LAS VEGAS PC USERS GROUP

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General Meeting History - Announcements & Synopses

Date: Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Time: 6:15 – 8:15 p.m.
Place: West Charleston Library
6301 W Charleston Blvd (East of Torrey Pines)


March 3, 2010

ANNOUNCEMENT

This month's presenter will be Larry Burgher, who will begin with an introduction to phishing, but will quickly dive into how to view and analyze the underlying construction of a phising email, or any other email for that matter.  We'll discover how to read email headers to determine the apparent and actual source of the email, see how spoofing works, as well as examine several tools that can aid you in not only in the analysis of emails, but with other everyday activities as well.

The president will open the meeting at 6:15PM, when Larry Burgher will conduct a general Question/Answer session, supplemented if time allows by demonstrations of assorted useful utilities and web sites.

LVPCUG Coffee MugThen club business will be discussed including nomination of officers for the upcoming election.  The main presentation will ensue thereafter.  Finally, door prizes will be awarded at approximately 8:15, followed by adjournment in time to vacate the auditorium prior to 8:30PM.

This month's door prizes will be a $25 Office Depot gift certificate, a $25 Fry's Electronics gift certificate, and a brand new LVPCUG coffee mug.  If you're interested in helping to promote your club, please consider purchasing one of these mugs by placing your order at the check-in table before the meeting, or email your request to mug@lvpcug.org.  The cost will be $10 per mug to be paid when you receive it.

SYNOPSIS

The meeting was opened at 6:15PM by President Wendy Jaroslawski.  She introduced Larry Burgher who fielded a few assorted questions, then, as a follow up to a question from last month about blocked attachments in Outlook, showed a free product called Outlook Tools which allows you to unblock email attachments, as well as customize several other Outlook features which Microsoft did not give us the ability to change in Outlook itself.

At 7PM Wendy introduced Charles Frederick, the election committee chairman, who orchestrated the formalities of accepting nominations and  conducting the election according to the bylaws of the club.  There were no new office-seeker, and all the incumbents agreed to serve another term, and were unanimously re-elected.

The main presentation, Analysis of a Phishing Email, was performed by Larry Burgher, Technical Director and Webmaster in the form of a PowerPoint slide show which started out with an introduction to the origins and techniques of phishing, and then showed how to look inside the email for headers that track its origin and delivery path.  He also identified the following sites to assist people in analysis:

Finally, door prizes were awarded.   Jim Barrett received a $25 Office Depot gift certificate, Charles Finnila received a $25 Fry's Electronics gift certificate, and Richard Prim was the first to be given one of our new LVPCUG coffee mugs.  The meeting was adjourned around 8:30PM

February 3, 2010

ANNOUNCEMENT

This month's topic will be What's New in Microsoft Office 2010, presented by Wendy Jaroslawski, the club president and former leader of the Office SIG.  She'll use the current beta release to show us what to expect when the product reaches store shelves around June of this year.

The president will open the meeting at 6:15PM.  Larry Burgher will provide a preliminary presentation of assorted items of interest including how to dissect a phishing email, and may take a few questions as usual if time allows.  It's been decided that the traditional break will not occur.  The main presentation will begin at 7:00PM.

Discussion of club business, such as the upcoming March election and the need for an election committee will begin around 8PM.  Finally, door prizes will be awarded at approximately 8:15, followed by adjournment in time to vacate the auditorium prior to 8:30PM.

SYNOPSIS

The meeting was opened at 6:15PM by President Wendy Jaroslawski.  She introduced Larry Burgher who began with a Q/A session dealing mostly with a couple of techniques for successfully sending attachments via email which would normally be blocked by Outlook Express and Microsoft Mail.  Larry had planned on showing how to dissect a phishing email, but the Q & A session lasted longer than expected, so he will save this topic for next month.

Wendy took over for the main presentation and demonstrated some of the new features of Microsoft Office 2010, which is expected to be released in June of this year.  Using the currently available Beta version, she demoed the Ribbon, the Quick Access Toolbar and how to customize it, and gave us a peek at the new versions of Word, Excel, Publisher, Power Point, and Access.

Finally, two Smart Computing one-year subscriptions  and a gift card were awarded as door prizes to lucky winners Howard Mark, Morrie Cutler, and Leland Beel, followed by adjournment.

January 6th, 2010

ANNOUNCEMENT

Our guest presenter in January will be Richard Damon of PC Laptops in Henderson.  He'll cover a myriad of topics including virus avoidance and removal,  solid state hard drives, the i7 processor, DDR3 memory, and new Windows 7 features such as jump lists, snap screens and enhanced search capabilities.

The president will open the meeting at 6:15PM.  Larry Burgher will provide a preliminary presentation of assorted items of interest, and may take a few questions as usual if time allows.  It's been decided that the traditional break will not occur.  The main presentation will begin at 7:00PM.

Discussion of club business, such as the upcoming election and the need for an election committee will begin around 8PM.  Finally, door prizes will be awarded at approximately 8:15, followed by adjournment in time to vacate the auditorium prior to 8:30PM. 

SYNOPSIS

The meeting was opened at 6:15PM by President Wendy Jaroslawski.  A last minute decision was made to alter the usual order of meeting in order to accommodate the guest speaker's schedule, so after welcoming the group, Wendy introduced the guest presenter, Richard Damon, of PC Laptops in Henderson.  Richard spoke about a number of topics, including the various components that can be used to build laptops and desktop computers, including i7 and other processors, and solid state hard drives.  He described the services offered by his company, and then fielded a large number of questions from the audience.

Next, Larry Burgher continued the Q/A session, and then showed a power measurement device called the Kill-a-Watt  which you can use to determine how much power your computing devices and other appliances are using.  Then he demonstrated a free software utility called Everything, which allows you to instantly locate files if you know any part of their name, and may very well be the fastest file finding tool available for the PC.

Wendy made some club announcements shortly after 8PM, then door prizes were awarded to lucky winners Bill Seugling, Charles Frederick, and Herbert Bann.  The meeting adjourned about 8:15PM.

December 2nd, 2009

ANNOUNCEMENT

This month, Don Sabatine will be conducting our first "Presentation in a Box", which will be from LapWorks, Inc.  Topics will include the dangers of laptop overheating and how to deal with it, and all about several accessories to make your laptop experience productive, safe and enjoyable.   We also expect a a short presentation from Anton Denissov about services available from Clear Wire, a 4G broadband wireless network provider.

The president will open the meeting at 6:15PM.  Larry Burgher will try something a little different this month by doing a preliminary presentation of assorted items of interest, and may take a few questions as usual if time allows, followed by a short break.  The main presentation will begin at 7:00PM.

Discussion of club business, such as the upcoming election and the need for an election committee will begin around 8PM.  Finally, door prizes will be awarded at approximately 8:15, followed by adjournment in time to vacate the auditorium prior to 8:30PM.

SYNOPSIS

The meeting was opened shortly after 6:15PM by President Wendy Jaroslawski.  After welcoming the group, she introduced Larry Burgher, who demonstrated a few of his favorite free and useful web sites and software utilities:

  • SpeakEasy - A free internet bandwidth measurement site for checking your internet speed

  • Enterra Icon Keeper - a free piece of software for keeping your desktop icons in order.  They also have a deluxe version which costs only $10.

  • Autostitch - a free and impressive piece of software that automatically "stitches" together adjacent photographs into a single panoramic view.  Click on the "Windows Demo" link, it's not really a demo, it's the full version of the software.

The traditional break at 6:50PM was skipped, and Wendy made some club announcements at 6:55PM, then introduced Anton Denissov from Clear Wire, who described the company and the high speed wireless internet and telephone services they offer.

About 7:30PM, Wendy introduced Don Sabatine, who conducted our first "Presentation in a Box".  After some introductory comments, he played a DVD video where a representative from LapWorks, Inc gave a thorough and unbiased discussion of conditions and hazards that reduce the life of laptop computers, and can adversely effect your health.  Techniques and devices to overcome these hazards were then shown, followed up with the line of products available for purchase from LapWorks, Inc  to address these issues.  Door prizes were awarded and the meeting adjourned. 

November 4th, 2009

ANNOUNCEMENT

We're anxiously awaiting our next meeting when Jaime Link of Sandhills Publishing will present information about the Smart Computing User Group Program, will step members through an issue of Smart Computing,  demonstrate the value of their web site, and introduce sister publications PC Today, First Glimpse, Reference Series, and Computer Power User.

Jaime will also share with us how we can receive unlimited computer support from Smart Computing.  Each attendee will receive a packet of Smart Computing goodies and be eligible to win other Smart Computing merchandise.   We invite anyone interested in expanding their computer knowledge to attend!

The president will open the meeting at 6:15PM.  A Question/Answer session will then be conducted by Larry Burgher, followed by a short break.  The main presentation will begin at 7:00PM.  Finally, door prizes will be awarded at approximately 8:15, followed by adjournment in time to vacate the auditorium prior to 8:30PM.

SYNOPSIS

Jaime Link of Sandhills Publishing described the Smart Computing User Group Program, stepped us through an issue of Smart Computing and their web site, and introduced sister publications PC Today, First Glimpse, Reference Series, and Computer Power User.  She explained how when you subscribe to one publication, you have access to all of them on their web site, and you can save additional money by getting a web only (non-print) subscription.  She showed the top 10 reasons to subscribe, with the number one reason being free 24/7 technical support.

Each attendee received a free copy of Smart Computing and some other souvenirs.  Three door prizes were awarded:  One lucky person received a one year free subscription, another a t-shirt, and another a magazine storage file.

We feel it is an exceptional value and encourage anyone who wants to learn more about computers to subscribe.  When you do, please specify your affiliation with Las Vegas PC Users group, because for every 5 sign-ups they give us a free subscription which we can then use as a door prize.  The web-only (non-print) subscription is only $17/yr while print subscriptions start at $29/yr, with discounts for multiple years.

October 7th, 2009

ANNOUNCEMENT

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SYNOPSIS

Our special guest speaker was Gregory Smith, Chief of Investigations for the Nevada Office of Attorney General.  He gave a entertaining and informative presentation about how identity thieves work to steal our account numbers and personal information, and ways we can avoid being victims, as well as what to do if, heaven forbid, you do become a victim.

Member Edward Keller and brand new member Evelyn Schiff were the lucky door prize winners, each receiving a $25 Office Max gift card.
 

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