There are no separate minutes for the December meeting, as this was the annual Christmas party.

Some background: Attendance has been declining, to the point that the November meeting was cancelled when there were too few people to proceed. Attendees at the December meeting (Christmas Party) decided what to do with the groups assets, and agreed to have one more meeting to determine the group's future. That is the agenda for this meeting.

Attendees were polled for their comments and suggestions. The following is a summary of these comments. [Note: These are not verbatim, and the names of the contributors are not included]

• The group is enjoyable as a social gathering of friends.
• It fosters community spirit
• I always learn something new
• To reduce the work involved, meetings could be more casual, with just the "round table", and no formal minutes
• The "round table" part of the meeting is the most useful.
• Many seniors don't attend evening meetings because of the drive, particularly in winter
• The group is not well enough known in the area
• The group has other objectives besides the meetings (eg. bringing the internet to the community). We can still serve the community. For example, broadband is still not available to much of the area. Another project could be having a web cam in Bobcaygeon.
• More people now have computers, and other sources of help
• Attendees (and attendance) varies between winter and summer
• The decision to alternate meetings between Fenelon Falls and Bobcaygeon was to attract more members in Fenelon Falls. Instead, the confusion of inconsistent meeting days (Tues. in odd months, Thurs. in even) and venues seems to have reduced attendance.
• Meeting less frequently would probably also reduce attendance
• A laptop and projector are required for presentations. Beth has been bringing the projector from Nexicom to the Bobcaygeon meetings.
• Other venues are available. School classrooms are available for a one-time fee of $15. However there may not be a phone connection available in a classrom.
• Computer classes are available. For example, the classes in the Adult Education Centre in Lindsay are fully booked.
• Answers to computer questions can be found on Google

The motion to disband was deferred until after the "Round Table" discussion.

1. Beth announced that Nexicom has a new tower near the Galway / Cavendish / Harvey Township Office (near Nogies Creek). High-speed service is available to residents within approximately 8k, with line-of-sight view of the tower. The price is comparable to DSL ($49.95 / month plus $100 installation fee). Nexicom is planning more towers in North Kawartha Township (Peterborough County).
   
       Paul added that he is already using that service, and has been impressed with both download and upload speed, and there is no cap on the volume of data.
   
       Beth added that we should expect broadband to be available in most areas within the next two years. Bell Canada had committed to having broadband available across the province by 2004, but have had that deadline extended.



2. Garth: There is a web site for the TV show "Random One" which includes 50 "random acts of kindness" to change the world, starting in your community.



3. The latest version of Zone Alarm has problems. Don't install it yet!



4. Internet security is worse than ever. Be very cautious about using internet banking, internet shopping with credit cards. There are rumours that the gun registry data base has been compromised.



5. Bernie has been using Skype (Voice Over Internet Protocol) and has found that savings on his phone bills offset the cost of broadband. Skype connections are clear (better quality that MSN or Yahoo). You can call someone on their regular phone. Calls between Skype users are free, calls to others are 1.6 cents / minute within Canada. The software requires Windows XP.
   
       Garth: voice connections over Yahoo are clear even over a dial-up line.
   
       Beth: Phone companies are lowering their long-distance rates because of the competion from VOIP.



6. Bob: has a good use for fans from scrap computers. He makes dust filters, to collect the dust from his wood carving.



7. Paul: The TV program "Call For Help" (Tech TV), which just aired its 323rd episode has a very useful companion web site: www.g4techtv.ca/callforhelp/



8. Paul is starting a blog: didthemath.com
   
       If the group wants a place to chat (more interactive than kawartha-online email list) there are java applets to set up an online chat room. Also, Paul will look into setting up a forum.



9. Norm: Q: How do you handle a hotmail message that appears as one long text line (no word wrap)?
   
   A: Select All / Copy then Paste into Notepad (or other text editor or word processor). You can use the keyboard shortcuts: [cntl - A] for Select All, [cntl-C] for Copy, [cntl-V] for Paste
   Also, check that you have the latest version of Messenger/ Outlook.



10. Paul explained the pros / cons of Linux. It is open source, hence free. This means that the actual code is available and vulnerable for viruses, etc., but for the same reason there is less motivation to do harm. Microsoft code is "closed", but also more likely to be the target of viruses.



11. Anne: A move toward voting by phone / internet has been abandoned by City of Kawartha Lakes Council. Lack of security was one of the reasons.



12. Anne: My "five favourite freebies" - freeware programs that have been recommended over the years (and one new one)
    • FireFox Browser
          An alternative to Internet Explorer & Netscape. I prefer Firefox's tabbed windows to Explorer's multiple windows.
    • EditPad
          An alternative to Notepad (Text editor). Small and simple, but with handy features, like multiple tabbed windows. Originally it was "postcardware" - the author asked that you send him a postcard. Not too much to ask for a very useful program.
    • PopTray
          This is the best tool I have found for eliminating spam and protecting against email viruses.
          Before you get your email in Outlook Express, check it in PopTray. This little program lists the messages in your email while they are on the server. It shows the size, the sender and the subject line and allows you to delete unwanted messages before downloading them to your computer. You can also preview messages (you specify how many lines) to determine if you want to download the full message.
    • Irfanview
          How do I email photos? How do I shrink them to fit on a screen? Answer: download Irfanview and follow directions.
          This program has been recommended at almost every meeting. Everyone who has a digital camera or scanner also has the software that came with it. Since these programs have different menus and features it's difficult to answer specific "how to" questions at the meetings. Irfanview is small to download and simple to use, so we can use it to demonstrate picture editing.
          Even when I do have other programs available, Irfanview is my tool of choice for resizing pictures. I also use its batch commands for renaming files, making "thumbnails" and even generating web pages.
    • OffByOne
          This is a tiny browser - small enough to carry on a small USB drive, so you can load it on almost any computer and get online.. It doesn't handle java, so not all web pages are readable.