Club Archives Store
Archives quick search index:
- HOME Pages: - Highlights of earlier HOME Pages -
- MAIN MEETINGS: - View previous MAIN Meetings -
- Communications: - ISPs - Browsers - Email - Networking - Security
- Newsletter Archive: - Earlier Weekley Newsletters
- Digital Photography: - Cameras - Imaging - Printing - Tutorials
- Genealogy: - Family Tree programs - Resources - Tutorials
- Programming: - Resources - Reports - Tutorials
- Senior's Computers: - PC Hardware - Windows - Software - Upgrade - Tutorials
- Senior's Online:- Shopping - Finance - Travel - Entertainment - Health - Tutorials
- Stocks & Shares: - Software - Financial Data - Brokers - Tutorials
- Web Design: - Programs - Name Registration - Hosting - Tutorials
HOME Page Highlights:
- See all 2024 HOME Pages:
- See all 2023 HOME Pages:
- See all 2022 HOME Pages:
- See all 2021 HOME Pages:
- See all 2020 HOME Pages:
- See all 2019 HOME Pages:
- See all 2018 HOME Pages:
- See all 2017 HOME Pages:
- See all 2016 HOME Pages:
- See all 2015 HOME Pages:
Monthly MAIN Meetings:
2024 MAIN Meetings
March 2024: This month, Alex reviewed, security cameras, Robotic lawnmowers and various AI topics.
February 2024: Alex discussed highlights of his visit to the Electronics Show in Las Vegas.
January 2024: A happy welcome for you, however there was no Main meeting held this month.
2023 MAIN Meetings
2022 MAIN Meetings
March 2022: Both live & via Zoom we previewed the latest Dynabooks, Samsung and Apple releases.
January 2022: Alex vists the CES in Los Vagus.
2021 MAIN Meetings
October 2021: This month was all about new CPUs, the M1 Pro from Apple and Googles new Tensor chip.
September 2021: Alex showed the new Apple iPhones and Tablets, plus new features of Apple's OS 15.
August 2021: Tonight, Alex had a whole lot of gadgets to show us starting with Snap Camera for Zoom.
July 2021: This month Alex took us on a tour of Windows 11.
June 2021: A first glimpse of Windows 11 and a review of the Apple Developers conference.
May 2021: Alex showed the new Apple watch and how the new ECG or heart rate monitor worked.
April 2021: We discussed the latest released of the iMac and iPad with the new M1 chip.
March 2021: This month Alex looked at the new M1 Mac and the M1 Mac Mini plus lots more.
February 2021: Samsung Robotics - Cheap phones & plans - NBN Starlink and more
2020 MAIN Meetings
November 2020: We saw the new iPhone 12 and the Apple event held on November 10th
October 2020: EZVIZ smart home security and Realme Phones come along
September 2020: Brett Levy CEO of Kazoik explains this unique Australian auction site.
August 2020: Ron Eo show us the latest Acronis True Image 2021
July 2020: Payton Towler demonstrated TechSmith Corporation's Camtasia Video Editor.
June 2020: Alex spoke about the Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC)
May 2020: This month we had our second Zoom meeting with twenty-one members joining in
April 2020: Derek Austin discussed “PERSONAL PRODUCTIVITY 2030”
March 2020: Was cancelled due to corona virus lockdown
February 2020: The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip phone
January 2020: HTC 5G Hub and RAZA folding phone
2019 MAIN Meetings
November 2019: Norton Lifelock Systems
August 2019: Happy Tel and Acer
July 2019: Synology Network Access Systems (NAS)
May 2019: Optus Their new 5G network
April 2019: Huawei The P30 and the Matebook X
March 2019: Shopback and Microsoft Shop on Powerpoint 3D
February 2019: AGM and Folding phones
2018 MAIN Meetings
October 2018 : Telstra Locator service
September 2018 : OPPO and The Vodafone Foundation
April 2018: AMD, Seagate, Brother and Blue Microphones with Renato Catalan
March 2018: Matt Jones from OVO
February 2018: Our AGM and we had a look at the new speakers from Google and Apple
January 2018: Our first meeting of the year saw Jazoodle Accounting software and Fuji Xerox
2017 MAIN Meetings
October 2017: The Microsoft Store returned to look at Edge and Virtual Realily
September 2017: The Microsoft Store paid a welcome return
August 2017: We had two guests. Armourcard and Malwarebytes.
July 2017: Mr Michael Tyler, the NBNco Community Affairs Manager give us the latest on the roll out.
June 2017: Mr Richard Chan, from Samsung Australia, showed us their SSD (solid state drive) range
April 2017 : As our main meeting fell on ANZAC Day there was no meeting this month
March 2017 AGM Finalised and Alex showed us some great software apps for Windows and Apple
February 2017: Norton Security
January 2017: Trend Micro and Boost Mobile
2016 MAIN Meetings
September 2016: Presto and Amaysim
June 2016: Symantic WiFi Privacy, 4G Phone Plans, Macrium Reflect and other goodes
May 2016: GoCatch and Vividwireless
March 2016: Samsung, VR, iPad Pro and ULED TVs
February 2016: Our AGM and Microsoft presenting Windows 10
2015 MAIN Meetings
October 2015: iPhone 6s Plus, Apple Watch, Samsung Gear S2 Watch and the new Microsoft Surface Book
September 2015: Presto and Amaysimm
August 2015: Acronis Backup Software and Morphis maker of range of batteries and portable storage
May 2015: Tonight Alex was at the Lenovo Tech World Conference in Beijing
April 2015: MacBook, The Samsung 7 Hard Drive, New Moblie phone deals and Windows 10
January 2015: Boost Moblie phone
2014 MAIN Meetings
October 2014 iMac, Ollie, and other goodes
September 2014 Google and Our 30th Anniversary
May 2014 Telstra Bundles and Wi Fi Nation
April 2014 Microsoft present Windows 8.1
2013 Main Meetings
November 2013 -Dell - XPS, Venue, Alienware and Pocket Cloud
October 2013 - Windows 8.1 and Leap Motion Controler
September 2013 - Solid State Drives & the iPhone 5s
May 2013 -Pandora Internet Radio
January 2013 - Samsung and CES
2012 MAIN MEETINGS
November 2012 - Nuance, Anti Virus, The iPad Mini and much more
October 2012 - iWorld: Assessories and toys for smart phones
September 2012 - iPhone & Windows 8
July 2012 - Nuance - Dragon Dictate
2011 MAIN MEETINGS
October 2011 - Western Digital
September 2011 - Built Conference for Windows 8
August 2011 - Windows Live Messenger
June 2011 - Windows Live Hotmail
May 2011 - Bing - Microsoft's search engine
April 2011 - Short Meeting for Anzac Day
January 2011 - Mac Air and iPad
2010 MAIN MEETINGS
October 2010 - AVG and Choice Magazine
June 2010 - Simms Group - Power Mat
March 2010 - Software and Gadgets
2009 & 2008 MAIN MEETINGS
November 2009 - Norton Security Software
August 2009 and earlier - Plus some 2008 main meetings
.Communication Highlights:
July 2023 Main Meeting
Google's Pixel Tablet was among the many items Alex discussed at our July Main meeting via Zoom from Canberra. Also reviewed by Alex, were a range of Apple TVs, and an “accessible” Apple watch with built-in sensors to help the wearer, answer calls, control an onscreen pointer, and launch a menu of actions, all through hand gestures.
More news on the Apple Vision Pro headset: The Apple Vision Pro is Apple's first official mixed reality headset. And you can see our first impressions in our Apple Vision Pro hands-on review. While the headset may look like a contender for the best VR headset on the market, it is not designed to keep you immersed in a virtual world. Features such as EyeSight and Digital Persona ensure that not only are you still engaged with the physical world, but the physical world remains able to engage with you.
Developments at Telstra: Telstra will partner with Elon Musk’s Starlink to provide phone and broadband services to rural Australia using Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites. Telstra will be able to provide home phone service and Starlink broadband services to Aussies as a bundle offer, as well as local tech support and the option of professional installation.
This agreement also provides connectivity options for our business customers, with a higher bandwidth business option available in areas without fixed and mobile connectivity. The business offer will be available to purchase from Telstra both locally and in select countries overseas. Telstra said it planned to offer the new services before year’s end.Google's Chrome Browser Ver.34 Reviewed
Google Chrome is today’s most popular browser in the world, managing in early 2014 to capture little over 42% of world’s non-mobile browser usage, easily beating all of its competitors in the likes of Internet Explorer (18%), Mozila Firefox (15%), Safari (6%) and Opera (2%).
This complete domination was achieved not only by smart utilization of the WebKit rendering engine that enabled Chrome to be imbued with incredible speed, stability and ability to be run on old computers that had slow hardware, but also streamlining of user interface and introduction of advanced features that enabled all users to easily take advantage of numerous Google cloud services (cloud hosted bookmarks, profile info, full integration into Google infrastructure, including Gmail, YouTube and more). But, even though all these features were present, Chrome was very distinct in constantly trying to maintain its simplistic interface and feature set.
So what can you expect if you decide to start using Chrome browser today? You can expect incredible speed that was built on one of the world’s fastest JavaScript processing speed, fully-supported ability to customize your browser via 3rd party extension marketplace, instant syncing of your browsing sessions between desktop and mobile, and free access to up to 15 GB of online storage with Google Drive (sizes may change depending on current promotions).
Source: filehorse.comGoogle's Chrome Browser Ver.5 Reviewed
Following on from the success of their Search Engine and Gmail application, Google released their Chrome version.1 browser less than two years ago. Developing quickly, version.5 was only released in May. Like their search engine, Chrome is uncluttered, leaving a large viewing window, but still packs more features and greater speed than other popular browsers.
The first surprise is Chrome's minimal interface, featuring a thin toolbar but no menu or status bars. And where the website address box also serves as Google's powerful search engine entry box. At the top left of the toolbar are webpage tabs, any number of which can be set to load at startup. Tabs that are used often can be "pinned" and miniaturised to save space as shown. You can easily rearrange the tabs by dragging, even bringing them down onto the page if you wish. Clicking the "+" button (not shown) or short-cut Ctrl+N opens a new window displaying "thumb-nails" of the eight most recently visited sites plus browsing history going as far back as you want. A back, forward, reload, home and bookmark button complete the basic controls.
On the other end of the toolbar, are two icons with drop-down menus. One is the "current page control" enabling common tasks like Cut, Paste, Print and the nifty Find box extension - short-cut Ctrl+F - as shown. Other tasks including "Create application short-cuts", zooming and Developer needs are also listed here. The spanner icon on the right allows you to "Customise and control Google Chrome" using a wide variety of choices. This is where you can open an "incognito window" plus hide or show a bookmarks bar - short-cut "toggle" Ctrl+B - as seen here. You can also check browsing history, manage bookmarks, downloads and more. Clicking the "Options" feature presents another range of choices including setting default "home" and other "startup" pages, adding passwords, etc.
There are also plenty of add-ons available to further customize Chrome if you wish, such as selecting from a multitude of to suit your personality. I have installed one - a Gmail Checker that is currently indicating I have one new message. Clicking on this button now takes me directly to my Gmail account for a quick response.
As an added bonus, Chrome version.5 is already compatible with the latest proposed W3C web standards and was the first browser to pass the demanding Acid3 test with a score of 100! Don't be left behind - download, install and try Chrome now - you'll be glad you did! jl
What is a portable app?
A portable app is a computer program that you can carry around with you on a portable device and use on any Windows computer. When your USB flash drive, portable hard drive, iPod or other portable device is plugged in, you have access to your software and personal data just as you would on your own PC. And when you unplug the device, none of your personal data is left behind.
- No Special Hardware - Use any USB flash drive, portable hard drive, iPod/MP3 player, etc.
- No Additional Software - Just download, run the portable installer and go.
- No Kidding - It's that easy. Click image to LEARN MORE...
.Digital Photography
Infinity backgrounds
Photograph small items like a Professional
Sometimes you may want to photograph small objects without showing distracting backgrounds, glaring highlights or harsh shadows. Now with the aid of "instant" backgrounds made quickly from common home office items, you can easily produce high quality pictures without the expense of special studio equipment.
For demonstration purposes, this wireless mouse was photographed on an instant background using natural lighting from a single window. An even better image could have been produced had the camera been set on a tripod and adjusted using a variety of advanced capture settings.
The instant infinity background was constructed using six sheets (for stability) of standard white copy paper and four paper-clips.
All sheets are clipped together with two clips attached about one third up from the bottom. Another two clips are attached near the top of the sheets. By carefully sliding the top clips together with the rear three sheets down towards the bottom, a self supporting curvature is formed as illustrated.
Simply by positioning this or a coloured background with consideration to the light source and camera aspect, an infinite variety of subtle highlights or shadows can be achieved.
An even simpler 3D background can be made using just 1 sheet of paper, and 1 paper-clip.
In portrait view, from a spot (about 20 minutes past the hour) tear to the centre of the sheet. Next, overlap the torn edges anything up to 90 degrees and use a paper-clip to hold. The over-lapped section now forms the base of your instant self supporting corner background. This provides even greater scope for extending your mastery of small item photography.
While lighting is beyond the scope of this article, I must mention having successfully photographed many small items outdoors by shooting within fully shaded areas while using these simple backgrounds. As always, the naturally diffused light from early morning and late afternoon sun normally produce the best results.
John Lucke
.Genealogy
More coming
.Senior's Interests and General Information
More coming
.Online - Everyday Activities
Coming soon
.Investments, Stocks & Shares
Coming soon
.Programming
Coming soon
.Web Design
Coming soon
