Recent Posts

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21
General Discussion / More Mini PCs to consider.
« Last post by Doug on August 28, 2024, 04:12:17 PM »
The best mini PCs you can buy: Expert recommended by ZDNet.com.

https://www.zdnet.com/article/best-mini-pc/
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General Discussion / SCALE - Linux Convention March 6-9 2025
« Last post by rsutter on August 26, 2024, 09:05:58 AM »
Hello All,
Re-post
Ralph Sutter
---
The SCALE team is pleased to announce that the 22nd Annual Southern California Linux Expo ? SCALE 22x ? will be held on March 6-9, 2025 at the Pasadena Convention Center in Pasadena, California, near Los Angeles.

The Call for Papers is now open! We look forward to reviewing your proposals and including you in this year's SCALE program. Proposals maybe submitted via the SCALE website at:
www.socallinuxexpo.org/scale/22x/cfp/

Registration is now open! Visit our website to snag tickets at the best price - early bird pricing will not last long:
register.socallinuxexpo.org/reg6/

This non-profit event would would not be possible without the help of our volunteer organizers, and the generous funding support provided by our sponsors. If you wish to sponsor or exhibit at SCALE please email sponsorship@socallinuxexpo.org for more details.

We look forward to seeing you in Pasadena!
The SCALE Team
23
General Discussion / APCUG Free Wednesday Webinar 08/28/24 - Bash Scripting in Linux
« Last post by rsutter on August 26, 2024, 09:01:41 AM »
Hello All,
This is a re-post that I received today from SLO Bytes' parent organization, APCUG
Ralph Sutter

---
August 28, 2024
Learning Linux Wednesday Workshop
9 am PT, 10 am MT, 11 am CT, 12 pm ET
 
Alan German
Ottawa PCUG
Introduction to Bash and Scripting

Orv Beach
Retired Sys Amin
Doing the same tasks as I did on Windows

John Kennedy
East Central Ohio Technology Users Club
Customized Partitioning
 
Register here ? https://forms.gle/mP2L5bXd7RBURjh98
 
After you click Submit, you will receive a pop-up acknowledgment of your registration. On August 27, after registration closes at 6 pm Pacific Time, you will receive the encrypted Zoom link.
 
Join us for another Learning Linux Workshop, where we will again present presentations based on suggestions from our survey.
 
This month, we?ll kick off with Alan giving us an overview of the nature of Bash, its development history, main features, and scripting abilities, as well as several detailed examples of scripts he uses for tasks on his system. Then, Orv will respond to the question about what a Linux user uses to perform the same tasks on Linux as a Windows user used on Windows.  Finally, John will do Part 2 of the presentation about partitioning a hard drive for installing Linux, but this time with a customized approach.
 
We are also looking for Linux users who can share a different distribution (such as OpenSUSE, Arch-based, or one of the newer ?built from the ground up, not based on one of the originals?) with our attendees. We focus mainly on Ubuntu and Mint, but there are a lot of other good distros out there. And if a Linux user uses a desktop environment other than Gnome, KDE, Cinnamon, or MATE, we?d love to learn more about it. Just let the team know by using the Chat Box.
 
We are looking forward to seeing you this Wednesday. 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)
 
24
General Discussion / Free APCUG Saturday Safari 8/24/24
« Last post by rsutter on August 22, 2024, 08:17:57 AM »
Hello All,
This is a re-post of a message from SLO Bytes' parent organization, APCUG
Ralph Sutter

August 24, 2024
SATURDAY SAFARI

9 am PT, 10 am MT, 11 am CT, 12 pm ET
 
Communicate with Discord
Mike Ungerman
Central Florida Computer Society
 
Creating an Engaging eBulletin: A Step-by-Step Guide
Bill James, VP, Computer Club of Oklahoma City
 
Roundtable Discussion: Strengthening Member Groups
and the Role of APCUG

 
Register here ? https://forms.gle/hyTwToSRfHdkHGGz6
 
After you click Submit, you will receive a pop-up acknowledgment of your registration and the workshop encrypted Zoom link email on Friday,  August 24, after registration closes at 6 pm Pacific Time.
 
Communicate with Discord. Mike will delve into the social media platform Discord. Drawing parallels to the bulletin board systems of the dial-up era, Discord offers a modern twist on collaborative communication. Mike has successfully implemented a Discord server for the Central Florida Computer Society, and it's gaining popularity among their members and others who've discovered it through APCUG and Tech for Seniors.
 
Creating an Engaging eBulletin: A Step-by-Step Guide. This presentation will guide you through creating an effective eBulletin for your organization, ensuring your members are informed, engaged, and connected. Bill will start by discussing the essential tools you need, including using a word processor as a scratchpad and managing your email list with a .cvs membership spreadsheet. He will also cover using dedicated email platforms like Mailchimp, though this is optional.
 
Next, Bill will dive into the content creation process, focusing on what your members need to know. Learn to incorporate key elements such as your club logo, upcoming event dates, member news, and relevant content from other sources. Additionally, he will discuss the importance of including boilerplate content to maintain consistency and brand identity in your communications.
 
Whether new to eBulletins or looking to refine your existing process, this presentation will provide practical tips and strategies for success.
 
Roundtable Discussion: Strengthening Member Groups and the Role of APCUG. Problems and solutions.
 
We are looking forward to seeing you this Saturday. Do you have a presentation you have given to your group? Please volunteer to give it at one of the WWs. Have you seen a really good presentation at one of your local meetings? Let us know. Thanks, Judy & John (jtaylour@apcug.org -- jkennedy@apcug.org)
25
General Discussion / SLO Bytes Photo Group Report for August 2024
« Last post by rsutter on August 13, 2024, 08:40:16 AM »
Hello All,
Here is the SLO Bytes Photo Group report for August 2024.  Thanks to Alan Raul for writing it in my absence.
Ralph Sutter

Meeting of 08/11/2024
Alan Raul began the August 11th digital meeting in lieu of Ralph?s absence who later came online for a short time.

Stanford Brown shared a collection of photographs taken during his recent walks, showcasing the low light capability of his Samsung camera. He captured a stunning moonscape with his dog in the foreground, landscapes of the hills above Paso Robles and a panoramic view. He also shared images of the fog formation at Morro Bay including Morro Rock and the old stacks.

Kaye Raul shot landscape pictures back in the Huasna area featuring dinosaurs and a windmill. She drove over to Avila Beach (third pier) and showed both color and B&W conversions of the area.

Alan Raul began showing pictures of the very, very dry Dana foothills in Nipomo. Then switching to a couple of shots from the Oceano fields. He then drove up to the Pismo Beach heights to show the Pismo Pier and surrounding areas from a high-altitude view. The ending of his presentation included some shots at Avila Beach in both color and Black & White.

John Waller began with some pictures of the Paso Fair and pictures around his house. He also went to Huasna, like Kaye, and shot some more shots. He ended with a trip to Grover Beach where he spotted a very distance French ship working on the undersea cable.

(Thanks to Alan Raul for this report --Ralph Sutter)

The meeting schedule for the remainder of 2024 is as follows.
  October 13
  November 10
  December 8

See the Links Page; https://www.slobytes.org/digital/links.html for tutorials and other resources
26
General Discussion / APCUG Free Wednesday Workshop for August 14, 2024
« Last post by rsutter on August 13, 2024, 07:29:00 AM »
Hello All,
The information that follows is an announcement from SLO Bytes' parent group, APCUG
Ralph Sutter

August 14, 2024
WEDNESDAY WORKSHOP

9 am PT, 10 am MT, 11 am CT, 12 pm ET
 
Hard Disk Sentinel
Gabe Goldberg, APCUG Representative
Potomac Area Technology And Computer Society
and Washington Apple Pi Mac User Group
 
Microsoft Edge
Bill James, Vice President
Computer Club of Oklahoma City
 
Get ready to celebrate National Cybersecurity Awareness Month in October
Judy Taylour, President
Santa Clarita Valley Computer Club
 
Register here ? https://forms.gle/wFERDJkxMvAT2Rid9
 
After you click Submit, you will receive a pop-up acknowledgment of your registration. On August 13, after registration closes at 6 pm Pacific Time, you will receive the encrypted Zoom link.
 
Hard Disk Sentinel with Gabe Goldberg. HDS is a powerful/flexible multi-system hard disk drive (HDD) and solid-state drive (SSD) monitoring and analysis software. It finds, tests, diagnoses, and repairs hard disk drive problems, reports and displays SSD and HD health, performance degradations, and failures. HDS reports drive health, temperature, and values of S.M.A.R.T. (Self-Monitoring, Analysis, and Reporting Technology). It measures disk transfer speed in real time to benchmark or detect possible failures or performance degradations. It's the perfect data protection solution: it can prevent drive failure and SSD/HDD data loss with the disk health rating system, which is extremely sensitive to disk problems. I've used this for many years; it's avoided potential catastrophic failures. It's a bargain, and the vendor provides brilliant product service.
 
Many APCUG group members have used HDS since Gabe's September 2022 presentation, and I thought he should spread the word to those who weren't involved in an APCUG group in 2022.
 
This is the first in a series of presentations on Browsers.
Microsoft Edge with Bill James. Maximize your browsing experience with Microsoft Edge by exploring a variety of tips and tricks designed to enhance productivity, security, and ease of use. Whether you're a seasoned web surfer or new to Edge, these practical features and hidden gems can help you navigate the internet more efficiently.
 
Edge has a robust set of functionalities that cater to diverse user needs. Learn how to efficiently organize tabs, manage passwords, and use powerful tools like Collections and Immersive Reader. You will discover how you can unlock the full potential of your Edge browser and make your online activities smoother and more enjoyable.
 
Get ready to celebrate National Cybersecurity Awareness Month in October with Judy Taylour. Cybersecurity Awareness Month is a global initiative dedicated to educating people about online safety and empowering individuals and businesses to safeguard their data against cybercrime. The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and the National Cybersecurity Alliance co-lead the campaign. In the face of large-scale data breaches and cyberattacks, this month serves as a vital reminder that there are simple, practical steps everyone can take to stay safe online, protect personal information, and contribute to a more secure digital world. Judy's presentation will highlight various resources to help your group celebrate this critical month.
 
We are looking forward to seeing you this Wednesday. Do you have a presentation you have given to your group? Please volunteer to give it at one of the WWs. Have you seen a really good presentation at one of your local meetings? Let us know. Thanks, Judy & John (jtaylour@apcug.org -- jkennedy@apcug.org)
27
Ed Bott, ZD Net: You can upgrade your old PC to Windows 11 - even if Microsoft says it's 'incompatible'.

https://www.zdnet.com/article/yes-you-can-upgrade-your-old-pc-to-windows-11-even-if-microsoft-says-its-incompatible/
28
General Discussion / Alan Raul August 4, 2024 Meeting Notes
« Last post by Alan J. Raul on August 03, 2024, 08:00:04 PM »
Morfec Power Bank 50,000mAh - 22.5W
https://www.amazon.com/Morfec-Power-Bank-Charging-50000mAh/dp/B0CHJVFJ4G?th=1
 
IAPOS Power Bank 40,000mAh - 22.5W
https://www.amazon.com/IAPOS-Portable-Charger-40000mah-Charging/dp/B0CDH4Z3JR/?th=1
 
UGREEN Power Bank 25,000mAh - 145W
https://www.ugreen.com/products/ugreen-145w-power-bank-for-laptop?variant=40361061679166
https://www.amazon.com/UGREEN-25000mAh-Portable-Charging-Compatible/dp/B0BJQ7F16T/

Winaero Tweaker allows you to customize the appearance and behavior of the operating system in a flexible way.
https://winaero.com/winaero-tweaker/

CrystalDiskMark 8.0.5 ? HHD/SSD speed test
https://crystalmark.info/en/download/#CrystalDiskMark
 
ThioJoe YouTube Shorts
https://www.youtube.com/@ThioJoe/shorts

LosslessCut - The Swiss Army Knife of Lossless Video/Audio Editing
https://www.mifi.no/losslesscut/
https://github.com/mifi/lossless-cut/releases
 
Easily Cut and Edit your Videos with LosslessCut for Windows, Linux and macOS
https://medevel.com/losslesscut/
 
The best free (or low-cost) tools for video editors
https://www.theverge.com/23602829/best-free-video-editing-software-open-source-tools-free-shareware-encoding
 
PC software pioneer Gary Kildall's life and mysterious death at a Monterey bar
https://www.ksbw.com/article/pc-software-pioneer-gary-kildalls-life-mysterious-death-california-monterey-bar/61548404

Are Expensive Memory Cards Really Worth It?
https://youtu.be/Eez2Gv6WQnk

Intel 13th and 14th Gen 'Raptor Lake' instability troubles: Everything you need to know
https://www.tomshardware.com/pc-components/intel-raptor-lake-instability-troubles-everything-you-need-to-know
https://duckduckgo.com/?q=Intel+13th+14th+Gen+CPU+fiasco+and+Intel%27s+response+that+is+less+than+optimal&ia=web


29
Hello All,
This is a re-post of an announcement that I received today from SLO Bytes' parent organization, APCUG
Ralph Sutter
----
July 24, 2024
WEDNESDAY WORKSHOP
9 am PT, 10 am MT, 11 am CT, 12 pm ET
 
Drew King's cell phone is broken. What is he to do?
Drew King, Webmaster
Sarasota Technology Users Group
 
Removing Bloatware From Your Android Phone
John Krout, Writer & Presenter
Potomac Area Technology And Computer Society
 
Introducing the Samsung Galaxy 7 Smartphone
Bill James, Vice President
Computer Club of Oklahoma City
 
Register here ? https://forms.gle/nZ6m19et36KXpUjE9
 
After you click Submit, you will receive a pop-up acknowledgment of your registration. On July 23, after registration closes at 6 pm Pacific Time, you will receive the encrypted Zoom link.
 
Drew King's cell phone is broken. What is he to do? Drew found himself in a predicament when his phone accidentally got submerged in his niece's swimming pool. With his cell phone damaged, he could not access his password manager for strong passwords or receive two-factor authentication codes.
 
Drew faced another hurdle: He needed to contact his mobile phone company to arrange a replacement through his insurance plan. He was at a location where only a Mac computer was available. Without his phone, he couldn't complete the two-factor authentication process required by his mobile company or access his email, which also needed the same security step.
 
To resolve these challenges, Drew takes us through his steps to fix his problem.

Removing Bloatware from your Android phone. Apps pre-installed on an Android smartphone or tablet by the phone maker or the phone seller are useless to you. They take up space in the smartphone, both in flash memory and on the phone screen, and divert your attention from the apps you need to use.
There are three ways to remove Android apps. This presentation will show you how to accomplish all three.
One method is the standard method, which works on most apps you install. However, a significant fraction of apps resist that method. A second method uses a zero-cost uninstaller app. A smaller fraction of apps resist that method, too. The third method is more complex, involves your computer, and is quite irresistible.
 
Introducing the Samsung 7 Galaxy Smartphone. Equipped with the BioActive sensor, it offers enhanced accuracy in tracking key health metrics, including heart rate, sleep quality, blood pressure, blood oxygen levels, and stress. It also features an Advanced Glycation End products (AGEs) index to evaluate various biomarkers, aiding in predicting the risk of diabetes and stroke.

Additional advanced features include an improved AI algorithm and the FDA-authorized Sleep Apnea feature, which detects potential signs of moderate to severe sleep apnea. The Irregular Heart Rhythm Notification (IHRN) proactively monitors for atrial fibrillation (AFib) signs. You can also record and monitor your ECG (electrocardiogram) data, save it to your Galaxy phone, and share the results with your doctors if needed.

The new AI-powered Energy Score feature provides a score from 1 to 100 based on your recorded data, including sleep and physical activity measurements.
 
30
General Discussion / Free APCUG Wednesday Webinar - Manual Partitioning in Linux
« Last post by rsutter on July 15, 2024, 09:04:53 AM »
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. 
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