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TUGNET
A Monthly Publication of
The Users’ Group Network
April—May 2009 Two Months
Volume 16 No. 4-5
April 7
Spin It Again with Larry Nye
IN SID E
Officers & Directors .................. 2 Many of you will remember when
Coordinators, Fine Print, Etc. ..... 3
Larry Nye showed us how great ver-
sion 1 of Spin It Again was. That‘s
Meetings continued .................... 4
the program that makes it easy for
Special Interest Groups ............ 12 you to transfer your well-loved music
Marian‘s Memos ...................... 14 from those vinyl records to CDs or
Highlights of Past Meetings ..... 16 DVDs.
Winners ................................... 28
Well, Larry‘s coming back to show
Cloud Computing ..................... 30
us the newest version. This is version
Southwest Computer Conf ........ 31 2 which is a free upgrade to all who
Problems with Microsoft .......... 33 purchased version 1. Among other
24 Things ................................ 35 things, it automatically looks up al-
Moving on to Vista—Part 13 .... 41 bum information and track times over
the Internet. Just enter in an artist
File Management ..................... 43
and/or album name and click Search!
Circuit Writer .......................... 47
Smart Computing Tips ............. 50 Album information, including track
times can be retrieved in a few clicks.
Help Contact ................................... 52
Monthly Calendar ........................... 54 No more typing!
Membership Application ................ 55 (See Meetings, page 4)
Page 2 www.tugnet.org 2009
OFFICERS AND DIRECTORS
President (2 yr) Marian Radcliffe MarianRad@1stNetUSA.net
Programs 818-249-1629
Vice President (1 yr) Nina Van Leeuwen ladynina1@gmail.com
Special Events 818-784-6144
Secretary (2 yr) Susan Kennedy flamingfury@intergate.com
Special CD 818-503-8973
Treasurer (1 yr) Deuk Perrin deuk_perrin@hotmail.com
805-578-9236
Director (1 yr) Nancy Cook cook8@aol.com
Membership 818-349-1542
Director (1 yr) Susan Phelps sidecarsusie@earthlink.net
Refreshments 818-848-9810
Director (1 yr) Ed Jameson ejameson@verizon.net
Special Offers 818-892-4074
Director (2 yr) A.J. Camou AJCamou@aol.com
SIG Coordinator 818-842-0747
Director (2 yr) Tom Vogel TVogel1104@sbcglobal.net
818-760-4821
TUGNET is a non-profit computer users group. TUGNET’s mailing address for membership
information, submissions to the TUGNET Newsletter, or other club-related material, is TUGNET,
3926 Community, La Crescenta, CA 91214-2375.
We welcome your submissions, including technical questions or letters to the editor, on PC disk
(in a popular word processing format), or by e-mail to Marian Radcliffe. Hardcopy alone will no
longer be accepted!! All submissions must be presented on disk or e-mail as described
above!! The number one rule when writing for us is: Do not attempt to format your article,
except for bolding and italicizing. Instead, focus on writing a clear, organized, grammatically
correct article. We’ll take care of the rest. We reserve the right to edit as necessary for space
considerations. Other non-profit user groups may reprint articles (except for those copyrighted)
without prior permission, provided proper author, title and publication credits are given.
Newsletter produced using Microsoft Publisher. Membership database is in Microsoft Access.
Cover Design: Jeff Marcus Graphic Design
2009 www.tugnet.org Page 3
COORDINATORS, ETC.
Membership Nancy Cook cook8@aol.com
Chairman 818-349-1542
Greeters Daisy Kuhn
Nina Van Leeuwen
Carol Scali
Equipment Jon Kranzler jakranzler@sbcglobal.net
Administrator 818-703-0979
— Audio Bill Geist billgeist@worldnet.att.net
Assistant Winston Garth wlg173abn@yahoo.com
Media Bill Tracy tracium@sbcglobal.net
818-618-8741
Tuesday Room Set-Up A.J. Camou
Robin Winkelstein
Refreshments Susan Phelps
Mel Ader
Arlene Brooks
Bill Tracy
Soda & Water A.J. Camou
Webmaster Kat Koch kat@ask-kat.com
Recycling Winston Garth wlg173abn@yahoo.com
661-255-5383
Fund Raising Kay Lalicker klalicker@verizon.net
818-891-5001
NEWSLETTER STAFF
Editor Open
Editor pro tem Marian Radcliffe MarianRad@1stNetUSA.net
Meeting Photographer Larry Nye nye-guy@juno.com
Proofreader Roger Poverny
Neither The Users’ Group Network, its Board of Directors, officers, nor members make any express
or implied warranties of merchantability and/or fitness for a particular purpose. Opinions provided
by newsletter articles, or by speakers, members or guests who address TUGNET meetings are
individual opinions only, and do not represent the opinions of the organization, its board, officers,
or members. All opinions and information should be carefully considered and neither The Users’
Group Network, its directors, officers, nor members shall be liable for any incidental or
consequential damages in connection with or arising from the furnishing or use of any information
or opinions. Brands and products referenced herein are the trademarks or registered trademarks of
their respective holders.
Page 4 www.tugnet.org 2009
More Meetings
(From Meetings, Page 1)
The track times can be
used to further aid in track
detection, especially for
albums without a clear indication of where songs start and end!
Hear what you are recording! If you have a USB or other sound
device that does not let you hear what it is recording, just click
the ‗Monitor‘ checkbox and no more guessing!
This meeting is bound to be one of the highlights of our year as
Larry shows us how we can do this ourselves in our own homes.
April 14
Autonet Mobile
Isn‘t it exciting to have some-
thing brand new presented for
one of our meetings? This is
the night for that! We‘ll have
Mr. Robert Rouhana, from Al
& Ed‘s Autosound, here to talk about some new developments
where the Internet and your automobile meet.
Introducing Autonet Mobile, it’s the Internet, only with
wheels.
Autonet Mobile puts the power of the Internet where you need it
most – in your car. Use any wi-fi enabled device to surf the Web.
With our wireless technology, no matter where you are in your
car, you‘ll always be connected.
The power of the Internet meets horsepower.
From your laptop, jump online to do a little e-mailing, do a little
shopping, or even do a little work. Do it all from your car.
2009 www.tugnet.org Page 5
Online gaming heads out on the road.
From your portable game console, connect wirelessly and chal-
lenge your friends – no matter where they are, it‘s game on.
Smartphone, meet a smarter car.
Hop on the wi-fi network and stream audio or video content to
your favorite handheld. You just boosted your phone‘s IQ.
Multiple devices, one solution.
Laptops, smart phones, and PDAs – they all can connect simulta-
neously to Autonet Mobiles‘ wireless network – at speeds ranging
from 300kbps - 800kbps, we give you the ability to explore the
Internet from the comfort of your car, or up to 150 feet outside of
it.
Autonet Mobile. It‘s what your car has been waiting for.
www.al-eds.com
April 21
Wine
Sorry, this isn‘t a time when you bring your favorite goblet with
you. No, this is software.
Leave Windows Behind - but bring your apps
with you
Powerful trends today are making non-Windows
operating systems attractive to many people and
organizations, but everybody has a few key Win-
dows applications they can't do without. Wine can
be a useful tool for running legacy applications
without having to purchase Windows for every computer. This
Page 6 www.tugnet.org 2009
talk will show you how and why you can leave Windows behind -
- and still use key windows applications.
Dan Kegel is a software engineer at Google working on the
Chrome browser. He enjoys working on Wine in his copious
spare time, and wrote the tool Winetricks to make using Wine eas-
ier. He served as the release manager for Wine 1.0 in 2008. Dan
started programming before MS-DOS came out, and has the scars
to prove it.
April 28
Computing 101
This is the meeting when we hope to help
those newer to computers get up to speed.
However, these meetings always provide enough variety so that
we all learn something. It‘s always useful information to help us
with our computing endeavors.
For this meeting Jay Cunnington will continue his introduction of
Windows 7 which he started last month. Although this Windows
―upgrade‖ won‘t be available for several months, at best, it helps
us to know what to expect, therefore being able to make a more
educated decision when the time comes.
April CD
Yes, we‘ll have a presentation of the April issue of our CD. Larry
Nye will be at the computer to show you the great files he has put
together. Get this CD from Larry and you‘ll have the ―Crisis of
Credit‖ that many of you have asked for along with many other
useful programs, etc., which Larry always provides.
Hardware Lab
This is the meeting when members can bring in a misbehaving
computer. Our techies will try to make it behave as it should.
Please leave it in the car when you arrive and bring it in at the
break.
2009 www.tugnet.org Page 7
May 5
System Mechanic
We‘ll have a look at the
new version of one of
our old favorites, System
Mechanic by iolo tech-
nologies. You may find
the news about iolo in-
teresting: ―iolo technolo-
gies Finds Silver Lining
in the Turbulent Econ-
omy. iolo technologies,
the PC tune-up software
experts behind #1 best-
selling System Mechanic
and award-winning
DriveScrubber and Search and Recover, continues its five-year
streak of unmatched success in spite of the uncertain economy,
announcing impressive sales and revenue growth throughout
2008 and in the first months of 2009.‖
Their flagship product, System Mechanic Professional, protects
and tunes your computer — automatically. Combining 5 award-
winning iolo PC Tune-up and data security products, System Me-
chanic Professional is everything you need to keep your PC safe,
fast, and error-free. This is the first comprehensive utility product
on the market compatible with 64-bit PCs. Looking ahead, they
have made the product compatible with the upcoming Windows 7,
a real advantage to those who will be upgrading to the new oper-
ating system.
With the tools included in the System Mechanic products you can
boost your computer‘s performance and stability with tools that
work automatically or, if your prefer, manually. Come see the
product in action and decide if this might solve the sluggishness,
etc., that your computer may be experiencing.
Page 8 www.tugnet.org 2009
May 12
DartPro
There‘s been a lot of interest in retrieving
that music you love from your old vinyl
records and tapes. We‘ve seen one product
which will do that for us quite easily, and this week Larry Nye
will show us another product that has been around a long time but
you‘ve probably never heard of. It‘s DartPro, Audio Restoration
and Noise Reduction Software, from an independent company in
Minnesota. DARTECH produces award-winning audio restora-
tion and noise reduction software products for users of all levels.
Use DART Pro MT for superior 24-bit audio cleanup to vastly
improve audio quality of older recordings (like LPs) plagued with
hiss, clicks, hum and more.
Larry will bring in his equipment and show you how he it does it
and the result he gets. It‘s a great experience to hear him explain
the steps he takes so be sure to have this meeting on your calen-
dar.
May 19
Computing 101
Our Computing 101 meeting is a week ear-
lier this month, so let‘s accommodate those
who need a little extra help. Between the
time you read this and the night you come
to the meeting, jot down questions that
come up during your computing. Many times you‘ll hear a term,
or a acronym, or a command, and not be sure what it means. Let‘s
try to clear these things up by concentrating on the things you
want to learn and know.
To make this work, we need your help, so please keep this in
mind and make notes. Then we can all learn something new.
2009 www.tugnet.org Page 9
Hardware Lab
This is the meeting when members can bring in a misbehaving
computer. Our techies will try to solve the problem. Please leave
it in the car when you arrive and bring it in at the break.
May 26
Backing Up Your Hard Drive
using Acronis True Image
with Gene Barlow
Gene Barlow has been a presenter in the
user group community for over 25 years. He
managed IBM‘s user group program when
the PC was first introduced back in the early
80's. Gene has since retired, started his own consulting business
and now lives in beautiful southern Utah, just 40 minute away
from Zion‘s
National Park.
Gene‘s topic is ―Backing up Your Hard Drive.‖ Acronis just an-
nounced a significant new release of their top rated backup utility,
Acronis True Image Home 2009. To read Gene‘s newsletter in
full about the dozens of important new features in this product,
you can go to www.ugr.com/nl1008.html.
Make sure you are adequately protected and can recover from any
unforeseen events such as viruses, unstable
software downloads, and hard drive failures
by having a well thought-out backup plan.
Having a good backup system is essential in
order to put your system back together again
in a few minutes, not days or weeks.
This is an important topic that every PC User
should implement on their computer.
Don‘t miss this meeting.
Page 10 www.tugnet.org 2009
New Members
Ray Ives
Donna Whalen
Renewing Members
Roger Bilyeu Tamarr Murichanian
Morris Cutler (NL)
Bill Geist Rex Quinn
Marci Green Bob Shattuck
J.L. Jackson Thomas Sheehan
Jon Kranzler Lorrie Stelzer
Edward and Glenn Stoddard
Sherre Lovick Allan Taylor
Richard Luczak David Wendt
2009 www.tugnet.org Page 11
Tip
What You Can Photo Paper For
Bring to the Every Need
Meetings Your local electronics store should
carry inkjet photo paper, which can
help make your printed photos look as
Recyclables: good as traditional color prints.
Cell Phones
You'll find a variety of glossy and
matte photo paper to suit your needs.
CDs & Photo paper will make the colors pop
and keep the details sharp, unlike run-
Floppy Disks of-the-mill printer paper.
Photo paper comes in various sizes,
Ink Jet Cartridges too. Many photo printers can handle
precut sheets in sizes such as 4 x 6
inches or 5 x 7 inches, which can save
Toner Cartridges you the effort of cutting finished prints
apart.
Drink Cans & Bottles For the best results—vivid prints that
won't easily smear, fade, or scratch—it
really pays to use the brands and types
Your checkbook of paper your printer manufacturer
recommends. The reason is that there
to renew your membership if needs to be good compatibility be-
the label on the back page of tween the coating on the paper and the
this newsletter shows your ink in a particular printer's cartridges.
expiration date is near. Why Don't forget to adjust your printer's
don‘t you ceck it now? settings to the type of photo paper
you're using before you click Print.
From Smart Computing
Your smiling face!
We have two ears and one mouth
so that we can listen twice as much as we speak.
Epictetus
Greek Philosopher
Page 12 www.tugnet.org 2009
Special Interest Groups
Specializing in the unique interests of our
members
Novices and experts are welcome
Real Estate SIG Imaging SIG
First Monday Second Thursday
@ 7:00 p.m. @ 7:00 p.m.
February‘s Real Estate SIG We will continue working with
meeting will attempt to con- the Photoshop tutorials.
tinue keeping our knowledge
current in all aspects of real es- We find much can be learned
tate. from these lessons as we all
want to hone our skills.
Meets at Nancy Cook‘s home
818-349-1542 If there is a project anyone has
Cook8@aol.com in mind, bring it in and we‘ll try
to work on it as well.
Investments SIG
Second Monday Meets at Granada Pavilion,
@ 7:00 p.m. Upstairs.
— Open Forum Discussion — Contact Susan Phelps
sidecarsusie@earthlink.net
The What, Where, and
How of Financial Investments.
Meets at Nancy Cook‘s home
818-349-1542 Check with SIG leaders
Cook8@aol.com to confirm SIG meeting
locations
Marcie Green (818) 594-1272
mercimarcie@hotmail.com
2009 www.tugnet.org Page 13
Media SIG Linux SIG
Third Monday Fourth Thursday
@ 7:00 p.m. @ 6:00 p.m.
Our next meeting will be dis- Everyone was
cussing and showing music ed- urged to try
iting and collecting software. connecting their
We will also be discussing au- computer to a printer. Linux
dio and video formats and bit computers connect to printers
rates. via a different method than Mi-
crosoft systems. Several Tux-
Meets at Nancy Cook‘s home luggers tried, succeeded and
818-349-1542 were happy about it. They said
Cook8@aol.com it was a great meeting and they
had learned something.
Web
In May we will have a different
Design SIG
printer to explore. Will this be a
Third Thursday
different kind of challenge?
@ 7:00 p.m.
Meets at Nina Van Leeuwen‘s
If you wonder how a web site is
ladynina1@gmail.com
developed, this is the meeting
818-784-6144
for you! You can get your ques-
tions answered and learn what
Bill Tracy
the group has accomplished.
tracium@sbcglobal.net
Meets at Nancy Cook‘s home 818-618-8741
818-349-1542
Cook8@aol.com
Check with SIG
leaders
to confirm SIG
meeting locations Discount to TUGNET members
Page 14 www.tugnet.org 2009
Marian’s
Memos
MARIAN’S MEMOS MARIAN’S MEMOS MARIAN’S MEMOS
KOW CHIP BINGO
We‘ve had a great relationship with the Kiwanis Club of North-
ridge for several years now. They have helped and supported us
in many ways. One of their primary fund-raising events is the
Kow Chip Bingo held at Pierce College – this year on Sunday,
April 19.
Larry Nye has tickets available for us to buy for ourselves as well
as sell to friends, neighbors, and family. This funds derived from
this event go directly to help children in various ways. But, they
share half of the $5.00 tickets we sell with us, helping our treas-
ury.
If you haven‘t yet supported this project, I hope you‘ll do so soon.
BUTTONS
Ernie Mierz has the equipment to print buttons. He has offered to
print special buttons TUGNET members can wear, calling atten-
tion to our club. We are looking for ways to gain some new mem-
bers and we‘re thinking this may be an easy way to do so.
I know you all invite your friends, family and neighbors, and oth-
ers you may talk to, to come to our meetings and learn about what
is new in the world of technology. Wearing this button when vis-
iting Fry‘s, Office Depot, etc., actually anywhere you go, might
be an ice-breaker to start a conversation and give you the opportu-
nity to invite a ―stranger‖ whom you just met to the next meeting.
2009 www.tugnet.org Page 15
We have a sign-up sheet at the Tuesday meetings, or let me know
that you are willing to wear the button and therefore have folks
―Ask Me About TUGNET.‖ You know for the most part,
TUGNET seems to be a well-kept secret in the Valley and we
need to change that!
SPECIAL EVENT – GETTY
TUGNET members and their friends can enjoy a visit to the Getty
Museum on Tuesday, May 12. There will be a guided tour of the
special architecture exhibit or you can enjoy a tour of the gardens
and other parts of the museum on your own.
Meet at Granada Pavilion at 11:15 a.m.
Add your name to the list of participants by letting Kathy Krogh
know of your interest: kakrogh@yahoo.com or 818-892-6004.
YARD SALE
Hopefully you are aware of the next yard sale – June 12-13-14.
Where? Where else but Nancy Cook‘s. Thank you again for tak-
ing this on, Nancy. I know all our members understand this is the
project that pays our rent.
Do start looking for things that you are no longer using but that
someone else may just love finding at the sale. Remember the old
adage, ―One person‘s junk is another person‘s treasure.‖ That‘s so
true as we always find out on sale days.
You can bring things to the Tuesday meetings, arrange to drop
them off at Nancy‘s, or arrange with Nancy and/or Tom Vogel,
this year‘s yard sale chairman, to have large items picked up.
Tom‘s contact info can be found on page 2.
Page 16 www.tugnet.org 2009
Highlights of
Recent Meetings
Change in Plans
(February 17)
Due to extensive technical difficulties that could not be resolved
in a reasonable amount of time, the planned presentation of Snag
It by Jeff Marcus was postponed to the following month.
We had a very interesting meeting as the result of issues raised by
our members and information shared. We should do this more
often!
Is Analog TV Dead?
(February 24)
Our good friend, Mr. Walter Ord-
way, came back to talk about the
Digital Transition which, as you
know, was postponed until June
12th. Walt always has a lot of in-
formation to share and we gain
much knowledge which helps us
separate the marketing claims
from the facts of the new tech-
nologies. This is extremely valu-
able when shopping for a new
product.
Walt was very interested and im-
pressed with the new screens that
were displayed at the CES show in January, as well as the pro-
gress being made with 3D-TV. He talked about some shows using
the new technology that were really exciting. Also, the examples
2009 www.tugnet.org Page 17
we‘ve seen of 3-D TV were discussed. Walt feels it will be awhile
before it‘s ready for the masses.
There is still a question of whether analog TV will really be dead.
He once again showed the chart of channel number changes
which will be confusing for awhile. See the file on the web site
since it is too extensive to include here. Walt sent the Excel
spreadsheet that has all of the TV channels in the country (their
analog and digital channel). He says, ―But, what is confusing is
that some stations have the same digital channel as their analog
channel. The answer is, that they actually have another digital
channel (which is not listed). And when they actually shut down
their analog signal, then they can move their digital transmission
to their old analog channel.‖
The second file he sent is ―Channels vs Frequencies.‖ ―The first
column is a list of all the channels being used today (2 thru 69).
The second column is the frequency band of each channel. The
third column is the list of the channels that will used after the
transition (2 thru 36 and 38 thru 51) – also only on the web site.
―The spectrum that was sold is what is currently channels 52 thru
69. Obviously, the spectrum will now not be available to the buy-
ers on March first. I don't know what the new date is, but I sus-
pect it will be July first.‖
Thanks again, Walt, for a splendid evening of information.
IRS Updates
(March 3)
We‘re fortunate, once again, to have Mr. Ted Meyer come to tell
us what Congress has presented to the I R S that will make our
tax returns just that much more difficult this spring. He discussed
the many changes that were included in the ―2008 Tax Law
Changes‖ and which are most likely to impact us. Most of the 300
changes will apply to our 2009 taxes.
Page 18 www.tugnet.org 2009
He always has a lot of information to share and does it in a most
appealing way. When you can have an entertaining and enlighten-
ing evening with such an unpleasant topic, you know we have a
very special person speaking. He started by discussing questions
that were raised during his last visit:
•Irwin Schiff, a prominent figure in the tax protester movement, is
now serving time in prison.
•Explained why the government doesn‘t provide tax filing soft-
ware
•Different ways of filing this year
•Showed a copy of the original 1040 tax return of 1913
The new ways of filing tax returns this year will make it easier
and free for many to file via the Internet. Ted showed a number of
sites making this task possible. He mentioned that the Franchise
Tax Board also has free direct file for CA taxes but isn‘t as flexi-
ble as the IRS site.
With Ted‘s help, we are as well prepared for the annual task in
front of us as is possible. One important item is to remind every-
one that the IRS will never contact you by e-mail – if you receive
an e-mail purporting to be from the IRS, it is a phishing scheme.
Delete it immediately.
Thank you so much, Ted, for another very helpful evening with
plenty of information for us to digest.
www.irs.gov
2009 www.tugnet.org Page 19
PC Story Most Requested
(March 10)
We hadn‘t seen David
Harris for quite some
time. He had prepared a
new presentation which he
was willing to share with
us. He says it‘s
―something old done up in
a new package and some-
thing new just recently
prepared – something old
and something new!‖
David reviewed Milestones in the History of Personal Computers
He showed a Time Line - 1937 to Present
Interesting fact: It was 1963 when 17 researchers showed a
mouse – it had taken a year to develop
He reminded us that in 1983 Time Magazine showed a com-
puter on its front page as ―Man of the Year.‖
Portable Emergency Medical Records
Of much interest was the MedxKey which enables you to have
your important medical records with you at all times. With its
markings, any emergency personnel will recognize it and have the
information they need instantly. It connects via USB, the software
included gives you screens to fill in with the info you want to
have available: emergency contacts, phone numbers of doctors
and pharmacies, health insurance, prescriptions being taken, etc.
Do a print out to take to the doctor, then update it with any
changes.
A generous discount was offered to our members.
Thank you, David, for providing a most interesting meeting.
Page 20 www.tugnet.org 2009
Snagit with Jeff Marcus
(March 17)
Capture, edit, and share exactly what you see on your screen. Take
a ―snapshot‖ of anything on your PC screen. Send it, store it, turn it
into a detailed graphic, find it later.
Rescheduled from last month through no fault of Jeff‘s. Techni-
cally, things just didn‘t work out but we got it right for this meet-
ing.
Jeff was able to show Snag It
version 9. Jeff had been using
version 7 and wondered how it
could be improved and at first
was reluctant to agree to pre-
sent version 9. However, there
are a number of improvements
and he now feels getting the
new version is worthwhile. It
has a streamlined interface and
combined modules which
make it even easier to use.
Jeff says, ―This is one of those
programs that is so useful eve-
ryone should have it on their computer with a shortcut on the desk-
top.‖ He stressed that anything on the screen can be captured to use
in almost any program.
Jeff showed how he captured a map to use in a brochure he pro-
duced for one of his clients. He also showed how it can be sent di-
rectly to the default e-mail program – in the body of the message.
One of the great advantages is the ability to get things from the
Internet that are not otherwise copyable. His example was informa-
tion from Ellis Island which, incidentally, showed his ancestors as
passengers on a ship‘s manifest from the earlier days of our coun-
try.
2009 www.tugnet.org Page 21
Showing the TechSmith website, he encouraged everyone to
make use of their ―Tips of the Day.‖
Thank you, Jeff, for an outstanding presentation of this very
worthwhile program.
www.techsmith.com
Creative Memories
(March 24)
We welcomed Laura Majalca to our meeting. Laura had come up
from San Diego to share her enthusiasm for taking care of family
memories.
Laura explained that Creative Memories believes in and teaches
the importance of preserving the past, enriching the present, and
inspiring hope for the future.
Organize, categorize, and personalize! From the creation of digi-
tal images to the completion of keepsake albums, Memory Man-
ager Software is a one-of-a-kind tool specially created for the al-
bum maker and will print in various sizes.
Experiment and try the exclusive ‗Memory Vault‘ and
‗PrintTrack‘ features:
•Ideal for importing images from a digital camera, scanner or ex-
isting files
•‗PrintTrack‘ allows you to see unprinted images with one click
Page 22 www.tugnet.org 2009
‗MemoryVault‘ stores and maintains all image data, revisions
and journaling in one central location
•Image enhancement features range from color correction and red
eye to cropping
•‗Tell the story‘ allows you to link an unlimited amount of jour-
naling to each image
•You can print images with your printer or link directly to the
Creative Memories Photo Center
•Share images via e-mail directly from ‗Memory Manager‘
Laura reminded us that most of the albums with the plastic sheet
page covers (magnetic albums) will cause your pictures to dete-
riorate sooner than you expect. Be careful to not let that happen to
your valuable pictures.
There are many tutorials to help everyone learn the program, step
by step, in various segments.
StoryBook Creator soft-
ware is a free download
from the website.
Laura also talked about
www.sendoutcards.com
which was not familiar
to us. Here we can cre-
ate a card online and it
will be printed and
mailed for less than a
card costs at a local
store.
Thank you, Laura, for a
delightful presentation,
2009 www.tugnet.org Page 23
giving us so many ideas to save our precious pictures and other
memorable items.
www.creativememories.com
Computing 101
(March 31)
This is the meeting
when we hope to
help those newer to
computers get up to
speed and keep eve-
ryone informed of
the latest develop-
ments. Jay Cunning-
ton was at the com-
puter for this meeting
and gave us a look at
the upcoming Win-
dows 7.
If you have an extra
partition or can make
one, you might want
to try Windows 7. It
was a free download
from Microsoft but
as of this writing is
no longer available. It may be possible to get it from someone
who had downloaded and saved it. It will work until August.
However, Jay gave us a look at it, comparing it to Windows XP
and Vista. Since the interest level of the audience was high, Jay
was not able to get through the material as he planned and will
continue this at the next Computing 101 meeting.
Thanks Jay, for another great presentation.
Page 24 www.tugnet.org 2009
Spin It Again with Larry Nye
(April 7)
Many of you will remember
when Larry Nye showed us how
great version 1 of Spin It Again
was. That‘s the program that
makes it easy for you to transfer
your well-loved music from
those vinyl records to CDs or
DVDs.
Larry began by reviewing the
equipment and cables necessary
to accomplish getting music from
a vinyl record or tape into the
computer and from there saved
onto a CD. Much discussion cen-
tered around whether the record player might need a pre amp or
already contained one.
To get the best sound possible, it‘s advisable to get a new car-
tridge and Larry provided several sources:
www.needlefinder.com; www.LPGear.com;
www.needledoctor.com; and www.garage-a-records.com.
Acoustica also sells the various elements that may be needed. He
also suggested that cleaning the vinyl record before starting will
likely help the sound.
Larry then showed us the newest version. This is version 2 which
is a free upgrade to all who purchased version 1. Among other
things, it automatically looks up album information and track
times over the Internet. Just enter in an artist and/or album name
and click Search! Album information, including track times can
be retrieved in a few clicks. No more typing!
The track times can be used to further aid in track detection, espe-
cially for albums without a clear indication of where songs start
and end!
2009 www.tugnet.org Page 25
This version has speed adjustments that will correct the recording
of the old 78s when using a record player that isn‘t capable of that
speed. There is a simple setting in the program that accomplishes
this.
Hear what you are recording! If you have a USB or other sound
device that does not let you hear what it is recording, just click
the ‗Monitor‘ checkbox and no more guessing! And yes, the pro-
gram saves to many different audio formats.
Larry also mentioned a free program he likes, mptrim. He uses it
to adjust the volume and, in particular, to add fade-in and fade-
outs on tracks.
Larry, thank you so much for the effort of bringing in all that
equipment, then giving us an outstanding presentation so we are
all enthused about getting down to business and saving our be-
loved oldies to CDs.
www.acoustica.com
www.mptrim.com
Autonet Mobile
(April 14)
Isn‘t it exciting to have something brand new presented for one of
our meetings? This was the night for that! Mr. Robert Rouhana,
from Al & Ed‘s Autosound, was here to talk about some new de-
velopments where the Internet and your automobile meet.
He began by explaining how Al & Ed‘s Autosound are trailblaz-
ers in selling and installing mobile electronics for 12 volt sys-
tems:
•1st Car Alarm - inspired by a milk truck and actually used cow
bells as the warning
Page 26 www.tugnet.org 2009
•1st FM Stereo in the car
•1st Rear Deck Speakers
•1st iPod integration to factory/aftermarket installed stereos
•1st Bluetooth HF connectivity to a car‘s stereo/speaker system
•1st in-car ISP - Autonet Mobile - provides access almost any-
where in the U.S. as well as parts of Canada, Hawaii and Alaska
•And many more firsts, such as opening the first car radio repair
business in the industry
Back to Autonet Mobile: Who is it for? Anyone who wants or
needs to stay connected, whether it be e-mail, searching the Inter-
net, or even kids playing games to pass the time while traveling.
Multiple devices, one solution.
Laptops, smart phones, and PDAs – they all can connect simulta-
neously to Autonet Mobile‘s wireless network – at speeds ranging
from 300kbps - 800kbps, it gives you the ability to explore the
Internet from the comfort of your car, or up to 150 feet outside of
it.
―Autonet Mobile. It‘s what your car has been waiting for.‖
Robert then introduced a new product just being released:
―Mobileye‖
•Forward Collision Warning – both highway and urban FCW
•Lane Departure Warning
•The option to easily adjust the alerts volume at any time
This will be built into the high-end type cars but can also be
added to your existing car, and will let you take it with you when
you change cars.
2009 www.tugnet.org Page 27
Thank you so much, Robert, for a
great presentation. A very gener-
ous $100 discount coupon was
made available to everyone.
Since some extra copies were left
with me, those who were unable
to stay until the end (or unable to
attend) may take advantage of the
offer.
You have brought our attention to
products of which we were un-
aware. We look forward to seeing
you again!
www.al-eds.com
Klassic Specialties
Check out Klassic Specialties at
http://www.klassicspecialties.com/tugnet.html
TUGNET members receive a 5% discount and
TUGNET receives 5% of member’s purchases.
Page 28 www.tugnet.org 2009
Door Prize Winners
February 24
AquaOdysseas Catalina: Margie Bernath
Pinnacle Studio Cloth Bag: Michael Gudlow
Absolute Beginners Guide: Project Management:
Marcie Green
Foxconn Drink Bottle: Arlene Brooks
March 3
TrendMicro Internet Security Pro: Dwight Randall
Microsoft Thumb Drive: Kay Lalicker
ADI Canvan Bag: Arlene Brooks
Leed‘s Intuit Travel Mug: Mark Schlenker
IRS Pens: Asa Watanabe, Deuk Perrin and David Hirschfield
IRS PostIt w/case: Werner Freund, Mary Watanabe
and Marian Radcliffe
Windows Vista Exposed (Book): Mel Ader
March 10
AquaOdysseas Catalina: Leo Gattenio
Norton PC Tune-up Service: Chris Christopher
Konica Reusable Bag: Roger Radcliffe
Microsoft Office Project for Mere Mortals (book):
Arnold Giesbret
MedX Key: Marv Harris
March 17
Snagit 9: Maury Whitaker
Snagit T-shirts: Marv Harris, Dave Sanborn, John Willauer,
Frances Petterson and Susie Phelps..
2009 www.tugnet.org Page 29
March 24
Creative Memories Paper Pack: Tom Vogel
Creative Memories Mouse Pads (to enclose picture):
Steve Krogh, Dwight Randall and Wendell Greenlee
econewonline.com Reusable Bag: Conrad Lalicker
Windows Vista on Demand (book): Marian Radcliffe
Nokia Mobile Earbuds Premium: Bill Geist
March 31
Clean-screen Cloth: Wendell Greenlee
Sugar-free Candies: Larry Nye
Microsoft Windows Home Server Unleashed (book):
Kay Lalicker
Alibaba.com Reusable Bag: Mark Schlenker
Alibaba Thumb Drive: John Willauer
April 7
Spin It Again: Nancy Cook and Steve Krogh
Ativa USB 2GB Flash Drive: Dan Reitz
Windows Vista Help Desk (Book): Mel Ader
Pinnacle Studio 11: Vel Augarten
KONKA Reusable Bag: Kay Lalicker
April 14
Smart Computing Issue: Jon Kranzler
Pair Symantec Glass Tumblers: Bill Tracy
Sirius Satellite Radio Reusable Bag: Paul Flynn
April 21
Windows Vista Plain & Simple (book): Maury Whitaker
Microsoft Windows Flash Drive: Mel Ader
BenQ Drink Bottle: Bill Tracy
Intel Canvas Bag: John Wilauer
Page 30 www.tugnet.org 2009
Cloud Computing
by Sister Dorothy Robinson
OMUG News, The Olympia Microcomputer User
Group, WA
www.olymug.org
Newsletter@olymug.org
ARTICLE ARTICLE ARTICLE ARTICLE ARTICLE ARTICLE ARTICLE
When did you first hear or see the term ―cloud computing‖? I‘m
usually the last to know anything, it seems, so I‘ve only recently
started noticing this term on the Internet. I did some research, and
some say it‘s the greatest thing since sliced bread – but others
think it isn‘t such a hot idea. In very simple terms, cloud comput-
ing is this: rather than having programs and files on your com-
puter, you would store files online and also access applications
(programs) online (think Google Docs or MS Office Live; think
Flickr or Buzzword). Your computer really wouldn‘t need to have
much on it, and you‘d have to have an Internet connection in or-
der to run applications or access your files. Not only individuals,
but also companies would be doing this (and in fact, are doing it
now). One of the major benefits is that a company (or an individ-
ual, for that matter) has the use of combined server resources they
might not otherwise be able to afford ‗in house.‘
The ever-vigilant Richard Stallman warns against the use of cloud
computing: ―Somebody is saying this is inevitable – and when-
ever you hear somebody saying that, it‘s very likely to be a set of
businesses campaigning to make it true. One reason you should
not use web applications to do your computing is that you lose
control,‖ he said. ―It‘s just as bad as using a proprietary program.
Do your own computing on your own computer with your copy
of a freedom-respecting program. If you use a proprietary pro-
gram or somebody else‘s web server, you‘re defenseless. You‘re
putty in the hands of whoever developed that software.‖
Food for thought.
2009 www.tugnet.org Page 31
Southwest
Computer Conference
INFORMATION INFORMATION INFORMATION INFORMATION
The 16th annual Southwest Com-
puter Conference is being held
May 29, 30, and 31 at the beauti-
ful Town and Country Resort &
Convention Center in San Diego.
Everyone attending the confer-
ence will have the opportunity to
attend technology company pres-
entations and tech sessions as well as workshops to enhance their
computer skills. They will also be able to talk with the vendors at
the Saturday night Expo and buy products at a conference dis-
count rate. A Welcome Bag and T-shirt are also included in the
registration fee.
Early Bird registration is $60, postmarked by May 15. May 16
through the conference the fee is $75. To take advantage of the
hotel conference $109 discount rate, reservations must be made
by May 1. Please see www.theswcc.org for more information.
A special event is being held on Thursday, May 28, hosted by
Jerry & Judy Clarke, Patricia & Al Hill and Jim & Barbara Gates.
It‘s a day trip to the Viejas Casino and 60-store discount mall
across the street from the casino. The reservation deadline is May
25 and participants receive a Casino fun book and discount cou-
pons for the stores.
Don Baker of Klassic Specialties has announced he is giving all
SW2009 attendees a 10% discount on his already low-priced ink
and paper supplies to be delivered at the Saturday night Expo.
This offer also saves on shipping costs. Place your order at
www.klassicspecialties.com prior to May 28 and indicate
―SWCC2009‖ in the comment section of the order form.
Page 32 www.tugnet.org 2009
The discount will appear on the invoice delivered with the prod-
uct. (Orders not picked up will be subject to any subsequent ship-
ping charges that may apply.)
Bruce Pechman, the Muscleman of Technology, will kick off the
conference on Friday afternoon at 3:00 p.m. with his popular
gadgets workshop. Bruce is frequently seen on the KUSI ―Good
Morning San Diego‖ show, as well as the KTLA ―Morning
Show‖ in Los Angeles, keeping viewers up-to-date on the latest
technology. He will have many cool prizes and the three we can
announce now are the Kitchen Technology Center ($399), Xbox
360 Console Game System ($199), and the very limited Special
Collector‘s Edition of World of Warcraft — Wrath of the Lich
King with a complete set of Brady Games Official Strategy
Guides ($50).
Some of the tech sessions / workshops are: Smart Computing
magazine; Nero multimedia suite – photo editing, burning CDs
(videos, music, data); User Group Relations – a webinair on back-
ing up with Acronis; Steganos USB encryption; demystifying ink-
jet printing with Klassic Specialties; Firetrust (all the way from
New Zealand) spam blocking software; Laptop Ergonomics with
LapWorks; Computer Forensics; the Kindle; Spring Clean Your
Computer; the I‘s – iPhone, iPod, iTunes – Why they are so fun;
Virtual PC, Photo Story and Podcasting; Computer Security and
Free Security Software; Is it time to put a penguin in your Com-
puter, featuring Ubuntu; as well as Is there a Mac in your future.
To complete the conference and casino day trip registration forms
plus find out more information about the conference, go to:
www.theswcc.org. See you in San Diego,
Judy
Judy Taylour, Chair
Southwest Computer Conference
16 years of bringing technology to you
2009 www.tugnet.org Page 33
Article
Problems with Microsoft
By Dan Reitz
TUGNET
ARTICLE ARTICLE ARTICLE ARTICLE ARTICLE ARTICLE ARTICLE
Did you get a notice from Microsoft that you have an invalid op-
erating system or make a request to download updates in the
background?
Well, I was naïve enough to respond favorably to a pop-up from
Microsoft asking if I wanted to get updates. After I checked
‗OK,‘ there appeared a small icon in the lower right tray in the
shape of a yellow shield with a black exclamation mark in it.
My computer started to do crazy things such as freezing up tem-
porarily, etc. I could not identify immediately who put the icon
there but upon placing the cursor over it, I then knew immedi-
ately who. The message said, ―Windows update 60%‖ or some
other percentage.
Upon browsing thru Google, I found a solution to stopping the
updates and thus the annoyances occurring on my computer.
Here it is:
Click on ‗Start‘
Click on ‗Control Panel‘
Click on ‗System‘
Select ‗Automatic Updates‘
Place a bullet in the circle in front of ‗Turn Off Automatic
Updates.‘
Problem solved!!
Page 34 www.tugnet.org 2009
Next problem:
For some forgotten reason, I went into Microsoft‘s web site and
before they would allow me to do what I wanted, they had to vali-
date my operating system.
I have Windows XP. The validation test failed.
From then on, when I turned on my computer, the desktop wall-
paper was replaced with a black background and a message in the
lower right corner stating my software was invalid and I could
upgrade for $149. There was also some kind of stamp that stated
‗Windows Genuine Advantage.‘
Again to Google and found this solution.
Click on ‗Start‘
Click on ‗Search‘
Select ‗All Files & Folders‘
Enter in ―All or part of the file name‖: WGA*
Click on ‗Search‘
Delete all files and folders with WGA in the description.
Again, problem solved.
I again went into Microsoft‘s site and went to FAQ on the validity
problem. According to what I understand, a system can become
invalid for one of a variety of reasons.
So they were trying to soak me for $149 to make a system valid
and which I probably had no control over for it to become invalid.
Such a deal!!!
2009 www.tugnet.org Page 35
Article
24 Things about to Become
Extinct in America
Author Unknown
ARTICLE ARTICLE ARTICLE ARTICLE ARTICLE ARTICLE ARTICLE
(An article making its way around the Internet )
Thanks to Sue Kennedy
24. Yellow Pages
This year will be pivotal for the global Yellow Pages industry.
Much like newspapers, print Yellow Pages will continue to bleed
dollars to their various digital counterparts, from Internet Yellow
Pages (IYPs), to local search engines and combination search/
listing services like Reach Local and Yodle Factors like an accel-
eration of the print 'fade rate' and the looming recession will con-
tribute to the onslaught. One research firm predicts the falloff in
usage of newspapers and print Yellow Pages could even reach
10% this year -- much higher than the 2%-3% fade rate seen in
past years.
23. Classified Ads
The Internet has made so many things obsolete that newspaper
classified ads might sound like just another trivial item on a long
list. But this is one of those harbingers of the future that could
signal the end of civilization as we know it. The argument is that
if newspaper classifieds are replaced by free online listings at
sites like Craigslist.org and Google Base, then newspapers are not
far behind them.
22. Movie Rental Stores
While Netflix is looking up at the moment, Blockbuster keeps
closing store locations by the hundreds. It still has about 6,000
left across the world, but those keep dwindling and the stock is
down considerably in 2008, especially since the company gave up
a quest of Circuit City. Movie Gallery, which owned the Holly-
Page 36 www.tugnet.org 2009
wood Video brand, closed up shop earlier this year. Countless
small video chains and mom-and-pop stores have given up the
ghost already.
21. Dial-up Internet Access
Dial-up connections have fallen from 40% in 2001 to 10% in
2008. The combination of an infrastructure to accommodate af-
fordable high speed Internet connections and the disappearing
home phone have all but pounded the final nail in the coffin of
dial-up Internet access.
20. Phone Landlines
According to a survey from the National Center for Health Statis-
tics, at the end of 2007, nearly one in six homes was cell-only
and, of those homes that had landlines, one in eight only received
calls on their cells.
19. Chesapeake Bay Blue Crabs
Maryland's icon, the blue crab, has been fading away in Chesa-
peake Bay. Last year Maryland saw the lowest harvest (22 million
pounds) since 1945. Just four decades ago the bay produced 96
million pounds. The population is down 70% since 1990, when
they first did a formal count. There are only about 120 million
crabs in the bay and they think they need 200 million for a sus-
tainable population. Over-fishing, pollution, invasive species and
global warming get the blame.
18. VCRs
For the better part of three decades, the VCR was a best-seller and
staple in every American household until being completely deci-
mated by the DVD, and now the Digital Video Recorder (DVR).
In fact, the only remnants of the VHS age at your local Wal-Mart
or Radio Shack are blank VHS tapes these days. Pre-recorded
VHS tapes are largely gone and VHS decks are practically no-
where to be found. They served us so well.
17. Ash Trees
In the late 1990s, a pretty, iridescent green species of beetle, now
known as the emerald ash borer, hitched a ride to North America
2009 www.tugnet.org Page 37
with ash wood products imported from eastern Asia. In less than a
decade, its larvae have killed millions of trees in the Midwest, and
continue to spread. They've killed more than 30 million ash trees
in southeastern Michigan alone, with tens of millions more lost in
Ohio and Indiana. More than 7.5 billion ash trees are currently at
risk.
16. Ham Radio
Amateur radio operators enjoy personal (and often worldwide)
wireless communications with each other and are able to support
their communities with emergency and disaster communications
if necessary, while increasing their personal knowledge of elec-
tronics and radio theory. However, proliferation of the Internet
and its popularity among youth has caused the decline of amateur
radio. In the past five years alone, the number of people holding
active ham radio licenses has dropped by 50,000, even though
Morse Code is no longer a requirement.
15. The Swimming Hole
Thanks to our litigious society, swimming holes are becoming a
thing of the past. '20/20' reports that swimming hole owners, like
Robert Every in High Falls, NY, are shutting them down out of
worry that if someone gets hurt they'll sue. And that's exactly
what happened in Seattle. The city of Bellingham was sued by
Katie Hofstetter who was paralyzed in a fall at a popular swim-
ming hole in Whatcom Falls Park. As injuries occur and lawsuits
follow, expect more swimming holes to post 'Keep out!' signs.
14. Answering Machines
The increasing disappearance of answering machines is directly
tied to No 20 our list -- the decline of landlines. According to
USA Today, the number of homes that only use cell phones
jumped 159% between 2004 and 2007. It has been particularly
bad in New York; since 2000, landline usage has dropped 55%.
It's logical that as cell phones rise, many of them replacing tradi-
tional landlines, that there will be fewer answering machines.
Page 38 www.tugnet.org 2009
13. Cameras That Use Film
It doesn't require a statistician to prove the rapid disappearance of
the film camera in America. Just look to companies like Nikon,
the professional's choice for quality camera equipment. In 2006, it
announced that it would stop making film cameras, pointing to
the shrinking market -- only 3% of its sales in 2005, compared to
75% of sales from digital cameras and equipment.
12. Incandescent Bulbs
Before a few years ago, the standard 60-watt (or, yikes, 100-watt)
bulb was the mainstay of every U.S. home. With the green move-
ment and all-things-sustainable-energy crowd, the Compact Fluo-
rescent Light bulb (CFL) is largely replacing the older, Edison-
era incandescent bulb. The EPA reports that 2007 sales for En-
ergy Star CFLs nearly doubled from 2006, and these sales ac-
counted for approximately 20 percent of the U.S. light bulb mar-
ket. And according to USA Today, a new energy bill plans to
phase out incandescent bulbs in the next four to 12 years.
11. Stand-Alone Bowling Alleys
BowlingBalls.US claims there are still 60 million Americans who
bowl at least once a year, but many are not bowling in stand-alone
bowling alleys. Today most new bowling alleys are part of facili-
ties for all types or recreation including laser tag, go-karts,
bumper cars, video game arcades, climbing walls and glow minia-
ture golf. Bowling lanes also have been added to many non-
traditional venues such as adult communities, hotels and resorts,
and gambling casinos.
10. The Milkman
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, in 1950, over
half of the milk delivered was to the home in quart bottles, by
1963, it was about a third and by 2001, it represented only 0.4%
percent. Nowadays most milk is sold through supermarkets in
gallon jugs. The steady decline in home-delivered milk is blamed,
of course, on the rise of the supermarket, better home refrigera-
tion and longer-lasting milk. Although some milkmen still make
the rounds in pockets of the U.S., they are certainly a dying breed.
2009 www.tugnet.org Page 39
9. Hand-Written Letters
In 2006, the Radicati Group estimated that, worldwide, 183 bil-
lion e-mails were sent each day. Two million each second. By
November of 2007, an estimated 3.3 billion Earthlings owned
cell phones, and 80% of the world's population had access to cell
phone coverage. In 2004, half-a-trillion text messages were sent,
and the number has no doubt increased exponentially since then.
So where amongst this gorge of gabble is there room for the ele-
gant, polite hand-written letter?
8. Wild Horses
It is estimated that 100 years ago, as many as two million horses
were roaming free within the United States. In 2001, National
Geographic News estimated that the wild horse population had
decreased to about 50,000 head. Currently, the National Wild
Horse and Burro Advisory board states that there are 32,000 free
roaming horses in ten Western states, with half of them residing
in Nevada. The Bureau of Land Management is seeking to re-
duce the total number of free range horses to 27,000, possibly by
selective euthanasia.
7. Personal Checks
According to an American Bankers Assoc. report, a net 23% of
consumers plan to decrease their use of checks over the next two
years, while a net 14% plan to increase their use of PIN debit.
Bill payment remains the last stronghold of paper-based pay-
ments -- for the time being. Checks continue to be the most com-
monly used bill payment method, with 71% of consumers paying
at least one recurring bill per month by writing a check. How-
ever, on a bill-by-bill basis, checks account for only 49% of con-
sumers' recurring bill payments (down from 72% in 2001 and
60% in 2003).
6. Drive-in Theaters
During the peak in 1958, there were more than 4,000 drive-in
theaters in this country, but in 2007 only 405 drive-ins were still
operating. Exactly zero new drive-ins have been built since
2005.
Page 40 www.tugnet.org 2009
Only one reopened in 2005 and five reopened in 2006, so there
isn't much of a movement toward reviving the closed ones.
5. Mumps & Measles
Despite what's been in the news lately, the measles and mumps
actually, truly are disappearing from the United States. In 1964,
212,000 cases of mumps were reported in the U.S. By 1983, this
figure had dropped to 3,000, thanks to a vigorous vaccination
program. Prior to the introduction of the measles vaccine, ap-
proximately half a million cases of measles were reported in the
U.S. annually, resulting in 450 deaths. In 2005, only 66 cases
were recorded.
4. Honey Bees
Perhaps nothing on our list of disappearing America is so dire;
plummeting so enormously; and so necessary to the survival of
our food supply as the honey bee. Very scary. 'Colony Collapse
Disorder,' or CCD, has spread throughout the U.S. and Europe
over the past few years, wiping out 50% to 90% of the colonies
of many beekeepers -- and along with it, their livelihood.
3. News Magazines and TV News
While the TV evening newscasts haven't gone anywhere over the
last several decades, their audiences have. In 1984, in a story
about the diminishing returns of the evening news, the New
York Times reported that all three network evening-news pro-
grams combined had only 40.9 million viewers. Fast forward to
2008, and what they have today is half that.
2. Analog TV
According to the Consumer Electronics Association, 85% of
homes in the U.S. get their television programming through ca-
ble or satellite providers. For the remaining 15% -- or 13 million
individuals -- who are using rabbit ears or a large outdoor an-
tenna to get their local stations, change is in the air. If you are
one of these people you'll need to get a new TV or a converter
box in order to get the new stations which will only be broadcast
in digital.
(24 Things Concluded on Page 42)
2009 www.tugnet.org Page 41
Article
Moving on to Vista - Part 13
by Neil Stahfest
Tacoma Area PC User Group, WA
www.tapcug.org
ARTICLE ARTICLE ARTICLE ARTICLE ARTICLE ARTICLE ARTICLE
The chances are the first peripheral device you purchased for your
computer was a printer. You may have even received a ‗free‘
printer when you purchased your computer. Vista makes it easier
than ever to connect a new printer to your computer than ever be-
fore. The Plug-and-Play feature really works (unless, like me, you
have an old laser printer that Windows Vista does not support. :-( ).
So you connect your printer, follow the Printer Wizard‘s direc-
tions, it works and you're happy. But wait. Have you examined
your printer to discover all of its functions? Did you know that
many modern printers, even the inexpensive models, can print on
both sides of the paper, print sideways on the paper (called land-
scape mode), print in gray scale as well as in color and allows you
to control print quality (to save ink when you don't need high qual-
ity print). Here‘s how to find out what you can do and manage it.
Create or open a document using your favorite word processing
program or WordPad. At the top of your screen, click on ‗File‘ and
then scroll down to ‗Printer Settings‘ and click again. When the
‗Printer Setup‘ window opens, click on the ‗Properties‘ button. At
this point what you see depends largely on your individual printer.
In the case of my HP printer, I see a window with tab labeled
‗Paper/Quality,‘ ‗Finishing,‘ ‗Effects,‘ ‗Basics,‘ ‗Color‘ and
‗Services.‘ Selecting the appropriate tab allows me to select print
quality (Normal, Draft, Enhanced, etc.), Portrait or Landscape
mode , page order, color, single or two sided paper printing and
many other options. In the case of my HP printer, when I select
two sided paper printer, the printer prints on one side of the paper
Page 42 www.tugnet.org 2009
and then an on-screen message shows me how to reinsert the
printed sheet in the paper tray to print of the other side. These
print options are actually determined by the printer, not Windows.
Windows just provides the means to control the printers features.
Windows frequently provides more than one way to do the same
thing. Desktop icons provide a shortcut to run programs listed in
the Start Menu. You can easily create new desktop icons by open-
ing the Programs section of the Start Menu, Selecting a program,
right clicking on it and drag it to a blank area on your desktop.
When you release the right mouse button a short menu appears
with the option to ‗Create Shortcuts Here.‘ Select it, and left-click
once to create the icon. You can rename this icon to anything you
wish.
If you right-click on a desktop icon, one menu option is
‗Properties.‘ Select ‗Properties‘ and left-click once. Under the
‗Shortcut‘ tab notice the entry line labeled ‗Shortcut key.‘ It
probably contains the entry ‗None.‘ By selecting a suitable key
(letter or number), you can create a key combination shortcut to
your program. It‘s a convenient way to access frequently used
programs, spreadsheets and documents.
Before we leave this menu, notice the button labeled ‗Change
Icon.‘ When you left-click on this button you'll see an array of
icons that you can use to substitute for your default icon. Pick an
icon, click on the ‗Okay‘ button and then click on ‗Okay‘ again.
Your new icon will appear on the desktop.
(24 Things Continued from Page 36)
1. The Family Farm
Since the 1930s, the number of family farms has been declining
rapidly. According to the USDA, 5.3 million farms dotted the na-
tion in 1950, but this number had declined to 2.1 million by the
2003 farm census (data from the 2007 census hasn't yet been pub-
lished). Ninety-one percent of the U.S. farms are small family
farms.
2009 www.tugnet.org Page 43
Article
File Management - Part One
by Ron Hirsch
Boca Raton Computer Society, FL
www.brcs.org
ronhirsch1439@comcast.com
ARTICLE ARTICLE ARTICLE ARTICLE ARTICLE ARTICLE
What exactly do I mean when I say file management? And, I
can hear you saying ―Who needs to fool around with that stuff?
I have too many real things to concern myself with. My com-
puter takes care of all those things anyway, doesn‘t it?‖ Well,
the answer is yes and no. If you went into a restaurant to dine,
would you rather select your own choices from the menu, or
just have the waiter bring you what he feels like bringing? Very
few of you will answer with the latter. But, most people don't
bother to establish/customize their file preferences on the com-
puter. It‘s easier to just take what the computer has been set to
do. And, they don‘t have to learn anything (they think) if they
just accept all the defaults.
Please note that I‘m making the assumption that you know how
to use a mouse, and right or left click on things. And, when I
say ―scroll down‖ or drag, you know what to do. If you haven‘t
reached this point yet, I think it‘s time to take a very basic be-
ginner‘s course before proceeding.
The simplest way to understand the way your computer stores
things is to consider the following. Suppose you saw a line of
text as follows –
USA\Florida\Boca Raton\123 Broadway\2nd floor\room 24
\gray file cabinet\top drawer\3rd folder\2nd document.
I‘m sure that everyone would understand exactly where to look
for the document in question. The line above is actually a de-
Page 44 www.tugnet.org 2009
scriptive path to get you there. Well, computer hard drives store
things in a very similar way. A path to get to a document in your
computer might be –
c:\My Documents\Letters\Personal\Aunt Emma‘s Birthday.doc
This path states that the filename is ‗Aunt Emma‘s Birthday.doc,‘
and it is in a folder named ‗Personal.‘ That folder is a subfolder of
―Letters,‖ which is a subfolder of ‗My Documents,‘ which is a
folder on the hard drive C. To define paths in computer language
a ‗\‘ is used to separate the various elements of the path. Note that
this information is not case sensitive. That is, upper or lower case
makes no difference. Just having learned this already puts you
well on the road to understanding file management.
File management includes things such as establishing certain
folders which will be the storage areas for your documents and
other files. You direct where files will be stored in various of
your programs by saving your files in folders you establish or de-
fine. This makes things easier when you want to do backups also.
Many programs allow you to specify what those folders are. So,
when you go to save a file, that folder comes up as the default. A
common cry from beginners is ―I saved the file, but I don‘t know
where it is.‖
Within a folder you can have sub-folders. For example, if you had
a folder ‗c:\letters,‘ you could put in subfolders for ‗business,‘
‗personal,‘ ‗club,‘ etc.. This way, you have an organized filing
system. If you have a file drawer that you use for filing things,
most people will have separate folders or hangers for different
categories. Throwing everything in the same area make it much
more difficult to find things, just as putting all your different
socks into the same drawer, unpaired, and mixed up, makes life
tougher also.
Most people are intimidated by their computers. Remember, it‘s
only a machine, and you should be the boss, not the computer.
The more you understand, the more in control you will feel. But,
2009 www.tugnet.org Page 45
that doesn‘t just happen. Like all things in this world, you must
make it happen.
Reading these articles, and doing the practice can help you along
the road to that end.
Once you become reasonably proficient in the subjects to be pre-
sented, you will be prepared to move files around, copy them to a
floppy or ZIP disk to back them up, or delete them. The exercise
below should help you in this area.
Please note that the protocols used here are applicable not only to
PC‘s, but also to Mac‘s. These protocols are very logical once
you understand them. The term Windows will be used throughout
the article. This means that all versions of Windows, 95, 98, ME,
or Windows 2000 will follow the same procedures.
Exercise Number 1
1. Open up Notepad - if you don‘t know where it is, click on the
―Start‖ button on the bottom left of your screen
‗Start>Programs>Accessories.‘ Double click on Notepad, and the
standard Windows text editor will open. Notepad is simply a
small program in which you can generate and edit text docu-
ments. It offers almost nothing in the way of formatting, but is a
bare bones text editor, as opposed to WordPerfect or Word which
are capable of elaborate activities.
2. Type ―This is a test.‖ in the Notepad window.
3. Save the document by clicking on ‗File>Save.‘ A window will
open. At the top of the window is an area with the notation ‗Save
in.‘ It will probably show your C: drive. If not, use the scroll ar-
row to select the c: drive. Once you have done this and double-
clicked on it, there should be a listing below of all the folders on
the C: drive. Scroll to the one named ‗My Documents,‘ and dou-
ble click on it. (‗My Documents‘ folder is a standard folder that
Windows installs.) The focus is now on that folder. Next, go down
Page 46 www.tugnet.org 2009
to the bottom of that window and in the field at the bottom, select
‗all files(*.*)‘ just to see what else is in that folder. There is a
field with ‗File name‘ alongside of it. In that field, type
―testfile.txt.‖ Then click on the ‗Save‘ button. You have now
saved that file in the ‗My Documents‘ directory. Now, exit Note-
pad.
4. Open Windows Explorer. If you don‘t know how to do this, it‘s
time you learned. Click on ‗Start>Programs>Explorer.‘ Or, click
on the Windows key and the ‗e‘ key on your keyboard at the same
time. Navigate around to display the list of folders on the C:
drive. If that‘s not what is showing, find C: on the left and double
click on it. This should bring up the list of all the folders on the C:
drive. Find the ‗My Documents‘ folder, and double click on it.
There should be at least one file there, the one we just saved
called ‗testfile.txt.‘
5. Before continuing, I suggest that you configure Explorer to
show all file extensions. This makes working with Explorer eas-
ier. At the top of the Explorer window, click on ‗View>Options,‘
and then uncheck the line which reads ‗Hide file extensions for
the types that are registered.‘
This is the end of part 1 of ―Learning Basic Windows Skills.‖
Next time, the second part of this will cover moving and copying
files, along with setting up new folders. If you find this material
useful, you may want to download this article in PDF format,
from our web site www.brcs.org. This allows readers to keep the
material either as a PDF file, and/or print it out, and place it in a
looseleaf notebook for future reference.
Tip
An Easier Refresh
Instead of endlessly clicking the ‗Refresh‘ button in your Web
browser with your mouse, just hit F5. This will automatically
reload the Web page you're trying to access with one simple
press of a key.
From Smart Computing
2009 www.tugnet.org Page 47
Article
Circuit Writer Version 6.6
by Jim Scheef
Danbury Area Computer Society, CT
www.dacs.org
jscheef@dacs.org
ARTICLE ARTICLE ARTICLE ARTICLE ARTICLE ARTICLE
Is the cloud really DRM in disguise?
You remember Richard Stallman, right? He‘s the founder of the
Free Software Foundation (fsf.org), creator of the GNU operating
system (gnu.org), and has been called ―the last true hacker‖ for at
least 20 years.
His take on cloud computing could not differ more from John
Patrick. Stallman would tell you that you give up your freedom
when you give your data to a remote site rather than keeping it on
your machine with free software. There are many, many blogs
discussing the comments Stallman made in an interview and I‘m
referencing one of them — InformationWeek, November 19, 2008
(tinyurl.com/6zztcc to save you from digging).
Here is a quote from the interview:
―One reason you should not use Web applications to do your
computing is that you lose control,‘ he said. ―It‘s just as bad as
using a proprietary program. Do your own computing on your
own computer with your copy of a freedom-respecting program.
If you use a proprietary program or somebody else‘s Web server,
you‘re defenseless (sic). You‘re putty in the hands of whoever
developed that software.‖
Another name for cloud computing is ―software as a service.‖
SaaS has been a hot ticket for the last few years for all sorts of
enterprise level applications. Some say that cloud computing is
just a new name for buying your software and having it hosted
remotely. One of my sons just completed a successful SAP
Page 48 www.tugnet.org 2009
implementation for his company. With people using the system at
distribution depots all over the country, it made more sense to
have the system hosted than to invest in all the data center infra-
structure needed to provide enough bandwidth for adequate re-
sponse times — not to mention the people needed to manage that
equipment. In this case, cloud computing is just business reality.
By the way, their hosting service is in New Jersey.
When we look at the cloud services that we mere mortals might
want to use like Zoho Applications (zoho.com) or Google Apps,
some are free as in free beer but none are free as in free speech.
When you sign up for such a service, no matter what the service
agreement might say about your privacy, your data is at the mercy
of that site and its security. And, unlike open source software, you
cannot modify the software used by the service to make it suit
your needs. The service agreement may even prohibit you from
reverse engineering the software and the DMCA could make do-
ing so a crime. Do you begin to see his point? On one hand we
have John Patrick telling us to embrace the cloud to free ourselves
from worries about backup and data loss with easy access from
wherever we might be; and on the other hand we have Richard
Stallman. As always, the truth is likely to be found somewhere in
the middle.
In the meantime, where did cloud computing begin? How is cloud
computing different from timesharing on a minicomputer or
mainframe? Was CompuServe and similar services the original
consumer cloud? You can comment on my blog at circuit-
writer.spaces.live.com.
The CAN-SPAM Act as a warning
One of my favorite columnists is Scott Bradner who writes in
Network World. His column in the January 12 issue (tinyurl.com/
aytbvu) is especially noteworthy. As news coverage of the inau-
guration reached a crescendo, all the business press can talk about
is all the new regulation expected from the new Congress. There
is absolutely no doubt in my mind that regulation is needed in
2009 www.tugnet.org Page 49
several areas. However, as Scott points out, the legislation in-
tended to regulate spam isn‘t. He points out that the act was writ-
ten by the spam industry and thus legitimized spam as a business
model. Lesson number one, regulatory legislation must be written
by and enforced by someone who wants it to be effective. In the
case of the Internet, no regulation is often the better policy as the
various attempts at suppressing porn have shown. However our
recent experience with the financial industry as proven that no
regulation is just not a viable option.
Is your DSL router vulnerable?
Read this article (http://tinyurl.com/8faqxt) on ―Dark Reading‖ to
see if your DSL router might be vulnerable to attack. The affected
routers are commonly used on AT&T DSL service. A quick web
search shows a simple DSL gateway device, not the common ‗2-
Wire‘ device. Apparently the Motorola/Netopia 2210 device does
not require authentication to change configuration. Imagine that.
The Julie Amero ordeal is finally over.
Back in November, in a nearly total absence of press coverage,
Julie Amero pled guilty to a misdemeanor, paid a $100 fine and
lost her teaching credentials. In my opinion, she should have been
totally exonerated and reimbursed by the state. You can read a
good synopsis of the case at reasononline (tinyurl.com/6gq3yr)
and julieamer.blogspot.com.
Events to remember?
An upcoming ―I remember‖ moment may be the transition to
digital television broadcasting. Any bets?
There is no doubt that the current financial crisis and the ensuing
recession will be remembered for some time to come. So what are
people doing about it? eWeek reports (tinyurl.com/7g8b6w) that
IBM CEO Sam Palmisano told the Obama transition team that
(See Circuit Writer, page 50)
Page 50 www.tugnet.org 2009
Tips
From Smart Computing
Speed Up Your Internet Connection
The first things to examine whenever system performance
slows to a crawl are the tasks, or processes, your PC is running.
No matter how fast of a CPU you have, running too many apps
at once can slow everything down.
Check running applications. Use the Windows Task Manager to
check on hidden apps that could be starving your browser of
precious time. Right-click the Taskbar, select Task Manager,
and click the Processes tab. You'll see a list of every process
running on your PC; you can sort the list by name, amount of
CPU time, or memory usage.
If you sort by CPU time and notice a couple programs trying to
grab all the CPU, it's a clue something has gone awry. If you
identify an unknown program hogging all the CPU, you can
stop it by right-clicking the name and selecting End Process.
But be careful: accidentally killing a valid Windows process
may cause other problems, requiring a reboot to fix.
(Smart Computing Tips continued on Page 51)
(Continued from Circuit Writer, page 49)
government investment could lead to the creation of more than
900,000 jobs in areas such as broadband access, health care, IT
and upgrading the electrical grid. Wouldn't that be rewarding?
In addition, Palmisano suggested that the government convert
existing data centers to green ones.
Gosh, I wonder where he got that idea.
2009 www.tugnet.org Page 51
(Smart Computing Tips Continued from page 50)
Wireless Mouse Pointer
If your wireless mouse stops working, the first thing to do is in-
stall fresh batteries or connect a rechargeable mouse to its charger
to ensure the mouse has power. Then, re-establish a connection
by pressing the Connect button on your mouse or receiver.
Depending on your model, you may need to press the Connect
button on the receiver and mouse simultaneously. Your users
manual will indicate the correct way to establish a connection, as
well as the effective range the mouse can be placed away from
the receiver.
Password Pointers
Regardless of the fact that you, like everyone else, have dozens of
passwords and PINs to remember, never write them down or keep
them in a Word document. If someone were ever to locate that
document, you'd be in serious trouble.
Instead, use a password manager program. Or, better yet, come up
with a code you use for every password. For example, perhaps
you use a few of the same characters for every password but add
in something unique for the rest of each password. If you have a
structure for creating passwords in place, you won't have to re-
member a password—just your own system.
Wi-Fi Hotspots
When connecting to free Wi-Fi hotspots, Wi-Fi security is some-
thing to consider. Most free Wi-Fi is unsecured, and even net-
works that require login are not always encrypted. For that rea-
son, a good firewall (with file sharing turned off) is a must if you
surf unsecured.
Page 52 www.tugnet.org 2009
Are You Experiencing
Technical Difficulties?
HelpContact is a FREE service to members of TUGNET only. The
following volunteers have offered to field questions with software and
hardware listed. Please be considerate of the volunteer you are
contacting. If you’d like to have your name added to the list, call or
e-mail the editor. Need help on a subject and there’s no name listed for
it? Try calling one of the SIG leaders.
DOS Pagemaker
Jim Burton Roger Poverny
jimbo1928@pacbell.net (See ―Eudora‖)
818-344-5300
Print Artist
Eudora Jim Burton
Roger Poverny (See ―DOS‖)
rogerp@socal.rr.com
Quickbooks Pro 5
Hardware Installation Rich Kimmell
Jay Cunnington sales@brakelathe.net
jay@jayscomputershop.com
Jayscomputershop.com Windows thru 95
818-362-8015 Jay Cunnington
(See ―Hardware Installation‖)
Internet—General
Roger Poverny Windows 98
(See ―Eudora‖) Jim Burton
(See ―DOS‖)
Internet Explorer
Jay Cunnington Windows ME
(See Hardware Installation‖) Jim Burton
(See ―DOS‖)
Microsoft Publisher
Kay Winnert Jay Cunnington
lazydazy@winnert.com (See ―Hardware Installation‖)
818-884-9441
Windows XP
Outlook Express Jim Burton
Jay Cunnington (See ―DOS‖)
(See ―Hardware Installation‖)
Jay Cunnington
(See under ―Hardware Installation‖)
2009 www.tugnet.org Page 53
DOOR PRIZE POLICY
Word Only members are eligible to win a door prize.
Marcie Green Members must also attend the full presentation
merci2mar@yahoo.com
818-594-1272
in order to qualify for that night’s drawing.
This is the arrangement that the vendors who
WordPerfect donate the door prizes expect and that is the
Marian Radcliffe policy we will follow for all meetings. To
MarianRad@1stNetUSA.net reduce the distraction of the seated audience
and the presenter, registration and the
Marcie Green distribution of name badges will cease at the
(See ―Word‖) start of the presentation. Those members not
yet registered, but who are present at the start
Susan Kennedy of the presentation will be registered and given
flamingfury@intergate.com
their badges during the break. Members
arriving more than ten minutes after the
presentation began have not met the attendance
requirement and will not be eligible for the
drawing.
Why Join TUGNET?
There are many reasons why you will Special Interest Groups on a variety
benefit from a TUGNET member- of subjects.
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the latest and greatest computer prod-
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Other Special Offers that regularly TUGNET a viable organization.
come to us .
Is that enough? Okay, you‘ll find a
Monthly Newsletter, Keywords, membership application on Page 39.
delivered to your mail box. in this newsletter!
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