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Monthly Magazine of The Boca Raton Computer Society, Inc.

Volume 17, Number 12

December 2009

Next General Meeting Wednesday, December 15, 2009 @ 7:30 PM - Q & A Starting @ 6:15 PM

Windows 7 & Potpourri By Richard Miller, SIG Leader, Director, and Past President

Richard is going to be showing us the new Windows 7 operating system. Richard says:

Inside This Issue 3

MEMBERSHIP NEWS

4

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE

5

BACKING UP AND RESTORING FILES

7

WINDOW PAINS

8

HASTA LA VISTA

10 HOW TO FORWARD EMAILS APPROPRIATELY 11 THEY DID IT THEMSELVES 12 EDITOR’S NOTE 14 CHAPTER NEWS

"Windows 7 has been out for a little while now, so is it time to buy new or upgrade……or do nothing. These topics and new Windows 7 features will be discussed at this meeting as the holidays approach. Subjects like backup and a new feature called “Sticky Notes” will be introduced. Answers to all of your questions will be given both through the presentation and at the end. See you there."

16 APCUG NEWSLETTER 20 HELP LINE 21 SIG INFORMATION 22 ACTIVITIES CALENDARS 23 MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION

BOCA RATON COMPUTER SOCIETY, INC

Boca Bits is published monthly by the Boca Raton Computer Society, Inc. (BRCS) 5030 Champion Blvd., G-6 #202, Boca Raton, FL 33496-2473. The BRCS is an independent, not-for-profit user group and is not affiliated in any way with any vendor or equipment manufacturer.

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

No warranty, expressed or implied, is made by the Boca Raton Computer Society, the Boca Bits editorial staff, or the individual authors or contributors. This disclaimer extends to all losses, incidental or consequential, from the use or inability to use any and all information in any issue of this publication. Unless specifically stated otherwise, the opinions expressed in any article or column are those of the individual author(s) and do not represent an official position of, or endorsement by, the Boca Raton Computer Society.

OFFICERS President 954-978-9010 Vice President 561-865-1253 Treasurer 561-495-6797 Secretary 561 368-8028

Steve Costello [email protected] Jerry Naditch [email protected] Sherman C. Potter [email protected] Larry Jablon [email protected]

DIRECTORS Bob Balogh 561-374-9287 Immediate Past President [email protected] Jerry Bartzoff 561-499-5150 [email protected] Richard Brenner 561-742-3234 [email protected] Jerry Dinerman [email protected] Richard Miller 561-393-5813 [email protected] CHAPTER PRESIDENTS Gleneagles Jerry Bartzoff 561-499-5150 [email protected] Huntington Lakes Lou Strumlauf 561-495-1476 [email protected] Century Village West Bernie Semell 561-451-1371 Kings Point Jerry Frank [email protected] Cascade Lakes George Brucks Milte Sherman Hunters Run Joan Soble [email protected] FACILITIES C.P.A. for BRCS Len Geronemus, P.A 561 241-1040 No Listing Facilities Coordinator Help-Line Coordinator 561 368-8028 Web Master

Open Larry Jablon [email protected] Jerry Bartzoff [email protected] Web Master Assistants Stanley Warshaw Jerry Naditch Membership Coordinator Richard Brenner 561-742-3234 [email protected] Membership Assistant Riki Chicofsky 561-499-9310 [email protected] Boca Bits Editor Steve Costello [email protected] Public Relations Mort Mazor 561-496-1733 [email protected] SIG Coordinator Open Gen’l Meeting Coord. Marty Greenlinger 561-638-5483 [email protected] Program Coordinator

Vacant

Advertising appears in Boca Bits as prepared by individual advertisers. The Boca Raton Computer Society does not endorse the products, services, or companies so advertised. Copyright © 2009 by the Boca Raton Computer Society. All rights reserved. Articles without additional copyright notices may be reprinted in whole or in part by other non-profit computer user groups for internal, non-profit use, provided credit is given to Boca Bits and to the authors of the reproduced material. All other reproduction without the prior written permission of the Boca Raton Computer Society is prohibited. Submission Format Any word processor or text editor capable of producing straight ASCII text files may be used to write your article. We'll make it as easy as possible for you, just don't do any formatting like use of the Tab key, Italics, Bold, etc. Use the Enter key on your keyboard just to separate paragraphs. If you would like to include your formatting, please send a second file that can be used as a reference. Include your name and telephone number so we can contact you if we have questions. Transmission: Please send your article, or advertising copy, by email to [email protected], or via postal mail to: BRCS 5030 Champion Blvd., G-6 #202, Boca Raton, FL 33496-2473, Attention: Editor. Deadline: Deadline for each issue is 12:00 p.m. on the Saturday following the General Meeting. Advertising Rates Ad copy would be preferred in either Microsoft Publisher format, or in scannable camera-ready copy. Business cards, line art, or halftone/line art combination original art is acceptable. Rates are for CAMERA-READY COPY and must be pre-paid. Non-commercial classified ads for computer-related merchandise are published, subject to space availability, at no charge to Boca Raton Computer Society members.

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Boca Bits Staff EDITOR Steve Costello

[email protected]

CONTRIBUTING EDITORS Lee Reynolds [email protected] Bob Balogh [email protected] Ron Hirsch [email protected] Dorothy Porterfeld ilonam1 (at) juno.com Linda Moore [email protected] Larry Jablon [email protected]

GRAPHICS EDITOR Jerry Dinerman [email protected] DISTRIBUTION CHAIRMAN Jerry Rutstein ADVERTISING COORDINATOR Vacant PROOFREADERS Jerry Bartzoff Jerry Flomen

[email protected] [email protected]

BRCS Presidents Wyatt Bell Richard V. Sandell Mark Lautenschlager Wayne S. Ackley Norman D. Olson Bob Hubbell Glenn Stocking Richard Miller Mel Macy

07/1983 - 01/1984 01/1984 - 01/1987 01/1987 - 01/1990 01/1990 - 05/1990 05/1990 - 01/1992 01/1992 - 01/1993 01/1993 - 01/1995 01/1995 - 01/1997 01/1997 - 01/1999

Richard Miller Larry French Bob Hirshan Larry French (Acting Pres) Oscar Segal Bob Balogh Steve Costello

01/1999 - 01/2000 01/2000 - 01/2001 01/2001 - 02/2001 02/2001 - 01/2002 01/2002 - 01/2006 01/2006 - 01/2009 01/2009 - Present

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DECEMBER 2009

3

Membership News & Views Welcome New Members

Expiring Memberships As of December 2009

November 2009

Marvin Silveston

Membership Renewals November 2009

Murray L. Apfel

Herbert Littman

Nicolas Arena

Dennis Lucey

Joseph Bendersky

Paul Merlin

Victor Blumenthal

Elaine Pare

George Brucks

Sherman Pessin

Marvin Buchalter

M.C. Portnick

Ted Bullock

Leo Ratner

Albert Cataldi

Robert H. Fleming

Jerome Catz

Walter Schaffer

Evelyn Chernetz

Alan Kaitz

Paul Davis

Armond Schiff

Max Enos

John W Lange

Alfred Eriv

Martin Shack

Olie Fernald

Morton Newman

William Fingerett

Marcel Spiegler

Merete Fischer

Harvey & Myrna Springel

Marvin Fishman Herbert Foxman

Expired Memberships As of November 2009

Milton M Ganberg A J Hendler

Antoinette Dube

Ruth Resnikoff

Hirsh Jacobson

Martin Harris

Jack Rubin

Joshua & Harriet Kalin

Henry Kurlansik

Gloria Schnitzer

Ken Lassiter

Ben Licht

Alex Williams

Richard Levine

Elizabeth Stretch Robert Tanzer Joel Whitman Isabel Yarnall Judith Yellen Irene & Stanley Zimmerman

"The difference between e-mail and regular mail is that computers handle e-mail, and computers never decide to come to work one day and shoot all the other computers. "

Jamais Cascio

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Boca Raton Computer Society President’s Message By Steve Costello, President, BRCS Steve Costello

Communications from the President of Boca Raton Computer Society, regarding important issues and information.

BRCS.org Email Discontinued YES, our Email service has been discontinued as of December 1, 2009. EXPLANATION Our Email, like most others, is handled by our web hosting service. Early this year our long time host sold their clients to another service, who then proceeded to move our website and Email accounts with only a few days advance notice. Unfortunately, the new service was not able to transfer the Emails complete with user name and password. We now also find ourselves looking for a new web host, due to many problems we have encountered. For a comparison of web mail providers, both paid and free, we suggest you visit http://sn.im/brcs-webmail. Keep in mind that the free services allow advertising and pop-ups to support their activities.

January 2010 Presentation Gene Barlow will once again be presenting to BRCS, at our January 20, 2010 general meeting. The following is directly from the email from the email setting up the presentation: "If any of your members are looking at Windows 7 as their future Operating System, we will show them the best way to setup and install Windows 7 on their current Win XP or Vista System. We’ll also explore the benefits of using a Sandbox utility to protect the integrity of your hard drive. Finally, there are exciting new features to improve the backup of hard drives that we will introduce in our 2010 tour."

Check out the January 2010 issue of Boca Bits for more detailed information.

Paul Nappo November 2009 Presentation Paul once again gave a great presentation to his fellow BRCS members, this time on the subject of troubleshooting your PC. Paul went through a slide presentation outlining various ways to determine whether the problem could be software or hardware related. The importance of regular backups before having problems was stressed, as well as making restore points, and making sure you have all the necessary information prior to having problems. Two pieces of free software were recommended for gathering important information: Belarq Advisor http://www.belarc.com/free_download.html SIW (System Information for Windows) http://www.gtopala.com/ Both of these pieces of software will give a software inventory, hardware inventory, and much more. It is recommended that you run these whenever you add or remove software and/or hardware, to keep the inventories and other information as up to date as possible. Also, you should print the reports out and keep in a safe place, for easy access to the important information. Thank you Paul, for an informative presentation. Steve Costello December 2009

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Backing Up And Restoring Files

By Ron Hirsch, BRCS Member & Contributing Editor Contact Ron at: [email protected] If you find this material useful, you may want to download this article in PDF format, from our web site www.brcs.org. Ron Hirsch

This allows readers to keep the material either as a PDF file, and/or print it out, and place it in a looseleaf notebook, for future reference.

Introduction If I had to pick a single area where most computer users are extremely lacking, it's in the area of backing up and preserving the documents and other items that they generate during the course of their computer activities. Most people just dismiss the subject with “Oh I don't really have anything of importance, and even if I do, I can always redo it easily.” These people may only use their computer for the Internet and e-mail. But, redoing your address book and bookmark listing can be a task in itself. And, if you use a program such as Quicken or Money, you have lots of financial info that would be a real job to rebuild if all your files were lost. I reminded a friend about backing up his Quicken stuff, and he said that he really didn't have to, as Quicken always backs things up automatically, which it does. But it backs things up onto the same hard drive, into a different folder. So, about 6 months later when his hard drive failed, his backup was worthless, and he was a very unhappy person.

What Does Backup Really Mean? Backup is the generation of duplicate files, often onto a removable medium, for all the things that you have generated on your machine. Generally, these are files that you have produced, not the program files which came on the CD. These duplicate files must be stored on something which can be separated from your machine, and definitely separated from your internal system hard drive.

And, if you have your main drive partitioned into say a C and D drive, you will still lose your backup if the drive fails. If however, you have a second hard drive on your computer, you are much safer storing your backups there. There are online services which offer “online backup” at a small cost, or no cost. This can offer access from another computer, when you might need that data. But I personally don't want my private data etc. on an online computer, where it is possibly subject to being hacked or having that operation go out of business. Note: This article is only discussing backup of your personal files and data, not a complete backup of your system drive, including your operating system (probably Windows). That is a separate topic which will be covered in another article. STORAGE OF BACKUP MEDIA The backup media should be stored in a place where they it will not become lost, stolen, or damaged. When I was in business (many "Just putting years ago), we backed up all our copies on the files every day, with a rotating shelf doesn't system of seven tapes. Copies were stored in a fireproof safe, protect against and periodically, we placed a cur- their loss in case rent copy in our safety deposit of a fire. " box at the bank. Just putting copies on the shelf doesn't protect against their loss in case of a fire. Obviously, most users don't have to go to such extremes.

Since most people have only one hard drive, it does not make good sense to backup onto that same drive. (Continued on page 6)

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(Backing Up And Restoring Files Continued from page 5)

But, for important information, it's a good idea to periodically put a backup copy into a secure and fireproof place, such as a home safe, or your safety deposit box. In order to be able to follow and use the material in this article, you must be conversant with Windows Explorer, or a similar file manager. Earlier this year, I presented several articles on this activity, with several exercises on the subject. If you are not familiar with using a file manager to copy files and add new folders and subfolders, I would suggest that you bone up on this subject first, and then get back to this article.

What Do I Have To Do First First of all, the typical user who has programs in which files are saved, generally has no idea where they are. So, the first thing to learn is just that. When you are in a program such as Quicken, your files are generally saved in the same folder as the Quicken program. Other programs may use the My Documents folder, My Files folder, the Documents and Settings folder, or a special folder that the program has set up to store things. I personally set my own folders for storing things. And, fortunately, most programs allow the user to specify where things are stored. MASTER FOLDERS In WordPerfect, I have a master folder set up, name WPWIN. Under that I have about 56 subfolders for all the categories that I have defined. There is a folder named “BocaBits”, which holds all the articles I've written for this publication. One of the main advantages of having your personal files organized in a master folder is that they are easier to copy to a backup medium. Just copy the main folder, specify to include the subfolders (if that is needed), and everything underneath will be copied. This is far easier than having to locate many different folders, and copy from each one individually.

BOCA BITS

SUBFOLDERS Remember, using subfolders is a must. Some years back, one of my friends stored all his files for all his programs in the same folder, with no subfolders. Finding a file to use was almost like looking for a needle in a haystack. And, name your files using descriptive long filenames which all operating systems since Windows 95 can use. Which is easier to find “Letter to Jack re the new building.doc” or “let2jreb.doc”? STEPS TO CONSIDER Here are some steps that I would suggest users consider - change the names to suite your desires. 1. Add a new folder on your C: drive, and call it “All My Stuff” (without the quotes.) 2. Add as many subfolders under it as you need. For example, (assuming you have these programs) add one for Word, Quicken, Money, Excel, etc.. Then, add as many subfolders under each of the main subfolders you've added. For example, the “Word” folder can have subfolders named “Letters”, “Faxes”, “IRS correspondence”, etc.. (Don't use the quote marks - they are used here for clarity.) 3. Then in each of those programs go into “preferences” or “settings”, or wherever is appropriate, and set your new path and folder name there as the place to keep stuff. In something like Quicken, it wants its files where it specifies, but when you call for a backup in Quicken, you can specify the path/ folder. So this folder you set up will always have duplicates of Quicken's files, ready to be copied out to the removable media you choose. 4. For programs such as Outlook Express or AOL, it's a good idea to save your address book, and your bookmarks. Finding the names of these files, and where they are located will be a good exercise for you in using Windows Explorer, and learning more about your browser.

(Continued on page 13)

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Window Pains

By Bob Balogh, Director, BRCS

Bob Balogh

Don’t forget to visit the BRSC Web Site at www.brcs.org for information about club programs, SIGs, meeting information etc. If you have any computer questions or problems or if there is any specific topic you would like to see discussed at my pre-meeting SIG why not e-mail me [email protected] .

Introduction

Startup

Last month we covered Security items for Windows. This month we will deal with built in Maintenance programs as well as some we might wish to add from outside sources.

Let's look at these items one at a time. "Startup" time is like watching water boil. It never seems to be fast enough. The first clue is to do what I do. Start your computer, put on some shorts, go outside and pick up your newspaper, if you drink coffee put up a pot and then go back to your computer and it will be already to go. Of course, you could always sit and watch it boot up and look at your watch. By the way, let me know when the eggs are ready.

Why Maintain Our Computer? The first question we should ask is "Why should we maintain our computer?" The answers are really quite simple. View the cartoon and then just peruse the list below:

If the computer is taking too long to boot it is due to the fact that you have too many programs starting up at the same time. Well not exactly at the same time, but in a predetermined order. Meanwhile why are they all starting up? Do you need them? Do you know what they do? How do you find out? OK, click on Start >Run (on the right)> and type in msconfig. On the drop down click on the Startup tab . Once this is opened you will see a list of items that are loaded at Startup.

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8.

Speed up “Startup” time. Speed up internal running of programs. Keep Spyware & Viruses out. Avoid computer breakdowns. Add “life” in years to your computer. Avoid “freezing” and “error messages” Save data. Save money.

msconfig Startup Tab (Continued on page 19)

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Hasta la Vista

by Lee Reynolds, Member BRCS I'm told the literal meaning of "hasta la vista" in Spanish is "until the seeing." Or maybe a more adequate translation is "see you later." But in this column, I'm using that phrase to invite you to take a look at Microsoft's latest version of Windows: Vista. Windows Update All owners of previous versions of Windows are familiar with Windows Update, which allows you to automatically download and install the latest security and feature patches from Microsoft. The version installed with Windows Vista has been modified somewhat from previous versions, and is supposedly easier to use. This is explained in brief on this page: http://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/ windowsvista/features/details/windowsupdate.mspx Windows Vista: Features Explained: Windows Update Vista's Windows Update feature is on the Start Menu, as in previous versions, and can also be accessed in a Control Panel applet. It is no longer available as a direct link in Windows Help, as it was in Windows XP. In Vista, you can automatically download and install both Important and Recommended updates, not just High Priority ones as in prior versions. You can schedule or postpone the computer restarts that are nearly always required after installation of updates. There are a number of options you can select from to give you greater control of the update process. A very good and complete tutorial on this is available here: http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/tutorials/ tutorial140.html Understanding Windows Update and Extras in Windows Vista

As I look at this page right now, there are sections of the document pertaining to configuring and using Windows Update in Vista, installing and accessing the Windows Vista Ultimate Extras, and uninstalling previously installed Windows Vista Updates and Extras, as well as a Frequently Asked Questions section. In the left pane of the Windows Update screen you are given these options: Check for updates Change settings View update history Restore hidden updates Updates: Frequently Asked Questions Learn about Windows Update Ultimate Extras. (The last option may not be visible, unless you are running the Ultimate edition of Windows Vista.) If you click on the link in the Windows Update screen for Change Settings, you are given 4 choices: Install updates automatically (recommended) Download updates but let me choose whether to install them Check for updates but let me choose whether to download and install them Never check for updates (not recommended.) When there are updates available, you can click on the link for View Available Updates in the right pane of the screen to see a list of what you can download and install. You can set or remove the check mark in front of each one to choose whether or not to download and install it. (Continued on page 9)

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(Hasta la Vista Continued from page 8)

Microsoft Windows [Version 6.0.6000]

You can remove an update that you find later has caused problems with your computer by clicking on the link in the left pane of the initial Windows Update screen for Installed Updates, whereupon you will be presented with a list of all installed updates; then click to select the one you want to remove and click the Uninstall button.

Copyright (c) 2006 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

You can also hide an update if you decide you do not want to install it and wish never to be notified of its availability again. Start by clicking View Available Updates, then right click any update you don't want to be notified of again and select Hide update.

System File Checker The System File Checker present in Windows Vista has been modified from the Windows XP version, with some missing switches and some additional possible switches. You run it from an elevated command prompt by clicking the Start orb, clicking All Programs on the Start Menu, clicking Accessories, and then right clicking Command Prompt and choosing Run as administrator. Assuming User Account Control is active, you will need to reply to a prompt for the administrator password or for a confirmation. There are procedures you can use to find whether there is an invalid system file found by the SFC tool and replacing it, as explained in this Microsoft Knowledge Base article: http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;enus;929833 Some Windows Vista functions may not work, or Windows Vista may stop responding The new syntax for SFC can be found by running the command "sfc /?" from an elevated command prompt. Output will be like shown in the next column.:

C:\Windows\system32>sfc /? Microsoft (R) Windows (R) Resource Checker Version 6.0 Copyright (c) 2006 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. Scans the integrity of all protected system files and replaces incorrect versions with correct Microsoft versions. SFC [/SCANNOW] [/VERIFYONLY] SCANFILE=] [/VERIFYFILE=]

[/

[/OFFWINDIR= / OFFBOOTDIR=] /SCANNOW Scans integrity of all protected system files and repairs files with problems when possible. /VERIFYONLY Scans integrity of all protected system files. No repair operation is performed. /SCANFILE Scans integrity of the referenced file, repairs file if problems are identified. Specify full path /VERIFYFILE Verifies the integrity of the file with full path . No repair operation is performed. /OFFBOOTDIR For offline repair specify the location of the offline boot directory /OFFWINDIR For offline repair specify the location of the offline windows directory e.g. sfc /SCANNOW sfc /VERIFYFILE=c:\windows\system32 \kernel32.dll sfc /SCANFILE=d:\windows\system32 \kernel32.dll /OFFBOOTDIR=d:\ / OFFWINDIR=d:\windows sfc /VERIFYONLY

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How to Forward Emails Appropriately

Written by Dorothy Porterfeld A Member of The Computer Club, Inc., Sun City Center, Florida www.scccomputerclub.org/ ilonam1 (at) juno.com This article has been obtained from APCUG with the author’s permission for publication by APCUG member groups; all other uses require the permission of the author (see e-mail address above). A computer expert received the following directly from a system administrator for a corporate system. It is an excellent message that ABSOLUTELY applies to ALL of us who send emails. Please read the short letter below, even if you’re sure you already follow the proper procedures.

Highlight them and delete them, backspace them, cut them, whatever it is you know how to do. It only takes a second. (2)Whenever you send an email to more than one person, do NOT use the To: or CC: fields for adding email addresses.

Do you really know how to forward emails? 50% of us do, 50% DO NOT.

Always use the BCC: (blind carbon copy) field for listing the email addresses.

Do you wonder why you get viruses or junk mail? Every time you forward an email there is information left over from the people who got the message before you, namely their email addresses& names.

This is the way the people you send to will only see their own email address. If you don’t see your BCC: option, click on where it says To: and your address will appear. Highlight the address and choose BCC: and that’s it, it’s that easy.

As the messages get forwarded along, the list of addresses builds, and builds, and builds, and all it takes is for some poor sap to get a virus, and his or her computer can send that virus to every email address that has come across his computer. Or, someone can take all of those addresses and sell them or send junk mail to them in the hopes that you will go to the site and he will make five cents for each hit. That’s right, all of that inconvenience over a nickel!

How do you stop it? Here are several easy steps: (1)You MUST click the “Forward: button first and then you have the full editing capabilities against the body and headers of the message. When you forward an email, DELETE all the other addresses that appear in the body of the message (at the top). That’s right, DELETE them.

When you send to BCC: your message will automatically say “Undisclosed Recipients” in the TO: field of the people who receive it. (3) Remove and “FW:” in the subject line. You can rename the subject if you wish or even fix spelling. (4) ALWAYS hit your Forward button from the actual email you are reading. Ever get those emails that you have to open 10 pages to read the one page with the information on it? By Forwarding from the actual page you wish someone to view, you stop them from having to open many emails just to see what you sent. (5) Have you ever gotten an email that is a petition? It states a position and asks you to add your name and address and to forward it to 10 or 15 people or your entire address book.

(Continued on page 11)

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(How To Forward Continued from page 10)

The email can be forwarded on and on and can collect thousands of names and addresses. FACT: The completed petition is actually worth a couple of bucks to a professional spammer because of the wealth of valid names and email addresses contained therein. If you want to support the petition, send it as your own personal letter to the intended recipient. Your position may carry more weight as a personal letter than a laundry list of names and email addresses on a petition. (Actually, if you think about it, who’s supposed to send the petition in to whatever cause it supports? And don’t believe the ones that say that the email is being traced, it just ain’t so!) (6) One of the main ones I dislike is the one that says something like, “Send this email to 10 people and you’ll see something great run across your screen.” Or, sometimes they’ll tease you by saying something really cute will happen. IT IS NOT GOING TO HAPPEN!!! ( Trust me, I’m still seeing some of the same ones that I waited on 10 years ago!) I don’t let the bad luck ones scare me either, they get trashed. (Could that be why I haven’t won the lottery??) (7) Before you forward an Amber Alert, or a Virus alert, or some of the other ones floating around nowadays, check them out before you forward them. Most of them are junk mail that’s been circling the net for YEARS! Just about everything you receive in an email that is in question can be checked out at Snopes. Just go to http://www.snopes.com. * * * * *

11

SIG News They Did It Themselves An October 2009 Hardware SIG Report By Larry Jablon, BRCS Secretary Introduction "Captain Ray" Sollberger wasn't feeling up to par on Tuesday, the 27th of October, so he asked Bill Frisch to sit in for him. Bill called me, and I brought the projector.

XP In Vista When I got there Charlie Burnaford was already there, and had his laptop going, showing a virtual Windows XP working perfectly inside Windows Vista, using the VMWare program. Bill arrived and saw what Charles had going and told him to run the first part of the SIG. Charlie then gave us a great demonstration of what one could do using one Operating System within another, using VMWare (a Freebie, no less). As an example, if one were to buy a new computer with Windows 7, and Windows 7 didn't yet have a driver for your printer, you could revert to XP which we are all so used to, and print from there.

XP/Vista Dual Boot Then Bill Frisch, who came with two loaded laptops, showed us how a dual boot (Vista and XP) would work in a laptop that came with two hard drives installed. Bill explained what could then be done, and what couldn't be done with this type of setup.

Conclusion So between these two guys, three running computers, and Captain Ray's usual enthusiastic crowd, we had a successful evening even though the "big guy" wasn't there. It just goes to show what talent we have amongst the members of BRCS. Larry Jablon * * * * *

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Editor’s Note By Steve Costello

This is where the editor communicates with you, the reader. Here you will find information regarding upcoming changes in format and / or content. APCUG Newsletter Linda Moore, APCUG Secretary sent out the first monthly APCUG newsletter "to update all of our member user groups as to what is going on at APCUG." I have published it in Boca Bits, in its entirety, so that everyone interested will be aware of how much APCUG helps user groups, as well as upcoming training, webcasts, conferences, etc. that are, or will be, available.

Word And Excel Tips Syndication I received an email from Jason Dyck, Content Specialist for Sharon Parq Associates <sharonparq.com>, in which he offered to syndicate Microsoft Office Word & Excel tips, both beginning and advanced, in Boca Bits. The following is directly from their home page at http://sharonparq.com: "Sharon Parq Associates (SPA) is a publisher of high-quality information on the Internet. Our flagship site, Tips.Net, provides a gateway to many other sites focused on providing information in a variety of topic areas. We also offer several weekly newsletters including ExcelTips, WordTips, Cleaning Tips, Organizing Tips, Cooking Tips, and Gardening Tips."

I have subscribed to the Word tips RSS feed for sometime now, and have found a lot of information I did not previously know. I am sure that their other tips will be of a like quality, and will be a valuable addition to Boca Bits.

Window Pains Bob Balogh's Window Pains column this month ties in well with the PC Troubleshooting presentation given by Paul Nappo in November. This is the kind of quality information we expect to keep providing in both Boca Bits and during our general meetings.

My Health I have received a lot of email, and personal conversations regarding my comments in the November Editor's Note, regarding my recent illness. Thank you all for your concerns and best wishes. I seem to be getting a little better all the time, and have been able to keep up with my editorial duties a little more easily, at least so far.

Comments Solicited I am always trying to find good, relative, and informative content, so need your feedback. Please send your comments and / or suggestions to:

[email protected] Please include a subject line, that begins with: Bits Comment This will enable me to quickly distinguish it from other emails.

BOCA BITS

DECEMBER 2009

(Backing Up And Restoring Files Continued from page 6)

Note: It is not absolutely necessary to do all of these previous steps if you're willing to do your backup work with all your files where they are now. These steps are just offered to make your job of backing up easier. If this is the case, you can skip to the section entitled “What Medium Should I Use To Back Things Up.”

How Do I Get My Existing Files Into These New Folders FINDING WHERE FILES ARE STORED If you don't know or can't find where the program stores the files you create, go into the program, generate a new document, and do a save on it. When the “save” window comes up, it may well show you the path/folder that the program uses. So you can now go to that folder, and find all the stuff you have done previously. While you're in the “save” window, you can now specify your new repository for your files in this program, assuming it will cooperate. If this does not happen, do a search in Windows (Start>Search) to find that file, and the location path will be available there. COPY EXISTING FILES

13

What Medium Should I Use To Back Things Up? In the “olden days”, the choices were fairly limited. Floppy disks and tapes were about it. These days, those two media are not the ones of choice. Floppies have limited storage space, and most people don't have a tape drive, nor should they bother to get one these days. USB DRIVES The two choices that I would recommend are external USB drives, which many people have or flash drives which many people also may have. If you're not familiar with these devices, you should become familiar - they are very inexpensive now and are the perfect media for backing up purposes, transporting, and archiving files. ZIP DISK OR CD Or you can use a ZIP disk, if you have a ZIP drive, or use a CD rewritable disk. To “burn” a CD, you must be familiar with the process. If you have a recordable or rewriteable drive on your machine, there should be a software utility to handle copying files. Usually this utility is on the CD that came with your hardware. But, it's possible that the utility was not loaded on at the factory. Check through the manual or help files to learn more about this.

Rather than move the existing files, I'd copy them into the new folder you set up. That way, if there are any “goofs” (perish forbid), nothing has really been lost.

Remember, once you get into the habit of backing things up, you can feel more comfortable about not losing lots of time and effort trying to reconstruct things.

In the case of a program like Quicken, just open Quicken, and press CTRL+B. This should open the backup window, and you can type in the path/folder you've just made.

And, when you get a new computer, your new machine can take the backup medium you used, and copy it all (as desired) onto the hard drive of the new machine.

Later on, when you know that everything has been safely copied into your new folder tree, you can safely delete the files in their original locations if you want to do so. When you've done this for all your important stuff, you will now have a new “filing cabinet” with “drawers” for all your important files.

One Further Recommendation To Save Your “Stuff” UPS One area that most users don't bother to consider, is the use of an uninterruptible power supply (UPS). These units plug into your wall outlet, and then the computer and monitor plug into it. (Continued on page 18)

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DECEMBER 2009 Cascade Lakes Computer Club

George Brucks, Milton Sherman, Co-Presidents

Computer and Technology Club Suzanne J Wertheim MAN OF THE YEAR The October 26 meeting of the Cascade Lakes Computer and Technology Club began with the presentation of the club’s Man of the Year Award, for 2009-2010 to Mike Blackman.

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He spoke about security risks and how adware/ spyware can get into a computer. (Knowledge that these “bad guys” can find their way into our computers, reinforces the need to have excellent protections installed.) Numerous browsers can be running on one computer at the same time. You can also have multiple home pages. Different browsers can be advantageous for different purposes. For more details, a summary of the presentation can be seen at http://brcs.org/browsers.php. FOR CASCADE LAKES’ EYES: Watch your e-mail messages from the club to be informed of meeting dates. Every meeting holds a wealth of information and allows time to answer your burning questions. Every little bit of knowledge to help you make best use of your computer will move you along to being more comfortable in our technological world. Come to the next meeting; they’re great!

Huntington Lakes Computer Club Lou Strumlauf, President Mike was presented with a plaque bearing the words, "He Never Refuses Anyone Needing Help". Mike was completely surprised. PRESENTATION The meeting continued with a presentation by Jerry Naditch, the vice president of the Boca Raton Computer Society. The informative and interesting topic was The New World of Internet Browsers. With the aid of a vivid PowerPoint presentation, Jerry introduced us to different browsers that are now available. In addition to Internet Explorer, that we have been familiar with for many years, he gave us detailed information about: Firefox, Google Chrome, Opera and Safari. He made comparisons with charts showing the advantages and disadvantages of each.

Meeting Of 11/12/09 40 members, guests, and new members attended. I explained that I would be hosting the next few meeting as the president of vice. The speaker was Richard Miller who spoke on the subject of the new operating system, Windows 7. He used the actual program and demonstrated some of the new feature. He was very positive about the new system as opposed to VISTA. It seems that Microsoft has cleaned up most of the problems with VISTA in this new system. One of the big advantages was that 2 programs can be displayed side-by-side on the monitor allowing easy transfer of information between programs. (Continued on page 15)

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DECEMBER 2009

(Chapter News Continued from page 14)

There were many questions and comments as to length of time to install as an update. From the comments and Richard’s reply was that VISTA would take approximately 2 hours after wiping out the old operating system and about 5-6 hours for XP. I remarked that I had seen Windows 7 for sale at Costco for $179.00 for the Home Version. Richard recommended Ultimate, which has many more features. The bottom line was that if your current system is operating well, leave it alone. The cost to install Windows 7, including labor would exceed the cost of a new computer that had Windows 7 pre-installed. He stressed the importance of not trying to upgrade, but starting from a clean system. He also emphasized the importance of backing up your system as a general rule. There are only 2 types of hard drives: those that have failed and those that are going to fail since they are just mechanical devices. The coffee & cake that was prepared by Bev Berger was immediately devoured. Bill Berger, Vice Pres.

Gleneagles Computer Club Jerry Bartzoff, President

Computer Club Classroom The EAGLES have landed and right into the Computer Club Classroom. This season we have scheduled more classes with a bigger variety of subjects to accommodate the growing Gleneagles computer usage. Classes have been well attended and registrations for December are higher than ever. We are fortunate to have a wonderful group of Teachers and Aides and appreciate their volunteering to help our neighbors become more computer proficient. All residents are invited to attend a class or join our volunteer group.

15

Gleneagles residents who consider themselves to be a Computer Mechanic are invited to become a part of our team that maintains the 12 classroom computers. They also help update and rebuild donated computer systems for distribution to Gleneagles employees as a gift. So far this year more than 12 systems have been handed out.

Internet Access The Computer Club maintains an “open use” Internet Computer at Lomond Hills Satellite for your use and practice. Guests can print boarding passes or just bring their own laptop and use our wireless Internet service until the new Wireless Internet now being installed throughout the community is completed. Tests show that all the present XP, Vista or SEVEN systems will work just great. We suggest however, that all residents update their Browser, to the latest version (it’s FREE), for greater security with the WiFi system. We have been stressing in our classes and meetings that residents should use the Gleneagles Country Club web-site on a regular basis. They can read and print the Eagle, view resident phone numbers, and keep up with the events calendar. Golfers can enter their golf scores, sign up for Couples events, major Tournaments and golf Schools, plus view tee times, all on-line. It’s a great tool that has improvements almost monthly.

Meeting The November 19th. meeting was conducted by our VP, Josh Kalin along with Program Chair Jack Rosensweig, who had invited Marty Traum to speak on “Buying and Selling on the Internet”. It was a wonderful presentation that touched all the facets but did so in plain English with marvelous Internet and Power Point graphics. Marty is an excellent speaker and very knowledgeable and was prepared to answer all questions, which he did as well. The next Computer Club meeting will be Monday, December 21, 2009 at 2:30 p.m. in the Strathearn satellite. Visit our web-site at: http:// www.gleneaglescomputer.org for class schedules and registrations.

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DECEMBER 2009

APCUG Monthly Newsletter November 13, 2009 This is the first APCUG monthly newsletter to update all of our member user groups as to what is going on at APCUG and believe me there is a lot. Below is a list of the topics to be covered in this newsletter.

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Once we get the new membership DB deployed, this will go a long way in automating the membership renewal process but I will talk more about that later in this newsletter. There are three possible ways to submit your UG’s information and they are: Using the PDF update form that was previously provided

•

New Membership Database – PDF updates & Word document updates

•

APCUG Membership Early Renewal Contest with software prizes

•

Election

•

Magix Webcast

•

LiveMeeting training sessions

APCUG still has to complete the testing process for all aspects of the new DB and then train APCUG’s advisors. But if your UG does not send in your information, then it will not be included in the new membership DB.

•

Windows 7 LiveMeeting

APCUG Early Membership Renewal Contest:

•

Upcoming APCUG Regionals – Both scheduled and tentatively scheduled events

Every UG that renews their membership and it is received by APCUG by December 31, 2009, they those UGs will be entered into the early renewal raffle for a variety of software prizes that your UG can use any way that they see fit. This can include using the software as a raffle prize, or providing it to one of your leaders to enable them to do their UG job better.

Update on the APCUG’s new membership database: Well, this PDF update process for the new membership database has really been a learning experience for all of us. A number of users had problems with this process, primarily because they didn’t have a full version of Adobe Acrobat or they were not using the latest Adobe Acrobat reader. No doubt, there were lots of other reasons why this didn’t work the way that it was originally envisioned.

Using the attached Word document or Cut and paste the fields into the body of an email message

The deadline for renewing is February 28, 2010 and if a UG has not renewed by then, they will have until March 31, 2010 before the UG will lose their APCUG membership benefits. Below is the URL for renewing. http://www.apcug.net/membership/renewal_application.htm

Congratulations to the 2/3 of APCUG’s member UGs that have responded to my request but there are still some UGs that have not yet responded. Please respond by Friday, November 20, 2009. There are several things that are holding up the deployment of the new membership database and they are testing of the new online payment system and getting all of APCUG’s member groups to provide the basic information on their UG.

If you renew using PayPal, please send an email to [email protected] stating your name, and the full name of your UG. Currently, the only thing that is provided via PayPal is your name and the treasurer and I spend a lot of time trying to figure out which UG has renewed, if an email is not sent. Fortunately, this is but one of the problems, which will be solved by the new membership DB.

The CDB that we have been using is over 15 years old and is now prone to crashing on almost a daily basis. As a result, it is not possible to extract the data on your user group from the existing CDB.

If you are going to send your check via snail mail to APCUG, then please use the correct snail mail address, which is (Continued on page 17)

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DECEMBER 2009

(APCUG Newsletter Continued from page 16)

APCUG P O Box 671294 Dallas, Tx 75367-1294 Birl Smith, APCUG treasurer has already received several checks but we were lucky to get one of the checks. Why? Because it was sent to the Las Vegas mail forwarding address, except the mail forwarder has moved to one of LV’s suburbs. So, please make sure that all sources for APCUG’s address are updated. The correct address is also included on the membership renewal webpage URL shown above.

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Check out their website for more detailed information and then be sure to put watching this webcast on Magix on your schedule. http://www.magix.com/us/

Windows 7 Live Meeting: The Windows 7 Live Meeting will be held on November 24, 2009 at 9:00 PM EST (New York). The URL for the Windows & Live Meeting for November 24 (Tuesday) https://www.livemeeting.com/cc/usergroups/ join?id=F8C4G7&role=attend&pw=p%23pG%2CZB9r.

APCUG’s Regional Meetings:

Update on Upcoming APCUG Election: The deadline for UG members to submit their names to stand for election to either the board of directors or the board of advisors was October 29, 2009. APCUG has a slate of UG members who have submitted their names to run in this election. This slate will be published on November 23, 2009 and UG members can go to SharePoint, http://sharepoint.apcug.net/ to see the biographical sketches on each candidate with the candidate’s picture. If you have not registered on the SharePoint site, please encourage your UG leaders and members to click on the option “Create a user account”. It will take from 27 days for your account to be set up. This is because APCUG does not have any paid staff and the APCUG volunteers that handle this function also do a lot of traveling for their business. The candidate bio’s and pictures will also be sent out in the December 6, 2009 mailing. Voting will end on December 14, 2009. The election committee consisted of Jay Ferron (director), Birl Smith (director) and Mitch Garvis (advisor).

Magix Webcast: There will be a Magix webcast on Wednesday, January 18, 2009 at 9:00 PM EST (New York). Magix is one of APCUG’s regional sponsors and they are one of the leading producers of software for any kind of multimedia, which includes photos, graphics, videos, music, media and much, much more.

APCUG is co-sponsoring the following regional meetings with a local user group for each event.

• January 23, 2010 -- Computer Tech 2010 at Northwest Florida State College, Niceville, Florida

• February 19-21, 2010 – Phoenix Regional and APCUG Annual Convention The keynote speaker will be Jay Ferron, who is an acknowledged expert on security, mobility devices and operating systems. His presentation will be on Windows 7. Jay has the following certifications ADSI, CEH, CWSP, CISM, CISSP, MCDBA, MCITP, MCSE, MCT, MVP, NSA – IAM and his blog is located at http://blog.mir.net/. There will be both an end-user track and an IT Pro track. The end-user track will include lots of information on social networking (Facebook, LinkIn, etc.), genealogy, digital photography, etc.. The IT Pro track will include presentations on Windows 7, Disaster Recovery, Microsoft Server 2008 R2 and Social Networking for businesses. In addition, there will also be a computer build event but the available seats are limited and there is an additional charge. So, if you have always wanted to build your own computer, now is your opportunity but you will need to register early to secure your seat.

(Continued on page 18)

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DECEMBER 2009

(APCUG Newsletter Continued from page 17)

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(Backing Up And Restoring Files Continued from page 13)

Also look for the Linux Install event, and the Gamer event for all you gamers or want-a-be gamers

Many don't feel that this is of any value to them, but I'll bet that they've had a crash during a power blink.

If you are flying (or driving) in from out of town, the host hotel is the Clarion, which is just a couple of miles from the site of our meetings. The Clarion will provide transportation to and from the event site. In addition, both breakfast and dinner will be provided as part of your room fee.

The primary use of such a device is to keep your computer and monitor running when there is a power failure, either an extended one, or momentary power blink.

The Saturday evening social is planned for Wild Horse Pass Casino, which is a high-rise hotel that just opened last week. So come join the fun and enjoy some warm weather in Phoenix. The following regional meetings are tentatively scheduled, assuming that the local user groups complete the planning process and are approved by the APCUG board of directors. March – San Francisco April – Dallas May – New York June – Toronto, Canada August -- Ohio Keep checking the APCUG webpage, http:// www.apcug.net/, for details of these and other APCUG meetings.

Conclusion I hope that you found this newsletter both interesting and informative. Now, if you are interested in being involved and learning the latest technology, start by volunteering for your local user group and come join the fun. APCUG is here for the benefit of end-users, small business owners, developers and IT Pros. If your user group is interested in expanding their membership base, then you might want to consider expanding to include everyone, who is interested in being on the leading edge of technology. Cheers, Linda Moore APCUG Secretary

The purpose of a UPS is not to allow you to keep working for an extended period when the power goes off, but to allow you to save your work, and shut down in an orderly fashion. Or, when the power “blinks”, your system doesn't crash, and you lose the work that you have on screen. Even a one tenth of a second blink can wipe out what you're working on. And, if you haven't just saved it, you've lost it. SURGE PROTECTION Furthermore, all computers should be connected via a high end surge protector, to protect against power surges and line fluctuations. A UPS is also just about the best protection that you can use here. And, these days, UPS units are available for not much more than the cost of a good surge protector. Check Costo for some good values here. A capacity of 300-500 VA is a reasonable range for most home computers. Remember, as a minimum, you need to have your computer and monitor connected via the UPS. Without a monitor, your computer isn't good for much.

Conclusion So, happy backing up - try it. The day will definitely come when you'll be glad you did. And once you get to be an expert at it, you can impress your friends by teaching them. * * * * *

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DECEMBER 2009

(Window Pains Continued from page 7)

The problem is Do you understand what they are, what they do and do you need them to startup automatically? Most us can't tell from the list which looks like this on my computer:

CodeStuffStarter Now how do we find out what to do? A program we have often discussed that is essential is CodeStuffStarter. "Starter allows one to view and manage all the programs that are starting automatically whenever operating system is loading. It enumerates all the hidden registry entries, startup folders' items and some of the initialization files, so that the user could choose to temporarily disable selected entries, edit them, create new, or delete them permanently. By right clicking on a program that starts when you boot your computer, you can locate information about exactly what the program does and whether it is safe to stop it from running at startup. Needless to say stopping programs from running at startup will speed up your startup process. The beauty of CodeStuffStarter is that if you right click on an entry, it will allow you to view that entry at Pacs Portal on the internet, and will let you know if it is necessary to have start up. You will then be able to stop the program from starting up from the program and it will speed up your startup procedure.

What Programs Exist within your Computer? 1. WINDOWS INTERNAL MAINTENANCE PROGRAMS. To view these programs click on Start > All Programs > Accessories > (scroll down) System Tools. Once here click on Disk Cleanup a tool helps you free up space on your hard disk by searching your disk for files that you can safely delete. 2. SYSTEM RESTORE. Your route to the past. Start > All Programs > Accessories > System Tools > System Restore Vista Tip: While it is the same in Vista, using Start > Start Search to locate System Restore is quicker.

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System Restore is the fountain of youth for your computer. It helps you restore your computer's system files to an earlier point in time. It's a way to undo system changes to your computer without affecting your personal files, such as e-mail, documents, or photos. If a program fouls up your OS and you can't seem to fix it just use System Restore. Again, a brief caveat: prior to installing any program set a new Restore point so that you have a safe, operable place to return to if need be. 3. DISK DEFRAGMENTER – DO THIS ONCE A MONTH. While this program is a little slow it does the job. A free program I use is Ausologics Disk Defrag. You can download it at: www.auslogics.com/en/software/disk-defrag/download 4. POTPOURRI MAINTENANCE Rid yourself of programs, icons and folders you no longer use. Organize your files into folders in the Documents section. Remember, this serves as a simple filing cabinet. Recycle Bin is not a storage area. Do not leave items there forever. After a week or so delete them otherwise restore them. * * * * *

20

DECEMBER 2009

BOCA BITS

BRCS Member’s Help Line This help line is for BRCS members who need answers to technical questions, but cannot wait for the monthly meetings. Help-line volunteers offer their time to assist BRCS Members only! Note: Some volunteers will answer questions only by email. If you would like to become a Help Line volunteer, contact: Help Line Coordinator Larry Jablon: Phone: (Noon to 10PM only) (561) 368-8028 Email [email protected]. Digital Photography Jerry Dinerman............................. [email protected]

Computer Help At Your Home From a BRCS Member These club members make house calls. They have different skill levels, areas of expertise, and will charge different rates. The listing of any name does NOT constitute a recommendation by BRCS of the person providing the service. Call, or email, them for pricing, and to make appointments. Percy Alexander

561 483-4378

Bob Dobski

561-265-0437

eBay Judith Yellen [email protected]

Herb Goodman

561-488-4465 [email protected]

General Computer Questions Larry Jablon ................................................561 368-8028 ................................................... Afternoon and Evenings

Richard Miller

561-393-5813

Lee Reynolds

954-972-4961

Ray Sollberger

561-487-2854

Hardware Ray Sollberger .......................................... (561)487-2854 HTML Jerry Bartzoff (email only)[email protected] Most Any Topic (See list on her site) Pamela Tabak.....................http://tinyurl.com/ask-pamela Paint Shop Pro Murray Apfel ................................. [email protected] Skype (Telephone via the Internet) Luis Sanchez ...............................................561 483-6771 Windows XP, Vista, Most eMail Programs Bob Balogh .................................... [email protected] Spanish Interpreter (Will relay questions) Luis Sanchez ...............................................561 483-6771

PLEASE REMEMBER: When you call the help-line, the people who answer are volunteers. please treat them courteously. Helpline contacts are not paid employees. They are fellow club members, who have volunteered to try to assist you. Please interact with them as such.

PERSONAL ADS We are happy to run a personal ad, free of charge, and subject to space availability, for members of BRCS. Items must be computer related hardware or software. Send information, with a subject line beginning with the words BRCS Personal Ad, via email to:

[email protected]

BOCA BITS

DECEMBER 2009

Meeting / SIG Information Locations Patch Reef Park Exit I-95 at Yamato Road. Go West to second left turn after Military Trail (approximately 1/4 mile). Patch Reef Park is on the South side of Yamato Road. South County Civic Center On Jog Road, four or five blocks South of Linton Boulevard (opposite the Morikami Japanese Gardens).

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Special Interest Groups Advanced Mutual Fund Investing Purpose: Advanced research of mutual funds market. Contact: Murray Apfel: [email protected]; or Gary Elsner [email protected] Meets:

Fourth Tuesday, 7:00 PM

Digital Photography

Sheriff’s Office, 345 S. Congress Ave., Delray Beach. Please leave the last parking space open for the SIG leader. He/she has a lot of equipment to bring in for the class. It is impractical for the SIG Leader to carry it all from the general parking lot.

Meetings Board Meeting 2nd Monday, 7:30 p.m. at Patch Reef Park. General Membership Meeting 3rd Wednesday, 7:30 p.m. at South County Civic Center. Q & A Tables start at 6:15 PM.

Special Interest Group (SIG) Locations Hardware & Software, Photoshop CS4 , & Windows XP/Vista/Win7 SIGs.

Purpose: Getting the most out of Digital Cameras. Contact: Gerald Dinerman 736-5601 or Marvin Wolf (637-9592) Meets:

Hardware & Software Purpose: Discussions & hands-on hardware demos. Contact: Ray Sollberger (561) 487-2854 Meets:

Sheriff’s Office, Room 108 Digital Photography Patch Reef Park

Fourth Tuesday, 7:00 PM

Photoshop CS4 Purpose: Introduce Adobe's newest digital program Photoshop CS4 Contact: Murray Apfel - [email protected] Jerry Dinerman - [email protected] Meets:

Sheriff’s Office, Room 219 Advanced Mutual Fund Investing

First Wednesday, 1:30 PM (Dec09 Rescheduled to 2nd Wednesday at 1:00 PM)

Second Tuesday, 7:00 PM Fourth Thursday, 7:00 PM (Begin Jan2010)

Windows XP/Vista/Win7 Purpose: Using windows XP/Vista for pros & beginners. Contact: Richard Miller (561) 393-5813 Meets:

Second Thursday, 7:00 PM

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DECEMBER 2009

BOCA BITS

Boca Bits Activities Calendars

DAY Tue

December 2009

MEETING 8

TIME

Photoshop CS4 SIG (New Date)

7:00 PM

Digital Photography SIG (Rescheduled)

1:00 PM

S M T W T

F

S

Wed 2

1

2

4

5

Thu 10 Windows XP/Vista/Win7 SIG

7:00 PM

8

9 10 11 12

Mon 14 Board Meeting

7:30 PM

Wed 16 Question & Answer Tables General Meeting

6:15 PM 7:30 PM

Sat

19 Boca Bits Submission Deadline

1:00 PM

Tue

22 Advanced Mutual Fund Investing SIG Hardware SIG

7:00 PM 7:00 PM

6

7

3

13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31

Be sure to check the BRCS website at

http://www.brcs.org for locations, cancellations or changes, prior to the SIG or meeting you plan to attend.

DAY

MEETING

Wed 6 January 2010 S M T W T

F

S

1

2

8

9

Digital Photography SIG

TIME 1:30 PM

Mon 11 Board Meeting

7:30 PM

Tue

7:00 PM

12 Photoshop CS4 SIG

Thu 14 Windows XP/Vista SIG

7:00 PM

17 18 19 20 21 22 23

Wed 20 Question & Answer Tables General Meeting

6:15 PM 7:30 PM

24 25 26 27 28 29 30

Sat

23 Boca Bits Submission Deadline

1:00 PM

31

Tue

26 Advanced Mutual Fund Investing SIG Hardware SIG

7:00 PM 7:00 PM

3

4

5

6

7

10 11 12 13 14 15 16

Thu 28 Photoshop CS4 SIG

7:00 PM

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DECEMBER 2009

Member of The Florida Association of Computer User Groups

23

Member of The Association of Personal Computer User Groups

MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION Boca Raton Computer Society, Inc. 5030 Champion Blvd., G-6 #202 Boca Raton, FL 33496-2473 Membership is $45.00 per year and includes the monthly Newsletter, Help Lines, attendance at SIG meetings, and more. First Name ______________________________ Address _______________________________ City ____________________________________ State _______________ Zip ________________

Last Name ______________________________ Home Phone ( ) ________________________ Work Phone ( ) ________________________ My Email Address _______________________

We depend upon volunteers to maintain the quality and efficiency of the organization. Your participation will not only help the club, but help you become more proficient on the computer. Please let us know your fields of interest.

1.________________ 2.________________ 3.________________ 4._______________

Community Computer Clubs that you belong to:

Alternate Address (for our Snowbirds) Do you want your newsletter, Boca Bits, mailed to another address for part of the year? If yes, complete the following:

Address _______________________________ City ___________________________________ State _______________ Zip ________________

Home Phone ( ) _______________________ Dates: From __________ Through __________ mm/dd/yy

mm/dd/yy

For office use only Membership Number ______ Renewal Date___/___/___ Check No.______ Recommended By __________________

Boca Raton Computer Society, Inc 5030 Champion Blvd., G-6 #202 Boca Raton, FL 33496-2473

About The Boca Raton Computer Society Since 1983, members of the PC User Group of Boca Raton, now the Boca Raton Computer Society, Inc., have been helping one another use and learn about computers.

The formal meeting begins at 7:30 p.m., with most meetings featuring presentations by outside speakers including Microsoft, IBM, Adobe, Corel, etc.

We have nearly 300 members, including computer professionals, business owners, home users, and novices.

The Board of Directors meets on the second Monday of each month, at 7:30 p.m., at Patch Reef Park on Yamato Road, just west of Military Trail, in Boca Raton. Members are welcome to attend.

We welcome hundreds of visitors to our meetings each year. Network with others who share your interests! GENERAL MEETINGS (OPEN TO THE PUBLIC) General meetings are held on the third Wednesday of each month, at the South County Civic Center, 16700 Jog Road in Delray Beach, Florida. The Civic Center is on the east side of Jog Road, between Clint Moore Rd. and Linton Blvd., opposite Morikami Park. At 6:30 p.m. several QUESTION and ANSWER sessions are held to offer assistance to those seeking help with various computer topics. These sessions are staffed by club members.

SERVICES

From time to time, the BRCS arranges group purchase discounts on major hardware and software items. DUES (U.S. address only) Membership is $45 per year and includes the monthly newsletter, Help Lines, attendance to SIG meetings and more. Dues may be paid at the general meetings or mailed to the address listed below.

BRCS members receive our monthly newsletter, Boca Bits, which provides information about meetings, SIGS, and includes articles by prominent writers, about current computer-related topics. Special Interest Groups (SIGs) are smaller meetings which explore specific topics in greater depth, such as Graphics, Hardware, Software, Windows, Scanners, email and Internet, to name a few. Although we support the sharing of Publicdomain and user-supported software, the BRCS strongly opposes illegal distribution of copyrighted software.

Visit the Boca Raton Computer Society’s Web Page on the Internet

http://www.brcs.org