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Author: Anne Panter
Graphics: Adam Panter
Reach us at apanter@kawartha.net
Summertime, and the living is easy - unless you live in the Kawarthas. For local business folk, summer is the busiest time of year. Farmers, of course, are making hay while the sun shines. Even retirees and cottagers find their days (and their guest rooms) full.
However, busy as they are, the Internet Users Group voted in June to continue meetings throughout the summer. There was a good turnout for the July 10 meeting, with many people pitching in to make the meeting a success.
Thanks especially to Phil Halsey, who drove to Whitby to bring us copies of "We Compute" and "Toronto Computes", to Karen MacNeil, for transporting the laptop and projector to and from Nexicom in Millbrook, and to Garth Scarborough, for taking time out of a hectic day to set up the equipment.
Once again, the "round the table" discussion took us 'round the world - and from very different perspectives. First, Doug Kilpatrick took us to "project Starshine". Students from 17 different countries have participated in making this satellite, which was launched from Discovery on June 5. It is visible to the naked eye in the early morning and late evening skies. The web site gives the exact times it will pass overhead - based on a massive database of thousands of place names, including Bobcaygeon and Coboconk.
Meanwhile, Larry Muter is following the adventures of a couple circling the globe at a much slower pace, in a sailboat. The Houston Chronicle web site is posting regular updates from Lee Gunter and Mindi Miller, who expect to take three years to complete the trip.
While some members have been circling the globe by internet, others have been "grounded" since recent thunderstorms destroyed their modems. We were reminded once again to unplug both the power cord and the phone lines from the computer (and other electronic appliances) during an electrical storm.
After a noisy and productive coffee break (that's when the real networking happens), we had a brief technical interlude: keyboard tips for the mouse-impaired. After years of computing, I still find it awkward to cut and paste with the mouse, so use the shift and arrow keys instead. There are also some very useful shortcuts which can save you time and bother. These are listed in the Windows "Help" files.
Mike Ricks then gave us a demonstration of some of the commercial sites. We checked out stocks on the TSE, then went shopping at some online book stores. Our last stop was at "ebay", the internet's answer to the Eaton's catalogue. Here, though, everything is sold by auction. The purpose of Mike's demonstration was twofold: first, the obvious point that you can now buy almost anything "online". Secondly, that these sites are very well designed and easy to use. This led to some interesting discussion about the effect of the internet, and free trade in general, on our local economy. While we all try to "shop locally", sometimes that just isn't feasable. However, the door swings both ways: local businesses also have access to world markets through the internet.
Which might make your winters as busy as your summers!
The Internet Users Group meets on the second Thursday of each month, at the Lions' Hall, Main St., Bobcaygeon. Visit our web site (and find the sites mentioned above), at www.bobcaygeon.com, under "special interest groups".