July 1, 2011
The meeting was called to order at 7:38 pm by Jan Fagerholm. He explained building logistics and internet access. Harold Smith at the ticket table has 3" x 5" cards to write questions for discussion/answers at the end of the Meeting.
Chuck then presented the raffle prize, a 1TB Seagate external USB drive.
The Clubhouse will be open Saturdays July 9 and 23 8:30- 1. The schedule will change when classes start again in the Fall. The Clubhouse continues to be open Wednesdays 4 to 7 pm. There will be a cookout on Saturday the 9th. The phone number is 510-537-4138. Page 2 of the Newsletter has the phone numbers of all Executive Committee members if you have general questions. When talking to people about the Clubhouse, remind them that their dues includes access to the repair resources there, which rival those of commercial enterprises.
We are working out the new Microsoft process for Registered Refurbisher Program licenses for Windows.
PCC needs people to help out with programs and with publicity. We need to diversify the fun of helping organize presentations and getting the word out around town. If you want to know more, talk to anyone on the Executive Committee or Board of Directors. The website has contact buttons for the same.
Publicity duties would involve checking in with the local paper to be sure the PCC information is present and up-to-date.
SIG Announcements:
The Windows 7 SIG meets at Bud Gallagher’s house at 1 pm on the Saturday 8 days after the main meeting. In July, that will be the 9th. Contact information is in the Newsletter and on the website.
Jan Fagerholm runs the Spectacular Linux SIG which takes place at 2 pm at the Smiths’ house on the last Saturday of the month. That will be the 30th this month. By the end of the month when the meeting announcement is emailed the current, late-breaking topic will be announced. Contact information is in the Newsletter and on the website.
The Hardware SIG really a fixit SIG for both hardware and software, since most hardware problems turn out to be software problems. The SIG takes place the night after the main meeting at 8 pm at the Smiths’ house. If you’ve got a computer problem, bring it in and it will likely get fixed. More importantly, you’ll learn about fixing it yourself. And, please, bring all the documentation you can find. If you don’t have any immediate problems, come and enjoy learning how to fix someone else’s.
If you have used equipment just gatherine dust, turn it into the Clubhouse as a tax-deductable donation.
Elsie Smith had 6 certificates for O’Reilly book downloads, which she distributed to interested members. They can be downloaded in one of 5 formats.
Diane George won 2 prizes in the Southwest Computer Conference photo contest. Both Bud Gallagher and Sally Holt also submitted photos. Bud Gallagher's photo won "Best of Show." You can see all the entries at TheSWCC.org.
Presentation: Diane George presented the PCC Facebook Fan Page.
The Fan Page is open to the public but Diane has blocked tagging pictures so that members’ names are not broadcast as a result of photos of meetings or Clubhouse activities. If we can get more than 25 people to Like our page, the URL will be shortened. The current URL is http://www.facebook.com/mobileprotection#!/pages/PC-Community/126410557440333. Go to Facebook and search for PC Community, "Like" us.
Abby Stokes in her Southwest Computer Conference said, "Don’t put anything on your Facebook page that you wouldn’t put on your front door." You wouldn’t post on your front door, for all the burglars who can read, that you’ll be out of town for the next 3 weeks. Also remember that once you’ve posted something, deleting it from your page does not delete it from the pages of others who have downloaded that information.
Facebook is a good way to keep up with current photos of the family. Facebook has many levels of privacy settings. Go to the privacy settings as soon as you set up your page to be sure you have the level of privacy you want. Each section has extensive Help.
Diane also shared her Facebook page related to her job. She also signed up on the Facebook page of a few companies she’s interested in. As a result, she gets information about some products she is interested in. She plans to Unfriend these companies when she’s done shopping. But be warned, 11 August 2011 www.pcc.org
Unfriending a person is considered serious social rejection.
Diane also had several security caveats:
• Be sure you log out of each session so that no one can change your page or password.
• Beware of messages from people you know that purport to need money to cope with some kind of emergency.
• If you get an email that appears to be from your email provider that asks for both your address and password on the same form, be assured that it is a scam designed to hijack your account and lock you out.
• Facebook is particularly prone to sourcing scams.
• Before clicking on a link in an email or on a page, hover over the link WITHOUT clicking and look in the lower left corner of the screen to see the URL to which the link really goes.
Don Odle mentioned the Web Of Trust (WOT) Add-On for Firefox and Chrome. It color-codes site safety. Green for "probably OK," red for "don’t go there."
Question for the experts: How do I hide and not install a Windows update? Answer: Right click on the link, choose Hide.
Question #2: How do I eliminate the message at the bottom of IE 9 to disable add-ons? Answer: Use Firefox, Opera, or Linux.
The meeting was adjourned at 9:45 pm.
The next meeting will take place at the same location on August 5, 2011.
Respectfully submitted,
Bayle Emlein, Secretary
