Users' Group Newsletters

2008: Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec
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December 2008--LAKE OSWEGO COMPUTER USERS’ GROUP NEWSLETTER
LAKE OSWEGO ADULT COMMUNITY CENTER http://lo-clc.org

We have had a good year and looking forward to what 2009 will bring. Microsoft has been busy composing a new operating system. Wonder if it will go over better than Vista. I am still happy with my XP and don’t look forward to learning any other. We have a good group and many good volunteers to teach us new things.

ELAINE DICKSON gave me a list of the volunteers involved in the Farmers’ Market Cinnamon Roll Sales in 2008. They are WARREN BRUNE, ELAINE DICKSON, WALLY HELM, MARK MATSON, JULYNNE PANG, DAVE PARK, PAUL SLEEPER, RENEE SLOAN AND VINCE TYLMAN. We want to thank you all for a job well done. This has enabled us to accumulate more funds for our Computer Learning Center to be used for new software, etc.

On December 3rd at 11:15 a.m. at LOACC, there will be a presentattion on the Lake Oswego Interceptor Sewer Project. Come and find out how it will effect your sewer bills and other questions.

MEMAEROBICS, BRAIN WELLNESS BLUEPRINT, was a presentation on September 8th at our Users' Group. The Center has scheduled this series by ROGER ANUNSEN starting in January. Check with the Reception Desk if you want to register.

On October 31st, the Wachovia Securities did a presentation for the Investment Group. Discussed was our troubled market. We had many good questions and many good answers. GEORGE WAGNER shared his thoughts on investing in today's market on November 21st. Attendees shared their experiences. Good discussion.

SIMPLIFYING YOUR HOLIDAY MAILINGS was the topic of DICK STEINGRABER's presentation on November 3rd. He showed how he sets up a database of people he will be sending Christmas cards to and how it is simple for him to put names and addresses on the envelopes.

PERRY GRUBER of INTEL on November 10th presented TECHNOLOGY AND SPIRIT--a convergence of science and sentence. I was not able to attend but I am certain it was a good presentation.

On November 17th, VINCE TYLMAN showed us TURNING OLD COMPUTERS INTO JUKEBOXES; USING LAPTOPS, iPODS AND PHONES TO PLAY MUSIC. He has over 50,000 tunes in his collection. Many of his tunes were free; came from many sources.

QUESTION & ANSWER DAY WITH DR. MARK session on November 24th, as usual, always good.

DECEMBER 2008 USERS’ GROUP SCHEDULE Sessions start at 9:30 a.m. every Monday—EVERYONE IS WELCOME.

December 1

HOLIDAY PHOTOGRAPHY TIPS presented by JOHN SANDERS

December 8

EXCEL 2007 presented by DICK STEINGRABER

December 15

BRIEF QUESTION AND ANSWER SESSION with DR. MARK hosted by BOB GUYAN and WALLY HELM -- Followed by our ANNUAL HOLIDAY PARTY--from 10:00 to 11:30 a.m.

December 22

CENTER CLOSED

December 29

CENTER CLOSED

January 5

TURBO TAX, Part I, presented by DICK STEINGRABER

• MAC Group will meet only on December 11th this month at 12:30 p.m.
• Digital Photography will meet on December 15th at 12:30 p.m.
• Investment Group to be announced.
• Genealogy Group at Lake Oswego Library will meet on December 10th at 10:00 a.m.
• Tune Ups: XP WINDOWS BASICS REVIEW on December 17th at 10:00 a.m.

Enjoy CHRISTMAS and NEW YEARS DAY with your family and friends. We will see you on January 5th. Don't make any resolutions that will be hard to keep.

KAY KERR, your editor

November 2008--LAKE OSWEGO COMPUTER USERS’ GROUP NEWSLETTER
LAKE OSWEGO ADULT COMMUNITY CENTER http://lo-clc.org

Trick or Treat—HAPPY HALLOWEEN—hope you had many children ringing your doorbell on October 31st. It is fun to see the different costumes on the happy children. We have enjoyed great fall weather. Years ago we called it an Indian summer; I don’t hear that expression now. The sunshine helps the leaves turn color and brings out the reds, yellows and orange leaves. Lake Oswego has many of these trees in the landscapes.

I think I need to acknowledge the great cooks we have in our group. In July, Brian McNerney and Elaine Dickson brought our treats, August, BERYL DAHL and ELAINE DICKSON donated the goodies and September, PAT HENDERSON and ALICE GREGOIRE were our bakers. Thank you all for the great treats. We appreciate BERYL DAHL and ELAINE DICKSON for helping with clean up.

October 6th our presenter was DICK STEINGRABER who did a good demonstration of WORD 2007, which is the way in the future. It does not understand WORD 1997 through 2003 format. You can get a conversion kit. Everything has been moved. You can have both WORD 2003 and WORD 2007 on your computer. WORD 2003 will be supported until 2012. You cannot send e-mail using WORD 2007 to someone who does not have it without using the converter button.

BRIAN DAVID JOHNSON of INTEL, on October 13th presented DO DIGITAL HOMES DREAM OF ELECTRIC FAMILIES: DESIGNING TECHNOLOGIES FOR HUMANS.

October 20th MARK MATSON did a demonstration on BUILDING A CLC USER GROUP WEBSITE. Not an easy chore. Hosts: Google is the simplest, Yahoo, Comcast and Blue Host, also others. Some are free, some cost. Google—How to create a blog.

QUESTION & ANSWER DAY, October 27th, good as always.

MAC GROUP met on October 9th and 23rd.

DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY GROUP met on October 20th. WALLY showed a video on Adobe LIGHTROOM, which has many edit features.

INVESTMENT GROUP had a special session on October 17th. HAL MEYER of Strategic Group (Financial Advisers) did a program on QUESTIONS ABOUT INVESTING, THE ECONOMY AND THE STOCK MARKET. Gave us many good points.

INVESTMENT GROUP will meet again on October 31st at 10:00 a.m. Our guest speaker will be MAURICE VALDIVIESO and FRANCISCO VALDIBVIESO of Wachovia Securities. Their program will be A HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE ON THE BEAR AND BULL MARKET.

See what is in the TIP OF THE DAY. There is probably some useful tip for you. Go to the above website.

NOVEMBER 2008 users’ group schedule Sessions start at 9:30 a.m.------EVERYONE IS WELCOME

November 3 SIMPLIFYING YOUR HOLIDAY MAILINGS presented by DICK STEINGRABER

November 10 TECHNOLOGY AND SPIRIT—A convergence of science and sentience presented by PERRY GRUBER of INTEL

November 17 TURNING OLD COMPUTERS INTO JUKEBOXES: USING LAPTOPS, iPODS & iPHONES TO PLAY MUSIC presented by VINCE TYLMAN

November 24 QUESTION AND ANSWER DAY with DR. MARK and hosted by BOB GUYAN & WALLY HELM 9:00 DR. IS IN for special problems 9:00 COFFEE SOCIAL

MAC GROUP will meet on November 12th at 12:30 p.m.

DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY will meet on November 17th at 12:30.

INVESTMENT GROUP—TBA

TUNE UPS;

• 11-19-08 Vista Windows Basics
• 12-17-08 XP Windows Basics Review

HOPE YOU ALL HAVE A HAPPY THANKSGIVING. DO NOT EAT TOO MUCH.

KAY KERR, your editor

October 2008--LAKE OSWEGO COMPUTER USERS’ GROUP NEWSLETTER
LAKE OSWEGO ADULT COMMUNITY CENTER http://lo-clc.org

We had a beautiful September and it looks like the good weather will go on into October. But, winter is coming so absorb that sunshine as much as you can.

Labor Day was the first Monday and the Center was closed. No User Group.

September 9th brought us ROGER ANUNSEN, the creator of MemAerobics, an author, Brain wellness program consultant and host of the Brain Wellness Series.

Nine Strategies for Brain Wellness

1. “Jump Start” your self confidence with the facts. Knowledge really is power.
2. Exercise your mind. With mental activity, brain cells thrive.
3. Get regular sleep.
4. Feed and hydrate your brain. Your brain and body need Oxygen and food.
5. Socialize with others. Socializing builds a protection against memory loss.
6. Take a deep breath. Oxygen is delivered to the brain as a fuel; a deep breath can reduce stress.
7. Add even a little more physical activity. Moving any part of your body will increase the flow of blood needed to keep your brain “fresh.”
8. Eat antioxidants and Omega 3 fats. Eat your fruits and vegetables, fats including olive oil, walnuts, flax seed, fish.
9. Lower stress every day. Stress, especially long-term chronic stress, has been directly linked to memory decline.

FIELD SITES TO SILICON; How Ethnography Influences Product Design was the subject presented on September 15th by FRANCOISE BOURDONNEC of INTEL. Many interesting things brought out.

On September 22nd, HENRY GITTLEMAN of the Oregon FBI Office spoke on INTERNET SECURITY. This is important to all of us, as we might be the next victim. Be wary of e-mail attachments. Do not open them if you do not know who sent them to you. If the offer looks too good to be true, it probably is not. Do not respond; delete.

QUESTION & ANSWER DAY with DR. MARK on September 29th was good as always.

The INVESTMENT GROUP on September 26th had MICHAEL KACHMAR from FIDELITY who spoke on SEARCHING FOR STOCK IDEAS ON FIDELITY.COM.

We want to thank all those who helped with A BREAKFAST OF CREPES on September 14th. It was enjoyed by all.

Help your brain keep well; sign up for the TUNE UPS:
10-15-2008 XP Maintenance Basics
11-19-2008 Vista Windows Basics
12-17-2008 XP Windows Basics Review
Members pay $6.00, non-members, $10.00

OCTOBER 2008 USERS’ GROUP SCHEDULE Sessions start at 9:30 a.m.---------EVERYONE IS WELCOME.

• October 6 WORD 2007 presented by RICHARD STEINGRABER
• October 13 (Starting at 9:00 a.m.*) BRIAN DAVID JOHNSON from Intel will present DO DIGITAL HOMES DREAM OF ELECTRIC FAMILIES: Designing technologies for humans.
• October 20 BUILDING A CLC USER GROUP WEBSITE presented by MARK MATSON.
• October 27 QUESTION AND ANSWER DAY WITH DR. MARK and hosted by BOB GUYAN and WALLY HELM
  • 9:00 .a.m. DR. IS IN Coffee Social

*Brian David Johnson has to leave early, so this session will start at 9:00 a.m.

• MAC GROUP will meet on October 9th and 23rd at 12:30 p.m.
• DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY GROUP meets on October 20th at 12:30 p.m.
• INVESTMENT GROUP will meet on October 31st at 10:00 a.m.
• GENEALOGY GROUP at L. O. Library meets on October 8th at 10:00 a.m.

WEDNESDAY LAB every Wednesday at 12:30 p.m. Enjoy your computer. If you need help, this is the place.

KAY KERR, your editor

September 2008--LAKE OSWEGO COMPUTER USERS’ GROUP NEWSLETTER
LAKE OSWEGO ADULT COMMUNITY CENTER http://lo-clc.org

Labor Day is Monday, September 1st. Most schools will start on September 2nd. Please be careful if you are driving when children are going to or leaving from school. Now that school has started, we might as well look over the schedule and see if there is a class we would like to take. Remember, for a healthy brain, we have to make it work doing new things.

Where did the summer go? I am glad that we usually have a few weeks in September and October when the weather is still great and we can enjoy our beautiful outdoors.

ICE CREAM SOCIAL on Wednesday, September 3rd, from 2:00 to 3:30 p.m. will give you an opportunity to meet ANN ADRIAN, our new Lake Oswego Adult Community Center Manager.

Save Sunday, September 14th, for the second annual BREAKFAST OF CREPES. Purchase tickets in advance for $6.00 or $7.00 at the door. These will be available at the User Group Meeting on September 8th or you may purchase them at the Reception Desk at LOACC. If you would like to volunteer to help, let DICK STEINGRABER or VINCE TYLMAN know.

SENIOR SAFARI DAY at the ZOO is Tuesday, September 16th from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. This is a special day for seniors--free admission and train rides, refreshments, petting zoo, animal talks, live music. The Center will have transportation--$10.00 for members and $25 for non-members. Sign up before September 10th. Or, you may go in your own car or via Tri-Met. Lunch is on your own.

MORGAN ANDERSON of INTEL returned on August 4th to update her last presentation on OREGON’S EDUCATIONAL CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES. Lots of information.

BRIAN DAVID JOHNSON of INTEL had to cancel on August 11th. He will present at a later date.

DICK STEINGRABER filled in and gave a presentation COMPARING WORD 2007 and WORD 2003. There are many new things and changes in ways to find items. There is a good HELP program. .Microsoft will continue its support of WORD 2003 until the year 2012.

August 18th was a QUESTION & ANSWER session with BOB GUYAN AND WALLY HELM as hosts. BERYL DAHL and ELAINE DICKSON provided food for the coffee social we had prior to the meeting—good fundraiser.

August 25th—there was no meeting as CENTER WAS CLOSED for cleaning.

The MAC GROUP met only on August 14th because the Center was closed the last week of the month. iWork is on all the Mini’s. PAUL demonstrated what it will do and showed Pages, Numbers and Keynote, part of this program. Pages replaces Appleworks, Numbers is used as the Spreadsheet; Keynote creates stunning presentations. All MAC users are welcome. Come and see what we are doing.

The DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY GROUP met on August 18th talked about captions and T tags.

The INVESTMENT GROUP met on August 22nd We talked about how to buy Treasury Notes. You pay Federal tax but no State tax on them. There may be a special meeting in mid-September.

SEPTEMBER 2008 USER GROUP SCHEDULE Sessions start at 9:30 a.m.-------------------EVERYONE IS WELCOME

• September 1 LABOR DAY—CENTER IS CLOSED
• September 8 MEMAEROBICS presented by ROGER ANUN, radio personality. Postpone the aging process with mind exercises
• September 15 FIELD SITES TO SILICON; How Ethnography Influences Product Design—presented by FRANCOISE BOURDONNEC of INTEL
• September 22 INTERNET SECURITY-presented by HENRY GITTLEMAN of the Oregon FBI Office. He has presented before and his information is extremely informative!
• September 29 QUESTION & ANSWER DAY WITH DR. MARK and hosted by BOB GUYAN & WALLY HELM.
  • 9:00 DR. IS IN
  • 9:00 COFFEE CAKE SOCIAL

• MAC GROUP will meet on September 11th and 25th at 12:30 p.m.
• DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY will NOT meet in September.
• INVESTMENT GROUP will meet on September 26th at 10:00 a.m. There will be a special meeting in mid-September.
• GENEALOGY GROUP at Lake Oswego Library, September 10th at 10:00 a.m.

WEDNESDAY LAB—every Wednesday at 12:30 p.m.

Never knew what your cell phone could do? There are a few things that can be done in times of grave emergencies. Your mobile phone can actually be a lifesaver or an emergency tool for survival. Check out the things that you can do with it:

FIRST—Emergency--The Emergency Number worldwide for Mobile is 112. If you find yourself out of the coverage area of your mobile network and there is an Some valuable information that is available to you on your cell phone: Things you emergency, dial 112 and the mobile will search any existing network to establish the emergency number for you, and interestingly this number 112 can be dialed even if the keypad is locked. Try it out

SECOND--Have you locked your keys in the car? Does your car have remote keyless entry? This may come in handy someday. Good reason to own a cell phone: If you lock your keys in the car and the spare keys are at home, call someone at home on their cell phone from your cell phone. Hold your cell phone about a foot from your car door and have the person at your home press the unlock button, holding it near the mobile phone on their end. Your car will unlock. Saves someone from having to drive your keys to you. Distance is no object. You could be hundreds of miles away, and if you can reach someone who has the other 'remote' for your car, you can unlock the doors (or the trunk).

THIRD--Hidden Battery Power--Imagine your cell battery is very low. To activate, press the keys *3370# Your cell will restart with this reserve and the instrument will show a 50% increase in battery. This reserve will get charged when you charge your cell next time.

FOURTH--How to disable a STOLEN mobile phone. To check your Mobile phone's serial number, key in the following digits on your phone: * # 0 6 #, a 15 digit code appears on the screen. This number is unique to your handset. Write it down and keep it somewhere safe. When your phone gets stolen, you can phone your service provider and give them this code. They will then be able to block your handset so even if the thief changes the SIM card, your phone will be totally useless. You probably won't get your phone back, but at least you know that whoever stole it can't use/sell it either. If everybody does this, there would be no point in people stealing mobile phones.

FIFTH--Free Directory Service for Cells--Cell phone companies are charging us $1.00 to $1.75 or more for 411 information calls when they don't have to. Most of us do not carry a telephone directory in our vehicle, which makes this situation even more of a problem. When you need to use the 411 information option, simply dial: (800) FREE 411, or (800) 373-3411 without incurring any charge at all. Program this into your cell phone now. --- This is the kind of information people don't mind receiving, so pass it on to your family and friends

The above information .was given to me by a friend. I hope you can benefit from it.

KAY KERR, your editor

August 2008--LAKE OSWEGO COMPUTER USERS’ GROUP NEWSLETTER
LAKE OSWEGO ADULT COMMUNITY CENTER http://lo-clc.org

WOW!  It is August and summer is two-thirds over.  We have had a hot and great summer that we all enjoyed being outdoors.  Don’t forget the concerts provided us by the Parks & Recreation Department.  Many good people will perform in the various parks.
 
Well, sorry that I have been so busy with family projects and memorial services that I lost tract of time.  We are having a family reunion this month and also a memorial service for two of my brothers-in-law.  And, I have been involved.  
 
Our Computer Group is fantastic.  We have had so many good programs thanks to RENEE SLOAN.  We do thank her for her efforts.  
 
WARREN and MAUREEN provided us with scrumptious goodies in June and RENEE and BRIAN McNERNEY did so in July.  You all win the prize.
 
Read the TIPS of the WEEK to see what MARY LOU SOLID has entered for us.

Check the schedule of classes and TUNE UPS to see if there is anything of interest to you.

Try to come to the presentations by outsiders.  RENEE would like a full house to
show our appreciation for the effort and time they have given us by being here.
 
Remember the DOLLAR JAR—it has pretty lean lately.

The AUGUST CLC USER GROUP MEETINGS:
                        Starting at 9:30 a.m.
 
August  4            Intel—MORGAN ANDERSON (she’s returning to update her last
presentation)  OREGON’S EDUCATIONAL CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES.
 
August 11            DO DIGITAL HOMES DREAM OF ELECTRIC FAMILIES?—DESIGNING TECHNOLOGIES FOR HUMANS--presented by BRIAN DAVID JOHNSON of Intel
 
August 18            QUESTION & ANSWER DAY--hosted by BOB GUYAN and WALLY HELM.
9:00 a.m.  COFFEECAKE SOCIAL       
9:00 a.m.  DR. IS IN with MARK MATSON
           
August 25            CENTER IS CLOSED THIS WEEK FOR CLEANING—NO MEETING
 
MAC GROUP will meet on the 2nd Thursday at 12:30 p.m. unless otherwise notified.
DIGITAL CAMERA GROUP meets on the 3rd Monday at 12:30 p.m.
INVESTMENT GROUP meets on the last Friday at 10:00 a.m.
GENEALOGY GROUP meets at the Lake Oswego Library the 2nd Wednesday at 10:00 a.m.
 
NOTE:  LABOR DAY is MONDAY, September 1st.  NO CLC USER GROUP MEETING.
 
Have a great summer, what’s left of it.  Enjoy our great Northwest.  There are plenty of things to do in this wonderful land we live in.
 
KAY KERR, your editor

June 2008--LAKE OSWEGO COMPUTER USERS’ GROUP NEWSLETTER
LAKE OSWEGO ADULT COMMUNITY CENTER http://lo-clc.org

If you are on a fixed income, as many of us are, you might be interested in the next meeting of the Investment Group on Friday, May 30th at 10:00 a.m.  DAVE PARK is arranging for a speaker to give us advice on this.    

ED CAMPBELL sent us this information:  Effective May 31st AVG version 7.4 will no longer be updated.  Version 8.0 is the new version and you can download it now at www.grisoft.com.  

On May 5th, MARK MATSON gave us an insight into GOOGLE OFFICE APPLICATIONS INCLUDING GOOGLE CALENDAR, ETC., www.google.com    

BOB GUYAN, on May 12th, did a presentation on MP3 PLAYERS.  

QUESTION AND ANSWER DAY was May 19th hosted by BOB GUYAN and WALLY HELM.  As usual, many good questions were presented.  These are always very informative.  Food today was donated by BARBARA EDISON and RICHARD STEINGRABER.  Profit from this fundraiser was $61.65.   

May 26th was MEMORIAL DAY and the Center was closed.  

JUNE 2008 COMPUTER USERS GROUP SCHEDULE:

• June`     2          COMPUTER SEARCHES:  GOOGLE, ASK, MAHALO, WINDOWS  LIVE, presented by WALLY HELM
• June      9          POWERPOINT USING THE VISTA OPERATING SYSTEM, presented  by NAOMI FEDERIUK
• June     16         MICROSOFT OFFICE ALTERNATIVES, presented by MARK  MATSON
• June     23         MORE PHOTOGRAPHY WITH JOHN, presented by JOHN SANDERS
• June     30         QUESTION & ANSWER DAY WITH DR. MARK and hosted by BOB  GUYAN and WALLY HELM            
  • 9:00      DR IS IN with. MARK MATSON—help for anyone with a personal COMPUTER problem            
  • 9:00      COFFEE & CAKE SOCIAL for all  
• MAC USERS GROUP will meet on June 12th and June 26th at 12:30 p.m.
• DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY GROUP meets June 16th at 12:30 p.m.
• INVESTMENT GROUP meets June 27th at 10:00 a.m.
• GENEALOGY GROUP will meet at the L. O. Library on June 11th at 10:00 a.m.  

TUNE UPS:  (Please sign up for these in advance.)—10:00 to 11:30 a.m. $6 members, $10 for others.  Review and refresh your skills in the Tune Up topic of the month.

• June     11            XP MAINTENANCE BASICS
• July      16            VISTA INTRODUCTORY BASICS
• August  20            XP WINDOWS BASICS REVIEW          

Check the schedule of computer classes to see if there is something of interest for you.  If you would like to attend a class that is not on the schedule, let us know and WARREN BRUNE will try to fit one in.  

Also, if there a topic you would like presented at the Computer Users Group or one that you would like to present, let RENEE SLOAN know.  

Did you know that drinking two glasses of Gatorade can relieve headache pain almost immediately without the unpleasant side effects caused by traditional pain relievers?  

Before you head to the drugstore for a high-priced inhaler filled with mysterious chemicals, try chewing on a couple of strong Altoids peppermints.  They’ll clear up your stuffed nose.  

Did you know that Colgate Toothpaste makes an excellent salve for burns?  

Enough for today.  I HOPE TO SEE YOU AT COMPUTER LEARNING CENTER.    

KAY KERR, editor

May 2008--LAKE OSWEGO COMPUTER USERS’ GROUP NEWSLETTER
LAKE OSWEGO ADULT COMMUNITY CENTER http://lo-clc.org

More of the same. Maybe the month of May will bring us some sunshine and warmer weather.

On April 7th, DICK STEINGRABER presented EXCEL. He showed us how to set up a chart of an actual journal. You can set up a chart of monthly car payments, interest, and principle amortization. There is a class MICROSOFT EXCEL SPREADSHEETS starting May 8th at 2:30 p.m. Sign up early if you are interested.

CREATING A WEB PAGE was the program on April 14th presented by BOB GUYAN. It helps if you know HTML program. A good book is IDIOT’S GUIDE: CREATING A WEB PAGE. There will be a class on this starting August 21st at 2:30 p.m. Also a class on HTML-I: INTRODUCTION starting July 24th, which will teach you the basic blocks for web pages.

April 21st JOHN SAUNDERS presented BASIC PHOTO EDITING. He showed us what you could do with PHOTOSHOP ELEMENTS 6. (Includes CS3 what professionals use.) He recommends a book THE PHOTOSHOP ELEMENTS 6 – Book for Digital Photographers by Scott Kelby & Matt Kloskowski, expensive but good information.

QUESTION and ANSWER session on April 28th good as usual. The coffeecake donated by WALLY HELM and DICK PARSONS was enjoyed by all.

The MAC GROUP met on April 10th and 24th. PAUL SLEEPER showed us how to burn a CD on the MAC. He would like you to send questions and items you would like to be brought up at the upcoming sessions. His e-mail address is pesleeper@comcast.net

DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY GROUP met on April 21st.

INVESTMENT GROUP program on April 25th -- 4 TOOLS FOR A WORRY-FREE RETIREMENT. William Meyer covers strategies for fixed income, 3 types of cash alternatives, when to invest in bonds and positioning your assets today. Good and timely.

VOLUNTEER luncheon on April 29th at Lake Oswego Country Club. Call 503-635-3758 to make reservation.

MAY 2008 COMPUTER USERS GROUP SCHEDULE: Starts at 9:30 a.m. and EVERYONE IS WELCOME—PC and MAC people.

• May 5 GOOGLE OFFICE APPLICATIONS, including Google Calendar, etc., presented by MARK MATSON
• May 12 iTUNES: MP3 PLAYERS presented by VINCE TYLMAN
• May 17 QUESTION & ANSWER session presented by BOB GUYAN and WALLY HELM
  • 9:00 a.m. DR. IS IN
  • 9:00 a.m. COFFEE CAKE & SOCIAL
• May 26 CENTER CLOSED for MEMORIAL DAY

'People are not finished when they are defeated, people are finished when they quit' YOU CANNOT ACHIEVE THE IMPOSSIBLE WITHOUT ATTEMPTING THE ABSURD. (Anonymous)

Happy computing.
KAY KERR, your editor

April 2008--LAKE OSWEGO COMPUTER USERS’ GROUP NEWSLETTER
LAKE OSWEGO ADULT COMMUNITY CENTER http://lo-clc.org

Have you sent a note to Jerry Trageser lately? This is his address ggtpa29@verizon.net He probably would like to hear how we are doing.

MARY LOU SOLID is still providing us with the TIP OF THE WEEK. Have you read it lately? Go to our web site above and it will let you read the new tip and also read those that are archived.

What a month we have had weather wise. First we had a touch of spring after many rainy days and now ending the month of March, we have snow. Maybe that is happening so we can REALLY enjoy the sunshine that is promised next week. I am hoping that they are not playing an April fools prank on us by forecasting warmer weather.

On March 3rd, JOHN GRAMMEL presented BACKING UP YOUR HARD DRIVE. Some of the backup websites

• WINDOWS XP BACKUP:
  • http://labmice.techtarget.com/windowsxp/Backup/default.htm
  • http://tweakhound.com/xp/backup/1.htm
• FREE BACKUP SOFTWARE WEBSITES:
  • http://www.hsinlin.com/software/backup.html
  • http://www.darkchip.com/DriveImageXML/index.html

POWER POINT, on March 10th, was presented by RICHARD STEINGRABER. I was not able to attend this session, but I am certain that it was done well and attendees were pleased. On

March 17th we had scheduled BASIC HOME PAGE, but BOB GUYAN obtained a copy of a 1999 PBS video on American Photography and we watched the progress of cameras from the pre-Brownie to the present digital cameras. It was very interesting.

MARK MATSON did a presentation on MAINTAINING YOUR COMPUTER on March 24th . He suggested that we defrag everyday to keep our computer clean. Or, at least once a week and this will clean up disk errors, giving you more room on your hard drive. There are free downloadable programs. He does not recommend the C-Cleaner software without reviewing options. Thinks it cleans too much and may give you troubles. If you do use it, uncheck everything before using it; then do only one clean up at a time. You can review Microsoft at home >Access>Get more done. He recommended some FREE software that can be downloaded

• LINUX Operating System much like XP
• Open Office has spread sheet and database
• Firefox, an alternative to Internet Explorer

It was a good presentation. This is why you should not miss the User Group presentations. You learn something every time.

QUESTION & ANSWERS scheduled for March 31st. Always a good program and you can enjoy the social time before the session. BOB GUYAN was host. We talked about some free software. If you email Bob at rguyan@yahoo.com , you can request a copy of Ed Campbell's NORTHERN LIGHTS email, including the FIRE RAINBOW.

COFFEE CAKE was the wonderful smaller version of the cinnamon role made by LOACC and donated by KEN HANDEL and coffee cake and fruit donated by ELAINE DICKSON brought us a profit today of $80.00. Enjoyed by all.

The MAC GROUP met on March 13th and 27th. On March 27th PAUL SLEEPER talked about the changes in the word processing programs that were used in the past. Some of them were called WRITE NOW, PUBLISH IT, WORD PERFECT and APPLEWORKS. They are all gone now. We have new software called iWorks (must purchase it) with Pages (word processing) and Numbers (spreadsheets). NEOOFFICE. (available free www.neooffice.org ) includes all the programs available on Microsoft Office.

DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY group met on March 17th BOB GUYAN showed the PBS video, American Photography, A Century of Images. It showed the impact in America from, 1900 to 1999.

INVESTMENT GROUP met on March 28th. Speaker was RONALD BAILEY whose presentation was THE LAST THING WE TALK ABOUT--OUR ESTATE PLAN. He was very informative and brought good points for us to do. Told us how we could avoid probate and the expense of probate. Gave us good handouts that we can study.

APRIL 2008 COMPUTER USERS GROUP SCHEDULE:
Starts at 9:30 a.m. and EVERYONE IS WELCOME PC and MAC people.

• April 7 EXCEL presenter RICHARD STEINGRABER
• April 14 CREATING A WEB PAGE presenter BOB GUYAN
• April 21 BASIC PHOTO EDITING presenter JOHN SANDERS
• April 28 QUESTION & ANSWER DAY WITH DR. MARK and hosted by BOB GUYAN & WALLY HELM
  • 9:00 a.m. DR. IS IN for those with personal computer problems
  • 9:00 a.m. COFFEE CAKE and SOCIAL

MAC SPECIAL INTEREST GROUP will meet on April 10th and April 24th at 12:30 p.m.
DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY GROUP will meet on April 21st at 12:30 p.m.
INVESTMENT GROUP will meet on April 25th at 10:00 a.m.
GENEALOGY GROUP meets at the Lake Oswego Library April 9th at 10:00 a.m.

Check the Computer Learning Center Class Schedule for classes you might be interested in. Sign up early to save a space for you.
TUNE UPS: These start at 10:00 a.m. and cost $6.00 for members and $10 for others
April 9th XP Windows Basics Review
May 14th Vista Introductory Basics
June 11th XP Maintenance Basics
SUPERVISED LAB available every Wednesday from 12:30 to 2:00 p.m. for both PC and MAC users. No charge for special help with problems.

Remember to update information so that you can still use it with new hardware, especially your photographs.

MORE FREE PROGRAMS FOR DOWNLOADING sent in by ED CAMPBELL

1. AdAware Person (www.lavasoft.com) The latest version of the anti-spyware program, AdAware. Once installed, be sure to keep it updated with the latest spyware definition files--and RUN IT! regularly!
2. Acrobat Reader (www.adobe.com) The latest version of the Adobe Acrobat Readeris 8.1.2.
3. Belarc Advisor (www.belarcadvisor.com A program that will take an entire inventory of your computer, then give you a report, which can be printed out. This is a valuable resource if you have to take your computer to a repair shop, as it gives the tech all the information about your computer and its software.
4. AVG Free (www.grisoft.com This is the free version of the anti-virus program AVG. This version is needed after January 15, 2007, as the previous version will no longer work. After install, be sure to keep it updated (it has an automatic update feature) with the latest virus definition files.
5. Mozilla Firefox (www.mozilla.com Mozilla's Firefox browser, which is an alternative to Internet Explorer (IE), and is not as vulnerable to viruses and worms. After install, you can transfer all of your Internet Explorer setting and Favorites. It allows tabbed browsing and many other features not available in IE.
6. Google Earth (www.earth.google.com a fun program that allows you to view any place in the world from a sattelite’s view--in color. You can zoom in to where you can identify your own house and car in the driveway. You can tilt the view and kind of "fly over" areas. You select the area to view by clicking on a point on a picture of the earth, then zero in from there.
7. Open Office (www.openoffice.com ) Sun Microsystem's version of Microsoft's Office Suite. It contains a word program, a database, a spreadsheet, etc., and is completely compatible with office documents. A good alternative to the expensive Office program, and will allow you to open Word documents someone might send you.
8. PowerPoint Viewer (www.microsoft.com/powerpoint ) a free program from Microsoft that allows you to see a PowerPoint presentation. You will receive these types of things as an attachment to e-mails, and most of them are beautiful. Most of the time, you can just click on the attachment and it will automatically open the PowerPoint viewer, but you can also save the attachment to your computer, right click the saved file, then click "open with", then browse to the PowerPoint Viewer.
9. Spybot S&D (www.spybot.com) The other most popular anti-spyware program to find and remove spyware from your computer. It is recommended that you use at least two different anti-spyware programs, as one might find something that the other misses. Spybot Search&Destroy will also allow you to immunize your computer against known threats, and keep them from ever getting in. Use with Adaware (above). As with Adaware, be sure to keep it updated--and RUN IT regularly
10. Thunderbird (www.mozilla.com) Mozilla's e-mail program--an alternative toMicrosoft Outlook Express. It also, along with Firefox, is much less vulnerable to virus and worm writers. Once installed, you can transfer your address book and messages over from Outlook Express, so you'll be starting right out where you left off in Outlook Express. It can be fully customized to your liking, and has all of the settings, plus more, of Outlook Express.
11. Zone Alarm (www.zonealarm.com) A free, but highly praised firewall. It is an alternative to firewalls provided in the big-named products like McAfee and Norton, and the one in Windows XP, which is pretty ineffective. Kim Komando highly recommends this product, along with Adaware, Spybot S&D, and AVG Antivirus, all as being free, and very effective and user-friendly.

WAITING FOR THE SUN. SEE YOU AT THE CENTER.
KAY KERR, editor

March 2008--LAKE OSWEGO COMPUTER USERS’ GROUP NEWSLETTER
LAKE OSWEGO ADULT COMMUNITY CENTER http://lo-clc.org

Well, I think that Spring is finally here. Isn’t it great to see the sun again for several days without any rain or snow? Because of the snow, I was not able to attend some of the Monday morning User Group sessions. I do not drive in the snow. We live on a cul-de-sac and it does not get cleaned off.

Congress recently passed an Economic Stimulus Package that will give nearly every senior and veteran a tax rebate—meaning more money will soon go back into people’s pockets. However, in order to receive the rebate, every household must file a tax return, even if you did not pay Federal income taxes this year. The sooner you file your tax return, the sooner you will receive a check in the mail.

The Computer Learning Center will not be doing Income Tax assistance this year. But, you may sign up for AARP help by calling Roseanne at 503-635-3758 for a Thursday appointment. You must bring copies of your 2006 tax returns, W-2 forms or all information related to earned income, 1099s (dividends, interest, etc.), medical expenses, charitable donations and any other relevant data. Photo ID and Social Security card are necessary also. Last date is April 10th. There is no fee, but donations are accepted.

Hopefully, there will be something of interest for you in our schedule of classes. You may go to the above web site for this information. Sign up early so they will know the class is on.
Tune Up on March 12th Vista Introductory Basics
April 9th XP Windows Basics Review

TURBO TAX Part 2 was topic of February 4th User Group presented by DICK STEINGRABER. He covered all parts of the software and gave us good information on doing our taxes this way.

GOOGLE EARTH on February 11th was presented by MARK MATSON

February 18th was a holiday, PRESIDENTS DAY

February 25th was QUESTION & ANSWER session with BOB GUYAN and WALLY HELM. As usual, very informative.

ELAINE DICKSON reported that the COFFEE CAKE on February 25th was provided by SUSAN LYDEN and JOHN SMITH. Huge thank you for baking three kinds of cake and for a belated Valentines Day theme. Income from this sale was $58.55. Thanks also to RENEE SLOAN and BERYL DAHL for their help with clean up. Several people have voluntarily signed up as bakers or shoppers for some 2008 dates. We especially appreciate every ones' great attitude, being involved, attending and most importantly, donating money to the Computer Learning Center through food/beverage purchases and generous take-home sales.

The MAC GROUP met on February 14th and 28th. On the 28th, PAUL showed a video introducing the new Photoshop Elements 6.0 which will be available next month.

DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY GROUP met on February 25th and discussed programs for this year. A video on the new features of Photoshop Elements 6 was shown.

INVESTMENT GROUP to meet on February 29th. GEORGE WAGNER will share his thoughts on investing in today’s wild and confusing stock market. His presentation will cover the use of ETFs as investment tools, investing in foreign markets, what market sectors he believes hold the most promise at this time, and the use of
ETF Connect
Investors Business Daily
Nasdaq.com
Yahoo Finance
Microsoft’s Deluxe Historical Charts.
You are invited to this meeting at 10:00 a.m. and bring a friend.

MARCH 2008 COMPUTER USERS GROUP SCHEDULE
These start at 9:30 a.m. and EVERYONE IS INVITED—PC and MAC people

• March 3 BACKING UP YOUR HARD DRIVE presented by JOHN GRAMMEL
• March 10 POWER POINT presented by RICHARD STEINGRABER
• March 17 BASIC HOME PAGE—LINKS, PHOTOS presented by BOB GUYAN
• March 24 MAINTAINING YOUR COMPUTER presented by MARK MATSON
• March 31 QUESTION AND ANSWER SESSION hosted by BOB GUYAN and WALLY HELM
  • 9:00 A.M. DR. IS IN for those with personal computer problems
  • 9:00 A.M. COFFEE CAKE and SOCIAL

MAC SPECIAL INTEREST GROUP will meet on March 13th and 27th at 12:30 p.m.
DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY GROUP will meet on March 17th at 12:30 p.m.
INVESTMENT GROUP will meet on March 28th at 10:00 a.m.
GENEALOGY GROUP meets at the Lake Oswego Library March 12th at 10:00 a.m.

ENJOY ST. PATRICK’S DAY ON MARCH 17TH and. EASTER ON MARCH 23RD

KAY KERR, your editor

February 2008--LAKE OSWEGO COMPUTER USERS’ GROUP NEWSLETTER
LAKE OSWEGO ADULT COMMUNITY CENTER http://lo-clc.org

What a month we had. It was quite cold and some snow, and we are not completely out of it yet. Some plants are looking as though they might not come back. I will wait a while before giving up on them. The bulbs are poking their tops up out of the ground. Hopefully, spring will soon be here.

With it we have a new season to learn new things about our computer. If you have decided what you would like to tackle, you must sign up for the class early to let the instructors know you are interested. We also have TUNE UP classes. Check the schedule and the Tips of the Week that Mary Lou Solid is continuing to send us.

On January 7th, JANE CARR of the Lake Oswego Library presented a program on LAKE OSWEGO HISTORY and introduced us to the Historical Vertical File, Map File, Historical photos, Obituary index, Newspaper indexes and the Oswego Heritage Council. Some suggested reading included: IRON, WOOD & WATER by Ann Fulton; OREGON’S IRON DREAM by Mary Goodall.

On January 14th RICHARD STEINGRABER presented Part l of TURBO TAX. It is a good way of doing your taxes yourself. Part 2 will be presented February 4th.

Center was closed January 21st for Martin Luther King’s birthday.

January 28th was a QUESTION & ANSWER session hosted by BOB GUYAN.

MESSAGE FROM ELAINE DICKSON: “A special thanks goes this time to Lois Roby and Ed Campbell for their help in making the January coffeecake social such a success. Early that morning Lois baked blueberry buckle and Danish kringle pastries. Ed brought assorted fresh fruit and the bowls to serve it in. I counted 18 CUG folks who came regardless of the snowy weather, and, despite the lower attendance, we made a profit of $51.50! Take-home sales went especially well because everything looked and tasted wonderful. Thanks too, to Beryl who helped with take down and clean up. Everyone had a great time.

In the INVESTMENT GROUP on January 25th, DAVE PARK lead a QUESTION & ANSWER session on ANY INSIGHTS/OUTLOOKS THAT YOU MAY WANT TO SHARE.

DIGITAL CAMERA GROUP met on January 28th because of the MLK holiday to discuss topics for the coming year.

MAC GROUP met on January 10th and 24th –good discussions.

FEBRUARY 2008 SCHEDULE FOR USER GROUP—meets at 9:30 a.m. ALL COMPUTER USERS ARE WELCOME.

• February 4th TURBO TAX Part 2 presented by RICHARD STEINGRABER
• February 11th GOOGLE EARTH presented by MARK MATSON
• February 18th CENTER CLOSED for Presidents’ Day
• February 25th QUESTION & ANSWER session hosted by BOB GUYAN and WALLY HELM 9:00 a.m. DR. IS IN 9:00 a.m. COFFEE SOCIAL

DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY GROUP February 25th at 12:30 p.m.

INVESTMENT GROUP February 29th at 10:00 a.m.

MAC GROUP February 14th and 28th at 12:30 p.m.

GENEALOGY GROUP at L. O. Library February 13th at 10:00 a.m.

TUNE UPS:

• February 13th at 10:00 a.m. MAINTENANCE BASICS--small fee
• March 12th at 10:00 a.m. VISTA INTRODUCTORY BASIC—small fee
• April 9th at 10:00 a.m. XP WINDOWS BASIC REVIEW—small fee

Information about the class schedules can also be found in the LEISURE NEWS, published by the Lake Oswego Adult Community Center.

Let us hope that February will bring us an early Spring.

KAY KERR, your editor

January 2008--LAKE OSWEGO COMPUTER USERS’ GROUP NEWSLETTER
LAKE OSWEGO ADULT COMMUNITY CENTER http://lo-clc.org

Ending the month of December with a white coat, maybe an early ski season for winter enthusiasts. The rest of us should be looking over the class schedule to see if there is anything of interest that we might learn during the winter months.

The next TUNE UP class will be on January 9th—VISTA INTRODUCTORY BASICS--at 10: 00 a.m. February 12th will be MAINTENANCE BASICS. Check the LEISURE NEWS and the CLC web site above for new PC and MAC classes. Also, read the TIP OF THE WEEK for some good advice.

JERRY TRAGESER, former chairman of the CLC, sent us a note:
“You will never know what pleasure I get from reading the CLC Newsletter and seeing the progress you are making. There are so many people right here in our local townhouse development that would love to have a similar program available. But, no luck so far. Happy holidays to all.”
JERRY

Jerry and Vivian Trageser, 111 Merlin Drive, Hummelstown, PA 17056
Phone: 1-717-683-0175
e-mail address: ggtpa29@verizon.net

Do not dial area code 809, 284 or 876. AT&T says they are bogus. They try to tell you that a family member has been ill, arrested, died or let you know you have won a wonderful prize, etc. You are told to call the 809 number right away. If you call from US, you will be charged $2425 per minute.

There was a mix up on December 3rd. No Library representative was present; so, several people pitched in and we talked about programs that we would like in the future. Also talked about how to get on your home computer when you are away from home. PAUL SLEEPER shared his knowledge of the MAC MINI in great detail.

December 10th, our program was MUSIC ON THE COMPUTER by BOB GUYAN. Too complicated to describe. You should have been there. There are some free places to download music. If enough people want it, this program can be repeated.

Holiday Party on December 17th was a huge success, attended by more than sixty people. We want to thank those who helped. We had a wonderful buffet table of scones, cinnamon buns, sausage, crepes, fresh fruit, etc. enjoyed by all. Lots of socializing among the group. It was a great party and you should not miss it next year. Next User Group will be January 7, 2008.

DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY GROUP was canceled in December.

INVESTMENT GROUP met on December 28th and program was A POTPOURRI OF: Selections From Fisher Investments Latest Stock Market Outlook (2007 Pt. IV) and Any Insights/Outlooks that you may want to share PLUS Questions and Answers.

MAC SPECIAL INTEREST GROUP met on December 13th and PAUL talked some about iTunes and copying music to iPod and your computer. December 27th was canceled.

JANUARY 2008 COMPUTER USERS GROUP SCHEDULE: These start at 9:30 a.m. and EVERYONE IS INVITED—PC and MAC people

• January 7 LIBRARY HISTORIC PHOTOS SITE—presented by JANE CARR, Reference Librarian
• January 14 TURBO TAX, Part 1 presented by RICHARD STEINGRABER
• January 21 TURBO TAX, Part 2 presented by RICHARD STEINGRABER
• January 28 QUESTION and ANSWERS hosted by BOB GUYAN AND WALLY HELM
• 9:00 a.m. COFFEE SOCIAL
• 9:00 a.m. DR. IS IN for those who have special computer problems

DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY GROUP will meet on January 21st at 12:30 p.m.

INVESTMENT GROUP will meet on January 25th at 10:00 a.m.

MAC SPECIAL INTEREST GROUP will meet on January 10th and 24th at 12:30 p.m.

I hope you all had a MERRY CHRISTMAS and we are looking forward to a HEALTHY, HAPPY, PROSPEROUS NEW YEAR. By using our computer in 2008, we will be exercising our brains, keeping it young.

We do not stop playing because we get old,
We get old because we stop playing.
Who said we were getting old, anyway.

BEST WISHES in 2008 for a year of excitement and fun.
KAY KERR, your editor