PC Users Group
Meetings of the PC Users Group have been suspended until further notice.
The last meeting of the PC Users Group was held at the Aiken County Library on Thursday, May 21st. John Lowery, Internet content editor of the Aiken Standard, showed the Standard's online website and the many things that you can access from it. Especially impressive was the archived editions of the Standard from as many years ago as the 1800's. The procedure of logging into the site is a little confusing but you can get help doing the log in by calling the Aiken Standard during normal business hours.
R E C E N T M E E T I N G S
Thursday, 16 April 2009
About 20 attendees heard Gabriel Lemnaru tell us about How to Keep your Computer and Bank Account Safe from New Internet Security Threats. Gabriel showed us how some fake antivirus warnings and other messages can be used to scam computer users. Charlie Brown also presented some example phishing e-mails that seek to have a user input financial information into a fake website.
Thursday, 19 March, 2009
A small group gathered to hear Sam Thomas talk about the "Birth of the Internet." Sam was an engineer working with a company under contract to the Advanced Research Project Agency (ARPA) in the late 1960s. Some of the communications technology that he worked on later came together in building ARPANet, the forerunner of the Internet. Sam gave us a first hand history of the early work and vision for the Internet. Sam holds the distinction of being one of the first 100 people to have an e-mail address. Sam also shared a personal communication with Bob Kahn, who, along with Vint Cerf, developed TCP/IP, the communication protocol that is the heart of transmissions over the Internet. Kahn and Cerf commented on the role played by Al Gore in this message. It was an enjoyable and informative meeting—thank you, Sam.
Thursday, 19 February, 2009
The meeting featured a demonstration of the beta version of MS newest operating system Windows 7, supposedly due for release in late 2009. Jim Brown was ill, but others gave his presentation and many questions were raised about its likeness to & difference from Vista. It was determined that if you have further questions about Windows 7 you should come to the Learning Center during the weekly Open Lab period (3-5 p.m.) on any of the following Wednesdays - Feb. 25, March 4 & 11. Jim Brown, who spent many hours investigating this new OS will be there with his laptop to show anyone who comes the improvements that MS has made in its newest operation system.
Thursday, 15 January, 2009
At the first meeting of the new year of the PC Users Group a near record number of attendees (38) were informed and enlightened by George Heh who gave an informative history and overview of the Google search engine. Then George, and other SeniorNet volunteers, demonstrated some useful and entertaining searching techniques.
Thursday, 4 December 2008
The November/December meeting of the PC Users Group featured several individuals talking about what is new and exciting in the computer/technology area. SeniorNet volunteers Dennis Harkins, Ralph Dale, Sara Wampole, Dennis Smith,Jim Brown and Jim Jordy showed a variety of items such as mini laptops, a wireless mouse, and the new iTouch and Mac laptops. a good time was had by all.
Thursday, 16 October 2008
The second PC Users Group meeting for the Fall featured a discussion and demonstration of the Skype Internet-based visual telephone system. SeniorNet volunteers Dennis Harkins, Louise Glassman, Ralph Dale, and Charlie Brown showed how to set up and use this free service. This was followed by a lively video conference with a Skype user in Dublin, Ireland, and another with Dennis' son in San Francisco. Though the turnout was smaller than usual, those who attended came away with all the information they needed to establish their own Skype account.
Thursday, 18 September 2008
The small group that attended the first PC Users Group meeting of the fall heard new SeniorNet volunteer Mike Newland provide an excellent overview of hardware and software that is available to assist the visually impaired in using their computer. Three members of the public that needed this type of assistance attended and went away with not only the overview, but some tips from Mike and other SeniorNet volunteers that will provide immediate assistance. SeniorNet is considering a workshop on this topic, but interest in such a workshop did not appear to be high. Let Jim Jordy or Jim Sproull know if you are aware of someone that may be interested in such a workshop.
Thursday 15 May, 2008
The group that gathered for our last Users Group for the Spring were treated to a very informative presentation by Pat Robertson on the topic of 'Genealogy". Pat is the instructor for the Genealogy course taught in the SeniorNet Learning Center. She provided several excellent examples of how to use some of the available computer software as well as internet websites that are most helpful in tracing one's family background. This Fall, she will be teaching the Genealogy course on Thursdays. Check the Fall Schedule or attend the Open House to get more details and/or register for the course.
Thursday 13 March, 2008
The thirty plus attendees were treated to some of the basics as well as some valuable secrets of using a search engine - google, in particular. After a brief Power Point introduction to the topic, Ralph Dale and Dennis Smith, along with a number of those in attendance, showed some of the many ways to use google in order to access information, maps, etc. Certainly, the capability of finding out just about anything you might want to know has gone far beyond looking it up in an encyclopedia.
Thursday 21 February 2008
The topic of a setting up a home network was well presented by three men who work in the computer field - Al Duffie, John Magruder, and Gabriel Lemnaru. Their complete discussion of the what is needed for a home network, the things to watch out for, and many of the details that you should be aware of before embarking on this adventure lasted well over an hour with many, many questions from the 30 plus attendees. Certainly their expertise provided everyone with more than enough information about the topic. Thanks again to the three presenters, and to Dennis Harkins for making the necessary arrangements for the meeting.
Thursday 16 January 2008
Our meeting at the Aiken Public Library was certainly a good one for the 38 in attendance. Louise Glassman gave an excellent presentation on how one can use Photo Shop Elements 5 (or 6) to do a wide variety of things with their digital photos. Over an hour of showing examples, using her own photos, was most informative to the whole group.
