MINUTES OF THE GENERAL MEETING
OF THE CAMBRIA COMPUTER CLUB

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DECEMBER 3 CHRISTMAS PARTY

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OCTOBER 15, 2009

Mark Ratto presented the meeting today entitled, “Tips and Tricks from an Internet Veteran”. Fifteen members were present and two guests. The program started at 2:10 p.m.

He discussed “cloud computing” which allows the user to access systems using a computer other than is own regardless of its location. For instance, Mark purchased a Gold Card from Starbucks ($25 per year) so he could use their computer access at any Starbucks for two hours. For traveling he has a “Net Book” which is like a small lap top to take with him. He can use this at any Starbucks to browse on the web.

The new Microsoft operating system will be released on October 22. It is called Microsoft 7, and is the new operating system following Vista. If you decide to download this new system, Mark suggests that you save your data on another hard disc before upgrading.

Also discussed social networking, such as Face Book, Twitter, You Tube, etc. Another interesting one is called Central Coast Today.com. This covers the central coast from San Francisco to Santa Barbara. Clubs and organizations that may be of interest to you can be contacted on this web site such as kayaking, fishing, etc. This is a good way to meet people who have the same interests as you do.

One web site that may interest shoppers is called “Blastoff Mall”. If you find the price of some item at another store, just click on that logo shown under Blastoff Mall and find out if you can get a better price for that item. This is a free program and you can also make money on this by getting friends to join. Go to Google and type in Blastoff Mall.com.

Lots of questions and answers at the end of the program.
Program ended at 3:45 p.m. and a drawing for a prize followed.

Martha Daughhetee, Secretary

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MINUTES OF THE BOARD MEETING

September 24, 2009

The meeting started at 10:00 am. Present were: Dave Butner, Ed Pierce, Ron Crummitt, Janet Janszen, Trudy Penfold, Jack Hennessy, and Martha Daughhetee

We discussed the final accounting report for our new computer system. It is working well, and we need to decide what to do with the old computer. We all decided to keep it as a spare.

Our club raised $620 for the Joslyn Center through the Waffle Breakfast. We need to think of other types of fund raisers for 2010. The Pinedorado was also a success.

Also, we need to generate new club members. Janet suggested having people register when coming to the meetings and indicate whether they are visitors or true members. We need to get more people interested in becoming members. After visiting a couple of times, they should join. The cost of $15 will remain the same for next year. Joslyn Center may raise rates next year, although that is not confirmed.

The election of officers will be discussed at next month’s General Meeting.

We also plan to have our Christmas Party as last year but this year we may have it at Janet’s house rather then the Joslyn Center. It is usually held on a Thursday in early December in lieu of a regular General Meeting.

Also discussed was contributing old computers to be refurbished and then distributed to the high school. They really appreciate getting them, and Dave suggested others besides him go along to the high school to deliver them.

Meeting closed at 11:05 a.m.

Martha Daughhetee, Secretary

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September 17, 2009

Dave Butner opened the meeting at 2:10 pm. 12 members were present. He introduced Gina Zane who gave a presentation called “Take Control of your Personal Finances.” She is an Advanced Certified Quick Books Expert who lives in Cambria. She gave an introduction to Quicken 2009, a software program that can help you better manage your personal assets and finances. This software will teach you how to link your bank accounts to this software.

Web site: www.quicken.com will give you more information under their Products and Services and define their styles of programs. The basic program can be downloaded free. The Quicken Deluxe edition is new this year and sells for $59.99. You can view and track all of your bills and stay on top of what’s been paid and what’s coming up. You can optimize your investment portfolio on line and connect to your bank, credit cards, brokerage firms, etc. One password is all you need. For more features there is the Quicken Premier, which now sells for $89.99. For most uses, the Quicken Deluxe is very adequate. Gina said that you might want to wait until 2010 to buy a new one.

Many features include a section on Preferences. This gives you a choice of picking the features that most fit your needs. Gina showed us many ideas that will make caring for your finances easier and safer. Very interesting program.

There were questions and answers throughout the presentation and the meeting closed at 3:55 pm after a drawing for a prize.

Martha Daughhetee, Secretary

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August 20, 2009

Our meeting started at 2:10 p.m. Thirteen members were present. Roland Soucie, assisted by Lionel Rodgers, introduced us to a PC software that he uses entitled ThumbsPlus. This is a software he has used for three years and he feels it is flexible and fast and easy to use. He uses it for viewing, storing and editing photos. You can make a slide show out of several pictures, crop a picture, lighten or darken a scene and even add a hue to the picture. It is good for sending pictures attached to an e-mail and they can be resized even faster than Photoshop. He uses 800 or 750 pixel size for files and/or 82K for the web. Also there is a batch process where you can pick out certain pictures and resize and sharpen them all at the same time and put them in a folder together.

You can buy this software through Cerious on the web. It is a Yahoo program. The standard one, or personal edition, is ThumbsPlus v7 and sells for about $50. Roland uses the ThumbsPlus Pro, which sells for more but he feels the standard one has practically all of the features you will want.

There were a number of questions about this software and the presentation was most enjoyable.

Dave Butner reminded us about selling tickets to the Pinedorado. A number have been sold already, mostly at the Farmers Market. Much of that money from the sales will add to our computer Club funds.

Also, a reminder that a truck will be present at the Farmers Market on the fourth Friday of the month to accept electronic gear that you wish to throw out. They will not accept flourescent bulbs or batteries. Perhaps the Cambrian will reprint the items they will accept next week.

The meeting closed at 3:40 p.m., after a drawing for a prize.

Martha Daughhetee, Secretary

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THE CAMBRIA COMPUTER CLUB BOARD MEETING

June 30th, 2009

The third Board Meeting of the year opened at 11:05 a.m. The following members were present: Dave Butner, Roland Soucie, Jack Hennessy, Ed Pierce, Trudy Penfold, Martha Daughhetee, and our newly appointed Vice President, Janet Janszen.

We discussed our budget first of all and Ed Pierce gave the report telling us that there is $2,890.31 in our account as of now. At the end of 2008, we had a total of $2,328. It was decided that we need to have another fund raiser, such as the Clam Chowder Bowl which corresponds to the NFL Bowl game usually in late January. There is no reason to have just one such dinner and we could have one later in the year. It has been very popular. Some such event is needed not only for our needs but also for the Joselyn Center.

The budget was discussed first because we need to purchase a new computer this year and money is needed for that. Also, we need to generate new members. Perhaps better advertising of our meetings would help. Also we might distribute flyers at the Farmers’ Market on Friday. Ron Crummitt set that up a few years ago and we should continue to do that. Dave Butner said he has ordered an awning that we can use for that purpose. Jack Suggested that we might also get into interconnecting with other clubs like SLO Bites in San Luis.

Another topic was about our presence at the Pinedorado, either with a float or with members monitoring some of the games that the children like during that weekend.

We also discussed if we want to rent out our projector to clubs in the Joselyn Center or others. We had done that in the past but it didn’t always work out when it was sometimes misused. If we did this it might be well to have a rental agreement drawn up. What is a fair rental charge? Perhaps $35. per day. However, the vote was to not rent it out at all. A new one would cost approx. $865.

Another idea was to possibly have evening or late afternoon meetings to accommodate working people. This will be discussed further.

Jack and Dave brought some info on the new Mini-Mac computer which with use of two keyboards could be used for both Mac and PC computers. More software would be required for this, however, and Roland was going to research what software we will need for best use of the Mini-Mac. Roland, Dave and Rick Auricchio will have to agree on this.

Meeting adjourned at 12:40 p.m. Martha Daughhetee, Secretary

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June 18, 2009

The presentation planned by Roland Soucie about software for digital photos has been postponed for a later date. The meeting today started at 2:10 p.m. and was presented by some of our members. Ten current members were present.

Ron Crummit spoke about reviewing the documents you have on your computer and clicking on Tools, then Folder Options. You can split the screen and view details.

John Ehlers showed us some web sites that he likes. One is www.techstop.com This is about new things in technologies. Also, www.spedunkie.com/funstuff/html. Another is www.gutenberg.org/wikimain_page. You can get an audio book on a CD free by checking the listing and downloading it to a CD. It may take awhile if the book is a long one. Also, there are research sources through www.USPS.com. There you can calculate postage costs and find a zip code, address, etc. Another website is www.wolframalpha.com Here you can find equations, lowest place on earth, highest, etc. Then there is the TV listing where you can find the programs airing on a particular day, www.tvguide.com/listing.

Jack Hennessy demonstrated picking up from google a list of digital cameras and learn all the particulars about their features. Also, if you go to Google maps (gmaps) and check for gmaps pedometer you can find out how far a walk is and how many calories one would burn (depending on your weight) if you take this walk. He used Cambria from Burton and Main to the Joslyn Center and also a walk on Moonstone Drive from the new hotel to refurbished bridge on Moonstone Drive.

An interesting meeting after which we had our usual drawing of a prize and adjourned about 3:45p.m.

Martha Daughhetee, Secretary

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May 21, 2009

The General Meeting got started at 2:10 p.m. and there were 15 members present.
Peter Bonnisar, the photographer who presented the program at the April meeting about his trip across Australia by camel is here again to continue his discussion about understanding digital photography and the importance of light source and this time he went further on the techniques one can use to move images from one to blend into another. His photos of his trip through the Panama Canal were wonderful. He took the ship from west to east and return, east to west with the Celebrity-Carribean line. He has a great Olympus camera and uses a softwear program called Picasa2 that you can get through Google and it is free on the internet. He also has Photoshop Elements and was using Pro-Show Producer softwear. He puts all his pictures of a trip into a folder that he can access and copy each picture if he wants to change image size, for instance. This program has a number of good features.

We all enjoyed this Peter Bonnisor’s program and learned many things one can do by using your skills with various softwear programs that are now available.

Our president, Dave Butner, talked about the Summer Dance event coming up as a fund raiser for Joslyn Center and the success of the Strawberry Pancake breakfast event that was also a fund raiser for the Joslyn Center in which Computer Club members participated.

Dave would like to encourage those with old computers to turn them into the Computer Club so they can be refurbished and donated to the high school where students who need a computer can have one for their studies. He did that for a needy student and would like to continue doing that.

Program ended about 3:40 p.m. after drawing for a prize.
Martha Daughhetee, Secretary

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March 19, 2009

Today’s meeting started at 2:15 p.m. Fourteen members were present.
The program was presented by the Heritage Oaks Bank and their “Online Banking” service. Presenters were Karissa Nancolus who handles the electronic banking at the Paso Robles Heritage Oaks bank and Gina Lucich who is the branch manager at our local Heritage Oaks Bank.

Using their internet banking security requires a password which is changed every six months. This is an extra security measure which all banks don’t have. Also, if you have three invalid tries using your password to enter your account, the computer will lock up and you may have to change your password. Also, personal information and a phrase or image that is specifically yours will identify you and not even the financial institution has access to this. You will be notified a week before your password expires so you can plan a new password.
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When you enter your account and you are challenged by the bank to prove you are who you say you are, you will have 15 minutes to answer the challenge questions which you would have set up at the time you started your electronic banking system, perhaps your maiden name or other family name. Your information is encrypted and scrambled making it virtually impossible for anyone to access your checking or savings account.

You can have an account name rather than numbers, if you prefer, and can always check your balance and can transfer activity from one account to another. Also you can enter a stop payment and view a check from both sides if there is a question about a particular check and request that a check be sent to you. Many other advantages are available including mortgage calculations, wire transfers, etc.

Very interesting program for those who want to enjoy and save time and money by using electronic banking.

After more questions and answers, our drawing for a prize concluded the meeting at 3:40 p.m.
Martha Daughhetee, Secretary

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February, 26, 2009  General Meeting
The meeting opened up at 2:00 p.m. Sixteen members were present.

David Harris presented the program today. It was on the “History of Personal Computers” which he wrote. Some of the early computers he discussed were: ABC, the first digital computer started by David Packard and Bill Hewlett of Hewlett Packard fame in 1937. ENIAC was a programable computer used by the Army after World War II. It was huge and took up most of a room..

IBM came out with the first floppy disc in 1967, and in 1969 ARPANET had the first network, a predecessor of the internet.
In 1971, the Intel 4004 had the first microprocessor. And Apple Computer was started in 1976.
In 1980 Bill Gates and Paul Allen formed Microsoft.
In 1984, the Macintosh computer sold for $2,495. And in 1989 they had an office program.
In 1990 there were 54 million computers used in the United States.
Windows 3.1 was released from Microsoft in 1991 and was the standard for the World Wide Web.
Windows 95 came out from Microsoft in 1995 and the following year 50 million PC’s were sold world wide. Windows 98 arrived in 1998. It had a great operating system and was followed by Windows 2nd edition, then Windows ME, and Windows XP in 2001. Windows Vista was released in 2008 and now Windows 7 is being constructed by Microsoft, and will probably be released in 2010.
Hewlett Packard has a “touch smart” computer. They won a “Best of Innovation Design and Engineering” award for that.
David Harris discussed with the group a medical information program that is portable. It can be used for keeping your personal medical information at hand so in the event of a hospital visit or other emergency you can have everything you need. It can be plugged into any computer with a USB port. More information on this can be found at www.medinfo911.com. Also, David Harris will sell them directly to you. You can reach him at (805) 388-2522.

Following the meeting Dave Butner, our president, told about needing volunteers for the up and coming strawberry/waffle breakfast to be held May 3, 2009. He also will be looking at a possible Computer Club float for the parade for the Pinederado.

Meeting closed at 3:30 after a question and answer period and a drawing for a prize.

Martha Daughhetee, Secretary

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January 6, 2009 (Board Meeting)

Ron Crummit opened the meeting at 2:10 p.m.  23 members were present.  Ron introduced David Butner who will be our new president for 2009.  Ron Crummit is leaving that position having served  as president for three years and we are all very grateful for his great service.  Names for new or continuing officers were voted on.  They are as follows:  

President: Dave Butner
Treasurer: Ed Pierce
Program Chairman: John Ehlers, part time or newly filled
Membership: Trudy Enfold
Mac Group: Jack Hennessey
Novice Training: Position to be filled
Web Master: Roland Soucie
Secretary: Position to be filled

Ron discussed our December Christmas party which will be held on Thursday, December 4^th at 1:00 p.m.  It will start an hour earlier this year because other groups also need to use the Joslyn Center  for parties, etc.  We should all bring a “white elephant gift exchange.”  Holiday treats and refreshments will be served.  See you there. Today’s program was our yearly question and answers or “Stump the Stars” program.  Roland Soucie, Mark Ratto and Rick Auricchio were the “stars” or experts as they are all known.

Many questions were asked and all were answered.  I’m sure everyone learned a lot from this exchange.  We ended the program with our usual drawing for a gift. 

Meeting ended at 3:50 p.m.

 Martha Daughhetee,  Secretary

September 18, 2008

John Ehlers opened the meeting at 2:05 p.m. 12 members were present.

The program presented at today's meeting by John Ehlers was about the browser Firefox 3, version 3.0.1, and a new program from Google called Chrome.

Firefox is an independent program not associated with Microsoft but can live with Microsoft, Linux, etc. It has many features and is generally more secure from an information point of view. It is not part of your Microsoft operating system. The web site to reach this program is: www.newbie.org/firefox/#introduction.

This web site will give you lots of information about this browser.

The new software called chrome is a program from Google. We were not able to bring this up but you can find it on the internet. Another software, called Convert, shows you how to convert anything from liquids, i.e. quarts to litres, or miles to kilometers, etc. You can find this at: http://www.softpedia.com/get/others/unit-conversion/Joshua-Madison-convert.shtml. You can then click on link for Online Unit Converter and add this to your Google page.

Another browser discussed is called Opera. Another, Seamonkey, combines e-mail and browser application. It is a descendant of Netscape which was overtaken by Mozelle (Firefox) .

Had fun with a golf game John showed us: http://www.matchpractice.com/game/.

Program ended at 3:50 after our usual drawing for a prize.

Martha Daughhetee, Secretary
 

August 21, 2008

John Ehlers opened the meeting at 2:10 pm. Twelve members were present. The presentation today was a review of Team Viewer 3. This can be downloaded free from the internet (teamviewer3.com). It has personal and non-commercial use. You don’t have to type an I.D., nor a password. The program will do this for you and it will change each time you use this program. John demonstrated how you can use a partner, in this case, Roland Soucie, who was home on his computer, and take control of his computer to send pictures, and move a paragraph on one of his programs to John’s computer, as an example. Each partner can do this. This can be used as a way of sending information or pictures back and forth. The partner should also have this program.

John gave us a tip on Active X. This is what hackers use to infiltrate your computer. It occurs on programs through Outlook Express. The web site to use to find out what programs you have that might have Active X is: www.erratasec.com/research.html/ It is called AxBan and it will block Active X controls from running on your computer.

Another web site you can look up is: www.rememberthemilk.com. This is a web page in which you can sign up free and it tells you how to keep a “to-do list” on the internet.

Another game to try is listed as: www.falstad.com/maze. You use the arrows on your computer to move around a maze. We were unable to get to this website at the meeting.

A drawing for a prize was held at the end of the meeting. We closed at 3:20.
Martha Daughhetee, Secretary

JUNE 19, 2008

Roland Soucie opened the meeting at 2:05 p.m. There were 16 members present.

Our presentation today was by Jan Lloyd, of Cambria Coastal Properties, and her realtor associate Michael Stoddard. Jan was the first person to sell property on the internet, established in the early 1990's. She discussed how to use online services for real estate searches and transactions.

Her home page is laid out simply with a picture of a home interior and services set up by their company. It is set up in an easy way to capture the visitor and make it interesting to encourage return of the visitor. There is information about Cambria i.e., weather, demographics, photos, schools, etc. Also, the agents at Cambria Coastal Properties are listed as well as their listings. Included as well are Multiple Listing Service listings, as well as financial tools, specialized reports and links and testimonials.

Jan also discussed the “Back Office” as they call it, which has a secret lock and where important information can be added or changed to get better placement in search engines. Also, a mail center.

Expenses would be for the set up and design costs, full service monthly hosting, and additional link placements.

“Microsoft Office Live” is software which can be used to build your own web site. Here you can upload photos and register domain name, etc.

A drawing for a prize concluded the meeting at 3:25 p.m.

Martha Daughhetee, Secretary

May 15, 2008

John Ehlers opened the meeting at 2:05 p.m. 16 members were present.
Roland Soucie took us to an interesting software program called PC Hell.
The purpose is to provide some tips and troubleshooting remedies to help problems occurring in your computer. The web page is: www.pchell.com.
This web site lists the top ten steps to trouble free computing, computer virus center, computer cliff notes, computer virus hoaxes, etc.

Another web site is www.Vmyths.com. Here you can learn about computer virus myths, hoax virus alerts, myths and urban legends.

Also, there is Belarc Advisor. This one gives you an analysis of your computer and does a survey of all your hardware and software.

Truth or Fiction.com is another web site which is an e-mail reality check that verifies rumors, viruses, and hoaxes from the internet.

John Ehlers spoke about www.skype.com, software that allows you to make phone calls with picture of the caller. A microphone and headset set are required for this operation.

The game of the month, presented by John Ehlers, is a block game found at the following web site: http://twizl.com/bloxorz.html. Fun game

Program ended at 3:25p.m. followed by our usual monthly drawing for a prize.

Martha Daughhetee, Secretary

March 20, 2008

John Ehlers opened the meeting at 2:05 p.m. 22 members were present. He brought our attention to the paintings adorning the wall in the meeting room of the Joslyn Community Center. These are by local artists. Each artist is allowed one to three pictures to be posted for a month and no commission is required if artist is a member of Joslyn Center. Non-members will be charged a commission of 15%.

Wes Densmore was the featured presenter today and his subject was about a new Microsoft software called Windows Live One Care. This is an all-in-one PC program to protect your computer. It is always on and communicates the status of your PC's health by indicating certain functions that might be at risk with colored dots, red, green or yellow, meaning at-risk, good, or fair. It has a firewall and on-line theft protection. It will back up files and restore them and does performance tune-ups. Also, it can be hooked up to as many as three computers. It gives detailed descriptions for connecting to your PC. It will perform automatic tune-ups, defragmentation, etc., and will warn you when these services need to be done. You can choose which files you want to be backed up and the frequency. It reminds you to do these things or does it for you. It also gives you a monthly summary of the functions it has performed. Also, it can turn off unused programs This will improve start-up speed. One note: You have to remove your Norton Anti-virus program, if you have one, since Windows Live One Care has an anti-virus function included It can only be used on Windows XP or Vista. The cost is $50/year. A free download is offered for a 90-day trial but you will have to disengage your Norton Anti-Virus.

John Ehlers gave us a website to try: Www.visualthesaurus.com. This brings up words with similar meanings. Very interesting! Cost: $19.95 for a year with the on-line version and $39.95 for the desk top addition for a CD ROM.

The meeting adjourned at 2:20 p.m. after the usual drawing for a prize.

Martha Daughhetee, Secretary

January 24, 2008

Ron Crummitt opened the meeting at 2:05 p.m. 23 members were present in spite of a rainy, windy day. Ron reminded us of a fund raiser scheduled for January 25, 2008. It is the Super Bowl Friday dinner at the Joslyn Community Center and is featuring clam chowder and corn chowder for $12 per person, plus other goodies, beer, wine, etc.

Also, a reminder that your Computer Club dues are $15 per person for 2008, the same as last year, and are due now. And, of course, Joslyn Community Center dues are also due this month.

John Ehlers, our Program Chairman, was featured today and discussed the popular software program called Snagit. Snagit performs screen captures into a host of file formats, including a suite that enables you to modify the picture you have captured. It is compatible with Microsoft Word, Excel, Power Point, etc. John demonstrated capturing a page and also a section of a page. Much more information is available by going to the website of techsmith.com and check on the free download of Snagit for a free 30-day trial.

Next month Mark Ratto will talk about identity theft and legal matters and how to guard yourself from them.

For game of the month go to: http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/humanbody/body/interactives/3djigsaw_02/index.shtml?muscles

We adjourned at 3:15 p.m. after our monthly drawing for a prize.

Martha Daughhetee, Secretary

November 15, 2007

Ron Crummitt opened the meeting today at 2:05 p.m. He reminded us of the Christmas party to be held on December 6th and to bring a wrapped “white elephant” gift. This will be in lieu of a regular meeting in December.

Also, the new Computer Club Board for next year will remain the same with the exception of Mark Ratto who will leave after the first six months.

Another note: The Mac meeting usually scheduled the first Thursday of the month will be on the second Thursday for January, 2008, only. It will then return to its usual schedule for the rest of the year.

Ron introduced Bob Kennedy, our featured speaker, and professional photographer, who will be talking about cameras, composition, and other tips for taking a great photograph.

He suggests that to take good pictures a tripod is a necessary item. A tripod will enable you to have good stability, thus clearer pictures. You can brace your camera against your face and your body against a wall which further increases your stability if you don't have a tripod. Then there is the camera itself. Many of the new digital cameras have a stabilization feature which is something to look for when buying a camera. As for number of megapixels necessary, Bob says that 4 megapixels are as good as 10, at least for amateur photographers. Also important is the LCD, which shows your picture on the back of the camera, the larger the better is the best choice.

Other tips Bob mentioned include increasing shutter speed if image you want is far out. Use zoom to get closer to an object or person rather than moving closer to your subject. As to the sensitivity of the camera, ISO, use a higher number for darker conditions. Another important tip is when taking a picture, lock in the exposure by pushing the button down half way, then focus on what you want and finish the shot. Composition is important too. Decide on the foreground, middle and background that you like. Balance is obtained by containing the subject in the picture. Don't lead the eye out of the picture. Create the illusion of depth and consider the lighting. Use some shade in your composition, but if scene is too dark the flash really helps to fill in the shadows. Don't photograph people in a harsh light. Slow shutter speed for action. Remember to focus on something beyond the foreground, press the button half way and then pull back to finish the shot. Bob showed several of his personal photos to indicate some of the tips mentioned.

We had a large audience for this program, 35 members and guests. The meeting concluded at 3:40 p.m. after our usual drawing for a door prize.

Martha Daughhetee, Secretary

October 18, 2007

Eighteen members were present today for the meeting. It started at 2:10 p.m. with a very funny parody of Abbott and Costello's “Who's on First” routine. This, however, was about running a computer. John Ehlers, our program chairman and Ron Crummitt our president, performed the roles.

John Ehlers gave the program today which was about games we can play on the computer and other web sites to go to for information.

We first did a Soduko puzzle on their web site, www.soduko.com. It was an easy one but our audience together worked it out, using numbers one thru nine for each column. Now I know how to play but will look for the easy ones. They could be moderate or hard as well.

Next we went to some information web sites: http://www.ehow.com. Ehow has a category called: “How to do just about anything,” and even has a list of the Top 10 eHows that includes “How to make pizza dough” to “ How to create a ghost costume.” Some other web sites are: http://www.spedunkie.com/page11html, and http://www.wikihow.com; also, http://www.howtodothings.com, and http://www.howtocleananything.com. John followed this with how to recover if you accidentally spill coke or something else on your keyboard. You should immediately use your mouse to turn off the computer. Don't use the keyboard . It must be dried and cleaned before use.

Questions followed. Ron told us that our next general meeting would have a presentation by Bob Kennedy about digital cameras. If you have one you can bring it with you. Bob is an expert with cameras as well as a top notch photographer and will answer questions you might have.

The meeting closed at 3:30 p.m. and was followed by a drawing for the door prize
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Martha Daughhetee, Secretary

September 20, 2007

President Ron Crummitt opened the meeting at 2:05 p.m. Present were 20 members. He reminded us that the Octoberfest will be held again this year on October 6. Volunteers are needed.

Our program today was presented by David Harris, former Cambria Computer Club president. He discussed Cyber Crime which is a growing problem in this country. He distributed a listing of web sites that would be helpful reporting cyber crime if you are a victim and also networking organizations that can help prevent it. A FTC Identity Theft Helpline has a phone number (1-877-ID-Theft) and a website: www.idtheftcenter.org Password trafficing is a big crime and under reported. Also, phishing, which is illegally looking for information through a bogus web site where the user is asked to go to update personal information that a legitimate organization already has. They may ask for credit card numbers as well as bank account numbers and social security numbers. Trying to track this down has cost billions per year. Botnet is another serious problem. This is an illegal collection of thousands of compromised computers, all being controlled with a common infrastructure, A trojan horse is a good protection, but since 26% of all bot infected companies are located in the U.S., it has become the number 1 cyber crime.

For wireless network solutions, go to www.wi-fi.org.

Another organization that is helpful is CERT, Computer Emergency Response Team. Some criminals resort to “dumpster diving,” where they go through trash to find credit card receipts to find your credit card number or bank account number. Be sure to carefully discard such items.

There are three major credit card bureaus to contact if your credit card is stolen. They are: Experian, Equifax, and Trans Union. Also a police report should be issued.

Many questions came up at the end of the presentation and other types of crimes were discussed such as restaurant servers who can get your credit card number when you make a payment or not return your credit card or give you another one back. Be sure to check everything. Even hotel cards, the key cards used to unlock your room. These cards have a lot of information on them and should be removed by you when you leave the hotel. Much to think about.

Program ended at 3:15 p.m. followed by a drawing for some computer devices or software.

Martha Daughhetee, Secretary

July 19, 2007

The meeting opened at 2:10 p.m. Fifteen members were present.

Ron Crummitt, our president, presented the program today on music from the Internet. Music can be downloaded from the Internet free worldwide.

Boombox has a website, Boombox Internet Radio, under tucows.com Click on download box and follow directions. Also Musicmatch 10, owned by Yahoo, has a free downwload as well, http://www.musicmatch.com/download/free/?. Using both websites you can have continual music from radio and also pick your favorite artists. Choose from a variety of listings separated into genres such as classical, country, pop, jazz, etc.

A favorite tune can also be recorded and burned onto a CD disc. Musicmatch has a library where you can set up radio music to play or choose a favorite song to record.

John Ellis showed us a website called Challenge the Senses that was listed in the computer club announcement for the general meeting this month. Also he demonstrated the card trick website and gas prices around the continental U.S. website listed as above.

After our usual drawing for a prize, meeting ended by 3:45 p.m.

Martha Daughhetee, Secretary

June 21, 2007

John Ehlers, Program Chairman, opened the meeting at 2:10 p.m. 24 members were present.

David Harris, former president of the computer club, presented our program today which covered buying and selling on eBay. EBay is the largest on-line market place. The company's estimated value is around $60 billion. To get started buying or selling, you need to register. Fill in your name (best not to use your real name but name you want to use for business with them). Add a small picture of yourself if you like. Do research and create a listing for items you are interested in. You can participate in an on-line auction once you are registered. If you see an item you want to buy, you can watch what others bid in auction and determine if you want to bid higher by perhaps putting a bid in during the last day of the auction. The auction lasts 7 days. If you are selling, you need to research about what the item is worth and take a good photograph or two before listing. “Buy it now” is an option you can select for a slight fee. This gives the buyer a chance to get the item right away before the price goes down or up if bidded on. There are various other fees. A reserve fee varies from $1 to $50, depending on the value of the item. A “buy it now” fee runs from .05 to .25 cents. This goes away after the first bid. There is also an upgrade fee, which is not necessary, and a final value fee.

Open and use a PayPal account. This is like having a special account that takes care of paying and collecting money. This is a safer way of handling payments. As to mailing charges, you can check USPS.com on the internet and you can find out what a 2# package, for example, will cost to mail.

You can check seller's feedback and see the number of transactions a seller has made and if he is a satisfactory seller, i.e., he has a good record of not having any returns or dissatisfied customers.

There were many questions from our membership pertaining to eBay that David Harris was able to answer. Many people make a good deal of money buying and selling items. Check out the web for eBay University. There are some free info sites, and DVD's and books available for help in structuring your sales and buys.

John Ehlers gave us a new travel website, msdewey.com.

Meeting ended about 3:45 p.m. after our usual drawing for a prize.

Martha Daughhetee, Secretary

May 17, 2007

John Ehlers, Program Chairman, opened the meeting at 2:05 p.m. Sixteen members were present. After telling us the joke of the month, he showed us a website for another game. It is called hondo magic and you can get to it at the following website: www.hondomagic.com/html/a_little_magic.htm.

Our featured speaker was Caleb Lim, who has his office at Pedersen Realty, 1163 Main Street, Morro Bay, CA 93442. He discussed a number of free software programs that are available on the internet. He recommended a cleaner software called Ccleaner. The website is: www.ccleaner.com. It cleans out temporary files, cookies, and registry, a general cleaning of junk stuff. Caleb found it to be the fastest and most efficient, and it is free. Everything you do on the computer goes into the registry so it is important to keep it cleaned of unnecessary items. It's the operating system's history. Also, it is important to do backups from time to time to protect your work. Do backups before you defrag.

Another program that is free is Avast Home Edition. This is an anti-virus program that Caleb feels is far superior to Norton and MacAfee. It integrates with Outlook Express. Since you cannot have more than one anti-virus program on your computer, you have to choose between MacAfee, Norton and Avast. Caleb believes the latter, Avast, is the No. 1 anti-virus program and a number of large companies are using it now. This program checks both incoming and outgoing e-mail. You can find more about it at http://www.avast.com.

Another program available on the internet is: www.faststone.org. This is similar to Photo shop but free and quicker. It is a photo viewer and can resize photos.

A safety suggestion - Caleb prefers to leave blank the inset that says “remember my password” located in the window where you type in your password when you first go on line. It is safer to just type in your password each time you turn on your computer. Some spyware knows just where to look for this information in your processor.

For questions or follow up to some of the programs mentioned, you can reach Caleb Lim at his business phone: 772-5657.

After many questions and discussions, our program ended at about 3:45 p.m., after which a drawing was held for a prize.

Martha Daughhetee, Secretary

April 19, 2007

John Ehlers, Program Chairman, opened the meeting at 2:05 p.m. Eighteen members were present. First up, he gave us a couple of games that we can play on the internet. One web site is: http://www.hurtwood.demon.co.uk/Fun/copter.swf. This game involves directing a helicopter and trying to avoid crashing it. The other is a Mini Putt golf game. It can be found at http://www.mobilehome.net/miniputt/index.htm.

This month's meeting featured Patti Jo Overturf discussing genealogy and using the internet to search for sites for data bases. One favorite site is Ancestry.com. They publish a paper that you can subscribe to monthly or yearly that has a lot of helpful hints in finding lost relatives. The Los Angeles Public Library has a web site for information but you need a library card from the L.A. County Library system to get most information over the web. Closer to home, San Luis has a Family History Center located on Foothill Blvd. Best to call there first since they have docents and some days they may not be open. Other on-line sources are: Heritage Quest, Persi, (Periodical Source Index). RootsWeb.com, and Cyndi's List. You can search files using a particular name and check maps if you are familiar with the location of who you are looking for. RootsWeb.com is a good one and free. They have a surname list where you can check out names listed alphabetically.

You can also check U.S. Towns/County data base and check on the state source you are interested in. Some have message boards listed under state and county. There you can see if other people might be looking for the same name that you are. Another source is US GenWeb.com (an LDS site). San Luis Obispo has a Genealogical Society where you can get information. Patti Jo suggested that if you find something and want a copy, an original document may cost as much as $30 but it is far better and has best information.

Another good one is Cyndi's List where you can look up the federal census by date, The Bureau of Land Management has information on names of people who have purchased land from them. Finally, Google web site can often locate someone just by typing in a person's name, county and state, if you know that information.

This was a very interesting program and you will find a lot of information using the various web sites.

Program ended at 4:55 p.m. Then we had the monthly drawing for a prize.

Martha Daughhetee, Secretary

March 15, 2007

Ron Crummitt opened the meeting at 2:10 p.m. Twenty members were present. John Ehlers is looking into finding a new projector for us at a reasonable price to replace our old one.

John Ehlers, our Program Chairman, gave the presentation today on “Using Your Computer for Investing.” Yahoo Finance has a lot of information but since he wasn't able to connect to the web, he talked about other websites where you can get information regarding stocks, growth stocks, ETF's, lowest P/E ratio, return of capital, etc. One website is Telescan.com. This has fundamental analyses on buying mutual funds, and ETF's (Exchange-Trader Funds). The latter has lower operating costs and tax advantage and can be traded throughout the day. It is like a mutual fund that buys only index funds or S&P 500 stock, etc. Also available through this website is investor education in trading and stock market courses.

Yahoo Finance has a website directory. You can research equities by industry. Also, there is fundamental data on foreign markets and info on consumer products such as mortgage loans, auto loans, etc.

Also Mr. Ehlers discussed three books: New Trading Systems and Methods, Misbehavior of Markets, and Walk Down Wall Street, the latter of which he gave the least recommendation.

Following the program a drawing was held for a gift certificate.

The meeting ended at 3:40 p.m.

Martha Daughhetee, Secretary

 February 15, 2007

Mark Ratto started the meeting at 2:05. 23 members were present. His subject was more about Internet Explorer 7. How to download, etc. He recommended that you should first defragment your computer and delete cookies.

Before starting, where instructions say, “save” or “run,” click on save. Also, keep a log of the steps you take to upload program. Advantages of new upgrade IE7: It has improved security and has more tool bar area for selections to add to your favorites or much used icons.

Mark demonstrated how to use various “help” features and set program up to your preference. Some people may find the program may cause other problems to your computer and you may want to try it and then we can discuss problems anyone might have at the next meeting.

Mark Kramer demonstrated using the Turbo Tax program for 2006. Many people find this easy to follow and he showed us how to proceed.

Meeting ended at 3:50 p.m. after the usual drawing for prizes.

Martha Daughhetee, Secretary

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