Computer Booter. Treasurer s Report by Janet Quade, TREASURER. May newsletter highlights. The I N S I D E. May

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1 The Computer Booter Computer Booters of Sun Lakes May 2012 May newsletter highlights I N S I D E Treasurer s Report 1 From the President 2 Volunteers 2 SIG News 3 Membership Report 4 Program Update Computer Technology Conference 5 6 Club Information 10 Come hear Joe Bitz from Best Buy, our speaker for the May 1 meeting. Joe is the Interactive Technology Specialist for our local Best Buy store. Joe s topic for the evening is Will Smart Phones/Tablets Eliminate Home Computers?. Leading off our meeting, Rollie Baumann will spotlight some topical computer Tips and Tricks. Our meetings start at 7:00 PM sharp so that we may close at a reasonable time. Check in by 7:00 PM and receive a ticket for one of several door prizes to be drawn at the close of the meeting. Future Meeting Dates 11 Treasurer s Report by Janet Quade, TREASURER Fund Balances as of April 10, 2012: Reserve Account $ 3, Bank Account $ 2, Total Funds $ 5,518.83

2 From the President s Desk by Ben Thompson, PRESIDENT S o far this season we have enjoyed some quality presentations at our monthly meetings, had record attendance at our SIG classes and have awarded a number of door prizes at the end of each general meeting. Participation in the local Computer Technology Conference in late March provided our club attendees with technical updates along with some new ideas which will be investigated for application to future Computer Booters needs. Windows Vista users should all be aware, that on Monday April 9, Microsoft announced the end of Mainstream Support and the beginning of Extended Support for Windows Vista. If you re still using Vista, you won t notice the change. This Extended Support phase is scheduled to last until April 11, Microsoft will still provide Security Updates during this period. This places Windows Vista into the same Extended Support phase that Windows XP has been in now for some time. Microsoft will end the Extended Support for XP on April 8, Look Who s Volunteering by Marie Krula, VOLUNTEER COORDINATOR S ixty-four people came to our meeting full of excitement for the ekindle was to be raffled off & everyone who purchased the raffle tickets was quite eager to be the winner. The winner was Bryon Weston congratulations to Bryon. Volunteers Tony Cestare & Jerry Weinert did a super job selling the raffle tickets. Eddie Schweitzer greeted all members and guests as they came to our meeting. Again, Al Behr & Vivian Berman helped Guy Laroche process members, new members, & guests to our meeting. Ed Craze & Walt Scheidereiter set-up all the equipment for the meeting and Bob D Evelyn helped handle the microphones along with Walt whenever there was a question to a presenter. Nona Hove gave a raffle ticket to all who attended. The meeting had an unusual amount of items to give to lucky raffle ticket holders. However, ALL who attended were given tea packets as they left from the Leaves Pure Tea Company, located in Scottsdale who owns the internet site, Leaves.com & have teamed-up with the presenter of the evening. This will now be the new web address for the Leaves, Your Life Story Lives Here, a free program for those wishing to write their history that was demonstrated at the meeting. 2

3 Club News 2011 SIG Classes News by Sue Klein, SIG COORDINATOR 3

4 Membership Report by Guy Laroche, CLUB RECORDS DIRECTOR I f you are not receiving club notifications it could be for 2 reasons. One is that address on the membership form was not clear and got entered incorrectly. Please contact the membership director for correction. Two is that you forgot to renew you 2012 membership. There are still SIG classes before the summer and many after the summer. It is never too late to renew. Check the Calendar of events on our Web Site ( for regular SIG Classes and one-time-shot sessions. Guests at the general meeting who choose not to join but wish to attend SIG Classes will pay a fee See the SIG Classes coordinator report for details. And don t forget to check the junk mail folder in case you don t have the SIG coordinator address in your address book. The notifications may end up there. Technology advances never stop and they do not even slow down. You will be left behind if you do not keep up with the new developments. The Computer Booters is here to help. The Computer Technology Conference was held at the Fort McDowell Radisson late last month. If you didn t attend, you missed a lot. Read elsewhere in this newsletter a summary of the conference. The dues for 2012 are as follows: $36.00 for individual and $48.00 for two persons living at the same address and are for January First to December Thirty-first. This covers general meetings, door prizes, and all SIG Classes (Special Interest Group classes), not to mention that you can always talk to someone in the Club regarding specific problems. We have a number of members who can answer computer related questions Membership forms for 2012 are available on our website (left column of the home page, under membership). Everyone is requested to fill out a membership form, even if they are renewing. Print and fill the form (make sure the address is legible). You can also pick up a form at the membership table before the general meeting of the Computer Booters of Sun Lakes. Attach (do not staple or tape) your check to the form and bring it to the meeting or snail mail it to the address on the form (Membership Director). As always, membership badges will be ready to be picked up, at the membership table, before the general meeting following the receipt of the application. If you attend SIG Classes before receiving your badge, tell the presenter. Please note: General meetings start promptly at 7:00 PM on the first Tuesday of each month (except summer time). Doors close when the meeting starts and late comers will not receive a door prize ticket. SIG Classes also start at 7:00 pm according to the schedule found on the Computer Booters Web site. Mark your calendar. Some members have indicated that they are not receiving notices via . Make sure we have your correct address. Also, notices are now being sent by the SIG Classes coordinator Sue Klein at her new (sirnoodles@q.com). If you don t have her in your contact list, the notices may be filtered and go to the junk folder. 4

5 Program Update by Ben Thompson April 2012 Program O n April 3rd Michael O Donnell provided an interesting presentation on Leaves (the extension of the branches in our family trees.) Leaves is a free social media website where people can tell, share, publish and preserve their life stories and memorabilia. Leaves is user friendly in that it provides guidance to help you remember just about every aspect of your life. You may then share it with only those that you have invited to do so. Investigate this interesting website at May 2012 Program On Tuesday May 1 Joe Bitz will be our guest speaker. Joe is the Interactive Technology Specialist for our local Best Buy store. He helps ensure that fellow employees and customers both are aware of, and are capable of, using the newest of technology. His topic for the evening is Will Smart Phones/Tablets Eliminate Home Computers? Joe will give a brief history of tablets, how they have developed to date, and where they are headed. He ll discuss some of the main applications used by tablets as well as additional unique and interesting applications. Joe will also demonstrate how to integrate tablets with other technologies in our lives (televisions, smart phones, computers, etc.). VOLUNTEERS HONORED AT RECENT LUNCHEON Computer Boosters honored it s 2011 volunteers on March 15, 2012 at a luncheon at the Palo Verde Country Club. Everyone agreed that the lunch was excellent. There were 3 door prizes, stained glass panels, created by Nona Hove (the friendly ticket lady), which were highly prized by the winners. And all attendees agreed that Marie Krula, the event organizer, had done an outstanding job putting on the luncheon. Many thanks, Marie, for your excellent work!! 5

6 Computer Technology Conference by Patricia Hill, APCUG REP. & REVIEW EDITOR The Inaugural Computer Technology Conference The CTC was held in the Four Diamond Radisson Resort and Casino, Fort McDowell northeast Phoenix. T he Executive Committee responsible for bringing this conference to a successful conclusion was as follows: Director: Patricia Hill; Registration: Sandy Hart; Treasurer; Albert Hill; Technical Support; Katie Gertz; Digital Photo Contest; Dolores Bruno; Volunteers; Ed Zarr; and Webmaster; Jim Perry. In addition there were many volunteers helping in the daily operation. All have to be congratulated for their hard work, and successful first try. There were 130 attendees at this first Computer Technology Conference. In addition to AZ residents, California, Hawaii, Ohio, Illinois, New Mexico, South Carolina, Texas and Canada were represented. The presentation and conference surveys came back exceedingly positive. Everyone loved the venue, presentations, food and resort. Wi-Fi was available throughout the facilities. Almost 3,000 goodies were put into the welcome goodie bags. Everyone went away with door prizes. The raffle had everything from ear buds to a Microsoft XBox, Acer laptop and Samsung tablet. The Executive Committee is currently negotiating next year's contract with the resort and they will notify everyone of the 2013 dates when they know them. 6

7 Nine members from the Computer Booters attended the conference. Their feedback was very positive. We were a little disappointed that there were not more Computer Booters club members attending the conference. It is to be noted that it was a Technology conference with presentations made using a wide spectrum of programs - Windows, PCs, Linux, Apple, Photography, etc. It is for a wide variety of interest related to technology. I hope you will check next year s date, when available, and maybe plan to attend. As attendees, we had a wonderful time over there great facilities, good presentation, great door prizes, excellent food, and for the interested: golf, Casino, Spa, etc. For a list of the presentations and presenters see the CTC Web site for details; the address is: Following are Ben Thompson s brief summaries of the presentations he attended: Friday 03/23 at 10:00 a.m.; HP. The HP presenters, Marcie & Stephanie, were well versed in HP products as you would expect from an Associate Sales Rep. I felt it was a good review of everything new at HP. It helped clarify some of the new terms in printing that I have been hearing recently. They covered new capabilities of efax on Inkjet and Laser printers as well as a new Laser printer that will print from a Laptop without the benefit of a network. I also attended the following presentations and learned a few things: Friday 03/23 at 1:45 p.m.; Secrets of Safe Computing by Gary Stanley. Gary was a very good presenter. His material was well prepared and provides numerous links to useful information. I am inspired to prepare a SIG along the lines that he used, tailoring the research to our club's interest. Saturday 03/24 at 9:00 a.m.; Microsoft Media Center by Harold Wong. I had heard Harold present once before and was as impressed with him this time as I was earlier. He did an excellent job and reminded me of all the things that I haven't incorporated into my media center. On a scale of one to ten I give him an eleven. I had seen his presentation before but he goes so fast and he is so entertaining that I was kept interested. Unfortunately, TV reception inside the building was bad, so he was not able to cover that part. Saturday 03/24 at 10:30 a.m.; Microsoft Store by Gary Eastep. Gary was a good speaker and provided a detailed review of the goods and services available at their first store, located in Scottsdale. He is promoting a new Premium Tech Support service that they offer. Thursday my wife and I took the bus tour from the hotel to Scottsdale Fashion Square for a visit to the Microsoft Store. There we had a presentation of services provided and a preview of the new Windows 8. Very interesting! After the Microsoft store visit we had an hour to ourselves for shopping at the mall. Saturday 03/24 at 1:45 p.m.; Fix and Speed Up Your PC. The presenter was terrible. She had obviously memorized the pitch without really understanding the subject. She spoke much too fast and continued to do so after being requested to slow down, twice, while I was there and I left after the first ten minutes or so. A total dud. 7

8 Friday afternoon, I attended Google + (It s called Google Plus) by Jim Perry. This service by Google is an attempt to compete with Facebook. Personally, I find it easier to set up and use. The circle concept for friends, family, groups, etc. is much more user friendly. This is Shari Thomson s view on the presentations she attended: Workshops and Presentations: I attended HP, Frank Jones; The Unexpected Internet, J.B. Burke; ABC s of Digital Photography, Gary Stanley; Art of Composition, Energy Flow & Motion, Peter Ensenberger; Microsoft, Gary Eastep and Navigate the Ever Changing Landscape of Technology, Abby Stokes. All of these speakers presented interesting, useable, new (to me), as well as confirming information. The keynote address by Dr. Bobis on Using Technology to Improve Patient Outcomes expanded on his recent local presentation to us. Abby Stokes on Computing Habits was an excellent choice for the Friday dinner. Abby Stokes presented at one of our club general meetings and was a pleasure to hear. On Sunday morning she presented Navigate the Ever Changing Landscape of Technology. It was an excellent, presentation, well done, and well suited to the members of our club. Guy: I did not get as much out of the Ask the Experts panel during the Saturday luncheon as the sound system and panelists didn t always work well together. Adds Patricia: I second that too. Other presentations of interest not attended by our club members (who had to make decisions as four tracks were running simultaneously). The Ease of Using Linux, Larry Thiel; LifeLock, Cortney Lanik; Protecting Yourself Online, Bob Gosticha; Fidelity Investments, Marty Bender; Organizing, Protecting & Sharing your Hard Drive, Gene Barlow; Selling on Ebay, Kathleen Manning; Social Media & the Rest of Us, Kathy Jacobs. Most had been presented during our Club general meetings. This is not a complete list. You can see the complete schedule and the biography of each presenter on the CTC Web site. All in all I felt it was very well organized with so many details covered that helped attendees get the most possible out of the Conference. I would certainly recommend it for future attendees and look forward to their next event. General comments from our Club members: Hotel: Radisson Fort McDowell Resort had lovely, comfortable accommodations for the $139 + tax considering it is the height of the busy season in Scottsdale, Phoenix, etc. The building design was impressive and distinctive depicting Native American design. Our room was on the first floor opening to the landscape between the building and the pool. Each room has a coffee maker and a small refrigerator, plus all regular amenities of a resort. Food: A bonus for the price of the conference registration fee, the two lunches and two dinners had quite good food with trained service and nice presentation. The adjacent Ahnala Restaurant provided an impressive Happy Hour with $3 wine and excellent appetizers from 4:00 to 6:00. The adjacent Casino also provided excellent choices from snack to buffet although quite a noisy 8

9 environment. The conference food (lunches and dinners) were just perfect. The hospitality room was exceptionally well stocked with just about anything to keep you going. And it was opened almost all the time, except during meals and presentations. Conference: Power packed with excellent presenters on a wide variety of topics making the selection of presentation choices a tough decision. The day-by-day outline of presentations and speakers plus the in-depth bios and presentation descriptions were very helpful in these decisions. The miniature listing to be tucked into the badge was a great innovation. Having water, meeting note paper and pens in every session saved packing those around. Prizes & Raffles: There seemed to be a great variety and something for everybody starting with the first goodie bag to drawings each day at intervals. It is worth mentioning that Westech Recyclers, Inc. had setup containers for recycling unwanted electronic devices that we all accumulate in the garage. This article was compiled by Guy Laroche with inputs from Ben and Shari Thompson, and Patricia Hill. Computer Technology Conference Digital Photo Contest Winners Announced Elsewhere in this month s newsletter, you ll read coverage of the recent Computer Technology Conference (CTC). As you can see, you missed a good one and we hope to see you there next year. The conference held a Digital Photo Contest with four categories and three winners in each category, in addition to Best of Show, voted on by all the attendees. Guy Laroche, our Membership Director, won third place in the People category. Congratulations, Guy. It s a beautiful picture! Check out the web site for the other winners.. Patricia Hill, Director Computer Technology Conference 9

10 C l u b I n f o r m a t i o n Member of The COMPUTER BOOTERS OF SUN LAKES is a non-profit organization established to aid personal computer users in achieving maximum results from their home or small business computer. This newsletter is published monthly from September through June by the COM- PUTER BOOTERS OF SUN LAKES. It is not connected with any commercial or private business. The information contained in this newsletter is believed to be correct and accurate. However, the COMPUTER BOOTERS OF SUN LAKES assume no responsibility for inaccuracies or omissions. Any information used from these articles is at the user s risk. The COMPUTER BOOTERS meets the first Tuesday of each month, except in July and August when we do not meet, and in March when the date and/or location may change due to the Sun Lakes One homeowners meeting. Call for the date and location of the March meeting. All other meetings are held in the Arizona Room of the Sun Lakes One Country Club at 7:00 PM. which is south of Riggs Road on Sun Lakes Blvd. CB Board meetings are held on the second Tuesday of the month at 2:30 PM in the Mirror Room at the Sun Lakes One Country Club. For membership information contact Guy Laroche at or mr1968zeus@msn.com Other computer user groups have our permission to use the articles written by our members as long as credit is given to the author and source and notice is sent to our Editor or Assistant Editor: Doug Fairbanks, Editor - doug1005@aol.com John Wharam, Ass t - jw5215@ymail.com PRESIDENT Ben Thompson bthompson@wbhsi.net VICE PRESIDENT open SECRETARY Colette McNally colettem9412@gmail.com TREASURER Janet Quade jequade@wbhsi.net BOARD MEMBER AT LARGE Al Hill booteral@aol.com CLUB RECORDS DIRECTOR Guy Laroche mr1968zeus@msn.com HARDWARE MANAGER Jon Inman thelabcoatguy7@gmail.com MEMBERS WELCOME DIRECTOR Ed Schweitzer BandE96@wbhsi.net NEWSLETTER EDITOR Doug Fairbanks doug1005@aol.com ASSISTANT EDITOR John Wharam jw5215@ymail.com PROGRAM DIRECTOR open COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR George Rodriguez casarod@hotmail.com PUBLICITY DIRECTOR Kc Coller n7424kc@wbhsi.net APCUG REP.& REVIEW EDITOR Patricia Hill booterpat@aol.com SIG COORDINATOR Sue Klein sirnoodles@q.com VOLUNTEER COORDINATOR Marie Krula mar57@wbhsi.net 10

11 2012 CALENDAR CORNER Meeting 7:00 PM Tuesday May 1, 2012 Feature Speaker: Joe Bitz, Interactive Technology Specialist from our local Best Buy store, will give a presentation titled: Will Smart Phones/Tablets Eliminate Home Computers? Tips and Tricks: Our evening will begin with a 15 minute Tips and Tricks technical presentation by Rollie Baumann Monthly Meeting Dates Tuesday, 7:00 PM--Arizona Room, Sun Lakes May 1 September 4 October 2 November 6 December 4 11