APRIL 2008 SEMINARS: listed chronologically
(no pre-registration is necessary for any of the seminars; participation is first-come/first-served)

Face-to-Face with a Computer Tech
Thursday, April 3, at 1:30 pm, in the Classroom
Presenter: Chuck Strickland
Members who subscribe to HelpingHandsOnline will recognize the name of the presenter of this seminar.  He frequently takes the time to answer many of the questions posed by those who use our Q&A club Email help line.  Others will recognize him as a professional technical support person who services computers and makes “house calls” to residents of Sun City.  By attending this seminar, you will be able to get your computer questions answered free in a “face-to-face” meeting with a computing professional. Bring your notepad to the session so that you can make a record of his advice. Chuck will give priority to all questions that are submitted in advance of the seminar.  Once he addresses those questions, then he will open the floor to a question and answer segment.  Therefore, to guarantee that you will get an answer to your question, just send an Email message to: chuck@chuckstr89134.com.

Online Banking
Monday, April 7, beginning at 1:00 P.M., in the Classroom
Presenter: Ken Bentley
Online banking is another service offered by financial institutions which allows you to conduct most of your banking activities, using your personal computer from the convenience of your home. Online banking is essentially a way to view your bank account information using a computer with Internet access. But online banking is more than accessing an immediate display of how much cash you have in your checking or savings accounts.

At this seminar we will demonstrate, using a local bank's "Personal Internet Banking Tour", all of the different kinds of transactions that can be accomplished. These include viewing accounts; transferring funds; bill paying; stopping payment on a check; reordering checks; requesting a copy of a past statement or cancelled check; or emailing a customer service representative with a specific question about your account. No need to navigate through the jungle of a bank’s automated phone system! We will discuss how the system works, the various safety issues, and what steps your bank takes to protect you from fraud.

As an alternative to online banking we will review what's involved if you consider preauthorizing all of your common bills e.g. Utilities, Charge Card Payments, Real Estate Taxes, Mortgage Payments, etc. You authorize the party to whom you are paying funds to debit your bank account on a predetermined date. You receive the traditional statement, but do not have the hassle of mailing payments or possibly being delinquent if your payment is delayed by the post office. This great service will work with or without online banking.

Customizing the Toolbars in Windows, Internet Explorer, Outlook Express, and Word
Tuesday, April 8, at 10:30 am, in the Classroom
Presenter: Bill Wilkinson
You probably know that your Internet Explorer browser offers three optional toolbars—Standard Buttons, Address Bar and Links. But did you know that you can customize each of them in various ways? Using the same or similar strategies, it is possible to optimize the toolbars in Outlook Express and Windows to suit your personal needs, as well.  In addition, you may be surprised to learn that Microsoft Word offers 29 different toolbars, with the two most popular—Standard and Formatting—being the ones that you will see by default. The Standard Toolbar in Word can show up to 28 different buttons and the program’s Formatting Toolbar is capable of showing 20 buttons (five additional buttons will be hidden due to lack of room). This seminar will take you step-by-step through the process of designing your own unique set of toolbars that will enhance your efficiency and proficiency as you work with any of Microsoft’s “Big Four.”

Surveying the Powerful and FREE Open Office Word Processing Program
Thursday, “April 10, at 9:00 am, in the Classroom
Presenter: Rich Walko
The FREE Open Office word processing program, called WRITER, has everything you would expect from a modern, fully equipped word processor or desktop publisher. It's simple enough for a quick memo, powerful enough to create complete books with contents, diagrams, indexes, etc. You're free to concentrate on your message - while WRITER makes it look great. The Wizards takes all the hassle out of producing standard documents such as letters, faxes, agendas, minutes, or carrying out more complex tasks such as mail merges. You are of course free to create your own templates.

Styles and Formatting puts the power of style sheets into the hands of every user. Trap typing mistakes on the fly with the AutoCorrect dictionary, which can check your spelling as you type. Reduce typing effort with AutoComplete, which suggests common words and phrases to complete what you are typing. AutoFormat takes care of the formatting as you write, leaving you free to concentrate on your message. Text frames and linking give you the power to tackle desktop publishing tasks for newsletters, flyers, etc. laid out exactly the way you want them to be. You can even increase the usefulness of your long, complex documents by generating a table of contents or indexing terms, bibliographical references, illustrations, tables, and other objects.WRITER offers direct connection to email software. Make your documents freely available with WRITER's HTML export to the web, or publish in Portable Document Format (.pdf) to guarantee that what you write is what your reader sees.

WRITER can of course read all your old Microsoft Word documents, or save your work in Microsoft Word format for sending to people who are still locked into Microsoft products. Many of these outstanding program components will be surveyed and demonstrated during this presentation.

Customizing the Start Menu and Taskbar in Windows XP
Monday, April 14, at 1:00 pm, in the Classroom
Presenter: Bill Wilkinson
The Start menu is the key to running your Windows operating system. You can gain access to nearly any aspect of your computer from the Start button. Because your Start menu reflects the programs and contents of your computer, it’s doubtful any two Start menus and submenus will look exactly the same. Nevertheless, you might be surprised at how swiftly you can get to what you need by tweaking the way your Start Menu is set up.

The Taskbar, a valuable companion to the Start menu, is a convenient tool that assists the user in quickly and easily navigating the Windows operating system.  It gives you rapid access to the programs and tools you frequently use. It pays to take some time to customize your Taskbar to create a computing environment that fits your personal needs.

This presentation will take you step-by-step through the process of personalizing both the Start menu and the Taskbar, two components that you will find indispensable.

Photoshop Elements and Picasa
Tuesday, April 15, at 10:30 am, in the Classroom
Presenter: George Keelen
This seminar will combine presentations about Adobe’s Photoshop Elements and Google’s free Picasa. Adobe Photoshop Elements is a powerful photo editing program that is a favorite among many of our Computer Club members. This seminar will introduce novice users to some of the basic functions of this popular and highly-regarded product. As a bonus, Google’s free Picasa program will be integrated into the presentation. Picasa is software that helps you instantly find, edit and share all the pictures on your PC. George’s two-pronged set of notes will provide step-by-step instructions for using both Elements and Picasa.

The Vista Control Panel
Monday, April 21, at 10:30 am, in the Classroom
Presenter: Howard Verne
Along with other changes built into Vista, Microsoft recently overhauled Windows' Control Panel. You probably don’t use the Control Panel every day, and you might not even think about it much. But getting familiar with the new Control Panel and its expanded toolset will help you settle in with Vista, maximize system performance, and solve problems in your new operating system.

Introduction to Quicken
Thursday, April 24, at 10:30 am, in the Classroom
Presenter: Irene Burt
This seminar will show you what’s new in Quicken 2008 and the basic steps of setting up your accounts, creating categories for reports, recording transactions, preparing tax reports, and tracking investments.

Gmail and Other Google Programs
Thursday, April 24, at 1:00 pm, in the Classroom
Presenter: Pat Lemay
Do you think GMAIL is just another email program?  If you do, you are wrong.   GMAIL has 2.9 gigabytes (and growing) of free storage, so you can keep emails stored on their server  – not on your computer.   Email attachments open on their server so the chance of getting a virus is almost impossible.  The best part is that with a GMAIL account you have access to numerous other programs.  This Seminar will also cover creating documents and spreadsheets that will be stored on their server.  Would you like to safely store 4,000 photographs on their server?  This Seminar will show you how.  If your computer ever crashes, you will never lose the information in your Google email account, or your documents, spreadsheets and photographs.  You can also access the above information from any computer in the world with your user name and password.  The best part – it is all FREE!

Dealing with Tech Support
Monday, April 28, at 10:30 am, in the Classroom
Presenter: Harry Doyle
Dealing with tech support when you have a computer problem can be a really frustrating issue. However, there are some strategies that you will want to employ in order to make the experience as positive as possible.  We will discuss these strategies and provide some pointers on how you can be prepared to have a productive conversation with a tech support person.

Spring Cleaning Your Hardware and Software
Monday, April 28, at 1:00 pm, in the Classroom
Presenter: Bill Wilkinson
Routine preventative maintenance can spell the difference between a reliable computer system and one that is prone to irritating and hard-to-diagnose problems. Just as tuning up your engine, rotating the tires, and changing the oil are necessary aspects of car ownership, so are the tasks that will be demonstrated during this presentation. Some of these tasks will take some of your time and patience, but you’ll be glad that you completed them in the long run. We will provide you with some step-by-step procedures for “cleaning” both your hardware and software.

Web-Based Email
Tuesday, April 29, at 10:30 am, in the Classroom
Presenter: Carol Warman
Would you like to be able to check your email while visiting your family and friends without dragging your laptop along on the trip? Many SCSCC members use client based programs such as Outlook, Outlook Express and even the “tried and true” Juno mail on their home computers. In this seminar, we will discuss the concept of “web based email” as a solution to the problem of getting and sending email while you’re on the road. All you need is an Internet connection. We’ll also review the use of several email websites, such as Yahoo Mail, Hotmail and the presenter’s personal favorite, Gmail (Google mail).

Creating Your Personal Website
Wednesday, April 30, at 9:00 am, in the Classroom
Presenter: Tom Burt
This 2 hour seminar is aimed at beginners in web development (not beginners in Computers) who don't want to invest in a high-end web development tool or to learn all the details of the HTML language. We'll walk through the basic structure of a simple web site and how to use MS-Word as your main "WYSIWYG" web page editing tool. We'll also look at the steps needed to set up a personal web space on Cox.net and the basic procedures to publish and maintain your web site after you have built it on your local hard drive. Finally we'll look at some do's and don'ts in web user interface design so that your web site will be easy to view and navigate.