Hello All,
This is a re-post of an announcement received from APCUG today.
Ralph Sutter

LEARNING LINUX WEDNESDAY WORKSHOP
January 15, 2025
9 am PT, 10 am MT, 11 am CT, 12 pm ET
 
DESKTOP ENVIRONMENT SHOWCASE
John Kennedy, APCUG Speakers Bureau
 
Register once here - https://forms.gle/4sDciGbyhgPDrXTK9
 
After you click Submit, you will receive the pop-up acknowledgment of your registration below. On January 14, after registration closes at 6 pm Pacific Time, you will receive the encrypted Zoom link.

Desktop Environment Showcase. At a previous workshop, when something about different desktop environments was mentioned, an attendee asked, "Why so many, and what's the difference?" The comment was made that the question would make a good presentation, so here we have it.

The auto industry has its "makes" of cars, and the Linux system has its different "distributions/distros." Each make has different "models," and Linux distros have different "desktop environments." The reason that both cars and Linux have so many is that people like different things. So, both produce basically the same things, yet they provide differences.
 
Join John as he takes us through the showroom to showcase the major and minor differences between several popular desktop environments on many different distros. This might help you decide which one you like the best or what parts you want for building your desktop environment.

San Luis Obispo, CA | UPRR San Barbara Sub, MP 248.7 - PTZ | SouthWest RailCams LIVE
https://www.youtube.com/live/S2YHshIN0F8

RailRat.net - Real time Amtrak train status tracker, with arrival and departure updates organized by route, station and train.
https://railrat.net/

11 Seattle to LA https://railrat.net/trains/11/
14 LA to Seattle https://railrat.net/trains/14/
761 SD to SLO https://railrat.net/trains/761/
774 SLO to SD https://railrat.net/trains/774/
777 SD to SLO https://railrat.net/trains/777/
794 SLO to SD https://railrat.net/trains/794/

Amtrak Intercity Rail Map
https://asm.transitdocs.com/
 
Spectrum Internet Gig Service - $101.25/month
https://www.speedtest.net/result/17196679543.png
 
What All of the Markings on SD microSD and microSDXC Cards Mean?
https://www.servethehome.com/what-all-of-the-markings-on-sd-microsd-and-microsdxc-cards-mean/

Using OneDrive Without Using OneDrive
https://youtu.be/1e9mrY5UqiY
https://askleo.com/using-onedrive-without-using-onedrive/
 
Pyle PDA29BU Wireless BT Stereo Power Amplifier
https://www.amazon.com/Pyle-Wireless-Bluetooth-Stereo-Amplifier/dp/B08W5BN4FK
https://www.fullbean.com/tutorials/pyle.html
 
Adobe All-new photography innovations and pricing updates
https://blog.adobe.com/en/publish/2024/12/15/all-new-photography-innovations-pricing-updates

Creative Cloud Photography (20GB) pricing changes | Common questions
https://helpx.adobe.com/creative-cloud/faq/ccpp-20gb.html

Adobe Photography and Lightroom Plan Updates
https://blog.adobe.com/en/publish/2024/12/15/all-new-photography-innovations-pricing-updates#photography-and-lightroom-plan-updates

MATTK Adobe 2025 Pricing Update FAQ
https://mattk.com/adobe-2025-pricing-update-faq/

Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) Mobile Communications Best Practice Guidance
https://www.cisa.gov/sites/default/files/2024-12/guidance-mobile-communications-best-practices.pdf

Enable This New Cell Phone Security Option Now!
https://youtu.be/mUiQgAIlEIg
 
Spectrum Mobile Account Fraud Protection
https://www.spectrum.net/support/mobile/account-fraud-protection
 
Avila Beach 2025 Polar Bear Dip - 805 Webcams Recap
https://youtu.be/CXkhVnSrbMw

Celebrating the new year at the Avila Beach Polar Bear Plunge
https://youtu.be/iULf7lM_j_k
 
2025 Avila Beach Polar Bear Plunge Countdown
https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/61i7pl5vb9iaomalizbr7/2025-01-01-Polar-Bear.mov?rlkey=jspxbpnbskgnzna6klo37gf6i&st=9ezytxdi&dl=0
 
BleachBit - Clean Your System and Free Disk Space
https://www.bleachbit.org/

Sharge Disk Plus Enclosure
https://sharge.com/products/disk-plus

Thunderbolt 5 80Gbps M.2 NVMe SSD Enclosure
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DQ8G95QP
https://www.trebleet.com/product-page/thunderbolt-5-80gbps-m-2-nvme-ssd-enclosure-transfer-rates-over-7000mb-s
 
Top 5 Thunderbolt 5 Features - CalDigit
https://youtu.be/6Xa61c2VND4

World's FASTEST Thunderbolt 5 DIY SSD: Save $700 on 4TB!
https://youtu.be/kY2rg_G7ylc

Hello All,
Today I received this following announcement from SLO Bytes' parent organization, APCUG
Ralph Sutter

LEARNING LINUX WEDNESDAY WORKSHOP
December 18, 2024
9 am PT, 10 am MT, 11 am CT, 12 pm ET
 
Installing Linux on an Old Chromebook
Stew Bottorf, SIG Leader
Tampa Bay Technology Center

Run your own AI Chatbot
Alan German, Treasurer
Ottawa PC Users' Group
 
Register here - https://forms.gle/5SPxYnZudTUGSGiS7
 
After you click Submit, you will receive a pop-up acknowledgment of your registration (see below). You only need to register once. On December 17, after registration closes at 6 pm Pacific Time, you will receive the encrypted Zoom link.
 
Installing Linux on an Old Chromebook. Like Windows, Chromebooks have their own "end of life" deadlines. The hardware is still good to go, but there's no support for it. Just like you can make a computer formerly running Windows run the Linux operating system to give it a new life, it's possible to add new life to a Chromebook by installing Linux. Join Stew as he guides us through the process he took to convert one of his old Chromebooks into a working Linux laptop. He'll share with us what he learned while installing Linux and additional programs and show us how easy converting the Chromebook to a Linux laptop can be.
 
Run your own AI Chatbot. We have all probably tried one of the many chatbots available over the Internet and have asked questions about everything from what is the capital of Uzbekistan to what can I make for dinner if I only have sausages, apples, and onions in the refrigerator? However, since we are computer users, we have also likely tried: How do I fix a slow computer, how do quantum computers work, or can you write a bash script to list the names of all the files in a folder and their sub-folders?
 
Some chatbots are free, while others require a monthly subscription. But how many will remain free? They all know everything (almost) and use Large Language Models (LLM). This requires massive computational power, high-end servers, and vast electricity. So, it all has to be paid for in some manner. But what if we could access a Small Language Model (SLM) that would only know about a particular topic of particular interest to us - such as programming in Python? And wouldn't it be nice if this tiny bot would run on our personal computer?
 
Well, look no further; such chatbots and SLMs are being developed, and in this presentation, we will take an introductory look at the technology. We will find that installing and using an SLM is easy, but the available hardware currently limits its utility. Nevertheless, it's an interesting exercise and may well point the way to a future with targeted chatbots running locally.


 



 



   



   

The attached PDF contains all the links discussed in the year 2024.

 - - Enjoy...

Hello All,
Here is my report o the November 10th meeting of the SLO Bytes Photo Group

TOPIC: Transformations

Ralph Sutter opened the meeting, calling attention to the Links Page; https://www.slobytes.org/digital/links.html, of the Photography Group website
Sutter summarized the new content; Comparison of Image Viewers; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_image_viewers,
4K Slideshow Maker https://www.4kdownload.com/products/slideshowmaker/
and Pixabay; https://pixabay.com/

Then, using the Slideshow feature of ACDSee, Ralph showed transitions of ice, radish seeds, ramen, coffee beans and burning matches

Alan Raul followed with an illustrated history of Pismo Beach, its City Hall and Fire Station.
Next, he changed focus to the town of Pismo Beach.
Alan showed the group how he used the raw filter on jpg images to reveal details that were otherwise unavailable.
While the filter can't draw on the details present in true raw images, it offers opportunities for development beyond the scope of jpgs not using the raw filter.

John Waller showed the transformation of his fire-damaged house from bare walls to finished spaces. He then brought his camera outside and documented how his yard changed. He used progressive images of his fields to illustrate modern growing techniques of Ikeda Farms. Finally he went to the end of Grand Avenue and cataloged the changes to the beach from storm surge to recovery.

Kaye Raul used Adobe Lightroom for creating different views of the piers of Avila. She also captured changes in leaves, pumpkins, flowers and trees.

Stanford Brown presented Symbols of Transition featuring falling leaves, decomposing trees, blooming roses, acorns and Paso Robles skies.
He then narrated the evolution of his back yard from move-in many years ago to present day.

After everyone made their presentation, Stanford asked what photo editors each of us used and our recommendations for someone looking for a basic editor.
The editors commonly mentioned were Adobe Photoshop; https://www.adobe.com/products/photoshop.html
 Adobe Lightroom; https://www.adobe.com/products/photoshop-lightroom/plans.html
ACDSee; https://www.acdsee.com/en/index/
and Luminar Neo; https://skylum.com/luminar

A consensus choice for light editing on PCs was Irfanview; https://www.irfanview.com/

Alan pointed out that both Microsoft's Windows and Apple's MAC operating systems have quite capable built-in photo editors.

The last meeting of the SLO Bytes Photo Group in 2024 will take place on December 8th beginning at 2:00 pm.
The assignment is to take your camera to the Embarcadero in Morro Bay and photograph whatever interests you.

See the Links Page; https://www.slobytes.org/digital/links.html for tutorials and other resources

Ralph Sutter