Fresno Personal Computer Users’ Group General Meeting
Monday October 2, 7:30 PM
Program Is:
Lee Otsubo,
The Digital Photo Guy
Lee Otsubo,
The Digital Photo Guy™
Digital cameras are all about immediacy and fun. Learn to emphasize the fun by joining Lee Otsubo, The Digital Photo Guy™, for this informative and entertaining digital camera workshop by means of a DVD Presentation.
The Digital Photo Guy offers simple, concise and lighthearted advice on getting the most out of your digital camera, favoring his "Rule of 3" approach.
Bill's Tricks & Tips
Quick Access to Programs
Under Windows XP, if you use a particular program very often and ALWAYS want it to appear on the top of your start menu even if Windows doesn't
A shortcut which is "pinned" in the menu will appear at the very top, left side of the start menu. To put a program there, find it in the Start menu, then right-click on it and choose "Pin to Start Menu".
This provides quick access all the time to this program.
Inserting Non-Standard Characters Into Documents
Ever have the need to insert a character which is not on your keyboard into a document? Common examples of this would be copyright or trademark symbol. You can insert these characters by using the Character Map program provided by Windows:
Start > Accessories > System Tools > Character Map
Simply select the characters you want, copy them to your clipboard, then paste them into your document. Character Map will even tell you Alt keyboard shortcut so you can insert them using the keyboard shortcuts in the future.
Assign Keyboard Shortcuts to Quickly Launch Programs
You can assign "hot keys" to quickly launch any shortcut in Windows. To do this, simply do the following:
- Create a shortcut to a program you want to launch
- Right-Click the shortcut and select Properties
- In the box for "Shortcut key" enter a key you want as the hot key.
- Apply the settings
You can, using Ctrl + Alt + [key] or F buttons as a combination. I always assign a shortcut to the Windows Calculator to be "C" so Ctrl + Alt + C launches the program without having to go through the Start Menu.
Advanced Screen Captures
Looking for a better way to capture screen shots than the "Print Screen" button? Give ScreenHunter - Free Edition a try:
www.wisdom-soft.com/products/screenhunter.htm It allows you to assign a hot key (tip: assign Print Screen, so it will use ScreenHunter as the capture program instead of the default Windows method), capture user defined areas, and even "burst" screen shots on a timer.
Keep Your Internet Cache Small
By default, Windows likes to assign a fairly large amount of hard drive space for your temporary internet files, or cache. In most cases, 50 MB is more than enough. Here is how to change the settings:
Internet Explorer:
- Go to Control Panel > Internet Options > General tab
- Under the "Temporary Internet Files" section, click the Settings button
- Change the size to 50 MB.
- Apply your settings
FireFox:
- Go to Edit > Preferences > Privacy
- Select the option for Cache
- Change the size to 50 MB (50,000 KB)
- Apply your settings
Happy clutter-free browsing!
FPCUG News
- Last month's topic was "Home Inventory" led by Don Cummins, and how to use our computers to make a complete inventory of our possessions as documentation in case of theft or disaster. We were reminded how difficult it would be to compile anything ike an accurate list of possessions and their value when we had just suffered the trauma of some kind of loss. We learned about shareware/freeware that can be found on the internet to streamline the process of keeping track of our valuables, but also that a simple spreadsheet can do the job. In addition, it was mentioned that photos and manufacturer's website descriptions were powerful tools in getting an accurate description. Finally, we were reminded of the importance to use the best media available, either paper, CDs or DVDs for long term storage.
- Since about half of all photos are now digital, and most are never backed up, family photos and other important images are at risk for loss from hard drive failure, virus or other type of computer crash. Acoustica Photos Forever is software that searches your hard drive, locates your photos, tells you how many CD or DVD disks you'll need to burn them to disk, and then proceeds to burn them to disk for you, giving you a chime notification to let you know when it's time to insert another disk! Acoustica software is offering Computer User Group members a free license for Acoustica Photos Forever software. Contact FPCUG Board Members for more information.
- Dean Mason is looking for an assistant to help him locate software for the Disk Of the Month. Dean has been doing this job for many years, and is understandably wanting a break in the action. Please contact him if you have some time to help, and he will show you his tricks of the trade.
- One of the highlights of the upcoming December "Potluck" meeting (besides the food) will be the raffling off of a refurbished computer. Keep an eye peeled here for further information on this.
Disk of the Month
AOL Explorer 1.5 Build 1.5001.7.1
Author: AOL
Date: 2006-05-11
Size: 383 Kb
License: Freeware
Requires: Win All
Welcome the next generation of Internet browsing. AOL has built upon Microsoft® Internet Explorer technology-the world's most widely used-and raised it to the next level. AOL Explorer has enhanced security and more time-saving features than any other browser. Built-in pop-up controls help protect you against annoying pop-ups and Spyware Quick Scan makes your surfing safer. A host of new tools, like Tabbed Browsing help make you more efficient. New AOL Explorer is the leap forward in browsing you've been waiting for.
ArtRage 2 Update 2.11
Author: Ambient Design Ltd
Date: 2006-05-03
Size: 1.2 Mb
License: Freeware
Requires: Win XP/2K
The ArtRage 2.1 Update converts any previous version of ArtRage 2 Full Edition to version 2.11.
Asterisk Key 7.9
Author: LostPassword.com
Date: 2006-05-26
Size: 425 Kb
License: Freeware
Requires: Win All
Asterisk Key shows passwords hidden under asterisks.
Features
- Uncovers hidden passwords on password dialog boxes and web pages
- State of the art password recovery engine - all passwords are recovered instantly
- Multilingual passwords are supported
- Full install/uninstall support
Cable Modem Diagnostic 1.0.3
Author: PatilanSoft
Date: 2006-06-26
Size: 779 Kb
License: Freeware
Requires: Win XP/2K/2003
Cable Modem Diagnostic is simple program for remote measuring of basis parameters of cable modems. Support DOCSIS standard.
CDex 1.70 Beta
Author: Albert L Faber
Date: 2006-06-24
Size: 2.3 Mb
License: Freeware
Requires: Win NT/2K/XP/2003
CDex is a tool to do all sorts of things audio related.
Mainly focused on ripping and converting, things like turning your home Compact Disc collection into an mp3 collection on your hard drive become extremely easy. With built in support for many encoders you wont find any shortage of options for your media files.
CurrPorts 1.09
Author: NirSoft
Date: 2006-05-12
Size: 46 Kb
License: Freeware
Requires: Win NT/2K/XP/2003
CurrPorts displays the list of all currently opened TCP/IP and UDP ports on your local computer. For each port in the list, information about the process that opened the port is also displayed, including the process name, full path of the process, version information of the process (product name, file description, and so on), the time that the process was created, and the user that created it.
DeskSlide 2.0.2.15
Author: DeskSlide
Date: 2006-05-27
Size: 671 Kb
License: Freeware
Requires: Win All
DeskSlide is a utility for automating the wallpaper change on your desktop. It replaces your boring desktop wallpaper, also called background image, automatically at intervals of your choice, with your beautiful digital images.
You can specify the wallpaper change interval in seconds, minutes, hours, days, weekly, monthly or when you log on - just to name a few. You can define complicated schedules as well.
FreeSpell 4.2
Author: HCI Design
Date: 2006-06-25
Size: 2.7 Mb
License: Freeware
Requires: Win All
FreeSpell is a spell checker for any and all Windows applications. You can use it in Eudora, in Microsoft Outlook, Symantec Visual Cafe, and even in Windows Explorer when renaming files (though it's a little tricky to do that). Anything that supports the clipboard supports FreeSpell, and all it takes is a hotkey to invoke it. Just as important, FreeSpell is based upon the Aspell engine, which means it offers the best spell checker around for people with weak spelling skills (as well for people who just need a quick proofreader). Aspell is full featured as well, with a large default dictionary, and custom dictionary support.
HDClone Free Edition 3.1.11
Author: miray
Date: 2006-05-16
Size: 3.4 Mb
License: Freeware
Requires: Win All
HDClone copies the content of hard disks on a physical level from one disk to another hard disk. Depending on the sizes of the hard disks, a complete or abridged image of the source disk will be created.
Mac Makeup 1.95d
Author: H&C Works
Date: 2006-05-27
Size: 545 Kb
License: Freeware
Requires: Win All
Did you ever get bored with your old MAC address?
If you did, this is the solution! Mac MakeUp let's you change the MAC address of any of the interfaces present on your Windows 2000/XP/2003 box.
Microsoft Network Diagnostic Tool (KB914440)
Author: Microsoft Corp.
Date: 2006-06-29
Size: 634 Kb
License: Freeware
Requires: Win XP
The Network Diagnostics for Windows XP tool analyzes information about your network connectivity to help you troubleshoot network-related problems with your computer.
Nero CD-DVD Speed 4.51.3
Author: Erik Deppe
Date: 2006-06-24
Size: 1.4 Mb
License: Freeware
Requires: Win All
CD Speed is a CD-ROM benchmark which can test the most important features of a CD-ROM drive.
OpenOffice.org For Windows 2.0.3 RC6 (Beta)
Author: OpenOffice.org
Date: 2006-06-25
Size: 92 Mb
License: Freeware
Requires: Win All
OpenOffice.org is the open source project through which Sun Microsystems is releasing the technology for the popular StarOffice productivity suite. It is an international office suite that will run on all major platforms and provide access to all functionality and data through open-component based APIs and an XML-based file format. It establishes the necessary facilities to make this open source technology available to the developer community.
Optimal Desktop Standard 5.0 r210
Author: Optimal Access Inc.
Date: 2006-05-11
Size: 9.3 Mb
License: Freeware
Requires: Win All
Use Optimal Desktop's tabbed interface to build easy access to all your critical files and favorite web pages.
Paint.NET 2.6.2
Author: Rick Brewster
Date: 2006-05-12
Size: 3.3 Mb
License: Freeware
Requires: Win XP/2K
Paint.NET is image and photo manipulation software designed to be used on computers that run Windows XP or 2000. Paint.NET is jointly developed at Washington State University with additional help from Microsoft, and is meant to be a free replacement for the MS Paint software that comes with all Windows operating systems.
Process Explorer 10.11
Author: Sysinternals
Date: 2006-05-11
Size: 1.4 Mb
License: Freeware
Requires: Win XP/2K/2003
Ever wondered which program has a particular file or directory open? Now you can find out. Process Explorer shows you information about which handles and DLLs processes have opened or loaded.
PstPassword 1.0
Author: NirSoft
Date: 2006-06-29
Size: 39 Kb
License: Freeware
Requires: Win All
PstPassword is a small utility that recover lost password of Outlook .PST (Personal Folders) file.
This utility can recover the PST passwords of Outlook 97, Outlook 2000, Outlook XP, and Outlook 2003. You don't have to install MS-Outlook in order to use this utility. You only need the original PST file that you locked with a password.
Remove Startup Programs Buddy 2.2
Author: Scorpio Software
Date: 2006-05-27
Size: 921 Kb
License: Freeware
Requires: Win All
Remove Startup Programs Buddy is freeware utility to remove malicious programs from Windows startup.
Skype 2.5.0.122
Author: Skype Technologies S.A
Date: 2006-06-28
Size: 10.1 Mb
License: Freeware
Requires: Win XP/2K
Skype is free and simple software that will enable you to make free calls anywhere in the world in minutes. Skype, created by the people who brought you KaZaA, uses innovative P2P (peer-to-peer) technology to connect you with other Skype users. If you are tired of paying outrageous fees for telephony, Skype is for you!
StartUp 1.3
Author: ExtraMile Software
Date: 2006-05-27
Size: 103 Kb
License: Freeware
Requires: Win All
StartUp Tool is a simple, yet powerful start-up items manager.
TweakNow RegCleaner Standard 2.9.2
Author: TweakNow
Date: 2006-06-25
Size: 1.1 Mb
License: Freeware
Requires: Win All
The Registry is a heart and soul of any Windows system. It contains information that controls how your Windows appears and how it behaves. Most applications today use registry to store configuration and other important data. When you install an application, a new registry entries will be created. This entries will automatically be deleted when you uninstall the application. Unfortunately, it is not always work that way. Sometimes, you will find that some applications fail to remove their own registry entries. This entry will become obsolete.
Software Review: Color Schemer
I'm artistically challenged. I know when I see color combinations that I like, and I can certainly tell one color from another, but in coming centuries, you'll probably never find my work at the Louvre. So, it's great to have help putting colors together in an eyecatching way.
figure 1
Since I've been working on the web, I've found several tools on the internet for color matching, combining and coordination, but after using their free online version off and on for years, I've come to really like Color Schemer, and I finally bit the bullet and paid $50 for a licensed copy.
Color Schemer isn't just a color picker. It does have the ability to grab any color off your screen to use in your color pallette, but it also helps you
figure 2
The opening screen is fairly simple. On the left you have the Base Color, your starting color. Color Schemer offers that color in RGB or hexadecimal values, and slider tools that allows you to deepen, lighten or adjust the hue (figure 2). At the center bottom, there is your basic color picker allowing you to choose a different
figure 3
The upper middle is where most of your work will take place. Figure 1 shows the base color with a suggested complimentary color. The software allows up to 4 color choices to blend, contrast, compliment or harmonize with the base color.
figure 4
Since Color Schemer was created with web design in mind, it offers a basic web layout view (figure 4) in the Suggested Colors View. Some colors that look great elsewhere, just don't work on the web. So, here you can take your 3-5 colors and see how they might look on a webpage.
One of the features I really like is the Color Mixer. You take 2 colors, designate how many steps you'd like to take in the blending, and then
figure 5
Finally, there are little, small things that make this tool very useful. You can click and drag the colors you're using to the side to work with them, there's a feature that allows you to copy the color number onto your clipboard for easy pasting in your webcode, and if you've totally run out of ideas for color combinations, there's the randomize feature, which picks a color out of thin air for you and you can start fresh.
After using Color Schemer for several months, I'd say it was worth the money I paid for it, and my downloaded copy will be diligently included in my collection of carefully backed up programs saved for future computer reincarnations.
© Ronnie Ugulano 2006
Why Do We Get So Much Spam?
The earliest recorded instance of what may be described as spam occurred on May 3, 1978. A sales representative for Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) named Gary Thuerk sent a message to everyone on the Arpanet data base (now known as the Internet) on the West coast of the United States. Thurek wanted to notify the recipients of an open house that his company was hosting a demonstration of new models of the DEC-20 computer.
In 1978 the Arpanet had a certified "acceptable use policy" which said it couldn't be used for anything except research and education. Thuerk's action was a very clear violation, and when DEC got a very strong response from the Arpanet community objecting to the misuse, the company promptly promised to stop. Spam would not appear again for many years.
Today, estimates of the amount of email that is defined as spam range from 66% to 94%. Whatever the actual figure is, the good news, if you want to call it that, is that spam appears to be leveling off.
Congress has passed anti-spam legislation. Spam receivers are angry, Internet Service Providers try to filter out spam messages, and spammers are loathed by the general community of internet users. Why do spammers continue to operate in the face of all this general repugnance?
In an article for Wired Magazine, Brian McWilliams provides a very depressing answer. McWilliams discovered a security flaw on a website operated by a group selling pills guaranteed to enlarge the male sexual organ. The reporter found that over 6,000 orders for the product had been placed in a time span of about a month. Business and medical professionals, athletes, and even women bought the pills. Many buyers made multiple purchases at $50 per bottle, despite an obvious lack of credit card security on the site. The web site provided no way to contact the company except by placing an order.
Being a good reporter, McWilliams was not deterred by the company's efforts to hide behind fake registration data, disconnected phone numbers, and phony email addresses. Eventually he revealed that the company was owned by a 19 year old high school dropout, and a neo-Nazi adherent.
The business appears to be highly profitable, net costs being about $15 per bottle of pills, but according to the FDA, there is no credible evidence that the product works.
Now you know why you get so much spam. It's because people who should know better respond to it and buy products from these companies.
Selling products of dubious value is not the only kind of spam on the net. This week alone I have won three European lotteries, and there are at least a dozen people in Nigeria who each want to give me $12 million dollars for helping them launder money. Notification came just yesterday that Bill Gates is going to give me $500,000 because I forwarded a few emails for a good cause.
Perhaps the best way to reduce the number of people buying from spam is to educate people about the problem. Unfortunately that takes time, but if we don't take the time to tell people why they shouldn't buy from spam, they will continue doing it.
If you are responding to spam, please stop.
Tech Books for Non-Dummies
With the approaching holidays, those reading. . . AARP's Web site will seek techno-gift ideas for family, friends, and themselves. But with conflicting suggestions from stores and manufacturers all around us, a trusted guidebook is valuable. So it's a luxury to have three such references from which to get great gift ideas, or to develop your own wish list.
These guidebooks would be Sandy Berger's Great Age Guide to Better Living Through Technology,
Sandy shares her sense of excitement and discovery with the reader, offering clear opinions on technology and how it affects us. Nothing is dumbed down - there's no mention of dummies or idiots - which is pleasantly different from many technology books. And whether you agree or disagree on individual items, you'll certainly know where Sandy stands.
The "Great Age" title is credited to Pablo Picasso, who said "Age only matters when one is aging. Now that I have arrived at a great age, I might as well be twenty." Chapters begin with other thought-provoking quotations. My favorite, highlighting the empowering nature of the books' subject matter, comes from marketing guru Greg Arnold, who said that "All greatness is achieved while performing outside your comfort zone." Although these books aren't uncomfortable reading, they may challenge you to try new things.
Each book opens onto Contents at a Glance, a list of chapter titles and page numbers which offers a handy, quick review of its content, and a brief "What's Inside" write-up. The Technology and Internet books include valuable sidebars calling out Sandy's Tips, Blooper Alerts, Lingo, and Trivia. Selected items in Gadgets and Gizmos are designated as Sandy's Favorites.
Great Age Guide to Better Living Through Technology reminds us how pervasive technology is, how much things have changed in our lifetimes, and how change is accelerating and never-ending. It addresses how technology has affected shopping, travel, health, finances, and even meeting people, and how families can take advantage of the digital world. Throughout, it encourages continued learning at any age and illustrates just how much there is that's worth learning. For example, it lists diverse search engines, giving attributes and advantages for each. Many are specialized and lesser known than Google or Yahoo but may be better for fulfilling certain information quests, such as the Library of Congress, available to all online.
The Great Age Guide to the Internet focuses on getting online and learning the language of the Internet, but also to have fun while avoiding problems. The book starts gently, introducing Internet concepts and terms, and assembles them into tips and tricks for Web searching, e-mailing, understanding Web advertising, and even building our own Web pages. It gives tips for picking an ISP (Internet service provider), demystifies browser windows components, and offers netiquette advice for instant messaging.
The Great Age Guide to Gadgets and Gizmos is a different sort of book. It serves as a catalog, shopping guide, and tour guide through current and future technology, offering gift ideas for oneself or Santa. It's not Consumer Reports, since it doesn't compare choices head-to-head, but its interesting and opinionated narrative provides both good and bad news about products. Its general advice and principles regarding technology keep it from becoming outdated as fast as a simple products list.
All three books are complementary, an easy read cover-to-cover, or useful as references for specific topics, services, and products. Their indexes locate topics quickly and, although there's some necessary overlap of content, each provides different information with varying orientation and emphasis. Overall, the books deliver usable information about evolving technology areas.
Specifications:
Title: Great Age Guide to Better Living Through Technology
Author: Sandy Berger
Paperback: 288 pages
Publisher: Que
ISBN: 0789734400
Price: $19.99
Title: Great Age Guide to the Internet
Author: Sandy Berger
Paperback: 288 pages
Publisher: Que
ISBN: 0789734427
Price: $19.99
Title: Great Age Guide to Gadgets and Gizmos
Author: Sandy Berger
Paperback: 264 pages
Publisher: Que
ISBN: 0789734419
Price: $19.99
This article originated on AARP's Computers and Technology Web site, www.aarp.org/computers, and is copyrighted by AARP. All rights are reserved; it may be reproduced, downloaded, disseminated, or transferred, for single use, or by nonprofit organizations for educational purposes, with attribution to AARP. It should be unchanged and this paragraph included. Please e-mail Gabe Goldberg at gabe@gabegold.com when you use it, or for permission to excerpt or condense.
There is no restriction against any non-profit group using this article as long as it is kept in context with proper credit given the author. The Editorial Committee of the Association of Personal Computer User Groups (APCUG), an international organization of which this group is a member, brings this article to you.
FPCUG Board of Directors Meeting Summary
The following items were discussed or decided upon:
- Gene Barlow of User Group Relations, a company that offers various kinds of commonly needed utilities is scheduled to give the demonstration in November.
- Board meetings are likely to be moved to a night other than Monday Night. Members will be notified when the change will take place.
Special Interest Groups (SIGs)
Digital Photo SIG:
The Digital Photo SIG is held on the first Saturday of the month at CompUSA on N. Blackstone at 10:30am and is hosted by Nancy Mason and Jo Townley.
Sanity Savers
Sanity Savers are members who have volunteered to help other members with their computing problems. SIG Leaders are also a valuable information resource.
Do not expect long term counseling, house calls, or to get pirated copies of software recommended to you. Also do not expect any of the volunteers to help you if you are not the legitimate owner of a software package.
If you have any experience in an area of computing, feel free to add your name to the Sanity Saver's list. You do not need to be an expert to be listed as a Sanity Saver--patience and willingness to help count for a lot.
| DOS | Dean Mason & Krikor Geyoghlian |
| Desktop Publishing, Graphics, Adobe Acrobat | Susy Ball |
| Excel | Krikor Geyoghlian |
| General Computing | Bill Myers |
| Internet Help | Dean Mason |
| Audio Help | Robert Caraway |
| Linux | Ben Lutes |
| Lotus 1-2-3 | Krikor Geyoghlian |
| Medical | Cecil Bullard |
| MS Word | Krikor Geyoghlian |
| Office 97/2000/XP | Krikor Geyoghlian & Laura Barnard |
| Windows 3.x | Krikor Geyoghlian |
The Fine Print
The Fresno PC User's Group (FPCUG) is a non-profit organization run by and for users of IBM compatible computers. The only membership eligibility requirement is an interest in computers.
FPCUG meetings are generally held the first Monday of the month at:
| President | Bill Myers |
| 1st VP | Dean Mason |
| 2nd VP | Jo Townley |
| Secretary | David Smith |
| Treasurer | Wilda Moller |
| 1. | Regles Bellamy |
| 2. | Gary Gipson |
| 3. | Monica Braun |
| 4. | Brian Fulk |
This newsletter was prepared using Macromedia HomeSite 5.5. Ronnie Ugulano is editor.
Contributions.While there's no guarantee that submitted material will be used, contributions to the FPCUG Newsletter are appreciated. Articles of 200-500 words should be submitted in MS Word doc or rtf format. Contributions can be in the form of an article written by a member or an article found on the internet with permission to reprint. Any screenshots or photos should be sharp and high resolution, and sent as jpgs, bmp, or tiff files, preferably not gifs. Files submitted as pdfs are likely to have their text and graphics extracted as separate entities so that they can be converted to html format. Graphics might be cropped or reduced to fit into available space. Contact Ronnie Ugulano for further information.
Reproduction Rights. Original articles may be reproduced by other computer users groups for internal, non-profit use, provided credit is given to the Fresno PC Users Group and the author(s) of the reproduced articles. This notice does not supersede the rights of authors whose copyrighted material is used by permission.
Disclaimer. Trademarks used in this publication are hereby recognized and acknowledged. The information provided in this newsletter is believed and intended to be correct and useful. However, the Fresno PC Users Group cannot assume responsibility for errors contained in the articles or misapplications of the information provided. Unless specifically stated otherwise, opinions expressed are those of the individual author(s) and do not represent the opinions of, nor endorsement by, the Fresno PC Users Group. The Fresno PC Users Group is an independent, non-profit users group and is not affiliated in any way with any vendor or equipment manufacturer.
Vendor Notice. Only review products that have been obtained by the product review coordinator and received through the FPCUG address shall be considered the responsibility of the FPCUG, unless otherwise indicated by the Board of Directors and with the full knowledge of the review coordinator.