Hewlett-Packard Presents their Latest - Aug 2010 Meeting

What did we learn from Greg O'Donnell (HP's GTA East Territorial Sales Manager) and Rob Morris (Manager of Staples Bowmanville)? We learned that Staples handles not only all of HP's retail products, but their commercial devices as well. And, Staples will recylcle old electronics dropped it off at the store. Call first. HP produces a complete line of low, mid and high end computers - desktops and laptops. Some are specially equiped for media; some are tuned for gaming and graphics; and some are made so that a touch screen and computer are contained in a single unit. Most importantly, we learned about the new e-printing technology exclusive to HP. Each e-printer (multi-funtion units for now), have been given a unique email address which can be used to send print jobs directly to the printer (wirelessly). The owner of the printer has complete control of the printer by way of a web interface. That is to say, the owner tells the printer who can send print jobs and when to print (or simply hold for approval). The printer can automatically decide whether the output should be on 4 by 6 photo paper, or 8.5 by 11 office paper. HP's servers in the United States will translate many common formats for correct output, hence no print drivers need to be installed or understood by the applications used to create the job. Sending Word, PDF or any number of image file formats should be no problem.
What did HP learne from us? One of our members suggested that HP's competitor to the iPad should be named "HiP-Pad".

Web Cams - IM Chat - July 2010 Meeting

Web cameras are all over the place these days. They started out as strictly one-way devices, delivering images to you every few minutes, usually for security reasons, but just as often for seeing some remote touristy location - like Niagara Falls. Today, full, two-way motion video (with voice and text chat) is offered for the high-speed home user, by way of a number of free services. Some services, like Skype, require software installation, while others, like TokBox, operate entirely within a web browser (with Flash, in this case). In fact, TokBox allows multiple users to see and hear each other at the same time. Webmail services, like Yahoo, Google and Hotmail (with MSN Messenger) also make it possible to exchange live video and sound between two users... even using smart mobile devices. TokBox will allow up to 20 simultaneous converstaions in the free version. Paid upgrades allow conference scheduling, moderating, and video streaming to an audience as large as 200 viewers (one-to-many). Note that video conferencing is an excellent means of communication for deaf people who use sign language.

Cameras - June 2010 Meeting - The Computer Mechanics

Les Shaw and Deb Cormier, from The Computer Mechanics, demonstrated several special interest cameras (a robot cam, a hat cam, two mini cams.. and glasses spy cam) at the general meeting of the Durham Personal Computer Users' Club.
The many surveillance cameras at their store have aided police on several occasions. On-the-scene recordings (usually of accidents) and a CNN podcast, using some of these digital camcorders, have brought fame and a modicum of fortune to Les. All cameras, even the small spy cameras, have become inexpensive, and they deliver pretty good images. ThinkGeek is a good place to look for hardware. Most cell phones, purchased within the last year, have the ability to take video and high resolution still shots.

Office 2010 - May Meeting

Damir Bersinic, from Microsoft Canada, talked about "Upgrading to Office 2010" at the May general meeting of the Durham Personal Computer Users' Club. Microsoft would like us to try Office 2010. For Developers and IT Pros, the link is: http://www.microsoft.com/office/2010/en/download-office-professional-plus/

For the rest of us, the Offic 2010 Beta home page is: http://www.microsoft.com/office/2010/en/

Included: Word, PowerPoint, Outlook, Excel, OneNote, Access, Publisher, InfoPath, SharePoint Workspace, and Communicator.

Office 2010 aims to offer a standardized interface (the ribbon), along with collaboration (multiple simultaneous editors of documents), and mobility (smart phones).

Exel now makes even better charts, right within cells, and cells with numbers add quantitative shading to help user spot trends visually.

PowerPoint now provides tools for editing video and photos, without leaving the program to do so.

Office Web Apps will be a free version of the most used Office programs, so that anyone with a Windows Live ID can work with online versions of the programs - a little like Google Docs - for FREE (for now)!

Our NEW FORUM

Thanks go to member Jasper Baarbe for donating many hours of his time to create an online forum for our visitors and club members.
Use this new site to both look up information and to contribute your knowledge to the group. The new DPCUC Forum already contains many discussions about various topics: six are computer related and five topics are club related.
Jasper has included eight theme styles, with either dark and light backgrounds. Just click on the Register link (to join for the first time), or click on the Login link (to access the forum).
Looking for something in particular? Use the search box.
This site is a superb member benefit. So, join soon!

April Meeting - Batteries…You won’t leave home without one!

Marc Dupuis, from Batteries Expert in Bowmanville, shared his knowledge about batteries. As he pointed out, we are surrounded by batteries... from our watches and cell phones, to our cars and computers.

Marc explained the principal of how a battery works, the different types, and how to maintain them for a long life.

Besides batteries, Marc is involved in LED lighting and solar/wind energy.

A Look at the Unexpected - Data Protection

At our March Meeting, Joe O'Hara, of Canadian Data Protection, talked about backups. As he pointed out, sooner or later, you WILL lose data. It may be because of hard drive failure, laptop theft, fire, vandalism, virus, or you might inadvertently delete some critical item. A good plan includes a strategy to protect data and enable recovery in the event of disaster.
His clients run the gamut of industry sectors: financial institutions, insurance agencies, tax preparers, accountants, retail operations, consultants, and others... including small home businesses. Joe pointed out that all data is stored in two physical locations, all in Canada.

So You Think You Are Secure

Robert Spruce, of Computer Troubleshooters [ http://www.ctoshawa.com ], provided detailed advice about keeping your computer safe and maintaining data back-ups.
A few of his favourite online places:
http://www.hoax-slayer.com
http://www.microsoft.com/protect/
Theft of personal identities and corporate data has become a huge problem, costing in the trillions, and endangering national security.

Digital TV Reception Over the Air

Able TV and Antenna Service (Whitby) demonstrated some free and some cost efficient methods for receiving many high definition digital channels with an antenna and (if needed) a tuner box. Televisions made within the last three years will likely already have a built-in digital tuner, requiring no more than rabbit ears to pull in nearby channels.

Santa, attracted by an abundance of Christmas goodies, and an opportunity to thank our club volunteers, presented gifts.

Jasper Baarbe asked members to view and vote for a YouTube video he produced along with his brother. Votes may yeild a scholarship from the Fraser Instutute. Go to "Balance: The Economic Tightrope". http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wbI1aNDYgQI You may vote if you are logged into a YouTube account.

Windows 7 by Microsoft - November Meeting

Damir Bersinic, of Microsoft, is thanked by Program Director, Jason. Damir not only provided a highly detailed look at Windows 7, but stayed throughout the meeting to assist with advice and answers to the "bug session". Shown above are two lucky winners of Windows 7 Ultimate.