There was a good number of members in attendance. President Ron announced there will be no December meetings, however we will have our usual holiday party on Dec. 7, 2006. Remember to bring a WHITE ELEPHANT wrapped gift to share . There will also be a 50/50 raffle.

The program and discussion of the new MicroSoft VISTA System was led by Dave Buckner.

The slate of nominees for next year was presented with no nominees from the floor. The new officers voted in are:

President Ron Crummit
Secretary – Martha Daughetee
Treasurer – Ed Pierce
Program – John Ehlers
Director at Large –Ralph McAdams
Membership—Trudy Penfold
Training—Mark Ratto
Mac Group Leader—Jack Hennessy
Web Mistress—Betty Swierk

The last meeting in November is on the 30th for Basic Training.
A drawing was held and the meeting was adjourned.

October 19, 2006

President Ron Crummit opened the meeting at 2:10 p.m. He introduced our featured guest, Joseph Carro, owner of Comco Computers located in the Adobe Plaza in Atascadero.

Mr. Carro spoke about computers on the market today and rated them as follows:

1. Sony (best quality but most expensive)
2. Hewlet Packard
3. Acer (fairly new, sold on the East Coast and in Europe)
4. Dell
5. Compact & Gateway
6. E-machines (Gateway bought these but they are still available as E-machines)

The new Vista operating system from Microsoft will be coming out in February of 2007. There may be revisions later in the year, so he felt it is often best to wait for the revision before buying new. Vista is a much more powerful system and requires 1 GB of RAM, minimum, and has 2 GH speed. These requirements will be an increased burden for laptops. The Vista office program will be sold separately.

He also showed us a “jump drive,” or “thumb drive,” a memory storage device that can plug into a USB port on your notebook or computer. It is available from Kingston Electronics and others.

Mr. Carro also talked about how you can save on ink if you select “draft” when setting up the print window. Many printers won’t tell you how many pages you can run with just black ink, although Epson claims about 400 pages.

Updating your Windows operating system is important to do and you can schedule this updating to be done automatically every week on your computer. Mr. Carro recommended doing this.

Many questions were asked and discussed by the computer club members and Mr. Carro at the end of the program.
At the conclusion of the meeting a drawing for the prize of the month was held.
Meeting ended at 3:45 p.m.

Martha Daughhetee, Secretary

September 21, 2006

President Ron Crummit opened the meeting at 2:10 p.m. Sixteen members were present. He brought to our attention raffle tickets that are now available for sale to individuals for a travel vacation. This is a promotion to raise money for the Joslyn Community Center. The cost of one ticket is $10.00. Prizes are as follows:

Hawaiian vacation for two for seven days.
Carribean vacation for two, also for seven days.
Mexico and Cancun vacation for two, seven days
Jamaican Bay Resort and Golf Club vacation for two, seven days.
Or a vacation of your choice. You can choose where you want
to travel for $3800 worth.

Also coming up October 7th is the annual OCTOBERFEST. This will be at the Vets Hall and since there will be food and drinks, volunteers are needed to set up and/or serve. Eleven volunteers are needed for this fun event. Email Ron Crummit at rcrummit@charter.net.

Roland Soucie, our Program Chairman, has advised that he will step down from his position at the end of this year and a new Program Chairman is requested for the following year. He can give you the particulars as to what this position requires. Reply to Ron Crummit (e-mail above) or Roland Soucie at rsoucie@charter.net.

The program today was called “Stump the Stars,” Our panel of experts are members of our club who have acquired expert knowledge on using computers, both PC’s and Macintosh, and are prepared to answer your questions. On the panel were Roland Soucie, Rick Aurrichio, Mark Ratto, and Nancy McKarney. Many questions came from the audience and it was a very informative meeting.

Our meeting adjourned at 3:50 p.m. after a drawing for some computer software.

Martha Daughhetee, Secretary

August 17, 2006

Ron Crummitt, our president, opened the meeting at 2:05 p.m. Eighteen members were present.

The Pinedorado waffle breakfast is coming up soon and volunteers are needed. One more volunteer is needed for setup on Friday, September 1. Eight more will be needed to cover two shifts, one from 6:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m., and the other from 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. on Saturday, September 2.

Our program today featured Ron Waltman, former LAPD officer and now retired but working with volunteers chasing down sex offenders in the County of San Luis Obispo. California was the first state to start a sex registration law and that was in 1947. There are 490 registered in the county and three are in Cambria. They all must register on their birthday or go to jail. In 1996 Megan's law was implemented in the state of California and now, on the internet, San Luis Obispo County is 98% compliant. It was named after a child who was sexually molested by a neighbor. Now the internet can tell you just where many sex offenders live, indicating their address and zip code. Not all of them have their addresses on the internet, however. Some show just the zip code and others (35%) will not show on the internet at all for classified reasons.

There is a lot of information available to the public. Criminal histories of felons cannot be obtained in California but some other states do allow it. There are public data bases and other police reports, as well as the L.A.Sheriff's Dept., Criminal Law and Warrant Service (CLAWS) where information can be obtained.

We now have a better system for finding people by using biometric technology. If a witness can describe a suspect, an artist's sketch can lead to several similar faces that can help identify an individual.

Using his status as a detective, Mr. Waltman told how he could find as much as 22 pages or more of information about an individual they might be tracking. He used our program chairman as an example. The public would be very limited in getting this information but a web site that will tell you where sexual predators are located in your city is: www.meganslaw.ca.gov.

Detective Waltman provided us with a listing of 104 privacy tips to help limit personal information that can be obtained about you.

Meeting ended at 2:55 p.m. after a drawing for door prize.

Martha Daughhetee, Secretary

July 20, 2006

President Ron Crummitt opened the meeting at 2:05 p.m. 23 members were present and two visitors. Ron announced that the Strawberry-Waffle breakfast will be coming up soon and volunteers are needed for serving and kitchen duty. This is an important event put on by the Joslyn Center to raise much needed funds for their operation.

The program today was presented by Patti Jo Overturf, one of our members. The topic was Genealogy, and where to get started looking into your own family history on the internet, and other places. The Family History Center in San Luis Obispo, located on Foothill Blvd., is helpful. Their hours vary so she suggested calling first. There are many data bases on the internet where you can find information. Ancestry.com is a web site that has a listing of census dates that you can check on and also search under Births, Marriages and Deaths. You can also check military records and immigration lists from (Ellis Island) and Bedford, MA. You will need to register at this web site if you want more information, and there may be a fee for some things. If you are uncertain about the spelling of a name, type in the first 3 letters and follow the letters with an asterisk. You can create forms for a particular census year, naturalization, etc. Then there is The Social Security office. They will send you a copy of an original death/birth certificate. A fee will probably be required for your request.

L.A. Public Library.org is a web site for information. You probably need a library card from the L.A. County Library system to get most information over the web. A branch of the L.A. library is located on Santa Monica Blvd. in L.A., if you happen to be in L.A., and want to get a library card.

Another web site is Heritage Quest Online. And another, RootsWeb.com, has a surname list where you can check out names. Also check on Harold B. Lee Library, which is the official website at BYU in Utah. Cyndi's List has a list of genealogy sites that are on the internet. The Bureau of Land Management can show you names on pieces of land purchased through them and office records. Random Acts of Genealogical Kindness is another web site to check out. Also, you can always use Google to look up a name. For this area, try SLO County Genealogical Society, Inc. TIAS.com and Newspaper Abstracts.com are some other suggestions.

Ron Crummitt told us about next month's General Meeting. We will have a return visit from Ronald Waltman, former policeman, who will present “Megan's Law and the technological devices aiding in tracking convicted sex offenders.” Tracking methods include, but are not limited to, searching the internet. For questions, e-mail Roland Soucie at: rsoucie@charter.net.

Other meetings coming up next month include:

Thursday, August 3 @ 2:00 p.m. - Mac Meeting
The topic this month is “Mac OS X Freeware 2006,” presented by Jack Hennessy. This is our annual survey of useful and frivolous OS X software you can download for free. We will also discuss the origins of, and pitfalls in, some of the available packages and why you might want to exercise caution. For questions, e-mail Jack at: aonghus@alumni.calpoly.edu.

Thursday, August 10 @ 2:00 p.m. - Novice Meeting

Using Adobe Photoshop to make adjustments to photos, resizing photos, touching up photos, adding drop shadows, layering and more. Also, demonstrating how to use Adobe Acrobat (full version) to create a PDF document from Microsoft Office documents (including Word, PowerPoint, Excel and Publisher.) For questions, e-mail Mark Ratto at: mark@markratto.com.

Thursday, August 24. @ 2:00 p.m. - Basic Training Meeting

Continuing in one of our 4 Main Elements of our Basic Training, Mark will present, “How to do E-Mail and setting up your Address Book, getting your favorite photo on your desktop, and exploring the ACCESSORIES feature. Also he will explore some housekeeping you should know about in SYSTEM TOOLS. For questions, e-mail Mark at: mark@markratto.com.

The meeting closed at 3:50 p.m., after the usual drawing for some computer software.

Martha Daughhetee, Secretary

June 15, 2006

Ron Crummitt opened the meeting at 2:10 p.m. There were 16 members present.
Wayne Parrack gave a demonstration of how to use PowerPoint, a software program developed by Microsoft that can be used for slide shows and organization charts in setting up a presentation.

Some of the things that PowerPoint can help you with are as follows:

o Create a professional presentation
o Make up an organization chart
o Arrange slide content and put names on slides
o Show how to add or modify text
o Show how to insert a slide and use a slide from another presentation.
o Change background on slide design and change order of slides.
o Add an icon to page or a picture or animation.
o Move picture around and use drawing tools
o Has a format text similar to Word to help organize your thoughts.
o An area on the left of the screen has a slide thumbnail which allows you to navigate for adding or subtracting a slide.
o Can create notes using one or two points per slide.

Very interesting program. More information can be obtained for putting together a presentation using PowerPoint at the following websites:

www.wirecommcorp.com
http://www.quasar.ualberta.ca/edpy202/tutorial/Powerpoint/ppBasics/pptBasics.htm.

For other questions, you can reach Wayne Parrack at: .wparrack@earthlink.net.

Meeting ended at 3:40 and a drawing for door prize was held.

Following is the schedule for the July meetings:

Thursday, July 6 @ 2:00 p.m. - MAC MEETING
Betty Swierk will present a PowerPoint slide show that gives examples of web resources for planning both domestic and intenational travel. She will demonstrate how to use the MAC utility GRAB to capture the contents of a window or complete screen, edit its size, and incorporate it into PowerPoint. Any questions, email Betty at bswierk@gmail.com

Thursday, July 13 @ 2:00 p.m. - NOVICE MEETING
Using Microsoft Publisher: The demonstration will include creating fun and useful projects using Microsoft Publisher. Projects you can make include calendars, brochures, flyers, menus, greeting cards, certificates, newsletters, letterhead, invitations, and much more. Use Publisher for everything!! Any questions, e-mail Mark Ratto: mark@markratto.com

Thursday, July 20 @ 2:00 p.m. - GENERAL MEETING
Doors open at 1:30. Topic to be announced. Watch for an Announcement at a later date on the Club's Web Site at www.cambriacomputerclub.org. You will also receive a reminder of the Topic for this meeting in the beginning of the week. If you have any questions, e-mail Roland Soucie: rsoucie@charter.net.

Thursday, July 27 @ 2:00 p.m. - BASIC TRAINING MEETING
We will demonstrate and discuss creating and saving files using your computer. Understanding the organization of the file system on your computer. We'll show you exactly what it means and how to copy and paste your files and more. Questions, e-mail Mark Ratto: mark@markratto.com.


Martha Daughhetee, Secretary

April 20, 2006

President Ron Crummitt opened the meeting at 2:10 p.m. 22 people were present including three visitors.

John Ehlers presented our meeting today discussing how to back up files from your computer. He demonstrated backup software called Backup4All. This program is very easy to use and is considerably cheaper than some of the other backup products available. It has an excellent rating (comparable to 5 stars) and can be used on computers using windows 98 through XP versions. It sells for $29.98, where some other brands sell for up to $60. The cheapest edition is called Lite. Standard is next and has most features you would use. The Professional is for those that want “gotta have” features. There are plenty of backup types to choose from: Full backup, Differential backup, Incremental backup and Mirror backup. The standard version has one touch back up. Standard can sell for $26.95 if at least two people buy at once. There is also a 30-day free trial that can be downloaded. You can download from web site www.backup4all.com and select Standard, Lite or Professional edition. You can set up a predefined backup job for My Documents, My Pictures, and settings from the predefined backups list. For instance, Winzip drive can be in a zip folder for all your pictures. There is also a help button on the tool bar that will aid you in setting up. John Ehlers can be reached for questions by e-mail: - ehlers@mesasoftware.com. Contact him if you are interested in ordering or have questions about the above software.

Next month's meeting will include: -

Thursday, May 4 @ 2 p.m. - MAC MEETING
The meeting topic will be “Basics of Text handling and Word Processing,” presented by Jack Hennessy. This presentation has been given annually for about five years. It is geared not only to new users, but also to experienced individuals who want to brush up on their document creation skills. As usual, there will be an open forum prior to the main topic presentation for questions and exchange of ideas. E-mail Jack at aonghus@alumni.calpoly.edu.

Thursday, May 11 @ 2 p.m. - NOVICE MEETING
Mark Ratto will present “Software Utilities and Plug-ins that help your computer. Discussion and demonstration will include understanding how and why we need Acrobat, Winzip, Java, Flash, Active X, Yahoo and Google toolbars and more. Questions? E-mail Mark at mark@markratto.com

Thursday, May 18, @ 2 p.m. - GENERAL MEETING
Roland Soucie will present 'Just When You were Becoming Comfortable with Windows XP!” Microsoft is preparing to release a new operating system named Vista. Roland will present Vista in a PowerPoint presentation. Following that, he will demonstrate Vista as installed on his personal computer. Q&A session will follow. A drawing for a door prize will be held at conclusion of meeting.

Thursday, May 25 @ 2 p.m. - BASIC TRAINING MEETING
Mark Ratto will demonstrate and discuss “Creating and saving files, and understanding the organization of the file system on your computer. He will show you exactly what it means and how to copy and paste your files and more!! E-mail Mark at: mark@markratto.com.

Meeting adjourned at 3:15 p.m. after drawing for door prize.

Martha Daughhetee, Secretary

March 16, 2006

Ron Crummitt opened the meeting at 2:10 p.m. 29 members and 3 visitors were present.

Ron announced the following meetings are scheduled for April:

Thursday, April 6th at 2:00 p.m. - MAC MEETING
The meeting topic will be “Macintosh Security Issues,” presented by Rick Auricchio. Rick will discuss previously non-existent viruses, worms and Trojan horses which could impact the Mac OS X operating system. This was recently highlighted by the news media and internet. Rick will update this situation for us and discuss how we can best protect our own systems. An open forum prior to the main topic presentation will be for questions and exchange of ideas. Questions? E-mail Jack at aonghus@alumni.calpoly.edu.

Thursday, April 13 @ 2:00 p.m. - NOVICE MEETING
Mark Ratto will present “Securing your computer. His demonstration will include updating security software, performing system scans, and understanding what to do if security problems occur with your computer. Software titles such as Spybot, Ad-Aware, Microsoft Anti-Spyware, Norton Internet Security, and more. For questions, e-mail Mark Ratto: mark@markratto.com.

Thursday, April 20 @ 2:00 p.m. - GENERAL MEETING
John Ehlers will review software entitled “Backup4All v4.0 Pro.” This is a feature- rich backup program with 'Wizards' to hold your hand while deciding how you wish to backup data on your hard drives. Backing up your computer is important if you have data, documents, or photos that are irreplaceable should your hard drive fail, not an uncommon occurrence with many people. A Q&A session will be conducted, followed by a door prize drawing. For questions, e-mail Roland Soucie: rsoucie@charter.net.

Thursday, April 27 @ 2:00 p.m. - BASIC TRAINING MEETING
One of our senior members, Wes Densmore, will be conducting this, the third of our “NEW” Basic Training Classes. Wes will be going through the basics ins and outs of using Microsoft Internet Explorer on the Web. He will also demonstrate the intricacies of the wildly popular search engine “Google.” For questions, e-mail Ron Crummitt: rcrummit@charter.net.

Today's meeting was conducted by Roland Soucie and titled “Creating your Personal Web Page.” He showed us how he created a web page for himself. He suggests using Google as your search engine. Go to www.ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers} This is a non-profit public/private organization that has the responsibility for internet protocol (IP), address space allocation, protocol identifier assignment, and domain name system management. You can find out all you want to know about this on the internet. To get started, Roland used “register4less.com.” This group charges $14.95/year for registration for domain management services, storage of photos, etc. You select a name you for your web site, check it out through the Domain Selector that will tell you if that name has been taken. Sometimes it can show that it is taken if you had selected your name plus .com. However, it could still be available if you used .net, .org, .biz, or other identifier after your name. After setting up a name for your web site, you create pages. Open a sub-folder under C drive. A new folder can be called image folder. Here you can select photos that are 200-240 pixels wide from photo -albums. Save as a web page, named index.htm or html. Using new office documents under MS Word, click on View/Toolbars/check Formatting, Toolbox, and Picture. Pick out table with desired number of boxes and create a header and footer. Roland showed an example of this where he had selected pictures that he had photographed in his home and moved the photos into six separate boxes. He selected a background called “dog fur.” To see the outcome of Roland's design, go through Google to: http://www.cambriapc.com/. Select current page and you will see the pictures he chose. Interesting program.

Meeting concluded at 4:05 after our usual drawing for a software gift.

Martha Daughhetee, Secretary

February 16, 2006

President Ron Crummitt opened the meeting at 2:05 p.m. There were 26 members plus one visitor present.

We discussed a few web sites that are helpful. One, langa.com, has a listing of half-price books for Windows 98. Another, PC Hell.com, can help get rid of pop-ups and also helps with other problems that users have with their computer. Another web site is video google.com. This site allows you to purchase video programs, particularly old ones, i.e., “I Love Lucy.”

Mark Kramer gave the presentation today on the Turbo Tax software. It costs $40 and for a deluxe edition, about $50, which he recommends. He demonstrated how easy it is to do your own taxes this way by following instructions. A number of necessary forms can be downloaded, and the program can be brought up-to-date if any changes were made by the IRS since the current program came out. You should have all the tax information from the different sources where you have money before starting and it's helpful to have your last year's tax forms available. Since new software comes out every year, you will need to buy new software to accommodate next year's tax preparation.

Included in the program is a sales tax table which will figure out tax charged for large expenses and reminders to include car yearly car licenses and gas mileage deductions for doctor visits, etc. Mr. Kramer gave us time for questions and we had an interesting discussion following the program.

Ron Crummitt told us that Mark Ratto's Basic Training Meeting will canceled this month due to the bicycle tour on that day which will close off Highway 1 for their use. The class will resume in March.

The meeting closed at 4:50 p.m. after the usual drawing for a door prize.

Next month's meetings will be scheduled as follows:

Thurs., March 2 @ 2 p.m. - MAC MEETING

The topic of this meeting will be “Firefox,” presented by Betty Swierk.
This has become an extremely popular internet browser, both for Mac
and PC users. She will discuss how you can best adapt this free
application to your browsing needs. Email Jack Hennessy for questions at aonghus@alumni,calpoly.edu.

Thurs, March 9 @ 2 p.m. NOVICE MEETING
Mark Ratto will lead with a discussion and demonstration that will include:
Burning data and music on a CD-ROM, and putting data on external devices for backing up and transferring to other computers. Any questions, email Mark at mark@markratto.com.

Thurs., March 16 @ 2 p.m. GENERAL MEETING
Roland Soucie will present “How web pages are created and placed onto the web, selecting and registering the domain (web) address, layout and design of a two-page web presence using Microsoft Office modules, uploading the pages to the web server, and submitting it to Google.”

Thurs, March 23 @ 2 p.m. BASIC TRAINING MEETING
This is the second of our 'NEW' Basic Training Class, following a very successful first class. Mark Ratto says, “What happens after the computer is turned on? “ His demonstration will include using the mouse (left click and alternate right-click) and the keyboard, as well as a tour of Windows XP and how it is organized. Also, the most important, how to save your work on the computer. Questions? Email Mark at mark@markratto.com.


Martha Daughhetee, Secretary

January 26, 2006

President, Ron Crummitt opened the meeting at 2:15 p.m. There were 24 members and one guest from Morro Bay, Marylou Brandemeyer.

We all took note of the new seating arrangement, using tables to allow a more intimate kind of seating. Ron Crummit said that he had three goals in mind for the new year:

1. Try to increase our membership
2. Members need to consider what they can do for the club.
3. A shoe box would be used for a suggestion box and set on the table by the door. Encourage use of the internet for ideas.

One of our members showed us a book he purchased that had lots of information for using Windows XP. It is entitled Windows XP Pro 2nd edition, The Missing Manual. It is published by Pogue Press. He found it very informative.

Rick Aurechio was the program presenter today. His topic, Introduction to Hard Drive Technology. The screen showed us a picture of the head assembly of the hard drive and how it slides on a cushion of air. Dimensions are almost microscopic. He discussed Tracks and Sectors. Hard drives fail eventually. It could be due to: -
. A mechanical failure - motor, actuator
. Electrical failure - PCB, head connection
. Mechanical damage
. Bad sectors, bits, it doesn't record properly.

Watch for warnings, such as unusual sounds, pop, snap, click, buzz and screech,
.Rythmic clicks, or patterns on certain files, long stalls (unexplained).
ATA drives can stall trying to read data.

It is important to backup your work in one of the following ways: -
. Copying files onto another computer.
. Using zip discs
. Burning CD's and DVD's
. Use an external hard drive
. Use software called Retrospect for backup.

An external hard drive is best used for stuff that can't be replaced because you created it yourself. Costs about $50.

Retrospect backup software costs about $80. It is good for CD's and is easy to install.

Other discussions were about other browsers, such as Firefox. It does not seem to have as many problems as Internet Explorer, and it can be downloaded for free.

Next month's meetings will be as follows:

Thursday, Feb. 2nd @ 2 p.m. - MAC MEETING

This meeting is held in the Joslyn Center Conference Room. Jack Hennessy will present: Internet Basics for Mac. Jack will discuss dialup and broadband connections, internet service providers, remote access. Email software, setup, sending and receiving messages, etc., and using the internet, software, surfing, search engines, etc. For more information contact Jack at aonghus@alumni.calpoly.edu.

Thursday, Feb. 9 @ 2 p.m. - NOVICE MEETING

Mark Ratto will demonstrate Using Online Resources for Daily Living: This includes shopping, recipes, banking, weather, search engines & prints of your photos, tech support and more. For more info, contact Mark at mark@markratto.com.

Thursday, Feb. 17 @ 2 p.m. - GENERAL MEETING

Mark Kramer will demonstrate the Personal Income Tax Preparation Software “Turbo Tax.” This software computes your state and local personal income taxes and prints out 1040 and 540 tax forms ready for mailing. Any questions? Please email Roland Soucie at rsoucie@charter.net.

Thursday, Feb. 23 @ 2 p.m. - BASIC TRAINING MEETING
Mark Ratto's program for the new basic training class will be “What Happens After the Computer is Turned on?” His demonstration will include using the mouse (left click and right click), the keyboard and a tour of Windows XP and how it is organized. Also, how to save your work on the computer. All questions are welcome. For more info, email Mark at mark@markratto.com.
Our meeting closed at 3:30, after a drawing of computer software of the month.

Martha Daughhetee, Secretary

MINUTES OF THE GENERAL MEETING
OF THE CAMBRIA COMPUTER CLUB

November 17, 2005

President Roland Soucie opened the meeting at 2:10 p.m. Eighteen members were present.
An election of next year’s officers was held with those members on the present board staying on another year. However, Ron Crummit has agreed to take over the role of President and Roland Soucie will be VP of Programs. Ed Pierce will stay as Treasurer. Martha Daughhetee will continue as Secretary and Trudy Penfold as Membership Chairman. Ralph McAdams will be a director at large. Mark Ratto will lead the Novice meeting, as before, and Jack Hennessy will continue to lead the MacIntosh Users’ group.

The meeting for December will be featured as a Christmas Party for members and their guests and everyone is encouraged to attend and bring a “white elephant” gift to exchange. Desserts and drinks will be on the menu. This will be held December 8th at the Joslyn Center.

Today’s program was called “Stump the Stars” and consisted of “stars” Roland Soucie, Mark Ratto and Rick Auricchio. Those in the audience either brought written questions or asked them at the meeting so the panel could address them. Mark Ratto also demonstrated on the computer screen some of the web sites one can go to and find answers, i.e., www.keen.com, which will lead you to www.ingenio.com . Here you can get advice from experts who charge by the minute. Mark showed us how it is done using Mike 247 one of the experts who charges a small fee, ($1.80/hour) for questions answered by phone. Microsoft Knowledge Base is a free help service. Many questions regarding photos came up. Longs Drug stores have a web site, www.longs.com. They can upload an entire group of pictures. You can then order them and pay at store the next day or they will e-mail you when they are ready. You can also check out www.kodakgallery.com. This web site can provide information for developing pictures in different formats, such a picture on a cup, calendar, etc. They will develop photos for you and you can view them on a secure line on the internet.

A drawing was held for some software and meeting adjourned at 3:55 p.m.

Martha Daughhetee, Secretary

MINUTES OF THE GENERAL MEETING
OF THE COMPUTER CLUB

October 20, 2005

President Roland Soucie opened the meeting at 2:05 p.m. There were nineteen members present. The date of Thursday, the 27th of October, at 10:00 a.m. was set up for folding Joslyn Center newsletters for November. Volunteers were requested and received.

Wes Densmore listed the meetings for next month as follows:

Thurs, Nov. 3 @ 2 p.m. Macintosh Users Group – Joslyn Center Conference Room

Jack Hennessy will present “Intermediate and Advanced Mac Word Processing.” Jack will demonstrate the use of TextEdit, Appleworks, Microsoft Word and Apple’s
new Pages application to add elegance, graphics and pizzazz to the documents you create. There will be an open forum prior to the main topic presentation for questions and exchange of ideas.

Thurs., Nov. 10 @ 2:00 p.m. – Novice Meeting – Joslyn Center Main Room

Mark Ratto will present “Making and Keeping Your Computer Secure.” Included will be information about spyware, hackers, viruses and how to avoid them, and a discussion on maintaining a healthy computer. At the conclusion the floor will be opened for general PC questions.

Thurs., Nov. 17 @ 2:00 p.m. – General Meeting – Joslyn Center Main Room

We will begin by conducting the general election of club officers for 2006. Following the election we will present “Stump the Stars.” A panel consisting of experts in both PC and Mac hardware and software will answer your questions.

For more information on above meetings, please contact Jack Hennessy, aonghus@alumni.calpoly.edu for the Mac meeting, Mark Ratto, mark@markratto.com for the Novice Meeting, or Wes Densmore wesdensmore@msn.com for the general meeting.

Don Dahlman presented today’s meeting, entitled “Microsoft Digital Image Suite 10.”
This is a suite of photo processing software including an album to store photos in. It is designed to print and store your memories with the click of a button. It has a library that can help you organize your pictures. It can assign one or more key words to the system to identify and rank them. A flag system can mark each photo for review, touch up, etc. You can tune a bad photo to make it better, i.e., red eye can be erased, and color balanced. You can adjust brightness and contrast and use the wizard for control. A “smart eraser” will remove certain spots in picture and refill the space with like landscape. There are 3000 templates available and various filters. This allows you to add, for example, an impressionistic look to your picture. Also, you can sharpen your photo before printing and resize image. A “paint brush” can be used to blend color or add more color in spots you designate. A frame-like edge can also be selected for each photo. Lots of ideas can be used with this program of digital imaging. An online wizard can order film (Fuji) from a microsoft website (www.microsoft.com/products/imaging/products.aspx.)

Meeting closed at 3:30 p.m. after a drawing for software products.

Martha Daughhetee, Secretary
 

MINUTES OF THE GENERAL MEETING
OF THE COMPUTER CLUB

September 15, 2005

The meeting opened at 2:10 p.m. Twenty members were present. President Roland Soucie informed us that there are now 75 members, about half of whom have Macintosh computers, and the other half PC's. At the board meeting this week, we decided that it would be a good idea to include Mac software prizes in addition to PC software, so winners could select which one they can use.

December 8, at 2 p.m. was suggested as the probable date for the Christmas party. A show of hands indicated that most members agreed to attend. It would be set up approximately the same as in former years with everyone bringing a “white elephant” gift.

The Investment Club which has access to the internet through our club has donated $100 for use of our equipment. They no longer use dial-up access.

Wes Densmore, wesdensmore@msn.com, has declined to continue as vice president of programs for the coming year so that position is open to plan programs for the general meeting on the third Thursday of the month. He gave a description of his job and other members of the board also gave theirs. Other members on the board with possible changes include: Trudy Penfold, membership chairman, gpenfold@thegrid; Ed Pierce, Treasurer, edpierce1@charter.net; and Martha Daughhetee, Secretary, checkart212@msn.com. Jack Hennessy will remain in his role as Macintosh Users Group leader. Our president is retiring after this year and possible replacement is Ron Crummit, rcrummit@charter.net, although he has not confirmed this and is only putting his name up for nomination. For more information on job descriptions, contact the above at their e-mail address.

Our guest speaker today is Joseph Carro, of Comco in Atascadero. His company repairs and sells refurbished computers and parts for computers. He gave an interesting talk about some of the new hot items for computers, both hardware and software, and what new items may be coming in the future. One of the more interesting new developments is voice control which can be used instead of the mouse. This adapts to your voice, and will pick up every sound you make and enters it on the computer. Some users may find this annoying. Also some words may not be used as you intended, such as those that sound the same but are spelled differently, i.e, their, there and they're. Since he does repair computers, he finds that viruses are a big problem and people often neglect to get anti-virus programs right away when they buy a new computer. He recommends both Norton Ant-virus and McAfee programs. The new Windows upgrade coming out next year will have anti-virus and anti-spam programs built in. The new name was Longhorn but is now called Vista. It also is claiming to be faster and will have voice control.

He also explained how many of the computer companies have lost money through the years as sale prices have come down, so some have strengthened their companies by buying others, i. e.: HP bought Compact; Gateway bought E-machines; and of course Dell, Daewood and Sony are still around and available.

The following programs are scheduled for next month's meetings:

Thursday, Oct. 6 @ 2 p.m. - Macintosh Users Group

This month the topic will be “Mac OS X Freeware 2005,” presented by Jack Hennessy. As usual, there will be an open forum prior to the main topic presentation.

Thurssday, Oct. 13 @ 2:00 p.m. - Novice Meeting

Mark Ratto will present “The Mail Merge Process; including creating a name and address file using Microsoft Word (2000, 2002 (XP) or 2003)” that can be used as a Christmas card list or any kind of list to create mailing labels, form letters, or envelopes. Mark will be using his “How to make lists and labels with Microsoft Word,” with step by step guides for the demonstration. At the conclusion the floor will be opened for general PC questions.

Thursday, Oct. 20 @ 2 p.m. - General Meeting

The General Meeting will feature Don Dahlman. He will present Microsoft's “Digital Image Suite 10,” a suite of photo processing software, including an album to store photos in. Floor will be opened for general PC questions at conclusion of meeting.

After drawings for prizes, the meeting adjourned at 3:40 p.m.


Martha Daughhetee, Secretary

August 18, 2005

President Roland Soucie opened the meeting at 2:10 p.m. Present were 40 members plus 7 visitors, from Paso Robles computer club, Arroyo Grande, Atascadero, San Luis, and Cambria.

An announcement was made that people are needed to help with the Pinedorado waffle breakfast on Saturday of Labor Day weekend. A sign-up sheet will be on the table.

The following programs are scheduled for September:

September 1 @ 2:00 p.m. -Macintosh Users Group

This meeting is held in the Joslyn Center conference room. Betty Swierk will present “Working with Video Using iMovie and iDVD.” The meeting will start with an informal forum prior to the main presentation - for all participants, all levels of expertise - for problem solving and sharing information.

September 8 @ 2:00 p.m. - Novice Meeting

Mark Ratto will continue the presentation begun last month entitled “Control Panel Icons and System Customizations.” General PC questions will be discussed at conclusion of the presentation.

September 15 @ 2:00 p.m. - General Meeting

This meeting will be held in the Joslyn Center main room. Joseph Carro, owner of Comco Computers, located in the Adobe Plaza in Atascadero, will be our featured speaker. Joe will speak on the latest hot items for computers, both hardware and software, as well as what items might be coming in the future. At the conclusion, the floor will be opened for Joe to answer any computer-related subjects.

Today's meeting featured Ronald Waltman. He is a 30-year veteran of the L. A. Sheriff's Department, and currently is employed by the SLO Sheriff's Department Sexual Assault Unit. He was hired specifically to track down, arrest and prosecute out-of-compliance registered sex offenders. His topic today is: “Tracking People on the Internet.” He has been investigating over 500 cases of child abuse, and is also working with the U.S. Postal Service on a Kiddie Porn sting operation. He picked one of our members, Judy Schuster, and ran her name through a public data base and came up with seventeen pages of information on her. This illustrates how public information about you is available to those who want to pursue it. One web site you can go to in order to find predators located in your city is meganslaw.ca.gov. The L.A. Sheriff's Dept., Criminal Law and Warrant Service (CLAWS) and others also can help. There are 1.3 million warrants outstanding in the U.S.

Detective Waltman also provided us with a listing of 104 privacy tips to help limit personal information about you. He highly recommended buying a cross-cut shredder. He also suggests not putting your phone number on your checks and never put your account number on your check when paying bills, and never give out your true maiden name.

The meeting closed at 3:30 p.m. after drawing of the door prize.

Martha Daughhetee, Secretary


MINUTES OF THE GENERAL MEETING
OF THE CAMBRIA COMPUTER CLUB

July 21, 2005

President Roland Soucie opened the meeting at 2:07 p.m. Present were 16 members and 3 visitors.

Program plans for next month are as follows:

Thursday, August 4 @ 2 p.m. - Macintosh Users Group

Jack Hennessy will present “Apple's Address Book and Mail Applications.” He will discuss how to set up, customize and use these programs jointly for e-mail and related correspondence. General questions will be taken for discussion at end of meeting.

Thursday, August 11 @ 2 p.m. - Novice Meeting

Mark Ratto will present “How to use all the features of the Control Panel, and how and when to use the right Mouse button to access Context menus.” General PC questions will be shared from the floor at the conclusion of the meeting.

Thursday, August 18, @ 2 p.m. - General Meeting

Our feature presenter and club member is Ronald Waltman, a 30-year veteran of the L.A. Sheriff's Dept., and currently employed by the SLO Sheriff's Dept., Sexual Assault Unit, hired specifically to track down, arrest and prosecute out of compliance registered sex offenders. His topic will be “Tracking People on the Internet.” His broad experience included investigating over 500 cases of child abuse, and working with the U.S. Postal Service on a Kiddie Porn sting operation. His talk will cover:
o A landmark case regarding finding information on the Internet.
o A few “war stories” while working with DIRC.
o An on-line presentation with a person who wishes to be run through a public data base.
o Using today's public data bases in tracking down sex offenders.
o Provide a handout on how to reduce your chances of ending up on a public data base.
At the conclusion of the meeting, the floor will be opened for general PC questions.

Jeff Joynt was featured presenter for today's meeting. He is a specialist in Forensic Analysis and Recovery of Electronic Media, and demonstrated the science of extracting data from hard drives and digital camera memory media. He was eight years with the Atascadero Police Department and later Cal Poly Police Dept. where he worked on crimes against persons, sexual, child abuse, etc. He also dealt with computer e-mail and hate mail, and has seized computers as part of a Forensic Task Force and Forensic Data Recovery operation. He is now retired, but has formed his own company, Enterprise Software Co., that deals with Guidance software for Forensic work, and teaches law enforcement to several police departments. He restated the importance of backing up files, particularly some of your documents and pictures that are important to you, and said that an external hard drive was a good thing to have.

The meeting closed at 3:38 and a drawing was held for the prize of the month.

Martha Daughhetee, Secretary

June 16, 2005

President Roland Soucie opened the meeting at 2:05 p.m. There were 29 attendees, including four visitors.

Wes Densmore told us about the program plans for next month, as follows:

Thurs., July 7, @ 2:00 p.m. - Macintosh Users Group

The Mac Users Group meeting will be held on Thursday, the 7th in the Joslyn Center conference room at 2:00 p.m. (Doors open at 1:30). Jack Hennessy will present “Customize and Personalize Your OS X Desktop.” If you want something unique and your own, something you can work with to make applications and documents easy to locate and readily accessible - this meeting's for you! An informal open forum prior to the main presentation will allow participants (all levels of expertise) to share in problem solving and information.

Thurs., July 14 @ 2:00 p.m. - Novice Meeting

Mark Ratto will present “The Wonder of the USB Port and Its Many Uses.” This presentation will cover connecting external media to your USB port. This will include connecting a multi-card memory card reader, a digital camera, a thumb drive, an external DVD burner, an external hard drive, and setting up a USB printer and other peripherals. At the conclusion, the floor will be opened for general PC questions.

Thurs., July 21 @ 2:00 p.m. - General Meeting

Jeff Joynt will be our featured presenter, a specialist in Forensic Analysis and Recovery of Electronic Media, will demonstrate the science of extracting data from hard drives and digital camera memory media. He will also speak about his experiences as a Police Officer/Investigator dealing with Computer Forensics related to Law Enforcement, his specialty for several years. The floor will be opened for general PC questions at conclusion of meeting.

David Harris presented the meeting today on Google and the many types of information available using Google as your internet search engine. Regardless of which page of information is chosen, the search results will review 8-1/2 billion pages in less than one-half second. There is also an Advanced Search if you do not find what you want on the basic check sheet. Also, other pages that are available include: Catalogs - there are many available, and you can just click on the logo of the one you are interested in and it comes up with all pages. The same applies for Movies. This page will tell you names of actors and a brief resume of what movie is about. There are many other sites you can go to, including University Search, Images, and you can even set up your own site posting your thoughts as you would a diary of your trip, etc. Picasa Photo Org. can be downloaded free from Google, and Google also has the best pop-up block. Other check lists include Translator for changing English to French, as an example; Calculator, Definitions, Phone Book, Maps, Travel Info, Tech Playground, and many others. It was a very interesting discussion of the advantages of choosing Google.

The meeting concluded at 3:15 after many questions and a drawing for the door prize.

Secretary, Martha Daughhetee

May 19, 2005

President Roland Soucie opened the meeting at 2:00 p.m. There were 32 attendees, including two from the computer club in Paso Robles and three from Cambria who were interested in joining.

Meetings next month will be as follows:

Thursday, June, 2 @ 2 p.m. - Macintosh Users Group

The Mac Users meeting will be presented by Rick Auricchio, whose topic will be “Wireless Mac.” Rick will discuss what it takes to set up a wireless network in your home and also how to get your laptop to communicate in a wireless environment away from home.

Thursday, June 9, @ 2:00 p.m. - Novice meeting

Mark Ratto will for the first time conduct an Open Forum for Novices. He will answer your questions on any PC-related topic, and at any skill level including Advanced.

Thursday, June 16 @ 2:00 p.m. - General Meeting

David Harris will present “Google - Learn to search the 25+ areas Google has to offer. “ They review 8-1/2 billion pages in less than one-half second. At the conclusion the floor will be opened for general PC questions.

Nancy McKarney was our presenter today and her program was called “Digital Photo Processing.”
She first discussed types of cameras and the importance of getting the right number of pixels, the more you have the more detail and depth your picture will have. 6 mp will cost you from $800 to $1,000. The case can be metal or plastic and the plastic is very durable. Some are waterproof, which is a good option and some have automatic lens covers, also a good feature. Canon, Olympus and Nikon are good choices and you are likely to get a better lens and better warranty because they have been in the business a long time. As to the LCD screen, bigger is better. A Zoom lens can be optical or digital. Optical is best. A Stabilizer on your camera is good because it allows for any jiggle from the picture taker. Speed is also important, that is, how long the camera takes to go from one picture to another. Smart Media is a card that can hold 100 pictures. It is about one inch square. 1 GB is most common. Media cards cost about $100 but can be used over many times. Most cameras have a jpeg file or language. There are a number of automatic settings - landscape, portrait, and sports (which is faster but may lose color}. Pictures taken can be viewed on Camera View Source. Here you can click to delete those pictures you don't want. A Card Reader is a convenient attachment you can buy for your camera. It will help select pictures for your computer.

Some magic software you can buy for your computer is Adobe Photo Shop Elements 3. With this you can manipulate your photos to move one section of a photo to another one, and many other tricks. This one is much less expensive than some of the pro types. Epson printers has a Film Factory program which is good for organizing photo files by date, or however you determine the best system for you. Glossy paper is available from Costco, their brand (Kirkland) is the most reasonably priced, $20 for 120 sheets. When you print, you must be sure the settings are right because glossy uses a different amount of ink.

Nancy had displayed a number of pictures she had taken and discussed how she managed the interesting effects in some of them. Following the discussion questions were asked and answered

Meeting concluded around 4:00 p.m.

Martha Daughhetee, Secretary

April 21, 2005


President Roland Soucie opened the meeting at 2:05 p.m. Seventeen members were present. Roland showed us a new item that he came across. It is called Turtle Beach and is an audio advantage micro that can plug into a laptop or other types of computers. It is a very small device that can easily be put in your pocket.

Next month's meetings have been set up as follows:

Thursday, May 5th @ 2 p.m. - Macintosh Users Group

Jack Hennessy will be presenting “AppleWorks.” This is a software package which contains word processing, spread sheets, database, presentation, drawing and paint features, very adequate for most home users. Appleworks templates and formats do the basic work of high priced specialized software packages.

Thursday, May 12th @ 2 p.m. - Novice Meeting

Mark Ratto will discuss Service Pack 2, Anti Virus, Firewalls, and anti-Spyware. General PC questions will be open from the floor at the conclusion of this program.

Thursday, May 19th @ 2 p.m. - General Meeting

Nancy McKarney will present “Digital Photo Processing.” Nancy will cover all aspects of digital photography from camera to printing. She can answer “all” of your questions. At the conclusion the floor will be opened for general PC questions.

Today's program is presented by David Harris, our former president. It is entitled “Cyber Crime on the Internet and How to Protect Yourself.” Cyber crime is defined as any crime activity dealing with the internet. Computer intrusion is called “hacking.” Some of the statistics he gave us suggest that 70% of all computers are infected today. Cyber crime encompasses any crime dealing with the internet. 15% of major cyber crime is not reported and only 5% investigated. The National Cyber Security Alliance is a government agency that looks into this. Important hardware to have to protect your computer is a firewall. Zone Alarm is good. Update your hardware frequently. He also discussed some addresses we should know to report cyber crime or use to protect your computer from viruses. One is an organization called CERT - Computer Emergency Response Team. A listing of websites he discussed was distributed to our club members, which included Ad-Aware, EZ Armor Suite, Spybot Search and Destroy, and SpywareBlaster. Another area discussed was how identity thieves get your personal information and how identity thieves use your personal information. A listing for this was also distributed. Meeting concluded at 3:15 p.m.

Martha Daughhetee, Secretary

March 17, 2005

Vice President Wes Densmore opened the meeting at 2:00 p.m. President Roland Soucie is away on vacation. Twenty-three members were present.

An announcement was made of the meeting for Cambria residents to be held on Thursday at 6 p.m. at Vets Auditorium. This has to do with the new signal lights recently placed at the juncture on Main Street of the entrance to Mid-State bank and the Pine Knolls road opposite. Shirley Bianchi will be there to hear Cambrians' questions about this.

There is to be an Adobe Photo Shop users' convention on May 23rd at the Sands Motel in San Luis Obispo.

Next month's meetings will begin on April 7th at 2:00 p.m. This is for Macintosh users. Betty Swierk and Jack Hennessy will be presenting the program “Videos with Macintosh.” They will be demonstrating techniques for making your own videos using the iLife software package. Betty will show her video, “Narrowboat Adventures 2004” and its progression from digital camera images into a DVD. Jack will show a similar project. An Open Forum will follow.

Thursday, April 14th at 2:00 p.m. the Novice Meeting will be held and presented by Mark Ratto. This will be part 4 of the 4-part presentation covering a wide range of topics that novices should learn in order to use their computers effectively. Other topics covered include: E-mail and setting up your address book, Getting your favorite photo on your desktop, Exploring accessories, and Some housekeeping you should know about in System Tools. Other topics will be discussed if time permits. Also, any general PC questions can be brought up at the conclusion of the meeting.

Thursday, April 21st at 2:00 p.m. is the General Meeting. Ex-President David Harris will present “Cyber Crime On the Internet and How to Protect Yourself.” This is the fastest growing crime in the U.S., the most under reported, and the least prosecuted. Law enforcement is almost totally unprepared to deal with it. At the conclusion, the floor will be opened for general PC questions.

The meeting today was presented by Jack Hennessy and was on “Spreadsheet Basics” using Microsoft Excel. Topics consisted of Background, About Spreadsheets, Key Spreadsheet Concepts, Types of Data You Can Enter, Formulas (functions), and Selecting Cells and Entering Data. At the conclusion of his presentation, the floor was opened for questions. Following, a drawing was held for a software door prize.

The meeting closed at 3:25 p.m.

Martha Daughhetee, Secretary

February 17, 2005

The meeting room doors opened at 1:15 p.m. and the meeting began at 2:05 p.m. President Roland Soucie determined that all present were members. Roland read the club's Calendar for March which included a presentation by Jack Hennessy to the Mac Group on Word Processing, plus another at the General meeting on Excel fundamentals. Mark Ratto is to present part 4 of 4 of the Novice class format.

Roland mentioned that the Joslyn Center was planning a barbeque for all members on Saturday, Feb. 19. The club will provide certain items, plus one member, Wes Densmore, will be available on call.

Wes Densmore introduced Mark Kramer, the meetings presenter, who gave the attendees a one hour lesson, by example, on how to file personal income tax on a PC or Mac using “Turbo Tax”. It was warmly received. At the conclusion the door prize drawing was conducted. Ed Pierce won Turbo Tax Federal and State programs.

The meeting concluded at 3:30 p.m.


Roland Soucie
Acting Secretary
2/19/2005

MINUTES OF THE GENERAL MEETING OF THE CAMBRIA COMPUTER CLUB

January 20, 2005

Vice President Wes Densmore opened the meeting at 2:10 p.m. President Roland Soucie was away. There were fifteen members present.

Ron Crummit suggested we give a hand-out of the brochure describing our computer club's activities at the Farmers' Market on Fridays, perhaps once or twice a month.

Wes Densmore said that the Joselyn Center has a few functions coming up that could use help from the Computer Club. The first one will be a barbeque on February 19th. Volunteers are requested.

Next month's meetings will start with Jack Hennessy's Macintosh meeting on Thursday, Feb. 3rd. The topic for discussion will be “E-mail and Internet Basics.” . Mac user Nancy McKarney will discuss how to get and stay connected on the Internet, what software is available for Mac users to send and receive e-mail, and to surf the net and websites of interest to both new and experienced users.

Mark Ratto will continue his Novice series on Thursday, February 17th. This will be Part 2 of his 4-part presentation covering a wide range of topics. Topics covered include opening various programs and changing the window. Also, what happens when you select the START button, and getting to know what the My Computer icon on your desktop can do for you. At the conclusion of the program general PC questions can be asked.

The General meeting will have Mark Kramer presenting how to use the Turbo Tax software to create your IRS tax return. Concluding his program, the floor will be opened for general PC questions, followed by the monthly drawing.

Today's meeting was presented by Marshall Gilston. He discussed using software by American Greeting cards and Hallmark Greeting cards. You can buy the software and card stock at Staples and other similar stores. It is white and 67# cover stock. It works fine on printers and comes with envelopes of different sizes depending on how you choose to fold the card (i.e., _ fold, _ fold or 1/3 fold). Other than the software, you can pick out pictures on Google/Images. The software also has an address book and calendar with birthdays of friends and relatives to fill in. You will be reminded a week or so ahead of those dates so there will be time to make a suitable card. He also showed how one can use photos of your own selection to be placed on the card. Different categories of pictures are shown in the software and also poems or other messages that can be used.

Interesting program concluded at 3:20 p.m. and was followed by a drawing for a prize.

Martha Daughhetee, Secretary

MINUTES OF THE GENERAL MEETING
OF THE CAMBRIA COMPUTER CLUB

October 21, 2004

President Roland Soucie opened the meeting at 2:08 p.m. Fifteen members were present.
Meetings planned for next month are as follows:

Thursday, November 4th at 2:00 p.m. Macintosh Users Group

Jack Hennessy will present "OS X freeware," a survey of software
available for download--simple utilities to full-featured applications.
The presentation will identify several free applications and show
how they can be obtained and highlight/demonstrate their usefulness.
Attendees are encouraged to join in by discussing free applications that
they have discovered.

Thursday, November 11th at 2:00 p.m. Novice Meeting

Mark Ratto's presentation is entitled "How Windows XP is organized, understanding
the many components that make up the whole system" and "How to test your internet connection speed."

Thursday, November 18th at 2:00 p.m. General Meeting

The annual election of club officers will be conducted. Nominations will be accepted from the members in attendance. Rick Auricchio will describe how to set up a Local Area Network (LAN) in home and business. Both wired and wireless ("Wi-Fi") versions will be covered. The club's own wireless connection to Charter will be covered as one example.

Thursday, November 25th. (No follow-up meeting planned this month.)

We discussed using the 4th Thursday of the month to host a forum and invite speakers to come in and present meetings such as use of the digital camera for photographs and setting them up on the computer. Photo Shop is best program for this. It is very fast but the software is expensive.

Wes Densmore presented our program today. This was on how to use the Blue Squirrel software Click2PDF. It allows you to turn files into virus-free portable PDF's. You can print your document to the Click2PDF Printer and it will create an industry standard PDF file which you can use, archive, e-mail, etc. You can pick pages you want to print and can insert blank pages in the document that can be used to add a jpeg image. You can select your own font, headers, footers and watermarks.

Roland Soucie then did a review on using the Microsoft Word program for a letterhead and inserting a picture or text using the "text wrapping" symbol.

Jack Hennessy talked about the RSS news results syndication format which gives brief news items headlined in various newspapers.

After a drawing for two of the Click2PDF software programs, the meeting was adjourned at 3:22 p.m.

Martha Daughhetee, Secretary

MINUTES OF THE GENERAL MEETING
OF THE CAMBRIA COMPUTER CLUB

August 20, 2004

President Roland Soucie opened the meeting at 2:02 p.m. Twenty members were present. He reminded us of the Pinedorado pancake breakfast coming up in a couple of weeks and the need for volunteers. We now have three to help out and perhaps two more will offer their services.

Jack Hennessy said that our members are welcome to attend the Paso Robles Computer Club and we should reciprocate by asking their members to attend ours.

Computer Club meetings in September are as follows:

Thurs., September 2nd, @ 2 p.m. Macintosh Users Group

Betty Swierk will present a 9 minute QuickTime movie on "Our Narrowboat
Adventures." She will demonstrate how she used iMovie and other Macintosh software to integrate the digital video, still images, etc., into the total package. Members that have PC's are also welcome.

Thurs., September 9th @ 2 p.m. Novice Meeting

Mark Ratto will discuss how to go online to book airline tickets (Expedia, Orbitz, Travelocity, Hawaiian Airlines, ATA), and how to get an idea of pricing, availability and schedules. Also, how to make the mouse larger and easier to see, and how to enlarge your icons and words on the monitor to see them easier.

Thurs., September 16th @ 2 p.m. General Meeting

Mark Ratto will present "ClickBook 7.0, a powerful yet easy-to-use printing utility. This lets you print customized day planner pages, wallet booklets, brochures, greeting cards, and more from Internet, Windows, or CD-ROM files. You can even design your own custom layouts and save up to 70% in paper costs. Two lucky drawing winners will receive ClickBook 7.0 programs valued at $50 each.

Today's program was discussing "Spam Sleuth" and was presented by Roland Soucie. This software monitors your e-mail box behind the scenes and analyzes messages for spam and virus characteristics. It requires very little configuration, removes executable attachments, and gives you detailed reports. It also allows you to setup multiple accounts, and works with all POP3 e-mail accounts, including most company e-mail accounts and Internet e-mail accounts. Drawings were held for two Spam Sleuth programs valued at $30 each.

Meeting adjourned at 3:30 p.m.

Martha Daughhetee, Secretary

MINUTES OF THE GENERAL MEETING
OF THE CAMBRIA COMPUTER CLUB

July 22, 2004

Roland Soucie opened the meeting at 2:07 p.m. Seventeen members were present. He reminded us that we should participate in the Pinedorado by selling raffle tickets at $1 each. This big event takes place on September 4th and continues over the weekend including Labor Day on the 6th, which is when the First Place and Grand prizes will be drawn. Also, we need participants to help with the Pancake Breakfast held during the Pinedorado weekend.

The Computer Club meetings to be held in August will be as follows:

Thurs., August 5th @ 2:00 p.m. – Macintosh Users Group

Jack Hennessy will present "Basics of Text Handling and Word Processing." Highlights will include Text Entry and Selection, Formatting and Special Characters, Page Layout, Tabs and Alignment, Headers and Footers, Tables and Columns, Find and Replace and Spelling and Thesaurus.

Thurs., August 12th @ 2:00 p.m. – Novice Meeting

Mark Ratto's presentation will cover "Creating files using programs and saving them, maneuvering around the file system, moving files using cut or paste, defragmentation, and deleting temp files".

Thurs., August 19th @ 2:00 p.m. – General Meeting

Roland Soucie will present "Spam Sleuth." This software monitors your e-mail box behind the scenes and analyzes messages for spam and virus characteristics. Very little configuration is required and it removes
executable attachments, gives you detailed reports, allows you to set up multiple accounts, and works with all POP3 e-mail accounts, etc. Two lucky drawing winners will receive Spam Sleuth programs valued at $30 each.

Today's program was about popular web sites. Jack Hennessy showed a wall paper that he likes called Digital Blasphemy. Roland Soucie showed us some web sites he uses, such as firstgov.gov, from which you can download forms using acrobat reader. Also, tucows.com. Many services are free. Also check download.com and rebateshq.com. Others discussed today were oregondepttranspotation.com, elisisland.com (lots of fun looking up when relatives came to this country, on what ship, etc.) Several other members offered their favorites as well. Meeting closed at 3:34 p.m., and drawing was held.

Martha Daughhetee, Secretary

Minutes of the General Meeting
June 17, 2004

President Roland Soucie opened the meeting at 2:06 p.m. Fifteen members were present and three visitors. The dates for next month,s meeting are as follows:

July 8th: The Macintosh Meeting is usually held the first Thursday of the month but because of the Fourth of July holiday, it will be held the following week. Please check our club,s website, Cambria Computer Club.org, to find out the content of the meeting.

July 15th: The Novice Meeting will be conducted by Mark Ratto and he will present "Creating files using programs and saving them, moving files, using cut, copy and paste methods, etc.

July 22nd: The topic for the General Meeting will be "Your Favorite Web Site and "Surfing the Web. Everyone is asked to bring their favorite web sites to share with the members, perhaps two or more.

Roland called for volunteers to present three new programs: Spam Sleuth, Click2PDF, and ClickBook 7.0. Some members have agreed to present these programs in months ahead.

For today,s program, Mark Ratto will discuss how to protect your computer from today,s high-crime atmosphere. Also, using right click and printer properties.
Norton Anti-virus, McAfee, or AVG are examples of companies that provide security to keep viruses from infiltrating your computer system. You also need to have a firewall for both hard drive and software. Grc.com can provide a leak test. It will test a firewall such as Zone Alarm (software firewall). Spyware has become very persistent. Games on line, for instance, can bring in a virus. Other types of security are Spin Rite, (for Windows XP), Pest Patrol, Ad-aware, which is free, and Spybot, which is also free. These security measures all have updates and should be updated frequently. Mark suggests checking your live update from Norton Anti-Virus, once a week before opening your e-mail. He also discussed right click use, which gives you a menu to select what you want done or changed on your computer.

The meeting ended at 3:55 p.m. and Mark took questions, and a drawing was held by Ron Crummit.

Martha Daughhetee, Secretary

Minutes of the Cambria Computer Club Board Meeting
June 11, 2004

The Board meeting was held at the home of Roland Soucie, our president. It started at 2:00 p.m. and those present were: Ron Crummit, Wes Densmore, Roland Soucie and Martha Daughhetee.

The treasurer,s report per Ed Pierce shows that we have $1,405.30 in our account. There was discussion about how we can add to that by having fund raisers such as one we had previously that did well, a waffle breakfast, suggested by Wes Densmore

We also need to find ways to encourage more people to join the Computer Club. It was suggested that we design an attractive leaflet, or flyer, telling about our club and have it distributed possibly by the Hospitality Hostess who visits new families in the Cambria area. Also, the Chamber of Commerce puts out a brochure containing advertisements of various businesses and groups in Cambria. If we can include one for the Computer Club, it would be another way of getting the word out. We expect to spend $50 to join the Chamber this year.

Roland said that we badly need presenters for the meetings, and we have the balance of the year to look for them. Programs that have been suggested are: a program discussing some of our members, favorite web sites; also a program on using Quicken for accounting purposes, and one on a pharmaceutical card web site .

Roland distributed a list of three samples for possible presentations: Spam Sleuth, Click2PDF, and ClickBook 7.0. Full samples and PowerPoint presentations are available for each.

Spam Sleuth - monitors your e-mail box and analyzes e-mail messages for spam and virus characteristics. When your e-mail program gets your e-mail, the spam has already been removed and you can read your messages the same way you always have but without sorting through the junk e-mail to find the gems. Cost: $29.95.

Click2PD - creates PDF,s for family and friends with photos, recipes, stories, etc. Or it will convert software documentation, product catalogs, newsletters, and more into PDF files that can be opened and viewed across a broad range of software and operating systems. Plus it will look exactly as you intended. Cost: $18.95. This would save cost of $250 Adobe Acrobat.

ClickBook 7.0 a powerful easy-to-use printing utility, lets you print customized day planner pages, wallet booklets, brochures, greeting cards, catalogs, microfiche, and more from Internet, Windows, or CD-Rom files! ClickBook, helps you scale, rotate, and duplex your digital photos, favorite on-line content, or other critical information into 130+ mobile and convenient layouts. You can even design your own custom layouts and save up to 70% in paper costs! Cost is $49.95. Bluesquirrel.com is the provider for these.

The month of November we will hold elections, and December there will be no meetings but perhaps a Christmas party.

Board meeting concluded at 3:30 p.m.
Secretary, Martha Daughhetee

Minutes of the May 20, 2004, General Meeting of the Cambria Computer Club

President Roland Soucie opened the meeting at 2:05 p.m. Present were 15 members and 2 visitors.

Roland announced that the Paso Robles Computer Club has new dates and hours for their meetings for those interested in attending.

The following dates are for the Cambria Computer Club in the month of June:

June 3rd: Macintosh Users Group

Nancy McKarney will discuss surfing the net, websites of interest
for new and experienced users, and software available for Mac users.

June 10th: Novice Meeting

Mark Ratto will discuss customizations you can do to your Window,s
System and Programs. Also, understanding "right click usage and printer properties.

June 17th: General Meeting

Mark Ratto will discuss how to protect your computer from today,s
various security problems, including viruses, worms, spyware, hackers, etc.

Today,s program was presented by Ron Crummit. He demonstrated a software program called Digital Images Suite. This was obtained through our Cambria User,s Club. It will do organizing and archiving of pictures, creating photos and how to make them look better by removing blemishes from a face, and correct color and balance on landscape pictures. It also will crop what you want to leave in the picture and shade in sections you want covered. The Digital Image Suite is considered better than Photo Shop and you can buy it from Amazon for $103.00, with a $60.00 mail-in rebate.

Today,s meeting ended at 3:45 p.m. after a drawing for software like that demonstrated.

Martha Daughhetee, Secretary