Saturday, December 31, 2016

Open Data Systems January12, 2017

a presentation by Jonathan Brown - How open data is now being used by governments, some successful examples, and visions for the future.
Here is a link, further explaining the concept of Open Data Systems, and why we should care.
http://www.govtech.com/data/Got-Data-Make-it-Open-Data-with-These-Tips.html


Jonathan provided links to resources and examples:
Open data and content can be freely used, modified and shared by anyone for any purpose.”
 
 
 
Ontario’s Open Data Catalogue: An online tool used to disseminate data in accordance with this directive can be viewed at www.ontario.ca/opendata
 
Some Examples of Open Data:
 
City of Toronto:
 
Meetups:
 
Community-Based Challenge:
 
Algorithms and Weapons of Math Destruction: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (open challenge to Mark Zuckerberg)
 
Jonathan Brown
 


 

Friday, December 16, 2016

December 2016 - Solar Electric Powered and Geothermal Heated, Victory Garden Geenhouse

Bob Bell and Joan Kerr, on the successes and failures of this pioneering project in creating an inexpensive, year-round, fresh food source for a variety of climates.

Friday, November 18, 2016

November 2016 - Consumer Council of Canada

Representatives of the Consumer Council of Canada hosted a 'Town Hall Meeting' to discuss "Cyber Security and the Consumer", covering different types of risks - fraud, identity theft, hacking, integrity of on-line reviews, on-line purchases, and warranty issues. The ensuing discussion ranged broadly into many other areas affected by conflicted commercial, government, and public interests.


About the Consumers Council of Canada   http://www.consumerscouncil.com/
The Consumers Council of Canada works collaboratively with consumers, business and government in support of consumers' rights and responsibilities, including:
•    The right to safety.
•    The right to choose.
•    The right to be heard.
•    The right to be informed.
•    The right to consumer education.
•    The right to consumer redress.
•    The right to a healthy environment
•    The right to basic needs.
•    The right to privacy.
The Council seeks to have an efficient, equitable, effective and safe marketplace for consumers. It endeavours to be a voice for consumers across Canada, and works to listen to consumers and develop policy consistent with what it is told. The Council provides leadership in educating and informing consumers about their rights and responsibilities.

October 2016 - Technology Perspective

Bob Gostischa had previously presented his views on technology and security, to the APCUG group, in May 2016. Our October meeting involved a Q&A, after re-showing Bob's highly informative podcast. Bob mentioned his preference for Avast security software, because it offers a free version that works on Windows operating systems back to XP. Avast also protects Android devices with several security apps.

Tuesday, September 20, 2016

Setpember 2016 - Klaus Stoll - The Internet in the Public Interest

Although Klaus titled his talk, "Maintaining The Digital Value Proposition", his main concern is re-establishing control of the domain name system (and the Internet) to average people and NGOs, preventing further co-opting of the system of governance by private interests.


http://www.pathfindershub.org/
[He appeared to our audience via Skype, over a weak WIND stick connection, after efforts were made to conduct the evening's exchange over the usually very fast Rogers connection. The Rogers modem, unknown to the group, had experienced a power failure. Upon re-boot, the IP of the router had changed to one that was incompatible with other devices.]
Here are some attendees to a Pathfinders meeting.

See much more on our Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/DurhamComputerClub/


Thursday, August 18, 2016

August 2016 - SSD, Hybrid Drives, UEFI - by Canada Computers Oshawa Store

Dan Saywell, Assistant Manager of the Oshawa store, spoke about SSD, Hybrid Drives, UEFI, and drive fragmentation.
Dan's appearance was assisted by store manager, Victor But (wearing glasses).

July 2016 - Windows 10 features and home networking - Lloyd Lindsay

Member Lloyd Lindsay, CPA, CA, LPA, CMC gave a very interesting presentation on the latest Windows 10 features, with a focus on networking computers.


Saturday, August 6, 2016

June 2016 - Drones by Paul Dowling

Paul is Master Builder at AutoBotix (FPV Racing Products), a company offering the latest in drone technology.


https://fpvracingproducts.com/

May 2016 - Augmented Reality by Alfredo Calderon

Professor Calderon, of the University of Puerto Rico, presented elements of his educational programs using Augmented Reality to enhance learning (on tablets, phones, and using VR headsets), via Skype.



calderon.alfredo@gmail.com | http://aprendizajedistancia.blogspot.com | Skype: Alfredo_1212

April 2016 - mainly BoxWorks and Lima for bulk storage

John talked about BoxWorks and other online storage. https://www.box.com/
Dan spoke about a new similar product called Lima. https://meetlima.com/