September, 2009
Issue 203
Next General Meeting
– September 18
Paul Virnig is the
owner of Samian Technologies, LLC located at 309 Depere Street in
Menasha. Samian Technologies operates a computer shop which offers computer
sales and services primarily to home computer users. They offer
comprehensive services including system upgrades, custom built computers,
troubleshooting of hardware and software, malware removal, and
installations. Specializing in Dell computers, Samian Technologies keeps
an inventory of Dell laptops, desktops, and peripherals on hand. They
have a comprehensive inventory of computer parts as well. Samian
Technologies also provides field service support to local homes and businesses
in the area.
Paul visited our
group in June of 2008 and reported on the foibles and pitfalls of the Microsoft
Vista operating system. Paul has agreed to do a follow-up presentation on
the new Microsoft Windows 7 operating system which is scheduled for an October
2009 release. He has been running the Windows 7 Release Candidate 1 on
his office computer for the last three months and likes what he sees.
Paul is pleased to report that this presentation will be much more optimistic
than his previous visit.
August General
Meeting by Gladys Schwandt:
Tom Lison from
Milwaukee PC, Appleton was our guest presenter.
The first part of his discussion was about the importance of computer
maintenance. The first thing to be aware
of was dust. Give your computer a complete
clean-up about every six months. Use
canned air for the keyboard. Cleaning
the tower is good, but be cautious about what you touch inside. Secondly, get updates for protection. You need adware protections against pop-ups;
spyware protection against someone attempting to capture your information; and
malware protection against someone taking over your computer. He recommends running Scan Disk first
followed by Defragmenting and doing this once per month.
The second part of
his discussion gave us a preview of the coming Windows 7 operating system. There are some nice features, one of which is
the work on blocking computer infections.
He also encouraged us to activate the RoadRunner antivirus protection if
we use RoadRunner. With Windows 7, computer
printers may have problems working, especially if they are older models.
Windows 7 Premium
Edition will provide both 64 bit processing and have 32 bit compatibility. This
means doubling the amount of data a CPU can process per clock cycle, and dramatically
improve the performance of demanding applications such as audio and video
encoding and video games, as well as provide programmers with much more power.
It will be more versatile and have smoother functioning for search and task
bars.
Scanner/Photo User
Group by Linda Young:
We continued working
on our ongoing project using tools in Adobe Photo Shop. We worked with the
magnifier tool, the eraser tool, the paint bucket tool, and the elipser tool.
We also continued our work with layering to create the desired look for our
completed project.
Genealogy User Group
by Mary Klein:
In August we
continued fine-tuning our searches using the commands: OR, the piping symbol,
NOT, the plus sign, and the tilde. We also looked at online collections of
digitized local and family history books.
Our September session will include practice using Google’s advanced search that
guides you through the building of a query. A list of top 10 sites for
Norwegian genealogy will also be handed out.
Resource Sharing
User Group by Linda Young:
A member asked if
there was a way she could create a receipt book. Jerry showed us that we could
use Merge Wizard by going into Microsoft Word and clicking on New Document,
there would be a drop down menu that would allow us to choose from a number of
templates to create receipts and print them out. Also listed there are purchase
orders, stationery, envelopes, mailing labels, business cards, etc.
We discussed whether it was better to install and use Internet Explorer Browser
Version 8 or 7. Jerry told us that if we still use Windows XP as our operating
system, IE8 would slow our computers down. For those of us who use Vista, IE8
is okay to use.
Internet User Group
by Linda Young:
Marv
Schimmelpfenning brought in a magazine he picked up at a newsstand in northern
Wisconsin. It is Windows, the official Magazine and contained articles like
"10 Reasons to Upgrade to Windows 7", "Manage your Hard Drives
the Easy Way", The Top Ten Windows Vista Irritations: Solved!", "Upload
and Download Files Anywhere with FTP", and "Speed Up the time it
takes for your PC to Start. We went online and discovered this magazine
originated in England. Jerry Sobiesczyk is checking the newsstands to see if
the magazine is available in our area.
Waushara User Groups by Alice Waypa:
The August 27 General Meeting presenter was Mark Wienckowski, owner and operator of Waushara PC and experienced digital camera user, offering tips on taking photos with a digital camera. He talked about camera quality. He uses a Nikon DSLR . He also discussed point-and-shoot cameras, including the Panasonic and Canon brands. In describing the features of the camera, Mark began with the shutter speed and the aperture, and how to choose your priority. Adjusting the aperture determines the amount of light. For action shots, you may want to give the shutter speed priority. Aperture will also affect depth of field, influencing which part(s) of the photo will be in sharpest focus. On cameras with pre-sets, choose Landscape for better focus on a distant scene. Choose Macro when the camera is very close to the subject. For action shots or photos at night, set the camera on something to help hold it still. Consider using a tri-pod.
Mark gave us many helpful hints. For example, lighting is very important. Pay attention to the source and the angle. Be aware of shadows; bring people away from a wall. To prevent red-eye, have the flash bounce off the ceiling. Have your subjects look at your shoulder, not the flash. Notice the subject’s surroundings, such as trees or poles, so they are not directly behind the subject. Take your pictures at different angles, like getting down on one knee. Tilt the camera at different angles. Don't have your subjects look down at you, keep chins up and heads held high. Be aware that shooting on bright sunny days can result in unattractive shadows; practice shooting on overcast days. When photographing animals, get down to their level.
Camera care is important. Keep it away from water. For any dust or dirt, use an eye glass cloth, or a very soft brush. Do not use cleaners like Windex.
At the Genealogy Users Group, we used www.ancestry.com and other Web sites for research.
Mailing Crew: Barb
Johnson
News:
Paul Klemmer has
announced that our SeniorNet group will disassociate itself from the national
group. It was felt that we did not
benefit that much from belonging to that group.
However, individuals who have paid their annual dues may continue to use
their services until the membership expires.
And they may also renew if they choose, for as long as they wish
to. There are online classes offered by
the national SeniorNet organization which you might be interested in
taking. These classes cover a wide
variety of topics both concerning computer work as well as other things, such
as personal development, health and fitness, writing, math, and law. However, there is a fee.
One of our purposes
is to provide computer usage instruction for the senior generation. In additional to our monthly “help” meetings,
we encourage seniors to check the FVTC catalog to enroll in in-depth classes
that will help senior computer users.
Because of this
change, we will no longer have a membership fee to pay at this time. Our new interim name for the group is SENIOR
COMPUTER USERS GROUP, because the SeniorNet name is a copyright of the national
organization. FVTC will continue to
sponsor our group.
~~~~~~
Reminder – The
Newsletter is now available only online at
http://www.srnet-foxvalley.org/
~~~~~~
Classes scheduled to
begin this fall in Neenah at the FVTC Regional Center are full.
~~~~~~
Holiday Lunch will
be December 10, 11:30am -1pm at the Appleton VFW Club. Cost $13. Mark your
calendars.
~~~~~~
Does anyone have
ideas for topics that you would like to have covered in the future? We want to provide technical help for
everyone’s benefit. Perhaps there is
something you would like to learn about.
We welcome your input. Send an
e-mail to the group and we will route it to the proper person. Remember there is no such thing as a stupid
question. Questions are asked because
you want to know something and very likely someone in the group will have an
answer. We could turn this question into
a topic to be covered in a general meeting so all can share in the answer.
Volunteers still
needed:
Continued smooth
functioning of this group requires some help, which, if it is not found, will require dropping some
of the things we can do. Please consider
volunteering. We exist for you and
because of you.
1. At this time we are asking for someone who
would work as a Publicity or Promoter Person for our group. Part of the duties for this person could be
occasional write-ups for the newspaper; brochures for distribution; ideas for
finding new members for the group; and the like.
2. Another person is needed to tally attendance
records and submit the results to the FVTC office.
Tech Tip:
Whether you’re
searching a Web page, are halfway through a long Word document, have checked
out the latest numbers in an Excel sheet, in order to return to the very
beginning of the information you’re looking at, just press these keys together:
‘CTRL + HOME’. This will instantly
return you to the start of any page without having to scroll with your mouse or
arrow key until you get to where you need to be. If you need to get to the bottom of that page
you can press these keys together: ‘CTRL + END’ and you will get to the end of
the page or document.
Inspirational
thought for the day:
If you want to lift
yourself up, lift up someone else – Booker T. Washington
Senior Computer
Users Group Sponsor: FOX VALLEY TECHNICAL COLLEGE. A thank you to them.