PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE
The scheduled Word – with Professor Teaches was not the subject of this Saturday SIG. I was supposed to present but have been in severe back pain the past weeks that I was not able to prepare – due to lack of concentration.
In any event – the group had a good old fashioned talk around and a number of issues were discussed – from phones – to prescription drugs – to Belarc – my showing some of the areas of W7 that are important in it’s setup. It would seem that everyone went away having learned something new. I know I did.
Just a repeat word about backups – the old DOS program 2003 of Ghost works well with Win7 – but there are some tricks that can help. If anyone needs help – let me know. HAPPY COMPUTING
VICE PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE
SEWWUG Main Meeting
Minutes, August 4, 2010
Digital Cameras
You say you are looking to buy a digital camera but don’t know where to begin? You could have had all the information necessary to make an intelligent decision if you were in attendance at this meeting at the Brookfield Library.
We had Chris Jourdan from Art’s Cameras Plus Store as our presenter and he did an outstanding job of giving us information on buying digital cameras. Depending on your preference, he explained the Single Lens Reflex (SLR) and the “Point and Shoot” cameras.
He described and explained their various features in great detail using a PowerPoint presentation he developed. He went into more detail on pricing and features of various models, types and styles of cameras on the market today.
Naturally, several members asked questions; Chris responded with detailed answers and showed the various aspects within the workings of the cameras he brought along for demonstration.
He also invited everyone to stop in at his store and meet his staff who would gladly answer questions on buying any kind of camera, etc. He also mentioned that they offer classes where you could learn how to use your camera like a pro! Prices for the training classes vary depending on how much time and money you want to spend.
Chris also gave everyone a coupon good for $10 Off any $50 or more purchase at the store he manages which is located at 4981 South 76th St. in Greenfield. (262-727-0234). (www.ArtsCameras.com).
We had 29 members and one guest present tonight. We had six door prizes given out to the lucky winners.
This was one heck of a night well spent in learning about digital photography and the various equipment available for novice and professional photographers.
APCUG PUSH MESSAGE
The Control Panel -- Extremely Useful
by Sandy Berger
Just as you can use a car
without manipulating anything under the hood, you can also use a computer
without changing any settings. However, at a certain point you will want to
correct a setting, uninstall a program, change the way your mouse works, or add
another user to your computer. All of these functions and many more are found in
the Windows Control Panel.
Don't worry though; the Control Panel is much easier to navigate than the
cables, wires, and mechanisms that you find under the hood of a car....and you
can use the tools in the Control Panel without getting your hands dirty.
In geek-speak, the Control Panel is the central location for all of the Windows
operating system configuration needs. In everyday terms, it the place where you
can work with the many tools that Windows offers to change and customize all of
the settings. The Control Panel is part of the Window's operating system's
graphical interface. As such, you will find that it consists of
easy-to-understand icons that are each labeled as to their function.
The Control Panel has been around since the first version of Windows. Over the
years, it has morphed into a very useful set of management tools for your
computer. In a car you need to know where the hood release lever is, in Windows,
you need to know how to access the Control Panel.
Windows Vista and Windows 7, you can access the Control Panel by clicking on the
Start button and choosing Control Panel from the right column of choices. In
Windows XP,
you will click Start, then choose Control Panel from the left column. If you
don't see the Control Panel listed, click on Settings from the left column and
then click on Control Panel.
The Control Panel is a little different in
Windows XP than it is in Vista and Windows 7. So let's talk about XP first. By
default, the Windows XP Control Panel appears in what is called "Category View".
This means that various functions have been put into Categories. Previous
versions of Windows showed a list of icons, one for each function, in Windows
XP, this is called the "Classic View". When you open the Control Panel in
Windows XP if you see several categories listed you are in "Category View". If
you see a window full of individual icons, you are in "Classic View". You can
change the view by clicking on the words "Switch to Classic View" or "Switch to
Category View" which is on the left side of the screen. Check out these two
options and see which one you like. You can switch between them quite easily at
any time.
In Windows Vista, you have the same choices, but you may have to click on
"Control Panel Home" on the left side of the screen before you can click on
"Classic View" or "Category View".
Microsoft made some changes in the Control Panel in Windows 7. They have
eliminated the name Classic View. In Windows 7 you will see the words "View by"
on the upper right side of the screen. Click on the down arrow next to those
words and you will have three views to choose from: Category, Large Icons, or
Small Icons. This Icon view is really the same as the Classic View. I prefer to
use the Classic or Icon view, but again, you can check out all the views and see
which one you like best.
There are 45 icons in the icon view in Windows 7 and about the same number in
previous versions. If you look at the Classic or Icon view, you will see that
the icons have labels, like Display, Sound, Power Options, Mouse, Keyboard, User
Accounts, Folder Options, and Devices and Printers. You can click on any of
these icons to open a window that will allow you to adjust, correct, and/or
customize the settings of these areas. Take a look around. Check out Mouse area
first. When you click on the mouse icon a windows with options will appear. It
will have tabs at the top. You can click on each tab to see even more options.
If you have never looked at these before you will be amazed at the number of
things that you can do to customize your mouse. You can switch the buttons if
you are left-handed. You can
speed up
and/or slow down the double-click speed. You can change the looks of the
pointer. I you are using a mouse with a scroll wheel, you can even change how
the wheel behaves.
Try a few things. The only caveat here is to
document
the changes that you are making so you can change them back if you want to.
Each of the items in the Control Panel allows you to change the settings in your
computer. Look through and open up a few of them. There are hundreds of things
that you can change and/or customize in the Windows operating
system. Some
of the Control Panel items are very useful for everyday tasks in Windows. Be
sure to take a look.
Can You Really Watch Free TV on Your PC?
by Ira Wilsker
WEBSITES:
http://toolbar.tv-fox.com
http://www.watch-live-online.tv (Live TV)
http://www.hulu.com
You may have seen ads on the internet or on TV that tell you that you can watch free TV on the internet, and that you do not need cable or satellite to watch thousands of TV channels. Some even go as far as to say that you should cancel your cable or satellite, and use the free services, rather than paying for expensive TV service. Several others advertise software or hardware devices (for a fee) that allow you to watch hundreds of TV channels online for free. There are even websites that allow you watch TV in your browser or on your desktop, either for free, or for a subscription fee. While these offers are generally real, they should not be confused with the selection of channels available on your local cable system or satellite service as they generally do not offer the major commercial channels, and rarely offer the major local channels. Some services, generally located overseas, offer illegally pirated feeds for a fee, and should always be avoided. Other services, such as the well respected Hulu (hulu.com) legitimately offer thousands of already broadcast and older TV shows and movies provided by the networks and movie studios that are either advertiser supported (for free), or without commercials (by subscription, sometimes for a fee).
One service that I frequently use is TV-Fox, or its sister product, LIVE TV. The selection of channels on LIVE TV is virtually identical to those on TV-Fox. Alternatively, for those who do not want to download a toolbar or plug-in, these same channels can be viewed directly online at watch-live-online.tv. It may be necessary to have Windows Media Player (or some similar compatible player) installed to view these stations. Most of the stations can either be viewed in a small window, or opened to full screen by double clicking on the video.
TV-Fox is a free plug-in for the Firefox browser (toolbar.tv-fox.com), and currently offers "2780 Live TV Channels sorted by country & category, the TV-FOX allows you to watch thousands of TV channels freely available on the internet." It is installed as a short toolbar, and includes a pair of directories that display the available channels. The first icon (purple) opens a directory containing a listing of about 100 countries; moving the mouse cursor over the country displays the currently available TV stations that stream online. If the selected station has a circle icon with a right arrow (triangle), that indicates that the selected station is always online; if the icon is a small clock, that means that the station is only available for specific hours. The viewer should be aware of the time differences around the world, as what is prime time in the mid-east, for example, may be the early morning here. While I enjoy watching live foreign TV, I am not capable of understanding all of the languages, so I prefer the English language stations available in many of the countries listed. Under the listing for the United States is approximately 60 stations, all but a few being broadcast in English. These US based stations include such well known stations as Bloomberg Business, CBN, CNBC, Home Shopping Network (HSN), Fox News, MSNBC, NASA, NBC News, and several prominent local stations from a variety of cities.
The second icon (green) on the TV-Fox toolbar opens a directory based on genre'. Categories include sports, news, business, music, kids, lifestyle, government, religious, education, shopping and weather, as well as a listing of about 50 live web-cams from around the world. Personally, I am a news and information junkie, and spend significant time on the news listing, which has live news feeds from about three dozen news sources from about 20 different countries, many of which are in English. Sports fanatics may enjoy the sports selection, consisting of 28 stations from about a dozen countries. While I may not understand the announcer on many of these sports stations, the live or recorded sports events are often quite understandable to the viewer. Music fans would appreciate the almost 50 TV stations that stream music. While many of the music stations are from France, Italy, Poland, and India, the viewer will almost always find music of interest. I have found that many of the foreign music stations which play their native music are very intriguing and entertaining.
Investing and business is of universal interest, and TV-Fox offers 19 business channels, including Bloomberg-UK, Bloomberg-Asia, and Bloomberg-USA. Those stations, along with CNBC and NBR can provide business and economic information for the majority of investors and others interested in business.
Sometimes we need content to entertain our children, or the child in us adults. The kids section contains a dozen channels, three of which are American, two of which are cartoons. My favorite kids channel is the "Classical Cartoons" which shows old time cartoons, many of which are from the 30's and 40's, most of which today's children would not otherwise have an opportunity to view.
There are 22 movie channels listed, of which eight are from the US, and include sci-fi, comedy classics, thrillers, and WSTV (White Springs TV, also known as "The Golden Age of Movies Channel") which is a Florida and Oregon based network that streams old movies over satellite and on the air in about a dozen cities, as well as online. If I feel like watching a movie stream on my computer, I can usually find something of interest on one of these movie channels.
The two dozen religious TV channels that stream over the internet cover almost all of the world's major religions, in a variety of languages. There are 27 educational channels available, many from major universities around the world, including Texas A&M's KAMU-TV. Shoppers may like to see what the 22 shopping channels offer, including the six American shopping channels. Some of the products promoted on the foreign shopping channels are very interesting, despite the frequent language barrier; the foreign sales techniques are often very entertaining as well. The 14 weather channels, including nine American weather channels provide more weather information than most viewers can utilize.
Sometimes it is interesting just to see a live webcam from some notable location. The live webcams available on TV-Fox include such diverse places as Times Square (NYC), the Hogs Breath Saloon in Florida, France, Germany, Kathmandu (Nepal), Israel, Japan, the Netherlands, Poland, Russia, Switzerland, and other US locations.
While not a complete substitute for local TV and the domestic cable and satellite services, there is enough free TV available online to entertain and inform almost everybody.