December 2014 - Bank of Montreal Financial Group

Online investing made easy... Members of BMO's financial group demonstrated how their guided, award winning, online software is suitable for all types of investors, be they the "buy and stay" variety, or a person who monitors and trades frequently. [Contact: michael.longo@bmo.com]
Topics:

• What is Self Directed Investing
• The Evolution of Discount Brokerages
• Review of the Service Providers
• Live Demonstration [https://www.bmoinvestorline.com/]

November Meeting - VOIP, inexpensive home phone

Jason Arneaud, IT Director from Brookfield Global Relocation Services, demonstrated his choice for home phone service - voip.ms. Voice Over Internet (VOIP) has been running behind the scenes on big telco systems, like Bell, Rogers and Telus, since the advent of the Internet.  The cost for phone service should be a lot less expensive than is charged by these companies. Fortunately, moving to a less well-known VOIP provider reduces costs considerably. All that is required - a special adapter between your Internet router and a regular phone (an ATA). Once installed and running, Jason demonstrated a full-feature interface, which he uses to monitor usage, pay his bill, and add phone features. This same interface can create, or move to, new accounts/numbers.

October Mtg. - Scanners

Bob, Anne, and Dan demonstrated many kinds for scanners along with the software packaged with them. [two film/slides scanners; a book scanner; a high-speed, double-sided, auto-feed scanner; a portable wand scanner; a FlipPal portable scanner; and an older flat bed (resurrected with Vue Scan software). A version of the Abby Fine Reader (OCR) is frequently included with such hardware, plus  the manufacturers' own driver software, and often, some ancillary programs for supplementing and simplifying the workflow.]

September 2014 - Bitcoins by BitSent

BitSENT CEO (Leo Dominguez) and Rep. (Ryan Scott) explained the origins of crypto-currencies, and how they can benefit both payees and payers in everyday use. Foremost amongst such currencies is BitCoin, which can now be exchanged for online payment in many thousands of locations. BitSENT, a Canadian company, has also installed BitCoin ATMs in several major cities. Put in CDN$s and get BitCoin value in exchange. Spend that currency wherever it is accepted, and for much lower service rates. Such exchanges are well trusted and secured by nodes throughout the World. Another major endeavour of BitSENT is the creation of new BitCoins by investing in shared BitCoin mining, a process requiring extensive computing power and technical expertise - something these clever individuals hold in spades.  http://www.bitsent.ca/

August 2014 - What to do After XP

Alex Morrison and John Sylvestervich demonstrated Zorin, a Ubuntu derivative that offers two user  interfaces (similar to XP and Windows 7), along with programs similar to (or equivalent to) XP or Windows 7 in their functionality. Zorin has five packages, covering 32-bit and 64-bit systems, with software included for either education or business. The procedure is... choose and download a Zorin iso, burn it to a disk (or to a USB key), install the operating system (optionally on a separate partition), and let it do necessary online updates.

July 2014- Video Editing and Streaming

Mathew Farrow (presenter, centre) is flanked by his mom and grl-friend, as well as two club executive members... Anne and Dan Delong. A local news photographer is snapping a photo.

June 2014 - Photography Software and Advice

Brian Greenway - frequent presenter at the Clarington Older Adults Centre - offered a wealth of knowledge with respect to digital cameras, impressive editing software, and organizational methods.

June's presentation was moved to the large living room area of the church, as the main meeting area was being used for the provincial election polls.

May 2014 - Sunsiblesolar

Ken Wilson described the technology and costs involved in going off-grid with solar electrical installations. His company also carries gas generators and special home appliances designed to work on solar/battery power. http://energygiant.ca/

Bob Bell, a long time club member has taken many photos during meetings. Check them out. You may be featured in his photos. https://www.flickr.com/photos/roberttbell/collections/72157633028539019/

April Meeting: Dr. Patricia Campbell - Your Eyes and Technology: See Where We're Going

Dr. Campbell (Optometrist) shared her expert knowledge about new developments in the testing and treatment of eye problems. At her office, she is often able to provide treatments or referals that eliminate the need for eyeglasses.
http://www.oshawaeyes.com

March - Genealogical Software

Ed Goudge demonstrated his favourite, free, genealogical program - Gramps. https://gramps-project.org/
He also used his favourite operating system - Linux. Gramps is also available for other computers operating systems, specifically Windows XP and above, and OSX 10.5 and above.

February - Content Management Systems

Jason Mills shared his professional knowledge regarding building web sites using CMS (Content Management Software). He demonstrated the quick development of a commercial website, including shopping cart, by installing and then using Joomla to build the web site. He also discussed various hosting options, comparing costs and performance.