KawarthaNet User Group: May 2004

Attendance:
Bob Skelly, Joe Groenendyk, N. Groenendyk, Bill VanKuik, Mike Ricks, Chris Graeves, Gord Nentley, Bob Stokes, Al Wright, Bob Stevenson, Larry Muter, Anne Panter, Paul MacCauley
Minutes of last meeting:
online
Financial Report:
Anne. (Not included in online minutes)
New Business:
Beginning in June, the Bobcaygeon Lions' Club will be charging $50 per night for the use of their hall. We agreed that with current attendance this is not affordable. There followed discussion of alternatives:
- Discuss other options with the Lions' Club
- Find another venue
  suggestions included Settlers' Village, Bobcaygeon Seniors club, Fenelon Seniors' Club, Bobcaygeon Municipal Building. We agreed that changing venue might also require changing the meeting day, if Thursdays could not be accommodated.
- Disband, or redefine our mission
  There was discussion about whether the group is still relevant or necessary. If so, we must redefine our purpose (and possibly our name).
  When the Internet User's Group was formed in 1996, our mission statement was: To provide the Kawartha community with access to public information networks, and to educate the public in the use and value of information technology. To provide local organizations with a cost effective method of distributing information to a wider audience. To bring the information highway to Peterborough and the surrounding area.
  Since that time, internet usage has become common, and several ISPs offer internet services in this area.
Conclusions:
Garth will follow up with Mr. Fritz of the Lions' Club. The next meeting will be held at the Bobcaygeon Lions' Club, unless other arrangments are made in the meantime. If the venue changes, Anne will send out notices well in advance.
Demonstration: Organizing your Hard Drive
Hands-on practice: saving, naming, and finding files and folders. Notes available here.
Round the Table:
- Q: How can I get rid of Norton 2004 (in order to install another anti-virus programme)
  A: (Paul M.) Agreed that you should not have more than one anti-virus program running. Also, be sure the programme is not running when you uninstall it. Norton is difficult to uninstall, as it has "tentacles" everywhere. The uninstall involves downloading files, and editting the registry. Instructions are on the (Norton web site)
- Q:How to get rid of pop-ups, spyware etc. running on your computer
  A: If the applications show up on the desktop, you can stop them running by closing the application (click on the title bar/ choose "close", or right-click the item on the task bar, choose "close"). However, many run "invisibly" in the background. To stop these, open Task Manager (cntl-alt-delete), highlight the application, then click "End Task".
- Maps: Bill found city maps of his home town online at their web site. Maps are also available at Mapquest
  You can download the complete Ontario Road Map Ontario MTO
  
  ...or... pick up free road maps at the LCBO or ReMax.
- Wireless internet providers: Local providers: www.candlelight.ca (Parry Sound, Minden, Haliburton), Cable Cable / i-zoom (tower is south of Lindsay)
- Web sites: Fenelon Falls Community Policing
- Q: E-mail Cleanup New level of Outlook Express has different file extensions (was .mbx, now .snm). Can I delete these files to houseclean my email?
  A: (Paul) No, don't do that.. these are XP system files. XP has many, many system files, and deleting them can cause unpredictable results... including failure to boot! For a list of these extensions, go to Google and search for Microsoft File Extensions).
  In general: use XP system tools (ScanDisk, Defrag) to houseclean, and uninstall applications properly, rather than just deleting files.
  In Outlook Express, just delete your email normally and let the program handle the cleanup. Since these are mostly text files, they don't take up much room, and if you have a newer hard drive (80 - 120GB) you needn't worry about space.
- Nexicom's Email Protection: A reminder to check this regularly, as not all items are "junk". A recent example: the confirmation email for airline tickets was routed to the "junk mail".
- CD /DVD Drives: Al has two drives installed. Does it matter which you use for burning CDs?
  A: No... but... some motherboards don't have audio connections for more than one drives, so you may only be able to play music from one. Also, CD burners only work if the software is installed.
- Spam, spyware problems: These can slow down your computer drastically. Spybot is now $30. The biggest problem lately is search toolbars: these are full of spyware. Norton flags them as "potential virus".
- Autorun: To suspend Autorun (ie. prevent a CD from automatically starting up when inserted), hold the Shift key when you insert the CD. To permanently disable Autorun go to Control Panel / System / Device Manager. Click on the CD icon, then the Properties Button. Choose Settings Tab. Un-check "auto-insert notification"
- MS Office 97: Can I install an older version of MS Office on XP?
  A: (Paul) Yes. Most Microsoft products are backwardly-compatable.

Next Meeting

Thursday June 10, Lions' Club, Bobcaygeon