Mr. Ed English Presents

“Computer Maintenance –

A Must for Trouble Free Computing”

• Computer maintenance – You need a game plan
• Maintenance utilities – Where to find them; especially free ones
• Keeping critical software up to date – Websites that can help
• How do these utilities/update sites work – Demonstrations to be done

A flyer fit for printing is available here.

See the General Meeting page for location and more.

We’ll review the Windows Desktop which is your main interface to the computer. We’ll explain things like the Taskbar, Systray, Quicklaunch bar and Start button. Then we’ll review how to keep your hard disk organized and tidy with Windows Explorer. You’ll learn how to manage Files, Documents, Photos, Songs and Folders (aka Directories) on your computer. You’ll learn how to find lost documents and how to keep them from getting lost in the first place. As a bonus, we’ll introduce you to some handy time savers like Shortcuts and Hot Keys.

See the Beginners SIG page for location, contacts, etc.

AGENDA

o What’s new in MS Office 2010

o How to take advantage of the free upgrade from MS Office 2007 to 2010.

o How to automate common tasks in Excel

See the Beginners MS Office SIG page for location, contacts, etc

Three Sticky Notes tips for Windows 7 power users

12 Tips to Speed Up Windows 7

Side by Side: Office 2003, 2007

See the Office SIG page for location, contacts, etc.

AGENDA

o Best way to move data from old computer to new.
A new computer can be a joy, but also a curse if you can’t find all of your old files.

o How to store your data and keep it safe.
Strategies on data management.

o Password Managers
Ever forget or lose a password? Some simple answers from free to $$.

o Paying for advice can be a real money saver.
Sometimes the most costly advice is some that you got for free.
A review of a site that gives you options for the best of both worlds.

o Mints on the Pillow

See the Grab Bag SIG page for location, contacts, more.

The internet isn’t always a nice place to be and most people don’t fully protect themselves from the bad actors like Viruses, Worms, Trojans, Spyware, Adware, Hackers, Pfishing, Pharming and Evil Twin (identity theft) scams.

We’ll show you how. We’ll also show you how to use passwords and User Accounts to better secure your computer.

See the Beginners SIG page for location, contacts, etc.

Despite my throw-away line at the general meeting last week, I’m NOT going to cover using VMware under Linux. I need to do more research and make sure I know what I’m talking about, so pencil that in for the September SIG. (Paul Griffiths’ presentation made it It all sound so easy…) Instead I’m continuing
more or less from where we left off last month. The topic will be aliases, functions, and scripts, and why and where one uses one instead of the others.

I’ve also got CDs of Maverick Meerkat (aka Ubuntu 10.10) Alpha 3; you’re welcome to them. BTW, Canonical has always stretched the release month as far as possible, so that 10.04 was released on April 29th, for example. This time they claim they will release on 10/10/10, but I’ll believe it when it happens. (Particularly because that’s a Sunday!)

I know it’s mid-summer, but show up anyway. The lack of attendance at the July meeting was quite depressing.

–
John Dierdorf

See the Linux Beginners SIG page for location, contacts, etc

It will be a tips packed couple of hours. Possible dishes include:

• collecting suggestions from a group (we’ll experiment with this one ourselves!)
• how to keep more tabs open… and not ever lose what is in them
• new ways to watch videos
• with videos you could skip TV… or you could watch TV online
• how to open attachments – without having to have specific software installed
• have any foreign language email translated… automatically
• fix it from afar
• how to remember everything
• … and more

See the Internet SIG page for location, contacts, etc

Paul Griffiths, CCA member and president of Albion Computer Group, will discuss virtual machines using VMware. This will include the various kinds of VMs, their key features, primary uses, how to get a copy, hints for using it, and more!

Click here for a a detailed, printable flyer!

View Paul’s Powerpoint presentation:  Introduction to VMware.

See the General Meeting page for location and more.

Windows SIG Purpose: Learning the ins and outs, and the tips and tricks of the Microsoft Windows operating system to enhance the use of your computer.

AGENDA
o How to speed up your computer.
o How to make Windows show filename extensions and other useful items.
o Is the automatic file and icon cleaner a good idea, and where do you start or stop it.

o Windows Q&A
If possible, please email questions before the meeting so we can schedule enough time for answers.

See the Windows SIG page for location, contacts, more.