Number 289 - June 2007

UPDATE
Election Results    The annual election of officers of Tacoma Open Group for Microcomputers for the coming year was conducted by a show of hands of those present at the May 2007 meeting are as floows:     President    Carl Tenning     Vicepresident    Dave Barclay     Secretary-Treas.    Sandee Gimblett     Disk Librarian    Tom Stepanek     Newsletter Editor    Bob Thomson Beginners    Three short articles all deal with handling photos on your computer. They are Tag Your Photos, which tells you how to organize ypur pictures, How Big Can You Print Your Photos? gives you the address of a website that contains a chart for choosing the size of your prints, and Scanning Published Photos discusses how to get rid of overlaying patterns on half-toned photos.    Don't like Windows bugging you about desktop icons you never click? Read the article on Unused Icons to find out how to leave everything as is.    Tom found the security icon in his Systray warning of virus danger annoying especially since he knew he was protected by Norton Antivirus. See how he dealt with it in Win Security Alert Icon in Right Systray. Communications    Brian Lewis gives a fairly comprehensive discussion of virus protection programs in his article on Firewalls.    If you would like to find sites covering related material you should look for webrings covering subjects of interest. Some suggested reading is given in Browsing Webrings - Communities of Websites.	Ray Mills demonstrated this topic during a recent Early Bird session. In Virtual Machines you can read a short description of programs that allow you to try out, test and use software without interfering with your hardware/software setup. Hardware    With the development of reasonably large memory sticks you can store complete programs on them. See Computer on a Stick; Portable Apps    So you think your files saved on a CD will last forever, eh? Carl Tenning reports his first experience of the failure of a Compact Disc in Life of a CD-R. Try as he might he could not get it to read. General Interest    In Get Organized Now!, Sandy Berger of Compukiss tells you about a freeservice, Gubb.net, a free website which gives you the framework of lists that will help your organize your stuff. Sound like it's worth a look.    In Using Even New PCs is Ruined By a Tangle of Trial Programs, Ads, Wall Street Journal columnist Walter S Mossberg discusses the frustrations of setting up a new Windows PC, including wading through ads and trial software.    Then, in a followup article, Ways You Can Avoid Getting Junk Programs on Your New Computer, Walt discusses a variety of options for getting rid of unwanted ads and trial software that comes on most new Windows Vista computers.    In Summary of Medical Condition APCUG President Don Singleton describes how he started to keep a record of his personal medical information in a specific file to pass on to medical personnel responsible for his treatment. He provides an online example and a couple of other useful references.
Number 289 - June 2007