November 1, 2013
Calvary Baptist Church 28924 Ruus Road, Hayward California
The meeting was called to order at 7:34 pm by President Chuck Horner. See Lola Hunter at the ticket table, for raffle tickets, door prize tickets, and 3" x 5" cards to write questions for discussion/answers at the end of the Meeting. Get at least one $5 raffle ticket for this month's raffle prize: Monster Digital SDHC Class 10 Memory Card 32 GB There are several small items available for anyone who wants one. Look on the media cart.
Chuck will miss the January Main Meeting, since he is scheduled for surgery. Bob Kyle has an extra 4-port KVM switch for anyone who wants it.
Windows XP is scheduled to be discontinued in April. Bob Kyle said that he is running XP in a Linux virtual machine. He has had no problems. Several people reported success in using virtual Windows on a Mac. Windows 7 is available for for under $100.
Diane reported that she has updated to Windows 8.1. She has experienced no difficulties.
Dick Dixon reported on the differences between screens customized for Windows 7 and for Windows 8.
Chuck presented Diane George with a Certificate from APCUG. The Website won first place in the Website contest.
Nominations were opened for the Board of Directors election. Chuck explained the function of the BoD, who will appoint the officers—the Executive Committee—who take care of the day-to-day-business of the Club.
Chuck Horner
Bayle Emlein
Elsie Smith
Jan Fagerholm
Michael Wong
Sally Holt
Sid Jordan
George Kornbluth
Ron Seipel
Nominations remain open until voting at the December main meeting.
Chuck has made business cards to advertise PCC. He will keep them with the tickets on the ticket table.
Chuck repeated the plea for a Programs Coordinator to help organize presentations. Chuck asked for suggestions for the December presentation. Diane George volunteered to demonstrate Windows 8.1. In January, bring your new toys to show off.
We also need a Publicity coordinator.
SIG announcements:
The October Linux SIG will meet tomorrow.
The Mobile SIG will meet on November 18.
Presentation:
To Cloud or Not to Cloud, via YouTube, a presentation by APCUG director David Williams. on what you can do with data once it is stored on a remote server. Refer to Gene Barlow's presentation on how to perform a back up.
Cloud storage backs up just portions of your data, rather than the entire drive—as you would do in a system backup. Carbonite, Mozy, SOS, Acronis, are examples of online storage companies. The first step is to evaluate your needs. What do you want to store? Photos, movies? Wikipedia discusses online storage services and lists prices. It includes a .bit.ly reference to site information for comparison.
There are also free services such as DropBox, Skydrive, BOX, GoogleDrive, SugarSync, Apple iCloud. Spideroak and Wuala encrypt data before uploading.
Evernote, OneNote, Pocket (formerly ReadItLater), Springpad, and Clipboard are examples of web clipping tools. They are good are for sharing information, including portions of webpages. They are useful for organizing information to look at later.
Question: Can you back up your whole hard drive on the Cloud? Yes, using a program such as Windows or Acronis. Carbonite is an example of a storage site, where you can back up multiple computers and multiple drives if you wish.
Can you delete a file or folder? Yes. Permanently.
Can you save different versions as you update a file? Yes, using the SaveAs function in Windows.
Slides from the presentation will be posted on APCUG.net, and at APCUGvideos. Presenter: David Williams, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
A discussion of Search strategies followed. If you name each version by the date, starting with the year, then the month, then the day it is much easier to find files by date. You can use the System search for files or the contents.
In addition to Evernote and Dropbox, Chuck uses ColorNote to help keep his lists organized. He finds it simpler than Evernote. He prefers using Cloud-based data because he can have access to it from anywhere and it is not device-dependent.
Remember: never put anything on the Cloud that you don't want to have the whole world to see. That includes photos, since the metafile include can be used to locate people in the picture and identify their habits. A discussion of how to access, modify, and remove metafiles followed.
After the break door prizes were distributed.
Door Prizes
CUE messenger bag - John Cordeniz
Droid X the missing manual from O'Reilly Press - Michael Wong
Humane Society gloves - Lola Hunter
Luxmo flashlight/keyring - Bob Dunn
O'Reilly eBook certificate - Dick Dixon
T-Mobile pack - Bayle Emlein
T-Mobile water bottle - Bill George
Tee shirt with transformer - George Kornbluth
Raffle Prize: 2 GB SD card - Diane George
Someone has a problem with their computer: it prints slowly and prints only one line per page. It is suggested that the printer driver be downloaded again and reinstall it.
Another question involved using a camera through the USB port to Skype. Probably not. Most cameras do not upload live. An inexpensive webcam will suffices. Andrew Tews reported on an unsuccessful experience using a high-end Logitech camera. The resolution was fantastic, however the color reproduction was, well, comical.
Chris Yager wanted to know if his large monitor could be used as a TV monitor. It depends on the ability of the computer to input the signal. Several companies make converter boxes.
Sally reported that she was told that a low voltage leak through the surge protectors was burning out DVRs in her house. She is wondering if this could be true. Chris Yager indicated that can occur.
Thank you to George Kornbluth for taking care of refreshments.
The meeting was adjourned at 10:06 pm.
Respectfully submitted,
Bayle Emlein, Secretary
