2007 was a good year for me as President of the Big Bear Computer Club and I hope that 2008 will follow in the same footsteps. The club had a strong board making good decisions for the members and the same board has agreed to continue for 2008. I am delighted to have such talent on-board.

Our webmaster has expanded our website to include an online bulletin board whereby if you have a computer problem, you can post it and anyone who has the answer can help you solve the problem. This is a great resource to get answers for in-between meetings. You do have to register to access the bulletin board but it is a couple of simple steps. If you have problems registering, contact our webmaster, Bill Flanagan at bill • bigbearcc.org

The board now has their Big Bear Computer Club personalized email; mine is yomar • bigbearcc.org

Let’s have a great 2008 year of exploring different ways in which we can help all our members develop their computer skills. You can help us meet our goals this year.

Happy New Year!!

— Yomar Cleary

Our club now has an online forum (bulletin board). Our meetings are a month apart, but now if you’ve got a computer problem that needs some immediate attention, would like to comment or inquire about club activities, or just chat about stuff, posting to the new forum gives you an opportunity to be heard at any time. It’s a way to have the club’s resources available to members on a daily basis. The forum is a good idea only if you get involved. Registration is required to participate in the forum, so at least register even if you have nothing to contribute at this time. Think of it as an easy way to demonstrate that you have an interest in, and are an active member of the BBCC community.

The forum can be accessed here or with a tab in the navigation bar atop the club’s main website pages.

Thanks to Carole Allen for overseeing the Nomination Committee and providing us with the following nominees for 2008:

President — Yomar Cleary
Vice President — Karen Tangeman
Secretary — Rosemary Lloyd
Treasurer — Barbara Moore

Director-at-Large — Rick Edwards

Word allows you to create drawing objects in your document. These objects (such as an oval, rectangle, line, or AutoShape) are positioned on what is termed the “drawing layer,” which is separate and distinct from the text that appears in a document. In versions of Word prior to Word 2007 you generally create such objects by using the tools on the Drawing toolbar. (Display the Drawing toolbar by clicking your mouse on the Drawing tool on the Standard toolbar.) If you are using Word 2007, then there is no Drawing toolbar; you use the Insert tab of the ribbon, instead. (more…)

There is a very cool way, apparently not well known, of adding ‘active’ or ‘live’ titles and other text to charts. In this way you can make a change in a worksheet and have that change reflected in a title in the chart. Follow these steps: (more…)

ULead has a DIGITAL CAMERA WIZARD; you can import images from your Camera, from camera drive, or Card Reader or an image folder.

After you import, you can copy images to-existing folder, new folder, custom folder, or folder by date.

Next you decide to delete files after successful transfer, renumber images to ensure unique file, or add a destination folder to your album.  (more…)

Video Editing Software for the Novice, Prosumer & Expert

Pinnacle Systems has been in existence since 1986 with its “Studio” line of editing software for the consumer & “prosumer” (professional consumer). Pinnacle is known for two major computer products: (1) Their “PCTV” hardware & software combination allowing for watching (and eventually recording) broadcast television; and, (2) Their “Dazzle” line of capture solutions which allow composite video recording, especially from camcorders and VCRs. Their website home page is here.  (more…)

Instead of listing a few review programs that are available, I would like to inform you that any program you are interested in and would like to install on your computer is probably available for review. All you have to do is ask for it and review it. The program could be on landscaping, any kind of crafts, digital photos, video, any kind of home decorating, games, office or accounting programs, gift cards, label, and printshop programs, any program you are interested in having. All you have to do is let me know which program you would like to review. I will then contact the vendor and it takes about 10 days to receive the program. Sometimes the vendor will grant the reviewer a license online and all the reviewer has to do is download the program. Reviews are not hard to write; in fact they are quite easy. You are given instructions on how to write a review plus I have many samples you can look at. Also if you need any help all you have to do is e-mail or call me. Writing a review is like telling someone about the new program you just received. You tell them what you like about the program, what you don’t like, and how the program could be better, that’s it. There’s your review. And you can review books, also.

— Karen Tangeman, Review Editor

Today the number of web pages in existence is measured in the billions, but just fifteen years ago that number was only a few hundred, accessed primarily by academics and research institutions. In 1993 a web browser named Mosaic, developed by Marc Andreessen and Eric Bina for the National Center for Supercomputing Applications, was released which, for the first time, allowed graphics to be displayed inline with text. The Mosaic browser became Netscape Navigator in 1994, and is credited as a major contributing factor to the internet boom of the 1990s. (more…)

Ira Wilsker
APCUG Director; Columnist, Radio and TV Show Host
Iwilsker@apcug.net

You may remember the recent case of a local woman who responded to a “work at home” opportunity where she would accept payments from the customers of a business, deposit the checks, deduct her generous commissions, and then wire the balance elsewhere. (more…)

Collected by Pim Borman
SW Indiana PC Users Group, Inc.

Disruptive Open Source Programs

The prestigious British weekly news magazine, The Economist, carries a 14-page special report on Innovation in its October 13th, 2007 issue. As you might expect it is about innovation in entrepreneurship, not the kind associated with the name Edison and symbolized by a light bulb. Besides, Edison did not invent light bulbs but only improved them to make them practical and marketable. (more…)

There is a way to legitimately download licensed commercial software, free, with only a few strings attached. The website GiveAwayofTheDay makes available for download a fully licensed and legal version of a commercial software title each day, but only one title per day, and each title is only available for download for 24 hours. Once downloaded, the commercial software is usable for a typical license term, usually for a year or for whatever the normal duration of the license for that software title. Be sure to follow the included instructions to register and activate the software. While licensed and legal, this commercial software does not offer technical support or updates under the terms of the free license.

— Thanks to KIPCUG

Bring your empty printer cartridges to the meeting. The printer cartridge program is a BBCC fund-raiser that helps us purchase supplies and pay for Big Bear Computer Club expenses. Thank you for your participation.