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Past General Meeting Archive

Following is a record of the leading edge information programs and distinguished speakers brought to you by NYPC dating back to September 2000.  

If you spend a few minutes reviewing all the interesting  programs and speakers NYPC has produced in the past two years, you will know why you should join NYPC.

Simple Cell Phones, Smart Cell Phones,
Very Smart Cell Phones
PDA's and Mysterious Wireless Devices

Thursday, March 16th, 2006

PS 41
116 West 11th Street
Just west of 6th Avenue

Free and open to all

Doors open 6:00 PM
Announcements/Q&A 6:30 PM
Presentation 7:00 PM

Whatever device you have, the chances are you will leave this meeting saying, "I didn't know it could do that!"

This meeting is about getting a lot more from portable technology. If you are reading this, you probably own some kind of cell phone and some version of a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA). In a few short years these items have truly become ubiquitous and eminently practical.
Jeff Hawkins invented the Palm Pilot in 1992; the Treo smart phone was released in May of 2002. Palm refers to the Treo's as "communicators" because they do so much more than "plain-vanilla" phones. They combine a pager, a PDA, and a cell phone in an elegant package.

Whatever device you have, the chances are you will leave this meeting saying, "I didn't know it could do that!" Or perhaps you are just wondering if it is worth upgrading or buying your first wireless gadget. There are a lot of choices, and it can be very confusing indeed. Well, this meeting will help you choose and use the best tool to get the job done. [That is the magic of NYPC: chances are someone else has explored what you need to learn.]

At this meeting we'll
*Project various cell phones and PDAs onto the big screen
*Compare and explain features
*Ask and answer questions such as: Do you want the smallest thinnest phone, with basic features, and what do you need to give up in this format? Would you prefer a separate big-screen PDA and a very small phone? Will you download and listen to music or Pod Casts? Do you want everything in one box? Do you need email on the go, or will you never use this? Are you on a tight budget and will a free phone make you happy? Do you need a phone just for emergencies?

Perhaps you are a business user with heavy-duty needs such as email, SMS, photos. When you travel to other countries you need to stay in contact, and you need high security on your data transmission. Do you need VPN, GSM, CDMA, SMS, dual band, quad band, PDA, or screen reader? Do you have a clue as to what these terms mean, or do you even need to know anything about them?

Our two presenters, Ted Cohn and Jose Marinez, will guide us through this realm of truly useful technology. Ted is the co-chair of our Palm SIG and the chairman of the wireless SIG, which has been concentrating on the Treo's. Ted's first computer was a Palm Pilot, and his second computer was another Palm to back up the first one.

Jose is a consultant who makes various wireless components work as they should for individuals and companies worldwide.  

I was an early adopter and my first Palm Pilot was so primitive that it had to be upgraded so I could beam to another unit. I have always been enchanted with the elegance of Palm's design philosophy. The Palm programmers referred to this as "the Zen of Palm."

Ted and I will be teaching NYPC Treo courses. Mine, on March 23rd, is titled the "Zen of Treo."  Most people can start making calls as soon as a new Treo is charged, but many will miss the ease of doing so much more. The Treo has the best logic of any phone/PDA that I have seen. It is a joy to use.

Ted, the Grand Master of the small format, will take you into internet radio, web surfing, advanced text messaging, watching videos, and Bluetooth add-ons. Ted's course, on March 30th, is called "Treo Nirvana: Beyond the Phone."

Then, for a very thorough view of cell phone possibilities, Ted and Jose will teach a three-session course on "Mastering Cell Phones," starting March 27th.  This will be a logical extension of tonight's topics.  There is a lot of really intriguing, useful stuff to know about cell phones.

Tonight's Q&A alone is worth the price of admission, which after all is free. What a bargain!  Dick Tracy and Mr. Spock would be pleased--and you will be too.

By Bill Ginsberg - Shameless Treo Evangelist

Cleaning and Degunking Windows

With our Panel of Experienced Gunk Busters

Thursday February 16th 2006

Ps 41 116 West 11th Street

Just West of 6th Avenue

The Meeting is Free and Open to All

Doors open at 6:00 PM

Announcements 6:30 PM

Presentation at 7:00 PM

You may not have ghosts in your computers but virtually everyone has acquired computer gunk and our panel of experienced Gunk Busters will be here to help.

At some point just about everyone has notice that their computer starts acting a little weird. Have noticed that your computer seems to be running slower? Or it may be slow to react to your commands. Your favorite applications don't seem the same, and some programs may hang or even crash your computer, and when you surf the web those pop up ads seem like a swarm of gnats.

In computer time the good old days can be last month, or if you are really unlucky last week. Just visiting a few innocuous web sites can load up your cookie jar. There are good cookies and bad, you may find it helpful that Amazon recognizes your return and saves you retyping your basic info but you may have hundreds of useless cookies that at best just slow things down and at worse phone home with personal info you would rather keep personal. The good news is that there are various programs that really help in managing and deleting cookies. More good news, some very good ones are free or low cost.

Then there is spyware that many consider far worse than viruses. This stuff can really gunk up you computer and or you life. This has become a big topic and a rapidly expanding problem our Gunk Busters will address.

Well let's take a step back and look at that new Dell or HP you just bought. It probably came with slew of programs that you will never use. They were put there so the maker could brag about how much free stuff they were giving you. Some gift! If you don't use them, unnecessary programs just gunk up the works, gobble storage space and slow you down. One of our Gunk Busters, Michael Horowitz, teaches a whole course on cleaning and improving your brand new computer. “So You Bought a New Computer, Now What.” You can look at Michael's site for more info.

http://www.michaelhorowitz.com/

As time goes on, even if you are careful, stuff accumulates that you may not need. Do you still have drivers for printers that died, or special programs you never used that came with a digital camera you lost? These may be still be in your start up program. Go have another cup of coffee while your computer boots up. Then there are temp files that should have be removed automatically but survived. Have you noticed that very often in life nothing lasts like the temporary?

A recent popular book “Degunking Windows” from Paraglyph Press includes many good and useful procedures. Many of which you probably know, but when was the last time you defragged?

Some of our Gunk Busters think this book is too simple, but hey these guys are Nerd's Nerds. Our panel will share their favorite Tips, Tricks and Traps and you get to ask questions.

Aren't you glad you belong to NYPC?

And if you are not a member yet hopefully this Free meeting will convince you to join.

By William Ginsberg

Thursday, January 19th

FREE Computer Mini-courses!

Want to learn something new? Want to keep your skills up to date? Attend NYPC’s evening of mini-courses!

PLUS Ebay Live!

In the auditorium, Fred Kahn, Ebay guru and Power Seller, will give live demos of selling on Ebay. What a great opportunity to learn what selling on Ebay involves!

Ps 41 116 West 11th Street

Just West of 6th Avenue

The Meeting is Free and Open to All

Doors open at 6:00 PM

Announcements 6:30 PM

Presentation at 7:00 PM

This month’s general meeting offers you the chance to meet the people who teach at NYPC. NYPC can offer classes at below market prices, thanks to the generosity of skilled instructors willing to offer their services at a discounted rate. At this General Meeting you can meet many of these teachers, see how they present, and even ask them questions.
They will sit at tables in the cafeteria and give "micro-classes" (about 40 minutes each) in various areas of their expertise. You can go from table to table to learn from them. (Arrive early to look over the schedule of presentations.)
Micro-classes will include:

• Leftonred Atanycorner telling why an antivirus program is not enough to protect your computer
  
• Mike Ostrowe discussing what’s involved in upgrading your computer...or building a new one
  
• Marge Earthlife showing how Excel can help you in daily life
  
• Michael Horowitz giving some tips on backing up your computer
  
• Mark Halegua showing Open Office
  
• Mary Ginsburg showing how to enhance your photographs
  
• Jacob Brickman describing ways to get started with Linux
  
• Len Ginsburg demonstrating various options for bookkeeping
  
• Michael Horowitz describing why your new computer is not ready when you unpack it
  
• Mary Ginsburg showing Word styles
  
• Leftonred Atanycorner explaining why your computer runs sluggishly
  
• Mark Halegua introducing the capabilities of Knoppix on a CD

Thursday December 15th, 2005

An Evening of Technical Resources

Jen-Clausen of Smart Computing Magazines will show their Technical Resources for Effective Computing...Online and in Print

Mike Ostrowe will be our guide to: Finding tech bargains Online. Pay less for the stuff you need.

Mary Ginsburg, a professional researcher: Will show how to find technical books & other literature online.

PS 41 - 116 West 11th Street

Just West of 6th Avenue

The Meeting is Free and Open to All

Doors open at 6:00 PM

Announcements 6:30 PM

Presentation at 7:00 PM

Among the many technical resources available to computer users today, the family of online and print publications by Sandhills Publishing is one of the most comprehensive and accessible. This includes several monthly magazines dedicated to providing solid, useful information to improve computer use, plus companion websites where current and past articles are available to subscribers of any of the print publications. In an era where people depend more and more on the Internet for information, we might even view the magazines as convenient print-outs of technical websites.

The online article archive on the websites contains more than 20,000 articles from the magazines, many web-only articles, previews of articles yet to come, links to outside resources, and other helpful tools. This impressive content is growing daily. The user may browse any website, perform an effective search there, or search for topics or authors across all the sites. Such a search brings up entries from the computing dictionary and encyclopedia, plus articles from all the magazines.

Each site has a Forum and a Web Log. Each (except CPU) has a Daily Tip (with Archives). Smart Computing and CPU have chat rooms. All have terrific product reviews and great technical articles. A really neat feature is the ability to set up a "Personal Library" of pointers to articles for future reference; this may be organized into multiple folders and accessed again and again.

A Guided Tour

At our December General Meeting, Jen Clausen of Smart Computing Magazine will show us how to get the most out of these resources, both online and in print. She will tell us what the magazines offer and demonstrate the extensive content and powerful search capabilities of the websites.

Magazines and Websites

The members of the Sandhill (named after the Sandhill crane) family are:

Smart Computing (www.smartcomputing.com)

This is aimed at the general computer user, from beginner to intermediate, and provides a wealth of in-depth articles, tips, and tutorials on all aspects of computer use, ranging from buying advice to troubleshooting and repair of both hardware and software. Each issue focuses several articles on a specific topic: Software Troubleshooting in January, 2006, for example.

The Guide, Learning, and Reference Series are part of the Smart Computing site.

Each issue in these series features over a hundred pages on a specific computing topic. The Reference Series includes substantial volumes on such topics as Google (September 2005) and PC Errors. Older, but still useful, articles from the no longer published Guide and Learning series are still available in the archives.

Computer Power User (CPU) (www.computerpoweruser.com)

With an emphasis on high-end personal computing, CPU targets "tekkies"--knowledgeable users with a fairly sophisticated level of expertise. It assumes that readers want "the latest and greatest" and have the knowledge to upgrade or build to obtain it. Each issue of CPU has a "Spotlight" theme, focusing on a single advanced topic, such as ATI graphics chips and cards (December 2005). Features include technology news, reviews, instructions, and tips. One monthly feature is "The Bleeding Edge Of Software: Inside The World Of Betas." There are also occasional special issues, such as the recent "PC Modder."

PC Today (www.pctoday.com)

This publication emphasizes mobile technology and serves travelers, small businesses, and home users.

CE Lifestyles (www.celifestyle.com).

Dealing with consumer electronics, it has many articles about cell phones, digital cameras, MP3 players, digital TVs, and more.

Processor (www.processor.com) is a trade publication distributed to data center managers and other IT purchasers. It provides product and industry news.

Free Samples and Prizes

Jen will bring free copies of Smart Computing for all attendees. There will also be a drawing for free subscriptions. This is a terrific opportunity to learn more about this great tech resource.

Benefits of Subscribing

You can search these websites, find tips, and read some articles, without being a subscriber. In most cases, however, you find a partial article, followed by the words, "You must be a subscriber to PC Today, Smart Computing, or Computer Power User magazine to view the entire article." (Subscribers to CE Lifestyles have access only to CE Lifestyles content.) The subscription is well worth it! Notice that a subscription to one magazine grants you full access to all the sites!

Your Subscription Helps NYPC: If you use a special code to subscribe to a publication, NYPC will receive a free subscription (to use in a drawing, etc.) for every five subscribers. The codes are: Smart Computing - 11689, CPU - 320. You may order online at any of the websites given above, or pick up a subscription form at the General Meeting

Thursday November 17th 2005

B & H Digital Photography
Holiday Buying Guide

PS 41 116 West 11th Street
Just West of 6th Avenue

Doors open at 6:00 PM

Announcements at 6:30 PM

Presentation 7:00 PM

The meeting is Free and open to All

The holiday shopping season is just around the corner and digital cameras and associated gear make great presents.

At holiday gatherings people snap pictures and pass the camera around so everyone can admire, laugh at or demand the immediate deletion of the photos just taken. Digital photography is becoming part of the holiday festivities in a way film never could.

Once someone has started with digital photography buying them a gift is easy, there is always some new accessory, program, lens, memory card etc.

But buying cameras and accessories can be very confusing. There are many different companies and far too many choices. Its harder than buying a computer.

Dave Bromer and friends are coming from B& H Photo to tell use about this Holiday Season's batch of cameras, scanners and printers. Dave is a serious photographer and is very knowledgeable about the equipment B & H sells; he is also a terrific presenter.

Dave will talk about options from inexpensive "first" cameras to professional level cameras. He is great at separating important features from marketing hype.

Attendees will receive B & H flyers entitling them to special prices on selected items purchased during the month of November.

B & H has donated three $50 gift certificates which will be raffled off as door prizes!

If you plan to buy anything related to digital photography this Holiday Season you can't afford to miss this meeting.

B & H Photo is conveniently located a block from NYPC at 34th Street and 9th Avenue. They are one of the world's leading sources for camera and video equipment; and the salespeople are very nice. For more information see:

www.bhphotovideo.com

Thursday October 20th, 2005

“Adaptive Technologies”

Dragon Naturally Speaking V.8
(Speech Recognition Software)

Jaws
(A Remarkable Screen Reader)

PS 41 116 West 11th Street
Just West of 6th Avenue

The meeting is Free and open to All

Doors open at 6:00 PM
Announcements 6:30 PM
Presentation at 7:00 PM

Jonathan Klausner will demo several remarkably improved “Adaptive Technology Programs.” Jonathan is a very experienced, knowledgeable trainer in this field. He works with Journalists at the New York Times, Bloomberg News and other publications. He trains doctors and Patients at Mt Sinai hospital in New York and a number of New Jersey hospitals as well as many individuals, and he has done so for many years.

Dragon Version 8 is a speech recognition program that lets you dictate at about 120 words per minute. This software has been greatly improved, it really works with very few errors, and now there is short learning curve. You do speak naturally and no longer have to pause between each word. Training the program to recognize your voice has been greatly streamlined and you can begin to be productive in a short time. The more you use it the better it gets, the program learns your patterns.

Obviously the program is particularly useful for people with various forms of disabilities, such as Carpel Tunnel Syndrome, or if someone has a tremor, or difficulty in controlling their hands and indeed for people who are paralyzed. It is also very useful for those of us who cannot type 120 words a minute.

Jaws is an amazing program that can read anything on your screen including web pages. It is the most popular screen reading program worldwide. This is a wonderful for people with low vision or for people who are blind. This is truly enabling technology.

Jonathan has a close relationship with Dragon Naturally Speaking and he will offer substantial discounts at the meeting.

With “Adaptive Technologies” abilities no longer need to be limited by disabilities

Please check our web site again for more information on this meeting.

By William Ginsberg

NYPC Program Chairman

Web Sites

NYPC

http://www.NYPC.org

Jonathan Klausner

http://www.cvv.com

Dragon Naturally Speaking

http://www.scansoft.com/naturallyspeaking/

Jaws

http://www.freedomscientific.com/fs_products/software_jaws.asp

Thursday September 15th 2005

Gene Barlow, long time friend to User Groups, will demo Optimal Desktop Pro, Acronis Privacy Expert Suite, and Acronis True Image.

The Church of the Covenant

310 East 42nd Street

SE corner of 42nd Street and 2nd Avenue

Doors Open at 6:00 PM

Transportation:

(42nd Street cross town bus, Lexington avenue subway to 42nd Street, or walk 2 blocks East from Grand Central Station)

For many of us the internet has become a daily part of our lives. We spend hours communicating with family and friends, managing our finances, researching our ancestors, planning our vacations, and shopping for things we need. There is so much good stuff out there that we can easily become overwhelmed trying to organize what's on our computer and what we searched for just a little while ago. If you can't find it, you can't use it. How many times have you gone back to Google to find again what you found last week? Well Gene Barlow is going to help.

Optimal Desktop Pro is a neat program to get you back to where you have been, start your favorites with a couple of clicks and finds stuff you have misplaced on your hard drive, or out there in cyberspace. It makes it easier to find an RSS feed or a letter you started writing last week. The program uses Cabinets, Drawers, and Sections to set up and tailor your desktop to find things by name, icon or color. This is much better than the usual browser bookmarks. The Optimal program is particularly nice if you switch to and from multiple programs. In the next version I would like it to find my car keys.

For many years we were bothered by hackers who just wanted to prove they were smarter than Microsoft by getting past the operating system's security moat. Mostly they were just showing off and generally not destructive. The game turned nasty with viruses and worms like Melissa and Sasser that not only affected individual computers, but also shut down business and public service networks.

The bad guys, the Black Hat Hackers, have been selling their wares and services to identity thief networks. They write and distribute Spyware programs to slip onboard our computers - uninvited and unnoticed. This is the invasive dark side to the net. Unchecked spyware can phone home with personal information residing on our computers.

A good defense starts with understanding the enemy. Gene will describe the bad stuff, how it gets to us and what we can effectively do about it. Antivirus programs are great and essential, but they are no longer enough. There are other protection options available and many of them are really simple. It is important to know what works so you can go forth on the net and have fun. One good tip from Gene is worth the price of admission, which after all is free. What a bargain!

Once more, what are the three most important things for happy computing?

Backup! Backup! Backup!

For most of us the truth is if backup is not really easy, we are reluctant to do it, we put it off, and it just does not get done. Gene will demo Acronis True Image which has a friendly Windows interface, and a nice way of setting up various types of automatic or scheduled backups. For instance, you might want to set up a total monthly backup to an external USB drive, and incremental or daily backups of just the files that have changed since the last backup.

Even if you have backed up all your data restoring all the programs to your hard drive is a painful lengthy procedure. Wouldn't it be nice to just restore the operating system and all those weekly updates, plus your programs and your data from one True Image?

Yes I know this could always be done with a DOS batch file, but DOS and I were never good friends, and I will be very interested in an easier, readily understandable approach. I hope to find it in Gene's bag of tricks.

True Image received the Editors Choice Award from PC Magazine 3 years in a row.

The Barlows will be offering substantial discounts for everyone who attends, and there will be a raffle. Someone might be able to back up their entire hard drive for one dollar.

NYPC's General Meetings are free and open all.

By William Ginsberg

Remote Control of Computers

Thursday, July 21, 2005

Note: Our Summer Location

Fordham University, 140 West 62nd Street, Room 205

Just West of Amsterdam Avenue

1, 9, A, C, B, or D to 59th Street/Columbus Circle

6 PM: Doors Open for Networking and "Meet the Geek" Q&A

6:45 PM: Presentation begins

When NYPC was founded hardly anyone had a computer. Nowadays many people have more than one television set, more than one radio and more than one computer. One computer might be at work and another at home, or even in another room. Computers have become such a useful commonplace tools that many of us want to extend their reach and utility. Business networks have been around for quite a while, but they require considerable care and maintenance generally by pros.

So what about remote access and remote control? The good news is that this is available and it is not that difficult, well not that difficult if you have an experienced guide. Our guide will be Michael Horowitz. Michael has taught many courses at NYPC and Hunter College including “Defensive Computing,” “Backing Up Your Computer,” and “Networking Fundamentals.” These courses are explained in detail on Michael's website. http://www.michaelhorowitz.com

Here are some examples of how remote computing is being used. A financial consultant uses his laptop to access his office computer so that he can work from home or at a client's home or office. A parent helps maintain a college student's computer, or the other way around. Tech support, or a technologically inclined friend can make a “House Call” and watch as you re-create a problem. A picture, or a screen shot, may be worth a thousand words.

With a friendly “House Call” you can allow a trusted tech or family guru to connect with your computer and actually see and control everything on your computer as if he were sitting in front of your screen. I said friendly visitor because you obviously don't want to let evil doers or snoops dropping in uninvited, and of course this issue will be addressed. A number of programs enable remote computing including one built into Windows XP.

Programs and Topics Michael will cover include: what is remote control, and why you might use it. Classic remote control vs. web based control, and firewall issues.

Some of the programs to be discussed include: LogMeIn.com, MyWebExPC, VNC. There will also be a demo and discussion of NetMeeting and Microsoft Remote Desktop. Each program has its strengths and kinks.

NYPC holds great General Meetings for Free,

This is truly one of New York's Best Bargains.

by Bill Ginsberg

Thursday, June 16, 2005

Fordham University, 140 West 62nd Street, Room 205
1, 9, A, C, B, or D to 59th Street/Columbus Circle

6 PM: Doors Open for Networking and "Meet the Geek"
6:30 PM: Q & A
7:00 PM: Presentation begins

Music to Go
Digital Audio Music and Podcasting

A Raffle and an Auction

Podcasting Explained and Revealed

And the Lascivious Biddies in Person

In New York and at NYPC Expect the Unexpected, things change and this time for the better; in fact far better.

We asked David Lerner of Tekserve if he would contribute a small item for our next meeting on Digital Audio and he donated several small items; including a couple of 1GB iPod shuffles and a Mac Mini computer. Thanks David, you are a class act.

There will be a raffle for one of the Shuffles and an Auction for the rest. That means someone may walk away with a $150 dollar iPod for one dollar! Well if you buy multiple tickets it will increase your chances and really help NYPC pay our rent. The Mac Mini computer retails for $500 and some bidder will go home very happy with a bargain.

Tekserve is also sending Luis Sosa, a Mac techie, to demo and explain the way Apple's iTunes organizes music files. How do you get music from your CD to an iPod, and how to buy songs from the iTunes Music Store? There are several versions of the iPods and Luis will describe the differences.

If you are short of time there is even a service that will transfer your CDs to MP3 format on a new CD for you. This makes it really quick and easy to upload your CDs to a portable player. The cost is about a dollar per CD and we will receive a 15% discount.

Luis will also talk about Audible.com which is a service that provides audiobooks on line. Tekserve will hand out cards for a one free month membership. You can carry a whole novel on the train in a neat looking box that is smaller than a pack of cigarettes. Talk about Pocket Books to go!

Our regular NYPC stalwarts, Lefty, Laura, and Mahesh will be on hand to add a PC view to transferring all of the above and more to this amazing new technology.

Lascivious Biddies? What are they and how do they fit in to Digital Audio to Go? Well they are in the forefront of Podcasting and they are a lot fun. Podcasting has come on with a rush and has received a lot of notice in the press and the media. Paste the link below into your browser and you can see and hear the Biddies on CBS News with Bob Shaffer. http://biddiesmusic.com/04-26-05_Biddies_CBS.mov Google "Biddies" and up they come with lots more info.

Beyond the cool technology they really sound good. Time Out New York describes “The band’s mix of wordy lyrics, winsome four-part harmonies and ebullient bounce may harken back to the more agreeable aspects of the swing and lounge revivals.

Podcasts are the cutting edge and very much the main stream. Beyond music you can download and listen to Leonard Lopate, Brian Lehrer, Studio 360, and the BBC on WNYC. NPR has even more. News, talk, and Lascivious Biddies, who could ask for anything more?

This meeting has a lot going for it; don't miss the fun and the bargains.

Tekserve
http://tekserve.com/

iPod Shuffle
http://tekserve.com/sales/products/ipodshuffle.html

Mac Mini
http://www.tekserve.com/sales/products/macmini.html

Biddies on CBS News
http://biddiesmusic.com/04-26-05_Biddies_CBS.mov

Biddies Press Clippings
http://biddies4ever.com/vpk/vpk-clippings.html

By Bill Ginsberg

Thursday, May 19th, 2005

Robot Village http://www.robotvillage.com, a cool robot store in Manhattan that specializes in all things robotic presents ROBOTS, a 3-part presentation:  

* David Greenbaum, inventor/mechanical designer and owner of Robot Village, will demonstrate some the shop's products including Parallax's Boe-Bot robot, and the Lego Mindstorms Invention system.  

* Next, he will show a DVD clip and talk about Penelope, the world's first vision- guided, autonomous surgical robot created here in New York by Michael Treat, MD., M.S. and his amazing team of engineers, mathematicians and computer programmers, at Robotic Surgical Tech, Inc.  

* The final special presentation entitled "Living With Robots", will be given by Robert Malone, a former design Professor at Parsons School of Design and Pratt Institute, author of The Ultimate Robot Book, and Chairman of the Automation Hall of Fame. This presentation touches upon fascinating questions such as: "What will happen when robots enter our lives?" "Can a robot survive the corner of 34th Street and 7th Avenue?"

Thursday, April 21st, 2005

PS 41, 116 West 11th Street, just West of 6th Avenue

6 PM: Doors Open for Networking and "Meet the Geek"
6:45 PM: Q & A
7:00 PM: Presentation begins

All about Digital Pictures of People

All about Digital People Pictures with two Pro's: Bob Rowen, a Portrait Photographer and John O'Donnell a Graphics Expert.

Portrait and head shot photographer Bob Rowen will talk about taking digital photos of people, getting flattering results and tips and tricks you can use yourself when using your digital camera to take pictures of people.

Bob will show examples of good portraits, both simple and more complex. He'll setup lights to show the fundamentals of a studio shoot and cover some tips that make a pleasing portrait. An audience volunteer will sit as subject and then participate in immediate “Shot Selection” ? a process unique to the new world

Then the selected shot will be put thru Photoshop for retouching with the photo subject's participation before handing the file over to John O'Donnell for printing.

In 1888 George Eastman founded Kodak, and came up with a slogan for his new company. “You push the button, and we do the rest.” Well sure, you get a picture and some are not bad, but when you look at a professional studio portrait the difference is readily apparent. It is not just the set up, or the camera, or the background music. How do you get the subject to respond and let you capture a meaningful image? It has been described many ways; skill, luck, experience, the decisive moment? My theory is - this is magic, and like all good magicians Bob is going to explain at least some of his tricks.

Many of Bob Rowen's clients are actors who need shots for special purposes. A lot of his work is targeted toward websites that he builds for his clients. He will take a series or 20 or 30 shots and then bring them into a computer, project them for all to see and analyze the results with his client. These days a digital photographer keeps working long after the shutter is pushed. A lot happens in Photoshop after the exposure and we will get to watch and listen in while the photographer continues the creative process with his client. There is a lot more to this than Mr. Eastman led us to believe.

John O'Donnell, our co-presenter, is a technical expert for Professional Graphic Systems Inc. His company specializes in sales and service of high end graphic systems. One of his specialties is to help professional photographers produce exceptional digital prints.

He will bring his Epson Stylus Pro 4000 printer, which outputs high resolution archival quality 17” x 22” prints. That is a larger page size than the New York Times. John will take some of Bob Rowen's shots, perhaps add some more Photoshop magic to adjust the image for printing, and output the results on his large format printer. This is very high end professional output. John will also bring and print out some samples of his own work.

By the way has anyone noticed how far digital photography has progressed in a short time? It was just a few years ago when we had a presentation of one of the first consumer digital cameras. The presenter was able to take a few shots of the audience and project them. That fuzzy image, I believe it was 640 x 480 pixels, drew a round of applause for the big wow factor of simply being able to do it. What would George Eastman say about this evening's presentation?

By Bill Ginsberg

You can see some of Bob Rowen's work at http://bobrowen.com/

or on our web site nypc.org click on the Photoshop SIG, Members Gallery.

Pro Graphics, John O'Donnell's company site is: http://www.prographics.com/index.hml

Thursday, March 17, 2005

PS 41, 116 West 11th Street, just West of 6th Avenue

6 PM: Doors Open for Networking and "Meet the Geek"
6:45 PM: Presentation begins

Getting information YOUR way: RSS feeds

RSS is an exciting new technology that runs over the Internet. If you are a news junkie, or someone who routinely visits certain websites to make sure you keep up with what is going on, RSS can make this process quicker and more efficient. RSS (Really Simple Syndication or Rich Site Summary) is a standardized way for websites to send you lists of headlines with links to the full articles. End users run a dedicated RSS "client," like FeedDemon, or access the feeds through RSS enabled software, like Firefox or Thunderbird.

As a consultant who needs to keep up on tech news, Laura Balsam, one of our speakers, runs FeedDemon daily. She has set up a list of RSS feeds; FeedDemon goes out and checks to see if there are new headlines. After a minute or so she has a list of articles to check out. Laura will demo FeedDemon and the RSS reader built into Firefox. She will also show you how to find and add feeds to your RSS reader. This is one of the great new things to come out of the Internet in the last few years. Come learn more about it.

Both Firefox, the open source browser from Mozilla, and Thunderbird, Mozilla's e-mail reader, are RSS-enabled. Thunderbird's friendly interface is reminiscent of its ancestor (cousin?) Netscape. Leftonred Atanycorner will demonstrate Thunderbird's features. Mary Ginsburg will show RocketMail, another popular and useful RSS aggregator.

Note: Using RSS has many advantages: You can keep up-to-date with information from favorite websites or blogs You can subscribe to as many or as few as you wish, and unsubscribe easily Unlike e-mailed newsletters, RSS feeds do not get mixed up with SPAM.

Laura has created some RSS Web Notes

This should be an enjoyable and informative evening.

February 2005 General Meeting

Computer Security: Anti-Malware Programs from Trend Micro
with David Perry, Global Director of Education for Trend Micro Inc.

Joint meeting with NYACC:
Note different date/place:
Date: Thursday, February 10th 2005
Time: 7 PM
Place: New York University Silver Building, 32 Waverly Place (Cross St: University)
Room 713 (Subject to Change)
***NOTE*** You will need a Photo ID (i.e.: Drivers License) to get into the building
Travel: 6 to Astor; N, R, W to 8th St; A, C, E, B, D, F, V to W. 4th/Washington Square; 1, 9, 2 to
Christopher St/Sheridan Square

NYACC, New York Amateur Computer Club Inc., has graciously invited NYPC to join them on Thursday, February 10, to hear David Perry, Global Director of Education for Trend Micro Inc., talk about computer security. Trend Micro is one of the leaders in anti-virus and Internet security software and services. David will give a comprehensive presentation about formulating a security strategy for our computers, both at home and at work.

You can never learn too much about computer security! Even if you're happy with your current protection, it helps to hear a real expert talk about keeping your computer safe. Come hear David Perry, an energetic and humorous speaker who can hold the audience's attention while discussing the driest topic.

David is a world-renowned speaker in the security area. He has addressed such varied forums as the National Security Council at White House Conference on Computing Threats in the Internet Age and the European Institute for Anti Virus Research (EICAR). His presentations and white papers are on the cutting edge of computer security. We are indeed fortunate for this opportunity to hear him.

Trend Micro provides computer security solutions from the enterprise to the desktop. Its products include PC-cillin Internet Security, HouseCall, Mobile Security, and Home Network Security.

Dave will probably offer PC-cillin Internet Security to meeting attendees at a very special price.

By: Mary Ginsburg

Thursday, January 20th, 2005

Getting Started with Digital Video
How to easily create DVDs using SONIC MyDVD 6 and Roxio's EASY CREATOR 7

Location: PS 41
116 West 11th Street, just West of Sixth Avenue

Date: Thursday, January 20thTime: Doors Open for Networking and "Meet the Geek" at 6 PM Presentation begins at 6:45 PM

This evening's NYPC presentation will consist of demonstrations on how to easily create DVDs, SVCDs, or VCDs, using the latest versions of Sonic MyDVD 6 and Roxio?s Easy Creator 7. To provide material to create the DVD, the speaker, Paula Poulafearh, will interview 5-10 individuals in the audience. She will then proceed to demonstrate how to easily output the videoed interviews to DVD, SVCD or VCD.

Features to be covered in these applications will be:SONIC MyDVD 6
1. Capture directly to DVD.
2. Use the default designs or create your own background or styles.
3. Create a still or animated background.
4. Add and loop your favorite music to the background.
5. Create still and animated menus or sub menus.
6. Edit by cutting out unwanted material and adding fancy transitions.
7. Insert titles.
8. Create Still Image Galleries
9. This program contains an easy-to-follow tutorial guide in pictorial form.ROXIO EASY CREATOR 7
Easy Creator does all of the above while still maintaining its strong reputation as a disc burning application. It also contains the Photosuite and VideoWave programs previously owned by Macromedia. Among its other features: besides creating DVDs and VCDs, it is a disc copier, and has a preview player, audio editor, and label creator. In this program there is a wonderful animated tutorial taking you step-by-step, through each of the featured programs.OUR SPEAKER:
PAULA K. POULAFEARH, born in New York City, is a Native American of Tuscaroran descent. She has a Bachelors Degree (BBA) from Baruch College in Business Management. Her previous experience has been in managing small businesses, and she is now engaged as a free-lancer in video editing. Presently, Paula is the executive producer of a bi-weekly television program titled "The Manhattan Classical Opera and Concert Series." The program features both well-known and less famous personalities, such as the world-famous conductor Nello Santi. There have been private interviews with great tenors such as Carlo Bergonzi, Fabio Amiliato, and Lando Bartolini, among others. Programming also features local artist and orchestras within the Metropolitan area. The show is sponsored by Public Access Television in Manhattan only, but simultaneously can be viewed worldwide on the Internet.On Saturday, January 29th, 2005, as she has in the past, Paula will be giving a full day CRASH COURSE on ADOBE PREMIERE PRO. This course will cover basic non-linear editing. For further information please check the syllabus calendar of NYPC for the month of January.This should be an enjoyable and informative evening.By: Mary Ginsburg

NYPC's November General Meeting

Hyper-Threading Technology by Intel.
Plus: So You Bought a New PC. Now What?

Location: PS 41, 116 West 11th Street, just west of Sixth AvenueDate: Thursday November 18thTime: Doors Open for Networking and "Meet the Geek" at 6 PM Presentation begins at 6:45 PM

Intel's Hyper-Threading Technology
Hyper-Threading Technology is a groundbreaking innovation that significantly improves processor performance. Pioneered by Intel, Hyper-Threading Technology provides a significant performance boost that is particularly suited to today's business computing climate, applications, and operating systems.

How Hyper-Threading Works
Faster clock speeds are an important way to deliver more computing power, and Intel has led the way with industry-leading processor frequency. But clock speed is only half the story. The other route to higher performance is to accomplish more work on each clock cycle, and that's where Hyper-Threading Technology comes in. A single processor supporting Hyper-Threading Technology presents itself to modern operating systems and applications as two virtual processors. The processor can work on two sets of tasks simultaneously, use resources that otherwise would sit idle, and get more work done in the same amount of time.The November general meeting of the New York PC Users Group (NYPC) will feature a presentation about Intel’s Hyper-Threading Technology and how it will affect your future computer purchasing decisions. Using materials provided by Intel, NYPC education chair Fred Kahn will describe the benefits and operation of Hyper-Threading technology.As a special treat, Intel has provided NYPC with handouts and a limited number of gifts for those attending this lecture. As always this meeting is free and open to the general public, all are welcome.We are grateful to Dave and Kathy Whittle, who work with user groups for Intel, for arranging this informative meeting. Dave also arranged for NYPC to receive a Pentium 4 3.06 GHz processor and mother board, which we will use to build a new SIG machine.

So You Bought a New PC. Now What?Our second presentation will be by Michael Horowitz, and it will be a review of tips, tricks and defensive measures for a new Windows XP computer. You can buy a computer from Sears, K-Mart or Dell, but despite the ads it is not yet a carefree appliance that you just plug in, start using, and forget. Well, I suppose you can, but it really, really is not a good idea. Here is a chance to learn what to do and what not to do during the initial shake-out period. Free diagnostic programs will help to insure the machine is in tip top shape. The Internet is a dangerous place and the presentation covers steps to take when connecting a new computer to the Internet. Michael will also suggest ways of customizing Windows to your liking, make recommendations of software to install, and talk about what to ask the computer manufacturer after purchase. Experienced users are likely to come away saying, "Gee I did not know that, and better do it." New users have even more to gain. Michael started with mainframe computers and then graduated to PCs. He is the web master for the WBAI page of info about the Personal Computer Show (Wednesday evenings at 8:00 pm at 99.5 FM). He teaches classes in Defensive Computing at NYPC and Hunter College. His own web site has a lot of useful information: http://www.michaelhorowitz.comby Bill Ginsberg

NYPC's September General Meeting

When: Thursday, September 30th, 2004

Where: PS 41, 116 W 11th Street, West of 6th Avenue Schedule: 6:00 P.M. Networking in Cafeteria
Meet the Geek: Q&A Networking
6:45 P.M. Announcements
7:00 P.M. Presentation Subway: A,C,E,F,Vor S to West 4th St
1,2,3,9 to 14th St @ 7th Ave
L to 14th St @ 6th Ave
N,R,W to 8th St @ Bway
(check with MTA)
Path: Take 33rd St line to 9th St Station

PC Utilities: Applications to enhance your computer use

A Panel Discussion with Demonstrations

A utility for your computer is a program, usually small with few functions, that makes your computer run more efficiently or adds a specific functionality. Often utilities perform "housekeeping" duties, such as resource management, file backup, and system protection and monitoring. Many utilities are freeware or shareware (try before buying)
.
A panel will demonstrate a variety of computer utilities to enhance your computer use. Utilities include:

• Anti-Viruses
• Firewalls
• Spyware detection/removal tools
• Antispam tools
• Disk management/diagnosis/repair tools
• File catalogers and managers
• File viewers and converters
• Zipping/unzipping tools
• Windows Registry and tweaking tools
• Desktop accessories and screen savers
• Audio and video viewers and players
• Web photo albums and slide show creators
• PDF readers and creators
• Web Browsers: Alternatives to Internet Explorer
• E-mail Clients: Alternatives to Outlook and Outlook Express
• Ways to access GMail and Yahoo Mail using an e-mail client
• RSS Clients

Finding and Using Freeware

There is a lot of free software out there. Some of it is wonderful, and some of it is terrible. Some of it is spyware or worse. We will demonstrate and discuss the best free utilities and show you how to spot the bad ones. We'll also tell you about the utilities some of us have found to be worth purchasing. Many great download sites on the web also have reviews of various utilities. We will show some of these sites and demonstrate how to use them. We will also discuss how to make sure the great new utilities you download don't contain viruses or install spyware or trojans. We will warn you about some of the programs we, and others, have found to cause problems. Members of the audience will be invited to talk about some of their experiences with free software, both good and bad. So if you have some program you love, or one that you hate, come and share it with the group.

Read more about utilities--free and otherwise--before you come to the meeting at:

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1759,1585315,00.asp (A lengthy article from the June 8, 2004, PC Magazine, in which authors Ben Z. Gottesman and Sarah Pike (and others) review 161 utilities in 21 categories)

http://www.pcworld.com/howto/article/0,aid,109696,pg,1,00.asp (Cheap Tweaks by Robert Luhn, from the May 2003, issue of PC World)

http://www.pcworld.com/reviews/article/0,aid,116456,00.asp) ("The Best Free Software" by Laurianne McLaughlin, from the August 2004 issue of PC World magazine) A few sites with utilities and other software are:

http://www.winsite.com/ http://downloads-zdnet.com.com/2001-2018-0.html?tag=dir http://www.download.com/Utilities/2001-2018-0.html?tag=dir

http://www.slipstick.com/addins/ (Outlook & Exchange utilities)

http://www.tucows.com/ (both Windows and Linux apps)

http://www.linux.org/apps/ (for Linux users)

http://sourceforge.net (note that this huge open source site includes not only "mature" applications but also ones under development)

http://www.freshmeat.org (open source apps) At the General Meeting, you'll be able to pick up, at modest cost, a CD with a variety of useful freeware and shareware utilities.

No General Meeting this month.Instead, we hope you'll join us on Tuesday, August 24, 2004,
6:00pm-10:00pm for our second NYPC Party at Chelsea Piers!
Join us at Pier 63/The Frying Pan for an evening of visiting/relaxing/networking with other NYPC members!

Cash bar and cash food--prices are very moderate.

Pier 63 is at the end of West 23rd Street at the Westside Highway on the Hudson River. It is just one pier north of the Chelsea Piers Sports & Entertainment Complex.

The Frying Pan is an old lightship--with lots of character--located at the north end of Pier 63, behind Basketball City. For more information, go to http://www.fryingpan.com/

Entrance by car to the access road serving Pier 63 and Chelsea Piers is made at West 24th Street and the Westside Highway. On site parking is available at additional charge. It's a pleasant walk from NYPC's office, but it's also conveniently served by the M23 bus; the nearest subway is the C & E line at 8th Avenue and 23rd Street.

Though our goal is for you to relax and have a good time, you might bring your business cards to network with other NYPC members!

Bring a friend/spouse, etc.

Thursday, July 15, 2004
Fordham University
140 West 62nd Street, Room 205
6:00 PM Doors open/Q&A/Announcements
6:30 PM Presentation
Smart Computing
Technical Resources for Effective Computing
...Online and in Print
Plus: Computer Memorabilia Contest!

Smart Computing is one of a family of monthly magazines dedicated to providing solid, useful information to improve computer use. Another way of looking at this, in an era where people depend more and more on the Internet for information, is that the magazines are convenient print-outs of technical websites.

The members of the family are:
*Smart Computing (www.smartcomputing.com), including the Reference Series, Guide Series, and Learning Series. This is aimed at the general computer user, from beginner to intermediate, and provides a wealth of in-depth articles, tips, and tutorials on all aspects of computer use, ranging from buying advice to troubleshooting and repair—of both hardware and software.
*Computer Power User (CPU) (www.computerpoweruser.com). With an emphasis on high-end personal computing, CPU targets "tekkies"--knowledgeable users with a fairly sophisticated level of expertise. It assumes that readers want "the latest and greatest" and have the knowledge to upgrade/build to get it.
*PC Today (www.pctoday.com). The emphasis here is on the Windows operating systems. (There is even a column on PC Yesterday: Tips For Maintaining Windows 3.x/95 Systems.) However, many articles are not directly related to your OS, such as a review of shareware download sites.
*CE Tips (www.cetips.com).
Dealing with consumer electronics, it has many articles about PDAs.
Demo at our General Meeting
At our July General Meeting, Amber Coffin of Smart Computing Magazine will show us how to get the most out of this online resource. She will tell us what the magazines offer and demonstrate the extensive content and powerful search capabilities of the websites.
The online article archive contains more than 19,600 articles and other helpful tools and is growing daily. In addition to searchable articles from the magazines, the website has web-only articles, previews of articles yet to come, and links to outside resources. A great feature of each site is the ability to search across all the sites, so that a search for a word brings up entries from the computing dictionary and encyclopedia, plus articles from all the magazines.
Each site has a Forum and a Web Log. Each (except CPU) has a Daily Tip (with Archives). Smart Computing has a chat room. All have terrific product reviews and great technical articles.

Smart Computing
Amber’s emphasis will be on Smart Computing. Aimed at novice to intermediate computer users, Smart Computing extends the reader’s technological knowledge with easily understood writing. Unlike CPU, it defines terms and gives detailed instructions. Features include Tech Support, PC Operating Instructions, PC Project, and Quick Studies, which give directions for a single task in a particular application. Troubleshooting articles deal with specific error messages or with broad problems. Each issue focuses several articles on a specific topic: PC Speed or Backup and Restore, for example. The February 2004 issue’s focus was on Portable Power, with several articles about choosing a notebook computer.
Guide, Learning, Reference Series
Each issue in these series features over a hundred pages on a specific computing topic. Unfortunately, the excellent Guide series publications are no longer accessible; many of these were useful, though somewhat outdated.
Happily, the Learning Series is still available, with new volumes apparently being issued at intervals. Each has many in-depth articles on a specific topic. Take a look at the wealth of information on Windows XP in the August 2003 issue.
The Reference Series includes substantial volumes on such topics as
"How Computers Work" and "PC Errors."

Computer Power User
Each issue of CPU has a Spotlight theme, focusing on a single advanced topic. Following an overview, varied aspects of the theme are discussed in three to five separate articles. These give information about the scope of the technology plus URLs for further research. Features include technology news, reviews, instructions, and tips. Several deal with Linux, others with coding.
(A fifth website, www.processor.com, is aimed at the enterprise.)
Benefits of Subscribing
You can search these websites, find tips, and read some articles, without being a subscriber. In most cases, however, you find a partial article, followed by the words, "You must be a subscriber to PC Today, CE Tips, Smart Computing, or Computer Power User magazine to view the entire article." The subscription is well worth it! Notice that a subscription to one magazine grants you full access to all the sites!
Your Subscription Helps NYPC: If you use a special code to subscribe to a publication, NYPC will receive a free subscription (to use in a drawing, etc.) for every five subscribers. The codes are: Smart Computing - 11689, CPU - 320. You may order online at any of the websites given above, or pick up a subscription form at the General Meeting.
Try Before Buying! Many of you received the May issue of Smart Computing at the June General Meeting. We have a few more copies available in the NYPC office.

**************
Computer Memorabilia Contest
How many of you collect computer- vendor t-shirts...or hats...or pens... or tote bags? How many of you have items touting products no longer sold? Perhaps a Harvard Graphics t-shirt, a Handspring hat, an AST pen?
We’re giving you the opportunity to share these promotional items--and a few memories--with the rest of NYPC! After Amber Coffin’s talk about Smart Computing, we’ll have a Computer Memorabilia Contest, where you can show off and describe your favorite items.
We’re looking for vendor promotions, not actual software or hardware. (Please do not bring in your still-working 286! If you want to prove that you’re still using WordStar, a screen shot will suffice.) We’d love to see one of those pens that doubles as a bubble-blower, a Microsoft shirt promoting the newest release of DOS, or a pre-Symantec Norton Utilities hat.
We’d also like to share newer items! Perhaps you received a stuffed penguin at the Linux show, or a particularly gorgeous t-shirt at the Microsoft Security Strategies Roadshow. Bring it along!
We will have a contest! Possible categories include:
Prettiest item
Most useful item
Most useless item
Oldest item from a current vendor
Oldest item from a vendor of the past
___ (What would you suggest?)
Prizes? Promotional items, of course!
Come, learn about Smart Computing, and have fun with memorabilia!

Thursday evening, June 17th
Fordham Law School, 140 West 62nd Street, Room 205
Doors open at 6 PM
Presentation at 6:45 PM

“Your Next Computer, Buy It, Build It or Upgrade”

How do you know when it's time to upgrade or replace your current PC? What are the key factors in choosing your next computer or the components to use in upgrading? Computer Gurus Fred Kahn (education chair for NYPC) and Mike Ostrowe (A+ Certification Instructor) will tell you how to decipher the manufacturers' specifications and what to look for when shopping for the right computer to meet your needs. An exciting hands-on demo will show how unintimidating assembling a PC can be. The lecture will include advice on where to buy your next computer and how to shop for components


AUCTION

Our May General Meeting will be an NYPC Fund Raiser Auction.
Short demo's and tips & tricks will be interspersed during the evening
To see the Auction Listings Click Here

Thursday May 20th 2004
PS 41
116 West 11th Street just West of Sixth Avenue

Doors open at 6:00 pm Meet the Geek & Networking
Announcements at 6:45 PM
Auction at 7:00 PM

The NYPC auction helps us raise money for life's little necessities such as our rent in the Hotel New Yorker, telephone lines, high speed web access, and web site hosting. Other major expenses include class room computers, projectors, the portable sound system, and the printing and mailing of our monthly calendar.  Even though we are a Not-For-Profit group there are many, many ongoing expenses every month. 

The auction listings include computer products, and a variety of professional services.  Bidding for a service is a really inexpensive way to get to know a computer professional.  Often this short relationship turns into an ongoing resource for you, your company, or your digitally challenged friends.

The bidding for all services starts at $50.00.  You may win the bid for a high price pro at a fraction of their normal hourly rate. 

In addition to computer related topics our members are offering their talents and services in other fields.  Keep checking back, new items will be added from time to time.  Some older software and hardware will be shown at a flea market table in the lobby.

If you would like to contribute products or services send an email to nypc@nypc.org, or leave a phone message at 212-643-7005

Vendors or individuals who contribute professional services will receive a thank you notice in our calendar and on our web site for three months.

Just in case you don't have a computer product, or a used Ferrari that you can contribute to the auction, here is another way you can really help NYPC.  Starting in June we will be publishing a directory in our print calendar and our on our web site.  You can purchase a business card sized ad.  The cost for 11 months is $99.00.  This is a nice inexpensive way for you to advertise your product, your expertise, your company, or just your good will.  For more information or to purchase an ad contact Murray Strelitz, mstrelitz@bigfoot.com or call 212 691-7788

Every year some people walk away with big smiles and real bargains.

By Bill Ginsberg

Wireless in New York City: The Real Story

Thursday April 15th

PS 41
116 West 11th Street just West of Sixth Avenue

Doors open at 6:00 PM
Announcements at 6:30 PM
Presentation at 7:00 PM

It looks so easy in the articles and on TV. You just buy a Wi-Fi adapter and a router/access point and you are up and running.
Not necessarily. New York City is a hard place to set up a wireless network, it is electronically noisy and older buildings contain a lot of metal and other dense substances. What do you do when you can't get a Wi-Fi signal from one room to another?

Our speaker, Ben Serebin, will explain how to make it work here.
There are now wireless hot spots all over the city. How do you find them? Which ones are free and which ones do you pay for? How do you use them?

Ben is on the board of directors of nycwireless, a non-profit that runs meetings on wireless technology and helps create free wireless hot spots.

Check out their map of hot spots: www.nycwireless.net

Ben will also discuss wireless security issues on private LANs and public services
.
Ben's consulting firm, REEF Solutions, provides computer networking, wireless, security, backup, and audit consulting to businesses & institutions in the New York City area. www.reefsolutions.com

Katrin Eismann
Photoshop Diva

Thursday March 18th 2004
PS 41
116 West 11th Street just West of Sixth Avenue

Doors open at 6:00 PM
Q&A at 6:30 PM
Presentation at 7:00 PM

Many demos by vendors start off with the presenters apologizing that they really have very little artistic talent.  They then proceed to show you the wonderful tools in their product.  The result is frequently ho hum. 

Our speaker, Katrin Eismann, started training as an artist, became a very good artist, and uses digital imaging as an artist's tool.  Her images are exceptional and need no apology. 

Her professional work includes commissions for major corporations such as Adobe, Apple, and Kodak.  She often teaches and has taught digital imaging for many years.  She started as an intern in Kodak's Creative Imaging Center in Camden Maine; three years later she became Director of Education.  She is an award winning educator, lecturer, and writer.  Her resume is longer than this article; follow the links to her website for more details. 

Photoshop has extraordinary tools, in the right hands they are a joy.  But when you start out it is very confusing to look at all the possibilities.  There are terms that even mystify experienced graphic artists or computer geeks.  It is like trying to order dinner from a Chinese menu, with half the items written in Mandarin.

Katrin has the skill to explain technical procedures clearly and simply; she writes well and speaks well.  I saw her do demos at the professional photographers' PhotoPlus show at Javits.  I watched pros in the audience appreciate her work, and as I watched I thought, "Hey, I could do that."

Digital originals are changing the way photographers work.  Recently I met a very talented amateur photographer who did not want to use Photoshop or digital photography because he wanted his colors to be "true" and not manipulated digitally.  He neglected to recognize that professional film photographers manipulate their light source, chose a particular film because it was warmer, cooler, or makes colors brighter.  The pros add filters to shift the color balance, and on and on.  Sounds like a lot of manipulation to me.  In fact it is very difficult to photograph say a painting and reproduce the original accurately without manipulation.

Katrin's books help a lot with the mechanics of digital photography, and retouching. Before you know it you are into creating "Digital Originals."  The photograph may be just the beginning.  Her books are aimed at serious amateurs and full time professionals. 

The second edition of her book, "Photoshop Restoration & Retouching" was published last summer.  We will see a live demo of many of the techniques from this book.  Copies will be for sale at the meeting.

Here is a quote from her website. 
"This book addresses salvaging historical images and righting the contemporary images that have gone wrong - the missed exposures, the poor color balance, the busy and distracting background, or the inevitable wrinkle, pimple, or extra pounds that are just driving you crazy every time you look at that photo." 

If you are a professional photographer you should not miss the opportunity to see this Photoshop Diva perform.  If you are an advanced amateur you will be excited.  If you are just starting out in the digital world, this is a very good place to start.
by William Ginsberg

Katrin Eismann's websites.

http://www.digitalretouch.org/
http://www.photoshopdiva.com/books.html
http://www.photoshopdiva.com/

NYPC's General Meeting
Thursday February 19th 2004
PS 41
116 West 11th Street just West of Sixth Avenue
Doors open at 6:00 PM
Announcements at 6:30 PM
Presentation at 7:00 PM
______________________________________

Multimedia ePublishing
What it is, how it can be used, and how to do it.
Publishing has come a long way since Johannes Guttenberg started moving type about.  What would he have said if could have clicked on a phrase and heard the angels sing? 

Our audience will get an insider's look at the issues and choices confronting builders of this rapidly evolving new form of publishing.  Adobe Acrobat is the program of choice.  Acrobat handles text, image, movie, and sound files using the universally acceptable PDF format.  This one program unifies many programming and presentation tasks. 

Our speaker has truly pushed the envelope in this field.  The results are impressive and are collecting outstanding reviews.  Michael Taft, Deputy Director of the American Folklife Center at the US Library of Congress says "100 years from now scholars will look at this package and say that it set the standard for multi-media academic publishing." 

Speaker, David M. Kleiman, former president of NYPC, is the founder and president of Heritage Muse, Inc and ESPB Publishing, Ltd. the companies behind this visionary use of PDF, XML, Javascript, and other technologies in digital publishing.

Their flagship publication "The English an Scottish Popular Ballads (digital edition)", is a based on a work by American scholar Francis James Child who made an exhaustive study of medieval and renaissance folksongs, poems and ballads about 120 years ago.  The Heritage Muse edition is considerably more than a digital facsimile of the original work. It is rather a fully integrated collection of multi-media documents, sound, and image files built to serve the needs of both casual readers and doctoral level scholars.  There are even new recordings of some of the folksongs by such notable singers as Joan Baez and Jean Ritchie.

Mr. Kleiman's presentation will focus on the business and technology decisions behind building a project like this, and will offer insights into some of the tricks and traps behind using PDFs as a multi-media delivery platform.  David is also founder and president of DKI, Inc. a systems consulting and a database development firm.  Personally he has had a longtime interest in folk music as both performer and educator.  He is Vice President of the New York Folk Music Society, performs regularly with the award-winning folk-ensemble Water Sign, and also works as a producer and impresario in the music industry.  The last three years were certainly challenging for computer consultants.  He took this as an opportunity to pursue a new career as a multimedia ePublisher. 

by Bill Ginsberg

Heritage Muse, Inc. and product descriptions can be found at: http://www.heritagemuse.com

David M. Kleiman
is the President & CEO
Heritage Muse, Inc. & ESPB Publishing, Ltd.

NYPC's General Meeting
Thursday January 15th 2004
PS 41
116 West 11th Street just West of Sixth Avenue
Doors open at 6:00 PM
Announcements at 6:30 PM
Presentation at 7:00 PM
______________________________________

Random Access Questions, Tips & Tricks
Everything You Wanted to Ask About Computers
(but didn't know who to ask)
Once again, we are presenting our popular evening of Q&A to our Pros.  This will be an evening of questions you submit to our panel.  Everyone has questions about computers, no one knows it all, there is just too much out there.  Our Gurus will share their expertise. 

Simple or complex, don't be afraid to ask.  There are no bad questions.  The person sitting next to you may be looking for the same answer.  If the panel does not have the answer, someone in the audience might.

A major value of NYPC is that you will get an honest and often highly opinionated answer.  You may indeed get different answers.  This is not a vendor's panel; no one is selling a product. 

Our panel will give first preference to questions submitted by email.  Next they will take on typed questions handed in at the beginning of the meeting.  Emailed questions will give our panel time think about the problem, to ask their personal gurus for help and even query secret sources. They may even go so far as looking in the manual.   

When you submit your question let us know the following:
(1) Which Operating System you have: i.e.  Windows 98, 2000, or XP Pro
(2) What processor:  i.e. Pentium III
(3) How much RAM memory: i.e. 256 mb.

You can generally find this information by right clicking on the My Computer icon, and then left clicking on properties.

At various times during the evening the panel will share some of their favorite Tips & Tricks.  One really good tip may be worth the price of your dues, and certainly worth the price of the meeting, which after all is free.  Here is a good tip.  Did you know that if you hold down CTRL and rotate the center wheel on a mouse that MS Word and many other apps will zoom up or down?

The early bird gets the answer, and there is no limit to the number of questions you can submit.  Email your questions to:

education@nypc.org

Don't miss out, this is a golden opportunity.  Our guru's are not outsourced, they won't put you on hold while you listen to elevator music, and all speak understandable English.  Did I mention the price - on January 15th our gurus are free.

The panel includes:
Fred Kahn
Fred will be our Moderator.  He a professional photographer, a digital imaging expert, an eBay Pro, and an A+ certified graduate of Mike Ostrowe's A+ class.   Fred is also NYPC's Education Chair.

Lefty
AKA Leftonred is NYPC's web master and Vice President.  He is a computer consultant, a networking specialist, and teaches some of our classes including Windows XP.

Mike Ostrowe
Mike is a computer pro and spends his days working on heavy duty computer systems.  He teaches our A+ certification course, runs our PC Clinic and is well qualified to answer a great many nuts, & bolts hardware related questions. 

Michael Horowitz 
Michael teaches a number of classes including a six week class on Defensive Computing, and a three hour class on Backing Up your Computer.  He is the webmaster for WBAI's Personal Computer Show and hosts his own personal Computer Gripes web site.  You can learn more about Michael by visiting www.michaelhorowitz.com

Aren't you glad you know about NYPC?

by William Ginsberg
Microsoft Office 2003
Presented by Alan Chitlik, Microsoft's User Group Rep.

This is a joint meeting with NYACC
The New York Amateur Computer Club

Thursday December 11th 2003
Note this is the second Thursday of the month
PS 41
116 West 11th Street just West of Sixth Avenue

Doors open at 6:00 P.M.
Networking in the Cafeteria 6:00 to 6:30 P.M.
Q&A 6:30 P.M.
Presentation 7:15 P.M.

This column is being written on MS Word.  Most of you use some version of Word, and some parts of the office suite.  The designers of this version have listened to users and concentrated on improving certain areas, rather than once again adding still more features.  (I have yet to meet someone who uses all the features in Word.)

So what's new?  Well the module that gets the most press is Outlook.  Email handling has really been improved, and automatic spam filtering is a blessing.  In his Circuits column, David Pogue wrote that during a two week trial Outlook blocked 95% of his incoming junk mail, and never mislabeled a legitimate message as spam.  A nice feature lets you create your own "white list or black list" of the good guys or the unmentionables. 

A common spammer tactic is to embed what appears to be a normal graphic. Actually this may be a phone home code that calls a web site, sends you some porn and tells the spammer the email was opened and you deserve many more hits.  Outlook thwarts the spammer by showing you only the text in this kind of message.  Regular attachments are not blocked. 

A new feature is called "Search Folders."  This is a kind of cross referencing trick that lets you file the same email under multiple topics.  Search folders are actually the result of a saved search.  You might have a folder of all the emails from your brother.  If he wrote about a fishing trip in the Caribbean, the same email could appear in another search folder labeled "Fishing" and yet another labeled "Caribbean."  The Caribbean folder might also have emails about hotels, restaurants, and sailing.

This presentation will include a look at OneNote which is a separate digital note-taking application that enables people to capture, organize, and share their notes on any laptop, desktop or Tablet PC.  (See Mary Ginsburg's write up about OneNote.)

This presentation will be by Alan Chitlik   Alan is the nicest, most responsive Microsoft rep we have had in years.  This is a good time to talk to a friendly ear from Redmond.

I would not be surprised to see some software for a drawing. 

Bring a friend, NYPC's General Meetings are free and open to all.

by Bill Ginsberg
NYPC October General Meeting

Thursday, October 16, 2003
PS 41
116 West 11th Street just West of Sixth Avenue
Doors open at 6:00 P.M.
Networking in the Cafeteria 6:00 to 6:30 P.M.
Q&A 6:30 to 7:00 P.M.
Presentation at 7:00 P.M. Open Source: Beyond Linux

The evening will feature a panel of leaders of our Open Source SIGs: Dario Castellanos, Alex Genna and Mark Halegua. During the evening there will be a demonstration of Open Source Software (OSS). In addition to the presentation in the auditorium, there will be computers in the cafeteria, where you can try out OSS applications FREE!What is "Open Source Software"?
These are programs or program modules which you can download free, and which allow the user access to the programming code. The user may modify the programmer’s original code and include it in new applications. Open Source Products
Open Source Software models, especially the Linux family of Operating Systems, have garnered quite a bit of attention in the press. There are many Open Source desktop software programs that are now feasible competitors to older established applications. Some of these are: The Gimp, Mozilla Web Browser, MYSQL and Postgre databases, and Open Office (in which this article was written). There are literally hundreds and thousands of Open Source projects, including programming and scripting languages and Open Source utilities.
These products, unencumbered by restrictive licensing fees, are often free. Best of all you can use them on your existing (Windows, Mac, Linux, BSD, OS/2) computer systems. OSS projects frequently extend the useful life of older computers since many applications are designed to be much less resource-intensive than their commercial counterparts without the "feature-loss" often associated with "light" versions of popular applications. They have the support of many respectable developers and an ever-increasing user base.
We have all been using Open Source Software for years, indirectly, whether we knew it or not. Every time we hit a web link or type in a URL to connect to a web page we use at least two or three OSS technologies.
BIND (Berkeley Internet Name Daemon) is the Internet telephone book. It’s responsible for finding and pointing our browsers to the web page we want to see. Most modern websites use the Apache Web Server for content delivery. For many years OSS has powered the Internet, which wouldn’t work without it. Thankfully, now OSS sets its sights on the end user experience.Free Software?
When we speak of free software, we are referring to freedom of use, not necessarily free of cost. We’ll discuss the General Public Licenses (GPL and LGPL), the BSD licenses and explain the differences. They are basically designed to make sure that:
*everyone has the freedom to distribute copies of free software (and charge for this service if they wish)
*you receive source code or can get it if you want it
*you can change the software and use pieces of it in new free programs
*you are informed that you can do these thingsPhilosophical Issues
We will discuss how software patents pose a constant threat to the existence of any free program. The Open Source models attempt to guarantee that a company cannot effectively restrict the users of a free program by obtaining a restrictive license from a patent holder on drop-down menus or progress bars. Therefore, GPL’d, LGPL’d, and BSD’d licensing insist that any patent license obtained for a version of the library must be consistent with the full freedom of use specified in these licenses.
Finally, we will also discuss some of the more philosophical points that enabled these products to become the viable alternatives they are today, and what we can do to protect future development, and thus all consumers’ rights. ....Alex Genna, alexgenna@netscape.net; Mark Halegua, phantom21@mindspring.comWe hope to have a raffle: some books related to Open Source and some OSS CDs to help you avoid long downloads!

NYPC September General Meeting

Computer Security
Worms, Viruses, Bugs, Bad Apps, and Bad Guys

Ben Serebin and Michael Horowitz, two experts on computer security, will talk about practical things we all can do to avoid letting the black hat hackers take control of our computers and our lives.Using email and the Web has become an essential part of our lives. Sure we all still mail letters with stamps, and we can light candles when the power went out. But loosing email and web access is more than an inconvenience; it disrupts our contact with others, our studies, our business, and our safety. This August many of us were exposed, bothered or harmed by the MS Blaster/Lovsan worm, and/or the SoBig virus. I spent the better part of a day getting rid of Blaster on one machine and protecting two others. Symantic.com was a big help with clear directions to follow and a link to the exact location on the Microsoft site to download the appropriate patch. Unfortunately the worm snuck in before Norton's anti virus team posted their live update. Once you have it, the fix takes longer.Another nuisance is spyware. This is a little program surreptitiously placed on your computer when you visit a web site. Spyware is silently active in the background and it sends reports to some dotcom agency that collects data about where you roam the web, or where you shop. There are effective inexpensive programs that will block this. On Saturday August 23rd the New York Times had a front page article and an editorial referring to these two particular viruses and on the problem in general. Notice this topic got the editorial attention of the New York Times, not a tabloid. The editorial says we all share the responsibility for making computing safer; Microsoft by improving the code, Internet Service Providers for not stressing security enough, and users for being sloppy about protecting ourselves. Well you can avoid all this by never going on line, never using email, never using a credit card, never taking a book out of the library and never having any fun. If you don't leave your apartment you can also avoid the risk of being hit by a car while crossing the street. Personally I would rather look both ways when crossing the street, and practice safe computing. This is a situation where knowledge is power, and our speakers will talk about reasonable inexpensive things we can all do to make ourselves secure on line.Ben Serebin is Security Consultant whose company Reef Solutions specializes in network design, and email gateways. Their mission is to combat viruses, spam, and install firewalls to protect against intruders. A lot of his work includes wireless network security.Michael Horowitz is the web master for the Personal Computer Show on WBAI. He teaches a six session course on Defensive Computing at Hunter College, and an upcoming one session course on backing up your computer at NYPC. Michael's classes always include the care and feeding your PC. There is no doubt that you will go home knowing a lot about safe computing.
Aren't you glad you know about NYPC?by William Ginsberg

NYPC's General Meeting
Wednesday May 14th 2003
PS 41
116 West 11th Street just West of Sixth Avenue
Doors open at 6:00 P.M.
Networking 6:00 to 6:30 in the Lunchroom
6:30 to 7:00 Q&A
Auction Begins at 7:00 P.M.

Our May General Meeting will be an NYPC auction. From time to time we
run a fund raiser auction. This is a good deal for all and helps us
raise money for life's little necessities like telephone lines, high
speed web access, web site hosting, class room computers, projectors,
networking supplies, printing and mailing our monthly calendar,
renting space for our General Meetings, and of course the monthly rent
on our SIG and class room space in the New Yorker Hotel. Even though
we are a Not-For-Profit group there are many, many ongoing expenses
every month. We will have products contributed by various vendors such as, two
boxes of Microsoft Office XP Professional 2002 which includes Word,
Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint, and Access. This is the full version not
an upgrade with a street price of $507.00. Microsoft's MapPoint, is a
high end mapping and demographic program with a street price of
$240.00. Adobe Photoshop Elements, which does all the photo editing
most people need, has a street price of $90.00. Once again the New School's computer section, (the CIC) will make some
of their excellent computer classes available to us for the auction,
and NYPC will also offer some of our own classes as well. All in all,
lots of good stuff for nerds. Many other items with fuller descriptions will be added to the web
page. Some older software and hardware will be shown at on a flea
market table in the lobby. A variety of computer related professional services will be offered.
This is an inexpensive way to get to know a computer professional who
may well become a valuable future resource for you, your company, or
your digitally challenged friends. In addition many of our members
will be offering their talents and services in other fields, vocations
or special interests for you to bid upon. As always, some people will
walk away with big smiles and real bargains. For the most up-to-date info on current auction offerings be sure to
keep checking our website NYPC.org and click on the auction for up to
date listings. Many thanks, once again, to Laura Balsam for designing
and hosting our auction page and to Leftonred who maintains our web
site. If you would like to contribute products or services send an email to
nypc@nypc.org, or leave a phone message at 212-643-7005
Vendors or individuals who contribute professional services will
receive a free business card sized ad or a thank you notice in our
calendar and on our web site for three months. This is a nice
inexpensive way for you to advertise your product, your company, your
expertise, or your services, or just your good will.
Credit cards, checks and greenbacks will be accepted. by Bill Ginsberg

David Pogue
New York Times Circuits Columnist The New School Tishman Auditorium
Tuesday April 1st 2003 6:00 P.M.
66 West 12th Street
An April Fools Treat (No Fooling)
Note: The Different Location and Time

These days many of us know David Pogue from his weekly column on the front page of the Circuits Section of the New York Times. He has a knack of making complicated technical subjects understandable and amusing. His writing appeals to the Nerd Herd, and computer neophytes. Including those people who are just now reluctantly buying a computer because they can no longer find anyone to fix their IBM Selectric typewriter.Then there is the group of folks who cruise the computer bookshelves of Barnes & Noble, or Amazon looking for salvation from the programs that arrived without sufficient documentation. David has been filling this gap with his "Missing Manual" series. With titles that appeal to users of both PC and Mac persuasions, such as "Windows XP, the Missing Manual", and "Mac OS X, the Missing Manual."Here is a quote from an interview with David where he talks about his approach to writing technical manuals."In other technical books you'll read a description of some element in a dialog box. It'll say, "Frame module discombobulator. Use this control to discombobulate your frame modules." Well, thanks a lot! Instead, ours will read: "A frame module is a form that you might fill in on a Web page, such as when Amazon.com asks for your email address. When you are discombobulated, that means you've changed your address." If you have been feeling discombobulated you will enjoy this meeting. If you are a long time Mac user you will remember his regular columns in Macworld, and his frequent appearances at NYMUG the New York Mac Users Group. Fear not, David has not forgotten his first crush on computers, and Apple reviews are frequent and often favorable in his current columns.Those of you who save the Playbills you got at Broadway shows will find David Pogue listed as the conductor. This is described in the bio on his home page."After college, Pogue moved to New York City, with aspirations to compose and conduct Broadway shows. He worked as conductor, synthesizer programmer, arranger, or assistant on several Broadway shows (Carrie, Welcome to the Club, Kiss of the Spider Woman, Anything Goes at Lincoln Center) and a few Off-Broadway ones (Pajama Game, Godspell, and Flora, the Red Menace, which he also orchestrated)."
In deference to April 1st, David will play some of his "Song Spoofs". How can that not be fun? I am not sure which songs we will be hearing but some of his titles include: "I'm Dreaming of a Clean System," "Violent Night," and "Gil Amelio's Comin' to Town!"So an ex Broadway conductor / songwriter / computer Geek / columnist / publisher will be our guest speaker / performer. This will be a good show, and you don't have to stand online at TKTS, in fact you don't need a ticket, in fact the show is free, so grab a friend and come.

by William Ginsberg_________________________________________

Our thanks to the New School, and in particular to Michael Randazzo director of their Computer Instruction Center for arranging for this event to take place in the New School's very classy Tishman auditorium.Web ReferencesYou can sign up for a free Circuits newsletter by e-mail. This includes technology tips and Pogue's online only column "The State of the Art". It's free, and my subscription has not generated any spam.
http://www.nytimes.com/pages/technology/circuitsDavid Pogue's Home Page
http://www.davidpogue.comYou can find his Circuits column archives at
http://www.davidpogue.com/emailcolumn.htmlRead more about David Pogue on our web page, including a review of his recent book "Piloting Palm" which is a history of how Jeff Hawkins created the Palm Pilot and started a billion dollar industry. David will be talking about this book at our meeting.
http://www.NYPC.org

Come meet the teachers! Want to learn something new?
Want to keep your skills up to date?

This month's general meeting offers you the chance to come meet the people who teach at NYPC. NYPC can offer classes at below market prices, thanks to the generosity of skilled instructors willing to offer their services at a discounted rate. At our General Meeting in March you will have the opportunity to meet these teachers.
You will have the opportunity to see how they present and even ask them questions.              By Gene Wood

NYPC's General Meeting
Wednesday, February 12th 2003

PS 41
116 West 11th Street just West of Sixth Avenue

Doors open at 6:00 P.M.
Face to Face Networking in the cafeteria
Q&A 6:45 P.M.
Presentation at 7:15 P.M.

Wireless Computing in New York CityWireless networks, also called Wi-Fi, are hot. People are using wireless at home, at work, at the airport, in Bryant Park, and Starbucks. A wireless computer used to be exotic, these days many portables are shipped with wireless capability built in. Are all Wi-Fi's standards created equal? Well not exactly. Are all wireless networks compatible? Well not exactly. There is 802.11a, 802.11b, and the newest contender 802.11g. Then there are access points, hot spots, nodes, sniffers, transmitters, and parrots.New York City presents its own problems. Old buildings have thick walls that often block Wi-Fi signals. Can you tell if Wi-Fi will work in your location, before you go out and spend money?Security is a major issue. Can that NYU computer science major sitting next to you in the park get copies of your transmissions? Can that teen age hacker at the next table poke around in your hard drive? If you are going to use wireless, you need to learn about wireless security to keep your private stuff private. Most wireless hardware is sold with security disabled. You need to turn it on and configure it. One easy thing to do is to turn off file sharing in Windows, but that is not enough, Can wireless really be secure and how do you protect yourself?What are the issues, legal and practical, in piggy backing onto someone else's internet connection? What do you need to know before sharing your broadband connection with the neighborhood? Is it legal to use someone else's broadband connection?We plan to set up a wireless demo in the auditorium and talk about what you will need to set up your own wireless network.

Tips & Tricks for Your Computer, plus Extended Q&AEverything You Wanted to Ask About Computers,
but didn't know who to ask.
Preceded by networking with refreshments

This will be an evening of question to our panel. Everyone has questions about computers, no one knows it all, there is just too much out there. Our Gurus will share their expertise. Indeed this will be an interactive on stage knowledgebase that can help you with many thorny problems. Don't be afraid to ask any question, simple or complex. There are no bad questions. The person sitting next to you may be looking for the same answer. If the panel does not have the answer, someone in the audience might.A major value of NYPC is that you will get an honest, unbiased and often highly opinionated answer. You may indeed get different answers. This is not a vendor's panel, no one is selling a product. Important!
At this meeting we will give preference to questions submitted by email, or typed up and handed in at the beginning of the meeting. Emailed questions will give our panel time to think about the problem, and perhaps to ask their personal gurus for help and query secret sources. They may even go so far as looking in the manual. At various times during the evening the panel will share some of their favorite Tips & Tricks. One really good tip may be worth the price of your dues, and certainly worth the price of the meeting, which after all is free. My fortune cookie said, "One good tip is worth a thousand frustrations." The early bird gets the answer, and there is no limit to the number of questions you can submit. Email your questions to:nypc@nypc.orgDon't miss out this is a golden opportunity, tech support averages $35.00 a pop, our Gurus are free.The panel includes:
Fred Kahn, A Digital imaging, and Ebay Professional
Leftonred Atanycorner, A computer consultant, who teaches Windows XP, and is a Networking specialist.
Laura Balsam, A computer consultant, online Guru, and well versed in digital photography
Marlen Waaijer, A programmer, and instructor in MS OfficeThere will be hand out sheets with good Tips & Tricks at the meeting, but fear not, no test at the end.by William Ginsberg

Wednesday December 11th 2002
Richard Katz will Demo
Microsoft's Tablet PC, Picture It, Games, and the Latest Pocket PC
Plus NYPC's Mini Holiday Auction

Richard Katz is coming down from his mountain in San Francisco to bring us "The Tablet". Many years ago his ancient predecessor's Tablets brought 10 new Laws. Richard is bringing new code: New Windows Code carved into the just released Tablet PC.

New Tablet O/S
This is the latest version of Windows XP Pro redesigned for pen based computing. The goal is to combine the simplicity of pen and paper with the power of the PC. The system uses a digital pen to control the computer the way you would use a mouse. Digital ink can be used to mark up documents and make drawings. The question is how well does it work, and will it work for you? We are one of the first groups to see a live, hands-on demo of this very new technology. This tablet format is designed for mobile knowledge workers. If you are in a meeting, on an elevator or on the go you can jot down a note as you would on a pad or a printed form. There are some field applications where one needs to collect data or ideas. Setting up a laptop may be inconvenient or impossible. I can see how a tablet would be useful for taking inventory and inputting medical records. Architects, engineers, and contractors might use a tablet to make or modify sketches. These could be faxed or emailed wirelessly from the job site, directly from your Tablet PC. If that works well it could be really useful. The new O/S is designed to work with many standard applications like Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. Many third party developers are working on new projects for this platform. Similar ideas have been tried before such as the GridPad, the Zoomer, and the Apple Newton. We will have the chance to see if the wizards of Redmond got it right this time. More Stuff
Hey Richard's got more stuff to show us including Picture It,digital imaging software and some nifty Games from Microsoft. He is always outrageous, it is always fun, and he always has good things to give away. Auction
Intermixed with the demos Katz will help with our mini auction just in time for the holidays. Laura Balsam will maintain and update the auction web site. Keep checking for new listings.

by William Ginsberg

Thursday, November 7, 2002 at 6:45 PMJeff Hawkins

The Inventor of the Palm Pilot

Jeff Hawkins invented the Palm Pilot. You may not own one, but if you have not heard of it we will have to check your green card, green card as in extra-terrestrial. The Palm has achieved such world wide success that even if you don't use one, you have heard about it.

In 1998 Jeff started a new company with his original partners Donna Dubinsky and Ed Colligan. He is the Founder, Chairman, & Chief Product Officer of Handspring.

In the interest of full disclosure I must admit at this point that I am a Palm OS evangelist. I started with the Palm 1000, next the 3x, and now the Handspring color Prism, which has 978 addresses entered, and many entries have three phone numbers and two address and pages of notes attached. When you speak with someone and get a piece of information just stuff it into their note field. My Palm calendar has meetings for tomorrow and reminders for 3 years from now, and all of this fits in my shirt pocket. The basics from my first unit still work the same way in my current Palm. Thanks Jeff, this thing is really useful.

The Palm did not jump from a scribble on a napkin to my shirt pocket in one bound.
Hawkins had been involved with Pen computing for many years,

He has a BS in Electronic Engineering, he worked at Intel and taught courses on microprocessor design. In the 1980's he was vice president of research at Grid Systems where he created a high level programming language. Before this Jeff worked with his inventor father on many things including "the Bubble Monster" an air cushion boat weighing 50 tons that was powered by a vacuum cleaner fan. He credits the practical nuts and bolts background in the boatyard with giving him the know-how needed in designing and assembling the mechanics of the Palm Pilot. Nothing was off the shelf in developing a shirt pocket computer.

The size and shape of his very portable computer was critical. Jeff carved a block of wood to fit in his pocket and whittled on a chop stick until it worked as a stylus. He kept whittling and pasting screen designs on the block until it felt right. It had to be "thoughtlessly" portable.

The success of the operating system started with keeping it simple. The idea was about providing basic information access as a tool for personal organization. This little box had to do some things significantly better than paper. I can search my Palm for a bit of info stuffed behind all those addresses a lot faster than flipping a Filofax.

There were many attempts at personal organizers before the Palm, but none of them really worked well, and none would seamlessly sync with the desktop PC. The first Pilots hit the streets in 1996. By the end of the year 350,000 had been sold, and it was a solid success.

Most people don't get to meet the people who have changed our lives. Let's change that to people who have not been coming to NYPC meetings. 2002 is our 20th year and we have been host to many people who have changed our lives and indeed changed the world.

Our speakers have included Peter Norton who's utilities have become the industry standard. Andy Grove, a founding partner and former CEO of Intel. Bill Gates who....well you know. Paul Brainard who coined the phrase Desk Top Publishing and whose program PageMaker started an industry and changed the way the world prints. Scott Cook, the founder of Intuit, who bet his families savings to improve your finances with Quicken.

The computer companies who have presented to NYPC include: IBM, Compaq, Hewlett Packard, Apple, Novell, Sun, Microsoft, Symantec, Lotus, Borland, Corel, Ashton Tate, and Word Perfect.

The Editors include: Ester Dyson, Release One. PC Magazine: Bill Machrone, John Dvorak, Michael Miller, Bill Howard, Alfred Poor, Nick Stam, Michel Marriot the New York Times, and Guy Kawasaki.

This month we add Jeff Hawkins to the above list. Jeff is the man who put a computer in my pocket, probably yours, and millions of others.

Would you come to hear Edison talk about the phonograph? Don't miss this chance to meet a legend of the information age.

by William Ginsberg Recommended Reading
Piloting Palm
Andrea Butter & David Pogue
"The inside story of Palm, and the birth of the billion-dollar handheld industry."
Published by John Wiley & Sons 2002

There are two special General Meetings this month!
Note the dates, times, and locations carefully!Thursday, October 10th, at 7:00 pm
PowerQuest Disk Utilities
Gene Barlow Demos Hard Disc Utilities                                   andTuesday, October 15, 2002, 8:00 AM take note!
The Network Security Road Show 2002
Mark Minasi & Paul Therrott discuss how to 
attack your security problems.
down to details    pre-registration required!

Thursday, October 10th, at 7:00 pm
PowerQuest Disk Utilities
Gene Barlow Demos Hard Disc Utilities
Plus: Member Prize Drawing & User Group Pricingat NYU Main, 32 Waverly Place, Room 809  (the Northeast corner of Washington Square Park)  Photo ID required!
Gene Barlow knows a great deal about how hard disks work, and why they sometimes don't work. His talk will be in three main sections.

Upgrading to a New Operating System.
He will discuss six ways of upgrading and show PartitionMagic, a nifty tool to make this successful and less painful. PC Magazine gave the latest version of this software their Editor's Choice award. If you are thinking about moving to XP this is very useful stuff to know. While you are at it, you might want to set up a separate data partition. So when you back up (you do back up regularly don't you?), it's easy. Easy means it has a better chance of getting done. Easy works.

If you are a Linux user, or want to be, you can use PartitionMagic to create a dual boot system and keep one foot in each world. In fact, some third party Linux suppliers ship a "light" version of PartitionMagic to get you started. Gene will describe the difference between the full version and the free one.

Backing Up
No one understands how important it is to back up until you have lost something really valuable. Once again, easy works. PowerQuest has another program, Drive Image 2002. Drive Image creates an exact copy of your hard drive that can then be saved to a Zip or Jazz drive, or burned on a CD. The newest version has LAN support and you are able to create and restore drive images while running in Windows. 

Securing Your Hard Drive
The third product Gene will talk about is AccessData's utility SecureClean. There is all sorts of information lingering out of sight on your hard drive. Let's start with Internet history, cache, and cookies. This program lets you manage or remove these items.

Andy Grove, Intel's former CEO, wrote Only the Paranoid Survive. If you sell or give away a computer, information is retrievable even if you reformat the drive. Encryption is good, but not enough: deleted emails can be recovered, and passwords may be hiding in swap files.

SecureClean can show you data you thought was erased, and WipeDrive will do what it says so well that it is approved by the GSA and the Defense Department. A little applied paranoia can be a good thing.

This evening will be packed full of technical information. Don't worry if you flunked shorthand--Gene has made a two-hour CD you can take home as a permanent record and teaching tool.

There will be software for a drawing and Special User Group Pricing.

by William Ginsberg

Special General Meeting
Tuesday, October 15, 2002, 8:00 AM Take Note!

Network Security Road Show 2002
Sponsored by Windows & .NET Magazine

at the Marriott Marquis Hotel, Broadway @ W. 45 Street
No Admission Charge  No One Admitted Without Pre-registration

An NYPC Special General Meeting On Security

If there's one thing on everyone's mind these days, it's security. In fact, your enterprise probably encounters at least one security-related issue every day whether you know about it or not.

Join the Windows & .NET Magazine Security Road Show 2002 in New York City on October 15th. Experience a whole new kind of technical seminar at this live event. No other event this year will bring you industry gurus Mark Minasi and Paul Thurrott detailing how to attack your security problems head on. Anyone who's ever heard Mark and Paul speak will tell you, "These two guys consistently deliver clear-sighted, knowledgeable, but never boring perspectives on the state and the future of the Windows NT/2000 industry."

This free event is one-of-a-kind. Space is limited. Register today: http://www.winnetmag.com/seminars/roadshow.

At this meeting you will:
*Discover 12 tips for securing a Windows 2000 network
*Hear about security products that go the distance
*Learn about the future of Microsoft's security strategy: Windows .NET Server and beyond
*Grill our experts about the biggest security threats to your enterprise  and learn what you can do about them
*Enter drawings to win an Xbox and other great prizes

If you can't make the live event, register for access to the Webcast archives following the event. The Windows & .NET Magazine Security Road Show 2002 is sponsored by NetIQ, Microsoft, and Trend Micro. Don't miss it!

Bill Zack, Enterprise Windows SIG, wzack@compuserve.com

On Wednesday, September 18th, We're Back At P.S. 41!

NYPC Presents Two Simultaneous General Meetings in September!

The Microsoft .Net Software Development Platform:
What it is and how it compares with other 
development platforms and tools.

and

Expanding Your Computer Skills:
Your Choice of Three Mini-Seminars.Click here for Mini-Seminar details.

The Microsoft .Net 
Software Development Platform:
What it is and how it compares with other 
development platforms and tools.

Have you ever wondered what technologies have been used in developing the top five most profitable e-commerce websites? Are you tired of creating plain html pages, and would you like to learn how to produce data-driven dynamic e-commerce sites? Do you want to know exactly what Microsoft's .NET framework for applications development is, and to understand how it fits into the overall picture of varied development tools?

Then come to our September General Meeting, which will feature a panel discussion about leading-edge web and software technologies, with emphasis on Microsoft's new .NET framework. The panelists will survey the major software and web development technology tools, such as JSP/J2EE, WebSphere, ColdFusion, and Macromedia's Ultra Dev/MX, and will explore how .NET technology fits into this global view.

The panelists will discuss Microsoft's .NET strategy for delivering Web Wervices. They will show you what technology options are available, and give you ways to learn more about them.

The Panelists

Edwin Woo, co-chair of the Streaming Media SIG
Bill Zack, co-chair of the Enterprise Windows SIG
David Kulick, chair of the Visual Basic SIG
Dennis Lee, leader of the Intermediate C++ Study Group

Come to this meeting, whether you're a developer seeking new directions or a computer user wondering where application development is heading. Attend if you've ever thought about developing software, and want to be sure you choose the best technology for you. Listen to this panel if you want to enliven your web pages - or even if you only want to know about new technologies.

Schedule

The tentative schedule of events is:
6:00 - 6:30pm - Random Access and Announcements
6:30 - 7:15pm - Overview of .NET (by Bill Zack)
7:15 - 7:40pm - Quick Demo of VB.NET (by David Kulick)
7:40 - 8:00pm - Summary (by Edwin Woo)*The advantages of using .NET vs. other tools
*How .NET interacts with other development platforms and tools
*How one can learn more about .NET
        Microsoft and other third party .NET websites
        Magazines and Books
        NYPC VB SIG and NYPC .NET Classes
8:00pm      - Q & A/Discussion

Expanding Your Computer Skills

Your Choice of Three Mini-Seminars:

Not really interested in .NET and other development frameworks? We aren't neglecting you! While the .NET panel discusses development platforms in the auditorium, you can attend a variety of sessions aimed at expanding your computing skills.

Whether you're a relative novice or have extensive experience in one area but want to learn another, these mini- seminars are for you. Our knowledgeable leaders-Leftonred Atanycorner, Bart Delaney, and Bill Ginsberg-will give lots of insight to improve your computing expertise, and provide plenty of opportunity for Q&A. In a sense, these are free classes!

Varied Topics

	Going Further with Your Palm O/S- based device. Bring your PDA (Palm Pilot, Handspring, Clie, etc.) and your questions.
	Windows XP Q&A
	Safe Surfing. How to choose a good ISP, use a firewall, and pick and use an anti-virus. Also, how to avoid spam and pop-ups.

These sessions should be great. Join us.

Meeting Location

Public School 41

116 West 11th Street (betw 6th and 7th Aves)

Eric Raymond on Open Source

Eric Raymond Speaks on Open Source Eric has written the popular Unix fetchmail utility and books and papers on everything from Linux editors to economics. He is the president and chief evangelist of the Open Source Initiative.His book, The Cathedral and the Bazaar is in its second printing. In the Linux world first there is Linus Torvald. Then if you are counting the top five, Eric will be included. His Web Site is: http://tuxedo.org/~esr

Wednesday, August 21, 2002  

6:00 to 9:30 PM

The Tishman Auditorium
at the New School
66 West 12th Street 
New York City

Eric Raymond is a hacker, in the original sense of the word. He’s written the popular Unix fetchmail utility and books and papers on everything from Linux editors to economics, and he’s the president (and chief evangelist) of the Open Source Initiative. He also plays a mean flute.

Benefits of Open Source

Eric’s book The Cathedral and the Bazaar began life as an essay examining the economic benefits of open-source software to the business community. The Open Source Initiative’s goals (simplified) are the distribution of software with its original source code (programming language), and the ability to examine, change, and distribute that program to anyone else. Now in its second printing, The Cathedral and the Bazaar dramatically changed the way the business world looked at open-source software in general and Linux in particular. It also convinced Netscape to release the source code for their Navigator web browser, making it one of the first well-known open-source products.Netscape explicitly mentioned The Cathedral and the Bazaar as its influence in releasing the Navigator source code.The Linux operating system is one of the best-known open-source programs, but there are many others. The political, business, and economic ramifications of open-source software have kept closed- source vendors busy downplaying its effects. Various internal and external corporate documents have outlined their serious concerns about the open-source movement in general and Linux in particular. Obviously, Eric and the open- source movement may be onto something. 

Author, Historian, Proponent

Eric is also the unofficial historian of the hacker movement. I’m not talking about crackers, people who break into computer systems, destroy web sites, etc. I’m talking about hackers, the people who invented Unix and started the personal computer industry, and who today write the code that keeps most of our world running. Eric’s book The New Hackers Dictionary is based on a public file on the Internet, which was started as a dictionary of terms for programmers. It shows the meanings of words like “hacker” as they were originally defined. Eric is one of the world’s foremost Linux proponents, open source proponents, and Unix gurus, and is a really nice guy. He’s given presentations on Open Source, Linux, Unix, politics, economics, the Internet, and the history of hacking. One thing I can promise you: he’s never dull. Visit Eric Raymond’s website at http://tuxedo.org/~esr

...Lee Thalblum

Wednesday, July 10, 2002

Find Tech Info on the Web: Free Help, Subscription Sites & Power Searching

at The New School, 66 West 12th St, Room 510From beginners to experts, we all need help with our computers at some time or other. We find an error message we can’t decipher, or just want to try something new with Excel and can’t figure out how. Where do we find assistance?

Many Sources of Help

NYPC is one place, of course. Random access at the General Meeting or in a SIG is a great place to raise a question and have it answered. Some of us have met an expert at a SIG and later called him or her for advice. Many of our members enjoy helping others.There’s also tech support via phone--from your computer manufacturer, ISP, or software vendor. More and more, however, you have to pay for this, wait on hold for half an hour, or be sure to call during business hours. Email responses from tech support may help--or leave you scratching your head in bewilderment. What can you do when you’re stymied in the middle of the night? The Internet has a wealth of technical help and information. However, finding the right nugget among the riches is not always easy. Deciding whether it’s valid can be even harder! In the July General Meeting we’ll try to help! We’ll look at a variety of helpful web- sites, both free and fee-based. We’ll also offer advice on searching techniques--when to search a particular site and when to search throughout the web using a general search engine.

Free Help

Mike Ostrowe, co-chair of the Computer Passport SIG and leader of our popular Sunday hardware workshops, will show his favorite free sites for technical help and information. He’ll share why he likes them--and how to get the most out of them.

Subscription Sites

Mary Ginsburg, who has been finding online information since the early 1980s, will show why, at $29.95 per year, she considers the Smart Computing site a real bargain. Time permitting, she’ll also demonstrate some other modestly-priced sites and discuss the decision to pay for site access.

Power Searching

Constantine Kaniklidis, a recognized expert in Web-enabled technologies, will discuss power research on the web: how to use the latest advances in search engine technology and how to find the Internet’s hidden information. He will tell us how to refine searches to yield finer, more relevant results using the best search engines available.

Handouts

There will be free handouts with the URLs of the sites discussed during the meeting. We invite you to submit your favorite technical sites so that we can include them in the handout. Please email them no later than Monday, July 10 to: vp@nypc.org.

Prize Drawing 

We will also have a "members only" drawing at the end of the evening. Please join us!

Wednesday, June 12th, 2002

Photo Impact 7 and 
VideoStudio 6.0

A Fun and Fruitful Evening with Richard KatzNYPC Members-only drawing and User Group Pricing, too.By William GinsbergLast month Fred Kahn helped people shop for digital equipment. This month Richard Katz will be here with powerful, inexpensive imaging software.A useful computer truth is always to keep your end goal in mind, and this certainly applies to Digital Imaging. If you just want to make unmodified prints, there are inkjet printers that will print directly from your camera or memory card. But if you are interested in removing red eye, changing the color balance or contrast, cropping, adding text, combining images or capturing images from a scanner, you need software to do the job. Another truism is that digital images have a way of multiplying like rabbits! Very soon it is hard to keep track of them. What you need is a digital shoebox. Photo Impact not only enables you to edit your images but also helps you create and view digital albums.This is a great organizational tool to keep track of all those rabbits. George Lucas could have gotten his start with VideoStudio. Version 6 was released in January 2002. Strong editing tools provide a 100 different scene transitions. Thenyou can add voice overs, animate text on a path, and edit with frame level accuracy. Edit DVDs and burn DVDs on a CD/R drive. Compared with what was available to the consumer in the recent past, this is definitely Star Wars stuff.Inexpensive photo editing software used to be very limited and often not easy to understand. Well, that is no longer true. Richard Katz will show both Photo Impact and VideoStudio, two programs that really surprised me. These programs do a lot, and watching Katz work with them I felt like the kid in Chorus Line who watched his sister's dance class and said "I can do that!" Then I saw the prices--under $100 for each--and said "I can do that!"

Fair Warning

This will be a lively evening. Katz describes himself as a "a total maniac" and strongly recommends your taking Valium before you arrive. His shameless "Promo and Bio" states that he was "Born in a log cabin in downtown Manhattan, raised by wolves (well maybe Katzes)." When his mother saw him, she was taken to the hospital. After receiving a BFA and MFA in Cinematography, he worked in the movie industry and as a still photographer. He is a past president of UCLA PC user group and a past director of APCUG. "...He was one of us before he chose the dark side and became a vendor". For many years he was our Quicken Evangelist, and now partners with Matt McCann. They bill themselves as the McKatz Brothers who were separated at birth for reasons of national security.Of course there will be a members-only drawing and very special user group prices for attendees.For more info, check out the vendors web site, http://www.ulead.com, and be sure to have a look at the user support on the site. I am always impressed with a company that does a good job supporting their users. Parts of this site resemble a free online University.Wednesday, May 8th, 2002

Shopping for Digital 
Cameras & Equipment

Presented by Fred Kahn

Fred is a professional photographer with many years of experience with film, digital cameras, and all sorts of digital imaging. He worked for a number of years in purchasing and sales for a large professional camera store in New York City. He is very familiar with all the major brands. Recently 2 mega pixel cameras, were the wow item. Now they have been eclipsed by 3, 4, and 5 mega pixels models. In April 2002 Cannon has released a 6 mega pixel consumer camera. I think that deserves a pretty big Wow. Where will it all end? Well the end is not in sight. Digital cameras have greatly changed in the year and a half since Fred's last General Meeting. Now is a great time to buy, there are real bargains available.There are a lot of choices and like all things computer related the price goes down and the capabilities go up. OK. Now comes the hard part, there are simply too many choices. The trick is finding the digital camera that is right for you. Fred will talk about how to determine what you need, and match that with your budget. He will talk about how to interpret the spec sheets, and what all those weird numbers mean. How do you decide if you need 2 or 6 mega pixels? And by the way what is a mega pixel? Do you need to have 4 meg camera to send email or make snapshots? Do you need to spend $600 for Photoshop to work with your images, or will a $90.00 program meet your needs? Will a 3 x zoom lens work well from the mezzanine at Madison Square garden? What about using digital zoom to get closer?Are you thinking about upgrading to a better camera or one with different capabilities? How about a 10 times zoom lens and an external flash or perhaps very small pocket camera with a built in flash? Many of us were pleased to learn that there is no law about owning more than one camera. After all how many people reading this NYPC announcement own more than one computer?There are many people who want more than ever to buy a digital camera but still cannot decide which one to get. Is it better to wait another year, or a couple of months? My opinion is buy when you are ready to start taking pictures. Yes, you could wait for a better deal, there will always be a better deal, but think of all the pictures and fun you will be missing waiting for the perfect combination of specs and price. This is as bad as trying to time the stock market. Learn what you need to know to make an educated decision and go for it!There will be a lot of Q&A and this is a great time to ask any questions about digital photography. In fact this is really a free seminar, it is not a sales pitch for any one vendor. Fred knows them all, and he is an equal opportunity basher of any company that tries to put one over on the public or strays from good design.There will be a drawing for 5 copies of a Photo Editing program which includes 300 fonts thousands of photos, and many thousands of clip art images. No, it is not Photoshop, but the price is right.

By William Ginsberg, Program Chairman

NYPC General MeetingWednesday, April 10, 2002

Small Office and Home Networks
Jonathan Hauff Returns

If you are an NYPC member chances are you have one or more computers at home or in your office. If so you have probably thought about sharing printers, scanners, and CD burners. This not only saves the cost of buying several peripherals for each computer, but in a space hungry New York apartment there is a big square footage bonus to networking. Another benefit is sharing files, or even backing up one computer with another. Did we mention that several people can play games with each other on your own network? Wouldn't it be nice to share one common address book for all users on the network? If you have a high speed net connection several people can be on line at once and you are still only paying for just one ISP. If your spouse is an MIS or if your office comes equipped with one, stop reading, you are the envy of the rest of us.Jonathan Hauff was here in January and planned to include Networks in his presentation. However, there was so much intense interest in Firewalls and AntiVirus protection, that the networks were short changed. The audience kept the speaker going with non-stop questions until the clock struck 10:00pm and they closed to school.

Jonathan got excellent ratings on our audience feedback cards, with comments like this one: "Please keep the level of future presentations of equal caliber" We decided the way to achieve this was to invite him back again..

So Jonathan offered to return with an enhanced presentation. This time he will build a Windows network on stage. This will include opening a computer, installing and configuring the necessary hardware and software. No doubt there will be discussions of combining multiple operating systems, choosing 10mb speeds vs. 100mb, and comments on wireless networks and phone line networks. Do they work? Are they worth it?Connecting two or more computers is no longer rocket science. The good news is real people can do this, and our speaker will lead the way. If you are new to networks there are many confusing terms like hubs, routers, cat 5 cable, Ethernet, NIC cards, 802.11b, wyfi, and then there are some gotchas and tricks and tips of the trade that are well worth knowing. Jonathan is a computer pro, and he sets up networks for his clients. Chances are that even if you have set up networks before you will learn from this demo, and the price is right, very right. NYPC General Meetings are free. We do hope you will come to the meeting, we hope you are a member, and if you are not currently a member this would be a great time to join. NYPC needs the income from our members to put on these events. William Ginsberg,  Program Chairman

NYPC General MeetingWednesday, March 20, 2002

The Handspring Treo Communicator

A Cell Phone, a Palm PDA, and a BeeperStay Connected...Stay Organized

It looks as though Jeff Hawkins and Company have hit another home run. Hawkins invented the original Palm Pilot, and his company Handspring has just released the Treo, which is the smartest cell phone that I have seen.Calling it a cell phone is just the tip of the iceberg. It is also a Palm OS organizer with 16 MB of memory, enabling access to thousands of third-party programs. (My first Palm Pilot had 1 MB of memory.) It also works as a beeper and a web browser. You can send and receive e-mail messages, or send short SMS messages to other cell phones. All of these functions in a tiny package designed to be your constant companion.

The Cell Phone

All the best cell phone features are available: Three-way calling, caller ID, voice mail, headset, speaker phone, and call history. A flip-up cover protect the buttons and a clear window lets you use caller ID without opening the cover. The caller ID works for all the phone numbers in your address book. (I have hundreds of entries, and it seems that everyone has three phone numbers these days.) Have you tried to enter names into a cell phone using the phone key pad with three letters per key? Yes, you can do it, but using Graffiti is so much easier--or even better, enter the names on your computer and push one button to Hotsync to the Treo. You can enter 50 speed-dial phone numbers by just dragging and dropping from the address book to the screen, and it is just as easy to rearrange the order. Or you can dial directly from your address book: just highlight the number and touch DIAL.

Standard PDA Functions

All the standard Palm OS functions are here--with enhancements such as Date Book Plus. You can easily transfer all your data from any other Palm OS device, even the 7-year-old Palm 1000, or the Sony Clie. 

New Keyboard 

Thousands of people have gotten very comfortable and very fast using Graffiti writing. However, some people are just not happy with it. So the Treo comes with your choice of input systems, either Graffiti or a small QWERTY keyboard you work with your thumbs like a Blackberry. I would rather use either of these to send an e-mail message than fight with the telephone-style keypad on a cell phone.

Browser

The Treo comes with Blazer, a web browser that works with virtually any site--not just those that are optimized for web clipping. You can get directions, find a phone number, check the weather, place a bid on ebay, check your stocks, find a book on Amazon, or check the movie clock. Blazer is 3 or 4 times as fast as similar handheld browsers and includes graphics as well as text screens. Will this replace your desktop or even a laptop for using the web? Of course not, but can it be useful? Try it--then you decide.

Comdex Keynote Address

I went to Comdex this year and heard Jeff Hawkins talk about designing the original Palm Pilot and now the Treo. From the beginning he had several goals that are still true with this latest release. The Palm had to be "thoughtlessly portable," be fast and uncomplicated to use, and seamlessly link with your computer. Hotsync does that with impressive ease: drop the Palm into the cradle and push one button, and anything entered into your desktop computer or your handheld Palm is merged and synchronized.

History

Jeff Hawkins invented the Palm Pilot in March of 1996. Hawkins and his business partner, Donna Dubinsky, were holding their breaths waiting for the reaction of the early adaptors to this new type of computer. By the end of the year more than 350,000 units had been sold, the Palm Pilot was a runaway success.By William Ginsberg

Wednesday, February 13th:

Quicken 2002: 
More for Your Money

Plus 

Another Great 
NYPC Mini Auction

Click here for details of the great deals available in hardware, software, and professional services.

Program:

Quicken has civilized keeping track of your money and has become the country’s most popular financial software. Even if you don’t use the program, you probably have an idea of what it does. Quicken has become a household name in millions of households.Shortly after the release of version 1.0, Scott Cook, Intuit’s co-founder, came to NYPC to talk about their new program and their vision of a hassle-free, easy-to- use software that made it easy to track your financial life. They succeeded, and with each new release have continued to make the program more useful and more powerful. Yet they have managed to stay true to their original vision of making the basic functions hassle free.From the start, Quicken has based its functions on the checkbook. An image of a check comes up--you know how to fill out a check; an image of the register comes up--you know how to fill out your checkbook stubs. (Isn’t it nice that the math is done automatically?) Hey, that alone is reason to buy the program. Of course, you can also track and report on anything that is important to you, such as medical expenses, car expenses, travel expenses, reimbursables, business deductions and all that stuff you are going to need by April 15th. All of the above began in version 1.0 but have improved with every new release.

Do More With Quicken

Now, there are many kinds of things you can do with Quicken on the Web-- starting with online banking. You can do your banking from a laptop on the road. Some credit cards are set up to download your transactions directly into the Quicken register. Your can keep up with your IRAs and your 401(k)s. You can manage your stock portfolio with the values updated automatically online. The new Quicken has more comparison charts to view multiple securities.Using online banking gives automatic reconciliation and alerts you about overdue bills. Quicken now has tighter integration with Turbo Tax. It has a tax planning estimator and a tax withholding estimator. Oh, there is lots of new stuff!

Our Speaker

It is our speaker’s job to show off the new Quicken. Matt McCann will be here to show us what is happening in Quicken 2002. Matt has been at many NYPC functions. He is a certified Quicken Evangelist, and he is very funny. If we are lucky, we will get to see some of the other cool things he has on his computer.Matt brings with him special pricing on Quicken products, so that you can take them home that night at a really great price. Even if you are an enthusiastic Quicken user as I am, you may be one or two versions behind. This is a great time to catch up, so you can be in good shape by April 15th.

Learn More Online

For more info on the latest version and a nice comparison chart on what has been added since you last upgraded, see http://www.Quicken2002.com.For lots of other general financial info, see www.Quicken.com.

Wednesday, January 9, 2002

Small Networks: Broadband, Firewalls & Anti-Virus Protection

Small networks, connecting two or more computers to share files and Internet access, have become more accessible to small businesses. Many computer users also find networking handy in the home. Home and Small Business networks are an appealing idea, but if you are new to networks, there are many things to consider: wired or wireless, plus lots of new terms such as routers, network interface cards, hubs, cabling, 802.11b.Fear not, however! The technology has advanced to the point that it is no longer necessary to spend a semester at MIT to set up a small network. A great advantage of networks is that multiple users can access the Internet through a single connection. This is now possible because Broadband access through Cable and DSL has become available and affordable --and a joy to use--for many people in our area.The Bad NewsThe bad news is that there is trouble in paradise. Every week a hundred or so new computer viruses are propagated through e-mail and the web. The count now is well over 50,000 viruses on the loose. Most viruses are just a nuisance, but recently the computer press has reported some very nasty ones that randomly do serious damage to your computer and your mental health. The good news is that there are several anti- virus programs that can stop a virus dead in its tracks. (If only Peter Norton would focus so effectively on curing the common cold I just got....)Viruses are not the only danger out there on the Internet. The speedy joy of Broadband access makes hackers very happy because an unprotected computer makes a wonderful playground. A cable or DSL connection is on all the time, often with a fixed address. A dial-up connection with a 56K modem has a new address every time you connect. A fast connection is much more appealing to hackers because they can locate an address, connect easily, and move data in and out very quickly. An unprotected cable connection can be turned into a party line by a hacker who wants to eavesdrop on his neighbors or to steal vital information stored on the computer.Some people suggest staying with a dial-up connection to avoid the greater danger in a fast Broadband connection. Well, in answer, let me say that I just got a cable connection, and after just a few days in the fast lane, it feels as though I am watching paint dry when I go online with a 56K modem. Crossing the street is dangerous, but a reasonable risk if you learn to look both ways.The Good NewsAhh, and here is good news. There are excellent, effective ways to keep the bad guys out. In fact, you can learn to become a stealth computer user so that the bad guys cannot even see you. Does anyone remember Lamont Cranston, The Shadow, who could "cloud men’s minds so they could not see him"? Well, protection against intruders is somewhat like that, only better. This is for real, not a radio program. Our speaker is Jonathan Hauff, a computer consultant who spends his days taking care of all of the above. For the past ten years he has run his own company, Simply Perfect Computers Inc., and he is the president of the Westchester PC Users Group. I have heard him speak, and he is excellent. Here’s a chance to learn from a pro who is paid a lot of money to teach businesses how to set up networks and practice safe, effective computing. Hey, NYPC meetings are free. What a bargain!Installing and troubleshooting PC networks since the days of Windows 3.1, Jonathan has simple, practical advice for anyone setting one up. He has a lot of experience keeping his clients safe on the web, using a variety of firewalls and antivirus software. This is useful information whether you have a 56K modem, or a zippy Broadband pipe. Meanwhile, it is always a good idea to remember the roll-call sergeant’s advice on Hill Street Blues, just before his men would hit the streets: "Let’s be careful out there."--William Ginsberg, Program Chair

Mac O/S X  v10.01 
and a Mini Auction
by William Ginsberg

Windows is not the only kid on the block. This month we will have a look at Apple's new operating system, OS X. The "X" stands for 10 if you are rusty with the Roman numbering system, and OS means "Operating System", and yes, the Wizard behind the curtain has totally revamped and rewritten the venerable old Apple code. UNIX stability is behind the curtain, but don't worry -  in front of the curtain, where the user works, the UNIX code doesn't show. The screen looks very much as it always did, it just works better, and it is very elegant.The Mac could always sing and dance, but just wait until you see these Apples. There are more than 1,400 native applications in all categories.  There is built in support for burning CD's and DVD's, playing DVD movies, managing music. Rip MP3's and watch DVD's. A new built-in Image Capture app automatically downloads and enhances images from digital cameras. Apples iTunes and iMovie applications are now included as part of the installation instead of a separate down load.There is seamless network integration with Windows, Linux and UNIX. Many essential programs such as Norton, Quicken, Internet Explorer, Acrobat Reader, Macromedia, FileMaker Pro, have been updated for this new OS. Apple has always been a leader in wireless networking. There is now a new release of their Airport wireless networking using 802.11b with a built in Firewall, 128 bit encryption and the first wireless connections to AOL. Up to 50 users can share one base station.The Apple fans have always said "Things go better with Macs". Things have really changed with this release, this is a very significant upgrade -- let's see if they are right. And Apple will be sending some nice items for a drawing.

Mini Auction

We will also have a mini auction just in time to get good bargains and gifts for the holidays. I know that this is a Mac Show, but we do have quite a few copies of Windows XP professional, and Office XP. Furthermore I would like to point out that there is no law against working or investigating dual platforms, especially at these prices.

To borrow a quote from Paul Kangus on channel 13 we are "Wishing you the best of Good Buys" for the holidays, and check www.NYPC.org for info on the auction items.

November 14, 2001 Meeting Rescheduled to Thursday, November 29, 2001
due to citywide PTA Meetings

Techsmith's Snagit & Camtasia

Presenter: Paul Kurivchack, Pres. of Princeton User Groupby William Ginsberg

Every once in a while someone comes along with a tool for computers that doesn't cost much and really does something very useful. Snagit captures anything you can see on your screen, and some things you may need but can't see. Hey doesn't Print Screen do that? Well sort of, but it is clumsy and does not give you much control over what you want to capture. Techsmith has a better mouse trap. You can grab images and text off the web, even from applications that don't support cut and paste. Sometimes a web page is too wide or too long to see on one screen. You can just adjust your capture to fit. Did you ever try to print a web page with light type on a dark background? Aside from using a ridiculous amount of ink the end result is not very legible. This utility can change your screen capture to black text on a white background.This is a great teaching tool, great for anyone helping others learn a routine in any program. Once you grab a screen there are drawing tools for annotating or marking up what you have with circles, arrows, text, overlays and even sticky notes. You can capture and resize images for the web without the need of high end web design programs.Use this program capture an error messages so you can give tech support the help they need to help you? You can send your screen captures to someone as an email attachment, or to your web page, your printer or your Grandmother.Techsmith has another program Camtasia, which is like a Video camera for your computer, it will record and replay any on screen activity including mouse movements, clicks, drop down menus and animation. Our presenter will be Paul Kurivchack who is the president of the Princeton User Group. Paul's day job is on the help desk for Viacom's MTV in New Jersey and Snagit helps him provide help for a few thousand people. This is user showing a product he likes and uses often. He is one of us, not a salesman.There will be some giveaways of Snagit and Caqmtasia, free trial disks and special user group pricing on the night of the demo.Snagit retails for $39.95 and Camtasia for $149.95. Our price will be $28.00 and $120.00.

October 10, 2001 Meeting

Please Note: We are back at PS 41

NYPC's Sixth Annual 
Editors' Choice Meeting

Featuring: Bill Machrone, Nick Stam, 
and Alfred Poor 

by William Ginsberg

This is our sixth annual Editors' Choice meeting. NYPC invites editors who are involved with the computer press. The editors choose the topics and respond to questions from the audience. Current news is always a favored topic. Tomorrow's stories are discussed here.  Our three speakers are all heavy hitters, and they are all involved with the new web site ExtremeTech.com. This is a classy site, dedicated to a deeper look at all aspects of computer technology. Hardware, software, analysis, testing, benchmarks, opinions, and predictions about what is to come.  ExtremeTech uses the magic of the web. The length of an article no longer matters and current news or comments can be posted while the cursor is still blinking. The reaction from the readers can be just as swift, and debates are encouraged. Saying that these three are involved is really a gross 
understatement -- they made it happen, and make it work. Check out their bios. 


Bill Machrone is the Editor-in Chief, of ExtremeTech.com and vice president of Ziff-Davis Media. Bill has been with Ziff-Davis since 1983 and was Editor-in-Chief of PC Magazine for 8 years. He founded PC Labs and created the lab based reviews many of us depend upon. At PC Mag he has been responsible for service and reliability surveys, benchmark tests, and bang 
for the buck charts. Many of us have read his columns for years. He has been a speaker at many NYPC meetings.

Nick Stam is the senior Technical Director of ExtremeTech and the founder of their web site. He is also on the masthead of PC Magazine as Senior Technical Director of PC Magazine Labs. Nick does much of their story planning and invites you to email story ideas to him. Hey, this is the place to send those ideas and comments starting with, "I wish they made, I wish 
they would, as well as this program really works, or program just does not work". (!@XX#$%%) Expletive deleted.

I have always been impressed by how much computer users have influenced the computer industry. ExtremeTech is a great forum of ideas, and you can bet it is watched by the makers of computer products as well as the users. This is certainly another case where the web brings us together. Incidental info. 
When Clinton was elected president there were 50 web pages. Can anyone even guess how many we have today?

Alfred Poor is a contributing writer who first wrote for PC Magazine in 1983. He has written thousands technology product reviews. He is a frequent guest on the "Personal Computer Show", (WBAI FM 99.5 Wednesdays at 8:00 pm). For many years he was in charge of the special printer issue of PC 
Mag where they would test and review about 100 separate printers. He has written 8 books and was co-author of the recent book "Troubleshooting Your PC" for Microsoft Press. Alfred has the knack of making complex technology 
understandable for those of us who have not spent four years at MIT.

These are just snippets of their bios taken from the web site. For the full version access the site and click on their bylines.

Your homework assignment is to look at ExtremeTech.com, and write out short concise questions. 3x5 cards are preferred, backs of envelopes OK. Well written questions will be given preference. 

Editors' Choice evenings are always lively, don't miss this one.

SEPTEMBER GENERAL MEETING RESCHEDULED DUE TO THE WORLD TRADE CENTER TRAGEDY

P.S. 41 will be in use as a crisis center dealing with the tragedy, so our meeting on September 12th is cancelled.  The event will now be held on: October 10, 2001Wednesday, July 18th, (Note: 3rd Wed, not 2nd)

Getting Started With Internet Audio and Video

Downloading music from the Internet is becoming popular. It is a great way to hear new music and enjoy old favorites. The technology has improved to the point where you don't have to have high speed Internet access to participate.

There are two basic types of Internet audio and video, streaming and non-streaming. With non-streaming you must download the entire file to your hard drive before playing it. Streaming media starts playing while it is being downloaded but usually cannot be stored on your hard drive. Each type has its advantages and disadvantages.

RealAudio 8 sounds good at 56K, at higher speeds it sounds even better. Ashod Kassabian, chair of NYPC's Streaming Media SIG will show how to get started with RealPlayer 8. He will also show you some of his favorites sites to find music and videos you are interested in. Ashod has high speed Internet at the office and a 56K dial-up line at home so he is well versed
in getting the most out of RealPlayer in both environments.

Laura Balsam will show MusicMatch Jukebox, she will show the free version and discuss why you might want to upgrade to the commercial version. MusicMatch allows you to play MPEG files you download from the Internet, make MPEGs out of your collection of music CDs that can be played on any CD player. She will also show some of her favorites places for finding music.Wednesday, June 11th

Auction Night!

by Bill Ginsberg

This will be a Fund Raiser for our group. Major vendors have donated a lot of software. In addition many computer pros, and people with miscellaneous non-computer related talents are donating their time to help others, and raise money for NYPC.  This is a nice way to get to know a computer professional who may well become a valuable future resource for you, your company, or your digitally challenged friends. 

It takes a lot of financial resources to provide our members with auditorium space for our General Meetings, high end Projection Equipment, Sound Equipment, SIG Meeting Space, Classrooms, Classroom Computers, paid Teachers, monthly Calendars, Telephone lines, Postage and the always needed gizmos and 
other stuff needed to make it all work. 

Some of the items and services to be auctioned are listed below, and many other items with fuller descriptions will be added to the web page. Some older software and hardware will be shown at the auction on a flea market table. 

For the most up-to-date info on current auction offerings click on www.hookbuilt.com/nypc/auction.html.  For suggestions on items and/or services you might offer for auction, click here. Many thanks to Laura Balsam for helping our web master Dick Jones by keeping this auction page up to date. 

We can accept Master Card, Visa, or Discover, but not American Express. Cash is always good.

NYPC’s FUNDRAISER AUCTION

On Wednesday, June 13th 2001, NYPC will hold a fundraising auction with many parts:

Vendor's Products
This will be our most ambitious auction to date. We will be talking with many of the vendors who have supported us in the past, along with some new faces. We expect to be offering some very nice software. The major items will be published in the calendar and on our Web page in advance of the event.

Recycled
We will also have a silent auction for some recycled hardware and software. These items will be on display and each item will have a bid sheet attached. Just write in your bid, and the highest bidder wins. Here is an opportunity to donate that extra printer, desktop or laptop, (Pentium 120 or better ), shelf ware (that is legal software you acquired but never used, maybe never even broke the shrink-wrap) computer books, Zip drives, monitors, modems, and mice. Please look at the item and think about its potential value to someone else; this is an auction, not the Smithsonian.

Talent Auction
Many people connected with NYPC have special skills, background, and talents. We are asking you to donate a few hours of your skills and your time. You write up a description of your service and offer it as part of the auction. Of course you can control and limit what you are offering as you see fit. Colleges and high schools have done this and it has worked out very well. The institution gets the benefit of the auction and the individuals get to feel good about their contribution, and get their services announced and known to a wide audience.

Possible Computer Services
Teach your favorite program for an hour or so. Such as MS Word, Excel, Power Point, Palm Pilot, Access, Adobe Photoshop, or Photo Deluxe. You might offer to set up a simple database, or how to write a macro, or help with basic skills like file management, back up, or installing a new program. Other areas might be AOL tricks, using search engines or navigating the web.

Other Services
Many of our members and friends do have a life outside of the Nerd Herd, and have skills that others might enjoy and find valuable. How about offering a short session on photography, help with interior design or renovation, help from a research librarian, a talk with a lawyer, or an accountant, an architect, an appraisal from a real estate broker, or help writing a resume. Many people might enjoy learning your favorite recipe, baking a cake, a music lesson, quilting, sewing, or other craft skills.

Local Business Support
We would like help in approaching local businesses near our office at 34th Street and 8th Avenue and our General Meeting site of 11th Street and 6th Avenue. If any of you have a good relationship with restaurants, specialty food stores, stationary stores, coffee bars etc., we would like your help. Perhaps they would offer a dinner for two, or two dinners for the price of one that we might auction, or a discount on merchandise. In return, their business info will be published in our calendar, projected on the big screen in the auditorium, their flyers in the lobby and our office, and in a special section of our web page.

Contact information: NYPC_AUCTION@yahoo.com

Wednesday, May 9thMAY GENERAL MEETING
Using Tools You Probably Have to Create Web Pages:  Ron Lockhart is back With More Tricks and Tips
by William Ginsberg

Three or four hundred people will remember the last time Ron was the speaker at our General Meeting. His topic was "Using Microsoft Word". All of us learned so much that we referred to it as a free class. Well, he is back, with another free class. This is definitely not a vendor presentation. 

Ron is the Executive Director of Technology at the Kaplan schools, those folks who have helped thousands of kids with SAT's and other trying tests. He is a heavy duty Microsoft Office user with a strong corporate and desktop publishing background, as well as an excellent technical trainer.

MS Office has become the standard for many, many corporations and home users, so there is a good chance you have it. Why not give it a try for doing web design? You can do something as simple as a web page with nothing but text, or a complex table with embedded graphics. Word, Excel and Project will do all of the above and much more. 

Web pages can become a powerful corporate or academic tool. You have the ability to establish a company "Intranet" where content is created and then submitted for group analysis and editing. Or you can make a family page to use for calendars, special events, photo gallery, a wedding registry, or genealogy tracking. Having joint access, and letting others edit the pages at 
their location, with their office suite makes this a pretty cool tool.

Ron's desktop publishing background will be evident when he talks about good page design and the joy of using tables to control how a page lays out. Tables can be very useful for establishing the underling symmetry and geometry of a printed page or a web page. You can selectively turn the borders of the cells on and off and control nasty little things like lining up columns of numbers that dance around in a plain word processing program. Turning off the outlines of the cells is like a magician saying there is nothing up his sleeve, but there is, you just can't see it. 

Hey, don't be stuck up! If you think using a dedicated web design product is the only way to go, consider this. Sure Dreamweaver is more powerful with wonderful control. Adobe's GoLive is a comer, and it simplifies text and graphics placement. Flash will make pages twist and shout. The software will cost $200 to $400, and now you need to learn another product. At this point a Web design course would be a real good idea. By the way, NYPC offers some inexpensive courses if you wish to take this route. 

Meanwhile, how about using Ron's approach. I guarantee you will come away learning something you did not know before, and if not, you can have the price of admission refunded on the spot. That's a safe bet--in fact, two safe bets. The meeting is free and everyone learns from Ron.

April General Meeting Fundamental vs. Technical Analysis

Presentations by NYPC's Investment SIG Leaders
Phyllis Pawlovsky - Fundamental Analysis
Gary Risman - Technical Analysisnewsletter blurb to follow - DJ

March General MeetingOlympus Digital Cameras and Dye Sub Printers

By William Ginsberg

Digital cameras have moved from an artistic embarrassment to a practical tool with a solid future. This has taken place in a few short years. The big discussion a couple of years ago was when will digital cameras break the one Megapixel barrier. Well this was like Roger Banister breaking the four-minute mile, or jet planes breaking the sound barrier. Once it had been done, it seemed like everyone was doing it. Now there are a number of good 3.3 Megapixel cameras and even 4.1 Megapixel units are appearing.
But hey, do you need one with that much resolution? And do you need a digital camera?

It depends on why you are taking pictures and what you are going to do with them. Some times you just need one or two shots and then what do you do with the other 22 on the roll? You could use a Polaroid, but the resolution is poor, the camera is heavy, and the rest of the roll may dry up before you finish it.

With digital cameras you get to take a shot, preview it, discard it or keep it, print it, enhance it, email it, or post it on the web with rapidly increasing ease and speed. The instant feed back is also a great learning tool. If you are shooting for the web a camera with 640 x 480 dpi will do nicely because it matches your monitor’s resolution. 1.3 Megapixels will give you decent quality 4" x 6" print and 3.3 Megapixels can yield a high quality 10" x 12" print.
Olympus Cameras is sending us an ace presenter, Desmond
Lee, to show us a range cameras from point and shoot to professional models. Olympus has a long-standing reputation for making excellent film cameras, and they were early to recognize the significance of the digital revolution. Desmond is a trainer as well as a presenter for Olympus. He can answer questions that most salesmen in a camera store don't even understand.

Desmond will show up with many wonderful toys and tools. Some are small cameras that slip into your pocket or purse, and mid range ones in quality and price, and pro cameras that can shoot 15 frames a second. Talk about capturing the decisive moment.

He will also bring one of their dye sublimation printers that produce
continuous tone images equal to quality traditional prints. He will take shots of the audience, print them on the spot in under two minutes, and transfer them to a laptop so we can see them on the big screen. Anyone old enough to remember the good old days when you sent your color film to Kodak and got prints or slides back in two weeks?

If you enjoyed and learned from Fred Kahn's presentation on digital imaging last month, you'll really enjoy this meeting.  If you are thinking of buying a digital camera don't miss this one!

on Wednesday, February 14th

A Dynamite Dual Digital
Valentine's Day Presentation!

Introduction To Image Scanning Using PaperPort Software    by Laura Balsam 

You don't need to buy an expensive digital camera to get started with digital images. Scanning photos and other images you already have is a great way to get going.

The scanner we will be showing, the Epson Perfection 1200 USB, is a reasonably priced ($200 street price), award winning scanner. It is easy to install and much more reliable than some less expensive scanners, which have a tendency to die in under a year.

PaperPort (about $70), combines scanning, image manipulation, an image filing system, and Optical Character Recognition (OCR) into one easy to use software package. PaperPort does not have all the bells ad whistles of more expensive and elaborate programs (such as Photoshop or OmniPage Pro), but it is easy to learn and it is all most people need.

We are going to focus on scanning images. OCR (converting a printed document into an editable word processing document), is another topic, somewhat iffy, and very dependent on the condition and fonts of the document being scanned. We will not demo or discuss OCR at this meeting.

How Digital Photography Works

Our presenter, Fred Kahn is a professional photographer with many years of experience in conventional film photography. For many years he has been deeply involved with digital imaging. He is the sales and technical training manager for Alkit Photo at 222 Park Avenue South at 18th Street. http://www.alkit.com Alkit is the store that many professional photographers call home.

Fred will discuss the basics and the details of digital imaging, including scanning, digital photography, resolution file sizes, and storage.

The intended use for the image is critical. Just as you don't need a
Ferrari to pick up groceries, you don't need a $1,000 digital camera to email grandma a snapshot of junior. There is no point in creating a 15 MB magazine quality digital image to upload to your on-line family album. It would take most people hours to upload or download a file of that size.

On the other hand, if you want to print your images, you don't want them blurry or tiny. There are trade-offs between image size, file size and the quality of the image.

Various types of file compression utilities work very well, but too much of a good thing is bad for your images. Saving a file several times in most compressed formats will result in the loss of more and more detail.

TIFF, JPEG, BMP, GIF, PCX, WMF, PSD, PDD, TWAIN - What does this alphabet soup stand for and what do you need to know?

Fred is experienced as a trainer and has a special knack for explaining very technical jargon in terms that ordinary mortals can easily handle. This meeting will be worthwhile whether you are a novice or a pro. Come armed with questions; Fred has a lot to offer.

Wednesday, January 10, 2001

Low Bandwidth Webcasting - 
Streaming Media at 56K
Digitizing, Encoding, Serving and Playing

Presenters from Real Networks, ViewCast, Morgan Stanley Dean Witter

Web video streaming or 'webcasting' is a fast-growing broadcast
medium used by corporations, schools, government agencies for communication, marketing, training, entertainment, and security. The latest generation of streaming media software provide CD comparable quality at 56k. Come to this meeting to learn more about playing and creating streaming audio and video.

Jeffrey Sporn, Senior Account Manager for Real Networks, will
demo full screen video at 56k using RealVideo 8. With RealVideo you have direct access to more than 2500 online radio stations.

ViewCast’s Ed Carabetta, Eastern Regional Manager, and
John Bishop III, Osprey Product Manager, will discuss the
Osprey video capture/compression board. The Osprey board takes live video from a camera and encodes up to six video feeds on a single NT workstation in Real Networks and Microsoft Windows Media formats.

Frank Letteri, Streaming Media Consultant for Morgan Stanley Dean Witter, will discuss designing and implementing streaming
infrastructure for a major financial institution.

NYPC DECEMBER GENERAL MEETINGHot Products From Creative Labs

Wednesday, December 13, 2000  Hot Products From Creative Labs
by Laura Balsam

The first time I heard the original Sound Blaster demonstrated I was
stunned, it changed how I thought about PCs. Up until then they had been mostly business tools, now they could become a new entertainment medium. Creative Labs quickly became the standard sound card, the one everyone else emulated and measured themselves against. Over the years they have added additional product lines, always well made and easy to install.

We are delighted to have Tom Kirk of Creative Labs present at our December general meeting, perfect timing for holiday shopping. The presentation will focus on the latest audio products, the Sound Blaster Live, their line of speakers and the new Nomad Jukebox. They will also demonstrate their top rated video card and we will get a sneak preview of their upcoming MPEG encoding box.

The Nomad Jukebox allows you to store the equivalent of 150 audio CDs in a unit the size of a portable CD player. Typical MPEG players sell for $150 - $300 and have minimal storage. With a street price of $500 the Nomad Jukebox not for everyone. It has much more storage, enough to make it useful for travelers and serious audiophiles.

The MPEG encoding box was announced at Internet World, but is not out yet. It will be reasonably priced and since it comes from Creative Labs we know it will be a quality product with a good installation program. Come to our meeting to find out the latest on this exciting new hardware.

Tom will also show the latest video card, the 3D Blaster Annihilator, and discuss other products in the expanding Creative Labs product line. Tom is a great speaker and he has terrific products to show.On Wednesday, November 8, 2000 Two Presentations:  Computer Aided Design  by Bill Ginsberg, AIA and The Pop!Tech Report  by Dick Jones

Computer Aided Design

In the real world, Bill Ginsberg is a registered architect - the bricks and mortar type. But, for some time now he has been working in "clicks and mortar."  For those of

Bill will review and compare:

	Sierra's Home Architect, for home owners or home dreamers.  It has a WOW factor and excels in 3D presentations, but has problems with real world
	DataCAD is the number two architectural program used by professionals

The Pop!Tech Conference Report: "Being Human in the Digital Age”

NYPC Webmaster Dick Jones is also a media futurist of long experience. He just returned from the 2000 Pop!Tech Conference.  Dick will give us a run-down of his three plus days at a major "thought leadership" conference focused on "Being Human in the Digital Age".  Pop!Tech explored "The coming collision between high tech and human nature...(and whether) the human race will survive it." 

Provocative session titles included: 

	Personal Isolation/Connectedness
	Privacy/Big Brotherism/Censorship
	Tribalism/Globalism
	Ethics/Self interest
	Body/Brain

The roster of internationally recognized speakers included: Bill Joy, co-founder of Sun Microsystems and co-author of Java; John Perry Barlow (Keynote); Ira Glasser, Executive Director of the ACLU; Li Lu, a principal leader of China's Tiananmen Square Demonstration; Adam Clayton Powell III, of the Freedom Forum;  Angus King, Governor of Maine; Patti Maes of the MIT Media Lab; and many others. The Camden Technology Conferences, now called Pop!Tech, were founded in 1997 by a group of computing and social visionaries, including: John Perry Barlow, Co-Founder of the Electronic Frontiers Foundation and unofficial Poet Laureate of the Internet; Bob Metcalfe, creator of the Ethernet network and former Chairman of 3Com, Inc.; and, John Scully, former Chairman of the Pepsi-Cola Company Apple Computer.  

On September 13th, 2000:

Online Learning: Computers & Education

	Barry Howard of QED Consulting
	Ellen Perlstein of NETg
	Moderated by Mary Ginsburg of NYPC
	Drawing for 5 NETg training courses!!

Online learning is one of the hottest themes of computer training today. In this general meeting, we will take an in-depth look at this means to mastery of computer applications:* What is e-learning?* Is it for everyone?* Is instructor-led training a vanishing species? We are pleased to have as our speakers:Barry Howard of QED Consulting, a New York-based organization that specializes in Human Resource change management, assisting corporations in their transition to learning technology.

He will speak on:

Looking at E-Learning through the PC Window: A Practitioner's View.Ellen Perlstein of NETg, supplier of a wide range of e-Learning courses in IT professional skills, desktop applications, and professional development skills.She will speak on:

e-Learning: Methods and Tools for Understanding and Evaluating e-Learning Technology, Vendors, and Products.

We are especially excited and grateful that Ellen is bringing with her five (5) NETg courses for a drawing. 

Speaker Bios:Barry HowardBarry Howard was the Director of Computer & Distance Learning Centers for the Bell Atlantic Corporation. Now as a member of QED Consulting, a New York based organization that specializes in Human Resource change management, he assists other Corporations in their transition to Learning Technology. He was the Director of General Electric's Computer Training School in New York. He is an Adjunct Professor in Computer Science at Baruch College in New York City. He has also taught college level Management and Marketing courses using two-way video for the Center for Distance Learning (State University of New York).His responsibilities at Bell Atlantic included all computer-related training for the NYNEX Corporation as well as Learning Technology efforts for all training disciplines. Video, Multimedia, Computer Based Training, Electronic Performance Support Systems, Network Enabled Training and Intelligent Tutors were included in the responsibility. In previous positions he was responsible for automation, marketing, the NYNEX Corporate College, and telecommunication operations. He developed the Strategic Training Vendor plan.He has a Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering from the City College of New York and a Master in Business Administration in Computer Science from Baruch College.Barry has spoken at 'Training' (1995-1999), the Training Director's Forum (1996-1998), the Society for Applied Learning Technology (1993-1996), the Computer and Training Support Conference, Training ''95-'97, Call Center Management '98,99, Data Training (multiple years), Synergy '92, the American Society for Training & Development, Metropolitan System Educators and Trainers (METROSET-multiple years), ITTC (93-99), the Management Development Forum and the National Conference on Workforce Development on a variety of Learning Technology Implementation. He has written articles for a number of training publications, and has been quoted by the media on Electronic Education, Strategic Outsourcing and Computer Training subjects. He is a contributing author and reviewer for an award winning book published by Jossey Bass in 1998 entitled "Distance Training," and a sequel "Sustaining Distance Training".His implementation teams have won many awards for their work in Learning Technology including two national awards for videoconference based distance learning. His clients include utilities, telecommunication companies, insurance companies, financial institutions and global retailing operations. The Magazine of Interactive Multimedia Communications listed him in Who's Who in Distance Learning.Ellen PerlsteinEllen graduated from Colombia University's Teachers College with a Masters Degree in Education. While on a plane some years ago, she sat next to a VP of Systems Training from Chase Manhattan Bank. From him she learned about the existence of Corporate Training and thus began a career in sales for various training organizations. As an Account Manager for NETg, a subsidiary of Harcourt Inc, she has the opportunity to work with Directors of IT and HR to implement online web based technical, desk top and professional development training "anytime anywhere" and share best practices of how various organizations use e-learning.

When not promoting NETg, Ellen can be found hiking, biking, or assisting her 11 year old son with his juggling.