PC Community Main Meeting

7:30 - 10 pm May 5, 2017

Calvary Baptist Church 28924 Ruus Road, Hayward California

President Chuck Horner called the meeting to order at 7:45 pm. Get at least one $5 raffle ticket for this month’s raffle prize, an HP 15.6" laptop case.

The group discussed the news that GoogleDocs has had a major hack. If you open the GoogleDoc, even if it looks like it’s from someone you know, delete it without opening. Otherwise your contacts and your inbox are shared with the hacker. Pay attention to the return address and to the way the message is phrased.

In the past week there has been an Android upgrade. Automatic capitalization has disappeared.

Andrew Tews reported on problems with the latest Microsoft upgrade.

Michael Wong is wondering if there is any use for a Windows 98 laptop.

Sally Holt is wondering what causes a “hard bounce” in AOL email. A search reports that a hard bounce means the recipient is unknown. Chris Yager reports that his ISP, Prado, has died.

Michael Wong reported on the Village movement, which provides services to help people stay in their homes. Sometimes people need simple computer help. Could PCC somehow partner with them? Chuck will follow up and ask if PCC can join with them in some way.

Sally Holt mentioned that part of the Hayward 10 year Master Plan is called Brace and Bolt. It pays for local seniors to secure their homes so that in case of an earthquake the city doesn’t have to deal with so many damaged buildings.

Mimi Tse reported using an alternative to Skype: ItalkBB. Incoming calls are free. Outgoing calls to anywhere are 2 cents a minutes. It’s particularly good if you have a lot of international calls. It’s free if you use a smartphone.

Chuck reports that the Hardware SIG is no longer interested in recycling computers. Chuck will take donated computers to the Eden after school program to use for instruction.

Sally is wondering how many Joules a surge suppressor should have. Chris said, “The more, the better.” He suggested a minimum of 2000 Joules. Andrew thinks that in this area there are fewer problems and modern devices are better built. Michael reported that when he studied electronics 20 years ago in lightening-prone Middle-West he was taught to tie multiple knots in power cords to ground out power surges before they reach a devices. Several people discussed the dangers in older wiring that uses dissimilar metals. When connections get loose, the metals can spark and cause a fire.

The advantages of various malware solutions were discussed. Only one should be run continuously. George has been rescued more than once by Malware Bytes, which needs to be invoked for each instance of cleaning. But it does a really good job–and it’s free.

Michael reported on the number of programs that add all kinds of add-ins along with the program you want. He also has experimented with Baidu antivirus and cleaners, which seem to work well. Baidu is a Chinese company.

Door Prizes

Alameda County Transition Faire bag	Mimi Tse
Alameda County Transition Faire bag	Andrew Tews
Alameda County Transition Faire bag	Sally Holt
PLEX beverage sleeve	George Kornbluth
PLEX beverage sleeve	Chris Yager
BenjiNow backpack	Michael Wong

Raffle Prize

HP 15.6" laptop case

Chuck Horner

Thank you to George Kornbluth for setting up and serving refreshments, to Mimi Tse for the extra treats, and to Michael Wong for taking care of logistics.

The meeting was adjourned at 9:24 pm.

The next meeting: June 2, 2017.

Respectfully submitted,

Bayle Emlein, Secretary