May Meeting- The Computer Mechanics

http://www.thecomputermechanics.com/
Les Shaw demonstrated his multi-pocketed jacket, containing cameras, lenses, phones, batteries, cables and more... This jacket was a life saver during his trip to the U.K, although customs officers frowned. The Computer Mechanics have started broadcasting their new show - a podcast. Look for the first Web Episode on their site, concerning malware and the best antivirus protection.

April Meeting - Clarington Public Library Offerings

Kiley, an extremely well-versed staff member of the Clarington Public Library Branches, described the services available to card holders, with special focus on the new e-Book checkout system. Of course, e-Books may be downloaded/reserved from home. (An initial personal visit to the library is required only to obtain a library card.) Books that are still under copyright will expire after the loan period. Those not under copyright can be kept forever. Library staff host workshops to help choose and use e-Readers, and will offer support by phone or e-mail. Special software installation is also required in order to download e-Books. Some e-Reader brands come with such software pre-installed.

March Meeting - Clickfree

Paul Kellar demostrated two Clickfree automatic backup solutions (preinstalled in C2 and C6 Clickfree external hard drives). C2 is a simple plug'nplay solution for backing up data, like photos, music and email [Mac and PD]. The C6 solution is for backing up the operating system along with the data - including multiple computers on the same external drive [PC only]. Clickfree software makes the whole back-up opeation easy for novice computer users. The software is available separately for those who wish to use their own external drive.

February Meeting - Linux - Try, Use, Install

Many members of the Durham Linux User Group set up stations for club members to explore various flavours of Linux. The presentation covered history, user interfaces, installation of Linux, and an opportunity to try out some standard software packages common to both Windows and Linux. The magic words were "Thank You" and "FREE".

January - WordPress

WordPress is the world's most popular blogging software with over 50 million websites using WordPress for content management. Aaran Duncan, winner of the Best WordPress designer site at WordCamp 2009, along with Glenn McKnight, demonstrated the features and benefits of using WordPress and some of the key elements to enhance a website's popularity on the Internet.
http://www.slideshare.net/DurhamPCusers/durham-pcusergrouppresentation2

Durham pc-user-group-presentation2

View more presentations from DurhamPCusers

December Meeting - ASUS Eee Pad Transformer

Ed Goudge demonstrated his Eee Pad Transformer at our Christmas meeting. Ed's well-organized presentation answered many questions for those considering such a purchase. Look for his photo in the next issue of Monitor. Santa made his annual appearance at our Christmas social event.
Long time member, Don Parkes, was awarded a lifetime membership in the club for his long service - especially his development and maintenance of the HotLinks section of the website.

November Meeting - Build a PC

John brought it, Hugh built it, Dan filmed it. John more than brought it (all the parts); he also bought all the parts. Hugh more than built it (complete assembly in 45 minutes); he explained (in great detail) each step... with wherefores and whys.

And, it fired up on first boot!!

Mother Board: Asus M5A88 $110 (Canadian Dollars)
CPU: AMD Bulldozer 3100 $130
(3.6 ghz Quad Core)
RAM: 8 gig DDR3  $55
DVD-RW: LG $22
HD: Seagate 1 terabyte  $109
Case: CoolerMaster  $99
Card Reader: $8
Power supply: 500watt  $46 
Total with taxes & env. Fees: $527.56

October Meeting - Canada Computers

Victor (manager), and two cooworkers, explained the services and products offered at the recently opened Canada Computers Whitby Store. All stressed the quick turnaround for in-house repairs (first with an accurate estimate of cost). This store has an extensive inventory, with numerous items not normally found in the area.

September Meeting - Computer Forensics

Our September presenter, Peter Irish, Detective Constable in the Intelligence Division - Technological Crime, Toronto Police Service, opened our eyes to an increasingly complex and time consuming new frontier of police work.

He uses a number of free and open source apps that work just as well as, and sometimes better than, commercial products. For example, a free drive imager, FTK, includes full install, minimum portable, Linux and Mac versions. http://accessdata.com/support/adownloads

Peter also directed us to a web site containing 400 + Reviewed & Tested Free & Open Source Apps of every type & description: http://www.herouxapps.com/

HP Touchpad - August 2011 General Mtg

Rob Morris (Bowmanville Staples Manager) and Greg O'Donnell (HP Sales Manager GTA-east), not only demonstrated the new HP TouchPad (with Palm's WebOS), but also covered a wide range of other HP products and services. Both followed up on a wide range of questions, compliments and complaints from the audience. Greg gave each attendee a magnetic "TouchPad" white board, while Rob provided a $20 Staple credit as a draw prize.