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Your business tag line Volume 26 Issue 11 November, 2013 Print Edition
General Meeting, November 14, 2013 7:00 PM Falmouth Fire Hall
Ed gave a dynamic demonstration
Photo of a movie shown on a 46” TV
from the back of the hall
Ed receives a “Thank
You” plaque from
Patty
“Do you need a new TV for all the upcom-
ing holiday shows, including the “Super
Bowl”.
Don’t forget to take a look at the all the tv’s available at the Big Screen Store. Ed Hodge, the Home Theater Consultant at the store showed us what they can do to make viewing easier and more enjoyable.
He took his time ex-plaining all the different type of TV’s available and how they can be used in the home set-
ting. These can vary from the 46” Smart TV he used as a demonstra-tor (see photo at right) to large wall covering screens that can make a home a true theater. With the dem-onstrator machine he even showed how a camera on the top of the ma-chine could be used to show the picture of you watching a program on the screen.
Concluding his talk Ed extended to our members a 10% discount on all deliveries, set-ups and even furni-ture that was available at the store.
This was a very valuable demon-stration to all who were present.
Ed Hodge
Apple has released two big software
upgrades in the past month with iOS
7 for iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch, and October 23 re-
leased Mac OS X Mavericks for the Mac for free. Both of
these offer changes in both look and feel of the devices
we use. Apple also announced that any new purchasers of
those products would receive Pages, Numbers, and Key-
note (iWork) and iPhoto, iMovie, and Garageband (iLife)
for free. This presents a great opportunity for users to get
the latest and greatest software with minimal hassle.
Ryan Fitzgerald, the Apple Solutions Consultant Region 3,
will be with us tonight to show us all the great changes
that Apple has made in the last few weeks.
Ryan was with us last May and he demonstrated how all
the Apple products work together even on your PC. To-
night he will expand on that idea with many new products
that Apple has developed. Shown above are some of
these products that Ryan will demonstrate how they will
work together to make a seamless operation between your
WiFi, mobile, iPhone, touch screen or any other Apple
product.
Page 2 Electronically Speaking
In This Issue Page 3—Android Users
Page 4—Useful Bits & Pieces
Page 5—
Page 6– FPCUG Information Page 7—Membership Application
Page 7— Freeware
Page 8 President’s Message
Page 8-Calendar
Richmond Camera of Fred-
ericksburg is offering any
member of FPCUG free,
professional printing of 20 4
x 6 photos. This offer
expires 12/202013
November 14
December 12
January 9
Meeting Dates
Brian Smelter of
Flicko’s still offering a
10% discount on any
service for any mem-
ber of FPCUG. This
offer expires
12/20/2013
This offer expires12/20//2013
Total Comfort, LLC is offering a $25.00 discount on any nor-
mal time service call for your Heating or Air Conditioning
system. They can be contacted at 540 373-9780 or 2403
Airport Avenue, Fredericksburg. This offer does not apply to
regular calls under a maintenance contract. This offer
expires December 31, 2013
10% discount for
members 442 Bridgewater Street Fred-
ericksburg, VA 22401 540
371-2433 This offer expires 12/20/2013
Fredericksburg
PC Users Group
Officers
Patrice Davis President
Jim Jordan - 1st Vice-President
Roger Schirmer—2nd Vice-
President
Mary Frances Evans—
Secretary
Kay Pollock—Treasurer
Board of Directors
John Kruelle
Cliff Dalseide
Josh Cockey
Trustees
Bill Williams-Agent of Record
Johnny Creech
Rick Neil
Newsletter Editor and
Photographer
Jim Jordan
Webmaster
Josh Cockey
Electronically Speaking is published monthly for the information and pleasure of the members of Fredericksburg PC Users Group. Any FPCUG member or visitor is invited to submit articles for the newsletter.
Opinions expressed by any writer in this publication are the authors, not FPCUG.
106 Thompson Avenue
Offer expires 12/20/2013
10% off Service call labor. Call 370-4000
Coupons below are offering many special deals for our members. You must have your membership card
Attendance
Rewards
Masthead
An interested group in the audi-
ence for this presentation
As you can see from the photo, all members names are listed and each name indi-
cates a tile number.
Each round tile has a number and these numbers are turned down so that whoever
picks a tile it will indicate the person winning a $10.00 check. If that person is not
present the name is dropped from the eligibility list and the next months award
goes to $20.00 etc. The winner in October was George Bell who was not present .
The prize in November will be $20.00 No member may win twice in a year. Only
paid members will be eligible for the drawing.
Cartridge World, 1990 William Street
would like to offer members a 20% plus 5% discount on all remanufactured cartridges. Offer expires 12/202013
We have A new Friend
Maximum Asphalt Paving
Any type of asphalt, or con-crete con-struction.
and seal coating Mem-bers will receive 25% off.
Think about the
Food Bank
For the Holiday
Gathering
The Big Screen Store will give a 10% dis-
count on all deliveries, furniture and set up
costs.
The Big
Screen Store
will give a 10%
discount on all
deliveries, furni-
ture and set-upsExpires 12,/20./13
Electronically Speaking Page 3
iCan’t: 5 Things Android Users Take for Granted and iPhone Users Just Can’t Do
Danny Stieben, Writer, MakeUseOf.com
http://bit.ly/12bdyZ2
Have you ever thought that there might be a reason Android users brag about their customizability? Sure, as an iPhone user, you can add and configure apps, change your wallpaper, and otherwise make yourself feel at home. But at the end of the day, you’ve only changed a few small details. If you happen to have jail-breaked your iPhone to run Cydia and are enjoying some of the best Cydia tweaks, you can do more. But users with stock iOS are able to do much less. Don’t believe me? Check out these different things that An-droid users can do but iOS users cannot.
From changing your keyboard to using a live wallpaper to putting an entirely new face on your phone (in the form of a launcher), Android lets you customize your phones in remarkably flexible ways.
Keyboards
If you don’t like the keyboard on your iPhone, tough luck. Without jailbreaking the device, there’s no way to get a different keyboard app on your iPhone. On the contrary, Android is built to allow users to choose be-tween different installed keyboards, from the very capa-ble default keyboard to Swype to SwiftKey. This not only allows for different looking keyboards, but also different typing mechanisms (tapping versus swiping) and prediction algorithms for those fast typers with low accuracy. I’m not saying that the iPhone’s keyboard is bad, but I highly doubt that every iPhone user likes it and those picky users will just have to endure.
Home Screen Mechanics
The iPhone’s home screen is one of the most iconic fea-tures of the iOS platform — big icons in a 4×4 grid (or 4×5 grid with the iPhone 5) and four buttons along the bottom bar for commonly accessed apps. Besides changing the wallpaper and rearranging the order of the icons, there’s nothing that the iPhone user can do to change how it looks. For example, a me-chanic that annoys me would be the fact that I cannot move an icon from the very top of the screen to the very bottom
— all icons fill in row by row. At least iPhone users can move their icons onto a new page.
Widgets
Android launchers also have another cool feature that is entirely lacking in iOS — wid-gets. These nifty tools can be placed anywhere in your home screens and offer quick access to the related app’s functionality. For example, the Wunderlist widget will dis-play your to-do list, the New York Times widget can be configured to show the latest news, and weather w
Launchers
I absolutely love the default Android launcher, but others
may want to use other alternatives. With Android, you can
install additional launchers and choose which one you’d like
to use. Each launcher can offer different functionality, such
as themes and the ability to add more pages to your home
screen. With iOS, this is also completely impossible as Ap-
ple wants everyone using the same launcher
Wallpapers
Android includes some creative features with wallpapers to give your phone a nice touch with small details. When-ever you set a new image as your wallpaper, you can choose how you’d like to resize it, as well as determine whether the image should be “scrollable” or not. When set to scrollable, the wallpaper moves left and right as
(Continued on Page 4)
Page 4 Electronically Speaking
(Continued on Page 5)
you switch be-tween different pages in your home screen. Oth-erwise, the wallpa-per would remain completely still as you switch be-tween pages in your home screen. Additionally, An-droid also offers the use of live, animated wallpa-pers. These cool wallpapers are similar to Windows Vista’s Dream-Scene wallpapers; however, are more appropriate on a smartphone as they usually in-clude smooth an-
imations and other computer-generated objects, and not a real-life video. Some live wallpapers animate on their own, while others react to the user’s touch. They can be pretty fun to mess around with, and with (usually) minimal battery impact.
Android vs iPhone –
Conclusion
Believe me now? An-droid users can change some signifi-cant stuff to their phones, without hav-ing to resort to rooting or installing custom ROMs. I’m sure this list isn’t entirely inclu-sive of all things An-droid users can do that iPhone users cannot, but it gives you a good idea of how you can do more with Android.
What’s your favorite feature of your Android or iOS device? What do you wish it could have that the competi-tor has? Let us know in the comments
Useful Bits & Pieces
Lorrin R. Garson, Columnist, Potomac Area Tech-nology and Computer Society, MD
May 2013 issue, PATACS Post
www.patacs.org
newslettercolumnist (at) patacs.org
Open Garden
Open Garden has nothing to do with horticulture. It’s a technology that interconnects devices such as smartphones, laptops and tablets to form a wire-less peer-to-peer mesh network for access to the Internet. For example, by installing Open Garden on your cell phone and laptop (PC and Mac), your laptop has access to the Internet via your phone when Wi-Fi hot spots are not available. If others have Open Garden installed on their devices you would all share connectivity and bandwidth. It is the digital equivalent of grazing on the commons. Open Garden provides an “automatic path choice.” When the software detects multiple Internet connections, it will select the fastest one available and will switch to another connection if the original slows or goes off line. The advantage is that it can offload traffic from an overburdened access route to one less utilized, say from a 3G or 4G connection to an en-abled Wi-Fi_33 connection.
Currently Open Garden is available for Android, Windows, and Macintosh operating systems. An iOS version (for the iPhone) is planned for the fu-ture. In principal widespread deployment of this technology could reduce capital expenditures for wireless carriers such as Verizon, AT&T, Sprint, etc. by transferring traffic from their cellular circuits to Wi-Fi_33. However, the carriers might revolt if they perceive they will lose revenue that is not made up by lower capital investments. It is a com-plex business situation and no one knows at this time how the cell phone companies will react or if
consumers will adopt Open Garden. For more in-formation see http://opengarden.com/,
http://opengarden.net/ and http://opengarden.com/story.php.
Improving PC Performance by Adding Memory
Increasing the amount of memory in your PC is the simplest and least expensive way to improve per-formance. The procedure is quite simple even for those who are hardware challenged. These instruc-tions pertain to desktop PCs, although adding or
Android Users (Continued from page 4)
Electronically Speaking Page 5
changing memory in laptops is similar (see http://www.wikihow.com/Upgrade-YourLaptop%27s-RAM-Memory).
1. Determine how much memory is currently in your com-puter (instructions for Windows 7) by: left-click on Start, right-click on Computer, then left-click on Properties. Un-der System will be a line “Installed memory (RAM)”.
2. Determine how many memory slots are available in your computer. This can be done by consulting your PC owner’s manual, opening up your computer for inspection (more on this later), or using one of the tools such as that available from Crucial.com (see below).
3. Determine how much memory you need. This is rather subjective. Many will advise “you can’t have too much memory”, but 4-8 GB is probably adequate for most peo-ple. 12-16 GB or more may be advisable for those doing video or photo editing. For those playing computer games or doing heavy duty processing, the more the better.
4. Determine the correct memory needed for your com-puter. Again, this information should be available in your PC owner’s manual. For example, for the HP Pavilion HPE h8xt the memory specified is SO-DIMM, 204-pin DDR3DIMM, PC3-10600 (1333 MHz) DDR3-SDRAM, Unbuffered, non-EC (64-bit) DIMMs, 1.5 V memory only. It is crucial that you buy the correct memory; there are many kinds of memory (DDR, DDR2, DDR3, RDRAM, SDRAM, etc.) sold by numerous vendors (Amazon, Newegg, TigerDirect, Micro Center, etc.) including some manufacturers. Companies that sell memory will some-times provide a tool you can download that will tell you the type of memory your computer uses, the number of memory slots available on your machine, etc. For exam-ple see Crucial.com at http://www.crucial.com/store/
drammemory.aspx. It is generally advisable to use exactly the same brand, model with the precise specifications for all memory rather than just add additional memory.
5. Installing the memory.
a. Unplug everything from the computer, although some recommend leaving the power cord plugged in to ground the computer, but be certain the computer is not running.
b. Be sure to ground yourself to the computer case before working on the machine. Static electricity can seri-ously damage components of your computer. It is prefer-able to use an antistatic wrist strap for this purpose (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antistatic_wrist_strap). These devices are quite inexpensive.
c. Open up the computer’s case. This will be some-what different for every machine. Sometimes a screw driver will be needed.
d. Locate the memory module(s) and carefully re-move them, assuming they are being replaced. Some memory cards have clips at the ends while others tilt for-ward or backward to remove. Look carefully and go gently.
e. Snap the new memory module(s) in place taking care to seat them correctly. Apply pressure evenly across the width of module. Often you will hear a “click” as the module is seated.
f. Close up the computer and reattach all the pe-ripherals.
g. Boot up the computer and check to verify (step #1) that the computer “sees” all the memory you installed.
6. See http://www.microsoft.com/athome/setup/addmemory.aspx#fbid=jzzxbLYldz7 for useful information on this topic from Microsoft.
Turkey Day is
November 28
Useful Bits (Continued from page 4)
Scheduled SIG Meetings
SIG marked with an * will be available if requested. Email the SIG Leader if interested.
SIG SIG Leader Meets Email address About What?
Butler Road
William
Street
250 Butler Road
William Stre
et
Exit 133A to
Rt 17 S
Rt. 3
Rt. 212
Where we’re located
SIG
Information
Ed Alexander
Anne McGrath
USPS Mail P.O. Box 276
Fredericksburg ,VA 22404
Come on out!
Special Interest Groups (SIGs) meet at 7:00 PM at the Falmouth Fire Hall on Butler
Road. SIGs are led by members who have learned through hands-on experience. All SIG
leaders serve on a voluntary basis and frequently are participants in other SIGs led by other
members. SO whether you want to lead or learn, we welcome you as a participant in
FPCUG SIGs. FPCUG members and their family can join in as many SIGs as they like at
no cost.
Beginner* Jim Jordan 1st Thursday On Request [email protected] New to computers-this is for you
Photography 4th Tuesday [email protected] Make your camera work better
All Abut Your Computer Kay Pollock 3rd Thursday [email protected] All about your computer
Internet Ray Pollock 1st Thursday [email protected] Where and what on the Internet
Technology Josh Cockey 1st Tuesday [email protected] Exploring what’s available
Windows-All James Hopkins 4th Thursday [email protected] Learn about operating systems
MAC * Josh Cockey 4th Thursday On Request [email protected] MacIntosh knowledge
Website Design & Development Robert Monroe 3rd Tuesday [email protected] Make a website
Benefits of Membership in FPCUG
Interesting monthly meetings
Special Interest Groups ( see calendar page. 8)
Special deals at local merchants for members.
Subscription to Members Edition Electronically
Speaking
Senior Navigator
Page 6 Electronically Speaking
This website is available just by clicking on
the Senior Navigator tag on the left side of
our website.
It will take you to right to the this page and
you will find answers to most of the ques-
tions that occur in your life.
Voice Mail
540-373-7929
Coming Meetings
November 11—Ryan Fitzgerald –Apple Inc.
December 12—Holiday Party
January 9—Michelle Brown CRRL
Electronically Speaking Page 7
Beginner Technology Photography Windows-All Internet Website D & D
All About Your Computer MAC Other_________
Membership Application New Renewal
City State Zip plus +4
What Special Interest Groups (SIGs) Interest You:
Please mail a check for $25.00 and this notice to:
FPCUG P.O. Box 276 Fredericksburg, VA 22404
Name ________________________________________________Phone_______________
Address_________________________________________________
Email Address___________________________________________________
What type of speaker would you like to hear at a General Meeting_________________________
Can you suggest anyone in this field_________________________
Freeware
By Berry F. Phillips, Member, Computer Club of Okla-homa City
April 2013 issue, eMonitor
www.ccokc.org editor (at) ccokc.org
During the many years that I have been writing the Computer Hysteria Column, I have been a strong advocate of using free-ware. On my computer, the only commercial software is my operating system. All the rest of the software on my system is freeware. Perhaps this frugality has something to do with my Scottish ancestry or I could be considered just plain cheap! In any event,
I have done my best to give my readers some tips on freeware that I have used on my system that is exceptional. Free soft-ware is a valid choice for the home computer, office computer and Internet server uses. It is very important to remember that freeware is not cheap or an inferior option. Freeware comes in two basic types, free software with proprietary (private) code, and open-source software. Some freeware can be functionally superior to equivalent commercial software and even of higher quality.
For example, the Firefox browser was built and developed by a large distributed workforce as opposed to a small centralized one. A large number of programmers can contribute a range of skills, and whose input is graded by peer review. These pro-grams can be tested and developed in a wide variety of loca-tions and situations. These community based projects would cost millions to create commercially. The bottom line, free soft-ware can be of the highest quality and should not be considered inferior to commercial products. The products they generate are among the most successful applications in the world, PHP, MySQL, Apache, and various types of Linux.
What are the best free programs that work the best? It used to be utilities. However, today there are many price-less small programs that work better than the operating systems resident applications. Free software is a viable solution in every possible area of a computer's work. The acceptability of freeware is demonstrated as the standard server solution. Freeware is widely used in PC security situations. Free versions of popular firewalls, antivirus and antispyware programs are often accepted as first choice How do you find the best freeware to use on your system?
For years I have recommended Gizmo's Freeware be bookmarked on your computer for fast reference when you need fully reviewed and recommended freeware. In August 2010, PC Magazine included Gizmo's Freeware in its "100 Top Websites of 2010." As of November 2011 it was rated by Alexa in the top 3000 sites in English speaking countries and in the top, 5,000 worldwide with more than 100,000 people visiting the site every day. It is also the most book-marked site under "freeware" at most of the web's major bookmarking services.
Gizmo's Freeware is a community-based site dedicated to keep the site independent and noncommercial. The site is maintained by hundreds of volunteers. Freeware is re-viewed for safety and performance by these volunteer edi-tors with comments from users. Gizmo's best freeware list is available at the website and has been used for years to locate the best freeware. You can post on forums, respond to reviews after using the freeware, and even write review depending on your computer skills. I would strongly encour-age you to bookmark and visit this website which will save
you money as well as increase your computer capabilities.
http://www.techsupportalert.com
I will have to admit that I am "hysterical" about this website.
The newsletter of the Fredericksburg, Va.
Personal Computer Users Group. Inc.
2504 Ruffin Drive
Fredericksburg, VA 22408
November 2013 December 2013 SU MO TUESDAY WE TH URSDAY FI SA
SU MO TUE WE THU FR SA
29 30 31
22 23 24 25 26 27 28
15 16 17 18 19 20 21
Technology
8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Directors Meeting Firehall
Members invited to observe
Beginners*
Internet
General Meeting
All About Your
Computer Website D & D
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
SU MO TUE WE THU FR SA
10 11 12 13 14 15 16
17 18 19 20 21 22 23
24 25 26 27 28 29 30
1 2
3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Directors Meeting Firehall
Members invited to observe
General Meeting
Photography
All About Your
Computer Website D & D
ES Deadline * Available upon request
Internet
Beginners*
DST Ends Nov.3
Technology
No SIGs this week
Christmas
Hello! Last month I mentioned the donation that the FPCUG gave to the Central Rappahan-nock Heritage Center, and my interest in the Center as a Certi-fied Archivist. It occurred to me that club members may not be aware of the duties or profession of an Archivist. An Archivist is an individual who is responsible for managing and preserving historical records. Unlike a librarian, who deals with publications, Archivists work with unique historic records, including documents, photographs, and audio vis-ual materials both in all formats and media both hard copy and electronic. Although some facilities use the term "archivist" loosely, it actually is a professional position that requires training. To be an Archivist, an individual must have a master's degree. Most have either a Master of Library Information Science (MLIS) or a Master of Arts (MA) in history with specific train-ing in archival theory and methods. In addition to education, a Certified Archivist must show that they have on the job experience working in an archival environment, as well as pass a moderated test documenting their knowledge of the Archival field. For more information on Archivists and the archival profes-sion, please go to the websites of the Society of American Archivist (http://www2.archivists.org/) or the Academy of Certified Archivists (www.certifiedarchvists.org) Patty
Don’t forget the
Next month
Holiday Party
