December 7, 2012
The meeting was called to order at 7:34 pm by President Chuck Horner. He distributed a ballot for the PCC 2013 Board of Directors election to each member present. See Tom Smith at the ticket table, for raffle tickets, door prize tickets, and 3” x 5” cards to write questions for discussion/nswers at the end of the Meeting. Get at least one $5 raffle ticket for this month’s raffle prizes, 16 GB PNY His USB flash drive, 8 GB Crystal Heart Hers USB flash drive.
Diane George announced that Apress has a short term offer of a significant discount on ebooks. They specialize in computer programming books. The link is quite long, so let her know if you are interested and she will e-mail it.
Chuck explained the election rules and closed nominations. David Graham verified that a quorum of paid members is present to vote.
Chuck reviewed significant changes, decided on at the November Executive Committee meeting as a result of discussion at the Main Meeting: PCC will no longer publish a hard copy of the Newsletter. The president will send a reminder e-mail, including link information, when
the Newsletter is available in e-mail and on the Web site. The dues structure was revised to: $40 for regular membership, $25 for seniors and full-time students, $50 for a household of any number.
We need people who are willing to help coordinate programs and to help with publicity activities. See an Executive Committee member if you have any interest in helping in either area.
Sally Holt acknowledged the gorgeous job Elsie and Diane have been doing on the Newsletter and Web site.
SIG Announcements:
The Windows7 SIG is going on sabbatical while Bud is involved in a project. He will keep us posted on his availability.
The Mobile SIG will meet on 3rd Monday in December, the 17th. David Graham will be helping folks deal with Android upgrades on their devices as old versions of operating systems reach end of life. He will also discuss
virtual network operators as a way of saving money. The Spectacular Linux SIG will meet on the last Saturday in December, the 29th. A topic is promised, and will be e-mailed closer to the meeting date. As usually, festivities will start at 2:00 p.m, at the Smiths.
Presentation:
Abby Stokes, author of Is This Thing On?, presented via Skype from New York. She has a few simple rules:
1. First solution to any technology problem: unplug/turn it off, and try it again.
2. Don’t compete with digital natives (folks under 40); learn your way, at your speed.
3. When getting new technology, you must test drive it to learn the benefits for you. If you can see the benefit to yourself, you tend to do better with it and learn it better. Skype is a fantastic tool for communicating and does not cost anything.
Abby talked about a few more tools that can make computer life easier:
A stylus for accessing a tablet’s touch-screen interface can help those with control, motor skills, and long finger nails access the screen more accurately.
For longer keyboarding tasks on a tablet, an external keyboard can be helpful.
Abby explained the difference between WiFi and Bluetooth. Wifi is the signal that allows your device to connect to the Internet. Bluetooth is the connection that connects your device to another device, such as a tablet
or camera to a printer.
Abby suggested trying social networking Web sites so that people can make an informed choice about using them. Facebook is a place where someone can share information. For example, the user can join the library’s Facebook page to get information about programs. After Hurricane Sandy, Abby (who was in the affected area) found the most useful information on Facebook postings by local people.
We hear about people spending time on Facebook instead of in real life. We also hear about stupid things people have done. Neither is necessary.
The test for posting something anywhere on a computer–social networking or email–is “Would I feel comfortable with this on the outside of the door to my home?” It is now much easier for someone to share whatever you write widely. The comment you think you are making to one correspondent can be copied and forwarded gazillions of times with minimal effort.
You are the first line of defense in protecting your computer. When something pops up asking to be updated, don’t click on it. Go to the product Web site and check. Don’t believe the ads, even if they’re disguised as information or an offer.
In e-mail, write meaningful Subject contents and get in the habit of writing messages in a style that your friends recognize so that you and your correspondents can easily recognize when an account has been hacked.
If you’re asking yourself, “Should I?” Click, open, go there, etc. the answer is: No. If you get a suspicious e-mail, call the person from whom it appears to come since a hacked account may be filtered by the hacker(s) for return e-mails.
A good password is at least 8 characters long and includes a capital letter and some numbers. Keep yourself sane and passwords from multiplying out of control. Have 1 password for e-mail, 1 for online banking, a 3rd password with slight varieties for every other site. Manage, settings,
preferences, options, account, or a graphic of a gear wheel are the usual key words that let you change your password for a Web site.
After safety, Abby’s next topic was: Using technology to stay in touch with your family. She says that people report people feel that they are connecting less with their families than they used to. Abby’s theory is that they are referring to the quality of communication, not the quantity. Digital natives do not even know what they are missing in terms of
communication unless we show them. She has several suggestions for building connections and bridging back to the real world.
Member Yorkman Lowe had a question about how to limit Facebook postings. Abby explained that you can block a Friend entirely (which your Friends will never know) or just all game invitations. Sally asked if you can
block Friends of Friends. The answer is to not accept an Invitation. There is a Facebook setting that lets you block e-mail notifications of Invitations.
Yorkman asked about the advice to not opening e-mail from unfamiliar correspondents because he might miss an important e-mail. Abby suggested that the first thing to look at is the e-mail address; a clearly written, detailed Subject can also verify the identity of the sender. Do not
click on a link if you’re asking yourself, “Should I?” or if you’re not absolutely sure of the sender. You can phone to double check.
Chuck and several others pointed out that hovering your mouse over a link will cause the connecting address to appear in the lower left of the screen. The two should match and seem legitimate.
After the break, Chuck announced the 2013 Board of Directors: Jan Fagerholm, Elsie Smith, Sally Holt, Bayle Emlein, Chuck Horner.
Drawings took place after the break. Congratulations to our winners.
Many thanks to George Kornbluth for taking care of refreshments.
The meeting was adjourned at 9:42 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Bayle Emlein, Secretary
