SPAUG Newsletter September 2007
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Notes from the Prez
by Jim Dinkey
Many thanks to Red Calub, General Manager of Micro Center for the donation of a new wall-mount 72" video projection screen which will help with our transition to the American Legion Hall on Los Altos' 1st Street.
One of the main functions of a computer club is to pass around information on how to run the computer, which includes maintenance of the computer. As long as the computer is running, that is all they desire. Then when maintenance catches up with them, a new one is acquired.
A classic case was when a computer was brought to the Clinic with a boot-crash problem. Turn it on - it would crash - including while trying to get into Safe Mode. The obvious answer was to mount the hard drive in another computer to allow a peek at the hard drive-to find that there were some bad spots on the HDD but also the HDD was broken into an astounding 35,500 fragments. Took 5 hours to defrag it.
This brings up a procedure for doing maintenance routinely on your computer, to wit:
• Defrag once in a while - at least once a month.
• Diagnose the HDD once a month.
• Run Microsoft's Scanner once a month.
• Run AdAware and Spybot every day.
• Run Secunia once a week to assure your software is current.
• Make sure your protections such as antivirus are working.
• Backup weekly.
• Show up at the SPAUG meeting to get current.
John Buck has splashed all over the place that we are moving to the American Legion Post on 1st Street in Los Altos. Expect to see you there.
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General Meeting Notes
by Stan Hutchings
Administrivia
- A presentation by Larry Templeton on the CES and consumer electronics is on the website for a limited time. This is the link to the PowerPoint presentation. Download the file and use PowerPoint or OpenOffice.org to view it.
- If you receive Microsoft Office 2007 documents, you will have to use a reader. Microsoft provides free readers at their site.
- Starting in October the SPAUG General Meetings will be held at the Los Altos Post 558 American Legion Hall, 347 First St., Los Altos (click for map) (across from Draegers Grocery Store, about a block off Foothill Expressway). The pre-meeting dinner will be at the Bella Vita.
CrossTalk/Random Access
- Jim showed the operation of CCleaner, a tool to remove extraneous and undesired "stuff" from your computer. There are several categories of "stuff", and you can decide what you want to keep and what to get rid of. He cautioned to not get too thorough in removing cookies - some are of great benefit to you, allowing you to easily log in to your favorite web sites without having to re-enter user names and passwords. Use the option to choose the ones you don't want and keep the useful ones.
- A member reported being deceived into opening a malicious download; this deception technique is called "social engineering", wherein an attempt is made to trick a user into revealing private information or downloading and installing malicious programs. He realized after it was on his hard drive, so blocked it from starting when he rebooted using MSCONFIG. He then removed the offending application. Jim suggested that a backup is good insurance against an accidentally loaded malware, and he may want to revert to an earlier state just as a precaution. A backup is also good for recovering from many common Windows issues, so is a good idea before doing an update or an install. Acronis is recommended.
- Nero is a good DVD and CD recorder software. Be wary of DVDs and CDs - many are lower quality; be sure to check the burn before deleting the original material. Pioneer DVDs are OK, and are better than most, but still bad DVDs turn up. Same situation with CDs - confirm the burn is good, especially for backups or irreplaceable materials.
- If a computer shuts off at random, without user input, it could be a Power Saving issue; look at the Power controls. Hibernate often is permanent, and the computer cannot be restarted after entering it. There should be very little power saving concerns with a computer while plugged in - best not to shut anything down, or be careful what is. With a laptop in battery operation, care must be taken to balance battery life with usability. Many laptops come with a default power saving setup; it may not be what you want, and can cause an apparent shut-down.
- A computer that reboots at random times may have heat-related issues; reseat the boards and all other connectors. It could also be a power supply issue, or inadequate ventilation. Clean out the dust, check that all fans are working properly. If possible, monitor internal temperature, and if excessively high, get another fan.
N.B.— in the 070726 issue of WindowsSecrets, this issue is addressed and on tip is given, "... may be caused by a bad device driver or some other hardware problem. Disabling the automatic-restart feature so you at least see a few bytes of technical information can provide clues that point you in the right direction". Full instructions are given in the paid version. As a paid subscriber, I believe you have access to previous issues, including the paid content.
- When buying a new computer, consider carefully whether you want to get WinXP or Vista as your operating system. Vista still has many issues, and many people have "downgraded" from Vista to WinXP. You can get WinXP on computers from Micro Center, Dell, the Internet, and especially on used computers.
Presentation - Hank Skawinski
Hank showed a 6-year old computer with an 800 MHz P-III that was being junked. He cleaned up the hard drive (removing many gigabytes of junk), added memory to 512 MB. He upgraded to larger hard drive, added USB 2.0 card. You do need over 256 MB RAM for WinXP to work properly; 512 MB is adequate for several applications to run comfortably. For older computers, make sure you can really upgrade to at least 384 MB (a 128 MB chip and 256 MB chip); it's cheaper to scrounge for memory than to buy new - look for discarded computers. Check the Kingston or Crucial websites to determine the exact model of memory you need; they both have excellent selectors. He could add a new CD/DVD reader/writer, if he wanted. He accessed the Internet through a USB wireless connection.
The AirLink 101 unit he used is a good USB wireless antenna. Hank thinks it's the best available. About $20 at Fry's (on sale). Even a USB 1.1 port is fast enough for Internet connection.
WinXP is much preferred over Vista; Hank will not use Vista. Microsoft has now started to allow "downgrade rights", so you can go back from Vista to XP. There are indications that a new OS will be introduced in 2009. Vista may therefore be a "placeholder", much like WinME. The driver situation for Vista is still very bad; a lot of hardware and software don't work with Vista.
Linux may well take up the slack left with Vista. Especially large corporations with in-house expertise may migrate to Linux. The users will have essentially terminals, with central servers. Dell, HP, Gateway and Lenovo sell units with Linux installed. Ubuntu is probably the best bet for the average user. You have to download an ISO file, but you can boot from the CD, set it up, and then install it on your computer. Installation of applications is easier than Microsoft installations. The Ubuntu installation has just about everything you need.
N.B.—see the SPAUG Linux SIG web page for more information about Linux, including links to download various distros. You can download Ubuntu here: ubuntu.com/download. Also, Hank's talk has already inspired at least one person to try Linux – see the success story reported by Robert Mitchell below.
The Mac will run WinXP, so many people will switch to the Mac; and eventually Linux will have a Windows emulator.
Blu-Ray is not backward compatible; HD-DVD is backward compatible. Toshiba can do both formats, and that may be the wave of the future.
Hitachi disk drives are best according to Hank. Toshiba and Fujitsu are not quite as good, but are still great. However, be prepared for the eventual inevitable failure.
Quickbooks and Quicken 2007 only works with Vista, but unfortunately has become more complicated and harder to use; earlier versions don't work with Vista. If you have post-2004 versions, don't upgrade to the 2007 version. Also, Quickbooks pre-2004 don't work in some aspects after being updated - don't update Quicken if you want to continue using those versions. Check online for user comments for advice.
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Planning Meeting Notes
by Stan Hutchings
- The meeting was held at Bev Altman's house; attendees: Jim Dinkey, John Sleeman, Bev Altman, John Buck, Stan Hutchings, Nat Landes, Maurice Green. The attendees enjoyed the refreshments served.
- Review of finances - Nat - we're in good shape, the income balances the outgo.
- Membership - Bev - we didn't get new members at the last meeting, but we're doing OK at about 130 members. Bev gave Nat the proceeds from membership, CD sales, etc.
- Expenses, reimbursements, need for future funds - the club needs several microphones: one for the CrossTalk session to pass around; a directional microphone for presentations; and possibly one to record the meeting on a recorder or computer for conversion to MP3 or podcast.
- Review future speakers and topic vs. attendance - there were 64 people in the audience. Some were CompuSIR members, some were SVCS members. Hank is a very good draw.
Interesting topics and speakers result in better attendance. We'll continue to try to schedule topics and speakers with good draw.
Some promising topics include: Larry Magid on ISPs, TV providers, cell phone companies; Bob Mitchell doing a how-to-create-a-video presentation; OpenOffice.org; Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) Users (if we have a significant number interested and can find an appropriate speaker); Database capabilities and applications; Linux, as an alternate or a full replacement for Windows; Spreadsheet capabilities; Blogs and Blogging; Wi-Fi availablility and use in the Silicon Valley; Really Simple Syndication (RSS); the advanced features of Outlook (Nat Landes has someone in mind).
The club membership will be regularly polled to suggest vivacious, lively, knowledgeable speakers they know of. Perhaps instructors from the local colleges, junior colleges, adult high school programs, etc. could be invited.
- Future speakers & potential pre-meeting dinner locations:
Link to Up-coming General meetings (NOTE: subject to change)
- PrintScreen - John Buck - Bev will add John Thiele (at the American Legion Hall) to the mail distribution, and delete the Elks Lodge. The new meeting place at the American Legion Hall will be well advertised in the Newsletter that it's a new location. Jim will also send several email lodges, and put notes at the Lodge on Wednesday night.
- Mail - John Sleeman - one piece of mail, three returns or the Newsletter.
- Setup/Cleanup support - chairs will be available at the Legion Hall; there are some round tables and a few rectangular tables. The noon group will set up, and hopefully leave everything set up, in October; but will not be there in November, so the evening group will have to set up everything. Electricity will be available. We will not have coffee; we will have cookies in October; November will be catered, probably by Armadillo Willy's, so that's not a problem.
- WebSIG activities and schedules - next Tuesday 7:30 at Stan's. Part of the meeting will be devoted to the club website update and maintenance, so John Sleeman get familiar with the process.
- DISIG - Maury - is helping Hank Skawinski learn HTML. Hank needs to get a website into operation. Perhaps SPAUG can help him with a "starter" site. Maury will ask Hank if he would like some additional support, and John Sleeman will work with Maury once Hank says what he wants. Word Press will be the first suggestion. John Sleeman may start to attend the SVCS Web SIG class. See the SVCS website for more information.
- Publicity - Walter Heyman - seems to be handling the job so far. Dick Sweet communicated the job to Walter.
- Clinic activities and changes - the Saturday Clinic will be offered by pre-arranged appointment only.
- Other individual reports and suggestions -
The November meeting is the 25th anniversary of SPAUG, which will include a reunion of past presidents and members. The presidents will be notified, preferably by phone. Jim will send the information from the 20th reunion. Spouses/significant others will also be welcome. We'll expect 45 or so attendees; the caterer will handle virtually all the setup and other aspects of the meal. Price will be around $15 or so.
- Other items that came before the Committee - the current Board of Directors have agreed to continue next year if elected. Stan will be out of town, so John Sleeman will take over as webmaster. Maury will help out as needed.
Arlen Kertz will work on our nonprofit status. Nat will work with him for anything required.
We need a meeting recorderto take notes for the PrintScreen newsletter, and perhaps a directional microphone so the speakers can be better captured digitally. Jim has a microphone we can pass around. We may need another microphone for the leader (Jim) and one for the audience participants.
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Ubuntu Linux Installation Success
by Robert Mitchell
After hearing Hank Skawinski's presentation at the SPAUG September General Meeting, regarding getting more use out of old computers, I just installed Ubuntu Linux on my 51/2 year old Pentium 4, 2 GHz machine with 512 MB of RAM after Hank recommened it. The machine has two hard drives: the main drive has Windows XP Home on it, and the other now has Ubuntu Linux on it.
I downloaded Ubuntu off their website and first played with it from the live CD. Now it runs off the second hard drive, but Grub boot loader comes up and I can select either Windows or Linux.
It runs great on this machine. All hardware on the machine works just fine. I tested both printers that I have, a Brother MFC-7820 laser printer/Fax /Scanner (only the printer is installed) and the HP Photosmart 7550 that works as well. Brother does provide Linux drivers on their site, but not out of the box, and the HP drivers were found on the Linux Disk. Both Thumb drives work, as well as a flash card reader and Memory stick. I looked at photos from my digital camera in Gimp.
Everyday things that we all use are on the machine. OpenOffice.org instead of Microsoft Office, Thunderbird for email, Evolution as an almost exact replacement for Outlook, Gimp instead of Photoshop and a program called Kino for video editing. I was able to capture video from a video camera, but had no camera control through firewire. I tested all the USB hubs I have, including the one Hank gave away. This demonstrates that older computers are not obsolete when used with Linux.
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