KawarthaNet User Group: June 2005

Attendance:
Bob Stokes, Bernie Fobert, Bev Thompson, Gayle Dunford, Gordon Dunford, Mike Ricks, Beth Steinbeck, Evelyn Finlay, Al Wright, Bob Skelly, Dan Jackson, Don Jardine, Norm Bailey, Bill VanKuik, Wally Schneider, Adam Panter, Anne Panter
Minutes of last meeting:
online
Financial report
(not included in online minutes)
Bill and Anne signed a letter to the bank requesting that the investment funds be transferred to the chequing account. Anne will get Garth's signature, and make out cheques to Settlers' Village
New Business:
1. Internet at Settlers' Village
  Beth suggested we get a high-speed connection for Settlers' Village. She will find out the cost, and Bob Skelly will check with Settlers' Village to see if they are interested. This could only be a one-year commitment (review in the following year to see if there are funds to continue it.)
2. Summer meeetings
  Mike Ricks has offered to do a demo of graphs in Micrsosoft Works Spreadsheet for either the July or September meeting.
  Anne will send out a notice asking people to RSVP if they will be attending on July 12, and depending on the response the Steering Committee will decide whether to hold or cancel the meeting.
'Round the Table
1. "Shrinking" photos
  
     Q: Why is it important to "shrink" pictures before emailing them?
  
     A: Two reasons:
  
  (1) If you send a "print quality" photo, it will cover several screens, and the recipient can only view a small part of it. Shrink it down to at least 800 x 600 so it will fit on one screen (at that resolution).
  (eg. in Irfanview, Image / Resize:Resample choose 800 x 600 and "Preserve Aspect Ratio")
  
  (2) Most internet users are still on dial-up modems, so if you send them a large file, it can take a long time to download, or, worse, block their other email until they can download it. In general, shrink the file size down to less than 100k. Right-click on the file, and look at it's Properties.
  
  If, after reducing the image size to 800x600 the file size is still too big, you can make it smaller by reducing the quality (eg. in Irfanview, File / SaveAs /Options set "quality" to 70%. )
  
     Adam showed how to do both of the above using the Paint programme included with Windows XP (under Accessories). The same method works in with most graphics programmes: ie. whatever is included with your digital camera or scanner, or Irfanview
2. Emailing to several people
  
  If you are sending an email to a list of addresses, please use bcc:. If you use cc: , all the emails addresses are listed at the beginning of the email. This is not just an annoyance, but also a privacy issue.
  
  If you receive an email with all these addresses, and want to send it to others, don't use "forward". Instead, create a new message and copy-and-paste the relevant part of the original (omitting all the emails!)
3. Disconnects
  
  Dial-up user was getting a message "your smtp server has not responded in 60 seconds" and called Nexicom's help line. They found that by disabling his firewall (Norton) the problem was solved. Although it is wise to have a firewall, there may be contention problems with multiple firewalls (eg. Norton & Microsoft).
4. Email confirmation
  
  Q: Many emails pop up a notice asking if you want to send confirmation. How do they do this?
  
  A: In Outlook Express go to Tools / Options / Receipts. To request confirmation of your emails, check the top box. The next section tells the program whether you want to send confirmations. The default is "Notify" (ie. ask your permission before sending a confirmation).
5. Chain Letters
  
  Please don't forward them ... particularly the ones threatening dire consequences if you don't!
6. Housecleaning
  
     Q: Virus checking takes a long time. Is there a way to speed it up?
  
     A: Before running your virus checker, get rid of all unnecessary files (eg. empty recycle bin, delete temporary internet files, etc.) An easy way to do this is with a housecleaning programme like Cleanup or Empty Temp Folders or Easy Cleaner
  
     Particularly if you are on dial-up, set your virus options to update manually, rather than automatically, so you can control when they are run. Wally noted that AVG shuts down Outlook Express.
7. Sending photos in Hotmail
  
  Gail noted that you cannot copy-and-paste a picture in Hotmail. To send a picture, you must save it and attach it.
  
  A good suggestion if people send you attachments: save them to a disk in your A:drive. That way they won't affect your hard drive, and are easy to discard.
8. Forwarding emails
  
  There was a very useful article on "when not to forward" in the last issue of Internetworking News. Mike received permission to distribute it, and will send it out to kawartha-online. Now when people send him spam email, he responds with a copy of the article.
9. Seniors' Centre
  
  The Seniors' Centre no longer needs the KIUG computer given to them some time back. Mike will arrange to move it out. We will see if there is another use for it (eg. Settlers' Village).
10. Anti-virus software
  
  Beth asked what software people were using. The majority use Norton, but some have AVG. (AVG is smaller, so suited to older machines).
11. Networking
  
  Wally has had problems connecting a laptop to his PC. In general, you can network between W95, W98 and XP, but you cannot use direct cable connection with XP.
  Note: after the meeting, Wally solved the problem by shutting down ZoneAlarm
  "When Zone Alarm is loaded, it had to be shut down, as it will not allow access to the Desktop. My mistake was I only unchecked it in startup but it was still running in the background."
12. Accessability Options
  
  At higher resolution some of the small fonts are difficult to see, particularly on a small screen (eg. laptop). To save eye strain, switch to larger fonts. Also, the "high contrast" setting under Accessibility Options is useful for people with low vision.
13. Free Computer Lessons at the Libraries
  
  Norm announced that the local libraries are offering lessons - but are fully booked. Check with the library to see if there's a waiting list.
14. Questions for the meeting
  
  Norm suggested writing down your questions between meetings so you can cover them all at the meeting.
15. Dial-up Networking
  
  Q: Where do you change the information (phone number, etc.) of your ISP?
  
  A: In W3.x, W95, W98 it was under Accessories / Dial-up Networking. In XP it is under Start / Settings / Network Connections. To add a new connection, use Start / Settings/ Control Panel / Network Setup Wizard.
16. PC to DVD
  
  Q:Is it possible to copy a DVD programme into Powerpoint?
  
  A:Not directy, as both are proprietary, incompatable, formats. However, you may be able to create a new Powerpoint presentation, and copy individual items (eg. jpg files ) from the DVD.
17. 5¼ floppies
  
  Q: Bob Skelly asked if anyone had a machine with a 5¼ floppy drive. No-one does, but we'll check the machines at the Seniors' Centre.
18. Google Maps
  
  At Google maps you can type in an address and zoom in on a satellite picture (click on "Satellite" in the upper right corner)

Demonstration:

Adam showed how to shrink photos (both display size and file size) using the Paint programme included with Windows XP (under Accessories). The same method works in with most graphics programmes: ie. whatever is included with your digital camera or scanner, or Irfanview

Next Meeting
Tuesday, July 12, 2005, 7:00 pm
Compu-Dynamix, Fenelon Falls