Archive for the Category ◊ Uncategorized ◊

Fake Swine Flu Alert
Thursday, December 03rd, 2009 | Author: motorbelly

Fake H1N1 (Swine Flu) alerts lead to malware | Zero Day | ZDNet.com

ZDNet reports a malicious email is out and about suggesting you download software for Swine Flu protection. I am impressed by the quality of much of today’s attacks on our mail and our web browsing.

So take this as another simple call to be vigilant, don’t just refuse to open email attachments easily but beware of all links in email as well.

Be safe out there!     :)

Google Translate Upgrade
Saturday, November 21st, 2009 | Author: motorbelly


Google Translate

I happened to use Google Translate recently and realized they have changed its face since my last visit. If you don’t know about this service visit the link. When you visit a website in a language you can’t read just visit this site and put the link in the form.

If you have Google Toolbar installed it can have a button or right click link to automatically open the translated page.

I don’t use it often, but each time I am reminded how limited I am knowing only one language well. I am grateful for my family’s effort to have tried to teach me French as a child and for my father’s teaching me to understand etimology listings in Webster’s Dictionary for each definition. We red necks don’t consider how much of our American ‘English’ is based on other languages.

Category: Uncategorized  | One Comment
A Word About Facebook and Security
Wednesday, November 18th, 2009 | Author: motorbelly

10 Solid Tips to Safeguard Your Facebook Privacy

This link above leads to an excellent article on a topic I discuss periodically. I am not paranoid, folks are really out to get us!  :)

Aside from the time we waste on Facebook there can be a real security problem. If you write things you shouldn’t have co-workers or bosses see then you may just be foolish. But many of the more innocent things we post would pass muster if they were just not brought to the attention of these folks.

The default starting point in Facebook is for all your friends to be treated equally. Maybe this is dangerous, but its what it is. So what the linked article describes is how to create Friends Lists, and then make posts viewable just by the right lists and further how to hide information from searches.

It’s a good read. Could save some trouble down the road and still let you enjoy the benefits of using Facebook.

Enjoy!
-=Lare=-

Speeding up Windows Computers
Saturday, November 07th, 2009 | Author: John

There were recently two e-mails to our list suggesting that a good topic
for an upcoming meeting might be on how to speed up computers.  I thought
the topic might come up at last weeks workshop so I didn’t respond.  As it turns out it didn’t come up so I’m going to give it my two cents worth now.

Just as an FYI, I Googled ’speeding up computer’ and got 117,000,000 hits.
Then I Googled ’speeding up windows computers’ and got 114,000,000 hits.  In addition to the help that’s available on the Web people within the club like
Larry, Gary, Zener, Kelly nd Eric as well as guest speakers from local techs to Microsoft have all discussed the topic nearly endlessly.  The point I’m trying to make is that in spite of all that’s been done it’s become obvious to me that there will always be new people, new computers and new problems.

In that vein I’d like to start some sort of interactive blog or topic on our
Website or something similar that can be continually referred to and
updated.  Now, I know most of you have probably already deleted this e-mail and that even those who wrote in on the topic are probably on to bigger and better things by now so I’m not going to go too far our of my way to do this and I’m going to try to keep my expectations about how interactive it might
become realistic.  And, while I’m at it, I might mention that I know, that I
can’t come close to providing the kinds of information that’s already
available and/or even come close to providing the expertise that others in
the club can and do offer.  Instead what I can do is tell you what I do and maybe, at the same time, get some suggestions on how I can do what I do
do or don’t do better.

Anyway, watch this space.  To begin with I’m going to start off by trying
to address backing up our computers.  Everyone needs a way to back up their
current installs, files, pictures, etc.

As a little bit of an aside, as I was leaving last weeks workshop, I
happened a crossed a national radio program that had something to do
computers on either one of the local stations or on one of the two public
broadcasting stations that are available in the area.  It sounded like it
might be a weekly program and these two fellows were real geeks.  It seemed
like if anyone knows about this stuff these guys probably know it too.  I’d highly suggest you look for it.

Back to backing up our computers, quickly, there are a lot of options.
Everyone is talking (or maybe advertising) Internet backup systems.  It may
be a good option, I don’t use one and I don’t know anything about them.  One
of the fellows on this national program made the point that if you have an
average speed Internet connection, an average speed computer and one of
these new 500 Gig hard drive’s – it could take up to 129 days to back up
your computer using one of these services.  He also pointed out that with
average use you’d be adding information faster that you’d be backing it up
so you’d never have the kind of backup that they talk about.  I guess
I should say that I think that’s what he said.  I also think he went on to
say that with a faster connection, a faster computer and less info to back
up, you could cut that down to maybe 30 days.

As I said, these Interned based backup options might be a good idea but I
like the idea of having a local current back up to work with and that is
what I’m going to be trying to discuss here in the near future.  In the mean
time, let’s try to make sure your back up systems are, up, running and ready
to go? 

Questions?

More soon,

John

Online DimDim meeting tonight?
Monday, March 30th, 2009 | Author: motorbelly

Image via Wikipedia

Whether you can get to the Aquilla & Priscilla’s cafe tonight or not I will host an online meeting using DimDim.com’s conferencing service.

I would rather be with you at the cafe tonight but I am down with a back injury so I need o stay horizontal tonight. I still invite you to go enjoy the tasty refreshments at the Cafe, make me jealous, but whether you go or not open your browser to DimDim’s site at 5:30pm (pacific) and we’ll get together anyway.

Tonight I’m going to try the use of my microphone and have the feature turned on for anyone else with one. I believe it will require a push to talk button be used to speak so maybe we can talk in turn and actually be understood.

When you are at the DimDim site hit “Join a Meeting” and use my email address for meeting ID, motorbelly@gmail.com

I have made this an open meeting so you won’t need a password but give yourself an ID that will help us know who you are.

See you there! -=Larry=-

DimDim.com Conference
Monday, March 23rd, 2009 | Author: motorbelly

Dimdim: Web conferencing that just works!

We just finished a meeting both at the cafe and online, with DimDim 4.5

I hurt a nerve last week and still can’t walk very well so I logged into DimDim.com from home and started a meeting with this online conferencing site.

There are quite a few services like this but most require all users to download software before they can join in. DimDim has it all in the browser. (I did have to wait while a desktop sending program had to be installed in Firefox, but it didn’t make me leave the meeting or close Firefox) There are four tools in the meeting, a Whiteboard to draw whatever you like, a document viewer, (pps, ppt presentation files) a web page sharing window and I could show my desktop.

Like anything new we were a bit awkward getting started, but all in all it went pretty easily. We played with all the tools and found the included page sharing browser didn’t display the pages we wanted to share but we were able to just use the desktop sharing and my Firefox to share the site we wanted.

For a quickly setup meeting with folks close to the older generation we did pretty well. With more preparation we could have setup microphones and webcams and heard each other though the computer. As it was we used cell phones on speakerphone.

DimDim also has a recording ability we may use in the future to save the presentations.

Next time we’ll send out early notices so more folks could join in. DimDim is still free up to 20 users, but for a fee can handle hundreds. Let’s dream about a show where we need the paid service!

Category: Uncategorized  | 2 Comments
thanks motorbelly
Monday, March 02nd, 2009 | Author: wadori

Larry,

Thanks for all your fine help at the meeting tonight.

Ward

Updating Our Updates
Saturday, February 21st, 2009 | Author: motorbelly

We have long used our maillist to communicate between members and make announcements a very Web 1.0 method. (Showing our age!)

So today I made several additions to our website to make more of our communications happen through the site.

RSS – We have always had an RSS feed for anyone interested in using our site from a reader like Bloglines or Google Reader and such.

http://epcug.net/feed/

can be entered in the readers or in Outlook Express and Thunderbird as a feed. Anything written on the site will appear in your programs when posted.

E-Mail Updates – In addition we now have our RSS feed posting web posts to e-mail addresses that register on our site. Think of it as a maillist for announcements. Just visit the website and register your e-mail address.  http://epcug.net

Mobile Phone Access – At our last meeting Salli noticed our website was not readable on her iTouch. Today I set us up with a free MoFuse account so we are now visible on web phones. Just visiting our site with a web phone should re-direct it to our mobile web site. Check it out and post a comment.

I’m hoping this will make us more accessible to more visitors and members. Tell your friends!

New Meeting Location this week
Sunday, February 15th, 2009 | Author: motorbelly

Aquila & Priscilla’s

Last week we arrived at Brewed Awakening to discover they had changed their hours to close at 4pm. Since we meet at 5:30pm that didn’t work. After looking through three other locations we sat down at a Starbuck’s but were unable to have Internet connection.

This week we have chosen to meet at Aquila & Priscilla’s at the Q St and Pioneer Pkwy Shopping Center (with Safeway) and try out their meeting room. Salli and Larry say they have great coffee and food so if computer talk is not enough, come enjoy some great food.

Join us (it’s free) Monday at 5:30pm

Starting the new 2009 year with iTouch
Monday, January 05th, 2009 | Author: motorbelly

Tonight Salli brought in her new iTouch from Costco and showed off its work: