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Previous NYPC General MeetingsKatrin Eismann: Photos From TasmaniaApril 24, 2008 Katrin Eismann, just back from her photo shoot in Tasmania presented at our April General Meeting. This is not our usual date but one week later so that she can recover from jet lag and put her photos into a slide show for our meeting. OK let's have a show of hands, how many people have been to Tasmania? None? OK who can find it on the globe? Here is a hint, it is an island just below Australia. Most of us have been bored watching slide shows of a friend or relative's travels. Katrin said her presentation may be a little raw because of the short time frame. You get my personal money back guarantee that no one will be bored. Well OK the meeting is free, but it still comes with my guarantee that this will be an unusually exciting meeting, and by the way Katrin's "raw" is far better than most peoples polished. Watching her work in Photoshop or Lightroom makes it look so easy. If you pay attention, watch her training DVD's, or read her books it sure helps to make your work lots easier. Good news, Katrin has published another book since her last meeting at NYPC; with a little coaxing I think she will tell us about it and show some examples. The book is called "The Creative Digital Darkroom". It was published in January 2008. You can find details on her website: photoshopdiva.com. Katrin is a Photoshop superstar. She is well known worldwide as the Photoshop Diva. She teaches and lectures on photography, digital photography, Photoshop, Lightroom, and regularly writes articles for many professional magazines. You can often see her do presentations for Adobe at trade shows like the yearly PhotoPlus show at Javits. Katrin's resume is too long for this write up but it is on her website. There is a new term describing photographs that are made using digital means. The finished work; prints and electronic images that have been manipulated with computers are referred to as "digital originals". I think of Katrin as a digital original, and there is no doubt that her work certainly is that. Special Interest Groups at NYPC and Councilwomen Gale BrewerFebruary 21, 2008 Have You Ever Wondered:
First, however, the answer to the fourth question: the acronym SIG stands for "Special Interest Group" and refers to a group which meets regularly to discuss a particular topic; the topic may be a specific software or a broader area of computing. SIG meetings give people a chance to get together with other users of the same application or programming language, or to discuss a broad or narrow aspect of computer use. SIGs vary greatly in structure and content. In general, SIGs have a somewhat informal format, in contrast to classes, which are structured to give formal instruction. They range in participants from beginners to programmers and systems administrators. Most SIGs meet monthly; some meet every other month; occasionally, a SIG may meet more than once a month. However, within that wide variation, there is a somewhat typical format: many meetings begin with sharing of news and solving of problems, proceed to a formal presentation, and end with networking. SIGs may run for an hour, or for several. (I understand that the some members of the JAVA SIG once stayed till the wee hours of the morning.) NYPC encourages members to take advantage of our SIGs...and to start a new SIG if there is sufficient interest. Attending a SIG is also a good way to expand your horizons...to learn about a topic that's new to you. If a NYPC member would like to start a new SIG on any computer topic, come to the board with signatures of 5 other members who would like to participate. For more info on NYPC SIG’s see our SIGs page. NYPC has many SIGs, and we'd like to urge you to learn more about them, and perhaps try a new SIG. At the February General Meeting, many SIG leaders will describe and demonstrate what their SIGs do. You'll have the opportunity to meet the SIG Chairs, learn what the various SIGs do, and have a good time. This will be an informative evening. The meeting format will be patterned after the Class Sampler. The participating SIGs will include Visual Basic, Microsoft Exchange Server, Photography and Digital Graphics, Speech Recognition, QuickBooks, Palm Pilot, and more. Gale Brewer Digital Video Recording on your own computerJanuary 17, 2008 There are many ways to record television programs. Besides Tivo, some of the cable companies, such as Time Warner, will provide you with their version of Digital Video Recording (DVR) for an extra fee. Lefty, NYPC’s Vice President, has come up with his own solutions which he demo'd at our January meeting. In Lefty's own words: "I watch a lot of TV. So much so that I can fill up the DVR (Digital Video Recorder) that Time Warner provides with TV shows that I want to see, but just don’t have the time to get around to watching. They usually have a limit of 30 hours. I also occasionally run into the problem of wanting to record more than two shows during the same time slot, which is another limitation that these set-top DVR’s have. Another drawback that these set top boxes present is the ability to remove the shows that you have recorded onto their hard drives and get them onto your computer. Sure, you can record them to a VHS tape, but why downgrade a digital signal to an analog signal? Besides, not many of us even have a VHS player around. What to do!? Well, not being able to change some basic rules of physics has always haunted me, but being able to configure a computer to make it do what I want is something I can do. If you have a Windows Vista Home Premium, Windows Vista Ultimate or a Windows XP Media Center computer and a TV tuner card installed, you can now have your very own DVR. Even if you don’t have those specific versions of Windows, there are hardware devices that can be used to view and record TV broadcasts to your computer. I will be demonstrating one such device manufactured by Pinnacle that even allows you to pick up HD broadcasts with an antenna. I will also discuss a new service called Joost that streams free TV shows over the internet." Tips, Tricks, Traps, and TreasuresDecember 13, 2007 Many NYPC members are computer pro’s and others have a lot of real world experience. At this meeting eight of our home grown gurus will pass on a few of their favorite tricks on specific programs they use regularly. Many of you will go home saying "Gee that looks so easy! I didn’t know I could do that." Each presenter spoke for about 20 minutes sharing some of his or her favorite tips in their special area. After which the speaker took questions on their topic. There were hand-outs too.
B & H Digital Photography - Holiday Buying GuideNovember 15, 2007 The holidays are approaching and David Brommer was back with his encyclopedic knowledge of digital cameras, and intriguing tech gear for children of all ages. B&H holiday presentations have become one of our most requested events. There is a lot of great stuff out there, perhaps too much to get a handle on. Technology advances so quickly that deciding on the right gear can seem overwhelming. David is a proficient photographer and gadget guru. He talked about options from inexpensive "first" cameras to professional level cameras, and separate the important features from marketing hype. Do you really need 12 mega pixels for a 4x6 postcard print? Big cameras, tiny cameras, digital photo frames, MP3 players, portable data storage and playback devices, pocket sized video cameras, head phones, and much more. B&H Photo is conveniently located a block from NYPC at 34th Street and Ninth Avenue. They are one of the world's leading sources for camera and video Equipment. Their salespeople are very knowledgeable, very nice and they do not work on commissions so they can take more time with questions. See: www.bhphotovideo.com David Brommer is a NYC based photographer who currently works as the B&H Event Room manager. Well versed in photography from pixel to platinum David has built up a body of work centering on portraits of fringe society. David operated the gallery "Suspect Photography" in Seattle during the 90’s and continues to explore new technology and old techniques. At the meeting B&H will distribute a booklet of special discounts for all who attend, and there was a drawing for several B&H Gift Certificates. Converting Vinyl LP Records to CD’sPresented by Mike Ostrowe. October 18, 2007 Do you have stacks of LP’s and shoe boxes of cassette tapes that you would really like to transfer to CD’s, DVD’s, iPods, Zen, or MP3’s? Why not transfer your old media to new media? Outside conversion services are expensive and hard to find, and many records or tapes are not available on CD’s or for downloads. It is really not that hard, nor that expensive to convert your old media to new media, you can do it yourself. Not only that, but the end product may be considerably improved. It is often possible to remove pops from records and hiss from tapes. You can rebalance the sound, such as adding bass and diminishing treble, or some of each to suit your personal taste. No turntable? No problem, Mike will show how to use a new, inexpensive, turntable with a USB connection. Just plug this into your computer, use software like Roxio’s CD Creator and you are set to go. I have a lot of LP’s and a working turntable but my music system is not located near my computer, this turntable is a practical solution. Mike Ostrowe, our presenter, is an avid music collector and a Tech Guru. He is the co-chair of NYPC’s Tech Tips SIG with Kathy Petruzzi. The Tech Tips SIG focuses on technical tips and tricks to make computing more enjoyable and efficient. He teaches our A+ class, and runs NYPC’s Teach and Tune PC Clinic. He has taught Build Your Own Computer Classes, and several other hardware related courses. Mike will offer a class on Transferring LP’s to CD’s in the near future. This will be a hands-on class and he will go into much more detail on the equipment needed, and the configuration of the software. If you would like information about this class send an email to vinyl-to-CD@nypc.org. Copyrights are very complex with many, varied interpretations. Here are some references for Copyright Issues and Other Aspects of Digital Rights.
Alfred Poor: Making Sense Out of HDTV10 Things They Won’t Tell You in the Big Box Store 
Last year, 30% of U.S. households had at least one HDTV, and about a third of those own two or more. The share of households with HDTVs is expected to grow to 36% in 2007. In spite of this broad adoption, about half of the people with HDTVs don’t have any high-definition service. For those who don’t have an HDTV yet, the whole process can be confusing and a bit intimidating. Display industry veteran Alfred Poor explained the key concepts about HDTV, and covered what you need to know in order to make an informed choice for your next television. Alfred Poor is an independent technology industry analyst, freelance writer, and publisher of Alfred Poor's HDTV Resource Center. He is a Senior Research Associate with Pacific Media Associates, a market research firm serving the display industry. In addition, Alfred is a member of the Society for Information Display, an international organization of professionals in the display technology industry. Here in New York City, Alfred can be heard weekly on The Personal Computer Show along with Joe King, Hank Kee and Michael Horowitz. For decades, Alfred Poor was one of the most widely read experts on computer troubleshooting and display technology, with monthly readership in magazines and on the Web measured in the millions. His column in Computer Shopper magazine, Alfred Poor's Computer Cures, ran from 1994 to 2006. At PC Magazine, he wrote feature articles and reviews from 1983 to 2005, was a contributing editor from 1989 to 2005, and was the magazine's first Lead Analyst for Business Displays. Other magazines he has written for include Family PC, PC Week, PC Sources, Windows Sources, and Computer Life. Alfred has written numerous computer books, including Troubleshooting Your PC published by Microsoft Press that he co-authored with M. David Stone. An Evening of Random Access & Q&AJune 21, 2007Everything you wanted to know about computers but were afraid to ask Our panel of computer pros have many years of experience in solving computer problems for themselves and others. Here is a chance to tap into this collective knowledge bank. NYPC has been the computer college for many of us and the tuition is really really low. Panelists Include: Lefty NYPC's Vice President. A computer consultant and frequent instructor for NYPC Classes. He maintains networks for his clients, banishes malware, and builds firewalls. Mike Ostrowe - A certified Cisco Systems installer. Mike Teaches NYPC's A+ classes. He prefers to build computers rather than buy them. Later this summer he will host an NYPC meeting about turning your vinyl records into Digital formats. Ted Cohn. Ted is very passionate about the Palm Treo and is co-chair of NYPC’s wireless and Treo SIGs. Ted's first computer was a Palm Pilot, and his second computer was another Palm to back up his first one. He has since discovered desktop computers which are useful for downloading programs for his various Palm devices. Fred Kahn - Professional photographer, A+ certified hardware geek, and eBay expert. Fred will have just returned from a national eBay conference. He will bring news, tips, tricks & goodies from eBay land. The evening was split between answering previously emailed questions, and questions from the audience. The Sony Reader and Visual Aids for the "Hard of SeeingMay 24, 2007The Sony Reader has been described as an iPod for books. Its screen uses E Ink technology and looks more like a book than a computer display. The Reader is much easier on the eyes than a computer screen, and you can enlarge the fonts. It is great for anyone who likes to read and wonderful for people whose eyes are not as good as they used to be. Sony and National Association for Visually Handicapped both made presentations. NAVH talked about their organization, types of software and hardware available and showed devices that help people with poor vision read normal books, newspapers, etc. The local distributor for these devices, CTech, was on hand to demo the devices and answer questions.
The Reader can display Sony's own proprietary XML based format as well as RTF and PDFs. It will also play MPEG audio, but this drains the battery more quickly. Sony's Connect e-book store sells over 13,000 books of all types. They are adding more every week. Links Note from Laura BalsamI was born visually handicapped. As I have gotten older I am having more and more trouble reading normal sized books and publications. Twelve point type is becoming difficult for me. I purchased the Sony Reader in early December. It is wonderful. I can read for extended periods of time without eye strain. It is very comfortable to use and the charge lasts for weeks or days, depending on usage. I whole heartedly recommend it. The National Association for Visually Handicapped is aimed at the millions of us who are not legally blind, but have trouble seeing. They are a non-profit health organization located in New York City. They have a "toy room" where you can go to try out the gadgets and other aids to see if they will work for you. You can also purchase them through NAVH at very reasonable prices. Katrin Eismann demos Adobe Photoshop LightroomApril 24, 2007
David Pogue on Windows VistaMarch 20, 2007
Sooner or later most of us will migrate to Windows Vista, and David’s missing manuals are ready when we are. This is a reference book, not a novel. You need not feel committed to a cover to cover read. But when you take on a new Operating System it is really nice to have a readily understandable reference that was written for people who want use the new program daily in the real world. You don’t need a degree from MIT to understand this book, and his lighthearted approach will have you chuckling instead of groaning at impenetrable Techo-Babble. You may be surprised to find even Microsoft’s new operating system, Vista, can be a fun read. Programmers and uber geeks can check out Microsoft’s knowledge base. Spoof Songs Too
Well that’s only half the program. The last time David came to our meeting he talked about his book Piloting Palm, which is about Jeff Hawkins’ inventing the Palm Pilot. It reads like an adventure story. He asked if we could get a cheapie electronic keyboard so he could sing some of the computer spoof songs he had written. We were unable to get him a cheapie keyboard but we did provide a concert grand and his songs were great. The auditorium at PS 41 has two Baby Grand’s. Who knows what is in store for us this time. 15 Free ClassesFebruary 15, 2007Our 2nd Annual Education Sampler. There were three 45 minute sessions with multiple mini-classes offered each session. You can take a different class each session. You do not need to sign up in advance. This is one of New York’s Best Bargains! Get a feel for the educational offerings of NYPC. Among the classes offered will be: Smart Phones, Selling on eBay, Photography for eBay, SOHO Networking, Discovering Excel's Power, Getting Started With Excel, Computer Safety Beyond Anti-Virus, Converting LPs to CDs, Getting Acquainted With Windows Vista, Running Windows on a Mac, Open Office, Get Your Own Internet Domain and Backing Up Your Computer. Vista ExposedJanuary 11, 2007This was a Joint Meeting with NYACC, the New York Amateur Computer Club. The presentation on Windows Vista was by Constantine Kaniklidis, a Microsoft Operating Systems Expert. His presentation included: why and how to upgrade, a tour of best new features, upward compatibility issues and gotchas, and what to avoid.
A. Windows Vista Editions Ready or not here comes Vista, Microsoft’s new Windows operating system. The corporate version has been released and after January 31st all new computers will shipped with a Vista. Should you upgrade right away? Is your existing equipment Vista ready? Will your existing printers, scanners, and other peripherals still work with the new OS? Which of the five versions of Vista will be best for your needs? How many bugs will be included, free of charge? If you are in the market for a new computer now should you wait until February 1st so Vista will be included or rush to place your order in January so that the new CPU will be shipped with Windows XP with it’s five year track record? Will you get a free upgrade certificate for Vista, and how much trouble will it be for you to upgrade later? The Vista interface has been reported to really look good. Mac users say it looks very familiar. So far so good. The new Google like search feature is in a text box at the bottom of the Start menu. Type some key words or phrases and Vista quickly finds every folder, file or program that contains your phrase, including deeply nested folders. This may truly change the way you interact with your computer. There is a side bar with gadgets, (Apple calls them widgets) small useful programs such as weather, stocks, photo gallery and a DVD burner. Security issues have been a big deal (thank goodness) with Microsoft’s planning. However, all is not coming up roses here. It has always been true that the more security measures implemented, the more they get in the way of the user. Whenever you or a program wants to make a global change affecting the system a dialog box pops up, stops everything else, and make you confirm the change. This sounds like a good safety feature, but many people will hate it and turn it off. Oops, you are back skating on thin ice. Controls are not where they used to be, but the alt key and some other key will bring back the traditional menus. Some of the sidebar gadgets like Post it Notes are useful, but if you close them they are gone, gone gone. Some favorite XP features have vanished. In his column David Pogue notes that “WordPad, the built-in word processor, can no longer open Microsoft Word files. That, evidently, is a ham-handed attempt to force you into buying Microsoft Office. (Let’s hope the masses realize that they have a free alternative at docs.google.com.)” Many legacy peripherals won’t work or will need new drivers, and still may not work. Microsoft has tried to address this with a special web site and you would be well advised to know what you are getting into. More gripes. . . What is the difference between Vista Ultimate, Premium, Business, Home Basic, Home Premium, and several other flavors? Which version will your old or new hardware support? Constantine Kaniklidis, a computer pro who writes for PC Magazine will be our guide to Vista’s new horizon. Our thanks to Hank Kee and NYACC for organizing this meeting and inviting NYPC. Manage Your EmailDecember 14, 2006 Email has been called the "killer app" of the Internet. But Email is a double-edged sword. It can be so useful that it's often the reason for a non-computer person to learn to use the Internet. But, it's also the source of much frustration for computer users. Email has changed our communication, often making it more efficient; yet at the same time, it can be a tremendous time waster. How can you cope with more than 100 messages each day...deleting the spam without neglecting the important messages? E-mail management has become a vital component of time management. In the words of Mark Hurst "E-mail overload is a problem that affects nearly everyone with an e-mail account." A panel of expert NYPC members will describe various approaches to e-mail management, demonstrate e-mail programs, and discuss their features, advantages and disadvantages. Among the applications to be discussed are: Thunderbird, Gmail, Outlook, Outlook Express, AOL, Pegasus, Eudora and web based email. As if that's not sufficient, we will also cover sending secure/encrypted email messages. The panel:
Do you know how to set up an e-mail program so that it will automatically direct incoming e-mails to folders you set up, bypassing the Inbox altogether? Do you have an e-mail backup strategy? What's the best way to access your e-mail from both home and office? And we cover sending, forwarding, and adding attachments. Each e-mail program has at least one way to hide the recipients' email addresses when you send a single message to multiple people. B & H Photo on Digital PhotographyNovember 16,2006 B&H came in time for the holiday shopping season. They are a great source for consumer and professional
cameras, videos, TV’s, and audio gear. Many people on their staff have professional experience.
Their prices are some of the best you will find anywhere, and they offered special discounts at the
meeting. Once someone is into digital photography there are a lot of gifts you can buy for them. There are all sorts of
accessories and gear that will really be used and appreciated. And ... you are allowed to buy stuff for yourself, which is always appreciated, and
seldom returned. Hacking the Election: Verifying Electronic Voting?October 19, 2006 Teresa Hommel Returns A voter goes into the booth, closes the curtain, chooses candidates, pulls the lever, or presses enter on the computer screen; then your vote is accurately tallied – Right? One registered voter, one vote – Right? …Well maybe. Over the years, particularly since 2000, there have been significant challenges. So how are votes verified? Ah there’s the rub!
It seems intuitively obvious that there must be a reliable way for an independent audit of the vote tally. But some states have bought expensive voting machines that do not print out a paper ballot from vendors who will not give out their source code claiming this is a trade secret. So how are these votes verified? The vendor says the computer checks itself. Does anyone remember the story of the fox verifying the population of the hen house? How would you feel about a bank, a restaurant, or a gas station that said “Trust me, you don’t need a paper receipt.” Hanging chads are looking better all the time, well maybe not that good. OK how about a paper ballot that can be read by an optical scanner, and if there is a challenge it can be counted by hand? I think I will invest in number two pencils. Other vendors do allow audits, make their source code available and invite the white hat hackers to test and attack their systems. That’s better, but is it good enough? Our speaker, Teresa Hommel is a computer pro, who will have a lot to say about all this in great detail. She is knowledgeable and a compelling speaker. There is a lot of information available on her site described as “A Web Site Dedicated to Election Integrity.” Teresa Hommel’s website: www.WheresThePaper.org Creative Labs Show & TellSeptember 20, 2006 Pamela Szabo was our speaker. For many years Creative Labs was famous as the creator of the Sound Blaster
audio cards. Now they have expanded to include a whole range of cutting edge
multimedia products, including MP3 and Video players with replaceable batteries. Well while you are at it you can load 4,000 songs and listen all day, the
removable battery is rated for 15 hours. Does anyone over the age of 15 actually
have 4,000 songs? At three minutes per song that adds up to 200 hours of music
without repeating a single song. No problem, just take along a spare battery or
two. Unlike some portable music systems Zen Vision's batteries can be changed by
the user. Oh by the way, that is 4,000 tunes in the shirt pocket device. Then
Zen Vision holds enough to start a radio station. That works but one of the Creative™ photo gadgets can store and show a lot
of images in a very small, lightweight package. The Zen Vision has a 30 Gig hard
drive with a screen. I consider it essential that you can view the transferred
photo before deleting the image from the card. You can plug in a compact flash
card directly without a computer. This is preferable to using a cable to
transfer files from the camera to the Zen or a laptop because it saves the
camera battery and is faster. Social PicnicAugust 17, 2006 NYPC's annual social picnic on the pier. Food is served on the pier, there is usually music, and you can go onboard the classic US Coast Guard Lightship. At Pier 63 (West 23rd Street) by the Lightship Frying Pan. Apple's Boot Camp, Parallels and Raffle drawing for a Compaq LaptopJuly 20, 2006 Boot Camp refers to beta software that allows Windows XP to be installed in a partition on the new Macintosh computers built with Intel processors. It enables dual-booting, that is, running either the Mac OS or Windows XP on the computer (but only one at a time). Every time the computer starts up, the user gets to chose which Operating System to run. Thus, one computer is both a Mac and a Windows machine and thus can run programs for either Operating System. This has generated considerable excitement among Windows users who long for the clean Mac interface and Mac lovers who may need to use software available only for Windows. The next release of Mac OS X, Leopard, will include the Boot Camp technology. Jim Duboise from Tekserve*, "the old reliable MAC Shop," explained Boot Camp and demonstrated how it works. One drawback to Boot Camp is that you have to re-boot the computer to switch between the Mac OS and Windows XP. As we all know, this can be time consuming. What if you need to frequently switch between Operating Systems? Wouldn't it be nice to run both Operating Systems at the same time. Well, you can. Jim demonstratee Parallels Desktop for Mac *, which is virtual machine software capable of running Windows XP. It treats the entire Windows XP Operating System as an application. In the same way as you would switch between Word and Excel, you can switch between the Mac OS and Windows XP. They both run at the same time. You've got to see this to believe it. Tekserve presentations always feature knowledgeable speakers who convey their excitement about their topics. The Times of London quotes Tekserve's owner, David Lerner*, as being "really excited about this”; Tekserve has begun selling Windows XP for the first time! Since Tekserve has the reputation of selling only products it has evaluated, this sounds promising indeed. Tekserve, a company which is still "all about making the customer happy," is located in Chelsea, at 119 West 23rd Street, where it effectively combines a homey atmosphere with the latest in high tech. (Even if you don't yet own a MAC, it's worth a visit.)
Hard Disk Partitions, Buying a New PCJune 15, 2006 Generally, new computers ship with a C disk the full size of the hard disk. Hard disks however, can be divided into logical pieces called partitions. For example, a computer with a single hard disk can have Windows assign "C" and "E" and "F" to different portions/partitions of the disk.
In this presentation, Michael Horowitz will explain what partitions are, the rules and software for creating them, and the many purposes they can serve. One purpose is to run more than one copy of Windows on a single computer, the official term for this being "multi-booting". Why do so?
And you are not limited to two copies of Windows. Using partitions you can run any two Operating Systems on one computer. Want to make the transition from Windows 98/Me to XP slowly rather than in a big bang? Run them both on one computer. Partitions are the foundation for Apple's Bootcamp software that lets you run Windows XP on an Intel based Macintosh computer. And there are more reasons to use partitions. Come hear for yourself. Also at the meeting: A few minutes on buying a new computer.
All About Open Source SoftwareMay 18, 2006 Come to the General Meeting to learn how you can get and use Open Source Software (OSS) to improve your computing experience. Our panel of open source experts includes Mark Halegua, chair of NYPC’s DeLUGE SIG, Jacob Brickman, who teaches many of our Linux courses, and others. You’ll learn what applications are available, on what platforms, and how you can get and use open source browsers, email programs, databases, office suites, graphics programs, desktop publishing apps, and more. The term open source refers to the free availability of the software source code. Anyone not only can use the software but make changes to it, typically publishing the code changes for comment, revision, and use by the open source community. The use of the term project to refer to open source applications reminds us that an application is not completed and out the door, bugs and all but continues to be refined by the community. There are some complexities to the licensing of the software, but in general it gives users the freedom to run, study, modify, and/or redistribute a program for any purpose, without paying royalties to previous developers. The alternative to open source software is closed source software, whose source code is hidden from public view. Under most licenses the user cannot modify the program or redistribute it. Note that, although open source software is typically free, Open Source Software/Free Software is not synonymous with freeware or shareware. The latter applications may be freely distributed but often carry the caveat, "You may not modify this program or any portion of it..., without author’s prior written consent." As open source applications have matured, they have become increasingly accessible to everyone. They are easy to load, have user-friendly graphical user interfaces (GUIs), and have readable documentation. They are reliable and possess a broad support network. They typically run on Windows, MAC, or Linux—your choice. Open source software is an increasingly viable alternative to proprietary applications for both businesses and individuals. This meeting will demonstrate the many options available in Open Source Software and explore why you should consider OSS for your computer(s). For further reading
If there is a topic you'd like covered, send an email to Bill Ginsberg at program@nypc.org. *Opens in new window |
Sony demo'd the Reader and discussed e-books. The Reader is about the size of a trade paperback, but
thinner and lighter. It uses the battery only when changing the page, so battery life is measured in
page turns rather than hours of usage. You can go for days or weeks without recharging, depending on
use. It is great for travelers or anyone who wants to carry a number of books.
Katrin is one of our most admired presenters and we are lucky to have here back again.
This time she showed Adobe’s new program Photoshop Lightroom.
David was not born with computer genes; in fact he had not even used a computer until his last year in college. He graduated as a music major and then spent 10 years on Broadway "…arranging, conducting and playing synthesizers in theater pits."
Nowadays David is a technology writer with an unusual talent for making complex computer jargon simple, readily understandable and often quite funny. He credits coming late to computers as an advantage. "And to this day, I believe that fact to be my ace in the hole. I'm one of them; I'm one of the newcomers." 
Have you ever noticed that Windows thinks the hard disk is smaller than it should be?
One reason for this is that the computer manufacturer may have configured the hard disk with a
partition that is hidden from Windows.
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