club
A tour of the Fedora distribution
 
John Kennedy, ECOTUC Webmaster
Backing Up Specific Settings
 
Register here ? https://forms.gle/VfcczikRzuEELv9g7
 
After you click Submit, you will receive a pop-up acknowledgment of your registration. In addition, you will receive the workshop encrypted Zoom link on Tuesday, June 18, after registration closes at 6 pm Pacific Time.
 
Join us this week for our next Learning Linux workshop. We hope we have planned an agenda that you will find educational.
 
Cal Esneault will be doing a quick review of software found on "LinuxLinks.org."  Our feature presentation will be Joel Ewing, who will take us on a tour of the Fedora distribution. We've wanted to feature distros other than Debian-based, and we finally got a volunteer. We're still looking for someone who might do the same for OpenSuSE, something in the Arch family, or one of the other distros that have been developed from the ground up.
 
John Kennedy will be talking about backing up specific settings to make things easier when you are rebuilding your OS or wanting to duplicate stuff on a different device. And thrown in somewhere between the pages, we'll have Cal talking about Flatpaks and John talking about Appimages (both were items suggested from last year's survey about what else you might want to know about Linux).

Hello All,
This is a re-post of an announcement that I received today from SLO Bytes' parent organization, APCUG
Ralph Sutter

IT'S ALL ABOUT PHOTOS
June 12, 2024
WEDNESDAY WORKSHOP
9 am PT, 10 am MT, 11 am CT, 12 pm ET
 
Tips for Fireworks Photos
John Krout, Presenter & Author, PATACS
and
Your Vacation Photos
Chris & Jim Guld
Geeks on Tour
 
 
Register here ? https://forms.gle/gpSto5ukfq1LXvpy8
 
After you click Submit, you will receive a pop-up acknowledgment of your registration. On June 11, after registration closes at 6 pm Pacific Time, you will receive the encrypted Zoom link.
 
Tips for Fireworks Photos. Technical fundamentals, photo equipment needed, preparation checklist for the night before, camera settings, operational specifics, and more.
 
Your Vacation Photos. Don?t wait ?til you get home from vacation! Start sharing your photos on day one. Make an album and share it with friends. Chris and Jim from Geeks on Tour will show you how to make your vacation photos look their best, make an album, and share and remember your travels for years to come using your phone and the Google Photos app.
 
We look forward to seeing you this Wednesday. The Linux WW is on June 19, and another WW on June 26. Do you have a presentation you have given to your group? Please volunteer to give it at one of the WWs. Thanks, Judy & John (jtaylour@apcug.org -- jkennedy@apcug.org)

Hello All,
Here are my Notes for the SLO Bytes Photo Group Meeting of 05/19/2024
TOPIC: Learn Something and Share

The meeting began with Alan Raul sharing links that are posted on the SLO Bytes Digital Photography website at https://www.slobytes.org/digital/links.html

Alan commented on the free video editing program, Davinci Resolve from Black Magic Design.  He used the program to demonstrate some of its capabilities.  Particularly impressive was its new editing app for the iPhone. 
He then showed how to use Adobe Photoshop?s sky replacement adding some of his own skies to enhance images of Pismo Beach.

Next, Raul commented that it is now possible to use an iPhone as a portable scanner for a MAC computer.

Continuing with the Davinci Resolve theme, Ralph Sutter used that program to create a video of him turning a screwdriver handle on a wood lathe and then fluting it with a homemade jig. 

Finally, Ralph demonstrated focus stacking by combining 6 images into one resulting in a shot looking down a long hallway with every foot of the corridor in focus.

Kaye Raul also showed focus stacking.  Her subject was flower arrangements.  Kaye mentioned that there will be a free Lightroom Summit from MAY 20 - 24, 2024.  Register at https://www.lightroomsummit.com/?r_done=1

The topic for June will be Macro Photography.   The meeting will take place via Zoom on June 16th, beginning at 2:00 pm, one week later than normal.
The meeting schedule for the remainder of 2024 is as follows.
  July 14           October 13         
  August 11   November 10          
  September 8   December 8         
 See the Links page; https://www.slobytes.org/digital/links.html for tutorials and other resources

Ralph Sutter

Hello All,
This is a re-post of an announcement that I received today from SLO Bytes' parent organization, APCUG
Ralph Sutter
 
MAY 8, 2024
WEDNESDAY WORKSHOP
9 am PT, 10 am MT, 11 am CT, 12 pm ET
 
KeePass, an open-source password manager
 Tiny Ruisch, Cajun Clickers Computer Club
 
and
 
Artificial Intelligence (AI) - An Overview
Rob Truman, Computer Booters of Sun Lakes
 
Register here ? https://forms.gle/X2eJiypFR5sYogP26
 
After you click Submit, you will receive a pop-up acknowledgment of your registration. On May 7, after registration closes at 6 pm Pacific Time, you will receive the encrypted Zoom link.
 
World Password Day is observed on the first Thursday of May; it is a call to action for better password habits. During May, APCUG encourages all its members to update their passwords to stronger, more secure ones and to consider using a password manager. This reminds us of the importance of safeguarding our digital identities and personal information, especially in an age where much of our lives are intertwined with the online world. Take a step towards better cybersecurity practices; use a Password Manager!
 
KeePass, an open-source password manager. Tiny Ruisch, Instructor, Cajun Clickers Computer Club, will discuss and demonstrate how to simplify our everyday lives with KeePass.
KeePass is an open-source tool, meaning its source code is available for anyone to review, adding transparency to its security features. Users can store all their passwords in a single database, which is encrypted and locked with one master key. Instead of dozens of complex passwords, you only need to remember one strong key. KeePass also employs advanced encryption algorithms like AES-256, ChaCha20, and Twofish to secure your data.
 
In our second presentation, Rob Truman, Vice President and Web Director for the Computer Booters, will give us an overview of Artificial Intelligence (AI).
 
Artificial Intelligence (AI) - An Overview. What is AI, and how can I use it today? First, we will examine how Google and Microsoft incorporate Chatbot technology within their applications (Gemini and Copilot)?followed by an examination of Chatbots as a whole and where the technology is currently headed in the field of AI Search. There will also be a brief overview of other AI technologies, such as Deep Fakes, Voice Cloning, and Robotics, with a look at the good and bad of Artificial Intelligence.
 

Hello All,
I am planning a kayaking trip down the Willamette River in Oregon and used Google Earth Pro to annotate the route.
I now want to share this information with a prospective paddling partner.
I do this by locating the myplaces.kml file where my waypoints are saved.
On a Windows computer, hold down the Windows key and then press r
This will open the Terminal.  When it opens, paste in the line of text below
%USERPROFILE%\AppData\LocalLow\Google\GoogleEarth

That will open Windows Explorer to the folder containing myplaces.kml
I will copy that file and e-mail it to my prospective paddling partner.
I will then instruct him to open Google Earth Pro (not Google Maps)
In GEP, go to Files/Import and navigate to where myplaces.kml was saved
If that file isn't visible, make sure that All Files extension (*.*) is chosen.
Importing myplaces.kml will place it in the Temporary Places/default_my_places folder

When default_my_places folder is open it will display all of my notes/waypoints

If you prefer to see an illustrated explanation of this process, see https://www.fullbean.com/tutorials/findmyplaceskml.docx

Ralph Sutter

Hello All,
This is a re-=port of an announcement received today from SLO Bytes' parent group, APCUG
Ralph Sutter


April 17, 2024 LINUX  WORKSHOP
9 am PT, 10 am MT, 11 am CT, 12 pm ET

Backing Up, Part 2, Not Just for Linux Users
Francis Chao, Rescuezilla and Clonezilla
Drew King, Rclone and the Rclone browser
 
Register here ? https://forms.gle/FPSkNt1ZS8BuEAam9
 
After you click Submit, you will receive a pop-up acknowledgment of your registration and the workshop encrypted Zoom link email on Tuesday, April 16, after registration closes at 6 pm Pacific Time.
 
You can't talk about backing up enough. There was too much to cover during the March workshops. So, the April Learning Linux workshop will be "Backing Up?Part 2." But this workshop isn't just for Linux users. The Linux Team invites all Linux, Windows, and Mac users to our April Workshop. We will be featuring cross-platform, open-source programs that EVERYONE can use.
 
Francis Chao will give a presentation on backing up the system image using Rescuezilla and Clonezilla. His presentation will also include creating the rescue media to back up and restore your image.
 
Drew King will present on file backups using Rclone and the Rclone Browser. His presentation will also include backing up to the cloud.